HERE AND THERE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1288, 17 November 1911, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

CAMPAIGN POINTS AND PRESS COMMENTS. Points for Electors. Tho Chief Electoral Officer (Mr. Mansfield) stated yesterday that after the writs for the General election have been issued on Monday .next, no claims for enrqlmont can be received by registrars, und. no further permits for seamen's rights can be issued. Nominations close at noon on November 27, ten days boforo the date of polling (December 7). Between nomination day and polling day seamen are authorised to vote at any New Zealand port at which their vessels may call.- Absent voters are entitled to record their votes at any polling bootji in New Zealand. Absent voters should seo to it when they vote that their permits aro returned, so that .they may use them, if necessary, in a second ballot. In cases where a second ballot lakes place, absent voters may exercise their votes at any post offico in New Zealand. A feature of tho ballot paper to bo used at tho coming election is that it will contain only tho surnames of candidates. This is regarded as a desirable innovation, which will enhance the simplicity of the ballot paper.

A Government Canard. ' ' Some Government supporters luvo been putting it.about in tho districts concerned _ that Mr. liassey opposed a. plauso which was embodied in tho Washing-up Bill of last session with a view, to giving relief to'settlers on the Kaitieke Block. As a matter of -fact Mr. Massey very strongly supported the proposal to givo relief to the settlors, - but pointed out that the cla'nso as it stood might not have the eject intended. A reference.to the Hansard i report of the discussion in the Houso shows' that Mr. Massey said that he was afraid that tho power given in tho clause was far too wide. He was willing to support any amendment that would apply to. the settlers in the Kaitioko and adjoining blocks. Ho stated fetor in the discission that he was contending for Parliatnontary control. Hβ did not want ..that' control to bo given away to the - Government, or to the Department. Mr. Massey mentioned also , that ho had promised Air. Ellingham, H'ho represented those settlers on the Wellington 'Land Board,' that •he would flupjiort au amendment giving them relief, arid would take care that no, hostile amendment.was moved, to it on his side of the House. That was his attitude in connection with the proposal. Tho ckuiso was amended by tho Minister for Lands, nfc Mt. Massey's suggestion,' to provido that any remissions of rent under its authority "should bo reviewed by Parl.iaanciit within 21 days of their proclamation or," within 21 days after Parliament next assembled. Another amendment excluded settlement ■ land:; from tho operation of the clause. Eventually it was agreed to on a division by 38 votes to i, Mr. llassey voting with tho "ayes."

Wasted Money. In a. speech at, Taucrii, Mr. Buchanan supplied figures which showed that many railway lines in the Dominion were annually losing largo sums of money, nnd yet had money f.jiont on them, while a work such as the Hiinutakiv deviation, which the Government admits would save money and pay for the cost of construction, is consistently shelved. The duplication of. the Hutt railway and improvement of road was another disgraceful ox-trn-vastaiiccj originally estimated-at ,£IOO,-000-it actually .cost over .eiOO.OOO. As n.u niffanq; of antiquated methods, he de-seriV-rl the construction of a South Iskiu] railway with pick, shovel, and wlicelb.irroiv at the rato of U miles in six n-liile the contractors for .a lino 2-iiii) miles Ion? ncroes Canada completed the v.-0.-k in fivo 'years. ' ' •

Tiie Wild West. .According tcthe Grcymontlv correspondent «t ()>..* 'LyttcHoii Times," it is utterly imiMKsiblo to elcscribe the, extremo bit-fnru(--s which has been imported into the HoMland contest by the ovor-zeaious supporters of the respective candidates Ofe-rs. T. Y. b'eddon and 11. I. Michel). Many instances are recorded of "hiivin" it cut" Ly resort to iistienffs. » ft Requisition to Mr. Fisher.

A rfrpiis-iti'-n from Hastings has been scat to Mr. I; , . 31. B. Fisher, M.P., asking liiici if, in the event-of tho Prirno Minuter .-p-Mkiiig in Hastings, Mr. Fisher will reply to him in tho samo hall on the fol!o-.nn? night. Mr. Fisher held a memorable mooting thero a Bhort time ago, and thn feeling is that ho must answer the Prime Minister. Mr. Fisher's reply is awaited with keen interest. Mr. Fisher, speaking at Aro Street tonight, will answer a number of questions which were mislaid at hia Alexandra flail meeting. Mr. Millar's Mistake.' "A mistake," was how Mr. mU/nron last evening described tho Hon. J. A. Millar's reference, at Dunedin on Wednesday evening, to the Primo Minister•ihip." Thn organisation of the Labour party in politics, said Mr. M'Laren, was on lines which would prevent such a mistiikn as was exhibited in Mr. Millar discussing on tho public platform (ho future disposal of the Prime Ifinistership, before the present occupant had vacated that office. Iu dealing irith sucli matters

