HON. MR ROLLESTON AND HIS CONSTITUENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 4349, 21 April 1884, Page 4

HON. MR ROLLESTON AND HIS CONSTITUENTS.

Adverse Vote Carried.

(PKP. PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

Christchukch, Sunday. Mb Rolleston met his constituents at Papanui on Saturday evening. Five hundred persons were present, a large proportion of them being from Christchurch. He was received with mingled

applause and hisses. Mr E.OLLESTOK said he was glad to meet them face to face, friends and foes alike. He thanked those friends who had declined to form a judgment on his action till he had explained it. His position, living away from his constituents, had been a diffi cult one. The tongue and pen of detraction had been actively employed against him.

THE DEPRESSION OF TRAUK

Tho times now were harder than what had been experienced for several years— hard for both people and representatives. At present he was the best abused man in New Zealand, but no public man was worthy of trust who would not prefer to meet disapprobation because he took an unpopular course which he believed right and did not run withthc stream. Thetimes weretroublesomc and dirlieult consequent on the diminution of the spending power of the country, which was due largely to the curtailment of borrowing by the present Government; also to holding large block of unproductive land for speculative purposes ; also to the falling otl'iu value of our staple products, and lastly, to the unfavourable weather, which had prevented our products from being gathered in good condition. These two last were not of course due to the action of Government, The position with regard to borrowing when Sir J. Hall's Government took office was that there was a five million loan not raised, but largely forestalled. The country was really committed to works amounting to eight millions for two years. The Government were in consequence bound to expend some two millions annually. There were then large public works begun but incomplete. Government said that they would not raise loans without their being specifically appropriated. They determined to raise three millions to be spent at the rate of a million a year. The charges consequent on borrowing were pressing hard on the current revenuse The land fund was falling off. Unles. they were prepared to sell their land wholesale for caah they felt must go in for further borrowing.

BORROWING AND SETTLEMENT. The less borrowing the better. Whether or not, at the time when our present borrowing power ceased the colony would be in a position to stop borrowing, no could not say. Whatever borrowing there might be, he would always be in favour of borrowing the least possible sum. The development of the country which had taken place by the railways waa ahead of settlement. No borrowing should take place unless it were tied down to specific works, and allotted to be spent at a certain vote per year. He wished people realised more how necessary it was to feel that their interests were bound up with those of the whole colony, and could divest themselves of local selfishness. The public debt was thirty millions; the sums borrowed by Harbour Boards, Municipal bodies, and counties, amounted to four millions, private loans to thirty millions, and other debts to another four millions. Against tliid the real property of the colony, exclusive of native lands outside the fivemile boundary, was worth one hundred and ono millions, and personal property was worth sixty-two millions. They wanted more population—more production. The population of the colony was not the hundredth part of what the land would support, and if they went in or a borrowing policy without an increase of wealth-producing power consequent on a proper adjustment of land, labour and capital, it would be suicidal. He was, therefore, glad that he had advocated voluntary immigration, which they should promote by such means as the direct steamer ■ervice. He had also promoted assisted nominated immigration Every fresh man in the colony decreased the burden of taxation, and was an additional contributor in the national wealth. It was a direct advantage to the working man that immigration should continue.

A LAND POLICY OUTLINED. • He knew that capital was lying idle, that land was locked up, and that in parts of the colony ladonr could not be had. He had, therefore, devoted himself to managing the land so as tojpevent them pussing into the hand;? of capitalists and speculators. There was now next to no waste land in Canterbury which was available for disposal for agricultural purposes. 2,350,000 acres of land were held by ninety-one persons in blocks of over 50,000 acres. The education reserves in Canterbury now .produced £ 11,000 a year, and produce £20,000. This showed the wisdom of making such reserves. The state of the poor in England, and landlordism in Ireland, showed that it waa not too soon to begin in a new country to prevent the evils which have arisen in an old one. It was competent for the State to resume lands if for an adequate public object, but at present there was no need for that. The love of freehold, it was argued, was deeply implanted in every man who came to Kew Zealand. At present, however, very many men in the colony, though nominally freeholders, were really tenants of large moneylenders. They had not, he hoped, come to New Zealand to create the extremes of wealth and poverty found in England. He would divide the land into pastoral and agricultural. There should be no more permanent alienation of such lands. ! They should be leased with conditions of residence and improvement, and with provision that only one block should be held by one man. This would create a class of small tenants who would pursue a profitable business in great comfort. With regard to agricultural land it was urged that there were too many land laws, and that the land should be put up and be done with. He held they should be so disposed of as to suit different classes, partly by alienation for cash, partly by deferred payments, and partly by perpetual leasing. Roads should be opened before selling the land, which should be so cut up as to prevent its absorption by capitalists. On a block of 71,000 acres on the Waimate Plains the Government had put 360 homesteads. If this had not been done tho land would have fallen into the hands of one or two capitalists. It was impossible to set bounds to the accumulation of land after»it had passed into freehold I estate. During the four years he had been in office, 4,000 people had been settled on homesteads on the Crown lands, and in addition some 1,100 sections sold for cash. This had been done in Otago and Southland as well as in the North Island. There had been a very strong feeling against the leasehold system when it first came up. Now they had 28,000 acres held by 136 selectors.

