THE HON. R. M'KENZIE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1178, 13 July 1911, Page 6

THE HON. R. M'KENZIE.

ADDRESS AT WAKEFIELD. defence of his department, (By Telegraph—Press Association.! Nelson, July 12. The Hon. E. M'Kcnzic, Minister for Public Works, delivcrctl fin address at Wakefield to-night in reply to recent speeches liy Mr. Massey and oilier members o!' the Opposition. Ho claimed ilmt the Liberal parly had made remissions of Customs taxation amounting to .65,822,018 in the last 20 years. In ISOI imports were valued at .£<>,50.1,819, or about J;in 6s. fid. per brad. In 1910 tbey were .£17,051,583, or about .£]!> 9s. Id. per bead, so thai, while the Customs tariff had increased only 10?. 3d. per head, the imports had increased •CO 2s. 10,1. per head. In the same period exports showed an increase of JjG is. Td. per head, so that Iho apparent purchasing power of the peoplo had increased enormously. Petroleum promised to becomo an important production in the near future. The bonus of .£IO,OOO offered by the Government was divided into four equitf instalments. The first instalment of .£2500 had already been won, and had been paid to the Taranaki Oil Company for the production of the first 250,000 gallons. An instalment of ,££ooo would bo paid for the first 500,000 gallons of crude oil, the third instalment, for the production of tlio first one million gallons of crude oil, and the fourth for tlio production of the first 500,000 gallons of oil refined in New Zealand.

Public Works. Dealing with the Public Works policy, Mr. M'Konzic said that his sympathy went with the lion-lieartcd men who had carved out homes for themselves and their families in the heart of the forests, and who had to live in tents and whares while tho pack-track was coming. They were tlio men whom tho Liberal party had been straining every nerve to assist for twenty years, and the most rabid Tory could not deny that the strenuous efforts that the Liberal Government, had made to settle peoplo on the land had been crowned with unqualified success. A great deal had been achieved, but. a great deal remained to be accomplished. During the twenty years of the Liberal regime JE5,905,2G9 bad been spent on the construction of roads and tracks. Witlr this sum had been made dray roads, S33S miles; bridle tracks, 5930 miles: dray roads, improved and metalled, 8020 miles; bridle tracks improved, 2GBI miles; dray roads maintained yearly, 2015 miles, bridle tracks maintained, 1018 miles. Tho administration of tho Department required continual and close attention. Although the system in vogue had been continued for many years, and was admitted by those who understood it to be efficient "and satisfactory, and had been maintained by every Government, the Leader of tho Opposition (in Nelson and elsewhere) had attempted to adversely criticise the administration of the Department, and, jn support of his contention, ho had cited two items of expenditure, and had indulged freely in his usual practice of misrepresentation. The first item which Mr. Massey had referred to, as illustrating maladministration, was tlio WeLlington-llntt railway duplication and road construction. Mr. Massey had indulged in a great deal of loud-voiced declamation in his efforts to denounce what he invariably described as the despotic methods of the Public Works Department, and what, in his somewhat polished diction, he generally called its "rotten system." Mr. M'Kenzie said that he could imagine that, if any of those present had listened to the Loader of the Opposition denouncing what he called "the wasteful extravagance of the Department,"' they: would naturally conclude that lie must havo some foundation for denunciation. As a matter of fact, there was no vestige of truth in tho whole abusive tirade. The Public Works Department never spent a single copper on the Wel-lington-Hutt Road construction and railway duplication. The whole work .was carried out by, the Railway Department, and paid for by that Department, and the local bodies ■ concerned. Doubtless all who remembered (he old quagmiro of a road, and the crooked railway between Wellington and Hutt would admit that they had inside'a very good job of it.

