THE ELECTIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1919, Page 6

THE ELECTIONS.

MR. T. M.. WILFORD AT ELTHAM. EEPLY TO MR. MASSEY. Speaking at Eltham on Monday night MrT.M.Wilford dealt with the position, taken up by the extreme Labor party, as represented by Holland, Scmplc, and Fraser, and the Liberal disinclination to accept office upon their sufferance, and the aggregation of land during the regime of the present Government (his remarks thereon having already appeared in yesterday's telegraphic summary), and proceeded to discuss the National Government. When the National Government was formed, he said, a contract was watered into, Clause 12 of which read:— "No legislation of a contentious or party character is to be introduced during the existence of the National Government." The National Government existed so that the two parties might be united for the purpose of winning the war. For domestic legislation it was useless, and it became unpopular because of the need for this domestic legislation, which could not be introduced. When the Liberals realised what the country was crying oult for they saw the necessity of wltndrawing from the National Cabinet, "and," continued Mr. Wilford, "it was the happiest day of my life when I knew I was free." » Clause five of the agreement provided that the National GoveTiment should continue in existence till the war was officially settled or till the Government dissolved by mutual agreement. He would agree that neither of these conditions was present, but it was further provided that it could be dissolved" by the secession of Mr. Massey and his supporters or Sir Joseph Ward and his supporters. No faith had been broken. He could not understand Mr. Nosworthy holding them i\p as men without nrams, and at ithe same time whining about them leaving the National Government. A man in the audience, scratched his head. Mr. Wilford: You ooght not to scratch your head while you are thinking. You'll get splinters in "your fingers. (Laugnter). LAND AGGREGATION. They had the present Minister standing on that platform and stating that he had stopped land aggregation. A voice: That was a square deal. Mr. Wilford: Yes, with awkward' corners. The only way to aem witn land aggregation was by taxation, restriction of area, and refusing to permit the register of transfers. The Reform Party could not stop aggregation- Their backers would not let them. CHANGE IN TAXATION. There was one thing a motion could not be moved on in the House and that was taxation. No change in the incidence of taxation could be obtained from the Reform Government. If • a worker died and left £5lO worth of property the State collected a toll, and yet the total toll collected on an estate worth a million was 15 per cent. Half the people did not know that the man who received £30,000 a year paid at the same rate as the man who got £6700 a year. Why should not the gradation go on ? That was one of the great points of difference between the Liberals and the Reformers. The Liberal party had undertaken, if returned to power, to take the burden off the small man, but no Reform Government could place on the Statute Book the kind of legislation needed to accomplish this, and never would. (Applause). , MILITARY TRAINING. Speaking next of military training, Mr. Wilford said they should not, now the war was over, encourage a military spirit in this country. (Cheers). He stood dead against Sir James Allen's four months in camp scheme. A voice: Is the war over yet? Mr. Wilford: As far as this country is concerned—res. Continuing, Mr. Wilford said that Sir James Allen had on Friday night last confirmed the view taken of his intentions. Sir James Allen was the strong man of,the Reform party, and what he said no member of the Reform Government could contradict. "I know," said Mr. Wilford, "what I am talking about." If Sir James Al,len said that four months' training was to be introduced in 1920, it would'come to pass, no matter what any other member of the pajty might say.

A LOCAL NAVY. They had been told that the time had arrived for a local navy for defence purposes, "he last battleship built for Great Britain had cost £5,000,000, and it would cost 20 million at least to provide an effective navy for New Zealand. The people of this, country should stand against a party who made such a proposal. THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM. Mr. Massey'a failure ito replace the second ballot with some other satisfactory measure, or to deal with death duties or land aggregation was a distinct breach of faith. THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. Touching on dairying, Mr. Wilford quoted some figures to show that in' America a large percentage of the dairy cows were not paying for their keep. The people here could not do better than follow the American slogan that every man should provide, not more, but better cows. He advocated the appointment of dairy chemists by the Government, who could teach farmers how to convert their by-products into money with a greater measure of success. NATIONALISATION OF MINES. He said he was an advocate of the nationalisation of coal mines. The "goslow" policy was indefensible, and when they had the hydro-electricity properly developed they would be able to minimise the evils resulting from this. They would have something that hoiland and Semple could not control. The nationalisation of mines wonld not stop strikes. Nothing would. The difficulty was that the miners were linked up in one federation, and one lot had to come out with another. Then the coal miners were linked up with the Transport Fed-' cration. The same thing applied to the owners. They might back out in one place and call on other owners to back out also. In nationalisation the State would not (take over all the mines, but with those it did take over the conditions would be improved Houses would be erected and medical attendance provided. There had to be three parties to any strike—ih? »n>ninv«r«. flip empioy«u *nd the publie-jind without the pub-1

