THE SPEECH.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1191, 28 July 1911, Page 7

THE SPEECH.

RECENT EVENTS REVIEWED.. ' LEGISLATIVE MOOHAMME, Following is thp test of his Excellency's Speech:— Honourable, Gentlemen of the Legislative Coiindil, and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives— It : affords me much pleasure to again meet you' in Parliament - assembled. During the recess I have visited most of the larger centres of the Dominion and several of the outlying districts, and made mysolf acquainted with the people. My preconceptions regarding their loyalty to the Throne and their devotion to our most gracious Sovereign have been, amply'oihiirnied. .'.This greatly en-' hanced the pleasure of my visits, and was 'niost gratifying to me as' tho 'representative of his Majesty and also personally. The Coronation. The Coronation of his Host Gracious Majesty King George V took place oti June 22 with beiittmg ceremony, and the loyalty and enthusiasm. displayed, not only in Great Britain and Ireland, but also throughout his' Majesty's vast Dominions, show that his subjects far and wide regard him as no unworthy successor to his noble father, and that it is with infinite trust they leavs iii onerous and arduous taslc' of guiding the destinies of. Empire through all- tho difficulties and complications of domestic and internationalatfairs. - Congratulations, were-sent to his'Majesty'from -tho Governmont and. the people of. New Zealand,and . addresses were sent from . the women, of- the -Dominion- and the Maori , ._populatiQn. : Those were, most CTaciously received and acknowledged. To the' people of New Zealand, in common .with thosf; of the other oversea Dominions, the ceremony was of unprecedented interest in view of Iho fact, that, his Majesty, as Duke of Cornwall aTid lork, was the iirsfc of his illustrious Jine to visit every portion of the Empire. A^,.lmperial Conference'of * the Prime Ministers' of tho oversea Dominions and the - representa! ives of the British Cabinet was summoned to meet in London, ims conference was attended by my Prime Minister and Attorney-General. 'The results of that conference have been most satisfactory, and the details of its proooedjngs,will.,bo placed before you. The Webster Claim. Tho claim by the Government of the United States of America against the imperial Government, known as tho Webstar claim, has received careful attention bJ tho Prime Minister and tho AttornevGeneral. Tour representatives had several conferences with the British Emtossy in America, and also with the Home Government in London, which havo resulted in an arrangement beLween the Home Government and. tho Government of this country which'they, consider, completely satisfactory to the interests of i\ew Zealand.

During the last twelve months death has removed the Hon. William Cowner Smith, of the Legislative "Council, a gentleman who had earned for himself the ftgito eCt ° f b ° th branoheS ' of

Continued Prosperity, I am glad to bo able to congratulate you on the continued prosperity of the Dominion,-and on the-increase in the material well-being of the people, as evidenced .by the returns and the reports ot the. State, services. The condition of the people generally ls much improved, contentment, and happiness obtain oTerywhere, and the outlook for pur producers and lor those engaged in manufacture, tr m[ e ' f 11 " comracr ® is .encouraging. The farming industry, equally with the other industries of New Zealand, continues to develop not only rapidly, but on a former basis than in the past; for al- • thougii live-stock products still form the great.bulk of our exports, and .wool easily mnantains its position as the most' vainable of these, yet tho Dominion is' by no means so dependent as formerly upon the price of any. one. staple.- The closer settlement of extensive tracts of country once grazed in large areas is now reflected not only iti the increased value, but also in the-greater diversity of our ex-f^rt^pfjarm-produce,,the.most noticeable features m this healthy change being the increases in the production of'lamb, butter, and cheese. Having ,in view the conditions.of the World's, markets'for th 6 ■> commodities that New Zealand exports, and also the probable 'effect of the competition of other countries, my Advisers consider there is every reason" to expect a continuance, or even an augmentation, of the prosperity which has lately characterised the trSdo and industry of the Dominion.

Railways, Roads, and Bridges. During the past year my Advisers h'ave oontinued the work of assisting the settlement of the country by steadily pursuing the construction of railways, roads, and bridges in various parts of the Dominion under the authorities granted by Parliament.

The means of communication in districts pore remote from the principal settlemen's have been appreciably improved by the formation and extension of roads and tracks. More progress might have been made in this direction but for the fact that during last year the labour which was expected to ho available for roadworks (hiring the summer was to a larger extent than usual absorbed in other industrial pursuits, and was not obtainable during the months'most favourable for work in the backblocks.

