GENERAL ELECTION

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10739, 9 November 1928, Page 5

GENERAL ELECTION

THE MILLIONS POLICY.

SIR J. WARD PERSISTS IN : CLAIMJ& . “EASY ENOUGH TO' SECURE , money.’; . u (Press' Association.) | INVERCARGILL, Nov. 8. To an audience that packed tho Dlunicipal Theatre to overflowing Sir Joseph /Ward, Leader of the United Party, delivered his principal address in liis bwn/electorate this Evening. /He spoke/for nearly three hours and was given a most enthusiastic and patient hearing, interjections.. being absent. Outside the theatre, there was a crowd of about 1500, who listened to the speech by means of loud speakers. Referring to his loan proposal, Sir Joseph Ward said his opponents were suggesting that he was proposing to borrow £70,000,000 in one year. This was quit© wrong -and they knew, that, It would be impossible to borrow such an amount m one year or; if lie had it. to lend It|out in one year. Future settlers/ and many of. tho present Settlers ‘should have an opportunity to secure money at 4£ per cent, to enable them to stay oil the i land' People were being, driven off the land ami, in very many instances, this was due to their inability to obtain advances. According to Government figures 13,000 had left the land durihg the last three years and, generally, this had been because they had been unable to make a living and were starving. It was the speaker’s object to completely change this. ITe would issue 44 per cent. ■ bonds for a term of 32/ years. Investors at Home sent to London each year £400,000,000 of new money for investment and he was proposing that New Zealand should secure a portion of this capital. It was easy enough for the State to procure the money. He himself had procured £30,000,000 twenty or thirty years ago for land settlement. If chat were possible then, was it not possible to borrow £00,000,000 in ten years for putting thousands on the land ? It was proposed to set aside 25 acres of land, so that a home could he provided for anyone who wanted it. The money would be available at 4f per cent, on leasehold, with the right of freehold ana money for the erection of homes at 4f'per cent, would also be obtainable- „ , . . At the conclusion of Ins speech, a vote of confidence was carried with verv tew dissentients.

SIMPLE PROVISIONS FOR ABSENTEE VOTING POSTAL VOTERS URGED TO MAKE EARLY APPLICATION iPress Association-* WELLINGTON, Nov. 8. Although the provisions governing absentee voting at the general election are of the "simplest, numerous inquiries are being made as to what the procedure is. The position is that registered electors who will be absent from "their districts on Wednesday next are not required to be in possession of an absent voters permit in order to exercise their votes. The permit system was abolished for the 1925 general election, and- in its place was introduced a much simpler method. All a registered elector who is out of his own district is required to do under the new system is to apply at any polling place and ask for voting papers for the district in which be is registered It will be necessary for such an applicant to satisfy the deputy returning officer as to his qualifications as an elector, and that it will not he possible for him to return to his electoral district before the poll closes. For instance, electors of Hutt who reside fn Eastbourne, Petone and the Hutt Valley, who will be in Wellington on Wednesday and will not be returning to the electorate before polling terminates will be able to exercise their votes as absentee voters* The same advantage can be availed of in Christchurch by the electors of Lyttelton, Kaiapoi and Riccarton, in Auckland by the electors of the sub’urbs of Parnell, Waffemata, Dlanakau and the outlying parts of Roskill; and in Dunedin by electors of Chalmers and parts of Dunedin Central. Electors who have been permanently away from their districts for more than three months,. and have ta'ken up permanent .residence in other districts, lose their qualification to vote as absentee voters.

Those entitled to vote under the postal voting system have now only a short time in which to apply for the postal vofe certificates. Electors affected bv the postal voting provisions should attend to the matter immediately. Neither the absentee voting nor the postal voting systems apply to the Maori elections.

DANGER OF SPLIT VOTING,

MR, COATES ON RANGITIKEI DIFFICULTY.

SITTING MEMBER. SHOULD BE

STUDIED

(Special To The Times). BULLS, Nov. 8

Entertained hero yesterday by Mr. Coates, the local Reform executive, when his health was being proposed, was assured that in spite of the split vote, Rangitikei would be sound and would return the official Reform candidate' (Mr. J. Linklater). Regret was expressed by Mr. Coates that there should be rivals for support from Reform voters in any electorate and, while it. was pleasant to know that good men were ready to give their services to aid the Government, there was always a danger that a. third candidate would slip in between the rivals. It did not seem to be fair that a man who had won tlie seat and had probably fought several elections should be asked to go to a selection ballot again. It was the duty of a candidate who did not have the official nomination to consider whether, the interests of the government should not come first so that there would be a solid front and no chance of a safe sound majority being lessened. Tlie same duty devolved on tlie electors. CHARGE OF CORRUPTION. MINISTER’S EFFECTIVE REPLY. (Press Association.) MAST.EKTON: Nov. 8. in tlie course of his address at Cross Creek last evening, the Hon. A. V D. McLeod, Reform candidate for the Wairarapa seat, made further reference to the Opposition charge,, of corruption with the rebate of duty granted by the Customs Department to the “Dominion” newspaper on imports of type-getting machinery. ■ “Our opponents are so insistent in their charges in this, connection,” said Mr. McLeod, “that I communicated with the Comptroller of Customs a few days ago and asked him to institute inquiries and to ascertain from indenting firms the names of different newspapers and printing firms which, in addition to the “Dominion,,” have rpceived the benefit* of the rebate. His reply received by (telegram to-day, if? as follows: ‘Re-type-casting machines, the following jiave obtained delivery of foreign type-casting machinery upon which a concession of 10 per cent duty was granted: the proprietors of the: Daily News (Carterton) Evening Post (Wellington), * AVaipukarau Press, Hutt Valley Independent and Messrs Fcrgusoli and Osborn, printers, Wolling-

(Contd. at Foot of Noit- Oolinm.)'