CAMPAIGN NOTES

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19460, 6 November 1928, Page 15

CAMPAIGN NOTES

A True Leader. i "Mr Coates has proved himself as a farmer, as a county councillor, as a member of Parliament, as a leader of men in the war, as a Minister of the • Crown, and as Prime Minister. His comrades said of him at the front that he never let Ms men down. He is now leader of this Dominion, and he is leading it well. He reorganised the railways, and under his care the Public Works Department did better work than it had ever done before, and every I part of New Zealand got justice. The old log-rolling methods came to an end. I believe that the ueform Party is the only possible Party to be entrusted with- the government of the Dominion." —Mr J. Linklater, Reform candidate for Manawatu. "Always a Liberal."

'I You are a twister," shouted an interjector at Mr E. H. Andrews, when that gentleman was addressing a meeting at the corner of Bealey avenue and Bealey street last night. "I have always been Liberal in my views," said Mr Andrews. He added that when six years ago he had stood for the Christchurch North seat as an Independent Reformer ho had offered such strong criticism of the Government that one of the local newspapers had stated in a leading article that he had got into the wrong camp.

"A Small Shandy." Mr F. L. Turloy was asked at Amberley last evening what his attitude was to Prohibition. "Well, I would appreciate a small shandy now," he replied. Then he told the audience Le would have the period between polls extended to nine years and the question divorced from politics. Lone Hand for Freedom. "I am Btanding in the interests of the Labour movement to a far greater extent than you," Mrs Margaret Young, Independent Labour candidate for Wellington Central, informed questioners. "Messrs Holland and Fraser are not going to run me, even if they run other people. You have seen the. attitude Mr Young has taken up.' I am fighting a lone hand for freedom for the women. You won't get it in the Labour movement to-day. I have the best reasons to know it. For 25 years my life has been in misery with those men in Parliament. They are there for their own ends." One of the questioners interjected that half those in the Labour ranks were women.

Mrs Young: I know that, to my sorrow. Women, indeed!

"Really Red Feds." An invitation l from the chair to ask the candidate questions at a meeting addressed by Mrs Margaret Young, Independent Labour candidate for Wellington Central, was promptly accepted by a tall lady, "who asked Mrs Young why she had chosen to stand as an Independent Labour candidate. Mrs Young: You would hardly expect me to stand' for anything else. Mr Young was the starter of the movement in New Zealand. I have made it clear that I am not following Messrs Holland, Fraser, and Semple. v Their views are too extreme. They are really "Bed Feds." I know what I am talking about. (Hear, hear.) Questioner No. 2 was a powerfully built woman, who punctuated her long sentences with jabs into space with the pencil she brandished. Mrs Young was asked how Bhe would vote as an Independent Labour candidate, "if a question affecting Labour arose in tne House." ' . ~ „„i Mrs Young replied that she would not vote with Mr Holland on anything. She did not intend to be moulded by him.

Budget of Questions. "I've had a budget of questions today from a host of half-pie crank associations," annonnced Mr F. L, Tur'ey last evening at Amberley. "Goodness knows when they think I'm going to answer them. I think I'll answer some of them from the platform, and I'll start with the Bible in schools. The place for the Bible is in the Churches." An Independent.

About 300 people amused themselves for an hour and a half in a stre#t in Auckland at the expense of Mr James Joiner; who -is contesting Auckland Central as an Independent. Mr.Joiner spoke from a packing-case. He was scarcely allowed to utter two sentences without interruption, and -"as the course of his remarl was guided mostly by the comments' from the crowd, his had little cohesion. However, he made it clear after studying Sir Joseph Ward's recent speech he was in general agreement with the United Party's policy. At the same time, he had a great regard for Mr Downie Stewart, and Mr Peter Fraser. The candidate was repeatedly addressed as "Jim."

At question time he was asked, among other things, if he was in favour of kilts for Chinese, large whitebait, and cruelty to dumb animals. He -ignjred an enquiry whether he was the author of "Yes, We Have No Bananas." Eventually some of the crowd applied the closure by singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." The chairman, who had been invisible up to this point, mounted the box and suggested a vote of thanks, which was > ried with ironical cheers. His place was taken by another man, who thought a vote of confidence might be added. Somebody in the crowd proposed an amendment to the effect that if Parliament were moved to a certain locality a little west of the City those present would have every confidence in the candidate as their representative there. "Quite so," rejoined the man on the box. "He would stand at the gate and show you in." Strikes and Unemployment.