Development Schemes. The professional Rentleman selected by mv Advisers • to ' act as Chief Electrical KiixiiiMr in 'connection with the developraent r,f livt'.ro-electric power has arrived in the DonnniAn, and has entered upon his duties with an energy antl enthusiasm

which encourages the hope that the first largo scheme to bo undertaken will, within a reasonable period, be in successful operation- Much valuable investigation in connection with this undertaking has been accomplished by the .Assistant Electrical Engineer, who was in charge for a short time pending the arrival of the Electrical Engineer I'rom England. The survey-work in connection with iho .important scheme for tho irrigation of a largo area of suitable land in the Ida Valley, Central Otago, has been completed, and my Responsible Advisors aro now in a position to outer into contracts for the supply of water to the landowners, in accordance with tho provisions'of the authorising legislation passed during last session of Parliament. The Last Chance water-race, originally constructed and used for many years iu connection with mining operations, has been acquired by the Government on favourable terms, and it is proposed to utilise the race as a source of supply for the irrigation of considerable areas of land at. Bald Hill, Earnscleugh Flat, and the intervening country. Otner irrigation schemes presenting.favourable features aro receiving careful attention. i Tho output of fjold and silver from our mines shows a slight decline, but this is more than compensated for by the increase'in the output of coal, which for the first time has reached over two million . tons. Tho mining industry produced minerals during the year' to the total value of over three and three-quarter millions sterling, and since the commencement of mining within the Dominion wealth to the value of over ono hundred and eleven millions has been won. Labour. In regard to the labour market, I am informed that the outlook for tho immediate future is very promising indeed. Although we are well into the winter the applications for employment at the various bureaux of labour have been fewer than for many years past. . . Great interest has been taken in the Workers' Dwellings Act passed last session, under which workers in any .part of New Zealand are now enabled to apply for the purchase of residences on payment of a small deposit of X'lo, the lialancc being payable in easy instalments covering twenty-five years awl a half. In response to the largo number of applications received, arrangements have already been completed for the erection o£ a number of dwellings. ' To ascertain whether a Scheme for insurance against unemployment should bo adopted in New Zealand, inquiries are being made into the various schemes formulated by Great Britain and other countries of Europe, and the intention of the Government be announced to you later. Defence, . In.pursuance of the recommendations of Lord Kitchener and in accordance. with the general scheme of defence, a Commander of the Defence forces has been appointed, and my advisers have been fortunate in securing the services of so eminent a military expert as Major-General Godley.. I am glad to be able to announce that under the hew system of universal training brought into operation by the Defence Acts, youths between the ages of fourteen end twenty-one have been registered, and are now being medically examined for service in the Senior CaJets and Territorial Forces of tho Dominion. The rosults of registration have been satisfactory, and the spirit in which this call on the patriotism and sense of duty of the people has been met is highly commendable.

The youths registered will be posted to various units of the Forces* and it is confidently expected that the scheme adopted for the training, clothing, and equipping of the neiv force thus brought into existence for the defence of the Dominion will very shortly be in full working order. Apart from the military aspect of tho movement, and even if our men ara nover required to arm in 'defence of their country, the physical training of our youths should produce, a marked improvement in the discipline, efficiency, and physique of the citizens of New Zealand. The firsfof.the training-camps under the new scheme was established at Tnuherinikau, and proved most successful. In fconnection'with this a report .by the.Director of. Military Training. will be duly placed before you as an appendix to the annual report of tho General Officer Com;manding... . • ... . -. I am" lmpDy to congratulate you upon the launching of the Dreadnought New. Zealand, which took place at Glasgow on the first day of this month, in the presence of a very large number of spectators. The revision of the existing prison system is progressing steadily, and a Prisons' Board has bepn set up tinder the legislation of last session.' A report of tho operations of the board will be furnished in due course.

