POLITICAL NOTES.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12844, 29 November 1905, Page 7

POLITICAL NOTES.

MR HALL-JONES AT THE LEVELS. The Hon. Wm. Hall-Jones addressed the electors .at the Levels last night. The. meeting was held in Mr C. Nc— Orbell'sgraiiary, and there were about 200 persons profcnt. Mr C. N. Ortjell occupied the chair. Before commencing his address. Mr Hall-Jones referred to the disagreement that had arisen between him and the Levels County Council over the " £2OO vote," and explained more fully than he had .hitherto dons, the position. He read Mr A. -C. Pringle's letter, in which be was asked to have a sum put on the estimates for the Fairview-Mount Horrible road, ami explained that this was done ■without recours; to the usual procedure of getting a report because the close of the session was near at .hand. Mr Orbell and Mr Hall-Jones discussed the matter at some length, and Mr J. Mahony, a member of the Levels County Council, carried on the discussion for some time. In the course of it, Mr Mahony objected to a parallel being- drawn between this grant and those made on the request of the late Mr McLaren jt-his was one for a riding road; Mr McLaren's were made on behalf of a main road. Mr Hall-Jones replied that there was not a parallel. The railway ran parallel to the main road, and grants for roads running alongside rail> ways were seldom made; therefore there Was more in favour of Mr Pringle's application than.of Mr McLaren's. : A considerable discussion ensued as to the failure of ti.?. Government to'" form to the standard of the Levels County Ci>uucilV the Rosewill roads, and this Mr Hall-Jones disposed of by saying that he did not come into charge of the Roadi> Department till after 'the Levels County Council's application for grants was made. He persisted in hi.s previous statement that he had received no such application; the matter was then in the Hon. Mr Duncan's hands. v The question of valuations being brought up, Mr Hall-Jones denied absolutely that he ever said the revaluations of Levels were being dose at the request of the Levels County Council, or that he was reported to have said so. He hod said that requests "for revaluation. were often made by County Councils. The discussion was .concluded' for a time, and Mr Hall-Jones delivered- an address on political matters. He reviewed the career of the Government and the results of thsir legislation in. vavious directions, dealt- at' length with the methods of the Government's legislation, in relation to the railways, education, the Post .and Telegraphs, Land for Settlements, Advances to Settlers, and other departments, \ and upheld the "methods as conducive . 'to the prosperity and progress of the. colony in all direption.s. h The .--Land Commission vas referred to, and this •he t "upheld as a useful step, ' well worth the cost, in the information , it supplied to the members who 'otherwisewe're not in a position to judge of the merits of the questions: to be considered. Of the Criminal-Code, he said its object was not -generally - understood: In effect it would, innocent people, particularly women and "girls from , slanderous and defamatory'.utterances such as unscrupulous wretches sonietiijies made, without fear of retribution unless they were.possessed of means. As soon as he learned that such persons could not be proceeded against as criminals he had recognised something should be done, and he wasjglad the Act was in force. ■' v ; A number of questions were put, and the

matters discussed at the commenß'ement of | the evening were re-opened. In the matter of shing'-ing the Rose will roads, after a lengthy passage with Messrs 'Orbell and I Mahony, Mr Hall-Jones said lie would j •liave a report made : upon, the" funds avail- • .able for the purpose': and ;if any were left. ! they wobM be spent upon if. He would i not, however, commit himself as to, mak- j ing the roads to conform with the Council's j standard, not knowing what that was. As j to the valuations, he again- expressed himself as ir> favour of the popular election of one assessor; and a'.so said* he was in favour of counties carrying out their own assessment for local rating, the Government merely • assessing for land tax purposes. A questioner asked why the officer in charge had employed town teams 011 the roads being made. Mr Hall-Jor.es replied that his instructions were that settlers were to be.given the preference. Had complaint been made to him, he would at or.ce have forw?ri!ed the letter to the officer, and the matter would have been put right. The meeting was a rowdy one, perhaps the noisiest held in this electorate in the present campaign: The speakers were frequently interrupted, by noises, often by downright uproar and there were ::i:\r.y who loutV.y signalised their disapproval of much that was said. - At the close, Mr Wocffindin moved, and Mr- M. Driscoli secnncled a vote of thanks and confidence. young men proposed an amendment " r.r- thanks and no confidenceand got Iwif a dozen votes for it. A good "shop- of hands went up for the motion, which was declared carried. Mr. Hall-Jones said" this was the pleasanteet meeting he, lia'd had this year. He moved a very liearty vote of tlianks to Mi' Orbell for acting as chairman, and for the loan of his grain shed; and this -was carried by acclamation. The meeting ended about half-past 10 o'clock.

