Mr T. B Williams at the Opera House.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11725, 28 November 1905, Page 5

Mr T. B Williams at the Opera House.

Last evening Mr T. B. Williams, one of the Liberal candidates for the Wanganui seat, addressed, the electors in the Opera House. There was a very fair attendance, including a number of ladies. Owing to the absence of the Mayor, through . illness, Mr J. H. Keesing occupied the chair, and, in a few appropriate remarks, introduced the candidate. On rising, Mr Williams, who. was received with applause, said that he regretted that there. was not a larger attendance, not because he wanted the people to vote for him, but because he wished to bring before them some questions of interest to ; Wanganui. He proposed, he stated, to deal first with the .

I LAND QUESTION, as it affected Wanganui in. particular, and for this pur,po3e he exhibited .a diagram, prepared by Mr T. H. Baftle, showing the country lying between Ruapehu and Wanganui, the portion owned by the Maoris, at at present unoccupied and unproductive, being; shown in black. Mr Williams said he had given this question a lot of consideration, and he could speak from a knowledge gained from travelling through tho country. He trusted that his hearers would, at the conclusion" of Ma address, . have . some ' slight conception .of what the opening up and developing of tMs country meant to Wanganui. Referring specially to the land between Pipiriki and Wanganui, he stated that there - were 100,00 acres of this land, and^pointed out the beneficial effect the throwing open of this land would have on the town and district. To road this land, and the cost of clearing, grassing, fencing, and erection of dwellings would be .£700,000. Coming to the carrying capacity, it was estimated that it -would take three sheep to the acre, but, taking an average of two sheep per acre, this would mean an addition to our sheep- of 200,000, which, producing sU>b of wool each, would•rive one million .pounds. At 6d per lb (*( * fair average .price), -this would mean J>\35,000. Then -the sheep to, be sold for mutton would realise £75,000, making a total of £100,00Q per annum additional to tlie products of our district, and the benefits that would accrue to the district from the distribution of this increased amount were apparent to all, he "said. Tho land, wMch waa at present' producing nothing, should have been opened up 20 years ago. (Applause.) Mr Williams said that the importance of this subject should be recognised by all, and he thought that he had reason in his request in asking them" to support him, as he had made the -question a study, and meant to use his best endeavours to have this land opened up He then went on to quote figures from the Auckland Weekly News, showing the amount of land locked up in the North Island was between _7 and 8 milmillion acres, and to show what might be done if vre seek the co-operation of the whole of the "North. Island members. He (Mr Williams) said that in bringing this matter before them he was doing something for the advancement of Wanganui, ahd believed that if the. opening up of the land was brought about not, only this district, But the whole colony, would advance by leaps and bounds. (Applause.) He was not favourable to a further expenditure on the Paraoara-Raetihi road until the native land fronting the road was acquired by the Government. " After Parapara was reached the whole of the land was in the hands of the: natives, who | would ibenefit by jfche making of the road,

and want more money for the land. The Government should acquire the land fronting the road at once. (Applaiiso.) He was'jopposed to the payment of the nartives in cash, as they would spend it, and the Government wovld then have to provide for them. Mr Williams proceeded to deal with the land from Taumarunui. with which he had made himself acquainted by walking through, and wnich he described as beautiful land. In connection with 'the opposition shown in some quarters to the spending of money on the river service. Mr Williams declared that such expenditure was -justified, and paid that the people of Wanganui owed a debt of gratitude to Mr Hatrick for his enterprise. If Wanganui had- more merchants like li'im. the district would progress •much more than it has done. He pointcrl out that both routes — the road and tho r iv" e r — would open up separate land, and an arterial road would materially assist traffic by the river. It would give tourists an opportunity of travelling tip the river and then returning by coach, thus obviating the necessity of travelling over the same' ground twice, and lift pictured a delightful trip that could be enjoyed in this way. Mr Williams then referred to the beauty of the Mangawhero Falls. mention of w.hich reminded him of tho agitation now on foot to establisTi tram- . ways ' here. He pointed out that these falls would give u"s all the power wanted .3or electrical purposes, and the fullest data possible should be obtained on this question before any tramway scheme was adopted. H|e stated that he was of opinion that the Government should not permit of the Waimarino tieing^ denuded of its forests, xte expressed himsc)f as a strong 1 advocate for roads, and if they favoured him by returning him to Parliament hewouid see that the hearts of the back blocks settlers did riot bleed for roads. Coming to the question of FREEHOLD v. LEASEHOLD, Mr Williams said that as lie listened to the Premier in the Opera House the otl-er evening, the thought struck him that Mr Seddon had wobbled on this subiect, _as ho had said that the people could have any tenure they wished. As to the ballot system, Mr Williams ' condemned, it "strongly, and declared that he. would niuelr prefer that the land should be put up to public competition. He pointed out , the unfairness of the present system of 1 balldUncr, which gave to the lucky few tho chance of making a lot of money in tho way of unearned increment. If wo part with the freehold, he contended the land should .be sold at auction, aad thus give everyone the same chance. He came next ito a eubjetft upon which;-: 'he said, there was ji great diversity ofopinion,- viz., . lIARBOTJR BOARD AFFAIRS. Mr Williams. stated that he was a believer ;m progress, and he had, as a member of. the Board, endeavoured to do what he considered 'Ins duty. . It had been suggested that ho should have rslgncd when' Fields scheme was under discussion. But he had a reason for not doing so, inasmuch as- he had to light for the passing of tfio Empowering Bill. He had been fighting 'Vwo years for this, and had eventually succeeded. Under the circumstances he considered that he was jua-. tified in not standing Sown. When the Board had .definitely arrived at some decision, either .to proceed with a bjg scheme of improvements or to do nothing, then he wa& prepared to place himself in the hands -of the ratepayers. If we can open up the land in the interior and improve the harbour, he would not hesitate to say that in ten years there would be a population .of 50,000 in this district, our industries would flourish, and trade and commerce progress by leaps and ' bounds. In fifty years' time, he predicted, Imlay's swamp would be converted into shipping docks, and large ocean steamers would" be .co'nung' to our p.ort. When the time arrived he had no" fear that the verdict of the people on Harbour Board matters would be in his favour. (Applause.)

