THE ELECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2296, 2 November 1914, Page 8

THE ELECTIONS

!-:;;V>;: ; ;.';-:H !> ;\-v.'-t.',.'._' !"* ;: >.: r ;s ■-.': .■:-■ ■' A ! " SUBURBS SEAT '. : " . A CHALLENGE TO MR. MOORE '■Mr.'; J. E. Fitzgerald,' Liberal candidate for the Wellington Suburbs elec- . ■ .tora'te, opened his ;, campaign; at. Pahau''taiiitiL oil Saturday evening. .Tlie.meeting \yas: convened at short notice, but ',well over sixty people 'attended. '.-'.The j decided to be - brief, and; he ;'.' succeeded in'completing the meeting- in ■■ f ;-less. than Jialf air houi. y ■'■'.:'. !;-; !" ; :: .:;. ■■•■■/.- The; meeting was. presided over. by Jli-.W. Galloway,, n'ho introduced the '•'.,. candidate as a young.colonial-with con- "■ eitkrable |'go" ■ and energy,- and;.ability • r-one who had, had; a good deal of ex- ■-. perienoe en ■the-Wellington City Goun- . -jcil and the -Wellijgton \Harbour Board. ;■ , Mr. Fitzgerald was received with applause. He remarked at the outset that ; ■ he. was "pleased to ■'; see that; notwithstanding the great crisis overshadowing '■ : the- world to-day,/the. British- people of this part of the; Empire still found it, possible to view things with, such • calmness that; they could turn out' in ,--, large "-numbers to interest: themselves ■ .in general politics.' He went on to say ;'that he appeared before the people. of 'Pflhautanui that evening in accordance :VwitlTa" promise made three years,ago. He eaid;'th'at. he-was: satisfied. that Qie would not be passed by unheard, and that. he'.<would on this occasion; receive .■ ..the confidence, of a ; majority of the ; -elec-' -;tors;; '.'■'•.'-'• %\ ; - L^'y. j. --.';..••:.■■ ;,:: Assertion Answered;by a Challenge. ■■': -Mr. Fitzgerald said that''he'liadseeii ■ ■ it reported that Mr. F. T.Moore, an- ■' ofliei\ candidate for-, the. seat, had .made. '.; an; observation! to ! the ; effect.'that , ' Mr- :- 'Fitzgerald;- would not be ..standing 1 at ■ this election. Jlis' presence on this .' : platform: of that . statement,; , :-, (Applause.) He thought , Llberalfsmvaiid' Labour had many: com-,,--;;mon^interests;,;:and;he thought they; ..3iaH.:-a'comnion'.enem.v in the present 1 Government,;, He.challenged Mr. Moore. to'eubmit himself (along with 1 Mr. Fitz-r --...gerald) to a ballot of the Labour unions,. '. the.- resultVof:' the ballot .'/to .determine/ ; which; ;bf/the'! two candidates should VreV -tire. wHe^was; not! associated, with the. unions,':;-but was so. confident' of his ahih'tKtoiobtain;.the support \of the great-majority.of the unionists that he- ' throw-out ■'this ; challenge to the , man" , who.'hacKinferred that-he would not -be in';the;'h'eld at/a 11:. "'.',' .-. •<■) .'■ : :.•. ;</.[ ■'■■;; the candi- ■ date -..were ! at. the present * time : abraigiied- before the' bar of, public . bpinionli-charged- with the- breakage of ;prcmises,?;They promised to ■ abolish in- ■[ thistrial- strife, but there had.been more. ■J industrial,; strife during.' their. : term of. office"than. over: there nad. been in the' ;:past. ;.f.They ' had promised "to ' reduce ■ taxa-tioh, and , had increased it. They: J.'haS, promised to .reduce borrowing,- but .had increased it heavily, for,, besides i.the:£11,000,000 they had already bory- :: roWed, "ithey had : a"" proposal to borrow, ;anoliherV : £l2,soo,ooo.'.'The borrowing , of -.the Massey. Government, he alleged, had the objectionable feature of "being for .works ■>'hicb.;. tould. .iipt., be ", classed'! .as: ; reproductive:- ; mo'ney was;to'be ilavished" -";oh. j fine'buildings. :. The Massey.'Govern.ment,l.fe.:pro'ceeded,. .hud .promised .to : abolish -'political -pati^nage,.chilli <there Jiad been more' patronage "thaii * usual since,thci.change in Administration. He alleged ijthat Mr. W. T, .Hildreth had' -'been- removed'by the. pfesentr.Go'vern•ntent: ffemthie seat on th<i';'Wellingt<Hv Harbour "Board because ho.-.waVpoSticV ■ 'ally a.Liberal. : ■ . ■ ' v ':-' : ':y: ; 'y'.■■':■ ; ■;; The r Covernment Criticised.;?::^ j. Massey party .were in Op- . position' ;.;ffiey promised that 'if : they got: into.vpowcr they iwould economise, ; : but theyyiad started off by' giving. Mr. ■ ;Eoyd Qarlick a large salary,, aid had then imppited. a General Manager'for Railways:r:at. £3000, who immediately asked foran espenditure of ;£3,200,000. ■: Onevpf/.-'the' audience: -Aren't': they 'needed?v; : .i; : i ■ .;.:.". :■,[: ■'-.