MB. PAYNE AND HIS PLEDGE

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1372, 24 February 1912, Page 9

MB. PAYNE AND HIS PLEDGE

"EVEN A WORM WILL TURN." SOME INTERESTING TELEGRAMS.' (By Telcsraph:—Special 'Correspondent.) '.'...''' '■ i Napier, February 23. Mr. Payne's broken pledges aro of tome considerable interest here. The "Hawke's Bay Tribune" sovcrely ciitiiises.'him,''and .publishes telegrams exchanged irith Mr. Crowley, tho Reform candidate.' U'he.n Mr. Crowley retired in favour of Mr. Hill, tho Labour candidate, Mr. Payne, telegraphed as follows:— • "Crowley',.'.;Oux>ositiqriist, ; Napier:— "Congratulations"'; on.' your ..broadminded j ,.actip.n j . in * stepping, in favour "of'lnspector Hill.- 'Labour- and Opposition, havo common interests in clean' administration aDd .sane fin'fflc'e. -.' . "

". ■ ■'■ ,' "John '■ Pnyno, -~..-• ';"Xabour. .Candidate, Grey Lynn!". Following/upon the development in the no-confidence, debate, Mr. Crowley telegraphed to Mr. Payne this morning:— , •/'You havo proved: the truth of that old quotation thab 'even a worm will turn.'" •.. ■.-•■ - - Mr. Payne's answer-woe received in the following words :— "Your wire reminds me of a comedian I once heard who sang a eong which ridiculed old sayings.' Below. I'give you the lines lie used in reviewing the adage quoted in your wire, 'Even a worm will turn.' The comedian sang— • That 'even'a worm will turn, 'tis said. An absurdity.as you will soon learn. If the worm gets under a hob-nailed boot. Now how's the poor worm goin» to turn? "Tours with a wriggle on—Payne, the., worm." ■'■.'. Mr.. Crowley immediately replied— . "Could understand voir toning'if squeezed. by Farmer Bill's hobnails, hut why, wriggle under the daintv hoof of the 'gingerbread aristocracy'? 1 ' Labour.:men. here generally believe that »lr. Payne has committed political suitide-. • :

MEETING AT NEW PLYMOUTH. (By 'Telegraph-Press' Association.) New Plymouth, February 23. Ai'-a' representative,meeting of workers in the' Town Hall, a. resolution was carried'that the Labour representatives in Parliament be respectfully' called on to support the, Liberal party's humane programme by supporting Sir Joseph Ward fm the no-confidence motion.

"MR. HINDMARSH'S SPEECH, (To tho Editor.). Sir, Mr. A. H. Hindmarsh. M.P., is re-' ported in your columns to-day to havo stated in the House yesterday that it was being bruited about in Wellington at the present time that a certain Wellington man had'bought some poor pumice faud in Hawko's- Bay in the region of Runangn, and that he had afterwards got rid »f ibby-selling.it to the Government Ihrough. a member of Parliament, and :hat the vendor was Mr. Pochard King, as I am tho Wellington him evidently referred to, I think it, my duty to state :hat the.facts are. not' as represented bv Ifr. flinclniarsh. In the. beginning of the year 1!)10, Mr. James If eid 'and myself sold to Mr. fhtfmas Balla>n, of Christchurch, a block of land at Euminga, and a portion of the purchase money, namely, X7OOO, was secured to me by a first mortgage over part of tho block given by Mr. Ballan to invsclf and dated March 5, 1910. On Juno 2, 1911, Mr. G. W. Pvussell, M.P., of Christchurch, called upon me in Wellington, and stated that ho had purchased the Eunanga land from Mr. Ballan, and was negotiating with tho Government for a sale of part of the land, and he inquired of mo on what terms I would release my 'mortgage. I 'agreed to release a portion of the land on payment off my mortgage of a sum equal to 10s. per acre. In December last a transfer was put through to the Crown of portion of the Eunanga Block, and the Crown solicitors requested me, through my solicitors, Messrs. 0. and E. Beere, to sign a release of my mcrtgago over the land comprised in tho transfer. This I did, receiving the sum of .£702 fc. in reduction »)' the mortgage debt.—l. am. etc.. K. KEEN'E. Wellington, February 23.