BRUCE ELECTORATE

Otago Witness, Issue 3523, 20 September 1921, Page 5

BRUCE ELECTORATE

MR EDIE REPLIES TO AIR HOWARD ELLIOTT. Mr J. Edie, M.P., addressed a meeting of his constituents at Milton on Thursday night. The Mayor (Air Alex. Rennie) presided over an attendance of 50 or 70 people. At the outset Air Edie referred to criticism of the i.iberay Party, first for wasting time over the debate on the Address-in-Keply, and second for the collapse of the debate on the Financial Statement. He maintained that it. was from the criticism it then heard that the Government formed the future policy of the House, and that the Ad-dress-In-Reply was therefore one. of the most important debates. As to the other point he said the party had agreed to put forward three of its best speakers—Alp Wilford, Air Sidey, and another gentleman—and they had given the Financial Statement “a fairly rough time.” When they were finished no others were put up, and it was Air Massey who was caught napping, not the Liberal Party, for he was not ready to go on. During the election campaign he had m ule a good deal of the land policy, and had said that the Government was paving too much. He still maintained that land would have to be reduced before men would take it up. He had also said that no man should get land unless he knew something about it, and that soldier settlers without practical experience should be put out with farmers or trained on the State farms. That had not been done, and men had found to their sorrow the foily of it. He condemned the Government for selling endowments set aside for education, and offering the freehold in eases where it should not, instancing Rotorua township where thousands of pounds had been spent. He contended also that the freehold of the large runs should never be sold. Touching on railways Mr Edie said £37,000,000 had been spent on them. The

North Island had got £2.000,000 more than the South Island, and yet we heard the cry that it was not getting fair play. It was true the South Island had several ! hundred more miles of railway, hut this was. probably owing to the long line from Bluff to Christchurch. Apparently they were going to get a deal more spent in the North Island, judging by the Minister of Public Works’s statement. Then- had to admit that the South Island railways were not paying as they should, but there was this to remember that many of the lines were not 'mished. The main line to Blenheim, the Reefton-Nelson section, and the Otira line should be finished before the department expected the best results. lie still held ihat New Zealand should go in for its own shipping. In five years the Govemcent had paid £3,5t)0.C00 to the Union Steam Ship Company, of which £2.400.000 was for war services. The shipping charges to-day were something scandalous. In 1913 the freight, on a box of butter was 2s 6d; in 1920 it was 5s 4d. The freight on cheese had increased from J,d to l|d, and on wool from 5 8d to 1 5-Bd. The increase on meat amounted to £2,700,000. Tallow had increased from £2 to £9, hemp from £3 5s to £3 15s, and tow from £4 5s to £24. No wonder industries wre being curtailed. Mr Edie touched on the necessity for'the Government to curtail its expenditure, in view of the huge sums now required and Iho inability of the people to pay heavy taxation, and then referred to the constitution of the Legislative Chamber. When he was on the hustings he had received a “good doing” from the Otago Daily Times over this matter. He would read to them from a leading article on September 3 to show the change of opinion expressed by this paper. Mr Edie read the article, which he maintained showed that the paper had come round and now admitted that the Government had not done its duty in this matter. lie expressed the opinion that the time had come when there would have to bo a revision of the Customs tariff. At the same time the Government now needed i such enormous sums to carry on that we i might, not be able to get the relief which j wo had expected. He was still in favour ! of a State bank. They saw the huge i profits which the banks were making, and it would be better for the money to go into our own pockets. They would remember the trouble they had had with sugar. There was something very strange about it. Why had sugar been raised from £22 15s to £37, when they had been told that they could get. Java sugar at £22 15s? The Government now had a contract at £47, and though the Fijian Company had reduced its price to £37, it still had a clear profit of £lO. and wo, the consumers, did not reap any benefit. Another subject forcing itself on the people was the housing problem. On a trip Horne his father had been amazed to see the fine homes put up by the coal companies for the miners, and the same thing would have to be done here. The time was coming when the whole question would have to be gone into minutely, and houses provided for the young men and women of the country, and so help to keep the cradles full. The Government had spent an enormous sum of money on coal, which had cost up to as much as £7 a ton. One of the first questions he had asked in the House was addressed to the Prime Alinister, whom lie had asked how it was that the State Coal Office was able to deliver coal in Wellington 2s 6d a ton cheaper than men who were in the trade could buy coal off the ship, but he had never got a satisfactory answer. Imported coal had cost millions of money, and this could have been avoided by a little generalship. Would it; not have paid the Government to give the miners a bonus of —say. 2s, 3s, or even 5s a ton, instead of bringing coal from Japan, Wales, and other countries. They had to bear in mind that, there wore now 500 fewer men hewing coal, hut, even then Hie output in 1919 was nine tons per man more than in the best year since 1914. There was one other subject he must speak to them about —the famous Marriage Bill. He read a newspaper report of an address by the Rev. Howard Elliott, in which tho latter said that Air Edie had given a distinct promise to support (lie platform of the P.P.A. ; that lie had gone back on his word; and that, it looked as though ho had told a deliberate lie. ‘‘l throw that back into Howard Elliott’s teeth,” said Mr Kdio. “The statement is unworthy of a preacher of tho gospel of Jesus Christ..” Mr Elliott said he had nothing against his (Mr Edie’s) character, but lie would say that if one man accused another of telling a deliberate He. ho was certainly tackling his personal character. When the Marriage Amendment Bill was before the House there was a great con-

