MR MASSEY AND MR M'NAB.

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 10

MR MASSEY AND MR M'NAB.

THE LAND QUESTION. (Froh Otjb Own Correspondent.) ! WELLINGTON, July -23. ! The debate on the Financial Statement was opened to-night in the presence of a good attendance of members and crowded galleries. The land question, of course, occupied a prominent position amongst the , subjects touched upon. The Leader of the Opposition, who led ; off amidst a hearty round. of applause, was not in good voice, as he was not completely , recovered from a severe form of the parliai mentary cold which has lately been running through the building seeking whom it may smite and lay low. Mr Massey. however,1 spoke with his usual force, and' made several telling points. He referred with scorn to Mr M'Nab's change of attitude on the land question. He quoted the peroration of the Minister's speech fast session, when Mr M'Nab said: "We are going to stand | by our guns, and will, if necessary, go : down with them and in the twinkling' of an eye." When he (Mr Massey) heard that • from the Minister, his opinion of him went up by 50 per cent. "Here," he had ! thought, " was a man who would stick tohis opinion, a foeman worthy >f his steel,i and one with "whom it would be a pleasure to cross swords." But what lamentable change had there been. Mr Massey quoted from some verses lately circulated in the" ; lobby, the - dominant note of which was i "Gang warily on^ and be ready to run." This was evidently the Minister's motto. He suggested that the Government adopt these words "Ready to run" as their motto,and a weathercock as their crefit.— (Laughter.) The Minister, he said, reminded him of the American colonel who went out to shoot the opossum. "Hold on," said the opossum from his perch in tne tree. "Don't shoot; I'll come down." — (Laughter.) Referring to the Socialistic tendencies of various members of the Ministry, he asked: "What is the Minister of Labour?" "A land nationalise r." "And the Minister of Justice?" "A leaseholder." "The Minister of Education?" "Why, a single taxer." "And what," he went on to inquire, "is the Minister of Lands?" "A bachelor," interrupted Mr Laurenson, amidst much Ministerial laughter. "Like the leasehold member for Lyttelton," said Mr Mtssey, " the Minister of Lands is hia own landlord." — (Opposition laughter.) He is a freeholder at Gore, a leaseholder at Auckland, and at Wellington he is, well— a nondescript." — (Laughter.) Mr M'Nab, who followed Mr Massey,' 6oon plunged into a .defence of the Government's proposed land legislation. Referring to graduated land' tax, he said some complained that the taxation was not' high enough, and that it started at too high a figure.— (Government "Hear, hears.") He (Mr M'Nab) thought that they should let two or three years elapse to enable them to 6ee what effect the tax would have. He believed himself that it would provide a large amount of land for the people of this colony and have a material effect on settlement. Mr M'Nab devoted a good, deal of his i time to an explanation of various points in the land proposals of the Government that have already been made public. On the question of Socialism, he said that 6ome form of Socialism was absolutely necessary for a country like this. He cited the transpoet service as an instance. ' This should bo in the hands of the State. They could not have, for instance, the system that obtained in the Canadian Dominion, of having the main railway in the hands of a private company. If neoeseary the ! Government would not hesitate to secure the same results by transport by sea as on land. Mr M'Nab, who spoke for his full hour, began, his speech ia a forcible manner, but the ending of it wae rather lame, and was in great contrast with his famous fighting speech of last year. Mr James Allen, who followed, devoted his preliminary remarks to exposing what ho termed the " back down" of the Government on its land proposals. He showed that the Minister of Lands had thrown- overboard vital principles that were in his bill of last year. Mr Allen referred to the question of the oats supplied to the War Office in South Africa through the New Zealand Government. The report on that 1 matter by the War Office was not satisfactory to New Zealand. The sum realised for the oats referred to was just over £5000, but the original cost, including freight, was over £40,000. What he wished to see cleared up was the statement that the Army Council was not prepared to accept the statement of the New Zealand Government in its entirety. This, he . thought, was a matter that should be 1 cleared up. There might not be tha

slightest blame attachable to New Zealand in the matter, and if that were so the War Offioe should be informed of it, and made to withdraw the statement that remained on record. The statement was too serious a one to be allowed to rest where it was. Mr Wilford followed Mr Allen, and -'Sept the ball rolling till just on the stroke of midnight. - . m