OUR POLITICIANS.

Northland Age, 4 October 1904, Page 3

OUR POLITICIANS.

HERDMAN ON SEDDON. Thus Mr. Herdman on the Land Question, referring to the Premier: He is an artful dodger—he dodges more artfully than the immortal creation of Dickens. This motion of his is an excellent sample of his dodging methods. The resolution, to ray mind, is a complete confession of Ministerial ineptitude; it is an admission that the Government are incapable of dealing with this important question. THE LAND QUESTION. Mr. Houston (Bay of Islands): I will take the district I have the honor to represent. We are from 220 to 280 miles away from the centre in which this Land Board sits, the district is never visited by the members of the Land Board, with the result that the settlers’ wants are not attended to, and they have frequent cause of complaint that they cannot get a willing ear from the members of the Board. I say if the local bodies were intrusted with a certain power with regard to the administration of the waste lands in their districts matters would go on much more smoothly than they do at the present time. The County Councils are elected from the ratepayers in the district, who understand, or who are supposed to understand; the wants and requirements of the district. In my opinion, one of the chief objects of a County Council should be to see that the settlement of our waste lands progresses at as rapid a rate as possible. They know the settlers, and the settlers can go to them at all times with any complaints they have to make. I hold that all applications for land in a district should be made in the first place to the County Council, who should then refer them, with their explanation of the circumstances of each case, to tho Land Board for approval or disapproval.

“ REFER IT TO THE PEOPLE.” Mr. Lewis (Courtenay): What has struck mo from the beginning of the present session until to-dav has been the marvellous change in the ’Leader of the House. As we knew him in the past there was no suggestion so novol, no problem so vast, but he was prepared to throw himself heart and soul into it, and overcome all difficulties with a courage and determination which won the admiration of friends and foes. Our objection to him then was that he was too rash, and we had to spend many weary hours in trying to curb his impetuosity. Now wc find he hangs fire, and we have one everlasting whine about the mandate of the people—no opinions of his own, no desire to attempt anything, no convictions—and in the presence of the slightest difficulty we find him like a schoolgirl in the presence of a mouse. Everything is to be referred to the people. “It does not matter what you ask,” he says, “ I will give it to you, although all my instincts rise in revolt at the suggestion.” Clause 9: “ Oh, refer it to the people.” Saturday half-holiday: “ Refer it to the people.” State control; “ Refer it to the people.” And that constitutes the difference between the honourable gentle- 1 man now and as we knew him some time 1 ago. In the past he was a man of indomitable energy and determination, and he grasped all difficulties in a way which compelled our admiration. Then his motto was “Work! work! work!” now it is “Shirk! shirk! shirk!” and all his Ministers and party say “ Amen.”

“ STATE DEPENDANTS.” Mr. Herdman (Mount Ida): In going through the consolidated estimates I find there are officers in the different branches of the public service of the colony numbering 13,452. In addition, there are the country postmasters who depend in a measure on State aid, 1,713. I find the co-operative labourers, according to one of the recent numbers of the “Labour, Journal,” number 3,705 ; and then are 3,623 teachers: or, in all, 22,493 persons. Add to these your old age pensioners, numbering 12,jtytl, and you get a grand total of 34,974. It may be fairly assumed, Mr. Speaker, that each of these 34,974 persons supports two individuals—a wife and child. These furnish an additional number of 69,948 directly dependent on the State shelter. Add this number to the 34,074 first mentioned, and our total of State dependants amounts to 104,922. Then add to this number the State tenantry, and we get the gigantic total of 224,922 people under State supervision out of a population of SOO.OOO. About one-fourth of the population of this country derives its livelihood from State employment or State property. Just think of it, 224,922! That is a fact which I think speaks eloquently—a fact which makes one reflect on the circumstance that when an election comes round and the Government of the country are fighting for their existence they can, speaking generally, call to their aid, if they desire to do so, a vast array of approximately two hundred and twentyfive thousand individuals.