OPPOSITION LEADER.

Mataura Ensign, 30 January 1915, Page 7

OPPOSITION LEADER.

SPEECH AT DUNEDIN. PER UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION. DUNEDIN, Jan. 29. Sir Joseph Ward (Leader ol the Opposition) addressed- a very large meeting in the Garrison Hall this evening. The Mayor of lAtnedin presided. Sir Joseph opened by asking, “Why am I here?” Ho went on the say that he. was there because he was a free man. and they were free people.—(Applause.) He instanced cases where the Prime Minister had spoken to assist the candidates of his party, and so no one would l object to him doing so. They had had i Minister of the Crown in this part of the country for over a week. A member of the Reform Party had come all the way from Auckland; there was another member from Canterbury and from the South; they were all here for the benefit of their health. —-(Loud laughter.) Did- they mean to tell him that these gentlemen were not working for a- candidate who was standing on their behalf? Of course they were, and, he was entitled to come to Dunedin and speak on matters of importance at the present juncture. Mr Massey had been to the country, but ho had come back defeated. Ho had not won the election, and had 1 no right to a dissolution, and) coukli not get it if he wanted it. Labor members now in (Parliament, recognising that

it was only through the .ballot-box and by the education of the people that they could hope to have a party of their own, had given him a definite assurance that they would support the Liberals and the Liberal policy in the Parliament of the They were sensible l men who would give an assurance of that kind. —(Applause.) For himself, lot him say frankly that recognising the responsibility devolving upon him as leader of a' great party he would 1 not submit to bo. squeezed or cornered on matters of policy by any section of the community.—(Applause.) He wanted it to he understood that stable Government could) bo established from the Opposition side of the House —much stronger

Government, indeed, tliair their opponents could' establish. If lie did. not belief that or if effect were not given to that view he would nob be a party to the squeezing of the important affairs of the Dominion, nor would lie hang on by his eyebrows to any position in Parliament. —(Applause.) He hoped the Liberals in Dunedin Central would not bo deluded by the specious representations of their opponents, wTio were trying to* win their votes. Highlytrained legal men declared without doubt that had! 'Mr Stalluun not resigned a petition to the Electoral Court was bound to have been successful. It was only right that there should- be a second election. Had! not tile .Reform Party raised, the question of the war as another reason for the return of the Reform * candidates to Parliament? When the question was before the House he urged the postponement of the election. The Government was responsible for holding the general. • elections during the war, and! therefore, for the present by-election ; so. when the speaker’s opponents raised the bogey of the war they were virtually asking Liberals and Laborites to make a present of the seat to allow the Government to remain in office.

Sir Joseph severely criticised the railway expenditure proposed) in the rejxirt of the general manager, presented to the House last session. The proposals totalled 1 £3,250,000, and this sum was nob for making new railways or roads or assisting settlers. It was for new railway stations, and the present time when a great war was on was not the time for such proposals.^ Regarding a. local navy, Sir Joseph quoted largely from the official report of the Imperial Conference, held in 1911, to show that he had misrepresented by his colleagues. The present war was going to cost the Old ■Country anything from £700,000,000 to £800,000,000, and: if his proposals had 'been carried 1 we would) not in this country be called upon to pay anything like what we were paying m connection with the protection, of the Empire. The speaker quoted from the Year Book for 1914 to show that the net indiebtedluo&s per head of the European population in 1912 was £7!) 13s Bd, and in 1914 it was £B4 2s Bd. That was not indebtedness per head, - but the gross indie,betedness included a. sum of £4,976,000 raised at the end of the year 1913-14 for debentures falling due in 1914-15. The rest of the indebtedness included! this amount and! yet they found some of their political opponents saying that there was no- increase in the taxation, of the people.—(Applause.) They never had anything in the history of New Zealand to equal what was going on to-day. The Reform Party had said that the Liberal Party’s taxation whs too high, and not only had the Reform Government not decreased it but there was an increase. There was never at any time prior to the election an attempt at alliance between the two parties. Each party was independent of each, and bad its own ideas. _ _ At the conclusion of the address feir Joseph was accorded an almost unanimous vote of thanks.

DUNEDIN CENTRAL SEAT. ABSENT, VOTER S’ PERMITS. DUNEDIN, Jan. 29. Jii' connection •with the Dunedin.Central election on Wednesday next the ’following information respecting absent voters’ permits} is circulated for the information of those concerned : - “On election day electors of Dunediin Central who happen to be* absent and have absent voters’ permits can vote at any post office in the Dominion on presentation of their permits. Postmasters and postmistresses, or other persons for the time being exercising the functions of postmasters, will supply the necessary ballot papers .and) post the vote in a sealed! envelope to the Registrar of Electors, Dunedin Central. Holders of permits are reminded that the election will take, place on Wednesday, February 3, and - that they cant vote on that day only, and between the hours of 9 a.m. ancli 7 p.m.. The candidates are Mr C. E. Statham and Mr J. W. Munro.