MR. MASSEY REPLIES TO THE PREMIER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 162, 2 April 1908, Page 7

MR. MASSEY REPLIES TO THE PREMIER.

SPEECH AT jptt PLANKS IN THE OPPOSITION POLICY. ' LAND' AND FINANCE. (jOVERNSIENT'S SOCIALISTIC LEAN* ings. .[BY IELEGIIArH.—-SrECI.(L COBKESrOKDEKT.] ; Whangarei, April ' Mr. Wi'F; Massey,-'MP.'," Leader of tha .Opposition, has started a sort of preliminary . to tho impending political campaign by,; • speaking-, at; Maungatoroto on Monday night, ; Waipu last ni£ht, and Whangarei to-night. Tho Whangarei speech was a straight-out repty to tlio' , Government point of view as ■..' outlined iy ; the Prime Minister at Onehunga.There was a very large - gathering, of elec--tors, the .big Drill Hall being well filled.- Tha people came,', from all parts of : the district, a special train having been .put on between • Ilukeranui - and -.-Whangarei. The local band 'turned"out' arid''played a number of selections while the .audienco assembled. . Tlio ; May'or (MrY; "Weaver) presided. The LoadcV •. of. the Opposition, who was greeted" with a ' popular-demonstration; at oncij plunged into ,au : indictment, of the Government over tho , Land' Dill, and- into , a scathing criticism of - ,the, mannjqr -in' .which the .Government had ; hauled : down • the flag it had declared wao nailed to the mast, and regarding which the .Government :Was going to stand or. fall.-. 'From the 1 start the audienco was with tbe'.\ .speaker in connection with tho freehold question, and. applauded his - condemnation _>■ of the: Land- Bill; \ - : ■ SOCIALISM. " From lani .matters 1 he, went on to the revolutionary Socialism,. and spoke on this with even greater fores than m his Hamil- . ton speech. ISir J. 'Ward said ho was not ; in. favour of revolutionary ; Socialism. Ho asked, Mi- anyono ever, meet ■ with a 'Socialist willing to> admit ho .was '' in ,i, favour of Socialism ? He (Mr. Massey) had . met, a great, many Socialists, .but.never,one; i willing to admit. revolutionary Socialism. ,;'- ■' The, paper, which - was tho acknowledged mouthpicco of t-ho Socialist party had said Sir J. Ward waSj very emphatic in regard ' to revolutionary. Socialism.,. '."We • don't want ■ , i revolutionary,;, Socialism.-, .a.What.;, we, want ; is. evolutionary Socialism." "Then,":said Mr.- , Massey, " I ask, what is evolutionary 'Social- : v .. ism, and what does it : mean, vlt means steadyH ,jprogres9i, towards it-ho ; , goal;which • ' Socialist's' have' in - 'view. i,"- iha, nationalisation of the land, the nationalisa-;'' ; - ; vKioii V ;.,of;..',dU^' : J--.as. possiblo tho.,limiting,o£ individual onter;p'riseji so.l.that', it';seemsr..tp-jmo,",.whether" Sir■ i' J. War(J-kilbws 'br not, lie is being mado .•« use* of by the, Socialistic 1 party, in-:. Parlia- ; ment, :by men" in the' Cabinets and' DUtside the r Cabinet,-; who - are-probably ; more politic- . ally-;astute than-he-is 1 : >After;quot- ;' •'•' : irig. fiirther 'from r tho : Socialistic'. organ, Massey ; wont on to say it was quite evident .that <the- Socialistic party .did' not* object to " /t : he:.Goyernm«nt policy-gf^p'^promiseii-jThey ?l?neiß. pert&Ujp'Jw^U , ''th4-..|Ri^^f-.^ :i asfied' fos. all that they requiredtat one 'time they wore not likely to get it,, but they asked ■ .'for what was'likely to bo given. them in- ; ono session,. and then they increased their Ldqyianjjs the fol(pivjr|g.;?essi^n.;;; However, He was ,to ' think':' that' tho;: Moderates, the; great bulk-of, the population, who did '' • not go to extremes m the other direction, • had.just about 'made up their minds that ■ tlioy. would not have the industries of ,'the nationalised, or . the lands of • tho ~coufitry''';natiohdlised,' 1 i arid that, they would'...; , ia'llow 1 no intorfercnco with tho industry or , energy. ■of -.the:. people.. (Applause.) : .The. •)' 'Socialists 'did iiov want revolutionary Social-, , -ism?The-j'-woro satisfiod ( with evolutionary Socialism, and rather liked the Government policy of compromise. 