AN INSPIRING GATHERING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1173, 7 July 1911, Page 6

AN INSPIRING GATHERING.

A monster audience of between 2000-and -< 8000 -greeted the Leader of the Reform' V party, Mr. W. F. Massey, at tho Town Hall' last evening. At eight o'clock almost' . every seat in the -body ■of the' hall was filled. Included in' the great assembly were a number of ladies—an indication of the far--Teaching interest in the rccent energetic Work of tho Reform party. Some few of . tho audience were there to' this was evident froiu tho outset, but their interruptions were rather an as- . eistance to the speaker' than otherwise. ■ , , On, the platform was n large gathering fl>f tlie Reform party, representatives who shave gathered in Wellington in connection- with a conference of ■ tho party. (Among those present were the following: —Messrs. Hino (Stratford), Fraser (Wakatipu}, Mander (Whanga-rei), Anderson (Mataura), Malcolm; (Clutlia), Hardy (Selwyn). Buick (Paluiorston Sarth), Fisher (Wellington Central), Wright (Wellington South), Guthrie. ; (Oroua), Nosworthy . (Ashburfcon), Buchanan (\Vairarapa),_HevTica (Tauranga), and-. Herd man (Wellington North). The following gehtlemen, who will be candidates (in addition to sittinglmem- .. liers) at Mie coming, elections were also present, hud occupied seats ou the ' platform Messrs. ■!'. 11. Smith , (Waitaki), C. A. W. Monckton (Otaki), (i. Wilkinson (Bay of Island?), J. Boddio (Taniiiariinni), D. S. M'Farlanc (Huru- '■ niii), Williams (Wellington Suburbs), F. F. Hockly (Uangitijcei),. and A. 11. Her-' - liert (Masterton), arid J Jr. Newman (Wellington East). Mrs.'..'Ne\vinan and Mrs. A. 11. Miles were also-on the platform.A great ovation greeted .Mr. Massey when ho appeared, with his party, oil . the platform. The' applauso continued for over a lnimite.., Whatever political feeling there might have been in the audience Mr. Massey-s personal popularity was strikingly apparent. The chair was occupied by the Acting- - Mayor (Conne.illor 'J. Smith). Mr. Massey was in capital . fighting form, and had a highly appreciative audicjice quick to seize, his points and empr.n ;jc t.heni with applause. There was a small section of. noisy electors ,who at ivne time seemfcd likely to make it difficult for t lie speaker to get. a. fair hearing, but they were few in .number, and ■ Mnssey's good ,humour, determination. and power' of repartee, backed by tho good sensfi of t.ho meeting as ii whole, made them powerless to do anything worse than causo a littlo annoyance. ./■ • The sfoceh covered a great, deal of ground. Unvoted mainly to; the exposition of tlio party's programme, of re- ,- form', it necessarily entered with somo detail into questions of finn'nco, land tenure. Native lands, tho Upper House, the ■ Civil Service, local government, and industrial and social legislation. Jlr. Masj Fey, however, found time to reply In the i latest remarks of Sir James Carroll, as well as .to show cause for an inquiry, into the, Mokau land transactions, and give a light comedy sketch of tho-personnel of Ihe Ministry. A passage which obviously struck deeply into the. mind of tho meeting was that in which ho referred to circumstances which have caused gravo public,uneasiness in connection with' the j •dministrationol" justice. •

WELLINGTON'S GOOD EXAMPLE. ' Mr. -'Massejv on rising to speak, was received .with long and lend applause, which ivas • frequently renewed as he, proceeded . with his address. lie thaiikcd the audience for the hearty reception accorded to him/nnd expressed his pleasure at seeing so large a'gathering of the citizens' *' oAVellington. lie took this partly as a - compliment to himself and his party,and partly as a sign of an interest ill' polices idiich hcutos VMy glml to see. (4t>-

HOW THE ADDRESS WAS RECEIVED,

STPtONG RESOLUTION PASSED,

' THE SPEECH.

