MR WITTY AT PAPANUI.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 84, 15 May 1914, Page 5

MR WITTY AT PAPANUI.

TffiE GOVERNMENT CRITICISED.

sop ARE DEAL OR ROUND BATON

Mr G. Witty, M,P. for Biccarton, addressed a meeting of his constituents in SUPaul's Schoolroom, Papanui, last There was, a large attendants, and the meeting 1 was perfectly the audience listening attentivjejy and without interruption. Mr D. Bujifting presided. Witty. commenced with a reference to the change iu ; Government? whjieh he said had not been for the good of jfhe country. At;the last general e^e £f* ou people hltd • declared f<pr the Literals by a big majority, but owing to a ''set'' against Sir Joseph Ward, lie had resigned. The Hon. T. Mackenzie then took the reins of office, but owing to the changing of their coats by seve-

ral "rats,'' his Ministry had been .defeated. -When Ml* Massey came, into power he offered Mr Mackenzie the "plum" of the New Zealand Public Service—the High Commissionership—on July 31,, but it was not until August 23 that Mr Mackenzie had resigned. He should have resigned at once, as the delay allowed a Reform candidate to return from America and win the seat.

'The speaker then went on to justify the action of the Opposition in setting up the stone-walls of last session. He said that the Government had been trying to force departmental votes through the House,.before members had had any Report as to the working of' those departments in the past year. The Go-vernment-had been afraid to.bring down these reports, as they revealed unauthorised expenditure to the extent of £191,000. The statement Of Mr Massey that the Opposition had capitulated because 'he had threatened a dissolution was contrary to fact. The Government knew, very well that if there had been a dissolution, the election would have gone against them. ■.

The Prime Minister's statement that the result of his Land Bill had been to give 20,000 settlers the right to acquire the freehold was/'all bunkum." About 6000 would be- nearer the mark. The land tax had not been increased by £BI,OOO, as Mr Massey had contended, but by only £46,000, and even that was due to increased valuation.

The speaker went on to defend the action of Sir Joseph Ward and the Liberals with regard to the strike., Mr Massey had promised to bring to the workers industrial peace. Sir Joseph Ward had been anxious to see the strike settled, whereas Mr Massey had wanted it to go on. Before he spoke in the House, Sir Joseph had written to the Prime' Minister, asking him if a settlement could not be arrived at, and Mr Massey replied that nothing could be done. Sir Joseph was a straight, white, clean-living man, and it was very wrong for his opponents to vilify him as they had done. What had Mr Massey promised the workers?

A voice: A square deal. Mr Witty: Yes; and he gave them a round baton.

The speaker went on to deal with other planks in the Government, platform, alleging that Mr Massey had failed to carry out his promises. Dealing with the Public Service, he said that there was more unrest in the service to-day than ever there had been before. The Reform Government had been unable to trust itself, and had appointed the commissioners as a buffer between it and the service. This was a confession of Weakness, and he challenged the Government to point to any example of political influence in the service under the Liberal regime. The effect of the nSw system had also been to shut out from minor posts in the service many deserving people. It was now no longer possible for himself or any otiher member to recommend .to a Minister a deserving person, and many widows and young people had no way to advocate their claims. The Government had been very inconsistent in many ways. It had promised to reduce borrowing, but it had increased it. Borrowing was necessary, be knew, but it was the inconsistency of the Government that he complained of. Mr Allen went Home to raise money, and when he came back he said, "I. found the brokers at Home were honest"—so honest, in fact, that in a day or two they got a short loan on to Mr Allen and made per cent, out of it. He asked if Mr Allen's, remark did not imply that previous brokers who had done business with Liberal financiers were dishonest. Mr Allen had had to admit in the House afterwards that he had paid the same for his loan as Sir Joseph Ward. They had tried to make out that Sir Joseph had robbed the people, but'they then had to admit that they were wrong. Even the little Jew boys in London saw Mr Allen coming, and thev "took him in." (Laughter.) Mr "Allen's loan was one of the dearest ever raised by New Zealand. Mr Allen had got his loans the wrong way round—his short loan being dear, and his long loan cheap. Either he. did not know what he was .doing, or lie was incompetent. The speaker , next referred to the question of naval defence, and waxed sarcastic on the subject of "a navy of our own;" What use would one Bristol cruiser be against a Japanese fleet? Probably when the Japs came, Mr Allen would go down to Lyttelton Heads in the cruiser, escorted by the Amokura and the Janie Seddon, waving a flag of defiance. Wouldn't they be frightened ! Would'lit they rush away! (Laughter). We had a right and a duty to contribute to.the navyy but it was ; absurd for a little country like this to try to establish • a navy of its own. Already they were feeling the pinch in Australia. The Government complained that the Admiralty had broken its promises, but

we Could not agree with that. Their real desire was to have a few cocked hats: and a few Admirals about, and so they said, "We will have a navy of our own.''' The proposal was no good. The proper place for the Empire's fighting ships was in Home waters. Mr Massey and his party, supported-the giving of the Dreadnought in Parliataeitt/'Siid' tliey knew very wellitwas .the. best thing New Zealand had ever done. Mr Witty criticised a few more of the Government's '' inconsistencies.'' They had attacked the Upper House, but as soon as they had had an opportunity they filled it .with "rejects.". They had also " talked big " about lejtdr ing a "clean political life," and then there came into the light such strange happenings as the famous. James detter. Instead of reducing public expenditure they had increased it. In June they had said that the salaries of the police were high enough, but in December they suddenly remembered that next year was election year, and there. were increases all round. The Reformers had voted against every piece of humanitarian legislation ever brought before the House. Mr Massey himself had voted against the Old Age Pensions Bill eighty:seven times, and now lie claimed it as liis own. Mr Fisher had claimed that his Military Pensions scheme had enabled many poor men to get a living, but he .had also admitted that there were cases where these pensions were being paid to men with thousands of pounds. In conclusion, Mr Witty appealed to Liberals and Labourites to combine to oust the common enemy. The only liope for the Dominion was to have a Government ' with broad ideals, whd would govern the country on sound lines, as it should be: governed. . A vote of thanks to Mr Witty was carried, together with confidence in him as member for the district, and in the Liberal Party, as led by Sir Joseph Ward.