SPEECH BY SIR JOSEPH WARD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIV, Issue 22, 27 January 1902, Page 2

SPEECH BY SIR JOSEPH WARD.

ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENOE. FEB PBJESS AfISoOIAWOS. GbkyMouth, January 26. The largest gathering even seen in 1 Qreymouth took place at the Opera i Housi last evening, his Worship the 4 Mayor presiding. j Sir Joseph Ward, who wasreartily J received, said that since his last visit '' he regretted time had worked many « changes. He referred to the death o 1 ' the Hons. Jas. Kerr .and Bonor, who ] had always taken a prominent pirt in local politics. It was well that alt the j people of the colony should be acquainted with the progress this part of the colony was making so that the - people in other parts could see why* money was spent on the coast. If I there was a sound basis of finance to | start with then there was no danger. ' The colony was in a very sound coudition and was a credit to the world. Its indebtedness was said to be increasing, j out they overlooked the progiesi of' works. Two millions seven hundred bad been expended in purchasing latd. for the good of the people, who had the; land in their hands. A loan of. £1,000,200 had been paid to local, bodies for making roads, street*, and bridges. There bad been spent in! advances to settler a £2,930,000, bf sides ' an amount est apart for a sinking fund,' This had come out of the £10,000,000 increased indebtedness from 1891. The colony had an immense security and the people had reaped the benefit The interest paid by some men fur their lands had been as high as 10 and even 15 per cent, but now they could borrow money at five per cenc. The effect of this was to increase exports and benefit all classes of the colony. He denied taxation wasincreasing, and stated that E-ince 1895 when the rate per held was £2 \oi 3d, it has steadily decreased until it no* ftcod at £2 5a 61. The increase in Customs revenue and land and income tax denoted advancement! and success. Landed property bad J ad vane .d in value sioce 1891 by some- ( thing like £20,000,000, and in face of j these facts no one could say the colony was going down, when it was evidently j progressing very r.pidly. The purchase of priva'e estates amounted to about 350,000 acres, costing £1,841,000 the revenue therefrom bntng £72,781, and interest paid £59,069, the profit for 1901 being £13,692. A farm of five acres was not a bad area for one man to hold, but when you found men owning 400,600 acres, it was out of the question, and if they had been allowed to go on they would have found themselves in a position to what Ireland was, (Cheers). Sines the Government had taken office they had given back to the people in r.ilway conces-ions £490,000. The railway had done a great d at for 1 the farmers, to whom railway concessions amounted to £248,000, and ' " cheap " money had infused new life into the farming industry. He justified the appointment of so many inspectors, and contended they had wised the high standard of products, which now bore the Government mark and were readily sateablo, for it was well known that the articlu had been thoroughly tested and passed. They could , bold their own against any country, . even Denmark or the Argentine, in the > matter of produce. *Tbe Government I had given away l«st year £ 138,000 in j reductions in Customs duties. He ret ferred to the £75,000 expenditure > caused by the Royal visit, and stated ) that it cost £20,000 for talcing the census, This item was included in the , above. Toere wai an increase of , £36,000 for teacbets' sal rius. The t Railway Department had inoreasel £142,000, but 100 miles of railway bad , been handed over this year, besides t fixing up the carriages for the publiccouj venience. The returns fjr the pa-t nine months showed an increts" of £ 105,000. i t The Defence Djpurtmtut had the pro- , tection of about £17.0,000,000 of pri- , vate property. This depigment showed a big increase of expenditure whioh I was necessary, as 110 stand the colony 1 bad taken in helping Great Britain made it necssswy to take steps to protect our shore 4. Anyone taking ex- ; ception to the increase of £39,000 for [ defecce purposes did not know any--1 thing about the matter. Up to the 1 31st tf Deoember, 1901, increases in receipts were shown in all departments, ( the total receipts being £4,211,612, ao , increase of over £IBI,OOO above the pre--1 ceding year. There was still three months to run, and the increase would , be a good deal greater yet. The toal , amount authorised for publio works ex penAiture had been spent in eight months,-and it was the duty of Mm Government to stop works aft°r that vote was spent. The Publio Works Department had done their duty and not exceeded the grant of £IO,OOO. He then referred to the growth of the population and prosperity on the West Coast i during the last five years, stating that , the gold won i-t that period amounted ! to 4,686,731 ounce o , and the ooal exI ports had increased by about 141,000 ' tons. Tbere was nothing to prevent this colony from having a great progressive railway scheme so as to grant every concession to the public. No one could give a forecast of the 1 ail way extension. He had be-n tli to stop borrowing, but they must borrow to carry on productive woiks and finish the railways now in course of construction. To atop borrowing was like asking the Government to construct a hiuse without material, or make biicks wi hout straw. The loss arising from penny postage would, at the end of the financial year, only be £2OOO, and in another year he considered they would not lo«e a , penny thereby. When the Workers' Compensation Act was passed there was a cry out against the Government, j especially by the farming commuuity, but for 5s per hundred the insurance ■companies took all risks. For the past two or three years a j wave of Imperialism had passed over the colony, and tbey had I given their men and monf-y to uphold ] the flag, and ihe people at Home would 1 see it floated over a loyal people. He felt sure that at the close of the year the forecast of the Colonial Treasurer i would be verified. If the helm of the ' col my was carefully handled che people : would have assets as valualilH as any country in the world. (Deifening cheer*.) I Tho speech was listened to wi'h great attention, and was punctuated wi h cheers. A vote of thanks and implicit, confidence in the Ministry was carried with cheering.