"WAGES REDUCTION."

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18517, 20 October 1925, Page 11

"WAGES REDUCTION."

GOVERNMENT'S ALLEGED POLICY. MR SULLIVAN REPEATS HIS STATEMENTS. Following the comment which appeared in Saturday's issue of "The Press" oc the allegation made by Mr D. G. Sullivan, Labour candidate for Avon, in hi 3 opening speech at Richmond on Thursday evening, to the effect that the- Government proposed 'to tax tfco i*orker3 to the extent of 7s Gd each per week for a fund having an object similar to motherhood endowment, and in view of the direct and authoritative denials «i the allegation, it might have been supposed that, the candidate would have seen fit, at the earliest opportunitj", to withdraw it. That opportunity presented itself last night, when Mr Sullivan addressed the electors in the Bromley school. Instead of withdrawing, or modifying, his original statement, Mr Sullivan repeated it and amplified it. ; After outlining the Labour Party's proposals to provide for motherhood en- i dowmcnt, Mr Sullivan caid that the Government, too, had an idea of doing something similar to the Labour Party's motherhood endowment; but proposed to do it in a somewhat different way ' from that pioposed by the Labour Party. It was proposed by the Labour Party that the nioney 6hould come out of the Consolidated Fund; whereas the proposal that was put forward in the napre of the Government wa3 not that , it should come out of the Consolidated , Fund—which had to bo contributed by the '■wealthy people, by the big landowners and big financial institutions. The Government proposition was to call • upon each worker in the Dominion to contribute a certain amount each week in order to create this fund, which would be paid out-to those families in [ which there are more than two children. The Report,. j "Now, I have been taken to task by the Christchurch 'Press,'." Mr Sullivan continued, "because I suggested in my speech at Richmond the other evening that the Government proposed practically to reduce wages by 7a 6d per iveek in order to create this fund for the purpose of establishing family allowances. Now, I have got here the Department of Labour Report, which is issued by the Department of Labour, and is laid on the table of Parliament, and in those Department reports the Government reviews the work that has ] been done in the various Departments—in the Department concerned—during the past year. And often those reports indicate a proposal that it intends to carry out the following year, or some time in the future. Now, dealing with this question, it deals on page IS with the question of family allowances, and ■ I want to read this paragraph to you.'' Mr Sullivan read tho paragraph in the , report. They would notice, lie went on, that under tho scheme suggested in tho Department of. Labour's report they had this proposal to tax the worker—each individual worker in th© country to the extent of 7a Gd per week in order to , set the ■ fund for th© creation of family allowances. They had had a statement by the Minister of Labour in the House that he proposed to create a large invalidity and general pension scheme on a contributory basis. When they took this statement which appeared in the Department of Labour's report, combined with the reference to the jnattei ..in. the, Prima Minister's manifesto, and the indications that had been given by the Minister of Labour in various statements that he had made in regard to bringing down a contributory scheme of pensions, he said that there was sufficient justification for • the statement ho made at Richmond that the Government was ■ now considering, the question of initiating a scheme which would tax tho wages of every worker in tho Dominion to the extent of 7s 6d pei; week for the purpose of establishing a fund from which to give family allowances. It - '.---as really' a Tory scheme, which was put forward in the Labour Department's report,, and if the publicity that had'been given the, matter by the Labour Party's National Executive in Wellington and by himself in Christchurch', haici the effect of knocking that scheme on tho h'ead, and . preventing it being carried out, then they would have just reason for considering that they had rendered substantial service to tho working people ; of this country. •• CHRISTCHURCH NORTH. - MR H. HOLLAND. Mr 11, Holland addressed a meeting ! of 140 electors at tho Winton street Hall last-night,'Mr J.' \V".' L?eanland' presiding. A motion of thanks and confidonco was carried by a largo ' majority. ••••,.. . - | * MR COOKE'S CAMPAIGN. | t , Mr"F. E. Cooke, Labour candidate for Christchurch North, addressed a J well-attended meeting at the corner of .Exeter and Andover streets last even- ' ing. Mr P. C. Webb presided. The \ candidate was accorded a vote of ( thank 3 and confidence. , * . ( LYTTELTON. ; MR LYONS AT DUVAUCHELLE'S. , —— 1 Mr M. E. Lyon?, Beform candidate j for Lyttelton, addressed- a. particularly well-attended meeting at Duvaucliclle's last night, at which from .90 to 100 people were present. The meeting was presided-over by-Mr - P.-Cuningham. The candidate addressed the audience ( with particular reference to farming , questions, and after answering various general questions was accorded a ] unanimous vote of thanks and eonfi- , dencc, i ■J ■ i CHRISTCHURCH EAST. p ( THE NATIONALIST CANDIDATE. \ Mr D. F. Dennehy, Nationalist candidate .. for Christchurch. East... addressed a meeting at St,. Mark's schoolroom, Opawa, last evening, on the lines of his previous speech. The ■ .candidate, who was given an attentivo j ; bearing, was accorded a unanimous 11 to to of thanks." < . t ■■ I RICCARTON. " ( MR KYLE'S iCAJIPAIGN. Mr H- S. S. Kyle, Reforja candidate. held a, very successful meeting at Darfield.on Saturday evening. It was. largely attended and. th© audience showed keen interest, throughout. A number of questions put to th© speaker < wer© satisfactorily answered, and the, meeting terminated vith. a unanimous Tota of-confidence in!the-candidate,