POLITICAL.

Taihape Daily Times, 11 July 1919, Page 8

POLITICAL.

TO THE KANGITIXEI ELECTORS. Ladies and Gentlemen, When addressing >„.. ~. i ; ' March last, it was presume;! iiu- uio General Election would eveiL v n. j about the end of July. Owing to ia.e protracted and long-drawn Peace discussions the date forecasted will have to be revised. Our Political Chiefs will probably be home about the end of next month. A short session will follow, and the earliest mouth for the Election, I opine, will be November. In my last address it was stated: 'lf the present Eeform and Liberal parties cannot, or will not, amalgamate, I would, if elected, take an absolutely independent course.'' It is now given out that there will ] be no coalition. That being so, it is j for me to reiterate this statement, and I re-affirm that, when I step on to the • platform it will be as an Independent, pledged to no Party or Leader, but depending entirely on those advanced and Democratic views that h!ave already been placed before you, and working much on the same lines as those followed by Mr Veitch, of Wanganui. No other Course is open. It is impossible for one thinking as I do to pledge himself to any Leader whose policy 'and platform is not before the public. The old Party shibboleth will be swept off the board. It is what we are going to do in the future, not what we have done or failed to do, in the past, that will , tell with the Electors, and when it does come to Parties, the one most in touch and sympathy with the views I hold would be the natural one for me to support. The few subjects following, added to what was stated on the last occasion, completes my political curriculum and covers all the leading questions of the day. Allow me here to repeat the statement already made—"that before r anything else, I stand for law and , order and good Government as against j Anarchy, Bolshevism,' and; Confisca- i j.tion.''. .' . : Licensing.—-The people of the Dominion having endorsed Continuance, it will be necessary to state where we are on those points which will come under the review of the new Parliament, the most important being that of six o'clock closing. Whilst not going back to the old order of things, 1 am not prepared to close the bars be- ; foro eight o 'clock, for reasons which j will be duly placed before you. On ! the other hand, the opinion is strongly I held that the license fee, which for | years has stood at £4O, should be raised ' on a sliding s cale, having point and reference to the volume of business done by, the house. Let it be observed that the leading hotels in the Dominion, doing an enormous business, pay, no more for their charter 'and monopoly than does a small auctioneering firmjor its license j to sell apples. State Bank.—l favour the State going into the Banking business, and I probably acquirinug the Bank of New \ j Zealand as a going concern. I feel ! sure that, worked on the best business lines and by the best business men, .1 the N.Z. State Bank would prove the j same huge success that the N.Z. Pub- . lie Trust Office is proving. ■ Town Planning and Municipal Building.—it is a question of pressing and urgent importance, calling for immediate attention, and' I would be found in the ranks of the foremost thinkers and supporters of these measures; also the kindred one of Hydro-Electricity, previously referred to. Elective Executive. —The writer is j not a strong Party man, and would give the idea of an Elective Executive a good hearing as soon as the time is opportune. The Cost of Livnig. —Rate of wages, prices of produce, and labour questions generally are the most serious problems of the day, puzzling and , almost appalling our deepest thinkers and ablest, statesmen. Their settlement is not yet in sight, and will have , to bo approached with great fore- j thought, circumspection, and sympathetic handling. Let us hope and trust j that a satisfactory and peaceful solu- ] tirm may be evolved. —Yours faithfully, , A. J. JOBLIN ,