'He* \vas satisfied that -. .'the peopld of ■Mnrsden electorate, and; he • many iotlicr-, districts,. would be , ■ satisfied.- -with, ja.. Government' .that ■ knew;; ita; ' own niiud, ;and. lia'd,;a bptfer .policy, to oiler . than, one .of copipromise] f arid! that:' was \ not • 'in-; favour of*-cither: .revolutionary- or ovolu- ' ' "tipnar'y iSocialism; (Loud appjaiise.) It waa , , vory 1 ''iritbrestirig j to' rioto': tho 1 iden' 'of • many.; 1 poople.' that', their theories were •; - new- .and up-to-date, ' while; the, history of oyory; civilised ' country showed that, as-far as land conceraied, ..there had.been .con-:--tiirjes'' pf J)6tween tlj'o' State on 'ono: .■ side and the occunicrs of.laiid on the other,'' ■ I.; "\-V-v;.:v: SECURE TENURE. Ho: wanted to sco every occupici- of land have his tenure as sccure as it was possiblo to . mako "it. ' '(Applause,) 5 Ho-did not' say--that t-ho.present system was perfect._ He ad■mitted there-was plonty of room for, improveniont, but improvement would xipt come on Socialistic lin<K.,[:lt;- : wpuld; cpmo;by tho on- . , oouraMinent ot intlnstry .and enterprise, tho : . . spreadv of- fcduoation', ;,'thd ii'eiiliglitenment 'of tlio peoplb, and" tho ' cultivation of tha , ' Imperial; spirit^- ,(ApplaUK).),, •Specialists' some'timcs' qubtod ; tho I'oundor - ' of , Christianity in.; favour of • thoir pit .theories, but' one of/the great principles of 'CiifiStianity iM'as . contained in tho .words,, V- What .is mine is thine." . This was not by : any. "liicilis the Socialistic idea. - Tho Socialistic faith preached is thine is'mine.' 'also;-' Tlio motto in one case was I give, -and in the ether "I take." V(Applauso.) - •When Sir George Grey was telling somechildren ; that t-ho , Albert "Park was their heritage, and' belonged .to : them, ; ono •little' girl- said, "Pleaso, Sir Georgo, - ■ which .is/iny . piocd?-'' .• Thati Mvas human,-. nature, for; it was .human nature for tvich .man■ to want his,'own, and tho best..system - ■'wias- 'tlint' wliichvroiild : mhkb'/'evbryv.-mn ■•. sbcnro in. tho<possession;!'of. ihis own if it • was acquired properly arid honestly and used fairly. (Applause.) It was very .amusing to • notice. ;how anxious the Socialists?wore to impress - the . wage-earners)' that tliey.s ;wero' f . . their particular friends'..;' - Siipi>osing / ; ; Socialistic.: faith',Avcrp',given-.-olFect.- to. to- v 'niorrow, would tho' wages-earners.be.as well,off ' as now? Would -their-wages ;bo as'good: no,; now, or would their money go as far? .'.Ho 'ventured to say' noit-hor would ho: tho . case. • It was tho duty of tho Stato to prrndo. us .. far as it could for fair w.ites imfl-.fpir:<v>n-- ~ ditions, of. labour, hut after -that it.-was . to -tho-.interests of : the.' .State, and of tho; individual 1 that' e.'ibli • should ho:-tho tlio' architect of his own fortune.' (Applause.) In existing circumstances tho worker always know that, with the oxercise.of duty- and :; energy" ho could' improve his' 'pssition and - might heconie au employer'himself. /- Twothird? 'of;their einplo.vors started as,.,em-';.- : 'i plo'ypesi r !irid 'they wero .'probably the Iwtter for it; but.once Socialism .was"established ; tlioy could bid good-bye t-o [industry and'advancement. (Ap'plausp.y-'jAfte'r Quoting Lord Rosober.v againßt'SoojalisriK 1 -Mr. Massey went' -. ■ to say that tho .danger ; <)f.";t-lio experiments • boing forced on the country, .md in snito of itho .specious arguments ufserl by the Govern-' ment, was yery..frrcat,.:.nnd ho lielioved So- •- [ cialism would spell'ruin'to Now' Zealand, as individuals and as-a State. Y? tAND :NATIONA!.ISATION. ' Sir Joseph - Ward? tliew; had been no • land nationalisation, and that nationalisation ' of land could only, mean confiscation of land, .: and that all the State had dono was to sot some-land? aside as endowment,s. : - Sir Joseph .Ward was evidentiy not aware' that" even Crown land was 'not' nationalised until it

