MANUKAU ELECTORATE.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 281, 26 November 1919, Page 9

MANUKAU ELECTORATE.

•MR. MASON AT OTAHTJHU. The official Labour candidate for Manukau (Mr. H. G. R. Mason) addressed his second meeting at Otahuhu last evening , . Owing to the unavoidable absence of the Mayor, the chair was taken by one of the candidate's committee. There was a good attendance, and Mr. Mason received a good hearing , . He spoke on similar lines to the address delivered previously, except that he dealt more exhaustively with th_ main planks of his platform. He repudiated the cry that the Labour party was composed of extremists. Dealing with the method by which the Labour candidates are selected, which he declared wae democratic, he stated that the other two parties were conservative and reactionary. He spoke at some length on the system of proportional representation, the initiative, the referendum, and recall. He touched on the disabilities of women electors, and the Civil eervants, and the political restrictions imposed upon the latter. Hej favoured the preservation of the national] endowments, and declared that the tenure j of the land should be favourable to the occupiers and users. Dealicg , with the cost of living, the candidate stated that he favoured State control of shipping, and the establishment of a State bank. At the conclusion of his address, Mr. Mason answered several questions, and wae accorded a vote of thanks and confidence. Mr. Major addressed last evening , one of the best attended meetings that had been held at Howick, Mr. Gill occupying the chair. The candidate received an appreciative and attentive hearing, practically the whole of his remarks being punctuated by marks of approval by the majority of thosep resent. A number of questions wer asked Mr. Major, all of which he answered in a very direct and straightforward mariner.

LABOUR AND ITS IDEALS. ANSWERING PERSONAIJTIES. WHAT HE DID IN THE WAR. In his speech at the Alexandra Hall, Greenlane, last night, Mr. T. Bloodworth made a vigorous reply to some of the criticisms levelled at the leaders of the Labour party in general, and at himself in particular, his reply in chief being to his Reform opponent, Mr. J. S. DicksonHe claimed to stand for those great principles of democracy of which the exponents in the past were Grey, Ballance, and Seddon. In their time the ideals of the Labour were practically carried out, but liberalism had- since then gradually merged into the Toryism of their opponents and become subverted. Mr. Dickson had asked why he did not stand out in his true colours. Well, he was sailing to-day under the same colours as those he had sailed' under since he entered public life, and he would continue to sail tinder them. (Applause.) He -was reared a Radical, and taught to revere the name of Gladstone, and he always had been a Radical. He had never changed his coat; not that he blamed psople who changed their mind, because the man who. never changed his mind often had no mind to change. (Applause and laughter.)..

As to his personal record, he had, he said, been a resident of Parnell for the past ten years. He had often expressed unpopular opinions', but he could not help that. When the war started he held a responsible position in the ranks of organised Labour. Had he seen fit to say and do all the things the Reform and Liberal papers desired him to say he would have had all the nice things said about him now that were being said about Mr. Veitch, of Wanganui. Although he did not pretend to hold popular views, he meant to try and help make his views popular views. Voice: What did you do to win the warf ' .■-

Mr. Bloodworth: I will come to that. He went on to refer to hie public work on various bodies,' contending that his record as fourth in the City Council election vote was one that Mr. Dickeon would have been proud to have himself. (Applause.)

■Coming to the question 'What have I done to win the war,' quite a lot of people want to know that," remarked Mr. Bloodworth, who went ..irs to say that apparently Mr. Dickson's, chief service towards winning the war was" takin" charge of the Kaipara electorate during Mr. Coatee' absence at the iwar, which was a bad thing for Kaipara. (Laughter.) Personally, he had not gone to the war, though he made bold to say as many of his relatives had gone to the front as Mr. Diekson's. He offered no excuse for not going himself. He held a responsible position in the ranks of organised Labour, and he stood by that position. When the newspapers asked what the Labour leaders did to win the war, let them look at the situation with unbiased mind and then recognise that this country was freer fronv industrial disputes during the war than any other country, in spite of the fact that at times the Government seemed to bo determined to bring about industrial strife. In reference to Mr. Dickson's remark about a certain telegram respecting the Labour party and the peace celebrations, if it were true he exercised so much power over organised Labour as Mr. Dickson suggested by quoting that telegram, then lie 'TSust have had considerable power over organised labour during the war. He did; not claim to have held such power, but Mr. Dickson had suggested it. He contended, however, that a large share of credit -should be given the Labour leaders for the freedom of New Zealand from industrial strife during the war. The men of the union to which he belonged, who went to the war, and they numbered over a thousand, expressly desired him to stay behind and help to check exploitation. He stayed and helped by every possible meane towards the good conduct and smooth running of industry. That was what he did to help win the war, and that was what the much-abused Labour leaders had done. He may have made mistakes—more mistakes than Mr. Dickeon—but that was because he had attempted to do something. (Applause and laughter.) And as he had'done his best to help win the war, so he was prepared to use all his energies and ability to bring about industrial reconstruction in winning the peace.

Voice: Dick Seddon was an Imperialist, and do you think he would have associated himself with some of the Labour leaders, whose sentiments were so freely expressed in the later days of the war? (Applause.)

Mr. Bloodworth replied that he did not know Mr. Seddon was an Imperialist, nor what his attitude would have been towards certain members of the Labour party, but he contended that were Mr. Seddon alive to-day he would be compelled to support the platform of the Labour party. (Applause.) ..„„-....