THE ELECTIONS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18506, 7 October 1925, Page 11

THE ELECTIONS.

LYTTELTON SEAT. Reform candidate. MR M. E. LYONS AT SUMNER. Mr M. E. Lyons, the Reform candidate for the Lyttelton seat, opened his campaign last night in the Sumner Town Hall, in the presence of an attendance of about 200 people. over whom the Mayor of the borough. Mr W. H. Nicholson, presided. Mr Lyons was accorded an attentive hearing, and applause punctuated his remarks on frequent occasions. Mr Lyons said that as it was the Reform organisation in Sumner that had nominated bun to the Party executive as a candidate-, he felt it his duty to open his campaign there. Three yesrs had brought many changes in the political affairs cf the Dominion, and not duly had the. r'rime Minister of three years ago been called to his rest, but the gentleman who carried the standard he (Mr Lyons) was bearing to-day, had also passed the Great Divide. When it. was suggested to him by several friends that he should contest the election, he consulted the late Mr E. Macartney as to his intentions and that gentleman urged him to stand for Lyttelton. In spite of the carping criticism aimed at the Government as being the friends of the wealthy, the records of the Reform Government stood as an unassailable refutation of this absurd allegation. In the Prime Minister the Dominion had a young New Zealander who. in spite of his youth, wae appealing'to the country -to give him a mandate to carry on the Government with the aim of national safety and progressive development as his keynote to a sane policy which, while cautions, was the antithesis of stagnation. He was proud to identify himself with that appeal. It was particularly gratifying to him that there was to be a clear-cut issue between a representative of what was known as the Labour Party and himself. On one Sunday evening a few weeks ago the speaker put aside his feelings as a good Presbyterian, and went along to the Trades Hall to hear the.views of Labour. expounded. On that occasion the present member for Lyttelton was present, and took the occasion to introduce him to the audienco and to address him. That night he was glad to bo able to address Mr McConibs, who was among those present.

Issue in Electorate. The issue in the electorate was the Labour Socialists against the rest of the community. It was the extremist against the primary producer, the business man, and tho not inconsiderable section of workers who, like himself, were averse to handing over this Dominion to a band of men with tho avowed objective of socialising the means' of production, distribution, and exchange, more especially when none of them could agree as to tho. exact meaning o£ what they aimed at. He suggested to his audienco that Lyttelton had been misrepresented politically owing to the fact that its- member in the last Parliament in years gono by had been prominent in one phase of social reform. "The extreme Labour men," continued Mr Lyons, "arc_ throwing awav tho substance for the 'shadow. ' Infatuated by specious phrases; repeating by rote a whole catechism of fallacies; lured into false antagonisms, pursuing a mirage of delusions; possessed by visions of the thing that is not and never will be, they are blind to the necessities of their existence now and henceforth." Mr Lyons said that he would like to make his views clear with regard to the licensing question. He believed, in.the retention of the present law,- with the elimination of the State Control issue, He would make it haTd for publicans who sold bad liquor or supplied drink to persons under the age of twenty-one vears.