j • was mado impossible for -the Crown to • alienate it by salo—until it .was made lm- . • possiblo for any settler on that Crown land , to obtain..tiro -freehold of his section, and then it,was and that was what (,:■■■ happened. On. tho proposals of tho Govorn- |* ment . last session between 7,000,000 and [;- 9,000,000 acres wero nationalised. Then, it I was to be' romombored that under, tho Lands j. for Settlement Acts now privately-owned [ ■ ; lands wero being nationalised at tho rate of p vc. half a million ponnds worth por annum.,,He Sdid not object to tho purchases, but thought iiv.. that to avoid nationalisation, and for.other reasons," it would be much better had the '.'.'Ysettler§.-.t%' ; opportunity of.,making_ tho; lands f their own instead of the ownership remain-, i ing .with -the State., (Applause.) .Although Sir; Joseph Ward tried to pass.,tho matter !*• : off, it should be remembered that. besido tho <> nationalisation of tho endowments and of tho. p . - land purchased under tho Lands for Settlei»v. ment Act, the Gbvcrnment tried last session liv;.. -to nationalise something 'like' 18,000,000 or - .'19,000,000 acres—in- fact,' the -whole of the remaining Crowh lands, and was only stopped by the'strenuous fight made , by the Oppoi ■ sition. ''(Loudiapplauso.) Sir Josoph- Ward vL;:..: ;'' said,,the ;; Govornmonti-n'cro-.not single-taxers,'! . or,land nationalise™,' or Socialists, but there , — was: an old saying that a man was known by tho - company lie kept,.- arid |ho (Mr. ■ 1 Massey)..would like to call attention to-the 1 . < company the. Prime Minister waa placed m, i v , THE CABINET. • :. ; In . 'the-: Cabinet, ;• in the first: place/ one of' >. the Prime' Minister's most recently appointed . ; colleagues was a-gentleman who. hat., stated ■ .'over.' and over again; l inside and outsido the ■ House, ■'that he "would do away with all - ■' exemptions "as far as.' lancl tax was con.Sccrned, and would tax. every, .pieco of land in town'or-country, and would . commence by . i ' ■ doubling the present tax, so that in the end - the State' might 'possess the', kernel ' and -the '-" ' Bottlers 'the . shell; -;' Two . other, members 'of the present.: Cabinet. had voted, for tho ■i: most Socialistic proposal ever put before Par- ■ Lament,' that was: Mr. Barclay's motion,that - the State should take over all industries con-- ■ cerned m the-production of foodstuffs. There .was another member of tho- Cabinet- who represented the 'Government- in . tho. -Upper j House, and who ' told the members of that Chamber that he was a Socialist and Avas. .'■■■- proud of it. The Minister for Lands tried to ' .make the freehold an impossibility;- Anothor ' .member, of the Cabinet remained to b.e, referred to; and that: was i the one; who made the statement "that in-the- case of. a lease v- ; between a private individual and tho Crown, ' even if it were''a lease - for 999. j.cars, tho . term - of - tho .lease: came to. an. end at tho f death of. the'lessee. -.-'ln view .of .these facts, > • ; ■ one-could not help thinking/that, the public :hY.. ; r.was3justified ; in'; coming'', to' ' the.vconclusiori ~;y ■ : that.',if. the■ membersof •_the ' present' Cabinet c;''';.fe Were not ; single-t^ ? 