WELLINGTON CENTRAL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1291, 21 November 1911, Page 6

WELLINGTON CENTRAL.

MR. FISHER AT TORY STREET. Mr. F. M. B. Fisher, Opposition candidate for Wellington Central, addressed a large audience in the Mission Hall, Tory Street, last night. Not only the seating accommodation of tho hall, but tho stage and all the doorways leading into the building wore crowded. Mr. Fisher said at the outset that ho was an opponent of the Government not because lie 'had personal differences with the Ministers making up the Cabinet, but beeauso he thought another Government would do belter for the country. Ho was prepared to say that the Arbitration Courfc had been a failure, but he admitted that the Court had done good. He suggested that the Court should ho replaced by the Wages Board system, as at present in force ill Australia. He had something to say about wages payable to State employees, and to workers generally, and was inclined to the belief that tho lot of tho labourers and artisans iu tho towns and cities was not a happy one. Ho condemned many of tho items in the Prime Minister's Budget, and Government extravagance generally. Among trava.gant schenies of which the Government had been guilty were tho railway duplications at Wellington, Dnnedin, and Auckland, the Parliament Buildings after tho fire, and the Hunedin railway station. In this country our boys and young men were being compulsorijy trained in an art, (ho art of warfare, which everybody hoped they would never bo called upon to exercise. How much more necessary was it that young men should be compulsorily trained in the arts for which they would in later life depend for their livelihood. In this country, which relied for its wealth on its export of agricultural produce, we had one agricultural college, and it was accessible only to sons of people who could afford to pay for their upkeep while at college. He believed it was possible to do in this country what had been done in Germany, Holland, tho United States, and Canada. lie explained the Canadian system of founding- agricultural schools in the country at which boys could not only work fcr their upkeep in the college, but earn pocket money as well. The land was herein plenty; he thought the experiment farms might be turned to account. Tho merit of the scheme was that under it tho boys would' be taught to become competent wage-earners. There were too many men and boys in our cities who were becoming casual labourers. Our education system was turning out too many boys who knew nothing very much about anything, but who thought they knew a good bit about everything. In conclusion, Mr. Fisher said that he was seeking to be returned to Parliament as free as lie hail entered it oil tho first occasion. Then, as now, ho acknowledged allegiance to no party. In answer to questions,' Mr. Fisher said that he was in favour .of the bare majority on tho No-License issue, and against the free carriage of racchorscs to race meetings. A vote of confidence in the candidate was carried with applause, followed by three cheers.