SIR JAMES CARROLL IN REPLY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1174, 8 July 1911, Page 6

SIR JAMES CARROLL IN REPLY.

SPEECH AT CHRISTCHURCH. ' POINTED INTERJECTIONS. SOME DISORDER AT THE END. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Chrisichurch, July 7. Sir James Carroll, Acting-Primo Milliter, delivered a political address in the Choral Hall this evening. The Mayor (Mr. Taylor, M.P.) presided, and tho hall was filled. The Acting-Premier, on rising, was received with continued applause. Ho said that thoso who held public office and managed the affairs of tho country should always place themselves at the disposal of any section of the community tor the purposo of fostering discussion and arriving at an understanding respecting public affairs. They were approaching an interesting' period this year. They were looking forward to November. They had both sides and all parties endeavouring to instil into the miuds of the public the momentous questions of tho It was, therefore, in tho interests of. tho people of tho Dominion that Ministers should bo, journeying through both islands. They were well awaro of the position of tho parties, no represented tho party in power to-day, and which had been in power for the past twenty years. It was due to tho Ballanco Government of tho Liberal Administration that the Labour people for the first. timo in the history of. New Zealand got a status and an established status. On the other hand, they had the Opposition party in 1891, known as the Conservative party. Ho believed tho brand was on them still. (Laughter and applause.) No matter how many aliases the party had undergone it. could not c'bango its spots, and was still Conservative. Thero was no harm in b;ing Conservative, nor being in the Opposition. They must always have an Opposition, and it was in tho best interests of the people, because it encouraged keen criticism, and rivalry, tho outcome of which might bo for the good of the people; but an Opposition to bo useful must also be progressive, must grow contemporaneously with the times, aiid.be abreast of public feeling. If an Opposition party did this, it' would be of greater use than would be the caso if it remained the old Conservative party without any conceiving power-as to reform or lines of policy. To-day the Opposition party knelt at the confessional stool and admitted that they were in favour of measures' passed by the Liberals', and claimed that if they were put into power their administration of these progressive and Liberal measures would be better than if it was left in the hands of tho party in power at present. That was for the people to decide, but by their deeds they could always tell them—"by their deeds yo shall know them"—and when they knew what they had been doing during tho past 20 years in opposition to every movement in advance and of every Bill approved by the Government, then by their deeds he hoped they would judgo them in November. (Applause.) "You Haven't Got One at All." In Wellington the previous night Mr. Massey in a great'speech had outlined the Opposition's policy of reform. It was something even to get that from the Opposition. A voice: "You haven't got one at all." He (tho speaker) would tell them presently what they had - got. (Laughter and applause.) The Opposition had come into tho foreground, and had delivered what was considered a policy of reform. Among other things, the Opposition policy contained tho plank "of reasonable borrowing, not wasteful expenditure." Thoso were beautiful platitudes. Mr. Massey's great charge against the present Government was its borrowing, and he held up his hands in horrol'and tried to striko alarm into the breasts of "the people. Mr. Massey was in favour of borrowing—moderate reasjmablo borrowing. Why did ho .not say to what degree or what percentage? Mr. Massey said the Government borrowed too much. When it borrowed .£5,000,000 perhaps it did; but it was all wanted; would all be used. (Applause.) Why did not Mr. Massey say whether four millions, three millions, or two millions wero sufficient for borrowing? He left it an open question. It was only qualified by tho term moderate. It was a strango thing that in the Government's loan proposals the Opposition had never voted against them. During the recess they talked against borrowing, but. in the House they never raised their voices against borrowing, or rather did not op- i

pose it when it camo to the distribution of the loaves and fishes throughout the Dominion. For expenditure on public works the Opposition were in the foremost. They wore thero first with their plates, and the applications they mado often exceeded the amount of the loan. The Opposition land.policy contained the statement, "facilities to the small settler." Why the Opposition had opposed the Land for Settlements Act, and every law dealing Avith tho cutting up of estates. Mr. Ballanco in 1892 brought in his Land Act, which widened tho facilities for the closer occupation, and amendments made year by year had increased those facilities; yet the Opposition at this late hour, the eleventh hour, just to save their skins, camo forward with a policy to help the small man. The Option of Purchase. Quoting the parts of tho Opposition's policy regarding giving the option of purchase to Crown tenants, Sir James Carroll said Mr. Massey was all for the original value. It did not matter to the Opposition how tho public estato was treated or disponed of. It was to bo disposed of at its original value, and tho State was to lose for tho benefit of the tenant. On the other hand, Mr. Massey declared respecting the national endowments that, he would sell them to-morrow to raiso money to buy other and better lands. Ho (the speaker) asked them to pause and analyse that statement. On one hand they would sacrifice the public estate to the tenants at its original value, and on tho other sell the endowment land to buy with tho proceeds improved lands. What benefit would be reaped by doing this? Whatever changes and phases the land question evolutionised thero was ono thing ho asked tho people of the Dominion to do, and that was to keep hold of their land endowments. (Ap-. plause.) It would be well, wise, and prudent not to allow a single aero of theso endowment lands to go. (Applause.) After describing the purposes for which they were set apart, ho said that the country's responsibilities in connection with old nge pensions and education wero increasing. They were matters that could not bo trifled with, and would becomo a big' strain on the Treasury's resources. As to tho plank "limitation of area to prevent aggregation," Mr. Massey was late in the day in this respect. (Applause.) Tho Government had already made such a provision an accomplished and absolute fact. It was useless for Mr. Massey.to think that he could mako a plank for his platform out of it. Government Employment. As to tho improvement of the conditions of Government employment, tho Government had been trying,to do that, during tho whole term of its office, and any Government in power must make a high principlo of improving the conditions of Government employment. . (Applause.) It was riot singular to Mr. Massey or his party. How was Mr. Massey going to do it? By eliminating political influence and having appointments mado by a board with the right of appeal from the board's decisions. This meant tho sotting up of a Civil Service Board, which would not be responsible to the people or; Parliament. The board at its own sweet will could control Government employment and make appointments to the Civil Service. Where wero tho board going to dra.v tho employees from; and from what section were they going to draw from to constitute the board? Supposing tho Opposition wero in power, would they get tho board from tho workers of the country, loo? (A voice: "Get them off tho stage!") Sir James Carroll said that the Opposition wero silent on tho point. They ■might get Iho board from some other country. Tho service was already under (he regulation of a Civil Servico Act, and ho held that it was not fair or right that a non-rispon-siblo board should have tho right lo make appointments. The people should have the right to directly condemn abuses, and they could only mokn their viows felt through their representatives in Parlia..uiont, (A ioice;.-'.'Don't forget the. Hi-il-.