'vv -Veiy-.strong', leanings..'in'the direction 'of '-So}? : cialism. (Applause.) Referring to the Prime ■; Minister's illustration of land taken up m the South, to show that tho settlers did 'not •••/ r.... object to tho 33: years' , lease, Mr. Massey -V ■ there. was no parallel in.:tho Otago and < Canterbury lands with Auckland lands; The i ' ' Southern lands"had been sheep country for many years, were covered with'natural grass, and muchof it -was ready - for: the plough;. and farmers knew perfectly well that -in . . average; seasons ' they were . certain to get ■ three or four good crops, .and a man who got three or four, good crops at the-present > prices of, produce would not care very "much " • .what-was'going-to: happen-at: tho-end'of uy.-% 33 years. -A man who -got .ono of. tho sections got the cream of tho land at once; but , .. -• in the-case of; Auckland land the cream.would . not .be got until many years of. hard work.(Applause) ' ' ' ADVANCES TO SETTLERS. » With- referenco to advances 'to' settlers,- ho ::. scarcely, nnderstood;the Pxime Minister; who -. -~ was reported to liaVe said-that':last' year ■ tho advances to settlers totalled £1,239,000 'That; seemed very fmprobable;:because the year-:before .was: a.'record" year.v'and'. 1 the'. . amount then was ;between £7t)0.000 'and • £800,000. Under the last amendment t6 the -Act the Government had authonty-to raise - ljKmillions each.,year, and had £400,000 ,p'cr, annum in addition" from statutory.- instal,'i;'.i;^:.'.mopts i .;^'^ that 'even if his (Mr. Massey's) amendment Premier referred to. had been carried it v" would not have, affected the finances, of tho •m ,Settlers' Department in the slightest- (Applause.) N

. GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION'POLICIES. Speaking on Sir Joseph: Ward's taunt that . the .Opposition,; in' offering to fin'd;tho Gov- 1 , v ernment a policy, had .only two planks—' • . good iroads and security of .tenure—to offer) ■! -.■■ 11 . Mr. I ..Massoy replied ~that • he".had :carefiilly. , ■ searched all tho speeches 'of the, Prime ; Minis-. s / -toi-, and ■ his colleagues'to' find, a declaration / of . thc Govemment;policy,''but in 'vain; for .. ho.-could .find/nothing-to. indicate a policy' . except one of compromise, and-shuffle': 1 (Ap-; ; plause.) -He h r ad then\ l thought;it would bp a kindness, . as. .tlie Government was bankrupt of a policy, t-o givo-thciri the, Opposition policy, and he offered, them as a start two' v. ' very, .useful ..planks to help .them out of tho . - swamp they had got .inte. ; (Laugliter,: arid applause.) , His offer, was apparently not' Jikely to be accepted, «nd the. Government was going to flounder ion. Sir, Joseph Ward . ' K ' as . -.Suite' wrong"., when.,he ' said . that-,-the secuntv of tenure, and good^foads.were..thb m? the 'Opposition had to offer The Government: rejected: those two good and userul planks,' but the public would remember that he (Mr, Mhssby) had'made- . frpm. ; time' and , . t iese were- all planks . in the : Opposition . l' htfo "?v. In addition to the freehold tho Opposition Lad supported the,following proposals ° 1 " , An Elective Upper House. ' ■ ■ A Clvjl Service Board. ,s . Amendment of Local Government Laws. Economy In fAdministration. ■ The openlng-up of Native land. ' Equal Justice to all parts of-the-Do-- , minion in respect to public works expsnditure. - ■ . . -,- - - Encouragement of Industry and ,freo.dom- from: unnecessary restrictions. (Loud applause.) Would Sir Joseph and his Government liko ; my of those flanks toiassist them out of the swamp ? , (Laughter . and' applause.) . i 0 It • ■ • would .also bo remembered that on -several 'ccasions he -(Mr. Massey) advocated a law wifo, not: only a' partner with her nuabacd m marriage, but'also a- legal -partner,.,so that.a homo her industry: had helped . him to establish should not be sold' without ; her ..written .consent. ' (Applause.) If the Uovernment had a policy , at all,, although where it was kept neither '.he. nor- anyone , eJsoicould