THE GENERAL ELECTION

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10304, 8 November 1911, Page 1

THE GENERAL ELECTION

TO-"NTGHT'S MEETINGS. Mr G-. "Witty—Papanui. Mr G. W. Forbes—Knikoura, Suburban School. Mr 0. A. C. Hardy—Runpuna Hall. Mr W. J. Dickie—The Hall, Stanley. Mr J. H. Blackwell—Cycle Club Rooma, Kaiapoi. Mr R. Hoaton Rhodes—Killiiichy Scliooiroom. Mr R. Moore—Woodcnd Oddfellows' Hall. Hon D. Buddo—Marshland Public Hall. Mr G. Armstrong—Motuksrara Public Hall. Mr D. G. Sullivan—Wharenui School (ladies), 3 p.m.; corner Riccarton Road and Rtiilway, 8 p.m. Mr J. M'Combs—"Dallington Bridge. Mr H. G. Ell—Presbyterian School, Barriiifrton Street, Spreydon. Mr C. H. Ensor—Adding-ton Saleyards. Mr W. R. Smith—Corner Buckley's Road and Canal Reserve. TO-MORROW'S MEETINGS. Mr G. E'orbes.—Hapuku Hall. ' Mr R. Moore.—Cust Literary Institute. Hon D. Buddo.—Fernside Schoolroom. Mr H. G. Ell—West Christchurch Schoolroom. Mr F. R. Cooke.—Corner Oxford Terrace and Barbadoes Street. Mr T. Drummond —Corner Paton Street and Picton Avenue. ' Mr R. Heaton Rhodes—Ladbrook's Schoolroom. Mr J. M'Combs—Bromley School.

CHRISTCHURCH SOUTH SEAT. MR G. R. WHITING'S CANDIDATURE. Mr G. R. Whiting, a candidate for the Christchurch South seat, opened, bis campaign at the Selwyn Street Methodist Schoolroom last.evening, when he addressed a well-attended meeting of the electors. Mr J. Down occupied the chair. Mr Whiting said that he was the selected candidate of the Labour Party for the seat. The Labour Party was not a class organisation. It was worldwide and national in its aspirations., It sought to represent no partioular party, as its doors were open to people of every profession, calling or occupation. The Labour Party called on all to help in securing the reforms which it was formed to secure. He particularly appealed to those women who might not need the assistance of the reforms the party stood for to co-operate with the party for tho sake of 'their less happily-situated sisters. He also called upon the men present to support the party for the sake of their children and their children's children. He was a New Zealander bora, and a Canterbury boy at that. He had lived in New Zealand all his life, and during the past twenty-five years he had studied social and economic problems. He had done farm work and pick and shovel work, aaid had dug drains, while latterly he had turned his attention to bootmaking. He claimed to understand the needs of the people as well as any mau. It had been said that ho should not oppose the sitting member, but there was no reason why tho sitting member should be immune from opposition any more than anyone else. As time went on new men and now measures wero required. He had no personal animus against tho sitting member or the present Government, but he stood for certain principles, and he intended to fight for them with all tho strength that was in him. He was a member of the Labour Party because he could not conscientiously belong to any other party, and the Labour Party had entered the field of politics because it could not get the reforms it wanted from, any existing political party. The present administration had not given the people the reforms for which they had. been asking for the past twenty years. Mr Whiting quoted from ""Hansard" the speech made by the Hon G. Fowlds on the occasion of his retirement from the Ward Cabinet. Mr Fowlds declared that he could not preach "The New Evangel" as a member of the Government, and said that the present unrest of the people was due to tho conditions under which they worked and lived. Surely this was justification for the entry of the Labour Party into politics. Mr Whiting said the polioy of the Labour Party was tho only clear and deiinito policy before the people of Now Zealand to-day. The first plank in the platform was the nationalisation of all monopolies. It was desired that the State should manage these monopolies not only in the interests of those who wore now being exploited, but in tho interests of those who wero now exploiting others. The Commercial Trusts Act aimed at curbing monopolies, but a monopoly could evade any legislation save legislation which put the control of tho monopoly in the hands of the State. That had been yery fully proved by the attempt of the United States Government to curb the Standard Oil Trust and other trusts. Only recently the Minister of Commerce and the ■ Attorney-General wore written to by Messrs Fairbairn, Wright and Co., and evasions of the Commercial Trust Act were alleged. Tho letter had been published in the " Lyttelton Times." This showed that the Act was not effective. The 'Hon J. A. Millar this year stated in the House that the Government was aware that tho prices of some commodities wero controlled in New Zealand by trusts and combines. It was time men wero sent to Parliament who would prevent this class, of exploitation being practised on the people. The land laws were of such a naturo that they must affect the comfort and well-being of every member of the community. Mr Fowlds had emphasised the necessity for getting back to tho fundamental principles laid down by Sir George Grey and Mr John Ballance. Tho Labour Party's first plank was that there was to be no {afrther sale of Crown lands. Bnice that plank was formulated thousands of acres of Crown lands had been sold to private landholders, and the end of the Crown lands was now in sight. In 1891 there wero thirty-one holdings of 50,000 acres and over, totalling 2,000.000 acres, while in 1910 there were eightyfour estates of 50..000 acres and over, totalling 8,340,000 acres. The average size of the thirty-one holdings in 1891 was 83,000 acres, and of the eightyfour in 1910, 99,000 acres. The editor of the " Lytteiton Times " objected to the inference the speaker drew from these figures, on the ground that the 18f)l <>states were all freehold, while the 1910 estates were freehold and leasehold. But if the land was thus concentrated in a few hands it mattered little what tho tenure was. Land settlement was being seriously hampered by this great aggregation of land. The Prime Minister had admitted to a deputation that in Marlborough, 3Gf>,ooo acres were held by eleven persons. In regard to absentee landlords, they bad only to take tho case of the llillesden Estate, which comprised 88,000 acres of freehold and 100,000 acres of leasehold. This estate was owned by forty-nine legatees, thirty-nine of whom lived outside New Zealand. He had no desire to belittle the good work tho Government bad done by imposing tho graduated land tax, and by its amendments to land legislation, but the position was as ho had stated it. All the labour cnroloyed on the Hillesden Estate was that of a few shepherds, and only one of the legatees was a resident on the estate. Another plank in the policy platform of the Labour Party was the establishjnent c£ a State Bank vdth. the solo

