THE LABOUR PARTY.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13521, 1 November 1911, Page 7

THE LABOUR PARTY.

ITS AIMS AND ASPIRATIONS Address by Professor Mills.

, Professor W. T. Mills, of Milwaukee, U.S.A., addressed a large audience in the Opera House last evening on the aims and aspirations of the Labour Party. Mr W. A.” Vcitch, the Labour candidate for the Wanganui'seat, presided.Professor Mills, who was very cordially received, said that he was anxious for the people of Wanganui to record their votes in the manner which should result in the greatest benefit to the country. A vote given to the Labour Party, he said, would do more good for the coipmon good than one given to any 'fcther party. Coming to the Liberal Parly, the Professor said that they had passed their best measures under compulsion; they had to do as the people wished in order to gain votes. The Labour Party had had only one representative in Parliament, but this one man could show a good record: practically all the measures lie had supported had become law. The thing that was most needed in New Zealand was a reorganisation of the political parties, for they were divided among them,selves. on every important question. The resignation of the Hon. George Fowkls showed the present (position in its true light. John Ballance was the one strong man who stood out in the forefront of those who were fighting for the bast interests of the country. In Australia the progressive ends of both the Liberal and Conservative Parties had combined into Labour, while the retrogressive sections hod formed the Opposition. Some might say that Sir Veiteh was inexperienced, but v in his (the speaker’s) opinion, the less experience a candidate had in the presentday political methods the better it was for the man. Tho return of even half a dozen Labour men at the coming elections would mean the beginning—and a substantial beginning, too—-of the true era of latter-day Democracy. Neither the Liberals or Conservatives would do this. Both these parties were “side-stepping” the vital problem of land monopoly; their only hope of survival lay in avoiding it. The Labour Party, on the other hand, were pledged to face this question, and they were prepared to do so. Land values were created by many causes—natural wealth, industry, climate, etc.—and those which came about by the processes of Nature were known as unimproved values; but those created by man’s labour were called jinproved values. Therefore, it was our duty to see that the value deposited in the earth by the gift of God came to us and to our children as a natural due. Unimproved values belonged to the community, and to the community alone. Those who had made New Zealand, the sturdy pioneers who had laboured out the best days of their lives on the fringe of civilisation, were entitled to all they had; to take liberties in the way of cutting-up their land was a crime, but Nature’s gifts were the property of the people. The freehold was the only possible tenure. .The -999 .years' leasehold was nothing else but a joke, and the 99 years’ leasehold was the same joke played eleven times as often. As things stood to-day, our two political parties were-squabbling over the much-debated question of land, the speculator stepped in and calmly nicked up the sphstance, while the politicians quarrelled over the. shadow! New Zealand had: now £175,000,000 worth of unimproved values, which had been created by God Himself when He made this Dominion: and, therefore, every man, woman, and child in tho country was entitled to £175 —only their just shar6. All the earth over the richest lands werp cultivated by the toil of the poorest: people; and in Great Britain, the most neglected and ignorant section of the community was the agriculturist. ■ The same position was to be seen all over Europe. Surely the significance could be grasped ! Here in New Zealand the price of land had doubled in the last few years, and the ipau on whom the burden fell was not the owner, but the struggling tenant. Could the parties of Sir Joseph Ward or Mr Massey solve this' rroblem of land monopoly? No!, Could the' Labour Party do it? Yes; and they were going to; if not, they would bo thrown out of the field of, politics by the vote of every fair-minded man and woman. . But they must be given the chance to try-: that was only British justice. What the people of New Zealand wanted was deliverance from all classes of monopoly. The most splendidly-equipped industry in the Dominion—the sugar refinery—paid its employees little better than starvation wages. This was the tigtheuing of tho grip of the monopolist, that would strangle the country if not taken in time. Give Labour the opportunity, and this condition of affairs would bo altered within half a dozen years. This was a big promise to make, but did not its very magnitude justify them in asking the workers to give them the power to bring such a stupendous reform about? The Professor concluded by exhorting Ids hearers to vote the Labour ticket at the! forthcoming election. On the motion of Mr W. Lee-Martin, and carried by acclamation, Professor Mills was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his address.