LIVELY MEETING

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 137, 6 December 1929, Page 13

LIVELY MEETING

THE HUTT ELECTION

MR. JOHNSTON AT MOERA

< ADVICE TO LABOUH-

The liveliest meeting that has ,'. taken placu in the Hutt by-elec-tion campaign so far was that addressed in the Moera Community ( Hall last night by Mr. Harold 1\ Johnston, tho Reform candidate. The hall was crowded, . many people ha-ving to stand, and sup.porters of the Labour Party were present in force. Mr. Johnston was in excellent speaking form and vigorously, but good-humouvedly, handled the many interjections that wero made in the course of his speech, which lasted for about an hour and a half. A motion moved at the end of the meeting of no-confidence in the Reform Party was not actually put to the vote, but the cheers with which it was received left no doubt as to the political sympathies of tho majority present. Mr. D. M. .Robertson presided. The meeting first assumed its interl esting phase when Mr. Johnston was comparing the throe political parties, United, Reform, and Labour, with one another. The Reform Party, he said, stood for King and Empire and good government for all classes throughout New Zealand. '.'And for nine bob a day,'-' chorussed a number of voices. "It stands for liberty of the Press, liberty of the individual, freedom of effort, and reward for individual effort," proceeded Mr. Johnston. The objective of.the Labour Party was not set out in words as being for the benefit of all classes, and that party did not say that it intended to maintain the' Constitution and the social edifice that had tieon built up through .the centuries. Socialisation of the means of production, distribution, and exchange was what the Labour ' Party stood for. -. Voices: " Hear, - hear.. That's the stuff." EXAMINE LABOUR'S POLICY. "Very well," said Mr. . Johnston. "That is the policy which may appeal to you, or it may not, but all I say is, is it,-not the duty of all electors to examine what that policy means?" If they did'so and found that the policy was.for the good of New Zealand, they could vote for the Labour Party, but if they found that the policy meant the ruin of New Zealand and its workers— ('voices: "Oh, rubbish!") —then, in their ov.-n interests, they would be mad if they voted for the Labour Party. •Voices: "Vote for Coates's nine bob a day:" Jlr. Johnston: "I don't say you ought not to vote in tho interests of the workers. Vote for them every time, but don't vote-blindly for a policy which means the ruin of New Zealand-—(cries of "Rot!") —and the ruin of yourselves." (Applause and dissent). A voice: "Women and children have been ruined these four or five years under the Keform Government." "Who put Moera on the map1?" was Mr. Johnston's parry to this last interjection.. . "The Labour Party," chimed in a woman's.shrill voice to the aecompanimqnt of laughter. Mr. Johnston: "Reform did!" A voice: "They put us in a swamp." The candidate referred to the tribute ■which Mr. WilfQrd'had. "paid to tlio Ke- . form Government in the establishment of Moera Settlement. Mr. Wilfovd bad said he was proud of what the Reform Government had done "in tho matter/ "Who put the drainage system in?" asked a member of the audience.- . "The Labour Party would not have put us in a swamp," suggested another interjector. FREEHOLD INSTEAD OF "USEHOLD." Mr. Johnston:. "You know if the Labour. Party had put you here, you would have had the 'usehold.' You have the freehold, and I put it to you that you should have your own homes. Do you want to exchange the freehold for the 'usehold' " ? A. Voice: "That was 'washed out' long ago." "You have the freehold, and the first objective of the Labour Party is the nationalisation of land—and your land as well," Mr. Johnston reminded his hearers. "Do you want that?" Socialisation of tie means of distribution would mean that the privately-owned shops in Moera would be taken over by the State. "You leave the Labour Party alone," warmly enjoined a male member of the audience. Mr. Johnston: "Tho Labour Party .can stand scrutiny all right — (cheers and applause)—so don't be annoyed if I subject it to a little." They put their money in tho Post Office Say.ings Bank—(a voice: "We haven't got any")—but they were being asked to hand it over to Mr. Holland, who had said that "interest wa3 something for nothing." A Voice: "And so ii; is." Mr.. Johnston ■ said that Mr. Holland was going to socialise the money in the banks, but he would not be able to nationalise, the banks. The Post Office Savings Bank and the Public Trust Office, would not be able todefendthemselyeg, like the banks, however. "Take 'the Reform Party," Mr. Johnston went' on. ■''■' "Dump them!" called out an intcrjjector, amidst laxighter. A remark by Mr. Johnston that neither the Labour Party nor the United Party would have had a chance of bringing the country through tho past strenuous years liko the Reform Party was received with cheers, applause, and much interruption. i LABOUR'S WAR RECORD. j This led Mr. Johnston to say that throughout the war period all that had come from the Labour Party was a continuous stream of defeatism. The United Party had since shown that it was unable to control tho country for one session. The Reform Government had left office with the country's credit standing high. The Reform Party had a wonderful record in regard to social legislation and had increased pensions. Who increased tho widows' pension? —The Reform Party.