a responsible Labour party always discussed them in private before any public announcement was made I Two-Men Government. "In Now Zealand now it was not government by tho people, but government by two men—tho Prime Minister and tlm Attorney-General."—Mr. E, I'. Lee, at Oaraarn. Evidently Concerned. In tho course of hie speech at Kaponga, where ho seems to havo had .a vor.r successful incetiiifc, Mr. Divo remarked that (luring, the short timo he had bcon in Parliament, practically overy member of tho Ministry had visited Taranaki, nn event that "had never occurred before. They were evidently concerned with tho revulsion of feeling* in dio province, and intended to pay more attention to it in future. The Dreadnought.

A questioner asked Mr. Bolfcon Inst evening. whether ho favoured tho Dreadnought gift to tho Old C'oiiatry? 3lr. Bolton: If tho Dreadnought gift was necessary as an object lesson to tho rest of the world, I would have been in favour of it. If it lvcro intended to lead to personal aggrandisement, I would not have been in.favour of it. A voice: You know it was! Mr. Bolton said thero was no evidience to show that tho gift was made on personal grounds. (Load groans.) "Access to Justice." In his speech at Knponga, Mr. Dive referred to tho uso of the Crown Suits Act to block privato citizens obtaining compensation against tho Crown. lie mentioned tho case of Motorman Barton, who was run down by a State coal wagon, where a. great injustice had been done through the Government's refusal to waive the Crown Suits Act, although Parliament, by reducing a vote of the Estimates, had indicated that tho case should be allowed to be tried. This was from a Government that posed as the poor 'man's friend. Mr. Divo might have added that a member of tho same Govornment was declaring the other day that "access to justice" was one of the "cardinal principles of Liberalism," but then, of course. Sir John Findlay was speaking only as a candidate.

A Challenge. It was a fairy tale to 6ay he had been i advocating that tho workers should only pet Cs. or 7s. a day (said Mr. Dive at Kapnnga on Monday). Ho threw out a 1 challenge to all to come forward and prove the statement. He believed in giving fair value to the worker, and would not for one moment allow any charge of that sort to be made if ho could possibly help it. Only One Way, "We are surely • not in so backward a stato that wo cannot be trusted with the same information that the people of Canada claim, and not only claim but get," says tho "Hawke's Bay Herald." If there is no reason for all tin's, mystery and secrecy, the' Government should have no difficulty in giving all the information required. But they have come to consider themselves the masters, and not the servants, of the people. They speak as if the people must take just what they like to eive, and not ask for more. Such an attitude is intolerable. It is impossible that even the democracy in New Zealand should tolerate it for long. And there is one way to get rid ot it. Vote for Mr. Mawev and the candidates who will support him at the coming elections, and the present system will speedily come to an end." Then and Now. What sort of a place would Taranaki ba if, in tho past, Mr. Mackenzie had li.ir! his way? Mr. Dive contrasted some of his opponents' opinions before he joined tbo Ministry with those of tho present. Then, the endowment policy was a "will-o'-the-wisp scheme," and the Ministry was "an effervescent drink," but now lie was always sounding their praises.—Eltham "Argus" report of Mr. Dive's speech at Kaponga. Outstanding Rates and—Promises. How did the Government keep their promises? (asked Mr. Divo at Kaponga on Monday). A dairy school. had been promised for Palmerston North, bnt it was as far off as. ever. The Local Government Bill was no nearer now and the amount of money spent on the backblocks settlers was nothing compared to what had been put on the Estin«ates. As to the Natives having to contribute rates to local bodies, there: was to the best of his belief in a ceytain district as much as 4:2000 outstanding for rates. .

Mr. Buchanan's Campaign. Mr. Buchanan is actively campaigning Among the smaller centres of his extensive electorate. The Martinborougb ' correspondent of the "Standard" states that a very successful meeting of those anxious to see his return to Parliament again was held on Tuesday night, and was very well attended considering the weather, there being about 30 present. The most striking feature of the meeting was .the number of young men present, in ■ fact they outnumbered the old warriors very considerably, and they all took a keen interest in tho work, several of them making good suggestions as to the working of the contest. It should 'certainly give Mr. Buchanan very great pleasure to find the. young men rallying round him. A lot of routine business was gone into, and another meeting is to be held next week. Several apologies were received from persons unable to be present at the meeting/ but promising support.

