THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13527, 8 November 1911, Page 5

THE GENERAL ELECTION.

THE' WANGANUI SEAT. Mr. J. T. Hogan at the Opera House. Mr J. T. Hogan, M.P„ opened Ins campaign in the Opera House last evening before one of the, if not the largest meeting that hap,, greeted a candidate for Parliamentary honours in Wanganui this contest.'. . The Deputy-Mayor, Cr tiffiton, presided. Mr Hogan, he said, needed no introduction, he being so weu known to everyone present.; In the present election campaign 'they had had splendid meetings, and he I was thoroughly proud of the way they had all been conducted. Mr Hogan has represented Wanganui for; six years, and he now presented himself for a further term of office. ’ Mr Hogan on rising was greeted with applause. He said that at a cricket match some time ago the bowler could not get the batsman out, as he was standing right in front of the wicket. ’ He appealed to the umpire for “leg before,” and the latter had replied that if the ball hit the man ~-that was in in front he was out “leg before,” and if it hit the back of his leg it was a ’• wide.” They .had been bowling at him (Mr Hogan) for spine 1 time, but they had not been able tc> get him out either “leg before” or by a’ wide, and he intended to stay in. (Applause.) He had only Just returned from Wellington, and he had taken the first opportunity to address constituents. He reminded the young people, and also the newer people to the district, of those pioneers of the present great Liberal party. There was a time when the sun did not shine so brightly on our beautiful little Dominion, and when the people were not in their present prosperous condition. In those dark times the people were leaving the country, and the Government of the country was such as could not keep or would not try to keep them in it. This was before the present Liberal party came into force. Prior to the Ballanco Ministry taking up office the people were leaving the country, and the Colonial Treasurer year after year was bringing forward debit balances. They should all remember the late Hon. John Ballanco as the man who had, in 1891, put the country on the great road o.’ progress and prosperity that it wm...at present journeying on. The lot cf fhe people prior to his taking up office v as not a happy one, but since then, • aelvd up by his own efforts and the long vc- rs Mr Seddon guided the country’s affairs, and also by the present Government since it had been in power, things had materially altered. Mr Seddon had supported THE BALLANCE POLICY, and those at present in power were doing their best to uphold it. He held no brief for the individual members of the Cabinet, nor • for the Premier, who ho vecosriß'ad had many weaknesses, and did many things he (Mr Hogan) did not agree .with, but notwithstanding all’ this, it could not be said otherwise but that the present Liberal party were carrying out'Ballance’s policy. It had been stated that the present Government would do very well if they would carry on in the lines of this policy, hut he would like to remind those present that Sir Joseph Ward was taken into the first Ballauce Ministry in 1891, and he would show ■ that- the. Li heral party were cany.ng ou that policy. Mr Hogan quoted bxtf Vila from; Mr Yeitch’s recent Opera Ho me speech in-reference to the Hon. John Ballance, and his policy. These Mr Hogan answered by reading portions of that gentleman’s ..Budgets, of 1891 and, 1892. He had heard sleeping statements about getting, back’’t.oJthe: Ballance policy, with its great reforms. These were the taxation of land) .thejye.dnetipn : of the Customs duties’ on tlfe '''necessaries of life, the graduated land tax, and borrowing in our own'country. These, Mr Hogan contended, the , Government' were .carrying out. He invited an” man'to come bn to the' platform’ and use it for ten minutes, provided he could prove, that the present Government were not following that policy. He knew it was a very unusual challenge, but he always believed in a man being able to prove all his statements made on the platform, and did not believe in addressing the electors until he was able to do so. Mr Ballance had proposed the ■ GRADUATED LAND TAX the sweeping away of the nroperty tax; Mr Seddon had increased the graduated tax, and the present Government, since 1906, had also done their share in this respect. He would prove this by figures. In 1906 the tax was when a man’s wealth in land exceeded £40,000 i he had to pay a tax of 8s per cent, for the first additional ,£IOOO worth of land he possessed oyer this amount. For the second £IOOO an additional tax of one-fifth of a shilling per cent, was put on, and this increased by' oue-fifth of a shilling per cent, for every additional, £IOOO. From March. 