MEASURES BEFORE MEN

Taranaki Daily News, 9 July 1927, Page 15

MEASURES BEFORE MEN

MR. W. S. GLENN'S NEW ROLE DESIROUS OF HELPING FARMERS. NO QUARREL WITH THE PARTY. (By Wire—Special Reporter.) ( The reasons which actuated Mr. W. S. Glenn in resigning the junior whipship of the Reform Party were explained by him in the House to-night. “I am not connected in any shape or form,” said Mr. Glenn, “with a laundry and I don't intend to wash any dirty linen.” He supported whole-heartedly the party that was in power to-day. It had been rather amusing to see the attempts being made to make capital out of his difference with his party with regard to the Agricultural College. He had put up a strenuous fight in regard to the college, and he would not beg anybody's pardon concerning it. He still held the opinion that the Government had not done the right thing in regard to it, and the purchase of the site did not seem to him to be 18 carat. It had cost £69,000 and, if the land were put up for auction, it would not raise £35,000. The Prime Minister had assured him that there was not much difference of opinion about the site now, and he hoped the differences between the North and South would be easily settled. It was not in connection with one particular matter that he had differences with his party. There had been occasions when he had not been able to see eye to eye with the Government. He had served for a considerable period as a party hack horse and he felt he had rendered general service to the party and his constituency in that position, and that the time was due when, he might have a little more freedom of speech. ALTERED HIS OPINIONS. “I have always looked upon the Reform Party,” he said, "as the farmers’ champion, but since about 192 G my views have somewhat altered in that respect. Perhaps it was the trend of legislation, or probably lack of interest on the part of the Government in the welfare of farmers.” However, he thought the Government had missed an opportunity of showing statesmanship with regard to the Dominion generally about that time. The danger signal was fairly plain early in 1929. He" took some pains to satisfy himself by reading the bank returns, statistics, industrial journals and other publications, that everything pointed to rocks ahead. He was impressed tremendously by the fact that exports and imports had become perilously near one another. The Government should have taken action to acquaint itself in every way of the position. It could easily have kept in touch with the various financial, commercial and other authorities and, had that course been taken, a position would have been arrived at when the Government could have called on every section of the community to give a helping hand. All his inquiries had pointed to dearer money and a lower trend of prices for primary produce. “The hon. gentleman who carries the portfolio of Finance was pleased to wax humorous last night with the little nursery rhyme 80-peep,” said Mr. Glenn. He said: “Leave them alone and they’ll come home, bringing their tails behind them.” Mr. P. Fraser :Roskill and Waitemata have come home.

FARMERS’ SUPPORT ESSENTIAL. Mr. Glenn: He mentioned the word “home.” When the hon. Minister puts the home in order, he will get his little sheep, and his tail won’t be behind him, it will be standing straight up. (Loud laughter.) The hon, gentleman and his party represents a section of the community whose support must be gained by any party in this House which seeks to gain the Treasury benches, namely, the farmers. The farmers in this country elected the present Government, and that Government’s foremost thought must be for the farmers if this country is going to progress. Mr. H. L. Tapley: You must give the other fellow a show! Mr. Glenn: I must be fair to the business man. Of course you have to give the other fellow a show. You have to give those people who have commercial connections and who do a great service to this country a show, and you have to be fair to those people who do the work —the actual manual work. No party , can reign on the Treasury benches unless it has the farmers’ vote behind it, and that is something that every Government strives for. I notice that the Leader of the Opposition is particularly interested to-day in the small farmer and his welfare. The hon. gentleman’s land policy is coming round to something that will be of use to the small farmer. The hon. gentleman is not to be caught with chaff, either. He is an astute man who knows his job. He knows the plum is there and I don’t want to see the Government lose the plum. The Government must help the man who wants help to-day. In conclusion, Mr. Glenn said that as long as the present Government brought down legislation that was going to serve useful purposes, then it would have his support. “I have no private quarrel with any member of the Government,” he said, “and I hope I have made that quite clear. I hope I will retain the friendship of those people I have been so closely identified with. In future, measures and not men will have a very great deal of consideration from me.”