CANDIDATES' SPEECHES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2305, 12 November 1914, Page 6

CANDIDATES' SPEECHES

WELLINGTON CENTRAL CONTEST MR. FLETCHER'S CAMPAIGN. Mr. R. Fletcher, Opposition candidate for Wellington . Central, opened his campaign in the Concert Chamber last night. About 500 people were present. Mr.-TV.-T. flildreth presided. Mr. Fletcher said that he had done 6ome service for the people of Wellington, and proceeded to outline the services. At the last election ho was ahead on the first ballot, but a great amount of intrigue went on in the week before the second ballot, the result of which was that he was defeated by only 150 votes. For his own part he did not know what intrigue meant, and he had had nothing to do with it. This year's contest in Wellington Central would be one of the most strenuous ever held in the city, and he had it on good authority that motor cars from the Wairarapa- would be used against him as they had been last election, and that no effort.would be spared to prevent hisreturn. If his friends wished to sea him returned they must. get. together and work for him.

His-Platform. He claimed to be a progressive Liberal, standing for the interests of the masses as against the' classes, for the interests of the worker, for the extension of powers^of local bodies, for the abolition of duties on foodstuffs, and a protective tariff for local industries. Ho ivas strongly .of opinion that the progress of land settlement would go a, long way towards reducing the cost of living. The large estates should bo broken up,,and those m occupation who ' ivould not use their land should be taxed out of occupation of it. Ho was a solid leaseholder; he would never sell • the national estate for a party gain. Ho was in favour of free, secular, and . compulsory education from the primary schools to the university. He was in favour of proportional representation, of Government controlof all monopolies. He was a clean fighter and against all kinds of political trickery. He was in favour of all legislation that would benefit the people as a whole.

Trw Land Question. The land question was the most important that could be faced in any country. If the country districts were prosperous there would be prosperous towns. Tho large tracts of country held by the big landowners—he did not use figures—should be divided up and settled in smaller holdings. Could the present Government, who numbered among their friends all the big landowners of the country, be expected to split -up these estates? He thought this too much to expect. The Land Purchase Act put on the Statute Book by tho Liberal Government worked very well for a time, but the old Tories had put their heads together and insisted on getting high prices for their land, higher prices than the land was worth, and the result was that the people had been for some years buying Iback what ri ditfully blonged to them. Much was jiade of the added graduated land tax imposed by the present Government, but it was still a fact that users of tobacco paid nearly as much in taxation through the Customs as was collectedon all the land in New Zealand Small settlement was the very best form of settlement, but Mr. Massey had said in the House that the village settlement scheme .was not worth a rap. Settlement of land in small areas, for which tho credit was largely due to Mr. Seddon, had been one of the greatest of' blessings to this country. Out of it had grown the dairy industry, now absolutely the mainstay of the country. If the small farmer stopped to think for a moment ho; would see how he was deluded by the Massey party. In Frank-' lin electorate Mr. Massey was ■ being opposed by a man who had been his bosom • frieud and chairman of his committees. He believed Mr. Glass would give Mr. Massey "tho run of his life" for his scat, and Mr. Glass said that the' Government had not. given the workers and small settlers a fair deal. Mr; Glass had been in possession of "the inside secrets" of tho Massey party, so that it could be assumed that what he said was correct. Mr. Fletcher quoted extensively from speeches by Mr. Glass.

Some Personalities. Tlii Massey Party, had said that they would not increase taxation, but the fact was that the taxation per head had. increased from £5 3s. lOd. in 1912 to ; £5 10s. in 1914. Of course Mr. Fisher, .the Minister of Customs, had not had; time to attend to tho adjustment of the tariff. He bad gone to Australia, and no doubt had a very nice, time there fixing np a reciprocal tariff, and had played tennis -up and down this country for two months. A lady in tho audience mado some ' interjection. Mr. Fletcher: Don't get exoited. It is a compliment to me if you show that you are excited, because "it shows that what I am saying is getting homo. He > mentioned that a person who was in the employ of the people should not neglect bis constituents, who would have benefited greatly, by the removal of the duty on foodstuffs. If ho had not sufficient time, then ho should say so, "and let some, other body do it." Mr. Fisher had, however, removed tho duty on packingcases, and had remitted the dutv on the Governor's cigars. Ho (Mr. Fletcher) approved of t.ho removal of the duty en packing-cases, which he .thought a right and proper thing. But tho peoplo who bought the goods would not get the advantage of the rebate of duty. Ho referred in a somewhat enigmatical > or sneering way to the remission of duty on supplies for tho Governor. Mr. Massoy had said that ho would not increase tho public debt, but it had.

