The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1914. A PESSIMISTIC POLITICIAN

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2310, 18 November 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1914. A PESSIMISTIC POLITICIAN

In his ; atterapts to criticise the Government, Sir Joseph Ward, like his humblest followers, adopts the simple. plan.ioLJqoking fixedly at the dark 6ide..of.every question, and refusing to see the light. This rilling tendency was verymuoh in evidence in.the speech which he delivered at Winton on Monday night. In his alarmist and pessimistic view the Government is pursuing a financial policy of reckless extravagance which is bound to - land the country in serious difficulties. To him it is nothing that in times of industrial trouble, and of war, which have necessarilyppurt r some pressure upon the resources of tho country, the Government has been able to augment expenditure upon a number of necessary objects, many of which deserved attention, but did not get it ■ in" the years when Sir Joseph Ward held the reins of government. He is equally unable to realise that in spite of the increasing burdens and responsibilities which it is carrying so well, the revenue of the country continues buoyant, and its trade and industries prosperous. In fact the Leader of the Opposition seems to have given way to a spirit of. panic which the general public do not share, though all will understand it who remember that in 1909, when faced by a crisis far less grave than that which now exists, Sir Joseph Ward turned nearly a thousand Civil Servants out of their employment in a spasmodic effort at retrenchment. The Government is not panic-stricken, and instead of resorting to retrenchment it is pursuing a bold and courageous policy calculated to keep the business and development of the country going, just as if there were no war. This is no time' for pessimism, and Sir Joseph _ Ward would be wise to stop wringing his hands and wailing _ about things that are not at all likely to happen, and .adopt a more reasonable and resolute attitude.

It is hardly worth while to touch at any length upon the detail criticisms of the_ Government's legislation and administration in which Sir Joseph Ward'indulged, because the facts which refute these criticisms are now pretty well known. His references to the State Advances Department, however, were particularly interesting. Weighted down by his own record, he still seeks to obtain credit for the reckless fashion in which he squandered the funds of this Department in the election year of 1911, and, in flat defiance of the facts, he tries to fasten upon his opponents a charge of crippling the Department and destroying its usefulness. This, of course, is absolutely contrary to fact. During the last Imprest Debate in the House of Representatives the Hon. Jab. Allen showed that in seven months this year (from April to October inelusive) the Advances Department paid over to settlers alone no less than £839,000. In tho three war months, August, September, and October, the Department advanced to settlers a sum of £390,065, or at tho rate of £130.000 a month, which if maintained would be up to the full extent of tho borrowing power authorised by law. At the same time liberal advances have been continued to workers. Altogether during the three war months the State Lending Departments (including the Public Trust Office and tho Government Insurance Department) advanced no less than £798,308. In addition, the Public Trustee agreed to grant further loans of £36,300, subject to valuations, making a total for tho three war months of £834,608. Better still tho funds of_ the Advances Department, in spite of the difficulties croated_ by the war, are. in a sound condition which has enabled the Government to already raise the limit upon loans to settlers and to promise a further removal of restrictions in tho near future, This .creditable rocprd niovokes another

inevitable comparison, for in the same Imprest Debate Mn. Allen proved by reference to official files that in the election year of 1911 (a year of untroubled prosperity), Sir Joseph Ward not only ran tho Advances Department practically to a standstill by his scatter-cash policy, but concealed the fact from tho public in tho days preceding the election. It is in fact the fate of Sir Joseph Ward and his supporters to be met at every turn with facts which at once roll back their criticium and bring to light the indefensible policy which they pursued in their days of power. The position of the Opposition is , in no way improved when they turn from subjects of administration to those of policy, for hero the fact stands out boldly that in regard to all the larger issues which are now unfolding t their attitude is uncertain and their proposals weak and hesitating. Sir Joseph Ward's extravagant references to the subject of naval defonce have already been touched upon and need not be further emphasised at present. As Tegards matters of domestic concern it is not too much to say that the only sound planks in the policy enunciated by the Leader- of the Opposition have been adopted from the platform of the Reform Government'. Tho freehold policy, for instance, has practically been swallowed whole. _ In some cases the Wardists, while ostensibly differing from the Government, have been reluctantly constrained to acquiesce in the reforms which it has effected, because . the reactionary and undemocratic ideas to which they formerly adhered are no longer tenable. The most striking example in this category is the declaration by Sir Joseph Ward in favour 'of Parliamentary control of the Public Ser : vice. If this means anything it means the maintenance of the present system. Tho Public Service is now in the truest sense under Parliamentary control since the Public Service Commissioner is directly responsible to Parliament. In the days of the Continuous Government the Public Service was under Ministerial control, and suffered from tho evil effects of political patronage, Where the Opposition has not resorted to the Government platform -for its policy, its lack of constructive ideas at once becomos apparent. In the matter of Public Works expenditure, for example, Sir Joseph Ward proposes to limit tho annual borrowing to £3,000,000. Of this amount he proposes to devote only £700,000 to Public Works other than railways. The Government, on the other hand, has taken authority to-provide a similar amount of loan money for roads and bridges alone, and it would bo absurd to contend that such a provision' would be unduly lavish. Thanks to tho haphazard settlement methods of the Continuous Ministry, the Massey Government has inherited a legacy of unroaded backblocks which must be provided for'with the least possible delay. , Sir Joseph Ward apparently proposes to let tho problem stand, foralthough he mentions "special assistance to backblocks roads," ho proposes, > as stated, to limit tho annual expenditure upon Public Works other than' railways to £700,000, whereas the Government has taken authority to expend £1,000,000, over a- term of three years upon backblocks roads alone. Weak as it is in criticism and in constructive policy, the Opposition Party, is equally unhappy in the matter of its domestic organisation. Its pessimism and lack of purposeful initiative are- accentuated ,by' the fact that it is entangled' with Labour-Socialist extremists by. whom it would bo dominated if it were returned to power. In contrast with this dreary spectacle of ineptitude . and disarray the Government's record of useful work and its boldly-planned and progressive policy stands out in sharp distinction. It has its faults, but unlike its opponents it is undismayed by the difficulties and problems of the present critical period, and has clear-cut views as to the best means of preserving iand promoting the welfare of the Dominion in the immediate future.