LIBERAL CAMPAIGN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13395, 1 June 1914, Page 7

LIBERAL CAMPAIGN.

MEETING AT ORMOND

ADDRESSES BY Mil MACIJOXaRd A al) Slit- JAMES CARROLL.

JJvspile Ilu>, disagreeable weather 1 couditiuns there waa «, Jarge «ttendauc«j at tho Onnond Hall on cjalurkla-y ini»lit, when Mr \V. D. S-. MacJJonaid, M.L. lw: Bay of Plenty, delivered a political, address 111 reply to the Jimi. W. F. Alassey. Sir' James Carroll, member for (jisbornj;, tliu neighboring- electorate, was also present, imd toot pnvt m the meeting. Mr G. E. /Jones was voted to the chair. Jl© said lie had much pleasure lv iutroduvin^r the two reprosonuuivos, ■Sii" James Uavioll, memljer lor U-isbovne, and Mi- Mac Donald, member for Bay oi Plenty. They were aware that both gentlemen had represented their different electorates for a number of years, and they hud endeavored to do their utmost vi the interests of their respective districts. Mr Mac Donald had an extensive electorate, and he had from time to time travelled from one end ot it. to another. He had made himself conversant with the requirements of the district, and had worked m si thorough manner, and had tried to do all he possibly could for his electorate. (Applause.) Recently Mr 'Mac Donald had had a very strenuous time, and ihe was now there to tell them what he had been doing last session, and what 'he was going to do during the coming session. "Of course," said Mr Jones, "we take it for granted that he is going to be returned. (Hear, .hear.) There are a lot of peop'.e who do not see eye to eye with iris policy, but they admit that he is the right man m the right place." (Applause.) Before Mr MacDonaM opened, Sir James Carroll made feeling reference to the loss of so many lives m connction with the disaster to the Empress of Ireland m Canadian waters (reported elsewhere). ' 'SELF-DEFENCE. Mr Mac Donald, who was received with applause, said lie was very pleased' to meet so many of ihis Ormond constituents. It -was some time since he had addressed a public meeting at Ormond. Political questions, lie said, were the dominating questions m New Zealand to-day. As far as he could see, the campaign was going to do a keen one, and tho election promised to be one of th© toughest fought for some time. He reminded them that after the last general election the two parties weiv very evenly divided. The present party m office had tried to assert they "were the dominating* party. (A voice : Rot!) They (the Liberals) disputed that assertion, and they knew .'they, had right on their side. (Hear, hear.) Turning to the Prime Minister's recent speech at Gisborne, the member for the Bay of Plenty remarked that Mr Massey had said that he (Mr MacDonald) knew nothing at all,- and that he (Mr Massey) knew everything, and the latter had statements that wer© inaccurate. The speaker went on to say that lie had had occasion to refer to certain of Mr. 'Massey 's henchmen and colleagues. Of course, it was qu^te right for Mr Massey to protect his flock, but he questioned the accuracy of some of the statements -that • 'had been made. v He-recognised that while they had party Government they would have difference}; of opinion, and although some might differ from him politically, he M-as gald to know that he had thoufiands of friends, throughout the Dominion. (Applause.) The present party m office, he added, would never have had a chance of wielding the destinies of New Zealand if they 3iad not adopted wholly the- Liberal policy to-day and changed their opposition of tho past. (Applause.) The Prime Minister had been kind enough to refer to his (Mr Mac Donald's) assertion respecting the disroputible conditions under which the present Administration had come into office. This Mv.Ma.ssey had denied. He (the spoak'ei) happened to be m touch with political matters at that time. It t wa s well known that the progressive party was returned 'with 42 members, and the Conservatives claimed 38, and yet the Conservatives '.had secured office because ol\£he treachery of certain members of ttie liberal 'party.'. Mr Massey had asked him to stand up like a. man and say what ihe had to say. Well, he would say that he (Mr MacDoiiiald) had never hesitated to say w"hat he believed wa» right and true. (Applause;) He had not intended going into these matters, but as Mr Massev had challenged him to refer to eertajn statements, he would have to do so m self-protection. A' voice : Don't criticise a man who is older than yourself. Mr Mac Donald :! I am not running anyone down . A voice : You are trying to. Mr Mac Donald : Tf you 'have anything to say, come up nearer. Another . voice : He's a Massey it c. (Laughter.) Mr MacDonakl referred to the opposition of the press, adding, that his party was prepared to come face to face with any audience, between the North Cape and. the Bluff to explain their position. (Applause.) • / . A voice:' 'Who -is the leader of your Government? : The. chairman at this stage requested the infcerruptor (Mr McMillan) to refrain from asking questions; until the end of the meeting. Mr Mac Donal d: Give me a- chance, and after that you can have yours. (Applause.) v "CLEAN HANDS.'