WELLINGTON NORTH

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 121, 8 February 1918, Page 6

WELLINGTON NORTH

THE LABOUR CANDIDATE 11 MR. H. HOLLAND SPEAKS Tho Labour candidate for 'Wellington North, Mr. H. Holland, spoke to a meeting of electors in the Concert ; Chamber of the Town Ha') last night. H was a full meeting, friendly to .Mr. Holland, and there was no interruption or other interference with the speaker. _ Mr. AY. Maddison, chairman of the' Wellington Representation Committee, presided. Mr. Holland ; aid that at the declaration of the poll in 1914 he had said that in the end Labour wqukl drive all the opponents of Labour into one camp, and then defeat them in the light for the Treasury benches. Tho union of the enemies of Labour had come about sooner than many had expected. in the formation of the National Government, "the most disastrous, tho most reckless Government," i the country had ever known—a GovI eminent which had given the country ! the wickedest laws in the history of I New Zealand. In this fight no War Regulation that had ever been written would prevent him from saying what ought to be said. (Applause.) So he would deal with the conscription law, the wretched War Regulations, and the infamous class administration of the Government. And if the Government dared to put their War Regulations into operation to stifle the voice of Labour in this campaign it would prove that Prussianism was to them a greater consideration than freedom. His Opponents. He would not fight the fight on personal lines. He would insist upon keeping the larger issues of the fight , continually before the people. He | would, act as Crown Prosecutor for | once in a way, and he would ask the I people, as the jury, to pass sentence I of death on the Massey Government. [ ! "I mean that in a political sense,'' he | said. "1 don't mean it in a physical | 6ense, because that would be a waste of good hemp, anyhow, and we want hemp for the war." He went on to say that he would challenge the Government on their conscription policy, on ; their refusal to go to the electors, on their War Regulations, on their muddled finance, on the cost of living, and on their insistence on keeping down wages while the cost of living was allowed to rise. The result of this latter policy was that the workers were from 30 to 40 per cent, worse off than they Were before the war. In his opinion the man who went to the war—and more than 50 per cent, of casualties occurred in the New Zealand Force— would be underpaid at £1 or even £5 a day. (Applause.) Labour would have two strong opponents in the battle. "There is a third opponent," ho said, "but I don't think ho comes into the picture very much, because when Dr. Thacker gets his share of the limelight there won't be much for the other fellow." But, he went on, both Mr. Luke and Mr. Brandon were so-called "win-the-war" candidates, supporters of the Government. He could not see much difference between the two, but neither of them would support, tho people against fbe Government. Mr. Luke was a good Mayor. If the people would have a Reform Party- Mayor they could not do much better than to keep Mr. Luke, and he did not wish to depreciate his work as Mayor in any way, but there | was a very strong prejudice among the people against a man holding down two jobs. Conscription. He expressed the strongest disapproval of conscription and of the administration of the law. Already 5000 men had been gazetted as deserters — men who had never had a uniform on and who had never sworn an oath to serve. Some of theso men had escaped in the boats, but many were in hiding in the country, being hounded by the police. The only offence of 'some of these men was that they believed that Christ really meant it when He said, "Thou shaft not kill." A party of fourteen of these men were put on a ship and sent off to the war without eveu their mothers being aware of it. They had been persecuted all the way Home —damnably treated. Mr. Holland read a letter which, he said, had been sent to him by a soldier in camp, in which was told a story of how a party of men forcibly stripped some conscientious objectors at the camp. He said that if elected ho would have all these things probed to tile very bottom. Cost of Living. Mr. Holland spoke next of the increases iti prices of produce from New Zealand, due to the war, and condemned the Government for its policy in handling the food products in cold store while the local prices were allowed to riso to such heights, lie did not consider this act of the "AA'in-the-War Government" was really calculated to win the war. The Government, could and should have seen that the starving people of England had food and clothing material they»so badly needed at the pre-war rates. The Union Company. Next he dealt with the Union Steam Ship Company. The U.S.S. Co. had given £250,000 to tho War Loan, and this had been doscribed as "the | practical side of patriotism." Tho truth was that exorbitant sums—much mors than a quarter of a million —iiad been paid for ships. He challenged M v. Will'ord, "tho war authority in the Government," to tell exactly what had been paid to the. Union Company up to the end of last month. Up till the end of March last the Government i had paid nearly two and a half mil- ■ lions of money for the loan of tome of the company's ships. This was finance that could not be tolerated tor a moment It ."nine dangerously near to corruption. What the Government i should have done was to comffuuidcGr . all the company's ships for war service. The. Government did conscript human life, but refused to touch the - property of the wealthy I'mon Steam Shi]) Company. • ! He condemned tho alleged rapacity ' of tho scheelite mining companies, who ' had sold schools to the Germans be- ! fore tho war, and now complained about having to sell it to Britain tor a much bigger price, but a price which 1 they did not think good enough. Union Wages for Soldiers. He accused the Government of allowing the wives and children of sol- ■ diers to remain here in want while others made huge profits, and the men ■ went to the war to suffer awful hardships. The soldier who came back from the war wounded, and who expected to get a pension of 355. a week, very often found that his pension was only 10s. a week. And the Government bad suspended the Arbitration Court awards and so made it possible for the employers to give them any wage they pleased. Every man who came back sboultl have a job to ston into, and, whether he was fit to work or not, he should receive full trades union wages. If a man died, his dependants should receive (he full trades union wages ! <lie man would have received. The soldiers, when they came back,.would not tob'ratc this present stale of affairs, and there was a real dnnger from a united body of men, such as soldiers wonkl bn. There liar] revolution in the older countries. It. had come in Russia, it was coming iu Germany, and it was threatening in England. The Second Division ?.nd Conscription. Ha challenged the Government to toll the people to what figure the reinforce-

ments had been reduced, lie accused ] tho Government of cowardice for its refusal to send married men. He did not say that it was right policy for tho Government to send married men after so many of the best men had gone, but those married men who had signed the National Register "Yes" deserved to be sent. (Applause.) He believed that 700 lads became 20 years of age every month, and he protested against these lads being dragged away and exposed to tho dangers of venereal disease and tho other horrors of militarism. If ho were elected he would fight to save the boy's. He would fight for the repeal of the conscription law, and lie would fight to have established in its stead a voluntary system in which the men would be adequately paid. Ho would also do his best to prevent Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward going away to England. He urged that this fight was Labour s fight more than any other fight hau ever been. "Every man and woman, he said in conclusion, "who does not want to see Christ jettisoned ought to be with us in this fight." Question and Answer. Amongst a number of questions was the following: "In the eveilt of Sir. Holland 'being elected, wFJ ho he in sympathy with the Russian Government in its attitude towards clericalism nnd chm-chism?" Sir. Holland replied: "I think we may leave the Russian Government to look after Russia. What we are concerned about is New Zealand. We shall have as much to say about Russia as Mr. Massey will have ahout Samoa when ho goes to England.J Sir. J. Read moved a resolution of confidence in the Labour platform, and in Mr. Holland. Tho motion was agreed to without dissent, and the meeting gave cheers for the Labour Party. RETURNING OFFICER APPOINTED It is notified in yesterday's Gazette . that Sir. J. W. A. Heenan has been appointed returning officer for the electoral district of Wellington North. He | will also be returninc officer for the j Wellington Licensing District.