VARIEGATED POLITICS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14238, 2 July 1910, Page 6

VARIEGATED POLITICS.

AN AMATEUR SYMPOSIUM.

At the Timaru Literary and Debating i K Society on Thursday evening, political j | party speeches were made by Messrs ; £ Bunt (Independent), Beck (Labour), and j [• Paterson (Conservative), and were j | listened to by about 30 members. 1 Mr Bunt, the first speaker, said the ; | party system, as it exists in New Zea- j | land, was not conducive to best jj interest.; of the country. If the Esse i- j | tive were elected by the Hoa.se, aj t better type of man would be placed m i g office. xliis system was successful mj | Switzerland, the most democratic f country in the world. Under that order j , of things the people would have a larger ; f share in the initiation of legislation. lie j jj was in favour of proportionate r-epre- > t sentation, as giving tho minority a : j share of representation, and eliminating j the parochial politician. He believed in j j tho nationalisation of tho land. Ho 1 E was opposed to tho introduction of the ; j Bible into Schools, the present educa- j 1 tional system being quite satisfactory. ! [ On the Licensing question he favoured ! the bare majority, and the vote taken ; I on Dominion Prohibition. Ho favoured ; compulsory preference to Unionists, but I was opposed to compuls-ory military j i training. ] Mr Beck said there should be better j organisation of labour, and labour ' should aim at the betterment of both ! workers, and of employers. Tho work- ; ers should get continuous employment, j , and a larger share of the profits. i''<jr tliis purpose they should combine, and endeavour to be represented by one of : themselves in Parliament, and they I would then get these things. Now tho j man who l wa3 using his wits, and really 1 a parasite, was securing the fruits of ; others' labours. The remedy lay j through legislation, and that meant ; that the worker must be represented in ! Parliament. j In reply to a question, Mr Beck said 1 the Government should buy suburban lands for the needy, but he refused to ] j give his own definition of a needy per- ! | son. He was not in favour of the ex- j tension of State control; it would not tend to economy. i | Mr A. M. Pateneon (taking Mr j [ "Wagstaif's place), said the Conservative : [ party was not a stick-in-the-mud party ; many of the best Acts now in tho ! Statute book had been originated by its j members, and stolen by the so-called Liberals. Tho Liberal party was now 1 dead. While it was alive it hud simply ' I played with Labour, and had bungled j i the railway management. The Conservative held that if the working man I could own a qurter-acre section in ; town, the farmer had a perfect right j to have the freehold. At present half j New Zealand was either to-let or for i sale; the Conservative policy would j alter that, by putting the best men ou i the land. The Opposition would not i rest until more money was being spent! [ on education than on drink, instead of ' ! about one-fifth. Arbitration awards 1 | had upset the industrial conditions of j the country, and tho labour party was : I responsible for this. The rent of a j ! wooden hut in Timaru, or in Welling- ! ! ton, was more than the rent of a brick ! i house in tho oentre of London, and that i state'of things should be altered. j i Each candidiite was accorded a vote j r of thanks and confidence, and on a vote 1 | being taken the polling was:—Mr Bunt i ; (Independent) 5, Mr Beck (Labour) 1, i j and Mr Patterson (Conservative) 3. Mr 1 i Bunt .was, therefore declared elected, I ! and returned thanks.