.' Proceeding, lie remarked, t'hafc the Prime Minister had said he came into office with clean hands, inferring that tho Liberal party had not "clean hands." The speaker' quoted a statement made to Mr Atmore, M.P. for Nelson, m February, 1912, to the effect that the no-confidence motion Would not be on the land question, as they desired to "rope, m" the , Labor members. Mr Massey was then trying a ruse to get the vote, of tlie Labor members to put him into power. Mr Massey had called the speaker a. "Red Fed." Liberal, and Mr ' Fisher a "true Liberal," and yet Mr Massey had xised the "Rejl Fed." vote to tret .him into power. In replying to his assertion, Mr Ma*sey had told the Gisborne people that these particular members had taken their seats' ■with/ '-the present Government becau&e^of its freehold policy. To c;ontravert this, he would quote what had actually been said by these yeveral members, Mr Miller was not a freeholder : he was one of the leading | leaseholders, .''and tKe speaker quoted an extract from one of Mr Herdman's speeches showing Mr Miller's position as a. leaseholder, and his belief that a l.i.j): on the death of the holder should go back to the Crown. And yet Mr Massey had said it was because of the "freehold" these members . had gone over. He denied the assertion that these members had gone over on the land question, pointing out that the noconndence motion had nothing to do with tho land question, but was a bald motion that the House had no confidence m the executive. Mr Massey's statement was therefore absolutely incorrecl). He would' also quote what members who changed their votes had said m February, 1912, and m July, 1912; m fact, at tho latter date they had said practically nothing, but-"walk-ed into the. lobby without any explanation, which had Hot been given to this day. Turning to Hansard, Mr MacDonald quoted extracts from Mr Miller's speech m advocacy of the leasehold and m strong criticism of the tactics of the party now m office. The next extract was from '"Mr Massey's speech imu-e---servedly ''withdrawing imputations of bribery against Sir Joseph Ward and Mr Vigor "Brown* m respect .to "vote catching," and expressing regret on the subject. It Ava^'all very well, My MacDonald commented, ,rnaikin<£ such an apology wheu the remarks had previously gone .broadcast; throughout the. Dominion;' Referring 'to- Mr vR. IT. Rhodes (Thames), ho quoted an extract from his speech, urging the Liberals and Labor to combine to counteract th© Qpjiforvative party, Mr Massey had said he- (Mr MacDonaidl. was a "pervert" and Mr Fisher -was a. "convert.." On this ai-orfi. lip quoted Mr Fisher's statement m the House, that he wan a- Ironholder, and that, he had said on the

public platform he would never accept a portfolio m a freehold Cabinet. But what did he do? Had he not demanded, "money -or-your-lifo like," a portfolio, and Mr Massey would never have hold his ]>osition to-day if Mr Fisher had not broken his pledge and doinand,<ul a portfolio. Mr .Massey, to gain office, had paid the price, and so had New Zealand. (Laughter.) These were some of the things -Mr Massey had brought against the speaker. WEST COAST LKASES. Mr Mac Donald again referred to the West Coast leases i m connection -with which ho reiterated his previous statement, tluit the present Government had committed a. breach of trust. He pointed out that during the time of the Mackenzie Government, a. commission was set up. with Dr. McCarthy as 7>re-sklf-nt, and the whole question nas gone- into extensively. The report of t'he uommissioh was that these lands when tho leases fell duo should revert back to tho Natives foi* their own use and benefit, for the Natives desired to work the land themselves. By a little pressure bein^ brought to bear, Mr Massey extended these leases for ten years, and gave the right to acquire the freehold, and the lessees hoped to buy them out. The original lessees only paid 2s per acre. They did not reside on the land, but sub-let it at 34-s an acre. They would not object so much if the sub-lessees got the advantage of the land, but the original lessees sat down m Auckland and drew 34s an acre., and paid the Maoris 2s an acre. He hnd said nothing about these matters that was not absohit-elv true. THE LAND QUESTION. Coming to the land question, he said this had been one of Mr Massey's predominant points for a long time. He thought Mr Massey had made more misstatements m this connection than m any other. Referring to the statement *that he had .given 20,000 Crown tenants the rignt, to acquire the • freehold, Mr Mac Donald said tliey would find, if they looked through the Land Act, that, there were 