NATIONAL PARTY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23169, 15 October 1938, Page 15

NATIONAL PARTY

THE ISSUE DEFINED CHECK TO SOCIALISM MR. HAMILTON'S SPEECH RELIANCE ON PRINCIPLES Confidence that the principles for which the National Party stands will today receive endorsement from the electors was expressed by the leader of the party, the Hon. A. Hamilton, in his final election appeal which was broadcast from IYA last night. Mr. Hamilton supplied the text of his address to the newspapers for publication. " The issue before the country today," said Mr. Hamilton, "is whether New Zealanders wish to live as individuals, with the right and privilege to receive the just reward of their own endeavours, or whether they wish, in return for a few material comforts, to sell themselves into the bondage of a Socialist State. That is the issue on which we have appealed to the country. • " The philosophy of our opponents is utterly foreign to our British character," Mr. Hamilton continued. "That is something which we have maintained from the outset and our convictions have been strengthened as the campaign has proceeded. Democracy Menaced "1 myself am a believer in democracy. I would be willing to fight to the last ditch to preserve the democratic system under which New Zealand has grown to nationhood. But, in the stealthy growth of Socialism, with its denial of individual rights and its provision of opiates for those who do not care to think for themselves, I see democracy menaced on everv hand.

" It is this thought," said Mr. Hamilton, "that has led my colleagues and myself to enter a political battle as strenuous as any that has ever before been fought in New Zealand. We have fought honestly and hard and now I say with every confidence that victory is in sight." Mr. Hamilton added that during the last few days, on his way from Invercargill to Auckland, he had received inspiration and renewed faith from the receptions which had been extended to him, not for himself but as leader of the party opposed to Socialism. Men and women of all walks of life and of widely varying ages had taken part in demonstrations of determined loyalty and their enthusiasm bad been transmitted to every National Party candidate who would face the electors. The justice of the party's appeal was such that it could not lose. A Personal Note

" It is not often that I talk about myself," Mr. Hamilton continued, "and in* this final message to the people of New Zealand it is only with diffidence that I introduce a personal note. But in some ways it seems to me that mv own personal .experiences in a life which I have lived vigorously have a bearing on the political issues which are now before the country. " I am the son of a pioneer farmer. On a farm in Southland, my father and mother brought up a family of nine sons and one daughter. We boys worked 011 the farm while we were still at school and, under the guidance of my father, who asked 110 help but the willing hands of his own sons, we developed not only the original farm, but also additional land which my father saved to buy in order that those >ot us who wished to continue farming should earn our opportunity by our own j efforts."I have never regretted those years of hard work with my father and my j brothers. We had a vision of the future , and I think we knew, in an undefined sort of way, that countless other families had the same vision and that the j realisation of that many-sided vision | would mean the future strength of our j countrv Study and Business "It was the same glimpse of the future." said Mr. Hamilton, "which led me as a young man to leave the farm for a few years in order to study at Otago University. Like many other young people of my generation, I knew that learning was something to bo prized, and 1 was determined to widen my mental outlook with a higher education. . . ' "Finally, I went into business with one of my brothers. I remained, in j part, a farmer, for my love of the land is something which will stay with me as long as I live. The two of us founded a business and worked with all our energies of mind and body for its advancement. With all due modesty, I think I can say that it was through our own efforts that we succeeded. "That is a record of my own personal achievements,'-' Mr. Hamilton . continued. "I do not pretend that they are out of the ordinary; indeed, there are members of my own party whose careers in business and in public life have been far more brilliant than mv own. During the last few years, when I have seen an insidious attempt made to destroy the virtues of self-reliance and to substitute for them a dependence on the State, this thought has always been uppermost in my mind. Future of Youth "My father gave all'his sons a start in life and encouraged them to stand oil their own feet. For myself, I have found zest in the struggle of the years between. 1 have used my hands and my head in making my own way in life and I can now look hack with the knowledge that, in some measure. I, like manv of vou, have succeeded. [ have made no meteoric rise to riches or to eminence, but I have had a vision of tho future no less bright than that of my Labour friends, and have strived toward it by my own efforts. "Little as my success may have been. [ am determined that the young men and women of to-dav, the boys and girl.s who are still at school and the children as yet unborn will have the same opportunities that I enjoyed to stand on their own feet, to look lift; in the face and to receive the full reward for the efforts which they put forth for themselves and their families. "That is my philosophy," said Mr. Hamilton, "and it is the philosophv of the National Party. Those things which are worth while in life can be attained by individual effort and we say that the combined efforts of thousands of individuals, each to improve his or her own position in life, must inevitably result in a raising of the standard of life of the community as a whole.

