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Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Student's Newspaper. Volume 31, Number 10 May 28 1968

Mr Gager replies:

Mr Gager replies:

It would seem that something about my article on the Labour Party conference has upset Mr. Hirshfield.

But, as he is unable to claim that anything in my article is untrue, unfounded or incorrect, one is left wondering what exactly he objects to.

At no point in my article did I attack Hirshfield personally, so it is difficult to see why he feels it necessary to spend the bulk of his letter on personal abuse of myself.

No doubt Hirshfield has to attack me to satisfy the Labour Party's head office that he is doing his job, and personal abuse is the only kind of polemics be is capable of rising (or sinking) to.

I will not reply in kind. I will merely ask why Hirshfield bothers to write letters attacking me when he has a far better method of lining me up on his agenda—a censure motion at the next Labour Club executive meeting.

Anybody who may be contemplating joining the Labour Party should be warned that Hirshfield's actions exemplify his party's attitude to criticism—first, personal abuse and second, the witchhunt.

But, as we have noted, Hirshfield personally cannot really be blamed for all this—he knows very well he might be a target of Big Norm's bloodlust if he did not write as be did.