INCONSISTENCY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 198, 12 August 1940, Page 5

INCONSISTENCY

HON, R. SEMPLE'S DILEMMA! CONSTANT APPEAL FOR FUNDS The inconsistency of political opponents, who. while criticising him in the House for spending national funds upon internal, and what they considered! unnecessary, works, had no hesitation in approaching him in private for a release of public moneys for the benefit of their ( own electorates, was voiced by ! the Hon. R. Semple, Minister 1 of Public Works and National Service, in his informal reviewto the gathering of citizens who ] met in Whakatane on Thursday. j "It is not my idea to abandon everything 'because of the war,"'said the Minister. "To my mind that would bring about chaos and despair. Wc i have got to keep our chins up and avoid stagnation and unemploy- ; ment. It would be a defeatist policj' if I did otherwise/" The Minister went on to say that in Parliament he was often severely criticised for spending money upon progressive and very necessary undertakings, yet the very men who were so free with their objections of what they regarded as waste, had no reticence whatsoever in requesting private grants for individual needs of their own constituents. During the last session he had had twenty-eight deputations of this nature, composed, in the main, of men who, in the progress of the debate, had scathingly condemned the expenditure of moneys on Public Works projects. It may be all part ■ of the political game, but it didn't s suit him. It was hypocritical for any man to say, 'You can spend the ' public money in my electorate, but don't spend it in anybody else's.' The whole thing would be humorous were it not for an underlying \ note of tragedy.