POLITICAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 157, 28 November 1914, Page 3

POLITICAL.

TAUMARUNUI SEAT. MR SHORTLAND AT WAITARA. On Thursday evening Mr F. W. Shortland Independent Government candidate for Taumarunui, addressed the electors at Waitara, but weather conditions were such as to prevent anything like a representative attendance and as a consequence, the majority of the seats were empty. The chair was occupied by his Worship the Mayor (Mr Jenkins), who briefly introduced; the candidate and, apologised for the unfavourable circumstances under which the meeting was held. TRIBUTE TO LORD ROBERTS. Mr Shortland regretted that the attendance was not larger, but asked. those present to inako known his views to the members of their family circles and friends. He prefaced his remarks by paying a warm tribute to the memory pf the late Lord Roberts, who had congratulated New Zealand on recognising that the day had come for universal service, almost his last words being to express his appreciation of the services of the Dominion. While lamenting the death of such a gallant soldier, it was up to everyone to serve their country. He then congratulated Australia on the exploits of her cruiser Sydney, and hoped , that in the near future New Zealand would have men to man ships and help to prevent another Buch war.

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF I REFORM. Speaking politically, Mr Shortland said he was an out and out Reformer, but would give credit to any Ministry that brought forward right The old order ehangeth, and this fact Mr Massey recognised. One result of this was to reduce the age at which women were entitled to pensions from 65 to 60, and to enlarge the scope of pensions scheme, but he gave equal pensions scheme. He gave credit to the Liberals for introducing extending it. Another instance was the Workers' Compensation Act, one of the defects of which had been that it was necessary before recovering compensation that it should be proved there had been negligence, and he contended that the Act must be widened. Another statute that the continuous Ministry had passed was the Shop Assistants Aot and Factories Act, but an important omission had been made, the domestic servants in private houses having been omitted, and he pledged himself to endeavour to rectify that unfortunate omission, as the domestic servant was of great importance in a household. The Income Tax Act had only provided an exemption for incomes up to £3OO, but this had been extended by Mr Massey by an allowance in respect of each child. The Government had 'also raised the rate of interest on Savings Bank del- - by a quarter per cent. Mr Massey had promised to sweep away all patronage, but had not done so, and he (the speaker) pledged himself to have political patronage absolutely swept away. The promised reform had proved only half a reform, and he was up against Mr Massey for this neglect. Everyone must admit the necessity of doing away with the system of Parliamentary grants. This had been promised, but the reform had not been carried out

Another good Act of the Liberals was the Advances to Settlers Act. It had been said that Mr Massey was opposed to that Act, but the Premier had denied tMa and explained that he was only »p 'posed to borrowing tiherefore. Since tiho Massey Government had been in office they had proved their adherence to the .policy of advances to settlers and workers, and it was only owing to the tightness of money that they had not done more. "It is better to go to your father when you want money (for I look upon the Advances Office as a father), than to go to the Jews," said the speaker. It was up. to the Government to see that the Act was amended in the direction of allowing constables and others to witness signatures to documents.

FREEHOLD. He was for the freehold every time, and quoted Sir George Grey as being the first statesman in New Zealand to point out the necessity for giving the freehold to every settler who desired it. He claimed that in adopting the freehold as one of the main platforms of the Massey Party, they had followed an excellent lead.

BORROWING. Borrowing for reproductive works was a good policy, and in this he included borrowing for war purposes. He strongly condemned borrowing for erecting big buildings, clock towers, etc.y and he was opposed to that every time. A Government should be run on safe and

sound business lines. ARTERIAL ROADS. In regard to main arterial roads, he | was glad to see that Mr Massey had promised to take those roads out of the jurisdiction of Councils and place them under the control of the Government. There was, he said, no justification for those roads being administered by County Councils. PARLIAMENTARY WASTE. He urged that the electors should set their face against such a waste of time and money as was caused by petty bickerings and tactics in Parliament,

I and they should vote against those who had been a party to such waste. ROADS FOR SETTLEMENT.

