OPPOSITION CRITICISMS.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13377, 19 March 1909, Page 8

OPPOSITION CRITICISMS.

SI'KECH DV THE PRIME MINISTER. ANOINTMENTS TO THE CIVIL SERVICE. THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK. At the complimentary banquet tendered last night, at Lyttelton, to Mr G. Laurenson, M.P., on interesting speech on subjects of public interest was delivured by the, Premier.

Sir J.bseph, who was received with continued applause, said that ho was not going to deliver a policy speech, but li<_- desired to reply to some allegations made by the Leader of the Opposition as to what the Government had done—allegations that were contrary to fact. These allegations were that the Government, during the last general election, promised positions to men in the Legislative Council, promised billets to people throughout the country, and that the Government had bribed the constituencies. He had challenguU the. Leader of the Opposition to name one inalunco where anything of via; kind iiad been done. He had also Liei a abused ol sending telegrams, at tiie public expeli.-o, dealing with election matters, but nothing of the kind bud been done. it had also been alk'ge-.l that diifeiences of opinion beliv.rii himself aim the Ho;;. Jas. .\)r(..ii\. .:) bad led to tlwt '_• i. IU-man's r< tiivKiem from the .Ministry. There w;is n,>l :i scintilla of truth in any of

ilu.w.! ii!lfj4atious. ami tii«> Lf\,der of t'tic Oppo-Uion had heeit unable to indicwr oni' instance in which the tilings ul! •■gerl to have liccn demo were done. Th'-n , had been no differences of opinion l.itu-.'pii Mr M'-Gowan and himself: Mr M<Gow:m and l.im.-»elf had discussed

r-.-rtaiu i-ireunri.stfinoes that had arisen with thf greatest cordiality, with good friendship towards each otiier, and without any heartburning. In the latest iillegiaions mack- by tho Leader of the Opposition, ho had quoted some remarks 'made by Sir Kohort Stout, the Chief Justice'and Chancellor of the University, lie (Sir Joseph) had cabled Sir Robert Stout to the effect that in the course of an interview containing a political attack .Mr Massey had said: " With regard to Government billets, allow mc tr> call the Prime Minister's attention to a statement madi> by -Sir Robert Stout only a few wetki a>4o, to the effect that in connection with the Civil Service ho ventured to say that there were many appointments'made of persons who had never passed the examination stipulated. Sir Robert also said that positions in the public service, of the Dominion iiad been allotted to persons when they should have been given to others whom they were below. Sir Robert spoke in his capacity as Chancellor of the New Zealand University, and his statement, which has never Iwon challenged, is much stronger than anything I have ever said on the subject." Sir Joseph's cable concluded as follows: —" I am sure that whatever you did say, this must be a distortion 01 its effect. As it is clear that your remarks in tho Senate are to be used in your absence for purposes of political attack, I 6hould be glad to know, before you leave Australia, whether the extracts given from Mr Massey's interview express what you said or meant to say. I -think that you will agree that, in the circumstances, I am entitled to ask you for this." Sir Robert Stout replied from Melbourne by cable on the 15th inst. as follows: —"Am amazed that remarks I made have been construed into an attack on the Ministry. I made it cloar that I was not referring to the recent administration of the Act. The incident I cited happened fourteen years ago." Continuing, Sir Joseph Ward, said that he had been informed by members of the University Senate who were present when Sir Robert Stout made the speech, that no such construction ns has been placed on it could -havo been ' made from the speech he delivered. As a matter of justification of the Administration, he (Sir Joseph) considered that he was entitled to say that this misrepresentation of the Leader of the Opposition -was not fair. In a memorandum to the officer who administers the Civil Service Act (Mr Hugh Pollen) be (Sir Joseph) had askec' if, .and to whet extent, the following allegations were true:—(l) That in violation of the Act, positions in the Civil Service had been allotted to persons when they ought to hav-e been allotted'-to persons holding a higher position on the pass list; (2) that positions in the service bad been given to persons who never passed the examinations required and stipulated by the Act. Mr Pollen's reply was to the effect that both the allegations mentioned were false; vacancies in the service had , been filled in accordance with- the Civil Service Reform Act, 188U, and the regulations thereunder. Hβ had never been asked in any way by any Minister to depart from his statutory duties in tho matter of these appointments. It had been stated more than once in v general .way in the Dominion that the Government was stuffing the public service with numerous employfos, but despite* the fact that thousands of applications wero "received, the Government hodi never on any occasion made an appointmenfc for which there was. no vacancy. Tho assumption that tho Government appointed people to the Civil Service because they want to appoint them "was contrary to fact. Tho Government bad not gone on the. principle of over-manning any of the departments merely for the sake of giving employment to anyone in New Zealand. (Applause.)

Regarding t«hp financial position of the D.ominion. Sir Joseph reminded his ■bearers that many months ago he bad said that the position was strong —a statement that he- now repeated. All the Government's financial arrangements had been fixed up to October aext, and this was an important thing for the people to know. Referring to statements that ho said emanated from a journal issued by ono of the Chambers of Commerce in the North to the effect that there- was a serious position in connection with the loss of deposits in the Post Office Savings Hank, lie pointed out that important financial institutions in the Dominion had held out strong inducements to jxMiplc who had loose money to take ir out of other institutions and obtain a higher rate of interest whirih the first-named institutions had b*<«n forcing up. He had the results of the Post Office- Savings Bank for the months of January and February, and it. would be gratifying for his hearers and others to know that in the matter of withdrawals being in excess of deposits the tide had distinctly turned. (Applause.) The figures were:—lst to 31st January, deposits £748,572, withdrawals £723j620, excess of deposits £•24.951 : Ist to 23th February, deposits £803.119, withdrawals £790,453. excess of £12,666. TotalsDeposits, . £1,551,691;' withdrawals, £1.514.073; excess of deposits, £37,61" In the course of a reference to land settlement, Sir Joseph indicated that Parliament would be asked to reduce the individual areas of sections offered under the Lands for Settlement Act. Tho twenty-seven settlers placed on Culverden had each cost about £5000, which was altogether too large a sum. Continuing, he said that some people in Xew Zealand were always, apparently, looking for trouble and a&sertins: tliat the bottom was out of the country. They would have fluctuations in the price of their products until the Day of Judgment, but if en every occasion that such fluctuations took place tiie country wav to be decrkd, us was

on record in soino financial journals, it was not the way to help tlie people or tho country. In the course of his concluding remarks, Sir Joseph said that in tee course ot a lew weeks it would bo his duty, on behalt of the Government, to deal with matters of considerable importance to the country, lieiore ho could do so, he wanted to see the- end ot the financial year, and to know tiie exact position of the finances on the 31st of March. He was very glad to be able to tell them that at present the indications were that the results for the financial year were going to bear out the estimates he put before Parliament last session. (Applause.) Important changes were to l>e made in connection with carrying out the public services of the country. Some strong comments had been made in connection with the expansion of some of the public departments, and some of the Government's opponents contended that they ought to make what they termed tlie public expenditure and the public revenue meet. Ever since ho had been a member of the previous and the present administration, the public expenditure and revenue had more than met. Now they found people who desired matters adjusted in a manner that they regarded as 'important. He said that they could do so. but they were not going to do so at. (The expense ot the grent mass of the public servants of the country. They were going to make some important changes that would ensure effective administration, but would do so with as little hardship as possible. In tlie next few weeks he would plnco before the people an outline of the Government's policy, and of tho measures to be placed before Par lament ",," N t «p«ion. These would clearly indi•nte what the Government contemplated, and he believed that they would be to the benefit of the people or tiio Dominion, and «u, B »t them on the rond to prosperity.