THE ACTING=PREMIER AT INVERCARGILL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1168, 1 July 1911, Page 6

THE ACTING=PREMIER AT INVERCARGILL.

' —♦— A PUBLIC ADDRESS. WHY. THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE SUPPORTED. THE HALL MAKE OF "TIME.'-' (By TclcEratih— Press Associallon.l Invercargill, Juno 30. Sir James Carroll returned to-day irom a trip to the western" district of Southland, and to-night delivered a political address in tlio theatre, before a largo audience. The Mayor, Mr. Ott, presided, and introduced the speaker, to whom ho extended a warm welcome. Sir James Carroll, who was received with very cordial applause, said that ho was very pleased to bo in Invercargill on that occasion. Ho was hero in the south, he said, just to scatlc-r a few seeds of kindness. They had had there, tho other day, Mr. Massey, who, in duty bound, had to engago' in a campaign just to show what they had been doing, Tho Opposition Leader was particularly interested that they should understand how ho and his party could improvo on tho present system of affairs. , „ , Mr. Massey had described tho present Ministry.as "dishonest," and as being "hypocrites and humbugs." Mr. Massey niignt bo sincere, but ho (the speaker) was there lo say that the statements that had been made wore not true, the present party came into office in 1691, by the will ut tho ocouic, -tiwro nuu u.eil an election even- three years since, and yet tho people had tolerated them during tho whole of that period. Such criticism as that of Mr. Massey did not do justico to the people's intelligence or discernment. Tho party in nowcr to-day wcro there by the will of tlie people, and, if they were corrupt and hypocritical, they had been deceiving tho people- during all these years, ami it was left to Mr. Massey and the minority in Parliament to come along and point it out. Yet the Opposition members used opprobrious phrases, and objectionable epithets with reference to these people. With all their boasting what hail Mr. Massey and Co. done beyond offering factious op-, position, silly tirade?, and obstruction to some of the best legislation in tho Statuto Book; Mr. M.iss-sy had brought for? ward only three Bills in his whole political career.. One was a local Bill, which had not even . passed the Local Bills ' Committee,, and' the other two had never reached Did second reading, and yet this was tho man who posed as a political authority. Under the old regime, the country had not seen such evidences of prosperity as there wero to-day. If Mr. Massey and his parly wcro placed in power, it would be a retrograde step for the' country, and ho and his sido had put up opposition to some of the most humane acts on the Statute-book. Thcv had opposed the Old Ago Pension-. Bill, the Advances to Settlers Bill, and the Laud for Settlement Bill. Was their jibing, sneering, and scofling the rolo of the farsecing statesman? Mr. Massey had said that he did not want, the country to bo a State pawnshop. Mr. Allen, like that ill-omened bird, tho raven, had predicted disaster, mid, like the raven, he would say "nevermore." Comes lo Native Affairs. Ho said that his mission to the 60lilh was more particularly to explain tho position with regard to Native ail'airs as it was to-day. Ho found that hi« friends on Die oilier sido of the Bouse were posiii" as authorities, ami had been mi-lead-ing the people in the south-because the latter had not had so much experience of Native affairs as they had in the nonrth. It was just possible that people might believe what Mr. Massey had told thorn, and ho wished to show that it was a tissue of misrepresentations, speaking at Nelson, Mr. Massey had said that there were 6,000,000 acres of idlo and unproductive Nativo lands in tho North Hand He challenged that .statement, and, in Invercargill, Mr. Massey had brousrht the amount down to -1,000,000 acrc=! A conplo of million acres was apparently nothing at all to Mr. Massey.

In each case, Mr. - Massey had not qualified his remarks, but had given it out as anabsoluto statement of tho case. In both of these statements Mr. Massey was .. quite wrong. • - - On March 31 last tho area owned by Maoris in the North Island was 6,018,371 . acres. Of this 3,916,342. acres was in profitable occupation, leaving a balance of 2,102,029 acres of unoccupied Native lands. Of this balance, 369,112 acres was vested . in tho Public Trustee and other trustees, and 279,002 acres was incorporated for settlement. The incorporation of Native land provided that, in blocks winch wero incapable of individualisation, and wore cost of surveys, etc., would eat up the value of tho land, tho owners could appoint seven of their number to be a corporate bodv to cut up and deal with tho land according to the wishes of tho owner". Previous to March last they had disposed of 98,738 acres to tho Crown, and 209,057 acres to private purchasers. YV hen they wero told that .there was stagnation in tho administration of Native affairs, all that they wanted to do was to study, the figures given, and that was tho answer. Traverses Finance. It had been suggested by the Opposition that the public debt of Now Zealand was approaching such dimensions t that it' was questionable whether tho country would survive tho profligacies of tho present Government. Tho fivo' million loan had been seized upon for tho purposo of creating alarm in tho peoples breasts. While tho Opposition, from th« public platform, raged and fumed agains. borrowing, they never voted against anjt loan. After traversing tho absorption 01 the five million loan, Sir James askoc which - item of expenditure had been taken exception to by tho Opposition, Not a single one. Our indebtedness todav was 81 millions, and the Opposition would have the people believe that they wcro staggering under tho whole burden of this colossal amount, and that they, wero paying interest on the whole of it. Tho Opposition never told them that of this amount X62.493.000-or 76 per cent, of the total national debt—was interest bearing, profit earning, or indirectly bearing interest. That put quite a different, aspect on tho matte/. The outlook was not so dismal after all. However, to vanish all misgivings, tho Public Debt Extinction Act had been passed. That Act had been approved of by Mr. Allen at tho second reading, and opposed by him at' tho third. The principle of that Act was sound. Mr. Massey had predicted that some Treasurer might seize tho accumulated funds. That,- how--ever, was impossible, as the funds would bo paid in to the Stato Guarantee Account and would bo lent out to farmers for a term of 32 years. Those safeguards wefo never referred to by the Opposition when they wcro trading on the people's crcdii-; lit v. That Act was one. of tho finest over placed on the Statute Book, and it would' ever stand to the credit of the present Administration. Why cry stinking fish in connection with the country? Why dccrv tho country? Why do everything to damage the country's credit for tho purposes of petty factions, political squabbles and of getting on tho Treasury benches? Mr. Massey had once said: /'Let .us stop this borrowing, oven if we have to apprise tho money-lender." A. the Opposition did get into power, .money would still have to bo- found U .-.pry on the •' development of the country\ •>' Mr. Ngata, who was well received, also * r \ti\'john Stead moved: "That this meeting most heartily thanks Sir James Carroll and tho Hon. A. -T. Ngata for their able, instructive, and interesting addresses, and also records its continued confidence in tho Ministry to which they Ixh Tli'is was seconded by Mr. W. N. Stirling, and carried without dissent. Sir James Carroll briefly acknowledged the vote, and, on his motion, a vote of thanks was accorded lo tho Major for presiding. __^^^