THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15770, 19 November 1914, Page 4

THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN.

SPEECHES BY CANDIDATES MANUKAU CONTEST. Mil. LANG AT ONEHUNGA. GOVERNMENT PRAISED. AN ENVIABLE RECORD. Nearly 600 pec-rile attended a meeting in the Koiesters' Hall, Onehunga, last, niL-ht. when the Hon. F. W. Lang, mem- !..■: for M.intik.iii, end Speaker of the Ifr.u«e of Representatives, addressed the eleito's. Mr. .1. Sloupe, deputy-Mayor, ~1-esxled. owiMjr to the absence through ii,disposition of tho Mayor, Mr. J. Howe. Mi rig. who was greeted with ap- ,,.:.■. .-end that he had been 21 years in l',i Lain .'lit and lie felt in again offering ].:.> seni.es t" the electors that that long mm i •■ w.,ii!<! icsult in considerable bene--1:1 -~ his ronstitwnry. Referring to his acceptance of the position of Speaker of, Lie II ,imc of Representatives, he said that i it h.i'l I •', ii clamed that a private member (~n|i| do in,a,- for the electorate, hut. this v.is not. so In this respect, he contended that Muiiil'.au had been letter represented i-.lnlc hi was Speaker than it had ever lu.n on any previous occasion. (Applause i V, '! i.:. the present Government came into , (lire, the speaker proceeded, it had he- p. .-tat that the Old Age Pensions A,; w.nld bo repealed. On the contrary, t.'.i l i.iveriini- in had amended that Act, en In ling greater bent-tits upon the penMiners. Similarly, the Government had in ■!< ased the wages of civil servants and the pessimistic prophecies of the Governmen! '.«, enemies had 1« en shown to 1 e utterly false. He, himself, had Ken accused ..] . pposint; the Advances to Settlers Ac! and the ui,| Age. Pensions Act. 'I'wiMity years ago, lie said, there was a stito hi' depression in the colony, and lie, as well as many other members, was against borrowing. An advances i. .-citiers scheme was brought forward b\ the Internment, and he voted against it. because it was a borrowing scheme. Not one oi his constituents was dissatisfied with that vote, and surely it was a great complim-m to h:ra that his political enemies Miouid have to go back 20 years to find tank, with his actions. As to the Uld Age Pensions Act, he desired to see il hi a better basis. Time after time, he had urged impiovements in the Act, and when any one said he was against the old fgn f.fiisi.Jiw it was absolutely wrung. I.ve.yoody who had watched his career would that from the- very first, when the J'.m came on the Statute Book, he had clone fTerything he could to improve the position tit the oid ago pensioner under Hit Act. (Applause.)

How Labour Benefited. Dealing with what the present Government had accomplished while it was in office, he said that Labour had no cause for complaint. A minimum wage had been fixed for the Public Service, and the railway men, school-teachers, policemen telegraphists, and messengers had experienced an increase, in salaries. .Military pensioners had been placed on a better looting; widows received pensions at 60 instead of at 65, the cost of this latter scheme alone being £80,000 per annum. In the same way the Massey Government had built 305 workers' homes, valued at £161,230, but the Ward Government in six years had built only 210 homes, the value of which was £146,622. It had been said that instead of relieving the workers of the burden of Customs taxation the Government had increased the Customs duties, and so helped to raise the cost of living. 'I hat the Government had done this he absolutely denied. The revenue had certainly increased, but that was due to increased importations. As a matter of fact, in some instances the duty on certain goods had been decreased. (Applause.) The workers had also had their best interests considered when tho Government introduced strike legislation, making necessary the taking of a secret ballot before a union declared a 6trike. (Applause.) No Reckless Borrowing. Referring to finance, Mr. Lang pointed out that the Government had been accused of reckless borrowing, but during its term of office it had not borrowed more than had Sir Joseph Ward during the last two years his Government was in office. He thought that Mr. Massey was well advised to borrow what money he could at the present time, because with distress prevalent, owing to the war, it was good policy to carry on the public works of the country and so provide employment for all able-bodied men willing to work. He would ask the people who made the general statement that the Government had borrowed excessively to point out in what particular Item the Government had borrowed unnecessarily. Opposition's Mistaken Tactics. Criticising the actions of the Opposition Party, tho member for Manukau said Hint, never in his experience had he seen a more foolish action than the stonewall of the Second Ballot Repealing Act. How many candidates now opposed the repeal of that Act? The fart was that the Opposition had wasted hour after hour, and a largo sum of money, in stonewalling a thing that everybody wanted. (Applause.) Speaking of the Huntly disaster, Mr. Lang said that a Minister had been blamed for that disaster in a most unfair and a mi.st improper manner. Eveiy honest and straightforward man knew that the .Minister was no more responsible for this disaster than would be the Minister for Railways for any railway accident that might occur. The' Art on the Statute Hook was quite strong enough to deal with the position, and the accident, would have been prevented had its provisions been carried out. The Hon. Roderick Mr ! Krnvie, Mimstc, for Mine in a former Government, had stood up in his seat in! the fio.;seau,l .said that if the mw Act hail j '■'"'" '""i on the Statute Hook, the disaster would still have occurred. The Railways. The (speaker went on to refer to the C.,vri.merit's railway policy, and said that never l,ef.,ie had the North Island received justice ij.. deluded the appointment of •Mr. 11 lie;. . Gonial Manage, for Railways, and said (hat if the Ward Government had I "'""' - • 'Inly in sending young New Zen. i i""l" ■ to England and Amen, a to revive ' »» ip to date Haii,inc. it. would never I I' ■' hern necessary to go outside the I 1' •'■■'•:■ . !o till the portion. A \oi- .■. What about Rovd Garlick ? ! xl ' L»ng. I I.at was a, O'lv excellent 1 ni'i.oiiitniei.i It is not mentioned \,. IV : «'!'■" I" 1 ■'-, ewpt 1,7 people who love, very little .sens.-. (Laughter.) I Question ol Defence. Mr Lai . made refereii'-o to the Govern-mi-nt.'s Defence policy, and said amidst | ■'M'e. ise, that tin, Minister for Defence deceived -real credit for the splendid manm i in which the Dominion had been able to organise, at short notice, forces for the assistaiue i.i the Imperial Government Australia had also justified her local navy poihy. » A Voice: Three cheers for the Dreadnought' The cheers were duly given, and tho speaker was asked to explain his attitude tin that point. Mr. Lang: I say it was a most improper thing for any one man to give a Dreadnought without consulting Parliament. When Parliament assembled, no one objected to tho gift, so long as it was given in a proper and constitutional way. I said then, and you can see it in Hansard, that I had no objection to giving throe Dreadnoughts— (applause)-if neces

eary, but I said it should be done in a constitutional way—that Parliament should give it, and not one man. (Applause.) A Vote of Thanks and Confidence. Concluding, the speaker said he was in favour of a 55 per cent, majority on the licensing question, and so far as the Bible in State schools was concerned, he was in favour of a referendum. (Applause.) Several questions were asked and answered. ' Mr. M. H. Wynyard, president of the Onehunga Chamber of Commerce, proposed a hearty vote of thanks and confidence in the speaker. Mr. H. Jones seconded the motion. An amendment of no-confidence was pro; wed and lost, the motion being carried.