troversy raging all over the country. Many of the ministers and members of the Presbyterian Church spoke strongly against it, and the Anglican Church as a whole denounced it in no unmeasured terms. The Methodist Church also denounced it, and speaking generally 90 per cent, of the people denounced the amendments of the Upper House. He contended that the third clause —which was tacked on to the amendment when it was thrown cut by the House of Representatives and which practirally admitted that the churches could use whatever form of service they liked if they were using it when the Bill came into operation—stultified the other two. So he voted for the amendment (against the Bill). If the same thing happened to-morrow he would vote as he did on that occasion. The first motion he ho a received on the subject came from the Clutha Presbytery, which urged Parliament to protect tho right of every church to hold its own doctrine on (he subject, and at the same time to protect all people who conformed to tho law of the land regarding marriage. To show the attitude of the churches to marriage Mr Edie quoted from the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Anglican Prayer Book, which says: "For be ye/well assured that so many as are coupled together other than God’s Word allows are not joined together by God neither is their marriage lawful.” What he asked, could be plainer than this? The Roman Catholic Church claimed that marriage was a sacrament, and the priests had a perfect right to say that people were not married according to their Church —not according to the law; that was quite a different thing. Air Edie. further quoted Air L. M. Isitt, ALP., and the Rev. Isaac Jolly, who said that he objected to a Roman Catholic priest being sent to gaol for bis religious convictions, and that every intelligent Protestant would object. The Rev. W. Gray Dixon, lately of Roslyn, had spoken in much Iho same way, and if he (Air Edie) had pinned, he had at- least sinned in good company. Bishop Richards, of Dunedin, had also condemned the Bill. It was lamentable that, sectarian differences should bo brought on to the platform. If the Roman Catholics ! were only 14 per cent, of the population, ; surely they were not going to dominate the remainder? lie had no cause to regret the vote which he had given, and if he had to do it again he would vote the same way, according to the light he had on the matter. —(Applause.) In reply to questions, Air Edie agreed that there would have to be a. revaluation of tho land and a revision of the Custom?. One in the audience who had showed peculiar persistency in asking the chairman if he had any questions to put to Air Edie, again asked if he, as Mayor of the town, had a question to put to the member. Mr Rennie replied that it. had not occurred to him to put any questions. He agreed that it was a pity when sectarianism Was introduced. Mr Edie had certainly done his best to serve the community, and had done yoeman service in connection with the hospital, which would be a boon to the district in the future. A vote of' thanks and confidence was accorded to Mr Edie, on the motion of Air •lames Wilson, the usual compliment also being paid to iha chairman. Air Edie spoke at Lawrence on Friday evening.