LABOUR RALLY

Taranaki Daily News, 18 April 1932, Page 9

LABOUR RALLY

TARANAKI WELL COMBED MEETINGS IN FOUR CENTRES GOVERNMENT CONDEMNED proposals to Meet crisis Describing the policy of the present Government .as ruinous, Mr. F. Langstone and the Bev. Clyde Carr, Labour members for Waimarino and Timaru respectively, addressed meetings throughout Taranaki during the week-end. The speakers appeared at Stratford on Saturdayafternoon, Hawera on Saturday night, Eltham yesterday afternoon, •nd New Plymouth last night. After denouncing the Government’s preeent policy they outlined the economic path by which Labour proposed to lead the country out of its present difficulties. It was contended that a managed currency and the consequent stability “ of prices would restore the purchasing power of the people and automatically reduce unemployment. Orderly congregations and attentive hearings characterised every gathering. It was originally intended that an outside meeting and a demonstration should be held at Hawera on Saturday night, but in view of the trouble at Auckland the civic authorities ruled that the meeting would have to be held inside. Over 400 people attended at the Winter Show buildings and a large section greeted the different criticisms of the Govern- > ment’s policy and the outline of parts <of the Labour policy with enthusiasm. The lines followed were the same as those of the address in the other centres of the province. Mr. W. G. Simpson, Labour candidate for Palea at the last election,. presided, and Mr. W. A. Sheat was also on the platform. - RESOLUTION OF PROTEST. At the conclusion of the addresses Mr. E. Tregoweth forwarded a resolution which was: seconded by Mr. W. Turnbull and carried, with one firm dissentient, amidst enthusiasm. A section of the audience 'was non-committal. The resolution read ds follows:—? "That- • this meeting protests against, the Government’s policy which, in destroying the . purchasing power is bringing hardship, fear and I J worry‘ to every home, and if continued'will result in national bankruptcy and ruin to every farmer, trader apd other worker. The Government'has broken the structure of the Arbitration Court and thus destroyed a ' system which has brought incalculable advantages to both employers and employees. It is attacking the education system and menacing the future of all our children." It proposes to reduce the pension to.widows,-.returned soldiers: and aged-people. It further proposes., to reduce the allowance to miners and their dependents when the breadwinner.. is struck down by the dread disease of miners’ phthisis, and it agaitr proposes to cut the salaries of public servants irrespective as to whether the amount received is sufficient to maintain a reasonable standard of. living .tor not. We’ con- ’ demri the-Government’s policy and the Government’s method of raising the funds' for the relief of unemployment, by which the wealthier sections of the community are exempted from paying their fair proportion towards unemployment relief. Wo affirm that the amount paid to the relief worker for the maintenance of. himself, his wife and his children is totally inadequate, and we are of opinion that the general administration of the Unemployment Act is unfair, unjust and against the interests of the . workers.. of the We therefore call upon, the Government to either alter its policy or* resign, and pledge .ourselves to -use every ■ constitutional means to defeat .the Government’s proposals, and we further pledge ourselves-to assist the Labour Party in i.ts endeavour to restore prosperity to the Dominion.” ‘ The resolution concluded by. congratuiting ,the members of the Labour Party a Parliament “on their magnificent fight in the interests of. the people against the Government’s destructive proposals.” In moving a motion of thanks to the speakers at -the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Sheat said that the outline of Labour’s campaign to achieve by constitutional means the curtailment of the life of the present Coalition Government, was showing the people the sound economic policy of the Labour Party. “I am sorry that the authorities saw fit to prevent the holding of the meeting in the street,” he said. “We are all respectable citizens, and I hope that next time they will not'be so timid.” UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM. “No individual and no local body can cope with the unemployment problem for the powers of both' are limited and restricted; only a National Government whose rights are.pre-emptive and whose limit is the sky can deal with the problem,” said Mr. Langstone, in the course of his address. The policy of the Government was one of tearing down and raiding the homes of the people.-Rather than solving unemployment it was creating it, and never in the history of New Zealand had there been so much wealth existing side by side with so much poverty. At' the last elections the Government had not put forward a policy, and the people had returned it on trust. It was claimed- at.- the time that such were the “telescopic changes” that appeared imminent that the Government did not propose to outline its"policy. With 30s. from every adult the Government had claimed it could handle unemployment in a way never before attempted; work would be found for everyone and on every occasion or, if that was found to be impossible, sustenance .to the extent of 21s. a week for every man and 17s. 6d. for every woman, besides a smaller amount for every child, was promised. “That sacred contract entered into by the Government was flagrantly and wickedly violated,” said Mr. Langstone. “It has not been carried out. The unemployed can not be blamed for their present condition, and work will have to be found. When Hie Prime Minister returned from his trip to Britain, where he rubbed shoulders, with all the nabobs and the highbrows, he said there would be no dole. I,like that word’ ‘dole.’ Is not every salary and every sum received for anything just a sort of dole, after all?” Mr. Langstone claimed that the best way in which a country could distribute profits was in wages and salaries, and not in dividends. In the former case there was the certainty that some work had been.-.done; in the case of dividends there was .the chance of exploitation. Care had to be shown in interfering •with wages and salaries. Once they were touched-the .whole, fabric of a country’s

