A TRIUMPHAL TOUR.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2014, 23 March 1914, Page 6

A TRIUMPHAL TOUR.

MR. MASSEY ON THE "COAST."

ARRIVAL AT HOKITIKA.

ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION. By Telegraph.-WSpecial Correspondent.) . Hokitlka, March 22. . 'i\ specially good reception greeted tho Prime Minister (tho Right Hon. Mr. Massey) yesterday, on his advent into Hokitika and the district. On arrival by tho early morning train from Greymouth ho was met by a brass band, and hundreds- of - people, and welcomed upon' a specially-built platform in the street by Mr. E. Perry, Mayor cf 'the borough. The greatest warmth and cordiality prevailed upon every side, % and may be taken as a sound indication of.,:the change of political feeling. ,whjch is now making itself apparent on tlie !Coast. ,

spent' by the Prime Minister in motoring to and through tho Kokatahi Valley, which is. the pioneer eentro of the. establishment of tho dairying ,injhistry. in Westland. By the settlers ..of this district Mr. Massey was very.warmly received. The land in this locality. comprises very rich bush, cleared flats, and tbe success of,farming < upon it justified tho Prime Minister's repeated assertions that a great future lies before Westland in connection with tho .dairying industry. Already there are in tho district several butter'factories, one of which, Kokatahi, distributes £12,000 yearly in payment of buttor-fat.

In response to several deputations which brought before him local matters, the Prime Minister promised to send a .veterinary, surgeon, to the. district, for a few weeks to confer with the farmers upon stock matters, and also to Mr. Thomson, the river, drainage export, to report upon the dangerous erosion of Hokitika River, which is threatening large areas of good land. The scenic beauties of the district were brought home to the Prime Minister by his being taken-a trip through the Hokitika Gorge in a boat .especially brought twenty-three miles overland from Hokitika. "Nothing to equal i* upon the Wanganni River,'' said Mr. Massey, after ,this trip. ' On Saturday evening the Prime Minister continued his politically triumphant career, through the long-vaunted stronghold of Liberalism by winning from a meeting of 1000 people in the Princess Theatre a vote «f thanks and'eonfidence in himself and his Cabinet. Mr.'Massey's speed; was very cqmnrehengive, «nd a clear' exposition, of actions, legislation, and plans* of the Government. He covered a very wide field in his two hours' address, and was listened to o" every point with great interest, and freauentlv interrupted by hearty , prolonged ' applause. *No interjections •whatever were made, bub the meeting was bodily sympathetic to the Prime Minister, and especially so on points condemnatory of the actions of "Liberals" in'the past. A vote of confidence was carried with bheers. ' .SPEECH IN HOKITIKA. WHAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS • .DONE. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) ''" \ Hokitika, March 22., The Right Hon. W„ F. Massey delivered a political address in .the Princess Thqatre hijvo on Saturday night. There was a largo and representative attendance. Mr. S. A. Perry, Mayor, presided.'.Tho Prime Minister received a very cordial reception and there was not' one interjection during his speech, whilst the' applause was frequent throughout. In the course of his re-, marks Mr. Massey referred to his previous visit to the district, four years ago, when ho was Leader of the Opposition, and he had a vivid recollection of;: the very flattering reception then extended* to him. The Prime Minister dealt at some.length with the.reforms . brought about since his Government assumed the reins of office and he declared that it had been fairly successful and that a structure had been built up which would stand for centuries to come.' Land and the Freehold. Referring to the land question Mr. Massey -said,that he could not help noticing .the. progress that had been made, by the.farmers since his first visit to the district. He declared that the country ho had,visited that day at Kakatahi and Kbiterangi was equalto anyithing'in the Dominion. The prosperity of the AVest Coast depended largely on the agricultural, industry,, and his Government was'endeavouring to facilitate ■its' progress in every possible manner. Since' the Bill of 1913 had been passed, nearly 20,000 Crown tenants had had tho opportunity of purchasing the freehold of their sections. The Government was going to do more in this direction. He contended that, there ft- great deal more in freehold than rentment, and ho instanced'tho case with which tho farmer was enabled to' finance this freehold property as against other tenures. With regard to the freehold there had been., a great change in Parliamentary opinion within the' past few years. Formerly, freeholders were in the minority, but now it was the leaseholders who wero in that, position. When the division on the Bill'took place in the House ho "was gratjfied to find that 53 supported it and four opposed it. Pealing with laud settlement Mr. Massey said that up' to December 31 last year, the 1 present Government had placed 2150 new settlers on the land. The number included farmers only, and not their families. During his term of office, he had ■.■authorised the purchase of £550,000 worth of laud, and .despite adverse criticism that had been levelled at his Government's administration, ho was glad to announce that the purchases wero turning- out well. Tho Prime Minister -mentioned that tho Hillersdeu Estato was the largest block of privately-owned land in the Dominion, until acquired by tho Government, and ho was gratified to know that when tho land was balloted for, settlers'from all parts of tho Dominion, especially tho South Island, wero anxious to procure portions of it. In regard to land legislation, Mr. Massey said that in selling laud to settlers tho Government was not asking settlers for tho cash equal to capital value. Arrangements had been made by which the purchase could be made by the payment of twenty : instalments extending over nineteen years. This mode of purchasing had already boon'much appreciated. , Vote of Confidence. \ s Tho Prime Minister concluded a speech of two hours which was punctuated with applause, and when he resumed, his seat ho was loudly applauded. Tho following motion was carried unanimously:—"That this meeting' respectfully thanks the Right Hon. W. F. Massey for his very able and interesting address, and assures him of its utmost confidence in the Government of which ho is tho distinguished leader." The meeting thou cheorcd Mr. Massey, who was afterwards entertained by tho Westland branch of tho Now Zealand Political Reform League.