THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSI TION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16296, 1 February 1915, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSI TION.

VISIT TO DUNEDIN. Sir Joseph Ward addressed a jvublic meeting at the Garrison Hall on January 29. Before 8 o'clock tho hall was filled downstairs and upstairs, and a number were standing at the back. Sir Joseph replied to those who criticised his action in speaking in the interests of the Labour candidate for Dunedin Central. He was not there to abuse Mr Statham— he recognised he was a good man —(loud applause)—but ho was on tho wrong sido.— (Applause.) Referring to the articles which were appearing in the Conservative presi

at Wellington, Chriatchurch, and Dunedin. he said tho people were told that unless Mr Statham was elected there would he a dissolution, and that unless Mr Massey was clectod there would be a dissolution. Theso

men must be blind to tho constitutional position in this country. Mr Massey had been, to the country, but had como back defeated. —(Applause.) He had not won tho election. He had no right to a dissolution, and could not jjet it if he wanted it. Ho had appealed to the people, and had lost in tbo fullest sense of tho term. They might rely upon it that they ware mighty hard pressed when they mado appeals of that kind to the Boneible men and women of the country. They had both tho newspapers against them here. —(Applause.) That did not matter. — (A Voice : "Not a bit.") Theso papers were on the side of their opponents. This was the only town in Now Zealand where the press was on the one side. He did not think that was a good thing for the community. By aU the laws of fairplav Mr Munro had won his seat He had been defeated through no fault of his own, and he did not think the people were being treated fairly in being called upon for the second timo to record their votee for the man who had won by a majority cast at tho general election.

He wanted it to be understood that a stable Government could be established from the Opposition eide of the House—a much stronger Government, indeed, than their opponents could establish. If he did not believe that, or if effect wero not given to that riew, ho would not be a party to squeezing on the important affairs of the dominion, nor would ho hang on by his eyebrows to any position in Parliament.—(Applause.) Ho hoped the Liberals in Dunedin Central would not be deluded by the specious representations of their opponents who were trying to win their votes. Let the Liberals follow tho examplo of their opponents, who never sacrificed a vote,

however good the man who was not supporting them.—(Applause.) The settlement of any difficult position would not bo brought abo lit by electing Mr Statham: it would be settled in the House after the elections had been finally completed. Therefore, let them put aside all the aspersions levelled at certain people who had outlined a policy in advanoc of the great majority of the workers and in advance of what any responsible party in this country oould subscribe to. Ho would appeal to the Liberals to sink minor differences and stand unitedly by the side of combined Liberal-Labour, and restore the seat to the man who had already won it honourably and fairly.— (Applause.) On matters of finance, he said the increase in the expenditure of the dominion in two years and nine months amounted to the stupendous sum of £2,192,61 L In nine months of the rcresent year the expenditure had exceeded tfie revenue by £450,452. The Minister of Finance had stated that

£112,000 of land tax had to be taken off that amount, leaving £338,000. But what did the Otago Daily Times say ? The influence of the war upon the figures is, as was to be expected, plainly perceptible. The increase m the ordinary revenue, in oomparison with the corresponding period of last year, is £231,526. The comparative increase in the expenditure is £506,611. And the expenditure for the period exceeded the revenue by £450,452.

As a matter of fact, the war had practically nothing to do -with it. The war started in August, which allowed for four months of the nine months. The total amount the Minister of Finanoe asked for was two millions, and that amount was obtained at per cent., or 4 per cent, making provision for the discount. The war had gone on for five months, and tho loan was asked for, and authorised, at the beginning of the war. The whole of the interest for 12 months was £80,000, and, deducting the due interest, it would _ seem the dominion had gone back £500,000 in the nine months in connection with the ordinary expenditure. Quoting from the Tear Book for 1914, Sir Joseph Ward said that the net indebtedness per head of the European population in the dominion in 1912 was £79 13s Bd, and! in 1914, it was £84 2s Bd. That was the net indebtedness per head of population, but the gross indebtedness included some £4,976,000 raised at the end of the year 1913-14 for debentures falling due in 1914-15._ The net indebtedness did not include this amount, and yet they found some of their political opponents going about and saying there •was no increase in the indebtedness and taxation of the people.—(Applause.) They never had Anything in the history of New Zealand to equal what was going on to-day. The Reform Party had said that the Liberal Party's taxation was too high. Not only had the Reform Government not decreased it, but there was an increase. Whenever the Massey Government was in a hole it always tried to fall back on him to get itself out of it by Bayine that Sir Josper Woa-d had done it. The best certificate of character they had got had come from the present Government, and in the last two Joan prospectuses issued in the Home Country reference was made to the sum of nine million odd pounds which had been transferred to the Pttblio Works Fund, and much of which money was earning over 4 per cent. Regarding tho question of a local navy, he was not going to discuss any of the statements of tne Prime Minister of the commonwealth or the Hon. J. A. Boyd. On the naval question both these gentlemen had had the bussing of the present Ministry while they were in the oountry. He would discuss the question from the standpoint of New Zealand, as he regarded it. He thought that it was a matter concerning which there should be no party, of such vital importance was it. Sir Joseph Ward quoted at some length from the official report of the proceedings of the Imperial Conference of 1911 to show what his proposals on this occasion had been. He had, he said, been told at the time, particularly by some of his critics out in New Zealand, that the scheme was a mistaken one. But the present war was going to cost the Old country anything from £700,000,000 to £800,000,000, and if his proposals had been carried out we would not in this country be called upon to pay any-thing-like what we were paying in connection with thp protection of the Empire in what we were doing a"t preßent. We were spending two millions sterling in one direction only, and if the proposals had been carried out the war would not have started. It would not have been possible for a German' cruiser to have looked at the Pacific at all. In discussing a looal navy, what were the chief considerations to bo borne in mind? First, there was the question of control. When the war commenced the control of the Australian unit passed from the Australian Government to the Admiralty. If the control at war times required to pass to the Admiralty, how many men of reason would say that in time of peace a local navy should be here only to be handed over to the Admiralty when a war started. Thero was the question of cost. Could this oountry bear the cost of a local navy? Certainlj it could not. A Voice: Wo can't get bread.—(Laughter.) Sir Joseph Ward: Would we not be mad if we went in for, practically, a dummy local navy ? One Bristol cruiser would be useless in time of trouble. If thero were this, local navy, with its association with Australia, as rjuggestcl, what would happen? It would gratify the hearts of the Government by giving the members an opportunity of appointing one more board.— (Laughter.) It would be under a board of control. Australia would have five times as much say as New Zealand would have, and if they took in Canada, she would have eight times as much. When it came to the interests of our own kin across the seas, he for one preferred to be attached to the men who were on board the Lion ana the New Zealand, in tho Kiel Canal and in Heligoland. protecting the shores of England, and of New Zealand as well. Sir Joseph Ward quoted from Australian journals to show that Australia had taken an enormous burden on her shoulders in establishing her navy. Thirdly, he aaid. if we believed in one Empire and flag, then wo should have a system of sea protection under the Empire and under the flag, and under one control, with vessels placed in different portions of the Empre to enable all requirements to be met under that control. With regard to tho New Zealond Dreadnought, at the general election three years ago the gentleman in opposition to Mr Statliam had been fastidious in his criticism of tho speaker in connection with the vessel. A Voice: No; with tho way in which it was given. Sir Joseph Ward : Tho old bogey ! They are all saying now that, it was the way in which it was given! The Dreadnought.. Sir Joseph continued, had been given subjcct to tho ratification of Parliament. A Vo'ce: That was too Into !

