LAND, LABOUR AND CAPITAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14121, 24 July 1909, Page 6

LAND, LABOUR AND CAPITAL.

MR. HOGG'S CAMPAIGN.

"THE WEAPON OF TAXATION."

TIME RIPE FOR A LABOUR PARTY.

Me. A. W. Hogg, M.P. for Masterton, late Minister for Labour, delivered an address in the Choral Hall, Auckland, last night at the. invitation of the Labour party. The hall was filled before 7.30 p.m., and when the address commenced, half an hour i.vtcr, fully 1500 persons were present. The Mayor (Mr. C. D. Grey) presided, and introduced Mr. Hogg, referring to the sacrifice he had: made in resigning from the Ministry. Mr. Hogg, who was received with prolonged cheers, expressed pleasure at. the magnificent reception accorded him, and said he felt that no potentate, no matter in w hat position he was, could but be gratified with such a reception. He had always contended that there were three things which, if they were properly combined, would inevitably produce prosperity. These were land, labour, and capital. When separated they would accomplish practically little or nothing, but if combined together and formed into a union they would perform miracles. (Applause.) Land was necessary to existence; every man and woman should be a shareholder in it; and it was only owing to monstrously unjust laws .that a fair distribution of this necessary article had not been carried out. (Hear, hear, and applause.) DIVISION OF THE LAND. If the land was fairly divided, did they think the struggle for existence would be so keen? If it was only fairly distributed they would, not have to keep, on constantly enlarging their hospitals and gaols; they would not have an unemployment trouble, and they would find that wealth and prosperity would be increased. Mr. Hogg then went on to refer to the locking up of lands, particularly of native lands, and urged that they should be opened up so as to provide employment for all. When in the course of his travels through some of the monopoly ridden districts of New Zealand he had noted, on the one hand, the struggles of the European settler in his isolation from roads and railways, and, on the other hand, had heard members of local bodies complaining of their inability to collect rates on the surrounding tracts of native land, he declared *' 1 will give voice to these complaints when X return to Wellington," and in his Parliamentary speech, of which they had probably heard, he was doing no more than fulfilling his pledge. (Applause.) It had cost him his seat in the Ministry, but had won him the confidence of the people of this country. (Cheers.) Dealing further with the land question, Mr. Hogg contended that the Government's heavy expenditure in the purchase of estates for closer settlement was playing into the hands of monopolists, who had succeeded in converting compact dairy farms into huge sheep runs. Monopolists and mortgagees had been allowed a free hand long enough, and the weapon of taxation, should be applied to their backs. (Applause.) To give a man two farms was just about as fair as to allow him two wives. (Laughter.) It was because ho had denounced the monopolists and stigmatised with a proper name the men who had been rendering our roads and public works useless in m&ny. ; of our ; districts that he had been denounced as indiscreet, but for the sake of principle he was prepared to be indiscreet every hour of the day. (Loud applause.) •

v ■ LEASEHOLD TENURE. Mr. Hogg briefly entered into an advocacy of the leasehold principle. He would as soon think of finding fault with a man concerning his religion as he would with his opinion on the land tenure question. Freehold might be all very well, especially for those who wanted to dispose of their land instead of > making homes for themselves. (Laughter.) But he thought that the State leasehold system, which allowed the settler .to retain his capital for the carrying out of improvements, and for the benefit of the labour market generally, was the sort of tenure which would benefit the community as a. whole. (Applause.)

WORK AND WAGES. A singular anomaly, which had always appeared as a great injustice to him, was that the harder the work the harder the pay. Under the Arbitration Court awards the skilled artisan only received from £2 to £3 a week. If he was a married man, a third of tiie went in ront, and with what remained he had to feed and clothe his wife and children, and very often lie got into debt. There were scores of cases in Wellington of - women and children living only-in one room Were any slums at Home worse than that? (Cries of " No, no.") Many of these women were diseased, and scattered the disease about. In his opinion it would certainly pay the wealthy class to go, to work and try and find these women and children decent homes and decent, livelihoods. PAPER CURRENCY. ; He had, he said, been taken to task in certain quarters for . what he had said in regard to paper currency. What he maintained was that paper currency should be issued by the State, and not entrusted to two or three banks. .(Applause.) Why sudh a proposal should be considered unreasonable he was totally unable to understand- If the State could issue £100 debentures which were, after al|, only exaggerated tank notes, to the extent of xj tO,000,000(A Voice: Is that all?) —it could surely be trusted to issue two or three million £1 notes. If there was any difference between a £1 note issued by the bank and a £1 issued by the State, ho thought it was in favour of the State. (Applause.) The State offered security better than that of any bank in creation. To relieve the financial stringency which prevailed he had suggested that the State should issue a paper currency, and had this been done there would have been plenty of money. (Applause.)

