SIR ROBERT STOUT'S WANGANUI SPEECH.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5582, 4 June 1896, Page 4

SIR ROBERT STOUT'S WANGANUI SPEECH.

Sir Eobert dismissed as not -worth serious consideration a suggestion he had heard, that there might be a Conservative re-action. " There would," he said "be no Conservative re-action. The people who were struggling for pure government and to uplift humanity saw, and must see, as the world progresses, that there could be no going back." — Wanganui Chronicle. It was felt by the Conservatives here that some attempt had to be made to reply to ' the very clear and convincing speech lately delivered in Wanganui by the Colonial Treasurer. Sir Robert Stout was, therefore, invited to undertake the task, which he essayed last Monday evening witli but indifferent success. In the first place he was heavily handicapped by the fact that he had been a colleague of the late Hon John Ballance, whose policy Sir Eobert took occasion to frequently eulogise, notwithstanding the fact that he was surrounded and supported by the bitterest enemies and most unscrupulous opponents of the dead . statesman, to whom such eulogy was gall and wormwood. Then, again, Sir Eobert Stout was at great pains to imbue his audience with the belief that he still a stalwart Liberal, but his constant ' condemnation • of the "Liberal policy of the Ministry largely discpunted the speaker's sincerity, and had the opposite effect to that intended. Those present could not shut their eyes to the palpable fact that Sir Eobert Stout was acting in the interests of the opponents of the Liberal Party, and doing his best to throw discredit on its Ministerial representatives. * * * We cannot conclude without referring to his extraordinary admission that he belonged to no party, that he had no policy to offer the people, and that he, only wanted to turn the present Government out of office to free the political kale-garden of weeds, not having the. slightest idea as to what he would crop it with, afterwards. Was ever such an admission made by a leading politician, who has been- Premier .of. one administration and has hopes of again occupying that position in another ? Sir E. Stout denounced Mr Ballance's land laws, condemned his cheap money scheme, branded his surviving colleagues as political rogues and vagabonds, and joined hands with his enemies in the hope of undoing all the good work done by the Liberal Government during the last five years. Truly, this is a strange way of eulogising the dead statesman, whose loss to New Zealand the people have not even yet fully realised. — Wanganui Herald. ■ THE PREMIER AT NAPIER. If (says the News) any proof were wanting that Napier, has not wavered in its allegiance to the Liberal cause, it was forthcoming at the meeting which was held in the Gaiety Theatre. On a cold and miserable' evening the large auditorium was crowded, and that too by one of the most enthusiastic gatherings of the public, we ever remember in this town. Mr Seddon must have felt himself well repaid for the hard work he has been doing when he felt how closely in touch he is with the people ; how truly they regard him, ancf how highly they appreciate the plain, blunt man who sees his duty and does it, despite all the powers of selfishness, monopoly and wealth combined. The confidence of the people in the Seddon Government is unabated. The shafts of malice and of lying have flown harmlessly past the Premier and the Government, and if the curses of his opponents do anything at all, it will be to act as chickens and " come home 16 roost." In Napier, as in most: other centres, Conservatism as a power is as -dead as Julius Caesar. The machinations of the National Conservative Association, with a suborned Press at its back, have utterly failed to lay hold ofthe minds and hearts of the people. 7857