THE TUAPEKA SEAT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 27

THE TUAPEKA SEAT.

.[:. MR SCOTTS ADDRESS. (Fkom Otjb Speciai, Repobteb.) NASEBY, October 16. Mr Robert Scott, the Opposition candiIdate in the Tuapeka electorate, addressed a large meeting of electors in the Town Hall to-night. Mr J. R. Smith (Mayor of iNaseby) occupied the- chair, and in introducing Mr Scott pointed out that he had been prominently connected with the farming interests for many yeaTS. If they returned him the electors could be sure of having their interests-well looked after. 'Mr Scott, who was received with applause, thanked the Mayor for his cordial remarks. In coming before them he was j ■fulfilling an old promise made at the bye- \ election. When he- had contested the elec- i torate in the- Opposition interest end had i leen defeated. He had then expressed his I political opinions fearlessly, straightfor- ! waidiy, and publicly, and they had been ; criticised openly and freely. Since then ] he had not changed his political colours. ■ ~He knew that; come among tJieru were steadfast and: consistent- -supporters of- tfea I Ctorermjent, but b& woul<t remind f*Kpm j that th<s Government of to-day .was not tho ) Government of 17 yeara ago. It might be { the same in -heritage, but it was. not. the j same in principle. Hekd teen &• resident ; of tb» dMrict for the pact. 18 years, and ■ so* could lay claim to uad-srstariding re- ■ quiremextbs. As to the south end of t the < electorate, he knew, of course, that they, 1 being farmers, had interests, different to , those in Naseby, but while- these interests j , and requirements were different, he, having ; been for so long contacted with t&o Far- ! mers' Union, knew what these inter-asta and ' requirements were. He wa« a resident, and < what would prove to be the interests of i tho electors would be for his good ak-of so j they each depended one upon the other, { and their hopes and aspirations- were iden- j tical. If ho were elected, therefore, he ! •would be in a_ better position to voice their ! requirements than a non-resident. He was \ not an absentee nor a political adventurer. • Ho was not seeking parliamentary honour^ ; with any ulterior motive, tut he was etand- j ing before them at the earnest request of many farmers and others who had known him for years. He was on the aid* of the Opposition. He OPPOSED THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT because of its land legislation, because o! the methods it reported to in order to retain power, because of it« leaning towards j Socialism, and because of its want of a clearly^expressed and well-defined , policy. The present Government was a Governmentof sail-trimmers, and in whatever -direction - the wind, blew thither .was its objective. /THE LAND QUESTION. - As a farmer he was a freeholder. — (Applauee.) /"Every farmer *u aim and duty was to make a home for himself and to retain the freehold of -his land. . JE£e was, iowwer, aware of a danger that had sprung u£ ~ m . some other countries in tfcis connection, anu j could see that it would be necccsary to impose' a limit where such was necessary, ' especially in regard to area, which ehouM ! ho met %vith a money value limit. He considered that the Government policy should aim at the development and settlement of Crown lands. By so doing- a strong, independent race would be developed, it was necessary for many reasons that me farmers should be freeholders. The freehold system would bo productive of a sturdy lace of yeoman available on defence. The ' large estates ntust be cut up, and here he i agreed with the policy of the present | Government, as this would be the means ' of settling tho land with a , larger popula- ; tion. Although ho claimed for every settler the right to the freehold, he was not i against the leasehold, wliieb was well enough j for a man about to make a start. He be- j iieved that every man should have tho right j to make the land ho tilled freehold on hie complying with certain conditions. Settling colonists on freehold property meant settling them then for all time. He v.os in j favour of th© • Bush and Swamp Act, i wfcereby a man was nqj; compelled to pay \ lent for one, two, or four years according ! io the conditions under which he laboured. If a young man took up a section < with little or no capital he had no difficulty in erecting hi^Jiouso, getting his implezivjnte and his first crop. With the rent difficulty solved forT at anyfate, the firat year, it was obvious that he must be in a much v tetter position, and- each an wonld benefit every young man starting a farm on his own " account.. Under the LaEd for Settlements Act,, however, he had to satisfy the* Land Board that he had the where•withal to pay his first year's rent and to work his lamk . He had spoken to this effect at the Tuapeku. bye-election, and for doing 6O ho had been accused of Socialistic utterances by the Ministerial prees. What lie had said was not