WELLINGTON SUBURBS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1289, 18 November 1911, Page 6

WELLINGTON SUBURBS.

ant. J. e. FmoEKAU) at noitoKI\YI. Mr. ,T. E. Vilzperald addressed the electors at Hcrokiwi'lust night, and was given mi attentive hearing. 'J'ho chair was occupied by Mr. Edward Humphrey, iho candidate explained Hint ho was stnndinj; in the Government interests not because lie believed tho purtv to bo faultless, but because it offered tho best material for improvement; it had enacted measures sucii as tho Old Ago Pension and Advanres to Settlers Acts, which will remain as instills testimony of its wisdom, and with certain modifications it Rives proniiso of still greater achievement. Jt was absurd for Urn Opposition to go about proclaiming tho death of the Government: thi'v would show greater laMo by wailing till they gave birth to a decent itltrriinlivi!. ?»o one could resent, but rather would welcome, honest eriticisni. Tlio Opposition do not fail to proclaim Ihe I'ariHs <jf the Government, while thev remain silent on tho point , ; which comiiK'iid lli« Government to every discernini{ citizen. Jlr. Fitzßorald stated ho H'-'Miteil clean and hone-st iidministration, and on no other conditions would ho enter public life. Dealing with tho land f|ii(!stion, tho candidate declared himself opposed to land monopoly, to remedy which ho ureal an increased graduated land tax on largo holdings, which would not only cheapen land, and dispense, with tho present useless policy of purchasing lands for settlement at high prices, but would relievo tlio working man of some of his heavy burden of Customs duties. Ho also demanded that the Nativo lands should bo brought into use by making them bear their share of tlio rates nnd taxes, and thus help to pay for tho roads, railways, and bridges which had given those lands their present value. Mr. Fitzgerald saw in tho solution , of tho land question a settlement of all such matters as the increased cost of living, workers' homes, higher wages, and increased prosperity, . together with reduced taxation. He would oppose any attempt to alienate tho remaining Crown lands, which should bo a perpetual endowment for education, old ago pensions, and hospitals. Tho candidate said he was tired of tho rubbish talked about tho Defence Act, and ho wanted to sec the law obeyed to the letter. If tho people did not want military training let them repeal the Act, but till thon tho law shouldn't be flouted. He did not object to a reduction in tho ago limit or a conscience clause. He advocated the opening up of the back-blocks roads, tho application of tho electoral principle to tho appointment of Legislative Councillors, and the completion of the Christchuroh-Picton railway. On tho motion of Mr. Iluin■phrey, seconded by Mr. Cameron, a hearty vote of thanks and confidence was accorded tho candidate.

ME. LUKE AT NGAIO. Mr. J. 1 , . Luke addressed a meeting of Suburbs electors in tho Methodist Schoolroom, Ngaio, last night. Mr. 1!. Davis occupied the chair. The candidate stated that to the late John Ballanco was the credit due for having initiated legislation of a progressive character, one of his principal relorms being tho changa in the incidence of taxation. The substitution of tho land and income tax in lieu of the property tax provided a just means of taxation, and ono which enabled collection to be carried on at a minimum of cost, and with loss harassment, and uncertainty of value than existed with the property tax. Mr. Ballanco also wrought considerable change iu terminating the system of nominating members of the Legislative Council for life, but in the candidate's opinion the truest Liberalism would be enjoyed when the country declared for an elective Uppor House." The past Parliament had not been a fruitless one. Tho_ improvement-in old age-pen-sions, pensions to widows, ami Hit provident fund were Acts capable of conferring great privileges, on our people. Th*> Gaining and Licensing Acts were justified, and wou]d_ bring aboni. an improvement in our social conditions by redlining Hie Rambling evil, and enabling the people to carry out temperance reform on a Dominion basis, lie thought it was a rfftrpgrado step to increase tho charges for telephoning through bureaux; these charges ought rather to be reduced. He stood as an Independent Liberal, and was la a similar position- a= when preciously' elected. Ami if ever (he country required men of Liberal- politics bsiug sent- to Parliament unfettered, it was now. In the Cabinet nevo several competitors for leadership and it was highly important that the men of that party should be in a position to-choose as leader tho man of greatest capacity, enterprise, mid honesty of purpose. Mr. Luke was accorded a vote oi thanks and confidence on the motion of Mr. B. J. L. Lymieberg, seconded by Mr. A. B. Topp.

