SPEECH BY SIR J. G. WARD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11873, 27 January 1902, Page 6

SPEECH BY SIR J. G. WARD.

POSITION OF THE COLONY. A BRIGHT OUTLOOK. I [by TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] L - Greymoute-, Saturday. The largest gathering ever seen in Grevmouth took place on the occasion of Sir Joseph Ward's address at the Opera House | last evening. His Worship the Mayor oc- | cupied the chair. A large number of ladies 1 were present, including Lady Ward.

Sir Joseph was heartily received. He said since his last visit many changes had taken place. He referred to the death of the Hons. Jas. Kerr and Bonar, who had always taken a prominent part in local politics. It was well that all the people of the colony : should be acquainted with the progress this part of the colony was making, so that the people in other parts could see why money was' spent on the Coast. If they had a sound basis of finance to start with then there was no danger. When they remembered the great works that were in progress they must look at the valuable assets. This colony was in a very sound condition. The. indebtedness of the colony was said' to be increasing, but they overlooked the progress of works. . Over two millions had been expended in purchasing land for the good of the people.. A loan of over a million had been paid to local bodies, which was for the good of the people. ; The money was spent in leaking our roads, streets, and bridges.. Two millions nine hundred and thirty thousand had been spent in advances to settlers. There was also an amount for sinking fund set apart. This had come out. of the ten millions of increased indebtedness from 1891. The colony had an immense security, and the people had reaped the benefit. Some men had paid for their lands as high a rate of interest as 10 and 15 per cent., and now they could get it at 5 per cent. This had been the means of increasing the exports and doing good to all classes of the colony. An argument had been put forth that the rate of taxation was increasing. Nothing of the sort. Since 1895 the rate per head was £2 10s 3d, and it had steadily decreased until it now stood at £2 5s 6d. The Customs revenue had increased, but this was due to larger imports, which pointed out that more business was being done. The Customs and land and income tax had increased, which denoted an advancement and success. The value of the landed property advanced since 1891 something "like 20 millions sterling. The colony was progressing very rapidly, and there was a grand future before the rising generation. The purchase of private estates amounted to about 350,000 acres, which had cost something like £1,844,000. The revenue derived was £72,781, the interest paid being £59,069. The profit for the year ending October, 1901, was £13,692. A farm of five acres was not a bad area for one man to hold, but when you found men owning 400,000 acres it was out of the question. " If things had been allowed to go on they would have found them-. selves, in a like position to Ireland. (Cheers.) Since/ the Government had taken office they had given back to the people in railway concessions £4,200,000. The aim and effort of the Government should be to legislate, to help all classes of the community. The railways had done a great deal for the farmers. " The cheap money had infused new life into the farming industry. They had been accused of having too many inspectors, but who had raised the high standard of their products ; but the inspectors. They could now sell any . product that bore the mark of the Government, for it was well known that the articles had been thoroughly tested and passed. They could hold their own against any country — Denmark or tha Argentinein the matter of produce. The Government had given away last year £138,000 in reductions in Customs duties, and still people said the Government were increasing taxation, and pointed to the heavy Departmental expenses in the Colonial Secretary's Department, which amounted to £75,000. This was due to the Royal visit. This would not occur next year. It cost £20,000 to take the census of the people of tlie colony. This item was included in the above. There was an increase of £36,000 put on by the Educational Department for the increased payment of teachers' salaries. The Railway Department had increased £142,000, but 100 miles of . railway had been handed over this year, besides fixing up the carriages for the public convenience.; The Defence Department had the protection of about £170,000,000 of private property. , This Department showed ' a big increase in expenditure, but this was necessary owing to the stand the colony had taken in helping Great Britain. They must take steps to protect their shores. When the population had increased to as many millions as there were thousands at present, the jealous eyes of ; the Powers would likely be turned to our shore, and anyone taking exception to the increase of £39,000 for defence purposes did not know anything about the matter. When the concessions on the railway and Customs were granted the people were afraid that the financial position would be weakened. Up to December 31, 1901, increases were shown in all Departments. The total receipts in all Departments were £4,211,612, and for the same period of the previous year £4,010,620, an increase of £181,000. There were still three months to run, and the increase would be a good deal greater. Yet people said that the colony was not advancing. The total amount authorised for public works expenditure had been spent in eight months, and it was the duty of the Government to stop works after that vote was spent. He had been told to stop borrowing. They must borrow to carry on productive works and finish the railways now in course of construction. The penny postage had been introduced, and the loss at the end of the financial year would only be £20,000. In another year, in his opinion, they would not lose a penny by the reduction. When the Workers' Compensation Act was passed, there was a'cry.against the Government, especially by the farming community, but for 5s per £100 the insurance companies would take ail risks. The matter had been misrepresented. The law was a good and humane one. In New Zealand, for the past two or three years, a wave of Imperialism had passed over the colony, and they had given their men and money to uphold the flag, and the" people at Home will see that it floats over a loyal people. He really was convinced that the position of the colony was perfectly sound. The way to arrive at the matter was to put receipts and expenditure together and see the position. He felt sure that at the close of the year the forecast of the Colonial Treasurer would be verified. If the helm of the colony was carefully handled the people would have assets as valuable as any country in the world. (Loud cheers.)

The speech was listened to with great attention, and was punctuated with cheers. A vote of thanks and implicit confidence in the Ministry was carried with cheering. Greymciutii, Sunday. Sir Joseph Ward goes to Hokitika on Monday, where he will be banqueted, and stay several days. In the course of his speech at the banquet he said Mr. Seddon was the greatest man in Australasia. He also stated that monopoly in regard to coal mining was hurtful, and that it was the intention of the Government to acquire a State coal mine. State departments alone could cousume every ton of coal put out, without injury to private interest, but it was not to the well-being of the colony that the present high prices should be paid by private consumers, and the Government had determined to unravel the difficulty without injuring those who had invested large sums of money in the industry. The Government had determined to make a move forward in this direction at a very early date. Sir Joseph Ward expects to be in Auckland about the middle of February, and will spend a fortnight in the district visiting the North of Auckland.