UNITED'S CASE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 131, 29 November 1929, Page 12

UNITED'S CASE

MR. KERB'S OPENING

ADDRESS AT EASTBOURNE

Scenes of enthusiasm marked the opening meeting last night of Mr. James Kerr, United Party candidate for tho Hutt seat. The. meeting, held in the theatre- at Eastbourne, was largely attended, and the candidate Teceived an attentive hearing, his remarks being frequently interrupted by rounds of applause. At the conclusion of his address he was accorded a unanimous vote of thanks- and confidence. Accompanying the candidate on the platform were the Minister of Labour (the Hon. W. A. Veitch), the Minister of Public .Works (the Hon. E. A. Ransom), Mrs. B.?B. Wood, and Mrs. Kerr. ' The chairman was Mr. H. M. Jones, ■Mayor of Eastbourne, who briefly introduced those on the platform. Eastbourne could congratulate itself on being chosen as the venue for the opening meeting of the United campaign. Mr. Jones referred to Mr. Kerr's apprenticeship in municipal life, and remarked that the experience gained in that sphere would stand him in good stead. As a, citizen, Mr. Kerr was ni£hly respected, and had applied himself diligently ■to the interests of the town in which he lived. On that standard, if on no other,, Mr. Kerr would be a worthy representative of the Hutt electorate. (Applause.) Mr. Kerr said he felt he need make no apology for standing in the interests of the United Party, for the work ■whichTha'd been accomplished by that party already showed the people of New .Zealand, that they had a Government, that -would do splendid work in the interests of the country. (Applause.) He felt confident that the united, Party would retain its*grip on the Treasury benches for many years to : ;eome. Mr. Kerr expressed his perSQiial regret, and, he; was sure, tho regret- of the electors at the departure from New ; Zealand of Mr. Wilford, who had-served the electorate faithfully and •well for well over 33 years. Mr. Wilford was to be congratulated on his appointment^ as High Commissioner, in which position he would continue to give faithful service to the people of New Zealand.-Referring to Sir Joseph Ward, MtyKerr said he thought he was safe in- saying that Sir. Joseph was the leading statesman in the Dominion 'to-day. (Gneers;) Sir Joseph had followed Mr. Seddon in placing legislation oh the Statute Book which had been" copied by'-the nations of the world. He felt that with such a man at its head the United Party would do wonderful work few/New Zealand. It was to be regretted, that the Government did not have a>vvorking majority, but he guaranteed df'they went to the country to-morrow tlroy would be returned with a substantial'majority. (Applause.) He was sure that on election day the people of the Hutt would pay a tribute to Sir Joseph ■bjrplacihg the United: Party candidate at-=the head of the poll. It was his aim to'"make the contest a clean one. He ■would from engaging in personalities, but that would not prevent his ■ hitting out at the two other parties engaged in the fight. :.E.:.'_ A WORTHY RECORD. ■ jD'ekHrig: with- State Advances, Mr. Ke'ifrsaid Sir Joseph Ward had been responsible for the creation of the Department, but the: Reform Party had tried to kill it, by starving it. When the United Party came into office, there ■was only £450,000 to the credit1 of trio Department and there were applications totalling over £3,000,000. Sir Joseph placed £4,000,000 to the credit of; the Department, and the people begajTto get their loans. That had added greatly- to the prosperity of the country'generally, and had shown that the United Party stood for progress. (Applause.) Mr. Kerr quoted figures showing the difference between the advances made under the Reform Government and under the United Government. The United Government ' had done- three times as much as Reform. (Loud applause.) Referring particularly to the Hutt'"district, Mr. Kerr said that in .the last year it was in office the Reform Party had made advances to 228 persons totalling £207,850, whereas the "United Party, since it came into office, had made advances to 518 persons (64' settlers and 454 workers), totalling £477,790. (Applause.) That surely was are- earnest of the United Party's desire to work in the interests of the people. It meant a great deal to have a happy and contented people, arid the ■way; to bring. that about, was to pro-videI'-the .'.people' with homes. Where there was no1 unrest, there was no room for the. socialistic agitator. : RAILWAY MATTERS. 'Mr. Kerr claimed that the railway policy of the United Party had been endorsed by tho electors at the last General Election. By one stroke of the pen Sir Joseph Ward had put a stop to the Palmerston North deviation, 'and had thus saved the people of\New Zealand £75.0,000. That that hajcl been the correct course had been slipwn by- the fact that there had been little. complaint, even from the people niost vitally concerned, but it took a strong, courageous man to bring it about. He believed tho people appreciated "a leader who was not afraid to saiv "No" when "No" was to be said. (Applause,) The candidate described the Taupo railway as a political one purely and simply, and remarked that those, who had been advocating it had found themselves up against the biggest obstacle they had ever had to face when Sir Joseph [Ward took charge of the country's affairs. Tho Reform candidate would have great difficulty in convincing the people of New Zealand that tho Reform Party was the" only party fit to lead the country. Mr. Kerr went on to say he favoured the setting up of a Commission to • inquire into . the reorganisation of the railway workshops. The reorganisation of the workshops system by the Reform Government was one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the. country. They were tdj4 that. at the present time there "SYJ&re nearly as many foremen in the shops as workmen. (Laughter.) The estimated cost of carrying out the -reorganisation had been £1,880,000, but the actual cost to the, country had been £2,279,459, or £339,459 in excess of the estimate. There must be somethirg wrong with an Administration ■which permitted such a state of affairs. He thought it was high time a Commission was set up to inquire into the position, and he did no- doubt that the present Government would be willing to; establish such a tribunal. It was his opinion that the Government was acting in the wisest and most judicious manner in linking. up and completing th.c- Main Trunk lines. It was long lines that were going to pay. Concluding his remarks in regard to railway matters, Mr. Kerr referred with satisfaction to the action of the Government in restoring to the railway men the conditions which they enjoyed prior to the strike of 1924. (Loud applause.) He. mentioned that to shew that the United Party had "the interests of the working man at heart. It ■was'an astonishing thing that during the ■whole of the five years the railway men, had been suffering such an