MR. MOORE AT PAREMATA. Mr. F. T. Moore, Labour candidate for the Suburbs seat, addressed ■ tip elect ts at Paremata last night. Mr. Mayo occupied the chair. In tho oonrjo of his remarks, the candidate said that Mr. Millar's bid for tho Premiership in his Dunedin speech was evidently iu viow of; Sir J. G.. Ward's early retirement. Hβ earnestly hoped that ro.tirenicnt did not moan his filling tho post of High Commissioner at Home. A votu of thanks-and confidence was carried unanimously at the close of the meeting.

WELLINGTON SOUTH. DR. COUZENS AT NEWTOWA T . Dr. Couzens, Independent Opposition candidate for Wellington South, addressed electors at St. .Thomas's Infants' Schoolroom last night. Mr. W. Hale presided. The candidate spoke on the lines of liis previous addresses, and dealt extensively with the land question, which he described as the greatest of all questions in the politics of the Dominion. The Government, ho said, had no policy iu land administration. The land hunger was still acute, and required that big estates should be cut up. As the graduated tax had proved a failure, all estates of 5000 acres and upwards should be acquired for closer settlement. Cultivated, lauds support more people, and closer settlement would reduce the of living, solve the unemployment problem, and balance the population between town and country. At tho close of Dr. Couzens's address a vote of thanks and confidence was moved, and declared by tho chairman to bo carried unanimously.

HUTT. MR. REAJJDON AT ALICETOWN. Mr. M, J. Eeardon. Labour candidate for tho Hutt sent, addressed a moeting of electors at Alicetown last evening. There wero about 80 persons present. Mr. J. Ball presided. Mr. Reardnn spoko in tho main on the lines cf his previous addros-ses. 'Ho challenged his opponent, Mr. T. M. Wilford, to say that he disapproved of tho Labour party's proposal to nationalise the ferry service. Mr. Reardou expressed a hope that Mr. Wilford would answer this question on the platform. Having .concluded his address. Mr. Eeardon was asked, "Would, you be-in favour of putting a ladies' carriage on tlis- Hutt train r" Hi>. replied that he would not take the responsibility of answering that question at present. Mr. Eeardon was unanimously accorded a voto of thanks and confidence.

OTAKI. MR. MOXCICTON AT SHANNON. Mr Monckton, the Reform party's candidate for the Otaki «at, had a successful meeting at Shannon. Tho Druids Hail was crowded, and he received a good hoaring, with frequent applause. Mr. E. Laws presided. Tho candidate said ho stood before them on behalf of tho Reform party, and Ms platform was the ono adopted at a conference of the leaders of that parly. In tlio past they had only criticised, and they would, after hearing him, have to admit that the criticism was justified. Sir J. Carroll and Mr. Field had said (he K. A. Smith, Hiiio, and Mokau scandals had been exploded, and in addition there was tho Tax Department scandal.- It was oiilv criticism that had brousht those to the light of day. Mr. Field luul said there was nothing wrong with the Government, but a committee, tho majority of whom were Government members, had .foiti'd I.ii the Hifie charge (hat Mr. Major (a GovtrniiN-nt member) had received two sums of .SiflO each as -commission in connection with the sales ol land to the- Government , ; Mr. Syiile, another Ciovcrnmi'iit member, had also received cimmissiou in tlio same way, and that Mr. Kuihau had been paid for presenting petitions to I'arliamcn.t. etc,

