ROWDY MEETING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 261, 4 November 1935, Page 10

ROWDY MEETING.

MR. COATES HECKLED. MONETARY REFORMERS. ORGANISED OPPOSITION. Organised opposition, mostly by social credit supporters, made Mr. Coates' meeting at Helensville on Saturday night one of the stormiest he has encountered in his electorate. He admitted during the course of the meeting that he was not accustomed to such a reception at Helensville. Throughout his address Mr. Coates was subjected to interjections and interruptions, most of the noise coming from a number of people scattered throughout the hall who had arrived in a motor lorry registered in an outer suburb of Auckland.

Derisive laughter greeted the Minister when he was outlining the measures taken by the Government to meet the depression, and for a time Mr. Coates had difficulty in making himself heard. There was "a lull, however, when Mr. Coates said that anyone who regarded tho worst crisis in the world's history as a laughing matter had no sense of responsibility, political or otherwise.

Mr. Coates said that trained economists and advisers had been called to the aid of the Government and had made recommendations on which the Government had acted. A Voice: And then we got the bailiff in. Mr. CoatesT That is a very stupid remark. The country ha 3 never had the bailiff in. The Interjector: He is here, all right —Mr. Lefeaux. A little later there was so much interruption that Mr. Coates protested that there were a number of people who did not want to hear, him. "This is a new experience for me at Helensville," he added. A Voice: A sign of the times. Mr. Coates: I do not think 60. Exchange Rate.

There were many more interjections when Mr. Coates dealt with the raising of the exchange rate, Douglas Credit theories heing hurled at the candidate from various parts of the hall. The chairman, Dr. Farquhar Matheson, appealed for order. The majority of those present, he said, had come to hear Mr. Coates and not the exponents of a new financial system. "Definitely I am not interested in social credit," said Mr. Coates. "This is not the time for experiments based on a theory that no one understands." Dealing with legislation that was placed on the Statute Book to assist the primary producers, Mr. Coates said the position of the country was rapidly improving. A Voice: We are in the mud. Mr. Coates: Oh, no. We are getting put of it splendidly. Of course there are some people who are never happy unless they are in the mud, and that is the kind of person my friend appears to be. . Replying to an interjector who accused the Minister of having destroyed the State superannuation funds, Mr. Coates said he would not build up the funds. The State was responsible for the payments, irrespective of the funds in the United Kingdom. The Civil servants paid their contributions and the State accepted responsibility for the payment of superannuation when they retired. Minister Bombarded. When question time arrived the social credit enthusiasts were quickly on their feet bombarding the Minister with questions that were contained in a printed pamphlet. '

"I have told you I am not interested in social credit," said Mr. Coates. "Frankly neither you, nor anyone else, understand the system you are talking about. To follow these hare-brained suggestions would get us into more trouble than we could cope with. If you want to ask questions about social credit write to Mr. Aberhart in Alberta." There were protests ,from the monetary reformers and applause from the remainder of the audience. When quiet was restored a member of the audience proposed a vote of thanks and confidence. Uproar prevailed for a space and then a seconder made himself heard. Those who had endeavoured to break up the meeting, he said, did not come from Helensville. _ -An amendment deleting the expression of confidence was proposed, and when the vote was put it was difficult to get a clear expression of opinion owing to the noise and uproar. However, the chairman declared the motion carried, and the meeting concluded in orderly manner.