LABOUR PARTY'S POLICY.

Shannon News, 23 May 1922, Page 3

LABOUR PARTY'S POLICY.

ADDRESS BY MR HOLLAND, M.P

On Sunday night Mr Henry Holland, Leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party, addressed a large meeting in the Maoriland Theatre, and dealt with the Labour policy. Mr G. G. Kelly presided, lurd the speaker received an attentive hearing. STRENGTH OF PARTIES. Mr Holland said there had been a good deal of misconception about + he policy of the Labour Party, as there was about every new political party. He referred to the parties in the Parliament'of New Zealand to-day. There were two main parties and three recognised parties. There were tvo parties between whom the line >f demarcation was clearly drawn, nnd these were the Reform Party and tn?

Labour Party. The third faction vas the remains of the old Liberal Party. Mr Massey’s party had a strength of 40 or 50 members, but if it was returned according to the number oi votes recorded it would have a strength of 26 or 27. Likewise Labour would have 19 or 20 members. In the House there was, apart from the 1 Reform and Labour Parties, the remnant of the Liberal Party, now united wi’h Mr Statham 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 jo-

fused to vote either for the Liberal or Labour no-confidence 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criticised the lack of unity in the Liberal Opposition, and said it was plain that if the eight Labour members were withdrawn from the House there would be no opposiUorworth anything. The Reform Government, he said, was really in power on a minority vote, which showed ire necessity of electoral reform, and the adoption of proportional representation as advocated by the Labour Party. GOVERNMENT’S COAL IMPORTA-

TIONS. The coal question was one uoon which the Labour Party had based a no-confidence motion in the Government. He maintained .that the coal resources of this country were sufficient to last 500 years at least, and yet the Government had launched a policy of importing its coal supplies from overseas. It had imported from Japan at a cost of £6 17/9 a ton, from America at £6 6/ a ton, South Africa £4 12/*, Wales £4 5/, and Australia round about £3. At the same time the be it of coal could be landed in Wellington from the West Coast at about £2 per ton. The Labour Party asked for the fullest information on the cost cl this imported coat and it was refused. The public ha.d the right to know, as it footed the bill. In the records o' 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 ’iie war, 1915-18 inclusive. In 1917 ihe miners turned out 750 tons—a world’s record. Yet the disgraceful slander of having gone slow during the war period wa§ made against, the miners!

REBATES OF TAXES. Mr Holland next referred to the land and income tax rebates. There w s.?e 50,000 land and income tax-payers in New Zealand, and between 10,000 cad 20,000 of these paid less than £lO a year. If they paid within a month they got back a rebate of 5 and 1 t) per cent. That was all very well for the big firms, but of what use to the man who was hard-up. Thel little man might even get. his rebate of 10/ at Hi wave his hat for the Massey Government, but it was the big landowners

and big firms who got the real benefit. One large Christchurch firm received no less .than £440 rebate. There might be a case for the cockatoo farmer, but the Labour Party would not. give relief in the 1 way it’ was. given. Instead, it would devise a

means of relieving the burden of die mortgage. When Mr Massey had given about half, a million away in tin - manner he was short of money. So he brought down first the 4 " Customs Bill taxing the farmers’ wire-netting, the working-man’s tobacco, sugar, mid other necessaries. It was said that the sugar tax was a British preferential duty, but he did not care what it was; he would oppose it when it was t'cr the benefit of the Colonial Sugar Refining Co

THE WAGES CUT. The Government still found itself short o'f money after its rebate schemes, so Mr Massey proposed wage and salary reductions. Equality of sacrifice was the watchword of the Government, and every member of the House of Representatives was reduced by 10 per cent. Off his own salary of £2OOO per year, the Prime Minister would not miss 10 per cent, especially as he received a travelling allowance, whilst to the rank and file with £SOO and no travelling allowance it was a big cut. Next came the Civil servants’ cut. The way to make up deficits, the Labour Party contended, was not to cut the Public Servants’ wage's, hut to attack the huge incomes of £lO/100,

even £20,000 and £30,000, that were being made; in New Zealand. Judges oi the Supreme; Court, received £IBOO, t nd they were allowed to retire on twothirds of their salaries. When the Government had delivered its bludgeon attacks on the Public Servants it brought down the Arbitration B\M. It 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 not been for the Labour opposition.

mortgages and interest claims Mr Holland next touched on the land holdings of the country, stating that the bulk of .the..land was in the possession of a third of the people. A serious condition brought about ly land juggling and dealing was that there was over £200,000,000 worth ol 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 unwould endeavour by means of a. State bank to stop the »-x----ploitation by the money lenders oi small settlers. Its first step would 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 5 per cent. That meant that every 20 years they would pay back that money and still owe it. The Labour Party would set up a national banking .institution, not to be run at a loss, but to put: the public credit behind a State bank to furnish cheap money for punlie purposes. A State bank, and increases in widows’ pensions were matters which would receive! the immediate attention of the Labour Party. Under the Labour Party’s land policy occupancy and use was made a strong feature, and before a man was asked to go upon the land, it should be cleared for him by the State. Roading access should also.be provided before settlement took place. When men went into the backblocks they should nave such facilities as telephones, at the same price as the man in the city, and not be handicapped by being asked to provide heavy guarantees for his v Jme

NO USE FOR MIDDLEMEN. Mr Holland’s next subject was the middleman. He quoted instances ■ where the cost of potatoes was 100 [or cent more than that received by the grower. The same applied to fruit. Labour’s remedy was to set up depots at which the products would be marketed, and the net return handed to the producer. Such a scheme would necessitate a State bank. He quoted the case of several well known banking and commercial concerns with, huge capital reserves. Where do these

reserves come from? Largely from the farmer. Finance had to be intionalised to liquidate the huge dents which had been incurred as a result c i the war and which had to be paid hy the workers. New Zealand was paying about, £5,000,000 a year in interest to the moneylenders; but what to the soldiers, their widows and dependents —about millions. The Labour Party when it go< into power, would levy on

the men of means the promises made by the National Government to die men who went away, and the women and children who remained behind. The Labour Party mainltained that t f e State should make a monopoly ol banking, and the utilisation of the public credit.

GREAT LIBERALS OF THE PAST. The position in New Zealand ip-rtay was such that the. dangers of the early eighties were present. At that time a wave of depression swept through the country, and they had a Government in power similar to that existing today. Attacks were made on the workers, and there were l reducticns ot wages, and then followed the maritime strike of 1891. It was the old LiberalLabour alliance, in -which Ballauce, and then Seddon were the outstanding figures that brought about a ,xw era, and brought the .benefits of de-

mocratic government to this country. Better laws were introduced and tetter days came. Death, however, claimed Ballance, the thnker, and later Soddon, the man of action. After th?m the old Liberal Party waned, and finally gave way to the present Reform Party The Labour Party, he claimed, was the true successor of me old Liberal Party, and, confident of the righteousness and strength of their movement, demanded the vote of every man and woman at the poll, so that, the laws of the country might he enacted and written in the inte; est ci those rendering social service to the

country and to the children who will be the citizens of to-morrow. Applause.) A hearty vote of thanks was, passed to Mr Holland.