MR. BOLTON AND HARBOUR BOARD REPRESENTATIVES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 599, 30 August 1909, Page 5

MR. BOLTON AND HARBOUR BOARD REPRESENTATIVES.

, Sir,—l have , rend your, attack' this morning on- certain members' of the Harbour 'Board,', including myself. As to myself, you .quote' an > isolated; expression' • without the context. ■ - If i.a'full .report was taken -by youi- reporter, of ' my remarks, and if you' had read such report, Wrajwould have seen -that i I only agreed to 'accept,.the scheme with dertain amendments, and then only ,in the ,nature of a compromise. You must surely be aware that no one man can get his own'way entirely with,' ,a'large number of other men, andthatlifeis essen-1 iially a matter of compromise. Your comparison of the Harbour Board with a large private business is unfortunate. If anything, •' it is a similar body to the Wellington City i Corporation, and us a large public business

in which the inhabitants of the Wellington provinco are directly interested, inasmuch as they ultimately foot tho bill. Surely, then, they are entitled to the privilege of electing tho members of tho board. As to your covert siieors at''those members who supported the principle, Ido not think.that we need bo much troubled. The public will judge our record from tho worL done by each of us, and hot; from one-sided' newspaper comments. Your attitude maj admit of explanation, but in any case I trust jou will give this equal prominence with jour attack—l am, etc I , G BOLTON P S.—Your reference in a sub leader this .morning to; tho last Wellington-North election is equally incorrect I never claimed to bo the : Government .'nominee:'during ' the election, although I stated that I would, whilo pre serving an independent attitude on general questions, vote with the Government in preferonco to the Opposition on i question of no confidence affecting the Government's policy as then outlined. I August 27. [Wβ are very pleased to give Mr. Bolton overy opportunity to explain his attitude. The compromise of which lo writes no doubt caused him to sacrifice the principle as Sointcd out by us. As to the Wellington orth election, it is true that Mr. Bolton may not 'have claimed to bo/ the Government nominee in the Parliamentary election, but ho stood as a supporter of the Government, and, as stated by us, was higher on tho poll than the Government nominee.]