HANG THE MONEY-LENDER." ; For the past 12 months the Dominion had been in the hands of the money-lenders, and the bank through which the Government did its business had recently declared a profit of 70 per cent.—more, he ventured to cay, than any business in New Zealand had ever done. Furthermore/during a very few years, shareholders in this institution had profited to the extent of £2,000,000, a sum which would have provided, roads and bridges for the •whole of the Dominion, for a period of five years. While this monopoly had been in operation everything that- would tend' toward the legitimate and general advancement of New Zealand had been allowed to stand' still, with the result that the labour irarket was suffering and the unemployed were crying out for bread. The luxurious gentleman had had them by the throat. • Mr. Hogg ridiculed the idea that we were indebted to the foreign money-lender, declaring that the position was reversed.' (Applause.) It was a great pity that a country like New Zealand, which was capable of creating sufficient capital for its own requirements, should need to go after foreign loans. The rumour of our credit abroad being seriously affected was merely a cupboard skeleton, and when he heard a caution raised against, falling out with the money-lender, he said, "Hang the money-lender abroad." (Laughter and applause.) A MINISTER'S DIFFICULTY. The Minister for Lands, the speaker thought, was a friend of closer settlement, but in dealing with the Acting-Prime Minister and the native lands, he would have considerable difficulties to contend with. (A voice: "Taihoa.") Mr. Oarroll was postponing the evil day and tHe good day as well. (Laughter.) If the jidlo lands were prepared for settlement.

plenty of employment, would have been] provided for those discharged from the) Main Trunk railway works, etc. | COUNTRY RIPE FOR REFORM, I Mr. Hogg went on to declare that WV country was ever so ripe for reform < | New Zealand was at, the present, time 4 (Applause.) He could say that from M tual knowledge. They were at present,only on the threshold of momentous re, •forms. (Applause.) Chief among thes 4 was the land question, upon which, tueji must concentrate the whole of their energy. The same applied to the question 9'!, finance. No doubt the pathway in tnisj direction was dark and strewn with dan| gors, but there was sunshine ahead, if t.n<> industrial classes would only hang together and march ahead. He asked the mdutrial classes to unite, and he assured them that by doing so they could work miracles, and could free themselves from the capitalist, who like the vampire, only wanted an opportunity to suck their blood. (Applause.) • , As Mr. Hogg resumed lie was loudly cheered, and after this had subsided someone in tho audience called for three groans for Sir Joseph Ward, which were heartily given. THE CAUSE OF LABOUR. Mr. T. Long, president of the Trades and Labour Council, iroved, " That this meeting of citizens heartily congratulates Mr. A. W. Hogg, ex-Minister for Labour, on the manly and self-sacrificing attitude that he has taken up on behalf of the working class, and hopes that he will continue to fight for Labour and progressive works." The motion was seconded by Mr. J. Davis, and carried with enthusiasm. . Mr. Arthur Rosser moved, " That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is absolutely necessary to form a strong Labour party, and that it is necessary for Labour to consolidate its forces to secure representation that will secure to the workers a more equitable share of the wealth they create." Mr. Henery seconded the motion, which was carried, with cheers. , The meeting closed with cheers for Mr. Hogg. . ' A DUNEDIN RESOLUTION. [BY TELEGRAPH.— ASSOCIATION' ] Dunedin, Friday. At a special meeting of the Otago Trades and Labour Council last night the executive submitted a report on unemployment. The report stated :—"The executive is of opinion that the question of unemployment can only be solved through industry being organised on scientific lines, having a basis of production for use instead of profit, and that this can only be brought about by the instruments of production, distribution and exchange being in the hands of the State. The present commercial system is, in our opinion, the real cause of present unemployment, with its attendant evils. The executive recommend that a strong effort should be made to secure control of political machinery, and that the time is opportune for an energetic campaign amongst organised workers, with a view to creating a Labour party in Parliament pledged and controlled by a Labour organisation, which may be brought into existence."