injustice the Labour Party had never raised its voico to right tho wrong. (Applause.)

DWINDLINO SURPLUSES,

Mr. Kerr proceeded to criticise the manner in which tho Reform Party, under Mr.' Coates, had managed the finances of the country. When Mr. Massey died in 1924 he left behind him a surplus of- £1,243,800. In 1925-26 the Reform Government had a surplus of £1,115,679, in 1926-27 there was a surplus of £587,142, in 1927-28 it had dwindled to £179,076, and in 1928----29 there was a* deficit of £577,252. It was then that the people realised that thero was something wrong, and they did what any company would have done, and sacked the manager. (Applause.) Touching briefly on unemployment, the speaker said that when the United Party came into -office Sir Joseph, Ward immediately granted to tho local bodies £100,000, and this allowed hundreds of families to enjoy a little pleasure last year. Then Sir Joseph during the last session had undertaken to settle the unemployment difficulty in five weeks, and he did it. (Loud applause.) In view of that great accomplishment the people of New Zealand, should give Sir Joseph a further chance to make. good. -Sir Joseph had made the unemployed feel they were wanted .in the country, and he made.them feel they were able .to provide for. their wives and children He believed if they kept the United Party in power that would be the permanent position in New Zealand. (Applause.)

The land policy of the United Party was next dealt with by Mr. Kerr, who said the Reform Party had always worked in the interests of the bioman. That was not the United policy. It was the aim of the present Government to look after the small man. The big land.,owner had a wonderful run under the' Reform Party, but the run was over, and taxation would be imposed on those best able to bear it. To-day the big man. the supporter of the Reform Party, would be asked to pay taxation which he had never been asked to pay under tha Reform Party. (Applause.) There were -big--w°ol. kings who took £40,000 or- £50,000 off their clip and paid their managers £500 or £GOO a year The wool king paid no income' tax but. his manager was asked to make a contribution.

After referring to the salaries of Civil, servants and the bonus to members of Parliament , (reported separately),- the candidate expressed gratification at the recovery of Sir Joseph Ward, and trusted that the Prime Minister would long be spared to guide the destinies of New Zealand. He appealed to the electors to deal fairly with all candidates, and to judge them on the merits of their policies. MINISTERS SPEAK. Mr. Veitch briefly addressed the meeting, warmly congratulating the candidate on the excellent -showing he had made and on the enthusiasm of the Dealing with the United Party's land policy, Mr. Vjeitch said it would succeed where the Reform Party's policy; had failed, simply because the Reform Party had thought more of the big -land owner than of the small _ man it was proposed to settle. He invited the electors to consider what party had proved the friend of .the people in the past. If they did that he was sure they would return f'-, Xe «with a very large majority indeed. (Applause.) Mr. .Ransom said the Uni,tod Party stood for the progress of the Dominion as a whole, and he thought it could be fairly claimed that the country s affairs were in safe keeping (Applause.) It had been claimed by the opponents of the Government that Sr, Joseph Ward had not kept his promise to reduce the rate of intqtest on State Advances loans, but he thought it would be generally recognised that Sir Joseph had done a great deal in view of the general monetary position m maintaining the rate as H was He was confident that the promise would be redeemed before long. Mr. Kerr answered several questions, and was accorded a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence