WELLINGTON NORTH

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 125, 13 February 1918, Page 6

WELLINGTON NORTH

MR. BRANDON'S CAMPAIGN MEETING AT KELBURN KIOSK Mr. A. do B. Brandon delivered his first address to electors in his campaign for AVclJington North seat at the Kelburn Kiosk last evening. The room was filled, and the meeting was orderly as political meetings go in theso days, but tho" candidate did at times have to submit to disconcerting, noisy interjections. Mr. M. Myers presided. About Mr. Brandon. The chairman, introducing tho candidate, said that Mr. Brandon was well known and respected in Wellington North. The history of his family was bound up with that of the city of Wellington. His father arrived here in ]SiO, was one of tho pioneers of this country, and a member of the Legislature. Mr. Brandon himself was a New Zealander, and ho had had the honour of being a city councillor and Mayor of the city. His son, Captain Brandon, was doing his best in the war to keep the family tradition. .He had won distinction as a member of the Royal Flying Corps, having been decorated by the King for gallantry. But Mr. Brandon had no desire to flv to the head of ,tho poll in his son's aeroplane. So far as Mr. Brandon was concerned, the campaign would be conducted in a clean and proper manner, without bitterness. They , were all friends of Mr. Luke, and they all hoped that the fight would be fought in such a way as not to impair existing friendships. He ventured to say that all were- agreed that more than ever in times of stress they ought to elect to Parliament tho best men they could get. Mr. Dowdall: Harry Holland! The chairman said that Mr. Brandon was a resident of *he district, while Mr. Luko was not. If Mr. Luke were the best man available he would support Mr. Luko without hesitation. A voice: Why didn't you come at him? The chairman said that if the two candidates were approximately equal in qualifications, the resident should have the preference over tho non-resident. Wellington North electors had hitherto chosen their own candidates—tolerant, broad-minded, strong men. Which of the two candidates, Mr. Luke or Mr. Brandon, would bo likely to follow in tho footsteps of the previous members? Voices: "Luke." Mr. Myers said that Mr. Brandon had been consistent in his political views, having been a supporter of tho Roform Party for a long time. Mr. Luke had been all things at different times, :ind nothing for long—Liberal, Independent, and Reformer in turn. Mr. Luke had been much too susceptible, and much too versatile Mr. Luke bad done patriotic work as Mayor, but he had done only his duty—only tho work that anyone else in his position would have done with good heart. Mr. Myers briefly criticised Mr. Luke's administration as Mayor so far as it related to the milk supply and fish market, and urged' as to the capabilities of the candidates that Mr. Brandon had been ns-excellent a Mayor of tho city and he had been a man of affairs. That Previous Invitation. Mr. Brandon, who was received with applause, said that Mr. Herdman had for many years ably , represented tho electorate, and had won the respect of tho electors. All would join in congratulating Mr. Justice Hordman. Ho wished to say that he had not been nominated for the seat by the liquor trade, tho prohibitionists, or any other social organisation. It had been a fully representative deputation. It had been said that he had previously been asked to stand and had declined. The nearest to a request that had been mndo was a remark made in passing by an old friend-with whom ho had played marbles fifty years ago. He was standing as a protest against any attempt to introduce, into Now Zealand anything like the American political machine, which some of our politicians would dearly like to seo introduced into this Dominion. He was loyal to the principles of tho Reform League. His programme was a brief one. The ivar must be- won, and he believed that if New Zealand was to do her part the National Government must be continued. He believed, however, that the proposals of the Government should bo subjected to honest criticism. We had not yet won the war, and few realised what would happen to this country if the war were not won* Ho proceeded to draw a picture of what might happen if the Huns came here. A voice: Cheer them up a bit, Mr. Brandon. (Laughter.) Mr. Brandon wan interrupted at this stage a good deal, but presently k> was allowed to go on. Wrong Time to Swap Horses. He agreed that to secure a proper continuity of action towards winning the war it would be necessary to keep the National Government in oflics. 3t was not by any means a perfect Government. No form of government would come fully within the definition of democracy. Democracy now was no more than a fetish, by which fledgling politicians sought to "palm off their nostrums on the people. No definition w?.s v so good as that of Abraham Lincoln: "Government of the people, by the people, for the people." No constitution could ever bo stable in society as it was. The Government should bo strong enough to preserve the rights of all parties, and not allow any section to have the ascendancy. The Government, however, might be likened to a team of horses in mid-stream. The straight path would lead the team to safety, and it was the duty of tlie people to keep the hordes on the straight path liv any possible means. The partint* of tho horses would bring the coach to disaster. The task of the Government was to keep the team on its course. Experimental Legislation. His third point was that no attempt should be made in war time to introduce experimental legislation at the instigation of any party or faction. Contests on such matters led to personal bitterness and acrimony, and ho thought it would be matter for the greatest sorrow if, after so manv of our young men had given their lives for us, the people were divided into rival camps, und there was loss of war effort by this disunion. All energies must be conserved for the winning of the war, to which all other principles ought to be subordinated meanwhile A. voice: Then why embarrass the Government? Mr. Brandon: "I will embarrass you presently when I answer the question." Vie went on to say that his friends had declared that he was a Tory, pre- • Victorian, antedeluvuui, and other names. Ho called himself a Liberal. (Hear, hear.) In tho picsent day in Now Zealand licence was being mistaken for frendom, while according to the Liberalism of the day the policy was to bind one's opponents and take all tho freedom for oneself He declared that the Government bad in its taxation policy taxed tho thrifty. The piling up of huge reserves of surplus revenue was not in his opinion part of the duty of a National Government formed for (lie purpose of winning the war. The real fnult was tjiat there were too many members in tho House who were minpets of the political bosses. Tho Government had made a loss of £90.000 in a deal in wheat, which loss need

