REFORM CAMPAIGN.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1253, 9 October 1911, Page 4

REFORM CAMPAIGN.

MR, ALLEN AT SHANNON. SOME MISREPRESENTATIONS 00IV> RECTED. POLICY AND NO POLICY. Mr. Jas. Allen, M.P., one of the leading members of the Keform party, addressed a meeting nt Shannon on Saturday evening. Councillor Venn presided, and amongst those present were Mr. C. A. W. Monckton, Opposition candidate for Otaki, Tho speaker had nn excellent hearing. Mr. Allen raid that he had not ooino thero to 6peak in favour of or against anybody. Ho had been asked to come and represent the Opposition sido in politics. They had already had a good deal of political information from Messrs. Laurenson, Ell, Witty, and Pishor. He went on to say thnt it was very necessary to liavo a change after a Government hod been in power for a period of anything like twenty years. Continuance in office long a time bred all sorts of evils, which tho peoplo woro beginning to realise and wanted to havo corrected. He asked them whether they wero satisfied that tho progress which might havo been Bxpactcd during so many years had been made. If Mr, Massey had been in offlco so long ho would havo put legislation on tho Statute Book which would havo been at least as beneficial to the people as that which had been enacted. They could not expect a Ministry to bo in office- for twenty yca.i-6 and to havo any policy remaining. A Ministry came in to do certain things, and, having dono them, they woro under tho necessity of hunting about to get a policy from any ono who could suggest it, > And so tho present Ministry had taken many suggestions from tho Opposition. A Remarkable Sheet. Mr. Allen then displayed an interesting piece of election literature in the form of a sheet containing portraits of all the members of tho Government party. The heading purported to 6how that tho policy of the Government was set forth in this production. It contained a syllabus of legislation that had been passed since tho so-called Liberal party como into office. He would refer only' to tho measures enacted since 1906, when Sir Joseph Ward became Prime Minister, Thirteen Acts of Parliament passed during those fivo years were scheduled. A very largo proportion of them woro passed with tho help of tho Opposition. Among tho thirteen was the Land Settlement Financo Act, and ho questioned very much whether the Government would havo been able to put it on tho Statute Book without tho aid of the Opposition. Certainly they had that .aid, and if they had accepted tho Act as originally placed on tho Statute Book would have been much more perfect. It was wrong, and a piece of misrepresentation to say that such Acts woro the work of the Government and their following. They were tho work of Parliament, and in nearly every instance the Opposition were entitled to nearly as much credit as tho Government thonxselvcs, Last Year's Acts, Among the Acts of 1910 were tho socalled humanitarian measures, such as tho Crimes Act, Hospitals and Charitable Aid Act, and others, and no man could say that tho passage of this legislation was not assisted by members of tho Opposition. Tho Public Dcpt Extinction Act was ono of those passed last year, and so far as ho was concerned, ho had supported it. True, he voted against the third reading as a protest against tho Financo Minister leading tho Houso to divort tho accumulated sinking funds of the loans to local bodies, and tho war loan from tho purposes for which they woro intended by Parliament, namely, to pay off those particular debts. Tho Crown Suits Act of last year, and tho Gaming Amendment Act were forced upon, tho Government, much against their will, by tho Opposition, tho public, and sonio of their own supporters. It was ridiculous for them to claim, as they did on that sheet, that tho Gaming Amendment Act of 1910 was their work. It was an Act to amend ono which was thoir work, and which was certainly not approved by the people of the country. Tho Opposition aho assisted in passing tho Defence Act. A very strango thing about this electioneering sheet was that it contained only a history of what hod been dono, and not a solitary word about what tho Government intended to do in the future*

The Land Question. Now, Mr. Massey was in a very different position from that. It was his duty to oritioiso what tho Government brought down and try to improvo it, but ho find been forced into tho position of 6ctting forth a policy and making clvar to the public that ho had dofinito idoas and waq prepared to givo them effect. A very common misrepresentation, which was ropoatod in tho House only a few nights ago was that Mr. Massey would sell oil thft Crown lands in tho Dominion at tha original value. That \nis not so. Hia policy, as expressed in block and white, was that tho only lauds ho would sell at tho original valuo, wore the lcnso-in-pcr-petuity lands under tho Land for Settlements system. Tho lease-in-pcrpctuity Crown lands the Opposition would offer at tho original valuo, plus ono per cent, to make up the difforonco in interest between these and others. Another misro. presentation which was constantly made had referenco to the endowment lands. Mr. Maesey's policy in regard to theso lands was specific and clear. Somo of them were extremely difficult to settle, and it was therefore necessary to offer tho most sccuro and attractive tenure (hat could Iw devised, which was leasehold with option of purchase. Tho money so obtained would be utilised for tho purchase of other lands better suited for endowment purposes. Thus it would be seen that tho Opposition 'had- n clear .aud definite lahd policy, but the Government had no laud policy at all.

After statins tho Opposition's policy on tho land question and in favour of limitation of areas and holdings, and condemning tho excessive borrowing practised by tho Government, Mr. Allen pointed to tho indifference of the Government towards tho mil of Parliament and of the pcoplo, mentioning as special instances tho manner in which the Dreadnought gift was determined upon and the fiasco of tho Coronation invitations. la conclusion, ho said ho wanted t.j iuipross on his audience tho doctrino of individual and national efficiency which had lately been insisted upon by Professor Mills. Ho felt certain thnt along thoso linos was tho most sure wny for a nation to progress. A very successful meeting was brought to a closo with a hearty vote of thanks to the speaker.