ADDRESS-IN-REPLY.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 20115, 1 July 1914, Page 8

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY.

Tho rlc-ue resumed at 7-30. | Mr. Lee moved that a respectful r.rl- ' dress be j reseated to His Excellency in reply to ihe Speech from the Throne. ' t He congratulated the Premier upon his , selecaion a^ a Privy Councillor by His i Majesty rhe King, ancl then proceeded : to discuss the commercial prosperity of j the Dominion, for which he claimed a , largo sharo3 cf credit for the Government. They might not be the dominant factor in bringing about this _ result, but they could at least claim a partnership in it, especially in view of tho splendid way in which, they rescued J the shipping trade of the Dominion from [ tho hands of the llc-d Federation of Labour. He claimed that the Govern- i meat was entitled to credit for the man- J ncr in which they had catered for the j farmer, and the finding of new markets and. the establishment ol; an Agricultural .Board were especially beneficial measures. iCovcr had we had such liberal land laws ::s we now have. The Government had i'lso confounded their enemies by increasing the. graduated land tax, j benefiting the colony both in promoting j 'settlement and in increasing the revenue, over a million acres having been settled and £40,000 being added to the revenue. He commented on the tactics of the Opposition last session as contributing to tho blocking of useful legislation. Tho cost of living was to be tak'en into consideration by the_ Government-, but' there were many things connected with the cost of living beyond the control of'the. Government. Such features ns came within their jurisdiction the Government would carefully watch, sv.«;.'i ss the reduction of the Customs tariff.?, workers' homes, land taxation, and similar reforms. Pensions had been increased by the Government, bringing needful help to the aged, while tho State employees hail been benefited by an all-round increase in wages and superannuation, schemes. None of these schemes were financial, but the Government had come .to their assistance and kept them on a sound basis. In iall cases whore taxation had been increased by tlio Government the increases had fallen "on the wealthy. He twitted the Opposition with now wanting to amend the Public Service Act rather than repeal it, as they formerly declared was their intention. The nndfngs of the Commission set. up by the Mackenzie Government justified the passing; of the Act. Its amendment miaht be desirable, but its repeal never. Tho Government had pass'jJ. good legislation, they had been carefal administrators, and he was corfident that the electors, who were tho real arbiters, would confirm that opinion ai-, the.next general election. Mr. Sykes. in seconding tho motion, said that all indications for the future wen; hopeful. Our produce was of the highest quality, and tho world would soon bo vaiting to receive it. The land settlement, record of the Government Kould compare favourably with that cf its predecessors, and was a complete refutation et the accusation that they were doinrr little in the way of settlement. He saw great future benefit to the Dominion by the .renewal of the 'Frisco rnuii service, a^ a largo trade ivas waiting us_ on the western coast of America. . A vigorous road ?naki:?g and railways building policy were to be pursued, and a reflected benefit would oo derived in opening up the country and stimulating production. In concluding, ho said ti><l outlook was good. Prices for produce were good, thu administration was undoubtedly good, end with r. due regard to thrift &ud economy by the i.eoplo this should indeed b*» God 1* own country. SIR JOSEPH AVARD'S REPLY. Sir Joseph Ward, replying, said he proposed to move an amendment that tho Houi,o has no confidon.ee in. the Goveminent heeauseits policy and administration are not in the interests of the masses of tho community. II« twitted Mr. Lee with knowing nothing about the effect of the Public Service Act', which had not resulted in a saving but in an increase of expenditure from £741,----000 to £7-J4.,000. It was equally idle for the ixicmbor for Masterton to say his party would approve? of an increase cf the graduated tax Avhon the. Minister for Finai?co, whom he followed, had publicly declared there was to be no further increase. The Government was not entitled to the confidence cf the people because of their method of dealing with the naval question. They had withdrawn tho subsidy from the British navy a.n.l committ-j'l themselves to a local navy. They had been weak, vacillating, and uncertain on this question ail through. He quoted an interview given, by the Hon. James Alien to show that ho had clearly declared in fa four of i loonl navy. The appointment of a naval adviser was a stop toy.yds thj'.t end, otherwise* what was the adviser to advise upon? Ho denied thai; tho Admiralty was m favour of a 100.l licet, and quoted a speech of tho First. Lord of the Admiralty in support of his view. The idea of ISV.v Zoaiaij'l looking after the interests of the Pacific; with one Bristol cruiser was absurd. The First Lord cf th© Admiralty had declared that thrco Dreadnoughts v. ould bo uselc-a as a defence of tho Pacific. What then would .be tlio position of a tangle liristol cruiser-' At present we hinl only the Philomel uncicr our control. War,.. i.h<?n. the naval adviser boing brought to.advi.se upon this vessel which could not live five minutes within fivo Hiik\s of a modern battleship Continuing after the supper .adjournment. Sir Joseph Ward, referring to the Legislative Council, severely criticised tho postponement of tho reform of the Council in the face cv the Government declaration that it must bo reformed. Ho dopr<-cp.ted tho manner in which settler;!, local bodies, and worker.?, weiv being treated, quoting advances made to show tli-H the Liberal party had treat ed these brannhcs # of the community moro generously, iv spite of s the fact tJiat the Government had abundance of mnney ii the particular departments At Blenheim, Hon. Allen stated that he f.'inkl iiiivc rrovfil 1;'v> iViurr ■--, >.;•■>.; i;v j thu pr>v-j ••(.:;. i!:j i.s?;:!;/d in •- ■> ■- ill;;: v:\\ '• i ilif Gov. riinirn'.. lot*.:'l woi'o •••)■• -Ij;^v■ i;?* j iiafc had hv dor.<i -::>. ho svou',;i Ji-'ve Iw-f-n i-utling [•.':■ o'i'/n ;'ij-c.j!! . "iii.'-v ..:■•. " i i.i. \-M to V■■ xi;!-:;-,. :•. X;':>, i. ; ;.. figuiv.Mi'mlo t>. the Ls'.f.-n! '.\<-\;->r.-y,:>- : A —ny \v;is Mr. .'Mien hoiu-st with tlie Loikloji investors 3' The Govoniniv?nfc liatl. when in O.nnosiiio:'. denounced every thin-; down by iho Liberal (Tovern!i!'.>nt J.vnc n laving down t-io foundations of that'po'.icv which ■nudoubteilly contributed to tlio prosperity they bad hoard r^o imidi of that night. Ministers had been touring the country during tho hi--<\, few months promising all sorts of concession s to j-.eople. When in Opnositiori tb.ey callol this bribing the people with Ihe:r own money. Ccncltiding, Sir-Jo-ronh W.:u-,1 acrasecl the Govcrninfint of w:int oV courago. innsmufh as they had no!, brouijciit in Bills on largo questions :\f. party i.ieasnrcs- • Trivatc mmnbers worn put up to briii!' in lc\?::«lai.ion •vvbioh tm--> Gnvornmont"ought to h.~:.v..? fp.fT"!. They had fp.ilod to cany r-ut th" ci-i-at.fr pr.i-f of tlioii* 7il'--({ges. iiikl were |-.iif"-.'>fori-> not worthy of the confidence i.f tho pr-op'o. IT(W JA3. A'MIWS T?KPT.Y.

