THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXXIV, Issue 56, 18 June 1908, Page 7

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Future Possibilities,

Addbbssbb by Mr T. Mackenzie, M.JP. MEETING AT^ISTIHLING.

The skirl of Mr Jas, Morrison's bag-

! pipes, heard at Stirling on Friday ' evening, proclaimed to the stranger I that something unusual was happen- ] £ng Oi about to happen. The Ciutha t drag dashed up with the faix'ly heavy r load of 16 fairly hoavy men, and deJ posited then in front of the hall, and I - soon over 200 persons, young and j old, were crowding into the building.

The cause of all the excitement soon

1 ■ became known as the triumphant j -Screech of the pipes eomes nearer to tithe hall, and behold Mr Thora. Maei ' kenido, M.P., better and wider known Has "Ciutha Taia," marches up the |'' hall and takes his seat on the plat--5 - form. The member for Waikouaiti evidently in great form, and so s r'happy does he look that it is hard to i "believe he is one of the South Island fJ* members who have lost their balance 1 through the re-adjustment of elector--1 fetes. He seems to know everyone in I the hall, and certainly they all know I 'him, and prepare themselves for a [flood address—and a real good address | Tt vaa. I : Hv Jos. Mosley (Chairmnnof the i Bruee County Council) occupied the l thflir, arid the others seated on the Stage were Messrs John Dunne (Mayor Of Balclutha), C. K. lutes (Mayo* of Xoitangata}, J. Crawford Anderson, A. E. Farquhar, Wm. Wefafc and the Rev. i\ b. Frasev.

Mr Mosley, in introducing the speaker, said it gave him great pleasure to have Mr Mackenzie with them that evening. It was 21 yeais ago Since: htf had spciken in Stirling,, j and that was ai '-the time when he first Stood foi Ciutha. He, himself, was a young jno&'in those (days,'* and was happy to say that Mr Mackenzie was the first {nan he had voted for. . Mr Mackenzie had, > by; his action In Parliament, shown that he was a good representative, and was ' always to the fore in everything that was for the interests! of the people. He had Sat with him on dilierent Boards, and had always found him standing shoulder to shoulder to see that the couu-

tiy representatives got justice.—(Applause.) M* Mackenzie, un rising, was greeted With a hearty round of applause. Be opened by reading a letter from Mr Has. Allen, the member for Bruce, who tegretted that owing to a previous engagement he would be unable to bo present. After thanking the chairman for his kind references to his early career in the district, the speaker went on as follows :f—- ---■ The gathering to-night oi farmers is perfect refutation oi the statement • that I have lost their cinfidence. Had that however been so, and coming as a result of the statements that 1 made, the statements would have been made nevertheless, because, when a man is appointed as a representative oi the people it becomes his duty to serve even at the risk of displeasing; and in arriving at the conclusions 1 came to 1 I'elt th en, and feci now, perfectly Bfttisiied tfcat it wus the right course %o tnko. IMJBQUITABUE REPIi-EoENTA'j 'I ON. I desire first to deal briefly with the question of representation, or one taight say non-repretentation. Under the proposed change, so far as country interests tare concerned in Utago, Community, oi - interest is absolutely destroyed, and you will have only lour purely country members in the province of Otago to represent you, and two of these gentlemen will really be living in the .North Island. The eost of contesting these large electorates, and the physical strength required, will bar many useful publio men from attempting to win such seats. The tatio at which the town population is increasing over the country population was shown by the last census, namely, 25 per cent increase for town against 10 per cent for country and unless the present condition be altered it is within measureable period When the whole Influence 6f the Dominion will come from towns, and whilst oi course there should be no fcontiict between town and country interests in theory, yet in practice, owing 1o circumstances that one set of people live in town and another in tbo country, a different idea of the perspective of things is given, and town \iews are apt to be voiced against the permanent interests of the community. It is necessary, therefore, that the pres(mt condition be altered, and the alteration take place a& soon as possible. WHO WANTS COALITION 1 The nest question that I will deal with' 5b that of coalition* There are two poinfii.upon which the Governiront and Opposition are absolutely a®reed, : namely, the authorship of Jotihd legislation, which they both tlaim, and secondly, the_ denial that Ihe suggestion of coalition Comes from either the one *jde or the other. As a matter of fact, coalition has been suggested by the people. It ii public expressing itself in no Uncertain sound as to what it deems the righi course for political parties to take. Public opinion asks for a discontinuance of party squabbles, and ft union of political ability to carry on the necessary work of this country. Mr Fowlds, at Auckland, said that the idea came from the Opposition, because they realised how hopeless were their chances of attaining the Ministerial benches. This :waß not only ungenerous, but absolutely incorrect. The first idea, as far as I can recollect, of coalition, oi shall I call it co-operation, came Irom Mr Harry Buckland on Dominion Day at Waikouaiti, and I then endorsed the views he expressed, adding that if such were not done, it would require no gift of second sight to see into whose hands the balance of power would pass. The press took up the matter. Mr John Macgregor wrote several able articles on the subject, which largely influenced publio opinion, and the reasonably-minded thinkers of the community, endorsed these ideas; feeling persuaded that if we are %o secure a solid, progressive Government in ' this eountry, r it can come »- bout only in that way. What ; ,ihey. ask for are men and measures, and not party politics. To use the words of Cleveland, "It is a condition that confronts us, not ft and by taking the coune gubHa .osiaifia iwdi*

