THE LIBERAL CAMPAIGN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 15079, 29 November 1919, Page 9

THE LIBERAL CAMPAIGN.

ADDRESSES ON THE BORDER LINE. A COMBINED MEETING. A good case m the cause of the Lib--1 eral Party was made out last night at a combined meetiilg m the MakarakaMatawhero hall by the Hons. Sir James Carroll and W. D. S. Mac Donald; there being a good attendance. Mr. Geo. Darton was voted to the chair, and m presiding said that m a few days they would be called upon do elect their representative to Parliament. On this occasion, on account of the boundary alteration, they were interested m both Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty. That evening they would hear the two Liberal guns and they being well known he had no occasion tc* introduce them. , HON. W. D. S. MacDONALD'S j , ADDRESS. The Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald said he would speak - for himself, and he would let Sir James speak for himself. He (Mr. Mac Donald) said that three new seats had been brought into existence m the North Island and the rearrangement had pushed the boundaries of his electorate right almost into Gisborne. Touching on the National Government he said they had all worked m the best interests of the country and the Empire. He pointed out the reasons why the Liberals had left the Government, and declared that they had never had any personal quarrel -with Mi*. Massey or the Reform members of the Cabinet. ',> ' Speaking of the change of Government, the candidate recalled ihe fact that^ the . Reform party had announced its intention of revolutionising things. Had they repealed any of the humanitarian, acts placed on : the statute books by the Liberal Government ? It was a good thing to have changes so that the people would,- realise how* much truth there was m. the protestations of the political world.' Production, he-,- 'went/ on ..to say, must be increased to pay the heavy taxation. This, he said, was one of the most productive, districts m New Zealand, but it was isolated, cut off, /shut off from the rest of the -Dominion by the Conservative party.. Personally, he had done his share of battling since he had been m Parliament. He acknowledged that the war had brought abput , a cessation of activity, but .contended .that there was a lot of preparatory work that 'should have been done while c these gentlemen were m office. AGGREGATION. Mr. Massey's promise had been "settlement, more settlement, and still more settlement," but, his performance had been "aggregation, , more .; aggregation , and still more aggregation." That was what had been going on. He.ktiew of some of these gentlemen and he recalled a paragraph m the Bulletin which said : Some of rf.hese men if they had the whole of the world for a station would still want the moon for a heifer paddork. (Laughter and applause.) Although there had been great sacrifice they had. men m. this country who were still holding on to their land, some were holding 30,000 to 40,000 acres, and ye 4; they were still aggregating their holdings. These men were going to vote "Bill Massey" because he was the best monopolist either ' m. or out of Parliament at the present time; (Laughter and applause.) i Where, he conriinued, were they going to -get land for settlement except by acquiring large estates. The Massey Government had not. purchased a single large estate m this district for closer settlement. Only recently they had purchased a lit'le property, but up till now they bad not settled a single settlier. How did that compare with the Liberal administration and the settlement of Te Arai, Ngatapa, Willows, Wigan, and the various other properties. And yet there were people on these, properties to-day who did not know how it came about they were on these sections which 1 had passed through several hands.' And } yet some of "these people . talked about going back to conservatism 'And ve-a^-J gregation.- rrt tTffft' "*: Libe^aT: fsßv^hlij&tt j had settled 28,000 people on the land., arid it was that* which had made 'the great prosperity of the country, had maintained its production and had helped New Zealand to do its share m tbc great war— it was not one act of the Conservative Government. It was the cry of the "freehold" that had helped to put Mr. Massey into I power, but they had made no material alteration m the land laws of, the country, and many people did not realist * that. It was the late Dr. McNab who' . gave the right to l.i.p. holders <to puri chase the freehold, not Mr. Massey. j "Hie present Native Minister was <tc be the one man who knew the native ' land business from A to Z— the , policy of Sir James Carroll was "-taihoa." Everyone knew what had been done since 1909. ' Between two and three ' million acres had been alienated for European occupation, half purchased for cash and the balance leased. 'But the Reform Government had been purchasing for seven years and not an acre had been sub-divided and handed over for settlement by the Lands Depart ment. New Zealand wanted a man whr would do something — they did not want a man like a broody hen Bitting on a stone. (Laughter.) It was no use, because there were difficulties, . that he should sit there with folded hands. During the war where a thinfe" was •wanted it was done^ and that was all ; about it. Just so, this country wanted a man with push and go. A POLICY OF DRD7T. Speaking of the Urewera Country, he pointed out that "this was the last of the I native land where a stand was made against settlement. Surveyors # went there but the Maoris put out their gear and said: "You go away." Sir James t Carroll went opt and settled the matter and the country was thrown open for settlement., Reference • ; had been made to a road costing _362,0Q0, but 'that person did not know the history. ' That road was put there to open up the V country, to get on friendly <terms with ' the natives, to provide a through way .from Napier and -Wairoa to Auckland. , i Since then. 330,000 acres had been purchased but none of this had been thrown j open. , Messrs. Carroll, Ngata,,' and himself ' had been urging that a speoial court 1 should be set up to try to consolidate ; some of this area purchased and, to get j it ready for soldier settlement, but no • ; machinery had been provided and it j wouTd have to wait. It was a policy of ' drift, drift. He believed that before r the war some of this land could have ' been put on the market by Mr. Hemes. These were some of the reasons why he j did, not want to work with ihe Gonsprl yatives-— fvith those whose, policy wasi conservatism apd grab. He wanted to I get as far apart as the poles from the f Conservative party— as far as land. set. » dlemeni was concerned, (Applause,) ' i OUT POR I^QUITY ANP JUSTICE. ' j The district, he repeated, was isolated (' — wanting railways and rQ^ds, and unless the country got an energetic man to take charge they would go back instead of forward. That was why they ? were contesting tho election, because . they realised the problems ahead— that they were weaving the grsat fabric of a new nation on the loom of 'titj^e — J i^t tier's '^s a ganger of the "Govern • . "Bight catering fpr qnfy ope septicm, * }}Vwas'}t3 duty to deal put equal jus--1 tice for every section of the people. * That was what they had to do. if they ? were to have industrial peace. The f Liberals were out for equity and justloe, r .