Borrowing Mast be Restricted.<<To any prudent elector," continued Mr Lyons, "it must be evident that we have 'reached that stage in our development that borrowing must be restricted 1o directly reproductive loans. Our prosperity has dopended, will continue to depend for very many years/ upon the value wc receive for our exportable surplus of primary produce. Let the national income fall -away appreciably and there disappears the taxable capacity of the country." "There was no ground for pessimism. Xcw Zealand could cheerfully bear its ■war debt Eemove from the total the debt which was directly reproductive, an'l against which tangible assets were held, and there was' left an amount insignificant when placed alongside the resources of the Dominion—the capacity of .the people, aided by great natural climatic advantages to create weaitJi regularly. To-day there were ail tho, elements'of an industrial upheaval m the Old Country. If the buying capacity of one T s best customer were anecteu it'must seriously affect one's economic position. Standard of Liviag. He was just as keen as any Labour man to see a cood standard of Uvm o maintained. More than- that, he want, ed to see that standard raised as much as possible from time to f.me. }fj.™° t I worW, man receive from indust yju.t as large a slice as. it was possibk. tor him to receive consent with «* adc quate reward of tho other instruments of production. If for no other reason self-interest would make him of that mind. So long as >,ew Zealand cd a primai- producing country, so long wouW mdissolubly bound up with the Dominion's income. A cood deal had been heard about t ie iniquity of the Government m no, Slh^ot^nt^^l man who read in his papei ck-~ a tion of war and did not «ali«th.at g. , would have to bear his share or tno burden which the Empiro shouWered. whatever his station m 1 tc, ™s .ot capablo of serious though,. T c^ cn der was that it Had bee, get bat* to the standard >°*oon. Svith rcgardto propotonal ngre sentation. Mr Ly^ns , ton electors v.ould r^- 1 f p t venom the leader o f - of .consulting the -;/tf that some pc^,«wul^gsiro to impress of wallowm- in fiS"^-.,; 1 rC p r€ sentation in fects oi P[^S a Six P Lyons stated New S°™ h * mru t secured its that the of a combination majority as * £Sim and Progresbetween the >a-iona n» SIVC3 . Uith 18,0*0 i ionaUsts n d were polled for the pa d Prosressive, .the Lao 6s four more seats man combined. .. questions of After touching on the u q urai class conscious

supporters of the Extreme Labour Party would readily admit that the Ethic was in reality a deadly blow at the maritime communications necessary to the prosperity cf the uritish Empire, and that it was not devoid of sinister influences which were at work the world over, aiming at the disruption of the British Empire. In the strike' it was easy to trace the influence of Communism at work. The people- were entitled to ask the Labour leaden, whose s'de they were on. On the whole of t.h«i shipping trouble appeared the red Laud of Moscow. At the conclusion of his address. Mr Lynns answered a number of Questions and was accorded a vote of thanks.

KAIAPOI SEAT.

HON. D. BUDDO-'S CANDIDATURE. Allegations of failure >to carry out election pledges were made against the Reform Party by the Hon. D. Buddo, Nationalist candidate for Kaiapoi, in an election address last evening in the Kaiapoi Theatre. The Mayor (Mr H. Mcintosh) presided over an audience of 50 people. Mr Buddo said he had first stood for the scat in 1893. At the various elections held since then ho had always found an active interest in national affairs at Kaiapoi. Referring to local matters, the candidate said he was in favour of the formation of the Ashley River Trust. In dealing with the fusion negotiations, he said the Liberals had advanced suggestions that if a working arrangement was possible, ordinary legislation should be put through, and an election held immediately. Mr Wilford had addressed a letter to Mr Coates, asking for immediate action, but the latter had stated that he was pledged to carry out the policy upon which he was elected; meaning, of course, tho Reform policy. The Liberal Party had then decided to become a National Party. When the record of tho Party of which he was a member was examined, some' of its legislation would be found to be in the interests of tho farmers, and a large number of measures for the benefit of the workers. The present Government was absolutely moribund if it was not for its borrowing policy, and nothing could be found in its record to compare with measures like tho Old Ago Pensions Act and similar legislation. The Reform Party had increased tho Public Debt by about £5,000,000 annually, without taking the war into account. This was about equal to the difference between tho value of our exports and our imports. -—-

