POLITICAL POINTS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15972, 14 November 1919, Page 9

POLITICAL POINTS.

Speaking at Castkcliff last evening, Mr Veiteh dealt briefly but very'effectively with the efforts being 1 made to discredit, those Ministers who broke away from the National Government. The justification for their action, he said, lay in this: Wo could never got the least bit of domestic legislation from the National Government. But the moment the Government found itself faced with a strong, aggressive Opposition, it began to do what up to then it bad refused to do. • . Speaking on defence matters last night, Mr Cuttle said lie bad no time for the camp life for boys talked about by Sir James Allen. Such camps could not tend to the uplifting or moral betterment of the boys. At his Castlecliff meeting last evening, Mr Vedtch taid that a question written on a small slip of paper had been overlooked at his Opera House meeting, and he was now taking the first opportunity of answering it. The question asked whether, at the 1914 election, he had interviewed the Uev. Father Mahoney for the purpose of securing the Catholic vote. His answer was a flat denial, and had he approached the reverend gentleman with such an improper proposal he woald have expected to be told to go about his business. "Inquiries have been made by supporters of a certain candidate at Base Eecords to ascertain if I served in South Africa, and to make sure that I was not bluffing ikte electors. I am pleased to add it was not Mr Mcllvride's supporters."—Mr Cuttle, speaking at Aramoho last night. "I am convinced that one of the chief factors in the cost of living is the wasteful system of distribution," said Mr Veiteh, at Castlecliff last evening. When the Industries Committee were at Nelson, he said, they were told by the apple growers that they would be well satisfied with a penny per pound for their fruit. The consumer, however, thinks'he is lucky if he gets it for 6d. In reply to a question whether he favoured indentured labour in Samoa, Mr Cuttle stated, at Aramoho last night> that he noticed Mr Veiteh had said that he had bitterly opposed the system, and had talked about "blackbirding" and slavery. It was a very difficult problem, but who was to do the work if they did not have indentured labour. As free people, the Chinese and Solomon Islanders would mix up more with the people of Samoa than they would if indentured. He thought there was no such thing as slavery under the British flag; they only wanted to control the labourers. He did not see how they were going to get the best out of the land in Samoa except by indentured labour, it was the only way to control the labourers brought into the country. elected , I slia]l be Prepared to give profits ( after are duly audited) from my fruit farm in Nelson to the orphanage for the next three years-Mr Cuttle, replying to a question at Aramoho last ni°ht. The "lonely furrow" argument that has been brought against him received rather a knock at Mr Veitch's hands at Castlecliff last evening. For four years under the National Government he had tried to get legislation to deal with profiteering and reduce the cost . \ ng ™ He had introduced a Commercial Trusts Amendment Bill dealing with the matter, but the Government always kept it at the bottom of the order paper. In this no other private member's measure was any better off. At last, however, the Government acted, and brought down the Board of Trade Bill. And in that Bill was embodied every reform he adcated in his own measure of four years before. So that, if he had "ploughed .a lonely furrow," it had at all events been able to influence the course of Government legislation. The New Zealand Parmer has been accused of exploiting the British public. Thaltl is not correct. It was. !bhe British merchant who did the exploiting. Our wool was sold at commandeer, price/ which worked out at an average of Is 3d per lb. The British Government used what it needed for the army, and sold its surplus to the British merchants for a very small advance on cost. The British merchants sold some to America for 4s per lb., and'some was sold in Britain itself for as high as 6s per lb. Some of the cloth manufactured from this wool was actually exported to New Zealand, and sold here at a cost in accordance with the profiteering prices at 'home. Is it any wonder the public has Itlo pay twice as much for clothes as before the war? There is no doubt rthe British public was exploited, but it was their own merchants, not our farmers, who exploited them. —Mr W. A. Veiteh at Castlecliff last night. ■ Now that we are on the eve of an election, the Massey Government is very anxious for the welfare of the workers. But it is a fact that, up till a few weeks ago, and all tHrough the war, every Labour deputation which waited on the Goferrement practically had the door slammed in its face. Is it any wonder that, the men felt they were being driven to direct action?—Mr Veiteh at Castlecliff last evening.