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Timaru Herald, Volume XCVI, Issue 14912, 3 December 1912, Page 6

' In deciding to give a, civic reception to the Prime Minister when lie visits this town on Thursday week, the Timaru Borough Council has followed its own precedent of a few years ago. Before Sir Joseph Ward left for the last Imperial Conference, a civic banquet was tendered him in Timaru, and proved a very pleasant function. Tlie occasions when the ratepayers' money • should be spent in honouring politicians, whose political views must necessarily provoke different opinions among the ratepayers, should be few and very carefully selected, but the same reasons which caused us to approve tho civic banquet 'to Sir Joseph Ward, in his capacity as Prime Minister, recommend the conferring of a civic welcome on Mr Massey. The Prime Minister is the Prime Minister, independent of party politics. He is the' head of the people's elected authority, and in that cajiacity the people do honour to their own institutions when they honour him. Party politics .will be very properly tabooed at the gathering, but ."f Mr Massey could find time to g£ve a political speech in Timaru, on an occasion separata from his reception, there is ho- doubt that thousands would be glad to hear him.