PRE-SESSIONAL ADDRESS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2105, 13 June 1907, Page 1

PRE-SESSIONAL ADDRESS

SPEECH BY HON. G. FOWLDS

Press Association,

AUCKLAND, yesterday. Addressing tho constituents of Grey Lynn to-night the Hon. G. Fowl.ls said the people ought to bo proud ol the way Sir J. Ward had represented them at the Imperial Conference. He liad had occasion recently to criticise certain other delegates and lie bail nothing to regret and nothing to take hack. He wantad to see the British Empire consolidated, lor it was the greatest force in the world to-day, making for peace and justice, liberty and progress. We had to see that we maintained unimpaired our own independence in tlie colonies, and in doing that wc

must grant sonic freedom of actioi: fcx people' of the Old Country. (Ap plause.) He referred to the regrettable illness of the Hon. Hull-Jones.

Among reforms carried out was the

provision tor sinking tunds for some ol the old and unproductive loans, and last year out of ordinary revenue £39,950 was provided. Then there ,vas the item that had stood for years before the present party came into power, £700,000 on debentures, and £150,000 was paid off that. The Leader of the Opposition ..luinied credit for a lot- of. reforms .lie Government had carried out, but .vlr Foxvld’s opinion was if the devil ni in self was the leader of the'Opposition lie would be found preaching

righteousness. Referring to* education he said /rent strides had been made. He vas very pleased the House had agoed to free education from primary .cbool to University. The schools ■ere no longer the preserves of the vcalthy. Tho Technical education vsteni and vote had. also enormously •xtonded. The number of students inkling free places in Technical schools last year was 15,0-Jl.

expenditure on education amounted to £63,180. The Government expected great advantage to accrue to the colony from tho visit of its In-spector-General to other countries.' He defended the School Journal,, considering it would ho accompanied by extensive benefits. Referring .to the outbreak of plague in Auckland, he said the manner ill which tho Health Department set about combating it justified the cxistenco of that department. As to the" Land Bill, he denied Mr. Massey’s assertion that ho (Mr. Fowlds) was the real author of it. Mr. Massey had called him a Socialist among other names. He wasn’t a Socialst, but would rather bo one than uphold the present system. Mr. Massey threatened that the Land Bill would not be passed unless he was first carried out of the House. That was the threat of an Anarchist. Parliament and the Government would do their duty, even to.the extent of carrying Mr. Massey out oil a stretcher. (Laughter.) There was a good deal of genuine opposition in Auckland to the hill, but much of that was

due to misrepresentation. There was not the slightest justification for the assertion that the bill was an attack on freeholds already existing.