THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1911. THE PREMIER'S PIRACY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10420, 11 September 1911, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1911. THE PREMIER'S PIRACY.

One <bf the most strulkaug oharaoteristiiCß' of 'the Budjget delivered by. tibe Prime Minister on Fnidiay night is the impudent proposal it 'oanitiadna to appropriate a large poiition of- the programme emunidilated iby the Leader of tlhe Finst of ail there is .the question of the. oast of living. Mir Maissey proposed taking imtoediatte' Maps to deal wlith tihis question;, wihßcihi hie regards als pressing importance tto ail sections of the oanvmunity. Sir Joseph Wand, wihb. Was ignored' it during five year's he hlas luelid the reins of office, mipw realises that tlye cost of living "h'a® been 'the cause of much 'sufferrifag and serious disturbance an 1 many ptllaces." Buit how does he propose ideaffinig with it? : He suggest® : the i&eltiting up of a Roy aOi CtaiimM'stsioiiL, to investigate. A tempting biait, to - ibiei sure, itx> hold o.ut to the (Nio mention' is made of the extnavaigaattes arid mialodirdnilstration iwhAdh Ihl&ve oonta-ibulted 'so.Jiairgeily to the present condition of affairs. Tlieni we have the question of insurance agiainis-t uii^eraployrruen/t. Mr Massey promises thlat, if returned to power, he will take steps to devise am insura nee scheme whiiidh will solve thle uinteimployad paxyhlem. Sir Joseph Ward promises to do the istame thimg, hi. itl 'by Royiai! Oomimiission. Im point of ifiact, the Government adimiis its' inability to deal with great national 'proMiems, and adtopts the oositliy and u/nisatlMactory method of .referring the m. to Uoyai Oo immdissd oms. Mir Ma.ss.ey, it will be remembered), urged l iihiatt concession® should be madte' in railway fares, particularly to sectaiDcl'-alass travellers. Sir Joseph Wiaird iproraise® railway comcie&sionsi, but only to long-dliistance travellers!, wte'dh, means' that those who (tr; vel for a shorter distance than • Itlwio hundred miles ' will receive no benefit whatever. As it is generally thle well-to-do pension who travels over long distances, it will' at anoe be seen' thlat the Prime Minister's concession is chiefly to the tourist and the rich. Mir Massey proposes that the age at which wiomem shall •be entitled' to the old age pension' be

reduced to 60. Sir Joserih Ward suggests ias an -<alterma.ti.ve that where men over sixty or women.-over fifty-five Wave two or more dhildiren under sixteen depemdeait upon tihemt, It'luey elhould receive a iponsiou fifty per oeimt. higher tihan that paid uiader the Old Age Pen&ioms Act. This, it wiil. be sem, intakes no concessionwlhiarbever to women ovw fifty-five or sixty voairs of age wflioste families are over sixteen years. A<s the- maternity age of womeai usually ends ait forty years, it willl be ,&eera that Sir Joseph's proposal means praciti- ; oa.lly no concession at all. -It is | merely a fantastic scheme to tatap I and iruiskiad theelectors. The re- | duissdon in gift duties > its what Mr I Massey and his party luave been, I uirging ever since these duties were imposed,, and it is no arediit to Sir Joseph Ward tlilart he should now ipropose sudh a. rem&ssion. WlhSle *tlie Prime Minister hfas found it necasisary to purloin a considerable portion of . the Opposition platform, and iada,pt it, in a rough ajud ready styile, to ha® own purposes', it wtill be iseeai. that he luas studiously avoided the urgent reforms in, local government, the Civil Service, land administration', and tihte Legislative Council, wiMoh Mr Masj sey claim® to be essential to the good government of tihe country. The electors have Iliad tJieSr ears tickled ibtetfbre by Sir Joseph Ward. TJiiey kinow jiuislt how miuahi reliance can. be plaoedl upon, lids promises, and they are not l'ikeJy to be influenced by wlildkjaffc, scihemes wiliich will not bear analysis.. "