MR STRAD AT BELFAST.

Press, Volume XLVIL, Issue 7719, 26 November 1890, Page 5

MR STRAD AT BELFAST.

On Tuesday evening Mr StwAi»' deieliee d the electors at the Town I&\ a |*?2S~ when there was a lai^e-atteivaVn^* , *"*^ Mr Longman, who occupied the chair, eaidhetelt that he was Uk j n « laSSr* unique position, but recollect that he had presided thr Jra oa S other occasions. Many w&»old ask wn v he had taken the chair at Stead's SeeV ing. He had done sr> as a matter of courtesy, which her nought should be shown to all. Consv.ering the high position as a business nar a held by Mr Stead and the good name he bore as an employer, he thought 'ohe least they could do was to give him. % patienc and attentive hearing. (Applause). He (the Chairman) had been told fcnftt there would be a rowdy meeting, bat he. did not believe one word of it. As tajc fts he knew, there was not one of th«j Relfast men who would not grant Mr SVead a cordial and attentive hearing. (Applause.) When looked at in a proper ljraht it was degrading to inter-, rupt a candidate during his speech, as nothing/ \vas more difficult for him to purs'ucPhis subject or extend his theme than 'when harassed with constant tnternjfttions. He would ask them to let Mr fetead get through Uβ speech, after wh/ch they could foliow with their cuestiqrns in the usual way. No doubt some of. the questions would be very confusing, frjtit at the same time he believed th*t •every candidate who came forward anticipated as much. Mr Stead had no previous Parliamentary experience to give them, and he bad yet to learn a good deal about political matters. Having no misdeeds to answer for during the past session, he had only to give them the policy he will adopt, if elected, during the next. (Applause.) He had therefore great pleasure in introducing Mr Sce&d to them. Mr Stead, who was well received, said— I have been particularly anxious to meet i you here to-night, because 1 was told that 1I would receive greater opposition in the Belfast district than any other part of Che electorate, as I understand you are under great misapprehension as u> what I did during the recent troubles in Lyttelton. I think, however, after hearing from mc the reasons for my course of action, you will as reasonable and fair-minded men instead of Objecting cordially approve of it. (Applause.) Let us for a moment consider the position of affaire when the trouble commenced. The trade or the colony had been in a depressed state for. several years past. Thiugs were beginning slowly to mend, employers and capitalists were looking forward to increasing and extending their business, all of which would tend to improve trade, and thereby give better wages to the employees. When the difficulty arose there was no dispute between the masters and men here. The whole trouble sprang up in Australia, and the men in Lyttelton were foolishly induced to try and stop the trade in Lytteiton. What for f Nothing that really concerned them in any way. I foresaw that if the port was blocked and shut up that it would cripple and paralyse the trade cf New Zealand to an extent that the men never contemplated. I therefore determined, in the interests of all classes, to endeavor to prevent this blow from falling upon us and crippling our struggling industries. (A Voice— You meau in your own interests.") I am one of the community, and I say they were your interests as well as mine. (Applause.) £ declined to sit down passively and see our wages fund destroyed. Mow there, is none realise better now than the men in Lyttelton that they were misled and have made a mistake, and I am sure that they at least are perfectly satisfied that I have no hostility towards them in any way. 1 have all through said It was as much to the interests of the working classes as of the merchants and farmers that our port should be kept open in order that our products might be turned into money with which to pay wages. What would the position of our mills, factories, and manufactories be if the port were closed! Wages are not picked up in the street, and if Lyttelton had been blocked for three months, and our exports and Imports stopped, within six months the majority of us would be starving. Think for a moment what the position this district of Belfast would have been in. You have the Frozen Meat Company, the JTellmongery Company, the business of Messrs Berry and Co., and other industries carried on here, and the wages which are paid amount to from £600 to £700 per week. . Now, all of this would have been lost to the district if the Port of Lyttelton had been