THE PRIME MINISTER INTER. VIEWED.

Otago Witness, Issue 2805, 18 December 1907, Page 41

THE PRIME MINISTER INTER. VIEWED.

» IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS. WELLINGTON, December 16. The Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward was entertained hy the Liberal and Labour Federation this evening. There was a, large gathering, including several inembere of Parliament. The Prime Minister was presented with an illuminated address in appreciation of the work he had done last session-. In the course of his reply Sir Joseph referred to the difficult position occupied by members -who came in under the segis of the late Mr Seddon, and thanked them for their assistance in carrying out the business of- the country. In regard to infant life protection, the Government was going to recognise the efforts of the good women in the four centres who were occupied in looking .after people who could not afford to pay for nurses and in instructing mothers in the proper feeding of infanta. The Government would give practical assistance by donating £100 to each .of these centres. The Government hoped, in conjunction with the Commonwealth Parliament, to establish a State cable agency to supply newspapers in the United Kingdom with a. daily record of our industrial, social, and political progress, as New Zealand had been too much neglected for the last 40 years in that respect. The Prime Minister foreshadowed a change in the electoral system to ensure that a- majority would be fairly represented, and that where there was a "duplication of candidates in any one party the minority representative would not slip in. The Prime Minister spoke hopefully on the financial position of the Dominion on the lines of his recent speeches in other parts of New Zealand.