NEW ZEALAND LABOUR PARTY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 20 April 1923, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND LABOUR PARTY

ADDRESS BY MR It. HOLLAND M.P.

At the Theatre Royal last evening) bworo a Crowded audience, Mr 11. Holland, M.P., Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, gave a political 'adarcss. Ho was listened to attcntiv ely, and o;i resuming his seat after speaking for' nearly 2J hours, ho was waimly applauded. Tni Mayor-elect (Mr W. Lock) brief* K introduced Mr Holland, extending bun a welcome to Nelson. lie refc red to- the present strength of the Labour Party m Parliament, and said a.'i effective and strong Opposition was necessary an any Parliament. Ho appealed for a. fair hearing to the speaker Mr Holland, who was loudly np--pk.udcd on rising to speak, expressed g"f.tification at the splendid attendance Ho thanked the members of t 1 c local Labour Party for extending hi u ail invitation to Nelson. Ho was there to speak on the policy of th- Labour Party so far as ho could deal with it in one evening'. He proposed to deal with some of the fot'o"

mrst planks, especially iii regard to the land question. The Labour Party mis comparatively a new party in the politics of the country, and because t. ;, ry challenged vested interests and h.n; a definite policy it went without saying that they were misrepresented and misunderstood: 'Hie Labour Party bad been called many names, and Mr Massoy was one of the foremost in calling 'the Party disloyal. In the ranks of the Labour Party to-day, said Mr Holland, were, the mothers of hundreds of soils who in;i.de the Mipicnic- saci'lnec, and Mr Massey said that any persons who associated themselves with the Labour Party were disloyal. The charge, was too absurd for honest and thinking men to give in all instant's consideration. The disloyal people were those who during the war made large profits. In this connection ho mentioned that prcviois to the war seheclite, for which Germany was tile sole customer, was so!': for* £ 105 s7s a ton ; but by the :i<{ of the war the Coalition Government was selling it to the Imperial Go eminent at £220 a ton. The wool k;i:gs iiiso refused to sell their wool for loss than a large increase. Instances wore given of increases made in several other products of the country needed for the soldiers.

A SOCIALIST OBJECTIVE It was said that the objective of tic Labour Party was a Socialist objective. So it was. The first plank was proportional representation which, ho said, would give to every school of thought almost the representation which its numerical strength warranted. Side by side with this the Labour Party wanted the initiative and the referendum so as to put in the hands of the people the right to veto legislation. The day was coming when a Labour Government would sit on i.he Treasury Benches, so if the people disapproved of legislation they could throw it out. They demanded the abolition of the Legislative Council—he was making no personal reflection on the members, some of whom were very estimable gentlemen ; but they werq responsible to no one, and were not elected by the people. The people ' themselves must have the deciding voice. The Labour Party also had a programme in respect to old age pensions; and the Party laid it down as a fundamental that old people should b<2 able to spend their declining years in comfort. Mr Holland wont on to g.ve details concerning the light which took place to put old age pensions on tlo Statute Book. Mr Massey ancl members of his Party had "fought against the principle, but had made their stonewall against the details. A voice interrupted that Mr Massey had objected to the way old age pensions were to bo distributed. .Mr Holland repeated his first assertion, that Mr Massey was opposed te the principle of old age pensions. On the day the Labour Party came into power the old age pension would be increased from 15s (the present rate")'to i?-5s a week; and even that would not be enough. Widows' pensions would also be increased. Increased pensions -feve also needed for sufferers from miners' pthisis, and industrial victims should be placed on the same footing as disabled soldiers. It was a standing disgrace that no provision was made for people born blind or who became blind in Chilian occupations. The Labour Party would alter this V<3it Mr Holland went on to-feay that his party believed that every person capable of working should be found em- i ploymont; if not there was sometbing wrong with the economic position. Reference was made to the Motherhood Endowment Bill introduced in the House by a Labour member. The basic wage should provide for a man and <wife and a family of two, and the Labour Party would give a motherhood endowment of 10s for every additional member no to attaining the ago.of 18. EDUCATION POLICY Tho Labour Party had an education policy; .and ho advocated that it should be entirely free. Military teaching should be replaced by instructive education in human thought, and he oh'octed to tho placing on school walls of pictures glorifying war ; let them oo replaced by pictures of our own scenery. Economic and industrial history should also bo taught in the schools. Schools should also be supplied with equipment for physical culture. Free medical attention was also another plank. Referring to the immigration xiolicy, lie denied that the Labour Party were opposed to it; .but would agree to any fair scheme. But the Labour Party v. oulcl oppose any scheme which did not make provision for every married man coming from overseas being provided with,a, houso to live in and permanent employment found for him without displacing any one already working. Sir Holland went on to condemn in general terms the present system of immigration, which ho said wad adding to the unemployment in 'tho Dominon.

