LABOUR'S CAMPAIGN

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 308, 24 September 1919, Page 5

LABOUR'S CAMPAIGN

WELLINGTON EAST ELECTORATE

ADDRESS BY MR. A. jV MONTKITH

Mr. A. L. Monteith, tlie Labour candidate for Wellington East electorate, dslivorc'l his -iiiiiiiffurnl address in the ?\ 7 eu- Century Hall last eveninp. Mr. C. IT. Chapman presided over a fair attendance of electors, and briery introduced Mr. Monteith. In doing s;o, he pointed out that thij Labour Party was this election combating moro seats than it had hitherto stood for. So far, some 30 candidates had been announced, and before t'no geperal election it lvas hoped to considerably swoll this , number. Labour in Wellington was at present fairly well organised, but (here was still room for improvement. Associated with Mr. 'Monteith on the platform was Mr. P. Fraser, M.P., who said there was no reason in the world why 1 Mr. Monteith should not be the member for Wellington East after the general election, ami them was every reason that he should be. /Personally, I Dr. Newman was "an estimable gentleman, but almost invariably his vote was c;ist against democracy ..nd against the worker. Mr. Fraser also spoke at considerable length on the subject of the alleged inequitable distribution of wealth, ar.d took the Government to task for allowing the housing conditions of the people to get into suell a deplorable state, Rents in Wellington were higher than in any other centre in Australasia. Mr.-M'Combs, M.P. -for Lyttelton, followed Mr. Eraser, am| touched on various phases of the political situation. Mr. Montcith, who is secretary of the Wellington United Stm-emcu's Union, (hen addressed the audience. Ho said he came before (hem as a plain man in an endeavour io win a scat in Parliament. Dealing yith (he public debt, he said that th-.' unproductive debt of thecountry had increase! by 47 million* because of the war. Our productiveness was not being kept up to the mnilc. The .speaker deplored the drill irom the country to 'he towns. The population was drifting away from the. land Tlui (inestion of production should be dealt with properly ami thi people tettled on the land. In two years. i!?H-16, the population of Wellington alone had increased by 2u.0C0, and jju:iadin and Chriatchurch by OOUO each. As an instance of the ii satiable kind-hunger in the Dominion, the speaker said that in "he ballot for tlie iJlenmurc .LNtute in Canterbury IJi,OOO applications were received lor 25 sections. The speaker professed that in the very near future-there was goir ; g to be a lot of unemployment in the Dominion. In Wellington to-.day there -vere at least TiOO returned Soldiers out of work. Yet the. Government continued to squeeze the people into the cities. Industry iu this (•Mintry could afford to pay an unemployment insurance levy ro workers. T'no cost of iiviug qu.'sthm was also handled by the candidal?, who emphasised that tlie increase in the pi-ice ot commodities [ was wholly inroinmousurali with the rise in wages. .The Government had made no debrmi'.ic.l and sincere cit'nrt to iirnppia with the problem aJd protect the woi'Kors ivniii the profiteer.-;. The candidate attacked the Government, over the hire of the Union Company's vessels, in respect of which by the time they were through with th-iiri the Stale would have paid the company aix million:! for hire of steamers not worth, two million:*. Siinca the Baihauv regime "ht> only political party that hail piofj-csscJ "was Labour. Sir JuS'-jdi Wen', and the rest ;ot his following 'in Hit- .jiben..! Party wore held up io .lerisioi) l>y -.ii. Montcith, as were also the I'.eiorm I'arLy. iioth thess parries, hasaiii, r.onld shortly treat tlm uiectors ;n th« upeutaclei of n piiliticr.i sham light,- to throw dust in the eyes of the wurkers. (.'oncludiug, he said that he was convinced that Labour would some day take ovei. the reins of Government. The country had had enough of "strong" Governments, strong in point of autocracy, but weak in principles. , A vote of thanKn and. confidence.;vrj accorded ..the (speaker at. tlio eonclusion of his address.