Political.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3606, 5 December 1905, Page 2

Political.

MR GARDNER THE MASONIC HAW

Saturday is not a good night Foxtou for drawing a crowd to 4 public meeting, hence the. attendance was only meagre when Mr Oswald Gardner commenced a short political address at the Masonic Hall on Saturday night last. The Mayor (B. G. Gower, Esq.) occupied the chair, Ana briefly introduced the speaker. On rising, Mr Gardner said hi? address would be short. He wished to contradict a report cir* culated that he was not going to the poll. His reason for going to the poll was because bethought some different form than present Party Government was required. If they were to believe the Opposition members, we would think Government members ought iP be in gaol. Personally, he thought the truth lies between the tw’° parties, and it was time we had Independent men in the House, as it appeared to him the individual system was the best. He certainly did not believe* in members being elected binding themselves to support one particular party. Although we had two of the most able men in the House, still hfi thought the of the other members of the Ministry could be replaced by much better men from the ranks of present members. Although the Opposition were re- * peatedly making charges against the Government, he did not think . it would be possible to put your ' fitigC r on the weak spot. (Applause.) They (the Opposition) made a great CW about what they termed, the overestimated surplus. The surplus mentioned was .;. certainly not on one y&J r ' carried ifrom year to year.' sonally, he did not think it wiS£ to carry such a huge surplus, and thought the money should be ex*

pended. He did not think' we should treat the Opposition charges seriously. Re the Public Works, they said we carry too much for* . ward. They (Opposition) say we cannot get access to our accounts, and some have said these accounts are not true, and thought all accounts should be audited. He (speaker) certainly thought ail accounts shonld be audited, but because they were not, he did not think the Opposition werejustified in referring to the present Administration as corrupt. (Applause.) He thought all members should have full access to the finance of the country. Certainly the public debt had increased, but the Opposition were in the wrong when they asserted that most of this expended jmoney was not reproductive. It certainly was I Referring to the railways, their construction had enhanced the* T -alue of the lands traversed, despite an > : which may be said to the contruJT* Customs duties, he was pleasJ. to note that the Premier intended to P° , a ” his power to reduce the dutv. 63 .on the necessaries of life. Personality -> he thought the duty should main on luxuries,, and considered any extra tax or deficiency should be made up by an increased land tax. The speaker went into figures, which he contended made it even easier, under this mode of taxation, for the landowner than at present. The Government had been censured for being a Labour Party. Certainly they had made the conditions of the worker V, pleasant, as should be. Re the ; freehold question, the speaker. contended that if you wished freehold, you may as well become . Conservatives right out. He would not favour mortgaging on lease of land. The Government ’ had been accused of appropriating laws from the Opposition. This ’ policy was quite right. Should it * not be the aim of any Government ' to adopt good measures ? Mr * Gardner was opposed to tjie present mode of appointment of mem- ‘ ; bers of the Upper House, and thought members of the House themselves should appoint them. It would be even better than having them appointed by the country. Referring to the Licensing question, he was' voting individually “No License." It was not true that he was entirely opposed to any scheme of compensation. If a good scheme was brought forward, he would favour it, but it would be difficult to formulate a suitable scheme. Un- v doubtedly the carrying of “No License ” would do an injustice to 1 many, and the question which presented itself was “ Who shall we compensate?" There were so many engaged in the trade it would be difficult to say. Referring to the Workmen’s Homes, he (speaker) thought all workmen " should have good homes, and the Government should receive credit for their motive in bringing the Bill forward, but he did not think the workmen should be allowed to fe sublet, and his borrowing power should be limited, to save undue

mortgaging, As to the Bible reading in schools, he did not favour any alteration in our present educational system. How■V- ever, not without serious reasons, f If we were to compel bible reading in schools, we would have every different sect wishing to form -Schools of their own. He contended that as a people we wen. quite as moral as any other country that could be named, and the spiritual question was one for the individual private to be taught at home,. It certainly would not be wis eto alter our present educational system by the introduction of bible reading, fn conclusion Mr Gardner said he sought election because he considered himsell as capable as either of the other two candidates. He thought Independent members, not Partymen tied down as blind followers of that Party, should be elected. It seemed to him that the whole question put to the country was “ Seddon ” qi u No Seddon ! ” This was wfong. (Applause.) Questions. Replying to a question put re the second Ballot, the speaker said Jf he had not. gone fully into the matter, but certainly thought the present system wanted altering. Mf Gardner did not think the prosperity of the country was entirely due to the Government, but thought the Government had distributed opportunities over a greater number of people than otherwise it would have reached. He was not in favour of State Banks, because he did not think there would be sufficient check on money. He was not in favour of the totalisator, because no solid argument couicl be brought in its favour,. PT.e had not studied the Criminal C'bde Act, so he could not refer capably to it. “ Are you in favour of forming a Civil Service Board in whose duty would be all appointment to the service ? ” In reply to this, Mr Gardner said he thought that iu all responsible cases, Ministers had appointed able men, though in the minor appointments some better system may be adopted. However, the chance of corruption creeping into a Board was just as great as into the present mode of action. On the motion of the chairman, seconded by a member of the audience, „Mr Gardner was ac- . corded a, hearty vote of thanks for his address. “ And Confidence ” came the cry of an elector.

Mr Wile has been holding political meetings during the past week in the northern end of the electorate. He ■poke at Makirikiri last night, about 60 being present, including many ladies. It It said to bo 14 years since any candidate for’political honours addressed the electors of Makirikiri.

STRONG EULOGY FOR THE PREMIER.

Hokitika) this day,

The setting up of Opposition to the Premier for the Westland seat has excited a remarkable spontaneous outburst on behalf ot Mr Seddon from ah parts of. the district. Committees were speedily organised everywhere to work oi\ behalf of the sitting member, who )s assured a large complimentary vote. A large pro-Liberal demonstration is b«nj held h«re this evening in favour of the return of the Seddon Party. Delegates are to be present from various parts ot the district, and the baud have volunteered to parade the t*wn prior to ths gathering, which promises to be of record proportions. The Mayor of Hokitika moves “ Thm this meeting, representative of the Westland constituency, resolves that th« -Sight Hon. R. J. Seddon, P.C., R aftl ahd proper parson to represent th« district in Parliament, and takes pleasure in congratulating ths Right Hon. gentlemam on his long record of past public services, unparalleled m the legislative history of thu colony, and further wishing him continuance of office to guide the Liberal Party v their broad policy of beneficial legislation which ha# so uplifted the people, and given New Zealand assuranc# ol flourishing prosperity so generally enjoyed. Tne chairman of the Westland County seconds the proposition, which is supported by the Mayors oKuroaia, Ross, and leadiag citizens of the district.