LIBERALISM

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 3889, 2 December 1919, Page 1

LIBERALISM

ITS ASPIRATIONS AND-ACHIEVE-MENTS

(No. 4.)

THE WORKERS' SHAKE

In the"old days what happened when a'workman was brought home on a stietclier? What happened when he got maimed r 1 There war, redress at Common Law, slow, dillicult, with much uncertainty and drawn-out litigation. To-day redress i'~ certain, immediate, substantial, and cheap. The Workers' Compensation system is.not yet perfect, but the Liberal.;, who initiated it a generation ago, can bo ..trusted to bring it-up to the.level of modern- rerprironients, iv accordance with the best principaes of progressive democracy.

It is impossible to review in full detail tho long list of multifarious ads l>y which-the Seddon Ministry strove to carry into eJfect its declared policy of securing the welfare of the majority, in preference to defending and fostering the interests and' privileges of the favoured few. I!in what is most remarkable about these measures is that .while they are based upon ideal conceptions that in those days seemed hopelessly visionary and Utopian, they were all severely practical in character, and when these laws wero enforced they proved a great practical suc- ' W THIRD PHASE.—WARD.

Sir Joseph Ward, on the death of his illustrious chief, stepped into the leadership of tlie Liberal Party and carried on the Liberal tradition. For this work the new chief was eminently qualified. He had served through the previous phases of the Liberal campaign of advance with • marked ability, aud for the "most part in posiiioiifs of considerable responsibility. His-success iv assisting his chiefs to carry out tlieir election .promises in regard to iinaneial relorms had brought him' in due course to tlie Treasury, and hero lie quickly distinguished himself by his aptitude, his energy, his combination of courage and prudence, and his close familiarity with detail. Sir Joseph's administration of finance had been as successful as bis management of the great, department of the Post Office. In his conduct of the latter, he had obtained by his handling of affairs postal and telegraphic, a distinctly European reputation. He had to his credit another success in .the administration of the Railway Department. To this he had. as he had to tlio Postal and Telegraphic Department, given classification and a superannuation system.Another success.of his had been the Advances to Settlers system. Tho system includes a vast amount of detail; tlie administration involves the most constant care and the closest supervision. But its success is as remarkable as the variety of its requiroinenis. .Aggregate, of .advances the other day 21 millions, profit .£985,000! No comment is needed-—but it is indeed a record of which any financier in tho world might bo proud! A RECORD OF SUCCESS.

With this history behind him, the new chief was soon engrossed in his work, and in the live years of its duration tho record of it was good. To the first part belong such measures as the "Scaffolding Inspection Act,'' which added to the safety of many workers; the "Training Ships Act," which opened for boys the road to the sea; an amending measure which improved the system of Telegraphic classiiication for the whole Civil Service; amendments of the laws helping maternity and protecting child life; Acts for improving tho acquisition and settlement of land; the Act which secured the remainder of the Crown lands—nine million acres — as a national endowment; tbe development of direct taxation—income and land—on the graduated system, on well-marked lines capable of indefinite extension when necessary. A leading place in the list is held by the National Endowment Fund. The Act of that name greatly ejttends the area, of stability for old age and dependence, and it has been since amended in many ways, all beneiicial to the poorer classes of the people and all valuable in the troublous times that came upon us with the war.

NATIONAL DEBT

Another of Sir Joseph Ward's characteristic measures was tho proposal tor tlie final extinction in reasonable time of the National Debt. At that, umc- tlio stream of .borrowing ran on without thought of the day ol reckoning. But Sir Joseph Ward saw tho weakness of such a system; lie proceeded to 'adjust his iiuauces by the aid of a Sinking Fund m such a way that any loan so treated would bo liquidated in 75 years at a very small cose per year to the Consolidated Fund.

in tbo face of bitter opposition Sir Joseph stuck to his scheme, demonstrated its actuarial soundness, tied up tJie sinking funds beyond tho power ol any human being to "collar.' lie prevailed over all opposition, established his system, and that system lias worked admirably ever since. " HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWEII, "

Another striking incident in the campaign of-progress was the hydroelectric scheme instituted by the Liberal Government during toir Joseph Ward's rogtmo. booner or later our watei power is sure to be utilised on a vast scale to industrial and domestic purposes, lor illumination and for transport. But the peopfo ot the Dominion should not forget that here, as in so many other directions whero progress points towards prosperity, Liberalism led the way. k MORE.

But though busied about the country's interests, Sir Joseph Ward did not forget the "humanist" side ot Liberalism, which is well illustrated in his establishment of a system of Pen-; sions for Widows. This recognition oi the natural right of wives and mothers to support has removed hero one glaring reproach to human naUrre: and the honour of making; tins wise and generous provision for widows stands to tho eternal credit of the liberal Party and its leaders. (To bo continued.)