The Necessaries of Life. The "Wairarapa Ago" says: 'The member for Mnsterton- did the Opposition an injustico on Monday night when he said that on the question of the retention of tho duties'.on the necessaries of life it was running in harness with the Government. This is far from being tho ease. Mr. Massey has ou numerous occasions urged the revision of the tariff, with a view to relieving the taxation of the people as o whole, nnd his followers have consistently demanded' a more equitable fiscal policy. Tlw Government, howevor, has been adamant. It has the hardihood to tell the people that it has remitted taxation to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds, the while the burden of taxation through the Customs has been slowly and surely creeping up,"

Ministerial Rivals. Eeferring to the Hon. Thos. Mackenzie's large promises of assistance to tho dairy industry-, the "Taranaki Uerald" asks:— "If, however, Mr. Mackenzie does not-re-tain the portfolio of Agriculture, what can he do to help tho industry? And, judging from what Mr. M'Nab said at Palmerston the other day, he also aspires to the portfolio."

Are They "Reactionary"? The gravamen of tho charge which is being , laid at the door of tho Reform party is that it is "reactionary." Very well. Let us tee how far this charge holds Rood. Is a reform of tho Legislative Council reactionary? Is tho reducing of the cost of living reactionary? Is the opening up of land for settlement on the. most equitable terms reactionary? Is Iho placing of the Civil Scrvico beyond political control reactionary? Is the enlarging of tho functions of local bodies reactionary? Is tho extension of tho old age pension scheme reactionary? If theso things are reactionary, then, what in the uame of tho prophets is being offered us as "Liberal and Progressive"?—"Wairarapa Age."

Sir Joseph Ward and the Year Book. Tho Auckland "Herald" has gono into tho official records of land settlement, and remarks: "The official figures differ very considerably from tlitw* furnished by (lie Prime Minister, tho difference being as great as that between tho rival statistics dealing with Native lajwU furnished by Sir James Carroll and Mr. Xgat.'i. It is interesting to note Oiat of tho BM2 settlors whom Sir Joseph Wnrd c.kiinis to have established on the land diiring his Kvo years' administration], 137+ hold areas of Ires than ono acre, and 2I)""> nioro of less ■than "iO acres. This immediately reduces fihe actual settlers to than ">oou, and since forfeiture and surrender-) amount to' no less than 20 per cent, of this'number, wo have £oauow!h:ii less than IOIHI us tho total of effective) increaso in land settlement during the mosjt prosperous agricultural years tho Dominion has known/'

A Circular to Dairy Companies. Mr. Divo made a good point against Hie Hon. T. Mackenzie ut Knpimj;n mi Jlondiiy (suvs (lie '".IViniiiiiki .Ili-r----iild").. Spwikius of Uio methods .being adopted lo secure, the Minister's return for tfgmont, ho said that a circular had l.iTii scut round to the various dairy companies for by the chairman, extolling tlio wonderful progress made in (lie Miniver's Department. Tho fad of (he mailer wan, Mr. Dive said, I hat Tnranaki was in advance of Ihn Depjiitiiient. Where, h<! asked, was (hero a district which owned its <iw» i'rerang works and manufactured its own butli.T boxes? What sort of a place would Taranaki bo if, in the past, 31 r. Mackenzie had bad his way? The Egmnnt electors aro now asked to support Mr. Mackenzio because ho is Minister for Agriculture, who bases his claims for support on what he will be able, to do by virtue of that position. And in order to enablo him to assist tho dairy industry bo has been sending tho officers of his Department to Taranaki to buy the best dairy stock he can procure, buying it, too, above tho heads of tho farmers, running the prices up to figures they cannot afl'ord to pay, and taking some' of the best animals away to build up a dairy herd in tho Wellington province. That is the way he is helping tho dairy industry of Taranaki. Mr. Dive, on the other hand, has for very many years taken an active part in building up tho industry in Taranaki, and in bringing about tho very condition of things which furnishes an object lesson to tho wholo Dominion and to tho Minister who now seeks to supplant him. Mr. Dive has taken an active part in the establishment of freezing works and butter box factory, which also ave object lessons to tho Dominion.

