ELECTION SPEECHES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1244, 28 September 1911, Page 7

ELECTION SPEECHES.

WELLINGTON EAST, ME. J. BRODIE AT KILBIRNIE. Mr.- John Brodie, an Independent Liberal candidate for the 'Wellington East teat, delivered rui address to tho electors in (VDonnc-U's Hall, Kilbirnie, last night. Mr. A. H. S. Lueas presided. Mr. Brodio stated that, in coining before tho electors, he had twonty-fivo years'of commercial experience and eight years' "experience in municipal affairs to recommend him.: He was a New Zealander, had for some time taken a good deal of interest in general politics, and ho felt that he was well fitted ■ to-seek their suffrages at the coming election. Ho thought that it would be generally admitted that politics had never reached such a low ebb in New Zealand as was tho case at tho present lime. There had now been three years of wrangling, and for this he believed thnt both tho Oppo- , fiition and the Government wero equally to blame. On tho one side thero was tho Opposition trying to got into power, and on the othor, tho Government fighting to retain office ai; all costs. Tho position was likely to remain tho same so long as they had party-politics. The only remedy was reform in the election of the Ministry, and, in this regard, the candidate- announced himself in favour pi some scheme similar to that outlined in Sir W. J. Steward's Elective Executive Bill. Ho' thought that, in a few years time, tho Ministry would be elected by the House, and tho Premier by the Ministry, and only.'successful business men should bo selected as Ministers.. The principal Government Departments ought also to bo placed in the hands of successful business men.. If. thero'-was a.railway board composed of such men, the railway ways could be run on better lines, ami a similar remark would apply to the Customs ,the Postal Department, and others. Coming, to the general policy of - the Government, Mr. Brodio thought, that it was good, but the general administration had been wretched, and as an instance he referred to the Butt Road and-railway. This wretched administration woiild go on until they had successful business men as Ministers. An elective Upper House was also a scheme ■which tho candidate- viewed favourably. Why, he asked,, should one- man have the'power .to mako the elections to the Legislative Council, as was practically the case at the present day? Tariff- Reform, Mr. Brodie considered very necessary to whip the industrial life of tho country into activity. It ii'ould create employment and stimulate trade generally. He was in favonr of abolishing the dnty on flour, butter, md other, necessaries, of life as a check against monopolies. He did not think ■that the of living had increased to any extent, outside some lines of foodstuffs which were slightly, dearer now than had been the case a few years ago. If the ■ duty on these were removed it would make the cost of living reasonable. ' .-,,'-, The workers' homes scheme introduced ■by the Government was undoubtedly a good -one. He announced himself as always on the sido of labour, as he regarded' the' labouring community of this Dominion as the backbone of the country, and considered that they were deserving of all the consideration that could bo given them. . ♦ After having carefully considered Hie land question, the candidate was in favour of leasehold with a right of purchase because, under the leasehold system, a great numlier of people could be assisted on to small, farms as a steppingstone to acquiring the freehold. He considered that the whole progress of the country depended on the opening-up of Crown'lan'ds and the subdivision of large estates. The Government policy, of land'. settlement .had-- not-..been, as rapid - as he ' would, have ■ .'-liked.Be was In .favour. of .the abolition., of the ballot system, and Native lands shou.ld.be. taxed, as tho Native settlers had the benefit of roads, and of-the. thrift and industry of the European settlers- around them. Perhaps ; the Native land should not bo taxed on .a par with European land, but it should bear.a certain amount of. taxation. He was also in favour of. the establishment of one or two' additional agricul-' tural colleges in-different parts.of this island. ■ . •••' -_• . ' . ..- .; ...

Railwajs .and,,,roads, when once ..pom-, mericed,' should be •completed- as quickly: as possible and..they would be so com-" pleted, if'placed, under the business management wbich.h6;had suggested. Imperial federation was desirable, and the candidate. also" announced himself, ns a strong supporter of compulsory/military trainin".. -He had served five.or'six years in a volunteer corps himself; joiiiing as a private; and rising to.the rank of lieutenant and.-the. training .-which, he had received had dene him good. As to immigration there should be some scheme for bringing into; the -country o supply of-suitablo domestic servants. As : regarded tho mail service, Wellington should be the port of call, and why Auckland should be considered so much ho did not know. Ho b?ldevcd.in State control of the iron and oil industries, and considered .that there were a number of measures in the recent Budget that would bo very good under proper administration. In conclusion, Mr. Brodio expressed great faith in tho progress of Wellington East, especially in that portion at- the head of- Evans Bay, which must become a great industrial centre some day.

In answer to a. question, tho candidate stated that'ho was not in favour of prohibition, but he respected the opinions of those who supported it. He was in favour.of the Act remaining as at present. Local, .prohibition he looked upon as a fallacy, bnt, if they could carry Dominion prohibition, that was a different matter.' A numbar of other, questions were also answered.

