THE PREMIER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13397, 28 January 1907, Page 6

THE PREMIER.

SPEECH AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL.

THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

NATIVE AND OTHER LAND

QUESTIONS.

ALIEN IMMIGRATION AND

NATIONAL DEFENCE.

Tkk Premier (Sir Joseph Ward) addressed a crowded meeting in the Royal Albert Hall, Albert-street, on Saturday evening. By eight o'clock the hall was taxed to its utmost holding capacity, some 1400 people or more being present. The interior of the building was decorated with flags and ban-, ners, and the gallery was chiefly occupied by ladies. The arrival of the Premier and' the Mayor (Mr. A. M. Myers) was the signal for a loud outburst of applause. Several legislators and a number of prominent, citizens occupied reserved seats. In opening the proceedings the Mayor welcomed Sir Joseph to Auckland on the first occasion of his appearance in this city since assuming office as Prime Minister. (Applause.) No one in the history of the colony had taken that position with a greater concensus of approval, and of opinion as to his high qualifications than had Sir Joseph Ward. (Loud applause). The notices of motion placed on the order paper of the Imperial Conference by Sir Joseph would, lie ventured to say, meet with the hearty approval of the people of New Zealand, and he was sure Sir Joseph would play a leading part in the discussion of those important and intricate questions likely to come before the Conference. (Applause.) He (the Mayor) spent the last evening of the late Mr Seddon's life with him, and Mr Seddon then said he was looking forward with the keenest interest to representing New Zealand at the Conference, as he was satisfied that questions momentous to the Empire were to be put forward, and he could make | the voice of New Zealand heard with effect [ in the discussion. (Applause.)

Sir Joseph Ward, who was received with prolonged applause, thanked the Mayor ami the people for their cordial welcome, and referred to the difficulties he had met with in arranging his visit. Home. He felt that he was going with the warm feelings and cordial wishes of the largest section of the community of New Zealand. (Applause.) It. was not six months since, he landed in New Zealand after attending the Postal Conference at Rome, and there had been great changes in tilt- iuteival. A new Ministry had been formed, and a. full session of Parliament had been held, and that session was a magnificent record of the work of the members of Parliament, and when the details came to be recognised it would be found a vast amount of work had been dune in the best interests of the colony. (Applause.)

PROGRESS OF AUCKLAND. Referring to the great development of the city of Auckland, he went on to say that that development had been the subject of various comments for a long period of years. He could remember when there were people, some not outside Auckland, who used to say they could not understand how it was that Auckland was growing so fast, or what was behind it : yet the development of the city had attracted attention from end to end of the colony, and it was reflected in the increase in harbour revenue, and increase in population. This growth was entirely from the fact that the northern portion of New. Zealand had been developing to an enormous extent. (Applause.) Auckland lately had had a plethora of waterwater without anything in it. (Laughter.) One could not do otherwise than extend sympathy to those who had been directly affected by the floods, but their troubles would soon disappear. First of all the indomitable courage of the settlers would go far and with the assistance of the Government to enable them to obtain a part of the necessary money to restore their roads and bridges, their troubles would soon be in great measure smoothed away. (Applause.) INCREASES IN POPULATION AND

EXPORTS. He would give an illustration—an important ono-'to show the material progress, that would inspire hope, at all events, that the increase in population which was; going on now would continue. During last year 39.233 persons arrived in the colony, and there left the colony 26,300, an excess of arrivals over departures of 12.000. and the natural increase by births over deaths would! exceed 16,000, "so that they could reckon on an addition to the population during that period of 29,000 people. (Applause.) This was a very important matter. This country of ours was sending away now "some £16.000.000 worth "of products annually beyond its own requirements,, and we required to have, side by side with that settlement, a constant addition to the population to maintain the rate of progress. (Applause.) The total output of the manufactures, according to the census for 1905, exceeded £22,800.000, and that with a population of pakehas and Maoris of under a million, hi 1895, the output was £9,500.000. In this was included the output of sawmills, freezing works, flaxmills, and butter and cheese factories. That total of £22,800,000 was a record any country in the world would be proud of. (Applause.)

