POLITICAL SPEECH.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 248, 19 October 1922, Page 12

POLITICAL SPEECH.

"Ml-> MELVILLE'S OPEXTXG. In fUc course of her opening speech in the Roskill campaign, dpliwred in the Empire .Theatre. Dominion Road, on Tuesday evening. Miss Melville said tliat at, the last general eloction the -n.-iF the Reform candidate for prvy Lynn. I'ntil recently she thought she would again 'be the candidate. but after hearing "whisperings" had found that tlie gentlemen of the party hnd experiem-ed a change ot heart. Th.-y told ltcr they were supporting a gentleman who was one of her opponents la=t year in support of the Liberal rnndidat.-. sh,. a-ked fur a reason for lieing dropped, but they advanced none, and denied that it was because they did not want a woman in Parliament. During the last three years there were many vomeii who had looked forwar.l In putting women in I'arliflmeni this year. She, therefore, asked the (fi-nllemen of the Reform party whether ihey knew there was a woman , ' movemen i,, the world. They did not appear to know; anyhow, they dill i'"t in to think it mattered. llowevi-r. a meeting .if women was '•"lied in the city — a meeting of "omen genuinely interested in the welfare and business of the country—and this meeting almost unanimously voted l«i ->sk her to -tand f'>r Tliiu. wan why she was before them that night. The gentlemen who arranged the uft'ftirs of the Reform party were evidently quite out of touch with the trend of world affairs. There was a wave of advancement in the women's movement all over the world, and they could no more stop it than Old King Canute could stay the waves rolling upon the shore. .-■■ lie had 1-ecii reading the dHmtc in tlie 1 I'pei' House on tin- hill to enable women justice* to Ijv appointed, ujid i.»v that 11 member of the Reform party—and a representative of Auckland, she was sorry lo say—had said that the woman of to-day who was the mother of children wanted one thing anil one thing alone, and that was the betterment of her own surroundings, her own family, her home nnd her friends. If that was »ot a libel on women she did not know what wis. (Applause.) T( was a| statement of utter selfishness. When a ihing like that was said in tlie. I'ppcr House, one did not feel proud of their Ipper House. i Applau.-e.)

■"■he did not ask for n sympathy vote because she was a woman —a candidate should be elected to Parliament because uf his* or her practical suitability. She had served nine and a-hali" year* on the City Council, where she had gained much valued experience of public, life, and had gained much knowledge of life and business as a member of the legal profession.

Xow as to party politics: She belonged still to the Reform party, though thatparty did not- seem to think so— or at leaot some of the gentlemen controlling its affairs in Auckland ilid not. She had beea told ehe had been badly treated, and should stand an au Independent and throw the Reform party over. She did believe that she had been 'badly treated, but that was no reason why -she should change her politics and to be a supporter of the Reform party. If elected she "would support tho Government in a want of confidence motion, but on other questions would vote as she thought fit without slavish adherenve to party.

First in importance in Government at this period, the cajididate considered, was the matter of education. They had spent very much more money on education during theTaHTe'vr"years.-in 1014 the .education expenditure was £1,300,000. For 1921 the amount "'.is £3.250,000, but much of the increase was spent on new schools. This showed the Government appreciated the benefits of education, and this should appeal to everyone in the Dominion. Despite financial stringency, *h e thought that the Government should help solve the housing problem. The Government had huilt 297 houses last year, hut this was a.ll over the Dominion, and the effect could not l)e greatly noticed anywhere. She thought the Government, rather than 'build itself, should lend money to persons to build. There was no doubt that the restrictions on rent prevented speculative building, and so led to the housing shortage, foT the people would sooner pay high rents than have no 'house at all, or live in rooms, -which was bad for children and the family life irenerillly. Another important matter was hydro-electricity, and the people of Auckland should insist on the pushing forward uf the Arapuni scheme. She believed in the freehold system of land tenure, with safeguards against aggregation. Hut her than resuming expensive laud for soldier settlement, the Government should have opened unimproved land and paid the men to road und clear it and bring it into production.

Tn regard to industry. Miss Melville -aid th:«t a* far as possible we should avoid sending so much of our raw material* away, and try and make more of the goods we needed ourselves.

"T want to say I am a prohibitionist nnd I always have been. I <lo not believe in State control, and 1 believe the liquor evils would increase under Suite control.' , (Applause.)

There was the question of social reform, to which the Government, did not give sufficient attention. The candidate advocated a Child's Welfare Department. The whole question of dental an.i medical treatment fnr children nnd of neglected children and child offenders against the law should bp under this department. The ( hildren's Court should bp removed ripht away frnm the ordinary Court* to separate buildings. The wnmpn patrols had been abolished on the soore of expense, despite the excellent ■work thpy had donp. They should insist on a properly established force nf women police and a woman censor for the films. The candidate was accorded a hearty vote of thanks and confidence.