Manawatu Daily Times

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6864, 20 March 1929, Page 6

Manawatu Daily Times

Socialistic Legislation

QN the whole' the prominent members of the Reform Party and their sympathisers among the newspapers have taken the surprising result of the recent general election uncommonly well. There are some Reform politicians and some Reform newspapers, however, that continue to throw stones at Sir Joseph Ward and his followers as they did. during the height of the election campaign. Their favourite imputation against the new Prime Minister is that he is responsible for a great deal of the socialistic legislation now on the Statute Book which enables the State to intrude itself upon private enterprise in the very fashion Sir Joseph is now denouncing. So far Sir Joseph has ignored this line of attack, bu sooner 1 or later he will have to dispose of those imputations. As a matter of fact he had much less to do with putting “socialistic” legislation on the Statute Book than had Mr. Massey, or even Mr. Coates, whose reign was a comparatively brief one. The Statute Book acquits the Prime Minister/of having offended in this respect. >

Six Years’ Legislation

gIR JOSEPH WARD was the leader of two Parliaments, from 1906 to 1912, and during that period there were six sessions, each with its own Statute Book showing the various measures passed during its continuance. An examination of these records will show that Sir Joseph was responsible for none of the measures that are now being denounced as socialistic. In 190 G the Government Advances to Workers’ Act, the Juvenile Offenders’ Act and the Testators’ Family Maintenance Act were passed as Government measures, but though progressive they were in no way socialistic, except in the broad sense in which they would be acceptable to the whole community. In the same way there was in 1907 the Infant Protection Act; in 1908 the Agricultural Labourers’ Accommodation Act; in 1908 the Infant Life Protection Act; in 1910 the National Provident Fund Act and in 1911 the Workers’ Dwellings Act. These again were progressive enough, but they obviously were not socialistic. There is, indeed, no indication that Sir Joseph while Prime Minister perpetrated any of the legislative iniquities attributed to him.

Mr. J. F. Knight (Newbury) has donated a trophy valued at five guineas to the Manawatu A. and P. Association for the best commercial display of honey and beeswax at the Winter Show in June. Mr. Knight is to.be thanked for his donation. The Manawatu A. and P. committee was delighted yesterday to receive from Mr. Ernest Baynes, President of the Royal National Association of Queensland and President of the Commonwealth Board of Trade, a donation of five guineas towards the prize fund of the Association. Mr. Baynes was a recent visitor to Palmerston North and he forwarded the donation as a token of his appreciation of the kindness shown him when in Palmerston North by members of the Association. “I had a splendid time in Palmerston North,” said Mr. Baynes, "and saw a great deal of your district, thanks to Messrs. Knight and Eliott, who so kindly motored me about the country.” Mr. Baynes is to be thanked for his donation and invited to the next Spring Show of, the Association.

The Manawatu A. and P. Association is requesting the Railway Department to run another farmers’ tiain to Palmerston North at Winter Show time. The Department of Agriculture has agreed to a request of tho Manawatu A. and P. Association for its apiary instructor in tho Manawatu (Mr. D. S. Robinson) to deliver a series of lectures on beekeeping at tho Winter Show in June. Tho Bench appeared to find it ut as difficult as the Bar to suppress a smile, at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning when a judgment debtor on being called forward placed himself in the dock. If he thought it was criminal to owe money he was soon enlightened when the court attendant directed him to the witness box. From his apparent lack of court doings it was obvious that he was not conversant with the procedure, and the Magistrate refusing to make an older, this debtor’s legal processes will stop short in tho meantime.