THE GENERAL ELECTIONS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2349, 16 November 1908, Page 5

THE GENERAL ELECTIONS.

THE GISBORNE SEAT. HON. IV! R. CARROLL AT

MANGAPAPA.

AN ANSWER TO CRITICS.

bt The Hon. J. Carroll met the elec“lj toi's_of Mangapapa in the schoolroom I on Saturday evening, when, he spoke Q§ l°. r an hour and a-half in support | his candidature. He desired to y speak only in the kindliest spirit of * r his opponents, both of whom had abilL lties that justified them in seeking j the honor of reprcsentating the elecj torate in Parliament, and taking the taj contest all through their ", criticisms >»} had, with one or two exceptions, '*■ been well within the bounds of party :ptl warfare. However, lie •"javas an old campaigner, and had learnt not to j take much notice of petty matters. So far as he was concerned no feeling ' mould bo kept up. the day after the n< election, whatever the result. He pointed out that there was a time K when “Liberal” was a bad word, but S "now everyone wanted to come under 9 \ its designation. Under universal i suffrage the power of the people had I become more manifest, and they had II shown their appreciation of tlie ser- | vices rendered by the Liberal and ?. Progressive Party by returning them ,J to power for the long period of 17 t years, with ever-increasing majorities. ! That party had ploughed deep, and r had turned fresh furrows in the political field, so much so that they were w the admiration as well as the envy - of the older worlds. The Liberal ~ Government- had helped to build up “ a sturdy yeomanry, that with the assistance of the experts, and cheap money provided by the different Departments, would materially contribute to the future greatness of the Dominion. Tike functions of Gov- , ernment had been broadened, a truer 1 spirit of humanity had found its way -j into all legislation, so that the State J had entered fully into the work of >i the great laboratory of life, nurturrj ing the weak till they became strong, k and encouraging the strong to put 0 forth all their energies for their own c and their country’s benefit. It was x not enough for the other candidates C to say that they were truer Liberals , than those wlio now held tlie reins l of Government, they must prove iu js what respect ; but their case seemed ] to consist of nothing but fault find--1 ing. They would not dare to attempt * to repeal the legislation passed, they f were, however, quite prepared to ad- ’ minister it, and were modest enough i to think they could do so better than U‘iiose who had placed it on the i Statute Book. As for Mr. Darton, (he represented the new school of 3 politics, whose .aspirations l savored | more of a revolutionary order, and i could not be limited to the bounds of practical result. The two concrete parties rested in the Government of the day and the Opposition—the ills and the outs. The Opposition were, however, tottering on the verge of political bankruptcy, and had nothing to offer in the way of policy. Speaking of a slighting reference thathad been made to Mr. Hall-Jones in connection with his appointment as High Commissioner, Mr.. Carroll pointed out that Mr. Hall-Jones had filled with great credit to himself and with satisfaction and profit to the Dominion the important offices he had held as a Minister of the Crown, 'and his appointment as High Commissioner had been unanimously endorsed by Parliament as a whole. As to the Mangapoike lands, seeing the steps that had been taken in the Supreme Court and otherwise to test the validity of these transactions, one would have thought that all criticism in connection therewith would have been silenced, but there was no stopping these innuendos 'and aspersions, which never came to definite charges that lie could take up. Bosides at was a matter that had nothing to do with him. The whole of the land was taken possession of by Parliament, and vested in a Statutory Board by special Act, and the Board was directed by Act to do certain things. It was a matter entirely outside his • province when it reached' that stage. It had been said that Mr. Henries had obtained a vote of £40,000 for his district, virile he (Mr. Carroll) could only get £19,000. He did not envy Mr. Herri.es his vote, in fact he had helped lim to obtain some of it, but it iliould be remembered that most of it vas for the purpose of developing md improving the tourist- and health ■esS-ivts of Rotorua, which was a Government township, and therefore the jommunity there did not contribute mything ill the wav of rates towards ts" upkeep. However, in order that here would lie no futwi* misapprelendon as to our position in*-wished *> show that the following are unounts voted for tlie current jo«u or road works in tlie Gisborne elecxyratc • * 4 Roads, etc. ••• ••• Backblock Roads, etc. ... H,oob Tourist Roads, etc. ... ” Totil £21,138 Public Buildings. Gisborne Courthouse (alteration) 500 Gisborne Now-Gaol and bit© •••• IoUU Patutahi Post Office ... ••• 'JJj Hangaroa Post Office •' Wairoa Post Office ••• ••• Gisborne Stock Inspector s House Gisborne Stock Inspectors Wairoa Stock Inspector’s Office 250 Total - ...-£6210