Socialism. — (Applause.) It was merely asking that a concession bo made. Next he -came to the question, WAS THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT THE FRIEND OF THE FARMER? In come respects it was, but in others it was not. H© quoted statements made by tho Hon. Messrs Millar, Fo-.vlde, Hall-Jones. M'Nab, and M'Gowan to .show thai they opposed the freehold. Those were the opinions of members of the Government, and he was sure thart, farmers could not say those opinions showed that' those men had .much sympathy with the people who wished to secure the freehold. — (Applause ) Next in importance to land legislation was the question of THE MINING INDUSTRY, which loomed very largely in the Tuapeka electorate. As one who lhad lived in the district for a considerable number of years, he took great interest in all that concerned that - industry. He knew that of late years the industry had been starved. Liberal grants had been made by Parliament for mJawjg - and for prospect ing, and yet what bad happened? In almost, every case the votes hard not 'besirtepent. There noere vast possibilities for minng an the Tuapeka district. Near Naseby there were indications of deep leads. There were men of life-icog practical experience in the district, cad it was their firm convioton that ibhere was gold a*- deeper 16vjb4s than, they had been able to reach with the limited appliances and limited resouees at their disposal. Why had t3ie . Government not assisted n this important matter? The Minister of Mines, he contended, was (wholly to blame in, the matter. It was icDtma that other minerals, such as silver, copper, antimony, and soheelite existed in j filw district, and it ,w»e the place of tfce

Governanenit to assist in every way^ the prospecting of those metals, so that private enterprise might come in later on and work any discoveries of value that were made. — (Applause.) The Government had ordered a keystone drill, and !he understood it was to be located near Nasaby in the near future. He trusted that its boring operations would prove that Naseby was a town that would last for generations yet.— (Appla.use.) Who, he- would ask, were the true friends of tJia mining industry? Mr R. M'Kenzie (Motueka), a Government supporter, had said: "If he .were to form his opinions as to the efficiency and value of the present Administration by its dealings with the mining industry, and the views of the niinexs in hi 6 electora-ie, he would jiot be j a eupport-e-r of tho Ministry for five j minutes." Mr Pcland (Ohinemuri). another : Government supporter, had eaid : " Buit I speaking generally, mining throughout tlio j Dominion had not received anything like : the assistance or iha help thai it should get." In 1906-7 there was appropriated by Parliament the sum of £40,300 to assisr. the mining industry, and only £11,064 of the amount wss- expeaided, a.ud in 1907-8 tihere- was ajsp^opidaAed £33,500, and oniy -£8632 .was. spexrtt _W3iea mkxeig \vgs at ks present low ebb it tce.s nothing but a. sin tO refrain fronr-sper«dia^ -rfc« mcE/-y -rote-d for it by fib© House-— (Applause.) The oaaididste sasd be would lay before -them scene. of the- views of tho Opposition. Mr Uerriss %e<s. said that the mining industry had bocw systematically neglected. Now a fc-w wor<is"«egaraJn» TAXATION AN» INDEBTEDNESS. These haJ L-een ißCie&s'ing at an enormous rate anider th.e > presa:^ AdmiTOarration, ar.d would cor.linua" to do so. An enormous amount of money «ad rtsrt. ai>3 wac beiag, boiToned. In lta> cai-h cf r<i:rop'cd mon<oy Le bs-lievod I^ia: cvorj- j-or."d saoukl be spent oa reprc-d-uc:i.va As a matter of fact rho (Jo»--rrrc.cui -J.^pt lar?s sums in huge a.nd expo;x.h o buildiasfs m the towns, while ths ba-ckblot;bi were in n-ecd o-f roads. Not loikt ago the Dunodin Railway Siacion had bc«n built. It was csrteinly a lo2Ut:<iul building, out it was from 25 to 30 jcars ahead cf its time, and. he believe! ihafc a lr?M pve'.er/ious and less expenfive sl-meturo would nave u«RMd th« pivssrti* purpeso jufi as well. Then there was the Wellington Pest Office at a cost of £F. 0,000, and another one at Auckland to cost approximately anotber £80,000. The o:h«r diy the Gov-c-mtnent had announced its intcnticn io £200,000 on a new Parliamentary Bunding, when it was pretty generally understood that the old buildiftga roulu^havo been repaired and refitted at a cost ci omy £50,000. Tho- oandidate them proceode-J to quote a few figi f» s iO show thai i':i 1885 "the net indebte<J3ie£s per K h«fid stood at £57 Si Qd, and it had increased £10 in 10 years. In 1897 the total taxation .par head was SA 4a 4d, and in. 1907 it was £5 1& 6d. Then, fee them loik at the way tho Government laid down its railways, reads, etc.,' cflH could they worxksr that their indebtedr.