find out, let .them:put .it alongside the one. he had just -set out, and let the people-i judge between the two. - (Loud applause.) .The Goyernment.had.no policy ex- .. cept compromise, and. could not find any Ho : suggested that it, should advertise for one in tho agony,column": of, the.newspapers. (Laughter.),'..; .' ~ ~ .' j. COMPROMISE. _ He (Mr. Massey) asked the', people ; of the : 'Dominion to think again .of-the,'Land Bill in which the. Government asked Parliament to pationalisß all the Crown lands, and yet the Governor was satisfied .with less tlian half - that; was • comprised in the taxation proposals. The Bill- of last session provided, in the first instance that a man who. bought land;shpuld be; compelled to pay : 2o per cent. of the purchase money or else the former owner should remain liable for the-land tax. This was simply placing, difficulty in 4hc way of. a small man: who wanted land, - . . snd the Government said it was willing to accept, 15 per cent-. Parliament would not agree, and in tho. end the Government accepted a provision to; tho effect that 15 per ccrlt. should ' only bo : required .where the Commissioner of Taxes was not satisfied as to the .genuineness bf tho- transaction; That ■was compromise again. In connection with Native affairs, it was trne there was no legislation up to the present, with regard to this point, but it was proposed, that half of tho . Native land should be set aside i. for . the Natives, and that would pleaso the Maoris. Then half of the other half was to be Yreehold, and that would please'the. freeholders, and the. remaining portion was to be-lease- ■ hold,and that would please-the leaseholders. . Coriipromisb once more. (Laughter and ap- ; plause.) In connecijiMi. with the : Gaming , bill;' one section--made-street--betting v anai

batting at sports-meetings illegal, and that pleased tho anti-gambling community. Anothor section compelled racing clubs to license bookmakers and provide them! with facilities to. plv their calling. That pleased. - the. gambling :fraternity; and.what was it but compromise onco more? In connection .jnthV-.the : .Ctistoms 'Bill,' it was provided that sugar and somo othor articles should be free, and .'.that ..pleflscd'.tho free traders. It was also provided-that duty should go on to agricultural and mining,machinery, and the cheaper. of boots and shoes, and that pleased tho protectionists. Compromise onco inoro., (Applause.) Sir Josoph Ward, in his supposed policy specch, said he. was neither a revolutionary Socialist nor a Conservative. Ho ;'vas ! .'sohiething i between the two. That was. comproimso again. Ho (Mr. Massey) had no doubt, that . if a Liquor Bill came , alongvhalf thp r( Cabinet. would bo for whisky and tho oth'eF ; half for water. There would bo compromise somehow. (Laughter.) In the; present Parliameritj including the House, the ' Legislative, _".Gouncil, and the Cabihot, 'there: was, a'majority'of'men who Were pre- - Mred to/accept Socialism as defined by Kcir Hardie and' the Fabian Society. FINANCE. , Touching-on financial questions, .and. in tho course of . reply to the Prime Minister, Mr';'. .Massey ;siiid .'Sir 'Joseph Ward -in his 1 capacity ■a 8 , Treasurer V evidently resented' ;;i n y: country's finance, but ,it seemed , to-him .-(Mr. Massey) .that the position required looking into, not only by .the Prime: Minister, and- his colleagues, but also by tho people of the country. Duriiig tho last six or seven years New Zealand had. boon ■ .raising" a very largo . proportion of/the'.;m'pney;;:rtquired, ! .for tho public purPoses byway of, short-dated debentures. Some of- these, were, now falling due, and it was .necessary therefore for tbe Treasurer to mako provision, 1 not only for the money required for the . ordinary purposes ' of. th'o Public Works Fund, but also for the renewal, or. ; conversion, ; as; the, case might be, of -these-;debentures,ln,'either case/., it meant oxpense to tho Dominion. < Howevcrj he (Mr. .Massey). was perfectly aware .of -tho fact that there had been little or no, difficulty. m, connection, w.ith these transactions, ,and;he wps.'glad to think that the financial crisis,, which.