Lighthouses and Harbor Works; Tuahine Point Light-house ... 12J£ Waikokopu Harbor ••• ••• - LJU

Total • •••^1 446 Railway Construction. Gishorne-Rotorua Railway ...£60,0 Grand Total ...£BB,/34

Mr Carroll also defended the Native land policy of the Government, alleging that figures m respect there to had been misquoted by the other skli lnd claimed that they were now nearer the solution of this great pio j lem than they had ever been before. -There was a lot of talk about Taihoa ” but they would be surprised to he toldthat both Mr. Massey and Mr Herries had taken up that iO!.e, bv preventing him. from getting under way the machinery for settling the Native lands until the Native Land Commission had sent in all their reports. Amongst other things, Mr. Carroll referred to the new Industrial and Arbitration Act, wijiich,

he said) was-a great Improvement on -all the other Acts,, and would go a long way to settle industrial disputes in a spirit of conciliation rather'tlian by arbitration. In .relpy to the statement that the Government by borrowing within the Dominion had injured private borrowers by reducing the sources of -supply, lie said that was' all nonsense. iSo small had' been the Government’s operations that the position was hardly affected. The following showed what the Government had done, and lie left them to judge whether there was sufficient there upon which to build a. charge. j Money Borrowed in the Dominion. £ . 1004-5 237,400 1005- 185,000 1006- 470,000 1007- ,340,000

£1,232,400 1908-0 practically nothing. Tho money shown as borrowed‘in the Dominion was principally the'result of over-counter sales, taken up by the public in small sums from £IOO to £IOOO. Mr. Carroll concluded amidst applause, and received a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence.

The Hon. ,J. Carroll will give an address to the electors in His Majesty’s Theatre at 8 p.m. to-day. Mr. Geo. E. Darton will speak in the Garrison- Hall this evening. On Thursday, at noon, Mr. W. Lissant Clayton addressed a large and attentive meeting of men. employed :at tlie Haiti Ereezing Works. A. number of questions, most of them relating to matters affecing the men themselves, were asked and answered. A vote of thanks to Mr. Clayton was ■heartily carried. On Saturday he addressed a number of the men employed at one or two local timberyards, when lie pointed out various instances in which measures proposed by the Opposition for the benefit of the workers had l iter been adopted by the .present Administration, who now claim credit for initiating them He was accorded a hearty vote o thanks, and a desire was expresse for an address on some future oec ion

To-dy Mr. Clayton will speak to iie men employed at the Tarulieru works.

Mr. W. Lissant Clayton addressed a large number of electors iin the Pa tut ah i Hall on Saturday evening. Mr. J. C. Woodward occupied the chair, and the candidate was accorded a most enthusiastic hearina. A

the conclusion of the address, Mr. W. Bilham, junr., moved, and Mr. D. -Lougher seconded, that a vote of thanks be accorded to Mr. Clayton for his address, and the motion "tvas carried with applause. Mr. Clayton was also the recipient of many 1 jural tributes from the ladies of Pa'tutahi.

Mr. G. .13. Dart on addressed a large meeting of electors at .Makauri on Saturday. The candidate spoke on the lines of his previous addresses, and was attentively listened to. Mr. W. Lissant Clayton will address tlie electors from the balcony of the ; ‘T:mes r ’ office at 9 p.m. today.

TO-MOIt R O W'S FOLD. The triennial elections for members of Parliament will be held tomorrow. The contest (in Gisborne promises to. be exceptionally keen. Three candidates are offering their services to the electors, namely: The Hon. Janies Carroll, Minister for Native Affairs, the Government candidate; Mr. W. Lissant Clayton, who is contesting tlic seat in the Opposition interest; and Mr. G. E. Darton, who is offering liimself as a Liberal and No-license candidate. The poll on the licensing question wiil also be taken.

The polling booths for (ho Gisborne and Bay of Plenty electorates will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Electors -ire asked to remember tlio closing I hour, and to vote as early as possible so as to avoid any bustle in the polling booths. The polling booths in and around Gisborne are: His Majesty’s Theatre (principal); Masonic Hall, Childers, Road; Whin ray’s Hall, Gladstone Road; Kaiti Public School, Wainui Road; Garrison Hall, Whata upoko ;M:i ngapapaJ the schoolhouse; Te Hajiara, Mr. Clark’s storo (town boundary, Lytton Road); Matawhoro, the schoolbouse; Patutahi, the scboolhouse. The Domestic Workers’ Union are submitting the following questions to candidates: “The Domestic Workers’j Union desires to know if you would favor the extension of the award

(under the Arbitration Act) so as to include all those employed long hours in private houses. An earlv reply will oblige.”