Primary Industries. Our exports wero very largely the product of the farmer, yet the Government had increased the imposts en the agricultural community. Ho was not suro that everything was being done m the matter of assisting agricultural education. If the country did not have sufficient vocational education, it would be lagging behind the .older countries. During the past year butter and cheese had returned the country £19,000,000, wool £17,000,000, and mutton £12,000,000. In viey of tie importance of the dairying industry as demonstrated by these figures, tie Government should display greater interest in mattery such, as herd-testing. Mr Buddo blamed tho Government, for tho high rate of interest, and condemned its action in allowing local bodies to borrow money at sis per cent. Farmers had no chance of getting cheap money when this was being done. In the returns last year 182,000 acres were given as settled, but this information was fallacious. During the time the Reform Party had been in power ithad not taken one acre of land conrpulsorily. It had bungled tho settling of soldiers on the land, and its mismanagement had had ill-effects on the farming industry generally. The Dominion was not producing at its utmost capacity, and we ooidd learn from the Old Country in this respect. The British Isles had more cattle and sheep and a higher wheat- yield than New Zealand could claim. Soil surveys wero not encouraged by .the Government, tho experience of Lincoln College in this important matter being notable. Agricultural Banks. The candidate referred to the policy of tho 'Reform Party with regard to settling the land, as stated in tho manifesto issued by Mr Coates. Aggregation was going on when the need of tho country was close settlement. The Advances " Department had granted loans aggregating £20,000,000, , but it .-wras now practically dormant, and applicants were kept wsating for long periods. Tho farming community was embarrassed by its difficulty in raising money. Agricultural banks had proved a success in Denmark, Canada, the United States, and in tho. Old Country. So far as he knew none- had failed,although numerous other institutions of a similar character had closed, their | doors. Whilo there wa.s much to ho j said in fa.vour of rural credits, tho risk of advancing money against, crops should bo taken rather by private individuals than by a Government instiuition. -If tho Reformers came back with a majority there would bo norural credits, or land, bank, or anything of that nature. The main roads wore in a deplorable condition, and tho task of tho local bodies was increasing in importance with the larizo numlw of motor vehicles being imported. Tho taxation of cars was not unreasonable, but the impost should be levied more equitably. \. tax on tyres woidd defeat itself, as fo I would probably lead to tho establishi mont of tyro manufacture in the DoI minion. Woollen mills were standing I idlo two days a. week, and something should be done to keep the macliinery running fidl time. Criticism of Labour. The policy of the Labour Party came in for strong criticism. Mr Buddo said that nationalisation meant that one section of the community would take over important industries and utilities. This was impossible of achievement, as was also the usehold land policy of tho Labourites. Shipping was at present in a deplorable {condition. Sixteen vessels and about -£4,500.000 worth of sroeds were being held up. If the strike continued some of the markets would be glutted later, and the products of the country lost. Xo more deadly blow could bo struck at the best interests of the country, and the problem" of settling the deadlock lay with the Government of. the Dominion. The Arbitration Court should have power to deal with monopolies, and the breakfast, tabic should be free. The i law providing for profit-sharing had ; not been availed of to a great extent, i and the example of Lord Leverhulme ! should, be followed by employer:-. ! The Reform Thirty had carried on ! without ;i mn.iority. and if had become '•■ effete. It was -.or a good thing for I sn v country for a Government to re- | main in power over a long period. It ! Vv - as practically impossible- for the Kefonners to secure a new lease of office. Their Party was/ one of broken promises. Its' promised reform of the Upper Houso had not materialised. Political appointments were common, and the Bay of Islands electorate had two representatives in the Legislative Council! There had been no end of promises by tho Government, but very • little performance. Assistance should be given to the Mother Country to uphold her name as the best colonising nation, and encouragement should bo "iyen to immigrationj provided that

the Dominion received a good class of ciriren. , Mr S. Rnialdi asked could ioin with the Reform P srtv « in view of the manner 12 which the -atter had been criticised. Mr Bnddo replied that it was not proposed to join, hut to form a -National Partv. With a. minority Government the country was continually m difficulties. A \c>t& of thanks and confidence vm: accorded the candidate.

