POLITICAL NOTES.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 2779, 30 July 1907, Page 4

POLITICAL NOTES.

THE RICH MAN S TOY

The case for the motor-car is being vividly rushed all over the precincts .1 Parliament, and the case against Iht' “rich man’s toy is a strong one. Why should it not pay 20 per cent f” it is asked, anti tliere seems much in the argument. The other side is: (1) Local industry has never yet under favour of 20 per cent, math' a motor car. Therefore there "as no bread in i tht' mouth of local industry, pit It is useless expecting eoachbuilders to build car bodies,' which are of a special kind of pressed steel, tli*' working ol which, besides not being understood by local industry, is of too changing a nature to suit limited local means. (3) The use of motors is developing rapidly and luist's, butchers’ carts and grocers’ vans are being employed; even the farmer is on the eve of getting motor tractors for ploughs, harrows, liny rakes, reapers anti hinders, drain ploughs; all these tilings will lit- flit' hotter of a free tariff. (4) The result will bo that streets anti roads will ho very sanitary through tin' absence til horse thing. (51 A further result will he that there will be no cutting up of roadways. Motorists go so far as to declare that their traffic will improve the roadway, but this to the practical Briton only

presents the motor car in the dazzling sarcastic light of perpetual gratis road mender. MR AIASSEY SCORES. After suggesting that the Government should adopt the words “Ready to run” as their motto, and a wea-ther-cock as their crest, Mr Mas<-ey, in his speech in opening the Financial debate, went on to say that the Minister for Lands reminded him of the American colonel who went out to shoot the opossum. “Hold on.” said the opossum from his perch in the tree. “Don’t shoot; I’ll come down.” —(Laughter.) Referring to the Socialistic tendencies of various members of the Ministry, he said: “What is the Minister for Labour? A Land Nationalises And the Minister for Justice? A leaseholder. The Alinister of Education ? Why, a Single Taxer. And what,” he went on to inquire, “is the Alinister of Lands?” “A bachelor,” interrupted Mr Laurenson, amidst much Ministerial laughter. “Like the leasehold member for Lyttelton,” said Air Ala'ssey, “the Afinister of Lands is his own landlord.”— (Opposition laughter.) “He is a freeholder at Gore, a leaseholder at Auckland, and at Wellington he is—well, a nondescript.”—(Laughter.)