FOR ALL THE PEOPLE

Hokitika Guardian, 6 January 1923, Page 3

FOR ALL THE PEOPLE

111 K LIBFR AI. WATCHWORD. LHAIiKR'S STIRRINH SPEECH. Till-: iHAN’T ON ITS feet. Tin' Loader of tin- (Ipposil lull. the Hull T. .M. Wiiford. made a stirriiifl sjß'oeh ill Auckland 0,1 Tu-dny (retie • ■ Auc-kliiiirl Star”) on Hupresent Mini future of the LiberalLabor ’Party, when hr received a depuilit inn 11 present inn seventeen electorates in nnd iiround Auckland province with relerein e to the ioriUMtion of an Acklad Brunch of the I .iberal-Liilwur [• •■i!i»rnt ion now lieine formed thi'out'ho.t Neu /eiilaud. Mr . I. Coyle, who headed the deputation nnd int reduced the members lo the leader, su'd the day was not !ar distant when the Liberals would attain lie in power. .Meantime they had to form Liberal Associations in every nit re ;t ikl in every > liectorate. hr K .1. 11. Kllisdon. .I.l’. and .Mr •!. I revetiiivk. ■LI’., also supported >l"' proposition. Mr Wiiford. who was reeeivul enthusiastically. said il was twenty-nine v mis -in,, I," first stood m- m I .theral candidate and he has bo n ,ontiuuo'i Iv a niemher of I’arlianuml for twmityI'lnee years. lie tlmneht tin most v.miderfnl fait standi,e; out m the last election was the extraordinary Liht ral sentiment that he loiind not sleepiiie. Imt alive and yol unable to express its(|f The fault was that they had no cohesion he, aitse tliev had m, or/anisMtio,,. Over and ever they had expressed the desire to have someone m lloir constituencies to ,„,11,l tool; for ctii-eelion i» order 111 do service lor ill,, party. Hi- answer had I that when he took tin leadership iwo Mir- aon I In- party was only a. |,oud fill will funds and w ithout nrpanisalioii, with the Massey Press hoTittliup whatevir effort." they made. To say a colloquialism, the parly lout had to sine small bora use "I Hm" small numbers, and lie had had to p" cautiously to sc,, if il was not pos-iI,P for him individually to do soniet .nip to lilt the party which had s,, nelitly Pei'ii -aid to have drifted. I'l'ToHM stTEON'Cllnl H \TTACK KH. "| ,|j,| a ha! I t liouplil wa- tlm to si 1,.p in that direction.” minlmm dMr Will',ml."ll was to brine up the doctrine n ',i, !, I believe i- a Liberal principle ‘collective n spoii'ihilil y.' as opposed io autocrat!,' control, and the party chose an executive to work with me for the purpose. Me wen- handicapped for waul of funds and by the smallness of our party, but v.u baltied ,m. although il lias soinel ilie.-s dillicdl. | fell i hat ihe numbi rs in tin- I Fm-e wa- no imli, atinn ol the streiiptb > | the support which llie party possessed ill ilie country. Then i had to deed' whether I would found ! iheral orpaiii v ; ,i,i, 11 - ,-.|' -ei'k candidates- there was Hot. time te do both. lor a year I May,- up. niv profession and weni "U tour round New /ealaud. 1 wa- a-Ued win ! neelectcd the cities. Tin rc:-~nn wa-- that. ,ovine to lack of party funds, il v.a- verv dilhenlt to pel We in/ th.'l'". and I decided te prove to tile '-mall l;,; be , miut r that I lie pn - i'll riled cut to attack k l ' Lei ol m Parly in tii i - -i;, iii/hol, I. ! I’e re uli - pr„v> il my in-tie. were eorrei l. lor wo tool.; a numb,',’ d oiumn seals from t belli. We had lillle chance ill the towns at the last cleci ion bcail-e 11• I.aliom- I'njon ureanisations were already oi'eani-ed and time was sliorl. URKRAhISM O'- ITS i'KKT. Itel'erriiie to the i.iheral candid:, ,es. the s pinker -aid rWc parts Inal a d;e ■ ef men .siaudiiej; in the ; oiistiuiem ies of whom the country would Imie keen iroud. and in whom the rouiitry weiihl had , vrl'v confidence' il they had dl been reliirm d. While Parliainent as -it t in;.; tbe pa ri v bad had 'T Iviiuj: squadrons.” a- they were call'd, who visiicd vaii-I's , niisiit lieni ics to xoiain to ii,e j, 1, ■ from lhe j dal form w hat I! 