Evening Post. FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 1911. THE PREMIER AT STRATFORD.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 22, 27 January 1911, Page 6

Evening Post. FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 1911. THE PREMIER AT STRATFORD.

o The Premier's selection of Stratford for the delivery of his first political speech since the rising of Parliament might have been supposed to have relation to the prominent part played by that constituency and its member in the warfare of last session. The charges of "Tammanyism" brought against the Government and several of its followers by Mr. J. B. Hine, M.P., excited a great amount of feeling and occupied a great amount of the time of tho House just when time could least be spared, and doubtless we have not yet heard the last of them. But Sir Joseph Ward did well to leave the subject alone last night. Mr. Hine, who was on the platform, was not even given the opening for a personal explanation. The x'remier's main concern was with statistics. The dairying industry has done great things for the Stratford district, and the Premier emphasised his congratulations upon the prosperity which this development has produced by citing the figures which record the growth of population, ths increase in the> capital vaiue of land and improvements, and the increase ie the exports of butter and cheese. it would have been in accordance with precedent if Sir Joseph Ward had added to his list a comparison between the numbers of letters and telegrams handled by the Stratford Post Office in 1900 »nd 1910 respectively, but on this point hh glowing Tocord was defective. From the local figures Sir Joseph Ward passed to those which deal >vith the progress of the whole country, and here also he iound ground for solid satisfaction. The white population of New Zealand passed the million mark last month. In ten years the- whites have increased by 233,264, which represents about 30 per cent. The Premier rejoices because this rate of increase surpasses that of any other State in Australasia, but there is really more reason to lament that the increase is not more rapid. An annual rate of increase averaging about 3 per cent., of which a little more than half is contributed by immigration, is not nearly fast enough to give us the needed security against tbe expansion of the yellow and brown races in the (North Pacific, which may at any time become a mortal peril. The figures which Sir Joseph Ward cited to illustrate the -recent flow of population confirm the other evidence which is available of a returning prosperity. The excess of arrivals over departure!* during the last three mouths of 1910 was G077, as against 4968 for the same period of the previous year. The tide had been checked for a while during our period of depression, but it is now , making strongly once more. It is, however, to be regretted that the Premier did not give the figures for the whole year. Those for the last quarter, dur- . ing which buoyancy and confidence have ■ been completely restored in almost every part of the country, probably form the best basis for a cheerful comparison, but the year, as a whole, must also make a satisfactory showing, and a. longer period is a safer guide. In order to . increase the confusion of the pessimists , the Premier cited other statistics which tell of the progress achieved in the last jug £p£§, Tha i<aiuiiU<iy, of Is&d. agiji

improvements had increased during that period from £138,591,000 to £277,630,000—an increase of a fraction more- than 100 por cent. Laud valuation is so far from an exact science, and has been subject from time to tim© to such serious perturbations from the influences of political pressure or local bias, that we do not attach the same value lo th& test as to some others that are presented iv Sir Joseph Ward's statistical survey. When the next valuations are ; made in this city and its suburbs, they I will make it perfectly plain that in a large number of cases the previous assessment was based upon a foundation as fictitious as that upon which the speculative dealer was at the time- basing his dealings? The collapse of the land boom does not mean such a loss to the district as it would if these official valuations were entirely devoid of the speculative element and really represented an ascertained asset like the gold reserve of a bank. The increase of I £139,000,000 in the land valuations of the country during the past, ten years is, for this reason, not to be accepted without a considerable discount. I The Premier's optimism has, however, 1 a more solid basis than that of land | valuations. The increase of the aggregate values of imports and exports from £23,800,000 to £39,200,000 in ten years is a matter which is in no way dependent upon the ups and downs of speculation or the vagaries of valuers. The primary industries of the country are doing remarkably well, and while this is so the general prosperity is assured. But we are not aware that any pessimist has ventured to dispute so patent a fact. What the pessimists assert is that the prosperity of the country is due in large measure to the copious supplies of borrowed money, that we cannot live indefinitely upon our capital, that every advance in the public revenues is balanced by a corresponding increase in the ' expenditure, and that taxation is being increased to an intolerable degree in order to cope with this extravagance. Sir Joseph Ward disposed satisfactorily enough, in our opinion, of the bulk of the charges that the £5,000,000 loan has brought down upon him. The critics complain very loudly, he saya, but which of the objects to which the money v has been appropriated are they prepared to starve? Certainly, not the Dreadnought, which accounts for £1,250,000, nor the Advances to Settlers, nor Advances to Workers, which have absorbed £1,675,000 and £325,000 respectively? With regard to the first of these, we are all agreed as to the matter touching the national honour and safety. The other two objects are also approved with practical unanimity, and it is conceded that the money is invested in perfectly safe securities, and serves a valuable social and economic purpose at the same time. The remainder of the loan goes to public works and land settlement — objects which are in general approved, though it is certain that they cover a large margin of wasteful expenditure. It is on this margin, resulting for the most part from the inherent vices of a centralised system of administration, and on tho steady piling up of the departmental expenditure under a system of political control 'which is almost equally indefensible, that the strength of the indictment against Sir Joseph Ward's administration rests.