MR. MASSEY AT NELSON

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2009, 17 March 1914, Page 5

MR. MASSEY AT NELSON

STRIE SMITTEN ÜBERAIS THE tOCAL MEMBER'S FIRST ABEARANCE. AND WHAT HE AtTEMPTEt!. <By TelcgrAph.—Press AaSoolatioD.) nelsorij March 16. The Primo Hinister (thp Right Ifeii. ' W. F. Massey) nddresised a crowded t meeting at tho ■ Theatre K-oval te-ii.ight, ] having a good roecptiw and an attcii- i live hearing, tliottgb the proceedings '■ at times ivere somewhat demonstrative. Mr. Massey sjioke on practically the same lines as at Blejiheim last week. Ho criticised the finaactat aWange* : Bients of the previous Government, which left his Cabinet l'uee to face with tha iiecessity of finding £8,000,000 by the end of the year to pay ell' short; dated loans, iu "addition to £&GUO t WO for ordinary tiwveiopmeut piirppses. Tlia Government had inereasooi the limit ofnmoutits lent to iaeisl Ijodies .and, set tlersi but it. could not supply all tho-de-'■ mauds of the former, but tlio State guarantee system would a.ssi'st thp.so who required mere than the Departmentcould advance. He would see that tho' flaw in the Act preventing. .Har'houi-; Boards from boueltlhig by it «4a liUt right- The present (jOfefinneiit ti.ad lent to -settlers, wo-rliei's, and local bodies £'2,472,715.,' iactodi.n£ £ly3sß.jfiS3 tp sett-tors, £45)8,075 to workers, a-n-il £1!?,020 to local bodies, Exit Bud Times and Low Wages. llel'cfriitg to th© result of tho Inst loan notatiMi i« Loiidoij, he said New'' Zoalnndc.rs had fivei'y .reason to be proud of tho grand little. coUiVtry in which they lived, for the Loudon nmiiboters wore the best judges <if the i\\W\cial Condition «i the ■couii.ti-y.' tho bad times and. low wages predicted whenthe Eelorm Qoyc.mine.ivt took ofbee Ivad liot cpiiio to pass. The toutttry .-iv»s. nevef more prosperous than at pi-esent,: awl of this the l'ost Offlefe -Sayings Bank was an index. Deposits for the. month of Jnmrai'y and Fobrimry <:-x----ceoilecl ivithdiaivals by iei'-93,4'1.§-,- while the deposits for February of 'this- year ■ exceeded those for the eor.respond'i.ng mouth of 1913 by $117,4-P2;. l|te. present Goveni-mont bad iiMsrea-sed 'the rate of interest on Post Office dei>psits from 3-?jf to 34 per. cen-t. Mo contended that the Government had kept its'pled-Rfi-. : oii tho land question, and bottfepii 19j000 and 20,000 Crown tetmnte had tiro 'fight/ to convert their leaseholds Mo freeholds ■ upon easy terms, The leasehold Iva.d;- ! few. supporters ill Parliament now.' ' .During the presottt filiaiiaM i'esl' tlio i Governmeiit had purchased T4'9joo.Ct.. ticrfi's '■ of fetid for #559,606, and had settled--22,000 settlors on it. the esperhnont -. of providin-g five-acro IwltfgS' ; ai>d houses for fjtrrfi workers iii €.afltcfbuf.y ■promised good results, afid lie iiitcijiie'd to repeat irt in tho North- Is-jaiid. Ho was Out to give the man oil tho bottoin r-U-iig a chance to climb. Liberals and tile Strike* The Pr-tnti! Minister dealt with -naval tfcftwrte and tb» receiit stft'iko in simi.l'av str-Mii to his Bieulioint Speech, flu? ■ strike bad killed tho old Liberal ;p,art.y, and. the parties ef the future vsould be iiefoi-m Liberals and Bed Fed. Liberals. Thg Governmout Would keep the jire- \' seftt I'ajhva'y eonstfuctioi.i pplicy going, '. and perha.ps da a litfelo more. Tbfiy ' praposfid to allow settlers . -aikl loeal \ bodies to construct a line' of-standard ■ RUago. . The Goveinffictft had iwt as yet r.o^ doeiied all tho pfcdges> biit it was liat '■■their fault. They'.bad built up -a, polioy which would be for the good of tlio Dominion in years to .eemo.

