AN UPROAR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1298, 29 November 1911, Page 7

AN UPROAR.

THE PREMIER'S DANNEVIRKB MEETING A .TROUBLED ENDING, WAR THE MOTION CARRIED f (Br Ttletruili.—Press Astoclatlon.l Dannevirkc, November 28. The Priino Minister addressed an audience tha.t crowded tbo Drill Hall («■ night. On arrive 1 110 received an ovation lusting some minutes. Tho tpeakor traveiwd many of the points touched 111x111 in Tooont public utterances. 110 asked if they had ever known New Zealand as prosporoiw as it was now, and whether (heir opponents knew that tho savings of tho middle ela«es were the highest iu tho world. Another teat was that thero was mora tnouey available for trade and all lues in tho Dominion than was ever previously known. A third test was that the avenues of employment were all full, and there was work for every mau in tho country. Their opponents Mid that. ™, C KL borrowing too much money; •M,900,000 was borrowed and lent to too j armors to *avo them from the largo landholders. That money was also advanced (or workers' homes. Ttey had also borrowed ,£1,600,000 to puTcimso land from largo landowners, and tho settler paid the money. After further dealing wilh land taxation, tho speaker said they had to hght tho largo landowners to wrest from them land for the men and women of tho e-ountry. Were they going to nl ow a party to come in power who would not do for the people ot the country what his party was nroparcd to do? binoo 1007 the graduated tax had been increased to burst up the-large, estates in the interest of the peonfo of tbio country. There woro nmv" 33,000 additional souls f-etlled on tho lnnd sinco lie had been at the head of the Government, lie supplied figures dealing with laud ™iS ncnU Thcl '° ba(l bwn * otfcl(,d JAOIHI acres per year n'nee he had lwn 1:1 ofhee. Since September last acres ol loud had been open for selection and settled upon, and «,000 acres were Hvailnblo tor disposal in Januarv. |,i Jiawkes Bay, south of Napier, .£700,0(10 had been spent iu tho purchase of Inad, on which had been placed 159 selectors,, )uth a total of 1810 people, and whora improvements were valued at .£271,000 Ho next touched upon the purchase of ftativo lauds, and said that in Iho conn-r-™™T a ?i, !llld Pahiatua the sum ot AU8.500 had boon expended on them lands, of which 15,500 acres had been surveyed *iir set'ieinoiit. Dtdh:» will, thn i llu f t,on ' Hioaier said that nioneeis had como to the coloiies t., escapa the barbarous laws of tho tW Gmntry, and when his party came into power there wero a few. men who wu:ld haie owned the whole of the colony. Tho only large landholders who were candidates at this election wcro all supporters ot the Opposition. He challenged thn Opposition to show whoro the GovernSS f xt^ a .™Bßa t»? P«Wic cxpendj. ture. Under his administration tho people were paying 15s. per head less in taxation tliau when he bouiunc Premier Ho referred at length to tho Mokan land transaction in terms similar to explanai bons given elsewhere. Ho to await tho result of Mr. M'Kab's chali*;! 1 ?, 0 made at Talmerston on the previous niglit before condemning tho tiovernmeut. Ho liaversed tho contentions of tho Opposition in regard to S' to n P u^ llca «-i°n,of details in re-ft-rl , 0 ™ 1,,l0 "s loan, and uatl tolegrams from the Hitrh'Un, mif , 10 , IP r gupport ° of tt'JJh able i'ib d °- ln ' ils ,vcro UD,: awe. He lend an opinion uttered by Jf r lof.n"' M,P " t lat W l' riM fov tbo loan was oscossive. Ho asserted that the?« were over 400,000 more peoplo in icaland than were heroin ISM, and IK,OOO more than when ho assumed the. leadersiup, and m consequence the cost of tho onormo "6l,Y increased. Thej Prime Mjmster next enumerated various concessions and remissions (hat (ho Lil)cr »l Government during their of office. He dealt Mtn on defehce, and on tho Dreadnought at length on familiar lines, and defended tho military training tn °nT'i i ■T r J! no sl ' nister ""St referrrd to soual legislation passed by the Governs cknUf T 01 "" 1 '"? tho P'; ovifioa meruit sickness of a worker, widows' pension* nnd nssistanca in maternity cases. Ho aiso referred to Iho lessening of infantile mo" fMtnwc «f inferred to these as leading lejturrs°f the Government policy. stated that 6inkmg fnuds were to ho invested in New Zealand for the assistance ?L i? 11 ,. r¥ rs ' • an ' l c, aiwed that f T ct I, ' as soniiv. thing of which ho had reason to be proud. He explained tho working of the system & for ™f k J Prs ' honsns - of which 000 had been granted, and H.OOO applicnn( i 1 \ I ", hand ' »«iarii«ir tiw suggestion that becauso Sir Wilfrid Launer had been ejected from'office thatbc turned out, ho stated that Sir Wilfrid Lauricr had been m onico for 15 years, aiid he bad only been in five years, rhe Government purpofoii-. assistanro for tho iron and oil industries, 0 gne hnanciul assistanee to associations ot farmers, an increase of graduated lax it necessary, a progressive road and railway policy, a Malo note issue with a lt-IH ' reserve. Ho claimed that there was a clear lino of demarcation bolwccu Iho • policy of the Government and their opponents. and it: was for the people of Lh* colony (o decide, lie predicted that the Government would come back from tho elections stronpor than ever. A motion of thanks to Sir Joseph Ward and confidence in the Government «;-i ,h>. clared carried on the voices, there beini; considerable dissent. A section of tho public was hostile throughout, ,nid (ho 1 rimo Minister was subjected to much inirrru|ition, but he had no difficulty i n presenting his points and (he speech' wa» nmrked with great nppluuse. A VERY MIXED RECEPTION. MEKTIXG KNDS I.\ DISORDER, (By Tclcsrcpli.-Snccial Corrcsponamt'l Dannevirks, November is. k.ir Joseph l\ard had an uproarioun meeting at Daiuievirke to-night. At on« stage in tho proceedings he had to stop ami ask the audience whether thev wauled to hear him or not. For somo ten minutes there was an uproar, but tho Mayor finally succeeded in getting order. The audience resented the interference of &ir Joseph Ward in tho contest, and gavo him a very mixed reeeptiou. Mr. T. L. Buick moved a vote of thanks and confidence, and was almost howled down. The motion was greeted with up- • roar, and tho Mayor gavo no decision Cheers wore given for Sir Ward as the meeting dispersed, and counter cheers for Mr. Geo. Hunter, tho Reform candidate. Mr. Hcrdman will reply to Sir Joseph Ward on Thursday evening.