RAKED FORE AND AFT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1273, 31 October 1911, Page 5

RAKED FORE AND AFT.

.WARD GOVERNMENT. MR. JAMES ALLEN'S CAMPAIGN, TRENCHANT SPEECH. (Hy Tolcrraph.—Presa Association.) Milton, October 30. Mr. James Allen, M.P., addressed a large meeting of tho electors of Bruce at Milton this evening, 'Sir. C. King, the Mayor, being in the chair. Mr. Allen prefaced his remarks by expressing pleasure at peeing so many present. Referring to the last few days of tlio session he pointed ont that what was dono was "legislation by exhaustion." Every sensiblo man would endorso tlio statement that it must bo regarded as a travesty upoa legislation that Bills should bo brought down on tlio last day of lho session. Mr. Allon and the Bench. There wero two personal matters over which ho had received a good deal of abuso from the Prime Minister, his colleagues, and sections of the press. It was because ho had ventured to criticise t.he action of tlio Government in paying to tlio Chief Justice a largo amount of money for sittings oil tlio Nativo Land Commission, and tor a revision of lho Statutes. He now ca.lllo to his constituents for their judgment. What he had criticised was tlio action of the Government, which left it often to somebody to hold an opinion that even a Judge might bo unconsciously influenced. Judges wero not sacrosanct or above criticism, but thero was moro to be said about opinions in the lower Courts. For instance, Mr. Northcroft, in 1910, was reported to have said that our magistrates wero not independent, and were subjected to too much political influence. Only lately Mr. koefer, President of the Native Land Board, was reported to have said that ho had had interference and dictation from, the head of the Department in the administration, of his judicial duties, which lie had immediately resented, and preferring not to sacrifice his manhood and the dictates of his conscience ho had sent iji his resignation to the Ron. James Carroll. It was true the Minister had denied that thero was any interference with his judicial duties. His duty to tlio public was to draw attention to the possibility of interference with justice, and for doing so ho had drawn upon himself plenty ol' abuse. Charges of Misrepresentation. was accused of misrepresentation. When tho Prime Minister had been asked by him (Mr. Allen) in what way lie was charged with misrepresentation, lie had referred to what lio (.Mr. Allen) had said about the Treasury Bills, lie claimed hat half liad been paid off at tho end of the year, lie (Mr. Alien) had not denied aiat. Ho had said it was a mero juggling with the finances, because though they had been paid off in March up t,o •£4,000,000, they had been renewed, and they still remained outstanding. For tlio inquiries lie had made concerning theso .treasury Bills 110 had been uliarged with (liimaging the credit of the Dominion. Now no honest criticism of tho finances could injure the credit of any Dominion, and he believed that New Zealand was sound, notwithstanding bad administration. Speaking - as to his having asked lor a return of loans maturing, he said ho had never sent a return to England, nor any other data, to injure the Dominion. He was going to turn the tables upon tlio Prime Minister, and now attacked him for misrepresentation and for injuring the credit of tho Dominion by placing such a document upon the tablo of tho House as the incorrect Budget of 1911. Those Budget Inaccuracics, They would find 011 page 0 of tho lludget that the net debt was I'7I), ilo (Mr. Allen) knew that Kir Joseph Hard had biundered, and called for a return, which was presented, and that gavo the net debt as 1 t77,G58,3!)0, and showed an error of .£2,1 IS,00:'. 'Dion on nam 10 ot the Budget in the table of non-interest-bearing debt, tho amounts borrowed for roads and bridges wero given, and these totalled X 1,705,251. The moneys borrowed for roads and bridges were given in ten schedule*, and (110 Aid to Public Work Loans Act, and he (Mr. Allen) had taken these out of the schedules. They amounted to .£1,805,000. Sir Joseph Ward had therefore exceeded the amount borrowed for roads and bridges for tho period under review by 1'D,090,710. Then, in 190(1, in the Financial Statement, he had .£BOO,OOO for public buildings as non-productive. In 1811, in the Financial Statement, ho placed'the same amount as interest-saving. Speaking of the cost of expenses of raising loans, Mr. Allen said if tho Government drew suspicion upon its head, it was the Government's own fault, because it refused information. They had asked for four years the cost and expense of raising loans, and they had had no return till this year, and then it dealt only with loans raised up to .March 31, 1909. ne (.Mr. Allen) could see 110 earthly reason why this cost of raising loans in 1907 was not laid on lho table in 1908, for every penny of (hat was raised in NewZealand or Australia, and there was 110 reason for delay. Returns laid upon the table disclosed the fact that tho increase in tho loans raised was as fol-lows-.