MR. LAURENSON AT DUNEDIN.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1463, 11 June 1912, Page 6

MR. LAURENSON AT DUNEDIN.

AN ATTACK ON THE PRESS. hKfIISMTIVE I'IIOPOSAbS. (Ily TelegrnpU.—l're.«n A.ssciei'Bt.idn..) Uunodin. Jiiius 10. The llon. G. Laurenson (/M-iiiis'ter fiir I.n I Mill I') delivered an <idili:ess in ilu.uedi.ii this evening on "the prist and future of the progressive party ill Ne'sv /.ealahd." Mr. l/aiil'eiisoii, who wa.s very eP.rdia'l-i.y-received, said he was a member r.f a Giiverliiueut holding ollice by A liiirrow inajorily. Jmleeil Ihey -liiid (inviyed agiiinsl them (he majority o.f life newspaper pro-s of tlio Dominion;;®id ft ivas a desirable thing therefore '.t'li'at Cinveri!meiit representalives tOi.o.uiif conip face fo fuco with tlio people anil stain why Uie.V woro holding oliiee. and wiiii.t. 't.iu'y expected to do for the co'.ttilry by holding ollice. After all it. was iv great blunder for people- to ta'k'p- .their politics from the press. Who after a"li wjrp "the press? 'Take the wealthy' 'capita.lisj; -wjio wanted to crush some ino'vehient ill; it's infancy. He bought, up a. .newspaper a'nii hod a. liian al so much per week to. write for him,- and that, inair wrote on lines lip was asked without f.iie ! -:.siig|ii,es'(. fiesitation because ho was'paid- to do it. In The J)omi.\iox was a in an iiai.ii.cd' l-.'arle, who leas paid so much' per week -tii write on behalf of 12 weiilih.v ■iiieii u\iio owned between them .one .Viiid three--quarter million acres <if 'Injid; -yet: : they mhv it telegraphed all over '.the coini.f.fj' lliat Tin-; Dominion syd so anil so. 'JJl'io "Otago Daily Times" sSid., so' .and so. Who was the "Otago. Daily Times?" Simply some newspaper editor .siti'ibe i'ii; his loom writing according to order. They had : .tp" ' fiicfl ' these men oil tlio platform -.and in the forum. Ho asked 't.ii'eiii iiever -toallow their ideas on politics- tc be formed by the leading articles .in their papers when they had neiyspajier.s repealing and re iterating this GovpniiifCii'j.- :is cirriipt, this Government is i-prmlilrrjfi, this Government is- ncn-prcgressi'vc,. E.ve'n : ; tually the majority of! th« people Would form their ideas on wliaf '-tli.eV' lia.il '.se'en-: repeated in the press.-' That being so, if', was essential for the party' representing the parly of progress, and without wealth at its command, that ..if fib6,iiM take -aif-. vantage of every opportunity' to gp ofi.; the platforms and get face to -face with the eleotoi's. That night-.lyas* the enivis versary of the (lcatli-i.pt'- I'ichard Johnfc'eddou, one of the gre:itest nkin; ;vhd !rad ever lived in New Zealand! fApplause.) Ho had been dead six>yjs&, been truly said that the good tliat men did here lived afit'r tiiem.. Ho had fought a great what reward had he receivedr i.e{ tkem read what the "OtagopD'aily Tit'nes" had l said of Sir Georgo G.rey,'-'Bal!ati'ce, .S'edr don, Sir Joseph iVnrd. or flny oilier man who had fought on the pfcg.re.-sivc side.' That was one of the penalties cf public life. v ■■ It. had been said tliat be. wn= there lo Teply to the Hon. ,r. ; A-- .-iSlillarv. ..Ho: was not there to reply to. Mr. Mil'ar at all, but wanted to say.that he hoped and 'trusted Air. Miliar would soon bo i-c----i stored to his full vigour and strength: He knew the services Mr. Millar had , Tendered, to. the country. (Applause.) -The-,, reiispiii-heiwaS; there- was that he wanted to ask ;hf m what they meant by'rctiirli'.ijigr : icightF'-of i their eleven members pledged, to siijipori. the reactionary party in ParlianV-ni. The reasons'were: -bccaiiSoj tlieiV bi>/ liietropolitan paper '.bat went, into oil parts of the province, was .on the side ot : ths Conservative elafepi-Jaii'dS; .-second;■ ;bes. cause their public : -'-iiieii. ha'd / liesfected . their duty in the past,, and not gpne otf tin platform as thevfijo'iighj;''fa-fere He believed that if h - i.S]);iidy ivho, were in Parlinment -now'' were fp-'iiay'' more attention to ipf' -tfiic::■'jilSf-r... form as a medium' for putfing 'the .n ,il caso before tlio p'ub'.ic, the. electors down here would do the samo as they had in Canterbury;',:whctp:\eicy(!n. out of their fourteen Uicnib-Ci's y.'erc' piccigcd' to ' support tlio progressive; side of politics. ' Continuing, the speaker a.sked why ; tliei' Ward Government had gone, to th« wall last electipn, and saiii- it ivas..because, it had been stated thsytV(l) ;it::ha'd ■ plunged the Dominion head over heels in'debt; Oil unduly increasing the annua! expenditure; (3) because ihey: had ce«i«d' to be progressive; (4) liecanse'they 'had' given a Dreadnought without consulting Parliament; and (5) becaiKe Sir Joseph Ward . was a IJoman Catholic.' .V ' Referring to the financial points, the speaker said the Government had seiit Home and got cheap, money,, and ieiit it out ot -fl per cent:-, 'but'it net about ,50 • per cent, less tliaij; ~if: "It' ;hild i-.'