The Press. TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1905. THE PREMIER AT PAHIATUA.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12177, 25 April 1905, Page 6

The Press. TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1905. THE PREMIER AT PAHIATUA.

!Mr Seddon journeyed to Pahiatua last Thursday, and presented a charter to tbe Mangatainoka branch of the Liberal and Labour Federation. Delegates from the faithful Liberals then assembled and chose a candidate for the seat at the coming general election, the Premier, whose concern lest it be thought that be in any' way influenced the selection was almost ostentatious, subsequently bestowing his blessing upon tbe party's choice. The proceedings were brought to a close in tho evening with what is termed a "policy" speech by the Premier. It has been stated that Mr Seddon devoted a few good-humoured words to Mr Maasey's recent speeches. As a matter of fact, a. great part of his remarks consisted of a series of attempts to misrepresent the attitude and views of the Leader of the Opposition, and to contradict his statements. Mr Seddon was so unusually fertile in this respect that it is difficult to make a selection from his numerous erroneous assertions. He denied, for instance, the truth of Mr Masaev's statement that borrowed money was used by the Government to provide all sorts of things which should

be paid for out of revenue. The published details of the Pubiio Works expenditure however, show appropriations, to take only one department that of Defence, for such things as haversacks, ammunition, medical stores, overcoats and waterproof sheets. The Public Works Statement quotes the number of miles of road that am maintained out of the fund, which also bears the oost of suoh charges as new linoleum in one post office, improvements in the washhouse attached to another, repairs to fences of courthouses, and the painting of inntnnerable Govel-nment buildings in all parts cf the colony. Mr Seddon asserts that these charges, though paid for out of the Public Works Fund, do not come out of borrowed money, because the Government have transferred nearly five millions from the Consolidated revenue to the Pubiio Works Fund. The latter fund oons-tta, aa is generally known, very largely of borrowed money. Tbe remainder, consisting of tbe amount transferred from the consolidated revenue, is •opposed to represent the surplus "that can be spared from tbe revenue, but in a large measure it only exists because the Government does not .pay for a great deal of maintenance work, out of revenue. It is easy enough to show big transfers to the Public Works Fund under these condittc_e, but they would disappear if a proper system of finance were adopted. It is impossible for Mr Seddon to put his finger on £20 in the Public Works Fund and say that that srtfbunt, sprat on painting some country police station, came from the consolidated revenue. The Fund, aa we have said, consists very largely of loan money, and. the system of spending such money on purely maintenance work is radically unsound. Mr Seddon twitted Mr Massey with not knowing that one of the reforms tbe latter was advocating was already the law of the land. Mr Massey had said that the Opposition would extend the Advances to Settlers Act to towns aad cities, and Mr Seddon pointed out that the Act of 1899 already made provision for this. It does, in a fashion. Sub-eso-tion 5 of section 12 runs, for instance, as follows:—"In the case of urban or "suburban land, on which no build"ings exist, the amount of the loan "shall not exceed one-half of the value "of tbe land, and no loan shall "be granted exoept for the erection "of buildings on the land." That is to say that a working man who haa bought a quarter-acre section at, say, £80 and wants to put up a £300 or £400 house on it, can actually borrow £40 for the purpose, if the Department will lend him so much. It usually has its own opinion of the value of land, and the borrower might find his section was valued only at £60 for lending purposes. He would therefore get £30, paid in instalments as the work of building proceeded, towards the oost of his home. What Mr Massey wants is tbe adoption by the Advances to Settlers' Department of the building society principle, by which a borrower oould get some more substantial assistanoe than a paltry £30 towards building his house. We cannot spare the time nor the apace to correct all tbe Premier's mia-state-menta, bnt come other passages in his speech call for' comment on a later occasion.