economic structure came tumbling down. Business men could state the damage dtme to their businesses by the cuts. Labour stands neither for wage cuts nor for a tax on wages, but the latter was preferable. A ten per cent, reduction of wages meant that the spending power of the country was reduced by £12,000,000. Money was valuable only when it was in circulation, and the cut meant that that huge sum had been withdrawn from circulation. Some business folk thought it possible to reduce wages and still do the same amount of business. That .would be all right if one firm reduced its wages and all the others continued to pay their staffs the same amount; business would not drop off then. But a general cut removed an enormous sum from circulation and business was naturally affected. Some so-called business men had so few brains that they could revolve in a peanut shell for a thousand years and never touch the sides!.

The speaker said that the £12,000,000 referred to represented the unsatisfied wants of the people of New Zealand. Had the £10,500,000 docked off the salaries of the people been given to unemployment relief 50,000 unemployed men could have been paid £4 a week and there would still have been enough over to pay interest on the local body debts.

“The Government must bear the responsibility of the Auckland riots,” continued Mr. Langstone. “The people were driven to desperation. Not content with the harm it has done, the Government is now going in for a further' cut in wages. In addition, it has demolished the shelter of the Arbitration Court, which has done so much good for both employers and employees. Only a national Government can handle a question like unemployment —a national Government can create money. The Government that wishes to balance its budget must first of all see that the people balance their budgets, and then it would be easy. The solution is the making of more money.” SHORTAGE OF MONEY., That the main trouble was under-con-sumption and that its cause was money, was claimed by Mr. Langstone. There was a shortage of money in New Zealand, and he could see no reason why this should be. Money was not wealth, but merely ’'legal token. Measured in the value of money, the wealth produced in I9ilB-il9 had been . £85,000,000 and the country was then prosperous. In 1930 the amount of wealth produced had increased to £118,000,000, and yet in spite of the enormous increase the country was intensely poor. ; The ability of any country to finance was based on its securities or assets. There was no shortage of assets in New Zealand, and if they were good enough for financiers in London to lend against they were good enough for New Zealand itself to create currency upon. The wealth of the country measured in the present purchasing power was £1,999,900,000, which meant that amount of • tangible assets. When the national indebtedness was deducted from this there remained an enormous excess of assets over liabilities. Although there had been less production in 1920 than in 1930, the amount of money in circulation in the latter year had been less than in 1920 by £1,035,000. Mr. Langstone claimed that the banks had done this deliberately, and he said that the private banking system had failed miserably. It exacted its toll from all and every business. A State bank could be established almost without costj and until that was. done there would be no honest money system. “We stand for an honest system of weights and measures,” said Mr.. Langstone. “It is impossible to manipulate that system by reason of the fact that its standards are set on certain specified lines; but we do not stand-for a money system that can be manipulated by financial despots from behind closed doors, and as a result millions of people suffer.”

