REFORM PARTY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1873, 6 October 1913, Page 8

REFORM PARTY.

MR MASSEY OPENS NATIONAL CONGRESS. GROWTH OF THE LEAGUE. •THE YEAR'S WORK IN REVIEW The second annual Dominion Confor'enoo of delegates from the branches of , the- New Zealand Political Reform League opened 111 the Sydney Street ■ Hall on Saturday, Mr. li. H. Williams, j of Hastings, being voted to the chair. Somo 150 delegates attended, and with ; them wero, tho Primo Minister, the Hon: 1 . : AV. F. Massey, the Hon. W. li. Hemes, the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, tho Hon. JI. D. Bell, tho Rou. \V. Fraser, and most' of tho members, of tho Reform party in Parliament. Tho Hon. -W. I l '. Massey, president • of the league, addressed the gathering - prior to the formal business, and con- ; gratulated the conference upon again ! securing such a largo representative at- . tendance. Mr. Massey referred fecl- > irigly to the loss' sustained by tho Reform movement during tho year by tho deaths of Mrs. Newman and Sir ; William Russell, both of whom wero ■ -loyal and enthusiastic supporters of tho Vpatty.. Referring to the position of; - tho Government, Mr. Massey said that; whan prior to the elections of 1911 tliey, .'had formulated a policy by which they; ■were still standing, and i "instalments of which had been placed on the Statute Book. Mr. Mas- '. sey then reviewed the work of tho Government, especially' referring to the '■Public Service Act, tho Land Bills, and 1 the pensions schemes formulated by tho .Government. ' Speaking more particularly, of the work of tlio conference, lie ' expressed the hope that it might provo : very successful, and that it would re-, • suit in .the perfecting of their organisar. l , tion. . Speaking pf the JPpper House, Mr. Massey expressed himself as confident :• that the "reform would be accomplished ' before the elections of next year. , Following Mr. Massey's address votes 0/ condolence wero passed by the conference with the relatives of Mrs. New- ' man and Sir William Russell in the loss they had sustained. The resolu- ' tion referring to Sir William Russell read as follows: —"That this conference ; desires to extend to Lady Russell and tho members of her family its sincere ; sympathy in the irreparable loss thoy i have sustained by tho death of Sir Wil- ' liam —a gentleman whose lofty character, high ideals, and noble life -have left ; their impress on the public and social ; affairs of the Dominion, with which he was so long and honourably connected." This resolution, and a similar one moved by Mrs. Earle, and seconded by_ Mrs. Hasleni (Christcliurch) wero carried in ' silonce, the conference standing meanwhile. , The chairman (Mr. 'Williams) gave an interesting address, during tho courso of. which 110 urged that tlio work of organisation and consolidation should ' bfi their chief care. THE EXECUTIVE'S REPORT. CONSOLIDATION OF REFORM : FORCES. Tho Teport of the executive was read as follows: — "Fourteen months ago tlio League 'held its first Dominion. Conference un- ■ der exceptionally favourable circumstances. ; Tho Reform .party, so long 7in Opposition, had at last como into J power, and the advent of tho new Government had been hailed with satisfaction throughout the country, tho genf- oral feeling being that the Reform Administration had come'to stay. The ; proceedings of the conference were char- : acterised by great enthusiasm, which ; culminated in the magnificent demon- - stration at tho Town Hall, at which addresses were delivered by our presi- • dent, the Prime; Minister, and other Cabinot Ministers. It was not uni reasonably hoped that the then coming year would witness tho oojisolidation of the Reform forces and tho perfecting of the party organisation, ana certainly good work has been accomplished ■in both directions. As far as tho Parliamentary members of the Reform party are concerned, your , executive notes with satisfaction that they are working disinterestedly to carry out 1 the reforms which thoy were returned to support, and submits that this fact : ;annot but justify the existenco of the 1 League, which will undoubtedly largely . nssist .the return of these members at "the next elections. ''Your executive.does not consider it , necessary in this report to deal in de;'tail with tho policy" of the present Gov- : eminent, nor ■ with the various measures ; which have, been placed upon, the Statute-book since the Reform Govern- : ment came into power, hut it is thought sufficient'; to say that your executive is of opinion that tho policy of the Government as appearing in its Bills and ». in its pdministration, is tho policy which the Leaguo was formed to support. "While your executive is of tha opinion that tho number of the Government's supporters throughout the T)o- ---| minion has been largely increased during Mho past year, it feels that- such increase would have been considerably greater but for tho persistant policy of misro- : presentation followed by a considerable section of tho Opposition press. Wher- ' .ever it is possible for your executive to do so, they havo taken step 3 to counteract tlio effect of such misreprc- : •.'•entations. - The Lata Mrs. .Newman. "It is with cleep regret that your executive has to record the death of one of its most esteemed members, ' Mrs. A. li. Newman, .a lady whoso unselfish devotion to the Reform cause was never more apparent than during ..the last few months of her life. For , years the late Mrs. Newman was a great sufferer, but with that courago which always bo marked her lifo, slio concealed the fact oven from., her friends, and sought relief in labouring for the good of others. As the founder of the" first Women's Political Reform League, Mrs. Newman did yeoTnan service for the Reform: cjiuso at the elections of 1908 and again in 1911. •Her death came as a severe blow to the Women's League, tho members of which will long affectionately cherish her memory. Mrs'. C. W. Earle has since acted as tho "League's representative on tho executive. Crowth of the Leagua. "Your executive has hold fiv-o.meet-ings during tho year, and is gratified to be able to report the existence ■of some 120 branches and sub-branches of the League. "Exceptionally good work has been accomplished amongßt the women, and the work itself has developed amazingly during tho year. It is impossible to name individually all those ladies to , whom thanks are duo in this connection, but tho executive desires to record its high appreciation of tho energy ' and onthusiasm of tho many ladies who give so much of their time and ability to furthering the Reform cause, and ; who deserve tho gratitude of every member of the leaguo. " A feature of tho work in the North Island is the intorest taken' by tho Natives in the operations of tho league, quito a number of branches having been formed at their request. It is satisfactory to note that so many Maorisare in full sympathy with tho Reform movement. League Officials. "Tho appointment of a general

