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Press, Volume LV, Issue 16507, 26 April 1919, Page 12

Speaking at a meeting cf friends and supporters on Thursday night, Mr Mc-C-:;mb- vnid :—Tho c-andidnte.s for the Mayoralty had two th:ugs in common. 'l'!;;;y had nil l:i;Cn defeated for the oil previous occasions. ;ui<l thev wove all advocates oi' proportional reprc'cnivxiiot!. Dt. i hacker had op-

pos.nl the Into Mi- T. E. Taylor in 19U, poll in u; -!SO3 votes, and he wa.s a candidate Ti'rnin in 1013. when ha polled only 4117 votes, or 731 fewer votes than in 1911. Mr Dougiitl who, as Depiitv-Mayor, had acted i'V leader o't tin; opposition ihiriny Mr Taylor's faw months of office, succeeded Mr Taylor as Mayor without election. When Mr DDUfjail laced the elector* a few months later, although he recanted his opposition to Mr Taylor's sthenics, he -was rejected, polling only -037 votes, ■or a little over-a quarter of the tctnl votes pulled. My civn tntal of o3 Q -u votes in. 1017•was "not satisfactory. bui> it v.ps more than twice tho total polled by Mr Dougall and represented a higher percentage of the total votes polled. Tlie Labour vote for the Mayoralty is steadily .increasing, as. tho following 'igures dhow:- — Votes polled. 1013—Mr Mcßrido ... 3480 101.J—Mr Spt'irs . ... 3947 ID 17—Mr Mr' Combs ... 038-j If Labour in Christenurch follows the lead given it in recent Parliamentary by-elections tbcro is no reason why liabonr should not secure a victory on. this occasion. j Tho nominee of tho Citizens' Association entered the contest as a "Mcd- ■ erate,"' at tho request of a deputation; \ headed by Messrs N. L. MacueLh. J. ! Hamlet, and H. J. Ranger. In subse-! quently accepting the nomination oP the Citizens' Association he has somewhat stultified himself so far as his advocacy of proportional representation is concerned, because it was Lhe rejivesentalives of this ultra-Tory organisation, misnamed the Citizens' Association, who were responsible for tho repeal of a method of election -which gave each elector an effective rote, established electoral justice, and secured tho representation of all tho ciiTzens at the Council table, thereby ensuring that, while the majority should ruio, the minority should bs* heard on all matters affecting the welfare of tho ■whole of the citizens.

Dr. Thaeker, who is also a supporter of proportional representation, was mainly instrumental in securing the return of ii Tory supporter of the National Government in Wellington North. His opposition to Labour in bringing forward "my man Poison" will not be forgotten bj* tho Labour Party in Wellington.

I have been selected as the oflk-inl Labour candidate for the Mayoralty on this occasion because neither of tho candidates in the field was acceptable to Labour. I have been a member of the Christchurch City Council for four years, and was largely instrumental in securing tho legislation giving local bodies power to adopt proportional representation. Together v.tfcli others, I was instrumental in securing the adoption of the principle that Council employees who enlisted and went to tho front should hare their military pny made up to the amount they were receiving in their civil capacity as employees of a. local body, the Sunday iiay and separation allowance not to be computed. I .also tried to induce tlw Government to follow the example of tho Christchuroli City Council, because as n recruiting method it had proved highlv successful—so successful, indeed, that at the end of thb first six months the Council had to meet an expenditure under this heading equal to the whole year's vole, nnd at the completion of the year tho expenditure was three times the estimate. Under pressure from the Second Division League the Government subsequently made the military pay and allowances more generous, but refused the rarest of the Labour group in the Houho that tho increases should bo immediately operative and. entirely retrospective". These .tie matters which the Heturned Soldiers' Association are now attending to : successfully. I have always held that! "equality of sacrifice" should not be ; a mere figure of speech,, and I havo been called "mercenary , and "unpatriotic" by the financial shirkers who would have had to provide the taxation. ' I

During my torm as a councillor I can claim to have saved tho city thousands of pounds in one matter alone, by placing the facts and figures in connexion with tho proposed purchase of tho Canterbury Hall clearly before tho citizens when "they rejected the proposal for a inakoshift Town Hall by an overwhelming majority. Proposals for a real Town Hall and tho question of a suitable site will have to be submitted to the people in the near future, and 1 am prepared to go into the preliminary investigation on this subject without delay.