^s3 increased with such rapidity? Quoting from Hancard (1906;. th© candidate laid before them a view 01 Mr W. H: Herri«i, Opposition member for the Bay of Plenty: "We havo on tba Estimates a very large sum. ostensibly -for tha mining iadustrj — foa* th<? development cf' the goldfielcZs. We- find tl-at the vo'e foi* last year was £55,0C0, but I regret to say that only £18,533 was spent. This year we are to have a stili lesSer sum voted — namely, £40,000, and it seems to mo that it 13 a great mistake that in an important industry "like mining the mono/ lKat. is voted is not spent. It saem-j to me that the mining industry is systematically neglected, because I find year aver ye?r the amounts voted by this House are not spent. Nothing can bo better spent by the Minister than voios to open up new goldfields and develop the resoi-rces of the country." The candidate went en to speak of THE CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEM, v.-Jnch, he said, had been inaugurated with a view cf giving work to those requiring it. It had now, ltowever, become an established custom, and was admittedly a niost expensive and unsatisfactory JiiethoJ of doing the work. It wtLS uiijfUafitablo both to the workmen and (o Hi" 1 country. He would support a email contract sy&tcm, under which a group of men could band together to worjc as long and a3 hard as they liked and to earn as much money as they could. Apropos of the SQUANDERING OF PUBLIC MONEY, th* candidate said that, in addition to open Hues, £3,832,525 had been expended out of the Public Works Fund from January 1, 1891, to March 31, 1908. It woe impossible to say how much of this expenditure was justified, out cf the capital account. The sum of £160,000 hed been expended on tourist aud health reports during the same period, a-nd en public buildings £2,028,594, co3ts and discounts in raising loans in the same period amounted to £214.000, while he cost, per mile of our railways had increased over £2000 per mila since 1599. Mr Scott ib:n passed to TIIE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. * Ho had not a word to ssy axainsl the hon. gentle-men thcmscly*-.-, 'but ho objected to jhe methed by which they were appointed. In-ey wire not appointed by rea&oii of their :)f-,iliiy, but because they had been consistent and persistent supporters of the Government. Thfe Lognlafhc Council was Ijisrofore only a roflex and an echo of tho Government. Those were men who had been rejected by tho people for Parliament, and who had, in spite of that, been called to the Upp?r House. There was a movement on foot for CIVIL SERVICE REFORM. At present applicants had to pass an educational test, but all the appointment-, were under the control of iho Minister. This j was neither expedient nor right. It, savoured too much of ] atrcnage. 1,3 i i them have a Civil Service Bond that would make appointments by meiit only.— (Applause.) Speaking of IRRIGATION, i the candidate said he believed it meant j the very existence" of some of the townships in Central Otago. He had seen the result whfiij water had been used and when it had not on tho same kind of soil. Only a- fence divided the two, and on the on© side were gras3, fruit, and vegetables, and on. the -other side of the fence there was practically nofhintr. The Government had sent up men to report, levels had been taken, dam sites inspected, samples of soil had been got, but the general opinion in Alexandra was that the Government

was not in earnest in the matter, and that it was simply dangling carrots in front of the donkey's nose. Irrigation meant the life in Central Otago. It was most important to Dunedin that it should come, and the necessity for it must" be impressed upon the Government. Touching on DEFENCE, he asked : Is New Zealand worth defending? He considered that it was. and New Zealand was one of the finest countries for its size in the British Empire, and at present little was being done towards its defence. The Prime Minister had said that tht time was not ripe for compulsory military training, but he (Mr Scott) did not agree with that. Those who had the best interests of New f Zealand at heart must insist on compulsory military training for the young — not conscription, but a eystem based en the Switzerland scheme, under which every young man between 14 and 18 years of age had to join a Senior Cadet corps, and between 18 and 21 undertake several weeks' military training annually in country regiments. — (Applause.} Military authorities held that some day, and it might be soon, an— Asiatic v^ve of people would, overflow from China a.nd -Japan, aii-d would probably syeeep over Australia and New Zealand, and we should te r>rei»ar©d to stem irfeat terrible invaeion and so save our country from being overrun .by. the people of'bhcse races.—(Applause).' Further, every person who was trained should be supplied with modern and up-to-date weapons. — (Applause.) Mr Sectt also said he was apposed to THE SECOND BALLOT ACT, but favoured the absolute majority scheme. Ha was against SOCIALISM. — (Applause ) The cry of the Socialist was always the — give us something for nothing. The Socialist did not want to work for that something or to exert himself in any way, but he wanted it from the man who nad it. The cry of one Socialist to whom he listened recently was this: "' MLen and comrades, the land 16 yotir heritage, f.iis lar.