LABOR’S POLICY.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10724, 23 October 1928, Page 5

LABOR’S POLICY.

MESSRS jIIONCUR- - AND COLEMAN ..AT MAKARAKA.

FINANCIAL . SYSTEM ATTACKED

PLEA FOR A STATE BANK

i . Two Labor candidates were in acitionfiast evening wlieri there was an |atte‘iidShce ol’'approximately IUIT af I the' ’ - Makar aka-iYLatawhero hall . 'Messrs .-.A. JY Aloricur,.- candidate lor • the Bay' of' Plenty iseat, and D. W. Coleman, aiming at , Jlie Gisborne seat,,.were the speakers. Mr D. Bell was in the chair. - I Mr .Moucur opened L<y pointing out • that, there had been no contest for the Bay of Plenty .seat, for . many years and, that this, was the first .time,an official Labor candidate liad been noriiinat'ed. He had accepted ■ tije-position-with, some apprehension, fearing.. hostile receptions, but tho reverse had been, the case and, in his.monthi.in the district, he had .been received with mucin kindness and the people, had shown great;., hospitality towards .him, especially at Te Kaha and Te Araroa. , He had especial reason to remember the latter place, for . it was. there that, he had ridden a horse for the first time for 22 years.-—(Laughter.) There ; was little likelihood .or a third candidate entering the contest, so the fight lay between the Hen. K* S. Williams and himself. As far as he was concerned, personalities would not be allowed to enter> into the campaign, for it. was not the Labor policy to indulge, in attacks on, persons, but simply on systems. They put their case from the platform to the people and, if they found the electors did not want them this time, then they would try again at the succeeding eIection"LIBERALS ARE DEFUNCT.”

"At this election,” continued Mr Moncur, ("there are really only two parties—Reform and Labor, Mr Coates and Mr Holland. The Liberals are now defunct. All who have studied Parliament in recent years must have noticed that it has always been a case of Labor against all the others combined. In anv division, Labor has entered one lobby, while the rest have followed Mr Coates into the other. Yes, the Liberal parly is- dead, and it is as impossible to resurrect a dead party as a dead person .” y LABOR WANT STATE BANK. Mr Moncui stated that he wished particularly to deal with finance as it affected rural communities. There must be a change in the banking system, be averred, and Labor’s solution was a State bank. _ Control of the banking system carried with it control of primary production which, in New Zealand during recent years, had suffered so much bv reason of the adverse bank rate and the high interest on overdrafts. Laboi wanted a bank with an agricultural credits department, which would assist rural finance and thereby imr,rove credit throughout the country. They wanted no private banking. I lie speaker likened: an efficient banking svstem to a successful hvdro-electnc power works, which distributed power through the country. 1 enefittirig alb parts, ns a bank .shou'd -• with its money in the interests of credit and m-oduction. All La'''' posits should he spread through the country on a scientific system hv economical methods.

BANKS HEART AND SOUL OF CREDIT SYSTEM.

In England, continued the speaker, the banks had. combined into great organisations, as had happened here in New -Zealand. Oulv six bonks not* operated in the Dominion, and thev controlled the productive and distributive system of the land. Private companies could arrange credit but 'they did so at their own risk, if the borrowers then again went to thb banks, thev found that the interest rates had been increased. Our system-of trade and distribution was vciy complicated and the banks were the’heart and soul of the system. It a crisis such as that- of IS9* r * again occurred, all the resources of the country, would be needed to preserve tfio country’s credit. AH the tanks -were now being carried, on 501e1y.,,-in the ,interests ’of -tfio- private shareholders, whereas, in the best system, they should be working to improve tho'credit available to all the. people "of the country. Proper control ol credit was the first essential to the general prosperity. ' -

HOW; COATES iMISSED IDS CHANGE! When the Coates Government came into power, three years ago, went on Mr Moncur, tlie v began a campaign in which they wholly sacrificed the interests of the workers by a form of financial dictatorship. They took office with an overwhelming majority and had a unique opportunity to put the country on the road to prosperity. They failed to do th s and the movement was rapidly in the opposite direction. The three main credit agencies of the country were the Post Office Savings Bank, the State Advances and the ordinary hank's. Last year the bank rate had been raised by a half per cent and the hanks added numerous other burdens to those already on the people. STATE ADVANCES CURBED.

