THE HON.J.G. WARD AT QUEENSTOWN.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2170, 20 August 1897, Page 5

THE HON.J.G. WARD AT QUEENSTOWN.

A lim and representative public meeting «sxn£ p T«™ mi»w-ta.d.j evening, Hth in"*"* the Hon J. G. Ward. The Mayor (Mr F. St Omer) introduced Mr Ward by saying that he had much pleasure in t-Ung the chair that evening. The hon gentlemen had been a member of the House for some years, and was, for a considerable time, Colonial Treasurer, «nd he (the speaker) hoped that a fair hearjag would be given (Hear, hear). Mr Ward, who on rising, was met with applause, said he specially desired to thank thelarge audience which had assembled for the purpose of hearing him speak. He had flO iotentioo of delivering a public address when he came to Queenstown, bat had contented to do so at the request of a large which had waited upon him the evening before. He would not have presumed to intrude himself otherwise, and in Eddjrinn to this, their representative, Mr Fraser, was not in Queenstown at present, and though politically opposed to each other, he (Mr Ward) and Mr Fraser were good friends; their representative was one for whom he had great respect, and, as a matter of etiquette, he would have been glad to have had Mr Fraser present. But it was only right that they should know what some of the views were of the party of which he (the speaker) was a member, and as an enlightenment was always useful, he would endeavour to place before them the policy that the Government were carrying out Just previous to the Ball an ce Government K ty»Aing that of the Continuous Administration in 1889-90, there was a deal of distress and a feeling of distrust existing in New Unemployed were numerous, relief works existed in different portions \if the colony, and so kce i was the distress in the larger centres that, in this young and healthy country, soup kitchens were established in Dunedin, Chriatchurch, Wellington and AT / * vl,n d to provide ordinary for many who were unable to provide it for themselves. The average late of pay upon the Government works of the colony at that time was from 2s 6d to 3s 6d per day, and there were some thousands of man employed at these rates, a rate of pay altogether insufficient to enable a man to support his wife and family. (Hear hear). The problem that the Bsllance Government had to solve was a difficult one, namely the changing of th> Fiscal System

of the country. Mr Ward add they all thought that a radical reformation was necea* aary in the welfare of the country, to rehabilitate it and pot fresh life into the industries of commerce, agriculture, mining, etc. and a complete revolution was there* fore in the incidenoe of taxation. They entirely swept away property taxation, which had, In his opinion and also that of Others, unfairly imposed taxation and had neatly retarded enterprise and progress. For it they substituted a Land Tar and an Income Tax, and introduced a system of graduated Land Tax. By these changes they removed a considerable portion of the off one section of the community, and placed it more heavily on thoee who held large landed properties. This included large land owners and commercial institution* that were interested in large landed properties in the colooy. The new Government held formerly the taxation was iniquitously and unjustly proportioned. (Hear, hear.) Later on they introduced legislation with a view to the acquisition of

Private Estates. I This step was necessary, if men and women In different portions of the colony who deaired and were unable to get it, were to be afforded the same facilities ii those who to the country earlier. The opponents of the Government loudly proclaimed against acquisition of estates. They asserted that property and estates would not be safe nnder such a system, and loudly and fiercely the members of the Ministry, who had shown their determination to bring about these changes. When the Cheviot estate wu purchased by the Government for £200,000, the Conservative press, from end to end of the Colony, denounced the transaction as one that would end disastrously, ami they now found that public opinion was strocgly on the side of close settlement of tbe land throughout N.Z., and as strongly the nucleus of a system being established here by which enormous tracts of country could he owned by one individual to the detriment of settlement and the injury of men and women of the country, and in this the people had the experience of older countries. (Applause). It was well known the land laws of England, Ireland, and Scotland had for many years been the subject of a great amount of attention in the British House of Commons. Reformers in all countries were bound to provoke antagonism from those whose interests were affected, it was only natural. But in tbe interests of the country some one had to do it, and he for one had been severely criticised, bnt he felt thit the policy was a good one that ought greatly to help to retrieve the colony from the position whioh it was in before the Ballance Government took offioe. (Hear hear). Another of the advanced reforms was the acquiring of Cheap Monet tor Settlers.