plause.) This was the first time he had nail an opportunity of speaking to the people of Wellington in their own hall, and he recognised, that.he was speaking to people who knew more about politics than those of any other,city in New Zealand. That was because the Legislature and the Administration were constantly under their observation', and this latter circumstance was what accounted for the fact that Wellington seldom returned a Government supporter to Parliament. (Applaut'-e.) He would bo very glad iudeed w-htin the other cities followed the example. A voice: They will in time! My. Massey: They will be all right bv and by. (Applause.) Mr. Massey referred to the increase in the ranks of the iverorm Party at. last election, charncterising the members who were returned to support him as men who had no axes to grind, and who put the interests of the country before the interests of their party or themselves. He sincerely hoped that the people would greatly increase that party in Parliament at the very next opportunity. (Applause.) -He was here because there was an election approaching, and the issues should be. clearly put before the people of the country. The people had asked the Government to put forward a policy, but they had not done so, because they could not. • They had 110 policy. . The people had therefore called on the Opposition to put forward their platform, and ho was there that night for that particular purpose. (Applause.) The system of government in this country had been built up to assist the party that happened to'bo in power. The present Government had been in office so long that many and serious abuses had grown up. Tlioe abuses required to lie promptly and effectively remedied, anil lie purposed to show how'he intended to do this, if given tho opportunity. The Need for Change. Continuing, Mr. Massey said that in a democratic country no party should remain in office continuously for rnoro than a very few years. -It was good for any Government to have before it all the time the fear that tho other, fellows might com 6 along' in a few months or years and have a look in tho pigcon-holos. Had such been tho caso in this country, the administration of affairs would have been very mnch better thou it had been during the last few years., Coming to tho lieform I'hrty's platform, Mr. Massey read the first twu "planks"—financial reform and reduction of taxation (as printed in fnll above). These two planks he would tako together. Tho increase of the public debt should, be kept down in proportion with the increase of population, and if that were done it -would not be necessary to increase the taxation as had been done". In 18!ll, the public debt was ,£57 Bs. 10(1. per head of population; in 1910 it was-c67J 13s. Ltd., an increase of ,£ls 4s. lid. per head. Tn Australia, the average was only .£SB ss. 9(1. per head. About twenty years ago, in a. time of severe depression, Sir Harry Atkinson's Government was det'onfed, and Mr. John linllanoo was called on to take his place. (Applause.) He was glad people, still appreciated Mr. fiallnnce's services to llio country. He pill: forward the non-borrow-ing, self-reliant policy, but since his time tho public indebtedness had increased more am! mure rapidly. Taking it at intervals oflivj- years, beginning (rain 1891, Ihey v.-ouUl find I hat in tho first of tlsostr periods our indebtedness increased by 4.V millions sterling; during the second five years br 6i millions; during the third by 12-5 millions; nnd now (luring the last five years the increase was 181 millions. During last year alone the public debt was increased by no less than 111 million pounds. (Xoiso and cries of "Order.") '

Extra Taxation Last Year. Mr. Massey, proceeding, said that last year over a million extra was taken from the pockets' of the -people by taxation as compared with the previous year. During the last fire' Tears the increase

of the cost of government had been over two millions, or between 100,000 anil ■Csflo,oofl 11 year. So far lis arrivals ami departures were concerned, the population was barely holding its own. »hc figures for the last six months were nut available, but taking Ihe previous six mouths tlio loss at tlie port of Auckland aluue, he saw in the papers was -,77' i, by excess of departures over arrivals. That was not creditable to the Government which had been in power for the last twenty years. Sir James Carroll had said in the south tliat 7(i )ier cent, of tlio debt was represented by assets and producing interest, 'yet official documents showed that il was only 113 per cent. There was, therefore, a deficiency of .17 per cent. How was the interest on that made up? .

