WELCOME HOME !

Auckland Star, Issue 38, 14 February 1929, Page 9

WELCOME HOME !

MR. JORDAN OVATED.

A MEMORABLE TOUR.

CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND.

A "POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE"

NEXT JUNE,

T.oiml and continued applause from a packed house. greeted Mr. W. J. Jordan, M\P., and Mrs. Jordan, when they .wended the platform last night at the Foresters' Theatre, Onehunga, on the occasion of their welcome home by the electors of Manukau.

The Mayor (Mr. W. C. Coldicutt) presided, and he was accompanied on the platform by Messrs. M. J. Savage and W. E. Parry, M.P.'s, representatives of (ho Onehunga .Borough Council, Mount lo.skill Road Board, and Ellerslie Town Hoard. Short addresses were delivered 1 the Mayor, the M.P.'s, Messrs. C. D. McLean, of Epsom, S. I. Goodall and L. Toy. All these gentlemen assured Mr. Jordan of a very hearty welcome home, and they congratulated him upon his re-election to Parliament for the Manukau electorate, by the largest majority of any candidate in New Zealand. Mr. F. C. Pace spoke on behalf of the friendly societies.

When Mr. Jordan rose to reply he ronld not do so for a while owing to a most enthusiastic reception. He said that, as ho looked at the line gathering in the theatre, he found it difficult to .speak. He appreciated their great kindness more than lie could say. He was pleased to go to the conference in Canada as a delegate from New Zealand, and he was delighted to see them all "gain. He thanked them for returning him as their member in his absence with such a large majority. When the cablegram reached him in London, announcing tho result of the poll, he showed it to his mother, and the best she could do with it was to cry. Mr. Jordan took his audience with him on a tour of Canada, the United States, and England, and told them of some of the features of the towns he visited and (he principle events of his mission. They had, he said, eight weeks in London, and seven weeks in Canada. He thought it would be a good thing if everybody could lake a trip like that to relieve them of the perpetual grind of everyday life. < anada, he said, paid all their expenses. The New Zealand Government gave each of the four delegates £200, and the Manukau electors subsidised his £200 with a well-filled wallet. That enabled him to take Mrs. Jordan and their two children home. At the conference there were 54 M.P.'s, representing nine countries in the British Empire. Viscount Peel was at the head of the delegation. Where Labour Stands. He (Mr. Jordan) was impressed with the fact that in all the great functions in the Old Country a Labour representative stood side by side with a member of the Cabinet. Wherever he went ho met New Zealanders, with a fair proportion from the Auckland district. He had travelled 15,000 miles, attended more than 100 functions, and heard over 300 speeches. Every day they were entertained at luncheon by a Canadian club, and at night there was a dinner with more speeches. That was always a ■fulldress set out. The tables were sparsely dressed, and the ladies were similar. "That's a banquet." (Laughter.) Tour Through Canada. Speaking of the cities he visited, Mr. Jordan said Quebec was a French city, where two languages were taught in the schools, English and French. Everything in the Press was. published in both languages. Montreal produced 200,000,000 bushels of wheat in 1927. At Ottawa, where the conference was held, he spoke on the subject of reciprocal pensions. The old-age pension scheme in Canada was based on a State qualification. If a pensioner removed from one State to another in Canada he was disqualified for his pension. Speculation In Foodstuffs. Speculators in foodstuffs discussed Empire marketing and migration with the conference. There were a great many men, said Mr. Jordan, who did nothing but speculate in foodstuffs. There was a big movement to confine operations between producers and consumer, and the speculators would soon have to show cause for their existence. (Cheers.) In Toronto he attended an exhibition, where he saw a tine display of New Zealand products. Ho described Niagara Falls, and the way the electric power was generated and distributed to the people. He saw one paper mill which tore up 600 tons of wood every day into .->6O tons of newspaper. The manager told him that it was all pulp to fill the heads of the people all over the world. Mr. Jordan replied, "You are doing that all right, brother." He got in touch with sellers in Canada, and saw how they were cared for and placed on farms which had been prepared for them and the house furnished to make them welcome. Here immigrants landed on the wharf and were told to go on to the land. Last year Winnipeg produced r>5(»,000,000 bushels of wheat. Of the 8800 miners sent out from England to harvest the crops in Canada most of them had been most natisfactorily placed. He had a trip in a flying machine before leaving the country.

England's Wealth and Poverty. At last he spoke of England, and told of her immense wealth and extreme poverty. He was satisfied that there would be a political earthquake there next June, when the general election took place.

In conclusion Mr. Jordan said the trip Home had been an education to him, and he would use his best endeavour to learn the many lessons he had been taught that he might assist to do away with some of those shadows that made men sad in New Zealand. (Loud applause.)

On the motion of Mr. F. S. Morton, Mr Jordan was thanked for his address, and assured of the people's goodwill and affection