LABOR'S POWER.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 July 1920, Page 5

LABOR'S POWER.

TO REFUSE STEAMER PASSAGES. "CANNOT BE TOLERATED,'-' SAxS MR. MASSEY. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The refusal of the crew of one of the vessels of the Union Conipany to bring Sir George Clifford to Wellington was referred to as one of the reasons urged in support of the demand for the early completion of the South Island Main Trunk railway by Mr. G. Forbes, M.P., speaking for the deputation to the Prime Minister to-day. "We know the difficulties about the terry service," said Mr. Forbes, "and these difficulties are not getting less as time goes on. We And that discrimination is used as to what passengers are to be carried. We members of Parliament are faced with the possibility that if we happen, any of us, to make a speech in the House which is not pleasing to our Labor friends, we may be denied a passage. This will mean extra expense and inconvenience to us, and you, Mr. Massey, are faced with the extra expenditure of having to put the Tufanekai on for the run.

Mr. McCallum: There are plenty of oil launches in the Sounds.

Mr. Forbes said that the Government should push on to get the line through to Picton, and to promise a better ferry service than at present existed. Mr. Massey, in reply, said that this point had been a good argument in favor of the construction of the line—certain passengers being left behind by one of the Union Company's steamers "Things like that," he safd, "cannot be tolerated in this country by this or any other Government, but I have to admit that if we have to wait for the construction of this line there may be many such instances."