GENERAL ELECTION

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10737, 7 November 1928, Page 5

GENERAL ELECTION

TYPICAL- TACTICS OF UNITED PARTY. - INS J NUATJONS AGAINST HON. K. S. WILLIAMS. “WILLIAMS FAMILY SHEARS ioi.Boo .SHEEP.” REFOKAI CANDIDATE EXPOSES TACTICS. “IS THIS THE ACT OF A CANDID CRITIC ?” (Special to,the Times.) AUCKLAND, Nov. 5. Air R. Masters, chairman of the United Party, made the following statement last week at Invercargill: “While the poorer people . aro paying £3,000,000 more in Customs taxation, what are the squatters paying? They are absolutely immune from income tax. Take tho Williams family, the Hon. K. S. >t llliams. This family shears 101,80(ji sheep.” Air S. AI. Mae Alister, Reform can didate for Invercargill, in replying to Air Alasters, said:

"if the speaker led us to infer that one consolidated family had 101,800 sheep, his remarks wero most misleading. The Williams family has branched out, and settled all over the Dominion. Take my own family. There are branches n)i over Invercargill, “Mr Masters took all the uncles, aunts and cousins of the Williams family. I liav« here the returns of shcepowners, and I. have tajceii out the Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay returns. The biggest owner in the V\ llliams family has 30.003 sheep There are 15 Williamos at Gisborne, with an average of 7000 sheep, and 21 in Haivlre’s Bay with an : verage of 4000. sheep. / That is tho propei- way to give the -u.ru re:v Because tho Hon. K. S- Williams is* a Minister of the Crown, the .sheep owned by all- of his_ family should not be quoted as if they were his. Is that the act of a candid critic/”’ SECTARIAN ISSUE. UNITED CANDIDATE IN UNENVIABLE POSITION. (Special To The Times). AUCKLAND, Nov. 0. Strong sectarian feeling was displayed at a meeting addressed last night by Mr A. J. Stallworthy, United candidate for Eden. , Questioners taxed him about hi? association with the P.P.A., which according to one, “had hounded Sir Joseph Ward out of Parliament.” Mr Stallworthy 'claimed that since ■liis connection with the P.P.A. it had shown a wider spirit of tolerance', and he took credit for having brought- that about.” “What 'office do you hold ?” demanded the man.

Mr Stallworthy said lie was district president, having been appointed six 'months ago. “How do y-u expect Catholics to support yon., when Mr Howard Elliott,' youj. secretary, lias made, a statement that lie did not know a Catholic who was not dishonest and dishonorable?” shouted another man. MR, HOLLAND AT LOWER HTTTT. CON FT DENOE MOTION 'FINDS NO SECONDER. fPrens Association.* WELLINGTON, Nov. 6. Mr. H. E, Holland, Leader of tho Opposition, jsnoko to-night at Potonc and at> Lower Hutfc. /At Potono ho was accorded a unanimous vote of thaiiics and confidence by a crowded audience in'the' Labor Hall, and m the Town Hall, Lower Hutb, a vote of thanks only was recorded. No questions wore invited at either meeting. The molion of confidence at inver Hutt lapsed for want of 'a seconder, although three cheers wore given for him. Any vote for tho United Party, ho said, would bo ri vote to keep Reform in office. The United Party stood to hold Air Coates in office. The. programme of the Labor Party represented thd view not only of the industrial organisation, but the view of the democraticallyminded farmers of New Zealand. Labor was the only possible alternative to the present reactionary and Conservative Government. The only party seriously Righting the Reform Party was the Labor Party. Mr. Holland covered ho new ground. • , AIR E.; P. LEE DEFENDS' GOV-' ERNAIENT. -- Prosa Association.’ OAMARU, Nov. 0. Air E. P. Lpe, ' Reform candidate for the Oamaru seat, delivered liis main address to a good attendance of electors to-night-. He trenchantly criticised Sir Joseph Ward's borrowing proposals, which he termed impracticable and reviewed at length the legislation of the Reform Government, contrasting the conditions the-Dominion with those existing in Australia. Mr Lee received an attentive hearing and. after answering questions, i a vote of thanks and confidence in the sitting member was carried amidst acclamation.

