THE ADDRESS IN REPLY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2755, 8 July 1924, Page 1

THE ADDRESS IN REPLY.

SPEECH BY MR J. LINTCLATER

(Continued from page 3.) BRITISH SEAMEN’S DEPENDENTS PEND

for Iho orp}i.ui> of ilioso mon who during the war lost their lives ill i Men op of (ho Empire. If will he remembered by lion, members that a suggestion wos brought forward hy the Hon. Edward Now man Ilia I in order to show in a small measure their gratitude to (lie men of Rio Mercantile Marine, I lie wool-grnw-ors of X.Z. should ho given opportunity of snhserihing their surplus wool proliis with the object of helping those who had been wounded and the dependents of those killed during llie war. It was taken up with enthusiasm and no less than £115,000 was donated to the fund. The Trustees at onee got into toueh with seamen in N.Z.. England arid Australia and up to the present they have distributed from llie fund £50,000 in relief grants to the sufferers, Ti has long been roeogni- - < d that while a great deal of good was being done hy these grants it: was desirable also to make permanent provision for the orphans of these men who lmd died in the defeiiee of the Empire, in a way that, would lie partieularly identified with N.Z. That ideal enlminated in the pnreliase of a farm railed “Flock Tlonse’' eight miles from Bulls, with an area of some 8,000 acres, where the hoys will undergo a system of training that will fit them for taking tip position with praelienf' farmers and afterwards when they have proved themselves competent, he helped to obtain farms ■if iheir own. It is Imped that in future years many hundreds of successful farmer- will lmd; hard; with pleasure on the ! raining they reeeived at ‘’'Floek Tlonse” and that the Dominion may he benefited by llie iminigralion of those buys who are eoming to N.Z. under this scheme. The first. 25 hoys from England arrived here last Monday at Floek House, and T am sure the members of the House will wish them well.

TI appears In me also unfortunate lie British Government rejected he proposition.of PREFERENCE OF PRODUCE

of this Dominion, in view of the fart that preferences given to goods of British manufacture in this eountry. The rejection of the first four resolutions moved by Mr Baldwin in the British House of Commons recently, comes as another blow to the overseas people, whose great desire is to encourage trade with Great Britain as against other countries.

The Free trade fetish seems at present to he paramount in Great Britain and we can only hope that on more mature consideration and greater recognition of the damage done to trade within the Empire, the preference question may he reopened and settled on a basis Hint will stimulate inter-Empire I rnde.

T( has liOi*n said, :iinl very (Tilthfully, that tho Empire itself -is self-contained and oapahlo of wpplying: everything as between state ami slate for the eorufort. sustenance ami well-being of its people. In the development of: this vast esI a I e hehl hy Brit ishers throughout the world it is ncecessary that Preference should lie conceded if development is going to proceed satisfnelnrily. . i note with pleasure that rite KIN ANTES OK THE COUNTRY are in a satisfaetory eomlition. Our credit is e-nod, ranking with Hie Mother Country itself, and while the National Deht may he considered ve'rv heavy it must he remembered Limit £82.0(1(1,000 of the amount T due to War expenditure and Repatriation. Against the remainder of our debt the country has directly re-productive assets, which cover the greater portion of our liability, while loan expenditure in oilier directions incurred - in the development of the country has considerably enhanced the value of our lands and has indirectly stimulated that production on which the wealth of the country depends. It is due to this satisfactory state of the fluaneos of the country that it is possible to reduce taxation this Session. The reduction of the LAND AND INCOME TAX anil Farmers’ Income Tax, combined with reductions on tea, amusement tax, and other reductions, accounted for no less than one and a quarter million last year, which would otherwise have been taken out of the peolc’s pockets in the Dominion. The Government is to he congratulated on the buoyancy of its linanees and J think we can take- ofii our hats to the Minister of Fin.nnce for the ability he has deployed in this direction. 1 agree with the statement made

by the Chairman of Committees recently when he said Air Massey had proved hmsell the most capable Minister of Faaiiee this eountrv has had. The success of the N.Z. loan on the London market was, according to English papers due to the dear statement in the prospectus of the condition of the country and to the feeling that the Government was hot It sound and capable. The fact that five millions was asked and twenty offered is ample proof that the credit of the eountry stands high with the British public.

EXCHANGE. It is unfortunate, that the cvcliange rates are so high and that there are difficulties in getting moneys remitted owing to the embargo placed on (lie export of gold from Britain. T would suggest that the Government explore every possiljeavenue in the way of establishing a system of joint credit under which notes could he issued in this country against moneys held in London hy the Government and the Banks I him increasing the available currency. The success that has followed the passing of the

MEAT CONTROL ACT

has been very marked and the producer lia- reaped the benefit of reduced charges and better marketing conditions. While beef continues to he very low in price, lamb and mutton have maintained good prices. The great rise in wool values hashelped greatly in promoting the* general prosperity. N.Z. wool farmers have passed through the most difficult time in Hie history of this country, hut the prospects ahead wore never brighter. II is the general opinion that no industry in the world promises so well as the sheep industry to-day. THE DAIRY CONTROL BILL received the sanction of those interested and has become law. Tt is 100 early yet l<> expect results from its establishment, hot T know 1 am l ight in saying it will prove of great benefit to the dairv farmers of this

conn fry. The Dairy industry lias made tremendous strides during the last twelve years. The number of dairy cows lias grown from 033,000 to 1,2-18,000 during (hat period. The production has been good this year and though last year was a record one as far as production was concerned this year will In* equal to it. It is due to them in a large measure, that. N.Z. is so financially sound to-day. It is the Government's intention to introduce a Fruit Control Bill, which will place those in the Fruit business on the same fooling as those in the Meat and Dairy industry.

Although our country is very prosperous the great need in this Dominion to-day is to devise some means of stemming the tide of the

DRIFT OF THE PEOPLE from the country to the cities. Twenty years ago 54.04 per cent, of our people lived in the country, which was merely a deduction of 5.4 per cent, in the previous twenty years. In 1921 the position was reversed, the town population constituting 55.95 per cent, and the rural population 44.05 of the aggregate. Congestion in the cities naturally follows this state of affairs, ami with more people striving for employment in the crowded centres there must In' a certain amount, of distress occasioned l>v the. restricted scope for employment, for if. cannot he too often and too strongly emphasised that N'.Z. is essentially a country whose mainstay is dependent on agricultural, pastoral and mining industries, rather than mi industrial pursuit. There ought.,.therefore. to he a relatively larger population in our rural districts Ilian in the industrial and manufacturing ((.-litres; hut 1 am sorry to say if is not so. The OVERCROWDING prevalent is the direct result of the tendency of people to live near cities will) great or opportunities for pdeasure and comfort. The question that seems to he necessary for us to decide is ‘Tfow are we going to alter this state of affairs?” I believe that. 1 he-introduction of hydroelectric. power, better reading', telephonic. facilities and easier tin an atwill go a long way to do so. It appears to me that the electrification of the rural and urban districts of N.Z. by some 140 power hoards will be looked on by future generations as the most, forward step taken by the Dominion in many years. Electricity makes it possible to use many labour-saving devices in the homes of the farmers which will prove a great help to those women in the back-blocks who liud it is impossible to get help and whose life very often is one of continual drudgery. A glance at past history reveals the fact that all a farmer received in years gone by in the way of loan moneys was a fair to medium road to his home while his town counsin rated himself to get gas supply, elec--1 trie power, water supply and all