The Clutha Leader. BALCLUTHA: FRIDAY, MARCH 20. MR RUSSELL AT BALCLUTHA.

Clutha Leader, Volume XL, Issue 73, 20 March 1914, Page 5

The Clutha Leader. BALCLUTHA: FRIDAY, MARCH 20. MR RUSSELL AT BALCLUTHA.

Thc supporters of the Liberal Party . Rak'lutlia were fortunate in their "'lection of Mr Busscll, M.P. for Avon, ,| ia ],ipion in their laudable endeavour ® I gVC a little life inspired into the '"oribunil party as it exists at present •" riutlia- H<-' could be relied on to Ike what is termed a "slashing" cc h which, if it would not quite go Mrn wit' l hearors who are not prepared 1 "believe everything they are told from f\ iilatt'orm, would catch the withink■l ami more juvenile portion of the I ""fieii«-c, which dearly loves anything '['the "slashing" order. That Mr Rus- ° || would he strong in denunciation was S lceteil, nor were expectations disjointed; that he would also be strong ■ criticism his supporters also believed, kt the triviality of many of his atcks on the Government went to serias|v (iiscoiuit any point he tried to make on affairs of greater magnitude. The audience were treated to the old ■ es which have done duty for the past »onple oi , vears ; tlic l '" es slancl « r at ] last election, of Tory and reactionary government, of broken promises, that the Government was the friend of the squatter and the big capitalist. All the old cries, as we say, were dished up, Tfith but little new matter to enliven the reiterated criticisms offered. Mr Russell told the audience of the good work done by his party in the past, and does not seem yet to have laid to heart the advice given the Liberal Party by gir John Findlay, who has warned them that a mere recitation of the work done jn the past will never oust the Government from the Treasury benches. Mr Jassell in one breath denounces the Masscv Government as a reactionary •>artv, and in another breath he declares that'thc Massoyites are waiting, to steal the policv of the Opposition—but it is jueasv matter for Mr Russell to reconcile two such statements! Mr Russell savs the Opposition would have settled the strike in a very few days if they had hail the chance, while the member for Grey, "'ho went into Parliament on Opposition votes and who is an expert in the world of strikes, says that if the Opposition had been in power the strikers would have won in a week. Merely a little diversity of opinion! Jorwas Mr Russell by any means happy nheii he touched —very lightly—on the land question. As a holder of the freehold of an enormous tract of land in the >'orth Island, he was not inconsistent enough to treat his hearers to any dissertation on the evils of the system applied to lands for settlement by Mr Mas«v; indeed, this land question is one uiieli Mr Russell and his party are glad to be able to leave severely alone. "The lehold has not settled an extra acre ground,'' said Mr Russell somewhat lely. And again, referring to the ' tlenicnt of the land, Mr Russell de- j jed that the Government had failed j fulfil their party cry of "Settlement, i ire settlement, and still more settleit.'' Mr Russell quoted a set of iigu to prove his contention that settleit was being neglected. In this conation it is interesting to note the niou of Mr P. J. o'Regan, one of 'lliugton's strongest anti-Government ii. Writing to one of the strong position prints Mr o'Regan says: Is for the administration of the Act la the present Government to which ■ Russell takes exception, 1 need only iat out that on March 31, 19i:i, 223 iperties had been acquired, while one ir later the number had mounted to 1. Thus the Massey Government pureed 18 estates in one year. Had the Derals acquired at the same rate they tiW have accounted for 306 estates; Jit must be borne in mind that in the tlier stages of the system, when laud lues had not become inflated as they j vc in later years, it was much easier purchase estates than now. Tried by f test of figures, therefore, the Massey ivcrnnicnt easily eclipsed their processors' record in the acquisition of i«es for settlement.'' Another little wsity of opinion in .the anti-Govern- * camp! Mr Russell blames Mr wey for not buying enough land, "leMr o'Regan blames him for buy--5 far more than the Liberal Governrats of the past. Then there was the wgreen question of short-dated versus ng-dated loans, and Mr Russell in his aling with these did not pay a very ?1 compliment to the commonsense of s audience. His (Mackenzie) Governttt's loan was at 99 at 3A per cent. * two years, while Mr Allen's was at la '4per cent, for ::n years; the differMm 30 years would be in favour of * Mackenzie loan by £330,000! We ■".quite understand" wiry the Otago a,lv Times calls Mr ' Russell an Wrar financier. With' Mr Russell we would be no underwriting and Werago charges to pay; nothing in * way of expense connected with goSon to the London market every two "wee years for his short-dated 'loans. -Ir Russell trv to raise money on esc terms and find thc treatment he *'«gct. But it is useless'to follow 'Kussell through the twists and turns 13 arguments; the old, old stories e been answered by Ministers time .'"again, and no doubt Mr Allen is * nt when he s ays that if he keeps **W'»R Mr Russell much longer the »ry w,n bc aK tired of him as it is hat Vrr oll ' Wc arc S la(l ' howcver > lis l °" lomifl time to s l ,eak '" ile electorate; it is well to have every ot a political question before us, ■lite Hi" t,IC lißht is t0 be sl,ed on ml • p!aces Jt is well t0 have s "?? '" authority— and Mr Russell ft LUrV I)ig I>M for authority— to m " "flit ski„e. Mr Russell had a We of u a K ° n<l ""^•pf 1011 . and a aeed not * n ' { ( ' onn,len(,e . but we si aas „ L remin ' l an experienced politiat the ton" 8 that lt means but little ' er yd b a °H to <'give tamaS ' attention to Clutha, Ma*Mch to Bru «" at next election—ay the least of it, is a trifle WE. tt Mr Euß f dl ** be ■ ** ■* ItteaUon to eecuring &

own return in a seat where.he is by no | means firmly seated. I

The annual meeting of the Clutha Football Club is called for next Tuesday night. J P.P.G.M. C. J. Wood and P.G. T. A. Johnston were elected delegates for the Dalton Lodge to the district meeting at Outram on Wednesday next. The jubilee of the Dalton Lodge o,f Oddfellows takes place this year, and a meeting is to be held on Tuesday to consider a fitting method of celebrating the event.

