THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13886, 25 April 1907, Page 8

THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK

SPEECH BY DR FINDLAY.

SOME ASPECTS OF SOCIALISM.

EXPOSITION OF THE GOVERNMENT LAND PROPOSALS.

(Fno.v Oun Own Reporter,)

• PALMERSTON, April 24. Ihe Hon. Dr I'indlay- (Attorney-general) addressed a crowded meeting in the Public 1 all this evening. The Mayor (Mr K. It. Clark) occupied the chair., Dr Findlav was played to the hall from the residence of 'Dr llislop, wiiose guest he lias been during his short, stay in i'alincrston, by the local hand, under Conductor Kitchen. Among these occupying scats on the platlonii was Mrs- I'indluy. Dr JFindlay coinmenced by striking a personal note. This meeting was to liiin, he said, a unique one. J.w<yity-ono years ago ho came to t'almcreton a callow youlli, quite unknown and equally unknowing, lie came green and fresh from university lectures Idled with bookish talk, juvenile ideals, and a good appetite. Nor was lie weaned from the boilli; of the student's notebook. Palmerston was his professional cradle for eight years. It was- there lhat he learned his trade, worked for and obtained his Doctor of Laws degree, ami married one of the best of women.-(Applause.) His . eldest son was torn there, and through many years ho there added to his number of triends, amassing a s-.ore of happy recolHe learned from the press that the subject of his speech was to be the Laud l;dl, hut he had already spoken on this, and a great many other people had done the same. If there was one thing. about which audiences in the colony were tired it was the Land Bill. What ho did propose to do was to deal somewhat generally with the political outlook, which of course involved a consideration of the Land Bill. THREE MINISTRIES. ''There are," said Dr Eindhy, "Ihree dillerent Ministries in office in New Zealand just now. There is the Ministry as it appears lo Mr Massey, that is the Opposition's Ministry; there is the Ministry as it appears to its makers, the Liberal parly, that is Ihe Liberals' Ministry; and there is the Ministry as it appears to the members themselves, that is Ihe Ministry's Ministry. They are' all different. 'Ihe first is bad, the second is good, and Ihe third beyond all question excellent. But 1 am not going to dwell upon its excellences—that would take too long,--and there is another reason, and that Is that it is always more inters) ing lo listen to the vices of a public man than to any catalogue of his virtues. The former have a piquancy of savour quite absent from dreary goodness, and hence if you want lo say anything interfiling about a Ministry, show it in its trim colours, or rather in its true colour, which as you know is black, as much black as your beard's will stand. This is why the Opjxisition speeches about tho Government are easier to make and always more cnterlaihing than a weary narrative of ils good work's. THROUGH OPPOSITION SPECTACLES.

ft is for this reason that I desire to-night to look just for a moment at the Ministry and ils schemes through Opposition spectaclcs. That is, 1 wwi to show you that from an intelligent farmer's point of view you have at present in power ill this country the most dangerous Socialistic Ministry tlmt ever existed, Mr Alasiey says to. Ho says so very often, and he says ?o t very loudly. Mr Masscy hates Socialism. lie told the House on tho sccoml reading of the Land Bill that the only thing he haled more than landlordism was Socialism. Socialism, we all know, is a dread- , fill thing— at least when properly pronounced it sounds dreadful, especially in Ihe country. In the cities, which, we are told, are the ' hot-bed' of it, it creates no alarm, and seme indeed say that there it has relieved the opprcsion of sweating, sccureil shorter bonis and better conditions for the workers, while doing no harm to Ihe employers.* Bui in the country it comes as a blight or a noxious weed worr.e than the Mediterranean fly or the Califoinian thistle—-at least so we are told, and if we beliovo it, and it is for this purpose that we are lo!d it, then surely the country should take up arms against Ihe cities, join tho Opposition, and stamp out this dangerous growth. MR MASSEY'S VIEW OF SOCIALISM. And as tho Ministry, are all, it teems, broiled Socialists—i Socialists _as regards labour and worse than all Socialists a? regards land,—it is t|ic first- duly of every intelligent farmer to enlist under MrMsssey and extirpate this Government root and branch. You will remember that lam looking at. the Ministry through Mr Massey's spectacles. That is, he tells us. the intelligent farmers' spectacles; but what is ibis thing, (his colonial Socialism of ours? It is sometimes an advantage even io a politician to know the meaning of a word he is constantly using. It may bo shortly iWimxl as Stale action, either directly for the benefit of the whole pcouic or dn- 1 ' L- for the benefit of a class, and indi-, recta- fur the benefit of tho wholo.com-

