THE ENEN ELECTORATE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 246, 14 October 1908, Page 9

THE ENEN ELECTORATE.

gjEGH-BY m. SHACKELFORD. ■ % GOVEK-OIENT VIEWS. 1 i TtelUt-tend-d meeting of electors of I- -Eta. electorate was addressed last &r_Ttfc_ Boskiil Hall, by Mr. J. W. gSelioTd. the Government candidate. _T_" M_C_isholm occupied the chair. % a*, coarse of his speech, Mr. mentioned that he bad been r72__J_d f° r abora 3S ?ears ' and dSlr " __T____ time had not devoted all his and pleasure, but had SL part in qnestions of public interin his position as a tithe Grey 1. a Borough Coun- I T\_l as mayor of that important _____ He bad been concerned closely jmSth-tt time with matters relating _!_____. jaoials. convenience, and the In fact he had had fSae experience of nearly every subL* wh-h came before public men, and £ been personally interested in the jbieing of the Dominion of which he Lljjwjs been proud to be citizen. Bad always been I-bc-sl and tad be had always been free Lms critj-is-n; but no matter how in-fe__de_*a-_--n D __gbt be he would, have Eggs ia one parti-niar direcS-on. He __ asked why be came out- as a _3__i(-hte. and not as an iafamtet Bat there was one man, _£_■ ever knew bow to deal with | i __% was tha miSv__r-__l who came flrf. and t**»s not sure oi the side oi the I jfoae on ■which he -__t-ted to be. He | yns not that sort of person, and held i Jajded a__3 definite views. He was a gmporter of the present Administration ia their general policy, and had the honj_r of being accorded the support of the Savers——X In the Old Country there *as a literal and a Conservative party, jad the Hue was well and clearly d-fined-Se d-d* not believe in the idea of a half]_jv -tonse, which appeared to eoirunend jjself to fC-Be. I-gitimate criticism- and s_._____.___ was right and proper, but _ey could go so far in this way that ggy __i__l not know ■where they stood. AND OPPOSITION. 33ie Opposition to-day was aiming at Se Gov-isn-ent benches, but they should jej the people what they proposed to I 2____ phice of the present Government. J ___ Leader of the Opposition, speaking j | jt &___e_S-On North on September 20, _£n___eij the policy of the Opposition, j PasonaHy he had wondered, and I _a__>__ss others bad' donu so, p joe, as to what that . policy _a2y traa. Accordin_ to the platform j aid'dasn by Mr. Massey, it was one __j__ ___d heen closely foEo_=ed by the ] Sorennnent ior the last few years. He ! iTOH____d nbat Mr. Maasey and his party j Sad-one to show their sympathy with _________ of the people, and that was j __ section which should have the con- j __._at.on of any administration. He h_dt__i legislation should be carried out i by a strong party which was prepared to so right, and stand to what was for the goanal well-being of the people. Those lira had followed Parliament of late troold have seen criticism levelled? against Se Go._____sent by members of their own JS__s- Who had stopped the payment cf -_nj___a____i ;-to Mr. Meikie" and j abetted tne progress of the Education j BIB.? In hciji cases it was a Government I -Bjjporfer. They heard a lot of talk of ! tie rush at the end of the session, but not se -_nc-L of the voiinne of talk | it tie eominencement which did nothing Boie than fill the pages of Hansard. He thought they would all agree with _nn f_ai every Libera] measure of -_hk _ &ey were justly proud had been placed on ife Statu... Book under the protest •nd in tie face of the direct opposition of isosewiiocriticised the actions of the Ad"BHEstratian of the day. List year, when Sic Id___ and Income Assessment Ac* *_rs iatrodneed. Mr. Massey had a great -ed to say against it. and character, ed Gas"-3 as **a si_sle tax measure."' Pe-r----i—iUy, he was not a single taxer. but ais__t had his most hearty sympathy. urSer on, hewever. found that in 3E_e of their adverse criticism, ilr. Massey and the whole of his went ato the lobby a__d voted for the bin. Was ffis tie scat of the Opposition that Teald do the country good? He believed flat on the Government bett'.-hes they bad the besr Ministry that had -occupi-d *5-__ seats for the last 30 years. The •sta there were actuated by an hone*! *ia_- to do all they could "for the cause d—t needs assistance, and the v.rocs' Sat needs resistance." i Applause, i TAXATION. When considering the question of _">&__ the matter of taxation must be ™b__a±ed. The principle of good Goto his mind, was that the bur°si of taxation should be placed on the ™*fers of those best ____ _o bear it. Hat _as the pewk-y of the present GoTer ?ffie__, carried out through the zso of direct and indirect taxation. «gs of them could look back to the sate of things before the present party ?anen__o power. They had then neither nor land tax—only proper-tv tax. -aa those who rem_mber-d it 'would -«-* the hardrhips it occasioned. To- <&? the taxation of land was on uni .- ?n_-dvalue only, and the result ___; that : *.n__i could build a house and improve with the assurance that he •^Maat be penalised ior so doing. _____ £*fs measure increased the land tax ' -/-v-lf 7 weah;il :r owners—a step in the . y* toection. The effect was _o make -fflan use his land or let it go to a man «. would use it. (Applause.) TARIFF QUESTION. _«c tariff was an important ques-.'on. were two principles involved in the -ariff—revenue raising and pro£?f purposes. He believed in a modi"?K«n- ot protection. He believed in t-uu enabled the fostering of oT?