CHRISTCHURCH EXHIBITION. At five o'clock that day the millionth person passed through (lie gates of the Christcmirch Exhibition—(loud applause)— and that was a young lady. Miss Alice Jennings, of Montreal-street, Ghristchurch, and it was something that created great excitement in Christchurch. The people in Auckland were just as deeply concerned in the success of the Exhibition as the people in the immediate locality or anywhere else. The general manager made an estimate a day or two ago, and predicted that, it would not cost the colony more than £35.000. li it cost the colony £50.000 it was very cheap at that, for the colony made more through its railways and Customs, to say nothing of the advertisement New Zealand had received, and the resulting benefit could not be measured by the cost, even though that were £50.000. (Applause.)

MAIL SERVICES. They knew that for a long time there Intel been great diversity of opinion amongst the people of the colony with regard to the 'Frisco mail service. He believed it was the best and the swiftest way to get mails from New Zealand to the Old Country, or vice versa. It was unfortunate that owing to the troubles of the company the steamers had been running irregularly of late, and in the meantime no renewal of the contract had been agreed to. Hut he, for one, was hopeful that the owners would get the boats into sufficient trim to enable them to run regularly, and an intimation had just readied the Post Office that the owners were prepared to build two or three new steamers, and he believed that for all lime this country would find that the mail connection across Ame- ■ rica was necessary, and that it would al- | ways be a valuable connection for this ! country. _ (Applause.) What New Zealand i should aim at was to have a Vancouver ] mail service and a 'Frisco service alternat- I ing at periods that would give New Zea- ' land a comparatively short service- to and ' from the Old Country. New Zealand should not cut, off any of its external connections; it, wanted visitors and tourists, and regular and swift connection with England, and it it could obtain, with the assistance of Canada and Australia, a Canadian mail service leaving every three weeks, i: would have a 10 days' mail and passenger service, and that was the goal that he, for one, was working for. Intimation had reached him that day that the Union S. S.

Company and the Huddart-Parker Company had agreed to a fortnightly service for the same rate as for the monthly .service. £200 for each trip, and that -would be £400 a month.' (Applause.)

THE NATIVE LANDS QUESTION. He wanted to attract the. attention of the people of the colony to the fact that, the Native Lands Commission had been appointed, consisting of Sir Robert Stout and Mr. Ngata. It was a small Commission, but it had been kept small because the Government wanted results and wanted lands for the people, and the Commission had power to go into the matter on practical lines, and not to wait for two years. The Government wanted results from the starting of the Commission, and that would do a great deal of good for this part of the colony particularly, and for the colony as a whole. (Applause.) It would do more than that. In the native question there had been stupendous difficulties presented to each Administration. There had been suspicion surrounding many of the transactions, and the outcome of the whole business was that to-day there were nearly 6.000,000 acres of native land doing comparatively no good to the country, and the Administration Had now said that while there had been high ideals the results showed that the present machinery had not produced satisfactory results. To enable the Maoris to be protected, as they had a. right to be protected, and as they would be protected, the Government was arranging that a legal representative, of high standing, .should accompany the Commission throughout its whole work, to eusure that the rights of Maoris, individually and collectively, were put before the Commission in a way that would ensure them the fullest consideration and protection. (Applause.)

