EVENING SESSION.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 153, 2 July 1914, Page 3

EVENING SESSION.

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY,

The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. Mr STATHAM (Dimedin Central) continued the debate on the Address-in-Reply, contending that Sir Joseph Ward was in error when he said the people had not contributed one penny towards the cost of the Dreadnought, claiming thaft they had done so through the railways and the Custom-house. The Government had fulfilled as many of their pledges as time permitted. He went on the platform of the Reform party prior to last election claiming thait it had reformed the finance of the country.

Mr McCALLUM (Wairau) described the visit made by Ministers to his district during the past few months, declaring that twenty millions would not be sufficient to redeem all the promises made by the Prime Minister, while the Hon. Mr Allen had insulted the intelligence of his constituents by the inaccuracies he made in his speech at Blenheim. He characterised his (Mr Allen's) reference to the surpluses quoted in the London prospectus as one of the most shocking cases' of public immorality ever known in the Dominion. His half truths so freely spread through his speech had done him no good in the eyes of the audience, while his deliberate statement that not one penny had been spent on small settlement in Maryborough, the home of small settlement, had shocked even his own friends. His principal reason for not reposing confidence in fhe Government was the bungling manner in which it had handled ithe strike of last year, arid the incompetence of the Minister for Justice in dealing with the lawlessness which arose out of the strike. The real object of the Government was to squash tho Labor organisations, with which it had no sympathy, and which it did not understand. It Had repeatedly declared that one of the best reasons for a change in the Government was that the Ward Ministry pampered the workers. The Opposition regretted the strike, because it injured the workers more than it did capital, and that was just the difference between the two parties. The Government was worrying about the purse strings, while the Opposition wns anxious for the happiness of the people. There were many reasons for voting for the amend-, ment. Amongst them he enumerated the fact that there was no reference in the Speech from the Throne to adjustment of taxation or the imposition of a higher graduated tax. There was also the abandonment of the second ballot, and the "jerrymandering" of electorates. He would support the amendment.

Mr HUNTER (Waipawa) said that the people.on the land had confidence in the Administration, as the export figures showed. He quoted figures to show that the Government had car- 1 ried out its promises to push land settlement. The laud tax had induced the cutting up of estates. He looked' for proposals to reduce the cost of living. Good results would come from the appointment of the Agricultural Board.

Mr FORBES (Hurunui) held that the Government was not adopting an honorable course in using the ser-. vices of mien, "who disregarded their pledges. The Government was using tihe fruits of dishonor. He held that the recommendation of the Public Trustee as to the appointment of his successor during his illness---was.', disregarded, showing interference with the public service by the Government. No cases of aggregation had been dealt with. If the valuation on the secret valuation lists was known he thought it would be found that the large estates -were evading the graduated tax. Concluding, Mr Forbes urged that the time had arrived when large land-holders must move up to make room for closer settlement. It could only be done by the application of the graduated tax. Mr VEITCH !(Wanganui) disagreed with the statement in the Governor's Speech that labor conditions were satisfactory for the prudent worker. Prosperity was amongsjt the landowners and not amongst the masses. The Speech contained no proposal whatever for the benefit of the workers. Continuing, he said that there was dim hope of a proposal to deal with the cost of living. It was a pity that there was no indication of the Government's intentions given. A combination of Liberals and Labor was hinted at, but was not such a combination justified ito ensure the return of a Government which would make the constitution of a Labor party possible? He was favorable to such a combination, but he had not turned his coat. It was his duty to assist a combination which would bring about a good Government. The deboite was adjourned on the motion of Mr Young. The House rose at 11.55 p.m.