31st, 1910, the graduated land tax has ' been further, increased by something like 25 per cent., and the tax on absentee owners’ lancLhad also been raised by some 50 per cent. This worked out as follows:’ The taxes paid per annum on £BO,OOO were in 1891 £622, under the present Government the amount was £1137; on £IOO,OOO, the amounts were £833 and £1666;, on £150,000, £1484 and £3437; on £200,000, £2187 10s and £5833; on £210,000, it was £2406 and £6215, and so on. Was this, he asked, ‘getting away’ from the 1891 Lioeral policy? .He held that it was not, and stated that next year the Government proposes to further increase the graduated land tax.. This tax means that the people best able-to are paying the taxes, which was only'proper; It was not because there was any grudge .againjst these people that possessed the' land that the taxes were levied and raised, but it was solely done with the object of forcing them to gut up their estates for the good of the people. The masses of the people demand that this should be done, and it was in their interests that it. was being done, and in their interests that it will continue to be done. Another object that was in view when the taxes werb proposed was to lessen the burden on the small man, and this he held had been done, and he could prove it. i “THE DOMINION” was briefly referred, to. That paper attacked every ■ man on the Liberal or La- * hour side, and had not left him (Mr Hogan) out of their adverse criticism/ It attacks every man who works in the , interests of the people, and because it attacked him was one of the surest signs that he was working in the interests of the people. .The share list of the paper would show with what object it was started, and why it criticised the Government, and particularly the graduated land tax. He quoted the following list of shareholders, their shares, and the value of their property; —Mr Sam Williams, alieepfarmer, 200 shares, £337,000 worth of property; W, Nelson, 200 shares, £191,000 in property; J. D. Ormond, 200: shares, £177,000; W. R. Russell, 200. shares, £80,000; J. Goring Johnston, as executor in the estate of the late Hon. W. W. Johnston, 200 shares, £211,000; W. G. Buchanan, so on. Could it be shown by such.a short list that this 'paper was established for the benefit of-the; workers?! He considered it an honour- to ,be criticised by a paper with such a'share list. - (Hear, hear,) He

had proved conclusively by his figures and statements, that could not be got round, that the graduated land 'tax had been and was being carried through by the Liberal : party. The land tax in 1904-5 amounted to £352,000; now it was £642,000. Death duties, inebme tax, etc., had also increased proportionately. The former, however, did not hurt anybody as the person who had amassed the money was dead, and beneficiaries under the will, if their shares were at all substantial, could not very well worry over the small percentage deducted by the tax. Mr Lloyd George’s policy was practically the same, with, of course, a proper safeguard for those whose legacies were too small to allow of taxation. It had been said that the Government made too much revenue out of the CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT. If this was true it was to be deplored. But such was not the case. The Government’s main source of revenue, was the land—the proper source, too. Most of the taxes on imported articles were levied with the intention of protecting local manufactures, and to prevent foreignmade goods from competing with our own products. Raw material was admitted free, thus giving New Zealand tradesman the benefit of the proceeds of their manufacture into the finished article. Customs taxation had gone up since 1904-5. In 1891 not 4 per cent, was paid on foodstuffs and alcoholic drinks, and about half of this was paid on what were practically luxuries, while it must be remembered that we had our own factories for the manufacture of these articles. Over a million and a half of revenue came from what was termed “luxuries,” but not from the necessaries of life. Tile Government’s solicitude for the welfare of the people was shown by the fact that many articles of grocery had fallen in price since 1907, owing to the fact that the duty had been either lowered or taken off altogether. The repeal of the duty on such articles was a great boon to the housekeeper, who was struggling to make both ends meet. A voice—"What about the children’s boots?" Mr Hogan said that there was a special tariff to deal with the duty on boots, ard ho had, and always would, do his best to keep the.price down. If