THE OTAKI SEAT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 320, 6 October 1908, Page 8

THE OTAKI SEAT.

SPEECH ; BY MR?■ BYRON BROWN. " (rBOH;"OUB, OWH' CORRESPOKDBNT.) ; -.-,!■ Otaki, October 5. "Mr. Byron Brown opened the campaign for the' Otaki seat to-night in the Otaki Town Hall. Tho hall was filled, and the candidate was accorded an enthusiastic hearing. Mr. :'-Brown,-" who is a trenchant speaker, ' .dealt severely with tho methods of- the .Liberal party, which, ho said, had been'used against him at the last election,-and .would no.doubt be used again on thisi occasion. - His political opponents had advised him not f to.name his opponent, but he,(Mr. Brown) did not take advice from the enemy, and would deal with the political attitude, of Mr. . Field, to show, the electors what, : a submissive,. acquiescent supporter of the Government Mr. Field was. Mr. Field had- attended the last Horowhenua County , Council '.meeting; and asked the council what money .they .wanted, and he had written to the road boards in the same strain. Why had he not said to tho council: "Now, gentlemen, the-elections are at hand; this fellow Brown, is again bumping up against me'; I want-.to, .win. the seat. Name your price, gentlemen," name .your price." Previous to last .election, there had been no contest for the Otaki seat,.'and for the previous six years hardly a penny, had -been voted for the electorate, ..'yet, when' he»(the speaker) had come out,and, .was fightirig a vigorous campaign twenty-nine!.ivotes';had been placed on the Supplementary..Estimates .alone for Otaki. Why did the Government find it- necessary in one fell swoop to make up for the previous six years of neglect Mr. Brown pleaded earnestly, . for. ,tho.. return of that one-time self-reliant, ' spirit /that would rise. superior to party,'and throw off the yoko of debasing slavery that' 'sixteen years of. pseudo-Liberal-isni'nad brought us.to. Evidence of this was;not' far to se.ek .when even- the Speaker of the.'House,,had,found it necessary to draw his electors' attention to tho largo sums hb had been'able: to geS for them out of the public .treasury. .'" " Mr. Brown, .advocated a Public • Works Board, that .should a,llocato public money and hand'it, over'to the .local bodies to spend. Advances'.'to settler's' and workers should be under rion-pblitical ,9oiitrol, and moneys should be advanced, because of tho character and security ,of„the ; ;applicant, not bccause an li.P.-hail'lput aiword in. The resumption ,'of private,-..estates , should bo approved by both;Houses,^so as .tp, minimise political jobbery. ; 'Rifle .clubs should be encouraged, and even insisted, on. Tho day was not yet, >b'ut -might come,, when a riile-shooting populaco would..save.;our isolated Dominion from control by "lesser breeds." The Public Revenues Act 0f.51900 must bo repealed. This wicked Act enabled Ministers to override tho Constitution, to stultify tho AuditorGeneral. to divert thq,votes of public moneys, and had enabled members to increase their own salaries. -An attempt would be mado by tho new Parliament to givo members £400 per year,-and so-'go on perpetuating tho hateJi ful system of professional polities. Ho (the

speaker) was in favour of the total abolition of paid members, and tho introduction of the lost attribute of patriotism. Sir William Steward's Elective Executivo Bill, that he had pegged away at for so long, was a great reform, and would have been passed years ago but for professional politics. Tho Criminal Codo Amendment Bill, 1905, should,, the speaker continued, bo repealed. Nothing that gagged fair, honest comment should be tolerated in a democracy. Mr. Brown dealt with food monopolies. Ho had drawn the people's attention last election to tho manner in which tho Standard Oil Trust had got tho benefit of the Cd. per gallon duty on kerosene that had been remitted to the taxpayer. Tho' speaker dealt severely with the 1908 railways report, and showed how the gross earnings for tho year wero nearly £200,000, less than the interest paid on capital, and even then nothing was ever written off for depreciation. • The South Island railways' had , carried. 177,720 fewer passengers, and 22,484 tons of goods less' than last year, yet in tho South alone, with this tremendously falling market, 661 more men had been employed, and 4 more locomotives, 10 more carriages, 304 more'wagons, and 125 moro tarpaulins had been sent during'the year to the South Island railways. Would any sane business man increase his staff and plant in the face of a falling off.of returns in his business? Why were these men employed? .Was it in redemption of promises of billets made by ' Government candidates in return for votes? Mr. Brown spoke for about two hours, being frequently applauded. He received a vote of thanks. A number of questions were answered.

, THE THAMES SEAT. The "Thames Star" has received the following telegraphic memo, from the Hon. Jas. M'Gowan: —"Referring to _ paragraphs, I understand have appeared in some of the papers indicating that the member for Thames was likely to retire, I desire to say that there is no foundation for the rumour, and that in any case when I come to a decision in that direction my constituents will be the first, people to be informed of my resolve." CHRISrCHURCH EAST. <BX TSLEOEAFH—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Christchurch, October 5. Mr. William Chrystal, formerly chief detective at Christchurch, who resigned recently, is announced as a candidate for the Christ- . church East seat. Ho is standing as an advanced Radical. , HURUNUI. (bt telegraph.—special correspondent.) ' Christchurch, October 5. Mr. D. D. Macfarlane, of the Amuri, who retired from the contest for tho Hurunui seat on account of ill-health, but, who has now completely recovered, has been asked again to allow himself to be nominated, and has promised to consider the matter. Mr. Forbes invites all those gentlemen who are interested in: his candidature to meet him at the. Langham Private Hotel _at 8 o'clock this evening. On Thursday ho will address the electors at Fullford's Hall, Brooklyn. Mr. Byron Brown's meetings in the Otaki electorate for this and the five following evenings are advertised in another column.