POLITICAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 12911, 3 September 1902, Page 5

POLITICAL.

THE HURUNUI ELECTORATE. Mr George Forbes, a candidate for the Huruniu seat at the general clection ) addressed the electors in the M'Kcr.zio Town) Hall on Monday night. Tiie weather was threatening, which served to somewhat reduce the attendance, but there, was still a; lair gathering, including a- number of ladies, at the hall. Mr S. Haug'hc-y presided and) introduced the candidate. In opening his speech, Mr Forbes expressed the opinion that it was unnecessary for him to introduce himself, as he was well known in the district. He stated th-ati the interest ho had always taken in the district would not be affected by his election! or non-election. Ho made, bo said, not apology for daring to contest the election,; ns lus ambition had always tended in tha direction of polities. He stood as a. Liberal, and if returned would bo a supporter oil the. present administration. His Liberalism) was not of now growth, but of long standing, and be had always been a consistent supporter of the present Government. Dealing first with the land question, the candidate strongly approved of Iho Government’s Land for settlement policy, by which) be confessed to have personally benefited. He pointed to Cheviot as the brightest example of the success of the policy, nndi stated; his intention, if returned, of fighting for similar privileges to his own for the hundreds in the towns who were seeking them. The cost of the Cheviot Estate, including roads and surveys, .stood 1 ou the Department's books at £285,000, and after nine years’ working it had been reduced to £240,000, showing an annual profit om this settlement of £SOOO. This was sufficient argument in favour of extending the land for settlement policy. He favoured, however, a more vigorous policy of settlement, for figures showed that there was too great a congestion of population in the cities, at the expense of the country. -The demand for land at the ballot-box was evidence of tbs necessity for a more vigorous policy. If returned he would advocate suolt a policy, as every settler placed cm tho land was a valuable asset, and the settlement of the land also helped to minimise the unemployed difficulty. The Government purchases, so far, bad been most) satisfactory, and oven in those rare case 1 ) when mistakes bad been made there was no resultant loss to the colony, as the rent had been more than recompensed by the indirect contributions of settlers to tile revenue, through the Customs and other channels. If sufficient suitable Crown lands were not available, the Government should put the compulsory clauses of the Land for Settlement Act into operation, in the event of being unable to purchase in the open market. Speaking, of tho tenure of Crown lands, he questioned the wisdom of the Fanners’ Union Conference in Wellington in declaring for the freehold, inasmuch as the members of the Union were far from unanimous in their views upon the subject. He himself was a member of the Farmers' Union, and he fully supported such s a combination in the fanners’ interests, but when once it went into party politics its usefulness ceased. The principle of freehold was the Conservative cry at the last election, md an adherence to it meant enrolment under the Conservative banner. Ho himself vas a firm believer in the loase-in-perpctuity tenure, and the Farmers’ Union was neither reasonable nor sensible in its demand for the freehold. It bad failed to gather wisdom from the precedent of the previous election. The lease in perpetuity system :iad been inaugurated by Sir John M'Kenzis in the interests of the small fanner, and cumbers of them on Cheviot had to be thankful for that system.' It was intended to stop the growing evil of land monopoly, and this it had effectually succeeded in. doing. Once the country- parted with the freehold it parted with all right of control over the purchaser. The lease-in-per-petuity system gave all the advantages of the freehold, without its drawbacks. If tho farming community discarded the compromise for the freehold, again, it would be dropping tho substance for the shadow, and losing a valuable bequest from the best Minister of Lands the country ever had. (Applause.) He held it to be one of the chief functions of a Government to find markets for the surplus products of its country, and he thought the Government should be stirred up in this direction. New Zealand was in the forefront of the world in legislation affecting social matters, but she could take no credit for the way sire attended to her export business. The chance of a market in South Africa would be lost unless some inducement was offered to shipping companies to open up a regular service. If the Government were to offer a temporary subsidy the service would probably soon stand on its own feet. Regulation of shipment was the foundation stone of such a trade, and i no effort should be spared to ensure, it. The speaker then dealt at some length with the frozen meat trade, urging regularity of shipments, a,nd an improvement in the system of marketing as essential if the trade was to maintain its present proportions. The quality of the meat should be a household word throughout Great Britain, and the producer in New Zealand ought to receive full value for the meat he consigned. It was now twenty years since the trade had been oi’ganised, and yet its exploitation had been left almost entirely to private enterprise. In the interests of the farmers the Government ought to interfere, with the object of placing the trade on a sound business-like footing. The Government had done good service in importing stud horses for the use of farmers. The Government’s agents had had to reject 75 per cent of the horses offered for remounts during the war, which showed tho necessity for an improvement in the stock. Tho blood stock of the colony was not suited to the requirements of tho farmers. Thera was every prospect of there being a good demand in future for suitable Army remounts, and fanners ought to turn their attention to breeding this class of stock. The Stud Bill, providing for the inspection and registration of stallions, was a step in the right direction, and would protect the farmers from being imposed upon with unsound animals. New Zealand should occupy the position of being one of the supply countries for the military rea quiroments of horses for Great Britain, India, and South Africa. The establishment of small farm industries should go hand-in-hand with the Lands for Settlement policy. Such industries as fruitgrowing, poultry-raising, and bee-keeping should be fostered, and they might he well! helped by the Government "placing the ex- | perience of its experts at the disposal of the people. The question of reliable markets entered largely into the fruit-growing industry, and at present these were anything but satisfactory. The grading and packing of poultry by the Government for export- was a great boon to poultry farmers, but. farmers generally did not. in the lack of knowledge as to tho details, appear toi appreciate the possibilities of the industry as fully as they might. The Government, in view of the market which was awaiting properly-prepared poultry, should take in? hand the education, of the faming community on the subject. Tim position of New Zealand with regard to the dairy industry was only achieved by the Government engaging the. best talent to- instruct the farmers. and a; similar course should be followed in respect of the poultry industry . Dealing with the reform of the colony’s electoral machinery, Mr Forbes expressed al preference for Mr M’Nab’s Absoluts Ma j jority Bill over the Government’s provision for a second ballot. The present system eertaiqly wanted amending, as at last election no fewer than seven minority members were elected, 12,000 electors voting for them, where 16,000 voted against them. The present system also often prevented good men standing, for fear lest they should split the party vote. Regarding the referendum and initiative, ho favoured Mr Ell’s measure for the latter rather than ,

