THE LIBERAL PARTY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLIV, Issue 10134, 11 June 1924, Page 6

THE LIBERAL PARTY.

ASHBURTON ADDRESSES.

IDEALS OF LIBERALISM.

A MOTION OF CONFIDENCE

The position of the New Zealand Liberal* arty in politics was elucidated to a meagre audience m the iheatis Roval, Ashburton, last night. Iheie wei not more tnan 100 people present. The speakers were Messrs G. W. Forbes member for Hurunui and J. 1 Macpherson, member for Oamaiu The Mayor (Mr R. Galbraith) pie- ■ sided and expressed disappointment at the smallness of the attendance OnceSpon a time the Liberal meeting in Ashburton were always well attend ed, but perhaps the attendance that niiht was probably affected by «w S weather 1 ; and perhaps it might be thit the interest had not yet ocen worked up" He welcomed the visiting members to Ashburton. vvas for theiameron* for such was who settled nn the Cheviot Estate, winch had Sised so much controversy when the Son Government cut it up, a policy which"wi followed by it .to the beneh nf the entire country. The Hope oi the future he said, lay, along the g&SSW- . of a large section o the pi ess L-ber alism still Nourished Ten eal^ ° PP ° Si IT thereof 3st to make S& attcSTthat heat of a campaign It -J^^g^-. ty the foundation principle of hteral shall have an advantage o individual or section. There equality of opportunity i of the community must be pi fore *e interests of a community. lhat; ww> Re form ■ Strand its legislation was miggr Where the Liberal Party differed from the Labour Party was that the attei stood for the interests of one class ot the community, whereas the former stood for the interests of ajL sections Tt was no more right to treat tne ih-u San un Sstly than it was to-treat he worker likewise. The speakei scoutea Si claims of the Labour PartyJfcat this country would be better off undei a socialist lystem. That party was out for State ownership or control of all the essential industries. claimed that production and effieiencj under such a condition would suffer. He instanced the Government railways from which men, despite the fact that they might be in the prime of thenlives, must go out after 40 years' service This meant that sucli men were costincr the country superannuation as < well as the wages of the incoming men. Promotion in the railway service by seniority was the line of least resistance; promotion should be by merit. Mr Forbes contended that Labour s claims that socialism was the remedy for unrest and discontent was a fallacy. Under the Liberal policy the dominant thing was the welfare of all. sections that made up a State, and ho claimed that its legislation, when the party was in power, was of the fairest and most beneficial order. No country, he said, had yet proved that Staterun enterprises had proved the best; but on the other hand it had been amply demonstrated that the system made for waste and inefficiency. Liberalism allowed the individual the fullest liberty so long as he caused no hardship to his fellow man. Many people were asking why the Liberal Party did not join up. with the Massev Party. His answer was that if the partv joined up with that which stood for the vested interests it would be false to the traditions oi Liberalism. The Liberal Party was . out to see fair play for every section. ; People were also advocating two | parties only. In every country in the Empire to-day there were at least three parties, although he believed "that there should only be a Government Party and an Opposition. A two-party system in New Zealand under present . circumstances appeared impossible. He condemned the "first past the post" system of voting, stating that members and parties obtained office and power when actually the majority of the electors voted against them. The proportional representation system of polling was the fairest, especially when there was a three-party field. Mr Massey's proposal to have the proportional representation system in the towns and preferential voting in the country was neither one thing nor the other. was designed as a safety increase for the Reformers. The speaker advocated increased facilities for industries and production. Mr Forbes also dealt with the question of unemployment. He concluded by stating that the Reform Government was impossible because it represented only vested interests, while the Labour Party's idea that Socialism was the cure for all ills and evils was equally impossible and absurb. New Zealand at one time led the world in progressive legislation, and the world was to-day again looking for a lead. He predicted that the Liberal Party would in the. near future be in a position to take the initiative. Mr Macpherson's Speech.

Mr Macpherson 6aid it was impoitant at this juncture for the people to educate itself on the principles of Liberalism. The public Press and many public men stated the Liberal Party had not the brains to carry on the government of the country. He asked the people to cast their minds back to 33 years ago, when there was a great rally of Liberal sentiment. Liberals were returned in great numbers, which included a plain miner, Richard Seddon, .John McKenzie, Hall-Jones, Duncan, and others—men who had given this country some of the finest legislation in the world. These men made no claims to distinguished genealogical trees, but they were gentlemen all, humanitarians, and men with brains. The Reform Party believed that it had a monopoly of brains and good manners. Mr Macpherson went on to say that the Conservative Press was boasting that the Reform Party had many fine pieces of legislation in its possession. He declared, however, with some heat that all the progressive pieces of legislation were taken from the Liberals.

Recalling the interesting by-election in which he was interested, Mi- Macpherson said that Ministers, the Premier included, had visited the electorate and interfered in the campaign. He himself preferred to fight his battle unaided, and he would do so in the future, even if the Premier were a Liberal Minister. He went on to combat the criticism levelled at Liberals' land administrators. The land policy of the Liberal Government made New Zealand, notwithstanding some mistakes that were made. And the present Government was claiming that it alone had achieved everything that was of a beneficial nature. Mr Macpherson took the Government to task for haying purchased land at high prices and placed upon them returned soldiers who had not a chance of making a decent living. Moreover the Reform Government had paid high prices for land, which was still lying idle and was costing the country huge sums in interest. No man could say the Liberals' land poli icy had cost the country anything; it had, as a matter of fact, put money into the pockets of the settlers. The same could not be said of the Government's policy. It was to be regretted that the Government had not had the initiative to accept the offer of cheap money from the Imperial Government for the purpose of opening up new lands. The Government had no policy and never would have. Every time it got into a tight corner it set up a Royal Commission, of which there had been many. Was that not an admission of barrenness so far as initiative and policy were concerned ? There was rarely, if ever, any result from the Royal Commissions. Mr Massey was not allowed fo act on reports, being bound more or less by vested interests. The Massey Government was a one-man government and Mr Massey dominated all his party. He criticised the Government's class legislation, giving particular instances of anomalies regarding income tax payments. Mr Macpherson said he wanted the people to realise their sense of duty to themselves and their country, and he believed the day was not far distant when the Dominion would have a Government that would give fair treatment for all sections and class legislation would be unknown. The day of education and science was with us and we must live up to the age. What was good enough for our grandfathers was no good to-day. It was essential that there should be a Liberal Government whose motto would be special privileges for none and absolute security and equality for all. Motion of Confidence. At the conclusion of the addresses, Mr H. M. Jones moved: "That this meeting thanks the speakers for their very interesting addresses and desires to express its confidence in the Liberal Party and its leader, Mr T. M. Wili'crd; and hopes to see New Zealand once more under the Liberal flag." The motion was seconded by Mr Joseph Watson and carried by acclamation.