catesr, he serves hi* party be*t who serves his country best.'' SOME OBVIOUS FACTS,

We phould grapple with obvious facts, and cease mumbling puity shibboleths. What are these out-

standing obviouß fact* ? Owing to the development on the one hand and modification on the other, the cardinal planks of the Government and Opposition policy, are converging* A distinctly new mental political atmosphere is everywhere evident, and is finding expression in the absence oi antagonism to Sir Joseph Watd, and enthusiasm behind Mr Masßoy. As a matter oi fact, the points of conflict are disappearing, and we see the result of this in the recent Tuapeka contest, where personal factors out-; weighed party plans. Apart from the recognition of political similitudes, the public realises that the

Socialistic development now going oi if not met by the united forces c practical minds may disastrously a! feet the industrial future of- this Be minion. There is also this oul standing fact to guard against, name ly, that a number of Socialists wil pin themselves to the tail of the Go vernment to secure election, and wi probably begin the formation of i new party, with a view to either ot taining absolute control at the elec tions of 1911, or at least: the balanc of power when the three party systeu may be developed, winch cannot hav any effect other than a most tmiatip factory one. Months ago I reeog nised the trend of events, and gavi forth my views quite irrespective o personal consequences tv tnyseli O course I was discredited and abused but I am glud to say nt>w that man; of the thinking people Consider tha' the views I then enunciated wefe whai the situation required, COALITION OR CO-OPERATION. There never was • & time in the his •Wry of our l when 'it was mor« necessary for outside pressure to b< placed upon our politicians, making ii clear to them that the good o! the State Bhould bw the firirfc consideration. It is necessaiy, to have public spirited men capable of transmitting practical thought, into glowing words and living actions in order that we may meet the forces "that are surely marshalling around us. 1 care not by what process we act, whether it be coalescence, coalition or co-opera-tion. Personally, I prefe* the latter term. There -is a mental atmosphero as well as a political one pervading the situation. Metaphorically speaking, what do we behold ? The b'.hip oi State, manned and officored purely, so the Leader of the Opposition tells us, by unreliable men. They know that the captain and some of his officers can be trusted, but although they see them nearing dangerous currents, and the risk of the ship bumping on the Scylla rock of single taxers or strilcing the Socialistic reef oi Charybdis they stand by and refuse to go on board until invited or offered to take a hand und relieve the captain from his dependence on what they state to be the unreliable members of his crew. Aiy opinion is that action is required at this point and not hanging back. ME FOWLDS' VIEW CONTROVERTS). Mr Fowlds said there is no need of coalition, and he adds, amongst other things, that he is a eingle-iaxer, but not a Socialist. First, regarding the necessity fo* coalition, I can understand that gentleman, because undei existing conditions those of his opinion may obtain greater concessions than they would under any other circumstances. As to their being no necessity, we know that the press has declared that there is great necessity. One declares that those who treat the subject lightly may not realise the seriousness of the situation until it is caught in the deadly grasp of Socialism. The Times declares that delay may be fatal. Members of the Farmers' Union say that the Minister would feel thankful for any holp towards stemming the tide of socialism. Mr Lethbridge, who is retiring fiom politics, has declared that the need oi the hour is to tight Socialism, and Mr Millar and Sir Joseph Ward have been quite clear regarding the necessity of meeting Socialism. Coaiitions from time to time have been serviceable. There was the famous Portland ?palition, when Lord Nofth joined L (l oj£. The Aberdeen coalition, which included Radicals and Whigs and followers of {Sir Robert Peel in '-652. Ihen there, was the Granville coalition, formed after the death of Pitt, and from its Calibre it was called the Ministry oi all the talents, wisdom and ability of the country. Then bhere was the Pelhafca, the broad* seated, which lasted ten years until the death of Pelhatt. Mr Fowlds also twits Mr Massey with his lack of knowledge regarding the difference between single tax and Socialism, DIFFERENCE IN DEGREE ONLY. As a matter oi fact the extreme apostles of these doctrines regard them aB the antithesis of fcaeh other, but careful thinking people only dis 1 - cover a difference in degree. The one - Would confiscate the land ralue of all lands, whilst the other would nationalise all sources of production. The jingle taxer would place all the functions of government upon one form of property alone. The socialist would nationalise all the sources of products ion for the benefit of the State. Let us see how tbo single tax would work out in N.Z. At presa it half a million is raised by land tax. All our revenue comes to nine millions yearly. Oi course much comes from services but nevertheless Buch a proportion is nl • solutely unfavourable and would utterly destroy the staple industry, of N.Z. Griggin statistically went into the situation and showed how it is quite impossible. Professor Selegman says in regard to sinele tax, "fa truth it is the ground work of socialism. The socialist has been far more logical than Henry George. They deny any difference save that in degree between property and land and property in oth'ir capital. That is why the English enthuiasts are leaving land nationalisation and enrolling themselves under the banner of Sociaham." PROTOTYPES OF 'LEVELLERS.J As a matter of fact Socialists and 3ingle-taxers are leadihg representors; with Bome modification of the Levellers who exercised influence in Germany in the 16th century, and commanded the Princes and the Magistrates of Germany to resign their

