NOT “PREARRANGED”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 840, 7 December 1929, Page 10

NOT “PREARRANGED”

LABOUR’S MOTION ON SALARY “CUTS” UNITED CANDIDATE EXPLAIN From Out .Resident Reporter WELLINGTON, Friday. “I did not intend to convey that the Labour Party had a Pre-arrangement with the United Party. It was impoj. sible for anyone to take that from the remarks I made,” said Mr. J. K err United candidate for Lower llntt, re! ferring to his statement on the Labour motion to restore the civil salary “cuts.” “The United Party was not in col. lusion with any party in the matter,’ continued Mr. Kerr. “I must as a gej. tleman accept the statement of th, Labour leaders. They say that n 0 party had any hand in the framing ol that resolution, and as a gentleman I must accept that, but 1 would like to say that the hand of cunning was i B that resolution. It was so worded that the Reform Party would not support it. I say the thing was pre-arranged, and if they do not like the word prearranged I will say it was arranged by the Labour Party.” Mr. W. Nash, Labour candidate, also referred to the suggestion that the motion had been “pre-arranged." Ap. parently, Mr. Kerr had indulged ia innuendo, said Mr. Nash. The motion was drafted and taken to the House of Representatives, and no one with the exception of the members of the Labour Party in Parliament and hins self knew anything about it. The HonT. M. Wilford did not know what was in it. The Government said they were going to take the motion as one of no confidence, which was not the intention of the Labour Party. The fact that Mr. Kerr had made such a statement had caused an unprecedented thing to happen. It had caused the Acting-Leader of the party for which Mr. Kerr was standing, the Hon. G. W. Forbes, to repudiate the statement. It was Mr. Nash's hope that Mr. Kerr would withdraw the statement at his next meeting.