not have been made if the Government had consulted men of business. Credit was duo for tue manner in which tho troops were trained, but in the matter of uie transport of troops there was rooiu for criticism, it was commonly reported that had bluebook rates been adhered to in the charter of transpuits thu country would have bosn saved £200,000. Criticism was not encouraged. If there wero free criticism it would not be possible fur the Government to rush through its Bills at a late hour of the session. He had no desire to change tho principles on which the Education Act was founded, but at a tinio like this it was absolutely crimiual to try to make experimental changes in schools or colleges. Every change must cost money, and there 'should be no needless cxpendituie in time of war. Samoa. fie characterised as ridiculous tho suggestion \ka Samoa should be annexed to New Zealand. (.Hear, hear.) The Germans must he expelled from the Pacific, and Samoa mu*t become a. British possession, but would the Government of New Zealand have time to work out as a side-issue the salvation of Samoa, wheie the laws were based on native custom and German statute law? It would not be possible for New Zealand to work out the satisfactory management of tho island. New Zealand had not made a- hug© succesß of the management of the Cook Islands, niuch nearer at hand. • Oust of Living, He believed that liu would be expected to make- some remark on the cost of living, one of the most difficult of questions to discuss satisfactorily. It was easy to say, for instance, the price at .which butter should be sold, but when it was remembered, that the cost of producing butter in New Zealand was affected by the price of iron in New York it was npparent how complex the matter really was. Iron was required for fencing, for farm machinery, and for factory machinery- Tho cost of rail and road transport was affected by the cost of iron. There was only ono way, and this would operate only for a short time, 'yf which the cost of living could be kept down, and that was by rpgnj lating the price of the raw material, regulating prices of manufactured goods, and regulating the price of all intermediate services, including labovr. All the;;e came into the cost of producing necessaries of life. Monoy was the medium or exchange on. which the. whole of our civilisation rested. If restrictions wern placed on the use of money, money disappeared. , IT the prirtv of articles were restricted those articles would disappear from produc-, tion. in conclusion, he said that if elected I he would end"."xonr {■> shmv that the Wellington North constituency was not ono i.hat nould allow itsrlf to be dragged into tho political machine. Questions. Replying to a question, Mr. Brandon said that he would not favour the romoval or the Minister of Defence from the Cabinet. He did not agree with all that the Minister at Deionce had done, but he b/movei he had worked whole-heartedly and uinceiely for tice ■ yood of thi! country and t-ne Empire. "How do you stand on tho liquor question!'" was another question. Mr. Brando.: replied that ho was not a teetotaller. He went on: "In my opinion, one of tb.o worst questions you- can introduce into the community at the present tin:3 is such a question as that between prohibitionists and the liquor trade. I oojeet altogether to any such question being introduced until after the war has been won. Those an; my sljiitiiiiunts." After a numbor of questions had been asked iiid answered, Mr. Bran* don thanked the audience for having come to hoar him, and Raid he wished tiii't there snoukl