The Daily News THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1905. POINTS IN THE PREMIER'S DARGAVILLE ADDRESS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7758, 9 March 1905, Page 2

The Daily News THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1905. POINTS IN THE PREMIER'S DARGAVILLE ADDRESS.

The Premier is never in better form than when he castigates an ignorant critic of his administration), uiul at Dargaville, on Tuesday evening, he made a particularly •• holy " show of tsonie of Ims Auckland political detractors. The New Zlealand Herald, and it's frequent contributor, Air $. Vailf„ of railway fame, came in for some particularly hard knocks, and, as arithmeticians and geographers, were sent to the bottom of the class in on? act. The Herald, as of course becomes an Opposition journal, is | ever watchful and critical of the C, 0 - ' vernment, but in its eagerness to score a point, it permitted Mr Vaile the run of its columns for a letter which the Premier showed by official figures to be, in his own words '•'composed of outrageous static ments." How outrageous may be judged from one instance alone, out | of many, viz., that where.is Mr i \aile- credited the Government with I an expenditure of £700,000 on West- I fand railways, the actual (i.'uivs ' were only £179,271. Incidentals I the Premier pointed out tha't ! "those who had taken out the iiguies I did not know the difference between I the West land provincial district and j theWestland electorate. Of such are the Government's critics—biassed and ignorant, and too indolent or incompetent to get a good grip of facts before they set out to educate the public. ! Whether the spirit which prevails' over a good deal of Auckland province is due to the New Zealand Herald's teaching, or whether the said Herald is a manifestation of the inborn spirit of the district, is ha id to say, but the fact remains that Auckland is, and has been for years, prone to pose as the Cinderella oi the New Zealand provincial family. Sitting amid scoria and cold clods of gumland. and contemplating its miserable outlook of raupo swamp and tea-tree, the spirit of Auckland province is sour and discontented. : The people of the North are often I plucky and deserving settlers, and '■ where they have had the luck to lind a bit of good land, do as well as the best. But no mere shouting ' of words of self-delus-ion can alter the fact that a vast bulk of Northern Auckland is poor, miserable, j cold, clay land, which, stripped of its | limber, and plundered of its gum, has no reasonable inducement to of- , for the man who can get land elsewhere. A very large proportion of * Auckland's present population de-' pend on the timber and gum in- j dustries. These industries are natur-' ally of but a temporary character ; i how- temporary may be judged with j regard to the former by the Pre- ' mier's estimate that eight years will sec the kauri forests exhausted. Considering that New Zealand is not »heavily timbered country, in the ; sense that is implied by marketable ' woods, it seems a pity that Auckland people do not turn their attention the rational conservation of their present supply of a unique ' wood. Many of the trees at present buing destroyed took thousands of years to grow, and the least of them probably a century. Present greed will have much to ansver for in a few years' time, and the Premier's warning concerning the desirability of limiting or prohibit' ing the export oi kauri comes none

too early. Towards the conclusion of his speech' the Premier touched upon a point to which we referred recently, viz.. the professional willingness oi the Opposition to leave the present land legislation unrepealed. "No. Mr Jlassey would not repeal ilia Lands for Settlement Act," said the Premier, "but lie would not borrow any money under it, and thus the Act would 'become a dead letter." That is just the point that needs to be pushed home to every man who condemns the present Government, and yet professes willingness to accept its legislation iu globo. "Would these aspirants to office administer the land and labour laws in the spirit "in' which they were passed ? Nobody who judges the. Opposition by the men who lead it thinks so for a moment. Hut many people do not judge at all for themselves, and take men at their bare words. Therefore to the extent that the Opposition is silent on these points, it is a sham and a.humbug, and consists of men who politically scheme ior plaqe and power under tacit false pretences.