MR SEDDON AND THE OPPOSITION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13078, 14 September 1904, Page 2

MR SEDDON AND THE OPPOSITION.

MISLEADING STATEMENTS.

INTERVIEW Iflili' MR MASSEY.

. (Fnou Ot)R Own Cobhespondknt.) WELLINGTON, September 13. , Evidently Mr Scddon is becoming seriously concerned at the growing strength of the Opposition in tho country. Speaking at a Liberal and Labour function at Peton? last evening, Mr Scddon warned tho peopio of a. danger threatening them. "I tell you hero to-night," he said, " that never in tho history ot our country has' thero been a greater necessity tor organisation than theie is to-day. Sell-interested people, looking to themselves, apart from and detrimental to the pooplo of this colony, is what you havo to competo against. Their works are so subtle Uiat l-cally I myself ■ havo. timo utter time been deceived. Jlut recently developments havo taken place, and I don't hesitate to tell tho masses of this country that tho Opposition has organised, and unless the people look well to themselves that whicit has |)ccn obtained at a great sacrifice, the work of years will bo sc-t aside. That being tlio case, it is for yon, onco uivnto ot _what is going on, to band together for tho common good."—-(Applause.) They would ' have noted, continued .Mr Seddon, that only recently an attempt had been mado to prevent 1 tho poor man from getting on tho land. If there was ono thing above all others that had inado our country prosperous it had been by the placing; ot' the people.on the land on lair and equitable terms, and not allowing only a select fow who had tho cash at their bankers to obtain tho lands of tho country. Thanks to Mr Donald ltoid first, tho late W. Holiesthen John Ballanco and John M'Kenzio the people had had an opportunity of getting on tho lands of this colony.—(Applause.) Tho scandalous manner in which tha lands of this colony had been handed over to a select few/in the early days was ono of the darkest blots in tho history of our colony. Look at tho famous Cheviot Estate.' A mero pittaneo was paid for that splendid land. Ho supposed to' day that that land altogether, with improvements, was worth half a million of money. It took tho Government £260,000 to buy the. estate. Tho original owner paid about £40,000 for it. Tako Canterbury, Wellington, and other districts, and what did thoy find? .Who was it hold the land to-day? A select few. What the Government had been trying to do for years had been to undo the wrong dono in giving thoso vast areas of country to a fow for cash. Tako tho gridironing that had occurred in Canterbury in the old provincial days, when thoso acquiring Hie land had the passing of tho Laud Ordinances, resulting in tho wholo of tho country being mopped up by a few people who had at their command the ready cash. "Spotting" and gridironing went on, and so tho Land for Settlemonts Act was passed, in order to give tlifl peopio a chanoo of getting on tho'' land. 1 There was now a deliberate attempt being mado to repeal that law—not boldly anu in a .straightforward manner, but through proposals which had been submitted to tho Hoiue to give every man the right of tho freehoid. That was not tho leasehold. It was the abolition of tho leasehold principle. The land laws of tlio colony should be still furthc-r. liberalised, and an opportunity given to the peopio to get on tho land. Again, it would bo wrong to tako the freehold from ono man simply to give others tho freehold, and thou, perforce, -what would happen? The small man who got tho freehold would after a short timo sell out to his neighbour,' and by-aud-byo they woidd again create tho same largo estates whioh ,liad boon tho ourso. of our country. In tho Forty-mile Bush' thero had been, ;t.ho. right of tho freehold, '/and what resulted? Tho struggling settlers, com? of whom had been brought out here at the cxpen.-o of tho country under tho immigration policy, aiid who had cut down tlio bush and put up with grtfat inconvenience and all tho troubles of tho early settlers' lives, where wcro thoy nuif? lie knew o! ono place alotio where thero had been 40 farmers which was now the property of ono gentleman. Tho Seventynii'.o liufh was just tho same, and wh;n tliey had now under it all the plausible pretext "Let every man have tho right of tho freehold," it was a cover for nothing else but to repeal the Land for Settlements Act. This colony must jnovitahly, in tho days to com?, have its teeming millions, and he wanted to know what' they wora going to do with them if tlicss large estates were continued, or if the machinery for manufacturing these . largo estates wart to be' allowed on the .Statute Books? In llio interests of the people of today, in the interests of their children and their children's children, it was imperative that this attempt to ropcal the Land for Settlements Act should be mot, and met ill no uncertain way, by the peopio of this colony.— (Applauie.) They had been told timo after time that unless a man had farming experience ho would not make a useful settler. Nonscnso! Some of our best settlers were tradesmen taken out of tho towns—men who had been working on tho roads under tho co-operative system. Some of • these .men were to-day as prosperous as any in tho colony. Silently, surreptitiously, and behind tlio backs of ths people this attempt was being mado to deprivo them of their horitage. Ho was happy to say Parliament liail refused to sanction the proposals of tho Opposition. Parliament, by a majority of 22, had decided that first of all tliore should bo inquiry into our land lows before an alteration was made, and ho was satisfied that as a result good,would ensue to tjie people.-^' 1 Hear, hear.") Tho Government had lost man;/ seats by the multiplicity cf tandidateS, but the Opposition lost no »eats that way. Their candidates stood down like pin 3 bofore tho ball. Was there need ,of organisation? Yes, thero was great need.- The Liberal and Labour Federation meant the obtaining of and the preservation of tho rights of tho people. Without some such organisation what had been gained for the people at great, sacrilico would 1)0 lost. It behoved them to'be ever on the'alert. Mr Muieey had stated that ho had tho Farmers' Union behind hint, and that its members numbsred about 20,003. Ho (the Premier) hoped, for' tlm snko of tho union, H was not a political organisation, and that tlio Leader of iho Opposition was labouring under a hallucination. At tho same timo ho could not help noticing that somo of the cardinal planks of Iho union wero tho planks of tho Opposition. It might' ba that it was a coincidence, yet tho fact remained. What wero the Liberals, tiding for organisation? Very little. 110 urged that tho Liberal and Labour Organisation should toe that everyone, irrespective of political opinion, was on tho rolls. In a littl.'> more than a year there would bo 'a general election, and the name of every man or .woman should be on the roll, so that tho voice of the people could bo taken.

