IN THE NORTH THE LIBERAL CAMPAIGN

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 73, 27 March 1914, Page 7

IN THE NORTH THE LIBERAL CAMPAIGN

ADDRESS AT DARGAVILLE. (BT TELEGRAPH.— PRESS ASSOCIATION.) DARGAVILLE, This Day. A packed house greeted the Liberal members' appearance at Dargaville last evening. It was the largest and most enthusiastic political meeting held in the district, and the appearance on the platform of Messrs. Thompson and MacDonald was greeted with cheers and applause lasting for about three minutes. Also on the platform were Messrs'. Coates (member for Kaipara) and R. Hoe (the selected Liberal candidate for Kaipara). Air. Coates was the first to speak, and received a great reception. He said he was not there to plead for the Government. He hoped at a future meeting to fully address they electors. Mr. Thompson, in his address, referred to the good work of the Liberal Party during its twenty-one years of office ; the Acts passed by it were a monument to it, Acts not seen on any other Statute Book in the world. It was an honour and a pleasure to belong to such a straightforward set of gentlemen. He alluded to the Massey "square deal" farce, and said thai everything passed by the present Government had originated with the Liberals. He dealt with the subjects of taxation, settlement of lands, the State-guaranteed Office, railway construction, labour, and the alleged spiteful misrepresentation of the Liberal Party generally m regard to the recent strike. The strike, he was sure, could have been squashed without trouble two days after it had started. The success of the loans negotiated by Sir. Allen was mainly due to Sir Joseph Ward, to whom no credit had been given. Mr. Mac Donald and he were not there to expound a Liberal policy, but to put facts and figures before the electors and leave it to them to work out the positive, ultimate result.' The Liberal Pary had been treated shabbily by the press generally, as the Government was buying up papers. New Zealand could not have a local navy; it would be too expensive. The Imperial Navy was our main thought. Though Mr. Massey contended that the Liberal policy regarding finance was wrong, they were now proving that they had done right in adopting it. Mr. Mac Donald spoke mainly on the subject of land settlement. He compared the settlement during the Liberal regime with Mr. Maasey's. With regard to the Premier's statement that he had put 20,000 .settlers in the way of the freehold. Mr. Mac Donald said that was not true. The Liberal Government in 1907 had given these settlers Crown lands with an optional clause. The fact was that the land Mr. Massey had said was good for settlement wns useless, and no firstclass land was to be had now. He knew land which had been on the hands of the Government for thirty years, and which had not yet been taken up. There had been a big decrease in. land settlement since the Conservatives assumed the reins of Government. The big men were not making revenue for the country, but the small man on third-class land. Mr. Mac Donald then dealt with the financial position, advances to settlers, railways, and public works generally, and resumed his seat amidst applause. A vote of thanks to and confidence in the Liberal members who had spoken and confidence in the Liberal Party and Sir Joseph Ward as leader was carried by a large majority.