GOOD HUMOURED

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 85, 1 December 1931, Page 5

GOOD HUMOURED

"NEXT TO MONCUR" COUNTRY PAETY CANDIDATE'S SECOND ROTORUA MEETING POLICY POINTS ENLARGED Good humour was the outstanding feature of the second Rotorua meeting of the Country party candidate for the district, Mr D. R, F. Campbeil. which was held in the Lyrie Theatre last evening. Mr. Campbeil dealt with a number of points raised in his first address, but from different angles and also introduced a number of questions of interest. He vras given a very attentive hearing with a few interjections and although these increased at question time, the audience appeared to be in high good humour with itself and the candidate as the meeting progressed. One membar of the audience, who announced that he was a member of the unemployed and wanted to know what Mr. Campbeil intended to do for "us poor feliows", finally broke. up the meeting when he announced that the candidate was "the nearest approach to Moncur he had heard", but that "Moncur had him beaten | by a bit". His final syinpathetic advice to the candidate to "pull out" was almost drowned in the general laughter. Mr. Campbeil did not ask for a vote ,of confidence, but was accorded a very warm vote of thanks by acclamation. His Worship the Mayor, Mr. T. Jackson, was the chairman of the meeting. Not Playimg the Game Mr. Campbeil prefaced his address by giving a flat denial to a recent hint in an Auckland newspaper that there was any sort of an, understanding between Labour and the Country party. 'I do not think that it is playing the game to make out that there is anything in the nature of a sinister understanding between Labour and my party," he said. At his Matamata meeting, the Coalition candidate, Mr. Clinlcard, had said that there was no cure-all for the depression but that expenditure must be reduced. In even more vague terms, Mr. Ransom had told them that the present position was the aftermath of the war. But the people knew this alr:ady; what they wanted were definite proposals for remedying the present state of affairs. Proceeding, Mr. Campbeil quoted the opinions of saveral world famous finaneial experts, three of whom were acting as finaneial advisers to the Lcague of Nations and all of whom strongly criticised the gold standard and advoeated the institu-

tion of more elastic currency and credit systems. The Country party had put forward definate proposals in regard to the currency, but the Coalition had passed them by. The present attitude of our quidnuncs savoured somewhat of that of the aristocrats of the French and Russian revolutions. They shrugged and said; "It will last out our time. After that, the deluge." The Labour Bogey Mr. Campbeil app aled to the eleetors not to be deterred from voting for the Country party by the bogey of letting Labour in, when a voice Intervened with the opinion that "they would get there anyway." The candidate assured the interjeetor that if the majority of the electors of the country were convineed of the soundness of the Labour party policy, then Labour should g:t in. So far as vote splitting was concerned, said Mr. Campbeil, Mr. Massey before his death, had promised to institute el ctorial reforms. Unfortunately Mr. Massey had died and those promises had not been honoured. . If there was vote splitting, th: y should blame the people who had not honoured these promises, not the Country party. His party had as one of its planks, the institution of preferential voting which would prevent vote splitting. The speaker outlin:d his party's proposal for the regulation of the currency by means of the central hank • and emphasised the necessity for plaeing its control in the hands of experts. "Whsat Oraties Mr. Campbeil stated that he had been questioned as to the attitude of his party towards the wheat duties. His answer was that the duties should be" removed like anything else which raised th© cost of living. It had been said that the removal of the duties would create 6000 unemployed, but the country was good and could be turned to other pufposes. It would grow the best lambs in New Zealand. 9

A voice: Quite wrong. Mr. Campbeil: There is one gentleman in the audience who comes from fchat part. The voice: I do. Mr. Campbeil: I mean there is another gentleman. He has assured jne that it will grow those lambs. The speaker again emphasised the Country Party proposals for the gradual reduction of protection walls in order to reduee the cost of living and eneourage Empire trade. He also dealt with the vital necessity for the reduction of the costs of the farmers' production. He said that the Country Party was opposed to wages cuts unless the cost of living came down first. Qxiestion Time. Asked whether he did not consider that the closing of secondary industries would not cause unnecessary suf fering, and what would happen to these industries, Mr. Campbeil said that his party proposed that the secondary industries should place all their cards on the table. Many of them he claimed, were not'using the most effieient methods and could be rationalised with a consequent improvement in their position. If, however, after putting all its cards on the table, an industry showed that it would repay assistanee, the Country Party would give it all the help it wanted by means of a subsidy. Education Econoinies "When you get the views of a retired sehool-master upon educational matters, he is inclined to he a bit boring but I will deal with my attitude briefly if you will have patience with me," said Mr. Campbeil in response to a request that he should outline ; his attitude towards the suggested education economies. "Do you want mass production method; do you want the best teach-

ers for your children: do you want the old methods of on© teacher to 100 children and plenty of stick; or do you want classes where the teacher can study the ehild's individuality?" asked the candidate. A voice: What you and I had. The candidate was proceeding to emphasis© the necessity for obtaining the best class of teacher and the best teaching facilities when a voice offered the suggestion that children should stop "playing the wag." This was followed by the avowed member of the unemployed who assured the candidate that he was the "nearest approach to Moncur that he had heard but th^it Moncur just had him beaten." The meeting was now in high good humour and when the, Mayor put the customary vote of thanks, the unemployed gentleman rose again and had got as far as saying that he was speaking on behalf of "those around him," when another voice objected to his representation. The chairman did not delay matters any longer but put the motion which was carried hy acclamation. II