I‘kouliAß tactic,s. [Press ,— XT , E •WESTPORT, Nov. 11 h What appears, to be a- pcculuu « phase in electionee*ing tactics has occurred here. The uyi-country eoji- jj ies of three issues of the\“Westport j, News,” -the morning daily paper, which has been lighting strenuously;, for Mr, Munro, a candidate 4or the| ]Ju,Her seat, have been stolen from; the coach. These issues were, devotj ed chiefly to harbor board criticism,. in reply to articles by the paper sup-., porting Mr. Colvin, and generally to criticism of Mr. Colvin’s platform and main address mi Westport. (From the same coach ; a| local weekly, the ‘‘Butler Miner, also fighting in the interests of Mr.| Munro, Likewise disappeared. Thejj matter has, been,-placed in the hands, of the police for investigation. | SPEECH BY ATTORNEY- i GENERAL. !

1 DANNEVIRICE, Nov. 14. B Dr. Findlay addressed a. crowded | and cordial meeting in the Drill Mallg last night. The Mayor (Pastor presided, and many prominent Libor-1 als were on the stage with the er. The Minister delivered a. speech |i lasting about an hour and forty inin-fi nles. His speech consistedly jinncip-l ally of a review of the work of theg Liberal Government since takingd office, and he appealed Lo the. aiuliercojj to judge them on past actions, and| take their work as an indication otfl what would be done m the futuie.|j What had the Liberal Govern done to forfeit the confidence ot the* people? What had they done- since 1890, and how did their iyork com-, pare with that of the Conservative J preceding them ? Ho pointed to the;

[Press Association.]

land for settlement policy, and illustrated the benefits derived from closer settlement brought about by the Government. He showed how land monopoly had operated in the past, and how the Liberal laws had broken up that monopoly and made land available for the people. The Government was the enemy to land monopoly, and | was determined to. provide facility I for settlement. Ho condemned the old property tax, and contrasted it with the present land tax, and showed how incomes which escaped taxation •in 1890 were now substantially tax- 1 able. He referred especially to the ? benefit of the land for settlement « policy of Sir John McKenzie to the ? Waipawa electorate, and ch allenged any ? critic of the Government to question t the triumphant vindication of Sir John |i McKenzie’s policy. He trenchantly illustrated the persistent opposition of Mr, Massey’s party to the closer settlement movement. He touched on the Special Settlement Finance Bill, and claimed that it would operate for the. benefit of many. He ridiculed the statement that capital would be driven out of the count rv. The Advances to Settlers Act/benefited the Tat’mors to an enormous extent, 'and to show, wliat was being done ho stated that the Department had lent :CCOO,OOO in ten days. Mr. Massey had opposed the Act, and called it pawn-broking. Could they trust the Opposition to carry out these Acts? He emphasised the good work done lor laoor, anti gave figures to show .that the statement that taxation liad been increased was incorrect, He justified their borrowing, and held that- they should not allow the country to stagnate for want of money. Mr. Massey was inconsistent in demurring to borrowing and asking for a large expenditure. He justified the adminis- j tration of the railways, which, were not run for profit-making, but to serve the people. The timber industry would be inquired! into, if necessary. The dairy regulations were to benefit farmers, and the objections would be carefully considered before they would be brought into operation. At the conclusion, a vote of thanks and con fidonco was carried with applause

MR. SEDDOX AT HOKITIKA

[Press Association.]

HOKITIKA, Xor, 14. Mr. T. Y. Seddon gave liis second political address in tlie Princess Theatre last night. The building was packed. He had a. splendid reception, and was presented with a floral tribute. He spoke for an hour and a half, giving an excellent political address. He referred to many matters, and dealt with different statements by his opponents. The audience was very enthusiastic .and rioted every tolling point with rounds of apjilau.se. A motion of thanks and confidence was carried with much cheering. WESTERN MAORI ELECTORATE.

[Press Association.] A rCKI.AX D. Xor. M. Lor tee Western Maori electorate llic jjamniarmns were : Hen are Kaihau, To Hen lien Tukio. Pejienc Eketpnc, Hern a to Ao, and Erucra to Kahn. •