THE BY-ELECTION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVI, Issue 12550, 11 July 1901, Page 6

THE BY-ELECTION.

MR G. J. SMITH AT THE CHORAL HALL. - . Mr G. J. Smith,addressed, a fair meeting of electors at the Choral Hall last night, Mr J. T. Smith' presiding. Mr G. J. Smith, who received a hearty reception on rising, before proceeding to his address proper, expressed his sympathy with Mr and Mrs A. E. G. Rhodes in the sad bereavement which had taken them south. Mr Rhodes had proved himself an excellent Mayor during his term of.office, and had done credit to the city. He bespoke the sympathy of the meeting for the Mayor and Mayoress. Referring to his candidature, he said that while many of them differed from Mr Lew-is in his policy and views of administration, the lato member had still been a genial man and a 1 painstaking mem'ber. He himself was standing for the vacancy at the solicitation of many friends, and only on account of his friend Mr T. E. Taylor having been unable to contest the seat. Mr Smith referred to the long- period of prosperity which the colony had enjoyed, and which ho hoped would continue. Trade had gone forward by leaps and bounds, and this Was a condition of affairs upon which he could heartily congratulate them. Much of this prosperity was due to ■ the Government's live land policy, which he had been pleased to support. He would continue to support it, and to work for its extension. The pursuance of this policy had necessitated an increase of the public debt, but for every £ so added they had the -asset of the land behind. The assets were paying good interest on the money invested. He had in the past strongly supported a revaluation clause in Crown leases, and detailed at some length his attitude on this matter, an attitude which had resulted in his exclusion from the caucuses of the Great Liberal Party. Mr Smith next referred to Industrial Legislation on- the lines "of his address as already reported. Incidentally, while referring to the Industrial and Conciliation Act, he paid a high tribute to the unbiassed attitude of Mr Justice Cooper in the Arbitration Court. The conciliation part of the Act had hardly been so satisfactory in Christchurch, inasmuch as the decisions' arrived at had been too hasty. -He thought disputes would be settled more rapidly and better if the Conciliation Board were done away with, and questions ' were referred directly to the Arbitration Court. Referring to Federation, he expressed the opinion that to have joined the scheme would have meant, through stress of circumstances and the overwhelming power of the proportionate vote, the making of our cities mere suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney, and the turning of our colony into'a purely agricultural, country. Speaking on the Bight Hours Bill, ho stated that a report was in circulation to the effect that he had opposed the passing of the Eight Hours Bill when in the, House, and had also attempted to rob the .workers of payment for overtime. . This he gave an emphatic and unqualified denial, and a reference to "Hansard" would support him in this. As a matter of fact, h& had absolutely drafted an amendment which would have secured to every worker payment for any time worked' in excess of : eight hours, and at the same time safeguarded the rate of overtime secured by any trade by custom or award of any Court. . He regretted this rumour, and all 1 he wanted in contesting the Eeat was a fair right. (Applause.) He would, if returned, do his very best' to get' an Eight Hours Bill upon the Statute Book. If any elector wanted a mere unqualified promise than, that he was prepared to sign it if the> elector would word) it and bring it along. Mr Smith next referred to; the'questions of Master and Apprentice, 'Elective Executive, Referendum, Initiative and Reform of tho Legislative Council in ternis of his' addressees at previous centres/ during the week. .He noticed that the Refer&ndum Bill was 'again before the House, as a Government measure, bub without the Initiative. : He ''.hoped that both would become, law before the session closed. On' the subject ..of. education he reiterated the opinion that the Government should, provide a larger capitation grant for the primary schools. He emphasised Ms opposition to (any alteration that would in any way tend to break up the present national system. On the question of denominationalism he wished db to be understood that he would in no way support.it. He still held that the present old age pension scheme should be lma.de universal in its application, subject only to. qualifications of age, residence, and good character.,. Regarding the licensing question he stood firm tftor tie right of the people to settle the matter at the ballotbox. His attitude was absolutely unchangedl from what it had been in the past, and he would strenuously oppose any proposal to extend thfii time between the taking of the licensing polls. With reference to the Trades and Labour Council, while hi favour of unionism as against disorganised labour, he thought that both sides should play fair. He did not' think that labour should claim the right to run a candidate solely in the labour interest. The, workers' already had two 'representatives ' in the House' - for Ohristchurch, and he thought that the other portions of : the -community, had a right also to representation. His pasb record l in the House was such as should have won him the confidence of the Trades and Labour Council, and he was glad'to know- that he had the support of many'Unionists and workers outside the wishes of tho Trades and Labour Council. If the fact of his being on employer were to be a bar to his election it meant that all ambition to serve the colony would have to be given up by anyone who showed an aptitude- for business., and was a. bar to any worker's sot ever stepping from the ranks of manual labour. If honoured with a return of their confidence he,-would go back to Wellington, as an Independent Liberal. He would support such measures as he conceived to be in the best interests of the colony, and he thought that he could do just as good work for the constituency as any other candidate for election. There had been a marked, improvement in railway matters, owing to a business man being placed at the head of affairs, and the principle should be applied to the selection of members of the House. Concluding, Mr Smith said 'that if elected he would do his best in the interests of the colony and of the community, and' he would promise that at any rate, the charge of having voted selfishly should never be brought against him.