lie any .strike could not continue. The true remedy was to be found in recourse to reason before the strike took place. REFORMERS' ANATHEMA. Discussing the future, Mr. Wilford said that every institution built up by the Liberal party was anathema xo we Reform party, including State Fire Insurance, dairy inspection, and the grading of dairy produce. What had the Reform party d'one in the way of State action? Absolutely nothing. By State fire insurance over one million in premiums had been saved the people of New Zealand. With the Liberals, to obtain a loan from the State Advances Office it was necessary to insure with the State but the Reform Government has since altered the clause, making this optional. Notwithstanding this, the State Fire Office was still progressing, though it was impossible to say how much had been lost. REDUCTION OF TAXATION. Mr. Massey had said last Wednesday that the time had arrived when there should be a reduction in taxation, but how this was to be done there was not even a suggestion. There was no constructive statesmanship in the Massey Government. Their first promises had never been fulfilled, and they were now asking the people to take them without any promises at all. (Laughter). DEALING WITH INDUSTRIAL TROUBLES. When the war started in 1914, said Mr- Wilford, New Zealand was on the verge of a burst of industrial trouble, but it smouldered, breaking out only now and again into sporadic spluitterings. From end to end of New Zealand there was an understanding tnai there should be no" industrial upheaval till the elections were over. Mr. Wilford condemned the present method of dealing with strikes. The whole trouble that had been experienced arose out of a want of confidence in the Arbitration Court. In cases ol iauo» trouble there, had to lie an appeal to reason, and it would bo better to make that appeal before a strike occurred. The Court at present was composed of a .judge of the Supremo Court, and a representative of the employers? and another of the employees. "These were supposed to know ' the intricacies of every in the, country, but this was impossible. At the Conciliatioi.- Council they had experts sitting with the Commissioner but the services of these experts were lost when any point in dispute was referred to the Arbitration Court. The remedy was to abolish the permanent men, and, when a dispute arose in any trade, get from that trade the two representatives needed, All they had to do was to lift the Commissioner out of the chair and put the judge in his place. To give confidence in the tribunal would go half way towards the settlement of disputes.' Another suggestion was that there should be- more Commissioners. He would have a. commissioner for the whole of New Zealand to deal with wool workers, from the raw material to the manufactured article. He would have another commissioner in connection with timber, and so on. How, asked Mr. Wilford, was the Reform party going to deal with this smouldering strife? A National Council should be palled of employers and employees and departmental heads. From that council effective machinery should be evolved. They must find how to produce that co-operation which would brine about a mutual understanding and/ good will. He did not apneal to those who loved industrial strife, but unless there was some scheme of constructive statesmanship the times would be perilous and the crash disastrous. TROUBLOUS TTMFS AHEAD. In choosing their representatives they should select men who had the necessary experience to guide them through the troubles times ahead. The lot of a member of Parliament was not going to be a bed of roses. The times before them required constructive statesmanship of no mean order, and he would ask them, in fulfilment ; of their sacred dutv, which they should follow—the father of our legislation or the adopted or foster parent? The Massey Government was the foster parent, and a foster parent without a pedigree. (Laughter). ThTs was not a time for reactionary legislation. It was not a time for fondlin" the £20,000 or £30.000 a year man. If he judged the Eltham people by their past performances they would give the representative of the Liberal party (Mr. Astburr) their confidence and support. (Hear, hear, and applause))' A vote of thanks'to Mr. Wilford and confidence in the Liberal party was carried with cheers and applause"