THE OPPOSITION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 329, 16 October 1908, Page 7

THE OPPOSITION.

SPEECH BY MR. MASSEY.

GOVERNMENT POLICY CRITICISED. TENDENCY TO EXTRAVAGANCE. CBX TELSOIIiPH—PEE3S ASSOCIATION*.) Pukekohe, October 15. Mr. W. F. Massey, Leader of the Oppo-' sitioh, delivered a political address to his constituents at Pukekohe to-night. Mr. - Shaw, chairman of tho Town Board, prosided, and tho Masonio Hall was packed to tho doors, many being unablo to obtain ad-, mission. Mr. Massey, who was escorted to. tho hall by the town band, was received with loud applause. Hot commenced by • emphasising tho necessity at the presenttime for strong and patriotic men coming \ forward in politics. Never were they more required than under existing circumstances. Tho Past Session. ; In. some important respects tho session 'was a 'disappointing one. Members were - mostly occupied in assuring their election by 1 speaking 'to their constituents through Hansard or tho newspapers, and Ministers were practicall f v engaged in a similar occu-; pation. Ministers endeavoured to avoid any contentious matter. Tliev would never have dreamed, for instance, of bringing out a land bill such as that of 1906, or such a proposal as that'contained in the taxing bill' of last • year to the effect that when a jettler purchased land tho transaction would not be recognised as gonuine unless 25 per cent, of tho purchase money was paid. Ho was there _to speak from tho Opposition point of view, and would like' to criticise tho policy of the Government, only ho did not 'know what' it was. Even on tho land question tho policy of tho Government was probably'now quite different to' tliat indica- ; ted two years ago. Then and Now. _ Ho 1 asked tlie people to compare tho position; with tuat before the- present administration took office. At that time a settler going on land purchased under tho Land for Settlement Act was able to obtain a 999 years', which was next door to the freehold, while now his leaso was on, the 33 years' renewable system. At that time a-settler going on to Crown land could get. a'lease-in-perpetuity, while now on most of the Crown lands he was limited to a 66 years' renewable lease, and he (Mr. Massey) believed that accounted for the fact that there was not such a keen demand for land for settlement purposes as' there was somo time ago. In fianancial matters—and ho was not speaking of Government finance, but of finance generally—as far as settlors wero concorned the rate of interest had pone up by at least 1J per cent. In industrial matters, as compared with three years ago, there was a feeling of unrest in defence matters. Volunteering was never in such a low ebb-as it was now, and even in mail matters three years ago they had tho 'Frisco service, whereas now this country was, compelled to play second fiddle to Australia, so that tho pooj)le would soe that in many matters affecting tho progress and prosperity of tha country we were at a standstill. Wo were advancing in one direction very rapidly, and that was: into debt. (Hear, hear.) ' Parliament Buildings'. In matters in which they had been expected to take a strong stand, Ministers had been very weak. For instanco, there was the Parliamentary Buildings. At the time of the fire no proper inquiry was held, and tho Ministry apparently could not inako up their minds as to the proper course. A contract had been lot for a now section at tho old buildings, and this was cancelled at a cost of, soveral thousands.- Then wheu the Houso met proposals were laid before Parliament for a scheme which would probably cost hundreds thousands of pounds to nbandon i the old Parliamentary Buildings* ; erect new buildings on tha .site ; ~Government Housej t , then to ,Departmental on to tho sito of-the old Parliamentary Buildings, and ■ then to find a new site for tho residence of the Governor...Ho believed tho scheme would cost £200,000 .for Parliamentary - Buildings, £200,000 for Departmental; Buildings, and '£50,000 for a site and residence for tho Goverrimont House, and £50,000 for incidentals,, or a total of about, half a million. It was ono of the wildest schemes, a policy of waste and extravagance.. He believed tho timo would come when the country would bo sorry it did not hold its purso strings tighter in timo of prosperity,' (Lour applause'.)' Second Ballot Bill. The Second Ballot Bill was not a new idea. It was imported from Germany like a great many other .cheap and nasty, imitations. Tho underlying idea was to ensure that in every caso_ the successful candidate would' have a majority, thus making it impossible for minorities to be represented. He did not ,; suppose there were many people who Avould agree with the idea that minorities should bo unrepresented, although ho beljeved