THE GOVERNMENT'S LAND PROPOSALS. The primary condition that everyone was trying to achieve in the* colony was closer .settlement -(hear, hear) and to prevent the aggregation of large estates, and the machinery now proposed would enable the poor man to go on the land for the purpose of making a living for himself and family, and that was the underlying principle of the legislation of the Government. (Applause.) He was not so foolish as to suppose for a moment that all and every one of the proposals would commend themselves to the majority of the electors of the colony. However, a progressiva land policy was needed, so as to ensure that the people would have tlu> opportunity of getting on the land, and (hat was what the Government was contending tor. lie realised that differences of opinion were likely to exist as to the propositi for endowments in support of the social workthe Legislature, had made statutes upon. The same would apply to the area- to be limited, and to the leasehold or freehold tenures: but what had really to be done was to pass legislation to ensure that the millions of acres still unoccupied should be made available for sett lenient, and to bring about, a substitution of the present chaotic position by laws which would conserve the rights of the original holders and the rights of posterity. ' (Applause.) He would like the critics of the Government's land proposals to pointto one .single line that meant that the freehold was to he taken away from the people. He defied anyone to point to such a proposal. There have been, he said, all kinds of ideas disseminated for the purpose of showing that the Government was a destructive -that all obligations devolving upon the individual, the sanctity of contract between man and man. and lie State and the people, were to be ignored by the Government in carrying out a destructive policy. " Let me say,' he emphasised strongly, "that there is not a line in the Bill which would give power to the Government to take away one acre of freehold.' 1 Not one of his colleagues were, what he might term, pledged to the Bill line for line. The Government was aiming at the closer settlement of the people, and the closer settlement of the large blocks of land in th*' colony. instead of wanting to take away the freehold, as one section of the community interpreted the action of the Govern meut to be. they were making a proposal so that it would be impossible for large estates to continue in this country. The proposal was to limit estates to the value of £50.000. The opponents of this clause said they were prepared to approve a system of graduated land tax. which meant that they were prepared to increase the land tax, and as a natural corollary it would compel a man holding a large area to get rid of a considerable portion of it. This. then, being the position, it was self-evident that they were at one in their desire, according to their own arguments, to limit the area, that any one person with large means could hold. "Then, if we are. at one," he inquired, "should 1 we not come together as common-sense people and say we arc trying to achieve, the one end. that of getting thousands of settlers in the country by the abolition of the large landholders? (Applause.) Then, if we are prepared to slop this abuse going on in New Zealand. I do not hesitate to affirm it as my positive conviction that it is the bounden duty of every man and woman in this country, who has no personal motive to serve, to see that the land system is placed on such a basis as to prevent those terrible conditions that drove some of the best men from the Old Land.'' (Applause.) If, however, the £50,000 limit was not approved, then he took it that the increased land tax proposition would be agreed to. He did not care which it was. bid it had to be one or the other—not in the interests of the Government, but in the interests of the great mass of people in the colony. " I want here to say. he continued, "' that there is room for a difference of opinion as to whether it should lie an increased graduated land tax. or limitation of the amount, and I say that we ought to intelligently discuss that aspect in order to achieve the same end." He reiterated that there was not a. single proposal in the Government's Bill to take away the freehold.

THE NATIVE LAND COMMISSION. Reverting to the native land question, he said that he had submitted a proposal for aRoyal Commission, so that the millions of acres of unoccupied land in the colony would not remain in its present unproductive state, and the Commissioners appointed had clear directions as to the scope of their inquiry. After ascertaining the areas of land not in occupation or not put into profitable, use, the Commission would proceed to determine what area was required for the individual occupation of the native owners for purposes .if cultivation and farming the area necessary for descendants for I their use in tin- future; what area would I be required for the landless natives; and i in older that tribal instincts and customs I may he kept alive to provide in every instance communal blocks. There would be j important details to consider in connection with each of the requirements, and finally the Commission would direct what area would he available, after the requirements enumerated had been satisfied, for settlement by Europeans, specifying the terms and conditions, modes of disposition, in what ureas and with what safeguards to prevent the subsequent aggregation of such areas in European hands. Instead of talking about the proposals in a. general way, the position would he grasped more clearly if he gave an illustration of bow :t would work out, an illustration which would Im> applicable to the lands throughout the North Island. Taking a block of 200.G00 acres of ! Maori land, at present in a state of unproductiveness, and being of eompar.it ivelv ; little good to either Europeans or natives, ! it would be ill.- duly of the Commission to ascertain, first, the acreage required for the I native owners for their own occupation, so ; that they can till and farm the land, and make a living for themselves and their ! families. For this purpose 25,000 acres j would be set aside, then 10,000 acres for 1 the descendants for future use, 5000 for the I landless natives, and 5000 to be set aside I as a common or reserve for the joint use j of the tribe, making a total of 45.000 acres inalienablv provided for the Maoris, and leaving 155.000 acres out of the 200.000-acre I block available for European settlement. i Under this proposal it would thus he seen that the requirements of the whole of the natives would be satisfied before any portion of a block was made available for settlement by a Kuiooean. Is that not a proper thin-7 asked Sir Joseph. ft was intended that (here should be no delay about the work of ibis Commission. In bi's judgment and ho had been investigating the matter a* closely as erne person reason-