closed, and no one .could have benefited by it. It would have meant a clear waste to".all. Now, besides thU, there were ab the time something like 20,000 carcases of sheep in the freezing chambers, of the Belfast Works, all of which would have been ruined for the want of coal as there were na, reserves available, . and it would have been equally impossible Vj have shipped them. As I have stated b- efore, the difficulty arose in AubUft'ua between the officers and Trades Cau'ocil over a matter that could be of; /Little interest to us, and a matter in which we had no voice. Yet we were expected to sympathise and to block lytcelton against our own interests, and you, were expected to sacrifice your own. interests as well as of the interests of t'ne factories at work here, as well aa the interests of the farmers, from whose pro&uce the bulk of your wages are derived. I fchink I am right in saying that 1 was about the first to propose that there shouJ.d be a large increase in the storage accommodation at Belfast, to enable the business to be carried on even when thec d were no ships available. I do not say that it was in consequence of my suggestion that the addU clonal storage was provided, but at any* rate a large addition to the storage accommodation has been made, which, by permitting the devwopmenc of the trade, of course proportionately increased the demand for your l&bor and to your benefit. (Applause). I have no doubt you are all fully aware of the amount of the exports of frozen meat, but it is a matter that will bear rep/satinpr. The numbers of carcases of sfcteep and lambs exported from Lyttelton during the six months from Ist January, 18W), to 30th June, 1890, were 827,197, the nearest shipment to this being from Napier, viz., 238,690, Wellington following up with 171,986 carcases. The total shipments from all ports amounting to 718,325 carcases of sheep and "lambs, for the six months, ia addition to which some 8000 to 90GQ head of cattle were also shipped. In addition,' however, to the frozen meat industry there has been a very rapid development in the production ot other perishable products, viz.y butter and cheese, now that they can be shipped in frozen chambers, aa the following ngurea show:— . ■ i :•:-. ..■::. B utter. Cheeße» Value. \ cwfc. cwfc. £ 1880 ... ~. 2,717 117 1&833 **•■'■■■<» 30th June-... ' 24,021 26,663 141,441 Now, both the frozen meat and the dairy export industries are absolutely dependent upon the constant and regular supply of coaL Without coal the works could not be kept going, neither would it be possible to tun the steamers to carry away the meat; and butter to the English market, and if our porta were closed upx fo* three months I these industries would be practically des-! troyed. Now, would it not have been the | height of folly to permit these industries to be ruined over a difficulty with which we had no concern, simply to gratify the j whim of some irresponsible person Australia % I maintain tha/j all I contended for was to prevent thisSw,s from falling upon the colony; and tfhe men In Lyttelton, as I said before, f-ally realise that my efforts in this direction were out of no hostility to theta, and, in fact, .was really in the interest of the community, of which they form apart. In fact, that instead of hurting thaworking Classes, , ! was helping them by assisting to prevent the ruination of t&e interest; which providesjhem with their wages. (Applause). I think you will agree with mc that the Interests of all classes so far ' as the progress of the colony is concerned, are identical; and "be they mechanics, merchants, or manufacturers, or farmers, farm servants, or factory hands, their interests are co-interwoven and dependent on each other, that an injury to one is an injury to aU. (Applause). Now, I will say that which some may wish to contradict, but which I fearlessly assert to be true, and. that is* that I have always been ready and willing to eive every consideration to the working man, and to recognise that he has nad and still has claims to a larger share than he now receives of the profits from the trade of the world. (Applause). Mr Stead then proceeded to give the substance of his previous addressee delivered elsewhere, after which, The following questions were asked :— An Elector— Mr Stead has in his speech told as that the increase of population in New Zealand would increase the rate of wages. It is sixteen years ago since I arrived here, when the wages were 8s a within the last3ew .years wages hatfe been reduced to 6s, and ; even 5s % day. - Will Mx Stead, "gplnl" to