(hat of the Government. The Government’s Bill only provided for the. taking of a referendum where a legislative deadlock occurred, but Mr Ell’s gave the people thq initiative, and thus recognised the only great principle upon which sound and pure legislation could be built, the government of the people by the people for the people. Mr pill’s measure would effectually prevent the passage, of all legislation which was not in the interests of the people of thr) colony. It would also he a sterling preventa.tivo of trusts and monopolies. The candidate next spoke at length upon the colony’s forestry. He approved of the Goj vernment making provision for the future) ,by planting large areas'of land with forest) trees, and expressed the opinion that it) } was a duty owed to posterity that the) colony should be left better off rather than) worse off in this respect. The utilising of prison labour in this direction was a wise move. He advocated the supplying of useful timber and shelter trees to farmers,, from the State nurseries, at the lowest possible cost. Information on the subject of tree-planting should also bo printed andi circulated for the benefit of farmers. Thei old ago pensions system elicited his hearty support.. He considered, however, that the weekly payment of 7s was insufficient, and ho was prepared to advocate an increase toi 10s. He thought that all the available evidence tended to disprove the statement that the pensions were abused. On the subject of State fire insurance, be strongly supported the establishment of a Govern- • merit Department to underbake fire insurance. Economy of administration could’ easily be effected, which would 1 permit of a low rate of premiums. By establishing such a Department the Government would break down what, constituted a. dangerous monopoly. Ho regretted that the Elective Executive Bill had failed to become' law, as the elective system did away with) favouritism, and would make the Ministry thoroughly representative of the House, and thus’ of the people. It would give men. of ability and merit room to come tc* the top. Election was the only sure foundation of democratic institutions. He supported the esbahlislmrent of a State Bank, as it would enable the Government to effect/ immense economics in its loan transactions. He expressed a> firm approval of the present system of education, but favoured a mere up -to - date system of technical education. He would also like to see provision made for teaching the principles of horticulture and agriculture in the State Schools, with practical object lessons. At present our education system sadly lacked the practical element. If elected, the candidate promised to nse every endeavour to push on the Waipara-Cheviot railway. This railway had sound business claims npon the public purse, and until it was completed Cheviot would remain practically cut off from the rest of the world. In conclusion, Mr Forbes stated that he was a young New Zealander who was prepared to support all progressive legislation which would tend to advance the prosperity of his country. He wanted to see the land free from poverty, and peopled by a happy and contented people. If elected, he would do his best to merit the confidence reposed in him ; if not. he would accept their verdict cheerfully, and use the time before another election in endeavouring to better fit himself for again soliciting their suffrages. (Applause.) In response to questions, Mr Forbes stated that when the railway came through he thought they would be able to do without the port, as' it was improbable they would be able to afford two outlets for their limited produce. He would favour Domain Boards and Cemetery Boards being made elective. Ho favoured the speedy construction of a' bridge over the Waiau. Ho did not believe in prohibition, but thought State control would be an improvement on the present system. The question of a licensed house for Cheviot should be left- to the settlers, but personally, he was opposed to it. (Applause.) He thought the Government had made a mistake in taking the railway so far from the township, and he thought no township sections should b a sold out by the railway to the detriment_of those who had taken up sections in M’Kenzie. Mr J. H. Bosomworth moved a vote of thanks and confidence in Mr Forbes. This was seconded by Mr J. Evans, and carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the meeting. THE COURTENAY SEAT,

