Concerning Mr.

H. A. Ward

And The Cook Islands

WE have received from Mr. Harold A.

Ward, of Auckland, a letter in which he demands that we pub lish an “unqualified retraction” of what he calls a “footnote,” in our April issue.

We do not seem to have anything to retract, and we do not know what is worrying Mr. Ward.

We have published a good deal of mat ter about Communist and near-Com munist agitation among Cook Islands natives. It appears that some of the Comrades, or their fellow-travellers, used for publicity purposes some material made public through Mr. Ward, when he carried on a campaign against what he considered bad labour conditions among Cook Islanders employed at the French phosphate island of Makatea. A “PIM” contributor, discussing these matters, dis missed some of the conclusions of Mr.

Ward* by referring to him as a “bird of passage.”

A number of people hastened to defend Mr. Ward —praised his character, his activities and his sincere wish to help the natives in every possible way. We pub lished a couple of these letters and then, as the subject seemed unimportant any way, we sent the rest back. We thought we had made it very clear that Mr.

Ward was associated in no way with the Cook Islands agitators: it was just unfortunate that the latter had seized upon some of his work to bolster their attacks upon British institutions.

However, Mr. Ward is still unhappy ... he seems to think he has been in some way misrepresented. We can only repeat that according to all the evidence

we have Mr. Ward is not a Communist, not a near-Communist, nor a fellow traveller—he came into the Cook Islands picture merely as a regular New Zealand visitor who goes about among the natives, trying to improve their conditions. He never has been in any way at all asso ciated with subversive or disruptive forces—and we never said he had.

Seven new small-ships have been com pleted in Sydney for the Seventh Day Adventist Mission and have left under their own power for mission stations in the Islands. They range in size from 45 feet to 65 feet. Six more 45 ft. vessels will be completed within the next few months and four others have been pur chased and are refitting.