THE GOVERNMENT AND THE WORKING MAN.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 283, 28 November 1905, Page 1

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE WORKING MAN.

TO THE EDITOR

Sir,—"The Real Working Man 3' takes me to task for challenging Mr Mills to show why .he did not assist Mr Kidd to remove the duty on potatoes, aud says, " how could Mr Mills have done so when it was unlawful to do so."' Very good; let us go carefully into the matter and .see whether Mr Mills is genuine to the working class, as lie professes to be. If the law is wrong on this particular point, it must be equally so when Mr Mills .states that £60,000 Mas placed on cotton goods, and this, sir, is one of the most important articles of wearing apparel which is used by the working class. Mr Mills has stated we are to have a free breakfast table; what is the use of constantly gulling the workiiig class at election time? Why did he not support Mr Kidd and remove the duty on potatoes, when this food remains at £20 per ton? Why did Mr Mills vote against Mr Hogg when that gentleman brought in a private Bill to remove the duty on flour? Does this not show Mr Mills is supporting trusts and combines? What was Mr Mills's object in sending sixty prisoners to Dumgree last winter when over forty men were round the Rotunda looking for a job; was the work too easy for our local working class? Why were a large number of men sent from other centres (including single men) to work on the lino at Seddon when our local men were refused? The sooner Mr Mills dispenses with such frivolity as wearing dress suits and native' uniforms, taking pleasure trips to the Islands at a cost of £5000, and pocketing thirty shillings per day (even the day he landed in Wellington) the sooner will the working class appreciate him. I trust this will suffice to show the real working man that what I have said can be shown in Hansard,and if further evidence is required I am prepared to explain that Mr Mills has been working for combines and trusts.—l am, etc.,

WORKING MAN NO. 2