29,000 Crown tenants that held land under all tenures, and that there were 22.000 who already had the right to purchase or held na\tional endowment land, so that Mr Massey had only given 7000 Crown tenants the right to purcliase. Mr Massey went further, and said he had put more people on the land than any other Government at fUiy J/ime. Tiie speaker read from tho report of the Under-Sec-retary. for Lands, which showed that Mi* Massey's figures ;were the lowest on record for . ten years past. The report showed that m 1903-4 tlie Liberal Government settled 534,679 acres ; m 1904-5, 420,413 acres; 1905-6, 399,340 acres; 1906-7, 512,853 acres,; 1907-8, 617,9341 acres; 1908-9, 521,120 acres; 1909-10, 637,120 acres; 1910-11, 403,150 acres; 1911-12, 472,090 a*res; whilst Mr Massey m. 1912-13 settled 355,688 acres. Furthermore, when the Conservatives came into power, many estates were under survey, ,> but because they happened to advertise them, during their ' term of office, they take the whol© credit for putting them .on the market. Why was 'not Mr Massey disturbing the 9,000,000 acres of national endowment leases? Because Mr Fisher was a leaseholder. Mr Massey had said the 66 year^ renewable leasewas iniquitous, but he was not giving these; tenants the freehold, nor disturbing the endowments, because if he did Mr Fisher would not have a chance of winning his &eat for Wellington. He was holding on to these until at- least next election, when he Ihoped to get Mr Fisher returned. Mr Mac Donald ridiculed Mr Massey's boast that he would give the freehold to everyone who wanted it, pointing out that according to the official report* the Minister for Lauds only had 1,824,6p8 acres of which he could give the freehold, so it • was impossible for the promise./ to be fulfilled. Yet this was the man who was- going to revolutionise the country. Voice: Talk about Rotorua. Mr Mac Donald : That's where you should be. (LiMighteif.f> NATIVE LANDS. Mr Massey was also going to revolutionise tho whole business of Native lands?; they were -going to have none of the "tainoa" policy. " "But \J want to say," said Mr Mac Donald, "as one who has been connected for 30 years M-ith Native lands, -knowing the whole position from one end of the country to the other, that no man, ever did more to bring about the peaceful occupation and settlement of ' Native lands than Sir James Carroll." (Applause.) Proceeding, Mr MacDonrfld reviewed tlie legislation that iliad been brought m dealing with Native lands, and said that up to tlie time Sir James Carroll went out of .office some one million acres of Native land liad been alienated . by sale or lease. During the last year of Sir Jas. Carroll's term 647,000 acres were alienafced> and about 70,000 acres were under negotiation. The Hon. Mr Herries camo m with all tho machinery at his hand — the .man who was going to open up the land — but he had only been able to deal with 452,000 acres, and a great part of that was under turvey and negotiation before he came into office. He ventured to say Mr Herries would not have alienated more than 452,000 acres, by the end of 1914. They knew there was v, considerable area, ot Native land just as unproductive as other land, but it should bo possible to employ some scieatilic method to make it productive, leaving 1,900,000 amongst 45,000 NatAveit. Before the Ijaat remnant of Native lands passed away, the Government, whoever- was m power, should do something to assist the Natives to farm their own land. It had been proved on the East Coast and other places that natives, if they got a fair show, and got titles to their land, could work it well and make good and capable farmers. They should also be able to take advantage of the Advances to Settlers system. He was pleased to see that the Native Minister said he was not going to do any injustice. He was considering the insertion of a clause m the Native Land Act giving natives power to dispose of their own land. Many of the Land Acts were being wiped out and the old systems reverted to. If that was the Avay Mr Herries was going to expedite native land settlement Mr Mac Donald would ,not give much for liis chance. Mr Mac Donald went on to quote the authority of the Under-Secre-tary for Lands to show that the fast diminishing acreage of settlement land obtainable for the future from ordinary Crown land. Yet tlie Liberal party, he pointed out, had been charged with failing to provide enough settlement, whilst the Under-Secretary had reported that really only poor second and th.vrd class vegetable country was left. But the Government of the day had boasted they were going to provide "more land, and still more land." ' Where was it going to come from'? . If< the present Minister of Lands wore to remain m office till the crack of doom he would be unable to settle-' more land t-liau Ids predecessor because, it was not there. (Laughter and applause.) HOW THE TREASURY STOOD.

