THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18244, 10 November 1922, Page 10

THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN.

f ; MINISTER'S TOm SfHEW PLYMOUTH SPEECH. DAIRY POOL LEGISLATION. WITH PRODUCERS. fß* . TEiisGBJa>H.—OWN COEftKJPOKDEST.} £i *?;"''";"/': NEW : The Prime Minister spoke in the New Plymouth Drill Hall this evening. The Weather was particularly unpleasant, but that did not prevent the editors from filling the largi hall. -They, gave Mr. Massey a great.reception, the whole audience rising and cheering when he appeared, and then singing, ** For He's a Jolly.". G oo<i Fellow." C.Financial matters were discussed at tagth by Mr. Massey, who explained the arrangements he had made for extending increased financial assistance to settlers. He" said that, as Minister for Finance, ho had already added the promised sum of £2,000,000 to tho funds of the State Advances Department. He expected) to find further, sums'"'for- the" same purpose next year,." "'- :-fhere was not the least foundation for the Statement of sorao Opposition cahdidateV. thai the Advances Department was Weakening The official figures showed that the department was lending more than it had over lent before, but it had not been able to; keep pace -with the enormously increased.demand for money among the fanners and local bodies. Ho wanted to utter a .word of warning with respect to the local bodies' borrowing. The develop inenf of the Dominion was.highly important, but he was a little airaid that soma of the local bodies were going too far. They wero adding to their debts at a very rapid rate, and they might find presently that the burden was hard to carry. [ Th© Government did not want to interfere at all regarding the proposed dairy pool, said Mr. Massey, but he and his colleagues felt strongly that the ■ Meat Producers' Board had been a notable success, and that the dairy farmers ought to have a similar opportunity to help themselves. He could promise the farmers that if they reached an agreement during the njext few months he would ask Par- ' liamJht to place the necessary .legislation < on tho Statute Book.

The decision rested with the dairy producers: -If thoy thought the existing system of distribution and "sale .was good they need not. make any change, but he believed that the great majority of farmers' thought the system ought' to be improved. They should not make the mistake of thinking that the Government was trying to f° rce anything upon them. The Government was merely offering facilities to dairy v farmer3 to control their own business." State banking, proportional representation, housing* and soldier.settlement were among the subjects handled by the Prime Minister, in.: the course! .■■cf/.r'a vigorous speech, which followed largely the lines of r.ddressiss delivered earlier in the week. /SpktfSE OF TARANAIL * ;,«•. WONDERFUL INCREASE IN PRODUCTION. CtlX mJWBAPH.--O.WN COBMS»P!SBffOTf4 ;.'f ::i NEW PLYMOUTH. Thursfiay. -'"ifce ~ Prime Minister covered much gromid; : He left the south-bound express at-rMarton in the early morning and travelled to New Plymouth by motor,, pausing at most of the centres en route to listen to brief speeches- of welcome and to meet local supporters of his party. Many matters connected with the general election wers! •under'his notioe during the day, baK he was not allowed to forget that he was Prime Minister as well as Leader of the Reform Party., Some ot the people juj the districte visited had not seen hini for a long time, and were not going 'to raiss an opportunity of pra s6o ** fog their -requeste. • Mr.- Massey said, in the course of one of his speeches during the day, that he realised he had not seen enough of: the country districts and t«he small towns during the last few years. The conditions 'had been abnormal all round. He had been called to London four times in fiVe years, and had, been - held •in Wellington during much of the remaining time by the sessions of Parliament. The cares of Government had been heavy ever since 1914, and he did not suppose anybody was surprised that he had not been able to get round *the country a* freely as he would hay* done if he had been able to please hiiaself. • -"Wonderful country," said the Prime Minister,?..with reference to the portions of Taranaki through which he travelled during the.day. "The stock cannot keep pace with the feed anywhere. Taranaki and the other dairying! districts have been very 'largely instrumental in saving New Zealand from Jinaucial disaster in the last year or two. The smiling fields, happy. Homesteads, and prosperous towns of this province are a revelation to any man who is interested in< production. We have our political differences in this country, and I have no doubt wo shall to have them, but there should be no'difference of opinion at all regarding the essestial importance of encouraging; primary production. The Government has been doing that to thet best of its ability and to the full extent of the „ means at its disposal, and itl is going to do it in the future." Speaking at Stratford, where he was welcomed ny the Mayor and leading citizens, Mr. Massey recalled that on tho occasion of. an ''earlier visit to the town, about eight yean, ago, he had expressed a confident hope that New Zealand exports would read* the £30,000,000 mark. He had not had to wait long for the realisation of that hope, since last year's exports had reached' a total of over £43,000,000. That was not the.limit oi the productive capacity of the Dominion. -.- The production and export of butter, cheese, meat, and wool was bound to grow far beyond the totals of to-day. No country in the Empire had stood up to, the world-wide financial crisis and depression better than New Zealand had done, and he was confident now that the corner had been turned. Tho: difficulties of the Government were not at. an end, but the outlook had vastly improved, j and he was confident of the future.

WAIKATO ELECTION. REDUCING CANDIDATES. &I& MERVYN WELLS RETIRES. j>i TjentJcsaAPH.--press association.] TE AWAMUTtJ. Thursday. Mr. : .Mervyh Wells, whose campaign for the Wailytto seat was to open at Te Awamutti ' to-night, intimated this afterjnooh that, in deference to Mr. Massey'B ■wishes, .he had decided to retire from the contest. '"'..'lt is understood that Mr. A. G. Dent >: whose candidature was announced a few weeks ago, is also retiring, thu3 leaving^a straight issue between Mr. J. T. Johnston, the Reform candidate, "and Mr. F. Lye. the Liberal caneidate. .Me&srs. Dent sad Wells were , oXk as etftaclipg Is th© miptJO. . teWeA .'.;' '.'• ' ... ..'•::;.