THE PREMIER AT PETONE.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 64, 13 September 1904, Page 2

THE PREMIER AT PETONE.

m SOMETHING ABOUT OPPOSITION TACTICS. PRESENTATION OP A CHARTER. Last night tho i'remler went out to Petone, where the local brunch of tho Liberal and Labour Federation foregathered in tho Oddfellows' Hall to receiveat tho hand* of the President of tho Federation (Mr. Seddon) its cluvrter. The liall was packed, and Mr. 11. Mothes (President of tho Branch) occupied tho chair. He briefly explained the object of the gathering, and introduced tbo Premier. Mr. Seddon opened hia address with a noto of warning. Nover in the history of our country, he said, wne tljero greater necessity for organisation tliun tbeiv wan to-day. And hut warning was directed against those who made self-interest thoir fetish — those whose organisation was so subtle that even he himself had from time to time been deceived. But recently there haii been developments, nnd now ' he did not hesitate to toll tho uutesea of this country that unices they organised and looked well to themselves, that winch had been gained in the past would be lost, and in© work of years would be sacrificed. Therefore they must baud together for their own preservation, for tho preservutiop of the people^ and for the upholding of Liberalism, which was the keynote to tho happiness of tne people of tho colony. Mr. Beadon then indicated the point to which his warning was largely directed. They would have noticed tho attempt which had been made in Parliament to prevent the poor man getting on tho land. Ho spoke of tho scandalous way in which men in the past had got hold of tne land of the colony. lie spoke of 'Cheviot, to-day worth half a million of money, which hud cost the Government £260,000, but which* had cost the original owner about £40,000, The Provincial Council had Mild that land becuube it wanted tho money. Hotter had it held tho land and gone without tho money. If the people had had the opportunity of going on the land in tho early days they ne.vcr would have had the miserable state of things which bad existed during the past fifteen years. What tho present Government' had been trying to unflo for years was now attempted to be perpetuated — the repeal of the Land for Settlements Act. If they gave every man tho right of obtaining the freehold it meant tho abolition of tho leasehold principle. In dealing with our land laws in tho future- he believed they ought to be still further liberalised, and greater facilities given to get upon the land. (Hear, hear.) It would be wrong to give thu freehold to small settlers, neoauao, after a time, the holdings would be absorbed by larger neighbours, ~a rid in tho course of events they would again have an uggicgiaion of largo estate*. Look at the Forty-mile Buoli. That was originally freehold. Where were the small settlers now? In ono place forty farms wcrb held by ono man. In the Seventy 'mile Bush the sauio conditions prevailed* In the intereeto of their children and their children's children it was imnorativo that this attempt .. »ould be met by tho people of the colony. Silently, surreptitiously, and behind tlie back* of tho peoplo this attempt to changu the objects of the Land lor Settlements Act was being made. Parliament by a majority of 22 had decided upon un enquiry before any alteration was made in tho land laws, and ho was satisfied that while amendments might bo necessary — while they might find some of the existing regulations irksome, no attempt would bo made to stop people p**thw o:i the

land. Whoever held tho land held great power over their fellows, and if this power was in tho hands of a few, what wn« to become of their follows? High rents, und commanding powers in the interests of those who thought only of the few and not of tho many. Tho recent debnte had «n educational value, and would bo tho mcansfof fortifying people with knowledge), and lie felt assured that the Land for Settlements Act would not be repealed for mnny years. They wanted its powem inoreaaed. Tho provisions as to workmen's homes wanted extending, as it had not achieved its objects, and they would presently have tho opportunity of seeing who were tho friends of tho people in this respect, and who would bo prepared to nllc-v/ tho GoTernment a free hand in acquiring lands in boroughs for workmen's liomes. The Premier spoke next of the organisation of tho Opposition. It was always organised. It dominated local government. Ninety-five per cent, of members of County Councils wore opposed to tho Government, and it would bo interesting presently in the House to see how members would regard the proposals of tfco Government with respect to tho abolition of plural voting. Ihon let thorn look at the Education Boards. 'Itye Opposition never lost an opportunity of securing seats, and requests were made for huge sums, well knowing they could never be granted. Then they blamed the Government. Some Boards had actually taken money for certain schools and snont it on schools elsewhere. (Mr. Wilford — That, applies to Alcatarawa in my district), lie know of more than three instances in which money hud been allocated for certain schools and had not been spent up to the present time. The Wellington Board, he was sorry to say, was ono of the greatest sinners. What did they think of £300 being spent on latrines for Masterton school? That would givo them an idea of the position. Recently when there were tlireo vacancies on the Wellington Education Board circulars were 6ent out by certain persons practically dictating to School Committees as to how they should vote. The sole object was to obtain an advantage which could be used against the Government. Mr. Seddon referred to the demands made by local bodies for loans. Tho amount of the demands made recently would tot up to half a million, a sum which it was obvious the Government could not give. In the present tightness of the money market Government had as much as" it could do \o raise money for its own purposes. Over £400,000 was granted to local bodies last year, which he thought was very liberal. Yet pressure was being brought to bear on the Government to grant money, and when it was refused the applicants turned and rended the Government for its stinginess, instead of taking what was available and attempting to work in harmony. This was an illustration of tho necessity for organisation.* The object of tho Liberal and Labour Federation was the preservation of tho rights of the people. Mr. Musoey, Leader of tho Opposition, had said that he had 20,000 members of the Fanners' Union behind him. He hoped for the sake of the Union that this statement was not correct, because it claimed to be a non-political organisation, but ho had remarked that cardinal planks in tho platform of tho Union woio cardinal planks in the platform of the Optiomtion. It mieht bo mere coincidence, mt it was •ingular. Mr. Seddon hpoko of the noxt e!oction t only a year off, and tho necessity for the federation to bo up and doing, and seeing that people were on the rolls. Ho believed that we wore too restrictive with regard to tho franchise, and that ultimately we must have power which would enable overy man and woman over the age of 21 years to record their votes without restriction. Thero were too many, dUfrunchised to day. Tho Premier then presented tho President of tho Potono munch of the Federation with tho charter, impressing on him and the members the necessity of conserving the objects of tho Federation, working on broad and general lines. Tho colony was prosperous to-day — the Ountoms returns lout month umnunttd to £270,000— which was a record for tho colony— -and though tho railway returns were slightly less than usual, owing to tho winter months, he thought that taken as a whole the Government was ontitlcd to tho confidence of tho people In closing Mr. Seddon warned his audience that tho warmest, keenest, and most bitter fight was awaiting them at the next election, and ho urged them to keep the Liberal flag flying in thoir own interest*. Messrs. E. G. Allen (member for Port Chalmers), T. M. Wilford (member for the Flutt), and F. Lawry (member for Parnoll) nlso spoke. Mr. Wilford considered that the Opposition would not attempt to repeal the Land for Settlements Act, but what it would do if it got into power would be to never buy a property under the Act, nnd thus defeat its provisions, thus killing the Act without repealing it. He spoke of the progress of tho Hutt district, and prophesied that if the Premier carried his proposals concerning the resumption of areas in boroughs, and enabled people to obtain cottages at an upset price, the population would speedily increase at a greater ratio than it had done in the lost eleven rears. Finally tne following resolution was carried on the motion of Mr. A. Coles, seconded by Mr. W. Joiinuoji : — "That this largo meeting of Liberals heartily rejoices that tho hoaltb of the Right Honourable the Premier is so far restored, and whilst wishing the Right Tlonouable gentleman a oontinuance of that greatest of all blessings, good healthy desires to express its, unabated confidence in himself as Prime Minister and in his Administration." Subsequently a supper was held, at whioh the Premier was present.