In tho matter nf finance, his party would overhaul and invest ig ate till they saw what was required lor thi> country. That would be ('lift only way to regulate the revt'uue and fxiwndiUtrv. The Opposition, if it got into power, would always bu ready to giv? returns <o that tho elector* could cfutrly .see everything in connection with each transaction. The Native- Minister, sneaking on the Maori land question three "years ago, advocated the same- policy lie was advocating to-day. Kir J. Carroll pleaded the cause of the poor Mauri in his Native specious eloquence. Ho tSir James) advocated all the advantages to bo given to the Maori in order to equip him on tho land, but ho would 101 l them that tho so-called poor Maori (man, woman, aud child) were drawing on an average a sum equal to JHSO pur head per aiuium, and in addition to this, there wore other large sums such as flax and Unite royalties to be added to this:. Tho Maori had 1,000,000 acres of good land wholly unproductive waiting till the European should bend his back to tho burden in making railways and other public works to raise tho value of this land which tho Maori would take, but tho pakeha would do the paying. If tho Maori race was so far advanced as to supply two Cabinet Ministers, then they surely could carry some of tho load which the- pakeha was now staggering under, (loud and prolonged applause.) l'arliament , , at the instance of the Government, had voted half a million per annum for land purchase, and in throeyears they had not applied this amount; tbcro was .£3:10,000 unexpended. Wliat had become of it? In Canada settlers were assisted on to tlio land in every conceivable manner. Every acre in this colony should bo settled and be made to produce. Every settler was a natural revenue paying us=;ot. (Applause.) He favoured the elective system for the legislative Council. Ho was in favour of a Civil Service Board, which would be responsible to Parliament, and under it merit, and merit alone, should succeed. Tho right to appeal to an independent tribunal would )» provided for. l'ho distribution of moneys to local bodies kli on Id' bo brought under a pmpcr regulated system to prevent wasteful expenditure. In social reforms, the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act had failed, and there was great unrest, which might cause great loss. Yet tho Government remained calmly indifferent. He fully sympathised with the railwaymen s petition grievances; thofe- were just grievances and ought to be considered. (Applause.) The hearing of appeals should be delayed. The Government resented criticism. When Mr. Alien asked that a return showing cost of commission, brokerage, etc., on tho loan, bo given before the expiration of a year, Sir Joseph Ward rcs"ntrd 6iieh a question, "and on the division 'in the House the Government party voted with Sir Joseph Ward. Mr. Herdman then asked if the information could bo given in two years, and another division was token on the two vears, with the same result as the flr=.t division. He (Mr. Monckton) would nsk his audience, a» electors and reasonable human beimrs. sesins thoy were tho'-e who were responsible for the payment of tho interest on loans, if they were not entitled to know every particular, and how could this be done "if returns were refused. A motion of thanks to the candidate and an amendment of thanks and confidence led to a considerable display of lung power on oath side, but it appeared that the amendment was carried. This was followed by loud and prolonged applause.

PARNELL. ME. J. S. DICKSON'S CAMPAIGN. "I WILL SUPPORT THE OPPOSITION." Two hundred electors in tho southern portion ol luo i-'ai-acU district were aduresswl on Weune*uay by Air. J. S. DicUsou, tlie Independent candidate ior tlw seat. Mr. Wesson \ras received witn hearty applause, and the audience ll'C(iuem'iy show-ed its approval of tho opinions expressed by him- Dealing with the question of land .settlement, ho declared that he was a freeholder, and adduced arguments in support of the. Kcforni party's contention that facilities should bo given to every occupier of land to obtain tlie freehold witu adequate provisions .to prevent aggregation. It for no other reason, he considered that the hardships to which settlers in new country wero subjected, Here sufficient ground for tlieir claims for absolute, security of lenuro. This definite expression of bis attitude on the land question was liberally applauded. -Many questions wore submitted to the candidate, who gave brief and unequivocal replies. Asked if he was a Free-trader, Mr. Diekson replied in the negative, lie added that since the duties on many necessaries of life, such as clothing, wore fixed, the cost of producing the locallv-mado article had increased and he considered that the tariff should be revised to restore the measure of prolection formerly granted. As a large amount of public money passes through the machines, Mv. Diekson stated that he considered Government inspectors should be attached to all tot.ilisators as a guarantee. He approved of the Dreadnought gift, but not of the manner in which it was made, considering that members ol Parliament should have been consulted before the offer was made. Regarding tho special payments to judges, tlie candidate said that in his opinion a judge receiving a salary of .£2OOO a ye.nr should not be given any additional payment, merely because he was asked to work in some building other than tho Supremo Court. A definite indication of his attitude in relation to the Iwo political parties was given by Mr. Dicksnu. Ho was asked with which he would vote in tho event of n no-confidence motion being proposed by tho Opposition. "I would support the Opposition," replied Mr. Dick&nn, "as I consider that the time has arrived when ii change in tho Ministry would he beneficial to the Dominion." This declaration was received with prolonged npplauM. On the motion of Messrs. Waite and J, Alder, a vote of thanks and confidence was accorded to the candidate by a unanimous vote.

