HERE AND THERE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1293, 23 November 1911, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

CAMPAIGN POINTS AND PRESS COMMENTS. H A Perfect Basket of Titles," "Have you noticed how many doctors are standing at this election?" asked Jlr. E. A. WrigJit during'his address at Nowtown -Library last evening. • "If over a doctor attains a seat in tbo Ministry," lie went on, "I should suggest that he take up the portfolio of Internal Affairs. (Hear, hear.) Now," said Mr. Wright, "why are all theso doctors so anxious to get into the House? I will tell you. They oil realiso that the Government is a sick patient. (Laughter and applause.) They are all true to tho instincts of their call- j ing. When there is sickness or on operation is accessary they must bo there." (Laughter.) After touching upon the atT.itucia of ■ various • doctors towards a sick Government, Mr. Wright remarked that Hr. Newman had clear-cut views as to the operation necessarv. He said, "Off with his bead." (Much laughter.) Not only so, continued Mr. Wright, but Dr. Newman wanted to conduct a post-mortem examination afterwards. This might possibly ba noce&vary, but personally ho hold that the nathut was suffering from an entirely new malady. He called it , "hercditatus Htulitis." It was an incurablo disease, (laughter.} "I believe," said Mr. Wright, "(.hat tho democracy of Now Zealand is out of sympathy with these titular distinctions. When a professedly democratic Government introduces in a wholesale way like this a perfect basket of titles— opri one of them an hereditary title—l believe that tho peoplo of New Zealand will a{frco with, that doctor, or any doctor, who says .• tho only way to deal ■with it is..'off jrith its head.' I think that tho Prime Minister committed a blazing indiscretion when he" took that hereditary title. He has revealed himself, not as a democrat, not as a Liberal, but B3.an aristocrat of tho first water."

Farmers'' Questions Unanswered, ■Why this retioeneo on the part of tho Ministerial candidates for Stratford, Patc.a, Taranaki, and Egmont? Tho Tarajuki Provincial Executive of tho Farmers' Union resolved unanimously as follows:.—"That the executive regrets that Messrs. M'Cluggago, O'Dea, Bellringer, and the Hon. T. Mackenzie have failed to accede to the request of the executive to answer 'questions put by tho union. Political Influence. "It is political influeneo that damns everything in this coimtry. It interferes with the railways and tho Public Service. I hopo it won't interfere with the dofenco scheme. If it does it will kill it. I always contended that it would never bo anything at all unless General G'odley wero left alone."—Mr. Herdman at Northland last night. Especially the Last. The Government, were ready, said Mr. Massev at Timaru, to pipe any tune that •was required. It might, be Socialism for the Socialists, individualism for the Individualists, Free-trade for tho Freetraders, protection for the Protectionist."!, democracy for tho Democrats, and "don't you forget it, aristocracy for the aristocrats." Tho Government Humpty-Dumpty. Speaking at Norfhlynd last night, Mr. Herdman dosoribed tho Government as, sitting on a wall ready to drop on tiio Hide whenco camo tho most shouting. "This time," continued, "it will bo Huinpty-Dumpty sat on a wall and had a great fall. And all tho roads and bridges in tho country won't put HumptyDumpty up again." Commissions. "Commissions—l have no faith in them!"—said Mr. Wright, at Newtown :ast evening. "They nover seem to bring forth any fruit. They bring out a lingo Look —like the report of the 'limber Conin'iswion—which no one out of Porirua would ever dream of reading." ■'Too Honest for Politics." Mt. H. M. Campbell, the Reform can.lidiitc for Hawke's Bay, remarked in his Hastings speech that ono of his opponents iiad raked him up ami down and given him a splendid advertisement, but the culminating point in his remarks was where he said that ho (Mi. Campbell) was too honest for politics.

No Limitation. _H Mr. G. V. I'carc-e's Korniauhj' meeting on Monday evening a. questioner, who wished tho candidate to state the Opposition views as to the limitation of area of land held, asked "if the lieiorm Party had mir limitation of area." Mj'. I'carco promptly took the opening, and smilingly replied in tho negative. "In fhot, after next election," he said, "tho Reform Party will'probably bo all over Now Zealand." Much laughter greeted tho sally.—"Haivcra Star."

