OTHER POINTS PROM MEETINGS

Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 50, 27 February 1918, Page 7

OTHER POINTS PROM MEETINGS

"The war has brought-together the Empire in a way it has never been previously. It has been cemented by the blood of its citizens, by tibe blood; of its soldiers, and by the blood- of ite sailors, and the memories of this war and the traditions arising therefrom will keep the Empire together in a way that nothing else could possibly have done."—. Eight Hon. Mr. Massey in hie address at the Town Hall. ; Sir Joseph Ward: "At the present moment in the Old World "things haveViever been, at such a point'of anxiety.The Germane are depending upon the t upheaval in Kussia to gain eupplies and j release men to' enable them to gain 1 domination, Within the ltut few d*y»

they have stated: *We will be able to hold out longer than England.' That means that if any portion of the British Empire diiring the last struggle for supremacy, tho last struggle for who shall hold out; longest, shows any quivering— at whatever point of the Iknpire it may bo jt is going to be exaggerated, it is going to be used to beat you into "submission by the foe that wants to beat you and every other country." "Wo were in hopes that the war would end this year; but I stand here as one of a huge majority and say:;-'Weare. prepared to carry on till 1928 sooner than submit to an incomplete peaco!' "—Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey. : . . As a means of reducing the present high cost of living and combating a still further increase, Mr. Poison last night. advocated the establishment of State bakeries, butcheries, and the like, in the chief centroSj and an efficient collier and coastal-carrying; system. There should'bo an expansion in the activities of all branches of State insurance, "and * the establishing of a State , B&nk,, which would compete with existing banks, ■would bring in an enormous amount of revenue • which was at. present lost to the country. More than one reproof was earned by Dr. Thaoker, in the Town Hall, last night. Mr.. Luke was speaking of his work for the soldiers. "I challenge anyone," he said, "to sa-y that there is any one in New Zealand could have done more for the soldiers than I have.". "Here's one here," said Dr. Thacker, jumping up. Mr. Luke continued his speech quietly. Tn his five years as Mayor of Wellington he had welcomed many visitors to the city. "I am sorry,' to-night, that we have a politician in our midst who does not deserve the welcome of our city. He is a member of Parliament; he has been a member of the Christchurch City Council. I should scorn, I should regret exceedingly, to see our City Council come down to the tactics that have been adopted by Dr. Thacker here to-night." - "I think it is disgraceful that a certain section, of the community holding a single idea should lay themselves out, as they have done, to create dissension in this constituency. It is open for every elector to choose the candidate he "or she thinks best fitted to represent the constituency, and for a Prohibitionist to revile a candidate because he happens to be supported by the publicans or to revile a candidate because he happens to bo supported by the Prohibitionists— these are not tactics which should be pursued at the present time. (Applause. )-r-. { Mr. Brandon at Molesworth-street. „:...; "Kaiserdom came into existence in New Zealand with the conscription law," stated Mr. H. E. Holland at the Masonic Hall last night. The War Regulations, he stated, were worthy of the Bismarck law of 1878. "Mr. Massey, whose name is William, may attempt to emulate Biismarck or his namesake on the German throne, but he can never be the man of blood and. iron."that,. Bis-, marck was, and Bismarck went' down before the inevitable train of events. Mr. Massey is destined to' the same' fate.'! the same as Sir Joseph (Ward.. The greatest of all Sir Joseph Wards-mist-akes was made on the day he agreed to a coalition with Mr. Massey." The present fight in Wellington North was between all that was historically best in British freedom and all that was historically worst in Prussim militarism. "A circular was shown to me," said Sir Joseph Ward apropos of misrepresentations last night, "showing what gourmandisers Mr. Massey and I were while in England, and what a terrible amount jt cost us at the Ritz Hotel. First of all, we never dined at the Ritz Hotel. At the place where we stayed there was a notice on the menu every day limiting us to three ounces of meat (oh!), half a, slice of, bread and one lump of sugar, and everybody else was treated the same way." "Persons struck off the roll entitled."to; vote" is the side-heading- to Section'lß '.. of the Legislature Amendment Act, 1914, which reads as follows: —"If at any election any person whose name is removed from .any' certified copy of the roll supplied to the Returning Officer in pursuance of Section 24 of tho Legislature Amendment Act, 1910, or who voted at the last preceding election in the district, but whose name does not appear on the said roll, applies to vote, he shall be given a ballot paper on his making a declaration in the form numbered 2in thp schedule hereto. Every person who knowingly and wilfully makes ■ a false statement in any declaration under this section is liable to a fine of £50."