MR SOLE AGAIN.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 26, 1 October 1913, Page 5

MR SOLE AGAIN.

[To The Editor Stratford Post.] Sir, —The Reform supporters in the Stratford electorate have done me an honor of which I feel justly proud, inasmuch as there was not one in the electorate who was able to controvert the arguments which I have placed in your columns. This is proved by the fact that they had to send my correspondence to the organiser of the “Reform” party to rake up a reply. I should like to inform Mr Ernest A. Japies. General Secretary of the Reform League, that he is earning his £4.00 or £SOO a year very well in carrying out the Reform policy of misrepresentation agd abuse, a policy they pursued with a very great degree of success in regard to past governments. Mr James has, according to Ins own showing, full access to the Government Guaranteed Advances Of fic'e with the right to peruse all applications and also the minutes of the Commissioners’ meetings. I' suppose this is more “Reform.” My statement that dozens of applications have been refused is quite true in spite oi Mr James’ attempt to show otherwise, and if he still has doubts he can get my statement verified in this electorate if ho so wishes. It will be glad newt to those poor unfortunate farmers whe made application for a loan from the Advances to Settlers Office, and were refused (on account of there being m money available) and had to renew their mortgages at from 8 to 10 poi cent from the Hawke’s Bay squatter, to find that there never was any shortage at all, but'£2oo,ooo had been transferred from the A.S.O. for administrative purposes. It is a well known fact that the squatters of Hawke’s Bay have more than made up in the extra interest received from the small farmers in New Zealand through the tightness of the money market, than they lost the first two or three years in the Dominion newspaper. Now, why was this £200,000 not made available to the first-comers instead of. as Mr James says it had to be, spread out 1 over a number of months. This is hard to understand, as the money becomes interest-bearing and the sinking fund is again available for further loan purposes. Now, re the renowned Otahuhu Bill

of Sale. If Mr James will refer to the “Mercantile Gazette” of August 20th, he will see that the security mentioned is not collateral. Mr James says the loan was granted in 1910. This was the year our County Councils and a I local bodies were put on the £SOOO limit and the Liberal Government refused to sanction this particular ad vance. Yet in spite of the £SOOO limit this Reform Borough gets £16,000 at 3] per cent—note the rate —on a Bill of Sale. The “Gazette” mentions m other security,, it is an ordinary chattel security between the Government Guaranteed Office on the one side, and the Mayor, Borough Counicllors and Burgesses of the Borough of Otahuhu on the other. I feel that I owe Mr James an apology for stating that Otahuhu was in Mr Massey’s electorate but I was in error j it is in the electorate of Mr Lang, who is a wellknown supporter of the Reform Party. I should like also to draw Mr James’ •attention to the number of Bills of Sale gazetted between the Minister of Lands and some settlers at Tangitu. The money is lent at 5 per cent on stock, and here I quite agree with Mr Massey and commend him for it, but I want to ask this Mr E. James, General Secretary of the Reform League, who appears to possess the innermost secrets of the Cabinet, if his Government are going to give the settlers of this districte a. square deal and lend them money at 5 per cent, to buy stock with? . 1 can assure Mr James it will be highly appreciated, t should say the Taranaki friend who asked Mr James to reply to my letter, was too busy searching the pigeon holes for those revelations that he was going to electrify the country with to reply to my •correspondence himself. Apologising for taking up so much of your space.—l am, etc., Q. D. SOLE.