SIR J.G. WARD AT OTAUTAU.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12243, 6 January 1902, Page 2

SIR J.G. WARD AT OTAUTAU.

* . ADDRESS TO THE FARMERS' UNION. ' (Br Odr Speoiai, Reporter.) OTAUTAU, January 4. At the invitation of the local branch of the Farmers' Union, Sir Joseph Ward, Minister of Railways, addressed a publio meeting in the Town Hall, Otaulau, on Saturday evening. The hall was oroivdcd. Among those on the platform were the llohb. W. 0. Walker and H. Fcldwick, and Mr M. Gilfeddcr, M.H.K. Mr Cupplca, who occupied tho chair, expressed gratification at the honour done the, district by the visit of the Minister. The Farmers' Union were not antagonistic to the Government, but were invited to protect llioir own interests. Farmers had had good times for eight or ten years, but whereas wool two years ago brought BJd it was now worth only about half that prire, and they had to compete with the farmers of South Africa, who got their land for half the New Zoaland pricea. They therefore asked the Government to open up markets for them. Tho Government should lraop down expenses, but not at the expense of the farmer, who carried everyone on his back. He had pleasure in introducing Sir Joseph, and hoped to hear that the Government was going to heln in the directions suggested. . Sir Joseph Ward said he was grateful to the Farmers' Union for their invitation to address, them, and to their chairman for presiding, and he hoped to show that the Government fully appreciated the needs of the farmers, and were doing their best to mcot them. The Government had been accused of increasing the public debt and the vato of taxation. It was pointed out that the debt had increased by £10,700,000. Rut a great part of this had gone out for the purchase of large estates to settle tho people, and a large proportion (£2,900,000) was lent to those people and to farmers generally under the Advances to Settlers Act, and their action had had the effect of bringing down interest rates all round to the very great advantage of the farmers and of the people generally. Tho:c interested in keeping up the price of money had predicted utter failure, hut the scheme had been a great success. Not a penny had been lost through the default of borrowers, and a sinking fund amounting now to £850,000 had been laid aside towards tho extinction of that special loan. The increased debt was more than represented by extensions of railways, which were now worth £17,000,000, and other facilities which bad enormously augmented the possessions of the people. Continual efforts wore made to make out that the colony was on the highway to bankruptcy. This was intended to defame the Government, but any ill effects of this fratioidal policy fell on the farmers whose properties were depreciated. At the present our Agent-general in London was engaged in refuting such a statement sent from some unworthy person in the colony to Lord Wemyss. who, while publishing the calumny, refused to ditclose the name of the traitor, This was a great pity, as lie felt mire that apart from its inherent falsity sueh calumnies would be greatly discounted could their nntlion bo known. At (ho present time tho public debt amounted to £50.500,000, and the opponents of the Government were very fond of harping on the increase of the colony's indebtedness. But if tho colony was to prosper public facilities must grow with the development of the country, and for these money must be Found. Frequently it was found that the expenditure of money in one part of the colony was grudged by residents in other parts. Cut the fact was that it was impossible to txpend money in any one part of the colony without benefiting the whole. He could tell them that every member of the Administration would be pleased if the colony could do without borrowing; but it was impossible, and. none knew it better than those, ami tliev were many, who condemned borrowing and urged exneuditure in one breath. The real test of increased indebtedness waa the. rate of interest per head of the population, and that had fallen 4s 9d per head in six years. The valno of (he land had gone up £25,000.000 in ten years, and the deposits in the Post Office Savings Bank (the savings of small earners) for the last quarter amounted to £1,164,983. Le.'s than three years ago the money of the people on deposit in the banks was not sufficient for the commercial requirements of the colony, but now the savings of the people were more than enough for the commercial and industrial requirement* of the colony. True, mutton and wool were low in price, but he did not think they could continue so, and if the people would hold on to their wool it would soon rise. Referring to the Farmers' Union, he welcomed it and wished it every success. Tho mere creation of a union would not change the politic.! of its individual members, but its formation could not fail to benefit farmers. As to this Government being other than the friends of the farmers, he would point out. that the tola! land tax of the colony amounted to only £900,000 per annum, while the eonewsion of railway freights to farmers exclusively amounted to £248.000 during the Inat five years, while they had had a lame share of the general concessions