Having spoken for an hour Mr Smith stated: his willingness to answer questions. In reply to tnesc, he stated that he favoured a raising of the old age pension to 10s, and, if possible, without being too heavy a burden, a reduction of the age to sixty; ho favoured the paying of a fairwage to school teachers, and the nationalisation of coalmines if the opening of fresh Government mines were not practicnble. 'He did not think a compulsory Rating on

Unimproved Value Act should be passed, inasmuch as present legislation provided for the Imposition of such a tax at the option of the ratepayers. He opposed the raising of the members' honorarium, the further sale of the freehold of Crown lands, the establishment of a State bank. He favoured the supplying of the latest drillbooks to volunteer officers and 'non-com-missioned officers, -with a view to uniformity. He was absolutely opposed to Sunday work in any shape. He would not favour an amendment of the Shop Assistants Act to provide that when a public holiday fell in any week the statutory 'half-holiday should still be observed. Mr. T. E. Taylor moved—" That this meeting appreciates Mr G-. J. Smith's consistent Parliamentary services from 1893 to 1899, and, after hearing his views, on the political issues now before the country, is of opinion that the best interests of the city can b 8 safely entrusted to turn, and therefore pledges itself to support him on July 18." Mr W. J. Brooker seconded 1 the resolution, which was carried unanimously. MR TURNBULL AT xtOBBS'S BUILDING'S. ■ Mr A. H. Turnbull addressed the Women's : Political Association in Hobbs'a, Buildings last evening, when Mrs P. GunIner, vice-president, occupied the chair, and over thirty other ladies were present. Mr Turnbull dealt with a number of reforms instituted by the present Government, speaking strongly in favour -of the Arbitration and Conci'liaition measure, Old Age Pensions, Workers' Compensation for Accidents, and other Acts. He said that unless the Government'Party was careful, the Conservative section would hold the balance of power, because a certain number of rail sitters would obtain an entrance into Parliament. The increase in the honorarium would bring into existence a section who would care nothing for the good of the country, and this might lead to the formation of a section in the House that would, if nob checked, become similar to the Irish section in the Home Parliament. It was, therefore, the duty of every true Liberal to support the present Administration. The Workers' Compensation Act had been stormed at from one end of the country to the other, and 'he thought it was ratner unfortunate that the Press of the country "was not more in touch with the feelings of the workpeople. The feeling of employers was one of antagonism, but the English Act was much more rigid, and yet successful. A split had now occurred in the insurance ring, an.u. insurance against accident was cheaper. It was one of the wisest, aiiost humane, and far-reach-ing Acts- the Government had yet passed. Ho had been amused ab an article in a paper saying that living under £3 a week was riot possible. There were many living and keeping (families in Ohristchitrch on much less tnan half of that amount. That was wnat he meant in saying the Press of ifche country should be more in touch with the workpeople. The speaker then referred at length to the Industrial and Conciliation measure. He said the action of the Government in supporting the Bank of New Zealand had averted a financial panic, and the Government deserved every credit for doing so. The speaker answered a number of questions on matters already reported, and at the conclusion of the j address a, motion was carried, thanking Mr ; Turnbull for his address, and expressing confidence 'in. his fitness ds a representative in. Parliament. MR C. TAYLOR AT RICHMOND. Mr Charles TayCor addressed the electors in the Foresters' Hall, Richmond, last night. Mr R. J. Paull, chairman of the local 'School Committee,' presided. Thei% was. a large attendance. Mr Taylor spoke ' on the political questions of importance affecting all classes o! » constituency." He advocated the present system of education, and/ further, said that education should be free from the primary school to the University. He spoke at length on the land question, complimented Sir. John M'Kenzie on Ms land policy," and was op-.- \ posed to any further sale* of Crown lands.;, He also favoured the periodical revaluation.c of Grown, lands. Mr Taylor spoke on the Federation question, and said that he would oppose it because it would be detrimental to the development of industries. After several questions had been answered, Mr W. Barlow, president of the Bootmakers' I Union, moved the following resolution: I " That in the opinion of this meeting Mr i Charles Taylor is, -from' his long connection with Labour organisation and the wants I of the workers, eminently' qualified- to re- i ! present their- interests and the interests of this constituency in Parliament.".' Mr: J. Gullifoxd seconded the resolution, and stated that while he knew that Mr Tayloi would look after the interests of the workers, he could think of no man better qualified to represent all classes of the con- j stituency. The motion. was carried unanimously. • Mr A. H. Turnbull's further meetings are as follows:—To-night, at the Theatre Royal; Friday, at the Merivale Schoolroom ; Monday, at Richmond; Tuesday, at' the Methodist Schoolroom,' Selwym Street; and Wednesday, at Sydenham. Mr N. K. Bcwden will take the chair at Mr A. H. "Turnbull's meeting at the Methodist Schoolroom, Selwyn Street, Addington, next Tuesday evening. ■Meetings of Mr A. H. Turnbull*s ; committees will be .held as follows:—Waltham Librarv, Thursday night, at 7.30.; Knightstown Library, Friday evening, at 7.30; and a meeting of all committees at the central committee rooms, Inglis's Buildings, on Saturday night, at eight o'clock. Friends and supporters are invited to attend all'meetings. ' Mr Charles Taylor will address the electors to-night at the Knightstown Library, in Cathedral Square on Saturday night, at Addington on Monday, at Waltham on Tuesday, and in Cathedral Square on Wednesday night. Mr G. J. Smith will address the electors at the Selwyn Street Schoolroom, Addington, this evening. TO THI? EDITOR. Sir, —In the notes on the by-election in your issue of to-day, it is reported that. Mr Turnbull had a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence at lAs meeting in the Knightstown Library. : Now, this is not correct, as the i olio wing amendment was proposed and l seconded by. two residents of St Albans—" That this meeting regrets that Mr Turnbull, while posing as a Liberal, would injure our nationa". system of education by granting denomma-/ tional subsidies, and to further strengthen the liquor monopoly by extending the time between each local option poll to six _ oi nine years. In view of this, this meeting does not consider Mr Turnbull a proper representative." The amendment was lost, several declining to vote in either way.— I am, etc., FAIR PLAY. TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—When Mr G. J. Smith first put up for Parliament, I, as one who was, and am now, an out-and-out Progressive Radical in liquor legislation, as well as any other measure, voted straight out for Mr Smith. What was my -surprise to find that when a passable Liberal measure' was formulated by the present Government, viz., Old Age Pensions for poor people, Mr Smith' was it? most bitter opponent in debate, and sheltered himself behind the bogey of universal pensions for al", including the capitalist at the age of sixtyfive going up with the pauper for Hs dok cf 7s per week. Can any Liberal conceive of a more glaring case* of ultra-Toryism? Also, when delivering his account of his stewardship at the Choral Hall, at its conclusion Mr Smith was asked this question : " In the event of a motion cf noconfidence 'oeing tabled which would oust the Seddon party and return the Captain Russell party, which side would Mr Smith's vote b& given to—the 'Seddon party or the Russell party?" Mr Smith hummed and ha'd, and never gave any definite reply to the question. With all due respect to Mr Smith, owing to being heavily handi-

