THE HON. G. FOWLDS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 334, 22 October 1908, Page 7

THE HON. G. FOWLDS.

SPEECH AT GREY LYNN. BEPLY TO CRITICS. "A '.VILLAINOUS INSINUATION" RESENTED. (BR TELBGBiPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION) Auckland, October 2L Tho Hon. Geo. Fowlds, Minister for Edtf« cation, addressed a crowdod meeting of his constituents at Grey Lynn to-night. The Minister was'given -a very enthusiastic reception, being loudly cheered on his appearance on'tho platform. In the course of . his address, ho said it had been recognised for some, years that Auckland received a very fair share of tho expenditure on roads and bridges. .(Loud cries of "No.") Any persons who said "No" simply did not know what' they were- talking about. (Applause.) Even tho press of Auckland had always recognised that, but claimed that in railway expenditure the North Island had never received justico. _ Ho admitted there was a 'great deal of justice in that contention, in years gone by, but he had a statement taken out by the secretary to the Public Works Department showing the actual expenditure on; railway construction during the last, eight years, covering practically the whole time since ho had first been returned to Parliament. From 1901 to 1908 inclusive .there was spent or railway const-ruction in the North Island the sum of £2,550,990, while in tho same period there'had been 'expended in. the South Island £1,909,687, or a total in favour of tho North Island over the South Island of £671,303 in eight years, and if they added to that tho expenditure authorised during last session for tho purchase and equipment of the WcllingtonManawatu railway of another million pounds, it gayo-an advantage in expenditure on railways of £1,671,303 to the North Island ovei the South for the eight years. (Applause.) Ho claimed from that that it was quite'evident that during the eight years some voice had been more potent in securing expenditure for railway' construction than during previous years. (Applause.) He was quite willing to leave it to the constituency of. Grey Lynn to say how far he was instrumental in bringing about that result. (Applause.) It was quite true that the Auckland interest in the Main Trunk absorbed a portion of the expenditure that would otherwise have gone into construction in other parts of the province, -but that was now finished, and ho had no hesitation in saying that t-lie expenditure would be much more substantial im future on the other lines of Auckland than in tho past. (Applause.) The Ward Government was formed in August, ,1906, and at that time ho made the statement that the now Government would be found progressive without being revolutionary,' and he thought ho was justified in claiming thai the statement then made had been fully borno out. Cherished Political Ideas. It was only natural that in joining the Ministry he personally had to sacrifice 'some of his cherished political ideas. It was not possible to carry on any system of Cabinet Government unless the members were prepared to harmonise their ideals in order to : mako a complete working whole. In that respect, he had very little to complain about, and the members of the present Government were as harmonious in their relations as any' Government could hope to be. The work it had been able to do since it took office constituted a record. He claimed that the Government had not only proved itself capable, but also honest in administration, and hd believed the feeling throughout New Zealand was that the Government was honest and capable in carrying on. the affairs of tho country. Appointments. Any talk about appointments or promotions for political purposes was generally made by thoso who would like political appointments, and' had not been able to get tliem. (Applause.) With reference (i to'this, point, he mentioned that at the junior Civil Service examination 759 .candidates.passed last year. The number of candidates who-passed the junior Civil Service - examination was much larger than usual. Every successful male candidate, however, had been offered appointment, and as many girls-as possible were appointed. The result was that a much larger number passed this year. ' There were 943 names on the list, and up till July las J 524 had been offered appointments,'' and it v was likely that the list would bo completely ex haustod before the next list came out. H would thus bo seen that the Government was making a strenuous effort to secure as entrants into tho Civil Service thoso who had ' qualified by examination. Fulfilled Expectations. In legislation, as well as in adininistra tion, tho Government had .also, he claimed, fulfilled expectations. 1 There were those who believed that tho Government was going too fast, but others believed that it was going too slowly,, thus clearly showing 'that it : was, steering a safe, steady, middle courso in. ■ its- legislation, which, whilst containing nothing of . a revolutionary . character, was calculated to benofit 'the community as a whole. He referred to tho various measures passed by the Ward Government, including the Habitual Drunkards, and Habitual Criminals Acts, and that dealing with private hospitals, which had been passed in 11906., During tho session of 1907 there was mora useful legislation passed than during any previous session in the history of tho New Zealand Parliament. One'of the measures was I the to tho Gambling Act-, which had done a great deal to minimise tho evils of gambling on the racecourse. His opponents had stated that lie had voted for the licensing of bookmakers. That was so, and ho held that whilst the totalisator was licensed there was no. reason why the makers should not also have tho right to follow their calling alongside of • tho machine. He was prepared, however, to abolish both tho ( tote and tho bookmakers. (Applauso.) Biit tho question last year was whether. they should allow tho bookmakers to ply their, callings .on .the racecourse, or whether they should have no Bill at all, and ho claimed that the Bill passed was much better, than worso. Tho Land Question. In referring to the Land Aqt Amendment Act passed last year, he said that it provided for tho continuance of tho optional tenure, and that it was doing a great deal to secure tho smoother working of land settlement. Tho increaso 'in the graduated land tax on estates of more than £40 000, in valuo, was . another wiso > step in tho assistance' of land settlement. It was urged by some that tho increaso linnnn 'Y 6 ! started at a lower valuo than £40,000, but as the avowed object was to secure the bursting up of the large estates it was considered unwise to start at too low a figure. The National Endowment Act would also bo said to confer a great benefit on the community in years to come. Mr. Fowlds detended the " gag " clause, saying that it had boon put in with au honest- desire to meet the objections, urged to the Second BallotBill by tho Opposition that in the interval between the elections Ministers would influence votes in various ways. Ho claimed considerable credit for tho Education Act, and said that provisions he was now making would enable free school books to bo pro- ' vided in tho primary and first and second standards. In the courso of a few years books would be free altogether. The increase in salaries of teachers of bftckblocks schools showed his practical sympathy with < the settlers. He defended the dairy regulations at considerable length, saying'that tho tax of 10s. would not have half paid tho cost of inspection. ' The forces against him in Grey Lynn were not working so much for his opponent as for his (Mr. Fowlds's) defeat. Ho spoko at some length to show that , singlo tax was to tho benefit of the workers. Reply to Misrepresentations. • In-reply to misrepresentations which hi said had been circulated in the aWtnrnfn ho. said''that ono of them was a statement that tho Prime Minister and tho other Min isters would not be at all disappointed if In (Mr. l'owlds) was defeated. As far as that statement affected himself, he could afford to treat it with tho oontempt that it do-

