Election Campaign

Evening Star, Issue 20010, 30 October 1928, Page 8

Election Campaign

Ufa king: Ti ip First appearance ou the hustings in Dunedin last night, Mr Charles R. Smith, the United candidate tor Dunedin North, opened Ins campaign in tlio George Street School Hall, lie strongly advocated tho plattorm ot his party, and spoke authoritatively on the association hot ween town and country and the means of obtaining greater production. Mr .1. S. .Douglas presided, and Mr Smith was given a splendid hearing. “In this contest it would appear that the opponents of the United I’arty would try to discredit my appearance on tho party’s behalf because I’m jmt well known,” said Mr Smith. “'Well, if everyone in our city is to he treated that way, who arc well known? They are just tho few who represent yon in Parliament and tho City Council and a tew others. But 1 should surely have standing among you, when I was born in this city and have spent twentythree years in it, continuously for tho last nine years in your district. But. although 1. have not spent tho whole of my time in Dunedin, 1, as one of your good citizens and one of your own upbringing, went out to tho hinterland of Otago.” He was known there and in tho Bruce electorate, in which he had opposed Sir James Allen and been defeated bv only 600 votes.

In the present campaign bpth .Reform and Labour were endeavouring to suggest that no otlier party was in tlio picture, ridiculing, ignoring, and talking illngically about the mystery of the United Party, In Dunedin North and throughout New Zealand a body of opinion had been represented in the past by the great Liberal Government. The party had ruled New Zealand for twenty years, and had enacted most of the humanitarian measures now blessed by the communily. Beside members of the old party, there were many who were dissatisfied with Reform's conduct of affairs. That body of opinion was demanding expression, and in Dunedin North was not in favour of the Reform and Labour .Parties or their nominees. DISPOSING OF LABOUR. He could dispose of the Labour Party in a few sentences. Mr P. Noilson, secretary of the Dunedin Labour Representation Committee, had stated in a letter to the ‘Star’; ‘‘We do not stand For the abolition of capital, but what we do stand for is Ihe abolition of private ownership and competition. We propose to socialise land and everything which pertains to man’s sustenance and well being.” He objected to bis section and their land being socialised. Then Mr Ralph .Harrison had stated lie demanded the transfer of land from private to community ownership. The dominating principle behind the* whole platform of the Labour Partv, as outlined hv its chief apostle (Mr Holland! was that all means of production, distribution, ami exchange should be socialised. Labour could soft pedal as it liked, hut that was its principle, and ho refused to support that party being placed in power, although its platform was similar to that of .United ami Reform. ” A TERRIBLE MESS.” ’An attack on Reform was then launched by Mr .Smith. The settlement of returned soldiers was a terrible moss. 1c was a crying shame and sin to place soldiers on land bought ' at inflated prices, and the Government, in 1920 bad to wipe olf £2,670,001) of the money paid to tbe owners. Mr Coates had promised in his Dunedin speech to overhaul the cost of government. That should have ligcn done when his party entered into power. Reform had also left legislation to departmental officers to work out the details of its application to the welfare of the people. Departmental autocracy resulted. Departmental reports had not been available lor discussion with THo Estimates. “Why should there bo this dilatoriucss?” asked Mr .Smith. “It seems that the Rclorm Government is ruled by bureaucracy.” IMPROVED STEAMER SERVICE. It was also high time that the Government moved in the direction of obtaining a regular weekly service, ns was in force when lie- was a tad, between the South island and Australia vi:; Bluff. All communication with Australia should not be through Wellington and Auckland. _ .027H)0(T,(.n Kj bad been spent by tourists in Canada last year, and the South Island should get its share of the dominion's tourist revenue bv an inducement being made to travellers to make a, through trip without doubling hack to Auckland or Wellington. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL UNREST. ”1 will now deal with the political, economic, and social that exists to-day,” continued Air Smith. "At Hie present time our workers do not know how .long they arc going to ho employed, and our traders do not know but what they will suffer from Government intericrenco in their business.” (Hero tho speaker instanced (he case of a young lady, one of many, who bad been put- off work lor four or five days.) “ All such cases went to show up the state of trade amongst tho manufacturers, and the need that there was for move protection. Then there, was the tragic shame connected with the fact that boys just attaining the age when they .should be learning a trade were restricted in the pursuance of their chosen career; for whereas hoys who wished to enter the professions wore lelb free to continue their course, those who wished to become carpenters, blacksmiths or other tradesmen were hampered. Atiat were the parents to do with such boys.-' Rverv hoy should have some trade at his finger ends. As things were, if one passed along the town one would see men labouring on roads—men witu vonth characterising them—and under these circumstances there was cer‘.amlv something wrong with our social and economic conditions. In regard to the men unemployed, ihe Premier had said that the number was one in 300-a lesser proportion than that in any other country. Therefore, stated the Premier, everything was well. He (the speaker) knew that there was a certain number of mea were unemployable, hut it was hv no means the case that all people" out of work could be classed, m this way. The area of the dominion creatlv exceeded that of England and Scotland, and here there were only a million and a-half people. There should ertainiy be no unemployment when there was such a wealth of material in tho land. FARMERS’ AFFAIRS. Personally, ho was in a particularly good position to speak of all such matters, for ho had lived in both town and countrv—as a teacher in tho city, and ns ft skilled agriculturist in the country. , , He could say that there was much discontent among the farmers. They

