MR. SMITH’S APOLOGY.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 December 1922, Page 7

MR. SMITH’S APOLOGY.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—So Mr. Smith offers "full forgiveness” to those who "introduced elements into the campaign that should not have entered Into a ■political contest.” and. standing in the halo of this self-inflicted ma Ivrdom. he asks forgiveness for "anything that may have emanated during the heat, of the battle, or when excitement was running high on the night of the declaration of the poll." If Mr. Smith thinks this sort of purring is going to make the thousands he insulted on the night of the election forget his behaviour he Is sadly mistaken. Last week, at a meeting of his supporters. he tried to explain away that di.sgracefui episode by stating that "Insulting references were made by certain people in the crowd to his family.” Stuff and nonsense. I heard all he said, and all the interruptions too. They were nnt personal, but were, indeed, just the sort of interjection that a wise speaker could, and would have, taken no. notice of. Mr. Smith appeared to Up looking for fight from the moment he began to speak, and to wait for Interjections rather than otherwise. The sorry exhibition he made of himself will never he forgotten by those who had the painful experience of listening to the man who. in the very act of giving thanks to his supporters and claiming he had the confidence of the constituency, could so utterly forget the ordinary decencies of political warfare. And then be claimed sportsmanship as one of his virtues. His claim would be easier to recognise had he shown a better specimen of the ouality that night A "sport” would have bespoken for his opponent a fair heartflg when the "sport’s” own supporters tried to drown Mr. Bellringer’s voice with rrmarts which for "personalities.” made the "insults" to Mr. Smith almost blind adulation. A "sport” would have stopped the organised interruption of Mr. Bellringer’s meeting the night before polling day. Finally, no "sport” would use the hospitality of an individual or an institution and make the very courtesy he was receiving an opportunity for abusing his host. All his wriggling will not enable Mr. Smith to evade the consequences of the "sportsmanshin” which constrained him to attack a paper from its own platform. Had the attack been justifiable it would have been bad enough, but in the actual circumstances it was unspeakably bad form. No candidate could have received fairer treatment than did Mr. Smith from both the New Plymouth papers. In my opinion they were altogether too lenient with him during the election, and even since his sorry exhibition of himself on the evening of polling day they have treated him with a forbearance which it is to be hoped he has acumen enough to appreciate and take a lessor from.—l am. etc., DISGUSTED.