-1807. .£2,022,015; IDOS, JC3,330,1(!G; 1309, JM,2!)8,195; and 1910, over six and a half millions. There was another curious fact, and that waoi that the premiums had fallen. In 1907 the premiums wero .C 13.255 on .£1,090.015 4 per cent. loans, whereas, in 1909, tlio premiums were only .C 0535 011 .£1,G47,G95 1 per cent, loans. Clinging to Office. Ho refuted tho statement that if in power his party would ropeul a great deal of legislation on the Statute Book, lio referred to tho misapprehension that his party never assisted the Government, instancing a groat mass of legislation put through with the help of bis party. The Government had been too long in oflite, and that had led to indifference of Parliament, of tho law and of tho people. A pruof of tho Government's extravagance was given in the I'riiuo Minister's own .statement that he would reduce expenditure by a quarter of a million out of the Consolidated Fund, without impairing the oilicieuc.y of Hie service. This amounted to .£591,787 more than for the year 1910-11. The same thing existed in the Public Works Fund. Continuance in office also led to carelessness, which was exhibited in the original estimates for Aueklaiul-l'eiirr.:,?, Christchnrch-liollosloii, and DunediuMosgiel railway duplications. These were estimated to cost .£250,000, but by _ (lie end of 1010 Parliament had provided .£700,000 for thoso works. Tho appropriations would show which were election years, and further it was fair to say that when increases in salaries were chiefly made in election years it was done lor a purpose. . Continuance in olnce and a desire to keep in ollice led to tho use ot undue 111iluence, and it seemed to him that the remarks of the Mini -tor for Public Works (tho lion. E. M'Kenzie) at Opunake, that if thev wanted the railways they must vote against the Opposition, and (he .somewhat similar remarks made by the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie at llalelutha, must exercise an improper inlluenee. Then there was the improper use of public money. A notable instance of that was the newspaper advertising, in support ol which contention' Mr. Allen quoted iigure.s. Tho public works expenditure might be taken as the barometer of an election year. lief erring to the evil eU'ecb of overborrowing and of (lie reliance upon it, lie ✓aid that according to tlio Prime Minister at Ashburtou it had conio (0 this, tliat if tliej stopped borrowing it would atfec-t trade right oil' the reel, and interest would jump iip. In his speech on tho Budget this year Mr. Sidey said that tlio only remedy the country had at the pivfen't liniment for unemployment was Irnrrowing money, ll'c could not believe tlwt to bo true, and in tho whole course of his Parliamentary career ho had never said anything so injurious to tlio credit of tho country. A Cabinet Divided. The dissensions in the Cabinet were next referred to, and the resignations of Mcssts. Hogg and Eon-Ids. Mr. f'owMs on his resignation had said that whenever an ideal democratic party rose— a party plodgod to delinito principles, for which it was prepared to fight-—ho would bo with it Surely thero

oonld bo no stronger condemnation than that; it meant that the partv lio bad left was not democratic, and had no delinito principles. Mr. Fowlds had also said tliat a party oould nol live on tradition and a name-label alone, and that tlio adhesion of peoplo, attractod by hopo of gain instead of oy love of principle, bad a paralysing elloct upon that party. That tho Government was attempting to live on tradition was perfectly evident from the circular which it had issued of tho Liberal records. If tho Reform party had been in power for 20 yearn tliey would havo had just ns good a record. 'There was not a sing'o word in that sheet about a now policy. It was true that since that circular had been issued the widows' [wnsions and a few otlior measures had bean passed, but that was done with tho assistance of tho Opposition, As a Government iwlicy for the elections, all that remained were promises of measures to deal with family protection, farmers' co-opcrativo bank's, iron and stool industries, and land for settlement. Except so far as the Family Protection Bill would deal with tile distribution of land, thero was 110 intimation of tho Government's policy on tho land question. At tiie conclusion of bis iiddrefa, Mr. Allen received an almost unanimous vote of thanks and confidence.