HURUNUI CONTEST* | .. 1 MR J. G. ARMSTRONG AT ASHLEY. | Mr J. G. Armstrong, tho Reform tan- j didate for the Hnrunui electorate, com- j rcenced his campaign in the Ashley , Schoolroom last night. Mr R. Pb.ck j presided over an attendance or aoout , 50 electors. j Mr Armstrong said it was six years since he had first addressed them on political matters. He referred to the slump in land values, and attribute* portion of the blame for this to the Coalition Government. In the case of a Coalition Government, he contendea there was certain to be an amount ot rivalry between the Farties, with the result" that the country had to su2er. The question to-day was whether or not we had reached the. bedrock of land values, or whether prices would decline still further. Speaking of production, Mr Armstrong'said it ehould be the duty ot the State to stimulate production as much as possible, and this, he contended, was the only way of _ preventing further depreciation of prices. He referred to the large areas of land ■which had been allowed to go back m the North Island. Tho same was happening in the South Island, and what was required was more labour. In the South Island they relied on the plough for laud preparation, and with more labour they could prepare more ground and consequently produce more. Tho railways was tho nest subject dealt with. Mr Armstrong referred to tho deficiency in the Railway Working Account, and said that even under the new Administration the revenue was insufficient to pay interest charges. With regard to motor-lorry competition with the railways, ho contended that such lorries should be heavily taxed, a big rebate to' bo given to lorries which fed the railways. The Lyttelton Tunnel. Mr Armstrong said he wa3 not in favour of tho duplication of the Lyttelton tunnel. A single track, he considered, was quite sufficient, and he thought it would be for the next ten or fifteen years. There was a smaller quantity of freight being conveyed through the tunnel now than somo few yean ago, and under existing conditions it appeared to him that duplication of the tunnel would be like a man who was hard up buying a new motorcar, or building a new house. A lot of railway extension work was being done in Auckland, and tho Prime Minister ihad come m for some sovero criticism because ol this and because, moreover, he was an Auckland man. He did not consider it mattered one iota to Mr Coates where the railwavs were put. , Mr Coates demanded 'that tho more important works should be done first, whether they were in Auckland or bouthland did" not weigh with him. Speaking of the extension of hydroelectric development, Mr Armstrong contended that the Government should givo cheaper power to country users than to those in the towns. In the towns, tho Government had tho customers within easy reach, but in the country districts the residents wore scattered, and to get more customers in these districts, the prices should bo reduced. Work and Thrift. On account of high prices, the primary ■ producers of tho country were m a very satisfactory position at the pre-, sont time. They would have to look to the secondary industries, however, and support them to tho fullest, possible extent. At the present time the small man on the land was not m such a satisfactory position as was the wage-earner. It stood to reason then, that a great deal more people would have to and places in tho secondary' Tho speaker advocated greater thrift among tho people and said tli£ public should be taught to desiro to owu their own homes without encumbrances. He referred to the largo increase in mortgage loans and said it was a question as to whether there should bo any further facilities foi borrowing in the. Dominion.

"Red red" Element. The "Red Fed" element was a subject which Mr Armstrong dealt with. Ho said that very little was being heard of this section of the communitv at the present time, and no doubt, the Labour Party were keeping it well m the background because of the proximity of the elections. The- whole of the 'civilised world was being held up by the menace of Bolshevism. The , people had seen what had happened in. Russia and must not allow that clasb of people access this Dominion. Their influence among, the workers of the cities ' was one of *tbe dangers which wc had to faro. Personally ho could not seo anything in the Labour theories except that they provided a. ladder for trade union secretaires to c)i'-"b to position ?nd office. The present shipping strike was proving a menace to the industry of the countrr. It was engineered not by our own sailors, but by those from overseas. Nevertheless, it was proving none the less serious for the primary producers and the community as a whole. _ However, the Prime Minister was taking the matter in hand, and the speaker considered that the question was now in the right hands. FusionReferring to the fusion* question, Mr Armstrong said this matter had been greatly evident during the earlier part of the' session which had just concluded. Ho asked what the reason was ,for the Liberal Party breaking away from the. Coalition Government in 101?. The Coalition Government had been carrying out i»s work quite efficiently, yet the Liberal Party had broken away with the object, the'speaker said, of gaining office. The country, however, had shown its attitude to them by putting them out altogether. Of the policy of the Liberal Party little could be They accused the Reform Party of stealing their policy, bur so far as he could see. the Liberals had no policy. A political party often died when it had lost its leader. The Liberal Party had gone downhill ever since the death of th" late Mr Seddon. A Party could not expect to be returned by the country unless it had a policy, and he had gone carefully through Mr G. W. Forbes's address on Saturday night ami had not discovered a vestig-j of a policy. He considered that the country was going jo give Mr 0.-itcs his chance during *ho i!cvf_ election, and they would hud that he was as capable an administrator as he had been a successful soldier. He thought it was high time that the Hurunui electorate gave a hearing to a Reform candidate, and he felt that it would do so this election. In answer to a question, he said it was his opinion that all Government, control over wheat marketing and production should be done away with, and a duty put on foreign wheat to encourage local production. A vote of thanks to the speaker was earned unanimously,.