us how an increase of population would raise the wages of the laboring man ? ; Mr Stbad-I think I have explained this pretty fully iv my address. Xou say you came here alxtoeu years ago, which was just after the initiation of the public works, and when our population was increasing rapidly, wages consequently were high. Latterly, however, there has been a temporary depression, and the colony has ceased to pi ogress, and the population has fallen off, hence the demand for labor bas lessened, and naturally wages are easier. Wages would not increase if you lessened the population, whilst all experience in other youug countries shows that an increase In population means progress, and progress means a good demand for labor. * (Applause.) An Elector—Will you if elected move for che appointment of a Royal Commission, to consist of one expert and two or more laymen, to inquire lato the deterioration of the flounders, or as to whether a I2in mesh would not be more suitable than the one used at present t (Laughter.) Mr Stead—l say at once that I should not be prepared to move for a Royal Commission to inquire into a matter about which I was ignorant. An Elbe-ob—Will yon keep the Education Act intact t

The Chairman—Mr Stead has answered that question very .fully in the affirmative.

An Elector—Will you move to have secondary schools thrown open to children who have passed the fifth standard I Mr Stead—This appears to mc to be a very important question, and one to which I do not care to give a hurried answer; but I may again say that my views are entirely in favor of giving children the most liberal educatlo-posslole. (Applause.) An Elector—Will you move for tbe imposition of a polltax on bachelors over twenty-eight years of age I (Laughter.) _Ir St-ad—No. An E-KCTok—Are you in favor of female suffrage, and if so why ? (Laughter.) Mr _____»—I am not in favor of female B—l—rage. An Elector—Will yon move that all public offices, such as the Post, Telegraph and Police, be thrown open to single ladies!

Mr Stead—l do not know whether this question is meant for a "goaa," as Artemus Ward would say. An Elector—Will you, if elected, move tor the cloture in the House for those who indulge in incessant talking f Mr Stead—l think the last portion of my address was that Parliament ought to | devise some plan to restrain stonewalling and waste of time by useless talking. An Elector—Are you a supporter ot the present Government I Mr Stead—l see a local paper puts mc down as a Ministerialist. I may say that I should decline to accept this, and would refuse to go to the House on that ticket. There are many things that Sir H. Atkinson has done tbat I dont approve oL I think that when Parliament meets there will b/j such a reconstruction oi tbe present parties that there will be an entire change in the Ministry. (A Voice—" You ay c a Tory.'* Laughter.) I will say that J. dislike Mr Ballance s policy, and had. I to choose between him and the pres-OT Premier I should select the latter.

An Elhotor—Mr Stead has juaf, told us that he would keep the Education Act Intact, and that he would do what, he could for tbe education of the children. I read Mr Stead's address that he ga We at Papanui—and- I know that reporters do not He—(laughter)—that the cost, of education was £12 per head in some school lv the Hororata district. I should like to know the reason why the children in poor struggling districts are only ger ting a primary education, while the children of wealthy -parents are getting secondary education With a primary school _e*_t door? " Mr Stead—l think the gentleman is under some misapprehension. He has certainly given mc an opportunity to explain myself. If yon will look at the report of what I ssa id at Papanui, I said that we in Now Zealand might bo proud of tbe facilities offered by our present of educating the young of both sexfvs in our State scnools. I, however, refer/ed to one case of extravagance in the c<>at of a schoolhouse and master's reside! ice. Now, I have, frankly admitted that ijbla small piece of extravagance is about all that I can Had fault with, from which yo«_ can understand that we have very. little to complain of. Have I not stated th_t I uo not wish to see tbe present System altered in any way, or to curtail ar,y of the existing advantages* A.t * Q he same time there la no reason w_y there should be auy axtrava* gance in An Ex_/j_ob—Mr Stead has jnst pointed out that - education would put an end to tbesxrl'_e troubles. Does be mean to suib the working man f J dr Stead—l do not see how you can tuir,k that. I maintain that In the course c/r. years, with the spread of enlightentt\ent, we shall find some readier ".neons than strikes to settle our difficulties. Strikes are like fights, 'where each party indicts injury on the other which might have been avoided had tbey settled their troubles in a more rational way. ' An Elector—Do you mean to aay the strikes were the result of our ignorance ? Mr Stead—l bave been round the world two or three times and I know of no more intelligent or better behaved people than we have in New Zealand.

