The Timaru Herald WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1905. THE OPPOSITION PLATFORM.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12669, 3 May 1905, Page 2

The Timaru Herald WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1905. THE OPPOSITION PLATFORM.

Mr Massey has,no reason to complain of the way in which he is being treated by the large cities. In Christchurch last evening; as in Auck'and and Dunedin pie" jviously, the hall in which he spoke was •packed ;with people, whose presence was 'Jnpt'-jraljr a compliment, to the Leader of the Opposition, but- a "healthy sign that the '.public'4re„taking a interest in their 'politics.; 'The'report of' his .address telegraphed; by the Press-Association can give .only th'e-bare bones of a speech which occupied two hours in its delivery, and we regret again that the people of- Timarn have not been given an opportunity of hearing for themselves Mr Ma'ssey's indictment of the Government and the policy which he offers to the country. They will see, however, from its summary at the lend of the message how widely his principles of administration, to say nothings of 'legislation, differ from those of Mr 'Seddon. Briefly it may be said that the Leader the Opposition is bent lipto breaking down the elaborate- system by which the Premier has drawn into his own hiifids 4vSiy thread which will give him the slightest assistance in maintaining his grip on Office. •Few men, probably, would care to rinherit the crushing burden which Mr Seddon has gradually placed upon his own shoulders. in his insatiable greed for power and, patronage. In the matter of public works alone, the House of Representatives has,as Mr Massey said on one occasion, been .turned into a huge and unwie'dy Board of Works, but the last word in the disposal almost of a five-pound note for a culvert or a bit of road formation ha.s''to come irom the Cabinet/ which mean's thei Pre-' -rnscr. We are continually seeing in the papers that- Mr; Tlatainn Or Sir ; William Steward or some other member has received a telegram irom the Premier stating that the 'Cabinet or himself has approved of .the? expenditure of a larger or smaller amount on a village railway station.' ibr the local school, or some equally vital work which ought not to burden the Ministerial mind. These are only samples of the trivial details into which Mr Seddon descends, but while it has suited his purpose.to concern himself with matters which ought to be left to departmental often indeed to subordinate clerks, it''cannot be expected that other men, even if they, were ' physically equal to the task, should-make themselves administrative slaves. ; Mr Sed* don's system of government is not likely to survive his premiership for the simple reason that nobody else could stand the strain it involves. The statesman's work is.done when he has set a general scheme of policy in working order; the mechanical'part of attending to details is the work of the [colony's staff, which, swollen as it-has , been .under Mr Seddon's is apparently less trusted now by its, political chief than at-any time in the colony's history. One of the most important-offlr cers—the Auditor-General—has been prac T tically deprived of any effective control over the public purse" by the iniquitous Public Revenues Act, which Mr Massey "i very properly denounced last night. The Premier has endeavoured to justify the Act by quoting'the example of a long-deceased Ministry, but as Mr Massey showed last night, the circumstances of the-transfers of votes were-quite different from thoseunder which the present "Government acts. The Leader of the Opposition got a nasty blow into Mr Seddon when he pointed out that Sir George, Grey, Mr Seddon's former leader, and; the man who urged him to take, the premiership in 1893, had repealed the provision fdr dea'ing with disputes be- - tween the Audit Department and the Government which was revived in 1900 by Mr Seddon, and carried through therHouse by the aid of "the notorious "£4O steal!" .We have .not .space to refer in detail to ■alLthe planks in Mr Masseyls policy,, but - the' : public-.-vvill probably be bKnded no longer by ; the old cry that the Opposition is a party destitute of a leader and a policy. •'.','-