POLITICAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 2055, 15 November 1919, Page 3

POLITICAL.

MR. MASSEY OPENS HIS CAMPAIGN.

Wtiiuku, Novemb, Ip

Mr Massey addressed a meeting of his constituents here to-night. There was a good attendance, and he was accorded a favourable hearing.

Explaining" that it w;v> the opening of his campaign, the Premier described the work he had done in connection with the war and Peace Treaty, claiming that his absence from the Dominion was justified. He said it was impossible to say how much the Dominion’s share of reparation from Germany would be, but would 1)0 some share of the first payment of one thousand million to be made next year. He said that the taking over of Samoa had been the duty of the Dominion, while the share of Nauru would mean millions to the producers of the country. It had been necessary to take over Samoa where Germany left off. lienee indentured labour was necessary for the present. He hoped that in the near future it would be possible to carry on with free labour. Mr Massey said when the National Government broke up be was not surprised, and was not disappointed. His party bad suggested the session before last that there should he a fusion of parties, but the other side had rejected this. Consequently when the disruption of the National Government came he reconstructed his programme ami.carried on. He had to acknowledge the assistance of the other side in putting through much of the legislation of the past session. He criticised the action of the Opposition regarding soldiers’ gratuities, raihvaymen’s wages, and the proposals to take Post Office funds for housing. He said it was putting the public affairs of the country up to auction, lie also criticised Sir Joseph Ward's nationalisation proposals, which he said were nationalisation gone mad. Dealing with taxation, he said the system needed revision, but there had been no possibility of" dealing with it during (be past session.

in x’cgard to the cost ot living, Mr Massey believed the iiillation of the currency was largely responsible for this everywhere. Tie hoped that this Avould disappear without any depression. He said that much had been done here to keep prices down. Instancing butler, he said the payments to the equalisation fund had been made to save the producer from being taxed when the exporter should have been. Fresh energy must he infused into development work'. There had been (co much of the pick and shovel method in the past, and new methods muA he devised. in regal'd to railways, roads and hydro-electric power, vigorous development ’would he the maul lealure of the GovernmentV programme. .Air Massey was accorded a vole of thanks and renewed confidence. SIR JOSEPH WARD AT WINTON. Winton, Novemh. 13. Sir Joseph Ward opened the campaign in his constituency to-night. Ho was heartily Avclcomcd on his arrival at Winton, and was entertained by the Borough Council at dinner. The Winton Band played him to the hall, Avhere a very large audience gave him a very cordial reception.

(Sir Joseph Ward reform I to the fuel that 33 years had elapsed since he Jirst Mood before a Win ton audience, and'he was proud of the fact that his friends in Awarua had stood by him through good repute and ill repute all that lime. Passing from local questions to general politics, Sir Joseph Ward said it was absolutely contrary to fact that he and the Liberal members had joined the Reform Party. lie never was a member of the Reform Parly. After peace was signed lie, as leader of the Libera! Parly, with Ids colleagues, left in accordance with agreement. lie would have been a traitor to the Liberals had he stayed in. Ho had carried out his duties as Minister of .Finance through'the most difficult period of the war. He had raised £43,701,000 in New Zea - land at 41- per cent. The cost ofraising this sum was at the unprecedentedly low rate of one-half percent. For the purpose of safety he had renewed short-dated loam- falling due in New Zealand for a. period of 15 years. He had paid off £l,050,000 Treasury bills, in addition to which he had arranged for the extension of all short-dated war loans that had been obtained in England for long periods, and provided an accumulated net surplus for the period lie was in office of £15,2-10,-000, and although there had been an increase in expenditure, including interest, sinking funds, war pensions, etc., under the annual appropriations, of £3,553,311 during the last year, they had all been provided for, and there had been a net surplus at the end of the year of £3,679.000. He had the satisfaction of knowing that financially New Zealand occupied the strongest position in proportion to population of any country that had taken part in the war. Ho proposed that the whole surplus should be invested in a sinking fund for the repayment of Avar expenditure, and that it should all be paid off in 03 years. His successor was adopting a different course of using the accumulated surplus for immediate payments. He considered that most unsatisfactory. He held that the Government avus forcing too much expenditure Avithin a year. The total amount asked for under all headings amounted to the enormous sum of £60,203.000, or £20,000,000 more than the year during the Avar. The result

