THE NEED FOR REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1309, 12 December 1911, Page 5

THE NEED FOR REFORM.

SIR J. G. WARD IN TESTIMONY. A NOTABLE SrEECH. Much interest has been aroused in Invorcargill bv some lengthy extracts read bv Mr. Homing from a political speech'delivered by Sir .T. G. Ward (then 'Mr. Ward) in South Invercargill on July 28, ISB7 (the vear in which the Prime Minister entered -Parliament). Many of the Prime Minister's statements arc \Urectly applicable to the situation in 1911; and there is hardly a principle in, the 1887 speech that Sir Joseph Ward has not t>Ucrlv forsaken to-day. Hero is one'extract (the report is in the third person) -.— "The truth is, we had been living beyond our means; wo were now descending from tho fictitious state of prosperity induced by tho abundance of borrowed money to a natural condition of existence. . . . Wo wero brought face to faco with the fact that unless expenditure and.income wero made to bear their proper relation to each other, .taxation, so severe as to be ulmosl, unbearable, must bo submitted to, otherwise things would go from bad to worse. The longer the day of reckoning was put off tho more drastic would be tho remedy'required. The solution of the problem of how to improve matters was now in the hands o? the electors. It was for them to return men who realised tho position oV the colony, and were prepared to try and bring about a chango for the better." Ho went on to refer to the undue size of tho public debt, and dealt with tho offoct of reckless finance upon the national credit in those striking words:— "Tho astute and far-seeing British money-lender preferred to hold tho stocks of the more depressed colony [South Australia] because it was striving to live within its means, rather than to have those of a country with far greater resources but which was living beyond its means." Thero wore "only two ways," ho proceeded, in which real financial stability could be secured: "They would either hare to allow themselves to bo further taxed, and already nioro revenue was raised by taxation in New Zealand than in any of the other Australian colonies, or reduce tho expenditure. Ho unhesitatingly declared in favour of the latter course." As to how retrenchment could be effected, ho explained, as a preliminary to a list of possible economies, that "in tho Qrtt place the Government should begin with themselves. The value of economy ho thus indicated: "Ho had heard it said that such a stop [reducing tho Governor's salary to .£sooo] would do the colony harm", but ho thought, on the contrary, it' would be accepted by those whose good opinion it was most desirable to have—our creditors in Britain—as an indication of a desire on the part of the colony to live within Its means, and instead of having a damaging effect, it would tend to re-establish its lost prestige, and regain for its stock the high position it onco held in tho British money market." Wo shall givo sonic more extracts another time. In the meantime there is much interesting matter in a speech delivered by Sir J. G. Ward when in Opposition, speaking on a motion of want-of-confidenco on July 3, ISM (Hansard Vol. 67, pp. 289 et. scq"). Tho motion, moved by Jir. liallanco, censured the then Government's good faith in the primage tax it had imposed (like the surtax of two years ago), demanded retrenchment, and condemned tho Government's land policy. Ho ridiculed the then Government's suggestions that the Leader of the Opposition was not, sincere in his desire for economics. (To-day, il is interesting to note, he himself and his friends suggest that Mr. Mnstey is not sincere in his desire for reform.) He also said' this: "We are told Hint fabulous sums have been saved by the conversion of loans, and that universal happiness reign;: throughout the land." Tel, as ho pointed out, things were really in a bad wav, and

"Notwithstanding tho enormous incroaso in the taxation of tho country, and tho enormous savings wo are led lo understand have been c(Toct«i, wo havo before us a liudgct which asks us to continue this system of increased taxation on the people of tlio country." .

It need hardly bo said that "the enormous increase- in taxation" that then roused Mr. Ward , * indignation is a mere circumstance to tlie still more enormous increase for which *?ir J. G. Ward is responsible. Mr. Ward condemned tho then Government for having imposed "since 1879 nearly a million per nnnuiii of additional taxation"—-a million in 11 years. Sir J. G. Ward now condemns those who sco anything wrong in his increasing the taxation by nearly a million and a half in five years. Tho revil truth auout taxation was put plainly in that 1800 speech. The Govcrn.me.nt of the day had claimed that the primage duty did not touch the workingclasses, that its removal would not benefit them. Jfr. Waixl said:

"Lot us assume Uiat thoro aro 150,000 families in Xow Zealand—that is assuming tho average por family in the colony to bo four. The primagxj duty yields .£58,000 a year. Reducing it to ponco and dividing it by (.ho number of families, it will be teen that it roproseuta 7s. Cd. to every family. Will the honourable gentleman eay that that does not affect tho working olasota of tho colony F Do they not ocmtributip to all the ttoa-

tion, but cspocially to anything levied through tho Customs? I am surprised that l.ho honourable gentleman should liavo made that statement." In Urn sa.mo (.-pooch lio said; "I am poraonally opposed to borrowing."