REFORM LEADER

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 141, 11 December 1929, Page 14

REFORM LEADER

SPEECH AT EASTBOURNE

V HIS POLICY DEFENDED

"PBOUD OF OTJE .WOEK"

The Crown Theatre, Eastbourne, was filled last evening when the Leader of the Opposition (the Right Hon. J. G. Coates) delivered an address in support of the candidature of Mr. H. F. Johnston for Hutt in the Reform interest. Mr. C. H. Andrews presided. The meeting was of an enthusiastic nature, there being only a few iuterjectors, and at the close a motion of thanks to Mr. Coates and of confidence in Mr. Johnston was carried by acclamation. Cheers were given, for Mr. Coates.

In commending Mr. Johnston to the electors, Mr. Coates said tho Reform Party was the stronger because of the adherence of Mr. Johnston. The real fight in the by-election was not between. Labour and Reform, but between the Labour Party and Reform. Reform had no quarrel with Labour, as the Reform Party represented a very large proportion of workers' votes. Ho thought the Reform banner would bo carried to victory at the by-election. "Our party is not composed of men who advertise," said Mr. Coates amidst laughter. "We cannot display "°ur goods in the window in the same •way that other parties display their goods. It may be that wo do not know the art of advertising."

A Toice: "Perhaps you have none to ;display.'' Mr. Coates: "I am inclined to think that that is why we suffered defeat at the last election."

A voice: "Look at the Budget."

"NO INSPIRATION IN BUDGET."

Mr. Coates replied that he could not get a great deal of inspiration from the Budget when he remembered the United Party's promises.

A voice: "Give them a chance."

Mr. Coates contended that the Reform Party had a very real claim to public support on account of the progress made during the sixteen years of its government. Despite the war, £30,000,000 had been spent on public works, a mile of railways had been completed a fortnight; 80 miles of loads had been maintained every week, and one Post Office in every three weekß.

A voice: "Soup kitchens!"

Mr. Coates maintained that no other party could approach tho Reform Party in the work it had accomplished. A voice: "And the Civil Servants lost £25 a year." "I will come to that in a minute," laid Mr. Coates. "We saw

A voice: "Stars!" (Loud laughter.) Mr. Coates said he thought he could claim consideration f<sr his party. They were proud of what had been accomplished. (Applause.) The- Reform Party had assisted the country's progress and when it left office the country's credit was at high water mark. They had had unemployment, but in that respect New Zealand was affected far less than any other of the Dominions. (Applause.) The Reform Party had increased pensions and had provided family allowances.

A voice: "They could not help themselves."

THE LAND TAX TIGHT,

The Reform Government, continued Man. Coates, had shown sympathetic consideration to the needs of the people, and as far as the country could afford it, it had met demands that were considered reasonable. The United Party went to the electors with a big borrowing programme which it said it would put through without increasing taxation, but one of its first measures provided for an increase in the land tax. Mr. Coates referred to the fight ■which the Opposition had made against the Land and Income Tax Amendment Bill and refuted the charge that the Reform Party represented the big squatter. It hadj>een in favour of the income tax being"- applied to the man who owned property of over £14,000 unimproved value, but the United Government had decided that the landowner should pay land or income tax, whichever was the greater. He asked what was the use of placing an impost on land which was unsuitable for settlement. An incentive should be given to men. to develop their land and increase production. That was the policy of the Reform. Party. (Applause.) The United Party had stated that it was opposed to increases in Customs taxation, but it had increased the primage duty on imports by 1 per cent. That was a most vicious form of increasing taxation.

Mr. Coates criticised the Government for stopping the Palnierston North deviation and the Taupo railway, and said that in turning' Public Works into l'elief works the Government had broken the agreement- with the Public Works employees in regard to wages and working conditions. It had also sought to interfere with the system entered into by agreement with, the motorists for the raising of funds for the Highways Board, and had placed in the hands of the Minister the authority to make allocations out of the Public Works vote, thus disrupting what had been, a carefully and well-thought-out scheme. Public funds should be administered fairly, and anything in the nature of .political favour to any section of the community was wrong. The Eeform Party had never lent itself to; anything that could be termed political patronage. Appointments had laeen made without consideration to a man's political opinions, and allocations of public money had been made fairly. PACTS AND FIGURES "WANTED.

Mr. Coates asserted that the Government, having tried to make tho public believe that tho Palmerston North deviation and the Taupo railway were not justified, and finding that it could not borrow .money in the way it -wanted, decided to borrow from the Railways Improvement Account and apply the money to new projects. It •was a great mistake to interfere with the scheme of railway improvements because every one of them had been carefully calculated. Great savings in terminal costs could have been made if the railway improvement scheme prepared by the Keform Government had been proceeded with. Expenditure on the Palmeraton North deviation from the point of view of cost, and return to the country would have been infinitely superior to expenditure on the Midland railway in the South Island. He submitted that all new railway projects should be subjected to examination, and the United Government should be able 11 satisfy .critics by the production of figures that an expenditure of '£10,000,000 in new railways in three or four years would be profitable. If- he said that the South Island "Main Trunk line would lose half a million a year, would the people be satisfied? 'A Voice: "We would not believe **TJo, you would not believe me," replied Mr. Coates, "but I want you to be satisfied whether it ,is going to be a half-million or a million, or whether there is going to be a loss at all. That is a fair thing. The public want to know. You won't believe me!" A voice: "You don't know better." jfljftoghter.) *It. Coates: "Every man is entitled

public is inclined to look with sus' picion. on a politician." A voice: "They havo a right to."

"When I make a statement it is not a light statement, because, after all, I do take my job seriously," replied Mr. Coates amidst loud applause. "I will say that so far as office is concerned, I don't caro twopence about it, but I am concerned about tho future welfare of the country." To start railway works for tho sake of finding work for a few men this year or next year was nothing compared with the load being built up for the taxpayers in the future. Tho present was, a timo when the greatest caution should bo exercised. The whole question of transportation was in the melting pot, a,nd even lines which the Reform Government had had under construction ought to como under review. They should see as far as public expenditure was concerned that thero would be a fair return and that they were not building up a pack of trouble for tho country to meet in years to come. LAND SETTLEMENT.

Dealing with the subject of land settlement, Mr. Coates said that tlio expenditure of a million a year, as proposed by the present Government, would get the country nowhere. It was true that the Government had taken up the Reform Government's group settlement scheme, but he had been told that this form of settlement would not apply to unimproved land. That was not his Government's intention,. which had been to spread the money all round.

Mr. Coates extolled the "get together" policy which Mr. Johnston is expounding in regard to industry, defended his own attitude over the question of the readjustment of Civil Servants' salaries, and concluded by saying that tho Reform Party stood for King, Flag, and Empire, for means of defence against aggression, for progress, and the rights of the individual.

Before Mr. Coates began his address, Mr. Johnston delivered a brief speech on the lines of previous addresses, and he received an excellent hearing.

The meeting closed with the passing of a vote of thanks to Mr. Coates with cheers, and of confidence in Mr. Johnston.