THE Wairarapa Age MORNINNG DAILY. THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 1913. MINISTERS IN THE SOUTH.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 19 June 1913, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNINNG DAILY. THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 1913. MINISTERS IN THE SOUTH.

The enthusiastic reception .accorded the Prime Minister and the Hon. James Allen in Dunedin on Wednesday night is striking evidence that the people in the lower portion of the South Island are satisfied that the Reform Government hss made a substantial effort during the eleven months it has been in office to redeem the promises contained in the last Financial Statement. The condition in which they found the finances of the country'when they took office was such as would have caused less courageous statesmen to have trembled in fear for the future, By dint of hard business dealing, straightforward financing, and honest declarations of a clean policy, the Minister of Finance has not only been able to place the finances on a satisfactory footing, hut he has succeeded in establishing the credit of the country with the financial institutions at Home. The eulogy passed by the Prime Minister upon his colleague at Dunedin was thoroughly well deserved. The speech of Mr Massey .was very optimistic in tone, and he made it abundantly clear that a vigorous public works policy was to be pursued. It is unpleasant to reflect that £50,000 loss was expended on roads last year than in the previous year, but when it is remember-

od that the Government was committed by its predecessors to large expenditures upon public buildings, it can readily be understood that economy had to be practised in one direction or another. It ito ß ha hoped that next year the development of the internal resources will not be sacrificed to lirge building propositions in the centres. Mr Massey pointed to the fact that the)graduated land tax. which has been described .as a "fraud," wa s primarily intended to about the subdivision of estates. We have the assurance of the Prime Minister —and we are not prepared to dispute his figures—that],during the psst twelve months 864 original holdings have been, tub-divided, in addition to the settlement of ordinary Crown lands and Nitive lands. Those holdings had Iwen sub-divided into 2286 farms of an average area of 230 acres eich. We agree with Mr Massey that tin'* is something to be proud of t though we must express regret that we have been imable to observe any inclination on the part of large holder s in the Wairarapa to sub-divide their estates. The Prim© Minister said the. Government was not yet finished. We sincerely hope that it is not. But it wi}l require to go about itg land settlement business in a little more methodical manner in the future if it intends to retain the confidence of the country.. ,The Reform Government is not going to establish itself with the constituencies by minor leg-* islative reforms,,,. It has to redeem its jromise, lo throw open c&e.ilamd ■'■ for settlement.. •.'. By the daml we do not mean hill-tops atid rajbhit4nfe>ted' areas. • We ; -mean v =the i; land' of r firs& class quality that,is lying, compara--in the Wairarapa and*JEfawke's-Bay that are at pr-esent held ■by sheep* Qwners are made available to small settlers, we shall not consider thab the land settlement problem has been 'solved..'',We do not, of course, pre-,; siime to s?y that holders of large estates: should be -harassed or coerced. Nor do we expect the Government to bring about closer, settlement in a day, or a year. The large holders must' be brought to realise, however, that they are impeding the progress of the country,, and they must be offered every inducement to voluntarily sub-divide. If they fail to do this, then legislative pressure must be brought to bear. _ Ki ,In the words of Mr Massey himself,'the country wants "settlement, more settlement, and still more sett'lement." We were rather disappointed to. find that the Prime Minister did not, in his Dunedin speech, outline some of the more important measures 'that are to be introduced in the coming session. He may consider it, to reserve these matters j^qr.."the. Governor's Speech at the opening, of Parliament next, week; But the, taxpayers would have been glad of information that the Primn Minister was in a position to give had he chosen. We are sorry that we.cannot congratulate the Hon. James Allen upon the generosity he displayed in hi a speech. He had every right to show that when his Government took office they found the finances in a very bad way. He was also entitled to defend the method he had adopted for raising; loans. But it wias bad form on his part to say that "the present Government was living a cleaner life, financially and politically, than the Government that had preceded it." .V.A statement of this sort smacks of Pharisaism, and ill-becomes a Minister of the ■Grown who has only* bedni ia^o^ice^-for «wft»r» months. We»can,, jjgini ; to - many, mistakes that ,th& present Government has made since it came.info power,' , ;And^rt'''''iß"iowiy^'b^ause;':'^& : '. believer that thes'©.mistakes are made in the honest performance,of what is conceived to be a public duty, and because the mistakes so palpably deliberate as those of the Liberal Party, that we Mr Massey and his colleagues. But we do think that Minfeters should allow the public to judge their actions, and not take advantage of eyery available opportunity of drawing distinctions between their own virtues and those claimed, by their predecessors,