MB LEWIS AT KIRWEE. Mr Charles Lewis, a candidate lor the Courtenay scat, addressed a meeting of electors at the Ivirwee Town Hall on Monday night. Mr J. Lawry presided, and at the conclusion of the address a vote of thanks was passed to the candidate on the motion of Mr J. Joseph.

MR LEWIS AT PREBBLETON.

Mr 0. Lewis, a candidate to represent the Courtenay constituency in the House of Representatives, addressed the electors in the Oddfellows’ Hall at Prebbleton last evening. Mr A. Allsop was in the chair, and about eighty electors were present. Mr Lewis, who was received with ..applause, said that he was a political stranger to most of those present, and he had therefore taken an early opportunity of addressing them. His remarks would be of a general character, but he would have to speak a good deal about himself. He would also touch upon the past. His opinions were his own, and were those which ho had always held, in town or country. 'Hie terms (< Liberal and Conservative ” had no meaning in Hew Zealand, and very little sense. If a Liberal was a man who supported Liberal measures, ho was a Liberal, as he had supported the advances to settlers’ schemes, the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, which he thought should be extended to embrace the Government; the Workers Compensation for Accidents Act, though the Government voted against the extension of the benefits of that measure to people in the Government service. People in Hew Zealand seemed to think that a man was a Conservative or a Liberal according to the position in which he sat in the House, and judged him in that respect on the question of his voting for or against the Government. Whether a member of a House or a member of the community he was a supporter of the Opposition. (Applause.) He did not judge the Government by the legislation passed, but by the proposals it brought forward. He could give instances to sl*>w the differences between the proposals of the Government and the Acts that became law. He mentioned specially amendments in the Land Act. The Government said, “ Justlook at the Land for Settlements Act of last session; is there anything wrong with that?” They inferred that the Opposition had strenuously fought against the Bill, whereas it had fought only for the amendments carried, and against the original Bill. The same thing occurred in regard to the Valuation of Land Bill. As a member of the Opposition, he said that though 1 he might be regarded as a strong party man, it had been shown that he could sinjc his party feelings and do his best in the interests of the colony. He had been independent of the party spirit, but he hardly thought that he could be classed as an Independent. He was not “ taking! any ” of that. A man must always be on one side or the other, and he had always been on “ the other side,” and would continue to be so. He explained the difficulties of a man who wanted to rote with the Govern, ment on questions of no-confidence, but independently on other questions, as Mr A. W. Rutherford, said he would do. A question of reduction of expenditure, for instance, might be turned by the I’remier into a no-confidence question, and the member would probably have to vote for the Government. He would have to “ curl up ” or leave the party. Mr Collins had endeavoured to be independent. The Go-