crotary was decided upon at a meeting of the executive held on May- lOj and ultimately the appointment was conferred upon Mr. i£. A. J allies, a member of tho Auckland executive, who entered upon the secretarial work of the league early in July. Later, tlio North island organiser, Mr. C. I'. Lindegreen, resigned, and Mr.. Arthur A. Paape, who took up tho duties of the position on tho Ist. inst. was appointed m 'his stead. " Your executive desires to record its high appreciation of the work of Mr. David Jones, the organiser of tho Canterbury Province, in connection not only with the work of the league inthat district, but also with tlio recent I light fdp\tho' Grey seat. I "During the year Mrs. von Sturmer took up organising duties in conjnection with tho women's work, and the success of tho women's organisation in Auckland is duo largely to her active efforts.. "Reform Handbook and Journal. " The lost conference, it will he remembered, carried a recommendation in favour of the compilation of a Reform Annual or Handbook, find your executives accordingly authorised one of its members, Mr. E. C. Huie (who generously offered his services gratuitously) to proceed with tho publication. Tho handbook or annual will be supplied to members of the league at Is. per copy and will be circulated during the conference. S " Your executive would direct attention to tho journal 'Light.and Liberty' which is being run in full sympathy with the objects of the league. The journal is published monthly, and lias been well received. It has already proved a valuable auxiliary to tho work of tho league, and, if properly supported, should -prove of material assistance to tho party. (V Financial Responsibilities. " '/ho development of the work of the leaguo has necessarily entailed increased financial responsibility. The appointment of the general secretary,! and the opening of central offices 111 Wellington and their equipment,' necessitates considerable additional outlay, and, with the elections coming on next year, the need for a fighting lund is more pronounced. The supporters of tho league should see' to it, therefore, that, it's activities are not crippled' by the lack of funds. The Executive. "A refercnco to the Order Pap'efTHll show that several remits have been received dealing with matters affecting the. organisation of tho league. Of the threo which aro to be brought forward by your executive, two . directly affect the executive itself. ' In the first tho conference is asked to increase the membership of tho executive from eloven to fifteen (exclusive of the president) and, in the second, to provide for the inclusion in future executives of at least threo gentlemen resident in Wellington, and that, further, "provision should also bo made for tho inclusion of at least two members of Parliament on tho executive, as heretofore." The difficulty of getting an executivo together, the members of which aro widely soparated, is considerable, and it is therefore, in the opinion of your executive, desirable that something in tho nature of a central committee should be set up to, deal with matters of urgency requiring attention from time to time, hence tho recommendation for tlio inclusion of at least threo gentlemen resident in Wellington on 1110 executive. "Your executive feels that the conference will agree that the league is a successful organisation, that it will, justify iits existence by tho accomplishment ofthe objects for which it was formed, and that with a continuance of tho energy and enthusiasm which have thiis far been exhibited by so many supporters its usefulness in the future is assured." Mr. E. W. Alison moved tho adoption of the report, which was agreocT to on the voices. A report received from the _ Women's Conference, covering the minutes of that gathering was referred to the Dominion. Executive for its earnest consideration. On motions by Mr. Von Haast and Mr. G. J. Garland, committees -wero set up to deal with the remits on tho order paper, and to report to tho conference on Monday. Certain remits affecting the organisation of the league having been dealt with, the conference adjourned.