LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2928, 27 April 1910, Page 89

LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION.

GOVERNMENT POLICY CRITICISED. ASHBURTON, April 22. In an interview with a Guardian reporter, Mr Massey, Leader of the Opposition, who is spending a day in the district, said that so far as the party with which he was connected was concerned, he might say matters were brighter than they had been during the past 15 years. Referring to the Government's promise to bring down a bill providing for an amendment in the system ol local government for country districts, he said he sincerely hoped its promises would be kept, because the present system was very much behind the times, and required to be brought into line with existing conditions. He would like to see local bodies given much of the work in connection with roads and bridges, which was supposed to be done by Parliament, but was really done very badly, and could be much better done by men on the spot. He did not know what the Government intended to do in regard to the land question. It brought down a bill last session, but, abandoned it, very much to the amusement of the Opposition, and to the relief of the Government's own supporters. Mr Massey expressed the opinion that the burning question in the north was really the settlement of Native lands, but much as he would like to see the question tackled, he doubted very much whether it would be done next session. He considered it was a shameful state of things that millions of acres of land, good, bad. and indifferent, should be allowed to lie idle, paying neither rates nor taxes, and improving in value through making roads and railways and industry of the European settlers on the adjoining lands, while settlers were actually lea vino; the country because they could not get land. Regarding the retrenchment scheme, Mr Massey said they were looking forward with interest to the details of the retrenchment scheme, of which they had heard so much. A number of interesting questions had cropped up during the recess, which had been only partly dealt with last session—for instance, that of the financial adviseT in London. The disclosures in connection with the High Commissioner's office, the different inquiries held in Wellington with regard to the working of the Land and Income Tax Department, and the Knyvett case. All these questions, and many others, must be dealt with during the coming session, and he thought it quite safe to predict the next session would be quite lively and interesting to those interested in politics.