MR. MASTERS AND EDUCATIONAL ALLOWANCES.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 December 1922, Page 7

MR. MASTERS AND EDUCATIONAL ALLOWANCES.

Sir, —For some considerable time there has been an Impression that certain persons in this district receiving boarding allowances for their Children from the Taranaki Education Board were not entitled to them. Some time ago when Mr, R. Masters. M.P., was in this district, I took occasion to bring the matter before him. However, he refused to take action. When I pressed the matter, he tried to block me by saying, "What does it matter to you whether other people get it or not as long as you get It?” I told him I wfis a taxpayer, and did not like to see money paid away unjustly. As Mr. Masters was a member of the board I, with others, considered it was his *dutj’ to look into the matter. Failing to get satisfaction from Mr. Masters, I went to Wellington, and interviewed the Minister of Education, the Hon. C. J. Parr. I pointed out the position to him, and made it quite clear that it was not a personal matter, as I did not want to get the allowance unless entitled to it. The Minister of Education said he was, very pleased that I had brought the imatter before him, and he immediately granted a Departmental inquiry. The result was that the persons I had declared should not get the allowance are now no longer receiving it. Strange to say, these people, whom Mr. Masters refused to take action against, are his strong political ; supporters. The impression created In this district is that Mr. Masters has been using his i position on the Education Board to gain political advantage. When I brought the matter up at Mr. Masters’ meeting at Tahora on Friday’, he sidetracked the whole matter and refused to answer my question. He tried to create the impression that I had gone to Wellington to use political influence to get the allowance for myself. The Minister of Education knows that the above insinuation is entirely false. I went to Wellington to point out that the boarding allowance was being abused at Tahora, and that Mr. Masters was inactive over the matter for political reasons. Another important point is, that after I started to bring forward this matter, I was immediately asked by the board to sign a certain affidavit. The others receiving the allowance were not asked to do so. I am a Reform supporter. The. others are Masters’ supporters. Later my hoarding allowance was stopped. The others were not stopped till I went to Wellington. Sir, does not the above look like political unfairness? In face of the above, is Mr. Masters a suitable person to sit on the Education Board? Is he ft suitable person to sit in Parliament? When other local Reformers brought the matter before Mr. Masters, as their present representative, he said that it was no business of theirs. They, of course, replied that they were taxpayers. Sir, do you wonder that there is a strong suspicion in this district that Mr. Masters has been using the eduoa-

lion boarding allowance to gain political votes? Although the allowance is purely ,i Departmental matter, why does lie try to i:?r •uade certain people that ho personally is getting it for them?.—l am, etc., W. KJOBR. Tahora, December 2. (Published by arrangement.)