MINISTER RETRACTS

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20503, 20 May 1938, Page 8

MINISTER RETRACTS

REPLY TO JOURNALISTS NO INSPIRED CORRESPONDENCE (By Telegraph.—Press Association) WELLINGTON, Thursday In a statement last evening, the Minister of Finance, the lion. W. Nash, referred to a letter in which the literary staff of the Dominion took exception to the Minister's remark at Lower Hutt on Monday that the staff of the Dominion were * instructed to write letters to the editor condemning the Government. “I accept the assurance that no members of the staff lias ever been instructed by the editor or management to write letters to the editor on any subject whatever, much less on politics,” said the Minister. “It would be helpful to good journalists if a like assurance could be given that no letter published in the Dominion originated in Die Dominion office, and that all anonymous letters published in the Dominion were from bona-fide readers writing to the editor entirely independent of the Dominion or the National Party.” Commenting editorially, the Dominion says:—‘‘lt is to the credit of Mr Nash that he now admits the paucity ftf the charge made against this paper and its staff. It would have been still more to his credit had he allowed the matter to rest there. Both the National Party and the Labour Party, and also supporters of those parties, have at different times written letters to this paper, and their letters have been published- No correspondence is inspired, as is suggested by the Minister, in this office. Correspondents who prefer to write anonymously and who deal with questions" of public interest, are within reason as much entitled to air their opinions in the public press as they are to exercise their votes under the secrecy of the ballot box. It is necessary at times as a safeguard against victimisation, and more necessary today, perhaps, than ever.” GENEROUS TREATMENT NEWSPAPERS AND LABOUR MR COATES’ EXPERIENCE (Special to Times) WARKWORTH, Thursday “Labour members complain bitterly about the press,” stated the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates. M.P. for Kaipara, speaking at Warkworth last night. “In my experience I have never known a Government to receive from the press of New Zealand the generous treatment which has been accorded to the Labour Government. I have been in active politics longer than any present Minister, and I can say definitely that not one of them has bad nearly as much criticism as 1 have had directed ai me.” Referring to concessions made to newspapers for telegraphic rates Mr Coates said the charges in New Zealand were considerably higher than they .were in England. “Newspapers have every right.” he said, “to distinguish between propaganda and news, it is for the press to express public opinion as it sees it.”