SIR W. J. STEWARD AT FATRLIK. There was a good meeting' to hear Sir W. J. Steward at Fairlie. Mr Foden was chairman. Sir William spoke at length upon a few of the measures passed by Parliament last The Teachers' Superannuation Bill, Workers' Dwellings Bill and Advances to -Settlers Amendment Act mA Old Age Pension Amendment, claiming for the Ciovernment full credit for the planning and carrying them through. He spoke of the plan to -extend the schemes for superannuation throughout all the departments of the Civil Service and in the end for the people generally. The Ola Age Pension increase was defended as necessary in face of the general increase in cost of living. , He claimed credit for assisting to get these Bills passed and for getting the Workers' Dwellings Bill amended so as to apply to the country as w-ell as to the cities. Rent- was the chief problem for the workers to solve nowadays and the Workers' Dwellings Act was an -attempt to solve it. The Native Lands Act was a.further attempt- to get the unused land belonging to-, the Maori race ia the North . Island opened ' up,. and would result in 500,000 acres being operied up by June next and more soon after. Sir William claimed for the Government, 1 the most liberal measures ever placed on. the Statute Book and an ever increasing care for the welfare -of the people of New Zealand; and for himself, a considerable share in the work. He claimed to be the originatftr of the Elective Executive scheme." now adopted -without acknowledgement by most of the candidates for Parliament. " He had been the original mover for the removal of the duty on fencing wi:e. He had advocated and supported every liberal measure ever brought forward. WaitSkj "had seen the benefit of the Lands for Settlement policv from cud to end, frcni Wnifcafesai north ward, and was it gcing to return an Opposition member after all these years'; He suggested that as a provision for times of -depression which were soon to csme. the

colony should retain the Crown lands and lease them on terms for 33 years with revaluation. at the end of the period and full valuation for tenants improvements. -The values would rise and the increase in rents would be very acceptable income in a bad time. He objected to the freehold being 'demanded" by Grown tenants and he objected to it being granted, but he would allow a tenant to pay off up to 9-10 of the value still, however, remaining a tenant. Freehold, meant- aggregation of iarge estates, and any restrictions upon freehold, made it freehold no longer. Sir -William spoke of the numerous candidates at the election. He thought that it was absurd lov two Government supporters to be standing. Mr Walker had been a member of his committee for years, but now wanted to get into Parliament himself. Mr Mr.slin had oiicp been, a Liberal; was now an Opposition candidate, he had- made up his mind to give up Ashburton and contest Waitaki, and his interference was resented. Mr Xichol was a nice young man, and when he was a little older and had taken lus stand on the other side in politics he would make a good member. There was another candidate, Mr Dash, who held particular views which had nothing to do with the election. Sir William had done his best- in the interests of no license, he had fought for the 3-sths majority, and now Mr Dash had also adopted his ideas of the elective executive and the reform of the Upper' House. He had been busy with his duties all the session, and liad no time to go round and interview electors. In fact he never did do so, nor would he do so. He thought the electors would say on polling day that they - would not " sg.ck v " n.n old servant who had served them faithfully, for the sake of any new.; op.e . who, wanted his plaoe. He hoped all would do their duty and vote. Sonie questions were asked. In. reply to one about the voucher, he thought the famous voucher was - ' a. bogus one. Mr Taylor was wanting in judgment oa the-matter. He and Mr Bedford now admitted that a. mistake had been made, and that there* was no ground for the. statements made. In reply to a question, if :a tenant paid off say 9-10ths' of the value of his freehold: at- the end of his lease Ito whom would the 9-10ths belong, the tenant or the State? Sir William said 999 'years was too far away to say. He agreed ■that Mr Seddon had been inconsistent on 'the land question. If freehold were given Crown tenants would have to pay taxes if they exercised the right-/ He was ; sure however that even: if the right to take the freehold were granted, the House would never agree to the« sale at the original value, but woula insist, on . sale at- the 'vaiue at the time of- purchase. Mr J. Chalker said he. was sure the only thing that was troubling C'rown tenants was" the ieaT .that their leases would be broken, and that they would like to be allowed to pay down part of the value if it would prevent this. He thought- that Crown tenants should not be allowed to acquire the freehold at- the original value, as their doing s.> would depreciate the. value of other land in the district. On the motion of Mr William Trotter, seconded by Mr J. Chalker. a vote of thanks and confidence in Sir William Steward, and of confidence in the Government, was-carried with great'applause.

As the new public hall at St. Andrews will not be available Mr Dash will speak at Albury'on Saturday in place of St-. Andrews. . . The Government ' offices throughout the colony will be closedi.at nocp- on Wednesday, the 6th December, polling dayv The , Hon'. W. Hall-Jones -will speak at Sandietown this evening; and be at the Smithfield works (dining room) to-morrow evening. ' Mr F. J. Rc-lleston will speak at the Catholic Boys" Schoolroom. 'Browne Street, at 8 o'clock to-morrow evening. There are n0w"7524 names'on the Timaru electoral roll ; but- of these 198 have, since it closed, been struck off cn account of transferences, death, and other causes. " Absent voters' permits'' have been issued to 155 persons.

