THE GENERAL ELECTION. MR. A. R. ATKINSON AT THE OPERA HOUSE.

Evening Post, Volume LII, Issue 157, 24 November 1896, Page 2

THE GENERAL ELECTION. MR. A. R. ATKINSON AT THE OPERA HOUSE.

Mr. A. R. Atkinson addressed the electors at the Opera House last night. He began his speech to a half-filled house, but as he progressed the theatre filled, and towards the end of the proceedings, when the candidate entered upon a scathing denunciation of the administration of the present Government, the proceedings became distinctly lively, and tho speaker was heard with difficulty. Mr. A. de B. Brandon occupied the chair. Mr. Atkinson, who was well received, said •when Sir Robert Stout spoke in that house two or three weeks ago he did not receive a fair hearing. The action of those who refused to hoar him was not worthy of brave or free men, and he could only speak of them as cowards and slaves. (" Oh !" and interruption.) These people showed their high ideal of consistency by swallowing Mr. George Fisher, and so approving of one of the most shameless and disgusting political deals that ever disgraced New Zealand. He came here as a young man to speak to them on general politics, and if they were men they would give him a fair hearing. (Cries of "Then don't start with abuse.") He had not come there to please them, but to speak the truth. (" Bah !" and applause.) He knew he had not the faculty ot soothing speech. What he said generally had the opposite effect. If his remarks that night inspired any of them with a desire to punch his head he asked them to wait outside until the meeting was over. (Laughter.) HIS POLITICAL CREED. The first question that was put to a politioian was— "Are you a Liberal or a Conservative?" (A voice^-" You are neither.") That was so; he was neither. He had no belief in monopoly or privilege of any kind, but he believed in equal opportunity for all, and that the State must do its best to redress inequalities of nature. The iim of the State should be to level up and not to level down. He had no hatred for property. He wished sometimes he had a little more himself. He had no sympathy with that sort of Liberalism which held that if one man had more land than another it was a matter of duty to strip him of it. There was no limit to be placed to the functions of the State, and there was no need to be afraid so long as they proceeded cautiously. If they said a man who held these opinions was a Conservative then they were singular. Conservatism, he believed, was dead altogether. He preferred the title of Radical, and if it denoted something clean and honest, and at the same time progressive, then he thought he -would be able to show them he was entitled to their consideration and support. (Applause.) ' FINANCE. The financial administration of the Liberal Government might be divided into three periods — namely, the period of Mr. Ballance, who was self-reliant and non-borrowing in name, and mostly in practice ; the period of Mr. Ward, whose professions were the same, but who borrowed on the sly by the appropriation of sinking funds ; and the period of Mr. Seddon, under which we had open borrowing of the worst kind, in violation of the wish of the country. (A voice — " Three cheers for that grand old man," which, however, was not responded to.) The latest result of Mr. Seddon's finance was the Loan Bill passed last session. The necessity for that loan was shown when it was stated that something like £460,000 had been practically pledged in advance by this non-borrowing, self-reliant Government. Of the balance set aside for public works, a considerable portion, he need scarcely say, was apportioned to the province of Westland. Parliament, he held, was incompetent to decide the allocation of loans for public works. Leading men had all agreed that now that Provincial Government had been abolished, we should institute some .system of local government that would regulate the expenditure of public moneys. (Applause.) We must have the right of the Referendum before loans of this kind were embarked upon. The public debt had been increased in the five years from 1891 to 1896 by over £4,000,000, exclusive of the contingent liability of about £5,000,000 to the Bank of New Zealand. Then the total trade per head of this colony, which was steadily increasing from 1887 to 1890 from £21 19s to £25 13s, fell from 1891 to 1895 from £25 13s to £21 11s. He did not know what answer could be given to figures like these. ("Whom do you blame for it?") Partly the Government. Mr. Seddon went round the colony and deluged his audiences with misleading figures, but items like those just quoted were a lufficient answer. (Applause). SOME LIBERAL LEGISLATION. The Advances to Settlers Act was popnlarly supposed to be a triumph of legislation. It certainly had provided a fat billet for one staunch Government supporter. He claimed that if the funds in the hands of the Government Life Insurance Department had been devoted to this purpose, that Department would have been relieved from a serious embarassment and the country would have been relieved of the responsibility of a loan. The Act was not needed, and had not brought down the rate of interest Some of the Labour legislation had been good, sortie was meddlesome, and a great deal they had not yet had time to calculate the effect of. Government deserved credit lor passing the Industrial and Conciliation Act. The principle of the Truck Act was good, but it needed amendment. An attempt had been made last session to grapple with two difficult legislation problems in the Eight Hours and Masters and Apprentices Bills. As regards the former, the attempt of the Government to exclude its pwn employes from the operation of the Bill ijvas a sufficient proof that the Bill was ilefective. It was impossible to have a law ,irtiich would permit of general application, ,« different trades required different treatment. Each trade should either have the iption of fixing its own hours, or else the matter should be left to an impartial tribunal to adjust. The Masters and Apprentices Bill presented a similar difficulty. It was too rigid and sweeping, and meant shntting up many small establishments, and the dismissal of many young workmen. The functions of the Conciliation Board might very well be extended to deal with these matters. The Old Age Pensions Bill was an absolutely worthless measure. ("No.") Well, nearly so. There was no provision for finance, and there ought to be included a test of merit. As to the proposal for State Fire Insurance, it was a risky business altogether, but he would support it if conducted on similar lines to the Government Life Insurance. Under the Fair Rent Bill it was proposed to treat individuals as babies. The principle was legitimately applicable in certain cases, but when the size of the man's family was made an element for reduction of rent it was absurd, because when the family left home, the landlord would be entitled to apply for an increase, and must get it if the Board carried out its functions. TIIE USUBT BILL, ETC. Another Bill was the Usury Prevention Bill, which was, no doubt, honestly intended to benefit the debtor class. It would only have damaged that class. It had been tried both in England and America, and had proved unsuccessful. The law was universally evaded to the detriment of the debtor class. A much bettor way to remedy the evil would be for the State, either by itself or through the medium of local bodies, to undertake pawnbroking. It had been tried in Italy and France, and had worked very successfully. He saw no reason why the State should not embark in it, and it would have been fifty times more advantageous to the people than the Advances to Settler*

