WELLINGTON EAST

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 117, 14 November 1930, Page 10

WELLINGTON EAST

REQUEST TO ME. GAUDIN

An intimation that ho would eonsidor the request made to him and give his answer on Monday, was given by Mr. W. J. Gaudin to-day when replying to a delegation of representatives of the New Zealand Political Association in the Wellington Bast electorate, which asked him to contest the WelJington East seat at the next General Election. The president of < {ho association (Mr. E. Saltnond) said \hat the delegation felt that Mr. Gaudin would be an entirely suitable man to represent the Wellington East district in Parliament. He had a very fine record of public service behind him, and had proved time and again that he had the confidence of the people in the electorate. Mr. Salmond referred to the present political association and the possibility of bringing about a more stable state of .affairs. He said that the delegation would like very much to hear that Mr. Gaudin would stand, and if he did he (Mr. Salmond) assured him of wholehearted support. Captain S. Holm, as a resident of Wellington East, supported the request, and said that if Mr. Gaudin would stand ho would guarantee an interesting and hard fight. They knew enough of Mr. Gaudin to know that it would be a clean and a straight one.. (Applause.) Something drastic in the way of Parliamentary reform had to bo taken in hand. 'If the party in power could not do it, then it was up to them to put a party in. that could. They took it that Mr. Gaudin was in favour of fusion. Whether he was in favour of Reform or United did not matter so much. Mr. A. W. Thompson stressed the need, for the presence of commercial men in Parliament, emphasising that Mr. Gaudin had a long business experience. There were parties in Parliament, representative of the trade unionists and the farming interests, and the commercial community was barely represented. Mr. E. C. Burton .supported the request of the delegation. As a resident of Eoseneath, he could say that the Labour vote in Eoseneath was very small indeed,' and ho was satisfied that Eoseneath would support Mr. Gaudin. Mr. F. Marshall said they would not come to Mr. Gaudin unless they thought he was the man to stand for that electorate. (Hear, hear.) Replying, Mr. Gaudiu said that he appreciated the sentiments expressed by the speakers, and he realised that it was an honour even .to be asked to stand for a city electorate.' As far as Wellington East was concerned, he had lived there practically all his life, and he had seen it grow from a l- wilderness to what it was to-day. New Zealand was passing through one of the worst periods of her history from a financial, and trade point of view,, and the times called for a wise administration and strict economy jin administration; careful taxation, and general supervision of all the administrative costs of the country. Personally, he thought that New Zealand, as a country, was too heavily burdened with "over-heads." (Hear, hear.) The cost of running it was excessive. The Government had been too prone in the past to enter into competition in private business. It seemed to him that there were two lines of thought: socialist lino of thought, and anti-socialist. In view of the experience in Australia over the last fen--years, it seemed to him that the socialists of New Zealand were not the party to administer the affairs of the country wisely and economically. There had been experience of their administration in Australia, and it had been disastrous. Mr. Gaudin said he considered that the present state of Australia was largely due to the administration of Labour Governments. It would be a calamity to New Zealand if a Labour Party got into power here. The only way to combat that Socialism was by a united front. To create triangular contests was simply handing the seats over to the Socialists. If there was a multiplicity of anti-Socialist candidates, this was a foregone conclusion. Ho considered just now that party interests should be sunk for the good of the country at"large. He was quite in accord with the proposal that the proper course to-day was for United and Eeform to get together: to sink the desire for office, and form a united party. It was only by doing that that the best could be got out of the country .and the land be again brought to a state of prosperity. He had voted for Mr. Massey and his party, but the time had come when the three-party system was becoming a danger to the country. It seemed that the best course to pursue just now was a state of independence: that" the country should select men of whatever party, and with independent views, and trust to their good sense when they were elected to form an efficient administrative party. If he consented to stand, he was .not prepared at present to link .himself with either party—United or Reform.