GENERAL ELECTION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 106, 31 October 1908, Page 9

GENERAL ELECTION.

WELLINGTON NOftTH. MR. BOLTON'S ADDRESS. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OP POLITICAL QUESTIONS. Mi\ T". G. Bolton addressed the electors of Wellington North at the Sydneystreet Schoolroom last evening. Mr. Isaac Clark occupied the chair. The hall was crowded. Mr. Bolton said he wished, before dealing with questions of policy, to give a few reasons why he was deserving of the^ support of the electors of Wellington North. He was born there, all his interests were there, he had a life-long knowledge of the district, an intimate business knowtedge of it, and for some years he had been a member of many of the local bodies of Wellington, such as the Hospital Trustees, the Benevolent Trustees, the Harbour Board, and he had been Mayor of Eastbourne for three years. He had, as a member of these local bodies, always endeavoured to do his duty in the interests of the people, and he had always spoken his mind in any question that came before them. So that if local service counted, he thought he had a claim on the support of the electors. It was not his intention in the present campaign to indulge in personalities. Whilst respecting his opponents, he would be compelled to refer to their views and policy on some points somewhat severely. BROAD VIEWS. It was his intention to deal with politics from a national standpoint. In the past there had been rather too much of North versus South, town against country, and city against city. City members especially should look at questions from a national point of view. City electorates very rarely wanted public grants for works in the same way as did country districts. City representatives should assist in staving off inordinate and unnecessary demands on the Treasury, and they should see that all expenditure was of a reproductive character, and was such as could be justified. In his address he would attempt to deal honestly with a large number of public questions. The man who attempted any kind of constructive policy was necessarily open to attack. It was much easier to say that everything was wrong, and to carp and criticise, than to bring forward a constructive policy. He would be criticised, but he would not take his criticism lying down. In any case, it was his intention to honestly deal with the serious questions of the moment. (Applause.) Dealing first with the speeches of his opponent, Mr. Herdman, he might point out that that gentleman's criticism had been mostly destructive, and it was very difficult to reply to that class of criticism. But it was very much more difficult to bring forward a constructive policy than a destructive policy of criticism. HIS POSITION. He would first outline his political attitude in the preseut election. He was standing as a general supporter of tho policy of the Government, keeping a free hand on minor questions, and on al' questions particularly affecting Wellington city and the Wellington North electorate. He intended to give the Government a general support on their policy, but he did not intend to be a mere dummy. He would exercise his own brains and judgment on all questions outside those affecting the immediately denned policy of the Government. (Applause.) The man who took up that attitude was of much more use to the Dominion than a man who was simply a blind follower of any leader. The vote of a man who exercised his own judgment and originality was of much more value than the vote of a man who did not. Mr. Izard had said that it was to be regretted that the candidates selected by the Government and the Opposition were not to be allowed to fight it out squarely between them. He (Mr. Bolton) contended that in any case the position of the other Liberal candidate would not be prejudiced by his candidature. GOVERNMENT POLICY. As to the general policy of the Government, he approved of land for settlement, advances to settlers, advances to workers, the Land Act (with certain reservations which he wouH subsequently indicate), tho Conciliation and Arbitration Act (with certain reservations), the Old Age Pensions Act, and other Liberal aid democratic measures that had been passed during the last fifteen or sixteen years. In his opinion, speaking generally, that policy had been for the general good. It had especially been an advantage to the farming community. MR. HERDMAN CRITICISED. In his candid opinion, the man he had to fight in the present election was Mr. Herdman. That gentleman's policy — in so far as he had a policy — was one of entirely negative criticism. He had a great deaJ to say about the misdeeds of the Government, and the rotten state of things, but he had mighty little to sa-y in the way of remedy. Mr. Herdman supported a policy which would mean giving to the Crown tenants the freehold at the original value. That was the main plank in the Opposition platform, and in his (Mr. Bolton's) opinion, it was the biggest and most iniquitous bribe ever offered in New Zealand — it meant giving to the Crown tenants the freehold in many cases at one-fifth of the present varue of tho land. (Applause.) He combatfced Mr. Herdmuvs argument that the Dominion borrowed money practically to pay interest on its debt. We had always money to pay the interest, but we could not carry out public works without borrowing. Mr. Herdman advocated the appointment of a Civil Service Board ; but such a board would be appointed by Parliament, and indirectly by the Government, and would have, perhaps, an unconscious bias. Mr. Herdman's suggestion of a public works board was a nebulous one. He did not say how it was to b© appointed, and it would apparently have nothing to do with railways. He (Mr. Bolton) wanted to know why Parliament should part with the control of the public purse ? FINANCE. Whilst admitting the necessity for caution, ho criticised Mr. Herdman's statement in regard to the increase of the public debt, and the amount spent in reproductive and unproductive works. He defended the administration of tho Advances to Settlers Department against the suggestion that had been made by Mr. Herdman, and ho did not agree with Mr. Herdman that the present poll-tax was a sufficient protection against the influx of Chinese. Nor did ho agree with Mr. Herdman that power should be given to ministeru of religion to give religious instruction in the public schools. A man who was desirous of introducing the element of religions strife into New Zealand was not deserving of the support of a democratic community. (Applause.) Tho public debt was mounting up quite fast enough. He would like to sco us going back to a more self-reliant policy. He favoured the establishment of sinking funds for our loans. PUBLIC WORKS. Ho thought that railway and public .works expenditure should be dealt with

