WAR & CONFIDENCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 March 1942, Page 2

WAR & CONFIDENCE

REPLY TO MR BARNARD. MADE BY THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. “I cannot understand why Mr Barnard should claim a privileged position for returned men in advising the Government on what is necessary,” said the Minister of Marketing, Mr Barclay, in referring yesterday to the statement by the Speaker of the House of Representatives complaining of a lack of effective methods to sustain public morale. Mr Barclay is himself a returned soldier of the last war. “Something we did in the last war does not make our advice of any more value today,” said Mr Barclay. “Let Messrs Barnard and Lee put forward some constructive proposals for improving our war effort, and not try and ‘cash in’ on something they did over 20 years ago. The public will honour us for what we did in the last war, but will judge our usefulness in the present crisis on what constructive suggestions we can put forward. The confidence of the people, so much to be desired, as mentioned by Mr Barnard, can be attained only by constructive proposals, and if Messrs Lee and Barnard will show that they have any such proposal, I feel sure the War Cabinet would welcome their assistance.”