NATIONAL CANDIDATE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 October 1938, Page 5

NATIONAL CANDIDATE

MR J. F. THOMPSON SPEAKS AT CARTERTON AN EXCELLENT RECEPTION. AIMS OF PARTY OUTLINED. (“Times-Age” Special.) Mr J. F. Thompson, National Party candidate for the Wairarapa electorate, was given a rousing reception when he addressed an audience - of about 400 in the State Theatre, Carterton, on Saturday night. There was an entire absence of interjections or anything in the nature of heckling and Mr Thompson was given an excellent hearing throughout. At the conclusion of his address he was applauded warmly and a motion of thanks was carried unanimously. Three cheers were also given for the candidate.

Mrs Thompson, ’ who was present with Miss E. Thompson, was presented with a beautiful bouquet. The Deputy-Mayor, Mr E. McKenzie, who presided, introduced Mr Thompson. After stating that the coming election was the most vital and important in the history of the Dominion, Mr Thompson said he was one of forty* new aspirants for political honours under the banner of the National Party which stood four-square for the pro-

tection 'of opportunity for the people of New Zealand and for the freedom of the individual and his family. They had come out into the open to oppose Socialism being implemented in the country. He stood for no particular class or interests, but with his party for the benefit of the people of the Dominion as a whole. HOSPITAL BOARD SERVICE. For twenty years he had been a member of the Wairarapa Hospital Board and had always endeavoured to do his best for the sick and the needy. It would be a clean and happy fight between his Labour opponent, Mr B. Roberts, and himself. Mr Roberts and he were friends and would still be friends at the close of the contest. That was as it should be. The only difference between them was that Mr Roberts thought Mr Thompson had no chance of being elected and the latter thought the same about Mr Roberts. It was a gross slander for the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon M. J. Savage, to say that for the past three years his Government had been trying to clean up the mess left by the Governments of the past 77 years. It was definitely unfair to the statesmen of the past who believed they were doing the best in the interests and progress of the country. When the Forbes-Coates Government went out of power in 1935, it left New Zealand as a model country which stood high in the regard of countries overseas. Prior to the 1929 slump, the standard of living in the Dominion was as high as in any part of the world. Mr Savage came into power under wonderful circumstances. The country had come through the worst financial blizzard in its history, the Budget was balanced, the finances were sound and prosperity was in ’ sight. “POLITICAL SUICIDE.” The previous Government had faced, up to the position during the slump. When it had cut everything, trying to do the best for the country, it knew that it was signing its political death warrant, that its action meant political suicide. The National Party would never cut wages or reduce pensions as a way out of difficulties. The majority of the people did not deliberately elect the Labour Government. The appearance of the Democrat party split the vote and as a result Labour went into power with only 47 per cent of the votes cast. When Labour came into power they had Socialism clearly in mind and Socialism was still the object of the executive of the party. Any suggestion that Socialism was not the issue at the coming election was not true. Reported statements by Messrs Nash and Langstone indicated that Labour aimed at the socialisation of the country. Since Lab-

our had come into office they had slowly moved towards that objective. Mr Savage had stated that it was a battle between stupidity and commonsense. That was a stupid and undignified observation for a Premier to make. The people looked to the Ministers of the Crowh as being leaders in thought, education and dignity. (Applause.) The National Party said that the present waste and dissipation of money must stop. The Nationalists stood foi' the retention of private enterprise. Eighty per cent of the income taxpayers of. the country belonged to the middle section of the community. Labour had never legislated for that section. The Government had loaded everything in favour of the working class, which was not in the best interest of the people as a whole. FARMERS WOOED. Last election, the farmers had been, wooed by the guaranteed price scheme. Many farming votes had been gained by the promise that their prices would be guaranteed, but what the farmer eventually received was very different to what he had been promised. At that time the farmers did not know that their produce was to be regimented and commandeered. Labour had also promised to reduce the sales tax, but when the opportunity of doing so came about they failed to keep their word. They had no more intention of reducing the sales tax than they had of flying. They also undertook to reduce the cost of living, but every housewife knew to just what extent that had been done. Labour believed in the socialisation of land and their only land policy was one of land confiscation. The land owners had had enough of that and would say so in a few days’ time. TAXATION INCREASES. Taxation had increased under Labour rule to an annual imposition of £37,000,000, which was out of all proportion in a young country such as this. It amount to £23 a head for every man, woman and child in the Dominion. Companies had been fair shooting game for the Government and many of them were virtually crippled by excessive taxation. Companies in New Zealand could hardly bear the burden imposed on them and any further increase would cause them to crash. It had to be remembered that the bulk of the companies in the country consisted of shareholders with small.holdings. One New Zealand woollen company, in face of strong competition, had paid a dividend of 4 per cent, but with the Spcial Security Act in force the dividend would be reduced to 3 per cent. That state of affairs would not encourage small capitalists in the country to invest their money in companies.

The Government’s housing scheme had been an excellent idea, but it had turned out to be a fiasco. The National Party said that it was the freehold that the tenant wanted and the party would see that he got. it on easy terms. “A RAW DEAL.” If anyone in New Zealand had received a raw deal from Labour it was the farmers. The guaranteed price scheme had been a ghastly failure. The scheme had been a deciding factor at last election and it would be a deciding factor at this election, only the other way round. Labour said it would make up any deficit, but the Government had nothing to pay it with. It all fell back on the poor old taxpayer. The farmer had to be kept on the land. He was the keystone of the whole prosperity of the country. The National Party would see that he was kept on the land and that he received a price for his produce that would give him a standard of living commensurate with that existing in other industries. The farmer would also be given the right to market his own produce if he wished to. (Applause.) In the closing stages of his address, Mr Thompson dealt at some length with the Social Security Act, which he described as the most collosal leap in the dark ever taken by a New Zealand Government. He also outlined the National Party’s alternative scheme.