POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 October 1919, Page 7

POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.

THE EGMONT SEAL ' ADDRESS BT MR. D. 1. HUGHES. Mr. D. I, Hughes who Is a candidate for the Egmont seat at the forthcoming general election, opened his campaign in the Town flail, Eltham, on .Wednesday evening. Mr. G. W. Taylor presided, and Introduced Mr. Hughes as one who had been bred and born in Taranakl, and 'who had a good knowledge of the province and Its requirements. Mr. Hughes, who wits received with applause, said he was there to solicit the patronage of Egmont electors for Parliamentary honors. Had Mr. Wilkinson been standing he would not have thought of opposing him, for Mr. Wllklnßon was too good a man to put out, and was respected ail over the country. Mr. Hughes said he came Into the electorate when he was nine years of age, and though he had lived In New Plymouth during the post five years, on account of his wife's health, he had retained his interests In the electorate, He had besn told that he was not a ratepayer, but he was, and had been since he was seventeen years of age. Before going further he said he would like to welcome the returned men. He hoped, the country would do all that could be done to help them. He did not mean by that that they should be spoon-fed, Referring further to his qualifications to represent the constituency, Mr. Hughes said that he was an active and energetic man, and he could do a3 much for them as any other man with the exception of Mr. Wilkinson, who was a hard man to follow. Though he differed from Air. Wilkinson on some things, on most questions they thought alike, and they were pretty near each other to-day. Proceeding, 'he said the country had a, hard row to hoe, and they should put men la Parliament who would see that the electors received full value for all public expenditure. INCREASED PRODUCTION. Iu regard to finance, the speaker said he did not intend to go. into figures. The main thing to consider in this direction was production. The country would have the produce double In the future that It had produced in the past, and must give more attention to the cost of production and to the elimination of wastage. Mr. Hughes here produced samples of leather made from what In the past had been treated as offal. From a single sheens' stomach four or five square feet of honey-combed leather suitable for making many articles in common use could be produced.. Some samples had been treated with anollne dyo, and were good enough for the finest work in leather. Another sample had been made from the stomach of a cow or bullock, a single animal producing from 15 to 20 square feet. This sample was much stronger and had the appearance ana toughness of leather made from hides. Next, Mr. Hughes produced a bootlace, which he said the strongest man could not break. These laces had been made from the hide of a horse that had been killed by bleeding. It was explained that when the horse was not bled the speedy decompositoln of tbo hide followed. In this Instance the leather was as strong as kangaroo leather. The horse' hide bad been tanned in Auckland, and with three other, samples shown, the tanning had been done at •Stratford and New Plymouth. Mr. Hughes pointed out that by the manufacture of the leathers he had exhibited, and by the elimination of wastage in other directions, the country would be able to strengthen Its position and Increase its prosperity. It would be wise he said to hold themselves in readlaess for the opportunities about to present themselves. It was Just as well to keep the back door open. He had heard a man say that more was thrown out at the back door In these days than our fathers and mothers lived upon. The fact of the matter was that we were not thrifty ei.ough. As a further instance of wastage, Mr. Hughes referred to the fat that Is so often destroyed at farm houses, and said he knew of a man who intended, as soon es things became normal, to collect all the fat from the different farm houses, and manufacture from It candles, sdaps, and other commodities of commercial value. Tilts man considered that he could employ as many men as the New Plymouth Freezing Works.

LABOR MATTERS. Dealing next with the labor question, Mr. Hughes said he did not think that the true Laborite was the kind of man who stood at the street corner and squealed, but he was of the opinion that the State had never helped the working man as it should. When a man got a family what happened? He wns penalised In every way. If returned to Parliament the speaker said he would do Ills best to have free medical and nursing 'attendance for maternity cases for all who needed it. They should do all they could to help the man with a family. When the baby bonus was suggested it wos sneered and laughed at; but it was a proper proposal. If £5 was placed in the Post Office Savings Banlc to be available for use on behalf of the child a: the age of 14 years, with compound Interest It Would be of great advantage to the working classes.: It would be an encouragement to thrift and would assist men to become capitalists. When in Wellington receatly, he had heard Mr. Holland, and on belne asked his opinion of the address had said he thought the speaker should lie in gaol. Asked why, he had replied that he did not .'lirree with the argument in favor of the conscription of wealth. Mr. Holland wanted to penalise n man because by his thrift he had saved £5, while the man who had spent his earnings In pleasure was to go free. He hoped that the baby bonus would find its way to the Statute Book very soon. LAND LAWS. Speaking next of the land laws, Mr. Hughes said that they were far behind the times, and were not equal to those of England and Scotland. A man could in this country purchase freehold In Illimitable quantities. He disapproved of this, and to deal effectively with land aggregation, the buyer should be required to reduce existing mortgages. There was too much speculation in land, and the method he suggested would make all sales bona fide, and as a further result land would be cut up into smaller holdings and more homes would be established. The area of first-class land for one man should be limited, and no man who did not farm his land, unless he had sons, should be permitted to hold it.