The ilon. Jn-;. Alien crrnyirr'.tulni oil fyv Joso;»li Ward on t'm vigour of his speech, if not on it.-; mni'<->ri;>l. The Govr.riunent «";in r,reparf-d to r.-?eo;>fc :i noconfulcivo motion. No Government. It s"id. \voi:!f] ho rxppftod to denl with all the planks of its platform in two

years. The hon. gentleman had been in office for 20 years, and what had they clone about insurance against sickness; «nd unemployments AYhen tho Gov- ; eminent came into office they found the? ■ Legislative Council almost entirely com- ■ posed of nominees of the Liberal Gov- ! eminent, and new appointments had ! to be mr/le to get legislation through. • He denied aggregation was going on ar, ' a result of legislation passed by this Government. Mr. Y/iJford's figures did not deal with areas, but values. The final.1 ces of the country were sounder now than ever before in the history of the ccuntvy. Before lie took oilice, tho finances rotten. The Advances to Settlers department was so rut ministered that when ho (Mr. Alien) look office. | no Minister could make the accounts ' out. Why did not the Leader of the , Opposition raise a- loan and strengthen \ his dcpai tjvients? If he had been desir- ! ous of\ serving his country instead of j party he would have coins to his pro- i bable suoc«>ssor and said "What about ] raising ti'ij loan—-it v. ill be absolutely j necessary. v Hon. Allea further con- ; tended thr.D there was no money to meet ! commitments and liabilities when Sir j Joseph Ward's successor took office. After the plunge came the aftermath. Mr. Myers had to rake his share, and ho (Mr. Allen) had to take his. but he j was prou-I to say the position cf the .Department was never councler than to-day. Money was being advanced in largo amounts. The Advances to Settlers Department had £1.031,000 to its credit. The loans to local bodies c!epar'ment was also in a-'sound position,, and money was being advanced to the i full'limit of the law. Sir Joseph Ward 1 tried to umke the country believe that I tho Government was rot m favour of one Imperial navy. _ The present Government was more in favour or a one | Imperial jravv than Sir Joseph Ward. Ho quoted from the London "Times" to show tha?.' ihe local navy was approved by the Admiralty. • The Opposition ridiculed tlio proposed acquisition of on^ Bristol .jn.iiser. The Government had not committed tho country to one penny cxpcndituro on ships. Those opnoseel to the Government were little New" Zealanders. The best way to serve the Empire was to establish local independence and show their patriotism. The Admir.tilty broke tho agreement entered into at the liTiPcrial Conference attended by S;r Joseph Ward. Had |Sir Jo~C'* Ward taken Parliament or th& peonle into his r-onndenct- with regard to the Declaration of London? Sir Joseph Ward's proposal for a. naval defence would mean £500,000 a year. What the present Government proposed would cost only £100,000 per year. Sir Joseph Ward accused the Government of not cutting down expenditure and stopping borrowing. What they promised to do was to control expenditure, and it could "i 1 ot bo expected that they could cense borrowing in such a young country. The debate was adiourred on the motion of Mr. Wilford/ and tho House roso at 11-45.