RANGITIKEI SEAT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 597, 27 August 1909, Page 7

RANGITIKEI SEAT.

| SPEECH BY MR. C. HUTCHISON. ! , SEVERE CRraCISM OF GOVERNMENT i POLICY. (."■ ..-vi(By .TcleeraphrSpectsl' Corrcsponiont.l ■; i ' Wanganui, August 26 , . Mr.. .G. Hutchison opened the campaign for : . the.v: Rangitikci, seat to-night by- addressingf -. . the.«lectors of. tho ' Wanganui 'East: portion of the distnet, and was received by a meeting in;-thorough-accord .with his views.. Mr. R.. I Neilson,- who had been asked to be candidate, > for,the vacant seat, but declined, presided. •Mr. . prefaced ithe outline of his policy-by reviewing the situation. ,Ho stated V • that.. ho and Mr." Hockly,?woro on; tho same i platform; and had .time permitted no doubt ! an v ' opportunity ' would •. have beon found:; to !.•- ascertain which was tho more accoptablo. Tho , tirile, however, was too short to reach an t; ngreomont, and it waß - decided • that. each • • should go on, and whichever was loft in the, V ■ .second ballot would bo assisted by the Other.: .: ; Mr- ','Hutchison: then'.put.-.forward, his plat- ; . form,'-and delivered a slashing and viroious ;critioism ;of-' the Govornment. Sir. Joseph : Ward camo in for especially severe handling. ? Tho''speaker scathingly exposing woak--1 nesscs ofjns administration and his Inability i ■"■■■'- to 'grasp tho truo 'needs ,of tho situation.: Yet'thoro wero some really good men m-the. Miiystry—tlie two Mackenzies, and Mr. Mil-/ ; lar.'--.The last-named should haye been appoint- • ed-Acting-Prime Minister. ' -Mr. Carroll s ap-- ' - pointmont was a reflection"on the whito men m the Cabinet; Tho whole Government should be'displaced, thouijlt some of- its personnel ■ might bo-retained; .Tho ihead.and.i,front of i its offending- was 'Sir-Joseph- 'Ward, - whose: oomposity entitled him to be named not Pompoy tho:Great, but Potripoy tho Littlo. . ,Confession of Extravaganoo. - Thd Pnme Ministor's announcement of tbo seed" for retrenchment was a confession of, - ' extravagance.- Tho Government.had, missed its golden opportunity to relieve tho depres- , '6iou'by enlarging tho, operations 1 of-the Advanocs to Settlors Department, -and now; a.j Minister was saying-ha hoped, to reinstate ;—'-\ , :-maiiy'of'thßi'ctreiiehed.''-!ni6' Government also i tallied of putting-the Civil Servants. on. the i ■ land,i'asking' men to. wield the axo wiio . had 'v ; ieon -pushing the pen. all ■ th,eir: lives.- This tfasxa-sample of the -Government's', meih-1 ! . ciency. -."If : telioved"of the burden: of office for';a while,';it . would; do . them. good; and i * the icountry also. * re-1 - ferr'ed to ;the Dreadnought ofter, raising -much I merrim-ont by tho caustic -way-ui which.he -.- handled.: the' Prime "Minister's action m tho , : ,; matter; :-The olfer would have-been a proper one if -the circumstances i .were such- as wero represented, hut':-inquiry, showed ' that th-e ': Dreadnought -was not • necessary. .England could not accept it without disparaging-other : . colonics, but could not refuse. it. So a-con-y ierenoe was arranged .to discuss- Imperial de- : i fence; Sir-: Joeph :Ward: -went - Homo. undt'r ■ police, escort,, and,, posing as the man who ■ - could., not •be done without; he insisted >on r :. ■ tho business of the country being. suspended in his ahsonce, which was wronging tho country for.thesake of his own sejT-indport-,»nco,'::and they, found: him still orazy -on tho ■ Dreadnought,':and insisting;: on its aceeptr'»noe:' Tho Admiralty could not squelch him, | .• so "ithey." accepted his.',Dreadnougnt..: but -it | •was..not;.going. to- be kepi- in English waters butsent to llong-Kong; • ; (Loud. laughter.) ; :.. ... - That; indicated-pretty:olearly Sir Joseph .Ward's calibro-as-.a.politician—all.for show ; and 'the: squandering..of • millions,• while miles : ; ' and"' miles of ■ unmade ' roads, and hundreds / . 'of • unbuilt. bridges wero -urgently wanted:

, The Land Question, ■;_ v-\;Mr:.Hutchison,.said,.if elected, he would go .for financial>reform.■ He also put' in >; a. strong .plea/ for ! the' option- of the .-free-r-holds for - .Crown ; 'tenants,-; and, ring to Native lands, said it • /was .. ,one: of/ tho . ironies of . our 'politics/that tho Minister who had done i the least for; tho ; Maoris,was; a. Maori l himself;. -In complicating. the tenure'of Native land Mr. Carroll had not only retarded settlement, but. had handled-his own compatriots. The ;unanimous i wjsh .of - the::Maorjs : was .to' be allowed ' to deal-in#eir own lands as they wished. Thoy - ■ should;,-,teith-.reasoiiablo -and''proper : 'pr«cau--1 ■ - ; horis; be;granted-this, as the idea that the i Maoris; would-make;settlers was absurd. By .;. this' irfeans hundreds of thousands of acrcs in . the Rangitikei ■ and Wangartui >; districts . alone would be opened to settlement. • As ■ between Mr. Hockly and himself, he asked his hearers should • remember - that he was an.old hand, and should. ask themselves- -- which Sir Joseph ' Ward would 1 prefer pot to :be ejected. The 'answer would pretty well m- . dicate who would be.tho best for them to ■: choose. If. elcoted he would be strenuous in i:bis- constituents' interests and endeavour-to promote : the .prosperity both of the district arid the Dominion, Questions. .-" Answering -questions, -Mr. . Hutchison said he»did not;tavour the State 'interfering with .-, the [business of the. banks: by a State mstitu- . fcion,'.thpugh he favoured the State reserving ihe ;right; to itself of issuing all notes against' .readily-convertible; reserres; He fav- , oured- Dominion instead of -local option, 1 and - : believed in the' referendum'inregard to large ■constitutional questions,' the initiative resting with- Parliament. He was against universal : military training,. considering ; it 1 unnecessary ■ ;;A. hearty vote\of .thanks concluded a very successful meetihg; whichvwasv unanimously with: tho speaker • from start 1 to close..