ably could—the whole cause of the stoppage of settlement had been that land commissions in the past have gone on for a lengthy period collecting data, and had then in globo sent in a report of such a staggering nature that the _ Legislature had not been able to put it to practical use. So as to have a different state of affairs arising the system to be followed in the present case would ensure that the Commission 16 days after the next session of Parliament, or less than six months from now, would furnish a report on every block of land investigated, and say how much of that land was available, and on what terms it should bo disposed of to Europeans. In the strictest sense of the word the Commission would be one of activity. The Government realised that unless legislation was made in the direction of settling the native lands on the lines indicated they would never reach the end of this troublesome question, and to further show that the Government was in earnest over the solution of the problem, they would, with the assistance, lie was sure, of every intelligent member of Parliament, put on record during next session the recommendations of the Commission, which would firing into occupation all the land in excess of the natives' requirements. Under these conditions Sir Joseph thought he would be a very extraordinary member who would oppose the settlement of the Europeans on this surplus land, especially as the proposals dealing with the settlement of the native lands of the country were of far more absorbing interest, and of more immediate importance than the reports applicable to ('town lands.

CROWN TENANTS AND Till: FREEHOLD. There was a section of the community urging the Government to pass legislation conceding the right to men who, 10 or 15 years ago. obtained Crown kinds under certain conditions of lease, to dispense, with those covenants and acquire the hold of the land at the original value. " I tell you that you will nevei get any Legislature in this country to do anything of the kind," the Premier declared with emphasis. In the tirst place, it. was not a fair proposition that any man competing for land under the leasehold system, say, 10 or 15 years ago, should have the right to say that one man trying to get on the land was to be denied the right of taking out the unearned increment of the land, if the tenure was to be altered. then there Mas the vitally important- matter involved of cancelling a sacred contract entered into between the tenant, and the State, and if once an Administration was coerced into, or compelled by agitation to give effect to such a pernicious doctrine, one could not tell where the line would be drawn, The logical sequence would be that the same right to violate a contract should he extended to the individual also, lor what was right and proper for the Stale should be right and proper for the individual. " 1 say is it a right thing to-day to urge this wholesale violation of contract, to agitate lor such a doctrine in the hope of'getting a majority to support it':" the Premier continued. "It would be excessively dishonest to apply it to contracts between individual and individual, and equally dishonest to apply it between the State and individual.'' Hcontended that the only sale and proper way of bringing such a change about as that agitated for was by mutual agreement. (Applause.) Those who supported freehold out and out in application to (loan lands he asked to take a reasonable view of the position, and on the other side lie asked leaseholders to be reasonable also. If both sides were leasonable he believed a system would be formulated' by which the very proposals they were urging in the interests of future generations would he conserved, and a way out of the difficulty provided.. (Applause.) lie believed lint during next session of Parliament a Land Hill would be placed on the Statue Hook which will meet (he conditions of the country generally, which would meet present requirements, and the future requirements of the people, but which would not give the right to any person to demand that a lease he may have should be cancelled There were 13 or 14 millions of acres involved, and if the question were approached in a commonsense way. as he was persuaded it would be, if it was approached without this extraordinary, and excessive, and improper demand being made upon the Parliament, he believed'a solution would be effected, and a solution from which very few people would dissent. " If we succeed in doing that." the speaker remarked, "for we certainly intend to try. then we will have done something as a Government, especially as the- fact would be remembered that during the last 20 years the Administrations have been made to temporise on the question, and expediency has been resorted to. We as a, Government say without egotism, without bravado, and without trying to create the impression that our predecessors were less fearless than we are, that this question cannot, be allowed to drift any longer; it is in the interests of the colony as a whole that if should he settled. If you would have that splendid expansion which has been going on in the North Island during the last few years continued, let us get the laud question settled on lines something similar to those indicated by the Government—l do not say cast-iron lines—and I say we are bound to approach the solution in a, reasonable spirit, and realising there is a. great loss of wealth owing to the non-productiveness of large areas, and the settlement of which would lead to such expansion taking place in the North Island as could scarcely be exaggerated.

