LIVELY MEETING

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20955, 8 September 1933, Page 10

LIVELY MEETING

MR BROADFOOT AT WOOLSTON IN'OISV INTEKJECTOttS Mr W. J". Broadfoot, M.P. for Waltonio, who spoke at Woolston last evening on behalf of the Coalition candidate, Mr F. W. Freeman, had to stand up to a persistent barrage of. interjections and questions from the audience oi about a hundred electors who tilled a large room in the Woolston School. Mr Broadfoot spoke for an hour, and using his strong voice effectively stood up well to the verbal bombardment. For another hall-hour he answered questions on practically every subject which could concern a New Zealand politician, and was then given a hearty vole of thanks, moved by one of the most persistent intcrjectors, Mr C. E. Baldwin. The meeting ended with cheers for the Labour candidate, Mrs E. R. McCornbs. Mr J. Radcliftc, who presided, opened the meeting with a tribute to Mr J. McCombs, the former member for Lyttelton, and asked for a fair hearing for me speaker. Mr Broadfoot opened his address with an explanation for his appearance in support of Mr Freeman, stating that the cause of the Labour candidate had been espoused by the leader, Mr Holland. Consequently members of the Coalition took up the cudgels for Mr Freeman. "Who pays your expenses?" asked a voice. "I pay my expenses and no one else. I have always done so, out, of my own pocket," retorted the speaker. "You'll get my vote," was the answer. The Issue Clouded. "The issue has been very clouded because we find our opponents alleging that we as a Government have been responsible for the depression," said Mr Broadfoot, "but when the position is looked into it is found that the causes of the depression in the main are external—causes over which this country has no control. We have had a tremendous run of good fortune, it cannot be denied, but when we were prosperous we did all our great public works on borrowing. That was sound enough while prices were high, but prices fell, and in the last four years the value of our exports has gone down by £G7,000,0fW." The main external causes were three, continued Mr Broadfoot. They included war debts, which were nonproductive. He agreed with the opinion that the slate should be wiped of all war debts. Another direction in which difficulties were being created was the currency system. The time was overdue for a reform in the system, and the speaker favoured a scheme for the consideration of all the remedies which had been suggested. Mr C. E. Baldwin: You've got Professor Tocker, and the other professors. Mr Broadfoot: Yes, and a good thing we have men like that. I am going to have something to say about the way men on your side have talked about them. Mr Baldwin started another interjection, but was promptly advised by several voices to "Shut-up." International Trade. Mr Broadfoot expressed his belief in some form of internationalism in trade. Since the Great War a spirit of nationalism had been developing, lie said. Hq held that it was not possible for any country to be altogether selfreliant. Countries were more or less dependent on one another, and whether nations liked it or not, they would have to scale down tariff walls and let international trade How, to get back to the prosperity of 1014. New Zealand had taken the wrong course in its industrial development by concentrating on secondary industries which hacl not flowed naturally from the great primary industries of the country, The speaker favoured the development of gold mining, an industry which he thought should never have been allowed to die. "No other country in the world has done as much or taxed its people so heavily as New Zealand to provide unemployment relief," was the speaker's answer to another interjection, but the barrage of shouts and, questions became so persistent that tho chairman had to ask for a fair chance for the speaker, a suggestion received,with shouts of agreement from many of the audience. The Labour Party. After some more interjections, which the speaker said he did not mind, he assailed the Labour party. Were there j two policies in the parly? he asked, Did the party give the people one policy and keep another up its sleeve? "Occasionally they tell you a little, but you are never told that the main objective of the Labour party is the socialisation of everything," he continued. There was a distinct cleavage in the thought of the Labour partymembers 011 whether socialisation was good. It was not good, the speaker asserted, and occasionally a member of the Labour party broke out and gave a picture of what could be expected "I confess that if the party had a new policy, a new leader, and new members in the House it miPht be a good party," he said. The first voice to be raised at qucstion time asked if the Government intended to raise the sales tax. Mr Broadfoot knew nothing of it. The answer to a question, was it fair to tax unemployed women and then not give them any benefit, was that xt was hard for legislation to provide for every case. Mr Broadfoot said he thought that the hardship clause could be exercised by any woman with a just grievance. There was no reason why an amendment to the legislation should not be introduced. ELECTION ADDRESSES The Acting-Prime Minister, the lit. Hon. J. G. Coates, will speak on behalf of the Coalition candidate for the Lyttelton electorate (Mr F. W. Freeman) at Akaroa to-morrow at 2 p.m., and at the Opawa IMethodist schoolroom at 8 o'clock. On Monday he will address meetings at the Sumner Town Hall at 2.30 p.m., and at the Masonic Hall at Cashmere at 8 o'clock. Mr Freeman and Mr W. A. Bodkin, M.P., will speak to-night at the Linwood avenue school, Mr W. J. Broadfoot, M.P., at the Heathcote Hall, and Mr A. E. Ansell, M.P., at the Sumner Town Hall. Each meeting will begin at 8 o'clock. To-morrow evening "at 3 o'clock Messrs Broadfoot and Bodkin will speak at the Oddfellows' Hall, Lyttelton, while Mr Freeman will be associated with Mr Coates at Opawa. Mr H. E. Holland, M.P., the Leader of the Opposition, will speak at the Cashmere school to-morrow evening, at Akaroa on Monday, and at Opawa on Tuesday. Each meeting will begin at 8 o'clock. Mrs McCombs will address a meeting at Little Akaloa at 2.30 this afternoon, and at Akaroa at 8 o'clock. To-morrow, at 2.30 p.m., she will speak at Mount Pleasant, and at 8 p.m. at the St. Martins church schoolroom.