THE RICCARTON SEAT.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14223, 11 December 1911, Page 8

THE RICCARTON SEAT.

MR C- H. ENSOPi'S CAMPAIGN. On Saturday Mr C. H. Ensor, who, standing as an Independent for tho R:ccarton seat, got into tho second ballot, addressed three meetings, at Charing Cross at mid-day, at Waddington at , five, and at Darfield at eight. On each occasion ho was well received, listened .to attentively, and called upon to answer a number of questions. At the first '■meeting, at Charing . Cross, Mr Ensor said tiiat throughout the country all interest was'centred in tho change whicn had como ocr tho ecene in regard to the relativo positions of the parties which had been respectively, the Government and tho Opposition. Only a little whilo ago people had found it hard to rcauso that tho '" eun would shine and tho birds sing if the Ward Ministry was out of olncc; they knew tho re.ults of tho ballot, and yet tho birds■ still sang, and tho sun still ehone. Ho believed that many would bo advised by the voico of the peoplo which had declared against tho Ward Administration. It was very probablo that in tho second bnllot public opinion would ba shown even ' more cloarly. Mr .Ensor went on to ' , point out that at some of his meetings ho had been asked what good ho could do in Parliament if he • went there as an Independent. The "Lyttelton Times" had represonted him, facetiously, as belonging to a party „ of ono. In the same way ho might say that if ho wero returned for liiccarton tho electors might bo in tho happy posi- . . tion of being represonted by a party of one, holding tho balance of power between the existing parties, should they . bi> evenly balanced. ' , Questions showed that there was much interest in Mr Ensor's proposal to tax land held in idleness and unproductiveness. Under the existing system, Mr Ensor said, our land was growling loss grain than was the case in the year 1890 by 168,020 acres. Tho actual "■'• area .under grain and fodder crops in . 1908 was 1,729,504 acres, while In' 1890 it was 1,890,630, showing a decrease of 1,161,136 under grain and fodder. Thie ' could only bo accounted for by the jnrosonfc system of graduated tax acting upon land, irrespective of whether; it ■was being made productive or was lying kilo. That penal tax should be made to act only upon land hold in idleness, ■ unproductiveness, or for purposes of „ speculation. Tho user of land who vvas . ' making it produce the maximum • amount of food and clothing, should be 'regarded as a moat.valuable possession. Tho land monopolist was the person who ; ' held lands in idlenoss, or for speculation. / ■■■; Touching the question of land settlement, Mr Ensor said that the area" of ; .New Zealand was 00,000,000 acres, and - .of that area only 1,729,504 was under grain or fodder crops. This showed .that the Government's -efforts at land settle- : inent had failed, and suggested that a •progressive party should bo put- in power which would do what that party had failed to do dnrlng six successive Parliaments. (Loud cheers.) After.'.ho had referred to'tho demand that workers in tho public serviceshould be granted full political rights, Mr Ensor was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. . ._■'■- ■-., . At Waddington and . Sheffield Mr Ensor'e nddrcses wore upon tho samo • lines, and at tho conclusion of each, Mr ■Ensor was accorded a hearty vote of thanks;