THE RANGITIKEI SEAT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 278, 24 November 1931, Page 8

THE RANGITIKEI SEAT

MR A. STUART IN GOOD FORM STRAIGHTFORWARD VOICE FOR COALITION One of the largest, and certainly the most enthusiastic political meetings held in the Wanganui district since the current election campaign began, greeted Mr. Alex Stuart, Coalition candidate for Rangitikei, at Wanganui East last night. The speaker justified the reputation which preceded him, that of being a man of decided views and game to face anybody with them. He made no claim to oratory, but, standing four-square for sound Government, told his audience that the best man to represent them in Parliament was he who had made a success of his own affairs. A breath of Bonnie Scotland came with the speaker, and the wit of the Land o’ the Heather kept all listeners keyed to a pitch of amusement that lifted the meeting above the ordinary. Frankness and dry humour were two cardinal features of his address, at the conclusion of which he received a vote of thanks and confidence in his ability to represent Rangitikei in Parliament. This was carried “with emphasis,” as the chairman put it. A minority note of opposition was raised at the back.

> So well was the meeting patronised that extra seating had to be provided, the overflow eventually finding aecommodation on the stage, this prompting the speaker to remark that he ought to be " two-faced’'in order to talk to both fronts at once.

Mr. F. C. Atkinson, who presided, appealed for an attentive and impartial hearing, irrespective of political colour or outlook. Mr. Stuart was an aspirant to office and was a plain, blunt man, Mr. Atkinson continued. He knew what he was after and, the speaker thought, knew how to get it. Mr. Stuart would take the result of the voting with a smile, it did not matter whether ne won or was defeated. The chairman also introduced Mr. Gordon, the candidate’s chief of committee at Marton.

“I don’t profess to be any platform speaker,” Mr. Stuart opened, stating that he stood for the Coalition Party. His opinion was that all the finished platform oratory useless unless there was something to back it up. 4 'Should I be lucky enough to win this election,” he said, "it will be my desire to serve the interests of Rangitikei to the fullest extent of my ability. If you return my opponent I will accept your verdict with the greatest of grace. I can assure you I am a busy man and, if I am defeated, I will not be among the "I would like to tell you that I did not come into this campaign of my own free will, but I hold a rather unique position here to-night. Not only have I been asked to contest this seat for the Coalition Party, but I was chosen by the Reform Party before the Coalition came along, and by the United Party as well. And I was asked to stand by the Labour Party too, so my working friends may rest assured that I will do all I can on their behalf. I can claim that, as 1 have been asked, at different times, to stand for all three parties I will be able to do the best for them all.” (Applause). Men of experience and commonsense were wanted in Parliament to-day, the speaker went on, stating that his early life at Home brought him in about three pounds for six months, about 2s 3d per week. The farmer who employed him did not think he was getting value for his money either, and kept chasing young Stuart along. (Laughter). When he came to NewZealand Mr. Stuart walked over half the Wanganui and Rangitikei districts looking for a job. His sympathies went to the unemployed. He had lived through the same experience himself. He had lived through the camps, but there was no Government to provide them in those days. A man had to shift for himself. The speaker laid claim to being successful. He did not come there to boast about it, but he felt confident that, as he had made a success of his own affairs, he would not make a hash of those of the electors. iou get a lot of people who make a great show of oratoiy on the platform,” he said, ‘ 'but unless they can take care of their own affairs it is not much good putting them in Parliament to look after somebody else’s.” (Applause). r The Coalition. Mr. Stuart traced the causes which led up to the formation of the Coalition Party, reminding the electors of tue fact that the United Party took office as a minority Government, carrying on first with the help of the Lahour Party and then finally joining hands with Reform after overtures had been made to form a National Government which was to inelude all parties. It was a time when the hatchet should be buried, when parties should pull together to get the country out of the difficulty it was in. The Labour Party had been more concerned with getting votes at the election than with trying to solve the pressing problems Parliament had to face. The speaker said that it had been a wise move to choose the Coalition candidates in Wellington, rather than leave it to the electors. It was hard, however, when good men had been ehosen for respective parties prior to the Coalition developing, who had done their spade work, so to speak and had been turned down. If the present Memlier for Rangitikei had justified himself in the House he would have the Coalition ticket to-day, in which ease Mr. Stuart would have been pleased to got behind him and help the Coalition on. At this stage there was a muffled interjection from the back. “If you are singing out there at the baek, get your lungs well filled,” said the candidate, “so that I can hear. I am a long way down here.” (Laughter). The Prime Minister. No matter what the political feelings of the electors were they must give credit to Mr. Forbes for the manner in which he had tackled a difficult task. (Applause). The speaker did not agree with all the present Prime Minister had done, but praised him for his grit. ..No party could be 100 per cent, perfect, but the Coalition had brought the best brains of the House into the

