THE PREMIER.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12926, 17 March 1906, Page 6

THE PREMIER.

i ( jYISET TO GERAIiBINE. "The Eight Hon. the Premier came down' -frormi WftningtoD hy • steamer on. Thursday aiight, and was expected to come down to Oraxi by the first express, but the boat to make a connection, and Mr Sed--don came by "the second express. He was; accompanied by His daughter, Mrs Bean, and by the Hon. T..X. Duncan, Minister of Lands, and the Ministers' secretaries. A party from Geraldine assembled at Orari i» welcome the Premier:—Mr F. R Flatman,' , ; 'M.H:R., and 1 Mr . Geo. Ward,, chair-. man « fof- : Mr- Flatman's < committee. • Mr Mayor, and Councillor Taylor for ■the Borough,. Council; Mr Metcalf, for the County Council, Air Skinner for the Road Board, fit?" President of the St- : Patrick's Sport Association; Colonel Macthe South Canterbury .battalion, and as-a guard of honour"eight x>f the;: Geraldine Mounted -Rifles ."under Xieut Ormsby. Sir W. J. Steward, from Waimate joined the party at,Oraii The welcome at Orari was very brief, and thai representatives "were introduced to the. Pre-' mip.r by Sir Flatman'. - • The Premier's visit_fo South Canterbury -was signalised at an earlier stage than this • -iwirever. ." An old itinerant piper happened ■to be Rangitata with his pipes wheii' the arrived an halted ■ there,- and the, jjlayer, "in military style—good stirring that,", as he ihimself declaredj. See ihfi eonquering.hero/ comes," as the train «Lrew ;/np. ; to ; this . hjO added ahighilown welcome.. itp."jthe .guislied visitor. Mr SeddoCthanked him,: and let him, know, that | he; recognised hiin : a_Kitive *3rm on the - Scottish pipes. . . ... ~ Three, vehicles were provided "by Mr Scott ..for "llie'-cpffiejraiice oi the party to Gerald- - ine, and. the journey "was made notable by the way the people turned, out to see the 3)arty pass, and' the 'number. Of flags, large and small, that they had- put up on the ipoles or from fences. The Orari schoolchildren were drawn up alongside the road 3jy their'ieacher," Mr' Cor«®d" the Pre.■mifvr stopped to speak to them and exchange good wishes and a half holiday £0? a .cheer. ALL along.-the mam .street .of ®eral<me; youngsters and; old people were standing- at . their street - gates, and " the .youngsters shouted and; the oldsters smiled -a welcome ae the party rattled by—fifteen Siorses making, a good deal "of clatter on <the. "Kept road. ' ff- .:; The coaches pulled up at the Post Office, smd ixere Mr ' Maslin, on behalf of the Borough of .Geraldine, formally welcomed "the Premier, to Geraldine, in the presence good number, of people of froth sexesMr .Maslin hoped that this, Mr Seddon's second visit to Geraldine, would be pleasant to himself and profitable ,to the townspeoples: indicating that the direction, in ■vrhich profit was possible and looked for, 1 'was m the opening up of the scenic beau- : "lies -of the locality by the formation of 3

decent road. ; , , The Premier in replying,. expressed his pleasure at being able to redeem his pro33aise of two_ years ago to visit Geraldine again, and his pleasure at noting improvements made in the meantime. It had done 3iis heart good to see the cordiality of the "welcome manifest in, the faces of young and old as he came along, taking this as a proof of respect for the -high office he ■held as well as of personal good will to"wards himself. Mr Maslin had referred to ■scenic beauties. For his own. part the scenery, he admired most was human scenery,, especially the juvenile element, ana he was glad to see so many children sanong the people of Geraldine. These •were the most profitable scenery. He had j feaxned that people'were accustomed t6 exjjecfc something from the visits of Ministers! 3)Bp: hj& would make no promises except ■Gate?—that any representations made to "h-inrt idionld receive the consideration. their importance deserved. (Cheers.) He thanked Ihe Mayor and those present for their eor<Oal. welcome. * 7 ;. RECEIVING DEPUTATIONS. " At 4-30;. Mr -Seddon sat at the Cburt3ioiise. - - - - Mr Flatman introduced a deputation to ask for a new post office. Mr Masliti,'the spokesman, said that a large amount of business ihad accumulated 2? _a .room only 12 feet wide. The additelephone bureau had greatly inconvenienced! post and telegraph work; and a g® i pensions, and other departmental "woik had to ,be done in the office. sasked also for an extension of the telephone Soars, the present facilities being inade- • qasle to requirement'. There would be ® oie if .this were granted. « -jaJMrther .consideration, ,was -a special grant '• 3«r the eradication of blackberries,- and- to > CTiprove I of . native bush reserve.; L borough could not afford- the whole -«spease. ; Saths _also, should, be made to fitk i a pTlblre pleMure resort. The post'i : and improvements, of the bush were " lie chief .items. A subsidiary request was H a new .police station and larger cells, i It would be awkward if two of the opposite i were in fh6 cells. GeraldiSe had d^ms les ? Public money had been "spent thera !: luLuJ- a " y - h6r boroL^h Can- ;j ,w »< Mr J. Maling- spoke of the need for a , strong room at the post office, and asked ;*Hrjthe same extension of the telephone as afrWaimate, a clerk being there all the j Jolu ' t'nrnpbelJ also- spoke, and Mr f t promised i» f c