-d belongs to you, it is yours by right. We are going to get that land back for you, we aye- going to give it to you; v.o ure not going to confiscate that land — that would bo wrong ; we arc not going to buy the land — that would be impossible ; bur we will raise' the taxation on th-e land until the farmers, capitalists, and others cannot hold it." If thaft was the view of the Socialist, hs was against Socialism.—(ApplatiE3.J The Leader of ths Opposition had oftci been twitted with the charge that he had no polio y, but the OPPOSITION HAD A POLICY, and ha would lay it befe-re ,his hearers. Tho function of the Opposition was very important, atid it - was only by having a stronjr Opposition to keep the Government ] in check that_ th& best legisla.ti-c«n- could bft obiainied. 'Xlhc Opposition policy to 'be submitted to tho electors at the comijigelections was progressive- democracy, and : •night be enmniairLsed> as follows:— "The i restoration of parliamentary control- of tho publi<*v finances by restricting tho power now possessed by the' Ministry of the day j of expending upon one object moneys voted ■by Parliament for another ; the esfcablishlishrnciit of a -civil service- board with the object of excluding political influence i;i making public appointments; the estab- ! liehmc-iit of a sound and assured system of local g-<> v P r »!ie-nt finance with a view to the equitable distribution and economical oxpenclitvr.'o of public money in place of ■Jhe pre^-nt system of arbitrarily-varied Min^lerk'.i gvant-j. and doles; the en- j courage merit of laud eettlsment by rcstor- j ing the cyst-cm o£ granting Crown lands | upon the optional plan with power to -,all existing and future tenants to acquire the freehold upon equitable terms, but subject to provisions for preventing the creation of largo holding 3; the settlement of iJi j Native land question by the rapid indi-viduali-sation of a!i Native titles and by j affording to the Native race the common privilege of disposing of their lands to the best advantage in the open market, but. subject (1) to a 6ufficient area of gcod and accessible land being reserved inalienably for the support of each Nativo and his descendants, (2) to the 6amo lestrictions as to area vo be acquired j ity any ono selector an pertains to ] Crown lands wkh tho object of pro- ! venting the aggregation of jarg-e estates; j the maintenance and improvement of our ' national system of education, and in particular by increasing the minimum remuneration and raising tlie status of coan- < try teachers; the reduction of the dutk? j on, the necessaries of lifej> the reform of ! the system of carrying on public work* j with a. view ,to securiner efficiency and economy; amendment of -the Arbitration Act such as would provide a sufficiently powerful deterrent against strikes, or failing that to secure simple means of oon- I ciliation; the encouragement of immigration cf the right, stamp of British settlers; the improvement of the Defence Forces of the Dominion, encouraging every citizen to take a. personal share in the defence of his country and his home ; the encouragement of private enterprise and individual effort ; and b}' the opposing by every legitimate means of that tendency to Socialism and dependence on tho Stale which was capping tho virility and independent character of tho nsople : the promotion and encouragement by every ! pr-jper means of tW candidature in Parliament of honourable and capable men co a? to ensure purity of poliiics and henc-sty of administration. — (Applause.) CONCLUSION. Mr Scott said that if time- permitted before tho election ho wou'd address another meeting in Naseby, where l>e would touch on questions he had not dealt with j I that night. He concluded by expressing | ! the hone that on tho day of ihe election j the people would vote according to th^jr i conscience and support th<» man who, in j their opinion, would do tiie best wu-\icc for the electorate in particular and for the Dominion as a whole. — (Applauce.) QUESTIONS. Replying to questions, Mr Scott said he favoured the three-fifths majority at tho local option poll. He thought Volunteers should" be carried free when travelling for training purposes. Volunteers as a class had done much thankless work for years, end had been shabbily treated by the Government. Ho was not in favour of tho licensing of bookmakers; he would prohibit them altogether, and re-establish tho totalisator. He was in favour of the extension' of the Otago Central railway beyond Clyde. It should go, at anyrale, to Hawea. — (Applause.) YOrE OF THANKS. On the /notion of Mr J. P. Malcolm,

seconded by Mr Robert Paisley, Mr Scott was accorded hearty thanks for his "sen■ible, straightforward, and well-delivered address."