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THE LABOR PARTY’S POLICY.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —After listening to the so-called policy of the Labor Party, as expounded by Mr. McCombs and others at New Plymouth on Sunday night, one is amazed at the presumption of these gentlemen in assuming that the average man can be influenced by such stuff as that which they treated Sunday night’s audience to. Mr. McCombs denounced the Massey Part? the‘Liberal Party, the Independent J-.ab._or Party, the New Party, and only stopped when he could not find any other political party to denounce. Of course, he did not forget the hated Capitalist Party. Then he treated the audience to an unintelligible explanation by means of a black-board and chalk of proportional representation. There is no doubt when he finished that the whole thing was as clear as mud. This proportional representation that he advocates is, of course, to place the Labor Party in power, at least he fondly hopes it will, but he omitted to tell his audience how it had worked in Australia, where the Labor Party are so disappointed with it that when it was put to the vote a short time ago it was only retained as a plank in the Labor platform by a small majority. Then he told us the Massey Party had 10 right to be in power because they re. presented a minority, but he did not say which party should be in power. One can imagine the Labor Party in power with the same backing as the Massey Party. No doubt they would resign, like the Storey Labor Government in New South Wales, who have clung to power by virtue of the Speaker’s vote, an excellent example of what you can expect from this virtuous political party. We are to have the initiative, the reerendum, and the recall, and we are all to take a hand in promoting Bills for Parliament to pass, and if they do not pass them, we are then to get up a petition and order them out, and the caucus is to select the Ministers and apportion their worth. Generally we are to have a delightful time getting up petitions and initiating new Bills. No doubt Mr. McCombs and his conferers will be directors-general under this wonderful condition of things. Then he declared that the Labor Party had been charged with being disloyal. Of course they have, and rightly so too. Then he proceeded to read two resolutions to prove the party’s loyalty, one by the railway servants at Addington workshops, and one by some Trades and Labor Council in the South Island. While the resolution contained heaps of advice as to how the war should be conducted, there was not a word of loyalty in it’. Yet he had the impudence to ask the audience to accept these resolutions as expressions of loyalty! He did not even declare his own loyalty, nor did he speak for his tw 0 friends. He failed entirely to show how or in what way the Labor Party had shown its loyalty or, assisted as a body during the war.* Of course they proposed the conscription of wealth, and made a few other stupid suggestions that they well knew were impracticable, and there their assistance ended. Truly a. loyal party! Then Mr. McCombs switched on to Queensland, and told of the wonderful results of Government control, how this Labor Government had hunted out all the accident insurance companies, and made a State monopoly of it, making a handsome profit. Just so; it is quite easy when you have a monopoly if you charge enough, and of course they did charge enough. They increased the rates by 50 per cent., and the employers had to pay. Delightfully easy! But Mr. McCombs did not tell his audience of the 50 per cent, increase in rates, nor did he tell of the ghastly failure of their railway management, how they are yearly piling up a huge deficit: nor did he explain why this same Government had not taken the Mount Morgan mine over and made a success of it like the insurance. The company has had to close down because it cannot sell its product at a price that will pay working expenses. So the mine is idle. Nor did Mr. McCombs explain their failure in their shipping venture, nor of the Queensland Premier’s joy trip to England to raise money from the hated capitalist, and his utter failure to raise one penny. As a matter of fact he was unable to convince the investors that the Queensland Government was to be trusted, and so he returned with empty pockets. Then Mr. McCombs talked'glibly about the Federal Government's shipping success, but so far it has not had a fair run. It was started when freights were high, and there was no competition. Just wait a year or two, and we will know all about it, as we are just getting to know all about their shipbuilding venture. One warship has bsea so

long in building that she has already become obsolete. Her cost is something like one million, and is not yet finished. It has been shown that the same class of ship can and has been built for half a million. Truly a wonderful record for Labor administration! This wonderful representative of the Labor Party conveniently forgot ithese (important results. He also neglected to tell of the wonderful results of our own State coal mine, where there has been more strikes than in any other mine, and he forgot quite a few other things, such as the go-slow policy. When he charged the Government, with not keeping down the cost of living, he also forgot to say that the cost of living had been lower in New Zealand than in the labor ridden Australian States, notwithstanding the referendum, etc. The other speakers, of course, had little time to say much, and what was said was of such a character as to warrant contempt.—I am etc., OBSERVER.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19210413.2.67.2

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Taranaki Daily News, 13 April 1921, Page 7

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,000

THE LABOR PARTY’S POLICY. Taranaki Daily News, 13 April 1921, Page 7

THE LABOR PARTY’S POLICY. Taranaki Daily News, 13 April 1921, Page 7

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