ON THE PLATFORM.

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

ON THE PLATFORM.

WELLINGTON SOUTH, Mil. WRIGHT AT NEWTOWN.' Ml'. If. A. Wright, Reform party candidate for tho Wellington South sent, addressed a meeting of about 2.*io elcctnrs iu the Newtown Public Library last ereniii". .Mr. J. Castle presided. Mr. Wright had a cordial reception and was given a splendid hearing. •Commencing his address he remarked that prior to every election ".fairy stories" were circulated about . candidatesThree years previously, when ho was not » well known in the Wellington South electorate as he was now, ho had discovered that.many people finnlv believed that ho' had committed nearly every crime in the criminal calendar. Tliis time the storieis circulated were not so bad. One lady, canvassing against him, had said to i\n elector: "Von are not going to vote, for Mr. Wright, (ire you? Ho is no good. ITo is only good for reading prayers!" This, Mr. Wright claimed, showed th?t hp had made a great advance. it indicated that Parliamentary life had a beneficial elTect on a man's morals. Mr. Wrieht dealt at length with charges' levelled against him! Ho explained that ho had supported tho leasehold on every occasion on which it had been made tho subject of a division during his term in the House. On one occasion the Prime Minister had accepted a freehold amendment, moved by thh Opposition, tis a want of confidence motion. In this case he (Mr. Wright) had voted against the Government in fulfilment of a pledge that ho wonld do so, upon a no-confidence motion, at every opportunity, no could not have carried out his pledges to the electors otherwise than by voting as he had. He had voted, not in , obedience to . party, but in accordance with his pledges to tho ptople. no had inviriably~ supported progressive legislation. Au n ther charge laid at his door was that li» had failed to unseat the Government. When a member got into the House he found that he had very little pow?r. He could only do his best to keep ' the Government in check. Mr. Wright challenged anyou» to show that he had at any time voted in. such a way as would justify him being described as a "Tory Reactionary Conservative." At present was speculating as to what was going to happen. Pome people thought that the Prime Minister intended to retire, even if he should be successful at the elections. It was known that Sir John Findlay aspired to be Prime Minister. On top of this, the Hon. J. A. Millar had announced a .laudable ambition having a similar object. PesMbly, Sir Carroll • also' chrrished the same ambition. Whatever cane of these various ambitions,' if wo= tolerably . certain that an interesting time was in store for the neotde of New Zealand. Mr. Wright, ontlin'd a constructive policy, winch he heped to see carried into effect ill New Zealand. Borrowing should be rut down—the present wild plunging liin't cease. .One of the most effective wys to reduce cost of living .would bo to remove taxation i now levied on the nectaries of life

There shonld be a Pnb'ic Service Ttoird fr-->e the nnMic service frnm polifir.nl influence. The advancement of a Civil Servant should depend np"n his merit nn r l ni!- upon his 'win? n friend. fit court. hoar.) The Native lands that were now lwirinir only lynnd* and corse FhmiM ho-brw/ht into'cultivation lit «!o»d for 'imitation, of area in re.<rnrd-to land, was opiv>?ed to land monopoly, and favoured a bare majority vote on Dominion and W.il No-license. The " T»aylisrht Savin? Bill had his support. Tie was stron?'y in fnvom of a treasure of local rovernreform which wo'ild destroy the «ycfcnm under which the' Government at present bnuMit with erant? Tyi'i/lc nod bridges. A sclie.n? of insurance ncainst sickness and uneinrfryvment was required in New ml. owl c^rncthi7 ,rr c'lould bo done for the ro'ief of phonic with lnrje_ fnmil'es who had a hard stri" y---~10 in giving their children a coed H"ration. (Annlanse.) TVuo?i"n of OictV ,c taxation was the first cs?*ntial. Tn n<'dit;on the nerision ace should be redncd in the case of who were fathers of large fimilie= to GO. .All w-n.» n c'mnlrl th« pension at 60. Mr. Wri<»'it denlf '.Wth fl*o problem of raisin" wares. ronclncliny. he elated, that (rranted eienn. safe, and '■teedy administration, nolhin.T could hinder New from progressing. However badly it miVht be it w.as a qrnud country, and was bonnd to liave a groat future. _ Having eocw(i T pri a number of quesMr. Wri>ht was nronimonelv accorded a vote of thanks and conGdence.