JIR MASSISY INTERVIEWED.

Just before the House mot to-day I obtained an interview with the Leader of tlio Opposition regarding Mr Soddun's speech. Mr Masscy said lie had read Mr Seildon's speech, and the impression ho received was that the Premier realised that the party Kt present in Opposition was growing, in favour with, the people throughout tlio colony, and lie had brconie accordingly alarmed.

Asked wliat ho had to say about Mr Scddon's statement regarding tlio alleged attempt to prevent the poor man's having an opportunity of going upon the land, Mr Massey said: "Well, I have heard tln> same statement so often, and have fo frequently corrected it, that I am almost tired of doing so. But I shall ?ay that no such attempt was made b.v the Opposition, neither in connection with iny amendment on the land question uor at any other time.. What wo are aiming at, and what tho Premier is anxious to prevent, is to give the settler, who at present holds his land under lease in perpetuity, an; opportunity of converting his leasehold into freehold, with, of course, reasonable restrictions in tho' interests of both parties to tho contract."

What doM that passage mean where Mr Seddon .says that "silently, surreptitiously, and behind the backs of tho neoplo, thin attempt is being made to deprive them of their heritage"? I asked. .

"It seems to me," said Mr Massey in reply, "to lie one of those stock phrines of, the Premier's' which sound, well but mean little.. We sty what Wo meon, and dp bo openly and in a straightforward maimer, But if Mr.Sedrlon refers ,to the proposal with regard to ,|lio freehold, t]x>n all' I iari say js I bejiov? it to bp hetter. uven frdm" the point. of view of

tho State, that tho settlers should have the option of .freehold. The settlor will have a moro secure form of tenure. Ho will bo moro oontented, : and consctiuontlr more prosperous. Then there is no such thing as depriving tho peopio of their heritage. Whether freehold or leasehold, tho State never parts absolutely with its interest in land, and tho peopl.o as a whole havo quite as much interest in land he'd under freehold tenure as in land held under 899 yours' loase." The Premior rather complimented the Opposition on its organisation?, . • - \ Yes," "replied Mr Massey. "I don't know whether he meant it, but wo are not half so well organised , as' I should liko; certainly not half 60 well organised as tho Premier's party. It is very well know that the political association of which Mr Scddon is tho chiof employs an organiser ivnd secretary, who gives the wholo of-his time to the work, and who,' with salary and travelling expenses, costs probably £1000 per year. .They have branches, in every little centre of tho colony, and theso branches aro continually being visited and. addressed bv Ministers. But I hope that the hint will bo *aksn, and that, when tho election comes ' round wo shall bo ablo to meet organisation by organisation."

Is it correct that, as Mr .Seddon said.' you stated that you had the Farmers' Union behind you, and that !its members numbered 20,000?

"I have no recollection,'.' said Mr Massey.'"of having said anything of tlio sort Of course, I shall bo .very find to have the support of tho Farmers' Union, or of any other union.''

i Mr Seddon says you want to repeal the Land for Settlements. Act. _ Is that true?

"No," replied Mr Mncsey: "tho statement is not. correct. Why, in my amendment. to which I have, already referrod, I provided that the money received for tlx sale of land should be used for tho purnoses of. tho -Land for Settlements Act. That fact proves that we Jiove no intention to jnjuro the act, but, on the contrary, wo desire to provide tli-v funds reouircd without the necessity of borrowing therefor."