MORE MISREPRESENTATION

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2328, 9 December 1914, Page 8

MORE MISREPRESENTATION

HOW THE ELECTORS ABE DECEIVED. A grossly misleading message regarding Mr. Herdman's meeting at the Town Hall on Monday evening was 6ent broadcast throughout New Zealand by the Wellington agent of the Press Association, and published 'in yesterday's papers. The message was a 6 follows :— Wellington, Monday. The Hon. A. L. Herdmatt met with a.lively reception at the Town Hall to-night, when he replied to the speech delivered by Sir Joseph Ward on Friday. Ho was frequently counted out, and the meeting was an uproarious one. A motion of thanks to Mr. Herdman and of confidence in tie Government was defeated by a substantial' majority, and the meeting ended with cheers, for. Sir Joseph Ward and Mt. Fletcher, the Liberal candidate for Wellington Central. Everyone who was present at the meeting will recognise this as an entirely inaccurate version of the proceedings. Mr. H. Buddie, who presided, has supplied the following statement as to what actually took place:— "I was chairman of Mr. Herdman's meeting in the Town Hall on Monday night last, and I wish to state exactly what happened when the motion of confidence was moved. The motion of confidence in Mr. Herdman and in the Gov- ' ernment was put by me to the meeting, and I declared it to be carried. In my opinion it was car-..' . ried by a large majority. There was no amendment to the motion." As is well-known, the Press Association messages dispatched at night from Wellington emanate from/the office of the local anti-Reform journal, and on many other occasions have also been more remarkable for their 6trong political bias than for an. impartial statement of what lias actually transpired. PRESS ASSOCIATION REPORT .- CRITICISED. (By Meeraiih.—Press -Association.) Masterton, December 8. Speaking to a reporter, -the Hon. A. L. Herdman said his attention had been drawn to the description of his meeting in Wellington last riigbt sent through New Zealand by the "Times," representing the Press Association. "It is about time," Mr. Herdman said, "that, the New Zealand-public understood how Utterly unreliable is ' news telegraphed over New Zealand through this channel. The majority of those present were obviously in favour of the Government. A body of Liberals and Red Feds, determined to punish the Government for its action in- suppressing lawlessness during the strike last year, played the part of hoodlum: with a considerable amount of success, but behaviour of this kind from this source wos 1 expected, and public men on the Reform side aro getting qiote accustomed to it. Itis stated, I. that an adverse: vote was carried. This is untrue. No adverse motion was mnypfl. It was quite natcnt to'any impartial observer that the motion of confidence was supported by the great bulk of. the people present."