Muro important by far, bseause inon pressing, is the question of tho adequate housing of tho people, and in this connexion it is interesting to note the British proposals brought forward by tho "Advisory Housing Panel" of the Ministry, of Reconstruction. The proposal is, briefly, that the State shall imitd tho necessary houses and earry tho capital cost, and should own the houses i'or a fixed period of years, nfc the cud of which prices may have attained normal level. I>uring this period the local bodies would act as agente for the State. At tho end of this period the ownership of the houses would bo transferred to the-local bodies at a. figure to be arrived at by deducting from the original cost such a percentage as represents the fall in price of j materials."together witli a fair nllowi anco for depreciation. TTpon the trnns- ' I'er tukiug place it would lx> incumbent. ! upon the local authority to secure :s: for as possible rents sufficient to cover the anriual charges. Under the Now Zealand legislation of 1010 local bodies are specially emt uowered to go in for the business of i brick ma king, and as power costs are a, ! lar»e item in this industry the Council, wii.ii its cheap ele-tricity. might help tbe Government with a building pro{rrammo. If the current were used off tho peak load it would practically cost the city nothing. .There is also power given xo the municipalities to control the bread supply, and there is no reason why the City Council, using its own current, sLould not mill its own flour and supply it at coet to tho bnkers, stipulating that tho savings effected should be passed on to the consumer. Flourmilling is another industry in -which cheap power is of considerable advantage, and as the Government is now paying a subsidv of over £3C0,C00 a year to the millers it might bo persuaded to help with, the project. I support the City Council's loan pro> posal to borrow £150,000 for electrical purposes, but think that* something should bo dono .to improve the methods . and the plants in order. to> reduce the.

co-t of iusialiaiicu. Copper h nbnut. down to normal, and there is no reason why wo should have to pay £2 os t-J £2 15s a point v.-hcu iho priv? in America, where -.vago-; tve hifrher. i.half that amount. ' B*;fcrc the wnv prices actually from one dollar to two a,:nl a half dollars a point. If tho proposals of the Labour Party are carried out, including the establishment of municipal market?, if. will haro a marked effect in raising the standard of living. If the rack renters with n '"'slat-re :'n tho country,'•" the r-oal exploiters intl the butter exploiters arc 10 be jcyr«.sented at tho Council iah]t* in order in jjretect their intercuts, tho consumers and the exploited should seo to ii t-har. their interests are protected hy returning Labour reprcicn-tatives to iha Council. We are all agreed tr.at if North Canterbury is to develop -,ve must, have better access to tlir 1 so?. CanicWnivy built the tunnel and the railway- to Lyttelton, and sliould have retained possession. Even if iho canal is cctistructed. nnd the Jieathcoto proposal jocm? t'cs'.sible: even if i 1 1 , ., tunnel is duplicated, or both, there is onn mat- j tcr which should engage tho atlention j of Christcliurcli and suhnrban residents, and tha-t- # is tho electrification of Ihc Lyttolton line. When Coom and J'.eattio reported on the elcctiincati-on I'kfti-icity was IJ?] ;i unit. To-day tho Government can deliver Lake Coleridge i --current at ios-s than Id per unit, and; ■ the saviiiys in running costs which j could bo efireotecl by «>lectric traction J as against steam traction y/ould pay over 121- per cent, on tho capital cost of j conversion. Five tram trains would provide for tho passenger traffic, and Ihreo heavy motors would have to bo provided for goods trains. A heavy motor would take the express through' from Christchiucli to the wharf, and there ir; m> reason why the tram trains should not nm into Cathedral square to connect with, tho whole of the citytram service. A third rail could be laid on the present sleepers, giving a 3ft Cin yaugo. Labour must/ also take its part in tho larger problems of the province and m Fohciues for the repatriation of the soldiers. In this matter Labours interests arc tho .scldiers' interests. Thero miis-t bo no exploitation of the soldiers or of their pensions. Proiltabie employment can l>o found /or all by «.1«volopin«j our natural resources and by encouraging and fottorinr; local industries. lis thoso matters the 1:> nl bodies can do much to help Tl;o Government to promote tho health, tho progress, and tho generi] ivell-beinc? of tho city and province. 6 I7JAYORA , - ELECTION. MR. J. IYI'COMBS, M.P. AND LABOUR CANDIDATES. Monday—B p.m. Choral Hall Tuesday—S p.m. St Saviour's School, Sydenham Tuesday—Noon, Addlngton Workshops COBB