CANDIDATES' SPEECHES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2327, 8 December 1914, Page 7

CANDIDATES' SPEECHES

WELLINGTON NORTH, MR. TURNBULL AT BOULCOTT STREET. Hie attendance at .Mr. W. H. Turntull's meeting in Boulcott Street last evening was small. Mr. J. J. M'Grath occupied the chair, Tile candidate said ho was standing politically as the representative of tne Liberal Party and •that party, he felt' certain, was going to be returned to power. Spoaking of Mr. Holland, the candidate said no Labour candidate had been solected for -Wellington North. The Labour Representation. Committee had only selected candidates for Wellington East, South, 'and Suburbs. Therefore, Mr. Holland could not claim to represent organised labour. There was, said Mr. Turnbull, discontent in the Civil Service over the Commissioner system, aiid the way in which appointments had been put on one side and not dealt with. The Government, he said,, was to blame for Hot dealing-with .the oost . of living. It was idle to say that there had not been time. He thought the elections should iiot have been forced on, in view of the war, It would, he maintained, have l-oen better to take Sir Joseph Ward and' some other Liberals into the Cabinet. This would have enabled the Administration to carryon smoothly and avoid mistakes,- such as fixing the limit in the War . Risks'lnsurance Bill at £5000. He thought that the. least possible legislation should be undertaken during the war and the licensing law should not be disturbed owing to the difficulty of readjusting the revenue. Ho Bupported'the baby Bonus, and held that the Government was to blame for neglecting to'heed advice given in connection with ;the condition'of the Huntly mine; At the conclusion of the meeting a hearty vote of thanks and confidence in the candidate' was carried unanimously, and the gathering broke up with pheers for Sir Joseph Ward. WELLINGTON SOUTH. ' MR. J. P. LUKE AT BROOKLYN. Mr. ' J. P. Luke, Reform candidate for Wellington South, addressed a large meeting in Eullford's Hall, V Brooklyn, last evening;, Mr. G. Frost presided. The "meeting , was quiet; and gave 'the pandidate an excellent hearing. ' Mr.'Luke said that he was still in favour of progressive Liberal legislation, and if -returned to Parliament would associate himself with .the Reform Party to assist in carrying out beneficial measures and backing up sound administration. ' He was not an advocate of class legislation, but regarded questions of legislation from the standpoint of the .country as a whole. (Applause.) Speaking of taxation, he said that he was in favour of a graduated land tax which would bring about a greater settlement of land. He belioved that the present Government had administered the affairs of the country bo well- that it could be said of' it that it : had been economical without saving the expenditure of public money by; making the Civil Service bear sacrifices in the form of reduced salaries. In fact, the police, the railway .men, and other Civil Servants' had had their pay increased. (Applause.) Another evidence of good administration by the present Government was the manner in which they had handled the public affairs in the present great crisis, and in lesser difficulties. . It would be a foolish thing for New..Zealand.,at such-.a .time: to accept a compromise;'' party which would not have the confidence of those with whom it had to deal, and the. present Opposition'were. a! compro-;

mise party in which little confidence could be placed. (Applause.) At the conclusion ot his address, Mr. Luke was accorded a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence). An amend-' inenfc was called for, but none was offered ..and the motion was carried amidst enthusiasm.

MB. B, B. WILLIAMS AT BERHAMPORE. Mr. B. B. Williams held an enthusiastic .meeting at the Masonio Hall, Berhampore, last evening, and was given an excellent reception. Ho dealt with the reduction in tho.cost of living, closer settlement, naval defence, and. tho Referendum. At the conclusion of his address he was accorded a hearty vote of thanks, carried with acclamation. Hβ refused the motion of thanks coupled with confidence. THE SUBURBS SEAT. MB. R. A. WBIGHT AT MARANUI. The fight for the Suburbs seat was continued by Mr. B. A. Wright last night, when he addressed a meeting at Maramii. Mr. Clater occupied the chair. The candidate referred to recent statements made by Mr. Fitzgerald. At Seatoun he (Mr. Fitzgerald) had'stated, that land aggregation had been going on at Pahiatue, and asserted that one man (Mr. Bowie) had purchased eleven sections, which meant that 40 people wore dnven from the district. Mr. Wright had a letter from Mr. Bowie, in which he flatly, denied Mr. Fitzgerald's statement. Mr. Bowie had purchased four sections, totalling 710 acres. Only one of the vendors had any family. Of the r four holdings three were purchased in Sir J. Ward's time and one m Mr. Massey'a. ' The incorrectness .of the statement, said Mr. Wright, was thus exposed. But this was only equalled by many other misstatements made. • A vote of thank's and confidence was carried on a show of hands. MB.'FITZGERALD'S OAMPAiGN. ■ Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald (Opposition) addressed meetings at Miramar, Worser Bay, and Island Bay last evening. At each place the candidato was well received. 'Mr. Fitzgerald dealt at length with /the. advertisement appearing in last night's "Evening. re the allocation of the votes of the Expeditionary, Force. Hβ assured the electors that one of his relatives and seven members of his committee had joined the Expeditionary Force, and ho was certain that these men had recorded their votes in his favoun He would leave it to the electors to decide whether Sir Joseph Ward was justified in the action he had taken in extending to a Labour candidate what justly belonged to the Liberal. He was satisfied that the electors, imbued with a sense of fair-play and justice, would repudiate and denounce the action of Sir Joseph Ward in this respect. If the Liberal Party could only regain the reins of office by an alliance with the party whose extreme views are impossible ana destructive, they must answor to those staunch and sturdy Liberals who had stood by the party in bygone years. Ho felt satisfied that 'the Liborals of the district would recognise his consistency in the cause of Liberalism, and Temember that; although never bearing the hall-mark of Sir Joseph Ward, he was convinced of the justice and the strength of the cause he advocated. -'-The principle of Liberalism," said Mr. Fitzgerald, "was trust the people," and he would he content to abide by the decision of the. people on December 10. At all places the candidate was accorded a hearty vote of thanks and confidence. '' MR. F. T. MOORE AT JOHNSON- - . VILLE... -• '■: .;..: Mr. F. T. Moore, the selected Opposition candidate for Suburbs, addressed a meeting at Johnsonville last night ■ re-

garding his selection by the Opposition leader in favour of Mr. Fitzgerald. • Mr. Dunbar Sloano was in the chair. Tho candidato said that Mr. Fitzgerald ought to accept the position, as laid down by Sir Joseph Ward, and call xipon his supporters to vote for the man selected by the- Leader of the Opposition to receive the official Liberal vote for tho Suburbs seat. Unless Mr. Fitzgerald did this, said Mr. Moore, he would forfeit the good-will of all progressive electors in the Suburbs constituency. The right thing to do, seeing that his name was not among Sir Joseph Ward's official list'of candidates, was to avoid vote-splitting, and graciously request his friends to vote for tho Labour nominee. It was bettor for him to adopt this course than allow himself to appear in a helpless position on Thursday next in face of Sir Joseph Ward's decision on the matter. A vote of thanks and confidence was carried unanimously, and cheers were given for the Labour Party and the candidate.