SIR JOSEPH WARD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19815, 5 December 1919, Page 3

SIR JOSEPH WARD.

ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION AT TEMUKA. A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE. [From Quit Gorbeafoxtient.] TEAUJKA, December 4. Sir Joseph Ward's visit to Temukft is being made an important event in the history of tho borough. The Liboral leader arrived soon after 2 p.m. t.o-day by the express. He was met at tho railway station by lire Mayor (Mr T. G minion I and members of the Borough Council and other prominent, residents, including Air C. J. Talbot, At.lk, Liberal candidate for Tenuiktt. i ho day was a perfect one. as far as tho weather was concerned, and Sir Joseph was driven in a oar to several places of interest, including a, garden tote held under •tho auspices of 1 he Methodist Church at Mrs K. Brown’s j residence, and the Bramwell Booth Home, conducted by the .Salvation Army. Residents of the borough and of the surrounding country districts flocked to the Dominion 'ihoatro, in King Street, ilu> principal thoroughfare, long holorc the. time advertised for Sir Joseph to begin his promised address. All parts of the main portion of the hall and ilio gallery were crowded, and many people blocked the ptain entrance and the side entrances. An orchestra of ten just rumen is played musical items from 7.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. A committee of residents bad decorated the platform with magnificent roses, rhododendrons, peonies and evergreens, gathered from some of the many beautiful Teninka gardens. Sir Joseph stroke beneath a great- bouquet hung from the ceiling. Ho was received with loud applause and cheers. Air G. BCartwright, Deput.y-Al.ayor, presided. Amongst others on the platform were Messrs Talbot, D. A 1.’.1 turns (chairman ol Air Talbot’s committee), and Vincent Ward, who is accompajiyiug his tatuer on the- tour. The chairman said that it was five years since Sir Joseph’s previous visit. He had represented New Zealajid in the Old Country and in France, and residents were pleased to see him looking so well after ins work. At the chairman’s call three hearty cheers wore, given for Sir Joseph, and those were renewed when ho arose to speak. Ho thanked those nvesent for their enthusiastic reception, and thanked tho Deputy-Alayor for welcoming him, back tp * eniuka. He was pleased to note tn « Progress' made bv both the borough and the district. He continued that he had come by invitation to speak on momentous public questions. It was a crisis in tho country’s history that never had been equalled. The* people i '0 take these miestions lightly now. Some years ago he had been in cities in Europe that were going on in the ordinary way. He visited some of those cities soon after tho armistice was signed and found that, not a stone in them was left, standing. New Zealand, fortunate-’ Q") had not experienced tho devastation of - the war, but experienced the effects of it, and that was ono reason why the people here -must look not only to the present but -also to the Urfuro. New Zealand was contributing £1.2,500,000 a year,, including pensions to soldiers, and this young country, the furthest removed from the heart of tho Empire, the youngest of tho overseas dominions, had sent more men in proportion than had been sent bv a.nv other country, and it could extend its sympathy to those who had suffered losses. The places of those lost never could be filled. AVhat, was it this young country had to think of? A voice: Soldiers. Sir Joseph : Yea, and we must see that justice is done to the soldiers and to the dependants of those who fell. ■He was not there, he continued, to deal iu recriminations hut to consider the future in view of the changed conditions, The country now was living on war prices. They might continue for another year, or two years, or even three, but not- longer. Over the cables there; came hews of groat Continental nations being bankrupt There were Germany, France, Italy, and Russia, practically the whole of the great, countries of Europe. Would those conutrios buy New Zealand produce for the same prices as at present? Then the Alnther Country was reconstructing. The Japanese had emissaries all over the world in competition with the Old (,‘onnjry. Now Zealand, tlieroiore, must have a, wide vision in order to judge what would he the posiI lion at the, end of three years. Tho Dominion’s duty was to discover what to guard against. In the first place if must not accept the dictum of his opponents that, lie was a. wild nationalist-. He believed in nationalising some things on strong and reasonable lines in the interests of the people. Ho would lot them .judge of the faith