[?] ite Knows Why

Cook Is. Minister red—But No One [?] ite Knows Why

From a Rarotonga correspondent

vlr. Julian Dashwood, the only

ropean member of the five n Cook Islands Executive

mmittee (i.e. Cabinet), was

denly sacked from his post August 17 as head of the

alth, Social Development and

ice Departments

[EMBERS of the Cook Islands L Legislative Assembly agreed un mously to his dismissal, although st members did not seem to ►w why they were firing him. They w though, that if they didn’t fire i it would be regarded as lack of fidence in the shadow Cabinet its leader. The Cooks will have rnal self-government next year.

Tie Leader of Government Busi >, Mr. D. C. Brown, who moved motion for Mr. Dashwood’s nissal, seemed embarrassed by the )le thing, for when Mr. Dashwood id him to tell him why he was ig fired, Mr. Brown said that Dashwood was a friend of his he had no personal grievance inst him. lr. Brown added enigmatically: lave heard complaints outside that the Hon. Dashwood does not gn, they will make further com nts so that the rest of the isters of Cabinet will be forced esign.”

Albert Henry

olitical observers in Rarotonga eve the dismissal may have lething to do with Mr. Dash )d’s sympathies for the Cook nds political leader, Albert iry, who by some people is :ed on as a king-size bogeyman, /hatever the real reason for the nissal, the excuse for it seems have had something to do l a speech Mr. Dashwood made the Legislative Assembly on just 12. In this speech he chantly criticised the Administra over the production of tomatoes Mauke, the island he represents he Assembly. lr. Brown asked Mr. Dashwood ately for his resignation during morning tea break in the embly session on August 17.

Ir. Dashwood refused to resign, as soon as the Assembly recon

vened, Mr. Brown moved a resolution calling on him to do this.

The president of the Assembly, the Cook Islands Resident Commissioner, Mr. A. O. Dare, pointed out that unless the Assembly voted in favour of the resolution, it would be a vote of no confidence in Mr. Brown. _..,, I, - .

So the Assembly was really faced with the prospect of voting not for or against Mr. Dashwood—but for or against Mr. Brown.

Before the motion was put to the vote, Mr. Brown told a questioner that he had “discussed the problem” with Mr. Dashwood, and that Mr.

Dashwood knew why he was being asked to resign.

Mr. Dashwood denied that any “discussion” had taken place, saying that Mr. Brown had <pnly mentioned the question of his resignation to him two minutes before the tea break ended.

N. Matepi then seconded Mr.

Brown’s motion with very much regret,” pointing out again that un i ess members supported it, it would indicate their lack of confidence in Mr Brown.

Speaking to the motion, Mr. Dash wood said he was “a little in doubt as to exactly what has caused all this storm,” but that it was “certainly the first shot in a political war” and would not be the last, He went on: “I am quite aware

this situation must have arisen over my Address-in-Reply speech the other day ... I was speaking as the member for Mauke and dealing with matters which concerned the plant ing of a certain crop on the island.

What I said was fair comment . . .

If every Cabinet minister in future who expresses himself honestly on subjects which he feels should be put before the Assembly and the public is then to be asked to resign his seat, we shall soon be engaging in some form of political musical chairs in this Assembly.

“Nothing that I said in my speech in any way reflected upon the actions of the Executive Committee and therefore 1 fail to see the reason for the consternation it has caused in the heart of the Leader of Govern ment Business.

"I Shall Return"

“In conclusion, I will remind members of the words of General Douglas MacArthur when he was pushed out of the Philippines by the Japanese: ‘I shall return.’”

It was then moved that the As sembly should resolve itself into a committee of the whole so that details of the cause could be pre sented. But the Assembly rejected this.

The question of Mr. Dashwood’s dismissal was then put to the vote and was passed—in the words of the Governments Cook Islands News —“without any dissentient voice” although “a number of members appeared not to vote, and the official members were not present.”

Next day, a corrigendum in the News said; “Yesterday’s late news on the resignation issue by the Hon.

R. J. Dashwood may have given the impression that the vote was not unanimous. We hasten to say that there were no contrary votes at all, and as all members must vote, the

affirmative must have been unan mous.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Dash w o o received a telegram from the peop] of Mauke saying they were sti solidly behind him.

Mr. Brown announced o September 2 that Ngatupuna Matei would take over Mr. Dashwood portfolios of Health and Soch Development, and that he, himse] (Mr. Brown) would take over th

Police portfolio.

Mr. D. C. Brown