THE PREMIER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8288, 16 November 1906, Page 5

THE PREMIER.

! .BANQUETED AT THE BLUFF. By Telegraph—Press Association. BLUFF, November 15. Sir Joseph Ward has always beet* sure of a great welcome on visiting: the place of his boyhood, but no gathering in the history of the Bluff has ever equalled that vzhibh assembled, to-night, at a complimentary banquet teudered ny the citizens. The Hon. R. MoNab anl several members of Parliament were present. Keplying to the toast of his health Sir Joseph Ward expressed gratiflcafcion at ihe enthusiasm and good feeling that prevailed. He was pleased to announce that he bad just received a telegram stating that Colonel Pitt's condition was muah more hopeful. (Applause.) Mr Carroll had also been ahle to leave Wellington for home. The Premier sympathetioally referred to the HonMr Millar's sad bereavement, and after eulogistic reference to the late Mr Seddon pssaed on to the prosperity of the Bluff and the South, and thence to politics, avoiding anything of a party neture. The prosperity of the colony wks not dneto> uusnnal or temporary causes. The high prices ruling for agricultural produots were likely to continue, and the Government was bound to exert itself to enable produots to be placed in the foreign markets cheaply, in good condition, and of even.quality. Tha sotentfio opera* tions of the Agricultural Department would secure" the maintenance of good prices, even in b«d times. In the Budget bo estimated on increase of reveuue for the twelve months of £329,283, but the increasefor the tirst seven months amounted to £39,160 above th« corresponding period of last year. The Premier tnen dealt with Otago's. complaint that the district had not been fairly treated in the allocation of public money. representatives would bear him out tha* Otago had been fairly treated.. The Estimates provided for £777,837 net to be spent on railway construeton. Three hundred thousand pounda was set aside for the Norttr Island Ttunb line, which everyone agreed should be pushed on. That left £477,837 to bo divided between the remaining nineteen lines. Ono hundred thousand pounds went to the Midland line, to be spank on the seations in Canterbury, Nelson, and Westland. The Otago Central received £50,000. The complaint was grossly unjust and unfair to the Otago members. The money voted for Otago railway purposes waa £122,000. Then there waa £475,000 additions to open lines, £42,591 for roads, £28,760 for buildings, £49,575 for other services, £14,000 grants for school buildihfts, £3,000 for the Hooken Library, £2,000 for the Dental Hospital, and a share of £IO,OOO maintenance.of school buildings—a total of £357,624, which, did not include the expenditure on the railway yards and new station. The total available for the colony was £2,282,000, and Otago got the best share of it. He believed in focussing attention on the most important railways until they were completed, and was opposed to borrowing more than a million until the population had graatly in oreased. The G :vernm9nt must not yield to pressure and try to make too many railways Jat one time. H 6 deprecated provincial or inter-island jealouies. The land question campaign would shortly be opened to oorreot misrepresentation. No member of the Government wanted to injure the'farmers. It was an illusion thas the farmers' Union was anti-Government. Two-thirds of the members were supporters of the Government, and there would be seoessious from the ranks of the Union unless a statement recently made by ono of the Union officials was corrected.