"Socialism, which is the goal of the Labour Party in New Zealand, would have us return to the life of the cavedweller. It is a denial of all the forces of civilisation. For centuries man has been breaking free from the herd instincts and seeking to develop his own individuality. In place of individuality and personal freedom —in place of the rights of a man to the fruits of his own labour —the Socialists seek to restore the life of the herd. will live the same life; everyone will work for the State and receive only what the State chooses to give in return.

"No New Zealatider can accept that I doctrine. The tradesman of to-day looks forward to being the master craftsman of to-morrow; the father of to-day wants to bo sure that during his lifetime he can make provision lor the future of his children. "We of the National Party have an abiding faith in the future of our own country. Historv shows us that the virtues of self-reliance, determination, industry awl thrift have raised New Zealand to-day to a position unequalled by any other country in the world. The Labour Party asks us to throw away those virtues and to lean like weaklings on an all-powerful State. New Zealanders are not weaklings. We know they will show th-i world that they are still prepared to stand on their own feet. "There is not much more that 1 can say." Mr. Hamilton added. "The issue before the people is simple and clearcut. But 1 do say that the people know where the National Party stands. We have put forward our policy and we have given our promises. There will be no deviation from that policy nor from those promises. "We will base all our actions on the necessity for preserving the family, not the State, as the focal point of our national life. We will encourage the rearing of families; we will countenance no lowering of our standards of living and we will endeavour always to raise them; Ave will see to it that all the strength of mind and force of character which enabled our fathers to carve a noble land out of a wilderness are preserved, so that; generations to come will march forward 011 a steady path of progress. Religious, industrial and personal freedom will be assured.

"Somebody has said that the policy of the National Party is a return to sanity." Mr. Hamilton concluded. f! I honestly believe that that is so. Let the people of New Zealand demonstrate their own sanity and with it their faith in the future." MAYOR'S PROTEST NOT ASKED TO PRESIDE NGARUAWAHIA INCIDENT [from our own correspondent] NGARUAWAHIA, Friday A protest by the Mayor of Ngaruawahia, Mr. R. Eyre, made at the opening of a meeting addressed by Mr. A. S. Sutherland, National candidate for Raglan, last evening, led to an uproar. The deputy-mayor, Mr. H. D. Sampson, was in the chair, and Mr. Eyre rose and protested against the choice of chairman. "Why has the deputy-mayor been made chairman and why have I never been asked to take the chair?" he asked. The audience booed and shouted and refused Mr. Eyre a hearing. A constable spoke to Mr. Eyre. The Mayor again/ tried to address the meeting, but was again howled down. After the constable again approached him Mr. Eyre left the hall.

SECRECY OF BALLOT INTIMIDATION ALLEGED STATEMENT BY CANDIDATE [from OCR owx correspondent] PUTARURU, Friday Fears that there were a number of people 011 the Rotorua electorate rolis who were not entitled to be there, and also that, in some parts of the electorate, voters were being intimidated and told that the way they voted would bo found out, Avere expressed by Mr. H. W. Nixon. National Party candidate for Kotorua. in an address delivered at the Putaruru Town Hall last night to a crowded audience. "Many young people," said the candidate, "have signed declarations stating that they were 21 or over at the time, when they were not." He also had information, said the candidate, that numbers of voters were being told that the ballot would not be secret. He wanted to deny this, and to reassure voters that there was 110 possible way for any person to find out how another person voted. It was the duty of every elector to exercise his right to vote and to disregard threats. Persons whose names were 011 the roll, but who had no right to be there, the candidate urged to refrain from voting. He claimed that, in addition to the names of young people under 21 being on the roll, there were a number in the Rotor ua electorate who had enrolled themselves while they did not possess the necessary qualification of having resided for three months in the district.

SOCIAL CREDIT VIEWS STATEMENT DISCLAIMED [by telegraph—OWN CORRESPONDENT] DUNEDIX, Friday A statement issued .yesterday by Mr. C. H. Chapman defining the attitude of the social credit movement to the election is officially disclaimed by the Dunedin branch of the movement. Mr. Chapman, it is stated, is not a member of the movement and is merely expressing his personal opinion.