SPEECH BY MR HOLLAND.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 1223, 12 June 1919, Page 5

SPEECH BY MR HOLLAND.

COALITION CRITtCISED. JHE LABOUR PLATFORM. Considering tbat sacb short notice of the meeting «s» given, .there was a good attendance on Monday evening at the Empress Theatre' when Mr H. E. Bcttsnd, the member for Gray, delivered an address. Mr Powell presided and briefly Introduced the speaker. Mr Holland said Chut the Labour Party, which he represented, con* tended that social service should be tbe basis of society, and that everything tbat would tend to perpetuate class warfare should be eliminated. His party was in favour of proportional representation, and also of the referendum with the initiative. If proportional ''representation bad been applied at tbe test election tbe Labour Party would have secured from ten to twelve seats, instead ol live. His party woold insist en abolishing the Legislative Council, which wa» composed mostly of political rejects, but which bad most titogiefttly. the arbitrary power of nullifying legislation passed by the Lower Bouse.

STATE BANK. Be was In favour of » Sett* Bank. and considered that if the present narrow margin between the aggregate deposits in the bonks and their assets was altowid to continue the Dominion was to, danger of having to fact* a similar crisis to that experienced in Australia in 1893 when bank note* Wert told in toe streets of Sydney for 3d and od. A Stitß B«nk should aim a* fat aapossibN* at eliminating interest, and should provide money for assisting production at the mere coat of running th*» bank. STATE SHIPPING CO.

Another ur*"»t need of tbe Dominion was <% Stite shipping service to smaeb up the monopoly tbat the Union Steam Ship Comoany holds. Before th« war Sir J. G. Ward had said that a Beet equal to tbat of the Union Company cootd be built for £I,00».00©y and yet by the time the foil charges of this company for the use of some of its steamers during the war were paid, they would amount to nearly £6,000.000. This was what was catted "high" finance —at least tfee odour of it was high. The Labour Party was in favoor of raisinst the wages* of railway workers proportionate with tbe cost of living, but would be opposed to increasing the salaries of those getting ahove £so® per annum. fie was in favour of full politic*! freedom for women as they contributed quite as much to the social values as men do and therefore they should be atlotfsd to sit in Parliament. The Labour Party hetd tbat education should he free in deed as well as in name. School books should be printed in tbe Government printing , ,offices and distributed free to the children. History should bo taught on more humanitarian lines and less . hate inculcated for other peoples. Children should atao be more folly instructed in their physical life and evils and dangers more fully explained WAR PROFITEERING. Referring to war ptofiteert Mr Hollaed said that the war profit on wool in New Zealand between 1914 and 1918 amounted to 174 million* and he considered that Messrs Massay and Ward acted most onpetriotically in asking for and getting a 6S per cent, increase on pre-war rates when the Horn* Government, bad offered 60 per cent. Another scandalous instance of war profiteering occurred in the disposal of eheetite «o the British Government. Scheelite was used for hardening sttel and there wa» only a very limited supply, and before tbe war it was sold at £lO5 7s per ton to Germany but rose during the war because w« were anxious to help Britain to win. to £228 1 Mr Hotland said that there was no reason why Britain should not have got it -during th« war at pre-war rates. -_ COST OB LIVING. Dealing with the coot of living, the speaker said that tbe porchasing power of a sovereign was about 13s <Jd to-day. and that recently he Wat one of a deputation tbat waited on tbe Hon. G. W. Russell urging action against a meat trust that was operating on, the West Coast, ud the Minister in reply advised them to open fish shops as a sort of art antidote to tbe cost of living and the meat trust. Cootd a reply be more unsatisfactory and farcical? The Labour Party contended that the work of Parliament shoald be don* in daylight, and should never extend beyond to o'clock at night, after which hour the House, despite the gTeat importance of the measures that were frequently rushed

through then, wm generally more or less in a state of somnolence. Mr Holland then referred to ths land setlement policy of the Government relative to soldiers He said tbat Sir John Findley had stated that on two estate* io Hawke's Bay it bad coat io one instance £G26O to settle a ecrldier, end £6235 in tbe other. At the* rate, said the speaker, it woold necessitate an outlay of £95.000,000 to settle 15.000 soldiers He bad heard of one roan whose property for taxation purposes was valued! at £2O per acre, bat which was quoted at £6O per acre immediately it was wanted for soldiers' settlement, and if be bad his way such people would get short shift. POLITICAL SUICIDE.

Mr Holland concluded his speech with saying tbat, politically speaking, tbe present Government waa a Government of cowards and shirkers, and that Sir Joseph Ward committed political suicide from the time he linked hi* fortunes with Mr Massey. Tbe Labour Party that he represented were th« legitimate successors of th«*se great Liberals, Ballance and Seddon. and basing their platform upon the principles of those great leaders, woold challenge the present Government in every constituency io New Zealand v at tbe next election. (Applause.)

Questions were invited and answered, and a hearty vote of thanks was carried by acclamation. -