In the past there had been a gros3 waste by the Public Works Department in not making good service roads. It was absolutely necessary that this work should be done thoroughly in the first instance, so as not to call for being done over again. With regard to settling land, he contended that no occupier should be called upon to pay rent or rates until he was provided with a public road. When private estates were cut up it was necessary under Statute law to provide roads before a title was given, and the State should be put under the same obligation as private owners. . , „ ■ i

I THE WORKERS. In New Zealand there should be no such thing as unemployment. It was necessary in acquiring native land to ensure that the natives should each have at least 50 acres to live on. If it was necessary to provide the natives with a meanß of living, then the pakeha should have the same provision. He also j claimed that the workers should have a . living wage, and he considered that the present Government had failed in this respect. The speaker quoted the case of workers in the Ohura, those under 1 Government receiving 9s a day,, while ■ others, who were working for contractors, obtained 10a a day..He assorted that 9s a day was not sufficient for.'•»■

man and Ms family in' these times of high prices. Mr Fraaer's attention was called to this matter, and the Minister was sympathetic, but, said the speaker, something more than sympathy was required, and he would try to get a reform of the existing system. He would also endeavour to secure for the workers a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. He praised the Massey Government for giving the military pen- i sions, as those who had fought for their country should not be left unprovided for, and Mr Massey deserved credit for that reform. The Workers Homes Act was a most valuable Act, but the blot on it was the necessity for depositing £lO. Mr Massey had brought in a reform whereby it was only necessary to deposit £l. Other reforms by the Maßsey Government were: Providing counsel for accused persons; and they had raised the exemption from distress to £SO instead of £25. The speaker laid great stress on the injury done to people by having

their bedding and clothing taken from them. OTHER REFORMS. He would like to 3ee the Native Land Laws wiped clean off the slate. He would make it as easy to get a title to native lands as to Crown lands. He also considered that the Valuation Act should be altered, and he was glad to see that Mr Massey had set up a Commission in relation thereto, the chairman of which was a gentleman of high standing and great ability, Mr Martin, counsel to the Municipal Association. The outcome of that commission might be that justice would be done. BACKBLOCK REQUIREMENTS. The speaker said he would like to say something about the backblock settlers. Any of those present might sooner or later be resident in the backblocks. He urged that better telephone facilities should be provided for the backblocks, for without the backblock settlers there would be no towns. Half the business done in these days was done over the telephone, and the Government should see to it that this service was what it ought to be. Another requirement was subsidised doctors and nurses for backblocks settlers, so that they might have as good medical and nursing as could bo obtained in the towns. Mr Scddon had said that every child was worth £4OO, and if that were so it waa the duty of the Government to at least provide medical help. If returned to Parliament he would look after the interests of the backblock settlers. MR MASSEY TO TOE THE LINE He justified his candidature by stating that, although an out and out reformer, he was out to make Mr Massey toe the line every time. The Liberals had worn out their welcome, but he did not wish to see the Reform Party in the same plight. It waß up to Mr Massey to show himself a true statesman. MARTIAL LAW REQUIRED, Referring to the Extension of Mortgages Act, the candidate emphasised the point that the time was limited to six months after the war, and then, he said, the trouble would begin. How could people be expected to pay their mortgages then? There was, he said, only one course to pursue. The Government should proclaim martial law and takcJ possession of the funds of the banks, with which they could not only pay off the war expenses, but could lend the people money to pay off their mortgages. Mr Massey could then say: "Well, boys, don't worry about payi'ig off your mortgages, but come to us, and we will pay them off." It was lip to Mr Massey to inform the Governor that it was necessary to proclaim martial law. Not a ton of coal should be allowed to go out of the country, and. he added, if an embargo of that sort had been proclaimed at the outset of the war it was extremely probable that the Emden woutd not have been able to do so much damage. He was confident that if Mr Marshy had taken the lead in this matter that Australia would have immediately followed suit, and thon the millions of pounds destroyed by the Emden would have been saved, but Mr Massey had misced the mark, and lie (the speaker) would, if returned to Parliament, sie that Mr Massey did not miss the mark again. Another impjra.tive matter was that every German and Austrian in the Dominion should be interned, no mattir whether he mig'ut have given £IOO*J to the Patriotic Fund or not. The only safe place for these Germans was behind an effective barrier to liberty. WAR TAX.