Strong United Advocacy Mr C. R. Smith’s Platform Outlined Financial Proposals Sound and Reasonable

had to sell their produce in a world market, taking what they could get, and yet (hey were handicapped by having to give Arbitration Court rates of wages to those who worked lor them. in the matter of finance, tho system before Sir Joseph Ward became Minister. was that every fanner who wanted a few hundred pounds to buy a section could get it only for five or seven years. At the end of that time he had to pay all the interest and got it renewed. In 1909 Sir Joseph Ward introduced a new system, which removed that nightmare from tho minds of the people. He saw to it that tho scheme would operate for 36f years, at the end of which time (he debt would have disappeared. Sir Joseph proposed to extend that system. (Applause.) INFLATED LAND VALUES. In dealing further with (ho land question tho speaker stressed tho urgency of getting rid of in Hated values, because these, lie said, still constituted a curso which was injuring many farmers in Now Zealand. How were wc going to alter these conditionsP Our present Government said that nothing could be done to ease the situation. Well, where did tho country’s money come from? Fifty-four per cent, of the people of New Zealand lived in tho cities, and <l6 per cent, in tho country. Of tho 43,000,000 acres of land in the dominion 18,000,000 acres were cull..arable. It was, of course, impossible to increase this; but was the land producing all it could? The whole country must produce more, and it should he possible to export tho products of secondary industry, as well as those of primary industry. MASTER AND MAN, “ How are you going io get the increase for onr people?” he asked. Tho only nay suggested was to make a division from a big heap formed by all the produce and material. A certain proportion of the population was iion-wage-earning, hut world-wido authorities as economists had stated that if the wealth of that section were divided among tho rest it would mean only a few shillings per week per man. To men with common sense, that would he accepted as true. Tho only way of obtaining greater wealth for the people was to increase the size of the. heap. 'That meant that in the city and country the saleable stuff had to be increased. And they could not get away from the fact that the saleable produce came from the country. Once the secondary industry was built up New Zealand should lie able to export, as the primary industries’ products were exported. Socially and economically the dominion should try to rectify the present policy of sending wool and hides overseas and importing the finished goods, despite there being clothing and boot manufactories in the country. Surely an improvement was not above their comprehension or ability. There was something wrong with the economic arrangement between master and man, and it was certainly tho work of the statesman to do something along the lines of bringing about altered conditions by cooperating master and man. A Voice.: 1 don’t like your expression. Make it employer and employee, Fmploycrs and workers, said Mr Smith, should get together and so arrange that tlie cost of production bo reduced, and tho amount of production bo increased. Increased exports would bring increased money into the country and provide employment lor the men in the city. TO ATTEMPT TO SETTLE LAND. “ The world-wide decline in prices of primary produce during recent years naturally checked the demand for farming laud, and tho Government wisely refrained from undertaking any risky settlement schemes during that unfavourable period.” The Prime Minister had made, that statement, and the Minister of Lands had said that if the land were available he could find 5,000 to 6,000 settlers. Another Reform member (Mr F. Waite) had staled that tho Government had endeavoured to keep on the land those already there rather than to lash out in any wild policy in nines of such Jluctuating prices. “The Government lias not. attempted to do anything in regard to land settlement,” declared Mr Smith, who followed with the assertion, based on practical experience, that tho land was only being scratched tor production. Thousands of acres now being grazed were capable of producing largo quantities of butter and cheese. A country’s wealth came from the land, ami the aim should be to increase. the production. Land aggregation, even with Crown leaseholds, was being permitted, and the hind was not being fully developed or more closely settled. Jf one man held eight properties lie employed a shepherd and a rouseabout on each, whereas eight farmers should he settled on them to produce the greatest quantity. At Glondlcdi, at Tokomairiro Mouth, he once had a grazing run of lour squares miles, and otic man would ho a king if ho fully farmed even one of tho dozen gullies on the run. The means of increasing the country’s wealth was there, but during the past three years the Reform Government had not moved a little bit to bring about greater country population, production, or closer settlement. THE KEY TO SUCCESS. If tho United Party were returned to power it wmdd bring about closer settlement, said Mr Smith. Tito key to bringing about the settlement was that the land acquired near' tho railways, towns, and industries should bo purchased on its productive value, based by a capable board on tho values of the products over a period of years. If the Government had used this key principle when settling tho soldiers it would have been a good tiling for the country. When tho value of land was assessed at a higher mark than its productivity. allpwmg for working and comfortable living expenses, depression, with unemployment, was experienced. Land being the source, of wealth, its productive value had to be determined. In Otago Central, a. sparsely settled country, the land had all the ingredients necessary for production, but water was needed. When water was provided the land would grow anything. FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS. “This brings mo to the questions of finance and land settlement,” said Mr Smith. “How are we going to get people on the land? Fresh capital, of course, is wanted, but you can’t get this from the banks, because what they have is used for cohimercial undertakings. Well, if young men had no money to start themselves off with, did that mean that they had to sit down and look at the- land? They, simply had to put these pjen, on sec-