that was in him. New Zealand was the greatest nationalise! - in the world, and two-thirds of it- was brought about by the Liberal Governme’ht. He mentioned the Post Office, the Advances to Settlers Department, the Advances to Worl <ers Department, which he put, on Hie Stature Book nearly ten years ago, the Public Trust Department. Who owned the State railways? AVby. the people themselves, and would anybody allow the Government to sell nmol’ them? A voice: No, Sir .Joseph: No, not for a moment. Act some of my opponents would repeal at least, some of them. Coming to the coal mines, ho described the constant friction between employers and employees, and said that Hie people could not stand hv and look ou lor want- ol courage or simply because some) ample said ‘'Beware of the nationali-e,T' The State coal mines should be placed in the same position | as the railways. Railway employees : did not talk of going on strike. Why ? Because the Liberal Government had inaugurated a superannuation scheme lor them. It was the same iu other Departments. fsir Joseph was interrupted hv erics e! “ Put him out!” directed at, a somewhat turbulent interrupter. Sir Joseph interceded for him. and asked that lie ■■•houhi he allowed to remain. Sir Joseph condemned th o go-slow ■ po icy, hut said that the remedy was ' I," 1 ’ 'I' 0 Mil, °,to '»vn the principal mines : <iui.l to give Hie miners, and consequent- , hj J " nTS ; u'<l dependents, (he same , P n y ilp ges ns were enjoyed bv Hie present, State employees. His housing j scheme would provide (3000 homes in | order to prevent two, three, and four j I a indies from living i„ one home. Tho m-Ik'iiio could Lo operated at the rents he had stated in previous addresses Iu Hus reconstructing era nohodv must Hunk Hint the country could go back to pie-uar conditions. The country was making £30.(100 out, of one of its mines at present. It could afford to give the niitiers good houses and good* eondiHons, and if any man went'slow under Hmse conditions he should he turned j out and another man put in his place. A prophet, it was said, had no honour in his own coiHifry. hut he prophesied that with his nationalisation of the coal mines the present troubles at Hie. mines would disap).ear. He was urging al-o thal Hie li.ydro-eleelriea.l works should be nationalised. (A voice; Take, (be whole lot.) He wa.s very strong on that scheme, because it meant, a great deal !°. Y°" Zealand. In Canterbury and Wellington and Auckland provinces immense water power was going to waste. Mie schemes should he put in hand in j throe- years, New Zealand bad nu opj pnrtimitv to become one. of Hie greatest ; manufacturing countries in Hie whole I world, because it- possessed the cheapest | niamifactoring power in Hie world. It ! "’ ;,s at least. 2J per cent, less than j ui any other-country. New Zealand j bad more power of Hint eliaraeter than lire hundred Niagaras- Mith these '-heme., in operation the power would

k? . ln house morning,, noon, and ,i turcia y and , Sunday included, and all the time. It would bo at every bedside. (Laughter.) In fifteen years there would not -be a steam engine on any New Zealand railway, as the hydro* electric power could lie made available nil along the line. That, was talking ..nationalisation, It oould not be denied that it was nationalisation, and it was the nationalisation be wanted. Was there anything in wine about his scheme to nationalise the ferry service? Before the war it was not necessary to hare a State ha.nk, but alter the war it was wise to hare an. institution wuth its roots deep down in the soil, that would lie a strong citadel for financial purposes. He was opposed to Government control ol a State bank a.nd opposed to any public man having any- ! tLing to do with it, but he wished to | have an institution that would help i New Zealand ns certain institutions had j helped .France and Germany during the! war. There should be an advanced policy in completing railways and making roads. It would take iJB,IXIO.OK) to complete the railways. The work should he clone in lour years a.u the rate of £2,000.000 a year. The State should find the money for maintaining roads, and let the work be done by local authorities. Amongst other things necessary to carry out those schemes and to meet the needs of people of town and country was a. State bank sufficiently strong to make the required advances. I He proposed that taxation should le reduced, not increased. It wps monstrous to say that the people should he mulcted in pence to the same extent as they were mulcted in war. Taxation must be reduced as soon as revenue came from the avenues indicated in the schemes he had outlined. It was. necessary to buy laud for soldiers, hut Hie land