come and see the "post office building. The Premier said that as regards the post office he was only interested as Colonial Treeasurer, and the Minister of the Department had to put his claims before the Cabinet for the allocation of a total amount. - The Geraldine office was evidently on the list, and he would have a look at it. (Hear, hear.) ' That- would satisfy them. Geraldine iad evidently an increasing ; population (he must go and look; at. their", triplets),; and had claims. , As to the telephone, ' the working hours were 9 to. 5 ana to extend them would mean an extra staff. If they got- subscribers enough to'make up the extra expense their request would be > supported in the proper way. He recognised that it would be a great; convenience.. He promised the fullest from ; the JJBnister in charge. A 6 to/noxious weeds in the domain, if the Ashburton Domain- Board asked for help to keep down weeds thev would be laughed at: : * °

Mr_ Maslin said- t-baf Ashburton irad a domain to keep up, and this bush was not a domain .in the ordinary sense.

| Tie Premier said; that Geraldine asked for 'control of it- and got it. He suggested that' they should take the Minister of Lands to see it: . Mr Flatman said that- it- would be under Sir J. G. Ward as. Minister for Scenery. Mr Seddon. said- that tie money was in the (hands of Mr Duncan. As treasurer he would be sorry to gee the bush lost, but .the Domain Board should accept some responsibility. As to the Police Court, he would look at that, but he did not agree that it should be shifted to-, a back street. Mr Flatman saijl; that his Department tad recently made an examination and got a report. Mi- Seddon said that necessary provision must be made.. As to the - , small expenditure of public money in Geraldine, he was glad rtp hear that boast. They must try to keep it up. . . " : . Mr Maslin mentioned that if the bush reserves were taken from local control the waterworks reservoir should; be excepted. The- Premier agreed that this was . reasonable.

Another deputation brought up the subject of a branch: railway to Geraldine. Mr J..Kennedy was,spokesman, and stated the arguments for. the propositi.Closer; communication was. necessary to the further -progress of the-'town/ and: district. A line, had been-, laid out to Geraldine with the idea of this future extension. The distance was only four miles, and there were no engineering difficulties. .. - The Premier said that -the working of & branch would -be very expensive, and eiectric trams would bs more economical. They might get this, but scarcely the railway. He would ask the Minister to geU an estimate of the cost of working. The users would have to pay that, and it would be cheaper to cart their produce. A third deputation, Messrs Skinner, Kelman, Campbell, Kennedy, and Taylor, made representations for the Land *Tax : League, as reported separately. ' COMPLIMENTARY SOOT AT. PRESENTATION TO~ MR- FLATMAN.

r-rThe Valunteer Hall was well filled for the evening meeting, at which an illumir nated address was presented to Mr Flat- > man. The Minister for Lands, Sir W. J. ' Steward, and numerous representatives of s local bodies and members of committee were on the many ladies being among those .present. > 1 Mr George Ward,' chairman of Mr Flatman's committee, presided, and stated the objects of the meeting. ■ Colonel Mackenzie acknowledged a num- . "er offf apologies and then read an address to Mr Flatman. This congratulated' him on his fifth consecutive election, praised his chivalrous conduct as a candidate, and his action as a representative, which had asW justified his selection as the people's representative. The address was endorsed by general applause, and Mr Ward presented to Mr Flatman, a handsomely illuminated and framed address." ■ Mr Flatman thanked the people of the electorate for their generous recognition of his services. He had endeavoured to assist and to work for the good of all. He deprecated any suggestion- that a representative should make any distinction between

