LECTURE BY MR MANN.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 4647, 28 April 1902, Page 7

LECTURE BY MR MANN.

A lecture on Modern Civilisation was {riven under the auspices of the New Zealand Socialist Party by Mr Toni Mann at the Opera House last night. Mr John Brown,,who is chairman of the local branch of this party, presided. Mr Mann declared that notwithstanding tho scientific discoveries of modern times, and the fact that tho powers of production had been enormously increased. the people were deprived by monopolists of their rightful share of tho wealth they produced, and thus poverty existed in the large cities. He attacked the churches and tho newspapers, asserting that they supported this'condition of things in the interests of plutocracy, and maintained that while New Zealanders were taking unction to themselves for being a vigorous, democratic people, a state of things was settling down in this country analogous, to that in the countries of the Old World. He asked where had been the protests against tho treatment of the workmen at Waihi, or against the condition of the children in the dairy districts? On the motion of Mr D. McLaren, a vole of thanks was given tho speaker. During the evening a concert program mo was gone through. Mrs Mann sang Mascheroni’s "Avo Maria,” Mr Lehmann playing the violin obbligato, violin solo, a scena de ballet by De Beriot, was given by Mr Lehmann. The allegro movement from one of Haydn's trios was played by Miss Beatrice Martha (pianoforte), Mr Lehmann (violin) and.Mr ,T, B. Hulbert ('cello), and these musicians also contributed a selection of airs from “La Somnambula.”