LIBERAL LEADER AT INVERCARGILL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 46, 18 November 1919, Page 8

LIBERAL LEADER AT INVERCARGILL

REPLY TO .CRITICISM ARGUMENTS AND FIGURES Br TelwaDb-l'ic?* Asjodsttlon. ' I nvercargtll, November IV. Spenk'ng at Waikiwi to-night, >nul refeinng to-Sir James Alle.u's statement us sent through the. Press Association, .Sir Joseph Ward said thai: the figures lie muled at the Winton mcetin;; wore quite correct. In addition to the amount is The Supplementary Estimates. He nlso included extra amounts in the Appropriation Hill and additional amounts in separate Bills which wcro not stated in cither the Supplementary 'Estimates or tlir. Appropriilion B'-"l. Sir James Allen i'ml amended his Estimates, showing .CKIfi.WX) additional revenue, but he (the Kiieaker)-could not\ understand why tho position was not known In Sir .lamps Allen when he said on Sentembpr 2.1. in UK Budget speeches, Hint there was only .tra.Ofl!) money available or rpqumd. foi'Vthe Sunniempntarv Tlslimntps. which.' when the Supplementary Estimate' were brought down, exceeded Hie provision, he li."d made of September 2.1 liv one million ndditinn.nl. 'Rp'ravrlin!; the statement tint the original Budget was in the hands nf Hie Into M'nistpr of Finance, tliat wns "nit" wrect. nnd it wns conp'mlpr] un to Mnroh .11. wliicli. after prm-idi"" for nn inrrensed oxwrnßin-e of .•r.S.iir.n.Sll for Hie ?nr "i-'Vri 31. 19in. left n snm'ns of ,-f.l (!"1.77S to cemtnnnen the current year with. TTe hi>'' nnf'i'ni? in 'in irirli t l '" "uiTonf venr'p T!«HnT>t-<v or wiHi anv of Hio nrwosnlo j" Hip T>idsp>r. none of which 'mil b»pn e'"ier denlt will' it nrntwsn.l K l.im. TT" Topented Hint H.n wlir.le of Hie liabilities .subnrfM Hiw year wore sl'in'Tidnu.s, ntvl fnr 1>»vm»l nnvthinT lie hnd ever eontemnlnW. and licfnr» l'" wonl'l b< , rosiionsiU'" for <siiplv !ip would want to knn'v n-hprp Iho mnnev. ;in<l n'«n the ways nnd the moans, wore to come from.

