POLITICS AND GRANTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 725, 26 July 1929, Page 16

POLITICS AND GRANTS

MR. WRIGHT’S COUNTERATTACK TARANAKI EXPENDITURE (THE SUN’S Parliamentary Reporter J PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Thursday. A complete denial to the charges made by Mr. S. W. Smith (New Plymouth) that he had used school grants before the election to help Reform candidates was given in the House tonight by Mr. R. A. Wrigbt (Wellington Suburbs). Referring to the provocative nature of the speeches of Government members in tbe debate, Mr. W’right said that never had he heard more provocative speeches. The Opposition was a peaceful lot, he said, amid laughter, and went on to refute the charges of spoils-to-victors made against him by Mr. Smith. Mx\ Smith had said that when the speaker was Minister of Education he had distributed votes in the Taranaki district on the eve of the election. A Voice: Hear, hear. Mr. Wright blamed Mr. Smith for the interjection, but Mr. Smith disclaimed authorship. Mr. Wright said that he wished to deny that emphatically. Mr. H. T. Armstrong (Christchurch East) interrupted a vehement passage with “Thought you were a. peaceful lot.” (Daughter.) Mr. W'right said that in his time all Taranaki seats and Waitomo were held by Reform members. Referring to the Manaia school, Mr. Wright continued that “it was not correct to say that we gave a new room when only a partition was asked for.” Mr. Wright was merely following out requests made by the Teachers’ Institute for a separate room for each teacher. He had carried out the recommendations of departmental officers. Mr. Smith: Would the hon. gentleman let me say that six months before, the room was refused, and a partition only allowed? Mr. Wright maintained that there was no question of political favouritism regarding the expenditure of £6,846 in the Egmont district. Mr. Wright said that Mr. Smith now had his head on the block. (Laughter.) Of that sum, £3.346 had been spent on the Opunake district high school, for which the hon. gentleman had worried the life out of him for months, months, and months. That school was built in May, 1928, There was more cross-talk, and the Speaker called members to order. Mr. Wright went on to refer to other schools, and said that all work had been done on the advice of officers of the department. No chairman of an education board in New Zealand had used his position for political purposes more than Mr. Smith, who was chairman of the Taranaki board. (Reform "Hear, hears.”) Mr. Wright assured Mr. Smith that he always fought fairly, under the Marquess of Queensberry rules, and he did not hit a man in the solar plexus. Mr. Smith was not fighting fairly. It was well known in Taranaki that Mr. Smith had used his position on the board for the good of his party. After Mr. Wright had finished, Mr. Smith said that he had been misrepresented, and had said that the grants were made between April and November. Also, he had not engineered an indignation meeting at Waitara.