The Coming Elections

Horowhenua Chronicle, 14 September 1911, Page 2

The Coming Elections

LABOUR MEETING AT LEVIN oPEtfCH BY MR J. ROBERTSON. POSITION OK LABOUR. Mr .1. Robertson, the La-hour candidate for the Otaki electorate, addressed the electors of Levin ami district in the Century Hall, Q'-om street, lasfc evening. There was. in spite of the bad weather, a good attendance. The Mayor (Mr B. R. Gardener), briefly opened the meeting, and introduced Mr Robertson to the, audience. Ho was sorry, he said, bhat the weather ,liad : proved so had as to militate against the attendance. His sympathy was always <n> the labour side, but whether labour was expecting too much to-day was a questior that was open for people to discuss. Ho was not supporting Mr Robertson's candidature Still tho sympathy of ihirnsolr" and others was with him, and he- was satisfied that a Levin audience would give him an impartial hearing: Mr Robertson remarked in coming forward as a Labour Candida to .he was aware that there was a certain amount of prejudice to face. A Labour candidate in a constituency like that was .something o!' a novelty in Xo.w Zealand. Ho was there to It'll them more particularly that evening why it was absolutely necessary in the interests of tho workers Mild of the producers generally that labour should 'be represented in Parliament. It was said that Labour was asking too much. Hub how far had Labour gone? They had in recent years found, an increasein wages and a .shortening of ,!.ioui\s, and. in .sonic industries sweating had been wiped out. While these- things wev(} true, it was al«o tiuo that the worker to-day was' little better otf aetu-alh than lie was twelve years ago. They found the slum ana in large towns beginning to grow up. They found the work of ciharßablo institutions becoming greater every cay, and they found a tendency fer unemployment in this country. lie .submitted that in :■>. new country such conditions should not prevail. .But the. fact remained that it was so. \\ bile thev found the wages had increased, tiliey alw found that the cost of living had increased in greater ratio. It'was sometin.es said that the increased cost of labour, the higher waiges paid to the worker, was responsible for the present conditions of ihe worker. Tint was a peculiar argument, and one that could not be- .sustained. The worker to-day was producing more, than ever he did at any time in tlie history of the country, and \!ie output per head of tho workers was ; n steadily in- • •!'or>sinp_ cii;r<niity. If they turned to tV.e industries ennnpoiod with the 1.-md, they would find t!-:>.h in thins.' iiid-ustric-f the labour ro.-t of pro-fl'icrir-ii had doerc\''.s"d. 'IV. , ph was to s n ,y illo. output of the wn>rk<'vs had n greater HK'rc'P" jvt h'-'id, and vet it was the nrorlnr-ts from the hnd that had increase] most in lirice. Tvliile the e n st of production m the (]-'iirv ind-;st!v <': -1 d drcT"''sed bv nbfiiit "0 per cent., thoy found tho land v-ilues ha-d incrcp.sed l).v su-nelbifg like 100 to "!~0 p-rr cent, on an avor.no - " tlirn-'ifli'int doipinifin. 'WHiile tliat w.tp .so. wlwf.-c\-(>v increase in pny the men misht <i'A. t'!icre wn* a s-mpllcr share of ih? Ifhl nrod'T't tliaf went lo the Worker. Th-e larger sV.are Avent to tit" rent receiver. Tho lnn:1 wfiq f]] ,, mnst impcrlant lliov li°.d to dial with. Thev had to .see h;>w it was t'i.'it ;i cw!';i;V"t incroaf-? in 1.-'io cost of living occurred. The Ijihr.-iI vKirty pi - n r p-;vlf(7 nt first ito 'o:ri«lnte on whnf, woi - i> consi'lerc-d linos in the intor^'U- , : of {ho ne-o-plo. Tliat party had ils t-r.t hitcii'sni for ref'i'in. It:; idoois had gone. If was a m,vh- {•••i.-l-iv existing merely to remain in power: a- pa-rtv which, judging l>y its recent i.istory, had lost its democratic principles mid. was willing to become the too' of any section so loi' , ; -as that .section would kcop it in power. I The Opposition camo forward saying that they represonied the great primary indnstriof; and (.hi si- engaged in them It prnl'iiss-fid that it was Siiinrr to settle the land t)iiostion by giving the ownership of (lie land to iil'.'ose who tilled it. It professt.v.l to deal with the evi's which .lie had ciMiiiierate'l by palliative mea.sures, in any of which borrowcrl iroin tiie .Laboiii - Parfy. Deal ing M'ith tluv critics ni' the Labour P-arty, the spe-aker said that to-day the very ■w,ple who criticised the legislation that tin Labour Party propu.'-cd -had borrowed much of their suggestions in the past. He had hoard Mγ Massoy frequently condemn legislation chat he called socialistic. There was no in-o re socialistic legi.-la'tion than tho Old Age Pensions Act, and yet Mr M.a.s.soy was m>w saying that he was prepared to extend the scope of its operations. Mr Kobort.son maintained that no Parliament was going to legislate in the interests of the country as a whole tilu?t did not legislate on socialistic principles. Mr Ma'vsoy had snifl that lie would nvoid reckless expenditure bv keeping b::riowing within ren.so.nablc !iroim- ! s. Thit was something to which thev could all. subscribe. But the only thiii'" that was lacking in the proposal was that it did not tell them how he was going to keep down borrowing, and how he wa.s going to keep -;-o\vn wasteful expenditure. With regard to a State bank, Sir Joseph Ward had ridiculed the proposal Mr Ma-?sey had (wulcmno-d. it ns socialistic, and, vet ho (the speaker) predicted .that within five years the dominion wiuld be driven by sheer force- of circumstances to adopt a State bank in order to carry on the Government of the country without being compelled, to pile up a burdensome debt to a point at which it would become intolerable. Dealing though he was broadly with the questions that separated him from hi.s opponents, there were one or two points ho would deal with individunllv. One. was military training. The Government professed tobr democratic, and yet it absolutely refus'Prl to' nut t! - at nuestion to the electors. Tho row Act made training compulsory from the a.uo of 12 to Any Government clr : - to bo democratic, profpssinq , to.loyisinfo in ihe of wholo democracv. should have su-l-ni'tled fit?r:h a matter to tlio nnblic. Patriotism was a fine thir./r wlien not worked up merely to bo for mrtv ])nrpo«:r«. But wTiat h:vl bhv rJovo-rniMPint done for natriotißm? The sendiiifr of trooos'to South Africa was perhaps enmniou-rlfl.hlq in itself, but when they thought'of th.o