'been increased very considerably. •' Mr. Massey had told the peoplo- that it would not be necessary to increase taxbut taxation bad been increased , very considerably. In three years the Massey Party . had borrowed twentyBeyen .'millions.. That was the • selfreliant, non-borrowing policy. Thismoney had been borrowed m three years, or was about to be borrowed. Authority had been given for it. Against' this,.what was the recordof the Liberal Party? They had borrowed 1 forty-five'' millions in 21 years.'..... An interjector- suggested that the Massey Government had borrowed the . .money.for railways; . -"' ' Mr. Fletcher: For railways! If Mr. Massey would spend' more money, on the development of the country it'would bo better than squandering so much money on railways. Then Mr. Fletcher straightway went on to speak of a most important railway' work, the Rimutaka deviation, .which, he declared, was not mentioned in Mr. Hiley's report. He blamed the Government for not carrying out this work.. Next he blamed tho • . Government for not opening up the East Coast country by railway, making special mention of those districts lyingnearest to Wellington. A voice: You are referring to a,place where there are four sheep runs. Mr. Fleteher's reply .to this was that the local bodies in the district had declared that the land needed opening up. The present-Treasurer; he-said, had:

"* condemned the.borrowing polioy of his predecessor,- but he himself had borrowed over ten millions, oft money; A voice: To,pay. back the loans of the-other Government, .1- ,•, ■ : -'Mr. Fletcher retorted that when Mr.Ballahoe had come into power, he had had to borrow to pay back ithe "Tories'" loans. 1. •The Dreadnought-Again. _, ■The defence system, under which, there was compulsory, training, had showed the statesmanlike foresight of Sir Joseph Ward. ■It was not;a''Reform proposal, nor was the gift of the Dreadnought a Reform proposal. Now, who would .condemn the Dreadnought ./■ gift?; _■■ ■■ '-_;.;:,, ~,,;.::' ' / A voice: I wish we'had six of them. Mr. Fletcher approved of this sentiment entirely..•He.declared that:itwas a shocking disgrace . that when the • battle-cruiser New Zealand visited New . Zealand none of ■-tie. Ministersl-paid the slightest tribute to the' man who had originated the. gift.' He. believe3.that Captain Halsey .hid been ashamed that no word - was said'about Sir Joseph . Ward l .- .".- ;. ■;■ ~"; "!.-■:•■. -,' : >■•'.'. About Patronage arid Other Things. Mr. : Fletcher,, accused the;'Govern-' tnentof having failed'; to make good their pledge to do away : with' all political ■ patronage. ' He cited a .number of alleged instances commonly referred to by Mr. Atmore and others, and. ho ; made : 'the : : general; accusation that friends' of the Reformers were -being smuggled into :the ! Public. Service. He also accused the Government of having ' attempted-to .-get- control of all local bodies in the and of having' wherever posjible replaced Liberals by Reformers on Harbourßoards, y He-declared ;that. 'the 'Minister of • Justice, after- stating in the -House that the New_ Zealand; police were the best '": paid police service in the world, had increased the pay of the police by a shilling a day. And what for? . .-' A voice: Bribe. .; Mr.'-Fletpher: •'Exactly.", He-went on to! speak of the boasts of the members of the. Government :'of.. what they, .' would do-when they-got at "the pigeonholes." ' But not one. scandarhadbeen . unearthed.'' '. If this Government wish-

. \ \.ed to leave such a.;good t recf>td;;tihey ;■ : ■ had better'- clear ■ ojut.;the; pigeoii-holes; before going out. of office,, as .they sure-' , ly would in,, December..,, Mr., Fletcher, woiT.his concluding round of. applause. with .a'.reoital'.bfr-ihe .pledges -he- alleged-; thatthe Massey had': made : and broken'.' .'-';.,:vi, : .;-v Miv Flotcher aiisTveredra' number, of ?uestiona... He/stated; that-he was in avou'r.ofa State, thesole right 'of' note 'issue.... He blamed the Government! for the Huntly disaster., He said.he; would support legislation to prevent bogus unions from being formed at times, of industrial tronble.:, ! -".'■" A vote of thanks and confidence, pro- ■ posed by JIr.T.L. Dean,, was carried on a show of hands by a large majority. The only dissentients were a small par|;..of some half "a dozen, ladies. In' acknowledging the vote , Mr. Fletcher, .bespoke a'fair. hearing, for his opponent... '. '.' -,--.,■-. ; .' ■•; On the proposal of Mr. W.- Perry, a motion was carried, with'one dissen-

