REFORM LEAGUE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 106, 20 September 1912, Page 8

REFORM LEAGUE

——■— Tim I ANNUAL MEETING NEW PLYMOUTH BRANCH. ' Fourteen persons attended the annual meeting of the New Plymouth branch of i the. Reform League, which was held in! the Municipal Chambers last night. The! president (Mr. I!. C. Hughes) was in the chair. Mr. Lindegreen (the Government organiser) and the local secretary (Mr. T. L. Buxton) were also present. Commenting nn the small attendance, the chairman said that it was merely another indication of the confidence members had in the political situation. ANNUAL REPORT. In his annual report, the president said that the work done by this branch since it last met might be summed up in the fact that at the Parliamentary election, which took place at the end of last year, Mr. H. J. H. Okey was again elected for Taranaki by a substantial majority and without having to undergo a second ballot. The loss to the Party of the Egmont seat was compensated for by the gain of the Taumarunui seat, so that Taranaki still sent to Parliament four' members favorable to the Reform Party.. The result of the election for the whole j of the Dominion was the return of 381 solidly united Opposition members. I When, twelve months ago, one looked > I forward to the election, no one expected more than a substantial addition to the ranks of the Opposition. The winning' of a majority of seats was too much to hope for. Yet a few months had seen the defeat of the Ward Government, and also the defeat of the Mackenzie Government, the Liberal Party without a leader and hopelessly disorganised. The commanding personality of the members of Mr. Massey's Cabinet, coupled with their earnest and dignified conduct of public affairs', afforded ground for hope that the change of Ministry would be productive of much good to the Dominion, and the people would be content to leave in their hands the control of public affairs for some years to come. The folly of the labor agitator, who looked upon tie capitalist as his natural enemy, should l>e apparent if he Teflectod how the working man, in common with all classes, was dependent on the English money market. In spite of our greatness we had to pay on our last loan of four millions, interest at the rate of 5 per cent., and even at that rate the British public took but a mere fraction, the most of the bonds being left on the hands of the underwriters. So significant was the rebuff that New Zealand dared not go on the market for some time to come, and our Government was forced to curtail its expenditure on public works. In the face of this delicate situation they found a section of the Labor Party fomenting trouble at Waihi and other places. He was glad to see that their action was not e»dorsed by the Labor Party as a whole. The firmness of the Government in maintaining law and order at Waihi was to be commended. It was a matter for congratulation that the present Ministry were ] disposed to regard with consideration the primary producers, namely, the fanners and bush settlers, and the gold and coal industries. Of late years the tendency had been to improve the lot of the town-dweller rather than that ,of the man on the land, forgetting that afl wealth is produced from the soil. In conclusion, he ventured to say that the success which had been achieved should stimulate them all to spare no trouble in maintaining their position. The report was adopted without discussion. OFFICERS ELECTED. Officers were elected as follows: —. President, Mr. R. C. Hughes; vice-presi-dents, the Rev. Mr. Bradbury and Messrs. F. W. Oldham, W. F. Brooking, J. H. Quilliam, E. C. "Meredith, A. Leppeiy F. W. Atkinson; general committee, Messrs. H. Hoby, G. W. Broome, H. C. Baker, A. M. Bradbury, L. F. Laurent, D. Penman, J. Black W. Ambury, S. W. Shaw, J. W. Boon," sen., C. E. Baker. A. Bewley, A. W. Wood, H. Salt, S. M. Okey, 0. N. Firt'h, John Boon; Messrs. Parity and Cunningham-, secretary and treasurer, Mr. T. L. Buxton (re-elected). Addressing those present on organisation, Mr. Lindegreen touched upon the work done by Mr. Okey. M.P. Mr. Okey, he said, had the respect of members on both sides of the House. As a man of sound sense and judgment, he had been selected to sit on many important committees in the House. New Plymouth had every reason to lie proud of its member. Taranaki was a district which had been sadly neglected during the past twenty-one years. Several things were required, and he believed they would be met by the Government. It had been noted from the very earliest days as a strong province for clean administration and sound government. To his mind, it was through not having returned men of the so-called Liberal Party that the requirements of the province were! ■eglected. This stata of things, however, would be swept away, and Taranaki was going to have a square, deal. To succeed in anything, may be th« smallest business, organisation was the. key-note of success, and the organisation of a business was exactly the same -ai that of a political party.' They had got] to work on sound lines if they desired to attain success. There were one or two simple things that »ould be achieved in connection with •organisation. The i first was loyalty to the leader of the party. If they were going to be loyal to their leader and to their members they were going to be loyal to themselves. The Reform Party would not be in the position it was to-day, were it not for some degree of organisation.' Within the next few years they were going to have an organisation so complete that it would be second to none in the country. In instancing the folly of a one-man organisation, he referred to the failure of the Liberal and Labor . Federation upon the death of its power- j fill prop, the late Mr. Scddon. Touching on the Egmont election, the speaker said that after Mr. Wilkinson's win, a pronii-1 nent member of the Opposition said: \ "ion have beaten us, and it was your i organisation that did it." The Reform [ Party, continued Mr. Lindegreen, had in i Egmont turned defeat into victory, practically winning over 000 votes. That was organisation in a small way, but spread | that over a period of two or three years ' and see what could be done. He' then ' emphasised the necessity for every man I and every woman belonging to the party