Mr. Langstone said that Labour stood for justice for all, and this included, an honest money systerii in the establishment of a State bank. It would then be able to bring in money as required, and money was the life-blood of a country. There would be neither deflation or inflation, but rather reflation and a consequent stability of prices. Under such a system as the present one there was no such thing as rock-bottom; it was like a balloon always on the move, and there was no saying to what depths it would sink.

The farmer had to be secured. The reason for this was obviously because his surplus products had to be sold in foreign countries over which there could be no control. By the law of averages this foreign price could be worked out. An average price coifld be ascertained and the nation could then guarantee the farmer that price. His position would then be stabilised. In bad years the amount necessary to keep the farmers’ price at the established level could be taken from the internal credits. Good years would soon repair the ravages. “In one night the internal credit of New Zealand was pledged. That was in 1891, when the Government had to step in and vote £5,231,000 to bolster up the Bank of New Zealand,” said Mr. Langstone. “That could be done now, and it is the only thing that will eave the country. Authorities can be quoted who state that such a policy is economically sound. It would mean certainty for the people of New Zealand now, and security for the future.” PROBLEM OF THE YOUNG. The placing of boys and young men into unemployed camps at 10s. a week was described by Mr. Langstone as the greatest tragedy of unemployment, the speaker dubbing the institutions “slave” camps. Mr. Carr also deplored the plight of the young and rising generation. “Looking back, I realise that the impelling motive and, indeed, the whole driving force in the lives of the young men of my time was the desire -to work, to save, and, some day, to have a home,” said Mr. Langistone. “We would not have stood for such hopeless outlooks as those young men have who are to-day in camps of the kind I have described. Always, in the background, there are sweethearts who are waiting for the time when their boys will be in a position to marry, and with the passing of the years that waiting period has grown longer. What chance have the young men in the slave camps of saving? Soon we will have in this country a race of celibates, and when that time comes life will not be worth living. That thing, the democracy of the fireside, will be gone.” Mr. Langstone quoted, a portion of a speech by Sir George Grey in which that o-reat statesman questioned the success of the civilisation of the Old World and expressed the hope that in New Zealand there would be established a civilisation of a broader and a more sympathetic and far-seeing outlook. In mentioning the same subject, Mr. Carr deplored the position of the country at the present time. The people of bis ..mother’s day, he said, had struggled for ideals which, it would appear, had been lost by the generations following.

MR. CARR DEALS WITH INFLATION.

The hope was expressed by Mr. Carr that New Zealand would ultimately develop a national consciousness embracing a spirit of self-reliance and initiative. He wanted New Zealand to find its own feet, and that could be done with the adoption of an intelligently managed currency. If the country were always to be dependent upon the overseas market

there would always be the ups and downs of the past, said Mr. Carr. With the passing of the years necessity would *be found for the development of secondary manufacturing industries. It was commonly stated that 95 per cent, of the wealth of the country was derived from primary products. More than 60 per cent, of the products of New Zealand were consumed at home, and of the 40 per cent, exported 95 per cent, comprised primary products. Many of the goods exported overseas were indirectly consumed in New Zealand, goods paying for goods. If the present system was persisted in it would, soon be a case of barter in the country itself. New Zealand’s wealth was home-made and was not imported. There were enough natural products in tne Dominion to clothe and feed all the. people and leave a surplus to pay interest on the overseas loans. He predicted tliat this year production would decrease owing to the loss of spirit. The people out °qf work and the farmers who had walked off their land were “sweeping up leaves, digging holes and filling them up again,” and he did not see now the national debt could be paid in that way.

