MR. BRANDON AT NORTHLAND

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 133, 22 February 1918, Page 6

MR. BRANDON AT NORTHLAND

Mr. A. E. Lambert presided at Mr. A. de B. Brandon's meeting at Northland last evening. There were between 40 and 50 people present when the meeting started at 8.10. The chairman said that all knew that the National Government had nominated as 'the Reform candidate Mr. J. P. Luke. To take away the inalienable right to nominate, their own candidate was interfering with their liberty. Mr. Luke was not, and never had been, a resident of the district. Mr. Brandon was out in the public interest. He was born in the district and was • a man whom they all esteemed and trusted.

Mr. Brandon said he was born in Hobson Street. (A voice: "Amongst the toffs!") Yes, if they liked. (The voice: ''One of the snobocracy!") No, ho would not allow that word. He came as one of them, to ask them to exercise their intelligence on the great question that was instigating this election. He stood in protest against the introduction into New Zealand of the American political machine, which had a "boss" who ticketed the '"sheep"—blue raddle for Republican and red raddle for Democratic, the electors, like sheep, voting exactly as the machine dictated.

Mr. Brandon said that the first of his principles was > that the war should be won. New Zealand was being fought for to-day in Belgium and France. If the Germans ,were to break through and establish themselves on the coast of France, England would be seriously threatened, and it would probably lead to an inconclusive peace. In the latter case the time would not be long before England would be overrun by the German hordes. For that reason the whole of their energies- should be devoted to the winning of the war. Any movement to depart from that line of action must be checked with a firm hand. To do that there must be strong criticism of every measure, but the responsibility must rest with tho National Government, and onco they said that a measure must go through as a war necessity there should be no opposition—they should be unanimous. Speaking of the cost of living, he stated that the question was an involved one. He instanced the price of butter, and pointed out that it depended largely on the cost of production. The problom could not be settled by fixing an artificial price. Taxation should have l»een paid on war profits, and the National Government had made such a tax, but it was found that the tax did not always touch tho rii'ht place. Pome people paid who could ill afford to do so; others who could afford to pay escaped. He had been somewhat heckled on the liquor question. He had been a temperate man all his life, and at the same time he held tolerant views, riiey could not make people moral by Act of Parliament. He referred to the fanaticism of the early leaders of

Prohibition, who placed a glass of honest beer alongside a glass of unflltcred water, and had set class against class. But such questions were domestic, and ho was utterly opposed to the introduction of domestic questions. They should all be swept away, and all their energies should bo concentrated on the winning of the war. Finally ho asked the electors to return the man most fitted to reprasant the electorate in Parliament.

No motion of any kind was put at the end of the meeting.