vernment pack was loosed on him, the vocabulary of the English language was ransacked"to find epithets against him, and, in a general, sense, ho led the life of a dog. The speaker had gone, fair and square, into Opposition. That was the position he occupied. Dealing with finance, lie said that the colony’s expenditure, as indicated by the Consolidated Fund, had increased during tho past few years. by leaps and bounds. The revenue was also increasing, but not so rapidly as the expenditure. Last year the colony’s income was the largest seen. Yet there was a balance of only £167,000. While that year’s revenue increased by £200,000, the expenditure increased by £416,000. The year before that, the revenue increased by £272,000, and the expenditure by £359,000. So that in the two years just gone by, the income had increased by £472,000 and the expenditure by £755,000. He i maintained that there must be a substantial reduction in expenditure or an increase in taxation. He stood for a reduction in expenditure. Passing on to the Public Works Account, he said that in two years the annual expenditure had increased by £650,000. Mr Soddon, tho Premier, said “Go- slow!” Sir Joseph Ward, Acting-Premier, said. “It will be ruinous to stop!” Now, what kind of a Liberal was the speaker to bo! Was he to follow the Premier or the Act-ing-Premier! ' As a matter of fact, he might remark that ho did not want to be a Liberal at all, and would not be one. Ho went on to say that it was shameful, debasing and degrading for the Premier to publish far and wide that the prosperity of the colony depended on the complacency of “ our uncle,” the foreign bondholder, ini London. Mr Seddon said that if the colony could not borrow it was “fly-blown,” and) was “ done.” The speaker, however, would say that if prosperity could not bo maintained without borrowing- from someone it was a very deplorable state of affairs. Ho 1 combatted'the statement that the prosperity which existed was due to the actions of thq 1 Government. The progress and increases in population, exports, production of wool, lands under cultivation, telegraphs, telephones, miles of railways, and so on, during the period between 1880 and 1890 were greater than in the period between 1890 and 1900. The present prosperity was due to things with which the Government had; nothing to do. But it was clear that tho prosperity would not continue always. The colony could not stop borrowing money just row. Yet it could effect a substantial saving in the annual expenditure, and he thought that that was what ought to he done. The colony was burning tho candle at both ends. One end ought to be snuffed out. If the colony was compelled to stop, as in 1887, there would be many privations and hardships. The only thing that ready could not escape taxation was the land. That -was the direction in which many Liberal eyes were being cast at present for an increase in the revenue. It was hardly a direction, however, that would commend itself to farmers. The people were now asked to condone the policy ofi the Government of starting a lot of little railways all over tho colony, and of finishing none of the trunk lines. He thought that policy ought- to have been placed before thd electors in. the first instance, years ago. The House passed estimates for certain moneys, yet the money was not spent in the desired manner. The sum- of £SOO might be voted for a bridge. It was not spent, bub it waa found that £ISOO had been spent on some other bridge, the £SOO having been taken for that purpose. To-day the Government practically audited its own accounts, which was an iniquitous thing. The AuditorGeneral had been practically swept out of existence. He condemned “ the infamous , £4O voted by members to themselves,” and urged that the railway servants should be brought under the Arbitration Act, as the Minister of Railways merely need his power j in regard.' to wages as a means of gaining ' popularity. As to tho Civil Service, when

a position in it was vacant, it should ba open to all, and there should be a fair field and no favour. The system, of nomination to the service by members of Parliament ought to be abolished. Seeing that the number of Civil servants was increasing day by day, a Board should be appointed to deal with the appointments. Though ho supported the main principles of tho Land for Settlements Act, he thought the . Government should cut up more small blocks in rich districts so a* to settle workmen, on sections of about five acres each. If such a settlement was established somewher® near Halswell, there would bo plenty of apt* plicants, and no doubt similar settlement#, would be equally successful elsewhere. Ho 1 maintained that the freehold system would nob have a tendency to create largo estates. ! If tho freehold was granted, it could bo stipulated that tho title could not be trans- . ferred to any one possessing mores than- a certain quantity of land, so that the aggregation of large estates could be completely guarded against. There was no guarantee that tho colony would maintain its present position in the London markets, as competition was becoming keener. Therefore, the colony onght to get back sewn* of the money expended in land at top price*, so that if a fall in values took place, th* State would be safe. He accused tho Premier of having broken a promise that farmers would be brought under the operation of the Workers’ Compensations for Accident® Act All uncertainty in that direction ought to be removed. Coming to th* Farmers’ Union, Mr Lewis said that- it was time fanners .had organised in order to 1 make representations affecting their interests. He would like to say, however, that in any matter upon which the Union should communicate with him, he would reserv* an absolute right to exercise his free, untrammelled discretion. In conclusion-, h» asked that no friend of his would propose a vote of confidence in him. H* would be quite content to leave a vote of that kind until the election day. (Applause.) In reply to th© Rev J. Blackbunie, Mr Lewis said that he was not in favour of Bible-reading in schools or of abolishing the totaJisator. They were questions that might be submitted to the people by means of the Referendum if it Was adopted, though he was not altogether in favour.of the Referendum Bill. The gambling instinct appeared to be inherent in the British race, and the totalisator was infinitely ' better than the old system, where the bookmaker commanded the situation. In reply to t other questions, Mr Lewis said that depression would test the Arbitration Court as it had never been tested yet. It would remain to be seen what the attitude of the Unionists would be then. In Wellington, some time ago, when an award was given against the Typographical Union, some of the Unionists suggested th© disbanding of the . Union, So as ;to place the members butsido th# four comers of the Act, and go on strike in the old-fashioned- way. If th# time came when borrowing ceased and adversity overtook the colony, people would probably find that the Act was not worth the paper on which it was written. That was his reply to the question as to how ho thought borrowing would affect the Court. Mr I. Harding moved and Mr R>. Wright seconded a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Lewis, which was carried. A vote of thanks was passed to the Chairman. Mr A. W. Rutherford will speak ;at Waiau on Saturday evening; at Rotherham on Monday; at Culverdcn on Tuesday ;at Haunter on Thursday, and at th* 1 Hundalea School on Sept, 10. Mr H. F. Reece will speak at the toburn School to-morrow evening, and at Ashley Bank School on Saturday night.