Speech at Te Kuiti.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 87, 19 June 1908, Page 2

Speech at Te Kuiti.

Upon his return from Wairere, the Premier delivered annew Hall, Te Kitfti, Major Lusk, Waitorao County Council, occupied the chair, and therSfy" were also on the platform : Messrs " W. T. Jennings, M.P., Mr H. J> Green- * slade, M.P., Henare Kaihau, M.P., *. and Mahuta, M.L.C., together-with members of the local reception com; v mittee. Tl}e Chajrman briefly intrQ s -,' duced the Premier, who was greeted * with applause.

Sir Joseph, in his opening remarks, referred to a suggestion which had been made to the effect that he would probably turn back from the trip to Wairere, when he had seen the mad to be traversed. He wished that he never turned back froußPis duty as a public man. The settlers had invited him to visit them and he had accepted their invitation, and was in duty bound to fulfill the engagement. Thanks to a good driverf on a road that could hardly be callcJj good by any stretch of imagination, he had got through, though at times the experience sayourec} of v and somp pf ( "party evinced, sympi toms of H mal de mer. 1 ' rjowever, he knew of nothing more valuable

than the meeting of settlers by Ministers of the Crown. Had he not visited the district he could not have 'onceived anything like the concern .hey called "a road which had travelled that day (a voice) " Ladies travel it." " Yes, I have yet to see the place where ladies have not the courage to go when duty demands it." Too much could not be said in praise of the splendid courage displayed by the pioneering women of New Zealand, who assisted their menfolk in the concmest of the backblocks. The roads of the district should be put in such a state that people could travel over them with comfort and convenience. He was glad to see the people had great confidence in the potentialities of thendistrict, and felt sure'they would have their confidence justified. There were several matters he would like to deal with affecting the country, of which we all had reason to be proud. Referring to the question of

TAXATION, he said people were frequently met with who declared that terrible taxation was being imposed upon the people, and that borrowing would mean ruin unless we altered our ways. People who said this were the first to come to the Government demanding money for expensive railways, public works, and buildings. As a matter of fact, the only additional tax which had been passed by the present Government during the last twelve years was the graduated land tax of last session, and all the Members of the Opposition voted for it. Reductions and concessions had been made in every conceivable direction, and the necessities of life had been made more readily procurable for everyone. Customs," railways, and postal departments had all contributed largely in the way of reductions, and the sheep tax, which had accomplished the end for which it had been introduced, had been abolished. In justification of the graduated land tax it was significant that the very large holders who were affected by the tax were already putting their surplus land on the market, and making the more populous and more productive in consequence. Amateurs in the political race were addicted to wild theories and denunciations, and he would like to sound a note of warming in this respect. Wild statements and baseless charges were sometimes published broadcast to the detriment of the Government. From eveiy standpoint this was deplorable, as every statement made regarding finance found its way to the London financial papers and stock exchanges. The policy of crying " stinking fish " was a bad one in" every respect, and if the credit of the country was affected thereby the people would have to thank that objectionable section of the community which revelled in decrying the Government on all possible occasions.

MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY. The Main Trunk Railway was a work which had presented great difficulties, and the completion of which would bring the realisation of what a stupendous task it had been. It was the great spinal cord of the. North Island, and essentially a national undertaking. He hoped to see branch lines feeding it from all sides, and the active prosecution of such a policy meant helping the country in the best possible way. In a few weeks from now he expected a temporary link at least would be effected between Auckland and Wellington, and very shortly thereafter the great line would be certified as fit for traffic by the chief engineer.

ARBITRATION ACT. With regard to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, he would like to ask " what are we trying to do in this country of ours ? " There was nothing like a spirit of emulation in life. We could not all hope to agree but in a matter, which virtually affected the whole community, such as was the case with regard to the Conciliatien and Arbitration Act, neither side should try to score off each other but all should assist to cement differences, and make good the position between employer and employee. He depreciated strikes as senseless and useless, and said if the Act required improving it was the duty of all, irrespective of party, to try and act sensibly for the purpose of doing so.

