PRIME MINISTER IN AUCKLAND.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 267, 11 June 1910, Page 5

PRIME MINISTER IN AUCKLAND.

Ocean Mail Services. GOVERNMENT HOUSE. MR MASSEY'S "VIEWS. Sir Joseph Ward was the guest of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce at their annual dinner on Tuesday night, when he made some interesting references to future prospects and programmes. The gross expenditure in the North Island last year by the State on railways, roads and bridges and public buildings was £6,097,500 and in the South Island £3,398,000. He claimed the Government had done a great deal for Auckland, which had an immense future before it. From 1900 to 1909 the area under cultivation in the Auckland province had increased by 2,200,000 acres, and a total area of 1,817,362 acres of Maori land had

been rendered available in the same period, which, together with the area made available by Maori Land Boards, totalled 2,476,291 acres. A further 715,154 acre? were to be made available for settlement as soon as surveys and roading was completed. But this could not be dene in one or even two years. He had been in communication with the Australian Government and had offered £20,000 a year subsidy if the Vancouver mail service included Auckland in its ports of call. If New Zealand was not included their clear duty would be to pay more money and have a service of their own Referring to Government House he said the people had the matter within their own hands, and it was for them to decide.

Mr W. F. Massey, M.P., made a plea that the Stratford-Ongarue line should be commenced from the Ongarue end. Apart from the intense disappointment of the settlers at the Ongarue end that no attempt had been made to do this, there was the fact that the two great sister provinces of Auckland and Taranaki, the two most prosperous in the Dominion, lay practically without communication. He extolled the advantages of the San Francisco service as being preferable to even the Vancouver service. (Applause.) He agreed with the Prime Minister's proposal that ii we could not get the Vancouver connection we must have a service of our own, and he would give such a proposal his strongest support. (Applause.) In the meantime, however, they might get a quick and direct connection between Auckland and Suva, but they could not continue to be dragged at the chariot wheels of Australia. Auckland was entitled to a University and to a site for a University, but she was also entitled to Government House. When the matter came before Parliament his influence would go to the retention of Government House for th§ people of Auckland.