A voice: Borrowing. Mr. Massey said that, was not so. They could not borrow for the purposes of the Consolidated Fund. There was ouly one way of making up that interest, and that way was taxation Uproar on the part of a small section of the audience, during which the chairman again appealed for order. Mr. Masscy: There is an individual in the front now who looks as if he had escaped from an establishment up the line. (Laughter and applause.) I ask him to bo quiet, otherwise it. will l)e necessary to ask someone else to put him outside. (Applause.) BORROWING. A SOUND POSITION ABANDONED. Continuing, Mr. Massey said he was not there to say that it was possible to do without borrowing. .Nobody who knew anything about tne country would say that. , He advocated moderate borrowing. The Opposition might be blamed tor not voting against the different loau proposals, but the fact was that they could not get the information as to wiiat was proposed. Until the last year or two it was the practice ol' the' Government to make up its mind as to what was required and what it could safely borrowwithout injuring our credit, and. then to submit proposals to Parliament. The late Mr. Seddon and other Premiers so far back, as ho could remember had done this, but the practice had been abandoned. Sir Joseph Ward said ou one occasion that the Government ought not to be pressed to iuerease the amount it was then borrowing, and if a larger sum was suggested for expenditure it could only be dono by adding largely to the amount of borrowed money, which any sensible man not steeped to the eyes in political prejudice must sec could not safely be done. Sir Joseph AVard inado that statement on June 30 of last, year, and the principle underlying it ■ was quite sound. It meant that wo ought not to borrow this year more than we had borrowed in the previous year. Well, wo borrowed last year 31 millions, and this yeJr 6} millions. Probably (his was due to Ihe fact that this was election year, and the money was wanted to buy votes. Everyone knew of the wasteful expenditure in connection with the public, affairs of this country. (Applause.) A Secretive Treasurer. '' Another new departure called for notice. Every Treasurer, in tile past had submitted full details as to the costs of loans. Yet nobody outside Cabinet know what the five-million loan of last year cost us, nor what had been the cost-of all the loans of the past .four years. Was that a fair position? ' ("No, no."') A'll that the Primo Minister told thenvin the House about the five-million loan was' that tho underwriting cost ,£50,000. A front bench Opposition member moved:— "That particulars of the terms on which loans are floated, together with all costs and expenses of raising tho same, be laid before Parliament within twelve months of tho floating of the loan." The Government did not agree to that proposal. ("Shame!") ■ It was defeated by 45 to 27. Af• or that, Mr. Henlman—(much applause)—moved .that tho particulars should be given to Parliament within two years of the floating of the loan, and that was defeated by almost the same majority. Why should there be all this secrecy? It was bound to breed suspicion. If there was nothing wrong, why not give the details? If 'there was anything wrong, the public ought to know about it. The Opposition asked for tho adoption of the Canadian system of laj-ing before Parliament every year a big rectum showing every payment made bv the Government and to whom: (Applause.) "We want yon," exclaimed Mr. Massey, "to help us to get' that return and all the details to which you are entitled." (Applause.) The Cost of Living. Next, Mr. Masscy spoke of tho need for a reform of tlie fiscal system by reducing taxation Wherever possible, in order to reduce' the cost of living. The increases, of, the death duties must have yielded much more than tho ■£150,000 which'was estimated, and these duties fell on the,poor as well as the rich. In one instance, a man had died leaving his whole estate of less than -£100 to tho people who had cared for'him during illness, and .£l7 was charged against it in death duties. Gifts of monev were similarly taxed. If a man gave lii's son ,£SOO to start in business, or gave his daughter .£SOO on her marriage, he had to pay a duty on it. Surtax on tobacco had been fixed to bo collected up to March .It last. He moved to abolish it earlier, as trado had improved, and it was no longer needed, but' tho Government hung ou to the tax to tho last day. There was also increased . taxation on banks, and the raising of railway fares. In regard to taxation who was tho man who paid? Take tho income tax. The'man who paid that tax was not tho big man. He drew the cheque in the first instance. But what happened? He wrote the cheque, but ultimately tho payment of the money went back to the working people of tlie country and to the' producers. Thev might tax any individual or section of the community, but anv particular tax found its way back to.tlie rank and file of the people'.. (Applause..) He thoroughly agreed with the suggestion that had been handed up to him, namely, that they should reduce taxation. No* country ever prospered with increase of taxation. They had in this country been increasing taxation during the last few years to a large and unnecessary extent,* and that taxatiou had to be paid by the workers and producers of'"the country. It was just aboift time thev put a stop to that instead of looking " around for something else to tax, as the Government did. It was time they had some party in Power that would make the burdens ighter than the people of the country had to bear. (Applause.) THE LAND QUESTION. OPPOSITION'S POLICY. Now he came to the land question, and that was one of the most difficult questions they had to deal with. He knew of course, that ho was going to express opinions which some people present would not-agreo with. He knew that thero was plenty of room' for difference of opinion in connection with tho land question. But let him tell them thisHe had known people, come from tho towns and go into the out districts of Taranaki and Auckland, and some of those people held theories with' respect to the leasehold and land nationalisation, and other views on that question. Those persons started work on tho land, but before very long, when they began to make their improvements on tiieir sections, they began to consider what form of tenure would give them the best results for their labour. It was not Ion" before they came to the conclusion that the only form of tenure (hat was goad for them was the option of the freehold (Loud applause.) A man could not exercise the same .energy-he could-not face his difficulties on the land with ihe same cheerful spirit if fhere was anv doubt in his mind about (he tenure of his land. "You have got to give Ihe settlers oii the land of this country—and in many eases it is only second * and tliird-elas'--lund—absolutely secure tenure." (Ap-. plause.)

The. Leasehold: A Stepping-Stone,• The platform of his party in' regard to the land question provided,' first for a reform of the land system, "by giving ■all facilities possible to men of small capital to get on tho. land by means of the leasehold, as a steppiiig-stoiie to the freehold if they so desire it." If a man was satisfied with the leasehold, by. all means let him have it.;" but what thev said'«as this: If when a man became pqj.' sossod «f sitfEi-'iwit financial ability to acquire the freehold, it wai' in his own

