POLITICAL.

Hokitika Guardian, 31 July 1928, Page 2

POLITICAL.

LABOUR LEADER. (By Telegraph—Per Press Assooiation.) PALMERSTON N., July 30. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr H. E. Holland, M.P., addressed an exceedingly largo audience here to-night. In his opening remarks Mr Holland made reference to recent rumours associating his name with the Dunedin South constituency. He said that none of the papers publishing these rumours had approached him to ascertain whether they were true or otherwise. . The allegation as to promises made by himself affecting the Buller electorate was wholly without foundation, and evidently was based oil the situation which arose in 1018 in connection with the Grey electorate. He had been selected without opposition for the fourth time as the Labour candidate for the Buller electorate, and he had no intention of leaving that constituency. Furthermore, lie never, at any time, had received a request to allow his name to go into the Dunedin South selection ballot.

Mr Holland remarked that he was confident that Dunedin South would lie among the seats won by Labour this year. Mr Holland then dealt with the position of the parties in Parliament and in the electorates, claiming that the real fight is between the Labour Party and the Reform Party. He said, that, on almost every no-confidence motion within recent years, the Nationalists had voted in support of the Government. Since Mr Coates became Prime Minister, there had been fiftyseven divisions of what might be termed front rank importance. In 38 of these, the Nationalists had voted either solidly, or in a majority, with the Government. Indeed in 22 o these 38 divisions, every Nationalist present had gone into the Government lobbv. In 15 of the divisions the majority of the Nationalists had voted with the Labour Party, and in three divisions they had split evenly—onehalf voting with the Government, and the other half with Labour. MB AV. A. VEITCH. NEW PLYMOUTH, July 30. The Reform Party and its methods were attacked by Mr W. A. Veitch, in an address to about 100_ people of Taranaki electorate to-night. ine speaker also dealt with several planks in the platform of the new party. lie intimated that the party leader would bo selected in the near future in A\cllintnon at a meeting of the candidates selected to contest seats at the election. . The three great' problems facing the country to-day, said Mr Veitch, were: Land settlement, unemployment, and finance. These were so closely co-rela-tod that they must be taken together. Since coming into power, the Reform Party had spent 107 millions ill capital expenditure, exclusive of 82 millions spent oil the war, and it had very little to show for it. The trouble was that money had been spent on popular amenities and not in helping tlO farmers to increase production. Great sums had been spent to make goo highways, with the result that the motor competition has caused the radwavs to lose £780,000 last year. The huge expenditure on new railway works at Auckland and at Wellington did not produce another box of butter or crate of choose. It was not tlie picture shows that lured the country people to the town, hut the high interest rates the excessive taxation, and the loss of land values. The Reform Party’s schemes of rural credits, and rural advances, had provided the farmer with everything lie wanted except money, which was the only thing that ho did want. The whole system of finance required amending, said Mr Veitch, and the present system of commercial banking by the Associated Blanks should he re placed by a triple system, including agricultural banking, industrial banking, and banking as carried on to-day by the chartered banks. All three weie required. The present system catered really for the commercial interests alone, resulting in over-importation when times were good, and in unemployment when times were had. The now party proposed to establish agricultural banking oil sound lines. That would not inflate the currency, but it would attract money to tarm lands. The land policy must he aggressive. The rural lands should he divided into three classes, viz:—Class A lands, that are required for sub-division ; Class B, land suitable for sub-division hut not urgently required ; and class C, all other rural lands. Money should he taken from the State Advances and Rural Credits funds to start a land settlement account in an Agricultural Bank. A group of settlers wanting to buy class A land could purchase at a price agreed upon, or, if the owner were not agreeable, the price to be fixed-by arbitration. Land could then be either purchased by deposit on the amortisation principle of payment over say 30 years, or, if an individual were without capital, he could lease until in a position to pay a deposit on the purchase.

Further reform was needed in the electoral system, both the second ballot and proportional representation being worthy of consideration.

He said that immigration was a good tiling, but it must be stopped until the unemployment ceased, and then only encouraged along with encouragement of a flow of British capital into the Dominion. The new party intended to do something in the way of humanitarian legislation, especially regarding workers’ compensation, but tliis must not be hurried, or mol’d unemployment would result.