MR. HOGG'S SHORT REIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14143, 19 August 1909, Page 6

MR. HOGG'S SHORT REIGN.

MINISTERIAL EXPERIENCES.

STILL IN THE LIMELIGHT.

SOFTER STUFF THAN ADAMANT.

[by TELEGRAPH.OWN correspondent.]

Eketahuna, Wednesday. Mr. A. W. Hogg, M.P., addressed a meeting at Eketahuna on Tuesday evening on tho political situation and other matters. There were about 50 present, and the Mayor (Mr. Page) occupied the chair. Mr. Hogg at the outset gave a brief sketch of his experiences from the time ho took office as a Minister of the Crown. He referred to his visit to Hawke's Bay, where he found many dwarfed centres beginning to escape from the embraces of the reigning, families and to stretch out their arms and breathe freely. During his visit he was deputationised by large landowners suffering from rabbits and by small settlers requiring roads to whom rabbit pie was a luxury.

On his trip to Whangamomona and Stratford he found most of the cottages empty and the hills chiefly sheep walks. This was the result of speculators' and petty monopolists. By petty monopolist he did not mean the old land sharks who took up land before improvements were effected, but those who worked desolation after the Government had constructed accessible roads. When he went to the King Country he promised the people that when he returned to Wellington he would make the city and Parliament ring with their drawbacks. He found some of the richest country he had ever seen locked up against labour. The best of the land was picked out by astute dealers, who were assisted by the Native Land Board. This kind of thing was going on surreptitiously and the outside world knew nothing about it. Over two million acres had been taken up in this manner.

Returning to Wellington, he found the industrial conditions in a bad way. He tried to be hopeful and cheerful, but each meeting of the Cabinet filled him with dismal forebodings. Then the clouds darkened. Labourers were begging for work and settlers begging for money; immigrants were flocking into the country ; money was going up in value ; the Advances to Settlers Office as good as closed up, and settlers were in the hands of creditors who were squeezing heavy rates of interest out of them. On top of this came the Departmental retrenchment and half the Civil servants, many with wives and families, were turned adrift at a time when work was not obtainable, while gangs of men were turned off roads for which settlers were craving, and well-trained overseers and inspectors were retired. He had his instructions, but he was made of softer stuff than adamant. In the streets he was assailed by workers begging almost for bread ; widows pleaded for employment for their families, and young men of good education virtually craved for employment. And when there was stagnation in the labour market they had the banks holding their annual meetings, declaring largo profits, gorging the shareholders with fat dividends, increasing their reserves, and joyously acclaiming their prosperity. Their meetings reminded him somewhat of the festivals of the undertakers during the plague' of London, so ably described by Defoe. The state of the labour market gave him greater concern than the evil designs of Germany or the gift of a Dreadnought. He had it on good authority that certain Government supporters stormed and threatened, and even interviewed the Prime Minister, and asked for his resignation, and without the least hesitation he had handed it in. There was no compulsion, as had been suggested, and not the slightest reluctance on his part. The mere suggestion that he was at variance with the Ministry was quit© sufficient. Then the scene closed, and he went in front of the limelight, and was still there. He had been inundated with telegrams and congratulations from outside and inside New Zealand. He had a file of telegrams several inches deep, and seriously considered having it bound, so as to shake it in the faces of the Opposition when Parliament met.

Referring to press criticisms, Mr. Hogg said the New Zealand Herald had gone out of its way to point out that he had denounced the freeholders of New Zealand, when he was simply attacking the land grabber, who was eating out the freeholder. They all knew that he (the speaker) had done the best he could to get native lands on the northern and southern boundaries of Eket-ahuna opened for settlement, but the Native Department- had been deaf, dumb, and blind, and he regretted that nothing had come of his agitation. Numerous promises had been made by the Native Minister, but not one had been fulfilled.