He Avould like to say a word 6r two with regard to tho Minister of Finance. Mr Allen had had a bad time since he had been m office. He had told Mr Allen face to face 'that instead of attempting to prove that black was white he should drop it. A, man Mho was a patriot should work m the best interests of the country, and should do a, fair thing, especially m regard to the finances of the country. He -went on to recall Mr Allen's declaration that they found the cotintry's finance m a state of chaos and confusion. That statement; was entirely and absolutely incorrect, and. Mr Allen, when he had to compile the official. statistics, had had to give the actual position, and that was how he (the. speaker) was able to show that Mr Allen had made statements that were absolutely contrary to fact. After replying to tlie criticism .respecting Sir Joseph Ward's failure, before going out of office, to raise the ponding, Joan, Mr Mac Donald went on to show that instead of the country being all bankrupt and everything 'm chaos, the actual position was that, after paving commitments, including the Dreadnought, there were overflowing funds. The upw Government hnd a. surplus of £750,000 left by the Liberal party, m addition to a. balance out of Mr Myers' £4,500,000 loan, of £1,434.000. So that waa 11ie> "terrible" condition of affairs that Mr

Allen found. And yet he told the country the "till" was empty. Had he not been able to carry on with the funds available for seven months before he (Mr Allen) had found it necessary to go to tho London money market? And yet the Minister had travelled round the country making such statements regarding liis predecessor m office. If one had a surplus of £750,000 at the end of March, 1912, and this was paid into the Consolidated Fund, and then' on the following March there was a further surplus of £669,000, could one attach any weight to the assertion that the Conservative party had found the Treasury empty? (Laughter.) If the finances were so bad as'thoy made out ho\j' had they (Mr Massey's party) returned a surplus of over half a million? Tho hon. gentleman had gone further than this, he had told his constituents ati Milton that he had a, surplus of £400,000 calculated on a, sounder basis than .any surplu4 before. Anil yet, m the face of this, the High Commissioner m issuing Mr Allen's loan m London, had emphasised tlie fact that, there had been recurring surpluses totalling up to the end of March, 1912. of £8,530,000. Either Mr Allen was misleading the financial people m London or misleading his constituents at Milton m saying that he had a surplus calculated upon a sounder basis. Quoting again from the self-same prospectus, he also showed that it was the same Mr Allen, who had decried Sir Joseph Ward's Public Debt Extinction Act, that had subsequently held up this scheme to England (m seeking to launch his loan), as a means whereby the Imperial authorities could wipe out its national debt. If that wasn't teaching one's grandmother how to suqk duck, eggs, well, lie didn't know what was. (Laughter). PUBLIC WORKS. Referring again to- the Minister of Public Works, Mr Mac Donald said the Hon. Mr Fraser was m a terrible predicament. The Pbblic Works Statement was drafted before he came into office. In preparing it, the, Liberals discovered it would be necessary to raise a certain amount of money to carry on public works m the Dominion. "I might- just as well," said the speaker,' "give his own figures, and that will save him getting angry with me, for he does sometimes." (Laughter.) The statement showed that there was an -estimated balance of £884,580. _ In addition to that, there was authority to raise > for public works £4,500,000, so ho "(the speaker) could not understand why the "hon. gentleman, when he took over the office, was caused so much pain and trouble. He had complained that the iniquitous Liberal Government was constructing 23 lines of railway at the one time, and he was going to reduce that by ten, and push on with the main lines for the benefit of the people. He did knock off work on eight or nine lines, including the Gisb.orne-Napier line, and to some, extent the •Gisborne-Mbtu line. If he had been consistent, one would have" understood him, but he brbugut down a Railway Authorisation Bill to start, six new lines, and these, six lines were m electorates represented by the party m power.' (Laughter.) He (the speaker) ■was prepared to say that during the coming session they would have another six lines authorised for various places m New Zealand. Why. their lines were not going on faster was because last session £|SO,OOO was voted to start the six new lines authorised m 1912. That was how the Minister kept his word. BORROWING MONEY. Then there was the cry about borrowing money. The Refornt party had said s^he only safety for trie country was to get 'Ward, "the pluiiger," out of the country. After mentioning about the Hon. Mr Allen's trip 4 Home to float a loan, Mr Mac Donald said the Reform paTty had spoken of them as the wasteful, extravagant Liberal party, yet Mr Massey Was making statements to-day that at the coming session he was going to ask the Hoiy?e to authorise a much larger sum. "Of course," added the speaker, "this is election year." (Laughter.) That. was