a further tax were put on beer, we could derive an additional revenue of £113,000. A voice—“l don’t think!” The imposition of \d per ton on sugar, continued the speaker would mean revenue to the extent of £240,000. He quoted figures to show how the Australian Government was endeavouring to obtain control of the sugar trade, but notwithstanding all that was heard about . the Australians efforts on the .subject, our own sugar was much cheaper. Touching briefly upon the ■ HON. GEO. FOWLDS’ RESIGNATION from the Ministry, Mr Hogan said that he had always entertained a. great respect for Mr Fowlds personally, and he agreed with much of his policy. In the past he had often been found on the same side as Mr Fowlds, and hoped to be so in the future. The Government was not perfect; in fact, they should go a great deal,faster thanl they had been in the past, but they were doing the very best they could with the House they had to work upon. Coming tortbe question of •••-. .. . LAND, "■ ,i ! Mr Hogan asked how they could expert the Government to bring down leasehold measures when the people had sent £0 leaseholders to Parliament to oppose 54 freeholders. Was it Just to blame the Government under these circumstanc/s 5 Notwithstanding this handicap, however. 9,000,000 acres had been .reserved for the purposes of- education and old ago pensions. The policy of the present adminis.tration'was to help the people; not to oppress them. Over £10,000,000 at 4.) per cent, had been lent to the people for the development of the country, anc( of this amount, £1,600,000 had been lent during the past year. Did this look as if they were standing still? A great deal of im- - portant legislation had been passed, which would compare favourably with any previous measures. Let them take, for instance, the Public Debt Extinction Bill, by the provisions of which the existing debt would bo entirely wiped off the slate in 75 years. Ignorance was the cause of the “croaking”'that had been going on, and he . was confident that bad those who complained loudest had a little more knowledge of facts, they would have had a great deal less to say. Under the terras of the Land Settlement Finance Aqt, any group of workers could come together with the object of purchasing a piece of land, and, providing that the value was in the land and the owner willing to sell, the Government would advance tile whole of the purchase money. Some might consider this theoretical, but he might mention that during the one year m which the Act had been in operation ll syndicates, with a total membership of 68, had been thus assisted, to the, occupancy of 9153 acres. For ) i HUMANITARIAN LEGISLATURE. the Government had an exceedingly good ’record. The extension of the Ole Ago Pensions Act. was a typical example. Under its terms, a male of 60, or a fenale of 55, who had two or more children; dependent upon them, would be entitled tj full benefits. This Act had only been jpassed this session, together with another measure making provision for widows.) A widow with one child would receive! £l2; with two children, £18; with three. £24; and with four or more, £3O per |annum. A glance at. the Statute Book--ifforded convincing; proof that the ’Government’s policy would compare more thah favourably with that of any administration in the world. ' ' THE PUBLIC DI|BT, said Mr Hogan, was admittedly going up, but it was not right to pass Judgment without going into the position carefully. The debt amounted to £81,078,000, but the money had not been squandered; it had been spent for the good of the people and the country. Enormous sums had been expended in the settlement of the backcountry. There were only two ways of raising money—borrowing ou one band, and taxation on the other. The former was the more feasible method, for was it not reasonable to expect succeeding generations to bear some share of the burden which their forbears - had shouldered 5 Moreover, 60 per cent, of the public debt was paying its own interest, while another 7 per cent.—that portion which had been expended in the erection of post offices and other public buildings, thereby Raving the Government from the necessity of paying rent—was indirectly interest bearing. Only some £25,500,000 was not paying its way, and the bulk of this had been spent in the making of roads, bridges, etc., whereby the country people could have an outlet to their markets. Moi’e than £B6 out of every £IOO borrowed since 1891 was paying, its own way. The Government was: making a profit of £60,000 annually out of State Advances Department alone, while many other Departments were showing most satisfactory

