THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 13 May 1907, Page 2

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Tl.Ui (iOVKRXMENT'S TREATMENT UF TAKAXAKI. IXTERVIEW WITJi THH ACTIXtiPUEMIEI!. REPLY TO OPPOSITION CRITICISM. LAND DILL PROPOSALS. (Telegraphed by Our Special Ueporter.) Wellington, .May 11,

This afternoon the Daily News special reporter was accorded all interview with tiie Acting-Premier, the Hon. \V. I■lones. Asked whether lie' had anything to say of interest to the electors of the -New Plymouth district: in connection with the present, situation, ilr. Jlall■loues replied:— "Vcs, I am, and always have been, interested in Xew Plymouth, owing perhaps to the similarity of the conditions there and the conditions which prevail at '! imam, the part of the colony which I repiv-enl. liuth towns have'a good back country, a good class of settlers, and their position upon (lie sea coast indicates that their luture will run alongsimilar lines. The chief requirement of ■Sew Plymouth, said Mr. Hall-Jones, is, A UKTTKR HARBOR.

where home vessels can lay in safety and ship direct, ihc various products (if the district. Recently in Timarn there were berthed at the same time the steamship'Athenic, Ayrshire, and Waimate, and, ill addition, there were several smaller vessels making a total of close upon .'HI.tIUP tonnage, and there is no reason why you should not have similar vessels trading to your port. The only di/lieultics ill the way can, to my mind, be met with comparative ease, and overcome with all reasonable assurance of a \ successful undertaking. With such a , harbor every settler within a certain distance of New Plymouth would find the value of his land increased owing to the less costly method of handling the produce. The nearly approaching completion of the main trunk railway, and the. consequent more rapid progress on the STRATPORDONGARUE RAILWAY emphasises the. necessity for immediate action on the part of your people, so as to ensure the trade coming to your port. 1 have no doubt but'that with careful administration the development and prosperity of recent years will continue.

new Plymouth's progress. I lie capital value ol Now Plymouth liornugh in 181)1 was £3-11,117. In l!)0li it had increased to £1,1!)7,092, with .1 corresponding increase in values in land in fhe neighboring districts. The exports from New Plymouth in lS'll (in which were included I he exports from W'aitara) aniounled to £:j82,000. This year promises to be a record, as the exports for the March quarter have already reached ov ''i' i £2.~>fj,ooo. The causes of this expansion are undoubtedly to be traced to the opening up i/ f land, and the opportunities aflorded settlers of obtaining, at a low rate of interest, the money necessary for improving their holdings.

I.AXi) STTTLEMEXT. Apart from the large area of ordinary Crown lands opened for settlement, close upon 350,000 acres of native land have been acquired in Taranaki since 1801. A further large area of native land is now under negotiation, and, when acquired, will be opened under the OPTIONAL TENURE.

The total area of native land acquired throughout the colony since that date is '2,800,000 acres. ROADING EXPENDITURE.

Of course, continued the Premier, this opening up of land has necessitated considerable expenditure in reading, and there is a great deal yet to be done in this direction, and, although some may complain of what is being done at the present time in this respect, just take a comparison of the past and the present. In 1887-1888, the vote for roads in Taranaki was £IO,OIO, and only £5031 was expended. In 1888-89 the vote was £4440, and the expenditure £3083. In 1880-00 the vote was £4O-18, while the expenditure amounted to only £2828. Taking the period of three years, the total vote was £19,428, and the expenditure for the same period £11,843. Compare that with the expenditure, £48,500 for the one year, ISO 3-1800, and compare it again with the general Public Works expenditure for the financial year just closed, which, in Taranaki alone, will

amount to £IOO,OOO. It must also be borne m mind, said Mr. Hall-Jones, that wo have a considerable area of work outside the Taranaki province, but to which New Plymouth is the natural centre, as, for instance, the road to Mokau running on to Te Kuiti, and again to Mangaroa and Ongarn/.e, and roads connecting with these. Year by year we are getting forward with these works, and the Government look forward iu the near future to the completion of the roading in the Taranaki, and adjoining districts.

4< f have 110 doubt,'' continued the Act-ing-Premier, ''that I shall again hear complaints from the Opposition, asking why Taranaki has done better than some other parts of the colony. My reply will be that the NECESSITIES OF THE SETTLERS must, as far as possible, be met according to the urgency of their requirements, and wc intend to see that those whose needs are the greatest receive the first consideration. It is true that the development of a country, such as ours, requires a considerable expenditure, but ourfiu-

ances were never in a better condition. PAST DEPRESSION AND THE PRESENT PROSPERITY.