A Franklin Electorate Grant. Tlio other item of wasteful expenditure, with which the Leader of (lie Opposition endeavoured to electrify his audiences, was a matter of .£l5O in his own electorate. Mr. Massey had told his audiences in Nelson and Kaiapoi tliat applications for grants for roads by private individuals should not receive any consideration. He considered that all applications for grants should go through tlio member or tlio local body. A fairly good theory, but not' (ho was afraid), if Mr. Massey'. 5 dictum were followed. In practice, many of the best and most deservina settlers would never get a road or track to tlieir lioldiug more especially if they lived in Mr. Mas.-ey's district, and happened to have Liberal leanings. In regard to the item of .£l5O in the Franklin electorate .which the Leader of, the Opposition often paraded as an illustration of the maladministration of tlio Department, he would say this:—Jlr. Massey s remarks, as contained in tlio Cliristcliurck "I'regs" report of his Kaiapoi meeting, were to the effect that lie had staled that a local body in his district had been notified that ,£l5O had been placed on the Estimates for a certain work, that the local body knew nothing about the matter, and that the member .for tno district was also ignorant of the reason for the grant. Eventually, said Mr. Massey, it transpired that the Premier had promised the money to an elector for a. road ill his locality, Parliament having nothing (o do with it. Tlio member had written to the Department, but no explanation had been forthcoming. This was one instance (Mr. Massey was reported to Lave added), but he was quile sure that there were dozens of such instances in connection with the Public Works Department. 11l reply to this, the Minister declared that the "Leader of the Opposition had never written a word to the Department about the matter. Having read the paragraph in his speech, and waited a reasonable time expecting to hear from Mr. Massey, lie (the speaker) wroto him asking for an explanation of what lie was referring to, and his somewhat lame reply was irow on record. The explanation of the grant of .£l5O was that the gentleman who had opposed Mr. Massey at the last election, and would be sure to defeat him at the next election, had introduced a deputation to the Prime Minister for the small grant of JDISO for an urgently required road. The matter was reported on by the local Government officer, and the amount put on the Estimates. This was a second complete exposure of Mr. Massey's unreliable criticism, and misrepresentation of the Public Works Department. Mr. Massey himself had often introduced deputations to him on similar missions, and, if the requirements were urgent, he had attended to them. Proposed Works. Having dealt with the misrepresentations of tbc Opposition in somo of their criticisms of the Public Works Department. and also having reviewed the vast amount of works completed by (ho Liberal parly during the last twenty years in (lie nature of roads, railways, alid public buildings, he proposed to indicate approximately what lie considered would be required to complete the Main Trunk system of both islands. The figures were

North Auckland (Kniivnka to Kaikohe), 70 miles, ,£700,000; East Coast Main Trunk (Waihi to Tauranga), 45 miles, .Ei.50,000; Tauranga. tn Opoliki, 80 miles, .£6OO, OHO; Opoliki to Gisborne, fill miles, .£9011,000; Ciisbornc to Napier, lit! miles .£1,200,000; total, .£.'1,050,000. SftratfordOngaruo (Pohokura-Ongai'tio) line, 7G miles, .£7-10.01111.

South Island Main Trunk (WnrdUoniotl. section), 100 miles, .£1,000,000; Midland, lilenhopc Landing, Tndmor, Inangahua, CO miles, .£750,000; Cronadun to Mangahua, 10 mites, ,£:!0,000; Otira to llealey, !) miles, .£450,000; Cass to lleaiev 15 miles, .£100,000; total, JJ1.530.000. Westport. to Inangahua, 20 miles, ,£280,000; Catlins lo Waimahaka (Houipapa-Waima-halta), 50 miles, .£500,000; total, .£7,000,000 Branch railways, say, another <£7,100,000; public buildings and schools, .£'3,000,000; roads, .£1,000,000; additions to open lilies, 4;:),000,000; livdro-electric power and irrigation, ,£2,000,000; telegraphic extension and harbours. X!, 000,000.

A vote of thanks and confidence in tho speaker was earned. It was a successful meeting, and Mr. Jl'lieuzic had a cordial reception.