what he always accusc-d his predecessors of., .Everything was* done for electioneering, and nothing was done for the country. > "I want to ask you, even the most partisan supporter of the Government, are you satisfied with the public works of this district? Are you getting satisfaction from the Reform Government? Are you more satisfaction than you did'iin/jerth.e" iniquitous Liberal Ciovernment m years gone by?" (Applause.) THE NAVAL POLICY. Proceeding, Mr Mac Donald sarcastically criticised the Government's naval policy, and twitted the Hon. Mr Allen about his "toy navy" for the protection of New Zealand. The Liberal party recognised their responsibility both as to the naval question and defence of the country, and they recognised the country must do its fair and reasonable share. They saw no necessity for starting a "toy navy" m New Zealand- There was such* a large amount of development work to do. That this should be attended to was the strong opinion of the Liberal party, but they were prepared to subsidise the British Navy to any reasonable amount. CONCLUSION. In conclusion, Mir Mac Donald said he had a lot more to say, but his friend, Sir James Carroll, was goin# to say a few words, and he was afraid he had been too long already; So far as. the Liberal party was concerned they were not dismayed about tho Reform party being m office, because they recognised that where there were three parties m a country, one party could not remain m office for a long time. WUiile recognising that the Liberal party had its faults and failings, its one -desire was to do the best m the interest of every section of the people m the country. (Applause.) They recognised that they had a strenuous fight to up, and they wanted everybody to look at the question clearly and squarely, without bias or prejudice ; they wanted them to turn oack the pages of history m this district arid the whole country. Some talked about industrial^ trouble. If they were to have industrial peace it must be, built upon a foundation of equity and justice. He recognised there were > mistakes, but the Liberal party had put no legislation on the statute book that dealt harshly with any section. "What I want you to do is to consider the whole position, and find out whether m the State activities and m the material questions of tho day, you have not been treated fairly and squarely by the Liberal party, or whether the Reform party have done more for you. I believe you will give youx- vordict, m favor of the Liberal party." (Loud applause.) . STR JAMES CARROLL.

"It is not my intention to dive deep into politics," ■ remarked Sir James Carroll, "or to give a minute qddrtsss on matters claiming attention at the present moment." They- all knew, he went on to say, this was election year. There were t-wo main parties, and a tliird seer tion. A certain party thab had been known by a variety ot names at present held office. It was many years since a Conservative Government had held office. The Liberal party had been m power for a little over 20 years, and during their period of office he, thought it could well be said they had been remarkable for the introduction of legislation, m tackling some questions that even tho older worlds ihad not ventured. Statesmen and experts had been sent from various countries to analyse the legislation of this country, and the method of dealing with all classes of the community. Surely it must appeal to all fair-minded people that was a great compliment tothose who had been entrusted with the destinies of this country m the past. But it was an old saying that no matter how good an administration or an individual may be, the time cam© when it was felt by those subject to such administration that a change should take place. Tt was inherent m human nature the desire for a' change. A wave Imd come over New Zealand, and though the Liberal party had served the country well, the people thought it had been long enough m power. They had said. "We ought to put m the 'other side.' " The other side, certainly, had clamored so lon/? and time out of time had desired to show their worth and merit. He would not take up the time to refer tc the measures and intrigues by which the Conservative party had secured thos< ■seats. Sufficient it was to say they got to tho Treasury benches and con-

etituted the Government nf 10-day. They had been m office about two years, and m his opinion it was a blessing inldisguise. Notwithstanding that the people had no cause to blame the Liberal party, they believed the "Reform" party should get a test. And the country was now getting the test. (Laughter.) They were not now called the Conservative; party (they were once proud of that\ term). Then they became the National Association party. That applied for a time, and they became the Reform party. Not long ago they described themselves as "true Liberals," and as the "true democrats." How many other aliases they possessed he did not know,, but no doubt when the election came they would have another alias to brand themselves with. (Laughter.) They on his sido had stuck to the old term* Liberals. It had been good enough for the great leaders of the past from" the days of Sir George Grey down to the present time. It was good enough for his side of the House, and