OUR RAILWAYS.

Touching briefly on our railways, Mr Williams^said he was in favour of the trains "running right through Wanganui. which he said could be done with the losp of but ten minutes. He referred to the great inconvenience caused to travellers owing to have to change at Aramoho, and maintained that the people of Wanganui had rights in this matter which ought to-be considei'ed. He then proceeded to -outline a scheme whereby the trains could be brought into town, and .undertook, if elected, to make strenuous eifoxts to see that tli£ Railway .Department introduced The, change. He also advocated the .fleviation'of the .present line to avoid .the Brunswick hill to round tlmnjgh Mosstpwn and R'apanui, to Itai Twi, -wli&ije it would join the .present north line. Six miles would Jbe saved by this <je,viatioii, . wjjich be of immense benefit to everyone". He believed that it would be found- necessary \o have flic, main statipn at the end of Guy ton Street, 'as* the, foreshore would, as Wanganui .progressecl, be wanted- for- other purposes than those /.for which i,t was, at present' used- (Applause.)' As 'to ' J ._/ , "'" " TAXATION, it was frequently urged ' that we should' have a free breakfast ' table, but there: was litle in the cry,- as th^re were very ■few. .things used for that meal on -whicli' they had to- p.ajr b> tax now. Sugar, was one of. these, and the tax could be re-; duce3. .11© was in favour, of admitting everything , that would benefit our indus'triea at a rejluced ra'fe of taxation, but if; we" wish tnem to flourish we shall have, -to ; maintain a protective tariff. . If thi» wore hot done foreign-made* goods ,wbukl be .dumped into New Zealand, "and colonial industries killed. We want to prbduqe the goods .in the colony to keep . the money here. One. matter which he urged 'as worthy, of the grea test consideration was that of endeavouring, to arrange' a -proper, system of reciprocity between the colony and England. If this were brought about it would prevent a large sum of money going to foreigners. It would then be the firm of. John Bull, .and . Sons,. Limited., against the wor,ld. (Hear, hear.) In' re--gard to jth» SHOPS AND OFFICES ACT, he -considered it far from satisfactory. The hours of closing should be definitely

fixed, and there' slimi^'be no haff measures about it. If the State was going to interefere it should be explicit, and the question must be definitely settled. (Applause.) - Coming to the question of WORKMEN'S HOMES, Mr Williams said he believed in looking round already for suitable sites, and in thi3 connection advocated setting ■ aside tho gaol reserve, the old Fairfield nursery site, and portion <# the Hylton Batate. The sites should be suitable to the men and to their requirements. He favoured looking ahead in these matters, and not having to pay through the nose. As to LABOUR DAY.- • this was another matter which should be definitely settled. He was in favour of it being a holiday, and properly observed. ' HUSBAND AND WIFE. He was quite in accord with Mr Seddoa's proposals that the wife should bo given a half share in the home, and preventing the husband being able to cell or mortgage .same without her consent. He had seen many hardships through tho want of some such legislation. It was a most reasonable proposal, and would receive his hearty support. In reference to the LIQUOR. QUESTION, Mr Williams said this rested with the people, and he did not propose to take aAvay any of their rights. He believed, however, that the question of State control should be submitted to the people by a- referendum. The sltitude of the | LIBERAL CANDIDATES had caused considerable discussion during the last few weeks.. So far as he himself was concerned," he would d"o anything rather than risk the return of a Conservative candidate to Parliament. In , this connection ho made a, few remarks as to the attitude of the Premier, who, he j T.iid, had no wish to interfere, but only pointed out -the danger of losing the seat. He only tried to assist them in solving tho difficulty. As far as lie (Mr Williams) was concprncd, lie' had proposed that the names should be put in a hat, and the one first drawn should bo the Liberal candidate. If this were done he would do ail ho could to assist the return of the one so drawn. Mr Williams said ho did not wish to speak of any ot the candidates, but ho must say that one of them, who claimed t"b bo the first in the field, , had =shown that he was not prepared to assist in solving the difficulty, and if the party were defeated the candidate referred to would be largely responsible. IN CONCLUSION Mr Williams said that his nomination had been sent in that day, and it would be for the electors to say whether they would elect him or not. He simply offered himself, nnd if his views wore favour- j able to them and they ., Returned him, he would uso every endeavour to see that measures were -passed, in Ithe .interests of the people. If they elected some of the other Liberals, he would do his best to help the successful one. He was not standing in the interests of capital nor of labour, but in the' best interests of the whole colony and" of ' Wanganui in particular. "He hoped ip bo able to shako hands- all 1 round when the r election was over. Mr WillianiS" resumed his seat amidst applause. ''*- A number of questions were asked and answered in a satisfactory manner, after which, on the motion of Mr Smith, a hearty *vote of thariks was accorded Mr Williams for his address. A similar compliment to the chair terminated tho .meeting-'.