ui'i'-iry. Our railway,: ami post ollicos are pv. .njilf.? of (he first, our Factory Act a,'n cv'nple of Ihe second. l?i;t perhaps All' Ma'sry does not know this is Socialism. II may lie Ira is misled by the alaiminy name into denouncing that of which he really approve*. Such things sometime happen. If lo take all the Socialism yon ran got from the Government is to ho a Socialist, then ] shall prove to you lliat. it, is the fnriuors, the country people, particularly tile smuill farmers o! this colony, not our city dwellers, who lire really our worst Socialists. Let me show you how casi'lv this can lw proved. "We are nil Socialists now-a-days," said our present King some years a>ro, ati<| he meant that in cerIniu ihiii'-s Factory Act,:, Truck Acts, Employers' Liability Aeifi. Muc-hinci'y I'rotcetion. nud I'u'olie Health Acts, we all recognised that Slate action or regulation was undouhledly good. This is what I limy call mild, safe Socialism, which nearly every pro-nerous count ry, including land herself. has tried.

ORTHODOX SOCIALISM.

It w orthc.'.'ox Socialism. Now, with rcga-rd lo Ihs cilies, What Socialism have we tried except this orthodox Socialism? Wo certainly have net tried there that agsirvssivc aclivo Socialism which takes the form of Stal<\ expenditure or State services for tho benefit of a particular cjass. T repeat. I hen. I hid, as regards the cities, our Senilism lias becci of an orthodox charade, safe and mild. Nirnl swing we lind it in most other colonies,, somewhat cnmnionnla.ee: but what about Socialism in Ihe cnunlry. or wh.al I shall call farmers' Socialism. In ihis respect we have led the world, tried novel, if not dangerous, experiments, taken land from one man by compulsion' and iriven il to another at the expense of the State, and devcird the public purse, mid tho public service \a the help and ad'-mcniPiil of a particular class, and assisted lo make if the most prosperous section of the community. And who has been the while-haired hoy of this Snciali-tie legislation now denounced? Why, the farmers. When we passed ''The Tin ml for 'Scitleii'ents Act, 1894," and took land comnulsorilv from large owners, dividing it up among a crowd of landless Crown tenants, we- perpetrated ihe most 'hiring Socialism ever attempted in a British colony: Imt we risked il. That is. the- colony as a • whole, including everv eily dweller, risked it. For Ihe small farmers in the country wo added to our public debt to purchase, to survey,, road, and settle these large areas, For whose direct- benefit? For the class to whom Socialism is now declared to lie a hlieht. Wo have spent five millions in this way. and v.e are still spending hundreds of thousands, and we have settled thousands of small farmers ;>i a cost to Ihe Slate on an avera.se of £12C0 each But this is not all. To assist not only ihose, but all fanners, ihe State made another daring Socialistic experiment.

TIIK STATE AS MOXFA'-LEXDER. Il liecamo a great money-louder. Undo-.' tho Advances to Settlers Act it lent money' to settlers, not only lo these it had settled on ils own C.'rnwn lawk but lo all oilier farmers, at lower rates of interest than they could set llii' money for elsewhere. In this way it has lent, mainly lo country jieoj'lo no less than £5.000.000. Here, ARnin, the wholn colony added lo its doltt for the sake rif a special class, added lo il by wljjit was Socialism as pure and simple as Slate action could be. Is it now to bo a- menace to those if Hossctl? But this is not. all. What is our Department cf Agriculture? It- is Socialism written large. It might- fairly lie called the Department of Socialism for the fanners: Look back to tho year fho liallanco-M'Konzio Administration came inio nlUre, only 16 years ago: recall the little division of the Department of Land and Survey, which consisted of a secretary, one good friend (Mr ,1. 1). Kitchie, who lias done much magnificent work for this colony), a chief inspector, and 70 officers, almost wholly connected with Ihe inspection of slock and Iho destruction of rabbits, and contrast tho stale ef ihings to-day. when Agriculture, as a gnat separate department, employing 300 oflicots. exclusive of numerous farm and other labcui-et'j, oil our experimental (anna,