was going to be their title henceforward. He hoped there would be no occasion to alter it. (Applause.) FOR THE MASSES. Liberalism meant Government of the masses, and was for all classes of the community — to do the best for this country for the people, and not for the classes. (Applause.) The Reform party, no matter what name they were given, represented the 'Government . of the classes. So that one was Government of the classes and the other stood for" 'the Government of the masses. Even to their "Reform" friends a Liberal Government must administer for their interests, givinjf them the same as would be given anyone else. It was a good thing the change had come about, because there Avas a rising generation m this country — thousands and thousands of people who had never known what a "Reform" Government was. They had lived under a Liberal Government. They had never known what a. Conservative Government had been. Now. they did, and for that Teason it was a good thing that the Reform party was m power, so that the rising generation would learn to know them. And lie believed that knowledge of them would find expression m a very emphatic way before the close of the year. (Applause.) He was pleased to hear the address of his colleague, . .Mr Mac Donald, as he had noticed that Mr Massey had challenged Mr Mac Donald to come out m. the open and fight certain questions and certain facts. Mr Massey had no need to challenge Mr Mac Donald to come out m the open. (Applause.) He had always fought m the open, and had never hit under the barrier. (Renewed applause.) Mr MacDonald was only too\ready to come to the front and throw down the gloves to any opponent. (Applaus.eVj ; He had fought his battles m a straight and fair way, and no matter how hard he had hit he had always hit above the belt. (Loud applause.) Mr Mac Donald had won his -spurs. From a young cadet, his experience m this country, made' up with a hard struggle and until he took his seat for the first time m Parliament up till the time he assumed the role of a Minister of the Crown, and even until this day, there had always been a marked 'set 'purpose that had and always would distinguish him. (Applause.) There was no call for anyone m opposition to his ideals to throw down the glove and ask Mr Mac Donald to come into the open. He hoped Mr Mac Donald would long be their member — until they got a better, and when they did. they would have to get him from the Liberal side. (Laughter and applause.) "PARTY OF BROKEN PLEDGES." The present Government came into power, continued Sir James, on a. huge wave of promises and pledges. ..ln'fact,., lie had read of them, as being called "the party of broken pledges." Whether they had broken their pledges or not, this fact remained. In 1911 Mr Massey issued a manifesto to the public, and m that were embodied outlined m huge letters, all the things he would do if his party got into power. Mr Massey said he would reduce taxation. Instead he had increased it by about 10s 3d per head. He said he would reduce borrowing, and just borrow commensurate with the demands and requirements of the country. What had' he done? He had put up a record during his short term for borrowing that had beaten anything any Government ever did. He said he would reduce the cost of government. They reviled Sir Joseph Ward because the cost of government had risen during his term of office by about £400,000 a year. That was a tremendous charge. Now, what had Mr Massey done? For the first year he was m office he increased the cost of government over the £400,000 by £731*000, and for the nine months of this year he had increased the cost by about £400,000, making about a million pounds' for the one year and nine months he had been' in office. "It that is not a. record, I would like to see another one better," added Sir James. (Voice: Not -here:) So they had put up a record for increased taxation, incfcased borrowing, and increased cost of government. • Again they were to expect a tremendous improvement m the way of land settlement. Mr Massey was himself a • farmer, and his assumption of the portfolio of Minister of Lands was proclaimed by the Conservative press, and he was declared to be the right man m the right place. Mr Mac Donald had shown them what the hon. gentleman had done. Most of the Crown lands he had settled was m the process of being surveyed, and was. almost ready to be put "on the market by his predecessors, but ho came m and "copped the floor." (Laughter.) SOME EXCUSES. ' - When the Reform party was m the opposition, they derided the Government; m fact "deride" was a poor term, it was too soft ; they vilified the Liberal Government for the scandalous way they were running the country. They were charged with prosecuting public works m various districts as bribery. Whatever was done was put down to bribery and corruption- "If that is true," he added, "we cannot charge the Reform party with corrupting us by lavishing us with public works. ' (Laughter.) As far as public works were concerned, they closed down the other end of the Gis-borne-Napier railway and topk men from this end so as to slow down the work. What reason did they assign? The Public Works Minister said he had not the money. What happened the" other day when a, deputation