The State Advances Department, stated Mr Moncur, up to the time Mr Goates took office, had functioned splendidly. Loans had been made on very fair terms, costs of administration totalled only about 3s per cent,, and, the Department, had done more, than anything else in keeping mortgage rates down. If it had been permitted tp collect money on fixed deposits,. it would have raised sufficient to supply all demands for credit r and at a much lower rate than otherwise. That was the position three years ago. Within one month of coming into power, Mr Coates’s Government had raised the rate on original loans and for the re-payment of mortgage loans. “Within one year,” added Mr Moncur, cut down advances to settlers by £l,o0«),000,, We. charge the Coates Government with. turning the finajjpial affairs of the country over to the associated banks.” Continuing, he stated 'that- the associated banks completely dominated New Zealand’s banking system. The Bank of New Zealand was the real head of these and .the whole policy was in the interests of private shareholders and not' the workers. „ Sir George Elliot had strongly criticised .'the competition suffered by che: banks, said Mr .Moncur through Government institutions. The P.O. Savings- Bank came under his ban, andj. shortly after, the limit on fixed deposits was reduced from £SOOO to £SOO. : .When the hanks made profits!''somebody:: l always lost, and that somebody was the farmers and work-. :erb ,of. the country.. ■ * . Y: POSITION. OF 11 URAL. CREDITS. V i t.f ;: r ‘o;-. _ * ! ‘ ■ < \ ‘ ‘ : ‘ ...: ‘/The .Reform Government said .they*,werei willing to do everything to .‘help: rural credits, in • New*, land,” ?said Mr; .Moncur. , “but what have they-'done? , Authorisation: to ’raise credit - loans totalling £6.000,000 wnsigivenr-but onlv £OIO.IIOO was* actually -floated,! Of . this tPtal. onlv £1117:000 found its way to the settlers. The Bank of NvZ. Amend-, 'big Act is practically a dead letter. Remarking that-the rural, credits

bonds'were placed at the disposal of the banks, the speaker quoted, a letter alleged to have been sent to the branch managers in which they-were advised not to push the bonds too hard Those bonds were aimed to make credit facilities easier, but they meant reduced profits to the banks. Thus the letter quoted was, ho said,- a proof that the banks were keener on profits than the good of the people. The only party which would introduce a State bank was the Labor party.—(Applausej DEBT INCREASE UNDER REFORM. Indirect taxation on the people was on the increase, stated Mr Moncur, and d.rect taxation on the rich was on the decrease. The total debt of the country was about £614,000,000 while the approximate private wealth was £000,000,000. This showed! that tlio Dominion was already two-thirds mortgaged. When Reform came into power in 1012, the debt was £84,000,000. War borrowing way entirely justified, but, outside that, the Reform Government had raised 5} millions per annum for tliq_lasb 16 years. They were making no provision for the time when Home financiers would not be so ready to ]oan money to the Dominion. Whenever the pockets of the poor were touched by a big increase in tax, there was a lowering ol' taxes on tile .wealthy. Since 1918, the Customs tariff had gone up, whilithe income tax was reduced'. An increase of £4 per head had been made in the customs over that period and the limit had now been reached. Luring the past two and a-half t-ears, tlie Government had increased taxation by £818,009. The La6or party believed that revenue money was by .fur the cheapest and best form of finance for private ucoole, companies and even the Government. If the country’s debt were reduced, there would be a < orresponding decrease in taxation. The speaker quoted Mr Downi’e Stewart’s figures of £3,400,000 reduction in income tax since 1920, stating that the primary producers and 1 orkers had not benefitted an iota by this, while, in the same time, the bank rate bad gone up. Instead of this reduction in the income tax, the Government should have used the money iu re-purchasing war debts—had this been done, interest of £200.000 per annum would have been saved. Instead of that, the Government had been borrowing more money with which to carry on. “These loans from London,” continued Mr Moncur, “are dreadfully expensive. The New Zealand agents there collect If- per cent, commission, the Bank of England, takes a similar portion, and other charges bring the total cost to £3 per cent. Of each £IOO, since it is issued' below par, we receive only £94 10s. You see that we Jose so great a proportion and then we have to pay the full lace value back, with interest as well. Our interest bill each year lias been more than double our borrowings. We must reduce our debts. The landed proprietors will not pay. so it is left to you and you do so through taxation.”

iMR COATES AND LAND SETTLEMENT. Mr Coates also stated that he would investigate Land settlement, averred Mr Moncur, and give assistance to owners to enable subdivision. The Premier had promised to invoke tho compulsory clauses of the Lands tor Settlement Act. He had not done so and farm workers had decreased in numbers, while areas of waste lands had increased. Bankruptcies during recent years had reached record totals. “They purchased Te Wera.” added the speaker, “but when a ballot was called for it, there were no applicants. N T ow they Hold the land as a State farm and can’t get rid of it at any price, ft’s purchase was a colossal blunder. Even had it been a successful venture, the Government made settlement far too expensive when they paid £64,600 for such a block of land. They purchased it from Messrs Field and Chappie. If these gentlemen were not friends of Mr McLeod before, then they ought to rote for him lor ever now.— (Laughter.) Other blocks of land were similarly situated. It appears that friends of the Government, when in difficulties, are able to pass their burdens on to the people. The filet that fewer people are now on the land is clearly due to the financial policy of the present Government.”