canso for which they were sent out, jiml of the dirty work which they had to perform and the final result, he said that he did not think thoy need look back with a groat deal of pride to their actions. I hen there was the gift of tho Droadr.uugh by which the Government had saddled the people with .a debt of £2,000,000. The Opposition had raised m> objection, but now they wore, for political reasons criticising tho aet-'on of the Government. Last of all there was the Defence Act. Mr Roheit.sin wont on t<. say tha Lit was necessarv for a new party with your bleed'to rise up. who would t:u-,kle the problems, which tho present parties were apparently frightere,:! to attack. The Lahour pa.rty was an Pihorgctic-anti enthusiastic party, and. if returned to'powor, its policy would be to promote the interests of tiio , people as a whole. (ApplansfV The. true grefliness of a nation did not only consist in the abundnmv of what she possessed. They believed that it was of more importance.to reduce the deatili' rate vhan it was to produce ■:> surplus. A vote was no good to any man or woman unless they used it for their ■material advantage, and while in the past the workers had allowed themselves to bo legislated for by other parties they were beginning to feel at last that their interests would be best nuturod and consolidated by direct representation in Parliament. (Applause). In conclusion, Mr Robertson said that he wmdn visit the town in tho near future, and deal oxplicitely with the-policy of the Liberal party and the Opposition. (Appl-aus?). OntstTOns were then •γ^nt. Mr James Pnmse asked whether he had underst-nod Mr Robertson to siv that evorv worker in the dair.ving industry' produwl £2.000 "a ]<iecn. Mr Rol>eitsnn replied that he had taken tho num'ber of workers in the factories in the dominion, and he (••aim' l ;! th.'t ho had sltiown that the Mai ]):•.:-.':: o per hc.Td. from 1900 to ]91(). lwi;l increased.' in the ratio given. He recognised that there' wero more workers in the diiiirr in<l.ustry than those actually shown as employe:] in the fr-ctorics. .and that the fanner harl to work to -pn-oducp the things. But he said that his point was that there hnd uiulonbtrdly bron this great increase- in the total ,imount of production, and yet the cost of production had decreased. In !v;»lv i i .-mother query by Franc; , Mr R-c.bci ton snid that ho uas rot -a single taxer. Tf tho l'liid vilue was evented by the State, then the State had a riiht to the v\l\v?. On the of-hor hn,i;d. if ar indiiviriii.i.i created tho value, tho individual wns entitled in all the value, and the value should be absolutely free from any taxation. But when they found the lnn-1 value raided, owing (o flip ivfrenso of miV.lic utilities, then tlie inxition that took pl.-ire sho'.iM lie on the hiiWor who sold the land and to/>b the for him.fflf. They worn absolutely opj)ostxl to a private monopoly. Tn reply to Mr Hii'kW. he said that tht policy of the Lnhour Party was a policy <if ownership of land. iiP.sed on nso only. AViM: iTg'M'd to tlio lice' , sing question y<v i'i>!>eris";>t s'.iid that ho was in favirir of the bare majority, tlio:i.<rli # tl].?t. : 'i not pr-chidc hhn f'om his riilit of u<ii'T the privac? ')f the bn!!ot._ H' Jb»v i\ tho (lemnefr.Me principle. t!io ni'ijority niu.*t ruin. On ihe m'ntion of Mr Hudson, sev-o;!-r7«:l by Mr Tim ni ;r e,:i. Afr Robertson ivas hr-artil-y thanked for bis address Mr moved .a cordial vote of thanks, which was carried in tip AF-iy'or loi* prr'.si.'linfr. anrl the procrr:]iuirs e , :!'?! ; ': l e'''.