In likening the country to a car with four flat tyres the speaker said the Labour Barty wished to inflate those tyres in order to permit easy running. This could be done under the system of index prices as outlined by Mr. Langstone. Inflation with common-sense was all when there were the assets behind the movement. A State Bank was the only remedy. .The people had no say at present, and they had been encouraged in the psychology of intricate finance which led them to believe that matters of finance were too deep for them; and all the time behind locked doors the financiers carried on their nefarious practices. Labour would lead the way out if given the opportunity. LABOUR AND SOCIALISM. “The Labour Party’s policy is one of Socialism, and we have no apology for that,” said Mr. Carr. “It simply means that we believe in permitting the community to do for you what you can’t do for yourself. For instance, you enjoy many advantages, of socialism now. If your cow becomes ill you call in the veterinary surgeon.' He is supplied by the Department of Agriculture which, in turn, is created and maintained by the Government composed of the people you have put in Parliament. That is Socialism, and it is not very dreadful.” Further elucidating his point, the speaker said that the community, by scientific endeavour and organised effort, could help the individual in a manner in which he could never have hoped to have helped himself.. Socialised production, distribution and means of exchange., were, all to be welcomed. The public ownership and control of those things- necessary to the public was desired, but at the same time the Labour Party would always recognise the rights of the private property owner. The speaker maintained that the time would.-come when the farmers and everyone else would recognise the necessity for the control of shipping services. In the past private buses and services had been allowed to run in opposition to the trains established by the Government, and the Government had even subsidised highways on which these services could run. From the very first the services and buses should have been made feeders for the trains rather than rivals. Co-ordination of transport was required. However, such vast sums of money had been invested in the services and all the adjuncts necessary for their conduct. that any change would have to be most gradual. Regarding the socialisation of the means of exchange, Mr. Carr said that until the credit system, was controlled by representatives of the people the country would never get out of the toils of the overseas financier. FEW QUESTIONS ASKED. Questions from The Hawera audience were few in number. There had been only one interjector during the time the speakers occupied the platform, and his remarks were relevant and were replied to by those speaking. However, one member of the gathering objected to the remarks from the back and shouted that he would like the interjector to come out in front “and do better.” Asked what was the real position with regard to Bellamy’s, Mr. Langstone said that “more moonshine” had been talked of Bellamy’s than of any other subject. The institution was a place' where members could get their meals and, if they wished, a drink. It actually showed a profit of £6OO a year. To another questioner Mr. Langstone said he did not know if the Government had ever increased wages. Towards the end of the war, when prices became so high, the salaries of the civil servants had been raised, but that was only when it was obvious that such action was very necessary. The civil servants had previously decided that they would do without a rise in view of the difficulties the Government was facing at the time, and they were the last people in the community to get more money. He was certain that prosperity would return if the purchasing power of the people were to be increased. Mr. L. A. Taylor asked for the authorities who had stated that it was economically sound to manage the currency.

Mr. Langstone said that the Rt. Hon. Reginald McKenna had stated time and again that he was in favour of a managed currency. The speaker quoted that authority regarding the creation and destruction of money under the present system by. the banks. “Did you see that the authorities of Soviet Russia had had to hand back to the original owners thousands of cattle that they had seized for their communal farm, because the cattle could not be farmed successfully under such a system,” asked Mr. Taylor of Mr. Carr, who had used Russia as an example in talking of the public ownership of different tilings.. Mr. Carr said he had' not seen the item referred to, and asked if it had been sent from Riga. Mr.- Taylor said it was a cable from Moscow. “I would like to say that the New Zealand Labour Party does not stand for Sovietism in any shape or • form,” said Mr. Carr. “I think, however, that the people of Russia, taken by and large, are quite satisfied with the present order. It must be remembered that the country is so large that it is difficult for anyone to get a true perspective.” NEWS FROM RUSSIA. “Did you see the item in the papers concerning the machinery lying in water and wasting because Soviet Russians could not use it?” persisted Mr. Taylor. “That was a cable from Riga, and when you see a cable from there don't take any notice of it, because it is propaganda issued by the White Russians, who are anti-Soviet.”

“You say so,” commented Mr. Taylor as he sat down.

