POLITICAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 138, 6 December 1911, Page 7

POLITICAL.

i THE PREMIER AT WIN'TOX. A C.REAT RECEPTION*. J (By Telegraph—Special to the "News.") Invereargill, Monday. The reception given to the Premier at Wiiiton to-night compared more than favorably with Mr. Massoy's meeting, deI spite the fact that the climatic conditions were the most unfavorable. Heavy rain had fallen all day, and just when country people would have to leave home the showers were of exceptional severity, and many from distances must have been prevented from attending. 'The Kink Hall was completely packed, and though a well organised demonstration in favor of Mr. Hamilton was attempted at the commencement of the meeting. the counter-cheers easily drowned them, and throughout the remainder of the meeting the Premier was given an excellent hearing. Unlike Mr. Massey's meeting, the bulk of the audience were electors of Awarua. and though Wiiiton and the surrounding district is the alleged stronghold of the Opposition candidate, the meeting was an enthusiastic one, and revealed the fact that it is still a Government stronghold. He criticised • Mr. Allen's Bluff speech and a few of j Mr. Massey's statements, and the review I I of these \wre well received, the very oc- I casional interjector being promptly howled down by the remainder of the gathering, j ne Premier was given an excellent hearing throughout the two and a half hours of speech, and as he resumed his seat he was accorded a tremendoir ovation, which lasted for several mil l utes. A large number of questions wer" ; answered, and again an attempt by the j organised party to disturb the meeting was quelled by the audience demanding order. At the conclusion of the meeting a vote of thanks for his address and confidence in the Government was carried practically unanimously. The crowd again gathered at the station and renewed their cheering as the train moved out and thus brought to a very successful close one of the most enthusiastic political gatherings ever held in Southland. ANOTHER ACCOUNT. ' By Telegraph—Press Association. Winton, Monday. Sir Joseph Ward addressed a meetimg at Winton to-night attended by about ; 1000 people. He met with a good reception. He said that the buoyancy of the revenue had placed the country nearly £ljooo,ooo better than the preceding twelve months ending November 30. He dealt at length with Mr. Allen's speech at Bluff. He defended the appointments to the public service, and challenged the Opposition to name ai single instance where a wrong appoint- • ment had been made. He defended the * State note issue, which w.is entirely different to the pi!per currency, which he did not believe in. He dealt fully with the Mokau deal as in previous speeches. Dealing with borrowing, ho said that Mr. Massey suggested three or four millions a year, which the Government was prepared to do. The 6'/ 2 million loan , belonged to two years and was abnorr' mal. He contended the railways were being cheaply and well constructed, taking into account the altered conditions. He defended his action »n connection with the totalisator and said he was now favorable that the present governing Act should be continued. He had never complained regarding the well attended and enthusiastic meeting Mr. Massey had in W!:i:on. but he objected to the use made of the fact, and the different treatment meted out to him by the Press Association as compared with Mr. Massey. He had always been on the side of the workers and farmers, and especially the small farmers and small traders, and had endeavored to serve tho whole community during his time in Parliament. Under the Ward administration the country had prospered. Towards the conclusion the meeting got out of hand. Cheers and groans and counter-cheers for Mr. Massey were given, the opposing forces seeming to be about equally divided. A number of questions were asked, some of the answers to which pleased and others did not please the audience. The lights in the hall were turned out and Sir Joseph Ward was leaving the buildingybut they were relighted and the Premier again faced the audience. A motion of confidence was proposed and declared carried, but it was difficult to say how it went, as the meeting was somewhat disorderly. MR. MASSEY AT DEVONPORT. Auckland, Monday. The Leader of the Opposition addressed 650 electors at Devonport to-night and had a most enthusiast" reception ( his speech mostly being 0:1 the lines of his former addresses. A vote of thanks and confidence was carried, with cheers for Mr. Massey and the Reform Party's candidate. .SHI JAMES CARROLL. Wellington. Monday. Sir James Carroll arrived from the North to-night and went South by the stesimer. lie is to speak at Ashburton to-morrow evening and at Rakaia the next day. In tho course of a short interview Sir James Carroll said he considered his and Mr. Ngata's re-election unopposed amounted to a vindication of the Government's native hind policy by both races. MR. JENNINGS AT lIUIRANGI. Mr. W. T. Jennings addressed a reI presentative meeting in the Huirangi Hall on Monday evening, the chair being occupied by Mr. 0. J. TTerriek. Mr. Jennings prefaced his remarks by stating that he was pleased to again have the opportunity of meeting the Huirangi settlers and give an account of his stewardship. He maintained that he had honorably carried out the promises made by him three years ago. He referred in particular to his actions on the land tenure question. He had voted for the freehold as every one knew. On the land question, however, and in all his actions, ho had done his level best for every man, woman, and child in the electronic. As a matter of fact, he did not think that there was another candidate who had a harder electorate to work than he had. Mr. Jennings road letters from various representative sources thanking him for his strenuous efforts on behalf of settlers. He then referred to the campaign of misrepresentation which marked the utterances of the Opposition party, die particularly referred to a pamphlet issued by the so-called Reform Party, and said he had never seen an instance where so many half lies and gross distortions were made. Mr. Jennings then dealt with four points standing out which were always brought out as truing cards against the Government, viz., nonprogressiveness, corruption, extravagance and over-l)Orrowing, and proved to his hearers that those charges existed only in the fertile brains of tho Opposition party. The rating of native lands, the Mokau deal, compulsory military trainI ing, and other matters were all dealt \ with by the speaker on the same linos as in his first speech at Waitara. He thanked them for their attendance, and asked them to pause and consider before recording their votes If they did this

I' he knew there could only 'he one result. A vote of thanks to the candidate I and the chair concluded the meeting.— Contributed. MR. J. McCLUGGAGE AT TOKO. Mr. J. McCluggage, Liberal candidate for Stratford, had a good reception at Toko last night. Mt. Weir occupied the chair. Mr. McCluggage's speech followed the lines of his previous addresses in many points, but in many cases he struck out on fresh lines. His opponents, be said, were trying to make political capital out of his attitude on the licensing question. He claimed to be. just as temperate a man as his opponent. And he made the point that with the exception of two or three of its lesser important members, the Conservative Party was entirely unsympathetic with licensing reform, and had consistently voted against all measures proposed by the Government in this connection, It was only necessary to refer to the printed reports of Parliamentary debates and the division lists in the House to verify this statement again and again. Supposing—and it was just permissible to suppose—that the Conservative Party managed to fluke into power, the prohibition party would have no possible chance of obtaining any reforms from them. Mr. Massey and the i leaders of his party lad never yet told the public where they were on this important question. Mr. McCluggage de-1 clared for the bare majority on every i question, but, on account of the great alterations and adjustments rendered necessary by the carrying of national prohibition he would give a reasonable length of time Lefore the poll could take effect. MR. MASSEY ON OLD-AGE PENSIONS. Mr. McCluggage spoke of Mr. Massey's solicitude for the old age pensioners. Was hei sincere? Look at what ke said in the debate on the second reading of the Old Age Pensions Act, in September, 1908: "It is not an old age pension, rt is simply an extension of the charitable aid, of outdoor relief." But his next words were worse. Let Hansard show it: "I think the property of the pensioner should be liable to the State at his or her death for the amount of the pension which has been received." Benevolent Mr, Massey! He would mortgage the eld people's very homes, and foreclose at death, robbing the widows or the widower and the children of whatever little froperty the old folks had managed to save! He would rob the widow and the orphan. The electors by their vote on Thursday would, he felt sure, see to it that Mr.' Massey and his "reform" party should have no chance/ of "reforming" the old age system one of the most benevolent measures in the world, on the lines of his own speech in Parliament LAND MONOPOLY. Only the present Government, not the, Reform Party, could be looked to fori progressive land laws. If all the land were held here as by the big landed I gentry of Hawke's Bay, and the share-' holders of the "Dominion," there would be no Stratford, no Inglewood, no progress. The so-called Reform Party was out in the interests of the wealthy classes, else why should they be supported and led by the squatters' newspaper? All the growling about the land tax came from the landed aristocracy of the Dominion, for only 420 paid over £IOO land tax, but they were endeavoring to use the small farmer to put out the present Government, presumably so as to bring in the Property Tax and shift the burden on to the small farmers. Mr. McCluggage thought the Government should acquire land in Stratford and Inglewood for workers' homes, for the system was an excellent one. Could any elector show him even three.Acts passed by the old Conservative Party to 1 help the small farmer or the working man? They all knew the present party's grand record of humanitarian legislation, not for the classes, but for the masses. THE FIVE MILLION LOAN. He referred to the exploded misrepresentation of the Reform Party over the five millions loan, the dairy regulations, the Pure' Seeds