LABOR’S LAND POLICY Mr Moncur also replied briefly to an attack made on him bv' the N.Z. Welfare League which he described as a bogus body, with little real existence, "which stood for the interests of the wealthy. They had raised the cry that Labor, if it came into power, would take all the land. M hat good would that do them ? asked the speaker. In the Bay of Plenty, at least, there was little land, but many mortgages. Labor had no intention of taking the land from the owners, but they were out to see that the people who worked the land received the full benefit. In their criticism, the Welfare League made no reference to absentee landlords and hat no consideration for the farmer who worked the land and paid the profits away to the absentee owner. Since Reform took office in 1912, the capital valuo of settled land had increased by 92 per cent,, while mortgages had increased by 200 per cent. Of this ..increase in the latter, 55 _ per cent, was on rural lands and 45 percent. on city blocks. Converted to terms of money, this meant that the primary producers had to pay £lO,000,000 to the mortgagees before the}' started to earn a living. LABOR AND IMMIGRATION The Labor Party were not against immigration, said Mr Moncur, but they strongly opposed the methods and misconceptions undea* which the immigrants were being brought to the Dominion. Mr Coates had stated he would institute a vigorous policy in this direction, but his efforts during the past three years had produced the greatest chaos of unemploy-, ment in the history of the country. It was said that the greater number of the immigrants were on the land, yet farm workers had decreased, so that the newcomers must be displacing others engaged in farming pursuits. All the Government propaganda art Home emphasised the possibilities of fanning in New Zealand and painted it in terms far from true, the speaker quoting from a booklet, “Britain of the Southern Seas” in support of his contention. Rates'paid to the working man were placed at,from £7 10s to £ll per week, while carpenters were stated to be receiving 3s Gd tfc an bom if they were good workmen. Chances for hoys on the land were also ridiculously exaggerated,, it being stated that if a boy supplied; the labor the employer would provide land and materials, tlio profits then being shared. A further paragraph of the booklet said that a boy could get liberal advances from tlio State Advances ■ Department! ; .* Unemployment was due to detects inf our economic policy and the unhappiness of the unemployed could'be laid largely to the drafting of the men into relief camps in all parts of tho country. In one. camp of single men, getting 9s per day, that the speaker knew of, a hoy, acting as the time-keeper, wa,s being paid. 14s per day. > ’. /. .:“All tlio points that I have placed before you”, concluded Mr Moncur, “can be definitely proved true and it is .time that: people recognised the

position should be changed. Wo ask you for three years’ trial. We cannot do worse than Reform has don© and unless you change the Government, there is iio chance ,of improvement. Labor deserves the co-opera-tion of the farmers, the workers, the mothers, all who are doing a useful service to the community. What will you do? You have three parties to choose from. Will you go back to the Uniteds, continue with tho chaos of Coates, or advanre with the Labor Party The position of official Opposition is the stepping stone to power’aild Labor is the only alternative party to Reform. Only two things keep it back—vested interests and the apaithy of the workers. The former wo can sweep aside, but if the latter is the trouble, then you are doing a grave injustice to your women and children and to the country.” (Great applause). Asked what he thought of free labor as a means of settling strikes, Mi- Moncur pointed out that political Laboi- was entirely separate from industrial labor, except insofalr as it concerned them when called upon to stand up for a persecuted section. “As far as my opinion of free labor in this connection is concerned”, added the speaker, “well, in a mixed audience, I don’t like to express myself.” (Laughter and a) voice: “You’ll gat my vote.”) MR COLEMAN’S ADDRESS

Air Coleman stated that he was proud to be associated with such a worthy colleague as Mr Moncur in this great fight by Labor on behalf of the whole country against the privileged few who hc4d all power and influence and by virtue of that hindered the opposition by misrepresentation This could be illustrated by tha fact that in every campaign there were electors who said to the candidate for the district: “If all the others were like you, we would vote for you, but tho alliens are Bolshies, they are Red, and we can't take the risk of putting your party in.” Holland and Semple were called “Red Feds” by people of other districts, but in their own districts there were many electors who made the remark previously Quoted. That bogey waa raised everywhere by Labor’s opponents. Now, however, they were no longer being called “Red”, they were more a pink party, yet the party had not changed a whit from what, it was in years gone by. Explaining the reason for this. Air Coleman said thaii now the Labor leaders were able to visit more distrites, they met more people who were beginning to understand they were not us bad as they were painted. Thus tho “piffle in the Press’” concerning the “redness’ of the party was losing its hold. Labor were essentially constitutional and they were obtaining the introduction of their enactments more and more, as the Government was recognising them more and were endeavouring to meet public opinion by taking up some of the Labor measures. Improvements in the Workers’ Compensation Act and the old age pensions were measures in point—did they think Reform would have altered these of their own free will? It was not likely-