A little later Mr. Taylor asked Mr. Sheat if he would be prepared to permit his farm to be run on the community system. “I think tliat everything in New Zealand should be communally owned,”

replied Mr. Sheat. “Even the lawyers. It was because I felt that that I left the legal profession.” Another question dealt with Russian oil, and Mr. Langstone stated that Russia had said she would take wool for her oiL “That oil would sell here at anything from 4d to 6d cheaper than you can get it at present,” said Mr. Langstone. “And what farmer would object 0 to using Russian oil if he could get a better o price for his wool?” To another questioner Mr. Langstone said that low wages never assisted production, but rather tended to considerably lower the standard of living and retard production. Agked by Mr. Taylor if Labour would restore the wage cuts that, the civil servants had had were the pai-ty. to wain power, Mr. Langstone said that they would first of all deal with the unemployment question. “Then we would restore the wages of the lower paid civil servant. No one over £5OO a year would have the cut restored.” “Do you charge the Coalition Government with maliciously taking away those wages?” asked Mr. Taylor. “Yes, I do. Either that, or they just showed plain foolishness. Either way they are dangerous people to have there.” Mr. Langstone said it was recognised in the Housi that the Labour members were students, and that they knew more about any question that canie up than anyone else in Parliament. NEW PLYMOUTH MEETING SPEAKERS ATTENTIVELY HEARD. ECONOMY POLICY CONDEMNED.’ The fiqal demonstration in the Taranaki campaign took place at New Plymouth last night, when the Opera House was well filled, the audience giving the speakers a most attentive hearing. At the conclusion questions were invited, but none were forthcoming. A similar resolution, to that passed at Hawera, protesting against the Government’s policy, -tfas proposed by Mr. Hunter and carried without a dissentient voice. Mr. S. Flood, chairman of the Labour election committee, presided, and in introducing the speakers remarked that prior to last election the cry had been “Vote for Coalition and Keep Your Job.” ‘Did you keep your jobs ?” he asked. He asserted that they had not, and that during the next few months a good few mbre would be put out of their jobs and be on the dole. No' one, he said, ddplored the riots in Auckland more than did the New Zealand Labour Party. The policy of the Government was such that it had forced the people to take the action they did, and he would say that the blame lay with the Government, and not with the Labour Party. The Rev. Clyde Carr,-who spoke on the lines of his previous addresses, said the Labour Party had a gospel to enunciate—the application of Christian principles to the pressing problems of human life and labour. It was anti-Christian andunethical that in this fair land there should be increasing numbers lacking the necessaries of life while there was food in abundance in the country. They were there also to, urge on the unemployed and those feeling the stress the futility, absolute folly and criminality of taking the law into their own hands, or attempting to do so. They should endeavour to remedy matters by constitutional methods—by taking an intelligent interest and bringing the necessary pressure to bear on the powers that be, so that legislation might be enacted to solve instead of intensify the difficulties. NOT THE WAY OUT. There was no reason why anyone should starve-in the midst of plenty. New Zealand could house, clothe and feed the people and maintain them in the necessary standard of .living, and anything left over could be used tb meet oversea commitments and' establish credit on the London market. He stressed the point that unemployment and reduced wages were not the way out of the difficulty as the farmers would become dispirited and it was anticipated that production would fall, so that the last state would be worse than the first.' The slogan of. the Reform Government was increased production, but,'Mr. Carr said he did not see how that would be effective if the people were unable to buy the produce. New Zealand should riot be so dependent on the London markets as 60 per cent, of the primary products was used in New Zealand. Steps should be taken to further extend local consumption by encouraging secondary industries. The farmers had done their share by increasing production 600 . per cent, in ten years. Mr. W. A. Sheat said it was only because people allowed othens to do their thinking that they were faced with the present position. Had they thought seriously prior to, the last election he doubted- if they would have sanctioned a continuance of the policy that had been put into operation. The warnings he had issued and the predictions he had made had come true.- The present Government was concerned only with its obligations to the overseas financiers, but the Labour Party, while .not denying its obligations, placed the people first. There was no reason why the standard of living should be reduced. “POORER ONLY ON PAPER.” . With regard to production, they were never better off, and it was .only on paper that they were poorer to-day. He was definitely opposed to the economy as preached, and practised by the Government, as he considered it false economy, that would, lead the country to disaster. They were told by the Press that they were suffering from the results of past extravagance. That was nonsense, as it was physically, impossible to consume more than was produced. He considered that in the past they had been too parsimonious and had denied the people the right to enjoy what they produced. The problem they were up against should be comparatively simple to solve. They were living in a wonderful age of science, and would not be making the best use of it if they were to resign themselves to a lower standard of living. Thrift as understood by those who used the term but did not practise it was not a virtue, and a policy of economy would only accentuate their difficulties.* People'had lost confidence in the future of the country because the Government had introduced a policy that had destroyed'confidence. Mr. Sheat urged them if they were satisfied with the policy of their representatives to inundate them with letters saying'so. A policy should build up and not tear down, and an economy policy was both unnecessary and ineffective. The trouble was that they were trying to run 20th century industrial machinery with a financial system devised in the dark ages. He believed that a measure of inflation was necessary because deflation had been carried so far that the only thing that would save the country 1 was a reversal of the policy, designed , to bring the country back to where it was two years ago. Despite its efforts to balance the Budget, the Government had been unablo to do so and was insolvent. It had arranged with the banks to issue Treasury bills, or promissory notes issued by the-Government. He held that the Government should have

