MINISTERS AT TAIHAPE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 617, 21 September 1909, Page 6

MINISTERS AT TAIHAPE.

!SpiicfisißY: : THE HONS.:J.U.-MILLAB ; .>n'"4 ND ' T;,;mackenzie. :: ': ■ ', Gretna ■Hill, Taihape, was crowded) to-night /wh*'n:the.]Hou.'J. A'.,Millar and,tho Hon. T.' vMackenfcie."addressed a meeting, on behalf of the Government candidate. ;. vMr.,tMillar''said..that the Ministry would not !hayo in ,'regard' to- the election .if./Mj.vMassey./had not .interfered. Mr. Massoy .had:freque'ntly : said that the way in which .interfered in 'this.-way. was 1 indecent. He fitiV-'MillaT)' would toll,'.them that the 'Ministers'would not have come into the electorate if they had" not. received word, that/Mr. j[a«sey had arranged -to speak at Utiku.ori *Satur'dav : :evdhirig,> also : that: other 'Oppositionists 'had' gone' to the. assistance of Sir.- Hockly. Minister's 'were'vin tho' district' on the sanio terms-as Mr. Massey-th.it is, they were, pay. ing their -own expenses. Mr. .Millar denied that the Government'had attempted in connection with- the-cleotion -to exercise influence, direct or indirect. It was true that tho Esti-mates-had-increased year,'.by year, but that ,wos inevitable in a,new country. -He did, not deny-- that' the present Ministry was conglomerate, but that' was 'what hod• been tho success .of • tho Liberal,, party..; If Mr. Massey thought/he could get a, Cabinet ■of ■ one mind, ■he,-' (Mr; /Millar), would guarantee .he. would have; no :pafty.\ In regard- to the; Civil Servico Board which'- the; Reform party proposed should be'sebup.-he might say that the-commissioners who -wore appointed would bo practically unapproachable: by peoplcr of the -working classes. Apart'from-tho laying of the'foundations of \the education system/ what: had tho Conserrar tives done for. the' pcoplo as a whole? The Reform ;party-wanted .to' turn-out the Govern- ; ment for-what? Because they were considered to.'be Socialistic.,,' '-, ' -c A" voice: So yon. are. ■'.. ' : . ; vJIr.-Millarr'The Socialism which.-the Opposition wanted' to do away with is thegradu- ■ ated land-tax. :."'. A voices Who told you?

Mr. Millar: I don't requirajo bo told. Jtr. Millar proceeded to say that if Socialism consisted of giving equal opportunities to the whole' of the people the present Government was .Socialist. It was well known that tho Eeopie would never allow the. public service to econl rolled by commissioners,: Free-trado was, ho declared, absolutely impossible in this countrv. Among other measures which the Govornment intended to introduce' was the National Annuities Bill, the Land linance Bill, and the Death Duties Bill. In conclusion, Mr. Millar said tho workers were much,better off to-day-than.they were twenty years ago. Ho added: "You people are on the verge, npt of a local "but a national fight. . If Mr. Hockly is returned,- the Reform party will say it is the turn of the tide. The moral effect is going to have a great effect on the Liberal party throughout -New' Zealand. You .can t afford to lose a single vote. .Mr. Smith will-require ev'orv vote, and the bigger his majority tlie greater the moral effect." (Applause.) 1 Mt. -Mackenzie said the Ministers were there to fight for principles, and. the contest would affect'the whole country. He went on to say that the settlers would have been badly off it it hod not been'for the Advances, to Settlers Act. - ..:■■' :