.served, but .ho, could not. .allow such a villainous insinuation' 1 against the personal honour of the Prime Minister.-to pass unnoticed. The Prime Minister was almost quixotic in;his' loyalty, not' only-to his colleagues, but also" to every 'member or ins party, and to.insfnuai® ttat he would, be fuilty of such a thing ias . stated was disonouring to him, and in that respect he (Mr. ;Fowlds) resented'jt with scorn, in regard to Te Oranga Home, he said that he neither ordered nor permitted .the flogging oi girls, nor was he aware of iv until long atterwards. In .regard to; the. proposal to give a subsidy to a mail seiVice between Wellington and Kara tonga aiid Tahiti, he (Mr. Fowlds) stated that\there would be no-diversion of the present' r serVjce fromi 'Auckland' to Wellington. The; present service between Auckland and ■,the -.Islands would be continued, but' a new.service was being arrangod which would take a, connection between ' Wellington euk! Tahiti, and which would i form the basis of'a new .mail soryico to America. ,It was, he said, quite l , ridiculous for Auckland people to rise up in whenever: a proposition was made that\WOuld be of benefit to other ports of the-Domihion., It was this sort of'thing that'made it dim-' cult for Auckland representatives to effective defence at Wellington of any legitimate Auckland interest when it was attacked. The was quite a able proposition from a trade, point of view, and it had the added virtus of. providing an important mail service. He noticed that one of the Auckland merchants had expressed the opinion that he was quite satisfied that 'Auckland could continue, to: hold its end, as he had said the present service between Auckland and the. Islands would be continued.