CAMPAIGNING IN WELLINGTON

Evening Star, Issue 17226, 16 December 1919, Page 12

CAMPAIGNING IN WELLINGTON

! } TIIE INTERRUPTION PARTY. \m\ PETER. ERASER'S INDISCRETION. ' ' [Special to the ' Stah.'j —— WELLINGTON, December 15. Wellington's Interruption Party gave a :other indication of their vindictive at1. tudo to-day, when Mr P. Eraser, Labor candidate .for Wellington Centra], was a leading figure in disturbing an open-air meeting near the Government Buildine, where the Liberal candidate for Wellington. North (Mr Oakley Browne) -was addressing Government employees after their work. During Mr Browne's speech one persistent heckler attracted attention, and eventually Mr Browne identified him as Mr Peter Fr.iser. Mr Brow.-io declared that it was most unsportsmanlike for the member for Wellington Central to interfere in another electorate against an opposing candidate. He had not troubled Mr Fraser at his meetings, and such interruptions as had taken place came badly from the leader of a party who alleged that they stood for _ freedom of speech, and tissued a manifesto with Mr Eraser's name attached declaring -themselves against tlio interruption of political meetings. Tire crowd heartily cheered this protest, -which was foliow-ed by a declaration from the Hon. R. M'Kcnzio (a former member for Mot-ucka) thai in 50 years' electioneering experience he had never seen such a re* p-rehensibk? incident. Mr Fraeer afterward.; addre&scd the crowd on. behalf of the candidate for Wellington North, when he jot a lively reception as a result of his "indiscretion. SIR JOSEPH WARD AT TOWN HALL FINAL ADVICE TO VOTERS. REFORM .ATTACKS AND LIBERALACHIEVEMENT. [Special to the 'Star.'? WELLINGTON. December 15. The Liberal Leader addressed an overflowing audience- in the Town. Hah tonight. The plaeo was crammed half an hour before starting time. Thomrh (her') was a small body of Labor sympathisers present, the, audience were eo enthusiastically demonstrative in Sir ,T. (!. Ward's favor that interruption i-o-oi.i ceased, tiic speaker getting a splendid hearing until towards the end of his address, when reference to the Liberal housing poliev was greeted with laughter and interjections, which were a-ra.bi drowned in applause, the speaker having no difficulty in concluding.. The proposer of the motion of oontidehce, (Mr J. Hutcheson) war. counted out tor ar." over-lung 's-peech, but- the motion itself was earned bv an overwhelming majority. There was a vow enthusiastic reception for the Libera! Leader wn.-n he entered the hall, and again who he commenced his speech, with an expression of regret that hundreds of pen pie bad been unable to get in durin'i' hipresent no Mm 11 having'been lnrg.. enoiigli to contain those who wi.-hed to bear him. Sir Joseph Ward again protested against the (one taken by leading Conservative j"urnais in their opposition to hi in. Thev eried out ah.nit Bolshevism, hut in (hei'r leading columns misrepresented in a low-down, abominable way. whirh was worse than a Bolshevik would do. \, : , winder, remarked Sir Jo.-eph. that nui'.iv decent men did not care to enter polities. (Applause.) The latest misrepresentation was the. Prime Minister's suggestion that, there was an unholv alliance between ili" Liberals and Extreme Labor, beeau.-o the Lahon'i.cs had retired to give the Libetids a clear run. There were two candidates who retired at Teinuka —one wa-s the Mayor of Temuka, and the other a well-to-do farmer. He .(Sir -Joseph) had no association with either of them—thevwwe c >-e both on the Liberal r-ide ; but wbe'u thev saw they had no chance thc-y. like sensible men. retired, allowing the Libeial to have a sUaigiit-uut light against a

Tory, (Applause.) "Tn -tho Wallace scat. a Labor man, after going around the constituency, found that -he had no prospect, of winning, so he left the position to the Liberal member, who was going to win. Why Jiad Reform failed to substitute something better than the Second Ballot ? Because on one election. R-eform got into power with a majority of 127,000 votes against them, and on the next occasion with 29.000 fewer votes than the Opposition candidates polled. Reform had" descended to the depth of criticising him for accepting an lionor from the King which was unsolicited. Reform in six years had recommended 15 men for knighthood, while Liberalism in 21 years had recommended seven. Alluding to his "wild nationalisation schemes." Sir Joseph asked why did he advocate nationalisation of the coal mines. It was because the .position was -worse than unsatisfactory; it was absolutely ruinous from the country and the miners' point of view. Nobody "had heard- of the railwaymen striking since they had a superannuation scheme. Ho wanted all the miners' working conditions improved and his old age secured again.st disease or privation. Necessities for the development of New Zealand were going to compel the people to adopt the principle of a State Bank. Tho revenue from J-jtate activities would go into the Treasury to relieve the worker, the merchant, and the farmer of taration. His opponents ought to drop genetahsoct criticism and get down to a constructive programme, instead of the policy of stagnation reflected in Reform's last roads allocations. It was necessary, in the interests of the whole Public Service, to put into operation retirement at the age of 65. There would have to be a real system of promotion for teachers on a Dominion scale. The Government, would have to stop tho making of extortionate profits, and to extend our outward trade, sending men into other countries to develop our business., because in future, with cheap power, we would become one of the cheapest manufacturing countries in the world. "When tho election is over." continued Sir Joseph., "you will find that two ot the present Ministers will not get hack into Parliament, and that there will be a majority of men on the side of the Liberals. (Applause.) You will find that, though there, will be a crossing of votes in different parts of the country, that the Liberal Party are going to be the strongest party in power--(loud cheers) —and 1 want to appeal disinterestedly to tiie men and women of New Zealand not to make a mistake: a! this General Election by_. tlnowing their votes away, because if they do thev will put into power a teaetiouary party." The speaker concluded with a rapid survey if the main planks of the progressive .Liberal policy of construction, and was given a great ovation when he sat down. A motion of thanks and confidence in the Liberal Party's ability to govern New Zealand was carried with another demonstration, a very iine meeting ending with tho National Anthem.