of £17?..?.J9. A great deal of outcry had been made regarding tho increase of Government appointments such as graders, iii'pcclois, etc.. but these had resulted in incalculable benefit to the farmers, who bore only n part of their cost. As to the cry that the taxation of the colony had been increased, the feet was that it had been reduced bv nearly £300.000 a year, £131.355 of which was remissions of duty, £48.000 of this was on kierosenc. Ho was sorry for Ids friend Mr Cilfcf.dor, who represented an industry which deserved, and no doubt would wive eomo consideration at the baud- of the Government. Rut that concession alone wai a bitr item to the people. Notwithstanding all that was raid by the trsdueers of the Government, there never was a Government of this colony which descnv'l =o well of the people a= the present one. With regard to the fall in the price of wool, he Ihoiuiht it was largely dtp to the people thcnirelvcfi. People were too fond of cheap goods, and even growers of wool were not ashamed to bnv sl'oddy. Another CBuse Mas the failure of French buyer* to yiurcliare so largely as in the past, and the development of a r.c-w industry in America whereby ohl garments were reduced to their elements and re-formed into cloth. Tt had been rather grudgingly admitted that the Government were now trying to find markets for our products, hut the fact was that the Government had been trvme in this direction for many years. TTe himtclf bad on his return journey from Home in 1f95-6 brought, with him reciprocal treaties with Canada and South Australia which were rejected by our own Parliament because tip other countries were a!;o to benefit by them. Money had iKen tint evi Hie Estimates for stimnl'ting trade wi'h •South Africa bv providing carriage and storage. A great onterv had been made because of the lea*, created by standing out of the Commonwealth, but the direct loss won more than cotmterlnlaneed by the retention of riehts which would have needed to be sacrificed had they joined it. Soulhliivl liF.d tlurins th" last lfl years gone ahead by leaps and bounds. T" 10 years their land in crop had increased bv 37.000 acres, sown sranos bv 1M.090 acres, and Mai cuftivtion by m.090 nrros. white their horses had iheron'fd by 3000 and their rattle by 12,000, and the value of their land awl property bad risen from £13,143,576 to 816 ?.17',440. Siv Joseph then went on to explain the operation of the Workers' Compensation Act, and contrasted the nositionof the farmer under it to his pofilieti under the common law, vhere he was liable for any sum up to £500. He instanced a case whero an employer was sued by an omnloyce fur the"total c»t to him reaching nearly

twice that sum. He was sure that if the formers wove asked whether tho net should be repealed, their reply would b; :r_' phatio "Xo." Now, it must not be supposed that the members nf the Government set theinrelves up as infallible. They were, always ready to listen to suggestions, and, as far as possible, meet the requirements of the people. As to the oft-repeated calumnies about the Government, lie asked tliom to carefully examine all these statements. Oould they look around them and fail to recognise the reality and solidity of the progress everywhere so apparent throughout Southland. The wild was now a paradise; and if the pluck and energy which had carried them so far continued to operate, if • they continued to believe in themselves and in the possibilities of this glorious country, the present dillicnltios would pass away like the hssoless fabrio of a vision, and New . Zealand, in » time not far distant, would support in comfort a large and prosperous population, Sir ,lor.oph resumed his seat amid rousing cheers, but immediately rose to announce the receipt of a telegram from MrH. M'Nab, M.H.R, for Mntaura, apologising for his unavoidable absence, and introducing fcii colleague the Hon. W. C. Walker. Mr Walker was pleased to ho present and to have the opportunity of showing his sympathy with the union in their efforts to secure the advantages of co-operation. With regard to the question of turthcr borrowing the test was, Was the intended expemlitifre necessary, and was it likely to bo warranted by results? The people of this colony were determined that while they were prepared to (k without luxuries, they demanded that their children should have the advantages of education, and every year the requirements of tho boards were increasingly heavy, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that the demands under the present provisions could be met. There was a continual desiro to give the children further advantages. As rettlement progressed there was a demand for additional schools, and theso could not be provided without money, and that money should be found, even if it had to be borrowed. The Chairman (Mr Chippies) said he had listened to both speakers with pleasure. With some of what Sir Joseph said he agreed, with some he did not, but ho was sure everyone elsa agreed that he was a very clever man, and he would he pleased if some.ono would move a voto of thanks to him. Mr N. A. M'Laren moved a vote of thanks, but Mr R. Hewitt moved as en iimoiv.lment that a vote of confidence be added, and tho