must he bought from the large owners and the land tax should be increased to induce the owners to cut up their largo estates. It was useless "'to buy a small farm simply to let a farmer go out and a soldier go in, because that would not add to the country’s producing capabilities. He would not offer any apology for leaving the National Government, but there bad been gross and deliberate misrenresent-atiou on the question. .He denied that ho had tried to get the Go- j vornment out with thcvhelp of the La* hour Party. He was unite within his rights when lie resigned from the National Government. A largo part of the programme submitted last session was the work of Liberal Ministers in the National Government. Good and valuable work was done by them, and some credit was given the Prime Minister for that work. It did not come well from a section of tho Conservative Press or from members of the Reform Party to discount what tho Liberal Ministers had done. He always had been in favour of recognising moderate Labour. He always had been in favour of representatives of moderate Labour in Ministries. (Applause.) Ho was not—-ho had stated it in the House and in his manifesto—in favour of direct action or of unconstitutional steps, and he would not remain in power if lie had to depend on the support of the extremists. They were only a few in the House and they had a perfect right to_ their views, but he would not hold office if it depended on their support. .He was amazed to find that it bad been stated that be was opposed to the wheat grower. To disprove that statement be quoted tho Advances to Settlers Act and the measures he had passed to help small farmers. He was dead against establishing a permanent military force in New Zealand. He favoured the Territorials, which would not call men up for two months at a time when their absence would interfere with the work on the farm and with, businesses. Tho whole world was sick of war. The League of Nations was the most magnificent thing which had resulted from the Peace Conference. The trend of human nature could not be altered, but the League of Nations would be a great factor in preserving peace. When the Motherland had publicly annonnced_that her army would' be reduced to 800,000 men inside the British Isles, when America’s army would be reduced to the same size, when Germany’s army would be reduced from 8.000,000 to .100,000, New Zealand should consider whether or not her young men should be taken from their vocations to go into camp for two months' training. He could not uucltrstand how anybody could propose such a thing. He was right against a, local navy. Would it bo better for New Zealand to have its own little nan* or to bo-attached to the grand old British Navy, which had , preserved New Zealand, preserved the British Umpire and preserved the world? He was in favour of the British Navy every time. _ Ho ( wanted to see introduced into New Zealand a system of motor-lorry | traction to bring Hie interior into touch i with the I owns and railways- Tho sys-1 tom should be on the same principles as j the system he bad -seen in France. Ho saw there 4-3.000 moton-lorries at one time. The -Government should establish the system and should charge railway rates for goods and passengers, in order ’ that, the fiervice should pay 4$ per cent, j He would favour expenditure to do* j velop gold mined, and would send Gov-! ernment travellers to .other countries to open up fresit trade routes. The reconstruction must be practical in order that it might help to bring down the cost of .living. The war had destroyed a great deal of the old clas s hatred, and it must, be recognised by all wise'men that the workers would have a greater share of profits than they had bad before the war. The whole basis of the system of wages had altered in New Zealand. It was only a. fatuous stupid who would try to prevent a trader from making a fair profit, but tho profiteer must be gripped by the throat. In conclusion, be mentioned several reforms brought about Tito the ,Liberal Party, and in reply to a statement that lie was a ‘'mad nationalism'" ami would bring New Zealand to the same position as Queensland, lie said that as Minister of Finance in the National Government ho had recast the whole financial fabric of the country and had left a sum his of £15,000.000. He strongly appealed to the electors of Temuka to vote for .Mr 'fa I hot. Sir Joseph spoke for two hours, and was listened to with deep interest throughout. A hearty vote of thanks to Sir Joseph Ward and confidence in him as lender of the Liberal Party was moved by Air | J. Kennedy, of Geraldine, and was oar-1 vied with applause. The meeting concluded hv those present rising and cheering Sir Joseph.