REFORM AND LABOUR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16903, 30 November 1922, Page 8

REFORM AND LABOUR.

MR R. A. WRIGHT HECKLED. (Special io the 4 * Star.”) WELLINGTON. November 29. j Taking advantage of the presence lat his meeting of a strong body of labourites, who freely expressed their 1 opinions. Mr R. A. Wright in a j Wellington Suburbs meeting tried to j secure information on the question of bow the Labour Party proposed j to achieve the social millenium so far jas land was concerned. Mr Wright ; suggested- that laud could not be j bought by r. Labour Government as | they objected to paying interest, thcrc- ! fore nobody would lend Ifbem capital, j "Mow would you get the money?" ; asked Mr Wright. "You can’t make 1 a capitalist lend his money any more than you can make a man work if he does not want to.” A Voice : By means of a State Bank, which would be backed by ,the credit of the people. Mr Wright: Yes. and yon. would turn opt paper- money iike they have clone in Russia and Germany ancl cause a state of chaos. If you are going to try to take land by force you will find no owner is going to stand by and allow himself to be despoiled. As j soon as you endeavour to do that i arc up against the farmers again as j vou were in 1913, and they' showed you 1 hen what they could do. (Uproar J They can do a .hard day’s work and are not accustomed to go slow. If you attempt taking land under that method they' will give you something under the lug which will set you thinking. They will get all over you. What happened in 1913? The waterside workers took charge of the wharves and closed them. These farmers came down to ship their produce. Tlmo' pushed the waters;ders aside like tires. (More uproar). You will do a good turn for Mr Holland if you advise him to desist from making public statements about civil war. Civil war is only a fight between one section and another, and in this case it wiil be a tight to retain something the farmers own. A Voice: The land does not belong to them: it belongs to the Maoris (Applause. > Mr Wright : They have been well'paid for it.*; They are protected and enjoy* themselves far more than you workers do. Tf you bad the land you would not give it back. You are only out for yourselves, and the first law of nature is self. Your leaders talk about what you will do. but they don’t do a th ing for you. (Loud dissent and applause).