o office. In England they appeared ii I the 17th century, and obtained a pow ! erful position in Parliament, and hat s to be put down by the iron hand o: y Cromwell. We know that Sir Joaepl Ward would not permit Mr Fowlds t( 0 influence the Cabinet with his fads, d but we can imagine a situation ir * which Sir Josepbmight be,absent wher •" one or two of Mr Fowlds' ideas might \ gain their way, and that is what a j country has to watch.and check. Mr 1 Fowlds has just been presiding) at a j meeting of delegates: regarding charit table aid, and from what one gathers b some ~important propoasls have been ■ submitted. 1 : have always felt that i thequota which now comes from land • towards charitable aid should be Jevjed on all forms of property, and not., on one form alone, if This -w.ould be an opportunity for Mr Fowlds to show that he can be fair to all if he were to embody that in his proposals.,v; . ' DUNEDIN HOSPITAL. " I would like here to say a word in connection with our Dunedin. Hospital,, There is an increased sum, required to carry on its operations. - There can be no doubt b\it that great improvements have in- the management of that institution. To-day I met one of our medical staff who saidt that <durin@ the last four years the change for good was simply, wonderful. I know it is the desire of the trustees to make j .that hospital as, pearly i perfect as any t .pjibUc, r jnstiftitipp csij ( made, where 1 the suffering poor may obtain the highest skill under comfortable conditions, and I am perfectly persuaded that the public will never grudge money expended in the manner indicated for our suffering poor. The public may feel every confidence in sending their friends or going themselves to receive relief. COUNTRY'S* PROSPERITY* And now a word about this splendid country of ours, and its great producing capacity. There are those who wish to make it appear that we are on the brink of depression. If depression comes about in connection with land, that can only be< through false speculation. The indicator on the dial shows steady. Our sheep are simply doing wonders. Last year from a flock of ten million breeding ewes we increased our flocks from twenty to twenty-one millions in addition to supplying our local wants, and exporting 4,800,000 sheep and lambs abroad. That is nearly as much as Australia and the Argentine together did from their 150 million flocks. The Argentine's limit appears to be some three millions for export, although they are spending huge sums of money in bringing prize stud stock from the Old Country. Something like 8000 sheep, averaging £2O each, were brought from England last year to the Argentine. WOOL. Coming to our next valuable product —namely, wool, which realises about seven and a-half million pounds per annum, it was never statistically in a more assured position. The world's wool production is not increasing. Six months ago the stocks were all exhausted. The cotton crop, wool's greatest competitor, showed a heavy decrease. The shoddy and mungo preparations are getting scarcer. The one is made from soft rags, the other from hard. The world's consumption of wool is increasing, and whilst the production is not, the following figures will show how much past stocks have been worked upon during recent years. In 1898 £32,000,000 worth of manufactured wool and.fabrics were ed from Europe. In 1906 it had increased to £44,000,000 worth. The wool imported into Great Britain in 1898 was 2,082,000 bales. In 1906 it was 1,915,000 bales. For the first 10 months in 1903 the yards of woollen fabrics exported were 42,000,000. For the same period in 1907 it had increased to 72,000,000 yards. It is satisfactory to know regarding our frozen jmeat that it still retains its premier position, and recently the medical officer of the Port of London Btated that New Zealand frozen meat was absolutely clear of all disease, whereas the same could not be said with regard to Home-grown and American and European meat. DANGERFROM TRUSTS. One might also refer to butter and cheese and other products, but time will not permit.:-Speaking regarding our products and trade, I think New Zealand requires to be keenly alert t* operations in the Home Country that may affect her interests. They require a representative there of great ability, and paid a corresponding salary, who should have almost the gift to forecast the future regarding many; subjects. We know that combinations are threatening upon which a very keen eye should be kept. There is the Swift Co. • endeavouring to con-: trol the South American mutton business. it is a firm With a capital of ten millions, and with annual sales of fifty millions, and a capable authority makes the following statement in that! connection: 'lf any doubt is held as to the real position of things, and the aims of the American meat firms, let j reference be made to the representative men in the wholesale and retail trade. The operations of the trust are like a band of steel Blowly, but surely, tightening round the meat interests of the world.' To think otherwise is to shut one's eyes to obvious facts. They are going to gradually get hold of as much as possible of the selling on this side, and by this means they will lower the market value of Australasian and any other kind of meat which they do not control. I might here mention that the value of frozen food taken into the Old Country since 1880 comes to £388,000^000; ; that the, total frozen sheep and r . lamb taken in number ,124 millions, of which N.Z. contributed almost half, or Bixty millions. Our greatest competitors are the Ameriand ''-'last year America exported 12 million dollars' worth less of food stuffs than she did the previous year. [America is, however, coming up strongly in her exports, and now over- ,

