THE PREMIER AT MASTERTON. (From Our Own Correspondent.) MASTERTON, December . 19.

Otago Witness, Issue 2545, 24 December 1902, Page 9

THE PREMIER AT MASTERTON. (From Our Own Correspondent.) MASTERTON, December . 19.

Mr A. W. Hogg was entertained by his ! supporters at a social at the Town Hall last night. There was a large gathering of representative eettlers.' The Premier and Mrs Seddon and the Hon. C. H. Milk and his daughters were present, and amongst thoso on the platform were Messrs Holling? (Mayer of Masterton), W. H. B&etham, C. A. Pownall, A. R. Bunny, M. M'Connell, B. J. Dolan, Faulkner, Toss, Tosswell, M'Eay, and others. Mr-Holiings, in introducing the Premier, said they regarded him as* "a political Sandcw 'and as the meet popular' man in the colonyThe Premier referred with gratitude to Mr Hogg's services to the constituency, and said he was delighted on receiving the returns to see" that their old member had been Teturned by so large a majority. They could congratulate themselves on having a real live member, who had never descended to expediency to gain popularity. He claimed that the colony had been largely advantaged I by the policy of the present Government, and the" profits being made by the settlers were enough to make one's mouth water. He would give them the catechism of the Liberal party. One of the cardinal point-3 was providing equality of opportunity in regard to business and education. In the past, whilst they had ensured the commercial prosperity of .he colony, they had made possible »n educated democracy, of which they were now enjoying the first fruits. The result was that commerce was safe, and the capitalist could not do better than invest in the colony. They must go further. Large tracts of country had been eet apart for educational purposes. The incomes from these reserves had up to the present been applied to urimary education. He was not sure fhafc the whole of the money from these reserves should not bs applied to secondary education, leaving the money for primary education to come from the pockets of the taxpayers of the country. /We were lagging behind as far as universities were concerned. They should put it in the power of every gifted child to go from the primary schools to the universities. Then as to the placing of people on the land, that, was the burden of his song now, as it had been his Alplia and Omega befors the election,, and it must become the burden of the song of every member of the Liberal party. They must go on acquiring laud and encouraging small settlements. Youn^New Zealanders must not be driven out of the colony. They did not wish to do anybody an injury, but absentees and individuals must give way to the common weal. As regards Crown lands, something move must be done. Even then it would entail increased expenditure- on roads and bridges. That meant increased indebtedness. That indebtedness must now be increased, and everyone who wanted land must be placed in the way of getting it at the earliest possible date. He hoped ere this coming year wa3 over that we should no longer see 20 and 30 people balloting for one pieco of land. More must be done in the way of fostering our industries instead of sending ' money to other countries. We should not be pending money out of the colony for steel rails, locomotives, and waggons, when w&. had at Parapara all the necessary material for manufacturing on our own behalf ; and if private enterprise failed to rise to the occasion, then the State, which had already taken over a coal mine, would go in for manufacturing its own iron and steel. That meant keeping £100,000 a year within the colony. He had made up his mind that not another locomotive or waggon would be introduced into this country from abroad. About £150,000 invested in the necessary machinery and the extension of buildings would meet all that was required. He advocated improved sea transit and railway communication, and he was sure that light lines would not have to take the place of motor cars to enable our settlers to get their produce to the markets. The lazy of our country would have to be dealt with ; they would have to be put upon permanent works, 60 that they would not be a burden on the industrious people of the country. They wanted to discourage com1 bines. President RooEevelt proposed to j make combines illegal. That was -wrong. 1 Xb*j» warft times, j&aea fiojobinaiioas ffiere

essentially in the interest of ihe producer, but we should do as they did in Austria: regulate these combinations by passing a law to make them register, and get them under control by making them show the State what they were doing and be in a position to defend their actions, or in default lose their charter. There must be only one monopoly — the monopoly of the Liberal party and the present Government. There had been talk of a reconstruction of the Cabinet by those who had nothing to do with the party. He was very pleased to see the flattering references which had been made to Mr Hogg and Mr Millar, who were mentioned as probable Ministers. It showed that the Liberal party had plenty of material ior filling up any vacancies which might occur, but he reminded his hearers that when the time came for Messrs Hogg and Millar to take portfolios the Opposition press would go, for them in the same way a3 they had gone for^ him and the other Ministers from time to time. He looked forward to the day when Messrs Hogg and Millar's great . services to Liberalism and the colony would be rewarded by their promotion to Cabinet rank; _ but they wanted no advice from the Opposition press. However, they would do what was required from within themselves. An attempt had been made by the editor of a southern paper to ascertain his views as tc reconstruction in coneequence of the rumours which had been published, but he had been too long in politics to be drawn in that^way. It was wrong for the Opposition prees to try and spoil Ministers' appetites for Christmas dinner by thess unfeeling references. "Whatever was done, they would so ordain matters that the best results should be achieved so as to warrant the great trust that had been reposed in them by the people of the colony at the recent elections.