capped, he is like a certain Apostle: " The things thab I would do, those I cannot, and the things that I would mot do, those I do." We want a good straight Liberal returned who will vote straight.—l am, etc., RADICAL. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —The reasons advanced for the rejection of Mr G. J. Smith by some members of tho Unions are the most extraordinary that can be imagined. I always •understood that one of tho aims of Unionism was to so arrange the/ conditions of labour that every boy, however lowly his 'birth, might be able to aspire to the highest position in the colony; but the Canterbury Trades and Labour Council, who, it must 'be remembered, only represent'a section of the workers in Christchurchy have actually propounded . the theory 'that a lad's aspirations must stop Fhorb at becoming an employer of labour himself. Thus far sha-:t thou come and no farther. Mothers and fathers-should note that directly *heir boy achieves success in the 'business world, he is at once barred from offering his services as a Parliamentarv representative. Mr G. J. Smith told us at Richmond that he started work at 5s per week, and has been working ever since; but because he has made some success in business he is therefore not worthy to represent the Unions. A high ideal for our youth, is it not? ~,-,. \. Will the electors decide who is most likely to influence the House -in favour of Labour legislation-—a tried man like Mr G J. Smith, an employer of labour, or a man like Mr Charles Taylor, who, if elected, would be known only as a Labour representative? There can be no doubt about the answer. Mr Smith served the interests of Labour faithfully and well for six years in the House, and mo reason has yet been advanced why the confidence should not be repeated. Further than this, Mr Charles Taylor claims to be the accredited representative of Labour. 'He is the accredited representative of the dozen members of the Trades and Labour Council, but si© more. Where do the large number of shop assistants, clerks and domestic servants come in? Are they not entitled to some choice?—-I am, etc., WORIi'ER.