SPIRITED DEFENCE

Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1935, Page 7

SPIRITED DEFENCE

ADMINISTRATION’S RECORD. ADDRESS BY HON. S. G. SMITH. By Telegraph—Press Association. Invercargill, Aug. 15. A spirited defence of the Government and strong criticism of the proposals of the Labour Party and Democrat Party were made by the Minister of Education; the Hon. S. G. Smith, in a public address last evening. There was an attendance of about zoo people, who accorded the Minister a very attentive hearing and a vote of thanks at the conclusion of the speech. Referring to recent criticism advanced against the Government by Sir Alexlander Herdman in Auckland, Mr. Smith said he did not do so because the attack by Sir Alexander Herdman had been made upon himself, but upon his Ministerial Colleagues. During the Great War Sir Alexander Herdman was a member of the New Zealand Government. However, he chose to leave that Cabinet for the calmer atmosphere of the judiciary. He then waited until he reached the age of 65, when he was entitled to retire on a lucrative competency, and on the day after he stepped down from the Bench he saw fit to attack those men who, during the greatest crisis through which this Dominion had ever passed, did their utmost to alleviate the position. » If Sir Alexander Herdman was the patriot he professed to be and saw that a grave catastrophe was facing New Zealand during the past four years, he should have left die Bench and. come to the Dominion’s rescue. Yet, said Mr. Smith, he now wanted to lead a party through the stress which was disappearing. “I hope to prove to you that we can lead a party in future just as effectively as in the past,” said Mr. Smith. “There is another gentleman who left New Zealand about 20 years ago and who has suddenly appeared on the horizon. lam not going to say anything more regarding Mr. Doidge than to state ■ that as I understand it, one of the chief planks in his platform is a kind of Empire free trade, which, : f carried into effect, would spell the end of every secondary industry ifi New Zealand.”