Act, which had not benefited anyone. (" Oh ! ") The Railway Classification Scheme was very excellent in principle, and he would like to see it extended to the Public Service. But it would be found that the Railway Classification Bill would benefit only those at the top of the Service, and those at the bottom would find promotion very difficult. (Dissent.) THE SOCIAL PROBLEM. The Government had neglected to tackle the social problem at the right end. They should have begun at the bottom and worked up. The Government had boasted of doing much, but had really done little. The charitable aid expenditure increased faster than our boasted prosperity. In 1894-5 it was £86,555, in 1895-6, £106,536, an increase of £19,981, besides which there had been an extra expenditure of £18,419 on relief works. It showed that if prosperity was increasing misery and want were also increasing. More than half the figures quoted went in outdoor relief, which should be abolished, and local government remodelled to prevent clashing of jurisdiction and division of responsibility. We should trust private agencies to deal with such cases as the State could not handle, and labour colonies should be established, where those who would not work should be made to, and those who wanted work could get it. (Applause.) EDUCATION. He would resist any interference with the present system. The proper persons to , teach religion were the ministers of religion, and not our school teachers. If we permitted religious instruction in schools, he failed to see how we could refuse denominational grants. He desired to see technical education extended and helped forward to the fullest extent by the State. He would also like to see the long-talked-of University College in Wellington, and would pledge himself to make the lives of any Government a misery until we got it. (Applause.) PBOfIIBITIOX. They knew his views on the licensing question. They had not changed. It was not a question of Prohibition, but of popular and public right. They did not ask Parliament for Prohibition — would refuse to take it, in fact. All they asked for was that the majority should rule, and that the Bill which had twice passed the Lower House should become law with but one amendment — that the majority shall control every issue. (Applause.) POLICE ADMINISTHATION. Mr. Atkinson condemned the police administration in round terms, as a disgrace to any civilised country. He would like to see the Police Department freed from political control and placed under anon-political Board. (Applause.) As long as it remained under the control of Mr. Seddon we should never have the licensing laws honestly enforced. (Interruption.) CONSTITUTIONAL BEFOBM. The most important measures they could expect from the coming Parliament were those of constitutional reform. The Party system was an unmitigated failure. In many instances the question of salary governed the vote. There was too much power in the hands of one member. He favoured an Elective Executive, because then Parliament would control Ministers, and not the Ministers the Parliament. (Applause ) Reform was also necessary in the Legislative Council, and he proposed the substitution of the elective for the nominative system, Councillors to retire in four or six years, and direct appeal to the people when the Chambers disagreed. (Interruption occurred here, and some one was ejected.) They must remember that no machinery could be automatic. It depended on the character of the men in charge. He thought the foregoing was a fairly Liberal platform — certainly Democratic. (Applause.) AN INDICTMENT. Mr. Atkinson's indictment against MrSeddon and his colleagues was a heavy one> and was delivered amidst a running fire of commentary, and amid discord and interruption. Mr. Seddon, he said, had many excellent points. He was a great and able man. (Hear, hear.) His self-confidence was absolutely unbounded — (applause) — but unfortunately he was a politician, not a statesman. (A voice — " Go it, Salisbury." Laughter.) He had no political ideals or principles. (Dissent.) He preached about the wickedness of setting class against class, yet he was doing it every day. He was a master of platitudes in morality, but his practice was against it. If you spoke to him of public trust and public duty, you would be talking to him in an unknown tongue. (Uproar.) This