relume. Borrowing had certainly increased of late years, but tho proportion which paid its own interest had increased, too; ■ and the fact that the debt burden was no heavier to-day than it was in 1891, went to show that tho present Government had not departed from the policy of Ballance; but had rather improved upon it. Although still further outside assistance might be found necessary, the money would bo spent on the people themselves, and would not increase the burden on the masses, as the lion’s share of taxation fell upon those best able to afford it. He had no hesitation in saying that the Dominion was still going steadily along the road to prosperity. Our population was now over a million, while our total trade amounted to ,£39,250,000, and would have probably reached the forty million mark by now. Our wool exports were valued at £8,000,000 annually, butter at £2,000,000, cheese at £1,200,000, while 2,200,000 tons of coal were shipped away. In 1891 the deposits in the Post Office Savings Bank were only £2,000,000; to-day they were £l-1,000,000 —surely one could desire no better indication of prosperity than this! WATER POWER. Nobody, said Mr Hogan, recognised more fully the enormous store of energy that was lying practically untapped than tho late Mr T. E. Taylor, who had always been an ardent advocate for the harnessing of hydraulic power. The Government had not been blind .to this, and had passed an Act authorising the expenditure of £500,000 for this purpose. An immense force was running to waste down every stream, in the Dominion, the harnessing of which would mean the saving of an enormous sum of money every year. If the lighting of Dunedin were done by electricity rated from water-power, it was estimated that the cost to -the consumer would be only one-ninth of the present charge. We had enough latent power in the Dominion to give every home the benefits of electricity, which, ho said, were impossible to over-estimate. Mr Hogan then went on to refer to BANKING. The land banks on the Continent had proved themselves of great benefit to farmers, and he hoped to see a similar system established in New Zealand before long. It was more than probable -that his ambition in this respect would shortly be realised. The Government were not, as many would have us believe, standing shll; on-the contrary, they were pressing forward, and all through their policy the movement towards progress was noticeable to any unbiassed observer. Some of the planks of their platform were as follows: Extension of the system of providing workers’ homes; extension of tho oil industry; issue of State notes, with a gold revenue; utilisation of water power; and establishment of farmers’ co-operative auks; ex.onsion of irrigation works; encouragement of mining; encouragement of national provident system, increased efllcioncy of the defence system; extension of Land Settlement Finance scheme; increased and graduated land tax on very large estates; acquisition of private estates for closer scttlemnet; establishment of a»ricnlural experimental stations and the utiUsation of waste products on dairy farmsthe settlement of groups of families on Grown lands; compulsory acquisation of native lands for closer settlement. THE CHARGES OF CORRUPTION. fw r + : f log fV VCmt to refer *<> the fact I ?MJ® statement had been freely circuluted that a Minister of the Crown great opportunities of handling public money and doing with it as he liked He pointed out that the Auditor-Genera and the Assistant Auditor kept a strict eye on all accounts, and that those officials were absolutely independent of Ministers and responsible only to Parliament. It was impossible for any Minister to inter- ,? posslbl<l wa 7 with the money which belongs to the people. He quoted Mr I P 'M°"r ■?! Mr (ieor 8 0 F®wlds and Mr L M. Isitt as to the vague charges of bribery and corruption, of maladministration arid graft against the men now in power. Mr lintt, who was an absolutely independent M.P., had said publicly that he wanted to tell the men and women throughout the length and breadth of this Dominion that there is no bribery, no corruption, no maladministration; "there is no political graft; that Ministers of the Crown are shamefully libelled; and men and women New Zealand through should turn a deaf ear to these cowardly untruths. Mr George Fowlds had been equally emphatic in lis denunciation of the base insinuations made against the Govrnmcnt as to corruption and Tammanyism. Mr Hogan mentioned that he had quoted these opinions, not because Ministers wanted any defence, but only as a matter of fair play, which every man was entitled to. He proceeded to say that, though ho had been a supporter of the present Liberal policy, he

WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE PROGRESS MADE He would like to sec the people return to Parliament a majority of men still more progressive, but he contended that they were doing their best under adverse circumstances. The Ward Government was the best he could see. If he could see a better he would resign and come back and tell his constituents that there was a moje progressive Government. Under prosept circumstances he had no option but tc support the Government, which was doing more than any other was likely to. He df elared that in the majority of constituc icies members were returned on the strength of what they could get for their own larticular district. It was not a prope ■. system, and he hoped that the day woulc ■ come when they would wipe that syste'. i put. However, it was only right that je should let them know how this : district was getting on. First of all, ho dealt with tha HARBOUR BILL. Whei that Bill was before the Local Bills Comi ittee the members of the Harbour Boarthose favouring the Bill and those oppoing it, had a very trying time, but even ually it was passed through the Com ixttce stages, and got back into the Houh again, the second reading being can - ] d by 38 to 19. Then it passed on to iie committee of the whole House, when what'he feared all along happened —a tonewall was set up, and continued froir 7.40 p.m. until 1.50 next morning, whet the Bill was killed. As the member in (parge of the Bill he had taken tha chail, and watched the progress of the Bill I The representatives of all the surrounling districts opposed it strongly, and natirally this fact made members from other parts of the Dominion think that somjthing was wrong with the Bill, and henfc they decided that it must be killed. One thing in connection with the Bill whih Mr Hogan could not understand was Mr Pearce’s attitude. That member vot i for the second reading and then oppos i the Bill in Committee. Mr Hogan, in he House, taunted Mr Pearce with wa : of courage, in that he voted for the Bil when his vote would be reported, and onl opposed it when the discussion was in rivate. He quoted from a Press repo) to show that Mr Pearco was wrong m lying that no suggestion of a compro-

miso was made until the Bill was killed. Ab a matter of' fact. Sir Joseph Ward, who was the third speaker, suggested a Royal Commisioner to define the rating area. Mr Lang certainly did suggest a clause providing fir separate polls to bo taken in the country and the town, but Mr Hogan refused to accept it, as it was only a trick. It would mean that the country would leave mo town to shoulder the quarter of a million loan. He tried w> fight the Bill through, but could not do it.. The Government could not do it. The Government could not fight through MU w ‘th the freehold in it when he 1 S?K an ) an< i other leaseholders opposed li iT-n waa that the opponents of the Bill did not want a compromise, they were determined to kill the Bill, cost what it may. The opposition of one member was probably due to a desire to “get one back ’ on him because, ns chairman of the Railways Committee, he had brought down a report which had been taken as having for its object the killing of the port of FoxtOn. The report waa against a proposal to divert the Main Trunk line trade to Poston. On the day after the Bill was killed Mr Hogan gave notice to re-introduce the Bill, with provision for the town and country to apply for a Royal Commission to define iue rating area, but Mr Pearce had said he would have nothing to do with a Commission set up by the Government, who could put on it whom they pleased. If there had been a proper rating area he did not think the Bill would have been killed. Ho had said the boundaries could not be defended, and ho repeated the statement. However, with a properly defined area, there should bo no trouble in getting tho Bill through next session. Mr Hogan proceeded to deal with

OTHER LOCAL MATTERS. Ho saicl that he had been told that one of the other candidates had referred to what he termed “the neglect of Wanganui. In this connection, Mr Hogan said ho had read the speech of only one of the ether candidates, and in referring to this alleged neglect of Wanganui he explained tnnt ho did not wish to be egotistical, but it was only right that ho should put the other side of the question before the electors. He then instanced what had con done to assist in the progress and development of this district during the time he had been in Parliament. Startf 05 * Office, there was the •£13,000 gyant, for extensions. Then came the wharf shed, the. 'owering of the cylinders of the bridge at, much expense to the Government; the grant of .