GISBORNE SEAT. MR. LYSNAR~AT AIANUTUKE. ARE LABOR, LEADERS EX--1 TREAITSTS? EFFECTIVE REPLY TO AIR. COLEMAN. Remarkable interest was displayed !'«* the local residents last evening when Air, W. D- Lysnar, sitting mem-; her for the Gisborne, seat, visited Mahutuke in continuation of his campaign. There was an attendance of between <so'and 60_ electors. Air.' T. Preston was in the chair.

Mr. Lysnar’s address comprised a review of tho work of the Reform Government, a strong defence of, Mr. Coates, and replies to criticism by Ins opponents. He expressed great surprise at the utterance by . Mr. Coleman wheif ho had visited Manutuke tile previous evening, especially in respect of his allegation that he (Mr. Lysnar) would treat the meeting to extracts from a copy of the Labor programme, as printed in the “Newsletter” office. Mr. Lysnar ■ emphatically denied this and Stated that the L-oliol- programme from which ho was quoting was tho official printed copy as issued by the Labor Party itself.' He refuted Mr. Coleman’s denial that Mr. Holland had visited a Communistic conference in Australia, and quoted freely from Hansard. state- , mentis hy, the 'Labor leaders, Messrs.. Holland," Howard and Fraser,'' which emphasised the Communistic tendency of extreme Labor. Mr. Lysnar also Warmly congratulated Mrs. Margaret Young, the Wellington Labor candidate, on the stand and attitude she had taken up, advising his auditors to read the press reports of Mrs. Young’s opening meeting in Wellington which fully justified all his own statements regarding the attitude nf extreme Labor. To the speaker’s view, Mrs. Young was doiiig fine work On behalf of true Labor, find of the Empire, in thus showing up the methods and attitude of the Labor leaders.. After the candidate had answered a few questions at the close of his address. a- vote of thanks to Mr. Lysnar for his clear and informative exposition of his views, proposed -by Mr. R.. Piereey and seconded by Mr, "W. W. Shanks, was carried unanimously and by acclamation.

ME CT-AYrGN at AWaPU.NI. CHOICE OF TAUd’O ROUTE. “PECULIAR,” RUT WOULDN'T SAY “GRAFT!” Continuing his campaign for, election to the Gisborne seat, Air W. Lissant Clayton, United Party candidate, addressed 25 electors.in the Awapuni. Alethodist Sunday School last evening- Air C. Bruce was in the chair. In attacking the Reform Government, Air Clayton stated that even Air Lysnar had said Air Coates was only the “makings of a good Prime Minister. 7 ’ A voice: “He’s just served his apprenticeship.” : “Yes, that’s right,” continued Mr Clayton. . “Air Coates has only served his apprenticeship, and he has had 3i years to do.it in, besides several years as Minister for Public Work? prior to that.” in dealing .with tlie Taupo railway Air Clayton stated that, among other prominent Reform men owning areas of poor pumice land on the line, were Sir James Gunson, Alessrs V\enzl Scholium and. Samuel Vaile. “I do not say there is any graft or corruption in connection with the choice of that route,” he added, “but it is peculiar.” Air Clayton also criticised various statements by Air Lysnar and the Unaneial ability of the sitting member on the lines of previous speeches. Referring to the report of his meeting on the previous evening, the candidate said: “In the press it yas said 1 was satisfied that the Admiral Codrington would not pay tunning expenses. I said nothing of the kind. What I did sav was that L had had, in my office, complete figures, received from a business man in’Australia, relating to tlie /dmiral Codrington and showing her running costs, etc. I knew from these, before the vessel came here, in view of her price and the high cost of installing the refrigerating plant. t : uit she couldn’t possibly pnv " Only one question was put io the candidate at the close of his address, a Times reporter asking Air Clayton to point out .where lie had- hpen .misreported, as alleged at his City. Hal' meeting. ' in- reply, the candidate said he could not remember the specific points, but be had made a note of them and would look them up. . A vote of thanks and confidence in Air Clayton was carried by acclamation.

