POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 588, 14 February 1929, Page 7

POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE

MR. JORDAN’S PREDICTION ENTHUSIASTIC WELCOME IMPRESSIONS OF CANADA “I’ve . een England, and England is in trouble,” said Mr. W. J. Jordan, M.P., at an enthusiastic welcome home from the Empire Parliamentary Congress by 700 or 800 of his constituents in the Foresters' Theatre at Onehunga last evening. “Her imports from foreign countries last year amounted to £500,000,000 and tier exports fell to £350,000,000. The workers of England are up against it. Of 11,500,000 insured workers no fewer than 1,500,000 are out of work. “Although 26 per cent, of the wageearners are unemployed. there is more wealth In England to-day than ever, but the poverty existing at its side is appalling. Investors overseas are building up huge factories in foreign countries, while their workers i at home are starving.

‘‘There is going to be an earthquake in Britain next June, similar to the one that occurred in New Zealand in November last.”

j The seven w r eeks he had spent in j Canada, wlieer lie met some 54 mem- | hers of nine Parliaments gathered to- ; getker to strengthen the common ini terests and bonds of the Empire, was ! a great education. Both in Canada aud in England he found that Labour |is receiving profound consideration j and is being into the councils I | of both countries. He had met New Zealanders every- \ where, generally in lucrative positions, and instanced the manager of the city of Vancouver, a Mr. Pilkington, who hailed from Panmure. He had travelled 15,000 miles in Canada, had attended upwards of 100 func--1 tions, and listened to 300 speeches. Although Quebec was half French and half English, there was a fine feeling existing between the two peoples.

In Canada the old-age pension is provided, but it is a State affair, and if a pensioner moves into another State his pension is cancelled. He drew attention at the conference to this anomal}' when advocating the establishment of Empire reciprocity in the matter of old-age pensions. He severely attacked the system which permitted speculators iu Empire foodstuffs, contending that these financial operators were harmful to the people, in that they did no useful work except in working points. The only result of their activities was to put up the price of the people’s food, and tile question of their control was duly taken note of by the conference. He saw a huge hydro-electric plant at the Niagara Falls which supplied one million h.p. of current to no fewer than 500 big manufacturers, while at Toronto he was shown a huge mill where 560 tons of newsprint was turned out every day. HOW CANADA TREATS IMMIGRANTS

He was deeply impressed with the Canadian land settlement scheme, whereby immigrants were systematically classified before leaving the Old Country. Trained farmers were provided with land, houses and furniture.

Alluding to the wheat pool in W innipeg, he said that it had storage capacity for 200,000,000 bushels of wheat and was controlled by 45,000 farmers. No fertilisers were used there and the land was cropped for two successive years and fallowed every third season.

The tylayor of Onehunga, Mr. W. C. Coldicutt, presided,, and among the speakers were Messrs. M. J. Savage and W. E. Parry, M.P.'s. S. I. GoocLall, representing the Mount Roskill Road Board; J. Toy, the Ellerslie Town Board; F. C. Paice, president of the United Friendly Societies of Auckland, and C. D. McLean, on behalf of Mr. Jordan’s election committe. Mr. Paice described Mr. Jordan's re-election to Parliament as the harvest of good deeds performed by him since his first appearance in politics.