In discussing unemployment, Mr Dunbar Sloane, Reform candidate for Wellington Central, said it was essential to go to the root of the trouble in order to arrive at the real cause. He instanced the shipping strike of 1925 in England, and the general strike N which followed the tremendous coal strike. It was estimated by authorities on the subjest, he said, that these three strikes had cost Great Britain three thousand million poundß, and so severely was it reflected in New Zealand that those best able to say estimated the loss to New Zealand to be at least £3,000,000. "You all know the history of the famous Cook," continued the candidate, "the man who was mainly responsible through the medium of Moscow influence, and money, of bringing starvation to the homes of ,he workers. He and his Bolshevik gang were shunted to Moscow, and when he arrived there, the Soviet poured balm on his wounds by taking him to see a mighty review of the red troops." Union Secretaries. j "I'm looking forward to the days when trade unions will be abolished," said Mr B. Harrison, Labour candidate for Dunedin West. "It is a strange thing for a trade union secretary to say, but they will pass into oblivion. Education would help the workers to organise for themselves instead of a man of his calibre and physique running about the City trying to get the ( workers to pay their sixpenny dues. |

Mr Holland and Samoa. \ Miss Melville, Reform candidate for Roskill said she considered the citizens should pay very serious attention to the attitude of Mr H. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, toward Samoan affairs. His actions were not creditable to a man who was seeking to be first citizen in New Zealand, and the country's representative in the eyes of the world. He deliberately sought to make Party capital out of a critica. situation. He allied himself with capitalists who ought to be his traditional enemies. Notwithstanding the fact .that the Royal ] Commission, the Mandates Commission of the League of Nations, and the League itself had entirely upheld the administration, practically the only criticism of the Administrator being that he was too lenient to the disturbers of Samoa, Mr Holland apparently still maintained that his judgment was correct. A man claiming to represent New Zealand should at least be loyal to its interests and jealous of its reputation.

„_o "Cocktail" Party. "A patchwork of political ne'er-do-wells" was the description applied by Mr W. T. Anderton, Labour candidate for Eden, to the United Party. The United Party, he said, was.the "cocktail" Party, and he explained that a cocktail was "a mixture of drinks with a kick in it." The United Party, he added, had experienced a lot of trouble in finding a "kick," but they had got it in Sir Joseph Ward. Take it out, and what would be left? Gingerbeer and soda water and the soda water— A voice: Flat!

Singapore. Pointing out that.thevGovernment had assisted to relieve unemployment by commencing work on the new railway station at Auckland, Mr Frank Adeane, Reform candidate for Auckland West, said an earlier start was not warranted owing to the high cost of materials. '■ •

A voice: And yet they have given money for Singapore. "One day New Zealand may owe its very existence to the base at Singapore, and yon know it,'* declared Mr Adeane, amid applause.

' Parliamentary Pay. "There are not many business men in Parliament, and you cannot expect to get a good man at the head for £I2OO or £ISOO a. year," said Mr J. B. Donald, United Party candidate for Auckland East. "If a man is good enough to lead New Zealand he could make £3OOO a year in business," added the speaker. "Similarly, you cannot expect capable business men to give up their occupations for £450 a year as members of Parliament. If you want the. best you must be prepared to pay for them. Two homes cannot be kept on £9 a week. We need men who will know when Government servants are failing in their duties.'!

Labour "Heads" Denounced. "I believe women have as much right as have men to stand for Parliament/' said Mrs Margaret Young, Independent Labour candidate for Wellington Central. "If nobody ever makes a bid for freedom, then freedom will never be obtained. I have always been up against the heads—as they call them—of the Labour Party. I saw a chance for Wellington Central, and I decided to stand."

Mrs Young: It's the heads of the Party I object to. The sooner they are out of this country the better it will be for this country. (Hear, hear.)

Labour Party's Claims. "I come from the West Coast of the South Island, and a family of eleven there was not the same chance as offers to-day," said Mrs Margaret Young, Independent Labour candidate for Wellington Central. "I suppose it is never too late to make a start. I think my nomination and my reasons came as a surprise " A voice: And you were straight and not afraid to say so. (Applause.) Mrs Young: Yes, I think that is a very new thing in the Labour movement. They will bind you hand and foot. If one says anything they dislike one is called a traitor. Those views will not suit New Zealand —New Zealand is too lovely a country. (Hear, hear-)