POLITICAL MEETING.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2012, 20 March 1914, Page 8

POLITICAL MEETING.

MR. ATMOBE SPEAKS. NOISY AUDITORS EJECTED For just on two hours in the Town Hall last night, Mr. H. Atmorc, M.P. for Nelson, addressed a political meeting. Ho devoted the whole, of his speech to a condemnation of tke Government, and was given a fair hearing. Mr. J. J. M'Gratn presided. l.if. Atmoi* lirst aaalt at length with the report tliat he had benndiscuurteons at the meeting held by the Prime Minister (the Hon. \V. If. Massey) at Aelsou. He explained the position ho took up then by stating _ that forariifths or the meeting was with him, and said that when a vote -of confidence was moved in Mr. Massey he stood up to move au amendment, for a voce of confidence moved in the Prime- ihinistcr meant a vote of no-confidence- in him. A voice-: Talk politics. Mr. Atmorc: There was an.organised attempt on behalf of the- Reform leagueto prevent me speaking. Mr. Atmore went on to' attack Mr. Massey, who, he said, bad broken all promise?!. He had promised to stop borrowing) but continued to do so. He admitted part of the money borrowed by Mr. Massey was for renewals, but what Sir Joseph Ward borrowed was also for renewals, A -voice: Dreadnoughts. Uproar interrupted the- speaker for some considerable time, then he returned to his attack on Mr. Massey. "I am satisfied," he said, "that a settler from Mangcre eaimoii manage the affairs of this country." Land monopoly, ho said, was one of the evils in New Zealand, but the- Prime Minister could not break up the large estates, for he was a Prime Minister under direction. Uproar—And An Ejestton. Breaking off to the-labour .question, the speaker contended that. tlie Prime Minister had done nothing to promote industrial peace, arid had blundered; in his control of the strike..- Referring to previous industrial struggles Mr. Atmore said that then there were giants of Liberalism in the House, A voice: You were not there, j (Laughter.) A sustained uproar in one part of the hall compelled the speaker to desist for the time. An inte-rjee-ter, with greau ventriloquial powers, was gaining more attention than Mr. Atmorc, and the chairman was prompted to rise. "It is quite apparent that quito 90 per cent, of this audience- "he commenced, but repeated, cries of "Sit down!" "Sit down!" and the countingout process, made it impossible for hira to continue. When the disorder bad died down a constable was called to remove a man from the back «f the platform. The constable approached, but the interjefrtor showed himself unwilling to leavo when asked. Instead he stood his ground, and advanced his bared arms, as if requesting the "handcuffs should be put on him. A second can-stable ascended the platform, and the man was taken away, accompanied bj cheers and counter-cheers. ~

, When quiet was restored Mr, Atmore returned to the strike question, and claimed that the Prime Minister had failed to appeal to reason, daring the industrial crisis, and had to appeal to force. An appeal to reason., he held, would have done everything, "Givo the worker everything," ojacu* lated a man in tho front row, but the speaker, let tho remark pass unchallenged. ' '■'•' •':*.' Cries of distress. "About tho strike itself," said' Mr. Atmore, "all disorder and anarchy are' simply cries of distress from those not getting a fair share of tho things the Creator intended man to got." Further interruption caused afiotljer break in the meeting, and an old man was removed. Then Mr, Atrnoro went on to refer to the cost of living, and declared that half the. drunkenness and vice throughout tho world arose- from economic pressure. The Government, apparently, was to blame, for Mr. Atmore dramatically' declared: "You aro creating a Biimateo impression .of the worst features of life in the 'old countries of tho world. Yen aro not giving the people a fair share of tho things a bountiful Creator intended them to have." These conditions were tho .first for a democratic Government to set about and relievo.

"Why did uot the other Government do it?" Mr, Atraoro was questioned, but he did not hear tho interjection,

Mr. Fisher's Nanie and Cheers,

Tho Miuister of Marine (the Hen. F. M. B. Fisher) was next attacked, in regard to Customs. •At tho 'mention of Mr.. Fisher's name a small body of men attempted to make a demonstration, but were quickly drowned by a hearty and sustained clapping from all over the building.

Another bad step taken by the- Government, according to Mr. Atmot e, was' in the introduction into JS T e\v Zealand of a party of 50 boys from England, as farm labourers, at a wage of J& (id. per week. Tho Government was Sot going to stop at importing ■cheap.labour for tho farmers. If hoys. eohld he brought out for the farmws, what was. wrong with bringing Japanese miners or carpenters out to Work i'or 2s. a day ? Tho graduated land tax of tho Minis* ter of finance was characterised as an idle threat to put on an enormous tax .on big estates. If they had a proper land tax in New Zealand they Would got closer settlement* After referring to the 1 Minister of Finance and the £3,000,000 loan raised in London, and relating the cause of the stem-walls in the House during last session, Mr. Atraerg wont oh to deal with dofeMeo matters, and took exception to tho naval policy. Ho believed in treating tfes expenditure on defence as an insurance fund against national disaster, and advocated the principlo that every man should pay according to the amount of property he was having protected. Ho warned the l>coplo agiiinst tho extravagance whffih lie said the Government was going to lead the country into. They were paying 17s. 4d. per head for defence, and could double that, and have a small navy, which would be no good. Beforo concluding, Mr. Atmofo challenged Mr. Fisher to speak in Nelson, and thanked the audience for the hearing they had given him. Mr. M. La racy moved that: "This meeting is desirous to record a vote of thanks to Mr. H. Atraore fef his very able, instructive, and interesting address, and calls upon progressive forces to combine at the forthcoming elections, for tho purposo of ousting the M.assey Government, thereby making it possible to break up land, financial and shipping monopolies, wliieh are working against the best interests of this Dominion."

This motion was seconded by Mr. Robertson, a gentleman in tho body of tho hall, and was declared carried.