the supporters of an opponent. After the election naturally a man could not lielp feeling a little more towards the wants bf s : friends, ..than of his opponents, -but he hoped that he had not given any evidences of that. He was proud that the conduct of the election in New Zealand compared favourably with that at Home. At any- ' there had been some rougher meetings during the last election at Home than .had been heard of in New, .Zealand lately 'At Home two candidates'' wives took anl part in canvassing, which had not : Wen necessary in Geraldine .aS all events. ' H& thanked the Selectors for thfiir support and accepted the testimonial as a proof of good-will not only of those who voted for him but also many whovoted against ; hmi (hear, hear), and he hoped to be able to ispay their kindness by disinterested ' land impartial service for,all. (Applause.) ' : The Premier, invited to address the mest- ] ;ing, was received with' cheers. He said he had done some tall travelling to be < and it was worth it. He endorsed the sentiments of the address and congratulated Geraldine on their member, i than whom no one was more respected in the House. One regrettable feature of the s politics m the colony was the tendency f lD fauJ t a representative on incomplete information. They should decide t to suspend judgment rntil they could hear r The Premier then mow 't of the results of the late election as an r

emphatic endorsement.. of ~ the policy ami administration of the Government. Except one oi- two clauses of the Public Revenues | Act, the Opposition had accepted all i legislation, and thereby provsa themselves | i-i the wrong in opposing the passing of that ' legislation. He instanced the substitution of the land tax for the property tax which had relieved the farmers greatly, and" yet many farmers were opposed to the Government, their best, friends. Lands for settlement., and old age pensions, were etoutly resisted, now they were applauded, the latter now being copied in other colonies. He hoped it would be adopted at Home, where the confessions of statesmen showed it to be so much needed. He referred also to the labour laws, the state ceal mines and fire insurance. In a short time there would bs retail coal depots that would bring down the price of coal all round, and that the Opposition- endorsed all this, was a proof of the correctness of Mr Flatman's support of the Seddon Government. The Premier reminded Mr Flatman that he (the Premier) had had some rough meetings in: Auckland and Gliristchuich, as a' contrast to the quiet meetings for Mt Flatman. "Nothing sue-, ceeds iike success," and lie believed he would have pteasant meetings there now. He raised a laugh by his humorous description of the political Tangis, of enthusiastic meetings, to defeated candidates. He dealt with Mr Moore's charge that some railwayinen had' been given an extra Is a day for election purposes. He described the difficulty he had in getting at the bottom of- this charge of dastardly tactics, this disgraceful attack upon the Government, and he explained the ordinary and regular circumstances under which the payment was made. He showed that the grave charges of the Opposition, that the povernment had bribed the electors was. disproved by the admissions of the Opposition members, that they had. got the. biggest grants.. . Canterbury contributing most- of the revenue received the least public money and returned a larger proportion of Government supporters. The Premier made reference to the American monopolies thereby affecting Xew Zealand, especially the Harvester Trust, which must be dealt with. He recalled the .State meat shops scheme, which was blocked by the House, and now a company was making thousands by eanying out the scheme. The American shipping combine had to be fought, too, and if necessary Xew Zealand must have her own steamers. (Great applause.) He next gave various statistics, and stated • the progress of the Midland Railway, and the allocation of education and charitable'aid endowments; spoke of the advantage of living in a'splendid, wellmanaged colony jike Xew Zealand, where the twin evils •of fabulous wealth and poverty that.disgraced a nation were both unknown. He referred to the loss of the "Pacific Islands through the neglect 6f the Opposition to assist the efforts of British Statesmen. ' Years ago Xew Zealand might have had Samoa; now it was part American, part- .German.Years ago the Xew Hebrides were actually part- of Xew Zealand,, and now they, had been lost. .The Union Jack, not the. Stars and Stripes, should dominate the Pacific; but unless Britain took decisive action that would not be the case. It was necessary to rte•vise the tariff, and he had invited Cham-" bers of Commerce and Industrial Associations to assist by advice before revision and not to wait to find fault after revision. Mr Seddon spoke an hour and threequarters; he was frequently applauded, and , . e concluded with an eloquent appeal talus hearers to keep on building up a noble and prosperous people.. _ The Hon. T. Y."Dunenn. and Pir W '.T •Steward a.'so s-noke briefly. nr.d tbo meeting concluded by the united of ;For he's a Jollf Good Fel"ow."~ and Lane Syne/'