MR J. T. SMITH AT SELWYN STREET.

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

MR J. T. SMITH AT SELWYN STREET.

Mr John Tippett Smith, a candidate lot CJhri-tchurch, addressed a Wdl-attended meeting of electors in the Selfcyh streets schoolroom, Selwyn street, Aldington, last evening. The chair was occupied by Mr Wm. White, jun. Mr Smith, who was well received, showed that he had grown up with working men, and his entire sympathy was with them. He bad spent what time be could spare and used what ability he had to advance the moral and social welfare of the working classes and their children during the last thirty jfears. (Applause.) He referred to the labor question, and advocated the federation of labor upon lines of Intelligence, honesty, and integrity, and carried out by men from the men's own ranks, and not by persona who wished to make vse ot the men for their own interests, Eo also approved ot tbe federation of capital, and deprecated a conflict between capital and labor, which was disastrous to both. Hia re* marks on the subject were loudly ap« plauded. He advocated the using of tha railways for tho promotion of the prosperity of the community, and not m a money making concern. He held to tbe principle that tbe railways should be placedoeyond political control and under the charge of Conualssionerß. While saying this he did not approve of all tha actions of the present QmnnitMonerg, or consider they were the best men for the position. He was against the sale of the railways to a private Ctorap&njr He considered a working man's bmM friends were his hand- and him common sense. (Applause.) He w&a Salnst the men on tbe railway being If ted abbut, and considered, that'theni should be a proper scale of promotion. He then touched upon the land question. The present land laws were very liberal, but they required amendment to maim fchetn better workable in the advancements of wtttemeat. He supported the village settlement scheme, the land to be good and the class of men settled to be of industrious and thrifty habits. The „«. ferred payment system had been successfal, and the cash system was preferred by some, bat under the leasehold tenure -,-50,000 acres had been taken during the last two __d a-half years. To encourage settlement it was -.nwtee to tie the people down to any one system. The main object waa to get the people t*» m on t»o the land ana work it i_ e against the locking up of land for spec. lative purposes, but they must bo carefu __•# -they proceeded In any methods to renaming possession of the large cstafte* Hfi was not in favor of any jpiaa of burs" rjog up or eo-flscatloa. Hia plan waul he for the Government to purchase & -estate, and then cut it; up and settle ii but h« would not give any Oavernmea Indiscriminate pdwers to borrow money t purch&se large estates, n» It would lead U' Jobbery and corruption, Each estate to b» purchased Should be dealt with upon it. merles, and a special Act should bo passec by the Legislature to moefc each case, (Ap plans-,) AS to thd question of absentees Ihey iflffst give and take, an he would like to see neb men from other parts come. a«„ aettla.to Hew Zealand. If auyone com ■now nun aav ttriheroe whereby absentee.

