WELLINGTON NORTH ELECTION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17711, 11 February 1918, Page 6

WELLINGTON NORTH ELECTION.

I ___ TO THE ELECTORS OF WELLINGTON NORTH. RADIES AND GENTLEMEN,This Electorate has been rendered vacant through the elevation of the Hon Mr Herdman to be a Judge of the Supreme Court. The opportunity has thus been offered the Electors of Wellington North of expressing their approval or their dissatisfaction with the conduct of the National Government’s policy and admimsti ation. As a candidate for the suffrages and votes of the Electors? constituency, the following are some of the main planks of my platform:— WIN THE WAR. As the rights, freedom and liberty of the nations, and peoples are imperilled, my first consideration would be that the winning of the war we are engaged in is of paramount importance to the whole world. The life-blood of our Empire is being claimed in defence of Justice, Righteousness and Equity. The National Government has miserably failed to apply these principles in its administration, in that while the sternest and most extreme financial sacrifice is being forced upon many men in addition to the personal risk they are called upon to face, huge profits are still being made by many at the expense of the mass of the people, and altogether insufficient demands are being made upon the incomes of the wealthy and others well able to contribute, in whose defence our boys are risking life and limb. DEFENCE. The reorganisation of this Department is one of the .greatest problems that, require to be dealt with at the) present time. The policy of retaining in their positions administrative officers who have proved themselves hopelessly inefficient is one of the principal causes of the present military iheptitude. The War Regulations Act also requires drastic© amendment, as many of its provisions strike unnecossarily at the very heart of the liberty of the subject. PENSIONS. Pensions , and allowances allotted to returned soldiers and their dependants are inadequate, and .should be increased. The nurses should bo brought under the military pensions scheme immediately. In addition, pensions should be given to the parents or those who lihve made the supreme sacrifice without the humiliation of their having to fill in an application form equivalent to a Charitable Aid Board application. SECOND DIVISION. I am definitely of opinion that the scale of allowances to the dependants of members of the second division should be substantially increased. LAND FOR RETURNED SOLDIERS. I favour some system as the obtaining of good land near the large centres and by means of utilising the services of export agriculturists first of.. all teach returned men to become efficient in the various phases of farm work and eventually place them on the land. EXEMPTIONS. Having exempted the clergy because of being religious teachers tHfe Government ought to show more sympathetic consideration for the religious conscientious beliefs of those whom the clergy have taught. lam of opinion that, having in view the serving of the best interests of the educational future of the nation, all teachers should be exempted. { COST OF LIVING. The National Government has miserably failed to grip the Cost of Living problem, in that while having 6et up a Board of Trade to control prices it has omitted to give that Board, statutory legal power to enforce its decisions. Increase in prices of commodities should only be sanctioned in every case after careful public inquiry as to the cause. , x ' EDUCATION. With regard to primary education, some most important matters are the. provision of more healthy class-rooms, larger inspectorial and teaching staffs, and increased salaries for both inspectors and teachers. In. view of the return to the country of our soldiers in increasing numbers, many of them through wounds and disease unable to follow their previous occupations, a great extension of our technical and agricultural schools system is of a specially urgent nature. CIVIL SERVICE. As an ex-Civil Servant, I thoroughly appreciate the importance of having a contented public service for the carrying out of the administration of the affairs of the country. Among other improvements I am of opinion that a more just system of control, increased salaries to lower paid officers, and better opportunities for promotion are required. In concluding I wish to point out that I am a young New Zealander, and an ex-soldier, and that, if elected as your representative in Parliament, it would always be my endeavour to serve to the utmost of my ability the best interests of the electors of Wellington North as well as those of our young New Zealand nation as a whole. I am, •Yours very faithfully, A. N. POLSON, Independent Liberal Candidate. 4025