tions. The worker in the city was advanced up to 95 ’ per cent, on the value of his security to build a house, which i’n 36J years’ time became his own; it was paid off. it should bo the same with the young farmer. ‘ Ho should bo given 95 per cent, instead of tho 75 per cunt, that at present obtained, And tho value should bo fixed not by tho seller, but by a Government board of experts which was qualified to assess the urodnetivo value of the. land.

11l 1913 the State Advances Act was introduced by Sir Joseph Ward, and ns a result of it some critics said that New Zealand would become a pawn shop, and that the money would be lost; whereas it so turned out that the contrary was the case. Tho present party in 1921 authorised tho distribution of £3,066,202, and actually distributed £6,205,686. .In 1925 £5,880,485 was authorised and £5,238,880 distributed, whilst in 1926 £8,330,474 was authorised and £6,269,403 distributed. In 1928 £2,861,750 was granted to settlers and £2.357,211 to workers—u total of £5,218,961. In 1925 tho public debt was £227,000,000, and this amount in 1923 had increased to £251,000,000, so that the present Government had borrowed £23,000,000 in three years. In the face of this there seemed little ground for the Reform candidates calling the United Party a borrowing party, and Sir Joseph Ward was no more entitled to ho called a borrower than was the Reform Parly.

Moreover, lie proposed burrowing merely to give tho settlers a chance. If a man had a Government loan he paid for it himself, and not the public. Similarly the burden of paying for tho £60.000,000 it was proposed to borrow would fall on tho settlers only, and not on tho ratepayers generally. In handling State advances loans tho Government in 1925-26 had made a gross profit of £78,536; expenses amounted to £28,527, or 2s lid ]>cr £100; and losses and depreciation came to _£l2,709, so that the net profit was £37,300. It could be seen, therefore, that tho administration ! of this department cost, the ratepayers nothing. In 19.13 tho State Advances Act was altered to allow the Government to borrow £ll,500,000 during that year, and yet when Sir Joseph Ward proposed borrowing at tho rate of £6,000,000 per annum for ten years he was accused of “ booming.” The remaining £10.000.000_ was for tho completion of old-established railway lines, for the purpose of making them revenue-producing and inter-est-earning. When the lino from Wellington to Auckland was completed critics said it would never pay. hut now it was the best paying line m New Zealand.

