THE PRIME MINISTER'S SPEECH

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 289, 3 June 1912, Page 6

THE PRIME MINISTER'S SPEECH

POINTS IN BRIEF. Money will grow dearer. Borrowing must diminish. Land tax exemption will be raised; graduated taxation will lie increased. Income tax will be reduced to familyraisers. Settlement will be accelerated. Areas will be further liimted' to 400 acres first-class, 1000 acres second-class, 2500 acres of third-class land. •Land aggregation .must be checked. On the death of testators land over the statutory limitation will be taken by the Crown:. [The Crown will take over blocks of land from acquiescent natives and dispose of them to Crown settlers. Land occupation will be made more attractive by special facilities. Defence system is costing more than Lord 1 Kitchener's estimates. Economy must be exercised. In twenty years £0,300,000 worth of Customs concessions have been made. British trade has improved by preference. We are helping our .best customers. Skilled and unskilled labor is finding a ready market, and the outlook is promising. 'Shearers and sawmill hands must hare better accommodation. The Arbitration Act must be mad'e more practicable. The State must co-operate with friendly societies by subsidies in aid of sick funds, the State pying one half of weekly allowances. Local bodies and employers must receive special help from the Government to insure bodies of employees, in connection with the National Provident Fund. ■Second Ballot must give way to proportional representation. Boundaries must be altered and superfluous local bodies abolished. Grants to local bodies must he more scientifically adjusted. The session's work must .be focussed on immediately practicable proposals. The party in power stands for national progress and genuine and literal liberty. Light line railway construction is favlored on the 3ft Bin gauge, IThe Government is negotiating with a syndicate to establish iron works undeT lan agreement by which the State will resume within forty years without com-

pensation. , In 1896 'the advances to settlers totalled £429,122. In 1912 they amounted to £2,717,925. The profits were £12,321 in 1899; £60,440 in 11)11. With prospective rise of interest charges throughout the world this profit is unlikely to continue. Five years ago the cheese export was 881'9 'tons. It is now 23,214 tons. The Government experimental farms showed a profit of £4600 last year. Milk-record bulls are to be imported to improve our dairy herds. Four ''hundred farmers are working with the Agricultural Department in cooperative experiments. There are 171 experts and officers engaged in advising the farmers. The Civil Service Commission is-to-re-port on the simplification of public accounts. The sum 1 of £500,000 is to "be spent on railway waggons immediately. The number of old age pensioners at March 31 was 16,649, costing £418,530. The gross payments to date have been £3 ,'556,600. (Pensions have l>een granted to 950 widows (591 native born) at a cost of £IB,OOO. The children per family average five. It is proposed to establish rest homes for those suffering from temporary mental aberration. Subsidies are to be provided for the

provision of midwives in the backblocks. The tourist traffic has shown a substantial increase despite a wet season. The saving in premiums by the establishment of a State fire office is estimated to have been £1,250,000 in seven years. Parliament is to foe asked for a vote for telephone lines to the far backblocks. The telephone system is to 'be brought up to date on the advice of an expert just returned from abroad. A reduction in postal parcel rates is

j under consideration, and the carriage of • fruit and fish by post is to be facilitated. ' The utilisation of motor cars and ibiI cycles for mail services is being cons'id- ! er ed and exhaustive tests are to be made. The savings deposits last year were Six years ago they were only £8,862,022. In 1911 104,703,500 letters were posted as against 69,144,780 in 1905. In 1905 8,032,170 telegrams were sent: in 1911, 13,638,264.