GENERAL ELECTION

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10738, 8 November 1928, Page 5

GENERAL ELECTION

MR. COATES AT LEVIN.

ADVANTAGES OF WHEAT L i DUTIES.

SAMOAN POLICY DEFENDED

ANOTHER TILT AT LABOR LEADER.

s. i (i/reea Assoolatlon.i ; LEVIN,. NoV.'/7. Tlie Prime Minister addressed over 1,260 -people at, the De Luxe Theatre this evening. . He spoke for two and a-half . hours, and received a - cordial reception, .though he was subjected to a running fire of interjections, off most of which he scored in repartee. Mr. Coates” speech followed the general lines of his policy speeches. Dealing with wheat duties, beg said a critic’ had dsserted that the sliding scale of duties had decreased the price of the. loaf.. That might be true, in certain stages up toi a point,, and: the wheat in tlie world’s markets might be lower than in New Zealand. It was'also tj;ue’, however, that when the price of wheat was high abroad the wheat grown in New Zealand must have the effect of keeping down the price of bread in Australia and New Zealand, stating that a- two pound loaf brought ojd in Dunedin, the .same as in Sydney. In Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch it w-as 1 Old as against Gd in Melbourne. Taking a line through that, it would be seen that although' on a sliding scale of duties, the price of bread moved according to the price of wheat at other parts of: the world. New Zealand had been able for'the past .two years to produce sufficient wheat for her own use and had assured herself against famine in other parts of the world, in other words, New Zealand was- not so vulnerable in times of scarcity. . Referring to the criticism of the Mangahao hydro scheme, Mr. Coates said it was never intended to be a big producing station, but a key point in the general scheme with Arapuni and Waikaremoana in the North Island. He declared that if the standard rates | for power at present being charged remained in 1940 the Dominion would have, a-fter paying interest and sinking fund, an annual revenue of £7,000,000 or £8,000,000 from the State hydroelectric enterprises, sufficient to pay the total of liabilities in that respect. To-day unemployment was attributed to economic and not political causes. The payment of standard wages for relief works would only attract men from private employment, and he quoted a statement by Mr. Seddon to that effect. The Premier defended the Government’s actions in Samoa. The Samoans would have to realise- that New Zealand was going to govern there, and if there were rebels there they would have to take the consequences. Unfortunately there were political leaders in New Zealand, one, in particular, who was never happy unless mixed up in revolutions. New Zealand had dealt most justly and patiently with Samoa. The Government’s laud policy was elaborate and was under three heads: (1) Part-time farms for men in employment; (Si) small farms of ten and twenty acres for country workers who would thus be able to provide a heme where they would remain in times of depression instead of drifting into the towns; (3) a group system enabling an association of men to take up land in blocks with financial assistance from the Government. At the conclusion of the meeting a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Coates, with the expression of "confidence in the present Government of which he is the distinguished head. The motion was carried with acclamation and enthusiasm.

BAY OF PLENTY SEAT

HON. K. S. WILLIAMS AT TE

KARAKA

LABOR SETTLEMENT AND TAX TION POLICY CRITICISED.

Another vigorous campaign speech was delivered by the Hon. ,K. S. Williams to a large gathering ot Te Karaka electors .on Tuesday night in furtherance of his candidature for the Bay of Plenty seat. He ably defended the Reform Government s administration and said that its work in the past three years justified its "Being ret'iTrhed' fib ’the Treasury: Beiiches. ' ■ , . . Mr R. Scott occupied tile cltdir. The policy of the Labor party m relation to land settlement and taxtion wag examined and rejected by the candiate as being impracticable, whilst the proposal for the institution of a State'Bank was also condemned, the Minister citing the experience of the Australian farmcis in connection with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia as an answer to Labor’s assertion that a State Bank was operating successfully. The Commonwealth Bank was successful only because it adopted the system of the associated banking firms, lie said, and it was unable to make advances to settlers that were obtainable in the Dominion without a State Bank being established. He appealed to the electors not to be hoodwinked by the superficially attractive proposals to interfere with the country’s financial institutions, supporting his arguments bv quotations from statements by prominent London financiers concerning the excellent state of the country s cieclit. The efforts of the Government in assisting to alleviate unemployment by providing tangible relief m theform of work at wages which, if not munificent, were at least sufficient to relieve hardship among indigent families were dealt with by the Minister. Maiiy stories were heard ot the difficulty which men found in making money for their families at the. 'rates paid for relief works, but while there were cases of hardship the majority of the workers were glad to securq a chance of earning monev, and "were able to carry their families over the bad months. Mi Williams produced figures relating to unemployment in Great Britain, the United States, South Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland, arid compared them with the official/statistics of New Zealand. These shoved that the unemployment situation here is considerably less acute than in any of the other countries mentioned. , •' .The care of ex-servicemen who yveio only now feeling the effects of their war- services, the railway policy of the; Government, and + a, mmiber .of other topics were dealt with b\ Mr Williams. ./Several .questions were addressed to the Minister, and all were answered . satisfactorily. •• •■ At the close of the meeting, Mr Williams was accorded a vote ot thanks and confidence, the «.otion being carried by acclamation. itISEORM’S REDUCTION IN * TAXATION. ; ( KELLY TO. SIR JOSEPH WARD. ■■i fPress. Association >, GORE.-Nov. 6. The Hon. W. l>owipe. Stewart at Gore last night, replying to Sir Joseph Ward’s 'Christchurch, statement that tiic Government had' increased every form of tax. quoted reductions in taxations since Sir Joseph left the ■ National Cabinet, which amounted to. over £3,000,000 per annum. This included reductions in land rind income tax. Customs duties, postage, and other items. , A The speaker also dealt (fully with the income tax revision of last year, and showed that in the. case of married men with children those with lower A incomes still were better off than'before the war. V ■ ■ v'-.-L;'7ITV/Vr-.:"Lj;'. A#:;;.'.'i/V././/