A LIVELY MEETING AT MANGAPAPA.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 15090, 12 December 1919, Page 6

A LIVELY MEETING AT MANGAPAPA.

Xy. The Labor candidate — Mr Brindle — held a meeting at Mangapapa last night ,m connection with his election candidature. As intimated m our issue . of. last •'night, the committee refused to grant the use of the schoolroom, so & large box •was placed near a lamp outside . the jßchool, and the meeting Avas held m the jstreet. . ' !• When the meeting started there Avere 100 people . present, including a .'•number of ladies, and when the question time 'v. arrived, the number had .doubled, and some lively banter - Avas 5-indulged m. A --vote of no-confidence /.was put to. the meeting, and although • the majority of voices Avas oA'erwhelm- , .ingly iii favor of this, the chairman de--1 clared 'a vote of thanks and confidence carried.,. , Mr D. W. Coleman, who presided, {-said it seemed to him a little strife had -been caused by the withdrawal df per- ! mission to use the schoolroom. The • Labor party was not to be defeated — ..hence the reason for the open-air" meeting. (Applause). If they could not : speak under 'a r6of they would, do so 'under the canopy of heaven. The candi- : date, he declared, had said nothing but ..Avhat Avas necessary to justify himself yin the eyes of the electors. The press J had dug out, something about Bmridle >} having heen m gaol for sedition — or 1 seditious tendencies — and invited- 'the Ipublic to ask the candidate if he was rthat man. Mr Brindle, he said, was j one of the whitest, men m Noav Zealand, •jand a clean-living man, at whom, none ! could point the finger of scorn.7 The charge against Mr Brindle of sedition or seditious tendencies was manufactured Xby the National Government to get, him 1 j out of the way. He told the people at i< Kaiti why he took up the stand he did jin respect to military service. ; Thous-j-andsof young liA T es were sacrificed on -« Gallipoli to make a present of Constantinople to Russia. Commissions- on the matter had proved this statement, ;• and a great hullabaloo was kicked no over this. At the instigation >of Mr i Coleman three cheers were given for.; the 'candidate. . •„• , \ Iri opening Mr Brindle said : "Thank ' ypu friends for the reception— it is much j better than the leading article m X the 'evening paper , (Laughter). It was ! nothing for the press to go out against ;j the working classes, tout , the i people ;i were learning every day that less :. tfeliance should be placed on the '.press. '* Anything put m the local press ," these" -. times simply acted as an emetict— it I made men and women vomit. (Laugh- j iter). The speaker went on to say that {Sir James Carroll and Sir Joseph Ward! '•had both remarked that Labor should: ' -have consideration, but those were prom-<. ises, and promises were like pie — easily broken. He (the speaker) 'could ■ make all those glowing promises, too, and. like some of the Ministers, Have ,np intention of carrying them out. "The "candidate went on to deal with the question of profiteers. In Queensland the Labor Government had reduced the., . cost of living by 12.10 per cent. *" At this stage the proceedings _ were' interrupted by a number of motor-cars-poming along the road, and expeiiejicing difVulty m pett'nor through the crowd; , /The local press, he went on to sky* ,was : like Parliament, and was responsible k for the making of laws under which the Eeople were suffering. The people knew j etter than the press and would riot' be hoodwinked any longer. "When you see the editor going down the street," he; "said, '.'you look at him. He is only . # an ordinary man — a very ordinary , individual — and what does he know? •' The 1 local press took articles from the Capitalistic press and the Labor rrioverrient was not going to stand for them:' Newspaoers should be limited to thevadvertisements. Never were the chances better for the Labor movement, The speaker claimed to have already 7 gained a knowledge of local requirements— the railway and hydro-electrioity. He claimed to know the trials, tribulations, aspirations and ideals of the laboring classes^ and the people were beginning to realise the importance of having their own repre°entat've m Parliament. v Voice : We are sick of Capitalisiri. ' The speaker proceeded to orate" about the down-trodden, starving condition of the workers. A woman's yoice : Give us politics* Mr. Brindle : This is politics. '/If you hu-veri't the brains to see it I can't give them' to you. (Laughter). Thj© interruptor Avent into angry wordy argument, Avhen the chairman demanded order. I Resuming, the speaker said he Arould sooner die m the open than work m the! mines. (Laughter and a chorus of ap-j proval). •'•'■■.''"■• Voice: You are all wind. (Laughter). The speaker contended tbat the sooner the people realised the value of labor the sooner would the position .be remedied. . "' Voice: Have you ever done any work? (Laughter). At this stage Mrs Scott came forward and explained that she had the greatest respect for Labor and had always worked for Labor, but m view of Mr Brindle's attitude m respect to»the war, was he, she asked, a fit man to represent them. : This was received with loud uproar. , Another lady : If we were like hhn .we would have had the Huns on us by this time. (Laughter). .••J' Mrs Scott: Answer my question please. •I want — ■'' ' The. chairman: Don't make a speech, Mrs Scott — ask a question, j .The candidate : Yes, lam standing m lihe interest of Labor m this, district. 1 Mr Walsh: What contingent did you go to the front with? (Uproar and dis-! stent from a body of supporters).' j The candidate : I'll answer that-— What did you go with? • Mr Walsh : I have five song who went and one. was killed. lam too old. , Voices: Good man; Go home to bed/ etc. ■*.'■ ■X. The candidate : Massey was responsible ' fpr extending the age of thos© liable , for service to 45 years of age. Voice: I am 75 years of age. : Another interruptor said the Mayor oi a city Avas given exemption from service when he should have gone. ' The candidate : So were some -wealthy men m this district. (Chorus of ' approval. ■ '...-, Mr Preston: Mr Lysnar rose from' the ranks. (Jeers). Voice : Gbod luck to him (Applause). . Voice : What would do if youshad a few thousand pounds? The candidate m reply, talked *bout blood money," ••profiteering,",*' "arid social position." Replying to another questioner he said that Labor wobld have nothing to •: do with Liberalism. The questioner: Then why is' New Zealand so democratic to-day? Mrs Scott : You men spit on the bridge you,hav c crossed. (Laughter and j^rs). This was followed by a general. tumult. The chairman. mounted the box and endeavoured to restore order, when a voice shouted, "Let the candidate answer the question." This was ta-ken up by others and a sreneral hubbub of "Come off the boi." You close down," "Brindle •_ s the speaker fco-mght. not you.' ; The candidate's answer was drdwried m the general tumult of voices. Another questioner asked the candidate how he proposed to rectify the present high cost of living. He 'said it had been faced m Queensland and he proceeded on his former lines. voice: "Get to the point. (Laugh- ■ Another : You're a pointer. (Laughter.) lhe candidate : You go home and have a sleep. (More laughter). X Inter jector: Juat what I said— you're windy. (Laughter). The candidate: If you have not brains I cart not give them to you to follow me. Probably you understand Charlie Chaplin And that a yourjimit. . .-' The candidate went on to speak about penny stamps being still a 7 penny, "blood-suckers" and others of that type. Mr. Walsh asked if there was a meat trust m New Zealand. Tlie speaker had hinted m the course of his address ■*hai there was— — The chairman : A question, no speech -r-it is beginning to rain.. (Laughter.) . Voice : That's right I Bun home and ,Mr. Waiehj That ia a atwfehtoiiv jttM-loa. ■'?!-"'. I I'/ * »