interests, and in the interests of the State [ 111 at lie should luive the opportunity of ! doing so. The second p-.rt 01' their land j policy was this: "ilv giving the option of | the freehold to tenants of Crown lands ill l.i.p. at. the original value, plus the difference between the rental on file o.r.p. and 1.i.p."; also, "by giving the option of freehold to tenants oil settlement land or l.i.p. at the original value." In the < ,ise of a man who had a lease-in-perpetuity for W9 years, why not give liini an opjiortunily to pay oil' the capital value, and so reduce the amount 'of money that the country had' to borrow "in acquiring land for scttlen'icnfr Surely thai was good business? Every business. man in t ho hall Ihnt night must agree with him in respect to that. Ho. believed it would be a good financial transaction if they allowed those people to pay off the capital value. (Applause.) They were complaining just now that the country was borrowing too much. They were borrowing /:50n,0b0 per annum for this purpose. That money was expended in the purchase of land, ond then we borrowed .£500,000 more. He desired to call attention to this very serious fact that the ownership of the land was passing away from the people of this country at the rate of a year. Did they not want,the ownership of. the land to remain in the hands of the citizens of this country? If thev did wish that, then they should give tlio people the opportunity of paying off the capital value, and then the "country would be saved from borrowing ,£500,000 per annum. Limitation of Area. Another part of their platform with respect to reform of the . land system was "by. providing for limitation of area, lo effectually prevent aggregation." He did not think that wanted any explanation. His party wanted to make it psrfeetly clear that by law no aggregation would be possible: that when once land was subdivided it would never go back into large estates. They wanted to make finite certain of that, and therefore they put it in their platform. They also proposed reform in the land system "by providing for the payment of the purchase money in instalments, if so desired by the tenant." They did not propose to ask a man to wait until he had got all the money. That surely was a fair, thing, and he did not think there would be any objection to that. Acquisition of Further Land. Another, proposal in respect to land settlenient was "to provide that the money derived from the sale of the free-' hold 'be utilised for the acquisition of further land for settlement." That meant this: That when they sold Crown land, and tlis sale of Crown land was going on all the time, and speaking from ■memory they parted with CO,OOO acres of.Crown land-last year, when that land was parted with the money received for it became part of the ordinary revenue of the country. That was wrong. Instead of becoming part of the ordinary revenue it should be paid into a fund for the purpose bf purchasing other land, because it was really the capital of the country. Was not that a fair proposal? (Loud cheers.) That was the policy of the Reform party'boiled down." He" had put. it in as few words as it was possible for hint to do, and he felt perfectly certain that a large majority of the people would agree with him that it was a good land policy. Prosperity: What it Depends Upon. Those present would agree with him that far too largo a proportion of the people of tlio Dominion were residents in the towns. The country did not fool it so long as.times were good and they were receiving good prices for their produce: but if depression ever- came along then tliey .would feci it. The. only way Co avoid that trouble—and (here -was going to be trouble unless there was a changewas to give every opportunity to the people'to get oil the land, and increase the number of producers, remembering that every settler who became a producer provided a living for a corresponding number ot people in the ' cities. (Applause.) the prosperity of the Dominion depended almost entirely upon the prosperity of'' the agricultural population, and if 'they were going to do what was right with respect. to the agricultural population, they must deal with the revenue in the way he had indicated. NATIVE LANDS. URGENT NEED TOR ACTION. JCow he came to another plank in their policy, and it was this: "Keform of the Native land' legislation." No more-im-portant business could occupy the lime and attention of the Parliament and people of tho country than the settlement of the Native land question. (Applause.) He had been going round the country a' good deal during tho present recess, and in the north of Auckland and in parts of the King Country he had seen huge blocks of land lying still just as the Creator left them. Those lands were producing nothing. They were lying idle, awaiting the expenditure of public money upon them for roads and bridges. On the other hand, he had seen large blocks of Native land deteriorating in value, and now perfectly useless on account of the spread of noxious weeds upon them. That, sort of thing should be stopped. It was an unfortunate fact that large numbers of people were leaving the country. He noticed in a paper the other day a statement that there was hardly a family in Taranaki that did not have a member of it-or a relative that had left for Australia and settled there. Large areas of Native land had never contributed a copper of taxation—had not contributed- anything to the revenue of the country, had contributed nothing to the rates of local bodies or for purposes of the hospital or charitable aid. Those, lands did not pay taxation as European-owned land did. Many of the Natives under the existing conditions were not likely to become useful citizens of this country. He did not knowthat it was necessary to quote figures, but he could prove that four million acres of Native land was now lying idle- 1 laud that ought to be cut up and made available for settlement. • Different suggestions had been made with respect t,i the settlement of' Native land. One was that the laud should be handed over to the Public Trustee,' arid be leased to Europeans for the benefit of the Natives. Fie did :not. quite agree with that, and certain of the Natives themselves did not agro<i with il. One suggestion—tho best he had heard—was made by.an intelligent and educated Native,. Ho said tho Natives wanted to be put in the same position as I he Europeans: thai a Nativo who had been educated, say, past tho fourth standard should have an opportunity of going before a tribunal ond be given, under certain safeguards, all the rights of a European with respect to dealing with his land. That view .vas endorsed by a large number of Europeans, and he thought it would be a good thing if it. was brought into operation. He knew that there were difficulties in the way,''because there were some blocks of land in which there weTc hundreds of owners. Saving the Native People. The Reform party said that the present state of things could not go. on any longer. Many of. the Natives were sick and tired of it. themselves. Many Natives wanted to improve their position in life. In such cases, let them utilise their land and become farmers and settlers; and, if they could not make use of it. let it be made available for European settlers oil. terms fair . and just to the Native people. . (Loud applause.) They - wanted to save the Native poople. and they were worth being save!. Tf they were going to be saved it would he by the gospel of work, and not bv the gospel of idleness and taihoa, of which Sir .larnes Carroll was *a aide an exponent. (Applause.) He did not think it was necessary for him lo read (he whole of.the platform, but there was one point he would like lo refer to. and that wa*: They wanted lo prevent in rmneet.ion with the Natives (he aggregation of large estates. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. HOW IT SHOULD BE REFORMED. The next point was one that appealed perhaps more to Wellington than lo other towns, and that was reform of llie Legislative Council. (Applause.) A Wellington audience did not need In be told what the position of. the Legislative Council was in this country, or how much reform' was needed in connection with that. Chamber. If reform,was necessary in the Houso of Lords, it was'twenty times more necessary in the cose of our Legislative Council." (Applause.) The system g[ anoint-