MR. MASSEY CONFIDENT. "MORE THAN FIGHTING CHANCE." (By TnleiiraDh.-Press Association.) Gore, November 17. Mr. 3f.as.sey, interviewed by ,-ui "Ensign" reporter, expressed the fullest conJidenco in the result of the e'octione. "Wo have moi'c than a fisjhlins chance." he said, "wo have an even clianco of obtaining an absolute majority." People would listen to Sir Joseph Ward in (he north, but it would not make a scrap of difference, in their vote.

HAWKE'S BAY. Napier, November IV. Jfr. Henry Hill, Chief Inspector of Schools, ami Labour candidate for Napier, opened his campaign this evening, when lie addressed a very largo meeting of electors in the Theatre lioyal. He wished the electors to understand that lie was under no promise to tho Conservatives or the. Liberals, but simply stood as (ho workinsman's candidate. Jlr. Hill had an excellent bearing, and was accorded a uuauiiuous vote of thanks and confidence.

GISBORNE SEAT. Gisbornc, Novembor 17. Mr. John Townioy, ono of tho bestknown residents of Gisbornc, has been approached to contest tho Gisborno seat against Sir James Carroll,' but haft replied that lie cannot accede to the request. Jlv. .Tolm Sherridan has also been approached, and has taken limo to consider the matter. WHAT MR. BOLTON SAID. Sir,—Ono or two iioints in your report of my meeting at the Mew Century Hall last iiijjht require The hall was cTOwdttl to its fiillc.it cecity, instead of, as (his report says, "nearly every seat in the hall v.as occupied." Also nbout half your reoort consisU'ol' an nccount oi au iiilcrruption wliieli cnrhiinly did not last more tnau five minutes, and emanated from :> noisy few. 1 will leave it to those presont to say as to what tl'.o i'oeling ol the mooting was. In condousiitioii an ovror has crept in jus to what 1 stated r<) personal questions to myself. 1 did not deny that I had ever stilted on any public platform that I did not belong to a certain denomination. What 1 did pay was that 1 had novel , suited at any early p'nl> lic meeting anytliin;, , of the .<ort, and that I. had slated at ono of my early committee meetings that 1 should probably answer on the p!a.lfonn any , questions put to mo on the subject, as » foiindatioiiless rnnioiir was lK'iiiß circulated wit.li regard (u the matter. I did not say that I felt euro Uiat I had the ability to eerve the pwrK

..__._JL_ etc. What I did Bay was that I nod ij>s imlustrv and enthusiasm, and perhaps llio ability,'to servo llio people of my native 1an,1.-Inn,,clc, F _ Q _ ])OLTON . November 17, 1011. iThcre were vacant scats, though very few, nt Mr. Bolton's mooting. Mr. Hoi (on di<! say what he was reported as having said as (o his ability to ewvo tho ptoplo. Still, if ho wishes to modify that opinion do ono call object J