I , ? rs. resolution of thanks or anything of the sort submitted to the meeting. Mr. Myers's last word was that Mr. •Brandon had promises of considerable support. Mr. J. Hutclieson: Where are- they to-night? Mr. Myers: We.have a fair attendance here to-night. Mr. Take a show of hands!. (Laughter.) Mr. Myers indicated that Mr. Brandon would certainly go to the poll. He would not withdraw. WHO IS TO BLAME? (To the Editor.) Sir,—ln your footnote to my letter this morning you inadvertently fall into an error commonly believed—that the Reform League or Mr. Herdman's committee had an opportunity of selecting a candidate to succeed Mr. Herdman before Mr. Luke was announced. Mr. Luke's name was announced , by himself on the strength of a three-year-old promise by Mr. Massey that he (Mr. Luke) would be given a chance to win the first vacant City seat. That was just after Mr. Luko was defeated in Wellington South. Late last November you announced that Mr. Herdman would be retiring and that Mr. Luke would receive nomination by the Government. Who gave you that information ? A public meeting of electors was held on December 4, and a deputation from that meeting waited upon Mr. Massey to protest iigainst Mr. Luke's nomination. Mr. Massey told that deputation, among other things, that he did not know how Mr. Luke's name got into the papers. One of the. gentlemen said Mr. Luke bad supplied the information himself, and that he (Mr. Luke) had rung up the other morning paper editor and apologised for not giving him the information at the same time as he gave it to you. That deputation urged Mr. Skerrett's nomination, but Mr. Massey said he could not have Mr. Skerrett. He told the deputation how, after Mr. Luke's defeat in Wellington South, he had given the promise, but lie had no idea it would be Wellington North that would be vacant first. No meeting of the Reform League had been held up to this date, nnd no meeting of the league was held until January 14. when the executive was called together. Then Mr. Luke was strongly opposed. A week later (January 20) a meeting of the Reform League in Wellington North was held,, and about sixteen attended. Then Captain Barclay protested against the Prime Minister's nomination of Mr. Luke, because Mr. Luko was not acceptable to the Reform Party in Wellington North. Mr. Massey used the whip of devotion to the party, and Captain Barclay became chairman to Mr. Luke. But if Mr. Luko had had a decent conception of what was due to tho electors of Wellington North ho would have gone to Mr. Massey after tho public meeting of electors at the Kiosk, wlip.ro he had only one supporter among eighty electors, and asked Mr. Massey to allow him to withdraw. Mr. Massey is to blamo for giving tho promise three years ago, but Mr. Luke is to blame for pushing himself ■upon an electorate before that electorate had an opportunity of naming in public meeting the candidato they wanted. Because of these blundorings the Reform Party in Wellington North is split as it has never been split before, and this would never have arisen if before Mr. Luke's name was mentioned the electors bad been taken into the confidence of the Prime Minister. — I am, etc., NORTHLAND. [If Mr. Luke consulted the wishes of his opponents of course ho would stand down. A good many more than 80 electors in Wellington North would attend a meeting to endeavour to induce Mr. Brandon to stand down. We were not in error, as stated by our correspondent, who professes to know what happened at the meetings of the Reform Party. If he really know anything about the matter he would know.

