HON. W. H. HERRIES AT TE AROHA

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2307, 14 November 1914, Page 8

HON. W. H. HERRIES AT TE AROHA

• RAILWAYS. ADMINISTRATION ELIMINATION OF POLITICAL PATRONAGE ' (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Ts Arohai November'lß.A political address was delivered by the Hon. W. H.' Herries, Minister of Railways, at To Aroha to-night. Tho Mayor, Mr.. W Morrell, presided. After dealing with the coming into power of' the' Reform Party, Mr. Herries remarked. that Mr. Massey and his followers now had to account for their 'stewardship. The Government had met with difficulties that no Government had had to contend with before, including the tightness of money, the Waihi strike, tho Maori epidemic, tho waterside'strike; and last of all the great European War. Through all the strife tlio Government had endear voured to keep, a stiff backbone and do its duty' both to the Empire and tho Dominion itself. (Applause.) So fur as th© war was concerned, he remarked, the Government had surely done its duty, for it had been the first to offer a contingent, and tho Dominion troops had been the first to occupy the enemy's territory.- Further, .the Government had passed beneficial legislation to meet, the peculiar positions that had arisen. ■

Though the war was going on the domestic affairs'of the Government had to be carried on. Continuing, he referred to the statement that the Government had pledged itself not to borrow money. That- was absurd, for money was needed for the proper development of the . country, and any Government that did not develop the Dominion, providing money was procurable at reasonable rates, was almost criminal. * The Government's loans had been floated on excellent terms—(applause—and . he might add had met with the approval ;of a' financial expert, the President of 'the Bank of,. New' ; Zealand, who if anything, had leanings towards the Opposition. If - the Government's finance was bad in .the*eyes, of- -the' Opposition it was at rate good in tho eyes of the London financiers, for. the £4,500,000'. .loan-' had been subscribed five times, over. (Applause.) . Mr. Herries candidly admitted that the Government had not carried out its promise to reform- the fiscal system, of the Dominion. It had been decided 'to do this last session, but the outbreak of the war had prevented the plans from, being carried into effect. Although the Customs items had not ■ been reduced,, the Government had inet the increased cost of living by increasing the wages of a large body of men. (Applause.) In his own Department wages had been increased by £120,000 per annum, teachers by £150,000, police by £18,000, Public Servants, by £48,000, Post and Telegraph by £42,000. (Applause.) The ; Massey Government had-carried

out its pledges in- regard to the;land question, and (he added) if the party was'returned to nower it intended to trive the leaseholders of Te, Aroha and Rotorua the opportunity to acquire the freehold." (Loud'applause.) Exit—Political Patronage. The reform of the Legislative: Council had been carried out, eliminating , political patronage. . Political _ patronage had been eliminated' frorir^''tlie Civil Service,' and if he approached one of tho Commissioners suggesting that "So-and-So" was a man worthy of promotion, he would be. liable to a fine of £50. (Hear, hear.) The reform of tho Old Age Pensions Act promised at last election had been carried out during the first session of Parliament, and the Government had gone even further by recognising- tlifi 'services, and yalour of the veterans of : the Maori war., (Ap-. plause.) Mr. Herries referred to the promise of the Government, to. reform, the .economic system of the Dominion by promoting industrial .peace and restoring public confidence. He maintained that' the Government's stiff backbone in' regard to strikes had promoted industrml peace and restored the confidence or the people. The Government had maintained that law and order should be upheld, and that the commerce of the Dominion should not be held up—(applause) and he would not fear to go before .the country on the single question of his party's action, in regard to the trouble. He. felt that the Government by its firm action could rightly claim to have done more to promote industrial peace and restore public , confidence than any previous Government. (Anslause.) "... ' : Railways Administration.

Referring to the statement that the Government was going to, build palatial railway stations to placate • the towns, Mr. Hemes said : that it was true the Government intended to borrow £3,200,000 for equipment of the. 'present lines.-. She sum was a large one, but ho would'point out that the expenditure was to extend over. five years, and was absolutely essential. He wanted to combat the idea that tho Governmnt was-going to spend the loan in tho towns for the'erection of p'ala-' tial railways, for the stations were really the smallest part of. the expenditure. The • loan was mainly required for shunting yards; engine yards, goods sheds, engine sheds, easing the grades, and for proper accommodation for the produce of the country. (Applause.) Auckland, he said, was in a worse position than any of the other centres as far as its railway accommodation' was concerned. Something- mUBt be done, otherwise the Minister of Railways, five years hence, would bo in a most awkward position. v A voice: Why don't you face your responsibilities i" The Minister: l am going to if ,'the people keep, me in power for the next three years. (Loud applause ) , Continuing, he said that the Govfirst duty- must - be to see that the lines were kept in such a state that they could cope with the business provided by tho feeder lines, but nevertheless the Government would continue its progressive policy in the opening up of the Dominion by the laying down of feeders. (Applause.) Before leaving ■railway questions he mentioned that although one million was to be spent on the Auckland railways only. £45,000 was. to be appropriated fot Auckland's station. • . • t .. . Progress for the Futuro. In referring to the future the Minister. dealt, with the .main features of tho manifesto issued by the Reform Party. The present was not tho time to enter into detail concerning the naval- policy, but he could say that there would probably be a conference in London when the war had been settled' —(applause) and then would bo the time for-the'different Dominions to agree with the Old Country upon a proper naval policy providing _ adequate)}' tor the defenco of the- Empire. It (lid not reflect credit upon' the Dominion that it had to rely upon the Australian Squadron in the matter of taking the troops to Samoa. Continuing, he said that the' Government intended to go on with the policy that had already placed the finances of New Zealand on a'much moro satisfactory basis than was the case when it took office. -The Government's land policy would bo pursued and special attention would bo paid to immigration while tho jwlicy of promoting the welfare of mining by direct and indirect assistance would includo iron and oil which had, with coal, a national importaiiru. The party intended to still

further extend tho usefulness of pensions by removing tlio penalty at pre-" sent imposed upon thrift, anu os soon . a? the necessary funds were available, '. to ; provide pensions for the physically infirm. The necessity for the rrection of workers' 'homes in the country as well as. the towns was realised by the Reform Party. (Applause.) Finally, by . the foresight of the Minister of Finance it was hoped that- thero would be no need for the levying of a war tax. Strong and Undivided. > In concluding, Mr. Herries said - the Massey Government was a strong, lio- • mogeneous party—a party that was not divided, on political questions, and had ' gone through the whole Parliament without being once defeated on a Government measure or motion. A voice: What;about Fisher?. Mr. Herries: Ho is the best Minister we have. He is industrious and will beat Fletcher hands down". (Ap- ■ plause.) Tlie other side, he continued,'was a heterogeneous collection which, if. it gotjnto power, would be wagged by its tail—tho Social-Democrats. He had read the Opposition's policy, but all 'ho had got out of it was that Sir - Joseph Ward wanted to give £5 to every • infant and then borrow it back. (Laughter.) In answering questions the Minister said he had always teen a three-fifthß majority man on the Prohibition qnes- ■ tion and would remain in the same position throughout the next Parliament. • He: was in favour of the Referendum on • the B.ible-in-Schools question. ■, A vote of thanks for tho address and • scnfidence in the Minister.was carried * unanimously, amidst cheers. > \-