My advisers have, completed arrangements on satisfactory terms for the establishment of a mail service between Now Zealand and Canada, via Fiji and Hawaii. The service from New Zealand will com. mence on Augu.it 1 nest, and froai Canada: on September 6.' The Census, The result of the last census is most gratifying, the population having increased to over one million, exclusive ,of The Maori population shows an increase of over two thousand. Exclusive of Maoris, th 6 increase since t'he census of 1906 is'lW.SiO. The estimated population to March 31, 1911, was 1,006,737, a difference of only 11150 'front the census population of two days later, which must be considered as a very close estimate. The estimated increase by hirtlis during the five years since-1906 was 80,567,• and the increase by immigration 38,712. The arrivals in the .Dominion have been largely in excess of the departures. ' The Representation Commission to delimit the boundaries of the electorates on the basis, of the population statistics revealed by the census is sitting, and the result,of its labours will be duly placed beforo you. Immigration and Settlement. My Ministers havo continued their policy of granting assistance towards the payment of passages' of farm labourers and domestic workers from the ' Unite# Kingdom, and during the year the number of persons thus assisted amounted to 2621. By arrangements made with the shipping companies trading to the Dominion, young women, domestic workers were, enabled to obtain passages at a much-re-duced rate, and included in the number mentioned above there are 831 of these workers. The demand for land for closer settlement still continues, and under the Land •for .Settlements Act every endeavour is' being made to acquire land for this purpose. ' The areas, however, that are suit-, able and that can bo secured at a reasonable. price, oro becoming restricted. On the other hand, under the Land Settlement Finance Act. very satisfactory progress is being mode, and as time goes on, it is expected that, the provision of this Act will bo-more largely taken-advantage of. Tho genera.l benefit arisiiig from recent legislation affecting Native lands is now being felt. In all parts of. the Dominion tho Natives show a strong desire to bring themselves into" touch 'with closer settlement. They are using the machinery of the Native Land Court ami Boards freely for the adjustment of their titles and the disposal of their lands. The Native Land Purchase Board has acquired a considerable area of land, which -will be further augmented as soon as the necessary surveys and valuations now heiiig pushed on''vigorously are completed. The Hospitals. The recent conference of hospital authorities, and the tono of the discussions on the various important problems with which the Hospital Boards are confronted, show that they are very much alive to the need for a general extension of onr hospital system-in tho direction of the prevention as well as the cure of disease. The decisions arrived at by the conference were based on an intimate knowledge of the needs of tho Dominion, and my advisers are giving them careiui consideration, Tho commission appointed under the Gaming Act of last session, tho commission appointed to inquire into the route of the North Auckland Main Trunk railway, and the commission a.ppcinted under the Kaiapoi Reserve Act .have concluded their inquiries and submitted thair reports. These will be placed before you in duo course. Finance. Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of fee House of Representatives,— The estimates of the revenue and expenditure for the year will be placed before you. They have been prepared with due regard to economy donsistent

with efficiency. The revenue for the past year exceeded tho estimate, and shows in increase upon that for tho previous financial year. 1 am therefore pleased to say that the year's transactions have resulted in a substantial surplus. The post-audit system has been introduced. and is working smoothly and satisfactorily, and is decidcdy conducive to prompter payment 1 . The National Provident Fund Act of last session is now in operation, placing within easy reach of our people the means of lightening the burdens a f -maternity, as well as protecting the young family and ensuring independence in old a£e. Legislation Promised. Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives-.— For Homo considerable time no substantial amendment has l>eon niade in the law relating to persons of unsound mind, anfl legislation dealing with mentally defective persons needing oversight, care, and control will be submitted to you, A Bill amending the Native Land Act, 1009, will be submitted for your consideration. It will deal with various matters that 'have been noted in practice during the period since the Act came into operation. • . Bills effecting an improvement in the existing law will be submitted to you in respect to workers' compensation, industrial conciliation and arbitration, and wages protection. A measure dealing with the important question of town planning will be submitted for your consideration. The question of the eradication of noxious weeds has become one of vital importance. Something mav be done to minimise the evil bv regulating the sale of seods, and a Bill dealing with- the matteT will be introduced. The Administration Act, the Births and Deaths Registration Act, the Marriage Act, the Pharmacy Act, the Shipping and Seamen's Act, and the Mining Act require amendment in many important details, and measures for that purpose will be submitted for your consideration. Bills will also be introduced dealing with loans to local bodies, local government, patents, designs, and trade marks, the registration of plumbers, the sale of poisons, and other important matters. A Short Session. In view of the lengthy session of. last year and the large amount of important legislation which was then passed, my advisers are of opinion that this session may be a comparatively short one, in order that the general election may be completed as early as possible. Commending the proposals of my Ministers to your earnest attention, 1 I prav that, with the blessing of Almighty God, the results of your labours ma;r be for the good of the Empire and of lasting benefit to the people of New Zealand.