-iecn ; loaned by a. private • . iudi'vidual. Ho wanted t0.,, . S'.iiy ■■;' : 'ilii§ i To open the country they had got to continue borrowing. Ho lnid ineit n man du.ring his recent visit to d'ago Cenifal, a. nanparty man, who Inid said if. \vou]d : pay - to borrow miilions to open .up (entfal Otago, and from /lHia'i; he.-.h.ii'd- ...s'ceii .lie. believed it would pay, -as it wouiii .enable the Central Kdlw^fvto'4)fgin'''^'-.i«^; : iii : !! .terest, instead ofi'li'eing-;;a'. xlrSg ,on the.- 1 rest of the railways -of tlic Dorninion. The Opposition party,,.which\yere-. con-. tiiiually howling ; against plunging the Dominion into dcbl, had in otiTy one single instance voted against siicli borrowing. 'Speakin-g ! sQii^np•,iihcrea^e^l, , 'vote , pf JE200.000 for icdiicatlbri,; ..fhief'-'speaker'-said they had got to make tlieii: educational system mbfo.' ; ;jii:aotical ; ' thain..- : i.t; was. Education; .Aras';.- a- : .inost important question, and if he had ahy.thiiig to do in the matter he w'ouid lx> prepared to increase the vote liko.-;liajf;ia-million within ■■ 'Her challenged any 'maiv-Jb- ".gp 'With.', hi:n through the staUnieiit dt; the figures presented, and tf.f.'andi;S.ay^:th'at^ had not been progressive _ under Sir Joseph Ward. been in power one year before ho swept the 93!) years' leiise into the limbo of ihe past, die had ' .set . aside-!;0:000,(!0;) acres as an educational eiidoiVinciit and for old ago peiisions.. . "Give the iße.yil,. liis due, and give '-loQ Ward liis tiue, toD,' r said the speaker'... ', ~ ' . -i.He referred t6;..tlip r : diiti<!S-,o.ii' .dece.a'fedpersons' estates. They had solved the problem of how lo produce wealth, but had not yet touched- the problem '.of lfpw to distribute wealtiiii .(-.Hear, hear;) The lnau who had lnade-tlie money : was d.eii<i, and did' not want it, while Unperson who inherited it h.id never earned it, remarked the Minister. The speaker quoted figures fis show h(iw '.'the : new duties «stat«^<s£ tie'--. ceased persons. As. regards the gift of a Dreadnought, admitted., it : was a mistake that the Gcyeriiim'tit had . not consulted lie-- : foro they presented ,U'e '\vrirshipi but tfir ' JJ'2B of trade per -head the Heine taxpaver paid 'Ss. lid., vvhile in New: .'Zen-' land, for -C 35 per head <.f trade, we only paid 3s. lid. pir iieaii as a contribution to the Navy, which included in'tetcsi and : sinking fund on the .Dreadnpugnf; .That ; bein" so, there was not. ;it faeiiiboi; of I'.-ir-liament who did lint believe in giving the Dreadnought, and lie believed tli.e '.lwilk ot' tilt! people in X-ew Zealand were ot tlie same opinion. Those 'who- were complaining about Sir Joseph Ward being made i a baronet were, tlipS'e who 'were, breaking their soul cases, hoping (o bp tnado J.l'.'s. ; (Laughter.) Speaking on- tile- .Ma.orf land ([iiesiion, the Minister said -before- t'aclcli'iig' the ■ or five millions ai'.iV-- of land of . the .Maori, he would like,,'to' .;hsk'. wlia.t. ribont their rich white brothers. Tliey should make them disgorge their 1.1,000,000 acre-. The MnoH lititl. sreu'red Iris .rights by treaty, and it;-would 'lift a stanili'nif' graco if tliey let the JJapri bo. robbed of ! a single acre.. A voice: What.apoiit-your own s;'d.o'?- , Tin* .Minister: Mr. Myers is the -.oiily rich man 1 l;.ii"W ef <>n car side. The speaker 'wgiit on ilo refer to his Government's' iiilc.'ii.'tioiis as, -rcg.iir.ds flu>; Dominion wa:'er power, which -Ihey ill; tended to coiiscryo:..for the coiiiilry's ust-, ; and also spoke p'ii ,(vi.isi,6iii>-au'd 'what -tlie Government ■jr.cr.ii doing and isitetuleil lo do in building ho.mis for the workers. Jlo hoped to amend the piT-sonl Ac', dealing witli the Albilhftion Court, f,p. a« io make i'.! obtain- iiiore of t'lie sjriiipatln- and c'jiu.lide.iife. 'of Hie couitlry. lie' tliought. lo -i-'cl ilnV nliiCifi!.ni.ei'lL., nassed; slioitlv. Ac,oi;iui.vli!:oc. for tl[i.xrf,.i]l huplvvtts, -h.-.iivi;-,:.d /.a« uiii|.irs ivouki ul;o be eoii.siilfi'ed by -the and the ovifstioii oi' .iineridirrgi i : lie Plippi ••hi.! I art-irk-;; At.; : fti the Jii. .:.;-m of ;i----ourin>r one iin-y'j' i-vf-t pfi wnk fo.r ete'rt mini and ifi.ifi.in it: the cnm-niMiiiH'. A heartv v.'tc -it' Ui.inks to ihe Miaiter for Ills auil' a ~.f eii.nti-, dcuce in tlio Niini-diy of v-hii h ho i £ j\ mem.bei; iva'a cafricil. Unanimously, j.