THE PRIM MINISTER CRITICISED.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14350, 9 May 1912, Page 7

THE PRIM MINISTER CRITICISED.

MR J AMES ALLEN'S REVIEW. A .SPEECH WITHOUT A POLICYOn Tuesday a member of the '"Otago Daily Times" stalf c-!'-;d upon Mr James Allen, M.P. (Bruce), and re- \ quested him to state his opinion respect- j ing the speech delivered by the Prime j Minister at Balclutha on Saturday j night. Mr Allen said: '*This speech was advertised with tbo export advertising skill of tho Prime Minister throughout New Zealand as the great policy speech that was to be delivered at Balclutha. I have reed it, and so I suppose have the members of tb»> party in his following, and 1 wonder what they think of it. They can find some ,scr;ij» of policy, and 1 supreme these, in cyrs ol tho Prime Mir.isior and his colleagues, arc the most important that have to bo presented to the country at the preiont time. Tho Civil Service should be modernised and its method - Mmplified. and tho shareholders in the State should get the return from their servants in tl» Civil Bgrvice that the requirements demanded. "' Another item of policy disclosed in tho speech is that there are to be two moro paid Ministers. I am entirely in accord with Mr Massey that thero is not the slightest necessity for | two more paid Ministers. Thero are ] plenty of Ministers to do the work if I they allot the portfolios fairly and if ; they stick to their work- But hew i can they do the work they ought to bo j doing, which is at thp 'present moment j learning their duties nt Wellington and | enquiring into th<& administration, of their departments, when they are parading tho country attending banquets? Just read this morning's telegrams: ' Tho Minister of Justice will attend Ministerial banquets to Mr J. C. Thomson, M.P., at Otautau on Wednesday and at Orawia on Thursday, nnd will probably be away until next week. Tho Minister has promised to open tho musical and elocutionary competitions at Christchurch on May I 14th if his other engagements permit,' ! That is a sarnulo of what j baa been going on for souk* ; weeks, and this is a aw I Ministry. They havo a difficult job to undertake, and that is how they are undertaking it. Look nt thj. allocation j of tho work of tho various Ministers, j Tako Mr Colvin, for instance, Ho is administering Mines, and Mines only. Do you mean to tell roe that an active and capable man cannot dp more than tho administration of tho Mines, Department? Wo know better. The fact is, with regard to these two more paid Ministers, that so far as the work js concerned there is pot the slightest uee-essifcy for them. But thero is a necessity, in my opinion, at any rate, that ho should bo able to strengthen his party by tho indusion of two more paid men. There have beou a good many after thesn Ministerial billets, and there aro several disappointed. Two more appeased means an additional strength to tho Cabinet. It is not good enough for New Zealand, und tho people ought to bo emphatic in their protest—nnd I belicvo they will— against it. Those honorary Minister!*, Ido not believe in them, They are put iv also simply because they would bo discontented if they were not. "It is difficult to find anything eleo of policy in the speech, and I am suro that niombe-W"- of his party who pledged themselves tt> tho polwy declared in tho recent Governor's"" Speech must have road through tho Prime Miwjitov's remarks witin bitter disappointment.. | Thero ie not a, word in commendation, of any ono of the proposals in tljo Governor's Speech, Why not? This was a policy speech. What, for instance, has he etdd with regard to tho principles ''outained in the Local Government BiUP That Bill was prepared by the Into Cabinet, of which ho *ra/j a member. His work is in it. It represents his policy. Ih he prepared to change that os the tide changes, or will bo stick to kia principles on tho Local Government Bill? It ia oil very well to call representatives together now to consider the BUI. Thnt should hove been done before they produced their measure." Tho meaauro represents thoip opinions, and if thoy liavo any grit in thorn they will stick to their op.nk>ns.«" He has not a word to say in support of tho Local Government Bill. AH tjmt he tell& tho peoplo is, "If you do not like it- we will aiter it- for yon. "What has Mr Mackenzie to say to Mr Laurcnson about tho endowment policy? In 3007, at Wyndham, Mr Mao&ousio Mid endowment policy is largely a will-o'-the-Wp scheme, full of sound and fury, signify' jng nothing, ond meant na a *op to the city, It is largely an effervescent drmk. Fowlds is tlio soda, Laurojison tho acid, and McNab the water, apr] wore it not that it threatens to interfere with our prospective settlors and the-satisfactory „peuian up of unused country, wo might look on it .with indifference.' , , ~ t "There is one other remark that calls for comment, It is under the heading 'Tho Cost, of Living.' The Prime Minister was quoting from some article, apparent'; - * in an English newspaper. It ts to tho effect that were Sir Jcsoph Ward to stop his borrowing policy he would havo to turn round to his grumbling and discontented subjects and jay, 'Pay your way put of i your own resources henceforth.' and be niakos the direct accusation that this article waa based on what wqs cent Home by tho friends of the Opposition. Again, I am afraid, he in not very accurate, It is quite easy to find remar)« made, not by members of tho Opposition or their friends, whiph would lead a leading article writer to pen such sentences. Thc lato Prlmo Minister, i n X9lO, -peaking at Ashburton, #tia that 'to stop borrowing would aoect trado right on the rod, and thp rate of interest would jump up like a cork out of a soda-water bottle.' That !i« a damaging enough statement, and ito it can be. added tho remarks of a prominent supporter of tho Into Prim? Minister's party who admitted that' the ! only remedy this country had (it the present timo for unemployment was »sorrowed money'—so lato as 1911. If, therefore, ono wants to find damaging statcmcui* with regard to Now Zealand ! they can bo discovered, as I havo just shown, amongst members of tho lato Administration aud their supporters. ••There is another matter- dp-c-ak-ing in Christchurch on May 2nd, tho Prime Minister said: 'Mr Massey is not the mnn his friends will look to. They realise he liad his opportunity at the last election and bungled tho wholo campaign.' Now, I know Mr Massey and tho feeling of his supporters as well as anybody, and I unhesitatingly wy that his friends do look to him, and predict for him a fiplendid career. lie d:d not bungle the last election campaign, but he produced «. *olid parry of 8-5 men, who are prepared to stand by him. When jt is realised what the party was iv numbers, when Mr Massey took the leadership, tbe improved conditions, of tho party today are a record that any man might bo proud of, especially under the circumstances —the circumstances being that he had to do this almost entirely out of his own rocket. As a matter of fact, Mr Massey would havo been in ofiice to-day if tWo whom he assisted to get into the House had kept their pledges."