LAND FOP. SOLDIERS. Coming next to land for soldiers, Mr. Hughes said lio had been valuing land for soldiers and it would bring tears to the eyes to see some of the land sold to these men. He had seen land sold which could only be approached In one way—by an aeroplane. They wanted Good land for soldiers. First-class land would always hold Its own. There was land at Kaponga offered for returned soldiers which was equal to £IOOO in the bank to every soldier securing a section There was far too much 'land used for grazing cattle between Eltham and Wanganui which should be closely settled and made more productive.

WEST COAST LEASES. Mr. Hughes next referred to the unfairness of the West Coast leases, which he said permitted of land aggregation Ho said he knew of one man who had gained possession of six or eight leasehold farms He did not blame the man but the law. Under the 1904 Act, it was necessary to apply to the Government to acquire the freehold of West Coast leases. These lease 3 wove, renewable for all time. Hefore going to the Government the Native mvnw or owners would hive to he approached an<i tbeir consent to sell ohlaired. After gettlnj: thoir cm?™!, it may he necessrry to obtain the signatures of 120 N.i.tives, and therewould be deeds to draw up and lawyers' fees to pay. One man may decline to sign, and his lute-rent would have to he separated. That should not be. because the lease was renewable. Tho Government should permit a sale without tho consent of the Natives, and tho money realised by the sale should be invested in Government securities on behalf of the Native owners. Tho law required tha" before a Native could sell his land he must have enough to live upon, but they should look further than that and provide against the State having. to support the children of tho Native who disposed of ids land Interests, The West Coast Leases Act was demoralising the Maoris, and the Government should give the freehold straight out. Under another Act (1891), a renewal lease for flvo years was granted, but the land was supposed to revert back to the owner in ten years. Owing to a flaw" In the Act, men were buying land all over Taranakl. That was most unfair, and a remedy should he applied. Jlr. Hughes referred to the largo area of Native land at fiajin.nl, on which a large" number of returned soldiers could be profitably settled. BANKING MATTERS. Coming next to monetary Institutions, Mr. Hughes said the banks were not up to date. Farming in this country was a very safe industry. A man could turn out stems on his farm, go awav, and return in three years time and find them fat bullocks. This could not be done in any other country, and no great risks were taken by those who advanced money to farmers. A farmer had sometimes, in order purchase stock worth, say £1(10, to pay 10 or 12 per cent interest to an auctioneer Instead of dealing through the banks at a discount. Mr. Hughes also referred to the heavy exchange that had to be paid when purchasing American foods. For every £IOO the exchange amounted to £ls, and on inquiry ho found that the transaction had to take place' through London. He could not make out why, after all the money that hod been went on the wnr, and after sending the two brainiest men in the Dominion to the Peace Conference, this matter could not have been fixed up more satisfactorily to New Zealand. He considered that our leading politicians could do with a littlt more starch in their luu&bouM.

THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT. Mr. Hughes criticised the present sjstom « party Government, and said he did not approve of seven or eight men dominating the ™™i e " , i? e saw n " nwson why a private members Bill should not receive the same consideration and Jiav ß the same chance as any other Bill. THE LIQUOR QUESTION. Referring to the liquor question, Mr. Hughes said he intended to say what he thought, J°. ™>"er how It affected him with the electors. While they had a referendum on the liquor question every three years, he did not think they would get a Parliament of My strength. Wen were afraid of the organised vote on cai<h side, ,and this was making hyoporltes of politicians. When ho last appeared before the electors he favored a no per cent, majorltv, ™', h j« old not think they would get prohibition for a good many yearß in the way they were trying to get it now. They were going the wrong way about it, and with the money spent in the fruitless attempts they could have more than built the railway from Te Rotl to Opunake. The right way was to educate the, youth at the schools. If no headway was made by the prohibition party at the next poll it would be wise to extend the period between the polls from three to Svo years. If they had started to educate the children fifteen years ago, they would have man and women to-day who would know how to vote. He favored minimising, as far a3 possible, the evils of drink till the children had been educated. No bottled liquor should be sold out of a hotel except on the authority of a medical man. It was not right that young fellows should take liquor away and get drunk.

RACING AND BETTING. on racing, he said he favored Eliham obtaining a totalisator permit. If thev had more sports at Eltham there would be fewer vacant sections. They had allowed Hawera to get ahead of them, and should strike out and do more for themselves. He condemned the Gaming Act, which prevented a man from telegraphing a bet to the secreforv of any Kacing Club, and at the same time permitted betting by telegram with any bookmaker. This was the result of hypocrisy in Parliament. Things were absolutely putrid. He favored permitting betting on the totalisator through the telegraph office. EDUCATION. In regard to education, the speaker thought that moro should be done to fit boys for rural pursuits, and suggested that pure-bred? stock should be Imported by the State to assist I farmers and returned soldiers who could not afford to purchase for themselves. They wonted to know more about fertilisers, and the scientiflo side of farming. Though New Zealand had to pay very dearly for Nauru he ncped that the fertilisers derivable from the Island would bo some compensation. ARTERIAL ROADWAYS. Speaking of arterial roads, Mr. Hughes said that , many years ago ho had favorod the Government taking them over, and they were nearer this than ever before. He did not agree with the action of the Taranakl County Council, which, if it required good roads, should have done as the Eltham County Council did, and borrowed the money. DAIRY PRODUCE. Mr. Hughes next referred to the marketing of dairy produce, and deprecated the payment to agents of 2 per cent, on sales. They should not only seek to improve the prosent marketing conditions, but should look round for new markets. Ho had endeavoured to have a French-owned warehouse established in Now Plymouth for the treatment of calf skins, but had been blocked. HARBOR DEVELOPMENT. Speaking of the New Plymouth harbor, he sold ho had kept his promise to the ratepayers. In future there was going to be no transhipment of produce which could go right to the doors of the consumers. He had not looked at the question parochially, but nationoily. The action of the Harbor Board In providing for ocean going steamers would be justified. EGAIONT MATTERS. Speaking next of the judiciary, Mr. Hughes said that Judges should not -be appointed by any, political party, but solicitors and magistrates should have n voice. He was in favor of the development of hydroelectric power, and the Is Cd per day gratuity to soldiers. In future wars soldiers should be paid an ordinary wage, and should not be asked to risk their lives for less. In regard to nationalising the coal mines, something would have to be done, but what, lie did not know. He had always favored State-owned shipping. More should be done In afforestation, and an endeavour should be made to grow hardwoods, which were now so difficult to obtain. Move should be done bv the State to encourage building In concrete, and no new Government building should be erected in wood. Laboratories should be established for the Instruction of dairy factory managers and their assistants. Concluding, Mr. Hughes said he thougltt that party politics should be abolished. He had been a Progressive for manv years, and was pretty sick of both leaders of the House "God hel]) New Zealand If It could not have a man of Sir Joseph Word's ability in handle lU' finance." said the speaker, but Sir Joseph was a bit weak. He (.Mr. Hughes) was not too keen nn either of the leaders. Enth were gottlng fossilised. He himself would Join with the Progressives. People would osk him what he would do in the' case of a no-confidence motion. It was very hard to say. He would embrace what was good for the country, and would say right out what hj". thought He was going to light a separate right and not join nny association. He would fight his own battle. (Applause).

QUESTION'S. In reply to Mr. Hunter, the candidate said lis favored State'control of the liquor trade, and wns against monopoly. In reply to Mr. .T. Campbell, ne said he would support the issue of further permits for Racing Clubs. A vote of thanks to the candidate wns carlred on the motion of Mr. ,M. Zcrhke, seconded by Mr. Crabtree.