right of note issue. The Note Issue Bill introduced last session proposed to give the Government the right to issue all notes used by banks in New Zealand. The people of New Zealand would receive no benefit from that proposal, save that in caso of a bank's failure the Government would have to redeem the notes. The profits of the banks would remain untouched. The measure shirked the question of establishing a State Bank, xo be run in the interests of all the people, not for a few private shareholders. There was no objection to the State note issue, hut he wanted a State Bank as well. Nelv Zealand had borrowed, some £81,000,000, and though much of that money was reproductive the country was not in a position to pay the money back. John Ballanoe, when New r Zealand owed only £40,000.000, found it necessary to counsel ,caution, and tho position to-day was much more acute. The people of New Zealand might now wake any morning and find they were unable to pay the interest to the foreign money-lea ders. The Labour Party also asked for the abolition of the Legislative Council, a reform the people had been, asking for -for many years past. While the speaker knew many worthy and cstimablo Legislative Councillors, there were many more who would never bo elected to represent any constituency in tho House of Representatives. An Upper House had apparently only one function—to hamper the work the representatives of the peoplo were sent to Parliament to do. If it was supposed to act as a check on hasty legislation it would be better to substitute a Council of, say, five members, with a right of revision hut no right of veto. Mr Whiting said that the adoption of the proportional system of representation, with the single transferable vote, would solvo many of the. social evils of the present day. He was pleased to see men of intellect and standing supporting this reform, and also pleased that the "Lyttelton Times" was in favour of it. The present arrangement of electorates was based merely on population. Community of interest was never considered. When New Zealand adopted the second ballot system it was being discarded by; those Continental nations who had tried it. The practicability of the proportional representation scheme had been fully proved by a. six years' trial in Belgium.

The establishment of the referendum with the right of public initiative was another reform for which tho people had vainly asked for years. It embodied the principle of allowing the people to settle any question on a bare majority. The Labour Party was the only party in New Zealand which proposed to give the peoplo that power. Had the Defence Act compulsory clauses been submitted to a referendum they would never have been put on the Statute Book. The referendum gave an opportunity of settling the many minor questions which it should not be necessary to debate as between candidate and elector.

The candidate expressed 1113 regret that an article, had appeared in the Trades and Labour Council's Industrial Exhibition catalogue, dealing with the liquor question, and explained that the control of the matter in the. catalogue was out of the hands of the . Exhibition executive and in the hands of an advertising contractor. The strong plank of the Labour Party's platform wag the granting of full political rights to all civil servants. This was especially necessary in view of the extension of the State's activities which the party proposed. The party was also n- strong advocate of the " rieht to work," so that every man willing and able to do so might have a right to demand work at a living wage. There were many men in New Zealand who did not average more than £2 per week. A man could not keep, a wife and family on a pittance like that. When there were workers in Parliament to make lawß to protect the workers, and not to protect the capitalists, this state of affairs would end. In conclusion the candidate announced his adherence to the principles of preference to unionists and equal pay to both men and women for equal work. If returned he would do his best to have the compulsory clauses of the Defence Act removed from tho Statu Le Book. Mr Whiting finally reminded bis hearers of the late Mr T. E. Taylor's last mossaee to the Labour Party.

Mr Whiting then rox>lied to a very large number of questions, and stated that he would not support a, no-confi-dence resolution which, had for its object simply the putting of Mr Massey in power, but he would support a no-confidence motion which if enrried would placo the reforms ho was after on the Statute Book. He approved of the abolition of erand and special juries and of capital punishment. In reply to a question by Mr 0. Lafferty, Mr Whiting snid that he was the author of a letter published m the "Yorkshire Post," warning workers against coming to New Zealand. Ho wrote that letter because of what he had seen of the then condition of the boot trade in New Zealand On the motion of Mr Jas. M'Cullough, seconded by Mr G. A. Iteid, the candidate was unanimously accorded a vote of thanks and confidence.