THE PREMIER AND SIR JOSEPH WARD.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12646, 6 November 1905, Page 5

THE PREMIER AND SIR JOSEPH WARD.

BIG (MEETING IN WELLINGTON

Per Presa Association

WELLINGTON, November 4,

The Premier and Sir Joseph Ward addressed a public meeting at the Opera House this evening. The- theatre was densely crowded, hundreds being unable . to gain admittance. Dr J. 6. Findlay presided, and on the stage were many representative clitrzens. Sir Joseph Ward said the Government" had never feared to come before tihe people. They were on the eve of a political battle, and it behoved the Liberal. Party to hiave their forces marshalled. Though differing on minor matters, perhaps, yet on larger questions they should ? all work -in'unison for that which concerned the well-being of the country. After fifteen years of office, not one of the charges levelled against the administration has been sustained. (Applause.) Yet one of the claptrap cries they had 'heard so much of was that of " clean government." An effort was being made to set town' against country, and engender a feeding as between tihe workers; Sir Joseph quoted figures showing the concessions made by the present Government on >ths railways to farmers and .. other sections of the community, and referred at length to certain criticisms appearing in the "Evening Post" regarding the action of the" Government ; respecting- the Hutt Rail-way Improve- ■ ment Bill and the increase of wages to ' the railTvay men. It/was not a right ■ principle to allonr any ihunibipal corpora- ,

tion to enter into .competition with -a railway belonging to and constructed by tihe State, and, as regards the cry that the wages of the railway workers had 'been increased last session for election-

eening purposes, Sir Joseph said (his answer to that was that the railway being - a classified Department, nothing could . be done without the authority of Par- .". liament, and tihe Government had already dealt with the railway men three *'" times during their term" of office, and the amount of increased wages, as oom- ?j------puted on the number of hands originally •-->- ---employed at the time of classification - came to £370,000. This .was a complete -„ answer. In (regard to railway hands coming under the Industrial^ Arbitration and Conciliation Act, fivensistihs of the railway service, on a poll, 'had voted - against it. The (Minister next defended the policy of not charging money spent under tihe additions to open lines vote to revenuit, as the Opposition critics urged. He afeo .stated that next session the Government hoped to-(be able to plaice "on the Statute TBook. a satisfactory measure dealing with the Oivil Service. The best means of dealing with the Civil Service >was not by establishing a Civil Service Bmrd, but by classification, and an Act had been passed last session for _ this purpose. :- Sir Joseph Ward, who spoke for, an hour, resumed him seat amidst loud applause. .Mr Seddon said he was as young in spirit and determined as ever. After, stating that the charges recently made - against Sir J. G. Ward, were absolutely untrue, the Premier referred to the recent meetings of the. PwHtical Reform Party and the new Liberals in Wellington . during the session,- and: stated that the latter, which had started with some eleven members, now were practically reduced to three, and after ithe next election there would, probably be still further reduction. In the criticism of the Podi'tical Reform Party, which included the big guns of the Opposition,, there was not much to reply to. There was the same old cry about the audit of the public accounts, the Public Revenues Act, and tine, finances, yet not ia single policy Act passed by the present Administration did the Opposition dare to repeal, such as the Land for Settlement policy and the Old Age Pensions measures, which originally the Opposition had proposed. The policy of the Opposition was one of threads and patches. Dealing with the 'business of the session, he said the Harvester Trust had been dealt with in a sensible (manner; the Criminal Code Amendment Act -would not repress freedom of speedli; the Teachers' Superannuation Act and the increase in the teachers' salaries were oo'ts of justice; by the Shops and Offices BdiH justice had been done to t(he assistants and small shopkeepers; iby the Maori 'Land Settlement Act he saw (half-a-million of acres in sight for settlement; a great improve- . ment had been made in the Workers' Compensation for .Accidents Act. Th« Premier said that the Cabinet h*3 decided to submit ifco^ Parliament a proposal for the reduction of indirect taxation.' The reduction, would be in the direction of a free ibfeakfast table. He thtooightthe; time had ;oome when a reduction anight *be made in tihe> duty on tobacco. He did xio't Miinkwewere reooiviing enougjh from direct taxation. There was a. p^ofoability that" if it was found itihat in consequence of tihe reductions made in indirect taxation the expenditure and tfhe revenue approximated too closely together, it appeared to him that it would be proper to increase, the graduated land tax. The meeting terminated ■ with a vote of thanks and confidence in the Government^ \ . . ;