Hon. T. Mackenzie's Opponent. Mr. Divo continues to address largo and enthusiastic audiences in various parts of the Egmont electorate, and everywhere strong committees are being formed to assist his candidature. So says tho Manaia "Witness." ■ Those Dairy Regulations. The Hon. T. Mackenzie is trying to explain away the episode of the dairy regulations. Mr. Pearce, at a very success! ul meeting at Patea on Tuesday, returned to the subject, and said that at a banquet to tho Governor, Lord Islington, at th& Hawera show, tho Hon. T. ' Mackenzio stated that these famous regulations were rightly promoted though they were never passed Tho Hon. Mr. Mackenzie had said that ho (Mr. Pearce) was entirely wrong when ho said that inspectors had been appointed.. Mr. Pearce quoted from a copy of the regulations, which he had in his hand, of which 1800 copies bad been printed by the Government Printer, and quoted from the estimates proving that wages amounting to over .£BOO had , been paid' to inspectors appointed. He also quoted from the Opunake "Times, which said that everything he bad said was true mentioning that one M Kmlay uau been stationed for a timo at Opunake. Mr. Mackenzie had either made a misstatement or was not conversant with the facts. Treated as a Joke, It is a curious fact (writes our Auckland correspondent) that at least four Ministers and . one cx-Mimster have attempted to prove that the Government is all it should bo by quoting the opinion of Mr. Isitt, given after he had been a fortnight in Parliament. Its quotation at a political meeting the other evemng was received with a shout of derisive laughter. Sir John Eindlay nightly follows Hie example of the Premier at Winton, Mr. Millar, at Waitati, Mr. M'Kenzie at Motnek'a, and Mr. Fowlds at Grey Lynn, in trotting out Mr. Isittfs opinion of the Government, but it is being taken hero as a joke, and one correspondent, writing to the "Herald" says the 31 mister t.-r Justice must certainly think that a largo proportion of his audiences are silly a.s.-;.e. ■Does the candidate think for one moment that anv person who has watched the affairs of this country for, _ say, the l.vt ten years, would nlnce reliance on Mr. Tsitt's statement as to everything being absolutely lovely in the Parliamentary garden? Just think for a moment nf his credentials for making such'nil assertion— three whole weeks in Parliament! He might possibly know something about tluinner workings if he had boon there for three years. In fact, how much do any of us know? Only what leaks out.

The Pahiatua Seat. Mi , . J. H. Escott, the Reform party's candidate for the Pahiahia seat, is meeting with much success in his campaign. At his meowing at Konini, Mr. Warren presiding, he receive;! a vote of thanks and confidence, on the motion of M.r. A. M'Farlano, seconded by Mr. C. Mneki." •Vt Papatawa, where 11 r. Reynell was in the chair. Mr. Escott also received a vote of thanks and confidence.—Saunevirke "News."

Looking Forward. "The Opposition party." said Mr. Massey to a Dannevirke "News" reporter, "are looking forward to a great success in Hawkc's Bay. We will bo clad indeed fr> welcome Messrs. Hunter, Campbell, and Crowloy amongst us." The Contest in Hawke's Bay, Tho meeting at Petane, which was addressed by Mr. H. M. Campbell, Reform candidate for Hawke's Bay, is described as the largest and most successful meeting of electors held there during the present campaign. Mr. Campbell was greeted with loud and prolonged applause. His address was one of criticism of the Ward administration, or, as he put it, lack of administration. He urged that tho time had arrived for a change of Government, for the reason that the party now in office had diverged from tho policy of self-relinnco as inaugurated- by tho lato Mr. Ballance. The wasteful system of expenditure by the Ward party should make all pause and think before it was too late. Mr. Campbell, on resuming his seat, was heartily applauded, and was accorded a vote of thanks, on the motion ol Mr. J. M'Hard.y, seconded by Mr. Bruce. Mr. Campbell briefly responded. Cheers wove given for Jlr. Campbell.and Mrs. Campbell.

The Barmaid. ' "Are you in favour of abolishing barmaids?"— Mr. Bolton was asked last evening. "I hope he isn't," said the chairman, Mr. M'Grath, as he passed on tiro question. (Laughter.) "Does ray tinratiouer suggest that they should be electrocuted?" queried Mr. Bolton. "Oh, Christmas," said an elector- -Air. Bolton contented himself with stating that, under registration, barmaids wore gradually abolishing themselves.