THE ELECTIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 November 1919, Page 3

THE ELECTIONS.

TARANAKI SEAT. , MR. BUOKERIDGE'S CANDIDATURE. The Reform candidate for the Taranaki seat, Mr. George H. Buckeridge, addressed electors at Warea on Thursday evening. About 40 people were present and the candidate was given a very favorable hearing. Mr. T. Julian was voted to the chair. In the course of his address, Mr. Buckeridge replied to the remarks of his opponent (Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P.) concerning him. He said that Mr. Smith had evidently not kept himself very well informed as to public expressions made by public men in regard to the New Plymouth harbor. Had he done so he would have known that for the past 10 year, at any rate, the speaker had consistently advocated the claims ot New Plymouth and the New Plymouth harbor, and that one of the harbor's strongest advocates was a resident of South Taranaki, being Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, M.P. The speaker had been with him in J a good deal of the work he had been ' doing and, had he been able at the time, he would have been only too pleased to have assisted Mr. Wilkinson on the platform in advocating the harbor proposals in South Taranaki prior to the loan poll being taken. At that time, however, he was engaged in organising for the Farmers' Union in this district. It appeared to him that Mr. Smith, as $t man who was posing as the nspresentative of a farming community, particularly of a dairy farming community, did not know the very first thing about the industry he was hoping to represent, or else he would have known something about the man who was responsible lor the starting of the present-day successful co-operative dairying movement. A man could hardly be termed a stranger who had, as the speaker had done, lived for 30 years in the district, who had been organiser of more than one cooperative dairy oempany, who na<! been the organiser of the first co-operative dairy company in Taranaki, that was run under the system of finance (joint and several suarantce to a bank), that enabled the straggling "cockatoos" to establish his factory without the necessity of having the money, and who had been connected with every progressive move that had taken place'in the dairying industry in Taranaki during all that length of time. Whether he lived in Hawera or in New Plymouth he was still worthy of the support of the farming community as a lit representative for them in the House of Parliament, At the conclusion of Mr. BuekerhWs address a vote of thanks was passed to him on the mot'on of Mr. McEldowncy, seconded by Mr. Koarborry. WORK FOR FARMERS. Writing of the Reform candidate for Taranaki", the Hawera Star says: -'Although the hour is very late for a new man to enter the lists atfiinat the sitting member, and although his opponent has the added advantage of a long start in the race, yet Mr. Buckeridge can he depended unon to put up a strong and vigorous fight. Farmers will realise that in Mr. Buckeridge they have one of the strongest advocates of their interests in Taranaki. He has always taken the very keenest interest in all matters concerning the welfare of farmers, and has been mainly responsible for many movements for the better organisation of their affairs. Farmers throughout Taranaki hardly need reminding it was lie who originated and carried to a successful issue the present Farmers' Co-operative Organisation Society, and in more recent times, as provincial secretary and organiser of the Taranaki Farmers' Union he has done splendid work—no man on this coast lias ever done more to organise fanners and farmers' interests for their own advancement and protection. At the same time lie is a man with wide and views, who thoroughly understands and sympathises with the' legitimate claims of labor. He has consistently held that most of our industrial trouble could be avoided if the rank and file of -Labor could be made (o understand that their interests were closely allied to. in fact, bound up with the' farmers' interests, and he has urged and fought for conferences between common-sens.; Labor people and the farmers' organisations. Ho realises that Labor extremists are impossible, but he contends that a "treat proportion of the laboring people are sensible, moderate men, who are largely misled by men like Scrapie, Hollar, I, and Fraser, and who only want to he planed in possession of the actual facts to induce them to co-operate with employers instead of being antagonistic to them. If the Reform Party in the Taranaki electorate whole-heartediv support Mr. Buckeridge, he will give, them a cood run for the,seat. He is a forceful and convincing platform sneaker, and will spare no effort to 'win the fight."