SIR JOSEPH WARD—A WITHDRAWAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 791, 14 April 1910, Page 4

SIR JOSEPH WARD—A WITHDRAWAL.

In our issue of April 11 we pub-: lishod a letter from a correspondent signed "One of his Electors'" and headed "The Minister for Lands,"' in which it was'stated that it had been rumoured in Invcrcargillthat the Right Honourable the Minister for Lands had taken up a large block of land on the Awarua Plains, near Invercargill, and that as there were many in tho honourable gentleman's electorate who had been looking out for land ; for a considerable time and could not got it they were naturally curious to know how their member, in,his capacity as Minister for Lands, acquired this block of i land and the terms and conditions ■ on which he took it up. Sm Ward* regards this letter as imputing to him that he, in liis capacity as Minister for Lands, in some way facilitated the acquisition by him personally of a block of Crown land on the Awarua Plains. We now unreservedly state that we are satisfied that our correspondent had no justification for the charge implied in his, letter, and we have to express our regret that we should have given publicity to it... As we,,have already intimated in our leading columns we published the letter in good faith and in doing so we had no intention to reflect upon Sie Joseph Ward's personal conduct.