SIR JOSEPH WARD IN AUCKLAND.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 142, 10 March 1908, Page 8

SIR JOSEPH WARD IN AUCKLAND.

'1 V-r- —~—& —-T; — SPEECH AT PAPAKURA. ; , (BT TELEGRAPH.—rEESS ASSOCIATION.) Auckland, March 9. '. The Premier attended a demonstration at PapakuraVproinoted by tho Onohunga branch of the Liberal and Labour Federation on Saturday. In the.evening Sir Joseph delivered an address' in ,tho. ; Public Hall. Referring to financial matters, 'ho said New Zealand was •not heavily taxed, 'although opponents of the Government declared to the contrary. The average wealth per head —man, woman, and. child —was"'£347—the highest in tho world. It" was a fallacy,'that the indebtedness per head was-of: the heaviest.;, There v.-as a lot to bo' grateful about when one considered tho advance made'by New Zealand with a pppulation under/one .million. The debt per head was. a; useless. method of reasoning, for the Government owned largo areas of land, which,; together with advances to settlers, came out of borrowed moneys. Not a shilling had ..been, lost out of the monoys advanced to. settlers;-amounting in all 'to somo six millions/, and •,were they to bo told that this-was-avportion of their indebtedness? ':

-• During tho last ten or twelve years the only tax, 'placed', on the pcoplo was'a graduated. land.'tax\ . This, only deals\with; thoso possessed bf/pver £-10,000 -worth of property. Against this,"'reductions in. railway rates amounted td'SSSO.OOOj tile-Customs tariff had been reduced by '£405,000,. postal and telegraph charges' by: £275,000, and sheep tax by '£20,000;- - tho .total reduction of charges in the public -services being oiie and' a half millions. •'

~s ' D uring his recent travels ho was astonished at tho vastness of our resources. ' There-was no doubt'but v.'that' in: ..the -future,-with scientific'application, the north would carry a largo population. The country was'not yet fully roaded or. bridged';, neither had it sufficient'. railways. Under tlio circumstances it would bo moral cowardice not to , approach tlio situation or to' deny to those out in tho country facilities, enjoyed, by thoso in towns. In doing this, it was necessary to be prudent over; borrowed':,money and..its .expenditure. Notwithstanding'. wild and unfair '.criticism, tho Government was.pledged.to, country and town as a wholo, to make the conditions so that.the.vpoorest .son or daughter would,bo. placed on conditkms equal to the richest son or daughter in tho country in get-ting about or on the land. / (Applause.) A voto of thanks to the Premier,, coupled-with'."confidence,-..in: tho Government, was carried unanimously. , *•*• RETURN TO WELLINGTON. ' /' : . AN INTERYIKW. , . Tho, Premier, who, returned to Wellington from 'Auokland last, evening, had a very interesting 'five weeks' trip in ..the..,■ North. Speaking'Of;'the district iiorth of Aucklaiul, Sir Joseph saitVa.good deal,of tho,land 'was poor-ill quality, but. tho prosneets-'would bo bright -for the' 'settlers-as soon - as they got, raUways. It ywas .'not want' of roads in tlio', ordinary senso' that these districts required ; the roads'wero' there, but thero'was a lack of metal" to'' keep! them passable; 'this • was' ii. .vory ; real ; difficulty. The' resources of tlio district we're' pretty. considerable, and;' the land, though 1 ...p00r,-/could be. used all the yeaf round,, and its poorness, to a certain extent, was compensated for tha fact ihjit winter'feed had not to bo provided for stock." ;Tho prospects here for fruit growing were also very■ considerabld. When the rrilways v/efo extended . 'and fed . by' the country on each side; and metal was carried for the roads, ■ settlement should- develop . very' rapidly.-On,tho whole the land was not hold in'.-large areas;---and-: futuro-' settlement,; it would ' appear, would be in comparatively smallholdings.- '7 ; ,To cover the country 'in the time availablo, tho Premier-was not able to tarry by tho waysido.-;lri this respect the-trip was an interesting achievement. The -party travelled' variously by*:railway, motor car'(chiefly by motor-car), by : oil-launch, and by coach arid four.' In last; ten days of the trip 750 miles wero covered by motor car. ; The Premier, states .ho .found tho settlers, especially thoso who had been on the land for many, years, 'on .the .wholo fairly contented and i prosperous.