AT THE HUSTINGS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19433, 20 October 1925, Page 8

AT THE HUSTINGS

CANDIDATES ON TOUR

WANGANUI DISTRICT ELECTORATES

DAILY NOTES OF PROGRESS

WANGANUI ME. COULL’S MEETINGS. REEORM CAMPAIGN PROCEEDS. Last night Mr. John Coull, the Reform candidate for the Wanganui seat, was at Gonville Town Hall, where a large audience gave him a very friendly reception. Mr. Coull will be at the Keith Street Methodist Hall to-night, to-morrow at Castlecliff Kiosk, and on Thursday at Axamoho. THE LABOUR RALLY. At the Operta House to-night there will be a Labour rally. Two visiting speakers, Mr. L. Glover and Mr. J. Roberts, well-known men in the Labour movement will speak, and Mr. W. J. Regers, the Labour candidate for Wanganui, will also give an address. PATEA MB DICKIE AT MANUTAHI Mr H. G. Dickie addressed the electors at Manutahi on Saturday evening, Mr T. Geary presiding. There was a good attendance and Mr Dickie received a very attentive hearing. At the conclusion of his address questions were asked and answered, after which Mr B. Muggeridge moved: 44 That this meeting thank Mr Dickie for his able and instructive address, and is heartily in accord with the policy outlined, considering it to be in the best interests of the whole electorate, and pledges its support to his candidature accordingly. ’ 1 This was seconded by Mr R. 8. Scown and carried by acclamation. After the meeting a strong committee was set up with Mr T. Geary, chairman, and Mr B. Muggeridge, secretary. CHEERS AT KAI IWI. Mr. H. G. Dickie, who is carrying on a very successful campaign for the Patea seat in the interests of the Reform Party, had a fine meeting at Kai Iwi last night, Mr. Moore Hunter presiding over a gathering that listened with attention and evident appreciation to the candidate’s address. At its conclusion Mr. Collins moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Dickie, speak ing in eulogistic terms of the candidate’s good showing, and the motion was seconded by Mr. G. F. Moore. It was carried, and the audience accorded Mr. Dickie the honour of three hearty •beers. RANGITIKEI MR. GLENN'S CAMPAIGN. MAKIRIKIRI BREAKS RECORD. A record meeting greeted Mr. W. S. Glenn last evening at Makirikiri, when he delivered an interesting and telling address in which he defended the Government vigorously. Mr. M. Broderick occupied the chair. The frequent rounds of applause in which the audience indulged must have convinced the candidate that he was striking his points home with a powerful argument. At the conclusion of the address Mr. Bason moved a hearty vote of thanks which was seconded by Mr. Anderson fend carried unanimously. LIANAWATU ME. LINKLATER'S CAMPAIGN. At Parewanui on Saturday evening, Mr. Linklater, M.P. for Manawatu, addressed a fairly large meeting of electors. Mr. K. W. Dalrymple occupied • the chair. The speaker was given a very attentive hearing and outlined the Reform Party’s policy in a very able manner. At the conclusion of the address he was accorded a very of thanks and confidence. TO-NIGHT’S PROGRAMME Candidates’ arrangements for tonight are as follows, each meeting being at 8 o’clock, unless otherwise stated: — Mt. J. Couil. Keith Street. Mr. W. S. Glenn, Durie Hill. Mr. H. G. Dickie, Mokoia. Mr. J. R. Corrigan. Mosstown. Mr. W. J. Rogers, Opera House. Mr. C. J. Duggan, Wanganui East.

MR COULL WINS GONVILLE’S CONFIDENCE. FINE POLITICAL MEETING. REFORM CANDIDATE SPEAKS WELL. The Reform candidate for the Wani ganui seat, Mr. John Coull, addressed ! a large and successful meeting at the < Gonville Town Hall last evening. The I speaker was accorded a sympathetic hearing, and at the conclusion of his address answered a number of questions with satisfaction. Mr. F. Spencer presided and briefly introduced tie candidate. Mr. Coull prefaced his remarks by stating that it gave him pleasure to again speak to a Gonville audience. Last election he felt he was on the right track, and he had become more convinced that, by taking the political stand he had, he was doing right. He felt sure that in advocating Reform’s claims, and coming out in their interests in Wanganui, he was on the right track. Three Party System. The political situation at present was perplexing in that they had the three party system. In order to get to a simple solution of the three party system it was well to remember that the Labour Party was an off-shoot from the Liberal Party. The Labour Party was the “unwelcome child” of the Liberal Party, but had cost the Reform Party nothing. Returned Soldiers. ‘‘What has the Reform Party done for the returned men,” asked Mr. Coull. “Did you ever hear what the Liberal Party did for the men who returned from the South African War?” He added, by way of explanation, that the Liberals’ allowance was £5 “blood money,” and 25s for a suit of clothes. The late Mr. Massey widened the legislation placed on the States by the Liberals in this connection and made it suitable and progressive. And Mr. Coates was going to carry it on. The great Liberal Party had laid the foundation and the Reform Party had built upon it and would continue to do so. Squeezed Out. It had often been said of the Liberal Party that it was between the two extremes —the extremely bad represented by the Labour Party and the extremely good represented by the Reform Party. The Liberals were between the two extremes, and there was no denying the fact that they were being squeezed out. They told the electors that they were in the middle of the road, and, added the speaker, they would be squeezed off of it. That was proved by the political trend of affairs in England where they saw the elimination of the middle party. One of the tragedies of Labour administration was that they gained their experience in administration at the expense of the taxpayers. Liberal War Pensions.