At a meeting of the newly-formed Otanomomo Road Board on Tuesday it was decided that rating should be carried out on the unimproved value svstem.

Thc Balclutha correspondent of the Star states that Mr Russell was entertained at supper after his Balclutha address, 40 being present. We presume this function must have been of a private or purely party nature.

The next sitting of Balclutha Magistrate 's Court has been altered from April 15 to 17, and a sitting of Clinton Court has been set down for the 15th, when the Waiwera fencing dispute will be brought on.

The Iwikatea Royal Arch Chapter of Freemasons (Balclutha) was on Wednesday evening visited by M.W. Bro. L'sson, First Principal of New Zealand, and M.W. H. J. Williams, G.S.E. (Wellington). The first truck load of rails for the embankment works arrived yesterday, and platelaying will proceed immediately. The trees are being taken down and used for sleepers for the construction of thc line.

Messrs Griffith and Carter, general carters, have now a large and in every way suitable covered-in express for the carriage of parcels and passengers. This vehicle can accommodate fifteen passengers at once.***

In a paragraph in our last issue we mentioned that Messrs Hood and Broome had taken over Marshall and Summers' Milton cycle business. This was a mistake, Mr Tweedie being Mr Hood's partner instead of Mr Broome. Mr P. Gaines, well known in Balclutha, having been stationed here till about a year ago as a guard, has been re-elected as member of the Railway Appeal Board and also a representative of the contributors to the superannuation fund.

.• It is reported that Mr George Livingstone, who stood for Clutha at last genera] election, will again oppose Mr Malcolm. He was mentioned for Waitaki, but it is understood that Liberal prospects there are not encouraging. Mr .1. A. Macpherson is likely to oppose Mr Scott in Central Otago. Mr C. Anderson, late of Katea, advertises in this issue that he has taken over the Criterion Hotel and Stables, Balclutha. This is a most favourably situated house, and under Mr Anderson's management should be one of the most popular private hotels in the town. Bro. Arthur V. Hope, a son of the late P.G. William Hope, of the Dalton Lodge, Balclutha, has been elected De-puty-Provincial Grand Master for Southland District, M.U.,1.0.0.F. At the Dalton Lodge meeting on Tuesday evening a motion of congratulation was carried to D.P.G.M. Hope on his election. The Government have acquired 1000 acres yi the Tiratua block, on the outskirts of Dannevirke, at £lO per acre. The block comprises 7000 acres. It is likely that a considerable portion of the balance will be purchased by the Crown for settlement purposes. The land is admirably suited for dairying.

M'r A. 11. Young hekl an Assessment Court at Kaitangata yesterday, when Mrs Mary Mclnnes and M. Mclnnes objected to valuation of their property. Mr R. R. Stewart appeared for the Kaitangata Borough Council and Mr R. R. Grigor for the objectors. The magistrate reduced the farm valuation from £4B (annual value) to £36, but upheld the valuation on the two cottages.

In prefacing his political address at Balclutha on Tuesday night, Mr G. W. Russell said that in driving through the district that day it was conveyed to him that the future of the district would lie greatly in the dairying industry. He believed that the present factories would eventually be only a small proportion of the v number scattered round the district, and that Clutha would materially help in making New Zealand the Denmark of the Pacific.

A deputation from the Caledonian Society will wait on the Clutha Football Club at the latt.er's annual meeting in the Council Chambers on Tuesday evening to see if some settlement cannot be come to as to the control and upkeep of the recreation ground. The Caledonian Society has in the past done the lion's share of the work on the ground, although using it only once a year, whilo the football club and the South Otago Rugby Union, which get most benefit from the ground, have done comparatively little towards its upkeep, lii fact, in past winters the ground, has been more at the disposal of Visiting footballers and others than of local people.

The Education Board has decided to top trees at At-ttiiirtoil school at a cost of about £4, also to effect repairs to school and outhouses at a cost of £lo. At Wairuna repairs and ffillcilig were authorised at a cost of £ls. It was cided that fees of one secondary pupil at Balclutha be remitted. Tenders are to be called for a new school at Bishop's, and guarantors are to be,asked for contribution agreed upon. Mr Turner was appointed the board's representative on Balclutha Technical Classes Board. The tender of Ross and Gall (Anderson's Bay) was accepted for the Wharetoa residence, £l9B 16s. There were three other tenderers.

At the Supreme Court, Gisborne, yesterday, Michael Maunix was found guilty of shooting with iiitent to maim. The prisoner, an elderly man, made an impassioned appeal to the jury, stating that he had been tormented by false accusations on the part of the complainant, and finding no remedy felt that tho only course left to him was to shoot in order to get him into court. Mr Justice Hosking, referring to the unwritten law, said attempts to rectify grievances by that means ought not to be allowed to prevail. There was evidence that the accused was a hard-work-ing man, and that the man who was shot was not of very good character, but'the jury were not called on to decide whether the &ecwed bad a grievance. Sentence was deferred.