REFORM ASSAILED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 507, 9 November 1928, Page 12

REFORM ASSAILED

MR. OSBORNE’S VIEWS VARSITY DEBATER’S SPEECH The Masonic Hall, Northcote, was packed to the doors last evening when Mr. C. A. Osborne, official Labour candidate, was announced to speak. The Mayor, Mr. A. E. Greenslade, presided and apologised for the candidate’s non-appearaqce, stating that he was speaking at Glenfield and would be late in arriving. He introduced to the audience Mr. W. F. Simpson, of the Auckland University Ddebating team, who criticised the Reform Party and stated that the young generation had come to the conclusion that the Labour Party’s platform was in the interests of all classes. On his arrival. Mr. Osborne vigorously assailed the Reform Party’s land settlement efforts, declaring that they had made a hopeless muddle. The Labour Party, he asserted, stood for the conservation of the national endowments, with iease-in-perpetuity. The Reform Party, said the candidate, had been absolutely callous regarding immigration, attracting people to New Zealand by false representations and was thus responsible for the present distress. The relief pay of 9s for single men and 12s for married was*, in his opinion, the thin end of the wedge for the general reduction of wages all round. The Otamatea County Council had reduced their surfaceman’s wages from 14s to 12s. Under the Labour policy the anomalies between the widows’ pensions and epidemic pensions would be removed. The old-age pension would be increased to 25s a week and family allowances would be raised. He believed in free, secular and compulsory education and advocated free requisites for school children. The United Party met with criticism. the speaker declaring they were hand in hand with Reform, as shown by their platform statements that they would vote for Reform on a no-con-fidence motion. At the conclusion the candidate was accorded a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence.