“What is Wrong With Mr. Coates?”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 429, 10 August 1928, Page 7

“What is Wrong With Mr. Coates?”

MR. V. H. POTTER ASKS CHAMPION OF GOVERNMENT Although politically off-side with the Prime Minister for some time, and always retaining the right to free criticism of the Government in the House of Representatives, Mr. V. H. Potter, Reform member for Roskill, has commenced his election campaign in the new Eden electorate as a vigorous champion of the Government and of its policy. He spoke before about 200 people at Gordon Road last evening.

Air Potter was well armed with data showing the record of service given New Zealand by the Reform Party during the past 16 years, and in asking his audience, “What is wrong with Mr. Coates?” he claimed that the present Prime Minister was the best man m the Dominion for the position. “Where is your alternative?” he asked. “Coates has led this country back to prosperity, and is the right man for the job.” A Voice: What about the land purPotter: Wait til you have heard my arguments; I will show you where the Goverment has done the only thing possible in the purchase of land. And what about this new organisation without a policy and without a leader —Liberals one day, Nationalists the next, and goodness knows what they will bo to-morrow? Yet we are told that 40 or 50 men are their declared adherents. Have you ever heard of anyone following a party blindly without policy and without leader? INDIVIDUAL PROSPERITY Mr. Potter quoted extensive debt and taxation figures with the object of showing that comparatively little of the debt was non-productive. For excessive borrowing he blamed the public clamour. He showed that New Zealand was the first to react to the sign of returning post-war prosperity, outlining production and taxation figures in support. The State Advances he declared to bo the greatest institution in the country, and in reply to an interjector he said the people of New Zealand were worth £166 a head. A Voice: There are many in Auckland who are not worth the £6. The candidate roundly condemned the excessive investments on the totalisator, which he said provided an instar*ce of how the city people were nullifying the efforts of the rural producer to bring the country back to economic stability. For every pound of butter produced, the equivalent of onethird of a pound was put through the totalisator, while for every crate of cheese produced £l7 7s 6d passed through the machine. MONEY ON RACING A Voice: Yet your Government lias increased the racing permits. Mr. Potter: That is but I opposed that. 1 am not a spoil sport, because I have not enough money to buy another man’s horse feed; but if you multiply your totalisator investments by two, you have your drink bill, and then add your smoking account, you will have a record A Voice: What about going to churfch? Mr. Potter: Well; I can go, but 1 do not think it would hurt you to try it once.

In defending the Meat Board, Mr. Potter said the board had saved the Dominion producers over a million sterling in shipping freights. Canada wanted our butter, he said, but they blocked it; and the only difficult point was that we were not allowed to block their eggs. A Voice: We pay the same for butter here as they do on the London market. Mr. Potter: And why should we not? The price here is controlled by the price on the London market. Why should the dairyman work from daylight till dark for the benefit of the city people? SPORTING CHANCE A Voice: Our children want butter and cannot get it. Mr. Potter: And our farmers want men. The Voice: We get the second-class butter here. Mr. Potter: We get the best in the world. The soldier settlers had been given a sporting chance to go on the land, and the incessant clamour of the people had been answered by the Government. The land had to be purchased at its ruling price, for the Government was not a confiscating institution. If there were any blame, he would blame the public. Th© unemployment question would not be settled by the payment of union rates of pay, for a flood of labour from Australia would result from a rise in the relief rates. A Voice: You say you want population. Mr. Potter: But we want the men who can go into the country and carve out a destiny for themselves. Close on £BOO,OOO has been spent on the unemployment question here. A Voice: Can you solve it? Mr. Potter: If any man here can solve it, he will be the first so to do. One of the best and sanest Labour men at Home. Mr. Thomas, said recently that the only way to solve the question is to put your backs into the work, and exist for less money. Mr. Potter answered several questions, and was unanimously accorded a vote of thanks.