* 1 k-PfdaX-se.} That *rould give 2 ■*» chance of making not mere-iv S^ 81 ™*' bat a V >™? *-a*_e. and to oi the pJeasures of" life. Not __ .__. - losten ag of monoooiist--, but ! ;- e-rnr was remitted from what :___^ 3^'.° c *=raK_d the n_c_____r_es of j 2 , *T_____ Sa ° 31 oi dttt ?' amounting in' -■£&=*«*•<»■ Taxation so far as tarlff -"- d tariff on luxuries I increased to tbe extent of' teavmg a direct r_m_6s_n of ot the working _____ and his ; there were still ___ v thimrs ie -Wf^S 15 to_da y whi <* should «-.__-__!__; S ° •* to reiieve t'be famav ; For relieving the Ottjrarfcer meant the encour--SSL? ■-*"__ g eo ? le w *o took upon ! !**_______ * ar " ien °f iife, which some Bat *-_«■»«•. keen to j t___£&r rr* * *bie to get their com- ! ■g aad fair figure.

. XAND AND LABOUR PROBLEMS. There were two burning questions which had long given trouble to political economists- — the land and hibour questions—both had much to do with the prospeiitv and welfare of any country" Land was undoubtedly a primary incident to wealth on the one hand, as labour was an incident to gather that wealth: and if they had a labour system they must have land laws. What was the old system? '• Voice: "Better than now." ■ That one had better read a little • and discover what it was like 17 years • ago. (Applause.) Voice: -*How about house rent?" "Buy a house."' (Laughter.) - Seventeen years ago the land was - locked up all over the colony. Men were ' leaving the colony because there was no work for them, while big areas of land ready for farming were locked up in the hands of a few men. while large numbers were going about looking for land with ■ no opportunity of getting it; and the workers of the colony flocked to the ' ether side because they could not get : work. The result was depression on all hands. But when the old party went out a new state of affairs came in. and j land which was locked up was thrown open, men flocked to take it up. and an increasingly prosperous state of affairs had followed and continued to the present day. (Voice: The natives were not landlords in those days.) He was a landlord then as he was to-day. and would continue to be for many" years, because he will for long occupy some of 'the land of New Zealand. (Applause.) .' He ventured to say that the proportion jof the population oi New Zealand that ■ j wtre owners of land was greater than in | a_y other civilized country in the world. I (Applause.i He believed in the prin- | ciple of the freehold, but he believed also in the principle that enabled a man to get on the land, and the leasehold bad given this to 23.000, who could not otherwise have got on the land an opportunity to do so. Yet, in spite of all this, from a population of nearly a million i_.,_.000 own a piece of land—less than ">ne in every eight men, women and children in the Dominion —so much for the facilities which were now given to acquire land. (Voice: How about mortgages.) Because the one who spoke hid a mortgage it did not follow that everyone else had. (Laughter and applause.) And what had the present administration done in giving settlers financial assistance? In the old days they i h_-d to pay eight and ten per cent for their borrowed money, whereas to-day j they could get it for less than half of j that. The people had need to be thankful to a Government that had helped | them in the way it had. (Loud ap- . piause.) The labour question was a serious one to deal with., but he said unhesitatingly ; that had it not been for the administration of the past 17 years the" lot of the , worker in New Zealand to-day would ! not have been anything like as j satisfactory as it was. Seventeen years ago no Factory Act j was in fcrree, and whart was the reI suit? Boys and giris went into facI tories and got nothing at all. And bej fore the Truck Act came into force men were often' compelled to purc-ha-c from their employers at whatever price they liked to charge. Shop hours were at the will of the shopkeepers, and the shops were open day and night, there was no half-holiday, and an attempt to organise 1 one had soon broken dow, but to-day jit was a great boon. Some people j contended that ii was better to leave 1 -working arrangements to the fair- j l n.ir-dedness oi the employers and by I j mutual arrangement. Was ever anyl thing done for the betterment of the : | people by mutual arrangement? (Applause.) Taey had to thank the Gor- . i e.T.ment for stepping in and regulating i . the hours worked, the wages paid and : the holidays granted to employees. They , were frequently told that the Arbitra- ! tion Act nan m . n a failure, but everyone ■ J honestly picturing the condition of affairs previous to its introduction, would have 10 admit that the measure had not ■ I been an unmixed ill. Legislation ___* not needed for the fair minded and just - I man, but it was necessary for the man i ! ".ho would be a sweater and a nigger- ! driver. (Applause.) Was the feeling t j between employer and employee better • I wh. n strikes and lock-outs were comi mon ? He believed that Mr. Millar had • j mnde a bold and honest attempt to ■ j