POLITICAL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 112, 17 June 1914, Page 7

POLITICAL.

MR WILFORD'S ADDRESS. REPLY TO MR MASSEY. A SPIRITED ATTACK. T. M. Wilford, M.P. for Hutt, is • man whose methods appeal to the proletariat. There is a directness about his platform manner which '' tickles the ears of the groundlings," and he can make even the most unconvincing argument' "go down" by the mere, force with which he enunciates it. Last evening, when he addressed a meeting of Christchurch electors in the Choral Hall, he was at the top of his form. The hall was filled, and the audience .wag -with the spea&er throughout... It may be that the vast majority of those present were good .Liberals, and did not- require a great deal of conviueing r but there can be aw doubt oft the heartiness of the reception which they accorded Mr Wilford. There were or two interjectors courageous enough

to challenge the speaker's" statement#* but in every ease were sorry they spoke. Hardly, .had they uttered their words when they were smitten, with a. verbal bludgeon which . made 1 .. them think > hard for the rest -of thenight, while the roared laughter at their discomfiture. . • '-t

The speech gave no hint of the policy which the Liberals eiaiin to have in readiness for the general election. It was purely and openly destructive, and was intended chiefly as a reply to Mr Massey's address in Victoria Square a. few nights ago. Right at the outset the ; speaker disclosed his intention of "I showing up" the ' Reform Ministry, which he- said was a "fake'' cabinet. The promises made by Mr Massey on his office bail not been •This c'Onttentibn was. the' ; tex£'' of' the /*. speech;' and for two hours Mr WilforA continued to produce what he called. I , 'chapter and verse to,maintain it. His. '' chapter and verse " consisted in the main of quotations from ■the- speeches• *, of Reform -Ministersr and., members . asrecorded in " Hansard.-'' , Thtese were read with a good deal of dramatic feet, and seemed to serve tlie for which ttey were inteiifited. '■"j&KAWilfbrd is a out -and ; ; out, but he is also a lawyer ail tlxe " time, and he sometimes treats his audi' enee as he would a bench of judges, ot the 'twelve ' 4 good men. and "true"' ' whose opinions he sways with such ajh, [parent ease. On one occasion, last night 'he said: ''Now I come to. the next jpoint of my argument—l mean my address,' '.. and one -almost expected hint : j to add " May it please your Hbnor, ! gehtlemen of the jury." As. one-mean l . ber of ! the audience remarked after" |the meeting, "No one but; a lawyer . 'could have made-that speech. It was a really good example Of special pleading"— and there you have the address neatly and justly described, j The chairman. was 'Mr H. and <6ll the platform were 'many -of tlrt£ idtyte brightest . Liberal'lights. : Ithese. included foiirfellow of.'thte speaker, all ,:df, whom.''git on-.tbe Opp©si- ; tion: side of ttys Jlous^—l&cssrji G. ; H.. G, Ell, G. Resell, anyl L; ; iC4« ; lsitt.. the broad -.smile which' possessed each of the four faces through- ; put the evening, they enjoyed the; fun immensely. Messrs Wiitty and lsitjt j' feanie 'in handy" for "a "Hear, hear'? ktr appropriate moments, and Mr Russell occasionally inserted a finger into the oratorical pie and dropped a hint for a remark which would. cause the Reform Cabinet to shiver as if the grey goose had trodden oh is to receive its remains next —if one can believe Liberal proplieciaß '* Mr Wilford had a. very hearty-reception Onjrjsing to speak. He-said that he proposed to give' something of the facte of' the Reform Administration, as seen froni thl& Vi 'inSide of Parliament. Jle ; woiil«J shbw them the methods of Ministers, anc of 7 tlie Minister in particular, an«j their tricky little ways. All he woulo say,, would ,be based on the public say iiigfS and doings of the Ministers. Ht dealt in ' nothing personal. (Applause.) He had been for 21 years on the side oi the Liberal Party. So long ago, as s young man of 23 years of age, he hac ma.«]fc hie first attempt to enter Parliament, and at six elections in successioi he had been elected for the constituency in which: he was born. This would serve for,:his introduction. (Applause.) Reform Party constituted the greatest ' lot of funks ever known in. the history' of New Zealand poiitiVjs./ V: As aiv. illUs? he said that he had. put a question before Parliament asking how much njioney the Government had raised on short-elated Treasury bills. Of course they knqw that Mr Masseyandhisparty liiad condemned the Liberals by bellj., book,: and candle for raising \short-dated loans.- Time and time Mr'Massey Refused him leave to move for the re- < . -tarn., so one day he stopped, out "of theHouse, and , gave bis authority to My T. E. Y. Seddon to move it. feeeigg ; that Mr Wilford waa not in the