NORTH AND SOUTH. In referring to the recent increase of population in the North Island, he said he had no desire to any insular feeling. They could not have prosperity in the South without it being reflected to some extent in the North, and vice versa, they could not have expansion in the North without a telle of direct and indirect benefit to the South. (Applause.) As to the magnificent increase of population in the North Island, he said that whilst some people in the South Island might, regret hieing their population it was a. good thing for that of the North Island to increase. Some people said they could not understand this, but the cause was not hard to rind. The North had been kept back in the past by the stoppage consequent on the Maori wars, and the locking up of large areas of native lands. These difficulties wore now both away, with the result that they had large areas of productive land in the North receiving the attention from (settlers that was given to the lands in the South Islam! 20 or 30 years ago. The North was receiving the benefitted increased settlement and population, and they well deserved it, and no man in the South Island who was worth his wilt would seek to deny it. (App'.a.tise.) He Unci always believed, and would continue to do so. in the principle of representation on the ln>.«io of population, and if, as the. result of a further increase in its population the Not til nia.de a still greater gain in regard to representation it would well deserve it. As lie had told the people in the South, if they in their turn regained the ascendency in regard to population they would again he entitled to the larger share of representation. (Hear, hear.) fie repeated that the interests of the two islands were identical, and .said that all over the North Island lie found people from the South, and that in time it would be almost impossible to tell a, Northerner from a Southerner. (Applause.)

INFLATION OF LAND VALUKS. One considerable factor in helping on settlement in the North Island had been the Government's lauds for settlement .scheme. Double the nmiiber of estates purchased in tin- South had been acquired in the North island. Of the total number of 09 estates, 33 representing an area, of 297,000 acres, had been bought in the North Island, as against 16 estates and 210,000 acres in the South Island. In the, Auckland district alone 10 estates of an area of 223,199 acres had been acquired. This increased settlement of course had a reflex in the increased prosperity of all classes in the towns, us well as in the country. The acquisition of these estates of course ha.d the effect of increasing the total value of these lands, and also of those adorning, to a tremendous extent, and in this connection he would point out that they must: be careful not to allow the prices paid to get beyond a point at which, it was possible to dispose of the. lands to settlers at a fair rental. It, was here lie thought that the advantage of the Government's policy in regard to the large estates came in. By asking the owners of these estates to cut off the fringes of their estates and dispose of them at fair prices on the freehold system during a reasonable period of time they were doing that which any reasonable man who took the trouble to investigate the matter must admit tended to pre-

vent the danger of which he had spoken. Unless some means of counteracting the present tendency to the inflation of the values of freehold lands was devised, what was now going on would react detrimentally on the community as a whole. Even the largo landholders themselves should recognise that fact. It was; to the laud that we must look for the material side of our progress, producing as it did, directly and indirectly, everything that we required. Anything hostile to the interests of people on the land must therefore also affect all other classes of the community. History showed the trouble that had been caused by the land problem right through the ages, and in this colony of ours it behoved the Government to attempt to arrive at a reasonably satisfactory solution of the complex problem.