to try and \vi>.i converts by getting into I personal iimih vi-itii them. Then, if their ) subjects still remained adamant, to notify the secretary of the League, who would post Uiem with literature of a suitable kind. That was what had been done in E»'mo7it. Mr. Lindegreen. then outlined the extent to which the move- . ment had grown of late. At the last election Reform won 38 seats, and even 1 then allowed fourteen seats to go by [default through lack of organisation. "L; emphatically deny," proceeded the I speaker, ''the statement made by Mr. Buddo that the Reform Party does not represent a majority of the electors of Mew Zealand. The. Liberal Party polled 102.000 votes, the Labor Party 13,700 odd_ and the Independents 16,700 odd. . . . I still maintain that we represent a majority of the electors in this country, for we got 128,000 votes, as against 102,000 for' the Ward Party, and had it not been for the assistance of the Reform Party two Labor men and two Independents would not have been returned." Mr. Lindegreen went on to say that he knew of no other branch of the League in the Taranaki eleetorate» He therefore suggested that each member should bring Ave friends to the further meeting which was to be held shortly. They should also endeavor to get into touch with settlers outside Mew (Plymouth, with a view to forming a general executive, and commencing th° district organisation. Passing on, he sail' that the Reform Party was not out oi sympathy with Labor, and was going to give it a square deal. They did not, how--1 ever,, want to send fanatics to Parlia- ' .ment, and men who lived up in the 1 clouds, like Professor Mills and his party. 1 In refuting the charge that the Reform ' Party was run by capitalists, the speaker ' mentioned how at the last election the Federation of Labor had a fighting fund ' of £2858 5s Bd, while the Reform Party ' went to the country with a, paltry £6OB, out of which it had to pay the salary ; of its organiser. Mr. Lindegreen spoke op- ' timiatically of the future, and stated ' that the party was confident of having > between 128,000 and 130,000 members ; twelve months hence. By the payment " of a nominal subscription of 2s Gd per ' year they would ensure their interests 1 being safeguarded. ' Commenting on the small attendance, ' Mr. C. E. Baker said that there seemed 1 to be something in the air in Taranaki 1 which gave the people a tired feeling. 5 Nobody would turn up to do any busir ness; they always left the work for somebody else to do. 1 Pleasure was expressed by Mr. Linde--3 green at the presence of ladies at tho J meeting. Ladies, he explained, were very " active in the interests of the party in ' the big city, and woidd shortly be so in ; Taranaki. 5 Members heartily thanked Mr. Linde- ' green for his address, and then went into ! committee.