- affected- America so, seriously just '-rcberitly Uiad, almost;passed . over, but its offocts would, romam as far as this country, was. concerned. .Wool, for instance, was cheaper. by . about. 33 per cent.' than it was twelve .months ago. There had been a very serioiis.-'drop''in ( flax and. kauri gum,, and these ;were .. all, staple products, while the drought affected.,';,tho butter export's. Ho ,sincerely hoped that the. prosperity of. ; but the Treasurer., and thoso entrusted with tho Department . of,. Public:,Affairs,.;,shotild be prepared 1 for; caniiji' along. (Applause.) -a of years . tlio'|Treasu'rcr ■ had had','the' benefit'V'of-. liearly...the whole ; of deposited in tho Post Office Savings Bank, : whichvhe,had been able, to bor- ' row-,-.'but if .mir , exports, wero .going to fall off arid prices,'go, . dowh.'»'thero would be a . proportionate'./allirig-oif . in the : Post :■ Oifico -Savings Bank deposits. If the money " were sufficiently; cheap,jiri j this country it, should be . .borrowed' h'crc,' vbuV' if the , Government. becoming/ into.'.coihpetition withrmerch'antn' 1 and,j manufacturers ; and; ; ,farmers, raised the price .of .money t'l -the .producers,. then the money • should. bo borrowed in Great Britain or. anywjiero. else,.where it couid. bf got inostcheaply.-, -He- w-arited, to call attention 'to' another, important inatter in- connection; with 'fmanbe,' theilpositioji' of,, the mortgage .tax.. Money dent 'upon land.,was , specially-'taxed ..by way of .:ai.mortgage:tax of Jd. in tlie pound. Somo years ago it was Id., in tho pound. The point was .that income..Jjy. way of interest upon .mortgage was taxed"much'rmOre" highly .than' \tho' . corfeisp6ridihg:V;i ; inc<)ine. .-:Take?*'•-'tho] case v of; 'M(};dpo;> ( ;inj;^ted'..|n : 'ihortgagb.' Without .'de'dii'cting 'any , exemptions. that, sum will pay. £31, peri annum;-py way.of taxa-V . tion,. whereas .invested ;in .4 per' cent. Government jdelientures,; it' will" pay £10 per annum as ! . ihcpmo; fexi';-\ The ,'effcct. was; that; many "people 'preferred' io» invest; in' Government ,',de,bo'iitureß';tp..'.invsstii)^: l in, mortgages,;,arid,.he •'^fe' after ;wliat .happened j the special - mortgage, 'tax., should , bo-abolished, and that interest ,'upon';.m6rtgagesshould ' .'count ,as income .for. tho purpose of mcomo tax, especially as the present .arrangement handicapped the settler, and..mado its more difficult, for him to get Answer'ing the-prime, Minister's statement that -he (Mr; Massoy) had undervalued the revenue Ifrom.tha'endoTyriiorits'iinder .t-ho Land Bill/lie (Mr!, Massey) tho Prime Minis-. ,ter;that there was a 'difference between'-net Tcvornie gross'revenue. The Prime Minis,ter. had .been, quoting the gross, and - should have said', so;;,'[ yWhi3h;_the' cost ■ of administra--' rtipn-'arid the cost of'rpading werii taken' off, the 'revpniio ,would b'o'ati the; figures quoted 'by him'.Ofr.'lMassey'). '.'He went on to show, regarding the ■'Gpyernmorit theories',' of un-' : ,&rn^Wrementy]'that''there might:be a few 'isplated.inst'aricies'pf'unearned increriieut, but .iis a', rule ;thp inqrpmprit was very ' hardly, (Applause.) The Prime Minister, told ' the . people, of Orieliunga , that a' settler had' , secure; tenure under' a reriiev,;able ."leaSe;. of ''thirtv-tbree. years. • Tfce Prime Minister, had -he' been a settler with 'a family growing up around him. rind' endeavouring to estabhsh'.a'b'omo, would'have known ;bettcr thiin' to '.'