The Government held that if industries wen to be promoted, if commerce was < to be expanded, if agricultural and mining industries were to be developed, and consequently If increased labour was to be found for the people, tbe thing to be done was to obtain cheap money and plenty of it. Although it suited some people now to try and depreciate the good that had been done, it was a fact all the same that before the system was introduced the rate of money was so high that a great many people had the greatest difficulty in obtaining it, and as soon as the cheap mooey department had been established by the Government the rates of interest charged had fallen. As against 8,10,12 and even 15 per cent, money could now be got upon good security as low as and 4 per per cent. (Applause). This was of great benefit to the masses, but again, it effected large institutions and private individuals who had the good fortune to have money to lend. But it was one of the serious difficulties that this ootony had to contend against —dear money—which, added to our distance from the English market and the cost of conveyance of our products to it, greatly handicapped us in competing with other countries closer to European markets. And it ought not to be forgotten that where there was greater prosperity and more employment although those who had money to lend were foroed to take a cheaper rate—indirect benefits such as a greater importance of the trade and commerce of tbe country, were compensation even to them,'and much good had resulted to the colony. (Hear, hear). Be next referred to

thk Lasoub Laws established by the Government, and uid it wu extraordinary when these laws were first introduced, to find the Government and party who supported them, denounced as extremists, and they were told by many of their critics that they were pandering to the labouring classes. He gave it as his strong belief that capital waa not only necessary for the well-being of a country, bnt that it bad rights and should be protected; labour w hich also had its rights could not be successfully utilized without the use of capital j and the two should go hand in hand. One of the Labour laws (the Arbitration and Conciliation Act) introduced by the Government, had already been the means of preventing enormous loss of capital both to employers and workers, and had been the means of making the condition of employer and em ployee much better than it was formerly. The effort of the Government had also been to make taxation more equitable, to obtain Lisb fob the People to settle upon, to improve our labour laws and to derate the social tone of the mass of tiw people. Mr Ward said that they had also

not neglected the Agricultural Department, which vu formerly lifeless, bat it was now a live department, the hotter and cheese industry had been completely reorganised and i.ow our butter and che»*u could compete satisfactorily with that of much rider dairying countries (Hear, hear.) In the .Minks Department

a considerable amount of had been shown. Last year £200,000 bad been specially provided for expenditure on behalf of the mining industry, and considering its vslue to the state, and that we were now exporting more gold than West Australia, — although he thought there were some 40 millions of British capital sunk in mines there as against a few millions in New Zealand mines—it was a wise policy as supporting one of our great industries. (Applause.) Mr Ward touched upon the work of the Labour Bureau and the Department of Industries and Commerce. He also pointed to the financial results achieved from the private estates that had been purchased by the Government He gave an estimate of the small number of people who were settled upon the Cheviot Estate before its purchase and the large number settled there now. was returning at the present time 4J% inMoney invested in tbeee estates, as a whole terest. He next referred to the railways, upon the coat of which some 16 millions, the country was paying 4%. He pointed out the large concessions in revenue that had been given by the Railway Department

