SIR JOSEPH WARD.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 336, 24 October 1908, Page 5

SIR JOSEPH WARD.

i HIS SOUTHERN TOUR. INTERVIEW AT CHRISTCHURCtf. _~ [AMERICA MD PENNY POSTAGE. (BI MLBGEAFH—MESS ISBOCUTIOS.) Chrlstohurch, October 23. Tha Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) an rived from Wellington by the Mararoi this morning, leaving for Duncdin by-the secOn<J express. Ho goes, on to liivorcargill to morrow, and delivers an address at Walton on Monday night. Afterwards he will spend a few days in bis (Awarua) electorate, visit ' ing Stewart Island on Wednesday, returning to the Bluff and giving a speech the same evening as Mr. Massey is to speak at Te* mnka, October 29. Sir Joseph will reply to, him at the same place ou tho following night. On Saturday, October 31, tho Premier is to open the . new post office at Geraldine. He will afterwards return to ChristchurCh for th« carnival holidays, and proceed to \Wellington for the election period. 1 Treasury Bills; In the course of an intcrviOw with. i Truth " representative this hioruiilg, Sir Joseph Ward referred to the statement cabled from London on Saturday last'to the 1 effect that £1,000,000 worth of New Zealand Treasury bills of one year's currency had begun to be'placed on the London market. The Premier said there was . no-autho-rity to issue Treasury bills iii Loiidori. None had been issued there, and even, if there had been anything in the suggestion, there was no power to issue" bills to,the extent of one million. The total legal authority for the Dominion was only £400,000. There wete bills cUrtent to the extent of hut he had paid off £300,000. It was the. practice of tho Government to issue Treasury bills locally one nionth and pay 1 then! off tho following month. To authorise the issue of bills in London, as had been suggested, would seriously cripple the Government's . financial position iii.New Zealand. As ColoiiiarTrea-: surer, he would not think.of doing ( such .a: thing. The High Commissioner Could not' do it without his (the speaker's) authority, and v the High Commissioner had 1 cabled denying that anything of the sort had been done. . . The Money Market, v , ".Any apparent stringency in the money - market," Sir Joseph Ward pursued, " is now ' passing away. The, complaint that .settlors and workers .have been unable to ob--tain advances froni tlie' Advances to Settlers Department too is being overcome. . So. far this month £259,000 has been advanced, and tho Department tviil probably lend an equal amount during November; That means practically £600,000 loaned out by -the State in ' 1 eight weeks. With .considerable knowledge ' of the position in the Dominion in connection with tho applications Coming in I am able to say that • tho Department . is meeting tho requirements very fully. - I feel •' quite satisfied .that; by - December any local . tightness of money that may exist will, have ■ eased off very considerably. There is a : very large sum. of which 1 .am awafei coin-'-ing into New Zealand soon, and this, too,; Mill have-a very good effect. . And then,;, too, our people are having a very fine season in the country. The butter districts [expect a .larger.output, thai ever 1 , and good-prices.' are "assured. There' is a fetrOhger andhealthier feeling among those who a few months ago were excessively pessimistic, I noticed, with great pleasure that 'The Press,' in its j leading''columns, has consistently, set its face ; against taking up'an alarmist or even gloomy view of our finances. These articles came ,' at the-most- desirable time, and I am surehave had a 'distinctly steadying effect. Land Valuos. i ■. "One often hears tho" cry,.of inflated land .values.' Well, I was in-.'&r.district the day ".. before-yesterday, where .geniune farmers wero !buying land' at from.£26 to £40 per acre.,'. .In'conversation with some'.of these men I -was told that thej could-get good returns • even from land at that price. They were 'not speculative buyers" either.- : Most of- ' them, were small farmers, They: pointed oirt'-i ;th'at tlie butter-production of the land was now higher and that they were getting-lid:' , per lb", for., butter fat as against 8d; lately ■ ruling. Sixpence per pound would paj- the&, so that you see the rise in land .vuues is . perfectly legitimate, and nothing is" so" Con> .-. vincing as actual concrete facts. These met v are-full, of, courage. They know :they ara. doing well, and their purchasing . land at. high grioes is. fully justified by the v ;i%sult«. : •&i Feijding the only fear is that they-' will not have enough trucks to carry,away tho stock that will & dispatched from tlia* station alone.'';' : .. . \ r •'A-S; ' ; Railway Matters. . j The Prime Minister said the new' scale of rates on the Christchurch-Lyttelton'iKailway ... line would be brought into force almost at " orice, and he felt the change would be much ■appreciated. lii regard to the proposed eleo itfification of the tunnel not much could b«' done at the moment. There was a universal demand for railway expenditure, • and last session new railways, involving upwards, o.' - twelve millions sterling, were asked for, apart , altogether from tho lines already authorised.. ■ -■ The Elections. 1 In regard to' the forthcoming election the Prime Minister,said,he viewed.the prospects from one end of the Dominion'to the other with every confidence. "The prospects from the Government point of view are distinctly . 'good,-" ho added. . . Postal Arrangements. • The Primo Minister stated that, he had,ro» ceived a cablo message frorntho. Postmaster- ' General at Washington expressing pleasures at the arrangement by which Now.-.Zealand:; 1 would coilhect with tho American..direct mail 1 service to Tahiti by means of. the'' Tjaion. steamers carrying the New.Zealand mails'-to V and from that point. The American Post-jnastor-Geheral had also advised that his Government would reciprocate in the' matter of : penny postage by permitting penny postage on letters from America to New Zealand. This concession (which is td come into force at once) Sir Joseph regarded with lively satis- ;, faction.