i steps the United Kingdom. Her tot • exports come to 1486 millions, whil 1 that of Britain is 1484 million. Bi ! tain's imports, however, are heavie i which can be accounted for in tl shape of interest returned fromforeig invested capital. Our London repri sentative should also study and repoi on shipping. There is the reappea: ance of the provision whiclvthe shij ping companies desire to insert i their bill of lading, freeing them froi responsibility ; of cargo, which. to m, mind can only be inserted for one ret son—namely, . that wrongful claim are being made on meat alleged to -b damaged,-whepeas no.damage ipay ex ist. Mr Morgan has recently mad some peculiar, charges' regarding ship ping companies' heavy rates, and h alluded to the rebate system which th Americans been legislating against in the law' now called the El kins law. We . have, however, tha inACOnnection with the Standard Oi Co., the Colonial Sugar Co., in N.Z. : and in that connection I . might hen state that when the remission of dut] Was made oh sugar in a speech Tdeliv 1 ered in Parliament I asked the Minis ter of Customs. to t watch, narrowly th< relative price chargejJ to, consutaere with that paid for raw ..Jnaterial, because I held t^tjji^ > system of monopoly lield by the ( Sugar Co., it was just possible that "s .large portion of, the duty* conceded or sugar—namely, ' £2o7,'oo.o—might' ii6l lafteti *alLgo..to fcheii consume®, <but fintl its way into the pockets of the Sugar Co. That that fear has in a part been realised is only too true, because two separate advances have occurred in sugar since the remission of the duty, and according to a competent authority it is said that there has been a larger crop in Fiji than ever, and it is difficulty Mlqw the action of the Sugar Co. in increasing quotations in this manner. Altogether one might say that a competent organised commissioner's department is imperatively necessary in this country at the present time. IMPORTANCE OP SEED. I now come to another question of considerable importance to the farmers, and that is the matter of seed. In the agricultural and pastoral news of the Witness of last month appears the following: 'The seed merchants of the Dominion give no warranty, expressed or implied, when sending out their seed, and they will not be in any way responsible for the crop resulting. If the purchaser does not accept the goods on these terms they are to be immediately returned carriage paid.' Further down he says seedsmen should be liable. 'At the same time the seedsmen should not be allowed to sell indifferent seed at a high price, as some of them do, without being liable for the consequences. If his quality were all right he need have no hesitation in guaranteeing his sample. He might as well put his hand directly into the farmer's pocket as sell him indifferent seed. There is always great waste as it is in sowing more seed than is necessary, and the seed merchant profits by it. This is one of the questions that will be set right by combination.' lam glad to say that' what the writer in his concluding remarks desires to see done, I have already achieved. I knocked the nonwarranty clause out of existence in 1887 by bringing an action against a seed merchant that wished to evade responsibility by that very provision, j and Judge Williams, in summing up the situation, said: 'Where one seed lad been supplied for another, in such i case the question is not one of warranty, but of condition. As it is put in by one of the witnesses if a man contracts to supply peas and supplies Deans that is not a breach of warranty, jut a breach of the essential terms of ;he contract. I will give judgment for ihe plaintiff, Mr T. Mackenzie.' rhe importance of seed to the farmers s so great that you will pardon me if [ enlarge just for a moment. You, vill have noticed that at the show. time an article appeared in the Times testifying to the great good that Mr Cockayne was doing in tests for purify of seed. Now, whilst purity and germination are essential points, that s after all not the main thing in conlection with seed. You require to enow that your seed has been cultivated under proper conditions, securing jurifcy of strain and freedom from sross fertilisation. Mr Cockayne refers to how much one per cent, of imjurity of seed will do, but after all he loes no more for the quality than , a iarmer whose stock might be browsng on the pasturage does when he says, 'I have cleared out all the lares, rabbits, and small birds off :ny property, and have nothing left jutcows.' There is seed and seed, as ;here are cows and cows. For instance, on the experimental farm at Levin, reports tell us there are two :ows, the one Mary, and the other Mabel. The former from 4601b of but-, ter fat shows a clear profit on the season of £l7 or £lB, whereas Mabel shows a loss of £ll2. What you want to be assured of in connection with seed is that the quality is there as well is the purity. Let me give an illustra:ion regarding the process necessary to secure good turnip seed. The crop requires first to be sown apart from all Dthers of the Bresica family. Seeds are first taken from stock seed grown Prom picked bulbs. It is sown at the 3nd of August or early in September, then about 9th November transplanting is done, selecting strong plants for seed yielding. Were the plants ?rown from ordinary seeds much at this stage would be thrown out. Plants bloom in May, when if anything unsatisfactory is detected in the flower they are culled. In July the crop is cut and threshed in the end of August after the first touch of frost comes on. I had considerable experience in the buying of seeds at Home. Before I bothered with the purity or germinating powers I first satisfied myself with the genuineness of the quality, and as to the proper mode of production to be adopted. Then I