that Mr. Massey did consult the Reform Party's organisation, that names of suggested candidates were discussed, that Air. Brandon's name was put forward at one meeting, and that Mr. Brandon, who was present, then stated that he was not in a position to come forward and give his reasons. Mr. Brandon has since changed his mind, and is quito as much responsible as anybody olso for the vote-splitting which is now threatened.]

A CRITIC CRITICISED

Sir,—An anonymous contributor in your columns, one "Wi," has an article in your issue of this morning under the grandiloquent heading, "Winning the War at the Polls," in which he descends to vulgar innuendo at the expense of the Labour candidate for Wellington North, Mr. Holland. Now, I hold no brief for Mr. Holland, as I do not know him personally, hut I have heard him speak, and I think that if Ms opponents cannot answer his platform but must needs resort to the lowest of journalistic tricks—a personal attack under a nom-de-plumo —their case is a poor one indeed. I im assured on excellent authority that Mr. Holland's character and home life are beyond reproach. I hear that he lias suffered much in the past on account of his principles, but if that, sir, is a crime and an "unpleasant association." God help the pioneers of progress and civilisation! I am sorry, that your contributor who seeks tho reil of anonymity to fire liis poisonous squibs does not reveal his identity that I might ascertain his personal standing and intellectual probity, but I am afraid he is one of the numerous tribo of hired hacks who sell their brains to the highest, bidder. We used to meet them in Fleet Street, ponforlorn, underpaid starvelings who existed on a kind of literary prostitution. They were among the most pathetic creatures on God's earth, and we often pitied them writing in support of the very system that ground the last vestiges of manhood out of them. I remember one day discussing with the Countess Warwick the problem of London's fallen women, when she remarked: "Ah, that is a problem which bettor economic conditions will solve, but this (and she laid her finger on a particularly odious article in a half-penny eensational newspaper)—how are we going to root out this intellectual prostitution?" During-my short residence in the Dominion I have been impressed by the cleanness' of the daily Press, and I was therefore amazed and impelled to protest when I read rour anonymous contributor's article of this morning. It reminded me so unpleasantly of the methods of the gutter journalist at Homo, that I asked several friends if that was the way The Dominion conducted politic.il campaigns. I. was assured that it was not. and I was very pleased to hoar it. I have attended the public meetings of !>oth Mr. Luke and Mr. Holland, and both candidates have refrained from indulging in personal recrimination. That is the spirit in which an election should be fought', and I should be sorry to think that 5 newspaper of your standing should depart from it.— I am, etc., ANNA. FOTtBES-WTTI-lERS. Kelbnrn, February 12, 1918. [Our correspondent's objection to personal abuse apparently does not apply in such cases as may incur her own displeasure. "Wi's" very mild references to Mr. Holland, which, by the way, did not apply to his private life, but to his public • actions, are completely eclipsed by the choice collection of venomous and offensive epithets with which she has deemed it fitting to assail a contributor whose writings have afforded interest and recreation to Dominion readers for many- years past.] Mr. Will Thome addressed a meeting in the Post Office Square at 12.30 p.m. yesterday on Mr. H. E. Holland's bohalf. Mr. Thorn dealt principally with the attitude of the National Government in regard to increases in wages and increases in the prices for primary products. Mr. 1 J. P. Luke, the National Government candidate, will speak at tho Eelburn Kiosk to-morrow evening, at 8 o'clock, and on Friday evening at tho clubroom, Pitt Street, Wadestown. Mr. H. E. Holland, the Labour nominee, will speak at Wadestown Churchroom on Thursday evening, and at Kelburn Kiosk on Friday evening. A meeting in support of Mr. Holland will bo held in the Post Office Square at noon to-day.