amendment was carried. A vote of thanks to the chairman closed tho proceedings. DEPUTATIONS TO THE MINISTER. INTKRCARGILL, January 5. Prior to the meeting a number of depu« tations waited on Sir Joseph Ward with, regard to various matters. The first deputation (of which Mr Cupples was spokesman) wanted increased road accommodation at OtauUu railway station, and claimed that more grain and stock was sent by rail from Otautau than from any other inland station in Southland. They reminded Sir Joseph that they lied brought this matter under hia . attention before, and bad also, on hia recommendation, got their member (Mr Gilfedder) to represent tho matter, but the traßio manager hod reported that increased yard accommodation was not required. The fact was that although Otautau was a second - class station It had only the facilities of a fourth-clas3 one, and as many as 20 sheep in one consignment had been so much damaged as to be unfit to go to the freezing works. The district was developing, and thcro was urgent need of good sheep and cattle yards for loading and unloading stock, and tho most suitable place for them would ho opposite the Government; cottages. Sir Joseph promised to give the matter full consideration, but pointed out that where the railways extended over a large and rapidlydeveloping territory with ever-increasing wants it war. very difficult out of tho money appropriated yearly to meet tho demandr for necessary facilities. These demands were numerous, and it would take enormous sums ' to meet them all. However, ho would again look into the matter, and see if thoir request should be granted. In the meantime he could assure (hem that (hero were other equally important stations in tho colony not so favoured as Otautau. Mr William Saunders suggested lhat Sir Joseph should, when getting psu'ticihirs regarding railway maltoM, get the numbers of passengers to and from the district, and also the number of letters posted and telegrams sent, so as to get a true idea of tho importance of the place. Sir Joseph promised to get Ihis information, and take a comprehen?ive view of the matter. The next deputation was from the Town Board, v.ho urged that tho Railway Department should furnish to consignors of grain a duplicate statement of the weights of their consignments without charging tho shilling now required. Joseph thought the consignee should furnish a copy of the weight to the consignor, or the consignors should. . in the grain season, employ a man to attend to tho weighings and send certificates. He would look into the matter, but thought it would ho impossible for the department to weigh the empty waggons. A deputation from the Farmers' Union wanted to know whether farmers camo under the Workers' Compensation Act. Sir Joseph said his personal opinion was that they did, but as lawyers differed on the peiut it would have to lie made clear by legislation. While 'the: act did not compel employers to insure their employees, they should not leave themselves open to claims under the eomrrion law. which might be for any sum up to £5000, but should avail theimelvcs of the vory low rate of 10s per £100 now offered. Mr Cupples: "Tho union get it for 55." Sir J. R. Ward said that surely with such a low rate as 5s and ' the liability under the act the statute was a benificent one. Ho was sure not ono of them would vote for its repeal. A deputation consisting of Mr .lames King (chairman of tho County Council), Mr Win. Saunders, and Mr Cupples wanted a pound- ' forpound subsidy to emblo the County 1 Council to maintain adequate .works against flood" from the Aparimn, .River, and pointed out that the Government railway property shared in the general risk. ■ Sir Joseph faid tho Clavcrnmont would of ' course do what was necessary to protect its ■ property, and would hell) the settle™ to tho • extent asked to protect theirs, if satisfied 1 that tlm outlay wus necessary. They should ; get their engineer to say what was required, unri send a plan alon,; with his memoranda. - Mr Gilfedder suggested that it might come , ' out of unauthorised expenditure. Sir Joseph j could not promise that, but undertook that | the Cabinet would givo the matter early ■ consideration. Mr Gilfedder introduced a deputation of | Scott's Gap settlers, who represented that . so much grain was now grown in the Waieola district that another siding wu. necessary. Mr Cadmnn had prewired a siding . if the settlers would raise 5300, but they could only raise £200. The fact was that ' the Ciovcrnmrnl would make money by giving (he aiding, as they would save' oon- ' siderablo sums given as subsidy for mainJj tcmance of roads to the County Council. f Sir Joseph thought the existing two sidings t should be shifted so as to he convenient for B the whole district. Anart from tho cost j theso sidings created difficulty and loss of ( time. The best ho could do was to undertake that if they could eatisfy him that tho _ third siding was necessary-awl he would , go over that stretch of railway while looking , into l.hi matter of the encroachment of the Apanma.-it would be provided on the r seH'ers finding £?50 oPlhc money, I The deputations thrn cxnrcsscd their . hanks to Sit Joseph for his courteous [ hearing and withdrew.