MR. E. J. CAREY AT NORTHLAND.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1242, 26 September 1911, Page 7

MR. E. J. CAREY AT NORTHLAND.

LABOUR AND THE GOVERNMENT. Mr. E. J. Carey, Labour candidate for Wellington North, opened his campaign at Northland last evening. He claimed that his selection was due to his record in, the trades union .movement in this icountry and in gained "for Mm the confidence 1 of 'his fellow-union-ists. Before his selection ha had expressed a. wish to. contest Wellington • North if successful at the plebiscite. It was supposed that Wellington North was a Tory electorate, but ho was anxious and game to tackle it, because he believed that if he remained true to his principles and the working class electors of tho district were true to themselves, Labour would bo returned by a big majority. Ho expected no votes from the mistresses in Hobson Street, but ho claimed the votes of the working girls there and of all the men and women in the. electorate who worked fer a living-. In previous elections" it had bsen said that. Labour had no chance, but such expressions were not used on this occasion. Both Opposition and Government feared tho rise of a Labour party in the House, and both were anxious to stave off the creation of a Labour party, and tried to make believe that there was a real political difference between tho Government and tho Opposition. The allegedly-advanced Liberals also complained about Labour participating in the elscbjcois, and expected the workers to depend on the promises of the Ward Government. They professed to be against the pledge, but what was the pledge that Labour.asked of its candidates. , . Merely a confirmation in writing of a promise to carry out certain undertakings. If the principles of the platform 'were wrong, then a candidate had no right to seek election on them. If he believed in the principles, then why object to say so in writing? ' ' ■

The Government Half-Hearted,

What would bo the position if Labour was not active in this campaign? The Liberal party boasted of its labour legislation and claimtd it as its own, but, if the records were looked up, it would be found that .tko legislation for which the Government now took credit emauat'jd, in the first place from the collective, mind of the trades unions of the country. ' The Government in the past had staved olf reform legislation, and had only halfheartedly given it when it was facsd by Hobsan's choice. The Employers' Association openly boasted that the '-present Government dare not administer its labour laws, and tho Government was not brave enough to defend its own legislation. What had the workers to gain from a Liberal party whoso campaign nominees wero members of ths Employers' Association Executivo? ■Mr. Millar was the idol of tho Employers' Association. It would bo found that—with all tho talk of party strifeMr. Millar in Duncdin and Dr. Findlay in Parncll, would be elected by Opposition votes. In Wellington one of the Liberal candidates, Mr. Barber, was an active member pf th» Employers' Association. The Labour candidates were out, in the interest of tho workers, to brighten the livra of the mass of the people. Tho objective of tho party was the extension of State enterprisa and public ownership— •practically State Socialism. The high cost of living in this country was due to private monopoly, and tho Labour party had set out to combat that by St.-sto competition. If the Liberal Government were in earnest in its protestations anent betterment of the , conditions of t'he mass of the peopls, why had it not long neo established a S'.nte ferry service and State coliicrs to compete with the Union Company? Tho Union Company had a bin grip on this country, and tho Government had evinced a friendliness for it by a policy of r.on-interfercnce. It had even gone- so far as to recommend a director of the cunnany for kniglifhood. The adage: "Tell jiie tho company a man keeps and I will tell you his politics." was particularly applicable to tho relations of the Government with the Union Company. Mr. Carpy roiisrhlv outlined th-n principal planks in tho platform of the Labour party. Having concluded his address, ho answered a number of questions. He stated that lie favoured the bare majority on tho litiuor question or any other. If ninjoTity rule did not govern, minority rnlo would. Tho candidate wa=! unanimously accorded a vote of thivnks and confidence.