-talk'-'likp 1 ' that;/• (Applause.) : He (Mr ; Massey) declared that'tho' renewable ;leasp''was'''desigried 'to'-, delay* settlement; in .'th'e'.nbrtherri part' Now Zealand,' and lie made'that'statement 'with a full sense of his responsibility.v ; - " i ' ARBITRATION MATTERS. , briefly--on conciliation and. arbi!tra'tidn: niatters, ; Mr. -Massey preferred ,not ,'t'o' ! refer-' to ■■ the" Blackball strike ;at th'e 'pre-' 'sent; juncture, but he took up tho point that. Sir "Joseph-had> foreshadowed at Orieh-unga ,a system 'whereby -tho dead- level of awards as at presort would be-aroided, arid a worker■more T energetic-'or- scientific than his fellows would receive due reward. Mr. Massey. was in cordial agreement on'this point, witlr the Premier, and said this'was' ! a long-felt want in arbitration'awards; and hb would support such' a 1 proposal - in tho 'Houso; (Applause.) It .was- the; greatest -disadvantage of , tho systein that tho. good man, did not get any, moro' chance than the inefficient. The Prime Minister, said,: there was plenty of employment for boy labour,- butane Prime Minister and-the- people, of this cpuntry should'lc'ok ahead ;and "seo what would bo tho position twenty-fivo years hence. It would be- a very unfortuiiato thing if "this, country had to im-o port its skilled labour,'arid , utiliso'its borii'-"populatiori '.for unskilled • labours (A vVoice:-That's ; what will happen!) " Yes," replied ;Mr. Massoy, " that will be the great danger, ~and .-I. want -to see .it preverited." (Applaase.) - ' , i v::-: PUBLIC DEBT. j. Reverting: a£ain to financial matters,' Mr. Massey >' quoted' the' sixteen . millions increase in seven-years in ,Hne- public indebtedness,' the-increase of £10 : in the last twelve years in the net > indebtedness per head,. and' the :increase"of'.twenty-fivo; millions in tho debt. He'urged''rigid-economy until the-debt -per head was much less'than now.. (Applause;) -Sir J. Ward had ;made : a statement that his critics; had got'at thb public debt by adding on tho incroase in tho Customs revenue, ana •that' therefore a - : lesser _ Customs revenue would. inoan,' on the' critics' showing, a decrease in' tho'indebtedness. He, (Mr. Massey) could not-'understand'what on earth Sir J. -Ward meant. The public. accounts of this country wore kopt in such a mannor that it was "impossible'to understand thorn. , They should be kept in-such a way as 'woilld be .understood by any man 'with a little business experience'; ' It'was done in other places, and - he, .did not see why it could' not bo established here. A proper system of accounts would'result in, a groat saving of money. ; POLITICAL PATRONAGE. Referring to political patronage, Mr. Massoy said ho would, like to know how many during the last ten years had been appointed to the public servico through political influence arid without-the formality of public examination. Ho would liko to know how many members I wero grateful for favours received or favours to come. How many land- "transactions and Native land transactions bad been-.worked by backstairs influence. - Ho spoko of,tho patronage exercised under the grants-for roads and bridges (system whereby, such'i things as two votes for ono road under different names wero worked. . Were it not for the political pull the system gave' Ministers, the whole matter of roads and bridges would have been