could be dealt with fairly, he would support it. HewoulddoMsutoosttostamp out dummyism. (Applease)* to the proposal to substitute a land ana income tax for the property tax. He considered that to do so would be the means of crushing out the majority o£ a™*" farmers. (Applause and " No, no. ) « was said that a land tax levied upon the basis of tbe property tax wonld produce £140,000, which would leave JE_IS,OOU to De derived from the income tax. He asked whether it would be wise or prudent in the present circumstances of the colony to run the risk of losing a ±100,000 a year, just when they were beginning to pay their way. { -NO, no," and applause). He, was against changing the incidence of taxation at the present time. He then referred to the Education question, and pointea out that the £300,000 odd spent annually upon education was the only return the working classes received for the large amount they paid through the Customs, jmd the education imparted to their cbiljjlren was the greatest boon they received. {Applause). He referred to the danger by which the system was threatened by proposals to cut down the standards and raise the school age, and said the enemies were to be found among both political parties. He would oppose with all the power of which he was capable the raising of the school age or the lowering nf the standards. There were those who Wished to injurs tb_ system by passing Pyke's BUI and granting aid to private ichools. The advocates of this Bill were also to be found on both sides of the House. There was Mr Perceval, a prominent member of the Opposition. (Hear, —tear, and applause from those at the back of the hall.) They could now see who, among those present, were the enemies of the national system. (Cheers.) He liked to see them come out in their true colors. (Cheers.) He could understand Mr Perceval if he advocated the claims of the Beman Catholics alone, but he wished to grant the same privileges to all other denomin_tioni3 or to any persons who opened privaue schools. He went on to strongly denounce the attempts to injure the system by the passing of Pyke's Bill, and his remarks were loudly cheered. He said Mr W. P. Beeves had stated that the Private Schools Bill was not likely to come up again, and found fault with him (Mr Smith) for standing up forthe system and making so much out of Mr Perceval s action. If Mr Reeves was tbe champion Df the national system of education, as he professed to be, he should stand up for It as he (Mr Smith) did. (Loud and continued cheering). In conclusion, Mr Emith spoke against borrowing, and urged that electors should return men to Parliament ■ who had a genuine desire to promote the welfare of the colony. He would not dictate to anyone as to bow he should exercise his vote, but leave it to the electors to vote for those in 'whom they had confidence. (Loud applause.) Mr Smith replied as follows to questions:— Will Mr Smith pledge himself to support the present Government, if he is elected t— l -will not pledge myself to any party. Mr Perceval said that Sir Harry Atkinson was the.greatest Democratic leader they had, and if the latter formed a strong Government, pledged to. carry out the liberal policy contained in his manifesto, he (Mr Smith) would support tiim. (Applause.) * If returned to Parliament will Mr Smith Introduce a measure to abolish the present honorarium?—No, certainly not; as that would favor the rich man and be against the poor man. (Applause.) . Does Mr Smith approve of the Unionist •suggestion of a National Labor Council as advocated by the Canterbury Trades Council f—l do not know what the proj posal is, but if favored with a syllabus I will give It my consideration. (A VoiCE-f ** Don't Bhirk the question.**) I am. not shirking the question. lam in favor of a National Trades Council composed of genuine working men. (Applause.) Is Mr Smith a member of the Retail Trader—' Association, and if so, did he vote against closing on Labor Day ?—I am not a member of the Betail Traders' Association, and I closed my shop on Labor Day. (Applause.) Will Mr Smith give us his reasons in favor of prohibition in connection with the liquor traffic?—The granting of a license to a public house is for the purpose of f—filling a public want. If the public desired to show through the ballot box that the privilege is no longer required they should have the power to do so. The Legislature could be trusted to see that no one's rights were trampled upon. (Applause). Does Mr Smith approve, and if elected, would he support, the proposal of intercolonial federation ?—Yes.

If elected, will Mr Smith support the Factories and Shop Hours Bill as amended test session ?—Yes, provided the rights of the people all over the colonies were considered. lam in favor of a Conference E— hop masters and assistants being held, the various centres throughout the Solony, and upon the result of their decisions legislation could be based. Does Mr Smit'n think the introduction \t the Bible into our public schools would endanger our national education system ? .-Seeing the divided state of public opinion on the matter, I Would vote pgainst the Bible being introduced into Jhe public schools. (Applausal. If elected to Parliament will Mr Smith Introduc. a Bill to prohibit Sunday traffic to our tram lines and railways, in order -o preserve the sanctity of the S.abbathf— No, I will not. Let them first put- a stop to other Sunday traffic. Let thine be a strong moral force behind, and the Bill would come. What is Mr Smith's opinion of thivLabor Bills, and is he prepared to support them f —I' will give a general support to the Labor Bills, and will also support the Truckßill. *,

Does Mr Smith approve of the Labor Bureau f—l do not know much abont it, but from what £ learn I believe it is doius some goodDid Mr Smith sign the petition against' the Shop Hours Bill that was sent to Wellington 'oythe Retail Traders* Association?—N'o, I did not. (Applause.) ~Would Mr Smith see that women passed _\ higher standard before they received the franchise'£—lam in favor of the franchise being granted to women without restric- j kion. •■ .'--•■■'. '"•- ; :