Th» Prih"? Minister's Crit'cisn's. Sir Joseph Ward, referring to Mr. Massey's criticism at Papakura, said that the Prime Minister evidently thought it necessary to indulge in fooTish expressions towards him. Generalisations' wero al the best poor substitutes for cogent reasoning or argument. Mr. Massoy had slid that lr's (Sir Joseph Ward's) criticism was that of an irresponsible politician who was doing a great deal of harm to Iho financial reputation of the country. Sir Joseph . Ward snid bo bad lie.on over thirty-two years in Parliament, nnd • had never known anything approaching , the enormous liabilities now beinf submitted by w-iy of loan proposals. TTe liad called direct attention to' it in tho Hou=« an<l urged a reduction of over seven millions m one alone, h<t it made nn differpnee. They wore still piled up. As to irresnoiisibilify. he pointed out that not one of the finanoial Acts ho was responsible for during tho Rst quarter of a century !>nd been repealed, nnd every one nf them "liad nrovpd p. great and. sponkine gpuernllv. at tho timo h ,a ""• "inputs htiA mussed t'"Mii and predipt«d disaster and fai'ur". The saving of the T>nk of JTeiv Zeahnd was a ease i" noint. It was nrodipted Hint it would h\, a 'ium loss to the country. It lyul P'-ored fn Hi" ''Pry onposito. Tlip country had not lost a' penny, and thousands of people I% !>fl 'beon savml from flnnneial -niin.. The country itsolf had been saved from a disaster Hint would have taken it fork years to linvc recovered from. Tho Advances to Settlers Act wns to Tcsult i'i blue ruin. The KH , " had lo"t to settlers and workers twenlvone mill'-on pounds at tt nor cent., inolu'ling tlio ropayiicnt of Hie loans. «'"' hnd netted a nrofit of ,POs.oni) from Hm settlers' brancli n"d .-Ono.ooo from tb» wckers' branch. Tho advances to local bodies worn denounced as excessive, and not n sl'illinv bad b»pn lost. The cost of tho Xpw Zpulniu l . 11roadno'.u;lit. p'bont two millions, lmd all boon provided for by spp"ial taxation a»d Hie full amount I nnid off. TTe had nrovidod a sinking fund , fnr Hip whole of the country's loans, and (bore was now n total of ,£5.951,065 at the credit of the country for loans incurred. TTp had a'=W provided a surplus of ■ over fifteen millions for tho repayment of war loans while Finance Minis- ( tor of tho National Government, and this was b?in? annexed by Hie present l'"inanco Minister for uso in payments in New Zealand. Ho regarded this as a huge blunder, and would provo it to bo beyond the capacity of tho country to raise half the loan moneys required within New Zealand during tlie next four years. Necessity would force them to go to England, and possibly America, for n very large proportion of their loans. If fifteen millions were kept intact in the Sinking Fund they could raise treble tho amount of it at a comparatively small discount to what would bo the case without the fifteen millions at credit of the Sinking JAmd. Tho money lenders in either London or America would regard lending to the country with such a line, sinking fund reservo in an entirely different light to what they l would to one without a war loan sinking 'fund. New Zealand could not risk'depending upon its own resources to supply the millions necessary for its reconstruction clue to the war. The difficulty in meeting the last war loan subscribed to—and it wns a forcod loan— surely, demonstrated this.' It would be eheer and unadulterated madness to'expect to get all the loan money that was required hero with a free loan, and oven if the banks and private money lenders from a spirit of loynlty and support and tho country were to do so, it would create such a shortness of money and financial sti'ain that he for one would be afraid of the consequences, to traders, settlers, and industries. . They would be bound to suffer to an extent hitherto unknown. >

"An Irresponsible Politician." Hβ had no objection to being called "an irresponsible politician" J)y Mr. MasBoy, but was quite willing to. leave his public record to the judgment of the people as to whether ho had in anv respect in the past ken irresponsible. Former Liberal Ministers of the National Cabinet had made -no innuendos or cast any imputations of incapacity upon any of their Eeform colleagues in any criticism of proposals of the Keform Government since the National Government ceasod to exist. It was evidently considered justifiable by tho Prime Minister to east reflections upon those who had been associated with him during the trying and difficult period in tho country's history. The National Cabinet inliLs opinion bad done magnificent work, and he was not going to bo one to cast any doubts on the ability or good intentions of his former col-lea-'ues in that Government. Now we had the surprising position that tho l'rhno Minister and the Minister of Defence sought to. justify their own proposals made quite independent of the National Government, by easting reflections upon those who had helped to the utmost of their ability the part New Zealand had played in assisting to- retain the free and glorious liritish Lm--I>l"From Mr. Massey's statement we get 'an extraordinary position,-" Sir Joseph Ward said- "The total expenditure provided for bv the Cipvernment was the unprecedented sum of .fG0.000.000, ho Piul -mil it included ordinary oxpendihire "NoV Mr. Mnssey •soys that the actual commitments totalled .£31,202,000. That .is of course, .in addition to the ordinary expenditure, but tluit it would not bc'possiblo to spend one-fourth of that iu the period. If that is so why was .£60,000,000 being asked for? He accuses me of electioneering because I sug"osted in the House a further two milHons expenditure on returned soldiers. What suggestion can be made wini'din 1 ' the enormous sum lie »ot authority from .Parliament, of which ho now declares only ono-lniirrh of mi 2(12,000 is requii-ed? W>as lUt done 'for electioneering? According to Tiis own ur-uinu-nt it was. Mr. Maswy may say my criticisms who tho most arrant i»msciisQ a poliiicinr over spoke, but any fair-minded person will ask, what \va/ the necessity b> iv=lc Parliament liir lliosu hii»e millions if Mr. Mussey himself says ii/.ly a fourth ot them can be spent? If Unit is *<> all 'hi- more warrant for my criticism that the starvation policy adopted for railways roads, and bridges construction, as well as for hydroelectric forces is inexcusable, and certain!} detrimental to Iho welfare of tho country. If theio is ttuy_chi6S in this country wo 'should be generous to it is the returned