GREY LYNN SEAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17328, 27 November 1919, Page 8

GREY LYNN SEAT.

WOMEN'S VIEWPOINT. . SOCIAL REFORMS NEEDED. MISS MELVILLE'S VIEWS. The Government candidate for the Grev Lynn seat, Miss Ellen Melville, addressed electors of the district at the St. George's Hall, Kmgsland, last evening. Mr. G. L. Taylor presided. The hall was fully taxed, some 200 people finding sitting accommodation and nearly 100 others having to stand. The speaker received a very attentive hearing, and at question time was quite equal to the occasion when the extreme Labour element at tho back of the j hall showed tho tactics they are becoming noted for at this election. Miss Melville spoke much on the lines of her opening address on tho previous evening. She claimed that the presence of women iu Parliament would be a good j thing, in that it would enable the points I of view of both sections of the community to be represented. There were various social matters on which the woman's point of view had been needed in the past, but had not been available. No woman candidate should ask for the support of the electors merely because she was a woman. i If she had the qualifications of a business i j training and some experience of public life, there was no reason why sho should I not seek election. i The candidate went on to speak of the | need for a sound and stable Government in view of the great problems which had to Ibe dealt with in the near future. She I hoped a Government would be elected which would study the good of the people, and one which would not be iu#danger of I being put out at any moment on a " noi confidence'' motion. Party was not the main thing, she said; country "wa s the main thing, and the party that put its own interests first should not have the confidence of the people. (Applause.) Education and Other Reforms. In speaking on the matter of education and the need for reforms, Miss Melville elaborated upon her scheme for the provision of school books and stationery from a special Government printing office. She advocated the distribution of the material through the education boards and school committees at such a cost as to make them considerably cheaper to parents than they were at present. She thought it would be sound business also to employ, in the special State printing office in question, disabled or partly disabled soldiers. She claimed that the Government had recognised the necessity for providing more educational facilities, and that the fact was shown in the provision under the Act passed last session of £3,500,000 for lands and buildings for school purposes. Having expressed her view 3 on the matter of soldier settlements, the candij date referred to the cost of living. !'\e ! solution for that, she thought, was m- ! creased production. With regard to the ■ permanent Board of Trade, she advocated the inclusion in its membership of a pracI tical woman. The housing question j should, she said, be seriously grappled with under the new Housing Bill. In I that connection she stressed the importI ance of tho kitchen in any house erected (by the State. If a large amount of money , was to be spent on. housing it should be spent on right lines. ! Miss Melville proceeded to state her policy with regard to roads and railways, hydro-electric power development, and the fostering of secondary industries. On the land question she declared herself to be a believer in the limited freehold. (Applause.) She favoured safeguards against aggregation. Need for Women Police. Several social reforms were advocated iby the candidate. One outstanding matter ei a' serious nature which women's organ - | tsations had been striving for was the raising of the age of consent to 18. This was necessary in the interests of the comj munity. Another reform badly needed which she strongly supported was the j establ-shment of women police. Such j women were not to go about arresting i drunken men, she said, but to attend places of entertainment, such as picj ture shows, and other places where , the need existed, for the pur- ) pose of giving advice to boys and girls. 1 who might be out of control. There were | two women patrols in Auckland, appointed under the Health Act, but their powers I were nothing like wide enough. There •was no doubt that things were going on I in the community which were no credit to I the community. (Applause.) Women I police would do a great deal of good in checking these evils* (Applause.) She ad- ' vocated State assistance to mothers while their children were young. Domestic Help Problem. Miss Melville had an original solution for the domestic help problem. She said it was to give gir.s who helped in other people's homes a properly recognised social status, the same as nurses, for ini stance. She suggested the training of girls ' for domestic work in hostels, where they could gain State certificates for various grades. They could then go out to work for a certain number of hours a week. She felt sure that if such girls had a recognised standing and their certificates could comi mand good pay for them, plenty would gq in for domestic service. That would be at the same time a boon for the women who could not now obtain help, and were in consequence, wearing themselves out. (Applause.) In reply to a question, Miss Melvi-le said she thought some kind of military training was necessary. She did not approve of the four months' camp proposal, and thought that Sir James Allen's latest scheme was on sounder lines. With regard to the statements made as to the morals of camps, she said that if they were bad it was no credit to the community. She advocated the adoption of a system in use j in America. In the camps there the women had established what were called "hostess houses." There the boys were able to live | the nearest approach to home life. Ladies ' were always in charge, and the boys were j able to receive visits from their mothers I and sisters and g<rl friends. The home cement was introduced, and it was said I to have had a wonderful effect on camp life in the United States. Under such conditions training and discipline were all to the good. If women in New Zealand established similar houses at camps here, thev would very largely do away with the objections. (Applause.) Replying to a Labour supporter. Miss Me'ville said that her principal objection to the extreme Labour Party was its disinclinat:on to fiyht for its country. A vote of thanks was accorded to the candidate, practically unanimously. WATKATO. [BY TEIEGEAPH— OWN CORRESPONDENT.] HAMILTON, Wednesday. Mr. C. Lafferty addressed the electors of Ohaupo at the Town Hall last evening. Mr. Pickett, chairman of the Town Board, presided. Mr. Lafferty, who was warmly received, spoke on line's previously j reported. In reply to a question, ho I stated that it was not true tliat he inJ tended to stand down in favour of Jjr. jP. H. Watts. it was his intention to*go ■to tho poll at all cost,.. A vote of thanks and confidence was carried unanimouslv. OISBORNE. [BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) CISBORNE. Wednesday. Mr. W. 1). Lysnar addressed a large gathering in th,. Opera House tonight, when he opened his campaign for the Gisborne seat. He said he regretted the necessity of standing against Sir Jam., Carroll, but lie did so because the result of Sir James Carroll's work had not been what it should have been. Questioned at to what nis attitude would b e on a no confidence motion, Mr. Lvsnar said Sn .lo?eph Ward had not definitely stated that he would be prepared to do' without the help of extreme Labour, and as Mr. Massey had made his position clear, and provided Mr. Massey would deal with national problems in "an efficient manner, be would support him on a no-confident division if he did without the help ol extreme Labour.