LIBERALISM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17329, 28 November 1919, Page 9

LIBERALISM.

ITS ASPIRATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS. (No. 4.) THE WORKERS' SHARE. In the old days what happened when a workman was brought bonne on a stretcher? What happened when he got maimed? There was redress at Common Law. slow, difficult, with much uncertainty and drawn-out litigation. To-day redress is certain, immediate, substantial, and cheap. The Workers' Compensation system, is not yet perfect, but the Liberals, who initiated it a generation ago, can be trusted to bring it up to the level of modern requirements, in accordance with the best principles of progressive democracy. It is impossible to review in full detail the long list of multifarious acts by which the Seddon Ministry strove to carry into | effect its declared policy of securing the welfare of the majority, in preference to | defending and fostering the interests and ; privileges of the favoured few. But what! is most remarkable about, these measures is that while they are based upon ideal conceptions that in those days seemed hopelessly visionary and Utopian, they' 1 were all severely practical in character, and when these laws were flrforced they ' proved a great practical success. Third Phase.—Ward. i Sir Joseph Ward, on the death of his illustrious chief, stepped into the leader- . ship of the Liberal Party and carried on [ the Liberal tradition. For this work the ; new chief was eminently qualified. ' He had served through the previous phases of the Liberal campaign of advanco with marked ability, and for the most part- in positions of considerable responsibility. ' Hia success in assisting his chiefs to carry ' out their election promises in regard to ' financial reforms had brought him in due ' course to the Treasury, and here he quickly distinguished himself by his apti--1 tade, his energy, his combination of courage and prudence, and his close familiarity with detail. - Sir Joseph's r=dminis- ! tratior of finance had been as successful

trsMor 01 nuance u*u ucmi eo wiu-obwui as his management, of tae great department of the Pest Office. In his conduct cf the latter he bad obtained, by his handling of affairs posts 1 ond telegraphic, a distinctly European reputation. He had to his credit another success in the administration of the Railway Depigment. To this he had, as he had to the Postal and Telegraphic Department, given classification and a superannuation system. Another success of his had been the Advances to Settlers system. The system include.3 a vast a en. oho of detail; the administration involves the most oonstant care and the closest supervision. But its success is as is the variety of j its requirements. Aggregate of advances the other day 21 millions, pwftt £985.000 '. No comment i? needed —but it is indeed a, I record of w',;icb any financier in the -*-oJd j might be proud ! j A Record of Success. With this history behind him, the new chief was soon engrossed in his work, and in the five years of its duration the record I of it was good. To the first part belong such measures as the "Scaffolding IrM~-.ecion Act," which added to the safety of "many workers ; the "Training Ships Act," which oper.ee for boys the road to the sea; an amending measure which improved the system of telegraph classification for the whole Civil Service ; amendment* of the laws helping maternity and protecting child-life; Acts f GT improving the acquisition and settlement of land ; the Act which secured the remainder of the Crown —nine million a^et,as a national endowment; the development of direct taxation—income and land—on the graduated system, on wellmarked lines capable of indefinite extension wh*ri necessary. A leading pl*w:e in the Vi&t is held by the National Endowment Fund. The Act of that name greatly extends the area of stability for old age and dependence, and it has been since amended in many ways, all beneficial to the poorer classes of the people and all valuable in the troubloustimes that came upon us with the war. National Debt. Another of Sir Joseph Ward's characteristic measures was th* proposal for the final extinction in reasonable time of the National Debt. At that time the stream of borrowing ran on without thought of the day of reckoning. But Sir Joseph saw the weakness of such a system : he proceeded to adjust his finances by the aid of a sinking fond in such a way that any loan so treated would be liquidated in 75 years at a very small cost per year to the Consolidated Find. In the face of bitter opposition Sir Joseph stuck to his scheme, demonstrated its actuarial soundness, tied up the linking funui beyond the power of any human being to "collar." He prevailed over all opposition, established his system, and that system has worked admirably ever since. Hydro-Electric Power. Another striking incident in this campaign of progress was the hydro-electric scheme instituted by the Liberal Govern-

, rnent during Sir Joseph Ward's regime. J Sooner or later our water power is sure to i be utilised on a vast scale for industrial land domestic purposes, for illumination I and for transport. But the people of th" Dominion should not forget that here, a? in so many other directions where progress points towards prosperity, Liberalism led the way. Humanism Once More. But though busied about the country's interests. Sir Joseph Ward did not forpet the "humanist" side of Liberalism, which is well illustrated in his establishment of a. system of pensions for widows. This j recognition of the natural right of wives and mothers to support, has removed hero one glaring reproach to human nature ; and the honour of making this wise and generous provision for widows stands to the eternal credit, of the Liberal Partv and its leaders. (To be continued.)