il would send a sample to Dr Carrut t ers, botanist for the Royal Agrici - tural Society, and if the seed germ , nated 90 per cent, or over, wou 3 then buy. It was stated that farme: i are sometimes penny wise and poui - foolish in their way of buying seedi i Let me say that I know firms in tl - Old Country that trade on farmers i ■ this, respect. I .'have Known 'lfirm i charging double price to farmers fc i .exactly the same quality . of seed ; that'.could be got at pther merchantf ■ simply because they were making th farmer Jbelieve that he was gettinj ' something '^tra;ia\qualityr^- * v. ; EDUCATION. 1,1 Much has . jsaid recently b] many of us & connection ,with educa tipn, and I,will,not further enlarge beyond saying this that a great in . .crease in cost is taking' place in th< technical and higher deparjtments, th< ;,Increase' inthpse. two departments go ing up from £21,0.00, in 1894 to $153, 000 in 1906. We must build up om primary . schools,, and they, should b« our first care. I think I can see the possibility of the result after my heavy fights ' in connection With,a 'minimum salary being granted, to together with increments jfor good iei> vice. I think' the Minister cannot resist thisi.any; longer; zl It .'tfsrri&ttictt distressing to , read. ~the, opinionjf ,of competent educationalists on the re<tsuls of, sll this huge expenditure v&n %HB»i <4. Cliristchurch, says, regarding our children, that we turn them out from our schools unfit for the battle of life, unadapted to the conditions that they will meet with. Mr Tibbs, headmasler of the Auckland Grammar School, speaking of our secondary and technical work, condemned 'the system which runs to excessive expense, and the chief product of which consists of clerks and typewriters.' We have to; specialise in our work and guide our pupils towards the great industry of our community, not divert them from; it, as is too much done from our system. As a matter of fact our system ia based upon your English schools too largely, which has largely been conceived in towns. I have before me a most important speech ] delivered in England by a gentleman from India, who says in connection with the pupils that 'we have planted a system of education by means of which we have turned out litterateurs, men of high intellect, people fit to be great orators, judges, lawyers, and the like; but we have absolutely failed in teaching them to operate skilfully upon the natural products of their own soil, and the result is that all the bountiful stores of material which have been lavished by a kindly Providence upon the land are for the most part bundled out of the country in a raw state.' Much of this excellent speech might apply to N.Z. REPRESENTATION. I feel persuaded that we require to at once deal with this question of representation, and to place it on a basis conserving community of interests. If the work of the country is to be well done there must be other changes. You must do away with your territorial representative in Cabinet, or increase the duration of your Parliament, or if you do neither of these you must increase the number of your Ministers. The present method of triennial Parliaments involves perpetual unrest, especially to Ministers, and the admin-; istration undoubtedly . suffers. The Government is responsible, directly or indirectly, for the expenditure of about twelve millions of money annually. No private would dream of entrusting the sole control of more than a million of money to any one head man. Surely it is possible in a country like N.Z. to have a Minister costing a thousand , pounds a year, to superintend the expenditure of a million , education, the, expenditure there is over a million, and I unhesitatinglyspy.'that a,'/Minister would be well employed if'he did nothing beyond the "work of that de- ; partment. Take your Premier, at the present moment he holds the following in addition to being Prime Minister : Minister of Finance, Postmaster General,, Commissioner of Electric Telegraphs, and Minister of " Industries and ' Commerce, rhe work in these departments is more than any one man can properly attend to, and without going into detail one could give many instances of work^ undone. What our Parliament, largely. lacks is a knowledge of. the practical side of our requirements.. ( Our.present; system creates many professional politicians. We fcnow that Pljato banished professional politicians from his Republic, and I am not sure that he was far wrong in so.doing. Then another serious matter is ,thijS,tjiat members are returned largely because of billets secured and money grantsj 'whereas whilst those matters' deserve ' their attention they should not be the dominant influence they are in many constituencies., at the, preseni /time. There are great questions of national importance deeply affecting the welfare of every member of the community, which are often entirely overshadowed by the smaller questions of the day, to the detriment of the State. Besides, proper representation requires to have in our Parliament those who are engaged in the leading occupations of the country, so that' when questions of vital importance arise you have the practical touch.of the experienced man to guide the deliberations of Parliament. In every walk of life there is required a certificate of competency obtained in a competitive examination. The exception is politics, which deals with the most important questions of the day. The men who, take part in local government, such as municipal work, county, hospital, and charitable aid, Education Boards,' etc., obtain an enormous, grasp of the administration of the laws Of the country'. Yet we see men placed in important positions who have probably never been on ah Education Board or taken part in charitable