£750 for the protection of the Taylorville bank when?7 er ., t “ 0 Jodies wished to expend it, the additions to the Wanganui East school; A‘sooo towards the cost of the new bridge; .£9lO for the Recreation Ground; the taking, of gas into the workshops, thus enabling the public at Eastown to get a gas supply; the Aramoho Post Office; the police stations at Aramoho and St. John’s; the legislation dealing with the old and the new Technical College; tho now Gonville school; grant for a Recreation Ground; vesting the flagstaff reserve in the Harbour Hoard; and the appointment of the grader. Then turning to the river, thousands had been spent in scenery preservation and in grants to the River Trust. Only tlua session a Bill had been passed enabling the Trust to give better terms to lessees. Further up the river, a punt had been placed at Aim Ahu, and the telephone had been extended to Raetihi. .then, since he had entered Parliament, about a quarter of a million had been spent on roads in the district; The Government hod spent moneys in workers’ dwellings m Wanganui East and Gonville. A State coal depot, had been established in Wanganui. and he took great credit for this, it was the third to be established in tho Dominion, and since it had been established it was estimated that the Wanganui people had saved some .£IO,OOO in being able to obtain cheaper coal. This year some .£15,000 hod been placed on the Estimates for the Raetihi-Mam Trunk Hailway. In connection with this he read two letters from tho Raetihi Progressive Association thanking him for his services. Tho second letter stated that it was largely due to his efforts that the grant had been made, and added that Raetihi owed him a debt of gratitude, Mr Hogan said that he had realised at the beginning and now that Wanganui was absolutely dependent on tho back country for its very existence. ITie harbour, trams, and other public services here would not bo worth a snap of the finger without the back country. Hence it was that ho had always kept in touch with the wants of the back country, and ho could say without fear of contradiction that he knew more about back country requirements than many of those who represented such districts. Ih this connection ha mentioned that many settlers came to him in preference to going to their own members. As for private Bills, he ’declared that his record was as good as that of any other mcmper. Mr Moseey had brought forward one in 14 years, while the spealcer had brought forward six. Mr Hogan went on to show how the Advances to Workers’ Act had been amended in tbo interests of the workers, who were reaping tho benefits of these amendments. Dealing with the amounts a( iyauced to workers, ho quoted figures which showed conclusively that Wanganui had been exceptionally well treated compared with other centres, instancing the fact that while .£80,400 tiad been advanced to workers her© tho amount advanced at Dunedin was only >£70,780. In tho light of the facts he had referred to, he asked was it fair to say that Wanganui had been neglected? He said he would place his record against that of any other member of tho House, and had no fear of tho result.- Ho asked, what did the member for Wanganui suffer from? It was this; tho public did not know what ho did. INADEQUATE PRESS REPORTS. Tha information supplied the people by the Press of tho doings in Parliament was inadequate. The Press was a commercial institution. Its shareholders "wore out for dividends, and ho did not blame them. Recently he made a speech in the House on tho Flour Duties Abolition Bill. The “Herald” ..published his speech in full, and he thanked it for it. But the Press Association sent along a message of two or three inches. It was tho same with a speech he made on railway matters, and in connection with that he claimed that no one had done more for railway men than ho had. Ho had advocated a minimum wage of 9s for them, and 10s a day for shunters. He advocated at least 8s a day for every man 21 years and over. Things had not considerably improved, he admitted. But something had been done. There was a minimum wage of 8# 6d a day for married men, better terms had been given in regard to superannuation, and on his (Mr Hogan’s) instance a scheme had been introduced for the collection of arrears and back payments, so that they could be paid without hardship to the men. And all these points were conveyed to the public in an inch or two of newspaper space.

CONCLUSION. Concluding, Mr Hogan, said some people regarded their ' voting privileges very lightly, and he urged them to value them. He challenged anyone to shake his figures or statements, show any vote of hia directed against ' the interests of the (Continued on page 6.)