"BACK DOWN" POLICY

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 834, 4 June 1910, Page 5

"BACK DOWN" POLICY

SHARP CRITICISM. MR. MASSEY REPLIES TO MR. FOWLDS. HOW THE GOVERNMENT TAXES . THE SETTLER, (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) Auckland, June 3. In the course of an interview witt a "Herald" representative to-day, Mr. W. F. Massey, M.P., Leader of the Opposition, offered- a strong criticism of certain portions of the speech delivered by the Hon. Geo. Fowlds on Thursday night. ' "I see," said the Leader of the Op-, position, "that Mr. Fowlds has been devoting the usual amount of attention to me in his speech, and I suppose I ought to feel •complimented, but I am sorry to notice that Ministerial responsibility has not cured Mr. Fowlda or his habit of misrepresentation. For instance, in the course of his addresß he says that the Liberal party stood for the rights of the people, and the Opposition for the rights of property. Just so; I have heard or read similar twaddle on previous occasions, but if Mr. Fowlds is a member of the Liberal party, I know of certain members of that party who are just as keen to acquire property in land or any other form as anyone is, and who are particularly anxious to stick to it. If there is any variety of individual for whom I have contempt it is the one who thinks it is right on his part to ownproperty but wrong on the part of others." The Grown Suits Act. "And, by the way," continued Mr. Masscy,' "part of my time in Parliament has been occupied in defending individuals, against the undemocratic methods of the Government, as for instance, in connection with the Crown ■. Suits Act, under which individuals sustaining wrong or injury (and there are many of them) at the hands of officers of the State are not able to sue the Government' or the head of any Department of State without the consent of the AttorneyrGeneral. We have had petition after petition-on this subject before Parliament, but Mr. Fowlds has always been on the side of privilege and against the individual. Mr. Fowlds and the Freehold. "I notice, too, that Mr. Fowlds states that he is in favour of the freehold with taxation. Well, it is an extraordinary thing that since he has been in Parliament, so far as I can remember, Mr. Fowlds has never given a single vote in favour of the freehold. I like a man in Parliament to act up to the views ho expresses on : the platform and, if he does not, I thiuk very, little of him. Workers and Reform Party. "Mr. Fowlds," continued Mr. Mnssey, "ridicules the idea of the workers supporting Opposition candidates but, from what 1 have seen and heard, the workers are sick and tired of tho Government. Heaven help the workers if the markets of this country were free to the products of the cheap labour of China and Japan, and that is the single tax in which Mr. Fowlds believes, if he believes in. anything. Heaven help the farmers, if the whole of the revenue required for the Government of this country had to bo collected from tho people on the land, Land that is single,tax, in which Mr. Fowlds believes. ; :Mr. Fowlds professes to think that the country wants less Masseyism. rather than more Masseyism. That is really very good of him but, whatever the Dominion may. think of Masseyism, I am quite certain that it thinks little of Mr. Fowlds. Catching Hares. "The journalistic mouthpiece' of the Government in Wellington says, referring to the city la-st election," continued v Mr. Massey, " that I should have caught my man first, and prepared the trimmings afterwards. Perhaps - so. I have caught my hares, and held them in the Government paddocks of New Plymouth, Stratford, Patea, Egmont, Mataura. Tuapeka, and many other places, and Mr. Fowlds and his friends, need not be surprised if I catch one and hold it in Grey Lynn at the next election." The, Knyvett case. Asked what he though of the Knyvett matter now, Mr. Massey replied: "Just what I tli/iught before.. 1 told the Knyvett Committee months ago that, if they only held on, a weak, spineless Administration like the present Government would be sure to ■ back down, and my words have come true. They have no principles, and they have no nolicy, except that of 'back down,' in consequence they are the laiighing-stock of the whole community. They are quite prepared to back down on anything, so long as they arc allowed to retain their positions. I staked my political reputation on having justice done to Captain Knyvett, and the present attitude of the Government shows that I was right." Taxing the Unearned Increment. Reverting to general questions, Mr. ■ 'Massey .said: "Mr. Fowlds states that the country should get; a move on in taxing what he calls unearned increment. That is his opinion, but, as a matter of fact, Mr. Fowlds and his colleagues have, on account of their extravagance, found it necessary to increase taxation on the burdens of the people to such an extent that they are scarcely able to bear it. My experience is that there is more unearned increment in one business in any of the large cities than in a hundred backblock farms, and, if we are to have any further increase in taxation, it should ■ not fall upon the country settlers, who, in most; cases, are paying far more than their share. Native Lands. "As to Native lands, Mr. Fowlde; like all of his class who talk much and 'do little, is in favour of as he says 'applying the same principle to European lands as to Native lands.' It should' be the other way about. Apply the same principle to Native lands as to European lands, and the difficulty will soon come to an end, but that' is the very last thing that Mr. Fowlds and his'colleagues would like to see eventuate. Next Election: A Prediction. "They have humbugged the people so Ion"' that they think they can keep on doing so, but I predict that the next wencral election will show that, they have come to the end of their, tether. Our policy is a policy of honesty and the policy of the Government is a policy of humbug, ami the people aro begi'nnim; to know-it."