OUR WAR BURDEN.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 190, 12 August 1919, Page 11

OUR WAR BURDEN.

EifoitaiotTS habiuctxes. MORE PRODUCTION SEEDED. rKIME MIKISTER'S VIEW. p>y Telegraph.—Press .association.) WELLINGTON, Jfonday. Speaking at the laying ot the iounda-iion-stone oi the new estate >"ire Ofliee ; to-Jaj 3 ihe J'niue Minister, the> Hight j lloiu'w. F. Massoy, said:—"We have got through the war period, and 1. think, you will ainve. with mc that the problems ■» it.ii which ivc now have to deal are as important as thete with which we had -,o deal during that period. "This building is only one of the \rorkd which have had to stand over. There are hundreds of schools waiting 1,) be erected, aud 1 think they will be tiki-n in hand. We do not feel it so much, in the cities, but they fed it very badly in the outlying parts of the Dominion, aiul the work of school construction cannot be delayed any longer. 1 am .clad to be able to say that there will be" no difficulty in finding the necessary cash ior schools or ior public build'.npT<s-

"Wβ have taken up enormous liabili-j tie-?. <-'ur national debt has increased j from £100.000,000 to £-200.000.000. We mifcit. increase production in every way it we are going to carry on \ ■R-ithout eerious inconvenience, to the -whole of our population. c have great hydro-electric schemes which. 1 Jiope -will be of great benefit to Wellington and other centres. We have to buiid railways. We have to make roads, j We have to do all we possibly can in | connection -with soldiers' land settle- j ment. and I am glad to acknowledge the i good work done by my colleagues in this connection. That ia only part of the jrreat work wo have to do. We have to te«p down unnecessary expense. There 39 expenditure contemplated in certain directions which we can do without, but I we cannot increase production without ; increasing expenditure- We mitft increase our production by at least 50 per cent. lam plad to see shipping interests represented here, and I ho|« they ■will rise to the- occasion. I know that many of the ships are owned in England, but I hope the ownere will supply us ■w-ith the necessary tonnage to take our produce to the markets of the world."

COMMON SENSE AND PATIENCE SIR JOSEPH WARD'S ADVICE. (T.j Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) "VTELLIXOTOX, Monday. Sir Joseph Ward said In - an interview that party politics was a matter of no irreat moment. "Personally 1 have not j had time since my return to confer with i members oi the party of which I am the head," he said. "I should only be too glad to have the opportunity to do so." Asked as to the probable length of j the approaching session of Parliament, Joseph eaid: "I think all side* of j politics in this country will recognise | that the coming session cannot be a very lonjr one. There are certain things I am satisfied all sides want to see done, and which in a proper spirit of recognition of the country's needs they ■will surely assii-t in seeing done. Ido riot think that at this juncture it is a time for party scrambling. It is rather a time for the exercise of common sense, End of its valuable adjunct, patience."