ON THE HUSTINGS ABOUT THE COUNTRY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 75, 19 November 1931, Page 6

ON THE HUSTINGS ABOUT THE COUNTRY

THOUSANDS DISFRAN CHISED The shortness of the election campaign was referred to by Mr. R. Semple, the Labour candidate for Wellington East, in his opening address at Mirimar. "I am sorry that the Government has cut down the time between the closing of Parliament and the eleetions," he said, "but, of course, it has a motive. Thousands of people will be disfranchised because of the short notice of the closing of the rolls. There is no licensing poll this year, and as a result the Prohibition people and the licensing people have not been engaged on putting people on the roll.

The short campaign is also preventing the Labour Party candidates from meeting all the electors and explaining their policy to them. The other parties have the Press to help them, but the Labour candidates have to rely on getting into personal touch with the electors." Executives' Stand In order to ensure the success of the Coalition candidate in the forthcoming contest for the Palmerston seat, the United nominee, Mr. M. H. Oram, has decided to withdraw his nomination. At a meeting of Mr. Oram's supporters on Monday, the following resolution was passed: — "That whilst this committee views with grave disfavour the method of selecting Coalition candidates by the party leaders for the forthcoming election, it nevertheless feels that under the cireumstances as they exist at the present time, the official United candidate, Mr. M. H. Oram, should withdraw from the contest. At tre same time the committee is strongly of the opinion that, in any future election, the selections of any candidate must be left to the executives of the parties concerned in each electorate affeg£ed." The Humour of It! "If the position were not so serious we would be foi'ced to see the humorous side of it," declared Mr. E. Windley, chairman of the Makara County Council, at a Wellington election meeting. "First of all the Reform Government was turned out," he said ; "then the United Party was doomed if it had gone to the country as a party. Yet at the eleventh hour these two parties, practically rejected, formed a fusion, and are now appealing for the confidence of the country. You must admit it is humorous." Mr. Windley's opinion was that the Labour Party had made a mistake by not joining forces with the Coalition. Mr. Thorn explained, however, that Labour was not asked to join the Coalition. "Mr. Forbes wanted a fusion of the two parties to fight Labour," he said, "and that is what he has got." A Direct Insult "Both the Reform and United Parties wanted me and asked me in the interests of the country to stand," declared Mr. W. J. Holdsworth, Independent Reformer for Roskill, in opening his campaign. "Now they ask me in the interests of the country to stand down. I took the only proper course, and put myself in the hands of the people who chose me. ■ They were unanimous in asking me to eontinue to stand. "I know business men in the South Islands who agreed under pressure to stand, and were later shut out by the Coalition. I regard the decision as a direct insult to such me.n. The political rights we enjoy to-day were won by men who fought and suffered for them, and I challenge any two gentlemen in. Wellington to rob me of what I hold dear." 1 Dissolution Soon? "I am very seriously afraid from the movement of events during the past few days that a marriage which has taken place under the happiest cireumstances will be dissolved, not by mutual consent, but by one party striving for ascendancy over the other," stated Mr. A. H. Vile, Independent candidate for the Masterton seat when addressing a meeting at Masterton. He urged that every endeavour should be made to keep the two parties together until the probleips facing the country had been solved. Time's Softening Hand "Harry Holland nsed to be a professed Socialist, and so were Robert Semple and Peter Fraser," said Mr. R. F. Griffin, Communist candidate for Wellington Central last evening. "I can remember the days when they were considered to be the wildest extremists in the country — standing under the Red Flag." Advice Not Wasited "The Labour Party is very liberal with its advice," said Mr. W. O'Reilly, Communist candidate for Wellington South, at a meeting last evening. "But it's not advice that will be acceptable to any class-conscious worker, or that will lead the working classes to any material benefit." Political Oar Refused Speaking at Tokaora, Mr. F. Gawith, Coalition cendidate for Egmont, described Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, his Independent opponent, as like a man who was offered an oar to pull and help save the boat, but he had refused. Mr. Wilkinson had had two opportunities to join a party, and he had turned them both down. Public Enterprise Bias "I'm afraid your party does not stand for private enterprise — for people helping themselves," remarked a woman after listening attentively to Mr. T. Brindle, Labour candidate for Wellington Suburbs, at Karori last night. "Yes we do," was the reply, "but we think public enterprise much better. We could not win a war until we took the control of industry out of the hands of private people." Why the Country Party? The Country Party was described as completely superfluous by Sir James Parr, Leader of the Legislative Council, in a speech at Auckland. He said the Coalition was doing everything that could be done for the farmers. It was the Coalition Government that had dealt with fertilisers and had effected a reduction of 12£ per cent. in county council rates. It had also provided a tribunal for adjusting difficulties between farmer and mortgagee with power to postpone, remit or reduce interest payments where necessary, This had all

been accomplished in six weeks. Communist Decries Labour "The Labour Party has for a number of years professed to be the only working-class party; and for some time it might have had some reason to claim that," said Mr. R. F. Griffin, Communist candidate for Wellington Central, at a meeting last evening. "But in actual fact it has not been a working-class party. Its policy was one of reforms by which it could change the form of capitalism. It always had to keep on side, and that was why it fell. Labour class workers all over the world now realise that Labour Governments offer them no more than capitalist Governments offered them before." Labour and the Banks Labour's methods of tackling the financial problem was touched upon by Mr\ A. S. Richards, Labour candidate for Roskill, in his opening election speech at Auckland. "The extravagant overseas borrowing must stop," said Mr. Richards. To stabilise conditions and help to prevent future depressions the party would establish a State bank with the sole right of note issue. Machinery was available for the using of the Bank of New Zealand in the formation of the State bank, which would increase. or decrease its note issue from time to time in proportion to the production value year by year. If the Domin.ion was to be pulled round financially, it must be by some form of regulating the currency on behalf of and by the people.