Cabinet. Mr. Downie Stewart was probably the most experienced financier that had ever occupied the Treasury. (Applause). '‘Now I would just like you to pick a Cabinet from the Labour Party,” Mr Stuart went on. "Just try and picture them. I suppose Mr. Langstonc, from Waimarino, would be Minister of Finance. . (Laughter). This is not an election between capital and labour, but it is an issue between solid Government and this Socialistic Party. We must put this capital-labour business on one side and think of it this way —an election between prosperity and ruin to New Zealand. You have evidence of what the Labour Party has done in other parts of New Zealand, in Australia.” There was a knock at the back door of the hall at this point, but the candidate raised his voice and smote the table emphatically. "Socialism must be kicked off the Treasury Benches altogether if we are ever to get prosperity in this Dominion,” he said. (Applause). The people at the back of the hall were crowding one another forward and the speaker paused. "Come on up in front,” he invited. "Bring the policeman with you, if he’ll come.” (Laughter and applause). Mr. Henderson’s Downfall. The defeat of Mr. Arthur Henderson, Leader of the British Labour Party, in an electorate that had 40 per cent, unemployed was referred to by Mr Stuart as an instance that the people of Britain were not going to be gulled by vain promises. Mr. Henderson had promised an increase in the dole, but the commonsense of the electors told that he would never have the money to make it good. The same thing applied in New Zealand. While he was a farmer, Mr. Stuart said that did not mean he would overlook other avenues of business and industry. All sections had been hard hit. "But no section of the community can prosper, or recuperate,” he said, "until the farming community is put right. There are two sources from which money can be got in this country—from the products of the soil and and £rom borrowing. There has been too much borrowing in the past, and our policy to-day is to put the fanning community right.” Land Settlement. Dealing with land settlement, the speaker said he quite realised that secondary industries had to be kept going. Everybody was not fitted to go on the land and the speaker deplored the cry of town versus country. Town and country were dove-tailed into one another. One produced and the other bought the produce. Unemployment. On top of the 50,000 unemployed in this Dominion there were many boys and girls leaving school who were looking for work. In some respects the community was a bit hard on humanity. Everybody was not brought into the world well fitted to fight the battles of life. Some had ginger and energy. Others, who had not, were cmidemned, and »in the speaker’s opinion a little more sympathy for them would not come amiss. "There are those people,” he said, "who, when their hunger is satisfied, their ambition is finished. (Laughter). The speaker agreed that there was no reason for anyone to go hungry in New Zealand and he commended Mr. Coates’ scheme to get the men "over the fence on to productive work, instead of chopping daisies by the road-side. Cure for Unemployment. There had been several temporary cures put forward for unemployment, Mr. Stuart went on. "But there is really only one permanent cure,” he stated, "for this country and for them all —prosperity. And the only way to get prosperity is to bring confidence. The only way to get confidence is to put the Coalition Party on to the Treasury Benches and wipe out this Socialist Party altogether.” (Applause). The speaker quoted the following reference to unemployment:— '‘ln the first place, whatever the State gives is accepted of right. Nobody feels any gratitude for help given out of the public purse; nobody thinks he can ever get enough; nobody thinks any shame in asking for more. Everything is thus received with anger and bitterness. The need of unemployment relief must be guided by knowledge and controlled by judgment if it is not to do more harm than good.” Mr Stuart was firm on that point. Unemployment conditions should not be made too attractive. He was in full accord with a policy to place people on the land. In some cases it would be best to give them the land for nothing, and go further by spending money on roading. The best way to settle land was by time and nature. This statement he qualified by saying that as estates became cut up