met him m. Napier, when they insisted on that work being carried on? Ho said while there were •differences between the local bodies he <:ould not spend any money. Then there was something about a bridge across the harbor. These were ihe excuses. What happened this end when the Liberal party was m power? There were always differences between sections of the community, but these did not stand m the way of the Liberal party; they decided right off to get to work, and they started that work m face of it all. (Applause.) The same at the Napier end. The differences were going on then, but immediately the Reform party got into power they closed down on that line. "Then Mr Massey comes here," said Sir James, "and discovers that this is a wonderful district, aud promises a huge grant, arid says -he is going 1 m for a .large loan, and promised that a large amount would come to this district. Of course," added the speaker, ironically, "that ia not bribery and corruption; it is a promise." (Laughter.) So far as the promises of the Reform party are concerned, I am afraid we have a very slender reed to depend upon. SETTLEMENT OF LANDS. Although Mr Massey was Land Minister, although he had only settled 300,000\ odd acres of Crown, tho last year of "his (Sir James') term of office he doublerf^hat area and settled 647,000 acres of native land. (Applause.) So, I if with all. the machinery and with departments costing a lot of money, and with every facility, at his elbow, Mr Massey had only opened up half as much Crown land as he (Sir James) did native land, then it did not say much for the lion, gentleman's reputation as Minister of Lands. The result was not such as to claim for him high commendation at 'the hands of the public. As regards to native lands, Mr MacDonald 'had dealt pretty fully with that. It was not his intention to go into that fully just jiow, except to say that he was looking forward to some comprehensive statement from the Government as to what they had done. They knew the Government's legislation had not a

scrap of policy m it. It was purely jobbery and nothing more. The Native Land Amendment Act was nothing more, when they came to look at it, than an Act passed to assist, the Government to secure votes m different parts of the country. It had no claim whatever to policy or high-sounding principles. Let them give a clear statement of the result of their administration m native land up to the present day ; a statement as to how many acres they had acquired and how many people had they settled. That was a clear question, and if they had done what they bragged to have done there should not be any difficulty m supplying the information. They had issued a proclamation over some surveyed blocks on the East Coast, the leases of which were falling due, so as to debar any individual who wished from engaging m negotiations for these lands." Of course, you hear Mr Herries say he is going fb put the pakeha and the Maori on the same footing. This looks like it— -(laughter) — for the Maoris cannot deal with their own lands. They cannot say to the Europeans, 'if you give me a certain price I will lease or sell my land to you.' For certain reasons or from high motives, or, shall we call it for the exigies of a policy, they say we cannot allow you to have the same liberty." DRAWING THEM OUT. There was one thing that he felt quite amused about, and not only amused but he was pleased, that was the ' attention they were receiving throughout the. country at the present moment. They, were being severely criticised by the press, but with one or two exceptions the press to-day were strongly m support of the present Government. He had no objection to that. Why should one object? They were -masters of. their own concern, and knew on what side they wanted to be. They subjected ; the .Liberal- party to very keen, ■vVhqlesome criticism, and it was interesting to the public to read criticisms of any party, providing, of course, the other side criticised as well. When they had a paucity of the press it was for them to take the platform and refuse the charges made. They had been doing it so ■effectively; (that was their side— he 'had been doing very little) — that ihey iounfr „this: . that * from the time Parliament rpsß up to the present date they had had ' Ministers W the Crown of the great Reform party, not m Wellington, not at the seat of Government, but scouring the Dominion from end to end> appearing m all sorts of localities and m every place, because they had to. do it, notwithstanding they had the press with them ; but the effect of the Liberal criticism of their actions as a Government had been so strong that they had had to come to the front. They used to condemn the Liberal Government when they did the same thing. They used to blame the Ministers for not being^ m Wellington, but of course (satirically) m .their case it was quite legitimate, it was quite fair. (Laughter.) "We may concede that point," he said, "and I hope they will continue to go round the country. The people hear both sides, and so it is for their good. Consequently you are indebted to a certain degree to the Liberal party for taking the platform and drawing, the Government into the field for your edification." THE PROSPECTS. . "The prospects