The candidate considered that a war I tax should have been imposed. He knew there were many who objected to it, but he was convinced it was the right method of raising funds to meet the extraordinary crisis that had arisen. In conclusion, he thanked those present for the patient hearing he had received, and he assured them that he intended to go to the poll, and that be had every confidence in the result. (Applause.)

REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. Replying to questions, the candidate said: Sir Joseph Ward might be entitled to the credit of pushing forward the need for the increase of J per cent, in the interest on post office deposits, but Mr Massey was entitled to the credit of carrying it out. He would certainly give free carriage of ostrich feathers on the Waiuku railway. (Laughter. ) All that Mr Massey had done that was right, he approved of, but he had nothing to do with anything wrong that Mr Massey had done. On a no-confidence motion he would

vote to keep the Reform Party in office, but if Mr Massey proved unsatisfactory as the head of that party, then they must get someone else. He was not put up by the Liberal Party to split the Reform vote, but was out on his own and had no committee to help him. If Mr Massey was annoyed he (the speaker) could not help it, and if ! the Liberals were pleased, they were ' quite welcome to be so. On the motion of Mr Buchanan, seconded by Mr Brassington, a' hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the candidate for hili address.

MR HESE AT TARIKI. (From a Correspondent.) In spite of the weather being wet, there was a good attendance at the Hall on the night of the 25th inst., when Mr | J. B. Hine addressed the electors. Mr Hine, who was accorded an attentive hearing, commeneed his address by referring to the war, and detailing the measures the Government' had taken to meet the serious situation; prevention of a rush on bonks by legalising notes as legal tender, and the passing of a. Moritorium Act which protected the farmer and worker by preventing the moneylender from enforcing payment of mortgages, or increasing the interest charge. i In refuting the charges made by the i Opposition candidates against the ReI form Government, lie referred to the labour Disputes .and Investigation Act, which, was pagjgj by a large majority,

and was one of th n -"ost beneficial acts ever put on the Statute Book, as it ensured the democratic control of unions by a majority of their members., By the institution of the second ballot the power of unscrupulous strike-mongers to dominate the majority! was done away with. It was an Act in the true interest of Labour, and only a few of

the extreme Labour Socialists had voted I against it. From July Ist, 1913, to March, 1014, £70,000 had been advanced

for workers' homes, and since then 81 homes had been erected and 100 authorised, making a total of 305 at a cost of £161,230. The Ward party in six years erected 210, at a cost of £148,628. The reduction of the age at which women became entitled to the old age pension by five years was another instance that the Massey Party were not "only working in the interest of the big man." Mr Hine went thoroughly into financial matters in order to 'the prove the soundness of the financial policy and position of the Reform Party. He severely criticized the method of the Ward Party in placing sums received from the sale of Crown lands to credit

of Revenue Account, which he likened to a man selling half his farm and claiming the amount as a profit on the year's income. He detailed the way the Government had carried out their pledge with regard to freehold tenure, and after referring to the benefits of the new Education Act, resumed his seat amid applause. In reply to a question as to his position with regard to the Prohibition question, Mr Hine said he was in favour of the bare majority. The reply to a question re the cost of the second ballot at the last election, was £30,000.

A hearty vote of thanks to Mr Hine for his interesting address, moved by Mr J. Hucker, and seconded by Mr A. E. Laurence, was carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to the chairman (Mr N. Stephenson ( terminated the meeting.