ment for. a term of seven years was unsatisfactory, for it had been shown that although a ■ man might bo independent when appointed, yet in the course of two or three veals he lost his independence, and became a .-übservienl supporter of the party in p.iwei;., What they wauled was 10 democratise the members of the Legislative Council. He could not understand any country allowing such a body lo make laws—a body not elected by the people themselves. (Applause.) On behalf of his parly he suggested reform of the Legislative _ Council bv replacing the present nominative Council "willl one elected on the same franchise as tho House uf Representatives on the proportional system . of voting by larger electorates. The electorates should be large, not less than twenty, returning two members each. That would give •10 members, as compared with SO members in the House of Representatives, and they should have a six years' term. An objection that had been raised was that a poor man could not canvass such large. electorates. He did not want canvassing at all. Under that system tliey would have men returned in whom the public would have confidence. They did not want, as at present, men who could buy the position. or be appointed simply bccauee they put .£IO,OOO or i£20,.u00 into a paper which supported the Government. (Loud applause.) 'that was what happened now. The Public Service. Reform was required in connection with the public service. Reform was required 011 account of the system of appointment. What he objected to was appointment unpolitical influence. (Applause.) In spite of the present wretched system ot appointment, he was glad to be able to acknowledge the fact that the service contained a large number of able officers who were a credit to the country. Compared with Canada and some other countries we were about fifty years behind the times in respect to our Civil Service system. "We want," said .the speaker, "to do away with "this wretched system of nepotism and favouritism which obtains here." It ought to be as possible for the son or daughter of a worker on the 'wharf to be appointed- to the service, which should be by merit, as it was for tho son or daughter of a Minister of the Crown or member of Parliament. (Applause.) Local Government. His party proposed a reform of local government in the rural districts of the Dominion by giving extended powers and assured finance, thus making it unnecessary for them to depend to the same extent as at present on the wasteful and unsatisfactory system of Parliamon-. tary grants for public works. Mr. Massey' alluded lo the construction of the duplicate railway line from Wellington lo tho Hutt, a lid the various estimatesincreasing. from time to time—given by tho -Government. The Government first asked- for ,£IOO.OOO, ond the line ultimately cost dKti.OOO. He did not object to the Work: he supported it; Then thev first asked for jM."o,ol)n for the DnnedinMosgiel line,'and they had expended uuon it '.£500,000, and it' was not finished yet. When that sort of thing was going on there must be something seriously wrong. He condemned in the strongest terms tho present system of voting money for public works—members really did not know what they were voting for. It was a huge farce, and they might just as well admit it. The remedy was a Local»Government Act, and assured finance for the local bodies. It was not a question of higher polities or the good of the country at present, but simply who could get the most money for his district. That was what politics had come to in this country. (Applause-) The only way to stop the. present unsatisfactory system was to bring down a comprehensive Local Government Act. ' _ Thev proposed to reform the municipal legislation of the Dominion by promoting a town-planning scheme to meet the future requirements' of the tov;ns of the Dominion. There would in ■ the future probably be a population of twenty millions in this country. We- ought now to go in for a system of town-planning. Mr. Massey advocated reform of the Old Age Pension Act. "by making the qualifying age for the pension for women sixty years instead of sixty-five years. Economic Reform. One of the reasons the Public' Debt was mounting up was becausc the Government had got the idea that, they should control tho whole of' the financial operations of the country, that local bodies and private individuals should go to the Government for their money. What was necessary was to endeavour, in every way to inspiro confidence amongst peoplo inside as well as outside the Dominion. He said that papers coming to hand from London reported that large quantities of money was going to other colonies for investment. but little to New Zealand. The balance-sheet of tho Bank of New Zealand a few days ago showed that a very large amount of money went away from New Zealand for investment. It was, therefore, obvious that confidence in our financial position, both outside and inside the Dominion, required to be re-establish-ed.' In England and Germany there were schemes for insurance-against sickness and a partial scheme of insurance against unemployment in case of certain industries. Surely what these countries could do we of democratic New Zealand could do. (Hear, hear.) He and his party were quite willing to take the lead and place a scheme on the Statute Book to provide for insurance against sickness as far as the workmen were concerned; and for unemployment as far as, it was possible. (Loud* applause.) - A voice: "That beats Ward!" "OUR PLATFORM." WHERE IS THEIRS? "Now," said Mr. Massey, "that is the platform of the party with which I am connected. Where is the Government's?". (A voice: They haven't one!) "If thev haven't got one,-.why, of course, they will take ours. (Laughter.) It is the* most liberal and democratic platform ever put forward bv a political party in this country." (Loud applause.). He did not say their colours were nailed to the mast. Tliey didn't need to be. But they would flyover men who had principles to stand by, and who would in'- the future endeavour to place'them'on the Statute Books of the country. (Loud applause.). " Encroachments of the Executive. Mr. Massey referred to the increasing powers of the executive.. Lately (he couniry had been practically ruled by tho Executive, instead of by the representatives- of the people. Someone had mentioned the case ot' the Dreadnought. That was a e.3se of tho Executive—(interruptions). "I am as great an Imperialist as anyone in the country," said Mr. Massey. (Applause.) It was he who had suggested the advisableness of increasing the navy subsidy, and he was (he first to move in the matter of compulsory training. (Loud applause.) In that, however, lie would rather give credit to his colleague, Mr. James Allen. — and further interruptions.) But regarding the Executive control: In the Customs, for instance, there were certain, articles which the Minister was to say were dutiable or not. Was not this taxation without the consent of the people? (Hear, hear.) Diverting the Public Money. Then again Parliament passed money for public works, but instead of it being utilised far specific purposes it could hi spent in any province in the country, and this was being done, repeatedly. Salaries of Judges, the Auditor-General, and certain other officers were fixed bv Act of Parliament. But the Public Revenues Act. said that a vote on the Estimates wa« sufficient. Sometimes such a vote would go through in the early hours of (lie morning. And thus these thing'; went on. He didn't need to ( P fj n lom about ''the . Government ndverti-;-iug business." There wasn't time lie also had no lime to deai with the Government policy. In America the premier had said ,I heir' paliev was to ask the people what tliey wanted,'mid- then to give it them; and to slick in oltico as long as tliev could. (Applause.) Thev had backed down over the land question and'the Government House at Auckland. It was their duty to state their poliev, ami stand or fall by it. (Loud applause!) Jfe. believed the country would have more respect for a Government taking up that position, than for a Government whose policy was as though it were a weather cock. (Applause.) , Our New Nobility. Referring to the lately-conferred titles, Mr- Massey said lie would exclude the Speaker uf the Houie and Sir Joshua .Williams from' his remarks, except to

