MR. CHAMBERLAIN.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 602, 2 September 1909, Page 6

MR. CHAMBERLAIN.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS. A REPLY AND A PROTEST. ißy TelctraplL-Bpcclnl CorrcsDnniteot.r Ghristchurch; September 1: Early in July ■ tho ■ Lyttelten Harbour Board cabled birthday congratulations to Mr. Josopli Chamberlain, tho' message being addressed' to Mrs. Chamberlain. At to-day's meeting of the board an acknowledgment of

the cablegram was received from the secretary of the Tariff Reform League,

: "This' strikes me as interesting," commented Mr. T. E. Taylor, M.P. "Wo send a cable message • to. Mr.. Chamberlain . and got .an acknowledgment • from a partisan 1 organisation.- I believe that the forwardiaig of those cable messages'was instigated; by. the league, and the board's message was sen!, at the suggestion of certain Conservative newspaper editors,in. this .city.. Not that. 1. object to tho board, having .congratulated Mr. Chamberlain. ■ Ho,has been a brilliant main in Imperial politics, and I A was quite willing with others ■to join in sending our good wishes;, but we , havo been: used as a kind of catspaw for tho Tariff Reform .League of London. . I am entirely opposed to tJis propaganda of this' league. I am quite prepared to magnify the.work done by Mr. Chamberlain, but., not for'the purpose of having the board's bona- fide' good wishes turned into political capital. by a bitter, political organisation largely controlling the. cable news \at the. present time. I think it is a matter- for regret that these ecret methods should havo been, adopted, and had I known, that the message was not to, bo' sent to Mr. Chamberlain-^—r 1 ' • •

Tho chairman: It-did. go to him. ■Mr. Taylor: Why doesnlt ho acknowledge it?'. ' ' ■■• . • '

The chairman: I don't know. I have a copy of tho cable message here.

Mr. Taylor: .A great many people wonder whether the league is master of Mr. Chamberlain, or whether Mr. Chamberlain is master of the league. I resent tho manner in which some gentlemen in this city induced tho board to send a message that was' really so much material for the league, which , was the object for which the suggestion had been made. I; think we werovery neatly worked as a board for political purposes. Dealing editorially with the matter, the "P.ress" will say to-morrow :— Most people will, share in tho surprise expressed by Mr. T. E. Taylor on finding that the secretary of the Tariff Reform .League has taken upon himself to acknowledge at loa-st some of the messages of personal congratulation sent to Mrs.. Chamberlain on the occasion of Mr. Chamberlain's birthday. Although somo'of tho senders of those messages unquestionably sympathise with tariff- reform, yet there is no . doubi • that the intention on this occasion was -to sink ' all party differences, and to send ,a personal message of sympathy which should cheer the stricken statesman in his: > enforced retirenient. \lt was intended to hold a gathering in tho Hall on Mr., Chamberlain's birthday, at which Mrs. Chamberlain would be present to receive , tho congratulations addressed to her distinguished .husband. It'was found impossible'to get a non-political gathering thoroughly representative of both 6ides, A meeting was duly held at the Albert Hall,but it was purely a tariff reform demonstration. This being-the cast;, Mrs. Chamberlain did not attend, nor, wore tho messages of congratulation read at the meeting. ( The bnlk of them were treated as so entirely'personal • that Mr. .Chamberlain. did not allow

them to bo published.. Practically only those that came from, the overseas dominions were given to the newspapers. The editors/of, the New. Zealand journals,, who'sent a joint cable of congratulation, addressed to Mrs. Chamberlain, received.a card of .thanks from Mr. Chamberlain by the last mail, aid- if fcho sonder of any other .message has not , received a.similar acknowledgment we imagine it was duo'purely to an. oversight.". Wo agree with Mr. Taylor, that thanks from.the tariff reformers aro aliko but his fear that tho 'Harbour' Board nas in somo way been "got at" for the purpose of furthering the propaganda of the league.is entirely groundless. )We rc6ont as' strongly 'as anyone the apparent impertinenco of the Tariff Reform-League in thrusting, in its oar where it has no right to do.so ; ■• ■ '• .