MR HOGG MAKES A STATEMENT

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 537, 18 June 1909, Page 8

MR HOGG MAKES A STATEMENT

CARE A fi 4M,

THE REFERENCE TO STATE NOTES , Tho.Hon. /A. W. -Hogg, whom .Cabinet de«fed: yesterday. to 'ask to; Send . in his' resisMtion-: from that body, .was- asked 'bv a Dominion,- reporter last-evening if he -Would mal:e ;a' statement on the. position; '• - Mri iiogg • replied' that h€> had''bound'himself to fX 6 -'®?.formation:.on the scibject; till tlie ioUowing -day. In further-conversation, Mr Hogg j stated'that.- it .mi - his views .on '• thesubject. '.of.; State notes '/which;. had led .to 1 ■the -request ..for., his,' resignation.' .'Ho had told- .'those-; views, and also'the opinions oh rrf '-land. question ' which .' ho: 'expressed' 'so strongly 111 his-speech/of'Saturday-.-last, -for g^r/twenty-year3. that ;h6. had ,lieeri'-in Par-; .•^ ,V H , ls -: opinions' iii: regard to State - notc3 . he pad written for tho press, thirty years ago. :On -both: questions; his opinions wejl 'known,and when ho . jcined tho Cabinet in, January last there was no underending: or ; ; request that .he - should keep these opinions.;in tho - background. 'He did W. kiiow if any member of the' Cabinet had objected-to his views then ; the Primo MiniBtor, who knew them well, expressed no objection to him. ;■ : "I would not subordinate my opinions on any consideration," "said ' Mr. Hogg. ' '."I that ; they - are principles,' and principles we immutable. No -man . who values his ra- . JHTtation, as. a.' public man will- sacrifice: his pnnciples on any consideration whatever. If h«_doeSj_'he is unworthy of public life.'' < V r * Hogg stated .that! tho. ; views 'which' he expressed on the land question had -nothing.to do with the-request. for: his resigEbon, which sprang from his remarks, made the, same speech on Saturday, about' State tes.'- -. ,'v-.' ; . -1: ■ -.

constitutional.'position, is. that a Minister can not bo made to resign'from. the Cabinet; if ho declines to.do :so of his own accord, tho Ministry must design and be re: constituted before he can' be 'discarded! "It was gathered from Mr.; Hogg's ; . remarks, nowover, that ho u ill not. oppose tho request of Cabinet for-his resignation. . - "I don't cai-o a fe" : he.obsen-ed. ;"The. only thing is I could havo saved them a heap of .monej;,with regard to roads, and bridges, fhat is, in connection with the way the work JS carried 0i1.:.V But ' I think that the new engineer,; Mr., fright, .will tee':' that things' .are altered." • v ■ i

Mr/ Hogg kindly gave; a resume of tho remarks' which ho made on Saturday, relative.to State'notes,: which weri not fully roportcdat. the time. He: said-that,in' the Canadian Government Dassed a Bill emppwenngthe' issiie of State" notes. 1 . The Bill' provided that these notes could be issued .■■o. any-extent, jand there was a further provision t.iat -there- should be a gold 'reserve te. thought tonhc extent of 25 per cent, up to six million pounds, and beyond that sum' iresorve of 15 per cent. In' Switzerland, France, and other .countries of Europe, ,a$ Stfttb notes wore issued by,tho Govprnmpnt;, 110 also said/tliathe deputation at Wanganui, which had suggested tho issue', of State notes,' and he replied that ho , was in sympathy .with Ineir views; .He denied that ho was in fnvlnr of any paper currency, but he saw-noth.ns .unreasonable in tho practice, ot. the State, issuing notes. Practically It. was doing that now by means of postal notes, and ,f the State issued tho notes he reterred to, it would be simply an oxtension •t the postal note syste^i. . Mr. Hogg's Carosr. Tho /c P°"- *\- lioßg was born in Ghs--57 ••(Seoflandr m 1845, ;an<T in v lBoB, With others of his family, emigrated,to .Victoria, wliero'he spent some.'years assisting in. .a .rtoro, gold-mining, and : storekeeping.. SabBoquehtly he saw.a lot-of'life on, several new rushes, was mining legal manager for a thon .took up literary pursuits. In 1876 he came to New: Zealand, became attached to a mining party, and" a year later joined the staff, of rthe. ptago,''''.'Gnardian'." Afterwards ho had editorial control of several evening papers in Dunedin. Proceeding to Ashburton, ho took literary charge of •the " Ashbiirton Mail," and from there he went to Timaru. . .

In 1884 ho came to Masterton, and, in partnership with Mr. J. J; Smith, bought the "Wairarapa Star" from Mr. Joseph Iress, carrying on that journal until ho entered Parliament in December, 1890. He has represented Masterton during*-: six Parliaments, oii every ' occasion good '-majorities- over; his opponents. .His original electorate has ■ become 1 two : electorates—Ha s-

terton -and Pahiatua. 1 For fifteen years he was-a member, of tlio Wellington Land Board, and.'.for: several .years ho was chairman of the Jlasterton Hospital Trustees, only reigning 'after a fine institution was erected free .of debt. He is now 'a member of the victoria College Council, the United Charitable Aid Board, the Wellington Benevolent 'trustees, a Wellington School Commissioner, ?. f°, r t<!n . >; eaTS ho has been a member of the Education Board. He.was one of .the originators and active promoters of several special settlements, 'including the Master-toii-Mangahao or. 'Ballanee and Ma-sterton .lieform-blooks. 'Theloading of the bush, rivors;','settlement of the peoip • prosTHjTQUs.jliomo's, promotion of primijry'and,secondary'education, arid the relief of the'poor and the unfortunate are things •to" which'Mr.,'Hogg has'devoted a great deal of his. life. - .- '"

At-'the time-'of'his appointment to the Cabinet' Mr. Hogg was-deluged with congratulatory, telegrams from various'parts of tho Dominion. In his own electorate tho appoiutir.ent was widely popular.