SIR JOSEPH WARD

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10471, 8 November 1911, Page 5

SIR JOSEPH WARD

SPEECH AT WINTON.

By Telearavh—l'resb a auciation.

WJLXTOX, Last Nlight. Sir Jiosepih, Ward ;ukiressad a meeting of about 1500 pt'opfe liore tonigfli't. Tlliie Mayor presided. Tfh.e Prime Minister, in iui's opening remarks, miade sympathetic reference to tine death of Mr Massey's father. He went on to say that, in his remarks witili reference to matters in luits- electorate, lie was not <joing to allow any fuelling of bittenu>r.',s to influence liira 'tow ante hi;s opponent for A.v.iarua.

MISREP&ESEN TAT J OX. Sia- Jloisepii firs,t spoke of w'liat he termed tlie policy of mi/sirepreseaitation and. tilie distortion- of facts, and lie referred sratlningly to tlie inuiahine made, .spc-ecihes of innocent daipes of tilie Opposition-. Party, wlhicih _ were pfil.tti-ng irany a good main wrong in N;ew Zeaia.nd. He quoted Mir Fowildis on his retirement from tflie Ministry in confirmation- of the contention, that no dharge of 'Tanimanyism" or corruption could lie against ' the present Government. He quotedi also tlie late Mr T. E. Taylor and liis successor (Mr Isitt) in the sain© connection .

THE PUBLIC DEBT. He Lad l a good deal to say about the increase in 'tlie public deibffc, and quotedi masses of figures to show thlat most of tlie \wrks constructed wdtli borrowed money wier© interesrtbearing. He also submitted records to show wflirait comparatively little opposition had been, jsinown by members of the Opposition party to the different loan proposals. His remarks in jxistifieation of the Dreadnought loan were received wiitih chieer.s. ADVAXiOES TO SUTLERS. Sir Jbsepli retfenred in detail .to the 1 benefits: to settlers from tlie Advances to Settlers Department and thle finandall l soundness) of that Diepaa it-ment. Lasrti yiear a sum of £2,400,000 liad bteen >lioaned to thle settieais of New'] Zealand, for th© first' siix months, of this year the serttlers. had. received about £1,"400,000 fi-om tlie Advances to Settlers' De-pant-manit.

UNEM^YfliniiNT. Sir Joseph Wardi spoke also of the succesls otf fcbe Qovernanerat Aamtiitieis. Act, and ga.vie particulars of tUie various eila,sses of unemployment and tlhe increased, cosit of living. THE LAavD QUESTION.

'Hie resented vteiry sltreaioiousljy tiite unfounded statements tlijat tine present Gbvennmient liadi no land policy, ( aaid. hie cHiaamed that at the present time there was the choice of no less tihan eight different kind® of tenure. Im the course of his remarks in this connection he cJaimed that in amount of land settled he had beaten his predecessors by over one Uhfooimrid acres. It had been said that as Minister for Lands he had not been a success—that lie knew nothing about lands. He claimed, however, that Ke had. put more vigour into: the uayds Department than had any other jMlinister in the past . Efrteefi OiP twenty ye*ars, and tihte results showed that this was so.

STATE GTJAiRAiNTEED ADVANCES Uliie Plrim© Minister then referred to some of the results of the working of the State Guaranteed Advances Act, and criticised in passing, the attituclle of members of the Opposition in this regard. When the Bill was before the Hxwpe and at the present timte.

MOKAU. The wSioile story of .tine Mokau land traJiisiaotfion was dealt with. fuMy.

GAMING

Speaking of thle Gaming Laws, Sir Jbsepih Wand siaid that'he was mot sorry for anyrtMmg lie Had done im> this connection. All sensible people reqogmised that tihl© gambling laws had run. riot. Hie amendments njacLe confined, betting to race course®, did away wdtihi "ftate" .sihiops, abolished teflegroiphiiiiig to racecourse®, andi mad© thle aaMimg of tihe bbokmakletr illegal. He Ava„si not, and never had beieini, against horse-racing. He believed that as a sport it deserved enoouragemieait, but as a public man. he did not appmve of the former state of affairs, and lie maintained that .tliiere werte .abuses that had hiad to be tackled. Tihe abuses had. all' been removed, amd lugjhitly sp his opinion. LTCEuXSING.

WiMi regarel to tine licensing laws, hie exjpressed Ms own personal opinion, t!he question not being a party one. The law as it was now anDemded should be given a trial. If there were a.ny fuii'itiher clitwige, it ougilut to be on the lines of a 55 per cent, majority for inational prohibition, and thn-ee-fiftilife for ißistrdct noJacpnisle. In thle event of prohibition being carried, lie did. not think the revenue siluoiiild be made up aJtogeltiher from

a tax on the land, aw ceirtainily not from a tax on small landholders. DEARTH DOTES.

INunwousi instanoos were given v? the incidence of dentil duties in s -

pont of tlife contention tihiat tlhds fio; t of .taxation was just and equitable.

EARNJtNiGS OF DEPARTMENTS.

Thle Plnime 31inistter mentioned, in tlie counse' of 'hi® speecih, that tttue earnings from, ten public departments created by till© present Government, and most of them by himself, amounted to nearly one and a half millions.

FIVE MILLION LOAN. Hio spoke at length, and wittti some degree of indignation, regarding tlie Opposition can'ticism of the fiv/e million loan, and dociWed tinat Opposition members were in posise&siioTi. of all tliie information that memiberis of tire Gm-ernmemt po-sgrnrrxl:. H& ( luad read the tahllcis in tin? H.-mi«?. ' ThG net return was £96 6,5. Kull details could not be obtatiiiied from, the HHpfh Commissioner until the sal© of the remaining £142.000 of stock wsis completed. The expenses of tlie loan amounted to £110,480. T!hip. Opposition pursued a mejtihqd liot followed: anyw/foere ell,so iin the HX>rld,of adding the discount to tlie expenses of tlie loan, aaid calling tSve total thus obtained the expense of .raising the loan.

PERRY SERVICE. Sir Jbseplh Wiaiixl stated tiiait hie lilad l>eeai iaifonned by Sir. Ja® Mills that tQie Umion 00-mpany had given bistrucitdonls for tine conis-trudbion of a> veisfeel sjmaJar to the.- Mjaori, but larger aaid b,-e!titeir<, to replace the Miararoa on tlie Lyititelton-WiaUongtori ferry aea-viicie wiiitifiin. tine next twiedve montlis. It wtould then, be possible foa 1 ' a person to travel firom InveircargdiU and be in next mkxrndng. LIBERAJj LEGJSLAHOiN. The speecli comtaiaed •oomfp.nelhiensivo reference tio all tihe legjialatioini undjetifta-kiein by tHiie Liberal Govteramen,t. ■

A PRIVATE MATTER. In answer- to tih© aJAegationia of public money lxa-vrng been- ispentfc on. private land, in Aiwaxraa, Sir Joseph' declnj'ed; that Me had never, ait amy timie, to lifia knowledge, artitlDo-rised: any pubfldc mioney to be apeinifc on pri--vate land. H» was. uiitifcutaing inquiries, "and if tiheire weaie cases where money had; Hn wittingly Been so spent, tlirn retftind® would be insisted upon.. UNABATED

At tih» concßia&ion. of aai address lasting Wo and: a half hours, Sir Joseph/ Wftatl was accorded a rate of tliiaaiks and. uxiabatedi confidence im tKe Government, of wiiaoh. he> wtis the head.