settle this much vexed question in the ■ ! interests of employer and employee j throughout the wholp of the Dominion. ' Some said that the Arbitration Act had I increased the cost of living—(hear. •', hear) —but how T_*__b of this had been ; j due to the action of trusts and combines ? EDUCATION. j The present legislation affecting edu- : cation was very liberal, and they were : j justly proud of it. He was in favour of some additional scheme of scholar- . j ships by means of which the country . ! would obtain tbe benefit of tbe bright- . I est intellects of all classes. The amend- . j nient of the Art passed this year had , l been declared by educationalists to be j one of the best yet put on the Statute , | Book, and they sbc_«_ be proud oi it, • I and oi the man who had brought it for- . ] ward. NATIVE LAND. • ; The rnu<-_. vexed question regarding ' | native lands was in a fair way to being [settled in a manner which would be rea- ■ I sonable a. i satisfactory to the Euro- ■ jpeans and fair to the natives. The Gov- | eminent had wisely checked the promis- ■ \ cuous sale of native lands, and in the - j work of the Commission he thought ' | they would have a satisfactory settle- : ment of this much vexed question. I_3__ LTCU-NSING QUESTION. His position with respect to the licensing question needed little definition. He had always supported the three-fifths : majority as a matter of principle, but -as a democrat he believed in the bare majority on fvery question \vh ; ch was submitted to the people. In reply to a query as lo the Second Ballot Act. he said that this measure was in the ri<rht direction. There should be majority representation. ' and the only way to do it was by a sec- ' ond choice at a second ballot. G ■.!"[_._ AND LOTTITHIES ACT. He considered that an honest attempt had been made to cope with the gambling ' curse in New Zealand, aad much had been done that bad brought about an im- . mense improvement in this direction— . bad no more been done _h_T_ the suppression of the ga-slight sports tbe gt>od to New Zealand was inestimable. (Applause.) : OLD AGE PENSIONS. i When tbe Act for old age pensions was i first put on. the Opposition declared we I would become the laughing stock of the whole world, aud now England herself : was taking a leaf out of the lesson book of her baby, and was about to institute pensions, the credit of __ti._. New Zea- . land could take *_ith jost pride. (__p-pla-use-J.

-r ■ — — RAILWAYS. Coming to the question of railways, they were taki thai- _Sew Zealand, had some 2460 nrfles open, of which the South Island has got * 1500 odd to the 900 odd in the -Vorth. The Southerner- could clearly teach us a lesson every time, for w±dle our representatives spent their time in futile fighting, the- Southerner got the money. The disproportion in the mileage would be lessened, however, for the Main Trunk line and the Manawatu line would reduce the disadvantage of the North considerably. Mr Vaile, who was an authority on railways- declared that during the Las. 16 years almost as much money had been spent on railway construction in the North as in the South. But there was room for a lot of improvement in the working of the lines — especially as regarded the suburban sections. Some of them travelled ou suburban lines, and knew. (Voice: Avondale.) Yes, the interrupter would ..ttainly get there in time. Let them look at the Henderson line: it was atout the worst in the Dominion. (Hear, hear.) It seemed as though the engineer or surveyor had tried to make it as serpentine as the circumstances would permit, and he had achieved _ wonderful success. 'Laughter and applause. I And what did it mean? They were laid under an additional burden of disadvantage throughout the Eden electorate. And it meant that the line also was much les. productive than it should be, for it was practically tied up. spr-insr neither Government interest Tier 'he int.-."." 3 if -V district. .And to _d-_ to the diffii-ilties of the suburban residents in trym_ for accelerated and cheaper train services was dep:!rt_onr.T.l red tnp-ism. A little improvement, however, was effected when the Government were approached. Whilst standing in support of the Government he did not stand jn sUDport of a government which w_s perfect; but it would become So when they placed him in it. (Laughter and applause.) Referring tn the work done by the Hon. G. Fowlds. the speaker spoke of him as one who had worked loyally for the district, in spite, as some people would have it, of being spoilt by being burdened with a portfolio. (Loud applause.) And they, the electors, -wanted someone else tn represent them who would do his utmost to ?