A MEAN ACT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 136, 4 December 1911, Page 4

A MEAN ACT.

Wo had always credited Mr. .T. "R. ITine with being a fair-mindod and conscientious, if nt times a somewhat impetuous and misguided man, but in the light of a recent event we are afraid our judg-i merit, of him has been astray. At Durham Road the other evening—and maybe at other places, for all we know he

stated that the News had suppressed a portion of his opening Stratford speech referring to the sugar monopoly. No one should know better than Mr. Hine that , this i 9 absolutely untrue. What happened was this. Mr. Hine referred but very briefly in his Stratford speech to tho sugar monopoly, and after the meeting, he saw our reporter, who allowed him to read his report of the speech before being printed. Mr. Hine then handed him some printed matter bearing on the subject of monopolies, and the reporter promised to hand it to the editor. By some inadvertence the matter never reached the editor, who first became aware of its' existence through Mr. Hine himself asking about it a week or so ago. The editor, who feared the matter had gone astray, asked Mr. Hine to forward another copy or furnish his views on the subject, and the News would gladly publish it or them. There tho matter ended as far as we were concerned. Now, Mr. Hine. who knows the position as well as we do, goes about the country blaming us for suppressing a portion of his speech! As if wa cared a snap of tho fingers about printing his views on this or any other matter! As our readers know, the News is absolutely opposed to monopolies, and has consistently smitten them as hard as was in its power, and will do so again without respect to persons or parties. Wo would welcome the opportunity of publishing anything in the way of an exposure of trusts or their methods, coming from Mr. Hine or anyone else. It will be seen from our explanation above that Mr. Hine only very briefly referred to this matter at Stratford, and in a way that was not clear. That which he wanted printed was handed to our reporter. The "copy" never reached the editor. Mr. Hine was asked for particulars of his views for publication, and lip to now he has not forwarded them. Mr. Hine, therefore, in talking as he did at Durham Road (reported by a correspondent elsewhere) is deliberately misrepresenting the matter, in order to make a little capital at our expense. The incident shows to what desperate straits he is reduced in order to make good his case, and reveals a trait in his nature we never could have suspected. If he employs tactics so contemptible in other directions, if he indulges in] the practice of making baseless statements and ' insinuations, then it is about time he retired from politics, or should be retired by the electors.