A POLITICAL BANQUET.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11461, 20 December 1902, Page 8

A POLITICAL BANQUET.

MR A. W. HOGG ENTERTAINED. SPEECH BY THE PREMIER. (SPECIAL TO "TIPC PRESS.") MASTERTON, December 19. Mr A. W: Hogg was entertained by his eupporters at a .social at the Town Hall to-night. There was a large gathering of representative settlers. The Premier and Mrs Se&lon and the Hon. C. H. Mills and liis dnughters wore present. Mr Hollings, in introducing the Premier, ."Mid they regarded him as a political San<low, and as tho most popular ?ivan in the colony. The Premier referred with gratitude to Mr Hogg's services to the constituency. He sa ; d he was delighted on re/coiving the returns to see that their old. member hod be?n returned by so large a.'majority. Trey could congratulate wuenisolves on having a real live member, who had never descended to expediency to ga : «n. popularity. He claimed that "the colony had been largely benefited by the polk.y of the present liovernment, and the v ronta being made by the settlers was rmough to make one's mouth water. H'j would give them the catechism of the JLjberal party. One of the cardinal poinjt& was providing equality of oppoitunity yd. regard to business and education. Iγ. the past, whilst they had insured tho commercial prosperity of tho colony, they iiad possibly an educated democracy of 'ftrhioh they were now enjoying the first fruits. T3ie result was that commerce was; safe, and the capitalist could not do bitter than invest in the colony. They mv«t go further. Large tracts of country,"had been set apart for educational purpos'»s. The incomes from these reserves had up to tihe present l>een applied to , primary education. He was not./ sure that the whole of the/ money from these reserves should nat be applied to secondary education, 'having the money for primary education /to come from the pockets of the taxpayers of the country. We were lagging behind as far as universities were concerned. They should put it in the power of_ every gifted child to go from the primary schools to the universities. Then as to the placing of people on the land; that was the burden of his eong now, ac it had been his Alpha and Omega before the election, and it must become the burden of the song of every inembw of the Liberal Party. Tlrey must go on acquiring land and encouraging small settlement. Young New Zealanders must not be driven out of the colony; they did not wish to do anybody an injury, but absentees and individuals must give way to the common weal. As regards Crown lands', something more must be done, even though it would entail increased expenditure on roads and brid?tis. That meant increased indebtedness. That indebtedness must now be incurred, and everyone who wanted land must be placed in the way of getting it at the earliest possible date. After referring to othir matters, 'Mr Seddon said that tlw Government wanted to discourage combines. President Roosefelt proposed to mike combines illegal ; that was wrong. There were times when combinations were essentially in the interests of the producer, but we should do as they did in Austria, regulate these combinations, pass a law to make them register, get them under control, make them shew the State what they were doing, and be in a position to defend their actions, in default lose their charter. There muet, be only one monopoly: the monopoly of the Liberal party and the present Government. There had been talk of a reconstruction of the Cabinet by those who had nothing to do with the party. He was very pleased to see the flattering references .which had been made to Mr Hogg and Mr Millar, who were mentioned as probable Ministers. It showed, that the Liberal party had p!enty of material for filling up any vacancies -which might occur, but hereminded his hearers that when the time came for Messrs Hogg and Millar to tak* portfolios the' Opposition press would go for them in the same way as they nad gpne for him and the other Ministers from time to time. Hβ looked forward to the day when Messrs Hogg and Millar's great services to ■ Liberalism and the colony would bo rewarded by their promotion to Cabinet rank, but they wanted no advice from the Opposition press. They would do what was required from within themselves. An attempt liad been made by the editor of a southern paper to ascertain his views an to reconstruction in consequence of tihe rumour which had b&en published, but he had bsen too long in politics to be drawn in that way. It was wrong for the Oj> position press to try and spoil Minister*' appetites for Christmas dinner by these unfeeling references. Whatever was don<* they would so ordacn matters that the besi results should be- achieved, so as to warrant the great trust that had been reposed in them by the people of the colony at the recent elections. ••