'form really teed be .ml wbai l.im-ruli-m truly meant. When lie himself addressed meeting, dnrin-/ the eainpaiiru- hire,. ,nl 1,,i-i;i-t i> ear' - ei'iiies they were they imver failed la carry a i e«nhit imi by an tnplmti rnni.ila'ralism had -prun/ lib” a e.iai:i to 1 i fevl . a nil v. ax on! vua 11 ill/ l or a I ud and waitin'.'; lor oriranisnlhui. TO AVERT \ CLASS WAIL ■ ‘ Libera I ismsaid Mr Wiiford. “is ,n inclusive and not an exclusive reed, and the ereaP'st diU'eroma between l.i hi .ral ism ami Beform and Labour is that Labour stands ior class Mill Reform stands for class, while Liberalism declines to admit class. Liberalism stands i'll f 1 • 'iH— ami mu some ni the people. (Applause). \\'i believe ih a! xtremi-l- oil the Reform side or on the Labour side are a pestilence to society Me laTiiwthat lhe man in Ihe Labour tanks w ho talks direci a. tinn I- a- much a dancer to the Slate a.- the extremists on ibn Reform side who in a time of industrial trouble says: ‘Now is our time to smash the unions.’ Kitiier i- a dancer to the State, and i believe smcori Iv that, unless Liberalism t'cLurn.s tn power you are cniiiv tc see a nakeil_ liLth, ~n class lines. THK DECAY OF REFORM. The leader pointed out that when the Liberals left the National , tovernment in 1010 then) were only eijllit members of the Holland Party in Parlianicnt. In three years that party bad increased to sixteen or seventeen. The people were learning that extremism on one side bred extremism on t!m otlier. TAbernlism diluted extto,nistn until it became inoeemms and ineffective', hut ila. Conservative. Reiman or react[binary Goveninient lannotl the (lames, jpr.. lie said tlitie "in three phases in the life of a Oovernmi'Ut. just as there were in an imhvidII a I or nation. These were tin.' ,m • the meridian and tin decay am ta TTi Reform (Toveinment was lon/ pa-t its second stage. i Mr Wiiford pointed out mat tne party executive consisted '-1 o :,hi!iVY and experience the Hon Ml X.rata, Mr Forties Mr -Masters himself. Tluv bad carefully considered the present political position, ami bad ,-ome to a definite conclusion, hut ami! the onny taut had an «! I 'irmnity „l considering the same Hie Id'. 1 "' of New Zealand must have M.itß u =-1 confideuee in the executive am party to allow thin to retrain from muk n... any public statement meamm.c. t-Mi- ' *The leader then detailed the proposed oi-mnisatieu of the party, setun- out the methods to ho adopted. U> c m noiini'i"! that two organisers would be appointed, one for earn islauo. “This /aiheriu/. - hr -aid m < < < ' '‘is verv important and will unit ° 're 'bn/ eff’et-. fer t, wn! blaze the trail for the Party io the coal which every Liheinl ’ striviiur to sa.iu." , ' The close of the speech was maimed bv enthusiastic and prohvt/ed applause. and a resolution was ea.ne-l uminitnoiislv pleil/iii/; <vei.. T, , to do his and her utmost to pe«f"«‘ the- organisation of the party.