TARANAKI BY-ELECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 September 1918, Page 6

TARANAKI BY-ELECTION.

:ME. SMITH'S ..CANDIDATURE. , A DRAMATIC TuSH.. A mooting of those interested in the candidature of Mr. Syu Smith for the Taranaki by-election was held at tJ.e Good Temper Hail Jast night. Th.'*e was a good attendance, including a number of ladies. Mr. W. Tvreedale was voted to the ehftir, Mr .Smith, who was very warmly received, said he hoped there had been no misconception as to the purpose of Hie meeting, which had betu called for forcing an organisation to work for his return and to give him an opportunity of outlining to his supporters the policy he intended to pursue. Mr. Smith then expressed his regret for the reason that had necessitated a by-election, and said that, although he had not been able to follow the late Mr. Okey in politics, he had the highest respect for him and publicly expressed his sympathy with the relatives of the late member for Taranaki. He then referred to the work of his late father as member for the district, and hoped the result of the election would place him in the position of being able to follow in his father's footsteps as the representative of Taranaki in Parliament. He said he entered the contest from no selfish motives; but it was because he had been urged to by representative electors, and» because he believed the National Government had failed dismally in its duty to the people He believed the National Government represented now only a small section of the community—a section which was growing rich at the expense of the soldiers at the front and those who had been left behind. The Reform Party was a spent force in the country, and he believed at the next general election, so far as the two main parties were concerned, there would be a debacle, out of which would emerge a new. progressive, democratic party of younger men, from whose government theTe would come better progress than had been seen in New Zealand during the past few years. Mr. Smith said he desired to make one, or two references to Mr. Connett. the Government nominee, whom he had not met personally, but knew by Tepute. Mr. Connett bad confessed that he had no qualification for the position, that he did not know much about politics, and that he did not seek the position. Against these confessions. Mr. Smith said he personally did claim to know something of politics, as be had been bred and bore in the atmosphere. He did not (seek the position, not for personal yeasons, but because he believed the time had come when a young and progressive man should represent' the district in Parliament, and he also believed he had some qualifications for the position. He stated emphatically that he yielded to no one. in his conviction that the great thing at present was to win the war, and that no negotiations with a view to peace could be opened until Germany was thoroughly beaten. Dealing with the question of the needs of Taranaki, the speaker referred to the harbor extension proposals, and said bin father had visions of a deep-sea port at Moturoa, and although the present scheme was not the same as that favored by his father, he recognised the nbility of the board's engineer, who had planned the scheme, and, if elected to Parliament, ft would be his earnest endeavor to have the Bill providing for those proposals being put into effect' passed through the House. He then stated that at his future meetings he wr>;ild havp something definite to say with regard to the development of the oil rnd ironsand industries Ho referred incidentally to the =pint of parochialism which characterised Taranaki, and said ho believed tlk> up of a deep harbor at New Plymouth would do much to unify the opposing factions in the community and make far the bearing away of p'eftv jealousies. Touching on increased railway facilities, he said he thought, his 22 years' service in the Department would place him in the position of being able to do a great deal in forwarding the interests of the district in that direction. He [then touched on the cost of living, and said the Government had dismally failed to do anything to remedy the increased cost of necessary commodities. He referred to the statement published in (he local press over the signatures of the Hons. Allen and Mac Donald respecting the compact between the Reform ana Liberal parties, and said a good deal would be made out of that compact. He stated, however., that one of the conditions of the compact was that the two parties should come together and endeavor to reduce the cost of living. But what had they done? A voice: Put it up! Continuing, Mr. Smith said that by their inaction they had contributed tothe increased cost of living. It had been said that Parliament could not tackle the question, but he thought if New Zealand could not get a Parliament of SO members who could tackle mid find some solution of the question it 'vss time to abandon Parliamentary Government Ho hoped to offer some solution of the difficulty at his future meetings. In land matters he would show the evils of aggregation, and also what should be done in the matter of placing returned soldiers on the land. On the liquor question, he supported the proposal of the Labor Party for a vote of the people on the four issues set in their manifesto, with the single transferable vote. He believed all such questions should be submitted to the people for decision. After touching briefly o* the need for educational reform, ha sai;l one of the first things to be demanded was a general election to test the confidence of the electors in the National <>overnment as at present constituted, and such an election should be on the basis of proportionate representationHe then referred to the political disabilities of people in the Public Service. the amendments required in industrial legislation, advocating wide State activities in the essential services, and stated that if elected he would endeavor to cany out the duties of th# office with honor and dignity. (Applause) 'Several question were asked and answered by Mr Smith, and then Mr. P. B. Fitzherbert, who said he also was standing in the interests of Labor, asserted he did not intend that the voir of the partv should be split. He a.«ked if Mr. Smith would be willing to relir" in his favor —as he would in Mr. Smiths ftvor—should the party committees (K cide that he should go to the poll ar>'l not Mr Smith. Mr. Smith replied that that could easily be settled bv Mr. Fitzherbert ret.irinct. He did not think it was a fair question to ask until the constitution of the committee which wn« to select the tuMbU Wtt knows Hit own iwtfrli-

dature was backed by organised and unorganised labor in New Plymouth. (Applause.) No one knew that Mr. Fitzherbert was a Labor man. Mr. Fitzherbert explained that he was' perfectly sincere. His politics were identical with those of Mr. Smith, and he was interested in the cause alone and not for any personal gain. Ho believed, if they organised the forces of Labor they could defeat the representative of the so-called upper classes. Ho. did not intend to oppose Mr. Smith, and was prepared to stand fcr the decision of any committee set up to select which candidate should go to the poll. After some further attempts to come to ar. understanding on the matter, Mr. Smith stated tiiat as he was not in the field at his own wish, but in response to the reqr.est of tho electors, and as time was valuable and could not be Inst in discussing as to whether ha or Mr. Fitzherbert should represent the party, he stated lie was in the field and would remain so till the election. This was greeted with nn outburst of applause, and it was decided to go on with the matter of forming committees. Mr. Smith then suggested that Mr. Fitzherbert should become chairman of his committee, which produced an outburst of good-humored laughter, which was turned into a furore of applauqo when Mr. Fitzherbert rose and replied"Yes. Mr. Smith, I will!" A voce of thanks was accorded te Mr. Smith for his address, and the meeting then proceeded to the work of organising for the campaign.