was that voles for railways, roods, bridges, and hydro-electric developments were most inadequately provided for. The remainder of the speech was an amplification of the manifesto issued by Sir. Joseph Ward when he left the Reform Party. He concluded by soliciting the co-operation of moderate and progressive people of all classes to promote the well-being of the country and leave it in every respect better than it is to-day. A vote of thanks and confidence in Sir Joseph Ward, and an expression of appreciation of the long and valuable services he had rendered to the Dominion and to the Empire, was moved by Dr. Gow, and seconded by Mr C. D. Moore, and carried by acclamation and with unanimity, there being no dissentient voice when the Mayor asked for the “Noes.” Sir Joseph Ward nra.de an appropriate and humorous response, and the meeting closed with hearty cheers for Sir Joseph Ward and Ladv Ward.

ELECTION INCIDENT AT TE KUITL LABOUR MEETING “CUT” BY THE MAYOR. Te Kuiti, Nov. 13. At a recent meeting of Mr Broom’s, the Labour candidate for Waitomo seat, the Mayor of Te Kuiti (MV G. P. Finlay) declined to preside, and advised the Labour Party of this decision by letter. This was mentioned at the meeting, and although the letter was not read a motion censuring the Mayor for his refusal to preside was lost by UP votes lo 11. As the Labour Party declined lo make the contents public, the Mayor has now sent a copy of his letter to the Press. If reads as follows : .

“Dear Six’. —Yoixr note of yesterday's dale to hand, asking me to take (he chair at Mr Broom’s meeting to-morrow night. 1 thank yon for vonr offer, hut at (no same time f feel myself constrained to decline to preside. It is hut lair that 1 should, under the circumstances, give you specific reasons for my altitude. I feel that as Mayor, and as such the accredited representative of the townspeople, 1 could not conscientiously take the chair at a meeting convened by a party which, judged as a party by the public utterances of its Parliamentary leaders, is distinctly and decidedly disloyal. Then, 100, a party to, through its Parliamentary leaders, your parly not only actively opposed t ho war, hut in every way possible'hindered its due and proper prosecution, 1 need hardly remind you that one of its leading representatives, Mr Weld), suffered imprisonment rather than serve, and his conduct was applauded, mil condemned, hy his 1 ai - liamcnlary associates, and on top ot all, that the party organ has been guilty of condemnatory 'references to our brave and suffering soldiers, of which no right-thinking loyal citizen can but he oilier than ashamed. The purpose of the meeting being to

assist in sending Mr Broom to join with and act under the direction of the men (o whose utterances 1 have referred, 1 really must decline to assist. To do otherwise would he to so countenance the past conduct of: the party leaders a.s to affront the loyalty of the vast majority of this Dominion, and, above all, to insult (ho memorv of our honoured dead. 1 write you this Avith some icgict, but as a matter of both personal conscience and public duty. I am, yours faithfully, (Signed) O. P. FINLAT. Mayor of Te Kuiti. TA RAN AKI. New Plymouth, Nov. 13. Mr 8. G. Smith, M.P., addressed a large meeting at New Plymouth to-night, being accorded a very good hearing. He announced his intention of continuing as an Independent Labourite. He Avould vote agaist the Massey Government on a noeon tidenee motion principally because of the inability of Cabinet members to rise to the needs of the present and future. He Avould give general support to the Ward Government it the latter returned to power, as lie anticipated, hut he reserved the right to oppose it on matters that were against his judgment. He believed in Ihe Labour part y, but it must he sane and moderate labour. He had no sympathy with the present Parliamentary Labour partv, who were revolutionary Socialists and direct aelionists, whose extreme vieAvs Avere really inimical to the great body of Labour and destroyed for the present any chance of the Labour parly gaining success at the polls. Mr Smith was given a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence.