ELECTION CAMPAIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20099, 9 November 1928, Page 15

ELECTION CAMPAIGN.

(PROMISE OF MILLIONS.

UNITED PARTY'S PROPOSAL. PRIME MINISTER'S ATTACK. REFORM RAILWAY POLICY. Jnv TKI .r.iiliAPlt. — (IWM CO RR ES I'O NI •EN T. ] \VKLUNdTON. Thursday. Magnificent is a word which concisely And aptly describes tho speech delivered here by the Prime Minister, Mr. Coates, this evening, and tho reception' accorded Inn* by an audienco which was several times Inn large to be accommodated in the T 'own Hall. Mr. Coates, accompanied bv Mrs. Coates and the Reform candidates for the Wellington seats, entered the hall to tho accompaniment of round after round of cheers, which were repealed several times throughout the evening. Applause greeted Mr. Coates v.lien he dealt with interjectors who. as

at oilier meetings, were more noisy than numerous. At the closo of his speech tlio Prime Minister was accorded a vote of thanks and confidence, the motion being carried on a show of hands and with cheers and applause over the coiiuter-ileiiioiislration of the opposition. The Prime Minister analysed the platform of the United Party, and said it» main planks were Iho borrowing of £1>0.000,000 for advances to settlers and workers, and £10,000,000 for railway contit ruction. They said they would reduce income lax and customs lax, they would pay subsidies to assist local industries, they would provide a cheap loaf and would adopt preferential voting. Missing Five Pounds. "And don't forget they are going to tlo all this without adding a penny piece to taxation," added Mr. Coates. "How 00 they propose to find the £5 they will lose 011 every £IOO they borrow, for they are going to raise the money at £95 at per cent. ? How are they going to hud that other £5? The next point is, how do they propose to bring the money into New Zealand? If they bring it in 111 goods, then those goods will affect our local industries, and if it is 111 gold then the primary producer will have to pay for i(; ho is the only exporter."

The I'rinio Minister saitl tlie effect of borrowing £60,000,000 in JO years would bo to increase the price of land. The Gov:cnt's policy liad been to bring the price of land down to a level in keeping with the price of onr produce overseas, and to maintain stability. (Applause.) If the people were told that what was wanted was nioro money ho would agree, but as to the method of obtaining it there were differences of opinion. As to the proposal of Sir Joseph Ward to allocate £10,000,000 for the completion of railways that was indeed extraordinary. J low the ears of the people could be tickled by a few platitudes .strung together! (Hear, hear.) Had the leader •if (he Tinted Party, its chairman or any member of it explained how it. was proposed to spend that money '! Had any indication been given as ti> the lines which would be completed'! The most intelligent icm,irk had been that they would build no more branch lines. Concentration Policy. "How many branch lines are being built to-day?" asked the Prime Minister. "Does the public of this country know the programme that has been laid down for the development of the railways? The first statement I made after becoming Minister of Railways was that we should get down to a concentration policy. Wo have done it. (Applause.) We have filled in the gaps and we are steadily prosecuting the completion of our main lines. Under at- ' tent ion at present are the North Auckland, the Gisborne, the Stratford. the Inangahua and the .Midland line. How do the United Party propose to complete these lines? All they say is they will ttpend £10,000.000 in three years A Voice Fifteen shillings a day.

The; Prime Minister: The men at work on these railways are earning more than 15s a day.

Il whs a physical impossibility to complete the railroads in three year;, said .Mr. Coates. Even if they were completed in thai time the economic effect on the country would be disastrous. The cost of construction had been reduced by about 40 per cent. The men on the works would be kept on if the Government's policy was maintained. (Applause.) Money for Development.

"In regard to the development of the country it is imagined by a number of people that £10,000,000 is all that is necessary to push on with the various projects," said the Prime Minister. "Let me tell you that vou require between £7,000,000 and C 8.'000,000 for hydro-elec-tric schemes alone." Everybody interested in the country must know of the. large projects which were being carried out. The United Parly had overlooked that, and they had also overlooked tho building of public schools, both primary and secondary. Again, they had omitted the public hospitals. The United Party had given no indication to the country how they proposed to develop the country sf«p by step. The mere fact of stating thai they proposed to borrow £10,000.000 lo build tliu railways did not touch the subject.

Mi\ ("oafps said Sir Joseph Ward was respected by all sections of the commuiiity. (Applause.) Tliat went without saying. To flay ho was leader of a pmty ami had to take full responsibility for Ins utterances. Speaking in ChristchurcJi tlie oilier day Sir Joseph Ward had declared that if the Reform (iovenirnent remained in ottiro there would he between 30.000 mid 'IO,OOO unemployed next winter (Applause.) "Apparently a. section of ibis aiuliencfi wants to see unemployment, it firenui to he happv about it,'' oliserved •Mr. ("'nates. (Laughter and applause.) ''ir iloseph Ward's statement' appears to be extravagant and outrageous. (Loud applause.) Of all the dismal expressions ■i the future his was possibly the most del niuental over made. No man with any .sense of responsibility eoulrl mane such a Matemeri't unless lie was suffering from 1 lIIIC iS.'' A Voire: You are fjiiite lichf. I altrib.ite Sir Joseph Ward's ufterniuc to the slate of his health," said Mr. t iatcs. "[ consider it to bo ono of the ni"-t flagrant cases of extravagant language used by any public man, for as 11ittl; as I can remember at any rate." (Applause. ) 1 lie. ['rime Minister went oil to deal tvitii the' Labour Party's platform, emphasising .Mr. 11. E. Holland's association with the \ extreme section of that ruoveuic'it. Turning to tho analysis of the two platforms of the Labour Party, the one they presented to tho public and the other t<> which the official candidate* of the Labour Parlv subscribed. Mr. Coafes asked: " Is it that the Labour-Socialist Party is ashamed of its platform, or is it that it is proud of its manifesto? Do they stand by the manifesto, or do they stand by the platform? Which is right and which is wrong? That is the question I put to nil the Labour candidates. What does that manifesto mean ? It is just a shaving (iff of the platform ? A Voice: Quito right; that is what it is.

A reference to Australia produced an interjection: "Leave Australia alone; stick to New Zealand."

Tho Prime Minister: I am not the first fo go to Australia. Mr. Holland was there in 1921 at that Labour conference. (Applause ) Mr. Coales proceeded to deal with some of tho eleventh-hour canards circulated for parly purposes. Tlieso worn tho Arapuni dam scare, the alleged "cuts" to be made on wages, and the alleged curtailment of tho railway staffs. All were election canards and were without foundation, Ho made those refutations with >\ full responsibility of the high position he held,' and which he hoped to retain for many years to come. (Loud applause.)

When the Prime Minister referred to the industrial conference a voice called: "That is the best thing you have done." Touching on public works the Prime Minister was interrupted by the inter jection "and public houses." A Voice: He is a shareholder.

The Prime Minister: Wrong again. 1 have not a cent, not a penny piece, in any of your breweries. (Applause.) They don't make much profit out of me. (Renewed applause.) Assistance to Farmers. The Pr.inti Minister then went on to refer in detail to the legislative and administrative acts of the Government during the past term of ollice on the lines of his manifesto and policy speech in Christchurih. He claimed that 011 the Main Highways Act and its amendments and the petrol tax. which had been instrumental in relieving the people on tho land of the heavy burden of taxation for the construction and upkeep of roads, the Government was entitled to a further mandate to take the reins. The Government had given encouragement to the fanners to increase production by reducing the railway freight on fertilisers, bv providing easier finance through the Rural Advances Act and the Intermediate Rural Credits Act, by the payment of a subsidy on the export of pork, and by the guarantee of a payable price for apples and eggs for export. Tho herd testing subsidy had assisted farmers to ascertain which of their cows were the best producers. Agricultural education had been placed in the forefront through the establishment of the Mnssey Agricultural College and the Canterbury Agricultural College. Worth-while secondary industries had been given a chance to become established by the operation of a scientifically-calculated tariff, which was immensely superior to the subsidy system proposed by the United Party. Choice of the Electors. Tho Government had seen to it that everv child had a fair chance by the operation of the free medical and dental attention systems in Ihe schools, and he would not be satisfied until those systems were extended to every school in the country. On the humanitarian side there had been tho family allowance, which would be increased as soon as circumstances warranted. Tho Government had fulfill 0 d its election promises of 1925. and it faced tho electors with tho slogan "policy and fulfilment." Concerning the futuro" policy, the Prime Minister devoted most of his attention to the land settlement proposals for the part-time farmer, the rural worker and tho group system settler.

"I say that this Government has managed the couutrv so well that NewZealand to-day, so far as its credit is concerned, stands highest in -tho world," said Mr. Coates. "Our people as a nation stand high." A Voice: You can't prove it.

"I can prove it." retorted the Prime Minister. "It is only some croakers and Jeremiahs of our own and somo misfits that coiiio out here who won't understand." (Loud applause.) "We have given you a policy and wo have given you its performance," continued the Prime Minister. "We ask the people for a renewal of their confidence. There aie only two parties in this country, Reform and Labour. A vote for a United Party candidate is a vote for Labour, That is thu position Tlinso who believe that this country stands for e(|iial opportunity, that this Government stands for the protection and security of religious beliefs, those who believe that we stand four square for the protection of those principles, I ask to support Reform Party candidates." ((. 'beers.) VOTING BY ABSENTEES. A SIMPLE PROCEDURE. APPLICATION AT ANY BOOTH. [by telegraph.—press association.] WELLINGTON, Thursday. Although the provisions governing absentee voting at the general election are simple, numerous inquiries are being inado regarding tbo procedure. I lie position is that registered electors who will be absent from their districts on Wednesday arc not. required to be in possession of an absent voter's permit in order to exercise their vote. r l he permit system was abolished for the 1925 general election, and in its place was introduced a much simpler method. All a registered elector who is out of his own district is required to do is to apply at anv polling place for voting papers for tho district in which he. is registered. ft, will be necessary for such an applicant to satisfy the deputy-returning officer of his qualifications as an elector and that it will not, bo possible for him to return to bis electoral district before the poll closes. Electors who have been permanently away from their districts for more than three months and have taken up permanent residence in other districts, lose their qualification to vote as absentee voters. Those entitled to vote under the postal voting system have now only a short time in which to apply for the postal vote certificates. Neither the absentee voting nor postal voting system apply to the Maori elections.

Persons who are in hospital or ill in their own homes should take immediate steps to vote by post tinder the new voting facilities introduced for the first, time at this election. Bv applying to I lie returning officer for their electoral district for an application form for a postal vote certificate and postal they will be able to record their votes immediately and post them to the returning officers Such votes may fie recorded at nnv time up 11,0 (,!l - v of ~in el . pption » the one condition being that certificates and papers must both bo tn the hands of the returning officers before 7 p.m. 0-» election day. All envelopes received after that time will be marked with particulars of the time received and will be classed informal. DISORDERLY MEET I NO. MRS. YOUNG HECKLED. "I DON'T WANT YOUR VOTE." [riV TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON. Thursday. Scenes bordering on the disorderly were witnessed in tho Early Settlers' Hall today when Mrs. Margaret Young, the Jnde pendent Labour candidate for Wellington Central, addressed an audience composed entirelv of women. When the candidate rose to speak she met with a hostile reception, her remarks being punctuated with interjections of a personal nature. She was hooted frequently and before she had concluded her speech was howled down bv a crowd of frantic women. The meeting broke up in some disorder. There were about 160 women present Mrs. E. T. Jones, who presided, appealed to the audience to give the candidate a fair hearing, remarking that Mrs. \oung was the most courageous woman she had ever met. At one stage after extensive heckling Mrs. Young told a woman she did not want her vote. "I don't want one of your votes," she declared amid uproar.