PREMIER AT NELSON.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 34, 17 March 1914, Page 11 (Supplement)

PREMIER AT NELSON.

LIVELY MEETING. CHAIRMAN QUITS THE CHAIR. • - Press Association. NELSON, March 16. The Prime Minister, the Eight Hon. W. E. Massey, addressed a crowded .meeting at the Theatre Royal to-night, having .a.good reception and an attentive hearing, though the proceedings at times were somewhat demonstrative. Mr . Massey spoke ,on practically the same lines as at Blenheim last week. He criticised the financial arrangements of previous Governments, which, he said, left his Cabinet face to face with the necessity „of finding £8,000,000 by the end of the year to pay off short-dated loans, in addition to five millions for ordinary development purposes. The Government had increased the limit of amounts lent to local bodies and settlers. It could not supply a 11... the demands of the former, but the State guarantee sys-. tern would assist those who required more than the department could advance. He ,would see that a flaw in the Act preventing harbour boards from benefiting by it was put right. . The present Govern* ment had lent to settlers, workers, and local bodies £2,472,71.5, including £1,555,625 to settlers, £498,075 to workers, and £619,020 to local bodies. The result of the last loan flotation in London gave New Zealanders every reason to be proud of the grand little country in which they lived, for the London financiers were the best "judges of tbe fihan- J eial condition of the country. The bad times and low wages predicted when: the iteform Government' topk office had not come to pass- The country never 1 was more prosperous than at present, and of that the Post Office Savings Bank was an index, deposits for the months of January and February' exceeding withdrawals by £193,438, while the. deposits for February of this year exceeded those for the corresponding month of 1913 by £117,472. The present Government had increased the rate of interest on post ofiiee deposits from 3 A to 3f per cent. He contended that the Government had kept its pledges on the land question, and between 19,000 and 20,000 Crown tenants now had the right to convert their leaseholds into freeholds upon easy terms. Leasehold had few supporters in Parliament now. During the present financial year the Government had purchased 149,000 acres of land for £559,606, and had settled 22,000 settlers on it. The experiment of providing fiveacre holdings and houses for farm workers in Canterbury promised good results, and he intended to repeat it in the North Island.. He was out to give the man on the bottom rung a chance to climb. ;

The Prime Minister dealt with naval defence and the recent strike in similar terms to those of his Blenheim speech. The strike had killed the old Liberal Party, and the parties of the future would be Reform Liberals and Red Fed. Liberals. v The Government would keep the present, railway construction policy going, and perhaps do a little more. It proposed to allow settlers and local bodies to. construct lines of- standard gauge. If the Government had not as yet redeemed all its pledges, it was not its fault. It had built up a policy which would be for the good of the Dominion in years to come. As the meeting drew near its conclusion a noisy element developed at the rear of the hall, which Mr Massey treated good-humouredly. In conclusion, Mr MaSsey read a report published in the "Nelson Mail" from a Hawke's Bay newspaper of an address by Mr Atmore, member for Nelson, in which, among other things, it was stated that Mr Massey was now head of a house which had been left £165,000. He said his father died two years ago and left £2OOO. He presumed it was his father who was alluded to.

Mr Atmore, speaking from the platform, denied having made the statement. Mr Massey said that he had quoted the paper correctly, and no correction had appeared in it. A motion of thanks was moved and spoken to by several members of the audience.

Mr Atmore then moved an amendment to delete the words expressing confidence in the Government, and proceeded to criticise the Government. He denied referring to Mr Massey's father. It was Mr Herries 's father he alluded to, and he had been misrepresented by the Hastings "Tribune." Mr Atmore proceeded, to deal with the Government, when objectidn was raised to his making a speech. A. scene of some disorder ensued, but

the Mayor held that'Mr Atmore was in order, and he continued his efforts to speak amid constant uproar and counting out. After the lapse of sonifr time the Mayor declared the meeting closed and left the chair amid cheers and xjqunterdemonstrations,; the motion not having been put.' ..'.«.. Interviewed after the meeting, Mr Massey made the-following statement: "I intend to make another speech by way of reply to Mr Atmore. Ido not blame the Mayor for leaving the chair. What has taken place is the" most miserable exhibition I have experienced in my 20 years of Parliamentary life. I am now speaking of the interference,, with the meeting by the member for the dis-; trict, Mr Atmore." Mr Atmore afterwards addressed an impromptu meeting outside the theatre. IMPBESSIONS OP NELSON." Press Association. NELSON,%March 16. The Eight Hon. W. F. Massey, Prime Minister; interviewed by a ' < Mail ,, reporter fruit industry, said he had found the trip through; "the fruit country intensely interesting, . _. It was quite evident, he said, from the growth the trees were making that they would be wonderfully productive, also that a very important export trade would spring up in a short time. "Taking your province as a whole, ? ' he.continued, 'Ut is very much better than I expected, and with the advantages of climate and position which Nelson undoubtedly possesses;, it should have. a -very prosperous future." '■•';;, Mr Massey was most cordially received throughput the district. ' J