A Voice: "Who paid nine bob a day1?"

"Who- starved the worker?" queried somebody else. "The Reform Party."

Mr, Johnston said the Labour Party •would not remove from the' Statute Book the humanitarian legislation the Reform Party had passed. All the Labour Party said it would do would be to increase the amount which the Reform Party had been expending in social service. If they sairt they were going to do that, was it not fair to ask where the money was to come from!

Voices:' "From; the Reform Party," The Candidate: "Tho only fault that can bo found, with tho Reform Party is that it gave not too little, but too much-—almost more than this country can afford." When the country had leached'a stage When taxation was not producing the desired amount of revenue and returns were diminishing, it was to the interest of New Zealand to

ask, not for increased, but for reduced taxation. • -

A reference by the candidate to Mr. Nash, his Labour opponent in the campaign, was the signal for an outburst of cheering for Mr. Nash. "You have every right to cheer him," remarked Mr. Johnston. "He is an admirable candidate, but hampered by a vicious policy." A Voice: "I bet you ho gets in." Mr. Johnston said that when he advocated a decrease in taxation it was said of him that he was representing tho wealthy classes. "And lam very proud to represent them, too," declared Mr. Johnston with a smile, when a volley of cheers greeted his remark. The candidate extolled what the lieform Party had achieved in the. way of land settlement, and the provision of homes for workers, and ho urged his hearers to examine the economics of the land settlement problem v\ relation to industrial expansion. A Voice: "We are too busy woi-kii.j out tho food problem."

SHARING PROFITS OF INDUSTRY.

The 'Reform Party, continued Mr. Johnston, had as its cardinal plank thefostering of the industries of New Zealand, and it also desired to see the workers obtaining their share of the profits in addition to a minimum wage. If they supported hia candidature to the extent of placing him in Parliament he would spend the rest of his life in urging that principle.

A voice: '? You'll have Mr. Coatos after you if you say that." Mr. Johnston, after referring to the industrial prosperity of America and Canada, and the failure of Labour in Australia to co-operate with Capital for the good of industry, said that if tho Labour politicians in New Zealand set out with a policy of "get together" in industry, they would be worthy of tho. support of everyone. Labour's present policy was a bar to progress because it was founded on tho assumption that. Capital and Labour had nothing in common. Such a policy was not indigenous to New Zealand—it was imported from Australia and it would not grow here. (Applause.) Was it tho real workers who wanted that policy of Lenin and Trotsky? He thought not. The Eight Hon. J. H. Thomas, a member of the present British Labour Ministry, had stated that if Labour and Capital liked to pull against each other they could do it, but there was only one end to that policy, and that was disaster. "My policy," said Mr. Johnston, "is to pull together, to get together, and see if we cannot make a good job of it." A voice: "You had 16 years in which to do it." "DISCARD THIS VICIOUS POLICY." "Start it now yourself," advised Mr. Johnston. "Discard that vicious policy and earn tho goodwill of the rest of New Zealand." (Cries of "Good old Harry Holland.") Mr. Johnston said ho would walk out of Parliament as soon as he saw that the Reform. Party was not carrying out a progressive industrial policy. A voice: "Oh, you had better not go there at all." (Laughter.) Mr. Johnston said that "go-slow" was the reaction of the political and industrial policy of the present Labour leaders, and that was absolutely miaous. ■ . ■ ■ ■ Voices: "Rot! We won't have that at all." Mr. Johnston: ''Earn the wages, be proud of your work, and you will get the due reward." Voices: "Nine bob a day; we have had enough of that." "Nash this time!" shouted someone in the body of tho hall. " 'Nash for National Disaster, 5 is n-hafc I say," replied Mr. Johnston, which prompted a mixture of interruption and cheers from tho audience. ■ "Unless this country comes to its senses, and unless Labour pulls up its socks and comes in and joins us, we go under," declared Mr. Johnston. A-voice: "We ain't got no socks." (Laughter.) "Well, your football socks, if you have them," suggested Mr. Johnston. "You won't get into the AH Blacks if you go slow." A largo number of questions having been answered by Mr. Johnston, a motion of thanks to him for his address was carried" by acclamation. Someone moved that tho meeting express no confidence in tho Reform, Party and that those present should pledge themselves to work for the Labour candidate. This motion was not formally put to the meeting, but the sentiments expressed in it apparently met with wide approval, for there Were loud cheers for Mr. Nash and Mr. Holland (the latter being given on the call of a woman), as well as vigorous counter-cheers for Mr. Johnston. Cheers were also given for Mr. Philip Snowden, to whom a reference had been made by the candidate in his speech.