An E-EOTOR—WiII you, if returned, be In favor of having the permanent way men -who were sacked on the strike reinstated!

Mr Stead—l have already publicly stated that I have done all that lay in my power in this direction, and I would refer you to the Railway Executive to bear mc out on this statement. .

If returned to the forthcoming Parlia ment, are you prepared to say whether you would assist Sir Harry Atkinson and your fellow Conservatives that may be there in drafting a measure that 3s 6d per day should be the maximum wage for married men and 2s 6d for single, and that twelve hours should be the working day of agricultural laborers?

Mr Stead—l can only assume that the speaker considers che question a joke, I have been a proprietor of brick works,, ] malt kilns, flour mills, a quarry, rape works, farms, &c„ in New Zealand, anC<_ appeal with the utmost confidence to tft l9 hundreds of men who have worked / lor mc here if 1 have ever endeavored to. cat down their wages or to increase $_ieir hours.

An E__otor—Would you be In f/a*vor ot reducing lawyers' fees, seeing iJhr&i If a working man goes and asks them to aav yes or no it is «s 8d? *

Mr Stead—l ebouid 6tronglv"/fcdv} se y_ e working man in that case n-jt to go and ask the lawyer's opinion. (I daughter). Question—lf elected toi Parliament, will you be in favor of as»4sting to burse up those very large l&n<_ed estates and imposing a land tax, say 15 p_r cent., to enable the working clasafca to settle on the

Mr Stead—l see _/j reason why vre !_ oa II RO in Io J. 8 lam aware that 250 men or Companies own something like neven and a h»._ millions of the best land in Sew Zea___d, and I admit that it is agreat pity t_/.t this is so as It would be betser for tiy a colony if it were settled and properly ciMtivated, but I do not think that after purchasing it fairly from the Government you would be justified In so taxing it t—iat it wouid be practically confiscating *& If anyone is to be blamed Ie Is the'Ww that permitted so much land to tall r a $Q the hands of single holders. An/___c_Oß—Wo_ld yon oe in favor of J***?* .ling the present laws, and so getting *h® landTbackf <_£r Stead—Amending the law is one vning and confiscation is another. I should be in favor of legislating to prevent any further accumulation of large landed estates.

An Electob—WUl you tell as where is any land in Canterbury available for a working man to settle upon and make a good home J Mr Sx_a_—Will you tell mc where I stated there was a large amount of land In Canterbury available for settlement 1 An Electos—ln the Lyttelton Times, Mr Stead—You cannot show mc tbat I stated in the Lyttelton Times or any other Times that there was good land in Canterbury still in the hands of the Government available for settlement. I said there was land in the North Island of New Zealand available for the working man. There Is a larpe area of land covered with timber which amy wants clearing to make Into excellent forms.

An Electok—Are you ia favor of the adoption of an Eight Hours Bill for agricultural laborers, mechanics, Sec I Mr Stead—l am not surprised at this question. I do not think I should be prepared to tie myself to aa Eight Hoare Bill as it might interfere witb certain interests, but I do think tbat forty-eight hours is quite enough in an ordinary way for any man to work. Tot say to-nf_h£, however, hurriedly that I should nupport ' a bill, the provisions of which I have never , seen, is more than I intend to do. Mr Mom. had very great pleasure In proposing a vote of thanks and confidensyj in Mr Stead. Mr Patchbtt seconded the motion. Mr NiCßou. begged leave to move ah amendment—"That this meeting sOctOrds a vote of thanks to Mr SteadT toy hia address tbi_ evening." Mr Dusca-i seconded tha amatatixaaah,

is.*_^. o ' o aeo Vw«d to bo carried. ».__&<-*?•! to wopo-tog a hearty vote of thanta to the Chairman, stated he must 2S^_i 5 V_ on, __ 4 **_f BU **_i«e and gratification at the attentive and courteous hear- _&-_£*? _ 3C -. lv ! d from tnc meeting that evening at Belfast. M._^___8 c * , _~ d fc , ho m _«oo withapplauso the meeting terminated, **