“GLORIOUS FIGHT”

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 961, 2 May 1930, Page 11

“GLORIOUS FIGHT”

PARNELL CAMPAIGN PLEASES MR. WRIGHT MR. STALLWORTHY CRITICISED Cheers, groans, hoots, cat-calls and every possible interjection in the vocabularly of St. Heliers hecklers made speech difficult for Mr. R. A. Wright, Reform member for Wellington Suburbs, and ex-Minister of Education, who supported Mr. W. P. Endean at his meeting last evening. “This is a glorious fight so far,” said Mr. Wright. “There has been plenty of hard hitting, but nobody has yet been knocked cut.” Voice: Somebody will be next week! Mr. Wright: The Reform Party will top the poll. Voice: Well, they’re up a pole, anyway. (Laughter.) “If you back anybody else in this campaign,” said Mr. Wright, “you’ll find ” “That you’re backing the wrong horse,” said the voice at the back. “I wish you’d back out of the hall and keep quiet,” remarked the chairman, calling sharply for order. There was no bad feeling between members of the House in their private relations, said the speaker, though of course there was a sharp division of political opinions. “Sir Joseph Ward is an excellent and respectable gentleman,” said Mr. Wright, “and I trust that we will see him back in the best of health next session.” (Loud applause.) “The United candidate,” Mr. Donald, is a gentleman from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet,” declared the speaker. “The only thing against him is the fact that he is a lawyer. Still, there are some good lawyers and both Mr. Donald and Mr. Endean belong to that class.” Mr. Bloodworth was also a gentleman. “Metaphorically speaking, I shake hands with both Mr. Donald and Mr. Bloodworth, and at the same time I hope with all my heart that they do not get in,” declared Mr. Wright amid general laughter. Mr. J. S. Dickson and Mr. H. R. Jenkins had also acted as gentlemen in not standing at this election and splitting the Reform Vote. Mr. Dickson, who was also on the platform, smiled modestly. “Mr. Endean is a young colt,” said •Mr. Wright. “He doesn’t know what he is in for when he gets into the House.” A Voice: He’s not in yet.. “There is one thing 1 must warn the electors of Parnell against,” said Mr. Wright. “That is the rumours and slanders that go around about the candidates. I rerpember that when I first stood I was accused of breaking every one of the Ten Commandments and being sorry that there were not another ten.” (Laughter.) “Give us politics!” was the cry from the Labour supporters at the back. “Well, I recently made a statement which has created a good deal of uproar and I want to straighten it up now,” Mr. Wright said. He had asked why the two United Ministers, the Hon. J. B. Donald and the Hon. A. J. Stallworth y, who were present in Auckland, did not assist the United candidate in his campaign. Why did they leave. “Private” Munns to go “over the top” at all the meetings? Voice: ’ Stall worthy is the best Minister of Health we have ever had. Mr. Wright: Yes, of course. Hasn’t ho a Divine Mission? The interjector stoutly maintained his faith in the capabilities of the Hon. A. J. Stallworthy. “Well, seeing that you have provoked this you’ll get it straight from the shoulder,” said Mr. Wright. “I may tell you that he was spanked by Sir Joseph Wad for a statement he made at the time of the General Elections. He was treated like a naughty boy. He’s been as quiet as a mouse 'since then.” Cries of “Shame,” “Shut Up.” and general uproar greeted this statement, and it was some time before Mr. Wright could make himself heard. “I made a certain statement about the Hon. A. J. Stall worthy and the Hon. J. B. Donald, both Cabinet Ministers taking no active part in the campaign, and Mr. Stallworthy has become very angry. He has said today that if I have no better weapons than falsehood I should stay at home. I am branded by the man who has a Divine Mission. There will be no blessing for me. But I’m not staying at home. I’m here to finish!” Mr. Stallworthy had stated that he had addressed one of Mr. Donald’s first meetings at Remuera, but Mr. Wright said he had meant that he had not spoken - when the campaign really opened. “Twister! Twister!” came shouts from the back of the hall. Mr. Wright heatedly denied the suggestion. . “There’s no twisting .about it,” he said. “It means he delivered one address at a meeting of friends and supporters at the beginning of the campaign. His gun only had one barrel, and when he fired it there was nothing else. His motto is ‘He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.’ Mr. Stallworthy ran away.” Voices advised the speaker to, “cut it out.” In the lhidst of a fresh uproar Mr. Wright could be heard saying that he was giving facts. Touching on a fresh subject, the speaker said the Hon. E. A. Ransom had been suggesting that Reform wanted to repeal certain Acts, but this was untrue. Reform merely said that the Government-had not fulfilled its election pledges. A man in the back of the hall tried to speak, but Mr. Wright talked him down. A section of the audience rather vaguely demanded fair play. Mr. Wright concluded by criticising the Labour* Party’s policy, which he declared woul ruin the country by socialising everybody and everything. Every Labour candidate had to sign a written pledge to the effect that he would support solialisation. The party was far too extreme.

After touching on the United Party’s pre-election criticism of government by Order-in-Council, Mr. Wright pointed out that it was adopting the same methods that it had condemned. The speaker concluded his address in a burst of cheering, offset by strong Labour hoots and groans.

At the conclusion of Mr. Wright’s address, Mr. H. Holland, M.P. for Christchurch North, outlined the reasons why he considered the Reform Party to be the only party capable of governing the country and reviewed the work that had been done during Reform’s term of office.