Mr. Wright and the Telephone. "It is .true that I have not got a telephono in my house," confessed Mr. R. A. Wright at Jsewtowa lost evening. He on to explain that lie dill not on this account hate the telephone and desiro to wijie it out of existence. Neither did it follow that he had spared any endeavour to get'better telepliono facilities for Newtown. Ho bad tho telephone in his business promises, and was communicated with tncro by tho.so who desired to reach him If he had tho telephono. at liis privato house, ho added, it would be of httlo use, for, since entering Parliament he had seldom gono home except to sleep. Last vcar ho had practically spent sjx months, in Parliament, where he was nnprouchahlo upon the telephqno at any time. As far as hp know, no one had died in Newtown becauso lie had not a telephono in his house. Mr. Wright stated, touching another branch of his subject, that ho had pressed upon the Prime Minister the claims of Newtown to have a better telephone servico, but had been unable to extract anv satisfactory response. 110 understood, however, that the Department had been experimenting for some time, and hoped to introduce a less costly system in connection with the telephone. If this were done, rates in Newtown would lx> lowered. Reiterating that he had no vendetta against the telephone, Mr. Wright remarked that he did not wear a "high silk hat," but it did not follow that he opposed the wearing of tliis .styls of head-gear by other people. Though h§ did not possess one, he was not opposed to motor-cars. Motor-cars wore splcmlid things for getting about in —particularly at election times. Although he had not indulged in the luxury of a telephone at his ln4u.se, it did not follow that he was pnpesed to that useful instrument. .

"Freehold for Me, Lcasshold for You." ' There were men in Parliament to-day. said Mr- Masscy at Timaru, who had tor years past despised every man who de sired bo;get a piece of freehold. What were these men? Every time the opportunity' c.amo along they .seized n piece ol laud. They meant: F'eehold for ourselves and .leasehold for the othei people. The Opposition meant: Freehold for ourselves and the same privilege for the other people. (Applause.) Printing the Roll. At Newtown last evening Mr. E. A. Wright dealt_ with a charge of "jobbery" preferred against him by a certain weekly newspaper in conncction with the printing of the rolls. The matter was first raised bv a. questioner at Brooklyn, and Mr. Wright last evening repeated .the substanco.of. the "statement which he made at his Brooklyn meeting. He explained that hitherto it had. been the custom in New Zealand to print the main rolls at. the Government Printing Office. Necessarily, under this plan, many of the rolls were somewhat out of date when they were issued. . The printing of the supplementary rolls was entrusted do private firms, a separate arrangement - being made in each ease,' so' that the . prices ranged from ISs, a page downwards. Towards the end of last-session the Premier stated in tire House that he had made arrangementsu;ith the Master' Printers' Association to liave tho whole of the rolls printed • by local "firms iu'each; district. The pricn agreed upon .was 9s. a. page "for-the main rolls and 12s. 6d. a page -'for the supplementary rolls. Tho printers decided oimong themselves' to pool the worx or printing the. rolls and share the profits equally. The point made against him, said Mr. Wright, was that his firm, being ill the association, would get its share of the wtvrk of printing the rolls and of the .profits, -if thero were any. It was claimed that this entailed "jobbery," the paper he had mentioned stating that the printing of the rolls could have been dono for 6s. or 7s. Mr. Wright stated that he had nothing to do with this arrangement. As a candidate for Parliament he could not take o.ny money from the Gorcrnment. If he did lio would be disqualified, or. if returned, , would be unseated. Ho had had nothing to do with the matter, and would not in"a'ny way share in it in any shapr or form.

Cost of the Hine Committee. "The Hino charges had cose the conn try J519: ho hail it in the official records. The sum of .£ISOO had been voted to mnke it look as black as possible, but ,£IOOO had gone back to the Exchequer.'— Mr. Hine, to a questioner at Tariki. Full of Apologies. "Last election tho Government supporters were declaring themselves from the house-tops, and it was not safe to say that you wero voting for me. What a change has come o'er the spirit of the dream! This election you have got to go hosing around to lind a Government voter and when you find one he is full of apologies for his party, for himself, and especially .for his candidate."—Mr. Byron Brown, at Levin.