VERBAL DUEL

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 211, 6 August 1937, Page 2

VERBAL DUEL

MINISTER AND UNEMPLOYED. CHAIRMAN INTERVENES. CHRISTCHURCH, Aug. 4. Angry words passed between the Minister for Industries and Commerce (Hon. D. G. Sullivan) and the secretary of the' New Brighton Unemployed AVorkers’ Movement, Mr H. E. Barnsley, while the Minister was hearing a deputation from the movement at New Brighton on Monday. The verbal duel between the two became so heated that the chairman intervened. Later the Minister of Mines (Hon. P. C. AVebb) was also halted by the chairman when he made a personal reference to Mr Barnsley.

Mr Barnsley had spoken critically when putting forward several of the 10 recommendations the deputation made to the Minister. More than once he referred to the part played by the unemployment movement in putting Labour in power and alleged that some of Labour’s promises had not been kept. He suggested that the statement made by Mr Sullivan that the rise in the cost of living amounted to only per cent, was wrong, and that the actual rise was more like 15 per cent. ; he claimed that the Unemployment Division was acting in the capacity of a personal detective, and also criticised the Minister’s handling of the bread problem, alleging that it had greatly increased the cost of living. QUICK REPLY.

Mr Sullivan quickly expressed his resentment.

‘Because of my 25 .years’ service for Labour and because I have always been on the side of the deserving worker, I resent the aggressive language used by Mr Barnsley when making his stupid address,” the Minister said.

“I say that you have a damn cheek to come into this room and address Mr AA'ebb and me and these respectable people here in the terms you have used,” Mr Sullivan said. “I have a lot of things I would like to tell you about . .

Mr Barnsley: You are at liberty to tell them.

Mr Sullivan: If you have any decency at all you ought to go down those stairs.

Mr Barnsley': I will not go down those stairs.

The chairman of the meeting, Mr H. R. MacDonald, then intervened. He pointed out that Mr Barnsley was the elected secretary of the movement and thfit as chairman he had to protect the secretary from personal references. “I know you would do the same in a similar position,” Mr MacDonald said, “and I know you must feel the embarrassment of my situation. I ask you to leave such personal references out of the discussion.” BOWS TO RULING.

Mr Sullivan : In deference to your request and to the members of the movement, I will consent to your ruling. I will leave that matter alone for the time being. The Minister was applauded later when he explained that if he had spoken in heat it was because be felt, justified in doing so. He was applauded again when he spoke of his own struggles for the Labour movement. “I have been fighting with you all the time, and I could tell you where I was when I was absent from you and from the city.” (Cries of • Hear, hear.’’) Mr AA 7 ebb, in his defence of' the Government’s unemployment policy, made a reference te Mr Barnsley having always opposed Labour. “IP anything defeats us at the next elections, it will not he money, ’ the Minister said, “but it will be the men in our own movement who are ready to stab the Government in the hack at every opportunity. It would be defeat from the men who tliink they know all there is to know about everything with which we deal, and men who have been in opposition to the Government all their lives, like Mr Barnsley here.” “I question that,” interjected Air Barnslev. , Mr AVebb was about to retort when the chairman again intervened. “Although 1 am the chairman, I must rebuke you for conduct which is not in accordance with that of a Minister, Air AlncDonald said. “I do not say that you are not entitled to reply, but I admit that I am in fault as chairman for allowing Air Barnsley to wander from the subject of the resolutions.” , , . Air AVebb submitted to the chairman. He explained that he had no had feeling about the incident, but that he “liked to have a piece of anyone who put the knife into the Government.” The meeting, in fact, ended after Air Barnsley had denied that he had ever opposed the Government, and the members had carried a resolution of confidence in the Labour movement.