HON. T. MACKENZIE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1374, 27 February 1912, Page 6

HON. T. MACKENZIE.

REMARKABLE STATEMENTS* BRIBERY AGAIN MENTIONED. The Hon. T. MACKENZIE, Minister for Agriculture, rising to continue the (1 abate, said ho was sorry tlio lion, member who had just spoken had not included in his statement Ministers 113 such, ns well as members of the House in their capacity as members, and had not doclared his belief that Ministers had not received bribes. "Because," continued the Minister, "it is generally circulated in Auckland and in the Auckland provincial difltrict, tliftt it is impossible to get business through the Executive of this country unless you leave a .£•") note or a J2lO note, or a .£IOO noto on a 1 Minister's table, or under'it. (Oh! oh! and dissent.) It is all very well to disclaim eucb things in this House, but these scandalous insinuations are being made, and I regret to say that they are believed by «!mo people. Tho Gnvornment may not bo free from faults. No Government and 1:0 individual ever was frco from faults, but I liavo never sat at n table with B!A2 who -vßro moro earnest to find out tho right thing to do and morn determined v> carry it out. And then to think O.t a-jQh things sliouid u? said! I don't

say they emanate from the Opposition, but they are said." Replies to Critics. Tho Minister then turned to Sir. Bell's reference to "pickings" and declared that all the dictionary meanings of tho word contained the idea of stealing. He hoped Mr. Bell would, in future, be more caroful in his uso of .words. All available information as to the floating of tlio loan had bceu given to tho public as soon as tho Governmpnt. had it. , Members on the other side during the present debate hod ignored the Governor's Speech, calling it an insult. Was it an insult to the workers to take tho duty off tobacco, and to make till the other concessions outlined in the speech?. The.real reason why they ignored the Speech was bccause .they could not digest it. It was like steel tilings to them. Ho twitted Mr. Massey with having changed the terms upon which ho would grant the freehold to the Crown tenants. Mr. Massey had hit below the belt in reproaching tho Government with the fact that some sons of farmers had gone abroad in search of holdings. Tho Government should be given credit for this instead of being reproached. Tho men who had gono were the sons of those who had done exceedingly well in this country. But for this, their sons could not have goho abroad to seek larger areas and wider territories than were open to them here. Mr. Mackenzie challenged a statement by the member for Wellington North,- that, investors wore being discouraged in this country, and contended that it.offered ample scope for investments. The forecast of the chairman of directors of-tho Bank of New Zealand that the Dominion. would liavo to face a period of low "prices had not been justified.

Tho Premier Defended. An attempt had been made throughout tho length and breadtli of New Zealand to Soli fcically assassinate ■ the leader of the 'otvo (Sir Joseph Ward). Somo of his opponents had already made their furnaces so hot that they had singed them, selves. Nothing was more regrettable in the political life of-New Zealand than the campaign of slander, that had been carried oil. When the history of this country caino to be written the name of the Primo Minister would stand out in clear and ! strong colours as that of one who had done great things in the interests of its people. The Leader of the Opposition, said Mr. Mackenzie, had resorted to. a silence that was abyssmal after lovelling exceedingly serious charges against the present administration of the Agricultural Department. Mr. Massey should apologise for .having .made these charges. Mr. Mackenzie defended the administration of his Department, descending even to such, details as tho amount of milk given by a cow per day. He reproached the mem ; ber for Waitemata for saying, "What has Labour, to thank the Government for?" and declared that if Mr. Harris lookedf down tho, "corridors of time" he would 'see that which would cause him to alter his views. The lion, goatloman lived in' a fortunate age, when people wero apt to forget what had been done for Labour in the past. Big estates must be broken,, up,' and ■if ...tho . present graduated tax would not serve to breitk them up it must be increased. A new political era was dawning, and a now political economy was required under which a greater share of wealth would lie given to the people—now poorly requited—who did so much to produce it. The man who required the care of a State was tho man who was struggling with a family, and the present Government had done what it could to assist people of this description.

The of Parties. He ridiculed the idea that tho Opposition represented a majority of electors in the Dominion, and twitted them with having lacked courage to put up a candidate for the Speakership. If they won in the pending division by. one or two votes, what a victory it would he when it was considered that they had refund a pair to a sick man compellod to go Home and undergo an operation in order to save his life. Defeat compared with such a victory would he honour. The Opposition were now seeking to capture some-'of the occupants of the cross benches whom they had failed to kill during the election campaign. The very wealth of a Conservative party dehumanised it. Mr. Mackenzie admitted that Mr. Massey might be a Liberal, but expressed doubt as to whether his followers, would permit him to promote progressive legislation. No one rose immediately io follow Mr. Mackenzie, and Mr. Speaker commenced to put the amendment. He got as far as to call upon tho "ayes," and for a moment it looked as if the long-anticipated division were to be sprung upon a surprised House. Tho Government, however, put up a speaker.

MR. LAURENSON.