was no new type of man, but precisely the same as cursed Democracy from the days of Athens to the days of Tammany Hall. (Uproar.) The speaker referred to the Sergeant-at-Arms appointment as an act of shame, and charged the Government with undue interference with the judiciary. In this connection he advocated District Judges being given security of tenure. In the Civil Service we had the American system of corruption reproduced. ("No" and "Yes.") West Coasters in particular were crammed into billets, and he instanced * few of them amidst much dissent. , He characterised as highly improper Mr. Seddon's occupation of the dual position of buyer and seller on the Assets Board, and referred to the distinctions of colour made in regard to newspaper advertising and the printing of the electoral rolls. At this stage (10 o'clock) there were loud cries of " Time \" but Mr. Atkinson declared that he was going through his indictment if he had to Btay there all night. He de* nounced the Premier's connection with the German Syndicate, and went on to point out that £200,000 of the new loan was to be spent on the goldfields. The sum of £95,000 was at the Minister's absolute disposal, and the bulk of that amount was destined for the North Island, where the German Syndicate carried on its operations. The Premier's travelling expenses for the last financial year came to £440, and it was safe to conclude that this year, as there was a general election, they would be even larger. It was not right that the country should have to pay such large expenses, and it was dishonest of any elector to say that" he approved of them. Another eerious charge he had to make was that the Government had degraded Parliament. The Speaker formerly had control of the officers of the House, but this had been taken away from him by the present Ministry. Then, again, the Government had interfered with Hansard to suit its own purposes, and it had also refused to supply returns of revenue so that the people might know how the finances of the colony stood. There was, he regretted to say, a kind of Government terrorism throughout the country, and many people were afraid to open their mouths for fear the Government would know what they were saying. The amount of toadying which had taken place since the present Government came into office was disgraceful, and was deserving of the scorn of all honest men. In conclusion, he wished to say that he should be glad to serve the city in Parliament. ("Hear, hear," applause, and groans.) He had not been cowed by the opposition which he had met with that night, and if he went into Parliament he should certainly not be cowed by the Premier or his toadies there. (Uproar.) He should enter the House without any personal ends to serve. He felt utterly disgraced by many things which had been done in Parliament of late, and he should be glad to go into the House to remedy the evils which had sprung up. If he were returned he should do his very best for the city, but if he were defeated he should still be able to serve tho community in a more humble sphere. (Applause.) QUESTIONS. Replying to questions, Mr. Atkinson said

that he was not in faVour of the Government inspecting all school*. He was opposed to denominational grants. He was willing to give the returns for advertising by the Atkinson Government if he could find them. He denied that that Government had been responsible for any dirty work in connection with advertising, and he was prepared to retire from the election if it could be proved that it had done anything, in the matter of advertising of which it ought to have been ashamed. He was in favour of the Referendum. He was not in favour of reclaiming land by a system of Single Tax on land values. He should like to see more money spent on the public schools, and a fair amount spent on a University College for Wellington. He was in favour of extending the municipal franchise to all householders. Mr. Ernest Hadfield, who met with considerable opposition, moved a vote of thanks and confidence. Mr. Alex. Monro, who was received with mingled cheers, cat-calls, &c, seconded the motion. His remarks were quite inaudible owing to the tremendous din from the body of the theatre. The motion was declared to have been carried with only one dissentient. Cheers and groans brought to a close a most disorderly meeting.