•■.;,-.;' . . Mi-. Mfagerald: That is the'question I expected:. Not one' fresh acre of land ..will bo:opened Tip by these new-Hnes, .iai;d yot- ;there arc back-block settlers ..without roads to their homes. It'is'tho' nien.im.thp'back-blocks who should ■ receive. first)consideration.j.. (Applause.) ; ■"" Tho Massey Government, he said, had eliirkedats responsibilities by setting up.' crim'misei<jns. He criticised .the •'apppintH. jnent .of ; ; pivil Serrice. Cominissipnefs/ ,who, lie;:remarl.-ed, :furnished ; their f :;bf-' .fices at:d v :cbst of £800, ;ahd : sat >m lux-' iiry: ~:'3?he-.,Civil,;Service ..6eethed'« witHi dissatisfaction;, merit iwas , 'not;.now,re-" ' cognised,-.and the'system of apjpeal was unfair.- vTW much ;weight.was, attached to. theoretical examinations, as'.'agairist : practicability..'.' Men'" who'; kne.w. their, work well,- and had been- in the Service many.years, properly, treated in ' comparison : with'.younger men, who' had passed i ..theoretical V-.'examinatiohs.'-' :Tho; ; Gommissioners had dealt in a most nutocratic' manner with the Post'and .Telegraph service recently, and a crisis wae: only averted by the ; tact and the ability of : tho/Secretary, of: -the' Depart■jnent.; It .was; a v very bad thing., that the', whole-power of the . Civil Service" fihould;be handed over to two or-three -.wen. ■■■',' .-■ -■' '■!'■;:■:;: .-.--.■• '-■■ . r . ■ \' , Land Question arid Social Problems. ; Speaking on the land' he said that-it was every man's ambition ■ to.--hold-a.-piece; of land and make a iiomo v of his own. He wanted to see the.large tracts of laud broken up, and ])o maintained' that the present Governnientwere not. doing that. R the Maeeey Government; was put out of office, thoso'miles and miles.of estates would lie: broken up and: made available to the many wiio were willing to settle on/thD.land. The land policy hrought down by.the lato Sir John M'Kenzie .■was the. policy, : -which had ■ made New Zealand ...what it was to-day. When , the'-Liberay Party, got into power, 'its 1 first; work, ivae to- allow -the people to get; on. tho land and. to ; advance them the; money with wliicli to',fence it.and to .'stock it'; and any party which: did such: things was worthy of the confitlenco of: the 'public. ' \ : 'Social problems were next touched upon. .He believed that 'overy man. «hould he'.able to look forward to'some degree of comfort in Ms old age. Ho said that it was necessary to pass legislation to deal effectively with abscondiog husDands, for at present a woman who was poor could not bring back from (say) Australia the husband who had deserted her. The law needed rem'edy'.ing.'eo that women could got that much justico even though.they, were-poor. As. he draw his address to a conclusion, Mr. Fitzgerald eaid that there .vere many other things which he wished to say -to tho audience, but that for tho,;present ho would go no further. .In vie* ,pf what .had 'been said by another, he lirid come out promptly to €how that he was: in the field again..Iliree years ago the people of Pahautanuihad been kind enough to givo.him & very heavy poll, and he had thought that the least do was to oiien his;l campaign there'. During the 'last three years lie had not been idle. He; was a member of the Wellington City Council, and chairman of its Outlying Committee, Ho had sat for eev'eral yeare on the Harbour Board, the Hospital Board, and the Technical School Board, and he claimed that the experience gained on thoso bodies had helped'to fit him'for the position to which he now aspired. And as election day drew near, he hoped the electors would recognise in him one who was willing to do all he could for4iie die-' trict. Ho hoped to speak at Pahau'taiuii again beforo. the campaign .\vas closed. '.'■.■•. . ■ ■' . . '■'■ Questions were inritcd, and someone osked if the .caadidato thought that Sir Joseph .Ward, as the head ,of a. dem;^.

cratic party, should have accepted an ~ bereditary title.. ~;•'. . ...' ■['■■ Mr.- Fitzgerald said -that it was Sir .'■■' Joseph; Ward's owii; business 'if ho accepted an honour which-his King de- .. cided to offer him. Ho added that he : lcoked upon Sir/Joseph. Ward as th« besv Imperialist in New, Zealand to-day. _ r A motion was then put-to the meetEl ing that Mr. Fitzgerald 'should ••■ be ,: thanked -for his address, and'that he was a tit and proper person to repre- ; eeait theelectors of Wellington Suburbs J- "as' a member if the Ward Govern- ,; ment.". The chairman asked for a show "••' of hands, and declared the motion curf 7 Tied -: •' .• ... '*- Mr. Ii; A. Wright will address tho io electors at the Churchrooni, Maranui, [e this evening, at 8. o'clock.