The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, April, 27, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1036, 27 April 1912, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, April, 27, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

At Thursday’s meeting of the Palmerston North District Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, Mr Harford moved that a vote of thanks be accorded to the secretary for the excellent manner in vh h he had discharged his dutk •' his appointment, and to evince to anonymous newspaper critics of the secretary that the Board was quite satisfied with his services. Mr Horublovv seconded pro forma, but suggested that the mover withdraw the resolution. Board members were cognisant of the good work done by the secretary, and the passing ot such resolution would give undue prominence to the criticism of the secretary by an anonymous correspondent who hadn’t the moral courage to sign his name to his effusions. The Board, however, passed the. resolution. The editor of our Palmerston morning contemporary, commenting on the resolution passed by the Board, seeks to justify the writings ol moral cowards who delight to vent their spleen and vindictiveness on public servants under the cloak of anonymity. Be it said to the honour of New Zealand journalism that few papers would publish such scurrilous personal abuse which at times appears under the heading of correspondence in our Palmerston morning contemporary. The editor of the paper referred to says “we spoke, no doubt, from the fullness of Boston experience.” This is not altogether correct. Our experience extends beyond Foxton. But since we have conducted this paper we have not used it as a personal weapon to “gel; back” on those with whom we do not see eye to eye. Can the same be said “ol the fulluess” ot our friend’s journalistic experience in Palmerston ? A still wider experience includes contact with newspaper men who condemn the journalistic kidney punch as un-British. Dovers of fair play have no sympathy with anonymous personal newspaper attacks on public servants. It is sheer nonsense for our contemporary to compare the writings of “Junius” with the anonymous personal stabs which appear from time to time in his journal. We have no desire to stifle anonymous correspondence and fair criticism of the sayings and actions of public men. If the secretary of the hospital, as a Borough Councillor, gives expression to certain convictions in respect to Sabbath observance at a Council meeting, what has that to do with the Hospital Board ? So long as he discharges,his secretarial duties conscientiously and to the satisfaction of the Board, he satisfies the requirements of the institution. But to allow an anonymous correspondent to endeavour to prejudice the Board against its secretary for something the secretary has said—altogether outside Board affairs —as a Borough Councillor, is most unfair on the part of our contemporary. It should be some consolation to the secretary to know that the Board appraises the vapourings of our contemporary and its anonymous scribe in respect to himself at their true worth.

A deputation of settlers in the Te Awamutu district waited upon the Premier at Hamilton this week and asked that a trial survey be made of a branch line between Te Awamutu and Putaruru. lu his reply, the Prime Minister had a tilt at the outcry raised against the borrowing propensities of the late Government. He said : “At the last election one of the blackest charges levelled against the Ward Government was that of borrowing. The Government bad been black-guarded and abused from one end of the country to the other. If the last election was to be taken as an indication of opinion of the people there would be no money for constructing railways. It is easy to appease the outcry about reckless borrowing by ceasing to borrow. If people did not want development it would not be given.” Personally, be was in favour of progress, but if there was no money the land could not be farmed. He said in conclusion that political hypocrisy must cease. We do not think any party objects to borrowing for reproductive works and the Premier should not allow the criticism of the past to influence him against borrowing for necessary purposes. The outcry has been not so much against borrowing, but the manner in which borrowed money has been squandered.