PRIME MINISTER'S TOUR. FIHST SPEECH AT OAMARU. (spiciu, to "the rssss.'; WELLINGTON, October P. The Prime Minister will leave Wellington for the South Island to-morrow evening, and will commence tho election campaign on behalf of the Government at Oamarn. which scat tho Government seems now likely to regain from the. Opposition.. .Mr Lee has a largo and enthusiastic committee at work, and has been promised Liberal support that went to his opponent at. tho last, election. Mr Coates will spend some timo in the jjjouth Island before returning to Wellington. It may bo expected thai such an energetic Prime Minister will cover deal of ground in the time at, his disposal. In his own electorate he had a majority of 246-i at last election, and it is predicted in tho electorate that this will be increased in November next-. Mr T. M. Wilford, M.P.. who spent the week-end at Featherston, has returned to Wellington. Ho is still far from well, and is unfortunate in that his contemplated sea voyage to England has been so long delayed owing to the holdine-Tip of the ship by which ho and his wifo have booked. MINISTER OF LANDS. TO VISIT CANTERBURY. The Hon. A. D. MeLeod, Minister of Lands, and head of the Eeform Party's campaign organisation, intends .to visit Canterbury nest week and deliver,political addresses. Mr McLeod's visit is contingent upon the Minister being able to make the necessary axrangements. Mr MeLeod proposes to speak at Rangiora next Tuesday afternoon, and at Kaiapoi on. tho same evening. A POLICY MATTER. LABOUR CANDIDATE REJECTED. (PSXSS ASSOCIATION TELEQBAJI.) WELLINGTON, October 6. There has been eomo comment in tho South concerning the decision of tho Otago Representation Committee that' it does not want Mr C. M. Moss to stand for Dunedin West, electorate in tho Labour interests. Tho secretary of the New Zealand Labour Party (Mr Walter Nash) has made tho following statement 011 tho matter: —"Tho interpretation of the. Labour Party's policy by Mr C. M. Moss, who has been announced as the Labour candidate for Dunedin West, not being in accord with the decision of tho conference and' the national executive, Mr Mess will not be tho Labour candidate for the scat."

CHRISTCHURCH NORTH. t "Mr H. Holland, Eeform candidate for Christchurch North, held a meeting of friends and supporters in the Winton street Hall. Mr W. E. Simes presided, and all present formed themselves into a committee. It was decided that Mr Holland should open his campaign on Thursday; in the Kugby street Hall. CHRISTCHURCH SOUTH. Mr H. G. Ell addressed two wellattended meetings of electors last night at the corner of Selwyn street and Burke streetat 7 p.m.,. where he spoke for an hour, and received an attentive hearing, and at 8 o'clock at"the corner of Bletsoo avenue and Stricldand street, where he spoke for over an hour, and was applauded on concluding his speech. MR M'COMBS BEGINS. 'Mr McCornbg, M.P., opens his election campaign with an address in the Oddfellows ' Hall, Lyttelton, on Friday ingMR. BUDDO'S CAMPAIGN. The Hon. D. Buddo, Nationalist candidate, addressed the electors at Springhank on Monday evening. A motion expressing approval of the formation of a strong Party, and a vote of thanks to the speaker, were carried unanimously. At Fernsidc tho same evening Mr' Buddo addressed another meeting, at which also ho was accorded a vote of thanks. ELLESMERE. 'Mr David Jones, Reform candidate for Ellosmcro, addressed a large meeting in the Town Hall, R-akaia, last night. Mr Jones outlined his platform, and at the end of his addrdss answered a number of questions. The candidate was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. 3lr A. J. Magion'was in the chair. MOTUEKA. ,niESS A3SOCIATIOS TZLBGBAM.) NELSON, October 6. Mr T\- P. Hudson, M.P. for Motucka, opened his campaign at. a. large meeting in Motueka last evening. He dealt fully with tho effect of the shipping strike on New Zealand producers, including orrhardisis, who would bo very vitally affected. Ho pointed cut the extensive- increases in pensions, and the humanitarian legislation piassed by the- present Government. At tho conclusion of his address he was accorded a unanimous vGtc of thanks and confidence.