Compare again the deficits of previous Administrations with our present annual surplus. There is nothing to be wondered at in the depression of the past. Heavy Customs duties and other charges 011 the man who "was least able to atlord it retarded the progress of our country. Make a further comparison with the Customs duties of some years ago, and (he remissions of duty since 1805, whicli have amounted to €2,520,000. Consider also the reduction in railway freights and charges, amounting to another .€750,000, and post and telegraphs £275,OUO. There you have great factors in the existing prosperity. The surplus of the past financial year, £717,000, is most satisfactory, and the more when we remember that ,C775.f wis transferred to the Public Works fund : €150,000 paid oil outstanding Treasury bills {which had been issued in anticipation of revenue years ago), and £305,000 set aside to a sinking fund to wipe \ ofV the old war loans, to say nothing of 1 the .€314,000 paid on account of pensions to our deserving old people. "What about the "LAND BILL?"

our reporter. "3 am not forgetting the Laud Bill," answered the ActingPremier. As usual, our opponents are misrepresenting the actual position, and endeavoring to cloud the issue. We do not touch the present farmers' freehold.

I hold their title sacred, and will always defend them. Nor do we disturb the ladder of the lease-in-perpetuity. They are contracts which must be held inviolate. The three main points in the Bill are:

(1) Endowments for State pur poses.

(2) Concessions in the existing leases affecting holders of the 1.i.p., hut entirely, of course, at the holder's choice »r opinion. ('?) Limitation of area. 1 will lake the EXDO WMEXT QrFSTfON I'hcve is untiling new in this proposal l-'or years past, small area* have been aside as endowments for education. lVcnty-jivo yeflrs ago a hue prominent nember of Parliament, and afterwards: Leader of the Opposition, strenuously irged that endowments should he made I

for the great State purposes. I will later on give th*' names of opponents who advocated what they now decry. The late Mr. Seddon made this endowment scheme a prominent feature of hi* policy. We have no personal interest, in the matter; but believe we are doing that which is for the benefit of every man, woman, and child in the country. For instance, alt' are interested in there being well-equipped and properly-stalled hospitals. The law says this has to be done, and if. by endowments, we can reduce the (barge to the general taxpayer, all will benefit, apart from the advantage | of having these institutions. Then our I opponents strenuously opposed the Old I Age Pension Act, preferring a scheme of I voluntary i.-outribution. As, however, the recipients of the pension have paid | their contribution tbrought the Customs, they are entitled to the stun they receive. Our educational expenditure is ever increasing, and must do so if We desire to keep abreast of other countries, I and any provision we can make towards the general cost will by so much relieve the general taxpayer. A POL\ v TKR.

Tn reference to this Hill, 1 may point out that the Leader of the Opposition

congratulated (he Lands Committee on having improved the 'Bill, yet the most notable improvement was that the original Hill provided endowments to the exlent of about three million acres, anil ilie alteration l>y the committee exfeud.'(l the scope of the liill to include some seventeen million acres. I look upon these endowments for State purposes as a very important matter Tile question is: -si,all endowments lie made, and to '.vhat extent y" The main points of the land policy of the Government will commend themselves to the people of Taranaki.

LIMITATION (IF AlilCA. Wo want 1o get 'rid of the possibility ot men building np large estates in land, and we think that it is reasonable that the estates should be limited in value to .Cf>o,ooo. This proposal of the Government lias met with acceptance everywhere, except, perhaps, by the lender ill the Opposition, who at heart has been opposed to compulsory acquisition of large estates, and who thinks (hat. so lon;,' as there are Maori lands in one pari of the colony, there should be no taking eompulsorily of private estates in another. The gathering of large estates in a district like 'J'aranaki would increase the number of those who are compelled to lease dairy farms from private owners. Our policy will cause the larger properties to be cut up a,hi sold, and (herehv increase the number of freeholds. It' is no doubt that fact ihut. makes it so unpopular with the Opposition. If Taranaki wants the land held by private individuals to be divided into small freehold dairy farms, they should support the (lovernment proposals.

CROWN TENANTS. Our )ii;xl. proposal deals with Crown tenants. We arc prepared to give a l l the benefits of the freehold tenure, based on the original value, in our Bill. We do it by allowing the tenant to pay oft !I0 per cent, of his original value, and get freedom of transfer and freedom of working his property without interference by the Laud Board. Our Land Hill contains the optional tenure. The Endowment Bill will, of course, set aside a portion of the lands as tin endowment, but, speaking of the Land Bill by itself, it deals with all the lands outside of the endowment, and contains the option.

The bulk of t.he lands we have to dea with in the future in Taranaki are

NATIVE LANDS, that have to ho purchased. These all come under the optional tenure. Under our proposals, soinc people seem to think that the option is taken away. That in a mistake. Our Land Bill, I repeat, gives the option. It also gives 00 per cent, of the freehold to present Crown tenants.

TIIE PRESENT ELECTION.

In reference to the coming election, I would have preferred to have seen a straight-out run between the Liberal and the Opposition candidates, but 1 am confident that the electors, when comparing the conditions of public affairs of the present day with those of the past, will support the party whose policy stands for the continuance of that progress and prosperity which has been with us So long."