so did c:—• r settlement come about. He instanced a case where two farms were now split into seven as the result of the fathers giving way to sons. Graduated Land Tax. •Mr Stuart thought his opponent was wasting valuable time in dealing with the Graduated Land Tax when he kept saying that the Government had lost revenue. Mr. Hogan had said that the loss was £320,000, but, judging by newspaper reports, that figure would be up to millions round about December 2. The tax was useful in its day, Mr Stuart stated, but it was blocking progress. There were many who r.ad large holdings of hill country not fit for subdivision and rather than subjecr them to that tax the Coalition Party had substituted an income tax. The speaker showed that on a property valued at £20,000, before the abolition of the land tax would pay £162. After abolition it would pay £B3. If the man’s income was five per cent, of the capital value, or six per cent, of the unimproved value, he would pay £ll5 in income tax, making a total of £l9B after the graduated land tax had been abolished. The graduated land tax was a tax on capital. Mr. Stuart quoted figures to show that land was loaded by 10s an acre and with wool at 3d to 5d a lb. it would take 261bs of wool an acre to meet it. If that was not confiscation the speaker did not know what it was. "We hear a lot from the Socialist Party about British justice, but do you call loading land up with taxes like that British justice? the speaker went on. "If that is the policy of tho Labour Party and the policy of my opponent, then God help this Dominion.” Be Bating. Mr. Stuart expressed himself as definitely opposed to farm lands being wholly free from roading rates while the town and other sources were taxed for the purpose. Speaking of the wheat problem, Mr. Stuart claimed to have experience behind .him, in that he was tho largest wheat grower in the North Island* when an appeal was made for wheat during the war. If the country was flooded with wheat from outside at a cheap rate and New Zealand was dependent onjhat supply there might come a day when the shortage was acute. There would be nothing to prevent the country of export putting on an export duty and the consumers in the Dominion would be paying up to 10s a bushel and at the same time wondering what was to be done with the unemployed. The wheat industry was the largest employer of labour, and it would be crippled by cheap importations. The speaker doubted whether a reduction in the price of wheat would materially affect the price of bread. Too much money had been advanced to workers to build homes when there was an over-supply of houses, Mr. Stuart stated. He was against anybody being deprived of the means of erecting a home, but he would not vote money to any centre for this purpose if it already had empty houses. Arbitration Court. It was not the intention of the Coalition Government to do away with the Arbitration Court, but the speaker was of opinion that while it had its good points it had its bad. It tended to bring the good man down to the level of the bad and bring the bad up to to the level of the good. (Hear, hear). The Act had to be made more elastic. The speaker supported the Government in cutting down railways, but felt that in some instances it was wise to complete the lines that had been very far constructed so as not to make white elephants of them as a whole. So far as education was concerned Mr. Stuart maintained that the country schools had not had their fair quota from the millions that had been spent in New Zealand. He would advocate that the working man’s child got as good facilities to learn as the child of the wealthy man. (Applause). He took the broad view of the cut in salary and wages, pointing out that it was inevitable. A city council, faced with a short supply of jvater, restricted the use of it. The same applied with regard to the funds the Government had. Opponent’s Policy. "My opponent stated that the Coalition Party had no policy,” Mr Stuart continued. In reply he would ask whether it was possible to la.y down a hard and fast policy in abnormal times like the present. It was a case of giving the Coalition Party a blank cheque. An independent was like the fifth wheel to a coach. All the business of Parliament was done in caucuses and the Independents were not there. An Independent might be like a little child whose parents were away in another room making decisions. The child could go bird-nesting, or do anything like that. (Laughter.) The speaker defied anybody to get up and say he was wrong when he asserted that an Independent, with no party to back him was any good to a constituency. From the way he had acted Mr. Stuart regarded his opponents as having one foot with the Labour Party and the other on a banaria skin. (Laughter). Answering questions, Mr. Stuart said he was in favour of the Coalition Party remaining as one for good of the country, he was in favour of Bible teaching in schools, he was not in favour of State aid to denominational schools, he would not stop anybody taking a job, but felt sure that in a time of stress superannuated servants would play the game, he would not pledge himself on the liquor question, but would retain an open mind. Mr. Massey had been in power when the advances to workers was increased from 70 per cent to 90 per cent of tho security.

