A BRIGHT MEETING

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 495, 26 October 1928, Page 12

A BRIGHT MEETING

MRS. MAGUIRE READY FOR INTERJECTORS FLASHES AT NEWMARKET After an hour and a-half of persistent interjections, Mrs. C. E. Maguire, Reform candidate for Auckland East, came through with all the honours in her address last evening to a packed audience in the Newmarket Town Hall. Most of the listeners were women. The candidate was strong in her advocacy for the representation of women in Parliament. She did not deal extensively with policy. Most of the interruptions were goodhumoured, but the chairman, Mr. S. Donaldson, Mayor of Newmarket, had to call the meeting to order several times. Mrs. Maguire’s speech held a strong vein of humour. She was accorded a vote of thanks, and a vote of confidence in the Reform Party was carried amid a few protestations. "There is a great deal of prejudice against women going into Parliament,” the candidate said. "I would willingly camouflage my sex, but I have been chosen as the official candidate. I want you men to be men. I stand to represent women.' Why should men be legislating for women ? I want to do the decent thing—to help women. “I’ve given speeches in England and in Australia, and have bragged about New Zealand men. But, in regard to our afforestation schemes, don’t you think it takes a woman’s gentle touch to nurse the seedlings ” The crowd roared with laughter at this announcement. Mrs. Maguire: You seem to like that? Voices: We like it all right. “In the past IS months the Government has spent £BOO,OOO on unemployment A -Voice: Nine shillings a day. Mrs. Maguire: That’s all some of you are worth. Some of you would like to draw 9s a day without work. Another Interjector: How much would a doctor do for 9s a day? Mrs. Maguire (spiritedly): Doctors often do a great deal for less. Now, Mr. Coates’s manifesto Voices: More Coates! Give us something new'! The chairman called the meeting to order. “I don’t feel like tolerating irrelevant interjections, made for the purpose of upsetting the meeting,” he said. Mrs. Maguire: Land settlement is urgently required. There is plenty of land Voices: Try Civic Square. What about Orakei? Mrs. Maguire went on to mention railway settlement in Canada and stated her views on unemployment and immigration. “The immigrants have not covered the loss of our own boys during the war,” she said. A Voice: A good job they haven’t, too. NEW ZEALAND OVER-PRAISED Mrs. Maguire agreed that New Zealand had been praised\too extravagantly at Home. A better type of immigrant was perhaps needed and a firm policy wanted. Her idea was to send capable men from New Zealand with accurate facts and figures. Land settlement was important in alleviating unemployment. Branching on to production, Mrs. Maguire said she was delighted to see citrus fruit being taken up in the Dominion. She added: “We want passion fruit ” Voices: Oh, raspberry! Raspberry! “Order, order!” broke in the chairman. Mrs. Maguire: In Tasmania they’ve started lavender farms, with profit. That’s another thing to laugh at, isn’t it? The Europeans are thinking along the lines of intense cultivation. Why are we wasting our opportunities? A Voice (wearily): What about a bit of policy? The candidate said that, in view of the falling birthrate, immigration was necessary. She gave her remedies for unemployment as national insurance, and the establishment of farm colonies for men who would not work. She briefly criticised Sir Joseph Ward’s heavy borrowing policy. “It sounds all right when you say seventy million pounds quickly,” was her comment. New Zealand's after-the-war position was something to be proud of when other nations were tottering. She wanted to see road and rail development. She praised the excellence of the social services. “The Uniteds’ talk of freedom,” she continued. “Doesn’t Reform mean freedom? It’s as free as the air. I talk just as much rubbish as any other candidate.” , A Voice: A little bit more. Mrs. Maguire: Because I’m a woman, I suppose. When I go to Parliament Voices: If you get there. Mrs. Maguire: There is no “if” about it. A questioner wanted to know if the candidate endorsed the action of the Prime Minister in deporting men from Samoa without trial. “I do. I’ve lived in the Islands and know the position,” was the response. The meeting ended with prolonged applause for the candidate.