LYTTELTON ELECTORS PROVIDED WITH PLENTY OF VARIETY

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 352, 8 September 1933, Page 5

LYTTELTON ELECTORS PROVIDED WITH PLENTY OF VARIETY

LABOUR’S PROPOSALS ATTACKED

Invasion of Coalition Members to Address Meetings RECEPTIONS ACCORDED BY NO MEANS ENCOURAGING Difficulty in Forecasting Result of By-Election Press Association—Copyright. Chrislchu/ch, September 8. ELECTORS of Lytteltcn were provided with plenty of variety last evening when, in addition to speeches by three candidates, two United members cf the Coalition Party, Messrs. W. J. Broadfoot (Waitomo) and W. A. Bodkin (Central Otago) appeared on the hustings in support of Mr. F. W. Freemai., the Coalition; candidate. The receptions accorded them were by no means encouraging. In the afternoon there were only five present at a women's meeting which was addressed by Mr. Broadfoot at Lyttelton, while in the evening, when he went into the Labour stronghold at Woolston, an audience of about 200 persons kept him fully occupied with interjections, and after passing him a vote of thanks gave three cheers for Mrs. McCombs.

Mr Bodkin had an audience of 35 at Cashmere, who gave him an attentive hearing while he vigorously defended the Government and explain cd the reasons why the United Party had joined the. Coalition. A couple of men plied him with questions, at the conclusion of his speech, and proceedings were brought to a close when the chairman proposed a vote of thanks. Mrs McComba was given another flattering reception when she spoke at West. Lyttelton to an audxmce of 120 electors, a large proportion of whom' were women. The speaker was presented with a bouquet and a vote of thanks and confidence Was carried unanimously. No questions were asked. In thp afternoon Mrs McCombs received a bouquet and a remarkably enthusiastic hearing at a meeting of about 50 women at Heathcote. Forty electors assembled at. R«dcliffs to listen to Mr E. L. Hills, the Independent Labour sandidate. There were few interjections, and he was accorded a vote of thanks. At question time he was asked why hifi v>Ms attempting to split the votes of the working people and if he was receivingl mney for con.esting the .election. The candidate denied that he was receiving money ' for contesting the scat, arid declared that he could claim that other candidates were splitting his votes.

“Labour’s proposals are not of a constructive nature, and many statements made by their speakers are most inaccurate,” said Mr F. W. Freeman, the Coalition candidate, in launching an attack on the Opposition in his fighting speech at St. Martins. “Labour are pulLers-down. They are full of criticism and abuse, and en deavour to make strife. I have not said that before mu’ch, but it is dawning on me asi the campaign draws to a close. They will say anything if they can get away with it. My attention was drawn to that by the chairman of one of my meetings in the Bays. That chairman informed me that the organiser for the Labour party had told a meeting that, if Labour got into power they will restore wages and guarantee farmers boom prices which would cost millions of pounds.”

The Labour man, said the speaker, had then gone on to tell the audience that they would get new boots, new suits and now carpets in their homes, Su’ch clap-trap had never been heard before. It, was a fact, however, that some of the public could be told those things and would believe them, but the statements did not go down with the hard-headed Bay farmers. Turning of the Tide “For reasons of their own,’’ continued Mr Freeman, “my opponents laugh at any suggestion that the tide ha-< turned. They don’t want to see it. The more chaos, the, more difficulty, and Hie more' trouble there is the better it is for their trade union secretaries. 1 .assure you the tide has turned and signs are not lacking: that the, position is steadily improving. Labour want to get out of the slump by inleirferiing with currency, but experiments such as they propose were tried by the Lang Government: In Australia, and the result was that Now South Wales was ruined as far as business was concerned. The Labour party has a series of nebulous promises and suggestions, but if they get into power they will be 1 worse than Wins tho Lang Government in Australia.”