congratulate them; but the case of the uther titles was amusing. (Applause.) The peoplo who. took these titles were jusl as anxious to join wlial they called lhe aristocracy—if only a colonial aristocracy—■, bml laughter and applause)— as alixi his as .Ksop's Jackdaw. (Loud laughter.) They could have tlieir titles as lar as he was concerned, but what was llie serious side of it ? J) tilles were to be conferred in this way Imperial honours woul-l be held in contempt— in much the same way that Justices of the Peace W'ere created lor service.-, rendered; or appointments were made to the Legislative Council —lo give people a chance, who could not secure (ho conlidencu of. the people lo get. elected to the House of Representatives. (Loud applause.) He made amusing allusions to the titles that would be next conferred upon the other Ministers. Next Year. Mr. Massey wanted lo impress on the people the necessity for assisting themselves. Next election he hoped they would return men of ability and integrity, who would put the interest of country before that of self. (Applause.) At one timo Liberalism was a grand word. It meant, the protection of the weak, the complete j and absolute independence. of. the law Courts. What did it mean to-day? To pander to the welfare of men who happened to be at the head of ■ affairs for the time bting; piling up the taxation and the cost of living; .svasto and extravagance; banishment to those who dared to assert his independence or criticise tho Government.- "I ask the Government supporters to tell mo what is the policy of tho Government. There is silence; they can't do it!" (Loud applause.). (A voicc: "Humbugs.") THE JUDICIARY. "AN OPEN-COURT AND AN INDEPENDENT BENCH." Tho "New Zealand Times," in a scries of questions, had asked liini what he would do with the judiciary. It was a question which the "Times" had better keep quiet. His answer was this: "We want an open Court and an independent Bench"." (Lengthy applause.) He would be in favour of paying tho Judges of the Supreme Court salaries that were' commensurate with their responsible position. But let them stop thefc payments to Judges in addition to their salaries. (Loud applause.)' If this sort of thing was going to continue, they would have the independence of the Supremo Court sapped. (Applause.) He was not thinking of any one Judge in particular. It was the duty of the peoplo to deal with the matter right away. Magistrates should also be placed in a far more independent position than they were, because now their salaries were subject, to tho sweet will of the Minister of tho day. Tho magistrates should be in the same position as the Judges—their salaries should 1)0 fixed, by Act of Parliament. (Ap-phiL-e.) Advances to Settlers. Another question asked him from the same quarter was in regard to the Advances to Sei tiers Department. He would toll his critic what he would do with that. He would not touch it, but would «ng"cst this. The money deposited in tho' ? savings bank at present was being lent (or tho greatc-r part of it) by Sir Joseph "Wavd, Postmaster-General, to bir Joseph' Ward, Minister for Finance, at a lower rate than procurable outside. \\ hy should it not be ako -available to the Advances to Settlors Office. Mr Massey would cheapen money to the settler, but the legislation made it dearer. , He would also do away with tne uioitgage tax, and let llie tax be in income. (Applause.) , Industrial Arbitration. His critic also wanted to kiiow what lie would do in regard, to the Arbitration Court. It would tako cleverer people than tho editor of tho "Tunes to trip him up. Ho know there were, difficulties in connection with t'ho arbitration. s.\s-