Mr Massey allowed the motion to be proposed, thinking that it must lapse. To his great surprise, Mr Seddon produced the authority to move it. That was how the public came to find that the Government had borrowed £1,000,000 on short-dated debentures. (Applause.) Mr Massey was full of all kinds of little tricks of this kind, but he (Mr Wilford) was "up to" them. (Laughter.) Dealing with the statement of Mr Massey that when he came into office he found that the funds for advances to settlers, workers, and local bodies were not nearly sufficient to cover the commitments, Mr Wilford said that the Government had power to transfer money from one branch to the other if necessary. When the total funds available were totalled and the amount of commitments deducted, there was a surplus of £51,845 available. The Liberal Government had legalised these transfers, provided that notice of each transfer was given to Parliament within ten days. This provision had been re-enacted by the Reform Ministry, but the necessity for informing Parliament had been done away with. Mr Massey was fond of stating that he had raised £40,000 by the graduated land tax. This only showed what a "fake" the whole thing was. The graduated land tax was designed, not to raise money, but to "bust" the big estates If it did not do so, it was a failure. As a matter of fact, the Government's own returns showed that since it had come into power there had been the following increases in large estates (the figures referring to unimproved values):. 12 between £45,000 and £50,000, 21 between £30,000 and £40;000, and 80 between £20,000 and £30,000. Was this "busting" the large estates? That return was ready in June of last year, but the Government never had the courage to present it io Parliament, and it had only recently beon made public. The speaker then went on to refer to the episode of the "James letter," a document which he said had been issued froin the slander factory in Ballance Street —an institution which would soon be working overtime. (Laughter.) As a reply to the exposure of this letter, Mr Massey had read a letter issued by the Liberal organiser on the occasion of a visit of Sir Joseph Ward to the Main Trunk country. All that that letter said was that Sir Joseph would be pleased to meet friends and shake hands with them. Was the reading of such a letter any response to the "James letter?" Mr Wilford then read the famous letter with considerable histrionic effect, and added, "There has never been a dirtier or more contemptible method of raising public opinion against a political party in the histoiy of New Zealand." (Loud applause). One of Mr Massey's promises in his

famous Wellington Town Hall speech » was that taxation would be reduced. What had been done in this direction? A Voice: Nothing. Mr Wilford: You are wrong. Something has been done. Men with incomes of £7OO, who had four children, had a remission of income tax amounting to £2 10/- a year. (Laughter). Mr Massey now claimed that taxation had not been increased. No one said it had, but that was not the point. He had promised to decrease it. The speaker then went on to '' prove'' by means of "Hansard" that the Government was in favour of maintaining an expeditionary force, and of establishing a New Zealand navy. If this were not so, what was the reason for the appointment of a naval adviser? The Government's policy in this matter was simply one of suicide and bankruptcy. The increase of savings bank deposits was due simply to the fact that a higher rate of interest could be obtained from the Post Office, and thousands of pounds had been withdrawn from the banks and re-invested in the Post Office Savings Bank. Any bank . manager in Wellington would tell Mr Massey that fact if he bothered to enquire. The Reform Government had raised the limit of deposits to £IOOO, and a man could invest £4OOO by putting three sums in the name of his wife and children. The Government had borrowed £BOO,OOO from the Post Office at a quarter per cent, lower than the usual rate paid it. The Massey Government, the speaker contended, was opposed to industrial arbitration. Mr Massey in the House had expressed the opinion that the principle of compulsory arbitration was unfair and un-Britisfi. At the conclusion of the speech Mr Wilford was accorded a vote of thanks, which also expressed confidence in the Liberal Party as led by Sir Joseph Ward. Cheers were given for the party and Sir Joseph.

THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS. HIS NORTHERN TOUR. Press Association. ROTORUA, June 17. The Hon. W. 11. Herries, Minister of Railways, addressed a crowded meeting, last night. His speech was on the lines of his recent utterances, and any new matter touched was merely of local interest. A vote of thanks, and confidence in the Government, was carried on the voices by a large majority. An amendment of tji&nks oniy received scanty support. Replying to a deputation from the Bible-in-Scliools League, asking for a referendum on the league's proposals, the Minister said he could not reveal the policy of the Government, recommending them to wait for the Governor's Speech. Replying to a deputation of Maoris asking for the removal of restrictions imposed during the epidemic against travelling on the railways, Mr Herries said he would instruct the stationmasters to carry Maoris free of restrictions, and would see the Minister in charge of the Health Department, recommending that the embargo be removed. BAY OF ISLANDS SEAT. Press Association. RUSSELL, June 17. As an outcome of Mr Vernon Reed's meeting held at Russell recently, a new Reform League has been started, with headquarters at Russell. Various other centres .< have been communicated with, with the result that over 20 branches have been established. The name of the league is '' The Far North Reform League," and the area is the Bay of Islands electorate. The main object of the league is to leave the selection of the Reform candidate in the hands of the Prime Minister. THE CHALMERS SEAT. Press Association. DUNEDTN, June 17. Mr Moller (chairman of the Otago Harbour Board) authorises the announcement that he will contest the Wt Chalmers seat in the Liberal interest at |he general elections.