THE HON. G. W. RUSSELL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1466, 14 June 1912, Page 6

THE HON. G. W. RUSSELL.

; SPEECH AT HAMILTON'. IDj ; „ Hamilton,sJiine-13 ■ The Hon. G. W. l-Jusseil to-night spoke at length 011 polihcal:.:mattersV,defehdiiii' tho Mackenzie Ohiiiet. It was. a irdoil' meeting, and w elKatfeiidecl'. ' .\fr. : l?iis;.e!l spoke ior two hours, lie said the roliiic'= of the country were cut! ring a vcfv mr^ 3t1 ,"? ,^ age - '- -Mr- .I'lissell vicorously aetended tho appointment' of. the cbiiiniissions, which were, destined to do importnnt work. He referred to the RBbnii rallies as a Christie-troupe on loiir, niado cluelly to keep up; the p-u ker:-. uf their supporters. The';'tTiveiii'meii't liiitf heen called o siop-gap. mit. thls lie denied. It. had worked hard'.in its short life so"Mr" and had carricd. out' s.Vine. goad work! -uinistei's hud left . uiuhme tiiat was connected with, their De'r art men's, and lnul ceitiunl\ not spaied tlicnisvhcs. Jio coinmente<l Pistcncy in saying ono'rdbyiHiatHhfly^ri; l nomg nothing and the next refesrin" to the 1 vacancy in the 'Lligh ;C^mini.ssioh. ; r<slup, nnd sayingvthat^itawusibSrigSlielii: back ior political reasons. . The 'MackenGovernmeiit woiild not-.slay in office if it was the wish of ..the'House cf .Representative., that they >iumld ..not do s-fi, but lie opined that tho pcoplo deternnned that a; ■'■-.-.Liberal. ' ".Gbrc-rnmeht ■ should manago ■th 6, couh'trV'. ', He believed an tlie feeling of the people ivas I,;beral. and. tnat it tho wii's turned out only; a; Liberal'Vprbgre'ssivo ■ Government could • stand ■ the - (est. , He was not. in favour of small and .inr-ffidoiit' hospitals, but lar^pr^n^ihi.tionsy-asijfaas: iully equipped witly."One source of incomo which was verv largely increajsed banks, and another the totausatoi. \V.he]i:ranvone-'-spfvkc- -of" the Dreadnought .tax coining, out of U». producers ho was#talßng^i»'nseniis;»''an<f- : doing so merely t.v tickle t'te' ears of (he. groundlings. Jlr. ;lhisseir reiYrred to the great outcry at the'elcctionVaiyoiit ljorrow:Ibut this had: iiW,;:(lisappearai,: as it had served its puriKist'. Whe,i ths Op. position thought V' p.aced in powcr|;;.;theyi' , qui(;kly "dropped 5 this outcry, lor (hey were.-faced with the problem of how tiiey were going, to ge.s 011. without borrowing. .He. asked:..if Mi'-." Massey was in power wouid- l-.e stop niciiev tor railways, .lbeal'-jbo'di&s"-: -teiegraplis, telephone .extensions, atlvaiid-s to settlers, etc. Taking expenditure genera"y». " progress «j»ah%osßeji^'iifer(?:,;ibconttnuc they must, coiifinue . '(0 l>brr o '\v-.: nionoy. The only .alternative wa.s that the peoplo must bo Uxed. themselves for these works. JmniigraUoii' was . a .(liiostion of great iniporthnce. The Government realised ''tliat ,in. order to reduco the Intloll.ll debt lefiuired 1 constant stream ( of '-iininigrntioh iiito' tlie: country. The Gov.erh'meniwas going to try an expcrimcnt'■■ : in;ige,tb'iig^oi^'t , •■i-" , tlia^ , shipment of girls'Afrom ■ the lirphan.sgcs 1 of Britain—all girls' of .superior, education who would be- placed -:;iipdor pfbper controL He believed the .-cxp i .rim<.iit . would be a success. ; Another asisect of immigration was thai a shipping combine had been arranged .'to increase the fares ot immigrants. As, however, tho (I'overiinient ivas it would foot fho bill-to ihe extent of an additional .£2 .jier head, so as Ho c-11-able residents of New Zealand to got. cut friends and relations, : ;:and- : ?.sa alssist-- the';' work of colonisation';,; ' iAmori'g;' : tho new ■ proposals to be hospital and char.itabio insti.tutiins," was I he appointment '• al inspection of school children'. It was nscessary that evcry.i.cffprt. Ishb'i'ird".'l;p ■ made to prevent the 'white -scourge, -from spreading. In connection with ihe 'M.iternity Home, (hp .Government intended that wives of hu.sbnnds drawing up to .£! could be tuken into these' home?. A i steady stream of troihed-'midwives wciilcl i also \m turned out .ib go nn(b (he l>;>ckblocks. It had boon said that (he-Gov- t ernment was a boiiy": of. v>iiigie-ta xer;', bii t this was far away-ifrpni. : tKe-truth; .'TE'ere was not one in the Gpvernmeut to-day, nor- inie land r.ationaliser.. , They were lease-holders so far as to sav ' that lha nine niiliit.n. acres which had been set. aside for 'r.eyeii ue : -'ahd'-.b'ther.'' iiii-, tional purposes should lie handed down ' as a national inheritance to tlie people who would come af'er us. He 'ilbife.d' nnyono to say Ihat.the .Go.v'erninfnt inter- | fered with the freehold tenure. Th.cv i stood as the Liberal . party lnul alwaVs i done, for tho po.hcy. that it; was best to place people oil'the land;. The couutrv ''could rest as-suietl thai as s;ion as pp.i. siblo land would be settled by cutting up large estates ow r.Vd by people klip did not use them, and pin- oil in. (h"o hands of .persons who would .npiki: gcrd tia ibf ' them productively. He quoled figuros as proof of the pros[ievity of the ljomiimm during (ho last f;ve. years. He emphasised the fai't that tli'? las! fifteen j'ears and esi>ecia)ly (lie. last five years, had Ixien a period of unexampled prosperity. Therefore, why should. , the'jv'Seek tb : :tiirii the Government froiji office, and put. in p. Ministry of uutried anil inexperionceii m,en? Keferriug again, io tli'bda'nd.'qiies-■: tion, the speaker said the poopli? wruld have an opportunity of■ getting bii the land during the ifexj;- <ejf- .yfeiri, ' 'sfi^h-' as they never had bef.ir.e. The. Gcvein-mi-iit was very determined to place ev'ei:vopportunity in (lie way of those cltsirons to go farming to dp so-.. The =j.citi:er foreshadowed "cheaper railway fares-, ex. tensions of agricultural cdu'caiimi, {,jj r j other reforms for po];iilrtrising 'ficric.ultVirc: lUiioiigst the young meii of tli» .•. unirv. and lo induce (he vo.tng iiwn of 11,.;-, citfos (n go on the lanii.' 'rbi: .Miiiislt'i: -u-n----lislened lo nflcnliiel;. throiigh-);il. ami. froC|urMitly aj)nlaui.l.e.d,. and '.hail :i grerit reception when he .li.iiislie.d. 0 A rr-rilulion of jo (.be speaker■■ and ronfiilpiire in t!i;e UmvyiuV'nl' and wishing il a '.-loyg a.v.d tifoniiuf.uis career, was rairicd uiiaii.iiiiou'ily.