PREMIER’S TOUR

Evening Star, Issue 22988, 20 June 1938, Page 14

PREMIER’S TOUR

CHEERING CROWDS EVERYWHERE " YOUR DESTINY SAFE IN MY HANDS " [Peb United Pkess Association.! MASTERTON, June 18. Cheering enthusiastic crowds brightened the leaden skies and passing showers that greeted the Prime Minister (Mr M. J. Savage) when he continued his tour of the southern Hawke’s Bay, Bush and Wairarapa districts to-day. The official party left Norsewood early this morning and the Prime Minister briefly addressed large gatherings at the towns and villages en route to Pahiatua, where the party was entertained at lunch by the Pahiatua Labour Representation Committee. From the hotel balcony Mr Savage addressed a gathering of about BUO Pahiatua residents, his remarks being along the lines of those made at recent meetings in other parts. The member for Pahiatua (Sir Alfred Ransom) accompanied Mr Savage and the Minister of Employment (Mr P. C. Webb) on the tour of the Pahiatua electorate' and Mr J. Robertson, M.P., joined the party when the Masterton electorate was reached. Address at Eketahuna At Eketahuna the public hall was crowded to the doors wnen the Mayor (Mr W. Simpson) extended a warm welcome to the Prime Minister, who, he said, had the courage of his convictions and would not dodge the issue as his predecessors had done. He was possessed of backbone which was seldom possessed by legislators. “ Not a Bushranger ” Paying a tribute to the Prime Minister Mr Robertson said Mr Savage was carrying out his heavy responsibilities with unmatched courage, ability and humanitananism, which formed a combination that enabled him to overcome any obstacles in his way. Mr Savage, who was enthusiastically received, said the object of the tour was to meet people and prove to them that he was not the bushranger a section of the Wellington press would make him out to be. He was not going to apologise-for the mistakes he had made or the things he had failed to do. He would probably make some mistakes, although he did not know of any at the moment, but he would also make other things, too. “Bunkum” in the Papers “ We read more ‘ bunkum ’ in the papers to-day than ever before,” Mr Savage added. “ Simply because we have a Labour Government every politician that comes to New Zealand condemns the Labour Government. Economists and all kinds of ‘ birds ’ that arrive here say something about the mistakes of the Government and the disastrous things ahead. I believe, however, that New Zealand is definitely in a better condition to-day than ever before. Your fate and your destiny is just as safe in my hands to-day as it was when you put us into office in 1935. I want to be with you and be one of you, and when I leave this world I want to take your love and esteem with me. If I can do that I will feel that I have not lived a fairly long life in vain.” “I will be delighted to meet you in the days to come,” Mr Savage continued. “ Whatever way you vote I can do my job on either side of the House. At the same time I would sooner back my chances at the poll than one of Paddy Webb’s racehorses.” No Unemployment “ There is practically no unemployment problem in New Zealand to-day,” observed Mr Webb. Work, he added, had been practically arranged in every town in New Zealand, and when he left the Wairarapa he hoped to be able to say that there was not a married or single man able to work who would be without a job. “We are the first Government that has a plan for providing employment for seasonal workers during the winter months. We brought prosperity to your doors, and we will bring it into every room if you put us back and give us the chance we want. I believe that we will go back by an overwhelming majority, because we have solved the problems that other Governments have failed to face. Our deeds will speak for themselves.” After leaving Eketahuna, the official party made brief stops at Mauriceville and Kopuaranga, where the Prime Minister met groups of settlers. He arrived at Masterton only a few minutes late in spite of a very strenuous day.

ADDRESS IN DPERA HOUSE MASTERTON, June 18. The Prime Minister was given a rousing reception by an assembly of upwards of 800 people in the Masterton Opera House to-night. Mr Savage was cheered loudly on his first appearance, and was frequently cheered and applauded as he spoke. At the conclusion of his speech the audience sang “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.” Mr Savage was accompanied by the Minister of Mines (Mr P. C. Webb) and by the members for Wairarapa and Masterton (Messrs B. Roberts and J. Robertson). The Mayor (Mr T. Jordan) presided, and welcoming the Prime Minister, thanked him for removing the shackles from the district by undertaking to drive a tunnel through the Rimutakas. Mr Robertson also spoke briefly, giving high praise to Mr Savage and his work. At Mr Jordan’s request, the Prime Minister presented to Miss Zoe Pickering the Humane Society awards made to her and her sister, now Mrs Ingley, for their gallant effort to save the life of a man who was drowning in Lake Wairarapa. Not Vote-catching Responding to the speeches of welcome, Mr Savage said he had been speaking 16 or 17 times a day for the past week, but would do his best. His health was Al. As to the Rimutaka deviation, Messrs

Roberts and Robertson had been at him for a long time concerning the boring of a hole through the hill. The Government’s decision was not. as somebody had said, a matter of catching votes, but whether it caught votes or not the hole was going through the hill. Unlike some past Governments there were at least 10 or 12 men in this Government who could put the hole through the hill themselves, the Minister of Public Works (Mr R. Semple) being not the least of these. Declaring again that there was no question of a preelection move, Mr Savage said the work would be begun at the earliest possible moment. It was a question of developing the Wairarapa. He would like, he said, to have a photograph of the man or men who put the railway where it was now. If it was a parliamentary job those men had been in the wrong Government institution altogether. Friend of the Farmer The Prime Minister emphatically denied that his Government wanted to socialise the farms. A man working a farm for himself would work it much better than if he were working it for wages. All they wanted was the fullest economic production. When the individual did the job there was no question of the State stepping in. Anyone who thought the New Zealand farmer was not doing his job to-day had a lot of thinking to do. The New Zealand farmer was second to none m the world, and the exports from the Dominion, chiefly to Britain, were greater per head of the population than those of any other country on earth. Mr Savage said that his Government wanted to extend land settlement, and he desired nothing better than to begin whefe Richard John Seddon knocked off. It had been a delightful experience to travel through the country and meet people during the past week. Social Security Legislation Mr Savage made some brief references to national health and superannuation. Under the superannuation scheme, he said, no married couple was going to get less than £3 a week. He had not thought he would live to have the opportunity of establishing that. Under the health scheme every household in New Zealand would have medical practitioner service at its call and all would think themselves lucky if they did not have to make the call. He looked to the time when they would have universal superannuation for everybody in New Zealand, but they had begun where the Great Teacher had begun nearly 2000 years ago—with the poor. He thought that about 80 per cent, of the people would benefit under the superannuation scheme. He had not gone into the figures, but the scheme was being broadened as compared with the proposals made before the Parliamentary Committee. The maximum income for a benefiting married couple was being raised to £ 208 a year. That meant that _ a married couple might have the £3 a week superannuation and anything else they could earn up to £2OB a year. In Mr Seddon’s Footsteps

Concluding, Mr Savage again expressed his desire to carry on from where Mr Seddon had left off. The papers were saying of the present Government, as they formerly had said of Mr Seddon, that it was destroying thrift and confidence and all sorts of things. If he could go to his grave with the love and esteem of the people he would be well content.