CORRESPONDENCE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 255, 14 October 1911, Page 6

CORRESPONDENCE.

[lt • 1.-rim r’*. nrirb-:tli.it we are not to uieiititi--d with the opinions expres-•■<! fy < ori *'i>ondents in our columns. [

MR. G. SPENCER ( LAPHAM AND ffiS ONIONS.

TO Tilt EOITOR. Sir. It may !>•• a Lv»-nch of political etiq>mtt • for one lamHiiate to attcmi another's !<>••.-titi'x atul assist to get him a hearing when the crowd .v<’ stamping their feet to drown h’.s stale figures. Ly asking him "What is the Point.’’ hut I believe you will find this eritiiism through the • limns of the Hastings paper in perfret oilier. I attended Mr .< 'lapham’s meeting Loth at » live ami Hastings, taking earei l ,! mite of his remark- ami your ■ •l;:!iii:- having come into » xisienee for the ' tree expression of contending' vtews. kindly allow mew! at spa e yon van tpare. He commenc. d his address at both ( live and Hastings by explaining that it was only the offer to pay his expenses which had brought him out and he told its last night that if he found ids position as our member affevtml his business he would resign it. Yet he assured tis he was pressed into the election to protect the interests of the district. This seems neither consistent nor patriotic, During th-' course of his address he informed us last night that if he was not in the second ballot, he would rather go home and plant onions than assist the people to pick the best man. in th- second ballot. I do not think. Sir. judging from other remarks which he let fall and which I will presently refer to. that Mr. G. Spencer Clapham knows 1 enough about land to grow onions in his garden. I am open to corri'ction and am prepared to inspect his gar- ' den at any time. Mr. • lapham went on to tell us what a fine thing he ■ had done for Hastings in the harbour question, how he and a small I>and had won a great victory, etc., etc. He omitted reference to anyone but himself and talked of his out of, pocket expenses as though all the; rest of us had been well repaid i what we spent in time and money) and for what we are still doing. He I told us that the first thing he always asked visitors to New Zealand was What did they think of the peo-j pie.” At Clive he told us that he; was "born in Xew Zealand.” The, inference is obvious. 1 should hke > to ask him. Sir. has one generation I of life in Xew Zealand had such marvellous effect on the British race? Mr. Clapham upsets all Dar-! win s theories of evolution. After explaining why he was cantankerous when a member of the Hastings Couii. il he forgot to mention why he resigned the position presumably it was because it damaged his business. for "unfortunately he said councillors are not paid. At (live were informed that he had been ' 'Mudving political problems for years' "'Mtt still "his platform was not • te jea.iy, and his first work, when he. mt to Wellington would be toBarge himself with information.” he did make interesting sugges is as to a solution of the Land blem I will refer to them pre tly. He had withdrawn his sup-1 - Jort from the Government not al-j » fh*get her because Sir J.G.M. had given a Dreadnought to the Empire i ' Ixit because he accepted a title, as, though the title mattered and the r. two millions didn’t. He should be proud that so much was thought of one New Zealander that he has been reckoned fit to rank with the peeis of Britain (that is if he cares so much ' what visitors think of the people and not of G.S.C.). At the time the offer of a Dreadnought and two if necessary was made we never heard any objections from G.S.C. He is wise like many others "after the milk has been spilt.” I suppose that it is characteristic of what he calls ‘‘a special people, whose respectability is not to be beaten in the wide world.” It is not respectable to say what you think at the time! He does not think that the people who use the railways should pay for them, they are for the public’s greatest utility and the section of the public who neither travel nor truck should pay equally towards thenupkeep. This is the veriest claptrap. He went on to applaud legi.-

lation passed whit It harassed hundreds of business men for the sake i „f cheeking a few Chinamen in Wellington who probably era at it. Then he expiated on the wonders the Arbitration Court had worked. At Clive he told us it was the rambow in the sky. the sign ot Peace. I hat. with Judge Sim as president and t.ie authority of the people behind it nd that was necessary was for (to .< . to get to Wellington, ami the cruel wrongs it was permitting would soon be remedied. There was a screw loose somewhere-he would hx u. As he did the Council’s difficulties. We then had a little about the freezing industry, which had created the wealth of the country . It had raised prices. Later -n we were to.d that the workers had created the wia.th of the country. He knows quite will that the section of labour he a-p - to represent wish to put an * M’ ■” tax on refrigerated produce which would be like smashing the machines which have made wealthy I•' that individuals ami indit. ' •>( ' made no attempt to raise wage-, t > forgot that McGrath and Lane m. the Harbour Board only one mmt..., ago did their utmost to raise wage.i per day. He ridiculed Mages Boards, and put h> fait., in 'he Arbitration Court, whv-h ad bat a few like G.S.C. km-w is a hope.e-> euldesae. He quoted the C hurch on Home conditions, hading r.i- au<lienee to think that they wt .» 'it", larly treated m New Z. '...tn ■. quoted from “My .I- irst oo.a-i’ Essav." that State a: I -.••:i,<i be reserv’d for th--' who l.evd it : yet solution of the land prole., m w.tthat antotie holding owr a e. ttam area of lard -hoidd be made to put it up l*» Hr : poor people W. -'- t‘> m> m t„ b.d for .1, or wha; w m Impp-ii to the price of Vlt'ul when tne Home mat krt - I limble. He bar 111 fioto. .V ■' ‘ .. r J w.ote otl.r d u ev.t. what t ..ah and Native laiat- aleft in the Hawke’s Bay Land

( triet. and he blar.ed into Campbell I over not favouring resumption, as thorn'll lie was not present when I . -i .i the weakness of that candidate's land policy from his owri plat- ' form by asking him to tell me where the land n.W he would settle the poor man on. He criticised David Jones, a man who is fit to lie Premier of ' Xew Zealand if hunt -'y of purpose and practical knowledge count for auvthing. He talked of unearned in.■cement ami land values and L.I.P. least-hold* rs as though he had the Experience of a land agent, yet he would be floored if he were asked whether h- would sell L.I.P. leases to their owners at their value now. hs, the value of the goodwill. He said it was a grand thing to take men from the ranks of the workers and put t’m-m on the land, but he made got < ae single proposal as to how it -houbl be done. Taxing land values was invent! d by the present Cabinet t<. kill the lami for settlement policy, ami has -ticceedi d. He would perpetuate it. There wire ’Htl points i f the land question which lit* had not touch* <!.” no doubt he will (b.tiige himself with them when he c, ts to Wellington. It did not seem ", occur to G.S.C. that any of the vandid-ites po>-< -sed the information which he lacked, "yet he would settle i the labour question by settling the land question.” When he was asktd what candidate he would support in the sieoml ballot, he said he would go home and plant onions, and a voice exclaimed at the back ! "You've put your pot on, and surely the voice was the voice of one who ' knew that cooking onions was more in G.S.C .’s line than growing them I I must apologise for trespassing so ; much on your space, but as you are „ aware it is a breach of political etiquette in these kid glove days for vue candidate to ask another questions at a public meeting. - I am. ■ etc. EUSTACE LANE. Hastings, Oct. 11, 1911.