District News

Horowhenua Chronicle, 9 April 1914, Page 3

District News

JJs SHAJNNOjN

(liy our Resident Representative). Mil ROBERTSON'S ADDRESS. Mr J. Robertson, M.P. for Otaki, addressed hie bnannon. constituents at the Druids Hail on Tuesday evening. Air T. Lind occupied the chair. iie briefly introduced the member, and regretted the wetness of the night had made the attendance small. Mr Robertson said that the Massey Government was not a Tory Government because they had not reversed, the Liberal legislation; but the Liberal of to-day was the Conservative of to-morrow. The party at present in power had not gone the length of reversing the Liberal but it was the party that guarded privilege and class dominance. The Massey party had not fulfilled their promises of constructive legislation, and the feeling of the mass of the people to-day was one of hostility to the Government. Mr Massey had made his battle-cry "Land settlement, and still more land settlement." But his act in granting the freehold had surrendered the people's rights to retain control of the land. Mr Massey said that the State should receive the full value of the interest in the lease when the tenant got the freehold, but he really gnv.. tinfreehold at a price which was the original value with a small fraction added. Mr Massey had raised £600,000 for tne purchase of land for settlement, and his Li nd for Settlement Act was for the benefit of the large landowner. If Mr Massey was sincere in his desire to provide land for settlement he would increase the land taxation and compel land owners to sell. We had spent £7,000,000 in putting 5379 people on the land, and the persons who had mostly benefited were those who sold the land to the Government. It would be better if the Land for Settlement Act was wiped off the Statute Book, and increased taxation of large holdings of land substituted. He (Mr Robertson) had goo an amendment in the Land Act limiting the amount of land to be held in village settlements , to 50 acres. This would prevent the land speculators from monopolising larger areas for their own purposes. Mr Massey s object in his scheme for workers hemes was to provide labourers —a landless peasantry for the large landowners. He quoted statistics to show that there had been an increase in the rate of interest for money borrowed since the Massey Government came into power. There had been a curtailment of the advances to settlers and he charged the Government with working in the welfare of the Capitalists to the detriment of the people generally. The Customs duties taxed the working man witE a family, and if Mr Massey was genuine in his profession to reduce the cost of living he would reduce the Customs duties and put a heavier tax on land and incomes: but lie legislated for the maintenance of moand ignored ih" suggestions of the commission oii the cobt of living. The uovcrnraent had promised to bring about industrial peace. They had certainly moved to break up tho Federation of Labour; so had the Employers' Federation. It was said the Federation of Labour was- laVless, but the crime really was trying to unite all labour unions on the same lines as the Employers' Federation was run ! Mr Massey had done more to kill the principle of arbitrationism (in two cases) than the Labour unions had done in 50 years. The seizure of the Labour Hall by the police at Waihi was a lawless act, and the Federation of Labour was upholding law and order. The AVellington strike had left behind a heritage of hate. To-day, on the a small group of men were preventing a large number of men who wanted work from obtaining it. The action of the employers and the bogus unions was the nearest approach to syndicalism in the country The peace which had been brought about by the Massey Government was a peace that would not Inst, and their Government did not possess the confidence of the (jcijittrv. 3di-"«iilljcr proposed "That this nieetiL'tf-fhajikri Mr Robertson for his address, an<l has every confidence in him a* member for this distriot," Mr Scott seconded the motion, which was carried without a dissentient voice. A vote of thanks to the chairman closed the meeting.