[by political experts (the departmental engineers), who" should report (a) as to the cost, and (b) as to tho payability of the line and future increase of productiveness. If a work was reported on unfavourably, tho locality should, by application of the betterment principle, make the worn financial. That proposal was better than handing over the control of expenditure to local bodies, which might be extravagantly managed, and which would counsel tho Government to contribute £ for £, without the Government having a voice in the control. That was the very thing the Government was trying to stop in connection with hospital and charitable aid administration. As to hospitals and charitable aid, the tendency to centralise was infinitely better than decentralisation, because there was a saving in the cost of |- management. It would De far better to wipe out some of these local bodies instead of increasing them. EXTRAVAGANCE. He disapproved of such expenditure as that on Dominion Day celebration, the reception of the American fleet, the Dunedin railway station, and the Midland railway. The system of keeping the public works and railway accounts was misleading. The cost of renewals' and repairs should be charged to revenue, not to capital. This was not said in a carping spirit, but we ought to know where we stood. If tho railways were found to be working unfinancially, an increase In the railway charges must bo made. ASSISTING THE PRODUCER. Referring to the decreased price of our exports, Mr. Bolton said that sufficient attention was not paid to the producer at the other end. The Government should in some way afford facilities to the producer to store in London at a reasonable cost for a limited period our staple products when they were at an abnormally low price. The Government should bring the producer and consumer into touch, and eliminate the middle man as far as possible. COST OF LIVING. Mr. Bolton then dealt at considerable length with the question of the increased cost of living. This was an economic, not a political question. Although he had no desire to prevent high wages, industries would not, in most cases, st*nd further increased wages. The remedy was to give greater purchasing power to existing wages. It was a common error to say that high wages necessarily impliod high prices. The present rate of wages in Wellington, although nominally high, was not really so. The increased cost of living was twofold, viz., high rents, and the increased cost of the necessaries of life. A REMEDY. As a remedy, he recommended that the Government should take up land close to the city, in tho suburbs, and Jfc*£ld houses at bedrock cost. Petone was too far away. The houses must not be more than ten minutes from tho city by rail, and should be close to a railway station. Tho land should not oxceed £300 an aero in purchase, and the sections, after roading and surveying, should not be more than £2 per foot. The houses should be built at less cost. He advocated the abolition of tho duty on timber. In the alternative, tho house might be built of reinforced concrete. A great saving could be effected by the Government owning its own sand and gravel areas. The. dwellers in these houses should in every way be encouraged to make the property their own. In order to increase the purchasing power, the duties should be removed from primary products. If freights were too high the Government should encourage the competition of other steamship companies by loans, or should charter or own vessels. The Union Company was a great) > monopoly. He v alluded to the Exhibition charges, and was of opinion that the Government) should own the Wellington-Lyttellon ferry steamers. VARIOUS SUBJECTS. The remissions m Customs duties had not, in most cases, gone to the> consumer but to the importer. He believed in a free breakfast table, but there was no use taking off the duty to present it to tho importer. What we required as assisted immigrants were farmers with some capital, farm labourers, and domestic servants. Dealing with the land question, Mr. Bolton said he approved of the leasehold system, and he would like to see it applied to all Crown lands still unsold. The freehold should not be given to the present Crown tenants except at the present value, and they should be compelled to exercise their option within a reasonable time — in, say, three years. He was in favour of rating on the unimproved values, but not of making it mandatory on local bodies. He favoured the present education system, and was opposed to Bible reading in schools. He believed in a uniform system of school books. On the licensing question he supported the three-fifths majority. He would support an increase of the poll-tax on Chinese or total exclusion. An amendment of tha Factories Act was required to bring our legislation into conformity with the Victorian legislation — limiting the hours of labour in Chinese laundries, and forbidding the registration of factories occupied by Chinese. Admission to the public service should be through examination or through public application. Experts should be more clearly defined. The Civil Service Classification Appeal Board should be an independent body. There should be an independent expert to deal with promotions. There should be a special time reward for those passing the senior civil service. An opportunity should be given to second division men in ttie railway service to rise to the first division. The pay of the junior constables in the police force should be increased. In conclusion, Mr. Bolton said the great majority of fche people of the Dominion were wedded heart and soul, as he was, to democratic and Liberal views. He believed they wished for no reactionary change of policy, but for a firmer, clearer administration of the present policy, with such improvements as he had indicated. (Applause.) At. the conclusion of his address a hearty vote of thanks and confidence was accorded to Mr. Bolton.