MR. MASSEY.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 November 1919, Page 4

MR. MASSEY.

SPEECH AT ELTHAM. WILL HAVE NO TRUCK WITH EXTREME LABOR. SOONER GO OUT OF OFFICE. (By Wire.—Special Reporter.) Eltham Night. The Town Hall was packed to-night by residents of Eltham and settlers from all parts of the, district to hear tho Prime Minister (Mr. Massey) give a : political address. The Mayor (Mr. G. W. Tayler) presided, and Mr. Wilkinson, M.P., was also on the platform. The address was very much on the lines of Mr. Massey'a recent speeches in his electorate, and little new ground was broken. Mr. Massey spoke for just on two hours, and' his remarks were frequently applauded. There were a good number of interjections from the back of the hall, but none of them was of a very hostile nature, and very many of the remarks were of an inane description. It was a good and quiet meeting for the Premier, ana he received a hearty vote of thanks. A somewhat unusual feature of the meeting was the complete absence of questions. In thanking the gathering for their welcome, Mr. Massey paid a tribute- to tho present member for the district. He said they all knew " what a splendid member he made, ana though he was retring now he hoped that he would be able to see his way in the future to come forward again. Mr. Massey said he was not concerned now with the strenuous years which had just passed, but they were concerned with the present, for it was from what happened now that would come to be the policy of the future, a future, which was full of important problems which would have to be faced. To mention only two, the problem of reconstruction and that of repatriation would be sufficient to indicate the great responsibilities which faced the country. Mr. Massey proceeded to detail the part played by New Zealand in helping the Empire through the greatest crisis in its history. The war brought problems which were altogether new, and the Government had to do many things which some people did not like. There was the Military Service Act, for instance, and the increases in taxation which had to be brought forward, and in consequence of these and other matters it was inevitable that the National Government would bring upon itself much unpopularity. The National Service Act was absolutely necessary to assist New Zealand to play its part, and the increased taxation was just as necessary because the country had to borrow more money than was even thought of before, in fact, more money than it was thought it would be possible for New Zealand to borrow. The country had to suffer under p. reduction in the efficiency of the public services, but they had to be curtailed to enable the men working therein to go to the war. All these tilings were necessary, and they combined to give credit, to the National Government for doing its duty in the war. Mr. Massey then dealt at some length with the breaking up of the National Government, touching on file various phases of the negotiations between the leader of the Liberals and himself. The formation of the prcesnt Cabinet was then explained by the Premier. Proceeding, Mr. Massey retraced the work of the past session, pointing out that in addition to the ordinary heavy business of legislation there were many important and far-reaching matter-', emanating out of the war to be dealt with, such as the ratification of the Ponce Treaty, the taking over of control of Samoa, and the Dominion's share in the control of Nauru Island. The housing scheme was then dealt with in detail, and ho touched on all the important legislation passed. He stressed again tho importance of the future, and emphasised the necessity of sending the best men of the country to govern it in future. Referring to labor, Mr. Massey said lie wanted to make clear the distinction that existed between the patriotic and hard working people who made up the ranks of What was known as labor, and those who comprised .the Parliamentary Labor Party. He had every sympathy with tlie workers, but had absolutely none for Holland and his party, not one of whom had lifted a linger to help New Zealand during the war. The workers as a whole had been splendidly patriotic, but lie did not know of one single case in which a member of the Parliamentary Labor Party had helped a man to go awav to the war, or do anything else for his country. A voice: They couldn't; most of them were in gaol! Continuing, Mr. Massey said there was no danger of the Labor Party winning the coming elections, but the danger was that they would win sufficient scats to enable them to hold the balance of power between the other two parties. A voice: And yon would be glad to take them to help you! To this interjection Mr. Massey made a very spirited reply. "I would never be dependent on the Labor Party for my place at the head of the Government," l'j said, "and I wish to say definitely that if I had to depend on them I would leave the front benches without a moment's delay. I will not lead a Government which is comprised of such elements as Holland and his party, and I hope the country will never have one of these men iu its Government." Mr. Massey went on to say that at present the strength of the Reform Party was forty-one, and the Liberal Party thirty-one, while the rest of the House was made up of the Parliamentary Labor Party and Independents. He declared it was not possible for the Liberal Party to gain sufficient seats to give it a working majority. For the next half hour or more Mr Massey had a great many matters of interest to.tell his audience, but most of the subjects touched on were ones which have already been fully dealt with by the Premier in speeches elsewhere. Taxation and the necessity for a revision of the existing legislation whs dealt with at length, and then Mr. Massey went on to refer to New Zealand's control of Samoa and Nauru Island. In regard to New ZealaniPs interest in Kauru Island, he said there would bo sufficient phosphates available there to meet New Zealand's requirements for hundreds of years. Mr. Massey then touched on finance, pointing out that New Zealand had spent during the war an amount about equal to that of the country's debt before the war. Our debt was about a hundred million before the war, and we had spent another hundred million during the war, bringing the national debt to two hundred million. The debt was a heavy one, and there was tho annual

payment of war pensions, which would always rocur, but the country' had to face this expenditure "If we do notiring else," declared Mr. Massey, "we must meet our liabilities in connection with our returned soldiers, and their dependents and we will do so to meet tho financial burden of the country." Mr. Massey stressed the importance of increased production. There were large areas in New Zealand absolutely unproductive, and other land which was not producing as much as it was capable of. This policy had to be wiped away, and nil tho land had to be developed, and the man who kit his land in its wild state would not get off with the same taxation as the man who developed his land fully. There were too many railways in New Zealand. There were somo in Taranaki which were started and not completed. They were in valuable country, and with the railways uncompleted the development of those districts was kept back. Ho declared it would be the policy of the Government to etc that all these railways were completed as soon as possible. Another important factor in the flerelopment of the co\rtitry was people. It was clear that at present New Zealand did not have sufficient people to develop the country, and therefore a progressive immigration policy would have to be introduced. Tho Government was determined to go in for a bold scheme of immigration, and care would be taken to induce the best type of settlers to come to New Zealand. The development of hydro-electric schemes, and the problem of the returned soldiers were then fully dealt with by the Premier. He referred especially to the settlement of soldiers on the land, and pointed out the splendid future which the land offered young men. If a returned soldier was fit and had a liking for the land Mr. Massey advised him to follow his wishes, and go on the land. The danger of allowing the American Meat Trust to get a grip of New Zealand was emphasised. "He is here to some extent now," said Mr. Massey, "but is working through other people, and as long as we can confine his operations to their present extent it is all right, but we must not let it spread." Nationalisation was freely dealt with, Mr. Massey said nationalisation was justifiable to prevent monopolies, and to prevent exploitation, and to encourago industry, but it was not justifiable if it came into conflict with private enterprise. After dealing with several other topics of the day, Mr. Massey concluded amidst applause. Mr. T. B. Crump moved a motion expressing thanks to Mr. Massey and couj fidence in him as the heßd of the Government. Mr. ,T. Hignett seconded the: motion, which was carried by acclama* tion. There were no questions asked. ; —"===" \