' The of the Hon. William Hall-Jones, and Mr F. J. Rolleston, as candidates. for the Timaru seat, -were received yesterday morning. Mr Hall-Jones' nominators Were Misses Holdgate and AviKon, Messrs J. H. Parks, J. Jackson, R. Donn, B. Cochran, and J. Fitzgerald. Mr Rolleston was nominated by Mrs M." Knbbs. Mrs . Mair. Messrs -W. : :Hay, J.Stephen, and J. Wallace. Mr J. B. Nichol addressed the electors at Chamberlain on Saturday- night. There was a good attendance and the •candidate received an attentive hearing- and a ,heartyvote of thanks. On Monday evening Mr Nichol addressed a meeting at, Cricklew-ood when the schoolroom was filled. The candidate was accorded a splendid hearing and after answering several questions, was accorded a hearty vote -.of thanks. At the call of one of the audience, the -meeting closed with three cheers for "Young New Zealand."

At his meeting at iYVaimate on Monday night- ilr Maslin. in reply to a question, gave an explanation of why' -he came to be contesting the Waitaki seat, when, he first announced himself for Asliburton. -Mr Maslin replied that he retired from. Ashburton so as not to split the Opposition vote there; and that he came out/for Waitaki/on the suggestion of Mr Paul Studholme, in a letter to his cousin. Mr John Studholme, the Opposition candidate for Ashburton. Mr John Studholme sect him the letter. Asked why he did not draw favour of Mr Nichol, *the local Opposition candidate, -Mr Maslin said he would do so if he thought Mr Nicliol had the ghost of a. chance, but he had hot. Besides, Mr Nichol had'confessed at the outset that he knew nothing of policies, and the electorate ought not to . suffer. The ; rfarming. community told him (Mr Maslin) to go on to the end. ■ . /•

Per Press Association. | DARGAVILLE, November 28.: The , Kaipara nominations are :—Mr A. E. Hardinge (Independent) and Mr J. Stall- j worthy (Government). '. I . STRATFORD, November 28. Patea nominations—Messrs W. Symes (Government), J. B. Hine (Opposition), G. P. Wake (independent). HAWEEA. November 28. Nominations—Messrs,C.E.' Major (Government), T. McGuire and B. C. Bob-, bins (Oppositionists). : NEW PLYMOUTH. November 28. Messrs C. E. Bellringer. C. T> Mills, H. J. H. Ofceyy.-' E. M. Smith,-and. G. Tisch were , nominated to-day for, s.eai;!. All except-:Mr Okey are (jovermhmit porters Mr Bellringer is ■ a, ProhibitionNAPIESf, November 28. Taa complete nominations for. Napier are ■Messrs A. L. D. Fraser, M. W. D.-Las-celles. and W. J. McGrath, all Government candidates. ' G, November 28. Thf> nominations for the Oroua''electorate are Mr E. Y, Lethbridge (Opposition) and Mr 0. C. Pleasants-. {Liberal), Mr R.- L. riorn'olow (Independent Liberal. ji WOODVLLLE. November 28. Messrs William H. Hawkins, H. Duncan

Buchanan, and Robertß. were ,nominated to-day* lor the Piahiattiaf seat., PALMERSTON NORTH; Nov] 28! : *Mr F. Pirani (Oppositionist), and Mr W. T. Wood (Government),-were nominated to-day for the Palmerston seat. WELLINGTON, November 23. Mr Hindmarsh has been nominated for Newton and Mr Izard for Wellington North. The Premier delivered an address at Shannon l;ist night. It is a township in the Manawatu electorate . and close" to Otaki. Mr Seddon's speeoh was largely devoted to criticising the Opposition can. didates for the two districts. He said the Opposition leader thought wages were too high, and that was the feeling which dominated the classes. Under the present Government wages had increased 30 per cent., and if an industry could not stand good wages, it could be carried on in some other country. A cordial vote of thanks and confidence in the Government was carried, accompanied by cheers for the Premier and Mr Stevens, the Government candidate for Manawatu. None of the seats in the colony will be uncontested. The Rev. F. W. Isitt will be nominated for Motiieka, and the Alliance will put up a candidate against Sir Joseph Ward for Awarua, both in • the interest of the No-license Party. GREYMOUTH, November 28.

Mr Arthur Robert Guinness, and Air Joseph Petrie, have been nominated for the- Grey seat. - HOKITIKA, November 28. Mr Harry Cowdn, of 'Whaxeaina, Wairarapa, sheep -farmer, has *been - nominated in opposition to Mr Seddon, for the Westland seat. He stands in the interests of the No-license Party., CHRIST CHURCH, November 28. Mr Alison,' the. Opposition candidate for Christchurch South, - has retired from the contest in order that the Opposition vote may not be split. OAMARU, November 28. The complete nominations for the Oamaru seat are the Hon. T. Duncan (Ministerialist), Mr James Mitchel (Liberal Independent),. and Wm. McKenzie (Opposition). ' JDUNEDIN, November .28. Mr Downie Stewart has been nominated for Dunedin South. . Mr Adams has been nominated" for Dunedin Central, Messrs E. G. Allen, "William Gibb and William Pryor for Chalmers, and Messrs Marshall and Reid for Taieri. At a meeting at Naseby , this evening Mr W. H. Ure announced that •' lie had decided- not to proceed with his candidature for Mount Ida. INVERCARGILL, November 28. > Sir Joseph Ward and Mr Henry.Woodnorih have been nominated for Awarua.