ELECTION CAMPAIGN.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4492, 15 November 1922, Page 2

ELECTION CAMPAIGN.

OHINEMURI ELECTORATE. MR, POLAND AT PAEROA. The Central Theatre was moderator ly filled last evening, when Mr H. Poland, Independent Liberal,, and the sitting member for this eletcorate, delivered his opening speech in Paeroa for the coming electibn. His Worship the Mayor, Mr P.E. Brenan, .presided, and in introducing the candidate remarked that Mr Poland was no stranger to the bulk .of the audience present, as fpr the last .17 years he had loyally represented the Ohinemuri electorate in Parliament, and the faithful services rendered by the candidate needed no comment.

Mr Poland, on rising to speak, was received with applause, and a voice was heard to remark, „ "Good old Hughie.” The speaker said the campaign this year, was going to be no laughing matter; it would be a hard fight until December 7, Still, he considered he had never faced an election campaign with a better conscience, as he felt that he had been faithful tp his supporters’ during the last three years. A brief account of his stewardship was then detailed. As an Independent, Liberal, he said, he was pledged to and after

16 years’ service and experience he considered he was the best judge, and

his vote on all occasions would be exercised as his conscience and experience directed him. The Reform Party had announced that they 'had a seal- on their party, and the speaker contended that they were little better than “camp followers.” He did not consider the Reform Party was acting in the best interests of the masses. Seventeen years ago he had first won his seat for Ohinemuri as a supporter of the late Mr R. J. Seddon, and during the intervening years he had never departed from, the

principles laid down by that states

man. He had not become a follower of Mr Massey because s-ince the Reform Party had come into power by a narrow majority the speaker, was satisfied that they had not kept their

promises The party had given many pledges, practically none of which

had been filled. The speaker then enumerated a number of promises given, such as an undertaking tp reduce borrowing, to bring in a proper system in connection with the Upper House and electoral voting, none of

which had been carried out by the

party in power. This in itself was sufficient reason why he ■should not support Mr Massey, but there were other vital reasons why he could not be a follower of the leader of the Reform Party. He instanced the extravagant and reckless iexpenditure of money, which was responsible for

the impoverished state ofj the Government exchequer, notwithstanding that 1921 was the most prosperous year experienced ’in the history Of New Zealand, The Government had, in its -prosperous period, failed to put anything aside for lean days, and undoubtedly the present unprecedented state of the finances of the Government wore due to the lack of foresight on the part of! the Govermpent. LAND SETTLEMENT.

Mr Poland then proceeded to deal with the land settlement policy ofthe Government. Provision had .been made for soldiers’ settlement, but the system ef purchasing the lands and administration had- failed, miserably. The great trouble was that their policy had created inflated values of the lands of the country, and the prices paid for land for settlement had beed ridiculously high, and consequently. soldiers were unable to pay the interest due on thehi holdings’, and many had been obliged to. abandon them. After fighting and squabbling three months ago it was decided to appoint boards all over the country, but the appointments had been held up on the grounds of the difficulty of getting suitable menHowever, the boards had now been appointed, but the public could take it for granted that their reports would not be available until after, the elections. As .ah illustration of the high, prices paid for land se quoted a case where an estate for soldiers’ settlement had cost the Government £28,000, and in his opinion the lanl was not worth more than £15.000. For the civilian the Government had no land policy whatever. ADVANCES TO SETTLERS.

Touching on the question of a<k vances to settlers Mr Poland spoke feelingly of the hardships and trials of the fanner, and said that he himself was a farmer, though, comparatively in a, small way, but during the past thirteen years of work he had learned something of the troubles cf a farmer, and he was satisfied that the farmer wanted all the assistance the Government could legitimately give. In this respect the Government had failed), because it had not done half enough for them and the system of granting loans was faulty and lacked sympathy. THE MINING INDUSTRY.

