A Ministerial Speech

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 148, 11 June 1892, Page 2

A Ministerial Speech

■+ The Hon. Mr Beeves addressed a meeting at Sydenham on Thursday night under the auspices of the Canterbury Liberal Association and in the course of his speech he spoke of the Labour Bureau, giving statistics to ' show the satisfactory work it was 1 doing, and to the diminution of the Public Works expenditure. He claimed that the exodus of population 1 had ceased, and said that during the nine months since the passing of the Land and Income Tax Act the , Colony had gained nearly 2000 people, and this in spite of the terrible effect which, according to the Opposition critics, must result from the new taxation. Mr Reeves then referred to the legislation to be introduced by the Government next session, mentioning Electoral, Land for Settlement, Industrial Conciliation, Civil Service. Juries, Bankruptcy, Testamentary Restrictions Bill, and others. In conclusion, he claimed

that the Government had done more for the people than any other Government that had ever held office in the Colony, and for that reason deserved the support of the masses of their fellow countrymen. It is worthy of note Mr Beeves gives a flat contradiction to the statement made by Captain Russell in his speech at Hastings, to the effect that the exodus still continued. Captain Russell, in our opinion is more to be depended on than Mr Beeves, because the former quoted his figures from the Government Gazette, while Mr Reeves appears to have quoted from some other document not named. The claim that the present Government had done so much more for the people than any other that ever held office in the colony, was a piece impudent assumption,