issued those notes itself and have saved the money to the people. Inflation should be done by the Government, not by the banks. There was plenty of produce and plenty of people willing to use that produce. By taking control of the financial situation and regulating the monetary requirements of the country the Government could bring these two together. The mass of the people wanted to'work and enjoy the standard of living they were entitled to. Mr. Langstone said the best of good things could be spoiled by bad management. The Government’s Acts and stupidity had got the country into difficulties. If the Government was the only sufferer the Labour Party would not be keen, to help, but for the sake of the people who suffered they would try to show the way out. He showed that on April 1, 1930, appropriately enough the Government’s year opened on that day, there was a surplus of £2,356,337, but owing to the Government’s policy that had been transformed into a deficiency of £1,639,110 on April 1, 1931, and to £2,500,000 on April 1, 1932. ‘ He attacked the Press, which, he said, was playing a “miserable game with the public, masquerading also as the public Press, but being in reality a pri-vately-owned and subsidised Press, receiving privileges which the public paid for.” They were told that capital would leave the country if they voted for Labour, but he characterised that as nonsense. He was strongly opposed to the ten pel’ cent, cut and the wage tax, but he would prefer the wage tax as the lesser of the two evils. Mr. Langstone held that the unemployed could have been put to work completing railways. A well-balanced community was what was required. .He condemned the Government’s land policy. There was no shortage of money, as plenty could be obtaincl by internal credits. If it were necessary to ration labour income should also be rationed, and the surplus could be taxed. When the time arrived that the development of New Zealand could be carried on out of created surpluses, that would be proof that there had been sufficient reflation. MEETING AT STRATFORD AUDIENCE IN GOOD HUMOUR. MOTION OF PROTEST PASSED.

The meeting at Stratford was held at. the corner of Fenton and Miranda Streets and was presided over by the deputy-Mayor, Mr. N. B. Fletcher. About 600 or 700 people attended. .The meeting was an orderly one, and the speakers were subjected only to badinage. A fair section of the assembly frequently voiced approval, but the remainder was content with listening. At one stage of his address Mr. Langstone was frequently interrupted by a farmer who was distinctly antagonistic towards the speaker’s views, but Mr. Langstone always had a ready answer. A motion of protest against the policy of the Government was carried, there being only two dissentient votes. Thanks were accorded the speakers and the chairman.

