HON. A. W. HOGG.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 120, 18 June 1909, Page 2

HON. A. W. HOGG.

RESIGNS FROM THE MINISTRY. THE OUTCOME OF A RASII SPEECH. By Telegraph.— Tress Association. Wellington, Ust Night. ■Hon. A. W. Hogg, Minister for i.abor, has resigned from the .Ministry as the outcome of his speecii last Saturday. THE PREMIER INTER \ IE WED. [ Wellington, Last Night. Interviewed by a New Zealand Times* 1 representative to-night relative to Mr, Hogg's resignation, Sir Joseph Ward said the established Parliamentary practice both in England and throughout the English-speaking countries renders it ne-1 cessary for any member of an administration who expresses opinions radically at variance with the policy of the Government to which he belongs to consider his relations to his colleagues, and m . this it was the duty of Mr. Ilogg to ' recognise that the views v He expressed , were opposed to the main lines of the

Government's policy, and therefore lis duty to place himself in the hands ot liis leader, so that the Government as a whole should not lie embarrassed by his continuing a member of the Cabinet. This practice, which has been followed in England almost without exception during the last century, was recognised by Mr, Hogg, who readily admitted that the views he had given expression to on Friday last were inconsistent with the main principles of the policy of the present Government, and that he wis hounil, therefore, if asked, to place 'lis resignation in the lmnds of the head of the Government. " This course," said the Premier, "Mr. Hogg took in toe friendliest spirit, aVI I have received his resignation in the circumstaiees stated with the very greatest, regret. As regards Mr. Hogg himself, 1 entertain, and always have entertained, mot only the highest admiration for the courage with which lie expresses his opinions, but for his sterling honesty and his devotion to doctrines which, although I differ from them, I admit he conscientiously entertains. To this I may add that I have always felt for Mr. liogg a -very high sense' of friendship, and the combination of these circumstances mad.' our oliicial separation one of the deepest regret to me—a regret tempered, however, by the faet that Mr. Hogg has retired from my Cabinet without a suggestion of bitterness 011 his part, and, I believe, without any strain being placed on the friendship which for so nnny years we have mutually enjoyed. Without in the slightest degree reflecting on Mr. Hogg's judgment I am entitled io say that his retirement was ill itself regarded as necessary by the general opinion of my colleagues and of our partv as a wliole. This opinion is not Jiostile to Mr. llogg personally, but is 1 based iirst upon the grounds that the . views expressed by liini were radically inconsistent with the policy of the Uov- • ernnu'lit, and, secondly, upon the ground • that, being held by a responsible Min- > ister of the Crown, they would seriously ■ emilmrass. if not imperil the future fin- ! aneial position and operations of Xew ■ Zealand, not so much perhaps in this t country itself as in Great Britain. It is unnecessary for me to add that attaeh--1 ing to my office there are responsibilities whose discharge, although painful and unpleasant, become imperative when the welfare and interest of the country demand. The course taken has been adopted by me after the most anxious and painful consideration, and, in view I of iny personal friendship for Mr. Hogg, I witli extreme reluctance."

MR. HOGG'S RASH SPEECH. . In tlie course of his speech on Saturday—the speech that lnts caused his retirement from tlie Ministry—the Hon. A. W. Hogg , said the figures in the Year Hook would show that the industries of the Dominion were not failing, llie could' remember when there was a great deal more unemployment in NNhw' Zealand than at tlie present time. The member for Manawntu kept crying out for the freehold. There were fifteen millions of acres availaWe—lioiw much more did they want? Too much money was used purely for speculative purposes instead of being used to help the industries. Too much money was invested in national loan companies and other companies of the kiml, and in the River Plate.

LANDOWNERS LIKE iIKI'IIISTOI'IIKLES.

The large landholders were like Sleiphistopheles following Faust—as men who were delighted to see tile swagger and the sundowner again going a'liout the country, .because they could make their hart'est out of tlieni. One of the causes of the ,present distress was the lack of money. The men about whom he had ibeni talking .bt'louged to the class who sent their money out of the country, thus making capital scarce, and bringing about a rise in the rate of interest. If those people could get a half per cent, more' for their >uoney in Queensland t-liey would semi their momy there. These men acted the part of the poor despised Chinese—they took the money which they made here to another country. They hated Nmv Zealand; they hated its Gorernmunt, The reason why they were taking' their money to Queensland mid South America was simply that a stop had been put to this land monopoly business. Land monopoly was, i n his opinion, the curse of New Zealand. There were ill consequence of the action of the largo landholders families in .misery, who were deprived of the comforts of life, so that, if it continued, instead of having to find domestic servants, they would have domestic murderers prowl- j ing round tryrag to steal the homes of the people and drive them into the I cities. . |

LAND QUESTION TO BE REVIVED. Mr. Ilogg went on to say that the time was rapidly approaching when the fend would he redistributed, Thq land question was going to he brought lip again in a more, formidable form than it had ever previously assumed. Why was he » land nationaliser (as the Leader of the Opposition termed him)! He regarded land monopoly as a crime. JJr. Laurenson: Hear, hear. 'Hie man who added acre to acre, section to section, starved the people, and was essentially a criminal. There must he further land taxation, and every effort should 'be made to get the workers on the land. If the Government were deposed, the result .would be that those «'lio held Opposition views would carve up the native land* among themselves. Ihe Government must not allow native land- to be grabbed as had been done in the past. Why the Opposition were growling was that tile Government would not let them have the Treasury enclies. Those who were advocating the universal freehold were goin" to lave a tax imposed tlmt would malic ! work their properties, speculate less, and help labor more. STATE XOTK ISSUE. Mr. Ilogg thou defended his recent Statements on the question of State pue of tank-notes. 1| ( . Mil , )10t be 'eve in an inconvertible pup,.,- issue JUat he would like lo see was that the Male instead ot a few bank directors Miould have the pmver to i.sue banknotes. Jhe Slate already issued postal notes and what he propo«,d was ' 05) Iv an extension of the principle.