DEFENCE OF CABINET

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 May 1940, Page 4

DEFENCE OF CABINET

MR MULHOLLAND'S CRITICISM

REJOINDER BY PREMIER.

(By Tec-graph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON. This Day.

The statement that Ministers had never spared themselves in their efforts to serve the country, and that this fact was generally acknowledged even by many political opponents of the Government, was made yesterday by the Primo Minister, Mr Fraser when referring to a remark reported to have been made by the president of the Farmers' Union. Mr W. W. Mulholland.

Mr Fraser said he regretted to note that Mr Mulholland, who, in the present crisis, had already given good service to the Government, and who would, he was sure, continue his efforts in this connection, was reported to have stated in Hastings that there were a number of inefficient Ministers in the Cabinet and that "slackers" should be thrown out of the team. “I want to state definitely that there are no ‘slackers’ in the Cabinet," said Mr Fraser. “On the contrary, no Ministers have ever been more industrious or more closely and conscientiously devoted to their duties. More often than not their work occupies them from early morning till late at night. On every occasion when the late Prime Minister called on any of his Ministerial colleagues to attend to any particular problem which arose it was given prompt attention, no matter what the difficulties were. It did not matter whether long and detailed investigation was called for, or how arduous were the duties entailed, no Minister ever failed to carry them out efficiently and successfully, and this is equally true today.”