ON THE HUSTINGS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 268, 5 November 1908, Page 4

ON THE HUSTINGS.

THE TAIUNAKI SEAT. Notwithstanding this >w«t night tliero was a very good attendance ot electors at the Upper Kent road school cm Tu:s(luy night to hear Mr. Maloiie. lie was accorded a, 'most cordial hearing, and evidently had hiss audience with him from start to linish. His speech was in the main on the lbiea already reported. A vote of thanks to the speaker and to Mr. Houlihan (chairman) were duly carried.—From a correspondent. A correspondent writes that IJiere ■was an attendance of between sixty and seventy, including a fair proportion ol ladies, at th'e Egmont Itoad Hall on Tuesday night to meet Mr. H. Okey, M.P. Mr. Greenaway occupied the chair. Mr. Okey spoke for about an hour and a-half, getting an attentive hearing throughout. At the conclusion of the address a number of questions were asked. It wau stated that the farmers were preparing a petition against the recent dairy regulations and on the motion of Mr. Hill it was decided to ask Mr. Okey to present this to the Minister. A unanimous vote of thanks and confidence in Mr. Okey was passed. THE EGMONT SEAT. Our Ralmtu correspondent writes:— On Tuesday evening Mr. AsUiury addressed tile" electors. Mr. .lesse Tnillips presided. There was a good attendance. Mr. Astuury spoke very vigorously for over an hour, criticising his opponents without introducing any personal element. His criticism on the Farmers' I'nion nominee. Mr. Dive, in his contradictory statements as to Customs duties for revenue purposes, and his desire to assist local industry by a system ol protecting them was particularly trenchant. Questions were asked and answered satisfactorily. At the conclusion of the meeting a vote of thank" was proposed by Mr. Smith, and seconded by Mr. T. ]'. Ilughson. The usual compliment to the chair concluded the meeting. ,;

'flic Advances to settlers Department appears- lo lie doing good work (says t'lic Napier Telegraph.) Taking Sir .Joseph Wind's figures on the question of recent advances as trustworthy, we find that, during eight, weeks tile department loaned out UCOfUW. What this has meant in saving from financial ruin a large nimiher of settlers, can only he guessed at. lint we may he sure of'this, that if it had not been for the existence of that department things generally would have heen m a very much worsecondition in the Dominion than they are. Of course there are complaints. Applicants for advances urge that they have to wait. It may he so. tint if they will ask themselves what inhrht Jiavv heen their fate, and that of hundred* of others—perhaps thousands of others—if there had heen no Advances lo N-ltlt'ts Department in existence, even those who grumble because of dolay might adopt a different lone. As a means of raising revenue under a modified system .of taxation, Air j, nurellson, speaking in the Lyttelton electorates said that tie agreed with the late Air (.Hailstone that tile easiest tax to raise, and the fairest, was one on Imoneys left by deceased persons. In , Ilw*case of heijuests to persons other than blood kin, he thought that 10 per cent, was not at all too large. If some one would leave him £SOOO in th'a. morning, he would he willing to pay 10 |«t cent, tax; and iio did not think that anyone in the kill would not he equally willing under lite same- circumstances. Jlr 'J', ft Taylor who was one of the strongest opponents the Seddou Government ever. had, is a candidate for one of tile Cliristcliurcli scat 9 and is thus commented on by the Lyttelton, Times: Jlr Taylor -aid frankly that there was nothing in tire legislation of the present tiovertinient or its administration to warrant a no-confidcuce motion, and' we niav take it that he will support the Ward Government. hi replying to an interviewer, who asked him this question: "Do you not think a coalition of the moderate section oi Ui,. Liberal party and the Opposition would 1,,. benelicnil to the country ?'' Jlr. Alassey. leader of the Opposition, is said to have stated:—"To :i certain point it .might, but the Opposition would never allv itself to the Ministry as constituted' at present. LiTe parly would sooner be effaced altogether than run in double-harness with singleluxers and socialists. Deprive the Wheal party 0 i twenty-five of its members and. permit the ' dog to wag the tail ' not the tail to wag the dog, as at present, and a fusion of the parti-* would have a bcnelk-hil effect."