LAND SETTLEMENT. The Government land settlement policy was one of progress, and tendered to provide land for all those who wished to have the opportunity of carving out homes for themselves. The greatest curse of the Old Land was the blight of land laws, by which a few people were able to aggregate vast areas and turn them into deer parks and other undesirable uses. This had driven many of the finest class of people across the trackless ocean to seek homes in new lands where such conditions did not exist. In this country we should not allow seed to be sown which would generate noxious growths of this description. The people should be encouraged to settle on the land instead of being huddled and crowded into the cities, and the Government's land policy, he felt, was wise and practical and in the best interests of the country. During the past year one million three hundred thousand acres of forest land had been opened for settlement, and two thousand two hundred and thirteen fresh settlers placed upon the land. Every year we should increase the number of settlers upon the land, and this was the policy calculated to produce the most lasting benefits for the country.

NATIVE LAND POLICY. Sir Joseph said that for the first time in the history of the country the Native land question was being" dealt with in a thoroughly earnest manner, and he felt proud to say the solution of one of the most complex questions in the Dominion's politics was within ight. A Royal Commission had been which was thoroughly reof the whole interests of both races. The Bill, which was passed last session, provided reasonable channels for dealing with the whole of the surplus Native land, and the r Commission was going through the country investigating every ciiiferent blocks for the purpose of having then} dealt with, and bringing the |and'into productiveness. The Government earnestly desired to be iair and just to all, and he felt this object

was being attained. Already the Commission had reported upon a million acres, and the other day he had received advice that a further 750,000 acres would be dealt with before the end of the year. This area would be available for settlement within the next year or two, and this •would mean a great impetus to hind settlement in the North Island. The underlying principle was fairness and justice to the Natives, whose families would be provided for in the process of dealing with the land. By leasing half the areas, and selling the freehold of half, the poor man would tie given a chance, and only the prejudiced would say. that a tremendous step forward had not been made.

DEFENCE. New Zealand was one of the finest countries in the world in producing power, and every New Zealander had reason to be proud of the land of his birth. A great work in the internal development of the country was going on, but we could not help being alive to our responsibilities to the Mother Country. We should impress upon our young men what that responsibility imposed.

FINANCE. Another matter which would come before Parliament next session was the audit system of the Government. He would like to say that for the past twelve months the whole of the Government accounts had been audited and approved of by the Controller and Auditor - General without either tag or question of any sort. The Government had decided to adopt the post-audit system in preference to the pre-audit system which had hitherto been in vogue. All the accounts :would be laid on the table in Parliament, and anyone desirous of obtaining information upon any question of finance could do so without trouble. Misconception had arisen regarding the public debt, and he would like to indicate what the position was. New Zealand had a large public debt, and had incurred -a debt of twenty-five millions within the period of the control of the present party. Of that twenty-five millions the sum. of thirteen millions was expended on reproductive works, and was earning sufficient to pay the whole of the interest on that amount. Some people cried out about the borrowing policy of the Government, but how was the country to be developed without borrowing. During five consecutive years there had been an enormous increase of revenue, and at the end of that period there was an increase of £250,000 of revenue above expenditure. This was undoubted evidence of careful administration. Borrov/ing or no borrowing, the country had enormous assets, Iwhich were capable and worthy of great development, and they should carry on a policy of public expenditure, both vigorously and prudently. The drop in the price of wool had caused a temporary tightness in the money market, which had been attributed to the Government. This was ridiculous. During the past five years there had been an increase in bank deposits of sixteen millions three hundred thousand pounds. The Government had borrowed one million nine | hundred thousand pounds in the country, and had brought into the country three millions nine hundred thousand pounds during that period. It was ridiculous to attribute a temporary tightness to the iGovernment when it was really due to a fall in the price of staple products, such as wool and fiax.

Sir Joseph exhorted the audience to believe in their country, and work for its betterment. He concluded his address amids't applause. At the conclusion of the address a Maori haka was rendered very effectively, after being started in spirited style by Pepene Eketone, assisted by H. Hetet. The Mao*i rendering of the haka is as follows :

Ka mate, ka mate, ka ora, l£a ora, tenei te tangata, puhuruhuru mana i tiki mai whaka whiti te ra. Hu pane, hu pane, hu pane, kau pane, whiti te ra. Translated, the words are: Will die, will die, will live, will live, here is the hairy man who caused the sun to shine, Heads, heads, heads to heads, the sun doth shine.

A vote of thanks to the Premier for his address, and of confidence in the Government, proposed by Mr. Phillips, and seconded by Mr. Pine, was carried by acclamation.