Dealing with the question pf mining Mr Poland said that we were on the fringe of a mining district, and that any success in mining in the district would benefit us indirectly. He was first elected for the district in 1906, and during that term he had been instrumental in getting a clause put into leigslation which provided for time and a half payment for work done in the batteries on Sundays, and ever since then he had done everything that was possible to assist the miner, assist prospecting, and help to open up the district for mining. He pointed out that the Ohinemuri district produced half the goid in New Zealand. He referred to a recent report on the Wai'lii field, and particularly that portion dealing with the Waihi mine in which it wps predicted that further, enrichment would occur going down. He looked with confidence to a revival of the mining., industry. Touching on the paucit/ of. Government assistance to mining in this field, he said that during thle past thirty years only £7BOO had been expended by the Governm?nt in prospecting, and that last year the munificent sum of £56 13s

4d had been apportioned .to Ohinemuri, a district wihch had produced half the gold in New Zealand. The necessity a,nd justification for e ra triet receiving the practical suppor of the Government was plainly evident, and as a step in that direction .he had urged in Parliament the purchase and erection of a small and up-to-date battery fpr the treatment of prospectors’ orcs. He had just recently been informed on reliable authority that an entirely new reef system was at the present moment being developed at Karangahake. ECONOMIES. Mr Poland then touched on. the economics of the country, and condemned in no uncertain terms the methods of the Government in trying to reduce expenditure.. Ampngst other, sources by which the Government had endeavoured to establish a system of economy was the cutting of the salaries of civil servants., The reduction in the cost of living had been the excuse for the cut, but in his opinion the cut was influenced by the financial The Eact of the Government setting such an example was a levei; by which the employers in turn could more easily bring about reduced wages. ACCIDENT PAY. ; Mr Poland then dealt with the quest tion of insurances and accident pays He maintained that a man during the period of being laid up through accident should receive full pay, and he quoted figures showing the large profits of insurance companies'. He advocated an exclusive State Accident Company. Under such a system there would be ample fuifds available for adequate and full accident pay.

RIVER NAVIGATION. Touching pn the question of river navigation the candidate said this had beep a source of worry for many years As, far as the Waihou River was concerned, the Government had for the lask eleven years been protecting it frpm flooding, and it was still flooding, worse than ever it didThe Government estimatepfj over half a million sterling would be required to protect the country from this river, and even if that enormous sum was spent he was not confident that the scheme would be a success when completed, and even if it was so, he contended that it was a national undertaking tp keep this river open for navigation, and the cost should not fall on the and local bodies.

Lt should be made a national highway, and he said he would strongly oppose anything that -was going to be a charge on the district. The speaker' said he had very carefully gone into the matter 'of river navigation, and had laid the whole position before the Prime Minister in Parliament. Copies' of his speech on this subject were being printed, and would be distributed within a few days. Mr Furkert, who was head engineer of the Public Works Department said in 1919, and the 1921 Commission although only composed of two retired civil servants and a farjner, reiterated again the great importance of keeping the river open for navigation. Very little had been accomplished to this end, he said. The river was fast silting up, and our wharf was gradually being shifted further away from the town. Despite

strong representations' to the.Govenment by the speaker himself, .local' bodies,, and others, the Government had failed, and it was not fair to the people whose money the Government

was spending. The candidate reminded his hearers that the Ron. T. G. Coates, Minister for Public Works, had stated last year that adequate compensation would be paid to farmers who suffered loss' as a. result of flooding. The. speaker said it was an absolute fallacy to put a stop-bank

on one side of a rjver only, and it was also quit.e erroneous for the Government to trade on the fact that it was cheaper for the flooding to destroy land and pay compensation for damage done than it was to .build adequate stop-banks. The waterways should be the greatest asset, the district had. he said. QUESTIONS. In replying to questions submitted to him Mr, Poland said he was most strongly opposed to any reduction in educational expenditure. In the matter of loans to local bodies he considered that settlers and workers should receive encouragement from the State Advances Office first. If possible he considered that local bodies should have more, assistance from the Government as regards finance and cheaper rates of interest should be available to al who borrowed from the Government. RESOLUTION. , At the conclusion of his addless the following resolution was moved by Mr T. P. Vuglar: "That this meeting accords to Hugh Poland a hearty vote of thanks for his able and clear statement of the political situation of this Dominion, and we wish to express our appreciation of his faithful seivices as our Parliamentary representative and declare our continued confidence in him as member for Ohinemuri.”