TO THE EDITOR

Opotiki News, Volume I, Issue 24, 20 April 1938, Page 4

TO THE EDITOR

FREEDOM! LEAGUE PHILOSOPHY Sir, —A prior engagement unfortun- . ately • pi-evented; me from attending Professor Algie’s recent address at Opotiki. A pressing invitation was extended to me to be present by the local secretary \ of the National Party who assured me the address' would be non-political, i had read'of the" formation of the Freedom Association with its sublime ideals, and had hcarcl tlie man in the street, suggest that the association was the product of influential 'industrial and commercial magnates, and that the learned professor was -.-under a ten-years’ engagement,.'at. a. salary of about £1,500 per annum the freedom propaganda. Then 1 read that the Freedom Association had allied- itself with the activities of the National Party, so tlie kernel in the nut became exposed. One naturally expected from the learned-professor profound deductions and philosophies but judging from newspaper reports Professor Algie’s principal mission appeared to be. entirely unwarranted criticism of Independent candidates for presuming’ to obtrude into the field of politics. Is that philosophy in keeping with .-the true conception of freedom, a philosophy that would deny others freedom of speech because they do not subscribe to the brand of jxditics that Professor Algie’s Freedom Association is allied to? Surely the professor is aware there are several members in the New Zealand Parliament at" present whose philosophies concerning democratic freedom are at least equal to those of the association of which he is apparently tlie official mouthpiece. Independent thought lias always been a dominant factor in political history and will continue so while the tug-of-war goes on between extreme Socialist views as represented by the N.Z. Labour Party, and Capitalist and: other extremes. The job of the Independent in Parliament is as vital as leaven to bread, which Professor Algie should know full well, and requires men of integrity and ability capable of bringing the extreme opposing forces together in determining sound and balanced legislation. If Professor Algie’s eritiesm of Independents was correctly reported-, why not drop tlie mask and concede tlie obvious deduction that the Freedom Association is a branch of the National Party?. - I

would remind Professor Algie that cue cannot fool all the electors all , the time, evep with high-falutin. philosophers, as he may imagine. Professor Algie’s criticism notwithstanding, and by the ‘ way even Aearnecl professors sometimes exhibit singletrack minds, .1 prefer to believe than tlie electors of tlie Bay of FmJitv are quite capable of deciding whether it is in the best interests of the .Dominion in general, and their electorate in particular, to elect a. representative to Parliament wli 0l will blindly follow a party, or one capable of exercising sound judgment in the legislation of the Dominon. ? J. T. MEIRIt T.