THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 December 1919, Page 4

THE GENERAL ELECTION.

BUOKERIDGE AT FITZROY. THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE (Published by arrangement.) Mr. G. 11. Buckeridge, the Reform candidate for the Taranaki seat, addressed a meeting of electors in the Pitzroy Hall last night. There was a good attendance, the hall being full. Mr E. Griffiths presided. In commencing his address, Mr. Buckeridge said he believed on coming to a good understanding with an audience when speaking to them. He did not Buppose that his views would coincide with those of all his hearers, but he intended to state his opinions fearlessly, and if everyone did not agree with |)im he hoped differences of opinion would be accepted as such. He stated again that he was not fighting Mr. Smith, but the things which he believed Mr. Smith stood for. He hoped the fight so far as he himself and his supporters were concerned would be fought without animosity and that at the end, Whoever was elected, both candidates would be as good friends as they were when the contest commenced. In regard to the statements that the candidate was a stranger to Tu run a la, he said the district of Taranaki was the richer by thousands of pounds on account of his efforts on behalf of the struggling cockatoo. Referring to suggestions that because ho came from feouth Taranaki he would be opposed to the New Plymouth harbor scheme, he instanced what he had done in regard to advocating such a development year 3 before New Plymouth had its present scheme. In this connection, he said he had always advocated that a deep sea harbor at New Plymouth was the only possible scheme tjiat would meet the requirements of the development of the district. _ He had* even stated that he believed it might be eventually necessary for headquarters of the Farmers' Co-opfc/ative Society to be removed to New Plymouth. He supported the harbor proposals as strenuously fts anyone. He took the same view as Mr. Wilkinson, and had offered to assist in the campaign on behalf of the harbor loan. There were thousands of people in South Taranaki who were of the sameflopinion in regard to the haras Mr. Wilkinson. This, ho thought, fully explained his attitude as a South Taranaki resident, towards the interests of North Taranaki.

Mr Buckeridge then dealt at some length with the relative qualifications of the two political leaders of the day. Mr. Massey, he said, had taken a leading position among the statesman of the world at the Peace Conference, and foi his services had been offered all the honors that could be heaped upon the head of the Prime Minister of any country, but he had declined them, preferring to remain plain Et. Hon. W. F. Massey. On the other hand, he held up to ridicule the acceptance of honors by Sir Joseph Ward, especially the hereditary baronetcy, which had made him like a political peacock. He did not take exception to the gift of the battleship, for which he got that title, but he did protest against the manner in which the Liberal leader had made that gift without consulting Parliament. The speaker then dealt with the policy of the Liberal Party and its settling of people in the back blocks without roads or railways—a policy which had resulted in the torturing of many pioneers to death. To-day, the country was reaping the harvest of the maladministration for 21 years of the Liberal Party, The speaker said he could never support a party which ha.d been responsible for the things which the Liberal Party had been guilty of. The candidate then referred to the P ol j c y of the extreme Labor Partv, which, if put into operation, would lead the country to ruin. Their one plank of land nationalisation was sufficient to condemn the programme. Tlie objective of extreme Labor was having the effect of making men with capital to invest unwilling to put it into industries where they bad got to employ men. I hat was a bad position for any country to find- itself in. He admitted Labor Had a right to dispose of its commodity n the best market. He deprecated the direct action method of trying to settle disputes, and also agrtfed that the Court had never been quite satisfactory, but he believed the remedy lay along the lines of conciliation. Mr. Buckeridge proceeded to deal with the question of the advertising of New Zealand produce in the Old Land. He said Mr. Smith had made a statement m regard to the High Commissioner's Office in London under the Massey Gov™nt > the speaker believed had been made from want of knowledge of the true position. The speaker retie position of the office under t&e Liberal Administration. When he visited England in 1898 the office was in an out-of-the-way street at Westminster, and very hard to find. It was u 6 f" 1 , 6 1008 ' and still so in 1911 Mr. Buckeridge said that in 1838 lie had been taken by tJ.e Commissioner of L reduce and shown window displays by Australia in order to attract settlers o that country. Thirteen years latert fiffio Zei }'* nd HigJl Emission, er a Office was doing no better than it had been in 1808. While the speaker haff nPw 7 r T !" Enff,and 0,1 I*l of Zealand producers he had endeavored to get assistance from the v f,t o „ mWai ° J ner ' s om ° e - but nothing whatever was done for him. In 1014 however, when he was again in London! nffln 1 High Commissioner's Office splendidly sm.ated i„ Aldwvch, one of the principal of London There was a fine exhibit of what New Zealand could produce, anil there were always people comrregated about the windows anxious to see these \W U< 7 8 ' J ol ,' ffve • veara S'nw 101-i hibit of t i t had the flnefit «" ~ of Its , product in England that it could ever have. Its men had been in vlio tI.T °i *l'"*, c^ies— gentlemen, who the people of the Old Lantf wore Pioud to honor and take into their own homes and treat them as their own ,0I1S ; .v V'S' Wfre the **t advertise" R««■ ti , Zealand could ever have Better than exhibits of the produce was the presence of the men who prodded the goods. (Applause.) . Mr. Buckeridge did not claim that this was due to the Massey administration, but he said credit must be given to Mr Massey S shouldering and carrying successful!? the heaviest burden that had ever been put upon anv Prime Minister of New Zealand. (Applause.) Mr. Buckeridge proceeded to advocate a proper scheme of emigration in order to get the right type of settler into the ountry, and in order to enable t ,e m to ak e up land and farm it be advocated the establishment of co-operative aeHcultural banks. He also referred fn the interests secured for New ZealnnS m Nauru Island and the credit dni Mr. Massey in that respect wh„ ® i "other 15 ° f tt the f j rm , ing c °mmunitv aW Other matters dealt with i- nn i,; dfld

military training, the speaker declaring himself against the Beading of bojrg to camp for four months every yew, be* lieving there was a better way than that; he also referred to education and the position of the teaching profession, advocating that teachers should be the best paid officers in the State service. In the course of replying to questions, Mr. Buckeridge said ho was a prohibitionist, firstly on personal grounds, secondly on-moral grounds, and lastly on the grounds of national efficiency. A written question was put in as to Mr. Buckeridge's attitude towards the P.P.A. and Howard Elliott. The speaker said if the writer of the question would come forward and reveal his or her identity he would reply to the question. No one came forward, and the matter was not further prosecuted. On the motion of Mr. J. Burgess, seconded by Mr. C. Hoskin, the candidate was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his address, and an expression of confidence as the district's representative in Parliament. A vote of thanks to the chairnjpn concluded the proceedings.