THE RAILWAY TARIFF QUESTION. Government were blamed for inopportunely raising the railway rates. Government saw a short time back that the revenue would not be up to the estimate. Customs would, it was found, show a deficiency of £120,000; the railway revenue would be deficient from £60,000 to £SO,OOO. Notwithstanding: the large increase in traffic, amounting to 135,200 tons, besides a large increase in sheep and parcels, it was fpund that the revenue would only be £7,Qoomore than last year, and the interest \vould be 2.J per cent, instead of over 3 per cent. During tho las v two years £76,000 had been spent on Canterbury railways, in giving increased facilities to fanners and tho general public. Further ex-' pondituro was increasing all over the colony for maintenance and improvements. Government, therefore, brought forward an increase of the tariff in oodea to raise £35,000 more from merchandise, £40,000 from grain, £30,000 from passengers, £5,000 from wool It was that the tariff was brought forward at the particular time, to benefit the North Island. Now, there was three times as much wool carried in the South Island as in tho North: 150,455 bales were carried in the South ; and in the North, 58,630. A truck of grain earned for the Department over £3, while a truok of wool earned over £5. He felt as a farmer, and no doubt others felt also, that the farmers were prepared in times of necessity to pay a fair price for services rendered, and did not wish other classes to pay it for them. It had been asked what was a fair rate to put on grain. In ISBO and 18S1, there was no complaint of the rates. A private line from Waikaia charged 7s 4d for carrying grain twenty-two miles. The Government charged for the same distance, 6s lOd. The present rates were less than those of 1881. The increase on class E affeoted the country south of Waitaki really as much as it did that North of Waitaki. Therefore it could not be said that the tariff affected Canterbury only. It was impossible for Government, as long as it had the railways in their hands, to allow a system of sectional payments and profits. The railways, as a whole, must pay a reasonable rate on their construction. Tho deficient revenues of railways could not be made np from other sources of public revenue Two non-political Boards had

been suggested for the management of the railways. He wanted people to be careful what experiments they tried. The Victorian Board was only another form of the Government service, for the fixing of the tariff rested ultimately on the Governor-in-Council. Still, the experiment of Boards was not unlikely to be tried. If a combination of M.H.R.'s representing the one dis trict was to affect the whole course of politics, the sooner they tried the Board" the better. He (Mr K.olleston) refused to believe that the block vote of the Canterbury members was to depend on the grain rate.

NORTH VERSUS SOUTH ISLAND, There was an impression that the South Island was the milch cow for the North Island, for Taranaki especially. In the last two years land to the value of £300,000 had been sold In Taranaki. The only intelligent basis for a progressive policy of public works was the development of the country. The wealthy parts of tho colony should not be made wealthier, while the thinly peopled ones were left Lri poverty If population were to be the basis of expenditure, Auckland would have a larger share owing to it than any other provincial district. £80,000 had been spent on railway buildin;:s at Christchurch, £10,000 at Lyttolt'on, £(J5,000 at Addington workshops, £25,000 at Timavii, arid £18,000 at Oamaru. 'Government were goinoin for Amalgamation and reduction in tho civil service. Instead of extravagance he himself had saved £10,000 a year in one department. Mr Bryce had reduced the expenditure on the Native Department from tens of thousands annually to £3,000 per year. No worse thing could happen to the colony than that a feeling of insecurity should bo created over the North Island in abolishing the constabulary. Mr Bryee deserved great credit for the state into which he had brought things. Whenever the Government left office they would leave a record of reduction of expenditure both of borrowed money and of ordinary revenue, of law and order reestablifhed among tho Maoris, of taxation placed on the right shoulders—on the rich and the absentee proprietors, of liberal land laws and people settled upon the lands, of the foundation* of political power widened and deepened, of registration simplified, and of a franchise amounting almost to manhood suffrage. Replying to a question, Mr Rolleston said he was opposed to any alteration in tha present education system. He was prepared to grant every facility allowed by law for the construction of the West Coast Railway, South Island. Several interruptions occurred during the meeting, but there was no serious disturbance. A resolution, " That this meeting has no confidence in Mr Rolleston as representative of the Avon district," was carried by a large majority, only about a dozen voting1 against it. Several present did not vote.