MISREPRESENTED.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 269, 13 November 1928, Page 8

MISREPRESENTED.

UNITED LEADER'S PLAN.

MR. KELLS MASON EXPLAINS.

MISLEADING THE ELECTORS.

That Sir Joseph Ward's advances to settlers scheme had been misrepresented was the complaint of Mr. Kells Mason, United candidate for Manukau, in a speech at Penrose last night. He drew attention to the fact that the "Herald" had stated in its leading columns.that the United leader was prepared to lend £60,000,000, and would be satisfied to get £19,500,000 back. The "Herald" , knew quite well that under the advances to settlers system the whole of the money lent to farmers was repaid by instalments over a term of years, principal as well as interest.

By the end of the period for which Sir Joseph Ward's loan would run, the whole of the money lent to farmers and settlers would have been repaid to the Government, for the Advances to Settlers Department rightly boasts that it never loses money on its loans. In 32J years' time the New Zealand Government would have in hand the surplus derived from lending the money raised at Home at about 1 per cent more thaii the rate at which the loan was raised, but it would also have .received back in the interval the whole of the money advanced and available for expenditure on administrative purposes, or to help in the liquidation of the national debt. Mr. Mason went on to say that such criticism of Sir Joseph Ward's scheme as he had refuted could only be ascribed to ignorance or a wish % to mislead the electors on the eve of the election.

• Mr. Mason denied that he had ever accused the Government of appropriating public money to party funds, and he criticised the Hon. J. A. Young's outburst as "entirely unwarranted and based on a misreport."

"A vote for Coates is a vote for unemployment," . concluded Mr. Mason. "But a vote for United is a vote for prosperity."