that a majority should rule. He belioved iii tho Bystem of proportional representation under which minorities wero represented. Fancy tho people in back districts "being askedto.como to'the second bal- ■ lot;--or seamen boing expected to come.; He , believed tho wholo proposal would be a most ',' 'ghastly failure.' (Applause.)' Important issues.. At the forthcoming elections there wero several very important issues to come before "tho olectprs. During the last fow years tho through a variety of causes,, .had. been particularly prosperous. There' .wasi-the Boer -War, 'the Australian drought, - '.tho 'war between Russia and .Japan, tho American trouble iii the Philippines, and with tho money borrowed a.U these_ contributed to our ; prosperity by increasing tho -prices- of-our staple products. A change had, however, taken place, and the outlook was' not jiearly. so good, although wo had not readied a stage of depression, and he hoped •\ve-.noyor-would; but- tho difficulty was that there 'appeared to be '911 the parts of tho - 'pbwers that bo, a tendency' towards extraVa- ' gahce, 'just'as in the timo of Julius Vogcl, and this was really the most important issue before tho electors, whether this tendency 'iwasC.teibe cnctjuraged or kept in check by .men returned to Parliament for tho purpose. " Natlvo Lands. - - Then; there was the Native land question. Hugo areas were lying waste, and tho Native Lands Commission had cost £8000, and up till the present tliero had been 110 tangible result, not a single aero. An important issue was when these lands were to bo settled in a way beneficial to both. races, and whether. candidates should -not be scut to Parliament pledged to bring the policy- of taihoa to au end. (Loud applause.) • Some Urgent Questions. Another issue was whether tho electors, particularly in tho country districts, wero going to allow men to remain in office unchecked who had on different occasions proved themselves to be the natural enemies . of settlers, and who had proposed that tlio taxes.on sottlers should be many times increased, and who had attempted ,-to' destroy the best-.-tenure that was ever discovered. (Loud applause.) Wore tho > defence proposals to bo placed 011 a satisfactory footing or tho country left at tho mercy of the first powerful enemy? Was tho country to liavo an olectoral law by which a majority could tyrannise over a minority at > its sweet will? Were both branches of the legislature' to bo mado directly responsible to the people, or was one branch, which had tho right not only to revise legislation but to' initiate it, to be nominated by the party in powivr? Was Parliament to go on voting large sums of money for' public works, particularly roads and bridges, and thou find at tho "end of tlio year a largo proportion unoxponded, and the settlers condemned to another period of mud and misery? (Hear, li,car.) AVere settlors to bo interfered with by such restrictions as tho dairy regulations, 'which mado one wonder if the Agricultural Department had been set up to assist settlors or annoy them ? With our rapidly increasing public services wore we to have tho present system'of pointments, which allowed underhand methods ' and improper influences to bo • brought to bear in appointments (applause), or was the country to liavo a Public, Service Board' Was'the country to go on.with tho. svstma of pubiio jvorks expenditure which' allowed

people to be bribed with! promises of expenditure of their money? These were tho issues before tho country, and on their answer'depended the future welfare of the country. (Loud applause.) Other Matters. , ■ Mr. Massey favoured the Education Bill, Old Age Pension Bill, and the Increased Naval Subsidy Bill. He believed in the cadet system, followod by service for youths under the age of 21. He spoke at length on the . land question and the hauling down of tho leasehold flag, quoting the utterances of the Hons. J. A. Millar and G. Fowlds to show the leasehold tendencies of the Cabinet. He said immigrants of tho wrong sort wero imported, and condemned the dairy regulations, his remarks in this connection and in connection with land matters meeting with enthusiastic approval. He _ approved of the amendment to the Arbitra-tion-Act, but thought-there 'should be more conciliation. He' olaimed the credit for tho advances to workers system, and referred to the Liberal measures introduced by Mr. Bowen, Mr. Rolleston, and Sir Harry Atkin- ' son. 'He condemned the system of borrowing in the and quoted figures to show 1 that great portions of: public works money was unexpended, condemning the system which made Parliament a nugo board oi works,' He .finished 'with references to superannuation > and national annuities. ' j A vote of thanks and confidence was car- - . tied amid loud applause.