for equal opportunities for all and that) was where they reached the parting of! the ways. Speaking of the coal question, Mr. Mac Donald referred to the nearness of j a collapse when about seven million j freight carcases of mutton, besides butter, cheese, etc., were within a few days of perishing for want of coal. He belived it was m the interests of the industries tl»at the whole .coal supply should be controlled by 'Ihe State for fthe miners throughout had pointed to to conditions at the State mines asl ideal, whilst 'strikes would be easier settled if there was one central office at Auckland. DUTY TO THE FLAG. Speaking of the Imperial purchase of produce he appealed to the farmers to give preference to the Mother Country, and on the subject of finance he said he did not know which end of the telescope Mr. Lysnar had used as. he had } got "off the track." Sir Joseph Ward had desired to utilise the sinking fund, consolidate the loans m to one for 65 years and to reduce taxation, and yet Mr. Lysnar said he was trying to make the present generation pay 'Ihe whole cost of the war. Emphasising the great value of the Imperial Government's action m purchasing New Zealand's produce, he stressed the duty we owed to to the flag, and called afciention to the fact that despite what had been said about America that country had provided munitions and men and had rationed themselves when Britain was on the verge of starvation. (Applause.) Mr. Mac Donald laid great importance on the housing problem, declaring there must, be a big Government programme ' of house building to help to solve the industrial unrest. Men had a right to demand their rights but there were different methods. With a strike the. women and children suffered. Let tlie ' best brains of labor and industry get. together and work out the best soiu- ' tion. The Arbitration Court Act -was m disfavor, and required remodelling, '. and he did not think there was yariy use; sticking fast to these agreements uii-'---less there was right and justice. Everyone was clamoring for improved conditions, but the country could not provide education, hospitals, and other services unless the people helped' the State. We had a great country, but we could . not make it great unless we pulled together. ' I '/THE NEW ERA. '| In conclusion Mr. Mac Donald made a' strong appeal for the soldiers, urgihg they should be given a fair chance, and that whilst the able-bodied men were more or less able to look after themselves the . Government should give every reasonable comfort to the maimed and injured, t!he mental and unfit-^-with these there should be no cheese-paring. He also touched on education, and m summing up said the eleotion was of great importance to the future of •country, wanting as it did; strong virile men, out for the best interests of New Zealand and the Empire. He expressed his gratitude to the men and women of New Zealand for their share m the great war, expressing his sympathy with those who had made great sacrifices. The war was over, the great tragedy was ended; h© hoped for a dawn of peace and prosperity, of health and . development — tnat they would all pull together, each for. each and all for all. (Applause.) i