BAY OF PLENTY SEAT. HON. K. S. WILLTAAIS AT KAITERATAHI.

STATE BANK PROPOSAL.

“MERELY AN ELECTION STUNT.”

The Hon. K. S. Williams, sitting memler for the Bay of Plenty, delivered an interestihig speech in defence of the Kofoim Government's administration before a fairly. largo gathering of electors at- Kaitcrataln on ■Monday night, -in furtherance of liis campaign for his return to I aruament The candidate dispensed with the reserve that lie displayed at previous meetings, and entered into his address with zest and enthusiasm, dealing most ably with the country s finances and supported his arguments with-statistics and quotations. The Minister described the State hank proposal as purely an ejection stunt, with its promise of cheaper money for the development of farms and settlement. He replied to the criticism of his former statements on this subject, remarking that if il State bank were established in New Zealand, it could not -give the fanners cheaper money than they were getting at present. Air. Williams pointed out that opponents ol —Reform claimed that a State bank had proved successful in Aiistralih, Jiiiil had’malic much of this point. His reply was that even with > the Commonwealth Bank in operation, Australian tamers wbre unable to obtain money' more cheaply than their neighlxns in New Zealand. > . NEW ZEALAND’S FINANCES. Next the Minister touched on the finances of New Zealand, and impassing produced several clippings from English financial reviews, which unanimously complimented New Zealand upon its excellent financial position, and the stability winch the Government had been able to maintain throughout a distressing period following the war. Of the national debt- of New Zealand, including the war .debt, no lass than £107,000,000 was held in the country, and this meant that a' large proportion of the interest* paid annually on the /Dorninion’s debts was circulated within New Zealand. About £4,000,000 of the National Debt was owed to Australian investors, and the balance at Home, and tlie readiness with which this country’s new loans were taken up was valuable evidence of the manucr in which the'country’s financial policy appealed to hard-headed investors abroad, as well as in New Zealand. The war debt; Air. Williams continued, was a deadweight on the Dominion, and the interest payments on -the £79,000,000 of loans incurred during the war and immediately afterwards were costing the country more than twice as much, proportionally, as tlie balance of the loans on which interest- had to be paid. TIPs was brought about partly try the factthat much of- the ether money was sunk in development work • which made a direct/return to the Dominion, through the State Advances liepartment and other financial institutions operated by the Government. The AliMster mentioned that the ooliev of the Government was tc wipe off the war debt as quickly as possible in preference to the debts incurred for development, and so rid the country of the deadweight, of interest paymentis on unproductive investment. Since -1922, he stated, the war debt bad tteen . reduced by £10.000.000, winch achievement was one worthy o. praise, in view of the difficult peiiod through which the country had been passing. STATE ADVANCES. Discussing the loans made through .the State Advances, Air. Williams rio’d his audience that during the last !l6 years of the Liberal regime the ’average of the advances was about /l ,000,000 per year, whereas during [the 16 vears following the defeat ot ‘the Liberals and the assumption ot government by the Reform Party .the advances had been more than doubled. 'ln addition, the Reform Government had made extensive improvements m the conditions under which money was made available to settlers. : Mr. Williams was accorded frjiearty vote of thanks for liis. address* .AIR. AIONCUR- AT WAIOEKA. The initial meeting in his political campaign in the Opotiki district was held by Air. Aloncur. Latter candidate, last night, when he addressed a fairly well attended meeting at Waioeka. Thi s is the first time a candidate lias addressed a meeting at Waioeka. Air. F C. Parkinson, chairman of the Opotiki County Council, presided. Mr. Aloncur spoke on similar lines to'his previous addresses, concluding with an earnest appeal to those piesent to think well before voting and then to give the Labor Party a chance to prove that- they aro capable of fulfilling their promises. Tlie speaker received a very attentive hearing, and was accorded hearty applause. . . Air E J. Parkinson, m moving a vote of thanks to the candidate, ex-

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