LIBERAL PARTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 April 1921, Page 5

LIBERAL PARTY.

ITS AIMS AND POLICY. MR. WILFORD AT HAWERA. THE GOVERNMENT CRITICISED. (By Wire.—Special Reporter ) Hawera. Last Night.

Mr. T. M. Wilford, leader of the Opposition. addressed a crowded meeting in the Opera House to-night in support of the Liberal candidate, Mr. W. Morrison. Mr. E. Morrissey occupied the chair and briefly introduced Mr. Wilford.

Mr. Wilford, who was received with applause, commenced his address by expressing his sincere regret at the necessity for the election. As a close personal friend, though a political opponent, of the date Mr. W. D. Powdrell he exceedingly regretted his untimely death. Mr. Wilford claimed that lie represented a constituency which was very largely a Labor constituency, seven-tenths of the electors being workers, and he claimed that the Liberal Party truly represented the workers. In explaining the reason why the Liberal Party had voted against the Labor Party in the House he said they did not vote against the workers but against Mr. Holland. (Applause.) The Liberal Party had had. jibes thrust at it and in a letter by Mr. P. O’Dea, which was appropriately published on April Fool’s Day —(laughter and applause)— which he thought would in future be known in the Patea electorate as April Fool’s O’Dea—(renewed laughter)—he made out that the Liberal Party Was a weak-kneed crowd who did not know their own mind. He took that as an insult to the intelligence of his own constituents and claimed that it was deliberately stated for the purpose of discrediting the Liberal Party. The Massey Press had also been misrepresenting them. PARTY NOT DEAD.

The Liberal Party, said Mr. Wilford, was supposed to be a moriband body, but he was certain that if Mr. Holland was .not in the election the Liberals would wipe the floor with the other Fide. (Applause.) What was the Holland party in the election for? They knew that they could not win, but they were in to kill the Liberals, because they knew that while the Liberal Party continued in the country Red Fedism could never win. They hoped to kill the Liberals, and if they succeeded perhaps out of the electors who had formerly voted for the Liberals there may be enough voters owing to Holland and Co. to put Mr. Massey out. If Mr. Holland got all the Liberals over Mr. Massey must be beaten, but he knew in his own constituency, and other places he had. been in, that the workers were still supporting the Liberal Party. The year before the next election he intended to throw up his private practice and speak the gospel which he loved and believed in. They would see then if the Liberal Party was dead. (Applause). Dealing with his position as leader of the Opposition, Mr. Holland had, through Mr. McCombs, challenged his right to be leader of the Opposition .and raised the question that Mr. Holland was really the leader of the Opposition. He had been charged with leading a party of seven or eight. Eight was the number of the party lead by Mr. Holland and he could not possibly be the leader of the Opposition if he did not have more than eight followers. When Messrs. McCallum, Witty, and Brown left the Liberal Party they left because they all thought they would make a better leader than the speaker, but the other members thought otherwise. Others joined them and they were going to add one more to-morrow night—(applause)—which would make his position more secure. On March 20, in order to settle the matter finally, he had wired to Sir Frederick Lang (the Speaker) and asked him who was the leader of the largest body in opposition, and on March 30 Sir Frederick Lang replied as follows: “In September last you handed me a letter that satisfied me that the party led by you had a larger number of members than anv other party except the Government.”

CRITICISM OF PREMIER. Mr. Wilford asked his hearers to take to heart Mr Massey’s statement that they should place patriotism before party and said that if they were to carry out Mr. Massey’s advice they would vote for Mr. Morrison, because I Mr. Morrison was the candidate who I was best suited to reprecent them in i Parliament, because of his superior ! knowledge of finance and land matters. Mr. Morrison may not be the most fluent of speakers, but he was an honest and straight man—(applause)—and his experience and advice would be extremely valuable in the sessions of 1921 and 1922, when the affairs of the country would have to be readjusted. The election of Mr. Morrison would not help him to turn Mr. Massey out, and he wanted to tell them that he would not hold office in any Government which had Mr. Holland as its tail, as long as he remained in Parliament, because he could not prostitute his political opinions to such an extent. (Applause). The speaker severely criticised Mr. Massey’s speech at Hawera, more especially in regard to finance, and said that the dictators of the Government’s policy were not the members of the Cabinet but men of the Sir Walter Buchanan type. He instanced cases of the refusal of the Government to compulsorily acquire land for soldiers, simply because if Mr. Massey took any land compulsorily he would be compelled to take land belonging to his friends. Mr. Wilford explained at length the details of the St. Leger case which he described as the greatest disgrace ever perpetrated in the name of Reform. Mr. Massey had spoken about the hard times in the eighties and mentioned that later on tilings got better, which was perfectly true, because the Liberal Party came into office in 1890. (Applause). But in 1912 the Liberals were put out and since then things had been getting worse and worse. The “hush up Press” of the Dominion, added Mr. Wilford, had absolutely concealed these facts from the public, the same as they were concealing the financial position of the country. There was one able man in the Massey Ministry and that was Sir Francis Bell and Mr. Massey was wise in leaving him in charge of the Government instead of leaving it to the rest of the crew. (Laughter). But he would say that while he believed the leader of the Government. should be a member of the i elected House he did not blame Mr Massey, because he could not do otherwise with the team at his disposal. (Renewed laughter). Mr. Wilford trenchantly criticised the

railway policy of the Government, stating that when Mr. Coates took office, full of vigor and inexperience, he had stated that only main lines were to be constructed, but instead when the public works statement came out they found big votes for branch lines in Mr. Massey’s and Mr. Bollard’s electorates. He described Mr. Massey as the cleverest politician and the most blundering statesman New Zealand had ever had. (Laughter and applause). He proceeded to explain the mistakes of Mr. Massey in regard to finance, stating that until Sir James Allen left for England Mr. Massey had no more than just a passing knowledge of finance. THE PARTY’S POSITION. After dealing fully with the ineptitude of the Government in dealing with the cost of living, Mr. Wilford suggested that the solution of the troubles the country was at present suffering from could be brought about by a national conference of the workers and employers. An attempt had been made during the recent session to “grab” from the people of the Dominion the right t)hey had to have a say in the Government of the country and the Reform Party was becoming an autocracy. Parliament, he added, was being pushed on one side by the refusal of the Government to give information owing to its great strength. Last session the Acts Interpretation Bill had been introduced giving the Prime Minister the right to appoint as a Minister of the CTown a man. who was not in either of the Houses of Parliament. He had never heard of a more iniquitous proposal. Tn conclusion, Mi. Wilford stated that the Liberal Party stood between monopoly on the one side, as represented by Mr. Massey, and extreme Labor on the other side, as represented by Mr. Holland. The Liberal Party stood for no particular class, but for the man that needed help, and he claimed that it was the party that properly represented the workers. (Applause). It was still a real live force and next election this would be expressed in the vote Liberalism received and the Liberal candidates returned. (Applause) Mr. Wilford spoke for over two hours and was accorded a very attentive hearing throughout his remarks. On the motion of Mr. J. R. Gorrigan, seconded hy Mr. E. A. Pacey, Mr. Wilford was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his able and instructive address, the audience carrying the resolution by acclamation, followed ny Vheers for Mr. Wilford and Mr. Morrison. The singing Of the Nationa l Anthem concluded the meeting .