handed over to the local bodies. (Applause.) Noxt session they would nolico an extra £200,000 on tho estimates for certain roads. Whether it would bo expended was a different- matter. What was wanted was amendment of the local government liftv. (Applause.) There would bo a great saving in tho expenditure if tho local bodies had tho control. (Applause.) Men who went into tho backblocks should not havo to use political infiuenco to get roads. (Loud applause.) OTHER MATTERS. Dealing .with superannuation and classification, ho complained that the proposals were brought down so lato that' they could not receive the consideration they woro entitled to. With regard to tho railway classification, evidence should have been taken from all branches of tho servico to enable members to come to proper conclusion. Tho State required the ablest and most relia-blfe men for its servico, .awl tlicy should bo paid salaries in proportion to their work and responsibility. (Applause.) Ho advocated a system of Stato annuities through tho Government Life Insuranco Department, and said ho believed 'tho proper' system_ for old age pensions was tho universal pension, and ho would support it. Ho know of the difficulty of finance, but believed the people ivere not' sufficiently educated up to this matter. Ho believed the opportunity of a universal* pension system would como * yet. (Applause.) He was going to oppose any increase of Cabinet Ministers. He thought Ministers wasted a great deal of time which the country paid for in electioneering tours. It was a strange thing that, if there was any important race meeting in Auckland or elsewhere it was necessary for ond or .two members of the Cabinet to be present. (A Voice: "I've seen you there.") Mr. Massey:' "I am not a Minister; L don't go at tho public expense." (Applause.) Ho went on to say it .was .wonderful the supervision that was required in tho thermal springs district, and how necessary it was for Ministers to be there for a week, or so occasionally. (Laughter.) lie had noticed that very frequently the only Minister left in Wellington was the.Hon. J. M'Gowan," who seemed to bear all the responsibility, very well, and did not.' break down under the .strain.■ (Laughter.) : There was: no more reason for Ministers., to break down: than for him or any business man to break down, (Applause.) If the Ministers avoided late hours in Parliament, and had fewer political banquets, they would - live as long as. the' average citizen. Mr.: Massey dealt at length with the Gaming /Act,, and, said a. year or two ago Parliament was asked to .license the totalisator' to smash up tho bookmakers, and last'session it was asked to license .the- bookmakers, to smash up, the totalisator. He was opposed to the money from the / totalisator going to the ' consolidated ifurid. , It'should haye gone to old age pensions or any, other account. There wero influences brought to bear ill connection with the Bill that were a disgrace to Parliament 'and the people, of this country—(applause)— and there wore clauses in tho Bill which were a disgrace to Parliament and tho country,/and lie'hoped they would yet be struck out. (Applause.) In referring to appointments to the Legislative Council, he said those who opposed him, as candidates for ;thb Franklyn ieat 'always seomcd to be well irowardod. .One was now a Judgo of tho Native Land Court, two were Members..of tho Legislative Council, and tho fourth was 'appointed, a member of the Land Board. He concluded by references.to the imposition of,, Customs' duty on mining and agricultural machinery, saying - that it now cost through tho duty over'£loo (more to start a dairy factory than before, and unfortnnatelyi many of, the .items were loft to the discretion of the ruling of the Customs. Any direct or indirect taxation should bo sot by/Parliament and not by officials. (Applause.) Ho- also urged that a stronger Opposition, .was most, necessary in the .interests of good government; i Although Mr. Massey offered'to answer questions none' woreasked, and on the motion of Mr. J. M. Killon, a hearty vote of thank's to Mr. .Massey for: his- address ando c confidence in him as, a political leader was carried-unanimously. •