"tient, recording/appreciation of Sir 'Joseph Ward's /"gentlemanly, British support" given -to. the Government=in the wax crisis, ■ and declaring that. in the interests of good • government gen- , erally Sir Joseph Ward should be in: •-' control of the destinies of New Zealand. ' n SUBURBS SEAT. MR. R. A. WRIGHT AT PORIRUA. Although .the !weather',' proved unfavourable a. good audience, assembled .at the Hall. Porirua, last evening, when Mt. R. A. Wright delivered'an address to the electors. ; He li&&- a most ourable hearing, and 'was heartily'• Applauded throughout.- The meeting.called upon Mr.. E.. Wiridly. to take the chair. In' introducing, the - candidate the chairman paid a tribute to the good work he had done as a public man. : Mr. Wright replied to certain remarks made by Mr. Fitzgerald about the, printing i of certain postcards'-three years, ago dealing-, with the gift of the • Dreadnought. He regretted that Mr. Fitzgerald by insinuation should: have suggested that the" postcards were-;-.im- ? roper. They were 'nothing of the sort. : he objection to Sir Joseph Ward's action was not the gift of the Dreadnought itself, -_but the unconstitutional '• way in which it was done. .Parliament should have been consulted.- Answering questions, 1 * ho said he was in favour, of workers who rode on the Manawatu line being treated in the same way as ■workers.who rode on the Hutt line; the Government had carried out: as much of its programme as time" permitted. If the Opposition had not been so obstructive the Goverririient would have \doalt with the question, of the cost of living. This was a. burning. question which must'be faced, and the Government w ere facing it. On the motion' of Mr. Mildenhall, seconded by Mr. Jones, a hearty vote of thanks was conveyed to the speaker, the mover remarking that the address was particularly illuminating. • -

MR. F. T.' MOORE AT ISLAND BAY. il.??'f F ''&' %«»;,*>». labour candidate, for the' Suburbs *seat, addressed the electors at St; Hilda's fell, Island Bided " ,g Croskerry pre-

The candidate said that.owing to the failure of theuMassey Government to eee that an abundance of money was available for tb o . vigorous upkeep of tie industrial life of the, Dominion, an awful state of stagnation existed in certain trades and industries. The timber and building trades were striking instances of this neglect. Many sawmills were working less than half time and in eome cases the rate of pay ot the timber workers was sadly reduced. That deplorable state'of things was ho said, tlio result of Tory mismanagement. He held that to say the war. was the cause was no excuse. Money had always been found by those in authority if they were earnest in-the matter. Even If borrowing was impossible State notes could be issued to meet the • financial needs of settlers and workers who wanted money to build, homesteads with. Wherever one travelled in the Dominion to-day, tho cry. of the builder, and of the small landholder, was for'money, with which to carry out projected buildings. A State Bank and a State currency was, bo urged, the remedy for the.troublo, and all similar troubles, but a. Torsr Government would nevor aa-i

tablieb, a State bank, because such an institution would interfore with the gigantic profits of .private banks. A progressive. Government would supply the need, and then the stagnation of to-day would disappear. 'A vote of thanks was accorded the candidate. . Mr. Jlooro speaks at Lyall Bay to-morrow night. . MB. A.>ISLABIE AT KARORI. . Mr. A. Aislabie, a Liberal candidate for the Suburbs seat, addressed the electors at the Parochial Hall, Karori, last night. Ho dealt at some length with the declining-marriage and birthrate in' New Zealaud, .and proposed to deal with it by imposing a tax on all bachelors in receipt of £2 15s. and over per week. - Ho held that the bachelor should be made to feel that there was a stigma attaching to his state of bachelorhood, and he would then roaliso that he had a duty to perform to his country. • The land question, he said, was alt important for the Dominion, and because of the difference in the policy, of Sir Joseph Ward and tho Prime Minister, in cutting up big estates, they should put a Liberal Government in -power at the earliest opportunity. The Government should print school books, ■he said, and supply them at cost price' to" the pupils.

■ 'At the conclusion of his address the candidate was "asked whether he thought Sir Joseph, Ward acted right in' .presenting'a Dreadnought to the British Government without consulting the, people ? He replied that when the electors sent' representatives to Parliament to look after 'their affairs they did not want those representatives to shirk their responsibilities ,at critical moments. When a crisis arose Sir Joseph Ward had the courage of his convictions. His action was endorsed by Parliament, but the Reform Party took the_ opportunity of lodging their, coinplaint, in the 'electioneering campaign, and not in Parliament, which was tho proper place.-

.:',- MEETINGS TO-NIGHT. . ' .-• '■ Mr. A. M. Samuel, at Lower Hutt, 8 ,p.m. .»,' .■; •''.,-.,. Mr. A. Aislabie, at Khandallah, 8 P.™. • '"■: . --'-'- . , , . Mr. Field, at Otaki, 8 p.m. ' ' TO-MORROW'NIGHT'S MEETINGS. MrJ'J.'P/ Luke at St. Thomas's Hall, 8 o'clock. - Mr. R. A; Wright at Seatoun, 8 o'clock. ''■'.'■•"'" Mr. J; E. Fitzgerald at Karori; 8 o'clock. "■■- '■'-.' Mr. W. H. Field at Ohau, 8 o'clock. ' Mr. A.' at Ngaio, 8 o'clock. ''■;■•-.' OTHER MEETINGS.' ' -Dr.. A. K. Newman, committee,, this evening. : , V • .' Mr. Wj H. iTurnbull, committee, November 16. .