CHRISTCHURCH NORTH.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 252, 27 November 1914, Page 5

CHRISTCHURCH NORTH.

MR H. F. TOOGOOD. Mr 11. F. Toogood, Government candidate, addressed two meetings last evening, one at the corner of Bealey Avenue and Bealey Street, and the second at the corner of Fitzgerald Street and Edgeware Road. The meetings were largely attended, probably 500 electors hearing the candidate.

Mr Toogood said that at this stage of the campaign he felt it incumbent on him to deal more with the future than to answer criticisms of the Government. He contended that the present method of spending money from the Public Works and Consolidated Funds was wrong. No doubt the present method would be ex-, tremely hard to alter, in view of the fact that thq country members felt it to be their bounden duty to bring back as many grants as to appease their electorates. The Government which had killed political patronage in the Civil Service was the Government which could be trusted to kill political patronage in the spending of money. They could riot trust;to effect this reform the party which in the past had fattened and flourished' on the spending of public money to sweeten the electorates in its favour. In view-Of the direct proposal to alter the system of subsidies to local bodies and grants in aid of local public works, he felt confident that in the next Parliament a big change would be made in the system of allocating grants for local Government expenditure, and for the construction of public works out of the Public Works Fund.

. Speaking on the subject of electoral reform, the candidate pointed out that the second ballot was dead, and not one political candidate had the temerity to suggest its resuscitation. He believed that improvement in electoral matters must take place in the direction of increasing the sizes of the city electorates. It was a reactionary step tobreak up the combined electorates, as was done prior to the 1905 election. The city electorates would have to be, combined again, taking in a sufficient area to return four or five members. With a proper-system of voting, minorities, in the now" small electorates, would find adequate representation if the electorates were enlarged. In reply to an interjector, Mr Toogood said that he regretted the introduction of Sir Joseph Ward's acceptance of a baronetcy. He strongly condemned the acceptance of a hereditary title. It was introducing a system of political aristocracy into this country, which would not be tolerated by a democratic people. No true Liberal Or Democrat in New Zealand would accept a hereditary title. At the conclusion of his address Mr Toogood was accorded votes of thanks, and heartily,; cheered.