UNFAIR TACTICS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1804, 17 July 1913, Page 6

UNFAIR TACTICS.

The average Britisher enjoys a fair and square political fight with hard-hitting if necessary; but he has a very strong dislike for the man who hits below.the belt. No one, for instance, objected to Mr. Atmore's attack on Mr. Fisher the ■ other night, but most people felt that it was not fair fighting when in order to score a point against the Minister the member fdr Nelson under coyer of the privilege of Parliament cast aspersions on the character of a third party, Mr. W. E. Simpson, who had no opportunity to defend himself or claim redress. For the moment Mr.' Atmore seemed to have made a hit against the Minister at the expense of tile gentleman attacked, but the facts are now coming to light, and probably the member for Nelson and his backers are by this time feeling mucfi more uncomfortable than either Me. Fisher or Mr. Simpson. The Minister, who was taken by surprise at the time, could only state that Mr. Simpson hacl been selected to represent Karamca on the Westport Harbour Board because he was the most recently elected representative of the Karamea district upon the ■ Buller County Council. Mr. Fisher, therefore, quite naturally assumed that Mr. Simpson had the confidence of the people of the district immediately concerncd. It is rather to the Minister's credit than otherwise that he did not think it necessary to dig into the Court record of bygone days on the off-chance of making some unhappy find. Ho prefers no doubt to leave such methods to his opponents. Mr. Simpson fortunately is not lacking in friends and so we arc now getting the other side of the story. Mr. Munko, Chairman of the Westport Harbour Board, at once wrote to the press, expressing the opinion that:

if ever a man was the victim of the petty jealousy and conspiracies of a small community, then this fMr. Simpson] is' tho man. In any case, he has paid the prico of what, at ivorst, might be called the folly of hot-headed youth. His own fellow residents rejoice in him, and have the completest confidence that, while he is with them, they have an exceptionally able, energetic, and progressive man to voice their interests. To know the man and talk with him is to feel at once that you are in the presence of a full-powered, determined pioneer- the main type that this country wants. The episode, no doubt, was, and is, a bitter one in his career. I wish his detractors who so gaily, for party purposes, arc endeavouring to reblast him, may never slip, as we all have a tendency to do, as time rolls on, and, if they do slip, I that at least their wives and their bonnie boys will not have to suffer for all time because any popinjay politician wants a momentary gratification of his vanity. One can almost forgive the member for Nelson, but epithets are not yet'cast for the coward who handed him the information. Mr. Simpson is among our rising young men. He is one of the mangiest, and as straight as a gun-barrel. If I stand alone, I count it gain to be able, through tho courtesy of your columns, to publicly give in,v opinion of the man. .Somebody could forgive seventy times seven, but if a hot word and'a ready hand —"when all the world was young lads"— is going to bar the State of the service of tho young blood when they reach maturity, then Heaven help us in the days to come. There is a fine ripg about Mit. Muneo's letter which we should think would stir the sympathies and win the approval even of the most, partisan supporter; of the Opposition. The Buller County Council a few days after the above letter was written took the matter up. One member stated emphatically that the Minister had made no mistake in appointing Mn. Simpson either from the point of view of morals or capacity. Others also spoke in complimentary terms of Mn. Simpson's character ancl ability and the Council finally unanimously carried a motion of sympathy with him. Mn Atmore's own past may be so immaculate that he feels 'himself justified in raking up the earlier indiscretions of less perfect men. It may seem,to him a fine thing to place 'on record in Hansard and throughout the press of the country a cruel slur on the character of a man who according to all accounts has not only lived down the slip ho once made, but has since won the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens. Such things are questions of- taste. What would revolt one man and outrage his sense of justice and all his instincts of British fair play might to another appear quite justifiable. The majority of whole-some-minded people, however, will we have no doubt agree with the Chairman of the Westport Harbour Board and extend to Mn. Simpson their fullest sympathy. Since his appearance in Parliament the member for Nelson has been singularly unhappy in his methods. The narrow margin between the parties after the general election gave his vote for the moment a value which appeared to disturb his balance of judgment and he has never since quite realised his true status in Parliament. From the outset be adopted the airs of it Superior Person; lectured the House and old Parliamentarians in quite amusing style and very soon developed into a first-class scold. The House is very tolerant with young members but Mr. Atmore's latest outbreak io not likely to add to his popularity in or out of Parliament.