EULOGY OF THE PREMIER

Taranaki Daily News, 19 July 1929, Page 11

EULOGY OF THE PREMIER

TRIBUTE FROM OPPOSITION.

(Bv Wire —Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night.

A warm tribute to Sir Joseph Ward as Prime Minister, which was all the more acceptable coming from the Opposition benches in the course of a strong anti-Government speech, was paid to-night by Mr. A. M. Samuel in the course of his Address-in-Reply speech in the House.

Mi’. Samuel declared that without the present Prime Minister as their leader the United Party would not have had a million to one chance of attaining the Treasury benches. It had’ been admitted by their own members that “they bad a very, very narrow escape at the polls,” he said, and they admitted themselves they had got only one man amongst them. Mr. G. C. Munns: Who is throwing bricks now ?

Mr.-Samuel: This is a bouquet (loud laughter), but I warn the member that there is a bit of cayenne pepper in it. Mr. Samuel referred to the United Party manifesto and said that in mentioning the name of Sir Joseph Ward it referred to him as the only statesman in New Zealand. So far as the Government side of the House was concerned he agreed with every word of that. “But,” he said, “I ask you to consider the ludicrous position of one worker and twelve loafers. It is too hard to ask one horse to do the work.”

Mr. R. Semple: What about the man who gets things done? Mr. Samuel: Well, he is done, isn’t lie? (Loud laughter.) I compliment the Prime Minister,” he continued, “because I consider there is no man in the country to-day who has done more for New Zealand than he has. If I were in agreement with his politics I would agree that he is the right man in the right place. He is certainly entitled to all the rewards bis political work for this country may give him.”