Mr Maekeozie also D - < fence, Socialism, and Land, as in r< - j cent speeches in the Waikouaiti ele 1 (torate, and painted In glowing wore the possibilities of New Zealand as tourist resort. IN CONCLUSION he said we should legislate so that on industries would be conducted in . way that would give everyone an at , sured position; we t/ . 1 see th " fience." lie wbuld Kk6' io aSt'a states man come forward- who would well the bonds of Eibpire together so tha the fate of Rome, whicj had passed away as a vanishing pa geant, should never He be lieve'd Bfit&ih 'lost tha" United 1 Statei of America'because she had not a mar ' who would take notice of the diTergenl interests of that country. It wis i question how long the outlying p4rt« of the would be dominated jbj a Parliament elected by a limited franchise in a small country like Britain. The time, he considered, was ripe jfoi a national Parliament which wotild 'look after the interests of the whole Empire. In 'the words of Teri:nyson, : 'And statesmen at her council met, ~„( W ho knew the seasons when to take , Occasion bjr., the, hand, and mak# I The bounds of freedom wider yet.' I ' iMC'Mackenzie resumed his selt dress was splendidly received, applaitoa being frequent throughout f -i The Chairman said the occasion watf an unique one, to have a gentlemanlike Mr Mackenzie addressing; theita f and he was sure they were all very' pleased to have had the privilege < >f listening. He hoped someone won d t now move a motion. f , . Nfr J. C. Anderson said it gave him much',pleasure, after hearing Mr Ma|:tx able, lucid, and statesmanlike, in moving a hearty vote thanks;'to him. He had come at the Request of a great number of the elec-. tors. If time had permitted the quisition would have been signed 10t times over, lie (the speaker) sorry to see that 6wing to the action of the Boundary Commissioners, Mr* Mackenzie would soon be in the posi-i tion that there was 'no rest for the sole of his (politick!) foot.' But hb : was confident that from the ability Mir' Mackenzie had shown in the past 2j} years he had a thorough grasp not onlv of the politics of New Zealand; .but of, the Empire. Personally he knew what. Mr Mackenzie had done when he fought the swindlers who were trying to get the best of the farmers of this country. He had done his best to fight the battles of the farmers and the con)* sumers. —(Loud applause)* I On the call of the Chairman the aujdience rose and gave three hearty cheers for Mr Mackenzie, and then they sang-Tpr he's a jolly good feU low.' i Mr Mackenzie ' briefly replied, anti moved a vote of thanks to the chairs which concluded a nioßt successful meeting. ' i Meeting at Owaka, In response to a fciquisifion, Mr T« Mackenzie delivered : an addreas in ['aterson's Hall, Owaka, on Saturn :lay evening, on "The Political Situa-! tion; its present condition and bilities." There was a largo attendance—fully 200—many coming long distances—from Purekireki, Tah*lik®, Ratanui, Houipapa, and representatives irom Kahuika. Included in'the audience ware a down or more ladies.. The Chnitmun, Mr A.' C. Saunders,, after reading a telegram 'of. apology] from Mr Dunne (mayor of Ualclutha),| said it was not necessary for him say anything by way of introducing. \lr Mackenzie to a Catlins atfdienee.j Se had been associated with them : pears gone by, and ai one -tim«i his. name was a household word in t&ej district—(Applause.) It wa» reryj gratifying to see such a large audi-j ence, nnd it was a lo Mr Machlcnzie that vo' •hould | some long distances oh a-'whrter'St light to hear *hat he had to «ay. lij it had been the Governor lilpisali, he! 3ould not have got a better gather-, ing. The Chairman added that he, rras very pleased to see 0a mafeyi adies pjreeent. , Mr Mackenaie, wiro met with »rdial reception, began by thanking: ilr Saunders for his vary kind introluction. He was * id to meet a Catlins audieniej- arid l ie took it as a great honour ithaV mcli a large audience should turn, out; ;o meet hinx He saw people tiiere. vho had come long distance,' ebme 3f them 20 milesj—and 21 miltir! an ;he Cutlins roads was about equal to' i journey from there to Chrirtchurdh. - (Laughter, and applause. ) JHe'wai here that evening to address .them in response to a requisition Containing ■l3 names, and since he arrived bjb)ther requisition, bearing 78 names, lad been put into his hands, ing him to speak in anothef "part of Jie district. He considered that vhen a public man was presented wijjfch i requisition to address the, people )f any district on the' political quesiiions that were interesting the pubic mind, it was his duty and privicge to comply with it .'—(Applause.) Speaking of the Catlinr district generally, he had always had jreat faith in it. It had had its ips and downs certainly, blit'' its future was now assured* The l display )f district products at the Winter Show last week was highly creditable. Regarding the timler and lairying prospects, Catlins was salculated to beoome - -tha,;Tarmaki of the South Ifih'nd". ' Ha sould remember of woria thinga being said of that province than eveltl:. been said about Catlins, and yet Taranaki to-day was tha jgreateflt dairying export province in New Zealaim. DEFENCE. , , ? They were living in New Zeahdril' a fool's paradise ; For yeara: |j?the ; had been living under the ana Britain, but was that going to eon tinue ? iWould the British tazpaye be able to keep tip the heavy expendi ture for < the navy? > Tha colonic must, unite with her in the goetftfo

