The Dominion. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1914. THE REFORM PLATFORM

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2301, 7 November 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1914. THE REFORM PLATFORM

' The platform upon which the Reform Party will fight the coming election is published, in extenso in our news columns to-day, and it merits careful perusal, not only as an announcement,of intended future activities, 'but on account of the light, it casts upon the stage which New Zealand has reached in national and political development. In the main it is & satisfying document, affording evidence of a competent grasp upon the political problems of the day and of an honest intention to attack ;theni in a spirit of thorough-going enterprise rather than to wheedle the electors with 'showy promises and fantastic visions of impossible benefits. At the same time, while their manifesto is restrained in tone, the leaders of the Reform .Party have planned their future activities with boldness and decision. Their production loses nothing of its force from'the fact that in a, number of important details it is a natural extension of the work which ; they have already carried out, but it involves; also some very policy departures. Prominence is ' rightly given to a continuation of the sound financial policy which, to quote the platform, "has already placed the finances of New Zealand, especially as regards tho State Advances Department and the Public Works, on a much more satisfactory basis than was the case when the present Government took office." To realise the justness of this claim, it is only necessary to compare the prosperous state of affairs to-day and that which existed at the latter end of 1911, when the reckless extravagance of the Ward Administration brought the operations of the State lending Departments temporarily to a standstill.

Next in importance to sound finance in a country like New 'Zealand comes tho prosecution of a vigorous policy of land settlement and development. . Here the Government proposes to continue and oxtend the'good work it has already done. During the past two years subdivision and small settlement have been expedited to a notable ex--.tent under the freehold policy, which was a main plank in the Government's platform when it took office. It is now proposed to promote the further subdivision of largo estates suitable for close settlement by an automatic increase of the graduated land tax. In exercising this policy it is intended to_ discriminate between land which is improved and improvable land which is kept in an unimproved condition, and also between gpod land fit for dairying and poor pastoral land which cannot bo profitably occupied in small areas. This radical but just proposal will be a grievous disappointment to those critics of the Covomment who

are anxious at all times to brand it with a Tory label, and it is in marked contrast to the clumsy and unfair proposal advanced by' Sir Joseph AVakd to single out particular estates for the imposition of a special graduated tax, whilo allowing others of the same class to escape. Under the method proposed by the Reform Party an automatically increasing penalty will be .placed upon all largo landholders without distinction, who neglect the improvement of ' their laud or attempt to avoid subdividing it when that course is necessary in the interests of settlement and progress. Whilo the Government- commits itself to providing an adequate supply of land for settlement, it has not overlooked the attendant details which go to make up an enterprising land policy. Detail proposals put forward foreshadow the establishment of Agricultural and Land Banks, thc_ promotion of agricultural education an expansion of the system by which the assistance of the State's expert officers is available for various industries and the provision of a better form of appeal in case of disputed valuations. In connection with the latter proposal, which is a ■natter of widespread concern, it will be remembered that the Government has already arranged to set up a Commission of Inquiry. Providing adequate means of communication in the shapeof roads and bridges and . railways' is an essential accompaniment to a vigorous settlement policy, and here the Government plans have been clearly laid down. In addition to the ordinary expenditure on public works it has taken authority to raise a special loan for back-blocks roads and bridges. These measures and others l should do a great deal to check the drift to the towns and restore a proper balance of population between urban and rural areas. One of the commonest aspersions cast upon the Government by its critics and opponents is that it is antagonistic to the workers, and has no sympathy with Labour aims. These catch-cries will be badly, discounted by the proposals to reduce Customs duties on certain articles in common use and to extend thescope of the Commercial Trusts Act .to facilitate proceedings against monopolies which attempt to exploit the public. These are matters of concern to the whole community," but especially to the wage-earners. A radical proposal, also, but one which will meet with wide support, is that of instituting a scheme of insurance against sickness and unemployment. Other arresting items in this section of the platform are the establishment of labour exchanges and the, payment of a State subvention to friendly societies. In the matter of Pensions Reform the Government has an honourable record, and it now proposes to. follow up the good work it has done in reducing the pension age for women from 65 to 60 years, and in providing military pensions for Maori War veterans, by exempting the home Of a pension applicant from computation as disqualifying property. This, though it will entail a heavy additional expenditure, is unquestionably an equitable proposal; It' will remove an unjustifiablo penalty upon honest thrift and must be regarded as a long step in the direction of the universal pension. It is promised to institute pensions for the ph'ysically infirm as soon as the necessary funds are available. In these, and other proposals tie Gov- , ernment makes it clear that it is by no means minded to neglect that extension of that humanitarian legislation which the spirit .of the times demands. • '

The promise to establish a Board of Trade and Commerce *s a timely concession in the interests of the expanding trade of the Dominion and the proposal to grant additional preference to Great Britain and to , the British Dominions is one that gains additional weight, and importance from the conditions created by the war. The abolition of the vicious system of Parliamentary grants, a measure postponed in the session just ended, is given a prominent place in the platform, and in addition legislation is promised to improve the 'relations between the General Government and local bodies. As regards' the railways, the Government meets to an extent the demand for reductions in the cost of traand the removal of admitted anomalies in goods freights, and promises a further, speeding-up of longdistance trains. A praiseworthy proposal is that involving the extension of the maternity homes system and' special training of nurses in' the treatment of infants.

Theso are only a few of the 'main items in a platfor/n which embodies a long series of proposals involving many radical departures. If a statement of _ policy should be confined to mapping out the work of a single Parliament, the one under review is at fault in attempting to cover too much ground, for no Parliament in a three-years' term could expect to carry into full effect all the reforms which the Prime Minister and his colleagues have projected. On the other hand, where their proposals go somewhat ahead of what can, in the nature of things, be accomplished immediately, they are nevertheless of such a character that they may be accepted as masking the lines of ■ progress which will be followed as the country develops and its industries and public affairs expand. So far as policy proposak for the immediate future are concerned the Reform Government has proved, by its career during the late Parliament, that it may be trusted to carry them into effect at the earliest possible moment. No one can study the record of the. past three years without realising that the Reform Party has fulfilled its pledges to the fullest extent possible in the time. The platform now submitted has many good features, and few, if any, that can be called bad. It may be said of it that it errs in attempting too much for the life of one Parliament, but that is not a weakness with which many people will find , reason to quarrel. Rather will they be inclined _ to_ contrast it with tho lack of initiative and ideas displayed by the opponents of the Government; and congratulate themselves that there is once more a live party in office possessed of progressive ideas and with the courage arid capacity to put them into effect.