Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878.] THURSDAY, MAY 3, 1894. THE HON W.P. REEVES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 1769, 3 May 1894, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878.] THURSDAY, MAY 3, 1894. THE HON W.P. REEVES.

SEQOND EDITION

Tue children are asking for bread, and the Government, their kindly parent, is giving them a stone, If Ministers are unable to relieve dis-

tress, which is in a large measure the outcome ot their policy, and the fruit of their labours, they would do well to be silent and look after their departments in Wellington instead of preaching about Liberal principles and the unemployed in every centre of the Colony. This week tho Hon W. P. Beeves offered another stono in the Auokland City Hall, and was accorded a Yote of thanks, He claimed to speak as a party man, but at a time when the Colony is being liddeo to death by party, as if it were a very Sindbad, we would have liked to hare seen him taking a broader view and pleading the cause of the Colony rather than that of an overgrown excrescent party. It was, we presume from a party point of view that lie declared that the prevailing depression was due to causes beyond control in other countries, instead of taking upon himself and his colleagues the chief responsibly. Then he chucked his stone by assuring the Auckland people that the Ministry wore "steadily making reforms." Had be said that they were steadily making starvation, he would haye been nearer the truth. Then he asked the Northern Liberals to assist the Southern Liberals in supporting the Government in measures for resuming possession of private lands in the South, oblivious of the fact that hiß own colleague, the Minister of Lands, had denounced this rotten plank at Oamaru a day or two before, The Hon. " Jook" blurted out the truth pretty plainly there when he pointed out that after the Government had resumed possession of an estate and cut it up the people would not look at it. Possibly the Minister of Lands, when ho let this cat out of the bag was not speaking as a party man, and Mr Beeves from his own point of view is justified in ignoring the statement of the land expert au~ thority of his own ministry, Next Mr Reeves threw a few more stones at the starving people of Auckland by promising them moro labour bilk If a man is out of work give him a labour bill, if he be hungry promise him another labour bill. Mr Reeves is prepared to fatten the lean and clothe the naked of New ZcMand with Acts of Parliament, and what more can they want. A man wants work, and the benevolent Minister offers him a half-holiday, or a conciliation clause, or an arbitration enactment, or gives bim a Government guarantee that he shall not work more than eight hours a day. Truly the Ministerial dole is a stone, but we understand that the" Hon. Mr W. P. Reeves is somewhat mesmerio in his speeches, and that whoa his atidionce comes under control he can without difficulty persuade it that hit patent Liberal boulders are! made of good meat and meat, and are invigorating and life sustaining. Of course, if the unemployed of Auckland and of the colony generally are satisfied with this kind of relief we'need not complain, but we fancy that by this time they have bad nearly enough of it>