MAORILAND WORKER'S CROWNING INFAMY.

Taihape Daily Times, 5 September 1919, Page 5

MAORILAND WORKER'S CROWNING INFAMY.

P. C. WEBB EXTOLLED. SOLDIER M. ’sP. VI'LI'FIED_ WELLINGTON, Sept. 4:_ In the House of Representatives, Mr Isitt asked the Prime Minister if his attention had been drawn to the following parnagrapll in the luaoriland \Vorker.— “Paddy will find when he comes out‘ that the boys think more of him. than ever. When one thinks of those other M.’sP. who pretended to go to the war, but. never got near enough to 5111911 anything stronger tha.n rum, one must smile at the hypocrisy of these gallant urarriors. Paddy was willing to die, if need be, for his principles. That is the sort of nlan we can depend upon, and not the loud-mouthed flag-flapping gut robber who would ‘rat’ a dead dog for its fleas. Don’t worry, Paddy, the workers are going to put ‘paid’ to one or two little accounts in the near future.” , “Sir,” said Mr Isitt, “When I think of the members who went, and of what one of these members has paid and is paying, for his country, I can only trust myself -to put the question in the boldest terms.” Mr Massey said he had seen the paragraph quoted in another paper. He had read it with disgust and contempt. He could not help thinking of those members who had done. -their duty to Parliament during the awful war. He thought of Mr Downie Stewart, who served with distinction, and would carry the niarks of war to his grave._He thought of Major Hine, who volunteered in the early days of the war, and, with other soldiers, risked danger and death, and came back seriously wounded, shot through the lungs. He ‘thought of Major Coates, who served with distinetlon, was thrice wounded, and won the Military Cross and bar’. He th«ou‘gh-t----of Captain Seddon"'who~‘served -with dis-0 tinction tllro’ugh«"one-“of the most -‘awful - fights in the w"ar‘i'-‘as '-'Pa's‘schendaele,. “and then I could not‘ help -thinking. of ithe‘ tcrrnsh -of opprobriuin in which they’ were refei-red to ‘ill the 'para- § graph. ' I‘ thouglit of -many members .‘ of‘ ‘this’ House" who sent their sons,‘ to ‘tllc”front, and of nhany gallant lads M who were buried in foreign soil. Their} bodies _rest in peace, but their names: will live for ever in the history of; this country.” He did not think it was necessary to do anything in connection , with this paragraph. He believed the law had been broken, but the proper‘ thing to do, he considered, was to treat , it with the contempt it ‘deserved. All; right—lninded people would be disgusted I at it, and he regretted that a member o+‘ the House had failed to ‘do his duty and had been imprisoned. When his‘ term of imprisonment was at an end he hoped he would come into society a. better man. He had no bitter feelings towards \Vebb, Every man had the riglit : to his own -opinions, but he felt it as one of the fathers whd sent his boys to take part in the fight which resulted in -the deaths of 17,000 gallant New Zc~alanders, I-.lnd he could not ‘help speaking strongly.iwllen. he saw such dastardly attacks agarinst ‘men who did their duty under diflicult circumstances. ‘

The Leader of the Opposition expressed the strongest contempt for the outrageous insult and refiection on members of the House. He could not understand how, whoever was in charge of the paper could allow, side -by side with upholding the case of Webb, such an insult to be levied. It was not necessary to recapitulate the sacrifices made by the members who went to the front. \V’hy members of the House, four of whom were in the House now, should be subject to that charge of gross insult was to him incomprehensible. It was one of the most shameful passages that had come to his native. That was not manly fighting, but most unfair and reprehensible. Mr Holland, as chairman of the Labour Party, was given permission to make statemeiit. He said the Labour Party disassociated itself entirely from the matter published. It was not part of the work of the Labour movement to attempt to blacken or discredit. Whatever their views were. they were I‘eatly -to give every credit to the men who went to the war believing that they were doing the right thing, just as they insisted on the‘ right of conscience for every man. He regretted that the l\/l':1oril-and Worker had followed the bad exuniple set by their opponents (l\»fenlber.<: ‘‘()h’’) in vilifying the

ohumctol's of those opposed to them, and they disapproved entirely of per» scma] :I»H'acl€s' in this case, -and also when they had been levelled agaixlst mon associated with -Labour.

Ml‘ Isiff: “It is a. pity that (lisavowal did not come earlier; that is all I can say.”