Enter—Mr. Minors. As the -meeting drew neat a. co'iieta" sioii, a -noisy eleiaent developed at tho rear of the" hail, which Mr. Massey treated good humon-redly, In csnelu* siau, Mr. Mafisey read an .aecoiint path* tished in the Jfetsnii "MaiF . i'rftm .a Hawke's Bay pap&r of an address by Sir. Atmore, member for Ke.ls.olt, in which, among'other things, it was stated that Mr. Masse.y was now head of a house which had been lef* £165,00 Q. Ho said, ■his father died two years 'ago,, a«d "left £2EW. He jire.siirned. it' Was his (Mi-. Massey'fr) father who Was ah hided to.

Mr. Atmofe, speaking from, the pteti'ornii denied having n'iado the ■stivtC' incut,

Mr. Masse,* said he had .quoted, iho paper Mrr.eqtly, and no ewrcetfon had h-pppnred in. it. A motion of thanks was .ni<ived- r : and was Sps-keu to by several memhers of the audicne*. Mr. At-iwre then moved an fmicnclment to delete, the Words expressing confidence in the Go-rer-iMientj a-lid p-rfl-ftfteded to criticise the Govormnmvi. Ho denied referring to M'.'r. MaSsoy's father. It was Mr. Herries's fatljer he alluded to, ami he had heen. misVepro* serited hy the paper, glinted,. -Mr. Atr more proceeded to deal with tho Government, wlren an ofojecHftU was nosed to a misleading speech. 'A' seeiro of some disorder ensttcd., hijt .the Sfayorheld Mr. Atmofo fa order, and he .coftfckued his efforts to speak,stunt tip-roar and conntinß oiit. After a lapse of §on» tiitio, the Mayor dectaxed tho meeting dosed, and left the chair, amid cireefs and a cotinte,f-!jemOß-stratioa, tho maticu n.ot having been put- ..,.:..,..', Prime Minister Sij&afcs Pialhly. Interviewed after the meeting., Mr. Massey raatlo the folfewrng statement: —J intended to nta-ke another speech by way of re-ply to Mr, Atwore. Ido not Manic the Mayor for leaving tho chair. What lias taken place, is the most miser* able <rshibitie.n J have experienced i'ii 'my twenty years tff Far-Kninwita-'ry life, and t am now speaking of the intcrferonee with tho meeting hy the uiemher ft* the district (Mr. Atmsro),.

"Mr, Atniote afterwards addrbssed -an imp-i'Oßi-.ptn meeting outside the theatre.

!< AN EXCEUENT REQEptiDN." . SCORING OF1? INTERACTIONS.. s ■I:B-y Telegraph:.—Smksiol Corr'tspojidcntJ ' Nfelson, Jiarbh 18, Tim Prime Minister addressed ,1- luitjo audience in the Theatre Royal" last' o'voiiihg. Ho had aii excellent retell* tioti, and a small hostile s.oetjqn. i.i> tl'm hack of' the fall behaved itßoJf -.well oft tlu> tt'ltnle, ivild the interjections simply gave the Prime Minister a lead 1 ; which k> made the best «so of, to the entertainment of the- nudieiice. AW wont ivcll until a vote of. thanks arid emifi(tencc. was moved and seconded, Then the member, for Nelson, Mr. Ait.mof.es got up to move mi ani.ondnio.iit. Ite made, an wttafek tijiwi 'tlio iaoycrh* liieiit and the pcrs.o't'uf.el of tho .Cahineti There We.ro frequent swterrni! : ticins, aitd tlio niembor for jMson tfas U'liabhs to put ids amendment, lWr Uere tlio other side gi'v*'it ji jioaTing. After some Uroo Hsft eliairiiiaft ■iTeekto.d ite jtioctliifi dosed. tt was siiiip.lY a disorderly section tlsnt disturbed th.p clo*t> of Die ineeti.ivgi.aiid fronW not allow tjrose 'pre* sent tft expre.ss their fteeKftir, oitfl way or tii© otlwr. Tlio inofltij.i.g, jiidpij* /torn tlio Jwariftß aiveit tjuv Prinie Sljiiister, and Hie tnwvnltnans and prolonged aprtatee w-hioh -tt-aS. acedrde'd liiiij, Was clearly largely in his fas'aif-r. (Bj' AssaclaWon,) Resfton, Jtarch IS. Tba Prime Minister will be entertaii)■ed ftt a soeial gathetmg he.re on A\'edt marlay. uigltt.