A wordy passage at arms occurred between the speaker and a questioner over the graduated land tax, the questioner being told that ho did not know what he was talking about when he said that mortgages entitled a taxpayer to exemption. The speaker was not in favour of subsidising the poultry indi stry, he was not in favour of State lotteries, the Socialist Government at Home and in Australia was responsible for unemployment, the speaker did not know anything about America and could not say why there was so much unemployment there. A vote of thanks and confidence was passed on the motion of Mr H. Hague Smith seconded bv Mr. R. J. Castles. The chairman, tne meeting, said that he was honoured to preside over so happy a gathering. AT GLENN’S WOOLSHED. Mr. Alex. Stuart addressed a good gathering of settlers at Glenn’s woolshed, Parapara Junction, at 2 p.m. yes-

terday. The chair was taken by Mr. W. Glenn and the candidate had an attentive hearing. He dealt with railways, unemployment, land settlement, taxation, and concluded and interesting address and answered a number of questions in a satisfactory manner. A vote of thanks and confidence was moved by Mr Arthur Philipps and seconded by 8. Robinson, and carried unanimously. To-morrow Mr. A. Stuart starts on his electioneering campaign in the northern part of the electorate and will address the electors at the Upper Wangaehu School at 7.30 p.m. On Thursday he speaks at the Rangiwaea Hall at 6 p.m., and at Papanui Public Hall at 8.30 p.m. On Friday at Miehleson’s Hall, Tiriraukawa at 6 p.m. and at Mataroa Public Hall at 8.30 p.m. On Saturday he visits Marton and will address the electors at the Presbyterian Hall, Marton Junction at 6.30 p.m., and at Durie Hill (St. Barnabas' Hall), at 8.30 p.m. Mr Stuart will speak at Utiku Public Hall at 8 p.m., and his final address will be delivered at the Taihape Town Hall on Tuesday, December 1, at 8 p.m. ME. HOGAN AT MATABOA. Attended by supporters, a very successful meeting was held by Mr. J. T. Hogan, the sitting Independent member for Rangitikei last evening at Mataroa. Mr. G. Bremer was in the chair. Dealing trenchantly with over-capital-isation of the railways and the loss of interest incurred on them, the speaker drew attention to the loss of lj millions this year. He alleged that no railway in a little country like New Zealand could afford to pay 1| million pounds for a railway station, 2| millions on reorganisations and workshops, deviations amounting to six millions and superannuation for five ex-officers amounting to £6198 a year, and so on. The railways paid something towards interest but they could not stand up to tho huge over-capitalisation which had taken place under the regime of the Hon. Mr. Coates.

Referring to the farmers’ problems the speaker was loudly applauded for his explanation qf why bread was costing the settlers in the vicinity of Mataroa Is 3d a loaf. Surprise was evidenced when he pointed out that the flour in the 41b. loaf was costing 4d more than it need cost. Mr. Hogan said that the invoice cost of ten tons of flour was £54 10s and that the duty paid on that amount was £lO2, making a total of £156 10s, and the meeting was convinced that something should be done about the matter. Continuing, the speaker said that flour could be purchased for £3 19s 4d a ton f.o.b. in Australia but that the same amount of flour in New Zealand cost £l6, while in some parts of the speaker’s district flour was costing £2l a ton. On the conclusion of his remarks, Mr. Hogan was given a hearty vote of thanks and confidence, a motion being proposed by Mr. L. M. Brooky, and seconded by Mr. R. G. Davis.