since the railways had come under the control of the- present Government, the total concessions smounting to something like £BO,OOO, a year, and in the Post and Telegraph Department the concessions to the public amounted to some £60,000. When the members of the Conservative press were abusing the administration they always forgot to look on the other side, and acknowledge advantages which have been given to people. While on the subject of railways, the hon. gentleman took the opportunity of referring to the steamboat service between Kingston and Queenstown, which connected with the railway. He said that 20 years sgo he came up from Invercargill to Queenstown by the same road as the other day, and in about the same time. Everything, as it were, had stood still since that time and this onght not be. (Hear, hear.) Gifted as this place was, with a beautiful sheet of water at your very doors, no opportunity should I e lost in getting faster train and boat service as well as a cheaper rate. The time for travelling from Invercargill to Kingston should be only 2} hours, and from the latter place to Queenstown should be done comfortably in an hour. It is this old slow method of travelling that deters hundreds of people from visiting the lakes. The speaker said he had travelled over an area of water at the rate of 27 miles an honr. Eight or ten miles is the present rate of travelling on Lake Wakatipu. Bow can you expect people to come up here 7 If you get the 27 knot boat, and in conjunction with the fast railway service, you will have crowds of people from the large centres such as Dunedin, Invercargill, and surrounding districts visiting the lakes every week. Business men especially would take the opportunity of coming up here on the Saturday and returning on Monday. At the present rate of travelling only about 5 per cent of people see the lakes, and then under the present circumstances some of them hardly have an opportunity of seeing half the scenery. He thought that both both railway and steamboat services needed to be revolutionised. (Applause.) Although such enormous concessions bad been made in departments above referred to, The Financial Positi6n of the country at the present moment, was sounder than it had been for many years. Mr Ward gave the figures of the ordinary revenue for the June quarter, taken from the ' Gazette' of the varions departments, comparing tbem as against those of the same quarter for 1896. The total revenue for quarter ending 30th June, 1896, was £835,555 as against £919,178 for quarter ending 30th June, 1897, showing an increase of £83,623. of which amount the Customs Department was only responsible for £37,773, which went to show that the trade of the country and the earning power of the people was increasing enormously, and in spite of everything there wu a wave of prosperity under the policy of the Government, which was responsible for a great change for the better. Again, the total cash in the public account for the quarter ending 30th June, 1897, was £826,038, including £409,400 in the hands of officers of the Government, and amount at the Investment account, and this was the strongest answer that could be given to those who tried to make believe that the Colony financially was hard pressed. (Hear, hear.) He purposely avoided referring to his own private business, as they knew he had been the subject of an immense amount of criticism, and the general public had been given the whole of bis business affairs in a manner that was unexampled in this or, he thocght, any other country in the world. He had made mistakes—there were very few people who had not done so—but not even his bitterest enemy could say that he had in bis official position received the slightest benefit either from his business or himself. The Ward Farmers Association, being wound up in liquidation, had already sufficient funds to ray its creditors 16s 8d in the pound of its debts. (Applause.) This showed that, but for political purposes, the Company would never have been put in liquidation. Ttiere were not two institutions in the country that would pay that—nor wonld the Association, unfortunately, after liquidator's and legal expenses had been deducted. Although he bad, unfortunately, to assist in fighting a financial crisis—and in doing it some twelve millions of money of other people were in the bands of the Bank of New Zealand that had been saved, and in the Colonial Bank that had been utilised for the purpose of making the Bank of New Zealand a stronger institution—as a public man he was clean handed, and he defied his bitterest foes to put their finger on a single act of bis in connection with the public finance of the country by which he bad personally benefited himself to the extent of £l. (Applause.) Some of bis opponents had been ready to make the most of bis private troubles though first of all they had done their best to bring them about and to prevent him extricating himself, and now some of them were presumptuous enough 1o offer him free advice as to what he ought to do, but he called attention to the fact that his private affairs were the only ones in the colony that had been ripped up and published throughout the length and breadth of the land. He asked why his opponents did not do the same to the individual who lost eight millions of money to the Bank of N.Z. and the N.Z. Loan and M.A. Co.; and to the one who lost £400,000 for the Colonial Bank. Any losses that had been made by his business, compared with the figures that had been lost by these people, were trifling in the extreme, while he had been the only one singled out; and he asked them why they should not all be treated alike and fair play extended to them all. (Hear, bear.)

From an hour and a half's speech the above is necessarily a condensed ontline. He took the opportunity of saying to the followers of the Government that they should do as their opponents had done with a view to fighting their political contests upon equal terms. Whenever there were opponents there were bound to be political sides and no one on their side should complain if there was a fair fight in the matter however vigorously it was conducted ; and in conducting party politics it was desirable that their party should, when they entered into the campaign and backed their man, do their best to get him first past the winuing post. In his opinion the object of this country should be to encourage industry, to improve markets, to extend commerce, and to give every assistance and encouragement possible to the increase of our exports ; to give ready aid to the Mining in<iustrj, to bring about lower rates of freight between New Zealand and England, to improve the social condition of the mass of the people, and by legitimate enterprise to find work for our workers and last, bat not least, to have liberal Land laws and to increase the settlement of the people on the land ; for

after all was said and done the land afforded the greatest factor in satisfying the people. This, combined with cheap money, courage and determination on the part of onr people, would in spite of all our troubles, lift us upward on the path of progress. (Applause. The hon. gentlemau then thanked the audience for the patient hearing given him. He said it was a good thing for a public man to meet audiences as on this occasion when he is travelling about the country. In conclusion he hoped that the Lakes district would improve and be more prosperous. (Hear, hear). Mr F. M'Bride then got up and proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Ward for his able address as a supporter of the present Government. He had known Mr Ward for very many years 'as a young colonist, and thought the people should be very proud of him. There was something good to come from New Zealand yet while Mr Ward had to do with the Government of which be was a very strong supporter. Although a stranger to Queenstown, Mr Ward had been well received, and in fact was appreciated whenever he was known. He is the right man in the right place. It showed the goodness of the man when he was re-elected, as Mr Ward had been that day by the Lake County Council, as their representative on the Bluff Harbour Bbard. This is a position which he had honorably filled for many years, and has been instrumental in doing a lot for the Bluff Harbor In fact Mr Ward had made that harbor equal to any port in New Zealand for cheapness and facilities, and Lake County bad very properly again elected him to represent it. (Applause.) Mr C. Constable seconded the proposition, which was unanimously carried. Mr Ward thanked the audience very much for their flattering reception, and Mr M'Bride for his kind remarks, and for support given in his re-election by the County Council—an honor of which he was very proud—especially uoder the present circumstances. For bis own part he would always be glad to do bis best for the Lakes district. (Hear hear.)

A vote of thanks to the chair and tbree cheers for Mr Ward brought the proceedings to a close.