B . of the Empire's defence Suppose tia Mother Country became involved kl sonie other complications, what VMtkl . become oi the Australian Cofoxfaa Then, what of the development ti tirt a East ? China was arousing; aftt whs (sending hex eons to Che mjeat ®tf» to-dat»' fcehoola all over 12m trarid and she watt bringing the moat *<M ' ®nt tuitncton front all parts a Globe to train her ansiee. Bvaßtaftl i- to* tha inhabitant* oi Ckia» »uat e look to Attstralist, And wfcat did . tkoy, hea» Australia already aaUioa „ outu "Australia iof the j-. *nu would not let ttate ova . 1 countvym«a comsa out unlcae aeuMh . paaied by m> muck gold, Dm encourage desirable immiamaui *® ! 'aiid, for ae yet the countJjr . vm sparsely J fountay which eouM not defend tHdj i vonten a>d children, and in New Zm--1 land they could not defend the w«l men and ehildien U the wont tuN , ttnthe worst. • The true poßrr «ft , this ot Krr JHealana vm ta encoiuwge the J trite clans vj imsafr grant,v - Surely tteife county wat Worthy ©I the beet protection and fce believad it.oloi Of the bftti eonatfle. m.the weds. 1 : tttPAKTK»rr» axgeaditia* ka t*ei> Twwia Apartment would develop thwa eon' nerce> jf ifati weatigr>M spent-k ft kcA»ibic atanbts. lie thought,« ; i»amto*»i»f - «ffte fceuita!** Urn* " 'Bpiwjet, ,«4tfe tike. Satrifc Isbnt^' to&e ' IWih vmuiM to? IwaWf-M One •.•''• Might sdhta. te S» «i the' statfc )Ww»! .jaatieaUwtyxta •* teitieatiw'-'li-!■»»*#-W.*tfeipd ft» ,S®, al leagthiia {to dsM. the JaountaißeJii S Brafaa* ihegwat at tfarOaidhto &trwt/aad the K&F+Wqm 'Hi ;'lie, b» Mf ( injjlinto|difr adi the redraw* ' J ; : 35*ai*i«ai , i -iM' prappxtida Aa bntii »at 'ia neglectiag i&e aipdt teilTStjja, jw ■ was (lone at pni ; ,ouw^ L J , A ■: t ' t J»♦ ■--• * HOSIPITAIi, .s^#,-.,-»M,aa i; ,. iaiiitution £a w&hft <ae- jjjeeple in kh« country diflltxieie i|/tlwai^ ; w. The* triiateeii ' <v«m oi .''hospital. TIM 1 r/iaiifew Zealand to 'TKey" wire procuring the l beet' ' fie instruta«*te/' ' fittiag ' u^lhe.'hoapitai; in; every l j wa» that would toake foi the aid bf thtir tUk poo*;'" binder reaeonable and ooinlort' able; eoaditions., They proposed tsav erecting'a new opemting theatav -that''operations Jcom whidbi there was a "risk"of contagion and operations of - ordinary kinds might be lt*pt separ* ate: , ; The .' institution had been' 'wwdeHulljr improved during recent yearn, arid a rnedical.inftn had told him juit the ' otli«jf '.