Mr. John M'Calo then roso to speak. Ho stated that he had listened attentively to the speaker for an hour, but had not foiin<r a grain of information. Ho moved a vote of no-confidence. Tho motion, lapsed for want of a seconder.. Mr. R. L. Jonos then moved a vote of thanks and confidence. This was seconded by Mr. T.' Taylor, who, however, expressed tho opiuion that the candidato had not explained everything sufficiently, but would no doubt do so later on. Tho motion on being put .to the meeting was declared by the chairman to bo corned unanimously.

THE OTAKI SEAT. ADDRESS BY MR. BYRON BROWN. Tho crowded audience which filled the Otaki Town Hall on Tuesday night to hear Mr. Byron Brown, one of tho candidates for tho Otaki seat, make his opening address to the electors, showed that the interest in affairs political is very much alive in that district. Mr. Brown {aid that was his third time of standing for the Otaki seat. On tho first occasion he was beaten by a two to one majority, bv, on tho second by a majority of only 83 rotes, and since then he had been regarded as very likely to win at the next election. Six months ago, however,- the Opposition party had dropped him in favour of another candidate. He was not a blind supnorler of any particular party ,for, though ho did not wholly ngrco with tho Opposition, ihe was wholly opposed to the Ward Administration. Ho was an Opposition candidate, but he reserved the right lo vote according to his opinion for or against any measures submitted to Parliament. (Applause.) One of tho essentials in a member of Parliament was a little knowledge of the rudiments 'of political economy. This would enable him (o appreciate the seriousness of tho extraordinary taxation in Vcw Zealand. Sixteen years ago the taxation per hend of population had been .£3 7s. Id.; to-day it was M ss. lOd. And yet the Government professed to bo remitting taxation—mere political claptrap. The Government boasted about giving the people a free breakfast table, but the cups iiiul .saucers, the knives and forks, all paid 20 to 25 peir cent, ad valorem. All condiments-, such as pickles, sauces, pepper, paid heavy duty. The cost of Austrian chairs, too, which could not be manufactured at a profit anywhere but in Austria, had been largely increased by the preferential tariff. So the Government gave with ono hand and took away with the other. The storekeeper was tho creat tax-gatherer for New Zealand. If tho store-keeper were to colloctduty openly, by stating a price to tho customer, and informing him that he would have to pay duty on top of it, the consumer would rcaliso to what an extent he was being taxed. Mr. Brown praised Mr. A. W. Hogg for his effort to pn.<-s the; Flour Duty Abolition lSill-n. Bill which had never been taken up by the Goyernnjeiit, a Bill which had been m-

jected timo and again. If flour could be imported free to-day, the prico of flour would bo reduced from £S 10s. to ,£7 10s. I per ton, and it could never again reach £\b per ton, as it had onco in tho past. Another monopoly which Mr. Brown attacked wns that of tho Colonial Sugar Kenning Company, which, ho said, kept the prico of sugar much higher than it ought to be. This stato of things "tho working man's Government" still permitted to go on. Another monopoly exploiting New Zealand was tho Standard Oil Trust. Tho duty on kerosene had been remitted by Mr. Seddon at the request of country people, but the remitted duty had all been absorbed as extra profit by the trust, ami now John D. Rockefeller had interests in the New Zealand oil- ' fields. There was need for more business I men in Parliament, who would discover the faults in the Prime Minister's financial methods. He contended that there was not an. excess of assets over liabilities in tho statement of New Zealand's finances, if that statement were to bo correctly niado. The growth of the public debt, now tho, largest in Australasia, was an extremely serious thing. The Public Debt Extinction Act he regarded as wholly illusory. Out of a debt of 81 millions the sinking fund, invested in British and colonial securities at 2j- to 3 per cent., amounted to one million and a quarter. Yet our debt was paid for at the rate of from 3 to G per cent. During tho next two years loans amounting to 7i millions would fall due, and this woiild go on year after year. Tho problem was so grave tha,t the country would one day be staggered by it. The valuation of the country's assets at OGS millions was based on excessive land values, which were made the e.xcuso for excessive land taxation, .which, in turn, was becoming a menace to the prosperity of the farmer. In answer to questions, Mr. Brown said that:he was in favour of compulsory military training, of unemployment insurance, of wages boaTds, of a State note issue, of municipal milk supply, and of a State ferry service between the islands. ,The candidate was accorded a vote of I thanks, carried with acclamation, for. his address. HAWKE'S BAY SEAT. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent! Hastinqs, SeuremW 27. Mr. H. M. Campbell is back from a successful series of meetings in the Wairoa district. Mr. G. Spencer Clapham. one of tho candidates for tho Hawke's Bay seat, will have tho official support of the Trades and Labour Council. Last night ha addressed a meeting of about 200 unionists, and received a good hearing and a vote of confldenco at the close.