PROTESTANT POLITICAL ASSOCIATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 February 1918, Page 5

PROTESTANT POLITICAL ASSOCIATION.

ADDRESS BY REV. HOWARD ELLIOTT ORGANISED ROMANISM DENOUNCED. The Rev. Howard Elliott, national organism- for tlie Protectant Political Association, addressed a meeting in the Good Templar Hall, New Plymouth, last night. The meeting was held for the purpose of forming a branch of the association in New Plymouth. Admission was ; by ticket only, and at Hie tirirj of commencing the meeting there were about 250 persons present- The Rev. John Laird, oi Nelson, who is at present on a visit to New Plymouth, presided. Tim Rev. A. Campbell Sievewright was also on the platio^m.

In introducing the Rev. Mr. Elliott, the chtiirmajrsaid he had known him for over eight years and had found him in every cense a, man. He referred to the formation of the Protestant Political Association, which, ho slid, if it could, as some people contended, do 110 good, it could certainly do no harm. Mr. Elliott, who was heartily received, said his previous plans for visiting New Plymouth had 'been thwarted by his recall to Auckland, but ho recognised the strategic importance of New Plymouth in any organisation the aims of which were intended to be 'Dominion-wide- Mr. Elliott briefly reviewed the circumstances connected with t!he Auckland Post Office inquiry of last year. Ho said that although the finding of the commission lind exonerated the post office officials, -public opinion in the matter was such that the censorship on the box in question had been removed quietly and quickly after the finding of the commission. The speaker also referred to the letters winch the magistrate who conducted the inquiry attached to his finding. He said the letters were never intended for publication, and would never have been published .except for the faet of the establishment of a .partisan censorship on the correspondence of a Protestant body. Mr. Elliott then referred to the assault of which lie ihad been a victim, allegedly because of certain statements said to lie contained in one of tllie letters mentioned. He faid the assault upon him had been planned in Wellington by a Roman Catholic and was carried out by Roman Catholics. He referred to the newspaper reports of the incidents, and to the prominence given to the cases against himself compared with the case of a priest who was charged in Auckland with making disloyal utterances. He said that for the most paH the tone of the press inNew Zealand was high, but he claimed the majority of the papers had been for many years anti-Protestant, whilf everything the Roman Catholic. Church desired had been given publicity. The speaker then proceeded to state the reasons for the organisation of the Protestant Political Association. ' He said he was convinced it was necessary for the Protestants of the country to organise. An endeavor had been made sonic time ago to organke the Protestants, but the movement had not been talwu up with much enthusiasm, though it received a fillip when the Catholic Federation was organised. He said the influence of organised Romanism in politics in New Zealand could be measured in many Mays. He had been told that in New Plymouth the Roman Catholics took little part in local politics. If that was so, New Plymouth was fortunate, but that did not absolve tlie Protestants from the duty of 'binding themselves together. Protestantism, deep down, was a very simple thing. It was a 'belief in liberty, equality, and justice as between man and man. That meant that ovei'y man bad a sense of personal responsibility and realised that he would have to fjiva an account of his life to Almighty Cod. If there was such responsibility there must be liberty for each to decide for himself . When that liberty was translated into politics, organisation became necessary. Every man who believed in such liberty, whether he went to church or not, was a Protestant. The Protestant Political Association stood first for loyalty to the Empire and a just administration of its laws, it had as one of its aims the lifting of the people of New Zealand to be one of the most pure and free peoples in the world, and was not an organisation for attacking or crushing - ".articular section of the community. claimed that all men had equal rivi.' ■■. but denied that any liad special rights which could be possessed only at the expense of others. (Applause.) Mr. Elliott then referred to a number of excuses that were 'being made for opposing the organisation of tho association e.t the present time. Tlie chief one was that the present was no time in which to raise sectarian strife. Mr. Elliott said that nothing was beard of ithe cry of sectarian strife when th#

representatives of llu> Catholic FoderM ; tion went about tlie country organising, but as soon us the Protestants began organisation the cry \va» at, once heard. He claimed the Protestants had been forced into organising. I'iiere was cer* tain to be an elwjion this year, and if the organisation of the Protestants wat delayed till after the war it was lilcely the Roman (,'atliolies woulij .secure tb« eleetion to Parliament of all tllo representatives they wanted before then. llr. Elliott then proceeded to refer to the labor movement, and charged til* labor unions with being in active league with the Roman Catholic Church. H» said exery Labor nieiii'lici sitting'in Par- - liauient had Wen put there by the vote of the Roman Catholics. The Protestants would be unable to secure the return of Protestants to Parliament utiles* they organised, and tliey should organise now and not let the country slip under the control of Roman influence-

Mr. Elliott said he did not question the right of Romanists to organise, buff he was convinced that organised Roman Catholicism was a menace to the couu- ' try. So one could justly say that he- • , cause the Protestants began to organise they were raising sectarian strife. He had 'been told quite recently ibv a promi-: ncnt politician that no movement had developed ao rapidly as the organisa-? tion of the Protestant Political -Assoeiation, and that it was likely to become a , the greatest political power in the? country. Reverting to the attitude of the press towards the Roman Catholic.' , Church, the speaker said the time was coming when tlie people would be asked to ''out out" certain papers because they were fully in support of Roman Catholicism. Continuing, Mr. Elliott referred to the appearance all over the nation since the'- 1 , outbreak of war of the power of organ-' ■ ised Romanism- Ho also stated that ' similarly there had arisen during that period great Protestant organisations, 1 the chief object of which waa to help win the war. He referred to tho demand for conscription in Canada, which, he said, was really a demand that the', Roman Catholic community should be ' compelled to take its share in the Em-' pire's responsibility. He alao said that" the defeat- of the conscription issue !n ■ Australia was really a defeat of Protest- - antism by organised Romanism, assisted, by the I.W-W. and German agents. > i Mr. Elliott then referred to the paajill" of tho Military Service Act in Kw Zealand and the attempt to secure tbtf exemption of priests and Marist'brothers ' from service, and said what Rome had not been able to get toy legislation the had secured through regulation. Passing to the educational aspect-of 1 Roman Catholic organisation, theapea&r said the itteinpt to secure graiito from the ,State for denominational schools struck at tile very roots of the natinpad system and must be contested by every* one who had the welfare of the present and future generations at hep-rt. Ooa- - eluding, Mr. Elliott dca.lt, with the pledge ' ■ of membership of th« Protestant Poll- ' tieal Association, dealing with sundry objections made to come cf its clausesHe said no 'broader platform or higher ideal had ever 'been placed before th 4 ' people of New Zealand. The ccnclinSwS of bis address was greeted witHi prolonged applause. On tho motion of Mr. C-. Tf. Maunder, seconded by Adjutant Rowlands, a- rote of thanks was accorded Mr. Elliott for his address, and the meeting concluded with the singing of the National Anthea.