POLITICAL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 289, 3 June 1912, Page 3

POLITICAL

ME. J. B. HINE, M.P., AT ROWAN. Mr. J. B. Iliiio, M.P.. will bo remembered, so said ii speaker at Rowan on Friday night at the conclusion of the member's political speech, as the member of Parliament who kept his promise. Mr. Hine had promised to give the Howan electors a speech after the election, seeing that he could not visit there during the campaign. So he spoke there on Friday to a good gathering of electors, and the speech was most attentively listened to. In the course of his remarks, Mr. Hine said that he had read the Prime Minister's policy speech, and it seemed evident to him that the Hon. T. Mackenzie did not expect to hold his position as Prime Minister many days after Parliament assembled, "First find out what the people want, and then give it to them," seemed to be the motto of the Mackenzie Ministry, especially if such a course will save the Cabinet from suffering brain-fag, and to this end they have delegated their duties to Royal Commissions. Civil Service reform was considered most essential by t'he Opposition, and would have been tackled direct by the Reform Party had opportunity afforded itself. The Government party denied anything was wrong with the service, yet we have the new Government appointing a Royal Commission Ito inquire as to the necessity of Civil I Service reform. "Education," after hav'ing been rejected.by the Local Governiment Reform Bill', is also afforded ground for another Royal Commission, and '"'the cost of living" provides still another means of placing the country's! money into the pockets of Royal Commissioners. The Government seem to j'have lost sight of the fact that the law lof supply and demand play an important part in regulating either the prices paid for commodities or labor, and it is very probably a real argument that we are not contented with the conditions under which we live, and are continually striving after a more expensive ' standard.

After referring to the result of the general election, and the causes wffich brought about the loss of so many . Government seats, Mr. Hine said that now they had a new Government chosen out of the depleted flock. A Government that had been placed in power by a I minority of members of Parliament at I a secret meeting; a Government utterly I regardless of everything that i 3 conj stitutional; a Government that was so « afraid of the day of reckoning that they jhad staved off calling Parliament together until compelled by the requirejments of the law to do so; a Governjment that was cradled in political hypocrisy atid tottering to its grave. I Since the new Government took office, i Stratford had had no less than five visits from Ministers of the Crown, and | one from an ex-Minister, and from in- ; formation available it was very probi able that further visits would be made before Parliament meets. Another fea- . ture of their peregrinations was the 'fact that they hunted in pairs or tripjlets, with the avowed purpose of ex- ; (plaining certain questions that were ; • prominent in bringing about the removal 1 jof the Ward Ministry; but he thought j I the country was not so much concerned I iwith the past as with the future, and! j the new Government had failed to satisfy the public that their intentions or ' aspirations were any improvement on 'the Cabinet just ousted. He thought ] the Prime Minister failed signally in j not formulating his policy immediately ; after announcing his Ministry, for then ■ his colleagues could have explained and amplified the policy in the various centres , but until last night nothing had been made known as to what the policy was to be, and in order to please all Royal Commissions were to be set up, but what the country realises is this: That Ministers, instead of sticking to the work they are paid to do, were gallivanting all over the Dominion, scarcely ever in Wellington two days' in succession, and he thought the people should know that Ministers are allowed thirty shillings a day-for every day they are away from Wellington. Doubtless many could recall to memory a previous Prime Minister who also represented Egmont in his day, whose one outstanding trait of character was in direct opposition to political cowardice. He referred to the late Sir Harry Atkinson, and one could not. imagine Sir Harry ever being j afraid to place his policy before the ; people of New Zealand. Then, again,the Prime Ministe# had stated at Auckland that "he thought the time had arrived for political hypocrisy to cease." He agreed with the Prime Minister, and would strongly urge upon him and. hia colleagues the urgent necessity of first eliminating this canker from the Cabi|net room, which he might properly 'term the manufactory establishment of I everything that savored of political hypocrisy. After noting the great Ministerial attentions to Stratford of late, the speaker said that Mr. Laurenson spent three days in this electorate, and during that period delivered three or four speeches, but it was very hard to recognise in these speeches Mr, Laurenson, the leaseholder, and he wanted to know for what reason had the Hon. G. Laurenson put in the background his well-worn advocacy of leasehold, and in ; lieu of it tell t'he people of Stratford . that he thought every person should own his own home. Was the hon. gentleman instructed to stand off the leasehold fallacy, or was the Ministry really converted to the freehold? If not, surely this came under the category of political hypocrisy. Had Mr. Laurenson also forgotten his violent attack against the parents of the children of Taranaki? It was not many months ago when the hon. gentleman made a statement to the effect that child-slavery was practised to a very great extent in Taranaki, and the cry of child-labor had become notorious throughout the country, and that the children were exhausted and , fell asleep in the public schools. And ' then, when at. Stratford, lie glibly talks of the splendid type of settlers we have, what heroines the wives of the back- \ block settlers are, and how happy and ' contented the children appear. "Where," j Mr. Hine asked, "would you find a worse illustration of political hypocrisy ?" In regard to the outlook for a Labor Party predominating in New Zealand, Mr. Hine said he thought such a ' thing was very unlikely. The past actions of Labor representatives in Par- ' linmcnt and outside, too, especially re- ' cent ones, gave the "reat mass of people ! grave misgivings, and the Labor Party would have to mend its ways consider- ' ably before any confidence would be re- ' posed in them. Dealing with strikes and 1 the result of such. Mr. Hine said he was in favor of making it a criminal offence for any person to incite others to strike, and though' that the action , of picketing should also constitute a ' criminal offence. A firm 'believer in arbi- 1 tration, he would sue lliat the law was ] carried out in fairness In employer and ' employees. There is n<>t the slightest doubt, continued Mr. Hine. but that the present Ministry pander to the cry of class distinction, engendering class hatred, instead of trying to make the ' condition of all our people one of con- 1 tentment and peace.—Abridged from 1 Stratford Post.