A voice: What about last winter? Mr. Mackenzie:-Well, a large-sum was lent by' tho. Government in this regard, 'even last .winter. ~ ~'.'■ The voice.-. But we had to wait a long time for the -money/;- "'■■••;. - : ' ■'",,' ; ,Mr. Mackenzie: Does the hon. gentleman know anything-about the world's money market? (Laughter.) Most of the countries showed a deficit'except'New Zealand. '•':..-. ' Mr. Mackenzie, continuing, said he had .been twitted bv Mr.' Massey that he would have difficulty "in "telling the difference between a Southdown and a Suffolk Punch, and that not much could be expected from a Department of which such a Minister, was the head. All he could, sav wasMhat Mr. Massey did not share the opinions-of representative farmers at farmers - -unions.arid agricultural conferences. Mr. J.-G. Wilson had said that if he (Mr. Mackenzie) carried.out. one-of-.his schemes.it would mean-a millionUotlie.community. Then again, Mr. Gilrjjtlr had. written stating that if he had known that he (Mr. Mackenzie) was going to be Minister'for Agriculture he would still have been'in the : sen-ire of the Dominion. ■If lie did not know the difforoncc.tp which Mr. Mas-sey-had alluded he had known how properly, to advise the, farmers that .there would be a rise in the price of wool, when.lhey were being advised to.sell,at tho best prices they .could get. Also,-he. could tell the farmers when and how to sell 1 their meat in the worlds markets. The electors had been told that it was a leasehold Government, but it could not be so when all the': Crown lands, except the endowments,:were opened .under the optional tenure. ' . ,' j „_■ -A voice: Largo blocks havo been opened on other than • the. optional system. . ■ - : Mr. Mackenzie: .Jlining lands are not opened under the optional system. .. There was only one block of Crown.land, and that was; in tho 'North Island, which was not,: but mat was. a. violation: of- the. Land Ant.

A voice: You-are wrong.-., . ■■■„' ■■■ ■ . Mr. Mackenzie: Of course, in connection with ■ land for-settlements, land settlers have only the rteht tbva'cquire nine-tenths of the value, but' they can-change for shorter leases.-at present-doy valuation. A- voice: Thank; you. .'".,-'. , -, If, continued Mr. Mackenzie, land purchased on thebasis' 0f,.£10 per acre, fell during a depression to £2, the occupier could claim a re-valuation,-and, they' would only liave to pav rental on the reduced valuation, but it would mean a. change .of tenure. Ho was perfectly prepared to ;give those settlers who held. land under'the'land for settlement ,-system the option'of the freehold upon certain conditions. : -A\ voice: 'Does Mr. Millar hold the same Vl Mr! Mackenzie: Mr. Millar'will tell you himself. I need not answer.for him. •, , . Mr. Mackenzie went on to say that in regard to Crown lands the Government were pushing ahead the matter ■ of settlement, as fast as - .possible. The same was the case.in,regard. W A.voice: We'have heard that; for ten.years. . Mr. Mackenzie: If I'come.back m-three,.-par* you ..will tell a different- story. , V"ti Wi Mr. Mackenzie declared that there should be preferential trade within the Empire. ~ ;A voice: That is what, Mr. Hocklv -h01d5...,. ,Mr. Mackenzie: T expect Mr. Hockey ? views on the. subject are sound, hettuig aside the important Work for, which Rnv-Joseph Mard went flome.what he (Mr. Mackenzie) hoped would, be- one ,of tho outcomes-.of his trip was, an Imperial conference with regard \to the trado of tho Empire. There, hadlieou. a great'advantage . in connection withr.tjio ■postponement of the- work ,of tho session, andf hat was that it had enabled Mimstors,,' and he referred ■ particularly to himself,. to gain. a nrm grasp erf their Departments. As'a .result dry, bones of the/r Departments hnd.been quickened,' and he might tell them that'iMin--isters had, as.a"result of, the knowledge'; Which they now "possessed,-' been able to ask a large number of inconvenient questions. He did not-entirely-agree with all that Mr., Millar hud'said with- reference to .the lnadvisableness'of controlof the public and-rail-ways by; commissioners. Like Mr: Millar, however, he held that there should not be _an intermediate power in that regard. If a Department '■ was not 'doing good work, a'.change of menwas'what he wanted. -Mr. Mackenzie added: "It has been'stated that there has been a change .in Mr. Smith's views. Well, if Mr. Smith-has discovered that a. certain line of action is'right,'.oven'if that Jine is, in absolute contradiction to the.position he has taken up previously, ho is a man to follow the new and right line of action." (Applause.) :. ; . Upon the motion 0f... Mr. James Smith, seconded bv Mr. M'Oormick, a vote of thanks and confidence in ' the Government, coupled with the name of the Government, candidate, was'carried by acclamation after some of-the audience' had signified that they would have preferred ■ the :vote to have not contained an allusion-to. confidence. The, meeting, broke-up with three cheers 'for .'the Ministers; and one for the candidate'. ' '--