BUDGET DEBATE.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 August 1922, Page 3

BUDGET DEBATE.

STIRRING ATTACK BY MR i MILFORD. ! SPECIAL TO GUARDIAN. WELLINGTON, Aug 23. i With full galleries and in an uniis-I '•ally alert House, .Mr Wilford opened the Budget debate last night, with the best fighting speech that lias been de-' tivered during the present session. ' Though starting off with voluminous notes the garnered grain of much diligent resareh and study, lie spoke with , all his customary fluency and a fine ring of conviction. He took up the j attack upon the Government in the ' first five minutes he was on his feet, • and continued to press it with unabated vigour iiiifl very considerable skill. He denounced the administration of Ministers from the mouths of their own journalistic friends, ridiculed tlieir economies through their own figures, and poked wide gaping holes in its finance with a flagrant unbelieving hand. Ministers and private members on : tlie Reform side of the House inter- t jeeted persistently, hut the Leader of the Opposition pursued his way 11npecturlied, never pausing for a moment or even flinging hack a retort that would have given the interjeetors words a place ill Hansard. He made little reference to his notes during the

latter part of his speech, blit when the , hell rang indicating that lie had en- j tered upon bis last live minutes he j turned to the report of a speech Mr j Massey had delivered at Eoxton dur- j ing tile week-end. The I’rinie Min-', jster, he said, had slandered the l.i-j beral Party by implying that it was : prepared to accept all the extreme j doctrines of the Labour Party and to j countenance the loosening of the | loyalty by which every sane, decent j man in tlie community was inspired. I This was hitting below the belt and j totally unworthy of the Leader ol the

House. What the Liberal Party was prepared to do in conjunction with the Labour Party was to prevent vote splitting, and to bring about propor- j tional representation. There was not a member of the Liberal Party whose | loyalty was not as deep and sincere as | that of the Prime Minister. He would i say more. The Prime Minister s lo\- j a]tv was not.above the suspicion of flag waving and lip service. The loyalty of the Liberal Party was in its blood and bone.

• Hon G. J. Anderson (the Minister! ' of Labour) was entrusted with the re-j ply to Mr Wilford, this arrangement, j having been made some days in ad- j vance, but he did not attempt to fol- j . low the Leader of the Opposition over | 1 the whole of the ground lie had eov- j : ered. When he had spoken his mild j rebuke to Mr Wilford for his extravaI gant language and lack of exactitude. : he sat down, at the conclusion of his ! hour, with an air of benignant coni tr °l. ’ The House then adjourned on tlio i motion of Air Sidey, who will resume j ■ the debate this afternoon. J VT-uia—sij uinin—iwitw^a