tern; but thov were strongly of opinion that in every industry the highest wages should be paid that were possible. . the Labour- Courts had been useful in providing data for the wages that should b? paid. The weak point' was that the system (lid not make provision for cncournging first-class men. A system - wanicd which would givo a mail wh.it I ho earned. (Loud applause.) He was 111 favour of the share system, or at least lu those industries in which it would work. lio wanted to see more confidence and co-operation between the employer and t'he emplovec. (Applause.) It was their dutv to find out what, was wrong in the present, system, lie had been going into the system in Victoria tho Wages; Boards in tho various trades, tho principles of which be briclly outlined. He did not say thev should do away with the Arbitration' Court, but they migbt go into the system practiced in Victoria and see what merits it had. The two systems mightbe grafted together. (Applause.) Ho hoped the '"l'lmcs" would be satisfied with his answers, and would acknowledge them. MINISTERS IN THE SOUTH.' DON QUIXOTE AND SANCHO PANZA. He then went on to refer to Don Quixote (Sir James Carroll) and his Sancho Panza (Mr. Ngata) in their journey ill the south, in search of political adventures. (Laughter.l lie hoped the result would be as satisfactory as tho journey of their prototypes. They had gone out 01 their way to abuse the Opposition and apologise to tho people. But Sir James Carroll had not declared any policy. Mr. Alussey' again declared that the Minister was wrong in saying that he had called the Government political humbugs and hypocrits. Ho had only referred to their policy as political humbug and political hypocrisy. (Applause.) Tho "Black" Pamphlet. He (the' Minister) also said tliey hit below the belt. "Think," said Mr. Massey, "of wliat took place last session in connection with that wretched pamphlet, it has been cleared up now by the bankruptcy of the unfortunate man responsible tor it. Perhaps the Government would withdraw what was said about the Opposition last session." (Loud applause.) Jlr. Massey replied further to Sir James Carroll's taunts about his 17 years ' in Parliament and the small number of Acts he had introduced. Mr. Massey explained the difficulties besetting the path of the privato member who endeavoured to introduce local and private Bills, though as far ns local Bills were concerned there had been no need for them. Ho referred to the value Hie Opposition had been tu the. country in keeping a check 011 the- Government. Now tliey wero t trying to shift them along. (Applause.) Sir James Carroll would he, too, shove along; it would require a. charge of dynamite to shift him. (Applause and laughter.) Alleged Misquotation. As to Native lands and t.Ue charges of the Native Minister that he had,misquoted, he said that his (Mr. Massey's) 'figures were from official documents. Sir James Carroll's figures were absolutely wrong, and had he timo he would show him so. Jinny wild statements had been made as to the Native lauds becoming available, but they could not be. substantiated. The-Minister, for instance, had said that 1.10 European land-holders in New Zealand owned thirteen million acres. That was not according to the returns he (Mr: Massey'l had. Sir James Carroll was either misleading tho public or was ignorant. 'Applause.) If it «-ere a fact, the Government had not been doing their duty all this time, or giving effect to their enactments. The Mokau Lands. There was one particular matter he must speak of in connection with Native land?, and that was the Mokau ease. He was not going to deal with it from the point of view of Mr. Jones, though lie had a great dent uf sympathy with that gentleman, and knew what lie had Miflereil. 't'li? Mokau land was leased mamyears ago to Mr. Jones, and lie moHtjasoil it on certain conditions, one of which was tlvat he had to spend a certain amount vf money on the development of |ho property. and the mortgagees foreclosed and fold t.lie property for. a nominal sum. \ lioya! Commie-inn. consisting of Sir R,ib. ert Stout and the Chief Judge of Ihe Native land Court (Mr. Jackson Palmer) had since reported that (he original lease to, Mr. Jones was void. The land was Native laud, and the Commission recommended that part of it should be kept for the Natives, ami the rest should lie available for settlement.. . Now. the law said, that 110 individual should arquire more tliaii 3000 acK» of inferior.