one can only prophesy," continued Sir James, "and as the saying, is 'one should never prophesy unless he knows,' I am not going to prophesy the results of the next .election, but so far as one can see "from travelling round the country, thei'e is : every reason, for the belief that the tide is rising m Liberalism — (applause) — • that ,the( Liberal stocks are at a high quotation to-day, and I believe as the result of next election that we will find the Liberal party m the ascendancy." (Applause.) "THE. RED FEDS." " Then there was the Labor section, and although divided amongst themselves (the extremists being known as the 'Red Feds.'), he believed that the commonsense of the party as , a whole would assert itself at the next election. He believed the labor classes' m this country, and he hoped ,m other countries, too, were gradually becoming aware of the questions which affect them closely and intimately, and their bearing so far as, they affect the different parties m power. The Reform party had been very assiduous m their attempts to make it appear to the public that the Liberals were 'Red Feds!' They said thpre were only two divisions, the great Reform party and the 'Red Feds.' "That is an attempt to mislead you . altogether," said Sir James. "As a matter of fact the Liberal party, the Labor party, and the Reform party are three distinct , parties, and it is only a question which party the Labor party mil sympathise with and where they may see a possible affinity. The Labor people put out «the. Liberal party last time. No question about it. Mr Massey angled very cleverly and adroitly for the Labor party. But what has happened? Mr Massey has been guilty of the basest ingratitude, because at the present day he will not claim to have had anything to do with the Labor party at all. He says they are his common enemies, but they were not common enemies last election* It .was he who helped the 'Red Feds.' last election. It was he who sent telegrams to his people m some electorates to vote for 'Red Feds.' instead of Liberals." The speaker, instanced cases where Labor candidates were elected by the assistance and sup-' port of the Massey party, and said that to-day Mr Massey denied any association with that party. In view of these facts, what could they think of a Premier who one day assists the Labor party and the next day denies any association with them? THE GISBORNE SEAT. Sir James said it was his intention to deliver m his electorate several addresses m different localities, and then he would take the opportunity of dealing more closely with the public matters and with the political questions of the day, and particularly to reply to the Prime Minister. "I can say this," he added, "that I have been representing the Gisborne district for many years. There was a time when Ormond formed part of that electorate, .- but it was many years since I stood on this platform to address my electors. I am sorry, yet glad, that it did not go to anyone else than Mr Mac Donald. I was sorry m parting from old friends. During my terms m Parliament there has been several redistributions of seats. There have been .delineations of my electorate every time. , That is. eloquent evidenoe of the fact that this part of the country has progressed', has . advanced, has increased mi population', to necessitate the reduction of its area, time and time again. As far as the East Coast is concerned, the country iias progressed and advanced so, and the population has so increased, that when the next redistribution takes place, we may have an extra member for the East Coast, for the population will .justify it." Sir James mentioned that if a new seat was created it would probably take m- part of Hawke's Bay. "So far as the Liberal party is concerned," said the member for Gisborne m conclusion, "it will never forget its pledges, its strong purpose, its powerful objective; that it is a Government of the people, by the people, and for the people." (Loud applause.) THANKS AND CONFIDENCE. Questions were invited^ and Mr F. C. Leggett asked why, if the Reform party only polled 33 per cent, of the votes and" the Liberals polled 67 per cent., the latter did not rule? Mr Mac Donald explained that prior to that election Liberals and Labor had always voted together. The Conservative' vote was 27 per cent., not 33 per cent., and the total votes of the progressives, Liberal, Labor, etc., made up the 67 per cent. Mr Con Neenan said he had great pleasure m moving a vote of thanks and confidence m Mr Mac Donald as the 'future and coming" member for the district. (Appla-use.) Mr J. Kenneally, m seconding the motion, added that the meeting express fts full appreciation of past efforts, and would endeavor to do its utmost to secure his return next election. (Applause.) The chairman declared the motion carried by acclamation. Mr Mac Donald, m replying, assured them that so long as he represented them he would endeavor to do hie best-

for them and for ilio peoplo of the Dominion generally. (Applause.) At the instance of Mr Neenan, further applause and cheers were accorded their "old friend," Sir James Carroll. The latter replied, and whilst doing so was handed a. beautiful floral bouquet by Miss Ethel Parsons. A vote of thanks was accorded the chairman.