POLITICAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2431, 20 May 1922, Page 2

POLITICAL.

LABOUR LEADER’S CAMPAIGN.

AIR. HOLLAND’S ADDRESS.

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party (Mr H. E. Holland), who is addressing a series of meetings throughout New Zealand, spoke in the Town Hall last night. The body of the hall was filled and the speaker was accorded a patient hearing throughout. Mi- F. D. Whibley. president of the local branch of the Labour Party, and one of ,the two candidates up for selection to represent the Manawatu seat in the Party’s interest at the general election, occupied the chair and introduced the .speaker. Mr Holland was greeted with applause. He said the Labour Party comparatively new, was subject to all the misunderstandings'of a new party. There were two main parties in the New Zealand Government at present —the Government Party, faithfully representing capital’s interests, and the Party, faithfully representing Labour. The Labour Party did not wish to' be returned to power except by the will of the people. On votes east for Labour ht the last election they j should have 19 or 20 members, and"*V the Reform Party should have 26 or 27. In the House there was, apart from the Reform and Labour Parties, the remnant of the Liberal Party, now united with Mr Stathatn to form a party calling itself the United Progressive Liberal and Labour Party. It had not a single Labour organisation behind it, and only the last session Mr Statham refused to vote either for the Liberal or Labonr no-eonfidenee motions. Mr Holland criticised the lack of unity in the Liberal Opposition, and said it was plain that if the eight Labour members were withdrawn from the House there would be no opposition worth anything. COAL IMPORTATIONS. *

The Labour uo-eonfidence motion had been based on condemnation of the Government’s coal-importing policy. New Zealand should not require to import any coal. There was absolutely no justification for the importation by the Massey Government of about a million tons of coal at unheard-of-pric-es. Yet if the miners asked for another 3d or Gd a ton for cutting the coal, the Government would throw all its resourses behind the coal owners to fight the men to the last ditch. And the miner carried his life in his hands. The records of the industry in New Zealand was in letters of blood-red tragedy. Nevertheless the Massey Government imported coal from Japan that cost £6 17s 9d a ton, America £6 6s, South Africa £4 12s 6d, Wales £4 ss’ and Australia £2 19sj» *From information received in regard to the Waih ora’s cargo, the Labour Party estimated it cost £2O a ton. On top of this it had to be remembered that the best New Zealand eoal conld be landed in Wellington at £2. The Labour Party aslced for the fullest information on the cost, of this imported eoal and it was refused. The public had the right to know, as it footed the bill. In Hie records of 41 years’ working of coal mining in New Zealand there were only five years in which the individual output per man exceeded 700 tons. That was in 1911, and four years during the war, 1915-18 inclusive. In 1917 the miners turned out 750 tons —a world’s record. Yet the disgraceful slander of having gone slow during the war period was made against * the.miners!

TAX REBATES CONDEMNED. Mr Holland condemned the land and income tax rebates. There were 50,000 land and income tax payers in New Zealand, and ' between 10,000 and 20,000 of these paid than £lO a year. If they paid within 28 days they got 5 and 10 per cent. back. The hard-up man who could not pay, got no relief, but the big firms, with money at hand, got the returns and last year there was an instance of one firm in Christchurch receiving £440. He said that if relief were intended for the hardup man it should have been given to the man who could pot pay, and not limited to the man who could pay within a certain time. It was the same with the income tax. The big man got the most benefit; the small man got} very little benefit. They could not make a case for relief for the income tax payer. There might be a case for the cockatoo farmer, but the Labour Party would not give relief in the way it was given. Instead, it would devise a means of re- .. lieving the burden of the mortgage. II hen Mr Massey liad given about half a milloin away in this manner he was short of money. So 'he brought down first the Customs Bill, taxing the farmers’ wire-netting, the working man’s tobacco, sugar, and other necessaries. It was said that the sugar tax was a British preferential duty, but he did not care what it was; lie would oppose it when it w as for the benefit of the Colonial Sugar Refining Co., which had built up tremendous profits with the aid oi black slavery. Mr Holland further detailed the Labour Party’s opposition in the House to various duties. The Govemmen would not tax diamonds at any price. The women of the Labo.ur Party were not the offenders in that respect. SURPLUSES AND SHORTAGES. After the Government had done this it was still short of money, and said that wages of the Public servants must be reduced. This country had twenty-four millions of ae- pcumulated surpluses—and no mon- -A ' ey. If a private concern showed a '-" W big credit in its balance-sheet and could not pay its debts they would

call in the. auditors, and afterwards the police. He did not expect they would have the money in gold or notes, but they must have it in values and if they had not got the values they had not got- the surplus. Mr Holland detailed the Labour opposition to the cut in Public Service sal- ! aries. The way to make up deficits, ' the Labour Party contended, was not to cut the Public Servants’ wages, but to attack the huge incomes , Of £IO,OOO even £20,000 and £30,000, that were being made in New Zealand. The Governor-General’s sal--1 ary was £5,000 a year, with £2,000 a year for household expenses, and •-£SOO a year? travelling expenses, and a deduction from that was opposed by Mi* Massey on the grounds of contract. Judges of the Supreme Court received £I,BOO, and they were allowed to retire on two-thirds of their salaries. He held that the Government had • refused to reduce the Judges’ and Governor-General’s Salaries, on the ground that there was a contract which must be kept. The Labour Party had said that there was a contract also with all the workers; and if one section was to be hit all must be, but the proper way would be to get the money from the big landholder and the man with the big income. When the Government had delivered its bludgeon attacks on the Public servants it brought down the Arbitration Bill. 1 \ If was fought by the Labour Party and though it was a bad* Bill when it got through Committee, it would have been infinitely worse had it hot been for the Labour opposition. If the Government were returned at the next election without a substantial increase in the strength of the Labour Party ther would be a great offensive launched against \ wages. He had predicted some time I ago that if the New South Wales l Government were, defeated there would be an attack on wages. That \ was now* seen to be the case. The Labour Government in New South Wales was defeated largely by the introduction of sectarian influences and he wished to warn the workers against allowing similar issues to be introduced here. The Labour Party did not ask what a man’s religion Was —that was his private affair — but whether he accepted the platform and principles of the Labour * Party. At . the present time in New Zea- , land Mr Holland said, there was over £200,000,000 worth- of mortgages registered, and £10,000,000 to £15,000,000 was paid in interest. Mr Holland attacked the present, system of land tenure in New Zealand. The Labour Party would, guarantee to the men on the land the value of his improvements, -and would endeavour by means of a State bank to stop the exploitation by the money lenders of ,small set- /• -tiers. Its first be to nationalise the money power which had always. been the greatest power behind any Government. Mr Massey had just floated a £5,000,000 loan at live per cent. Thai meant that every 20 years they would pay back that money and still owe it. The 1 Labour Party wpuld set up a national banking institution, not to he run at a loss, but to put the public credit behind a state bank to fur- / nisli cheap money for public pur- ' poses. He referred to the poppies that were sold in the streets to provide relief for unemployed returned soldiers. A State bank, 1 and in,J creases in widows’ pensions were ' matters which would receive the immediate attention of the Labour Party. Increases ‘ would also be made in.the old age and miners py--sthsis pensions. He compared the .'.loyalty o£ -the Labonr Party to that of those who charged fabulous prices for commodities' to the Imperial authorities for the comfort of the "soldiers during -the war, instancingpelts, sheelite, etc. In loyalty, deeds spoke louder, than words and. loyalty did not consist in waving a flag. The Labour Party’s attitude on immigration was that it welcomed every man who eame here,. but it was opposed to men being enticed here when there was no accomodation and no employment for them. • BALLAVCE A£D SEDDON. ' Hr Holland referred to other planks in the Labour platform. He claimed that the Reform Party had come into power because the later Liberals were incapable of building on the foundations laid by Ballance and Seddon. The Labour Party was now the only party opposed to the Massey Party it pledged itself to build constructively,towards its Socialistic objective, on the foun- . datiqnalaid by Ballance and Seddon. . He scathingly criticised the old Tory Party and referred,to tbe depression of the tote, eighties, and early "nineties whep this party was in power and their opposition to democratic and humane measures introduced by Ballance and Seddon and urged his hearers to Labour at the forthcoming battle of tbe polls. The conclusion of the speech •was received with an outburst of applause. Mr Chrystall asked whether it wasn't a reflection on the intelligence of the Australian electors to say that Labour was defeated on the .sectarian issue. , ? Mr Holland replied that the sectarian issue had caused the split in the voting. | Mr Holland was asked why the flaxmills were closing and in reply said the Flaxmiils Union could possibly supply a reason. He said the industry should be nationalised not foi* profit but for use: On the motion of Mr E. G. Martin the speaker was accorded a vote of thanks,for his able address and confidence in the Labour Party, which was carried with one dissentiv ent voice. ;

A vote of thanks ..was accorded the chairman and cheers given for

the Labour Party. Mr Holland urged them to get into line for the coming fight and to remember that deeds were better than words.