SOCIALISM. THE GOVERNMENT'S POSITION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 33, 8 February 1908, Page 5

SOCIALISM. THE GOVERNMENT'S POSITION.

STATEMENT OF THE PRIME MINISTER. [Br TEtEGBAPH.— Special to The Post.] AUCKLAND, This Day. Sir Joseph Ward dealt at come length with the socialist movement in his address at Auckland last -night. ? There had not, he said, been wanting signs of on effort on tho part of some people to c/eate an impression that the Government was not bo liberal as it should be either in its instincts, its aims, its actions, or its legislation. Some clearly sought to convey that impression with the object of getting into Parliament, or of obtaining power for themselves. Political terms and names, suffered much from wear nnd tear. They wero rcppatodly told inside and outside the Houso that "We are. all .Liberals now." some of their opponents liked the term co much that they claimed it' for their own party. Surely no more conclusive proof could be asked than that the Conservative Ethiopian (to nsi purely figurative language) would change* his skin and the Tory leopard his spots ; but^that misuse of tho term "Liberalism" was a perversion of its true meaning, and made it expedient that he, as leader of the Liberal rtarty in this country, should broadly define the aims of Liberalism as ho used and understood the term. Before stating what tliay were let him emphatically declare what, they wers not. They were not, reolutionary socialist. ' They were not of any revolutionary school. Nor, on the other hand, were they hidebound individuals, who looked upon State action and enterprise as hateful and pernicious. IMPOSSIBLE IDEALS. Individuals might pursue andi dream of 'impossiblo ideals and no great harm result, but ones a majority or a, large eection of n people , gave themselves up to a mud career ' -aCler Utopias whether if 'be revolutionary socialism oo_ any other impossiblo be ocr- ! tain that anarchy was near, nnd behind it disaster, suifeiing and despotism. If revolutionary socialism took possession of us to-morrow il would leoVe our people maimed amid social wreckage milas and miles behind our present stage in tho path of progress. Unfortunately short cuts ti> the millennium did no,t exist, and while they fully recognised social diseases they knew that th&y must be dealt with— and it' was their duty to do so— not fast or slowly, but firmly and in tho proper season. Time was required for tha? cure. Now for what thej' weic. < They believed that by and through 'tho State and tho prudent usa of its power and inlluenco equal opportunity in this young country could bo S3cured for all. They believed that every poor man's son could bs a3 well cquippsd in education us tho richest ; that every man who was willing could b?. taught a trade or settled upon a piece oi land ; Umt by and through the Stale sweating and other forms of oppression could be stamped out — that a fair wage and a healthy condition of labour could bo secured to all ; that the highe&t positions in the hnd should bo open to oil by their pereonal efforts to obtain : that by and through the State (i\ud by that 'menus alone) monopolies in the land iujd in ceitain commodities could be prevented or eradicated ; ' that by and through Stale regulation all our main products qould be improved in quality and expedited to their local and foreign markets ; that every legiti--mute effort on sound '^practical lines should be made to help our producers, our workers, and our traders to get tho full result of their labour and enterprise ; that we should not sot capital and labour at one another's throats, but that we should do what wan fair and right, and help mutual adjustment and co-operation between them ; that' by prudence in our legislation the trouble and strife which necessitated aibitraiion on cither side from time to time should bo settlqd under the process of law and reason and not under the old barbaric conditions of money versus physical force, which always in the long run resulted to tho injury of both. THE GOVERNMENT'S AIM. Their aim as a party was to help, as far as Governmsnt action could, tho largest possible number of families lo obtain sufficient incomes ; to increnso the security with which those, incomes could be relied on, and to protect the purchasing power -of those incomes against unfair prices due to rings, monopolies, or legal privileges. That could not be done by visionary methods or by violent radical changes of our present system, but by a courageous and careful extension of State action along prudent and prosperous lines. He desired, as much as any man living, to st>6 tho condition of our workers steadily and increasingly improved. But an aspiration vras not a system. The paths to many great social ideals wore strewn with wreck and failure. -Ho shared — as one who had worked hard all his life for the workers', ideals — in those ideals, not in a direction of putting everyone down, but in 'a direction of giving the opportunity to every man, no matter how humble his position in life, to build himself up, and lo avail himself of the opportunities that aroso to enable him to attain to a higher position. It was not the ideal, but tho difficulty of attaining it that baffled them and to those who criticised them, he said-: — "Show us some safe path that man can trust, and wo as a Government will jjo with you hand in hand." The Government did not profess to be able to meet the conditions of the extremes upon either side; and from tho extremes upon either side they did not expect pupport or assistance. They did not support his predecessor. But the gi'eat progressive moderate party in this country — whether workers, 'farmers, tradespeople, or belonging to the professions or the public service — he asked to recogniso that ib was in the truest interests of tho progressive moderate party that they should have a stable and strong Government, and that the splendid and prosperous condition of our country under good government was of tho utmost importance to them and their families, and should not be lightly upset by an attempt on the one hand to lag entirely liehind public opinion, or on the other hand to pursue a wild and visionary course that public I opinion would not support, and that if perchance ifc was adopted would resultin 'ruin and disaster lo the great mass of our people.

A hearty response has been mado l)y tlic members of the St. John's Young Men's Bible Class, tho Old .Boys, and friends, to provide a memorial to perpetuate the memory of the late Mr. lfarry Drummond, £120 6s having already been collected. Of this amount, the present Bible Class members contributed £21 17s. tho Old Doys £86 3a. and a few friends, £12 16&. A meeting will be held very shoitly lo decide upon the form which the memorial will lake. Further subscriptions will be received by the secretary. During last year tlis Loyal Waikato Lodge of Odtlfcllov/H at Hie Tluuneo paid' away £1050 16s 6d to members who wore tick*