FACTS MADE TO ORDER

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2127, 20 April 1914, Page 4

FACTS MADE TO ORDER

Trades- as tlio discoverer of an enIjrclv new method of political controversy, which it might fittingly entitle "Facts Made to Order."

A somewhat mom glaring example than usualof to resourcefulness of the local "Waitlist journal in inventing faiets to suit « point which H desires to make against its political opponents is worth exposing. It was only natural perhaps that it should wish, to find some nieahs of discounting the success of Hh. Herdsmn'S meeting at tho Town Sail on Friday evening last and apparently it found , this a rather difficult task. The facta unhappily did apt sufficiently lend ' themselves to this purpose,,. tod. it « became necessary to bring the. facts i into H&e to suit the argument which the paper desired to advance- This : is how it was done: i . As to tho "vote of eonfilence" in the • Tory Gororiiinent that WnS dcc'l-rtr&l' to he i carried, thera was sueft a gMat show of < liswds ass-tat the resolution that We are : sure the feelings of tho .centra! performer of the evening, on reviewing tho matter, < roust be the reverse of enviable., j The ffenf Eealani Times, it will be \ seen from the above extract from its \ leading article, sought to fate the ( sting out of the Minister's triumph 1 by telling its readers that "there < Was such n, great show of hand's '• against the resolution" of complete ] confidence in the, Govetnrnent, that < the feelings of the. Minister must be ! the reverse of enviable. It may he - difficult for • those who are not fa- ] miliar with tiro recklessness of the journal in question to credit the fact, j hut this reference to a "greatshow of j hands against the resolution" is pare } fiction, and only existed in the imag- .s ination of tho writer of tho article, i As a matter of plain fact no .show of t hands was either called far or given. 1 Tho impressive- fact of & great i shew of .hands antagonistic to the J rao-tie-a of confidence was needed to ' give support to the general tone of ' the comments of tho Wardisfc jour* * nal, and to fact was therefore crcat- * cd, If there had been any real do- ' giro -to know what actually happened the information was easily, available. \ for in another, column the times t reporter explains _tha,t "there was m attempt to tub-mil it (i.e., the nio- $ tion) to a shorn of hands",* but ap- « parontly in. its leading article the 1: journal preferred to rely upon a for* i tile fancy unhampered by tho restrictions imposed by inconvenient facts, v This is a way the Times li.3s in at- f I tempting to lead puhlic Opinion, In <j ' the same issue and in a further at- * • tempt to discount the success of the .' meeting the same journal makes a '' pretence that its representatives were treated differently tot-hose of other papers, and that difficulties wea?e placed in tho way of their securing * admission to the meeting. l ' 'fin? reptfsPHtstites of WollijrgWn jo.iir~ r tmte of "jieforjn" colour, it atatts, SYOh» t supplied with passes to the meeting, kit ° jio such distinction was bestowed on the ''TitftflS" men, nor oh i'tyresehtfttiveii sif '. f other joatoals whosij jWnttes ore averse Y to the MnsSey Gavernuveat. ii In another column will be found a, ° letter from Cougxet, CpMtsfcy n which goesto show that this asser- * tion is quite as inaccurate as tho J[ invention respecting the alleged show |J of hands. All three daily papers, re- i< eeived passes and as a matter of fact three, reporters from the iW»; %m> :ii land times were present on tho plat- w form reporting the proceedings. The tl Ward Ist .journal should qualify for li Ms. Cbestemos's Club of Queer |«1