THE OPPOSITION LEADER HONORED.

Evening Star, Issue 12069, 15 December 1903, Page 1

THE OPPOSITION LEADER HONORED.

A most successful banquet to Mr W- F. Massey, Leader of the Opposition, tool"; place at Auckland last night, those present including Sir William" RusselL Mr Massey, who was received with loud and prolonged cheering, returned thanks for the hor-or tendered to himself and to the Opposition party by those present at the banquet. It was an expression of approval at the reorganisation of the parliamentary Opposition,, and that approval was the approval of business men and of men who had taken a keen interest in public affairs. Ii had been admitted from one end of the colony to the other that the Opposition did good work during the last session, and whatever might be said to the contrary there was no obstruction and no waste of time on their part. The Premier sadly wanted an opportunity for saying so," and though the temptation was sometimes strong he never got it. Yet it took more than twenty-one weeks to get through the business of the session. With, an average business man at the head of affairs the business could have been done in two-thirds of the time without all-night sittings, and without that objectionable rush which tool; place at the. end of the session. The Premier, if ho ever possessed the capacity to lead—which.he (Mr Massey) very much doubted —had lost it. He might.be able to drive, but he certainly could not lead. He Jthe speaker) was glad to say, however, thai there were several members who would not allow themselves to be driven.—(Hear, hear.) He felt that the position he had taken up was one. of considerable difficulty and responsibility, but he intended to do his best to make u success of the position, and with the assistance of his colleagues in Parliament and his friends oat of Parliament he felt sure he would moke it a success. He appreciated very much the great honor ccni'err' j d upon him in being elected Loader of the Opposition, because it did not only uie::u leading the Opposition party in vhoHous". but also being lender o! a great party »v.\ - side the House—the large number of voters who voted for .'he Opposition candidates at the last election, and th< % »nll larger nunibis who, he felt sure, would vote for them at the next election.—(Applause.) He acknowledged the loyalty and unselfishness of his colleagues in the House, and he was proud to see so many of them there that night. Thev were some of the best and ablest, nicu

who had ever sat in Parliament—men irb;ise first aim. was not self-advancement, but the welfare ;uid good government of the colony—(applause)—men ct Liberalism and Rttriotism, although they wero not alwayswanting to advertise the one and to bo paid for the other.—(Laughter.) They had been sneered at because their numbers \vv.r>i few; but their numbers would increase, and although they might not be strong enough for somo time to liiva the Government oni—and they did not want to turn tite Government out yet—they would bo strong enough to form a very effective Opposition.—(Hear, hear.) It was hi th<i c;irly part of the session that good won"; could be done, such as insisting on i Government, bringing down the. Publi -Voiks Statem-mc and Estimates, and ; ,lii\other necessary information at a rt. .iui;-t time. There was a great sphere of uscfe.'ntss in front of the Opposition. Of emirs -. they had their disadvantages to e inttiid against, and one of these was the fact, that in seven Ministers, two Government whi])s, and four native members the Government always had a clear lead of thirteen votes to start with, and on a question of importance which came before the House this was n, tremendous advantage. ]>ut in spite of it the Government had been defeated lime

after time last session. With regard to the. Maori members, in was formerly an understexxl thing that they should vote two for and two against' the Government oh all, matters except those directly affecting Ukj native raca That understanding, however, was now a thing of the past, and whether the Government were right or wrong—and they were very often wrong—they could depend on the entire Maori vote. lie did not object to Maori representation in Parliament, and ho believed they should have representation: but when it came to the whole of the four vote:* becoming- a block vote for the Government it w<;s time tltat an alteration of the basis of representation were made, even if it meant placing th<"j names of Maori voters on the ordinary electoral rolls.—(Applause.) There vrero other matters in which the influence of the Government could be brought", to bear. There was th.e power of appointment to the, puhlie service—not only tli■-- friend ■< am! relatives of Ministers, but also the frieieis and relatives and the constituents of tl• :*:r supporters. Then there was the distribui.iu.-i of public mouev. hj: wbivh the Government exercised a. great power, and (he power -<i appoiutni?nt to the Legislative Conned.— (Hear, hear.) When a member had steadil." supported the Government- for some years he came to regard it as a tight, when his constituents went back on libit, that h-.» should be appointed to the Legislative Council. He also felt that if be volvd against the Government on important (.juestieins i:o forfeited that right. Thar fact alone had inliuenced many a. vote'. The le were many occurrences in connection with Last session which neither the Government nor their supporters could look back on with a grate deal e>f pleasure. Business was uismana.gvd ; from beginning to end. and members wen; encouraged in a most shameful waste oftime. The session opened well, and Ministers wero at first very conciliatory, especially towards new members: but as went e>n the number of " independent" members gradually grew smaller and beautifutly less. They had known memlrers to be brought out of their owls, not to savr* the Government frejm defeat, but simply to swell their majority 0:1 matters wliieh. the Premier sa-w frt to regard as- no-confi-dence questions.