NATIONAL LEADER

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19895, 24 March 1939, Page 7

NATIONAL LEADER

GISBORNE WELCOME PARTY WORKERS GATHER RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH “CAMOUFLAGE- WEARING’’ “Wo are interested in the gooo government of our country. Make no mistake about that. The National Party is representative of every section of the community, and to-day is comprised of men and women inspired with the determination that class consciousness and class prejudices must be swept from our midst. lam proud to be leading a loyal and patriotic band whose purpose is clear. From the ashes of apparent defeat, we are building faster and stronger than evrr. and the time is not far distant when our cause will triumph.

This statement, made the Hon. A. Hamilton, Leader of the Opposition, in an interview in Gisborne this morning, struck tlio keynote of an address which he delivered last evening at the Masonic Hall to a gathering of National Party executives and campaign workers.

Mr. Hamilton arrived at Gisborne last evening, having travelled from Napier by plane, to make this centre the starting place of a special tour of the North Island, in the course of which he is to meet party workers

and members in the Bay of Plenty ana the Waikato areas in particular. He left late this morning for. Matawai and Opotiki, at both of which centres m was to address gatherings to-day. Keen Interest Displayed The Masonic Hall was not large enough for last night’s gathering, despite the endeavour made to restrict attendance to active workers, many people standing throughout the address given by Mr. Hamilton. Great interest was demonstrated in the address of the leader of the party, who summed up political development since the election and also discussed the various extensions of the National Party organiation. Fo--more than an hour, after the close of his address, Mr. Hamilton answered inquiries on various points raised. Speaking this morning of last night’s gathering, Mr. Hamilton said that it had. been an inspiration to him. in Gisborne, as in every place he had visited in the North and South Islands during his recent organisation tours, the enthusiasm had been very great, and he doubted whether there ever had been a more united and keen team of people, from all walks of life, in the history of politics in Zealand.

“I am not here worrying and complaining about the result of the election,” he said. “Just as we accept the democratic forms of government, so we abide by the voice of the people in this case. All lam ensuring is

that people throughout New Zealand are made aware of the plain facts of our Government to-day. lam asking the people to take as keen and serious an interest in national politics as they do in local affairs. I say without fear of contradiction that when people do that, class and extremism ja government will be crushed for ever. No Apologies For Slump

“I have no intention of apologising to those who say—or believe—that I was one of those who caused a slump throughout the world in the dark days of the early ’thirties. I think that story is probably wearing a little thin with age, particularly since I have been unable to see any other Government, in New Zealand or out of i’, have any effect upon the trend of the markets of the world for primary produce —either up or down. “I can hit probably as straight and probably harder than most of those whose case is built on such halftruths —what might be called camouflage truths. I have earned my stake in the country, and have been interested in good government all my life. I will go on stating the true facts of the position as I see them, in the face of Labour propaganda under which the right of free speech over the air. has been taken from our people. As I said before, the time is not far distant when the truth of iny statements will strike right home to the people of New Zealand. Labour Government’s Actions “The Labour Government to-day is building a remarkable reputation for saying one thing and doing another. The camouflage of half-truths and misrepresentation is wearing very thin, and I am certain people throughout New Zealand, many of whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting, must now realise the paucity of Labour’s arguments and the fundamental weakness in the whole structure the Government has built on extravagance and class prejudice. “New Zealand can never be built into a nation for any one class, and the sooner we realise it the better. Sweep away class thought, and we are more than half-way there. The National Party—a people’s party if ever there was one in New Zealand — is striving to do that, and it will do it.” Mr. Hamilton added that lie had been delighted to visit Gisborne again. He had greatly enjoyed the trip by plane from Napier, and he appreciated just what a great part aviation had played in meeting the isolation of some areas in New Zealand. In Southland, where he came from, the air developments were playing their part, too. Before continuing his journey this morning, the National Party leader made a short tour of the district • around Gisborne, visiting the principal points of interest

“We have a definite interest in local affairs, as well as Dominion affairs, because they all make part of the pattern of good government as a whole,” he remarked, on the point of departure. “You have a district with great potentialities here, and one of the finest views I have ever seen from the air is that as you come over the range and see the tree-dotted Gisborne plain ahead.”