POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13746, 11 May 1908, Page 6

POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

mi. MASSEY'S VIEWS. DRIFT TOWARDS SOCIALISM. ; ■ ■ ■(% ' _■ IS IT. TO BE STOPPED ? Some,of the aspects of the present' political situation - .were reviewed by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. W. F. Massev) on being interviewed by a ,Hkraw> representative on Saturday. Speaking in the fir*t place of his recent visit to several of the other provincial districts of the Dominion. -.Mr. Massev said;"l am perfectly satisfied with my trip. I cannot, of course, go into details, but speaking generally my mission was to get into touch with the supporters of the party in the different centres, and I think the results of my doing so will be visible later on." : ; ; "How is the recent declaration of the Prime Minister 'in regard to socialism viewed?" Mr. Massey was asked. He replied —"People who have looked into the subject know perfectly well that Sir Joseph Ward's statement about revolutionary socialism means little. If the Prime Minister would substitute evolutionary for the other word, or strike out the adjective altogether, he would give more confidence and satisfaction to the individualists, though by his doing so the. harmonious relations at present existing between the Government and the socialists would probably be disturbed." Vis there any. prospect of a third party (becoming an active political factor? ' "So far as I can see,'' said Mr. Massey, " there-io very little likelihood of a third party in Parliament. The socialistic section of -members are perfectly satisfied with the Government—as they have good reason to be—and judging by recent indications in Otago and elsewhere the, Government arc perfectly satisfied with 1 them. There is just the possibility, however, of a few Independent Labour candidates -being elected, but scarcely a sufficient number to make their influence feit as a third party." . . On the financial position being mentioned, Mr. Massey said . that there was little to be said until more information was supplied by. the. Financial Statement being laid before. Parliament. "I see, however,',' he .said, that by his interview, as reported the other day, the Prime Minister denied that in his Wellington speech he .hinted at anything in the way of increased taxation in the. near future. Very well, if his words will not bear that construction then they 'meant nothing. My point "about the working, of the "preferential part of; the Tariff Act, bringing . revenue into, last year's accounts which would otherwise have stood over until this year, is not . disputed, and the Treasurer does not; refer to my other point as to the effect, of so much borrowing locally by the Government. I am perfectly satisfied that their, action in this respect ' has had a great deal 'to ..do with the recent increase in the rate of interest to . those who require borrowed capital." . -Referring to the .Arbitration Act, Mr. , Massey said: "I , dealt, with this subject pretty ■ fully the other night at Gishorne, but people are almost Unanimously of opinion that it will be the duty of the Government 1 to . give Parliament an opportunity of amending the Act next session, so; as' to make it less : irksome and more useful to the / classes -immediately concerned. I believe that.- under existing conditions, and in its present form, the Act is really standing in the way of industrial development", and in , this respect something must be done to remedy matters. In Canterbury particularly, where between 7000 and 8000 farmers have been cited as parties to an industrial dispute, I met with numbers who expressed their intention, of giving up the. growing • of grain crops and confining their attention to sheep-farming only, rather than be "harassed by the possibilities of the. Arbitration Act in its present form. I have reason to believe that a somewhat similar feeling prevails in " other industries, and, speaking for myself, I am strongly of < opinion that in the interests of the whole community something should be done to ...dispel the feeling of want of -confidence, which undoubtedly exists, and which I believe to be rapidly growing. If our industries do not keep pace with the requirements of the: .'population, the time must come .when ,the prosperity of the country will be affected, find .when employment will not be so plentiful as would otherwise be the case. - In reply 0 a question, as to what was likely to be the chief , battle cry at this year's general .elections, the Leader of the Opposition -..'ventured . upon the following prophecy —"The principal issue" will, in the minds of the thinking people at all events, be whether the drift towards socialism is to be stopped, or whether it is to continue until very serious mischief is done to. the country as a- whole. At the. same time, I believe that the personal character and qualifications of candidates will count for more than has been the case for a long time past." SUPERANNUATION FOR ALL. COMING LEGISLATION. ABOLITION OF MINORITY. VOTE [fly - TKLKGR.U'H. —i'BESS ASSOCIATION".] Reeftox, Saturday. A public meeting, presided over by the county chairman, was addressed here this evening by the Prime Minister. Sir Joseph Ward spoke 011 the lines of previous addresses regarding the land legislation of last session. It had, he said, been stated that the Government, wanted to confiscate . private lands, but there was not a. single Bill or word in the Government's' legislation to justify this statement. They had introduced graduated taxation to prevent a -man having more than £40,000 worth of land unless he paid the graduated tax. The consequence was that many landowners would sell out' in order to escape the tax, and the laud would be occupied by people instead of cattle and sheep. He said that strong remarks had been made concerning an increase in taxation. The : Government had reduced taxation by 1 £1,559,000, and the people were getting the benefit/ of this reduction. Referring to the superannuation schemes • already provided for the Government ter- . vices, the Prime Minister stated that a - general scheme for the superannuation of all workers would .be placed before Par- „ liament during the coming session. This , would be a corollory to the superannuation . schemc.''already .in force, and would enable j any worker on reaching the age of 65 to retire and end his days in peace and happiness. He spoke strongly of the neces- ' sity of assisting the - farming interest, as 1 all lived oil the industry. 1 . Speaking of the. Arbitration Act, the '■ ; Prime Minister said that next session 1 the Government would bring down a measure which would, in their opinion, amend the Arbitration Court. The Court was. a good piece' of machinery, but it required some alteration. The Cabinet would do its best to preserve that portion of our laws which had been, ol the greatest benefit to the workers. He would be. frank enough to tell those concerned that the Government would never allow anything to be done, either by employer or employee, that would cause a disruption of ; industrial : peace. , (Applause.') , . People, said Sir Joseph Ward, often spoke of the members of the Government ' as being divided in their individual views. ' but the Government was simply composed ' of men who abided by the verdict of the i majority, and once a decision was arrived . at, that represented the concrete-" expresi tion of the Cabinet as a: whole. Nex f i; session the Government would introduce r a Bill to do away with the minority vote. : . Whether the-measure would propose to . control voting by means' of an absolute - majority or by a second ballot he could 1 not .say at present ." : V'i. h v