LAND QUESTION Touching on tho land question, Mr Holland quoted figures showing how tin land of tho Dominion was held'; and also quoted from tho Year Bool* showing how tho -wealth of the conntry' was distributed. Mention was also mado of the rebates in laud and income tax mado by Mr Massey, the speaker stating that it was only tho fellow who could pay up that got the rebate. lie claimed that tho concessions worked out to tho advantage of the big man. In Committee the Labour Party had moved that the land rebates be confined to the small men. but Mr Massey would not listen. Mi Holland went on to say that what Mr Massey gave away with ono hand lie took out of their pockets with the oilier by way of increased taxation—even down to tho baby's perambulate-; It had been staled that the farmers ■were confronted with high taxation on the ono baud and high wages ou the other. This, said tho speaker, was not tho case ; what the farmer was up against was the present land system and the mortgages which that system entailed. Extracts were read from a number of letter from soldiers and other farmers with mortgages showing tho heavy interest charges they had

to pay. From tlio extracts road bo contended that it was not wages and taxes that were the trouble, but the mortgage system. What be fennel in New Zealand was the Clio?' mous in Hat ion in land values; ho had found farm properties with ten mortgages. Tito policy of the Labour Party was to conserve .national endowments; oCeupaitcy arid Had oi the land; no toleration of a matt holding land for spcculativo purposes; tin indeavour to give bona fide workers oil li.e land the full fruits of their labour ; conserving to the occupier and owner of tlie iaiid the absolute right to his improvements, lie tvefit. on to advocato a State bank ; a. revaluation oi the privately-owned land of tiiO COUllti <;, to remain on record as the basis of'uio moascuro of the present owners interest in the land. Mr Holland said in his opinion the capital value ot most of the soldiers' land would have to be written down 60 per cent before they could be made to pay. At the same time there were many parts or New Zealand under-valued. The Labour I' arty was uncompromisingly opposed to trafficking in land for speculative purposes. Mis personal opinion was that a revaluation of land could he made bv locallv«constituted boards. Ku wished to maP no attack on land agents; but the Labour Tarty thought the Lauds Department could do all the work the agents were at present doing. It would be insisted that roading must precede settlement. The Labour Party would also lay it down that land should be cleared by the Government for settlement. The timber should also he conserved, and a travelling sawmill would go round milling CTory foot of timber. The matter of !• ver erosion would be a policy of his Party.

THE MIDDLEMEN To counteract the middlemen the Labour Party would set up State depots to handle goods and hand the net proceeds to the nroducer. Referring to tin-, orchard indnstrv in this connection, Mr Holland said surely something was wrong with a system thatsold apples on the West Coast at Gd 'land Sd a, pound and the grower only receiving Id. Other producers were also hit in the same way—potatogrowers for instance, who, he was told, were at the mercy of a ring. But beforo any such thing as State depots could bo established there must be control of finance and credit. Mr Holland directed criticism at Mr Msssoy's Rural Credits Bill, which the speaker asserted was brought down o-ilv to placate the farmers and as a. counter-Hast to the Labour Party's State hank proposal, the institution of which, contended the speaker f would lead to an immediate reduction in the rate of interest. Mr Holland said the financial position of the country must be faced sooner or later if national bankruptcy wr-.s to lie avoided, and a capital levy on wealth, he said, would be the only thing to prevent such an occurrence arising. The speaker refer nod to the increased strength of the Labour Party in the House at the present time'; and he predicted that in a very short time his party would be returned with a following of 40. The Lake nr Party was the real fighting Opposition in the House to-day; and there was no real line of demarcation between Mr Massey's and Mr Will'< id's foliowings. The speaker concluded after outlining the history of. polities in New Zealand from the tii'.'C of Eallanco and Scddon, contending that the Labour Party wore the legitimate successors ,to these two statesmen —whoso deaths "were, ho said, national calamities. A strong appeal on behalf of the Labour Party was made beforo tlio speaker resumed his seat amid loud applause. j On the motion of Mr W. J. Moffatt, I seconded by Mr W. Condell, a hearty 1 vote of thanks was accorded to Mr j Holland for his excellent and inspiring address.

Mi Holland briefly returned thanks, arc! tlio meeting terminated with a vjto of thanks to the chairman.