The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1913. A FIGHTING SPEECH.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1803, 16 July 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1913. A FIGHTING SPEECH.

There does not appear to have been any good reason for the Prime Minister speaking during the present Address-in-llcply debate. - The criticism of the Opposition has been very hackneyed and petty in most cases, and such points of legitimate attack as have been made have been on the whole well answered by members on the Government side of the House. But while there was little, if any, occasion for the Prime Minister engaging in the debate, there can be no doubt that the speech he delivered last evening was a very telling one from the party point of view. As usual, Mr. Massey tried to crowd into the time permitted by the Standing Orders of the House a groat deal more than could be adequately dealt with, and in consequence he was forced to speak at express speed; but apart from this weakness, which robbed some of his points of their full effect, it was an excellent fighting speech—confident, full of telling facts, and with just sufficient aggressiveness to keep the occupants of the Opposition benches always a little uncomfortable as to what was coming next. He demolished very thoroughly the foolishly unjust assertion of the anti-Reform-ers that the Government had not carried out its election pledges. It is difficult to understand how the Opposition could be so stupid as to have followed the lead of their press sup-1 porters in making this absurd allegation. If there is one thing above all others- that cannot be chargcd against the Government it is that it ha? shirked giving effect to its policy proposals. In the short time it has been in office it has done more, proportionately, than any other Government of recent times, to carry out its pledges; and this was very clearly shown by Mr. .Massey. We do not propose, however, to follow the Prime Minister in his review of the achievements of the Government, ik.v yet in the interesting declaration he made regarding the general lines of policy to lw pursued. Our purpose for the moment is to compliment him on the scathing manner in which he dealt with the unscrupulous and dishonest attacks which have emanated from a scction of the OoDosition Dfess and been

taken up and repeated in parrot fashion by some of the members of the anti-Kefonn party. The ignorance and malice behind some of the canards circulated by the local Opposition journal have been exposed by us from time to time. The gross dishonesty of the utterly baseless ehargc against the Government in connection with the new postal regulations will still be fresh in the minds of our readers; the fabrication concerning an alleged vote for a "squatter's road" in the Waipukurau electorate, which Mr. G. Hunter and Mil. Escott showed to be "a tissue of untruths" as the former put it; the allegations of aggregation twisted to damage the Government by cowardly insinuation. All these and other exposures of wilful misrepresentation on the part of the Government's opponents were so vigorously handled by the Prime Minister that the members of the Opposition probably felt as uncomfortable as they looked, and deserved to be. But Mr. Massey was never more effective than when he dealt with the despicable suggestion which has been circulated, that the Government had refrained from, making full use of the Advances to Settlers Office in order to enable wealthy financiers to increase tho rate of interest on loans. The Prime Minister tooki the gloves off and hit out in earnest against the contemptible meanness which could prompt so dastardly a calumny in face of the plain facts of the situation. There was not a member on either side of the House who was not impressed with the sincerity of his repudiation of this base slander, and also with the sweeping indignation with which he denounced tho use of so foul a means of attempting to injure a political opponent. It may riot, as we have said, have been necessary for the Prime Minister to speak during the debate, but having decided to do so he is to be congratulated on the manner in which he accomplished his task.