The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1919. SIR JOSEPH WARD'S CAMPAIGN.

Timaru Herald, Volume CVIII, Issue 16981, 14 November 1919, Page 6

The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1919. SIR JOSEPH WARD'S CAMPAIGN.

The speech which Sir Joseph Ward made at Cta'istchrirch. on Monday night did not add much to statements that had been previously made by him in his prodigious manifesto and elsewhere, and in his address last night at Winton he again .traversed what has become familiar ground. It was a picturesque way of referring- to his departure from the Coalition Government to say that he would have been a traitor to the Liberal Party had he remained in it. It does not seem to have occurred to Sir Joseph Ward that the party aspect of his action was the least important one. It was something' to the Liberal Party,' no doubt, that it should have the chance of holdingall the portfolios of a Government instead of only half of them. It was embarrassing to the Reform Party when a Government had to be reconstructed by it just before the elections at a day's notice. But the real danger was that the country's business might be forced to suffer from the awkward fix in which the Liberal's hasty evacuation placed their former ; colleagues, and to suffer more if the result of desperate strife bei tween parties that have now no natural diitereiices should be to place extremists who are antinational in control of the nation's destinies alter next election. After his return from England Sir Joseph YVard was pointingout, quite truly, that "the troubles after the war would be as great as those during the war." The problems needing attention, he declared, were "too urgent to wrrait of petty bickerings." Yet what else but artificial bickerings are the elections |in which, as Sir Joseph and his j party have decreed they must be I waged, candidates all over the 1 country now stand mutually , opposed, who would have found it quite impossible to say two I months ago where they differed 1 from each other ? In his Winton speech again the Liberal leader "solicited the co-operation of moderate and -progressive people of all classes to promote the wellbeing- of the country." That cooperation we mig-ht have had if Sir Joseph Ward had not raised the party flag-. It is made in vain to a party audience after "moderate and progressive people" have been ranged, by Sir [Joseph's action, in opposing l camps.

The remainder of the Liberal leader's speech at "Winton does not call for any long review. In his manifesto he declared that the time has arrived when "the whole of the coal mi/ies of New Zealand should be nationalised." ISTow he would restrict the "Government stroke" as a means of augmenting- output to "the best of them," leaving - private enterprise to cope Avith those most in need of development. Ho took pride in the accumulation of surpluses to the amount of fifteen millions, which in normal times would mean that so niueh money was taken from the taxpayers beyond the amount required from them, and in Avar time, meant that «o much was put by, and loans raised in place of it, when a fair proportion of the war's expenses- mig-ht have been met from taxation instead of continued for sixty years at least in the shape of increased indebtedness on which interest must be raid. Loans were raised, as Sir Joseph states, at a cost which

was unprecedently low, but only because they were raised locally, m accordance with a policy which was resisted by him till practi-. cally it could be resisted no: longer. He found fault with the Government for proposing to spend now too much in a single year, and went oh to explain how much more would be spent by hini if he were in the Governments place. Only we may point out that it would be altogether useless, for the presentfinancial year, to apportion more expenditure to roads, railways, and. water power. More funds have been provided for them than can be spent in the shortage of labour. Sir Joseph "Ward's calculations of new revenue to set off his new, magnificent expenditure are not convincing. The Bank of New Zealand, whose net profits for last year were £308,000 is to give him,- as a State concern, £500,000. The coal mines which, including the State colleges and with the exclusion of two managed at a loss, returned average profits for the last five years of less than £IIO,OOO, are to give him £250,000. We have gjeat hopes of tie development of water power, but when it is officially stated that the Lake. Oolendge scheme, after five years 5 - operation, is not expected this year to pay more than interest and depreciation on the capital cost, the least financially-minded reader can form some estimate of iLn n S An n Sir J «sepn's promise of ±OOO,OOO a year in profits from this source is likely to be realised. But the most startling of Sir Joseph Ward's promises—and here he improves even on his manifesto—is when he proposes to build workers' five-roomed houses which can be let, without loss to the State, at 10s 6d a week. The wople who can believe that will believe anytliin" of the Liberal leader. °