PEOPLE'S CHEERS

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

PEOPLE'S CHEERS

NATIONAL LEADER TOWN HALL CROWDED CONFIDENCE IN VICTORY ROUSING FINAL ADDRESS The National Party's leader, the Hon. A. Hamilton, fully proved his popularity with Aucklanders at the meeting which he addressed in the Town Hall last night. His homely and modest approach to political problems and the slight flavour of Scottish humour with which his speech was tinged both helped to win him increasing goodwill from an already friendly audience, which could only be described as being in a holiday mood. The Town Hall was packed to its capacity of about >SOOO by 7 o clock, and an overflow meeting in tho concert chamber was also full. I" or a quarter of an hour after 8 o'clock both audiences listened to Mr. Hamilton's broadcast message from station IYA, and his unpretentious description of his own self-reliant career in Southland ayd Otago obviously aroused much interest. There was a burst of applause when tho talk ended. Cheering Audience Before this, the various National candidates for city and suburban seats had taken their places on the platform and all of them received ovations. Mr. Hamilton's entry into the hall with tho Mayor, Sir Ernest Davis, was the signal for a wild outburst of clieeriug and the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." When the official party had reached tho platform "Land of Hope and Glory" was sung to an organ accompaniment and was followed by the National Anthem. After the Mayor's brief introduction, Mr. Hamilton rose and received an even louder ovation, which seemed slightly to embarrass him, but he waved a hand in greeting several times to tho cheering people, amid repeated flashes from the lamps of the press photographers. Confidence in Auckland "Auckland may determine whether the National Party is going back into office or not," Mr. Hamilton said, amid cheers, in opening his address. "1 think I should say that the Auckland Province is the province that is going to put the National Party back." (Renewed cheering.) The speech, which lasted a little over an hour and a-half, was on the lines of Mr. Hamilton's address broadcast from Wellington on Wednesday. Much of it was. devoted to a discussion of the issue between moderate individualism and the socialism of the Labour Party, tho major items in the National Party's policy; and the defects of the Government's security scheme.

There was particularly loud applause when Mr. Hamilton mentioned, incidentally, that a gratifying number of wage-earners, working-men, were joining up with the National Party at the present time, in discussing Labour Socialism, he said that if the people of New Zealand retained Labour in office, the decision would be taken as an endorsement of a declared socialistic policy, and Labour would go full steam ahead, with the brakes off and the sky the limit. Will "Deliver the Goods" "1 n 111 convinced that the people of New Zealand," he added, "did not vote for the Labour Party's policy last time. The voted against the old Government because they wanted a change." A brief allusion by Mr. Hamilton to the furniture bonus caused a ripple of friendly laughter, followed by applause. . "I am intensely proud of my team, and I am confident that they will constitute a large majority in the next Parliament," Mr. Hamilton added. He said that the National Party would not let the people down, but would deliver the goods, and nothing would stand in its way. "We close the campaign with confidence that the people of New Zealand will rally and return the National Party at the top of the poll," he concluded, with an emphatic wave of the arm as 110 sat down. Demand lor MessagesWhen the Mayor announced that a large number of telegrams had been received in the course of the evening, and handed a bundle of them to Mr. Hamilton, many people in the audience demanded that they should be read. There was a repetition of this while Mr. J. E. Close. National candidate for Waitemata, was moving a vote of thanks and confidence. The motion was seconded by Mr. A. S. Bailey, National candidate for Kqskill, and was carried against a few dissentients with great enthusiasm. A united cheer arose when Mr. Hamilton acceded to further demands bv reading three of the messages, one of which, from Wellington, paraphrased Lord Nelson's famous signal and ended "We are ready for the Victorv Ball."

There was yet another ovation ns the official party left. A crowd of more than 1000 people gathered outside the building to see Mr. Hamilton depart, whiling away three-quarters of an hour with a good-humoured exchange of cheers and hoots for various persons and causes favoured by the two political parties. These were redoubled when Mr. Hamilton, who had been entertained at supper by the Mayor, emerged through a lane of police, and drove to his hotel.