Native land or a proportionate-quantity of first-class .Native iawl. it also said that in any case where the public interest required it, Iho liovcrmncnt niignt, In" Ordcr-iu-Ccuucil, arrange lor these araas to be exceeded; this was done in regard to Mokau. 'Die Native owners as.-emoied at. To Kuiti, and were oll'ered lilt, an acre. They declined to sell, lint another nutting was afterwards called, and tlioy accepted terms only slightly better. At- a meeting of the Executive, Mr .lames Carroll presiding, the sale of (he 511,n0u acres at about 10s. per acre was sinelioiicd It was gc.-ad land with minerals ill il. What sort of a transaction was that? Within a fortnight after it was concluded, the party who thus obtained the title was able to sell the land at a great deal more thau. 100 per cent, profit, and now it was, in the hands of a syndicate which expected to make a good deal from the settlers, who would be glad to take it up. This had ostensibly been allowed in the public interest ,but he said it was necessary in the public interest that an inquiry should take place into these transactions. He now asked Sir .lames Carroll to say plainly from a public platform what had taken place, and if I lie .Minister would not do so, lie would ask him from his place in Parliament. (Applause.) He (Mr. Massey) was not quite sure that justice had been done to the Natives in tnis matter. FOR THE WORKERS. WHAT THE OPPOSITION HAS DONE. People sometimes asked what the Opposition had done for the workers. Ho was the iirst man to movo what afterwards becamo the Advances to Workers Act. He also moved a resolution making it easier for tenants under the. Workers' Dwellings Act to acquire tlio freehold. He and his party supported the National Provident Fund Act, and every other Bill that would make for the improvement of the conditions and the happiness .of the people. (Applause.) Sir James Carroll called the lieform party the 'Old Tory party. Well, if Sir James Carroll was a Liberal, he would rather be a Tory than that, sort of Liberal. Ho remembered when that Minister was himself a supporter of what was called the Tory party, and ho was not the only one who had gone over to the other side for the sake of tho loaves and fishes. In a brief reference to tho Public Debt Extinction Act, Mr. Massey treated it as futile, there being no way of making sure that a future bsveruuient would not collar the siuking funds. The present Government, when it introduced tho measure, x was collaring other sinking funds. Ho'objected—though some of his I colleagues did not sliare his opinion—to tho Act, vjiicli mado the local bodies place their sinking funds in tho hands of the Public Trustee. Ministers as a Variety Company. It was natural (hat a miscellaneous Ministry—a freehold, leasehold, Freetrade, Protectionist, Prohibitionist, Moderate, Single Tax -Ministry—cculd not put forward a policy. They were on interesting . company of persons. Sir Joseph Ward was supposed to attend Imperial Conferences and look after tho public interests, but they knew he was really interested in bluff, battleships, and baronetcies. (Laughter and applause.) In a similar vein Mr. Massey proceeded to sketch (ill the other members of the Cabinet,, the aiidienoo being keenly appreciative. Sir -James Carroll was supposed to attend tangis and look after tho Maoris, but what really interested him was .Sir James' Carroll, tho King's Colonial Mado Gentleman. Mr. Millar attended raco meetings, and was supposed to look after the lot. of (ho workers, but it was a case of love's labour lost — or rather Labour's love lost Mr. Buddo looked after sport, and the ducks at Temuka looked after hira. Mr. Fowlds attended Church and temperance meetings, arid took care of tho Single Taxersj and when there was a Liquor Hill before tho House, he happened to bo away in South Africa. Mr. T. Mackenzio went to agricultural shows, but. the farinefs .thought a man was best known by the company he. kept. Mr. R. M'Kenzio shone at smoke concerts, and watched the interests of tho miners, but tho miners knew perfectly well that they were as woll'able-to'take care of the Honr lfoddy as the Hon. lioddy was to tako care of them. They were a variety troupe, guaranteed to' draw—especially salaries, titles, and allowances. (Laughter and applause.) The Railways. Mr. Massey then dealt with' railway matters. He was not in favour of commissioners controlling the railways; but more businesslike management was necessary. The railway affairs had grown, and the management should keep pace with it. 11' -the right man was not in this country, we should go abroaj for . him. " Mr. Massey, however, wanted a Public Service Board to make appointments. He elaborated this point considerably, and was frequently applauded, especially his remarks referring to the defects of the present system of appointments to the Civil Service. The railways certainly had paid, but there had been the increase in fr.res— mostly second-class fares. Tho grain season also had been earlier this year. Interest on money for somo of Ilia lines had been charged to the Consolidated Fund years before the linos were completed. This was not good business-" Ho e.'so deprecated differential rates on the railways where there was water and traction competition, quoting instances. Mr. Massey also denounced the proposal of the Minister regarding (he surplus and the increase thereby of the railway men's wages. Ho stated that he was not one to keep down wages; but if the men were under-paid their salaries should bo increased in the proper way. Thev had instances of increases in the service just prior to the last session, and sonie of them knew; how men had been turned off even before tho summer holidays. History sometimes repeated itself. Let tho public servants be well paid, but this proposal was a very different thing. A STIRRING CONCLUSION, EMPHATIC RESOLUTION CARRIED. In conclusion, Mr. Massey asked the electors to realise their responsibilities, in view of the coming session. "I ask you to vote for men you can trust, men you can believe, honest men, broad-minded, real, true Liberal men, and (hen 1 will lie satisfied that the party T represent will coiucolf very well indeed." When .Mr. Massey sat down there was loud applaiu-o. Mr. H. F. Von Haast then moved;— "That the people of Wellington, assembled in public meeting, thank Mr. Massey for his able and instructive address and endorse the policy which he has expounded; and, further, express the opinion that the time has arrived when in the Interests of good government and wise legislation, the electors of the Dominion should tako prompt steps to have the present Government removed from office'," Cheers a.nd loud oft'd continued applause. Mr. H. 11. Stalon seconded the motion. The chairman a<-l;o;l for a show of hands. A forest of hands went up in the affirmative, and about'twenty were shown apnhi.it the motion. There were Ihen cheers and loud applauding. and Mr Massey, acknowledging the vote of thaaks, said he hoped lliat when next he spoke at Wellington Iho i:.opting would Ito of the same character, (Loud cheers.)