CORRESPONDENCE.

Hokitika Guardian, 12 April 1930, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

SIR JOSEPH WARD’S ILLNESS

(To the Editor

Sir: —A number of letters have appeared in various newspapers and one hears of rumours from various quarters about the Right Hon. Sir Toseph Ward being incapacitated through illness and unable to attend to his duties. These fault-finders remind me of a hoard of yapping mongrels following up a hugs mastiff or Newfoundland dog who lias injured his leg and cannot get away from the mongrels and who is too dignified to heed the yappers far and wide. To listen to these complaints one would think that Sir Toseph Ward w'as the first Prime Minister who has been absent through illness. One has only to cast one’s memory back to see the number of previous Prime Ministers and Ministers who have been absent from their official duties through illness.

Take for instance that grand oh' statesman Sir Harry Atkinson, who jvhen Prime Minister was laid aside with illness for a considerable time and ultimately retired from the Lower House and was appointed as Speakei to the Upper House. What happened next? Worn out with the cares of office. he had not long been in the Conn nil before he died from heart failure. A well-known citizen once told me that he walked up through Parliamentary grounds with Sir Harry the clay before he died, and Sir Harry, asked him not to walk so fast as he said his heart was like a clock that had been overwound and the spring was ready to snnu at any time. The following day it d'd snap. Sir Hnrrv Atkinson had just presided over a short meeting of the Legislative CVmcil and he was talc en from the Chair in the Chamber trhis private .sitting room. - ’ He was as sisted to an armchair there, and a few minutes afterwards expired. Then again there was Job n Palin nee. • known + n many as Honest John Ballaneo. Was not he for weeks ill and unable to attend to his d-ties and ultimately onerated on and died shortly afterwards ? Then ««—.: n not the Right Fan. Richard John Seddon 1 aid aside with ilnec-e and did not he for weeks at a time eommandeer one of ftbo Government rdenmees. either the HinP r "'>n nr - 1 e-o vovnndnrr round the ftfe-ru Tulnnd in eenceTi renewed health ? On one neensio* l he took with him * wort-'noi effi T)r. is • r»;,. -'. J -•'’•-CJencrnl of ReaHh. T rerp-'i-nbe-'T- c'ofirlon nt a public ipppf.inrr kno akin" ef hi- an- 1 saving ,bov- sev-

ere TV Vn I: n+irio was in ennneef ; nr> with bVi and hu wbe got. him kept to astrict regime and diet and made him do certain exercises on +he voyage. Then naalr -v n .s n of the Hon. Sir w: " : im Hall-Toveg when Minister of Piddle Wnv'-s, laid aside with illness and was it not thou nil t for a time h« wo-ild not net better, but that esteemed neptlornan is s+P’ with ns? e>v> +Ue”e was S"r Wid'err) Herries. Was no-*- be one of flie Ministers bald as*7l a with illness and could not attend to a”” nnblio duties for weeks and ultimate! v died from his illness!

Then the Right HOll. "William Ferguson Massev. whom we all revered Was not he for months laid aside with a serious illness and could not do his work, ultimately dying?

Has not the Hon. Downie Stewart been ill for months, and did he not go to America for treatment accompanied J',y a private secretary and messenger ? He has since had at times to go- Rotorua for treatment.

And writing of these political leaders (whose sickness was not made the pxeuse of embittered attacks nor the medium of an endeavour to advance the interests of less able political opponents), calls to mind the fact that for months Sir Julius Vogel had to he wheeled into the House in an invalid’s chain!

All reasonable people regret the illness that in some instances caused the death of some of the foregoing, and nothina but sympathy was extended to them and their relatives, but why make a difference in the case of Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward ? He, I understand, is transacting public business whilst at Rotorua trying to recover his health and has the assistance of a private secretary there. I think some Consideration and sympathy should be shown to this gentleman in place of having the yapping of mongrels and the complaints of discontented politicians levelled at him.

I think I noticed in some of the presessional addresses of Mr H. E. Holland that Jie expressed sympathy with Sir Joseph Ward in his illness and hoped that he would soon recover. I cannot say that I have noticed the Right Hon. J. G. Coates making a similar reference, but it would be a mark of kindness on his part if he were to do so.

I am etc., FAIR PLAY IS BONNIE PLAY

AN AIRMAN EXPLAINS

(To the Editor.)

Sir:—On reaching Sydney after my flight from England I approached the Australia Representative of the Shell Comany. I told him that my flight had been for sporting, not commercial purposes, and that it was my particular wish that no unauthorised statements should he attributed to me. In fact, I have never yet made any statement in praise of the fuel and oil products I used. I received an assurance that mv express wishes in this matter would be

respected. On arriving in New Zea-

land, i found that Shell Company, without any authorization or offer of compensation, were making extensive use of statements falsely attributed i.o me. as advertisements.

As these protests have remained without reply 1 am obliged to appeal co publicity to sec the matter right. 1 ti-ed Snell products, and can have no earthy objection to their saying so. That in itself, is not a bad advertisement, and they got it for nothing. I do object, with perfect reason, to statements being incorrectly attributed to me such as are calculated to make anyone believe 1 am receiving something from the Shell Company. Yours sincerely, FRANCIS C. CHICHESTER.