"-Now, .Mr. Hogg," asked an cleclor [at .Mr. lloyg's meeting at Xowlown | (Wellington) recently, "if this Socialist era of yours conies in. who is going to do the dirtv work? I ask v.ui that? be cause when .Mr. Phillips Xord.m w,\, asked who was going' („ do n,,, drainlaying and cleaning „,it sewers lie could not an-wer, and said he did not know." Mr. Hogg expressed great surprise that Mr. Phillips Xordon should have been unable to say; ••but.* - he went on. "I don't want, to be personal- such as vou should do the dirtv work,'' he .said, pointing t u ihe interrogator. ''Vou be- j lieve that prevention is better than

ciHY? Very well: Iml llic sfiivt')iKiMprevents what l.| u . doetor tries to cure; unci yet people Iv ill gladly shake hands with the doctor and pass' tin- scavenger with a sneer," 11 ,•. Hogg conelmled. '■ .Make tin. penally for sly grogselling iu a Xo-license district iiuprisoni»"iit without Hi,, option cif a (hie, unci I undertake i„ miv then, will not l,e piioiikli cif ll„. n-ailic l,.ft lo lie wort' lying about l iv n„, tl ,„| o all ronnd t.h <'omilry."—ili. A. p„ Atkinson, at Wei linulon. Mr Fisher, of AW-llhtgUin. is '.lolliin if Ji»t modest. Kisleii to this cxlrae Iroiii his "glorification"'—tile rxtrac is from the Post account of his meel uig:-.\lso he had something |, O sa\ iilimit his wide knowledge of ycililic', unci the political liistorv of this country lie is n yomig man Im't lie knows. "];( hey '' -meaning older , members •strike a. knotty problem in poliiics." ><■ said. " I am 'probably the iirsl man hey will come lo for i'liforiiml ion. . . limi eiiTi ask „„. a cp.eslion about any olilicil history |o.|iij;|il, ~n,l I will gi.e "nan answer as well a . 11l ■ next best. '■">! llivii 111,. one ~,id only lonely "liUeai viieyelopediii,--' Waving she,.U of fools,.,ip „,■,.,• ||„. 'oilighls on .Monday uii'iil (..;.,•■. Ih,. '.-isli.igs Standard)' \\ ,■ |)i||o,i' s:u'd: I I' am not goine to make 100 lon., a "•eeh. ami 111 mm.,. I ~,-t over il.'lh»l •Her for nnself | n ,|, |eH - vi.ll/* |

"There is too much ialk in the House. Flapdoodle J call it. There. was one man who kept the House one whole week." A voice : What did he do '! Air Dillon: '■ Ho annoyed lire. (Laughter.) J will siot troiu'ie you with too niaiy. figures, but if you ask me how many tarpaulins trucks, tins of axle grease are in the Railway Department, 1 can tell you. 1 have them all here." '•Financial.—We are making every progress, gentlemen, and the conatr'v is all right. I can tell you.'' up old man!" yelled an elector from the back of the ball. "1 am speaking all right, old buy. You can hear me ; don't alarm yourself/' said Mr Dillon as he turned over six more sheets of his speech. ,; If you want to see any work done you will put me back in the House, it was all very well, to know how to talk, 'but (he question was. What does the Cabinet want. ! There's too much talk. Flapdoodle 1 call it." Speaking of the other candidates and their anxiety to represent Hawke's Bay, Mr Dillon said : "Jt was the little

bit of metal I have on my watch chain thcv wanted. Well fhev arc not going to got it. - ' "Thn political agitator'' canif in for a word of enndennawjn from Mr .(.awry at. Pnnipll on Wednesday evening, whilst dealing with the Arbitration Act. Tip likened those agitators to the trained wethers that were kept at slaugntcrlionses for the purpose of decoying the innocent and unsuspecting sheep to the shambles. Whilst the latter went to their death, the trained wethers went in at another door ami were " fed upon carrots, greenstuff, and everything that a sheep likes." The political agitators I of the country, he said, represent these trained wethers, and the people who followed them represent the sheep who Mr A. B. Atkinson.' in a speech at

Wellington lately, made a striking reference to the Te Oranga Home afl'air ( and the use which has been made of it in the Grey Lynn election campaign*He said that, personally, he regarded the Hon. G. Fowlds as one of the most dangerous men in the Ministry, because the adherence of a good man to a bad system was better calculated, to keep it going than if he were of inferior calibre. Everybody knew that Mr Fowlds was an absolutely honorable and humane man. to whom cruelty or oppression, of any kind was absolutely repulsive. Nevertheless, he was being attacked in his constituency for his alleged responsibility in connection with I the occurrences 'at the To Oranga Home, which had formed the subject of an enquiry by a Royal Commission. Mr Atkinson was perfectly satisfied that if there had been anything wrong for which Mr Fowlds was responsible, it was nothing but an error of judgment, but he did not admit that there was anything for Mr Fowlds to apologise ov I explain away. In any case it a scandal to our public life and a species of moral assassination that sueTi a man should be held up for the execration of his constituents, and persistent cruelty. It would be better for Mr Fowld's opponents to lose a hundred battles than to win one by such tactics.