SCOLDING HIS OPPONENTS. A CHARGE AGAINST A MEMBER. Mr. G. LAURENSON (Lytteitou) said that as Sir Josenh Ward had announced that ho would vacate, his position, the motion of no-confideucowwats t really directed not against him, but against the Liberal and Progressive parties. Thoro w-as no open and clean-cut charge against Sir Joseph Ward and the other Ministers,_ but only insinuation, hints, and head-shakings, which were a disgrace to those from whom they emanated, and tended to drive good but thin-skinned men out of public life. When Martin Chuzzlcwit landed in America. ho saw a paper called the "NewYork Sewer" sold in the streets. Ho could buy a paper like that for a penny in the streets of Wellington on the morrow. That sort of thing had degraded the public lifo of America, and was degrading our public lifo. It was charged against the Government that they borrowed excessively. Yet the Opposition voted for tho loans. It was political hypocrisy to declaim against tho increase of expenditure by two millions and to suppress the fact that much of it was due to tho activities of the lending Departments, to old age pensions, education. Iho Post Office, etc. (Sir J. Ward: Hear, bear.) When the Liberal party went on the platform. which they had sadly neglected— (Ministerial 1 hear, hears)—they would place tho true facts before the peoplo. ill 1 . Massey had said that-they wero taking two millions a year more from the people now than they were in 1906, but very much of that caino from Customs duties on luxuries, whicli evidenced the great prosperity of tho country, and from tho railways, and tho Post and Telegraph Department. In spite of concession after concession in the Post and Telegraph Department revenue from that Department had increased by half a million in fivo years. Similar results were show.n in the Railway Department. The only taxes increased were tho land and income taxes. Mr. Laurenson characterised tho 909 years' lease, e.s abominable, and declared that it was forced upon tho lato Sir John M'Kenzie bv the pressure of the Conservative fnction. The ultimate abandonment of tho lease was duo to a-con-sistent agitation by Radical members. Having commended tho death and estate ilulics recently augmented, Mr, Laurenson dealt briefiv with the proposals advanced in the Governor s Speceli. lift then referred to tlio 'yellow peril, and declared that tho peoplo who sat behind Mr. Massey wero tho large landowners who wore doing a great deal to depopulate tho countrr.

A Teloflram. ( .Tust before the supper adjournment, Mr. Laurenson read a telegram which he had mentioned earlier in the debate* and which had come to hiin, he said, that

lovoniiif; at eight oclock. It ran as follows:— l'ohokura. ) Laureii?on, M.P., Wellington. In view of Hie statement' made ill the Houso by leaders of llio Opposition that they lintl nothing to do with the wild and reckless statements and misrepresentations made against Sir Joseph Ward during last election, will you please ask our inemyer, *.tr. ,T. U. Ifine, in the House why lie told us in his address at Thirty-throe Mile Siding, tho night before the election,that Sir Joseph "Ward hail not given particulars of .£120,000 out of tlio five million loan, and how docs he reconcile tho statement with his party denial? If Mr. lline believes this to bo true, lie should ask for another inquiry and prove it, otherwise he should resign his scat and retiro from public life for making such malicious charges against public men where no press reporters are present. D. WILDERMOTn. Poliokura. Mr.' Laurcnson did not comment upon tho telegram, but laid it upon tho table of tho House. In the latter part of his speech he asserted that rumours about tho Prime Minister having improperly accumulated wealth owed their origin to "the official organ of tho Reform party." Anyone, be stated, who perused the leading articles of The Dominion for the month of December last would find reference after referenco that commissions had been improperly appropriated by leading men of tho Government party. Mr. Laurcnson was applauded as he concluded.

' MR. R. W. SMITH. Mr. E. W. SMITH (Waimarino) said the debate was not a wasto of time, but was having a good effect on the country, and if tho elections were held again next week tho result would be very different. Ho complained of the circulation of an anonymous letter in his electorate within three days of the poll. This, he said, was illegal, as it was matter calculated to influence votes. If his party were beaten on the coining division, one redeeming feature would bo that t.lio otlier side would have a chance of looking behind tho curtain, and the public would look for the revelations that had been hinted at, but thero would not bo any. Mr. Smith then proceeded to summarise measures carried out by the present Government for tho assistance of tho farmers. Ho declared that the Reform party had been weak and inconsistent in its charges advanced against, tho Government, and that tho Government had conferred substantial benefits on the farmer, whereas tho Opposition offered only vague promises. After all that had been said by the Opposition about a "taihoa" policy in reference to Native lands, tbev were unable to get a man to raise his head against tho Native Minister at the general election. The Opposition were trying to steal for themselves the whole of the legislation that they had fought so hard against year in and year out. Mr. ISITT said he bad been charged by the Leader of the Opposition with intentionally misrepresenting him in regard to a statement regarding the depopulation of Canterbury. Some of tho Opposition papers had emphasised the statement that he had subsequently apologised to Mr. Massey for that statement.' On reference to his Hansard proof ho found he did not say one word that could bo honestly interpreted into any statement of the kind. What he had said was that the policy enunciated meant depopulating Canterbury. That could not bo interpreted into a. statement that Mr. Massey hod intentionally advanced such a policy.

MR. MYERS. Mr. MYERS (Auckland E.) said that ho knew all tho members of the Opposition party and in private life they wero all honourable men. " Nevertheless, the fact remained that for political reasons they had unconsciously associated themselves with a policy that by no means reflected credit upon them. Deferring to the statement mado by Mr. Massey earlier in the evening, lie said that nothing tho Leader of tho Opposition had done, had tended to elevate public life_ so much «s that frank statement. Referring to Sir Josenli Ward, ho.said he stood, out fi's tho most .ablo man ,! in' New Zcaland. No man in the community had rendered such yeoman service to tho public as Sir Joseph Ward. He paid a high compliment to his work in the various Conferences ho had attended in tho Old Country, and added that though ho wos going lo resign no matter what tho result of this division was going to be. yet lie felt suro the tiino was not far distant when tho people would be very pleased and very grateful indeed if he were again to take an active nart in tho life of this community. He snoke at somo length of the finance, prosperity, «nd increase of population in the Dominion. Mr. A. E. GLOVER, at twenty minutes to midnight, moved the adjournment of the debate, and the House rose to resume at 2.30 run. to-dar.