Sir Joseph Ward:. That's pcrfoct non-

sense ! Continuing, he said that Parliament had confirmed the giving of it. The lntorjector: What a position New Zealand would have looked to bo in if Parliament had not dono so, alter it was offered I

fir Joseph Ward : " A man convinced aga nst his will is of the samo o inion

Tho lntcrjector: 1 have always voted for you, and 1 will again, but you did wrong there.

Sir Joseph Ward: Well, I liko a man who has always supported mo, and who has courage to say that lio disagrees with > e. Referring to railway matters, he touched on the importation of engines, and eaid if tho Government found itself in a difficulty it might, at any rate, have ordered tho engines from England—(Applause.) Tho merchants and manufacturers of the Old Country had appealed to tho oversea dominions to give as much work to England as possible on account of tho dislocation of industries by tho war. While the speaker was addressing himself to tho subject of workers' homes, Mr J. W. Munro appeared on tho platform, and was received with ringing cheers. Proceeding, Sir Joseph Ward said Mr Statham had asserted that ho was among tho landowners with property valued at over £30,000. It was true they were valued at that amount, and somo day, when tho encumbrances were removed he hoped ho would be as wealthy as Mr Statham. — (Laughter.) Many of his opponents had declared timo ana again that he was a wheat holder. Now, all tho wheat ho owned at present, or had ever owned, he would give to tho Government, or anybody else for fid a bushel. For a number of ars ho had not been interested in wheat Ho had never been a speculator in it, and an inquiry had elicited tho information that in 12 months his firm had bought 85 bags of seed wheat to sell to farmers. His opponents could go to his office or his store and if they found anyone connected with his business had been a wheat speculator, ho would make way for another Opposition leader and go out of public lifo altogther.—(Applause.) On the question of foodstuffs, ho said the setting up of tho "UTimission was perfectly futile on account of tho delay that took place in its work, there was really only one course to follow, and that was to have at once commandeered the whole of tho wheat in the country.—(Applause.) Pie would not have objected to give the holders 4s 6d. or 5s a bushel. Further, one or two of the flourmills mightTiave been commandeered, allowing the owners fair consideration. The flour could then have been turned out at price, and in that way the retail price bread could havo been regulated. There '•1 no doubt thnt the Government of the day must adopt new and effective •"r <s in rivaling with the question o' foodstuffs. They should be prepared to deal on fair . lines and see lie people were not exploited by -us"" which ought to be He thought the position which had arisen was due to the almost fata! propensity of the Government of setting up boards and commissions. He was surprised when he came to count up the number of theso boards. They were a very tall order. H© considered it was a mistake appointing commissions in the manner the Government I was doing. He considered that tho Government could utilise the officers of its various departments. He wanted to mako it clear what their policy was—the policy that their friends in Parliament said they were prepared to assist them in. There was ncvor at any time prior to tho olection an attempt at an alliance between tho two parties. Each party was independent—each had its own ideas. Tho two sections had for tho past 20 years worked upon tho progressive sido, and the members of the Labour Party had affirmed their inttntion to support the policy of tho members of the Liberal Party. Sir Joseph then read tho platform of the party. Ho said he considered it right to place their programme before them in order that the people might thoroughly understand what it was they were aiming at and what they were working for. After speaking for two hours and a-quar-ter. Sir Joseph Ward resumed his seat amid hearty applause. Mr J. Lindsay moved—"That this meeting of tho electors of Dunedin Central thanks' Sir Joseph Ward for his excellent address, expresses its entire confidence in him and his party, and pledges itself to do its utmost to give effect, to the mandate of the electors at last election by again returning Mr J. W. Munro at the head of the poll. A gentleman in the audience seconded the motion, and, on being put, it was very largely supported. Only a few hands were held up against it.