_t improvements for the district, and especially in the matter of railway services and fares. What the district wanted was not only workers' trams, but a service that would enable the parents of boys and girls in the suburbs to give their children all the advantages of technical and other education that was enjoyed by young people in the town. Let every facility be (riven to enable their youth i to crowd all the education they could into their life. iLoud applause.) NATURAL f_E_>OCROD. I One often heard of the roa_.'ess yorth. but there were tracts in their _wn electorate that would shame mum of the ; North for roadlessness and mud. Eden did not stop at Dominion-road, but its confines extended to beyond Swajrson. : and just this side of Hobsonville. and ' included many places that were known barely in name to his hearers. And , they had not made the best of their I heritage, as had been done in the South. Some of the finest kauri trees in New Zealand were in Eden County, which j held bush in lavish beauty, which they would delight to feast their eyes upon, i (Voice: Plenty of good ti-tree'i "Yes: j some of you can't get your eyes off titree."' The candidate went on to say i that people were debarred from visiting ! the scenic beauty spots abounding in ' the electorate, because of want of bppor- j timities to reach them —and, similarly, I vast wealth lay buried in and cm the ' hills, because of the impassable n?.hire ] of the roads, and. because nothing was urged, nothing was done to improve mat-' ters by Government. County Conncil. or City Council. And it was in the inter- j ests of the country and the interests of the City of Anckland that the scenic and natural wealth at their doors should j be availed of and conserved. They. the electors, were the custodians of this wealth, hut. unless they roused the people in Wellington to action, nothing would be done, as nothing was known of it. They wanted a man to represent them who would ever keep their interests before the country —and he could assure them that if they returned him they would have such a man. He went on to say. with respect to the Advances to Workers Act that it was a step in the right direction when a man could acquire an allotment, and obtain an advance from the Government in order to commence building. Then, as to the improved status of local bodies under the Local Government Act. they could all remember the time when a man of wealth could build any kind of house in the poorer quarters, and there was nothing to back up the Council's bylaws. They had seen the condemned houses removed from tbe city, and reerected in the suburbs, wbpre there was nothing to stop the practice. That was all changed now by the action of the Government. DEFENCE. •He believed that a country was best prepared for peace when some provision was made for defence, and the young men should be trained not only to drill, but to shoot and ride and be ready to go out in defence, of their country. He favoured the establishment of miniature rifle ranges, and would like to see young men comp-Ht-d to qualify for th? defence of their country up to the Vige of 21 years. PUBLIC DEBT. The increase in the public <lei»t was frequently referred to. but they had against this the assets oi the various public works in the construction of which the money was expended. During the present Administration they were told that 27 millions had been borrowed, but of this IS millions was Interest-bearing, and about nine millions was spent on roads and public works of various descriptions, including some railways, which were not paying any returns. So long as they had these assets there was no need for apprehension, when the Government was carried on along carefully straightlorwaru 'but economical lines. NT_W ZEALAND'S PROGRESS. As far as statistical evidence of progress was concerned- he mentioned that in 1837 the population of New Zealand was 729,000, and in 1906 it was 906,000. In 1897-_i the land tax .paid ai_____a_ed to ___..,000, and in 1906-7 to £447,000. The income tax in 18S7-98 was £115.000, and in 1906-7 it had reached £277. 00. The land tax in 1537-SS was paid by 13,000 people, and in 1906-7 by 27,000; and during the same period the in_n___r paying income tax rose from 45SS -to .hO. The country could not but be prosperous in the face oi these figures. Our imports in ISO 7-93 were £7,000,000. and our exports £9.000,000-, but in 1906-7 the figures had risen to £15,000,000 and £15,0C0,000 respectively. As far as the decreased price of wool was concerned, the demand for woollen goods was no smaller; the yield wa_ less, bat the price had gone down.- He could only say that this was but a temporary depression, which would soon be s_-i rffij-

t ; ; — y rrrrt Continuing, the cam-date aaSi the q—ea- ■'. . tion for the ejectors __s, wbere they , ________ with the present ad__i_ustri.tion. . i —or did they want to go back to Ctani servsptism, which had practically nothing [ to offer Them but monopolies.. And. even ■ now Conservatives were h-coming tinged • ever more and more with Liberalism. - And they did not want a system by which they would have Liberalism ia the Lower House and Conservatism in the Upper House. Tbey might rather have . a system by which the Upper House- was - .l-ofced by the Lower House. The Opposition bad nothing to offer in spite of . their repeated pronouncements. And he i asked them, therefore, in confidence, to . choose a representative who was _a . favour of a general policy in accordance . with a party that represented the pulse . of tbe people and their common interests. (Applause.) VOTE OF THANKS. Mr E. H. Potter moved a. vote of thanks ' to the candidate, and remarked thai the 1 conHdence of the electors could 'be beet ' displayed at the polling booths. The motion was seconded aad carried men)- con., the customary vote of thinks ' to the chair concluding the meeting.