FOUR LEADING POLICY PROPOSALS. During the next session of Parliament the Government would submit four leading policy proposals. The first would be the Land Pill, and the second the endowment scheme, which he. thought should be separated from the other land proposals and embodied in a distinct, measure. It would then be easier for the matured judgment of the House to be applied to these endowment proposals than if the who'.e question of land tenures were kept continually 'cropping it)) in connection with the matter. They were now spending upwards' of a million and a-quarter annually on education, old aire pensions, and charitable aid. and the people could not expert, the Government to allow this enormous and growing expenditure in go on without making some provision for a fund by which is could he maintained. By separating these proposals and placing them in another Hill they would not impair the principle in any way, and he thought that, the judgment of the House could then tie applied to it with greater expedition. The Government expected to place this measure on the Statute Hook next session. The third plank was the native lands proposals, which would be submitted on the lines already indicated to them.

i REVISION OF THE TARIFF. i The other leading policy proposals would I be the legislation dealing with the tariff. ! The investigations in connection with this j matter were now being carried out, and I the primary object would be to lighten i the burdens of the people by removing the duties from the necessaries of lite. (Ap- | plause.) The alterations would also go i in the direction of permitting raw material I required to be used for manufactures in the I colony to come in free of duty, and thus | place our manufacturers in the position of i being able to compete with those outside. .The alterations, generally speaking, would j not go upon the lines of extreme piotee- ; lion, but on the lines of judiciously buildj ing up our industries, i hey required to ; strike the happy medium, and he could asi sure them that the matter was being ap- | proached with the idea of improving the I general condition of the colony. (Ap- | plause.) lie did no' say that- the Llloverni men! would restrh themselves to these ! four items. There were other matters I which would probably be dealt with, inI eluding the questions of a classification and [a superannuation scheme for the whole of i the Slate servants, on a fair basis. THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE. I Alluding to the approaching Imperial ConI I'erence, Sir -Joseph said that the subjects j to be considered were of the greatest moi inent to l lie Empire and the colony, and j he hoped that in time these conferences ! would be succeeded by the establishment ;of a permanent Imperial Council. The i wars of the past had been largely wars I caused by the desire for increased terriI lory, but the wars of the future were des- | tined to he connected to a great extent 1 with commercial interests. There would ' doubtless be attempts on the part of cer- ! tain countries, by fostering their shipping , and mercantile services by various means,

In cut into the trade of other countries.

I The different portions of our Empire would J have to light for its (jade, and the necesj sity for some uniform and equitable system of legislation to protect this trade 4 | would require to be faced. They bad already attempted something of the kind j in New Zealand by legislation, in regard to I their coastwise trade and in the matter of

preferential treaties with oilier portions of the Empire. A great deal could also be done to guard against the inroads of outside countries. They wanted fair trade upon fair terms to our own people. To assimilate their laws in that direction, and thus bring about, the required cohesion, would be the aim of the members of the Imperial Council. (Applause.) One of the matters (he Conference would have to consider was whether an Imperial Council' could be established as an advisory body to enable, the different portions of this great Empire to be focusscd. (Applause.) ALIEN IMMIGRATION.

It was not troubling us now, but in the years to conn'' sonic of the portions of the Empire would have to grapple with I lie necessity for protecting the while nuns from an ascendancy of tin- coloured races, which were so numerous, particularly in the East. 'the colony was anxious to preserve the while race, and in speaking of the white race lei it be understood lie made no distinction between the white race and the Maoris. The question of alien immigration was a difficult one, from tin- fact that the Old Country required to enter into treaties with other Towers, and so the question thai required to be settled was how far the colonies could protect themselves from a possible great invasion of Chinese. If these, races ill the East had advanced in civilisation as far as we had, and had to expend as much in bringing up their families, no one would have a word to say against them. He was speaking from a practical basis, and said we had to protect our own race from a race which, as a race, was inferior in aspirations. One of the works of this conference must be to discuss on what basis the colonies could maintain the power to exclude coloured immigration. It was not proposed to say we would shut out aliens altogether, for common sense told them that would be an impossible position, but they must maintain the right of this country to legislate so as to limit the aliens by poll-tax or educational conditions. (Applause.) It would be his business to urge upon the conference thai it should impress upon Imperial statesmen that we, as a people, loyal in the truest sense of the word, asked them to recognise that we should have the legislative powers required for the purpose.