Mr. Langstone said the policy of the Government in effecting drastic economies and reductions in wages was only adding disaster to disaster. It was no use trying to balance the budget of the country without first balancing the budgets of the people. Despite the fact that in 1930-31 the Government made drastic economies it lost £1,600,000. Last year the United Government had beeii floundering in a quagmire of £6,850,000 anticipated shortage. A. Coalition was -formed and more economies were effected, but at the'end of March last they had still been £2,500,000 behind. Then the Hon. . Downie Stewart announced that this year .'the deficit would be £8,700,000. All this was due to reducing the income, of the people and limiting their expenditure, Despite proposed economies there' would still be a deficit of £2,0001000. This was all the result of the “safe” Government that had been referred to so much. ' “This tear-down policy is going to lead to nothing but disaster,” he said. I do not. .want to create any scare, because with commonseiise. government this country, with all its resources, can deal with' its problems which will vanish away.” The country could not starve its way back to prosperity. On March 20, 1931, Labour had suggested that Parliament constitute itself as a conference to consider the problems of the country from various angles so that the members could return to Parliament and pass beneficial legislation, but the Government would have nothing of that. Mr. W. J. Polson had voted against Labour s proposal. STABILIiSATION OF PRffOES. Now the farmers, whose income had decreased by £23,000,000 since 1929, would have to be reinstated, and that could be done by a system of internal credit and by the stabilisation of prices. The basis of credi't was assets and security. Gold did not enter into it, and the privately-owned wealth in New Zealand was £1,734,000,000, while the publicly-owned wealth was £336,000,000 The Maoris owned £29,000,000 of assets, so that the total assets were £1,099,000,000. The total debt was £490,000,000, so that there was a balance of assets over liabilities of £603,000,000. Then it had to be remembered that £1'17,000,000 of the debt was held in New Zealand. ' . Mr. Langstone traced the big increase in production during recent years, and argued that there was no lack of produce and there should be no lack of money or work. A voice: Some won t work.

More voices: Boo! Mr. Langstone: Are you one of them? Won’t you go into the country? You won’t' Well, open confession is good for the soul. There’s penance for the penitent. , ~ . The Government should issue money against the wealth of the country, he continued. A voice: With minted money? Mr. Langstone: No; with printed money. , Labour, he continued, would build up industry in New Zealand and employ workers directly in New Zealand instead of paying somebody in America to manufacture the goods that could be made in New Zealand. r Mr. Langstone attacked the Press for the attitude it adopted. The Press, he saicl, was attempting to rule without representation and the editor’s chair was a .coward’s castle. “We don’t ask the unemployed to imitate the Government’s example of destruction; we ask them to get behind us and solve their problems by rational means,” said the Rev. Clyde Carr. The Premier of New South Wales, he continued, had told the bondholders overseas that they would have to wait until he had clothed and fed and brought prosperity back to his own people. Until that was done, said Mr. Carr, the overseas bondholders could not be paid. _ Asked how Labour would control finance, Mr. Langstone said they would control it through the Bank of New Zealand. Four of the six directors of that bank were appointed by the State, but at present they were shareholders. If they were replaced the State could control the bank, wh_ich did half the banking business in New Zealand.

GATHERING AT ELTHAM. USE OF PARK DECLINiED. A moderate gathering was addressed at.Eltham yesterday afternoon. The Labour Party had applied for permission to hold the meeting at Taumata Park, but this was refused after a special meeting of the borough council had been held to consider the application. The following resolution conveyed the council’s sentiments: “That the council does not approve of political, meetings on Sundays, and refuses to grant facilities for the holding of such meetings, but will be pleased to grant facilities on any other day or night.” The Mayor, Mr. I. J. Bridger, explained that he was quite prepared to take the chair at the proposed meeting any day but a Sunday, and if the Labour Party liked to hold the meeting on Saturday or Monday they would be granted every facility, including the town hall. Facilities thus being denied, Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, M.P., offered the use of a vacant section in Bridge Street, and this is where the meeting was held. Mr. T. Trask presided. . The speakers dealt with the aims and objects of Labour and urged support of the Labour Party.