OAMARU BY-ELECTION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2569, 19 April 1923, Page 2

OAMARU BY-ELECTION.

OAAIPAIGH SPEECHES. Oamnru, Tuesday. A meeting in connection with the candidature of Air E. P. Lee for the Oamaru seat, was held here to-night when the Right Hon. W. F. Massey addressed the electors.

There was a very large attendance, the Town Hall being crowded. Air Lee made his opening statement, explaining and justifying bis attitude in connection with the election petition. He hmself had been prepared to stand or fall by the Supreme Courts decision, but it was bis opponent who demanded the election.

All' Afassey delivered a vigorous fighting speech, lasting two hours. He expected to have the statement of tlie year's accounts in a day or two, hut though the audit was not. yet complete lie was prepared to state the accounts would ho considerably over .C 1,000,000 to the good. He expressed his* intention to in-

crease the capital of the State Advances Department by £3,000,000, bringing it up to £20,000,000, and foreshadowed a return presently to penny postage. The. speech was mainly devoted to recounting the successes of the Government’s policy on the lines of previous speeches. A vote of thanks and confidence in the Government was declared to have been carried unanimously.

AIR AIASREY AT O A ATARI!

Oamaru, Last. Higlit

The Prime. Minister reached Oamaru this evening, after delivering an address at Goodwood and Shag Point en route from Palmerston.

The Opera House was packed with an exceptionally large audience, probably the largest ever held in the town. The Mayor presided, and Air Lee made a statement in reference to Ihe petition and claimed that the valid votes gave him the election, and the Court had really unseated him and not his opponent.

The Prime Minister dealt with general political topics. He announced a substantial surplus of over a million and foreshadowed a decrease in taxation. Mr Afassey claimed that the Government had Imen able to show a surplus and at llie same time had not increased the public indebtedness of the country

>y one copper. With regard to the prosperity of tlie country lie had mentioned that we were practically out of our difficulties at the present time, and he hoped to he a tile to reduce taxation during the year in which we had entered by £2,(100,00(1. When they reduced the land tax, and the income tax, they were reducing (lie cost of living, and that was what he was driving at. (Applause.) He foreshadowed the removal of the tax on lea, and the special racing and amusement taxation. He showed the benefit of the moratorium to tho small, struggling farmers. He proposed to increase the amount which might be advanced by the Advances Department to enable them to pay off their mortgages. A new experiment had been tried in connection with the Advances Department, by lending on chattel security, as well as on the security of the land. This would apply more particularly to the man who had started in a small way and who was having a bad struggle

I>> keep his head above water, paying what seemed to him (Mr Massey) to be a pretty high rate of interest for what he borrowed. Arrangements had been made whereby the Advances Department would lend sums of not more than £SOO lo the people of whom he was thinking, at the rate of GJ per cent. He thought it was a pretty high rate, but if things went well, they would lie able to reduce the rate in a very few years. He believed this money would be a great help to the struggling, industrious man. He was going to increase the capital of the Advances Department by £3,000,000, bringing it up to £20,000,000. Mr Massey declared that the Government had interest-earning assets to show for a large proportion of ibe public debt, and on the question of immigration, he declared he would not be one to shut the door to our own kith and kin in the Homeland, who desired to come to this count ry. During the evening the Prime Minister was subjected to constant interrupt ion. Oh tin* motion of Mr Milner, Bccloi of the Waitaki High School, a vote of thanks to the Prime Minister and confidence in 1 lie Massey Administration was carried on the voices, although the opposing aide made itself heard. Cheers for Mr Massey closed the meeting, followed by counter-cheers for the Opposition candidate.