NO DIFFERENT FROM REFORM. “Our opponents say in regard to the borrowing business that wc will have to borrow further money to deal with post offices ami schools and other works,” said Mr Smith. “Certainly wo will have to do that, hut what extra sum is Sir Joseph proposing to borrow? Instead of allowing tho railway works io extend over ten years ho proposes to finish them in three years. As far as the settlers arc concerned, the sixty millions can he wiped off the slate. In what way are we different from the Reform Parly? T hero is right and reason in the scheme, and no boom or bust in it.” H a United Government gets into power it will increase tho value of tho primary products Irom £40,000,000 to £60,000,1)00.. Jt will lake a loaf out of the book of Sir John Mackenzie. AVe have to stop this waste, and bring out ol Ihe fertile countrv all it can produce. That means that for tho next ten years unemployment would not he. heard of in this land.” TRAINING OF YOUTHS. Speaking of unemployment, Air Smith said vocational training in the walks of life chosen would have to be given the boys and girls in both city and country. Some of the 1 armors had attended cuurcs at an agricultural college, hut tho majority had received their knowledge from their lathers. The science of agriculture had been so developed in the past twenty years that the youth should be given the highest equipment in scientific knowledge. The educational system should ho'altered to centralise tho country schools, thus displacing the one-teacher schools, which were poorly equipped owing io cost, and substituting schools under the control of teachers holding degrees of B.Ag. Ho appealed to unionists to consider the hard-and-fast lines they had drawn round their trades, which prevented his sons and their sons from learning tho trades. .In Germany every man was taught a trade. Tho nation saw that that was done. The. same policy was carried out in America; but in New Zealand tho troubles of unemployment were intensified ami multiplied by tho circumscribing of industries by saying that none but those already in them should bo taught tho trades. Surely, by heart-to-heart, round-table talks, and by co-operation, that position could bo altered. Selfishness alone now prevented tho problem from being solved. EDUCATIONAL MATTERS. Tn reference to education and the Otago Education Board’s inability to have its own way in the matter of appointing a male lonelier at Tuapcka Alouth, Mr Smith said that, if he were sent to Wellington ho would do his best to bring about n policy of decent ralisation, and see that affairs of this sort were controlled as they were twenty years ago. As regards education, lie believed it was a fact that a. new syllabus was in be introduced this year, and that all children were going to stop at Standard IV., and at this stage parents would lie asked what lines their children were going to follow' up. Then their future curriculum of school life would be mapped out in a manner best suited to fit them for those respective, careers. Jf they were to go on the land they would study agriculture, and so on. That was a good thing. (Applause.) Hi addition, he believed that the Government intended to keep pupils at school until they wore sixteen years of ago if tho parents so desired. It was possible to accomplish much in those two extra years under a competent teacher. UNIVERSAL PENSIONS. The universal pension system was another matter outlined by the United Party candidate. In ibis connection ho pointed out that under the present system a man gob his 17s 6d_a week when ho reached a certain age, irrespective of the fact whether ho had been lazy, extravagant, a drinker, or otherwise; yet others, by working hard and getting together more than £SOO, were denied this. ft was quite wrong. Pensions should he universal. (Applause.) Everybody between the ages of sixteen and sixty years should pay into a pension fund, and tho Government also should contribute. (Applause.) They would scarcely credit tho amount of money they were paying into the Public Service Fund as a subsidy. He said that the subsidies paid into this superannuation fund for 1907 till 1926 amounted to £1,204,500, and the actuary at the present time recommended that a subsidy of £350,000 a year should be given to the fund. In 1926 a subsidy of £170,000 was contributed to the Railways Superannuation Fund. Old age pensions in 1924 cost. £767,805: in 1925, £806,953; in 1926, £903,577; and in 1927, £1,271,694. “ 1 will not follow the Reform Party candidate, who advocated a pension‘of £3 a week,” declared Mr Smith. “1 am only asking tor what can be done.” Outlining other views, Mr Smith supported the Hon. G. AI. Thomson’s scheme for Bible-in-Schools leading and the present defence system, while he would always strive to denounce war and bring about world peace. He favoured tin? preferential system of electoral vojting.

PROTECTIVE TARIFFS. In reply to questions regarding local industry,"Sir Smith said that in order to protect our manufactures ho was in favour of imposing adequate protective tariffs. Also, he was prepared to support the formation of a protective tariff board. DAYLIGHT SAVING. Answering a query regarding his daylight-saving policy, tho speaker said he .was in the happy position of being able to understand how it affected people in both town and country. In view of tho adverse effect an hour of daylight saving had on the farming community, ho would vote for the half-hour proposal, and ho would vote to have it made permanent. LIQUOR AND OTHER QUESTIONS. Mr Smith said he had, received eight questions from tho New Zealand Alliance, and he was in favour of the two-issno ballot paper and the hare majority. Replying to tho Otago Hunt Chib’s questions, ho would always oppose any curtailment of the rights of legitimate sports, but he would oppose legislation permitting the publication of dividends and the telegraphing of investments to the totalisator. Replying to questions, he said the railways were, a business with an investment of £60,000,000. I Ira ins wore required to run them, and Mr Sterling possessed brains. He was worthy of his salary. He could find no objection to other Civil servants being rc-admittcd to the full benefits _ of superannuation on tho same conditions as Mr Sterling had been rc-admittcd. lie would vote to oust Reform, but he would never support the placing of Mr Holland in the Prime Minister’s chair. On the motion of Mr .1, M.'Crae, Mr Smith was accorded a vole of thanks and confidence almost unanimously. [Extended Report by Arrangement.]