* day ikat, ihe?e • was' 1 hivudly -any many respects witii the hospital' now and .what H" %ai lour ago. i '• v * -The ether points of Mrvlfackeniae's address will be found fuQy- dealt with Stirling addreie, a full xeport •of whi*h will be found elsewhere. The deliVtiy of the address occupied an hour and a quarter, and it was fraquently puneiuatM with hearty ap plause, which was continued lor stiff time when he resumed hie seaV COMPIiiOtNT AB'S. The CMnaett ; said ihe thought thsj were indebted to IKr Mackenzie for hhl able and" statesmanlike it had'been indeed, a treat < to 'listca to»— (Applatise.) j i J " Mr Bsadfield said he had been 'vwfy interested in Mr Mackenzie's remarks aWut the hospital. u There was not a more deserving institution) and he (Mr thought they, should' not grudge the mbnegr nQuired «to make, it complete iu 'eveij 'particular. .And/ while on the sob* : jeet, 'he would like, to see • the 'ttTiwM better , than they . werei ); - Thej. 'theis pay vm >e«y Oiflai ;Odfifti»u'iay, he said they . had' thai night lir timed" to;» good > addreaa no* and. he i«as vesg nlad he ha'd down t# Ibar hUtW' • He 'h'td fe»y gveat pleasuve in raovixlg a hekrty tote v of -thanks ta Mr mm- ' kiihsie for hi s able address.'"" ■••Th^ : ' - ''ippiaus!i ; follawing was so* tainea for some and (hiring a lull 1 the Chairmanl renuahed, "1 thixh wo ean eall that iiotMn aariMNk"*Jttore applaQM. Mi* Maekeaade thanked these ior ihcil very hearty and enthnsiaetie A 4 hearer vote- 'ei thanks v*a #a> eorded "to the Chais2mn, and the meeting el\3sed. « - ' !i ' 'V ' - 1 POOTS rack THS SPEECH, , T.«(b; members could more easily represent the City of Duncidih than two ' eo.uld represent the - 5 elitttor&ie. not ( tHe -Opposi4ioh that wants a coalition y its l ''the public 1 %>inian of the country ithat" is demanding it. - These theories etc.) all Hty ■' -'well in the abstract; it's to five them practical api)lieatien they fall like a house fUi, Xealand is one of the most trod-jgdltred lands It was (he gawl fortune of man to settle upon. Of 124 million' Carcases of sheep sent to London, Nertf haa sent ■y ; Wool is bound to rise/and if I hael a million of monsy I would invest St in. l wool. • ! ,v ' ; 5 " / - The pnees of our J products will keep up, and there's no occasion tcf get pessimistic. But if you pay ■.ridieulouti'prices for land you are bound to Suffer;■ '•■ if -"- 1 " \ dujr Education Department is controlled by a faddist; I don't suppose he Was ever in a school committee in his" life. 5 'China has 800 people io {he square mile; Australia only one. How is 'the latter to hold hev country against • I would give the'people the right to take np land under any tenure the 1 diked 1 best l ; only see they dont ge toa ' ; -°,fl ""' v ' BAI^UBT, {Vi lf J| , taiiicd at a banquet in Mr Geddee* iiailway Hotel. . Hfere Mr and Mrs Geddes had provided ix spread that did justice to their high reputation, and soon a gathering of between 4ft and 50 were seated round the festive board. With toast, reminiscence, song, and Story, & very pleasant two' how act* jqgao* k