Referring again to the repatriation of soldiers, Mr. Coull explained the amounts that were payable to men who were totally incapacitated, those amounts varying according to the size of the family, from £3 10s for a single man up to £7 for a man with a wife and six children to support. Those were the pensions that the Government was giving to returned men. A voice interjected: They are not getting it, though!

Mr. Coull stated that what he was telling the audience was correct. They would agree that there was a great deal of difference between the figures he had quoted and the 255. allowed by the Liberal Party to South African veterans. The Government had spent £11,884,479 for the repatriation of returned men. They had assisted a total of 84,519 men in various ways, made up as follows: Placed on land, 9,497; erected houses, 4,406; purchased houses, 7508; placed in employment, 28,668; trained in new occupations, 7538; and financially asj sisted into trades, businesses, etc., 26,992. The amount involved iu regard to the purchase of estates for subdivision, and for advances to soldiers for the above purposes, was £30,619,963. The total number of men settled on land was 9497, while the i-umber of applications for subdivision v;s 5347. The ! amount involved in purchases of, and advances in land was £14,902,872. Reductions had been authorised by the Revaluation Board as follows: In capital value of leaseholds, £1.615,160; in soldiers’ mortgages, £683.310; a total of £2,298,470. As a result of the Board’s negotiations private mortgages and debts amounting to £130,309, had been reduced by £95,390. Private mortgages amounting to £41,276 had also been purchased by the Crown at a discount of £16,973. In addition to this,

liberal concessions had been given, by way of rents and interest pestpone- . ihents for long periods, and in cases of hardship remissions had been granted. That was real work for the returned nieft, said Mr. Coull, and he asked whether any other Government in any Allied country had done better? If there was one he would be pleased to hear of it at question time. There were bound to be mistakes; no Government could be perfect. The returned men were put on the best land it was possible to put them on. Tho mistakes were often made through men insisting on being put on land that was actually unsuitable. The Government admittedly had made mistakes, but it. had done Trojan work for the returned soldiers. Indirect Taxation. In dealing with Customs taxation, Mr. Coull said he believed that no country could progress with high taxation. It was correct that each and every one should bear his share, and Mr. Coates had decided to inquire into the incidence of taxation. There was room for improvements, he agreed. Increases had been made in regard to spirits, tobacco, motor vehicles and tyres —the luxuries of life. If anyone could show that Customs duty had been increased on the everyday things of life he would like to hear of it. There was necessity, he added, to preserve their secondary industries. Mr. Mcllvride held up America as the country that paid the biggest w'ages in the world. He believed he was correct, but the worker in America approached his problems from a different angle to the worker in New Zealand. It was the co-operation between the employer aud the employed that made the United States successful, and that was what was required here. Their industries J were entitled to reasonable protection, | and, if the people wanted luxuries they 1 must be prepared to pay for them. The ■ artiount for Customs revenue had increased considerably, but had not “blistered” the public, w’hile being directed in an endeavour to protect their secondary industries. Humanitarian Legislation. Mr. Coull traversed Reform’s advancement in regard to old age pensions, and said that it must be realised that the Reform Party was honestly en- [ deavouring to do justice to all classes of the community. The Government 'hid acted in regard to humanitarian legislation, while the party in opposition had only promised. It was claimed that the Reform Party in regard to pensions had set a standard for tho world. It had spent a million a year on old age pensions, and had paid close on £2,000,000 to supplement superannuation schemes in the country. Legislation for Workers.

After mentioning the land policy the speaker proceeded to explain the advantages the Reform Government had gained for the workers under the Shops and Offices and. Factories Acts. He did not agree with the State functions of a Government were not to trade, but to govern. He hoped that time would never come when the Govern moat would interfere with business; he was an advocate for private enterprise. Mr. Coull appealed to his hearers for support sufficient to return him at tho head of the poll. In New Zealand’s and the Empire’s interests, he appealed to the audience to support him. If returned he would work in the best interests of the city and the Dominion, t Applause). Questioned if he was in favour of the Prime Minister being elected by the people as a whole, Mr Coull said he was a party man. He would adhere to the present principle of voting also for individual candidates, so as to get a

good strong people’s party. He would not be one to experiment in the direction suggested. “Are you in favour of a forty-four hour week?” was another question. “If wo can, through modern machinery and more skiii, turn out the same quantity of work as with obsolete machinery, then I am with you,” was the reply. - “Will tho candidate explain, if 1 e is standing for Goordon Coates, why he would be in favour of the Bible ;n schools, when the Prime Minister voted against it?” was a further question. Mr Coull said he would have no hesi-lati-.m in voting against Mr Coates nn that question. A voice: A vote of no-confidence. Mr Coull said that even if it were, Air Coates could do without him to enable him to vote as his conscience prompted him. After several other questions had been asked and answered by the speaker, a motion of confidence in Mr Coull and Mr Coates was carried at the suggestion of Mr Marchant, secondei by Mr D. Curham. Mr Marchant re marked that he was proud of the fact that Air Coates, a returned man, was Prime Minister, and the first New Zea-land-bom Prime Minister at that. As during the war, Mr Coull was fitted to work with the Prime Minister during times of peace.