THE DEBATE ENDS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1527, 24 August 1912, Page 6

THE DEBATE ENDS.

SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER. "A NEW ERA IN POLITICAL HISTORY." The PRIME MINISTER rose to reply at 12,31) a.m. He thanked hon. members for their exceedingly fair and reasonable criticism of the Budget. When lie «iid hou. members, ho made an exception with regard to the member for Nelson. Ho excepted the scolding, snarling, spiteful speech which they had just heard from the member for Nelson. At one timo Nelson. had been represented by a man who was respected all round the House, but the old order changed, gi; ing place to the new. The' reception of the tirst Budget of his colleague, the Finance Minister was n compliment to the wholo of the members of the Ministry, and to the whole of tl/o party. The reception of the Budget must be exceedingly gratifying to the people who had supported tho party during the time when it was in the cold shades of Opposition, through good and evil report, i/nd had kept the Reform flag flying. It had been interesting to notice, right through the debate that there was no reference to the old stories of tho soupkitchcns, about reactionaries, and about low wages. These things were exploded theories, never, more to be revived. It seemed to him to Im> perfectly clear that the Budget marked ft new era in the political history of this country. There would bo no longer Tories and Liberals, but a new division of Reformers and Anti-Reformers j men anxious to promoto reforms which this country urgently wanted, and those—like some on the other sido.of the House—who were content to remain in the same old rut as they had followed for years. Mr. Russell mentioned old age pensions, cheap money, and land for settlements. Mr. Massey said he was glad the hon. gentleman had wakened up. He learned from every part of tho Dominion that the establishment of a strong end stable Government on the Treasury benches had been marked with approval", and that owing to that fact, trade, commerce, and industry were very much better than they were some months ng3. 110 had Leon informed from all quarters that the people of this country had more confidence in the country than they had had for the last twenty years. ' Naturally, their friends on the Opposition benches felt a certain amount of disappointment, but that could not be helped. They knew in their inmost hearts that what had happened was in tho best interests of this country. Opposition Criticism. Ho referred to the speech of the hon. member for Avon, by which he had laid himself open to criticism even by his own parly. It had been the speech of a disappointed uiivn. It had been said that tho policy of tho' Government would raise tho rate of interest. Mr. Russell: It will do that. Mr. Massey drew attention to what had happened in the Mackenzie Government's term of ofiico. The 6peech delivered by the mom'oer for Hutt was probably tho most strenuous of the debate, but tho honourable gentleman hud effected no more than would a battering of pop-guns against a battleship. Not a plato had boen shattered, not a mark had been left. Moro injury had been done (to tho hon. member himself than to tho ! Statement. He defended tho Government from the reproach that they had failed to review 'the tariff, but it was absurd to expect the Government!to deal with such an important measure at such short notice. Tho fact was that the members of tho Opposition wanted something to find fault with, but they could find nothing. Why did not tlicy como over to assist tho Government, and the party and pass all tho reforms they had advocated? Tho (government were out to abolish political graft, and extravagance, that had characterised the public affairs of this country for many years past. Now, their opinions were such as ought to satisfy even the Opposition. Mr. Noswortliy • remarked .4iat the Opposition- all looked very sick. Mr. Massey said also that tho expression on tho faces of hon. members of tho Ojyposition was very sickly. Mr. Forbes's speech had been an example of wilful misrepresentation—an attempt to set class against class. He (Mr. Massey) said that land-owners were not criminals, and thero was nothing to justify the statement that tho funds of the party came from tho great land owners. He thought that the hon. gentleman's constituents on the land had no worse enemy than the man they had sent to Parliament. "Most Unedifying." The speech of the hon. member for Christchurch North had done a tremendous amount of gcod to the Reform party in the new Parliament. The speech was the most unedifying one ho. had ever listened to; it was full of envy and uncharitableness. It was a speech that could not possibly do good to his own •party. There was only one remedy for the malady from which the hon. gentleman was suffering, and that was "rope." Ho defended tho borrowing cf ,££oo,ooo for the Office at 3J per cent. The Treasury was practically compelled to find investments for tho Post Office Savings Bank. For the Toilers. The Government intended to do all it could for the toilers. It would give them what, they had never had yet—equal opportunities so far as this Government could make them equal. Replying to what had been said by Mr. Craigie about Timaru borrowing .C1G.500 at 3 ppr cent., the Prime Minister said that it was this sort of thing that had killed the old Loans to Local Bodies Act. The Act was originally intended for the development of the eonntry—for ncw_ works— and not for' the larger local The member for Timaru had asked if the Government would stop piling up tho debt. .The country eouM not. stand tho piling up of debt that hod gone on for the iast few years, but the Government diil not intend to stop borrowing. Mr. Russell: You have not indicated your borrowing for this year jet. Tho Prime Minister said that the Government proposed io take authority to raise a million and three-quarters. Mr. Russell: For one purpose. The Prime Minister said that the.v hoped to get enough for other purposes from other sources. 'Hie sum of ,£IOO,OOO would be raised for State coal mines Ho had to thank tho member for Timaru for his leasehold amendment. It had served a useful purpose in showing that the adherents of the leasehold had been r?duced to a few fossilised individuals like the member for Avon. There was a great deal more than sentiment in the freehold. Hie position the present Government took up . was that so long as there was a settler available and a section. of unoccupied land I hey would put tho settler on the-section and give him the securest 1 enure possible.. Mr. Russell: You will jjet, no freehold .for the renewable lease. Mr. Massey: Then tho country will bo consulted. There will be no backing down on tho wirt of this Government I

AVhen wo bring down a policy measure, that policy measure will be put through, or I will ask his Excellency tho Governor for a dissolution. I don't want to threaten the House, and 1 would not have (•aid this if tho hon. gentleman, had not dragged it from inc. The other side, ho continued, had been unable to criticise the Budget, and there wero very few points to reply to. Tho I'rinio Minister detailed a number of thirty-four definite proposals which ho had extracted from the Budget. Tho Upper House. Ho defended tho proposed reform of tho TJppw lloii.se as democratic. Tho second ballot would be ended. A very important reform was that of referring the Estimates to tho Public Accounts Committee, lie had been called before the Committee that day to give evidence about tho Estimates of some of his Departments, Having bad some experience of tho past working of the Committee, he honestly believed that tho new arrangement would savo the country many thousands of pounds. There would Iμ a Loral Government Bill, and tho principle would bo to classify tho local bodies of this country into tlioso districts which were entitled to assistance from the State, and those which -,vero not entitled to assistance from tho State. That dono they would do away with the very unsatisfactory system of Parliamentary grants. The Opposition had; taken advantage of defects in tho old scale of tlio graduated land tax: to show that the now scale was not likely to prove a success. Ho thought tho graduated tax would have a very considerable elFect in breaking lip large estates. While the country did not want to do anything unreasonable, they wero still doing something not unjust or unfair in requiring from the owners of larjro areas some extra taxation. Generally, this was the policy which the people of this country find asked for, and this was the policy of which they approved—and it was sucli a policy as had never before been laid before the Parliament or the people of this country. * The House went into Committee of Supply, and as soon as the first item bad been moved tho Prime Minister moved to report progress. The House rose at 1.35 a.m.