AN INDEPENDENT’S VIEWS

Matamata Record, Volume III, Issue 162, 1 December 1919, Page 2

AN INDEPENDENT’S VIEWS

Win Keegan at Tinau Mr. P. Keegan, an Independent candidate for the Rotorua seat, addressed an audience of about thirty at Than on Thursday evening last. Air. W. llctheriiigtoii presided. THE PARTY SYSTEAL The candidate stated that lie did not intend to talk much in the way of party politics. When he heard a man talk in party polities he felt that he was tin-owing dust in the eyes of the people, to hide the real issue. People imagined that the country was being governed by party, but, in his opinion, it was being run by vested interests that were always found standing behind all parties. As soon as an election was in sight these interests, such ns land monopolists, large importing merchants, and the profiteers, who used their money for the purpose of exploiting the country, start to look round for candidates that would suit their purpose. They brought these candidates forward under the guise of party. They very often financed the candidate’s campaign; they even sent outsiders into the electorates for the purpose of setting up committees. The organisers induced the people to light put the election on the party issue, but did not care which party got into power so long as they got candidates returned who were tied beforehand to their interests. That explained, said the speaker, why lie was an Independent. Ho would not be tied to party or any particular interests. He was running his campaign absolutely at his own expense, and in the true interests of the people of the country. If lie was returned lie would enter the House as a free man, and would he able to vote according to bis conscience. He did not say that the country could be run without a party. A party should be in power which would be responsible to the country for the conduct of its affairs. The first business when the House met Should he to choose a leader, and the was never more in need of a stroifg leader than it is at the present time. He considered Air. Massey to he the most capable leader in the House. He was pledged to Reform, and ,if returned w ould help Air. Massey to carry out the reforms that this country was demanding. But, if he found that the leader's hands were tied by supporters, who were pledged to tho vested, interests of the country, and who had been sent to Parliament to support those interests, he would exorcise his right to vote out the Massey Government. He considered, however, that an Independent would he taking a too much responsibility in voting in any other party. Parliament should then go to the country on a clear-cut issue. That issue would be the vested interests, monopolists, and profiteers on the one side, and the people on the other. A policy should he brought down on the lines he would indicate. To hear the various political discussions, said Mr. Keegan, thnt arc going on between the various candidates at the. present time, one would think that the main questions to be settled were: Who has to be Premier and who were to be the other Alinisters. These were u long way from being the most important questions. They would settle themselves as tilings went along, providing honest, experienced men were sent to Parliament, who would work in the best interests of all classes of the community. WHAT FACES THE COUNTRY. The most important questions to he settled to-day, lie said, were: How was the cost of living to be reduced? How were the returned soldiers to be reinstated? How were the dependants of those fallen to be provided for? How was the general drift of the people from the country to the cities to l>c slopped? How was it possible To get more people oil to the land? How were homes for the workers to he provided, and how was the labour unrest, which was dogging the wheels of progress, to be dealt with? THE PROFITEER. The first thing to be done was to get rid of the profiteer. No man could profiteer, or exploit his fellows, unless he had the command of a large amount of capital. He would cull up this capital at a fair rate of interest, and make it do its duty to the country by putting it into legitimate channels/ He would also call up all the surplus land of the country, and have it subdivided into suitable holdings, and balloted for, firstly by returned soldiers, and then, by every other land seeker in the country. This should continue until every land-hungry man had sufficient freehold land to support himself, wife and family. The young manhood of the country was called up and sent to the most horrible war known in history; sons were taken fmm their mothers; husbands from their wives, and fathers from tlieii children. All went to do 'their duty with scarcely a murmur. If it was thing to call these men up to make this sacrifice, surely it should be, a proper and right thing to call up the surplus capital and the surplus land in order to enable the men to have homes and a living in a country they were willing to die for. The conditions on the land should he made more attractive and convenient. The land should he properly roaded, schools built, and proper medical attention made accessible. A full telephonic system should also go hand in hand with land settlement. Every

man taking up land should be entitled to this from the start. By getting rid of the profiteer and by settling more people on the land, the cost of living would be reduced. Workers who were unable, or did not wish to go on the land, should be provided with homes, at a fair rate of interest, with a sinking fund, so that after a few years they would have homes of their own as a result of their own thrift and industry. THE LABOUR QUESTION. The candidate advocated making the waterside worker a civil servant, the men to be paid a weekly wage, with provision for a superannuation fund. Bv this means better men would be attracted to this class of labour, and undesirables would he prevented from entering the service. He suggested that the coal mining trouble could be destroyed by harnessing the waterpower of flic Dominion. With a vigorous land settlement policy and assured finance to the settler, there was uo reason why, in his opinion, the hulk of the miners should not become comfortable farmers. THE EXTREMISTS. Air. Keegan stated that he would not ally himself with The extremists; these people knew no law, would conform to no law, and would break even the laws which were made by themselves. Although lie had always been a liberal, he meant liberal in the true sense of the word. Air. Seddon was a true liberal, but in the speaker’s opinion his successor was not. Since Sir Joseph Ward had been leading the party, the rich had been becoming richer, and the poor poorer. SHIPPING RING. The candidate said one of the most important progressive moves necessary to New Zealand was the acquisition of a fleet of ships. He considered that the money for this could ho raised ill a manner similar to that in which cooperative dairying concerns were financed. A slight deduction could he made on the sale of exports, of all produce, and put aside for the purpose of purchasing ships. (Applause.) PUBLIC WORKS. The progress of public works was criticised, the candidate slating that the operation of the department was too slow for the country, and carried out, its works ill an obsolete manlier. He advocated the latest machinery being procured for roads and railways. These were absolutely necessary for the progress of the country. THE ELECTORATE. This electorate, said Air. Keegan, was very badly cut up, and had not presented a very fair field to any of the candidates. He considered it practically impossible to get round it and deliver the full addresses necessary. Sometimes, he said, he had addressed three meeting a day, and on others he had not been able to address anv. PERSONAL. The speaker concluded by relating his period of public life on the East Coast, and also the vicissitudes of his early life in (lie mines and on farms. He had now retired, he said, and felt called upon, in view of the state of the country, to offer his services to the people. The candidate upon sitting down was greeted with applause. QUESTIONS. Asked if he was in favour of a Stale Bank, Air. Keegan answered in the affirmative, but he explained also that, there was little to complain of with the hanks operating at present. Bank shares lie said had not advanced in price in proportion to, say, farm land. lie was in favour of concessions being made to farmers in the winter time, on the railways, as was made to townspeople in the summer. Prohibition was not a question for a politician; it was a question left for sett lenient by the people themselves. We was in favour of free education from the primary schools to the universities. He did not stand as a Liberal, because he did not believe there was a Liberal party to-day. He hung to it as long as lie could. He. was in favour of the Government taking over the main roads, but the people were not. Many with good roads objected to be taxed for loads in other districts after paying tor their own. He would be in favour of the erection of a great memorial roiul, from one end of the country to the otlici. He would not support a measure for State aid to denominational schools. Air. Keegan, whose speech was punctuated with applause, was accorded a vole of thanks for his lucid and instructive address.