Hoes Mr Smith approve of bona fide working men as members of-Parliament? *-Ce-rfa__lyldo. (Applause.) Is Mr Smith in favor of passing an Act \o make eight hours a legal day's work %— I think it is necessary to place On the Jstabnte Book a measure making eight hoars a legal day's work—-(applause)—but care must be taken not to interfere with the freedom of individuals. The working men should not tie then—selves up with Acta of Parliament. WQI Mr Smith state plainly whether he considers it is sweating employees to keep them at work for fourteen hours a day %-~ It would depend upon the terms upon "which the employees were engaged. Will Mr Smith state what was the deficit when the present Government took office three years aeo and was there still such a deficit? —When the present Government took office there waa, he believed a deficit of some £500,000, but by good management and economy and tho increase of taxation through the customs «or which Messrs Perceval, Reeves and Taylor voted) tbeir expenditure had been -.ought within the income. (Applause.) Is Mr Smith in favor of giving jurymen a fair day's wage for serving on a jury ?— When a man gave up a day to serve his country he should be paid fairly for hia time. (Applause.) Is Mr Smith a supporter of the suggestion to reconstruct the Legislative Council on elective lines for terms not exceeding five years?—He was in favor of the legislative Council being elected on the lines of the Victorian Upper House. Should Messrs Atkinson and Ballance be the leaders of the two parties in the new House at its assembling and a "no-con-fidence motion" in the Atkinson Government is proposed, will Mr. Smith vote for Major Atkinson's continuance in power? Kindly answer "Yes" or "No. n — lam —irilling to answer any questions put to mc, but I decline to be dictated to as to how I -hall answer them. (Load applause). In such an event as that mentioned in the Question I will be guided by the constitution of parties. If {sit H. Atkinson has associated witb him gentlemen pledged to carry out the liberal views which I have advocated or are contained in the Premier's manifesto, J will support Major Atkinson. (Cheers). Mr Smith opposes all State aid to religion. Willjhe, inconsequence, bring forward a Bill abolishing the present exemption of churches and places \d_ worsbip from taxation, as this is a case o._ distinct aid to religion from the public funds?—No 1 I will not. My opinion Is that they should be free for all and no privileges. (Applause). If erected to Parliament, will Mr Smith vote in favor of assisted Immigration ?-- No. (Applause). In reply to Mr J. C. SOFP, Mr _____ said he was in favor of the compulsory clause of the Education Act being put in force without option, and he considered the children were better in every way at jtehool than running Abonlut_«4»wn till seven years of age.

In reply to Mr BUteliff, _& Smith said he was in favor of a truant officer being * P toan elector, Mr Sunssald he was in favor of Clubs being closed at tne same hours as other licensed houses. Mr Smith also answered satisfactorily a number of other questions relating to tne tarifl*, sweating, && The majority of tne Snestions handed up were said to M '» tie hand-writing of the Secretary of toe Early Closing Association. inn,,* Mr B. Hn_ _*_____ proposed— J-O"" after hearing Mr Smith's ▼tows, tw». meeting wishes to thank him for his address and believing him to be a proper and fit person to represent us in «*"*; ment will do our best to secure bis Mr R. H. TuBN-B seconded the motion, and strongly supported Mr Smith s views and character. . . ~ Some persons at the back of che ha" making a disturbance Mr T*™®_ J-VK lenged them to come to the front _*J a j*_*i R. Clark thereupon came forward am* took a seat on the platform. _. Mr Clark: subsequently moved aa a» amendment —"That a hearty votei « thanks be given to Mr Smith, and Uiat the meeting has no confidence in him as a representative." i„„*«» Mr Clark was asked if he was an elector of the district, and he did not reply. The amendment was seconded. Tbe amendment was put and lost Dy an overwhelming majority, amid cheers. Mr Smith moved a hearty vote of thanes to the Chairman, and the meeting to****' nated with three rousing cheers for sax Smith,