STATE AS COMPETITOR.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 260, 3 November 1925, Page 9

STATE AS COMPETITOR.

BUT NOT AS MONOPOLISM LIBERALISM'S MIDDLE COURSE. A point upon which Liberalism in Xcv Sy i ustralia was made last even mg by Mr. Oakley Browne, Libera candidate for Auckland East, in address ">o a crowded meeting at thi Broadway Theatre, Newmarket. Mr Browne referred to the State working ii competition with private enterprise and not as a monopolist. "That," he declared, "is the onh , sound way. The Labour party in Nev ■sealand, that wants to monopolise pro auction, is just as conservative as Re form, that will take no part in it. Yoi j must have the two working side by sid« and then one will act as a check o"n the I other." h Mr. Oakley Browne strongly criticised ! "executive government/ and the promiscuous issuing of orders-in-council, which, he said, had been responsible for legislative measures that should never , have been placed upon the Statute Book Jof this country. He cited, as a n in- ; stance, a measure of judicial reform, passed while Sir Robert Stout was administrator, that transferred the power of juries in certain Supreme Court cases to the presiding judge. "We want to have true democratic government and not government by executive," he said with emphasis. Auckland East, continued Mr. Browne, would never - have returned a Labour candidate to Parliament had it not been for the failure of Liberalism to put a man in the field at the last election- He considered Labour had not been quite fair towards the Liberal party in recent and the present campaigns. Mr. Grigg had withdrawn his candidature for Eden to give the Labour candidate a better chance. Labour had not taken advantage of opportunities to do the same service for the Liberal party, but hat 3 actually put a candidate up for certait electorates to let a Reform candidal slip in on a split vote. Why v.-as Labour so silent aboui electoral Reform, he asked, and sug gested tli4t it was because they wen now of the Eame mind on the questior as the Reform party; they found il convenient for them to let a few of theii own members slip in on a minority vote During the meeting , , which wa: marked by frequent and good-humoured interjections that were effectively coun tered by the candidate, an attack was made upon Reform's issue of advertising propaganda, for which the Prime Mm ister disclaimed all responsibility and said it was the work of an advertising committee. Reform had attempted tc make much of loyalty and patriotism and appropriate all that to its own party. The meeting, over which Mr. S. Donaldson, Mayor of Newmarket, presided, concluded with cheers for the Liberal candidate. NON-TICKET HOLDERS. GATHER ON CIVIC SQUARE. "I had no meeting called for to-night, so I thought I would come along and iddress non-ticket holders," said Mr. J. Lee, Labour's candidate for Auckland East, at the Civic Square last evening. Here and there about the square were oiots of people listening to Prohibition idvocates, but their numbers were small :ompared to Mr. Lee's audience, which lumbered several hundreds. The candidate criticised the tactics ol :he Reform party, and he hit hard and jften, pointing out how the "wizards of finance" had, since 1913. increased the national debt by no less than £74.000,000. He challenged anyone to deny that the Reform party intended to leave the workers' wages alone and not reduce :hem, and their criticism of the Labour :and policy he described as deliberately misleading, and only in keeping with the tactics of Reform all through the campaign. "On the one hand Sir James Parr md other Reform members support the Bible in schools," said Mr. Lee, "and on the other they deliberately broadcast :al3ehoods about their opponents." The candidate dealt fully with Labour's and policy, and gave the lie direct to ;he statement made by opponents that f Labour won the day they would take he home away from the worker. "Any:hing more absurd it would bo difficult ;o imagine, and Sir James Parr knows t. ? ' said Mr. Lee. His address was mnotuated by frequent applause. LABOUR IN WAITEMATA. ADDRESSES BY MR. OSBORNE. Two addresses were given last evening >y Mr. A. G. Osborne, Labour candidate or Waitemata. Votes of confidence in lira and the Labour party were carried, lie first, at the Foresters' Hall. Birkenie ad, was presided over by Mr. Robt. )arlow. . The Northcote meeting, held in the 'arish Hall, which was well filled, was iresided over by the Mayor, Mr. C A. )euxberry. The Labour party, said Mr. Osborne, tood first and foremost for the upliftn<* of the masses of the people, giving hem decent housing conditions and proection against sickness and unemployient. The legislation of the Government iad a decided tendency to benefit one ection only ef the community—and not he section Labour was out to benefit, "he friends of Reform were the wealthy nancial institutions and large land wners The workers were not receiving , fair share of the wealth. The word worker" was wide enough to embrace II the useful members of the comHinity. including professors of univerities, "doctors, and ministers of religion. Mr. OsboFne referred at some length o* the "usehold" land policy, detailing is challenge in respect to mis-state-lents that confiscation of homes by .abour was intended. He jocularly exressed the expectation that his esteemed teform friend fFom Grey Lynn would aye been on the Northcote plattorm hat evening. He and practically all the ther Labour candidates had their own omes. and it was sheer insanity to sugest they were going to advocate connsation of people's homes. People could ell their homes to whom they liked nder the Labour policy, but a State Yansfer Department would be set up, ,-ith the object of 3avin<z many thouands sterling to the people. DEATH OF MRS. DICKSON. \t the commencement of his Ellerslie wking last night, Mr. W. J. Jordan, 1.P., made reference to the loss m» •arliamentary colleague, Mr. DiCkson, nd family had sustained by the death •f Mrs. 'Dickson, expressing his sinerest sympathy with the bereaved imily.