THE PREMIER.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1293, 23 November 1911, Page 4

THE PREMIER.

CEREMONIES AT TAUMARUNUI, UniOGE AND lIAILWAY. IJOIM.'/J WIM.I AM) I'lillMC WOUKS. I.'lr 'Megm.li-I'm* Association! Tnumarunui, November 22. •i .'o-("pli Ward arrived Ijeio last evening, arid 10-day he formally opened the new bridge over tho Onganie lliver, and turned Uif: first will of the northern end of tii'. Stratford railway at Tekonra, near I fi'iii.aruinii. The Prime Minister ivir-, bHween f/n; lno functions, entertained at liilielie<iii by the Major and horoogli councillors. [n Ihe e/jur.'.n of his remarks Sir .lov.jdi Ward referred to the r|iie<tlion of I'.eai t'r,,f.| iirncrit i"form. He .'aid that l.li" 'Jt.Vfvrnr:i'>rit liarl prepared a Hill contiiiiici Wt out il. hjd lni'ii ton);id,,i'"l (.hat it, v.onld be a mistake to mix it op Kith the elections. The Mill, which he i'7p(/.l'; t/i introduce next year, would he said considerably extend the powers ol loe;il ond withdniw some f/f the pie.'.enf fnricti'j.is of Parliament in regard to local mit'.cr-. The 7!il 1 would take a whole session to discus.

In hiu sjieech at tho railway function Sir Jr."o|ih Hard referral to the large sums of ii.onov already expended in railway const ruction in New Zealand, and ?aid that ho was glad to .say that there were not rn:!.'iy people who, having voted for the borrowing ol the. money icqiiired for railway const rue! ion and oth'-r public worl:=i, were bo be found to-day perambulating the country and denouncing the OnierriHient for piling up a large national debt. He spoke of the a "-lbs which Ihev had as a sM.-oIT lo the public debt, and said thai for many years past no

wt'l'T had been called lo pay _laxn(ion in oc:ineeti'.n with the co'-t of our lin"s. Any ]verfAi:i to-day who said that th"y should not go on making railways mii'-t have a very superficial irff-'i of public rc|uirement=. They must, he said, go on making railways for the nest la or U0 years. The onlv charge of any importance that was now-being made against him as head of the Government was that he was borrowing money too fast; but his critics had supported all the loans that had been rai"-d. In loferrinc to tho Stratford Main Trunk connection, ho said that X:)75,M0 had lw*en spent on the Stratford .Main Tiu.nk railway, and it v.-as estimated that the total cost would be about .£OOO,OOO. The thirtv millions that they had expended on their railways had produced a line asset. Mile for mile tho >w Zealand lines compared most favourably with tho.-o of anv other country, and this was a fact that reflected great credit upon the officials of the Public Works Hepartliient. Three years hence, when he was asking thciu to re-elect his Ministry, he hoped that they would not tell him that he hod added .£600,080 to tho public debt by constructing tho Stratford Mam Irunb railway. ... . Sir Joseph Ward then removed his coat and turned, tho first sod annd cheers. Ho was presented with a handsome shtct spado by the residents of Ohura as a iuemeuto of tho occasion.