LABOR NOT REVOLUTIONARY Labor was not revolutionary, stated Air Coleman. When the Labor Party came in, it would not be by bloodshed, but by a revolution in the minds of the people, “Take an egg”, he remarked. “It is merely an egg to-day, but. three weeks hence "it will be a chicken. Something of a revolution has taken place, but it has done so in a normal way and that is how Labor will come in.” Air Coleman pointed out that Labor recognised the importance of the land problem and gave it a foremost place on its platform. In a. straightforward way, they placed their platform before the people/; they hid nothing. “I am not responsible for what the daily press says”, he added. “I know what we stand' for and anybody can have ai printed copy of what that is. We believe that our -and policy will benefit the farmer—not- the farmer who farms the farmer, but the man who works the land. IVe believe that any policy should benefit the working* farmer. (Applause). It will help to combat land aggregation which does exist here, despite what is said in denial. Reform says that it lias at land policy—we have seen the result of it. tinted—well, I don’t know whether they have any policy at all. Tliev have a borrowing policy of £70,000,*000 certainly. I don't think thev need be taken seriously— they aro the same old party, but they come in under a new name. They felt they could not claim the grand old name of Liberal, associated with the names of Grey, Ballance nnd Seddon (Applause). so they adopted the name ‘United.’ The United Party is dead, hut they don’t know it yet. Perhaps they will after the election. We can’t criticise the new party’s land poliev for we don’t know it.” t Reform talked about security of 'and tenure under its regime;‘continued Air. Coleman If that were so. surely there would be more land taken up? let there were fewer land workers and less settled land than in 1922 or 1923. The Government’s policy was not freehold, but mortgageiiold. Complaints were made that Labor would confiscate land if itcame into power, but that was quite wrong. Their policy was to give the land to the people* who would work it. (Applause.) Over 1,060 farmers went bankrupt between 1922- and 1926, while many more walked off their farms. Who took away that land from those farmers ? It was not the Laloi Party. The Government’s “stranglehold” policy was responsible.

After referring shortly to Labor’s ideal of a State. Bank, Mr. Coleman stated that the greatest opposition came front?- the vested interests and practically .the whole of the daily press. He averred that the shareholders in the leading papers—“not necessarily in Gisborne”—were, also the men associated with the. great banking concerns and, therefore, could view the suggestion only in the most antagonistic light. He also instanced the success of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “Labor will deal with all reforms in a businesslike manner,” said Mr. Coleman. “Mr. Coates gave out his plans for reduced taxation with a great blare of trumpets, stating that the country was groaning under its taxation burden. Who were groaning? It was not the wealthy* but it was the workers and working fanners. Who benofitted by the remission? None of the lower-paUl people, for their incomes were below the taxing limit. No, it was the wealthy and they received the benefit of 34 millions in reduced income tax. Surely it was the rich man to whom tax should have been added, not taken off. (Applause.) In land tax, the position is same ; if is the wealthy man who secures the benefit. These are the people whom the Government benefit and whom they actually represent *>• . .. * - ■[ ;•* Mr. Coleman also spoke warmly on the iniquities lie alleged against the housing position in the country, due largelv to tin; inflow <of immigrants brought about by the Government. Their measures of unemployment relief were iuiquitous, lie said. “One of my - opponents ,in the present campaign,” remarked the speaker. “bins, said that lie. would rather sing the National Anthem than 'The Red Flag.’ That shows that Mr. Clayton means that Labor is disloyal. That is what I. jyguld expect him to do. for ho lias done little else, during the- past 1.4 years, beside sing the National Anthem. My record in public service will. I think, compare more than favorably over that period

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with that of any other man in Gisborne.” (Applause.) . ' .Y. -s' y Asked whether he favored Bible in schools, Mr. Coleman explained that he did not. He endorsed Laboris attitude oil the question, stating they did not favor «compulsory, .religious training in State schools.- A Protestant, would not like a Roman Cathblio teacher taking children- in -religious classes, and surely : the reversal position was the same and it was, only fair- •to .consider* the Roman .Catholic view. Religious instruction . was . a hiatter which should, me- ihy ithe parents and Sunday school teachers. Omtlie motion of Mr, JY Callaghan, seconded by , Mr, L. File, votes*- of thanks to- the-speakers-.were carried by acclamation. .. V t