LIBERAL FEDERATION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 152, 21 March 1908, Page 13

LIBERAL FEDERATION.

LECTURE ON DICKENS. ' HON.' Cr. FOWLDS ON PARTIES, -Thd district branch of the, > Liberril and Labour.-.'Federation' of ftcw. Zca-- • land holds monthly meeting' arid discusses ; .V> subjects, of interest.: Last evening a lecture was delivered by (Mr.. H. Glannllo Hicks oh . "Tub Life ' aiid Times of ' Charles ■'' Diokcnsi'V aild .'a- brief -address followed-, bjr tho Hon. G. Fowlds (Minister for Health • /■and; Education); Tho attendance wijs. small. •'•Mrtv'-Hicks, ;wli6so' 'lectiiriS. ..was ..condensed into tho space of an hour, showed excellent selection in his, matter; - and held tlio closo atteritibn'of his:audiciici>: .-.'Ho,said. Dickens put his fiii"er. on the' sore', places " -'and' toUieal-tliein.' In-tliis way;.ho did great " v >good' : fpi'..:liis ; It. : was". romarkablo : " :i : how- great, had heeii tlio -iwival in Dickens litoraturo ; ;recently.;. In America, and Eng- .:,.; ! landj Dickens', societies , wero flourishing, arid ; wero..au:.iitCe.ntiv'o to tiio study of his novels, ' and .iii"rpofpetiiatinglilii§■ lifo .and rccords. : .In Molbonnio aiid; .Sydney- syllabuses had ;,. : .;been\/drawu ,\ii) by,'societies for, tho winter, , |'' meetings for' tlio, study of his .worlds. Upon• 'coiicluding,~ '{!fo' Iccctirer : received • loud ■ ap-' plause ■ V;;•?-- Tlio Hon; ;G;/-Fowlds,; in suggesting thatlectiirtf''.siioiild. ;ho ;delivered again ;at v Boriio future date,-..said-litlio lifo..of-,Dickens ■;ono. • that tlio .Liberal ■; and. Labour ' V' FederationiHs Sveil; study:;' '.iDiekens, ~ did a great, deal ■,t-6':rom6vo_tho abuses" that pbof-houses, arid in other ' ' ''institutions,'and was . the, work, of 'tho : • Liberal and Labour Federation. -Government : 'during the jwst ages had.unfortunately been ■ . ! .largoly carric'cl on''; by tho privilc-gcd' classes. ;In. Now"; Zealand, thoyhad already, emancipated themselves from a. good, deal of tlio i. . evils that had resulted from forms of Goverii- ". ;:sment-.in'6ld6r cibuhti'ies,,biit there still -was a .'.great field for .reform. .Ai.present in .Now Zealand^-there imiglit-, be. : said- to,,bcrthreo .''"•sectiohs. > Tlicfo wits, tho. great body, of,..the - Liberal party; which- constituted . the large majority of tlio people, and which had been : for -years following out a cour;:e of steady, eafe,. and yot progressive, reform. On ; .iside :of that :,gfeat-;;bbdy , : ;of.. public opinion - ■. viwhichi the Liberal party for years had ropresentedj^was- ar,small; section which -thought •' that,-that Government, and the. party were .. not moving fast enough. On the other side, ; they iHad the Reactionaries, those, who .wcro ~ -^crying'oiit;,that tho Government-;was Social- , ;.vistid.;qrid''was. bringing 1 tho country to ruin; "'by-the7changes .they :were> making.' If the -position were looked at closely it would-be xtho ,;eJ:istencd; of ; ;;t,hdHwo wing; r -in'. -itself -a , test-iiiibriy vto - the, ,;v.Vy: sanity ",arid; ; reasonableness 'of -'the - course ;the iiSSQoTOMraentihad''been . taking. ..'.'.This 'would,, indicate that tho 'Government-, while recog-'-nisiiig'vth9/.'rbsponsibilitic's .of 'their, were going alon!;.41io lines of reform.' Ona - : of "the .functions of such organisations as the Liboral and; Labour. Federation was to stand /V^C/inid^ay.^betiiroßhl.'the c extreinists in' 'the. .party j'!bf fprtigress and ,the : |GoV6rnrnciit'itself.' He considered it quite a proper position for the . ■/. 'Association , in. its'platform of progress,'while helping, the^^;,Gpyorument , of the day, to act' !j i "force : on that , section ; who wore inclined to move ahead too fast. In s conclusion lie: moved., a..vote of thanks' to , : Mr. Hicks, which was carried. i. ; 'A ;vote-of..thanks was'' also' passed to'tho Hon. G.' Fowlds. ; . 1 . It v.:as 'resolved that . the-latter, be invited. , to deliver . the lecture --again; shortly. - A ;,- ■ social,'is 'also to' bo held some time during May.