waj;_ Commissioners. They were a nice lot.") Sir James Carroll said that the people were dissatisfied with the Railway Lomnussionei'3 for the very ronton, which ho was saying would happen in the ca=e <>i tlio Civil Service Hoard. The- people' revolted and expressed their disapproval ot the system. An alteration was made, the railways being placed under Ministerial authority, and under the management of the executive of tho Railw.iv Department. The Minister was directly responsible to Parliament. There was a difterenco of opinion on the subject, even among tho Opposition leaders. Mr. Herdman was in favour of commissioners, but Mr. Massey said ho was not in favour of them. Mr. Massey would like to see the wholo control vested in a general manager, but. that official could not be accountable directly to Parliament. The General Manager of the Department must be under a Ministerial head. Mr. Massey, therefore, must agree with the present condition of affairs. Local Government. Another plank of tho Opposition was reform % of local government in the rural districts of tho Dominion by giving extended powers and an assured finance, making it unnecessary for local bodies to depend on Parliamentary grants. The Government at tho present time had a Local Government Bill on the stocks which would bo circulated during tho session or in the recess. They wanted it to com-, bino the wisdom and experience of the local bodies, and they wanted tho local bodies to study it. There was room for improvement in the system, but they could not act hastily on this .question. The Government agreed that local bodies should have extended powers and an assured finance, hut on what principle and by what method were they to get that? Tho more it was thought about, the better. The Government had taken the initiative, and, as he had said, had the Bill on the stocks. Municipal town-planning was something new. Mr. Massey had suddenly taken a fit and embarked on now fields. This question, however, had been discussed by the Hon. Mr. Fowlds, who had prepared a scheme. Tho subject was new to Mr. Massey, but again he had come in quite late. The attention of Mr. Massey had been directed to this subject by the scheme of Mr. Lloyd-George. (Applause.) The Government had attempted to meet these demands in its own 6mall way, but it had gone a great way along tho path of progress for a country of one million inhabitants. They were quite prepared to take a lesson from any other country; in fact, they would be very slow if they didn't. ' A voice: "You are slow." Sir James Carroll said that there was the national provident fund, which came into operation on March 81. Tho Government were getting circulars out giving a sketch of tho benefits to be derived from tho income, and the circulars would be sent to every house in tho country. The incoma was a beneficent one, and he only quoted it to show that, the Government had gone a long way to meet what was necessary to help tho aged and infirm and invalided. It made provision for both ends of life by assisting the poor at the birth of children and assisting the aged. Old Age Pensions. There was just one little gleam of Radicalism in tho whole of the long list planked down by Mr. Massey, and that was the proposal to mako the qualifying age for tho pension of women 60 years instead of Go." (Applause.) But Mr. Massey was late in the day, as that had been advocated already on the floor of the House by Mr. Taylor and other Canterbury members. The Government wero in sympathy with it, but they had to go along steadily. and study finance. The matter had been under consideration, ever since it was voiced. A voice: "How many years?" Sir Jas. Carroll: Not very Jong ago. Tho'voice: Marking time.. Sir Jas. Carroll went on to say that the proposal was the only redeeming' feature of Mr. Massey's budget. The Opposition proposed to reform the economic 'system by promoting industrial pcaco and restoring public confidenco in order to encourage local industric;. Everyone was trying to do that. The Government had placed industrial legislation on the Statute Book to try and auiHlioratb the condition 'of the masses, and'to better-the, relations between the worker and the employer. They wanted to build up thehuman factor in tho community so that in tho aegropate they i would find a wholesome and healthy race, i (Applause.) Taxation. Mr. Massey talked about reducing taxa- . tion wherever possible and lessening tho '■ cost of living. ',

A voice: It is pretty high now. Sir James Carroll said that whenever the Government could reduce taxation they would reduce it on tho necessaries of life. That was the first consideration of any Government. They took it off tho shoulders least able to bear it, and placed it on'the strong, powerful shoulders of those who were able to bear it. A voice: What about putting it on motor-cars? (Laughter.) Sir James Carroll did not reply to this interjection. Ho went on to deal with the Opposition criticisms of the public debt on tho lines of his previous addresses, and, in the course of further remarks, ho dealt at some length with the Mokau Jones Maori land case, aud also with tho disposal- of Native lands generally. At the conclusion, it was moved and seconded: "That this meeting desires to tender the Hon. the Acting-Prime Minister a hearty vote of thanks for his able and interesting address, and expresses its approval of and sympathy with tho progressive policy now being carried out by the present Administration." An amendment to the effect that a vote of thank? bo accorded tho speaker was moved and seconded, the mover heing Sir. H. A. Campbell, well-known in local labour circles. He was making a lengthy speech, which was constantly interrupted, and thero was somo disorder. Eventually tho amendment was negatived, and the motion carried by an overwhelming majority. _^-