RECIPROCITY IN PROFESSIONS. YVhv. lie asked, should the surveyors in this country not have the right to exchange to similar positions in Canada'' Why should thev not have the right to be recognised in England or anv other portion of the Umpire? And why should there not, be reciprocity and exchange of conditions between this and other countries".' Why should we not have the right to enter into fair reciprocal treaties, so long as we did not do anything injurious to England itself'.' Why should not New Zealand barristers or medical nun. who passed equally severe tests. not be recognised and have the same privileges at Home as the English professional men had when coining here".'

NATIONAL DEFENCE. Then there was tie' question of tie- future preservation of the islands in the Pacific and down the coast of Australia. Lately there had been trouble affecting Australia very largely, and New Zealand had come into it and' had done its part in the question regarding the control of the New Hebrides. The colonies saw. as rising portions of the British dominions, and as a reasonable proposition, (hat they should be consulted 'fore ratification of any agreement, regarding neighbouring islands. And then there was the important matter of protection of our own shores. He mitrht sav that the Defence Council in New Zealand would do an immense amount of good in the volunteer system in building up a neueleus of a defence force that would be available in case of necessity. The volunteers would receive greater encouragement than they ever had before, and they would have the advantage of a. more general recognition on the part of the people of the colony. (Applause.) Thai brought him to another important question, and that was I he position the colony was going to take in) in regard to assisting to maintain the Australasian squadron. He had no hesitation in saying New Zealand should set its face against building ships or torpedo fleets at huge cost. (Applause.) As a matter of business procedure it was infinitely better for us to pay subsidy to the

Old Land towards the navy, and the colony should be prepared to pay an increased amount in proportion to the increased support the navy was going to give us in time of trouble. "(Loud applause.) This was a matter that must come up before the conference, and on practical lines, for the purpose of trying to effect a practical solution.

CONCLUSION. Every matter of which he had given notice of motion must come back to the Parliament of this country for ratification before the colony would be committed to it. lie would not accept the responsibility of agreeing to great propositions that would affect the future of this colony, without their receiving the mature consideration of Parliament. (Applause.) He .wanted to say, in the interest of the shipping world and owners of ships, that the Government the previous day had submitted to the Governor the name of a further delegate to the Maritime Conference. He. had ascertained from the Commonwealth that four delegates were being sent from there, and New Zealand must have the same number, as, though not so large a, country, New Zealand hail very great shipping interests, and for that reason the officers and engineers were urging that a further representative on their behalf should be sent. Mr. A. P. Hislop, who was secretary of the Engineer's' Federation, had been selected as the other representative. (Applause.) In conclusion, Sir Joseph remarked that he had experienced during the last week or two how wonderfully good the people of this colony were to their representative who was about to take part in a great gathering in their interests in the Old Land. In Dunedin, Christchurch, and Wellington, as well as all along the line on Friday on his wayNorth, lie had had evidences of the enthusiasm and goodwill of the people, and with such tokens of cordial sympathy and affectionate goodwill any public man going to a. conference of like importance would be inspired with greater confidence to do his utmost on behalf of the colony he was sent, to represent. Among the many pleasant gatherings he had attended he would remember the meeting at Auckland as one of the best that had taken place. (Applause.) Hi' thanked one and all for their presence and their kindness, and wished them good-bye. (Continued applause.) Mr. W. Richardson rose in the audience and asked the chairman for permission to put. a question to the Premier. The Chairman : 1 have no hesitation in ruling thai no questions be allowed to be asked.

Mr. I- Evans, vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce, said thai in proposing a vote of thanks to Sir Joseph for his address it- was tuincessary for him to make a speech, so he confined himself to submitting the following resolution, which was carried unanimously : —

That this meeting thanks the Hon. the Premier for his interesting ami statesmanlike address, ami on the eve. of his departure to attend the Imperial Conference in L-ondon wishes him God-speed and a sate return; and at the same time assures liiin that he takes with him the confidence and I goodwill of the people of New Zealand."

Sir Joseph, in briefly acknowledging the resolution, sinceiely thanked the meeting, and remarked that the goodwill of the community was of importance and value to him in going away to represent the colony at the Imperial Conference. On the initiative of the Premier a hearty vote of thanks was accorded the Mayor, and the meeting closed with hearty cheers for Sir Joseph and Lady Ward.