WHO ARE THE LIBERALS?

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12842, 27 November 1905, Page 6

WHO ARE THE LIBERALS?

Why should the Opposition, if' -they! obtained - poweiy -want t» repeal ,'jtny: 01 the. liberal. legislation! Mi jiiea l .asked at Temuka.: The. Opposition i?ere. in .iav;our of' it" arid brought much of it "in. first. The land- for settlement scheme was started by Sir George Grey, and no onu objected to it, except as regards the compulsory clauses. In 1891 the Bill of the present Government was passed by the .House and out. by the Legislative Council. Mrj Allen traced the Bill yeac by year, shov?i|i& that the Opposition did not oppose it. There was no division on the second readings. Yet the public were being told that they were opposed to the meaaure. They did, some of them, oppose the compulsory clause, thinking that in an experiment oi the kind it; would be better to wajit' before' applying, compulsion, and had the. scheme come d»wn without the. .compulsory clauses " he'. wotild : have voted for it.

Nor was it'.tfua that he voted against, the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Bill. On the • contrary, he moved to include farm labourers, who were not included in' thej Government's, Bill.' Mr Seddon opposed that,. ;, saying he only ■wanted to kill the Bill. ]?our or five years later Mr Seddon put them in himself. The Opposition wanted' laws passed on principle, and in this case the principle was that an industry should bear the. ills arising from it. ' ' !

No Opposition' member opposed the principle of the Workers' Dwellings Bill. An Opposition member, Mr Bollard, had been trying for years to get- such a measure passed, but on yeiy different terms. The Premier's Bill - proposed most extortionate terms. The colony was to provide £350! to build a. house, and the worker was to | pajr over £IOOO for- it. Mr Massey moved j for and obtained a deduction of the amount I to •be paid by tie worker, by .somethingj like £4OO. . . : s

in. regard to xoid "age rpensions? \No one. knew- . They put: aßilloa the ;stafcute book, but T^fehouli. any- policy beliind it. The Minister .of public Works said a few days ago-that every old man wak entitled to an old age pension for his lifelong contributions to the Customs taxation. That was not law to-day. Only a -certain number of people were ■ entitled to the pension. The law at present distinguished between deserving and. the;-undeserving, and said; the more deserving "should not have aipeik. sion. Mr Seddon now said lie was in "favour of a national pension scheme. Tliat had been the ideal of the Opposition" all through. (Appplause.) .' It might not be attainable for some time, but in the meantime the policy of. the pension system should be to encourage thrift, not to discourage it,' as the presentsystem did. An amendment had .been made last session, but it did.not go Sir enough. The 'Opposition proposed to widen the,, area, not to- penalise a man he had bsen thrifty' and had saved a Uttle, - been the policy of Atkinson, Rollestoii, Russell, and the Opposition all along: •> (Applause.) -'\ ; ; ; . / Mr Allen "nextv dqalt "with the cliarge gainst the Opposition athafc tie';party I Was for the* -wages on reHef worki quoted a speech , br ? ti^rj : 3louse, in -which vEb «sppotte«t' being dMW,in>lßß7 4 . iNVw' those who' £ad To doj' ditty ■-.work-ofj cleaning up a foul cest tfeft by their predecessors. 'A J-T 2 "' Mr AHen also dealt vfiifa showing that the educatio#- systienar was really founded and had .been supported by the party he represented. : '