LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12259, 9 June 1914, Page 8

LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION.

By Telegraph. (Special to Oahiaru Mail.) Whangarei, June 8. Sir Joseph. Ward met with another splendid, reception to-day. . This time it.was.-,-at.-Whangarei, where he arrivedat 6.30 a.m. from Auckland, and despite his. early hour, both the Mayor, of the Borough, Mr Jack, and,' the Chairman, of . the County Council, Mr M'Kenzie, were at the wharf to tender a civic welcome to. Sir Joseph..... During. the day he. was motored ro'und the. district, banqueted at Kama in the evening, and after his address was entertained at a smoke social..

The Whangarei Town Hall was crowded-at 8 p.m., that being the time announced for the political address. Every seat was occupied,, and many people stood all the.evening, there being some 1500 persons present. The Mayor, Mr D. W. Jack, presided, and Mr F. Mander, M.P., occupied a. seat on the platform. Sir Joseph Ward was warmly applauded and cheered when lie arrived at the hall, and the demonstration, was repeated when he took h'is seat on the. platform. He received a splendid hearing, Jiis remarks frequently being punctuated with lou_d and prolonged applause. In' opening Sir, Joseph announced that Mr'Mander had asked, him to say that he (Mi- Mander) would reply to the speech on Thursday night in tlie same hall. . Dealing with Mr Massey's Christi church statement in regard, 'to the Dreadnought—"that if the statement made by the Leader of the Opposition as to how the cost was provided was correct, then a contemptible trick was played upon the people of the Dominion," and "that Sir Joseph Ward's statements were making New Zealand ridiculous": —Sir Joseph said, that if .anything,was making New ZeaJand ridiculous in the eyes of-tlie world it .was.the attempt to establish a toy navy in-New Zealand for the protection of sea. routes and for guarding the coastline and protecting all British interests in. the Pacific. The one Bristol cruiser which- it was., proposed to. purchase could only he the nucleus of what was destined to be a -business.burden" which the young country could not bear.— (Applause.) Mr Massey's "contemptible trick" statement was - sheer nonsense. Provision for the full, payment of the Dreadnought was made properly and constitutionally. The term used by the Prime Minister was extraordinary, to say the.least of it. "Turning to Mr 3|assey-'s statement "that it might be true that there was a considerable sum of money in hand on the consolidated account on March 31st," Sir. Joseph said .there was no "might" about it, and he referred to page 3 of tlie Budget presented bv the Finance Minister in 1.913 to show that on April Ist, 1912, tlie amount-of cash in the revenue account was £807,278... Mi; Massey's attempt to discount this 'by referring to the payment of interest would _not 'stand- examination. .He quoted figures to show that the revenue for Mr Allen's year 1913, including the balance left by him (Sir Joseph), amounted after .payment of the whole of the interest for Mr Allen's year to £1,516,784. Even after a transfer bv Mr Allen of £75,000 to the Public- -Works Fundthere still remained a cash balance on 31st. March, 1913; of £79,708. The indication in regard to interest payments made by Mr Massey went to show clearly that after all the interest had been provided for there was over a million and a-half of revenue in the Treasury. Anybody could prove his (Sir Joseph's) statements, He gave an emphatic contradiction to. the frequent unfair criticisms made in regard to the. finances by the Prime Minister.

..After a. splendid hearing a vote of thanks and confidence and expressing a hope that Sir Joseph would soon again have the destiny of New Zealand in hispower was earned by an overwhelming majority. ' On the motion of Councillor Chadwin, cheers were given for Sir Joseph ■and Ladv Ward.