THE OHINEMURI SEAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17329, 28 November 1919, Page 8

THE OHINEMURI SEAT.

r MR. POLAND AT PAEROA. GRATUITIES FOR SOLDIERS. SETTLEMENT AND PRODUCTION. [BY TELEGRAPHOWN" CORRESPONDENT.] PAEROA. Thursday. Mr. H. Poland, M.P.. Opposition canI didate for Ohinemuri, addressed a meetj ing of his supporters last night in the I Central Hall. Mr. P. E. Brenan, Mayor , of Paeroa, presided. • i _ The candidate first dealt with the poli- : thai conditions which had been brought ■ about by the war, and outlined the work jof the National Government in carrying , out war measures. Referring to the War Pensions Act, which at the outset, he i said, provided for 25s per week, Mr. , Poland stated that he had strongly adl vocated £5 being allowed. That was in , 1915, and ho considered that that amount did not represent a living wage now, and he would urge the provision of £4. Dealing with repatriation, he stated i that returned soldiers were waiting in I desperation for an opportunity to go on the land. J Regarding the gratuity, he considered that it should be 5s per day,' and eaid ; the payments could be made on this scale without increasing taxation bv drawing j on the fund of £15,000,000 which had accumulated during the war period. The candidate emphasised the need for ! increased production and a larger popuj lation. He favoured immigration as a I means towards making up for the loss jof man-power caused by the war. , A : vigorous policy of land settlement was | required, entailing the cutting-up of large | estates. In certain districts the schools j j had been closed because of the drifting j I away of population, due to land aggre- ' gation. I Mr. Poland urged returned soldiers to !go in for land on the Hauraki flains, j which was being balloted for. He stated ] that an important factor in increasing the , production of the land was cheap manure, ; . and touched upon the benefit which wou;d i i accrue to the Dominion as a result of the Government's action in acquiring an in- t I terest in the phosphate deposits of Nauru Island. He urged that the Government ' should erect works to convert the pnos- ] phate into superphosphate suitable lor manure, and oy tms means safeguard the , farmers u; a.nst being exploited by pri- ( i vaie intcjcsi.s. , Speaking on the subject of railways and ] better roads, the candidate cona.dered ] that the people oi Paeroa should view with , sat.si action tne allocation made on the , year's Estimates lor railways in the , locality. Air. foiaud dealt v.ith tlie in- I , vest-gations of the Parliamentary Indus- - tr.es committee, oi wh.cn he was a member.' In the matter oi uyuro-eiectriC uevciopment it baa oeen po.ntea out mat tne aevoiupment oi tne country s resources was oi piauary importance. ..no section of ' the community Wuu.d Denent more than ' the tanners by the development oi waterpower. louthing on profiteering, Mr. Poland sa»d lie oclieved mat the oiuy eaett.ve cuec'ii on tne practice was to taae tne stand ' wnicn nao. been taneii in JiUglanu, and make unpr.soument me penalty instead of fines. In the matter oi euuvauon he cous.dered that the med.cai inspection of sciiooj children did not go lar enough, and , that it was the duty oi the State to provide free medicai and dental attention. the canu.date advocated making accident insurance a State monopoly, which, by eliminating the running oi numerous companies, wou.d euab.c workers to , draw iuil wages when d.sab.ed, and this Without increased expense to the em- , plover. In closing his address Mr. Poland asked J for the confidence of the electors alter i . representing the electorate for 14 years. I

in repiy.ng to questions, he said he would bring in a measure to allow Civil servants to take a leading part in politics. Asked if he favoured entire freedom of export Jor New Zealand products, Mr. Poland neld that in certain cases a restriction upon export was in the interests of the country. He mentioned timber as an instance. This was being largely exported wh le there was a scarcity of it in the country. At the close of the meeting a vote of thanks and of confidence in Mr. Poland as member for the district was carried. THE EDEN ELECTORATE. MR. PARR AT AVONDALE. GOVERNMENT'S HOUSING SCHEME. Mr. C. J. Parr, M.P., addressed his constituents at the Avondaie Town Hall ' last evening. Mr. R. B. Nesbit, chairman of the Town Board, presided over the largest political meeting ever held in the district, about 500 electors being present. Mr. Parr said the last session, though short, was marked by the passing of most useful measures for which Mr. Massey deserved some thanks. The new Housing Act was the most liberal provision for the workers that had been made by any i Parliament. The Government was prepared to build houses of a modern type and sell them to workers for £775 each, ; including site as well. The worker need pay only £10 deposit, and was allowed 30 years to pay off the balance by instal- , menU. Anyone earning from £1 to £7 a week could take advantage of this scheme. The would pro- ] bably make some loss on these houses, but was prepared to do so in order to < better the living conditions of the people. , Further the settlement of the gratuitv question, involving £6,000,000, was a tri- , bute to the Government's fairness to the 1 soldier and the taxpayer alike. The new , Land Act would transform the face of the North, because a settler could now take up 400 acres of gum lar.d free 01 rent and taxes, and if he improved the ] place in 6even years he could keep the freehold' for nothing. Mr. Massey was providing a strong and bold policy for hydro-electric energy. Cheap electricity i would eventually displace coal. The citizen and the fanner would alike bene- 1 fit. There was no reason in a few years why farm machinery should not be driven by electricity. _ 1 Mr. Massey, put on his mettle when deserted by the Liberals, had shown ] capacity for bold constructive statesmanship, and the Liberal Party had fallen from its high estate. Its confederates could only ivppeal to a great but a dead i past. The public, however, did not want to know what Mr. Ballance did nearly 30 years ago. It was more important to have a strong united party to face the ' next three years—a partv which could be . strong enough to put the extremists in ' their proper place. For this reason he would support Mr. Massey on %. no-con-fidence motion. In answer to questions Mr. Parr said he thought the railway servants of the 1 second division ought to get consideration. ■> He had alreadv made representations ' with respect to the small salaries paid to \ country postmasters. , Mr. W. Vallance moved, and Mr. J. ! Tait seconded, a. vote of thanks to Mr. " Parr for his address and past?services, and confidence in him as the member far ] Eden. This was carried, there being only < three dissentients. { The Opposition candidate for the Eden i seat. Mr. R. E. Huniblow. addressed a meeting of the electors at Henderson iast evening He has recently completed a i tour of the northernmost part of the r electorate, near the Kaipara Heads, 1 where he held successful meetings in various places. At his meeting at the Parakai Hall, near Helensville, he had an enthu- c sjastic reception from a large audience. s