SPEECH BY THE PREMIER.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 339, 28 October 1908, Page 6

SPEECH BY THE PREMIER.

THE COMMERCIAL OUTLOOK. (ur TIU.EUU Al'll — Pit ESS ASSOCIATION.) Invercarglll, October 27. Tho Prime Minister spent to-day motoring through from Winton and meeting electors at different places, at all of which ho was cordially welcomed. In the evening ho addressed a largo audience at Waikiwi. He dealt with Mr. Massey's statements at tho previous night's meeting. Mr. Massey, he said, had again stated that tho Government proposed to expend a large sum, about £50,000, upon a Governor's residence in Wellington. Ho gave that an cmphatic denial. Touching on matters of Imperial bearing, he spoko of British superiority in the strength of navy and mercantile marine. In these matters there was intenso rivalry among competing countries, who were anxious to extend their commerce. They were subsidising their steamers to a far greater extent than Great Britain was doing and sending ships to all parts of the world. These nations wero making these efforts in order to build ,up 'trade which would'enable them to get rid of.their surplus production. This spirit of rivalry would be the chief compelling cause of any possible war which might occur in future among the great 1 owcrs who were now arming themselves to tho teeth. As a result of this competition, the British Government found'it neccssary to enter into an alliance with Japan. Ho referred to this because the people of this country were concerned, in that one of the greatest aims that-they could possibly work tor was to conserve these ■ islands to the white race, and guard them for all timo from the possibility ol such a. thing as the influx of Japanese. Ho referred also to the evolu- :! on c °f Ja P all i an d Said we must recognise the facts that there were going to be some remarkable changes made 'in the map of the world, changes it behoved not only the United Kingdom, but the outlying portions of tho m eet on common grounds as to self defence, so that if the time should come when we were going to have a competitive war between the Eastern and white races, we should have unanimity in all outlying portions of the British Empire in standing for the white races. Sir Joseph Ward had a good dea.l to say about the condition- of the country generally, discrediting the prowho had been raising a cry about bad times coming. As a matter of fact he pointed out that New Zealand had suffered only one severe hardship; tho drop in wool, but it was no longer dependent for its total incomo on this one product. In the north', where dairying was carried on, they were having the finest butter season that. they had ever hadj .with prospects of very good prices. The men who owned large numbers ° f sheep wore in better heart than they had been for years, because of the magnificent lambing season which they had had in Canterbury. So far as he could learn things wero much tho same. Why then should we cry out about bad times amidst all these evidences of prosperity? He did not believe the public services' could bo better controlled by a Public Service Board, as members of the Opposition maintained; Elsewhere the boards had grown to assume tha Dowers of an autocracy. Regarding commerce, he pointed out that Australia excelled us ill facilities for obtaining outside markets, particularly with tho East, where tho Commonwealth had scoured practically tho whole of the flour export. A service with Canada had been inaugurated by us,'but the trade did not extend much because of the difficulty of getting New Zealand to give return frieght. The Dominion needed to give another £10,000 to get refrigerating steamers on this service, otherwise'tho Argentine might get the frozen meat trade there, or some of the Canadian wheat lands might be used for pastoral purposes, and so produce inside competition. <Ho urged_ tho people of the Dominion to take a wider view of the export trade, and get steam services with consuming countries. He pointed out that Java was.a big consuming country near at hand, yet direct exports there did not exceed £50. The Copunerce..Department was doing its best, but progress .was slow. A vote of thanks arid confidence was unaimously car ried. .