DEAN POWER AND INTERJECTIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 155, 7 December 1914, Page 6

DEAN POWER AND INTERJECTIONS.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —Dean Power, in a letter published in your issue of Thursday's date, among otlier matters says: "It is the absolute right of every elector in a democratic State, to question orally or in writing, as he chooses, one who solicits his confidence or his vote, and to reasonably interject when questions are refused." Surely the Dean is aware that as an invariable practice Ministers of the Crown do not answer questions except when these questions aire put t<s them by electors of the constituency which they represent, and only then when they are wooing their suffrages. Anyone asking a. question other than under these circumstances is deliberately doing what they should not do, or is acting in ignorance. At Pukekohe on the third of this month, Sir Joseph Ward, in replying to a* question, said: "I am not here as a candidate, but merely to deliver a speech. I am not here to be questioned by anybody. The only peopje entitled to ask a man questions are his own constituents." Then the Dean goes on to c;iy: "Messrs (Jinn and Pearce kept up a running fire of inter, jections during Sir Joseph Ward's speech (at Hawera in 1911). The whole audience more than once demanded the ejection of these gentlemen, but Sir Joseph Ward very smartly and decidedly reminded the audience that Messrs Quin and Pearce were within their rights as citizens of a democracy; being a statesman, a man of wide education and a gentleman witlial, he did not call Messrs I Quin find Pearce 'Red Feds.'" "Note the words, please: "lieing a Stateman, a man of wide education, and a gentleman withal/' Mr Pearce only interjected , twice. To his first interjection Sir Joseph's immediate retort was: "That is Mr Pearce, the Opposition candidate and lie ought to be decent enough to keep liia mouth shut." Evidently the ( Dean considers that to be a gentlemanly I retort, befitting a statesman and a man I of wide education, but probably what the | Dean thinks becoming in a baronet is infra dig in plain Mr Massey. The sub- > seriber is not the Mr Quin who interjected .at Sir Joseph Ward's "meeting.— I am, etc., JOSEPH QUIN. Hawera, December 5.