Mr. Brindle : I think there is some semblance of the trust m our land. Voice : lam sure of it. (Laughter.) Returned soldier : Out with it ; yon knoAV there is. (Laughter.) The candidate : I have good reason to believe ' there is. I Mr. Walsh: Thank you. Another question provoked a discourse on the awful conditions of the workers m the* cement works. • Mr. J. White : In the event of another %ar what would 1 the candidate do? Mr. Brindle : I would do my best to stop it. (Ironical laughter.) Tlie clasf war, he said, Avas the only war they Avere concerned m. Voices : Keep to tho point, and hear, hear. ' The candidate was asked for. his definition of labor men. A voice : Let the questioner get on the railway works, cook his own meals, and get a measley 12s per day. (Applause.) The questioner, an Australian returned soldier, prisoner of .war, walked over to the interjector, anc> m a threatening manner put his face close to the other man's, and said, "I have done 1 so. and perhaps roughed it more than you did, m the German prison camps." (Uproar.) * Eventually order was restored. Does the candidate call the "go slow" policy an economic measure ? was the next question. • The chairman: • Ygu go slowX The candidate mado no attempt to answer. A returned soldie^: Hoav about the land policy? The candidate : I have already stated that profits from the land should go to the people. Voice (disgustedly) : Is that what you call your land policy? (Laughter.) Questioner: I mean, as regards leturned soldiers. The candidate replied that man was a land animal and could not live m the sea. The volley of questions continued on the above lines, amidst choruses of ap proval and -disapproval. Mr. J. H. Hall then mounted the box and moved'^ a vote of thanks to the candidate. Voice : „And confidence. Speaking to the motion, Mr. Hall decried the local press as merely "tool** .of the great Northcliffe press, running in'the interests of the profiteers." Voice :• You're dreaming. (Laughter.! Mr. Hall said : The local papers are liars under the guise of news sources." (Loud .dissent.) Noisy interjections followed. Someone m the crowd announced that he' seconded the motion. Mr. A. Cassin shouted out that he desired to move an amendment. Voice : Come forward and show yourself. "Certainly," replied Mr. Cassin, who stepped on to the box, and moved a.« an amendment that a vote of no con- . fidence be passed- to tbe Labor candidate on account of the sentence served by him for sedition. This was greeted with mixed applause and hoots. Mr. A. H. Grant, who described himself as a "Digger," seconded the amendment. The chairman : You must remembe*" Mr. Cassin, a good many Irish patriots met their death for what they . believed right. Mr. Cassin: They drew 1 - the line at sedition, anyhow. (Laughter.) Despite an. overwhelming majority of voices the amendment, was declared lost and the motion .of thanks and confidence carried. ' The meeting broke up with sundry arguments, and a lady withdrew, exclaiming, "Jimmie will be on top."