NOTHING TO FEAR

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 8, 31 July 1930, Page 5

NOTHING TO FEAR

POSITION OF GOVERNMENT SE C U n t ■ LABOUR A T OT PREPARED TO, PUT REFORM BACK. Parliament Buildings, This Day. (Special to Post). The Imprest Supply debate was not without excitement. Late in the evening Mr. W. Bee Martin, Labour member for Raglan, declared that while the Minister had said he had not decided to dispose of the Macdonald Mine, lie had actually entered into negotiations and done so. Mr. Leo Martin charged him with practically misleading him. The Minister really was declamatory and dramatic in. his indignation and his statement contained a complete repudiation of the charge and a vindication of position earlier in the evening. REFORM’S RECORD. Mr. David Jones’ speech 'was a characteristic Reform . outburst. He claimed that the Reform Party had lx;eu more liberal than oven the Liberals had been. They had doubled wages, had increased production enormously and had put New Zealand on the high road to prosperity. He did not mention anything about Reform’s land settlement policy, the largo increase in local taxation, or its hydro electric policy, or the largo increase in the post war public debt, but ho was followed by Mr. H. E. Holland who made up for most of deficienees.

Mr. Holland announced that he was ready to vote the United Party down, but was not ready to vote the Reform Party in. This made it immediately clear that ho was going to support the Government in the Budget debate.

Yesterday ho made a very unconvincing speech realising that every justification he pleads now for keeping the United thirty hi office will bo used against him when he faces the electors next year and asks that his party should ho given the opportunity to supersede them. It is now obvious that the tariff will not suffer more than the rapid fi.ro of criticism, and that the Government has nothing to fear. TOBACCO APPROACH MR. POLSON Tho tobacco growers have been appealing to Mr. W. J. Poison, M.P. for Stratford, to assist them in resisting the excise duty, which the Government has disclosed is its intention of placing upon tobacco. Yesterday Mr. Poison objected to the representation on the / committee and the Prime Minister agreed to add his name to it.