Bill, and the Mokau block, and he read the "nasty slap in the face for Mr. Massey" contained in the letter of leading Oppositionists to Mr. McNab, these gentlemen of the Reform Party telling Mr. Massey his action was a disgrace to party politics. So Mr. Massey wasn't believed even by his own supporters ! AN APPEAL. Concluding, he asked each and every elector to consider all the beneficial' measures passed by the Liberal Government. The farmers had benefited, the workers had benefited, the business community had benefited, and the professional men alike had benefited by these measures. The only class that had not benefited underj this legislation was the extremely wealthy, and they were able to look after themselves. Now, the Opposition Party teil us the Government is corrupt, and said that any man who took payment in any form for his political services was corrupt also. "Now," he went on. "I will just ask the Opposition for what purpose did Mr. Massey take that large sum of money from his supporters? Mr. Hine says that no man in public life should accept payment in any shape or form from the public, and according to Mr. Hine's views, Mr. Massey has committed a corrupt practice. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, in this instance." At the conclusion a vote of thanks and confidence in Mr. McCluggage, and confidence in tit?. Government was carried unanimously. Mr. McCluggage was also accorded three cheers.—Contributed. MR. J. McCLUGGAGE AT RADNOR ROAD. About thirty electors met Mr. McCluggage at Radnor road at midday yesterday. Mr. Mapp was voted t'o the chair. The candidate's address was on similar lines to his previous speeches, ii dealing with the land policy of the Liberal Government, Mr. McCluggage showed clearly that the Liberal Governmeiit_ has a land policy and a. very progressive policy, as was proved by these, lacis, Hie Liberal Government? came into power in 180-1. Some 38,000 people were settled on the land of an area of one acre and upwards. In ]<) H m , ar ]y SO.OOO arc settled on land of an area of one acre and upwards, showing that although the population of this country lias increased by over 40 per cent, durin"' the last 20 years land settlement has increased by over 100 per cent. No country in the world of the same size as Now Zealand can show such excellent results, due m a great measure to the as- ' sistance given to settlers by the Liberal Government. Mr. McCluggage received a unanimous vote of thanks ami confidence, and the usual compliment to the chair terminated an excellent meeting.—Contributed. MR. O-DEA AT WAYERLEY. Mr. O'Dea has a -splendid meeting at Waverley last ni-arlit. the In!! C'ir< cniwdul. Mr. .1. "HaHon Hia'.ri:!;", „1 the Town Board) presided. The candidate received an enthusiastic hearing, whatever interruptions there were being of a good natured kind. At the-conclusion Mr. O'Dea was accorded a vote of thanks and confidence on the motion of Mr. J. Banks, seconded by Mr. B. Symcs. Mr.

I Ncwall, a settlor in the Moeawatea block, I sneaking to the motion, mentioned that ! Mr. O'Dea had been (he only candidate to go into their bio<-k and the settlers ] appreciated it very mueh.—Contributed. EGMONT'S .MESSAGE. (Published by arrangement.) Sir, —I intentionally set a long line baited with the words, "ladling out the plums," to catch some simple one who might be ''devoid of understanding," and, after waiting a whole week, who should 1 lind wriggling at the end of it but Mr. Burgess! And this is the man who fancies himself smart enough to be a J.P. "Well, sir, the up-to-date e«wspanker also knows that having paid for his whaek of the plums, owing to the one-horse propositions who have hitherto represented him in Parliament, he has not got any, but so fur as Egmont is concerned we shall now get what we pay for —our fair sharp. The Mackenzie tidal wave starting at Eltham and sweeping along the coast, reached Opunake last night, and a meeting, in the big hall, in which there was not standing room, cheered itself hoarse as the Minister delivered not a speech but an oration, and, Sir, when that tidal wave reaches Warea the unfortunate few that it will submerge will have to get medical aid -to take the sand and water out of their eyes and ears, besides i affording great sport to the crowd riding on top. The lending feature of the Egmont campaign is the cleanness with which it is being fought by Mr. Mackenzie, comparing it with the dirtiness of the Stratford one, which in absolute truth, so far as the Opposition are concerned, proves the correctness of the lines, "beneath the lowest depths a lower deep exists." All fair-minded men are absolutely disgusted with the wholesale dissemination of falsehoods by the Opposition .press, and the ra-action will be a surprise. Three years ago thousands of votes were given by farmers against the Government owing to the cry that the Labor unions would ruin the country. Now the Opposition members are proud to clasp hands with Labor, vide Mr. Dive's speech at Warea, and these thousands of. votes are going hack again to the Government. There is one sure thing, that every honest New Zealander, man and woman, knows that any Reform (?) candidate who gets home may in add-iton to the letters M.P. after his name write S.A. (successor to Ananias).—l am, «Dn., W. R. WRIGHT. Rahotu, December 4.