POST-SESSIONAL ADDRESS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 250, 21 October 1891, Page 2

POST-SESSIONAL ADDRESS.

MR W. F. BUCKLAND AT ONEHUNGA.

VOTE OF THANKS AND CONFIDENCE.

Last evening Mr W. F. Buckland, M.H.R. for the Manukau electorate, addressed the electors of that district in the Onehunga Public Hall. There was a large attendance of constituents. Mr W. Brierly was called to the chair. He briefly called for the attention of the meeting, and asked those present bo give bheir member a fair and imparbial hearing. Mr Buckland opened his address by referring to the stress which he laid upon the questions of retrenchment and new taxation at the lasb election, and then spoke ot the opening proceedings of tho Parliament. He had objected to the changes in the Civil Service staff with each change of Government, and he still objected to them. He spoke of the senseless way in which the members of the Government party conducted the businees of the House, bheir motbo being "The epoils to the victor." He threw his own weight on the side of the Opposition, but still the Opposition were outnumbered by the Gpvernmenb members. The Government would rather have had no Speaker at all than have taken one from the other side. During the recess the Ministers of the Crown bravelled all over the colony, and incurred very large travelling expenses, a return of which he asked for when he got back to Wellington. The Government at first objected to (jive that return, but eventually did. The return showed that £700 had been spent by Ministers during tho recess, and this notwithstanding the Government's protestations of rebrenchment. Then there was £1,500 thrown away on the ueelees Native Lands Commission. Mr Rees virtually framed bhe reporb of bhab Commission, and ib was a facb that Mr Rees's opinions and reports on native mabbers were nob reliable. Mr Rees had done more than anyone else in the colony bo geb the Government into trouble with the natives on the East Coast. When he (the speaker) got back to Wellington he saw so much of useloss expenditure and gross extravagance on the parb of bhe Government, and so much bogus retrenchment, that he could not support them in their so-called " retrenchment " policy. Hβ referred to the defective manner in which the Committees of the House were appointed, and to bhe apmenb of Mr Rees to the post of Chairman of This billet had been kept dangling beforfc the supporters of the Government foi' months, and the Government did the same thing with the Agent-General-ship. Hβ bhoughbthab Mr Rees would makea very useful and capable Chairman of Committees. The appointment of Mr Perceval as Agent-General looked very much like a pandering to wealth on bhe parb of bhe Government, and he was, afraid that, the appointment) had been a mistake, for: Mr Perceval was boo young and inexperienced, albhough he mighb prove a useful man in his position in time. He condemned the unsatisfacbory manner in which bhe Parliamentary returns were prepared and laid on tho table of the House ; the fact of two letters being abstracted from one return relating to railway carriages looking very bad against the Government- Then when the estimates were eventually brought down they were rushed through the House in a mosb disgraceful manner. The Goverhmenb parby simply went with the measures ; ~ there was no use in talking of retrenchmenb or anything else. One noticeable incidenb in this connection was bho way in which the Government had increased salaries ot bhe Civil Service in a wholesale manner, and bhe abtempt made by himself, Mr Thompson, ivI.H.R., and others to reduce the salaries to the former level, were defeabed. The bota) amounb of bhe appropriation this year was no less than £4,481,884 for the,'" year, as against £4,273,276 last year, .being an increase of £108,508 more this session than last. That wa3bheGovernmenb's much-vaunbedwork of retrenchmenb. There had been an enormous increase in the salaries of Civil servants, and there had acbually been 28 new Civil servants appointed this year, not counting 100 new railway servants. Altogether there was £88,300 more spent by the Government this year uhan last, even making allowance for everybhing. The Government had acted mosb unjusbly and falsely, and ho was sure thab bhey would land the colony in very serious trouble before bhey were done with. New works had been aubhorised to bhe extenb of over £935,000, and ib would be absolutely necessary bo borrow bo complebe these works, so bhab bheGovernmenbhad acbually opened bheir regime with a borrowing policy. Mr Ballance's policy of borrowing money in the colony, really meanb borrowing the money from England. Then Ballance proposed bo bake bhe insurance money and posb office money of bhe colony and spend it on public works. They could nob make a more fabal misbako bban bhis. He was enbirely opposed bo borrowing in any., form, for bhe greab danger was bhab bhe interest on loans would overtake them, and they would nob be able bo pay ib. There had been increases in various departments in which there should have been none ab all, and bhe Governmenbayowals of retrenchment had in reality been utterly misleading. Taking them as a whole, there had really been no retrenchmenb. Mr Buckland next referred in berms of regreb to the recent unfortunate incidenb in bhe House, which ho said resulbed in bhe virtual expulsion of Mr John Bryce. He detailed bhe incidenb ab some length, having been present in the House throughout the affair. Mr Bry'ce's indignanb exclamation that the Minister "ought to be ashamed of himself" was nob a very bad or offensive saying, and for his own pai* he was heartily of bhe opinion bhat bhe Hon. Mr McKenzie ought to be ashamed of,himself. (Applause.) Tho whole affair was mo3t disgraceful on the parb of the Government, and ib had lost Mr Bryce'e services to bhe counbry. The bhing was mosb unfair, and the Speaker on thab occasion loab his head completely, and made a bigger fool of himself bhan probably any other man in bhe House, and that was saying a good deal. When an honeat representative came across a body of men like the present Government he could tell him he felt very sick of ifc, and he thought Mr Bryce was quite right in resigning. He referred to the' Public Trust Office scandals, andexplained Mr Hamerbon's position in the matter and the manner in which he resigned on a pension of £250 per annum. He'voted for this, bub he voted againsb bhe grant to bhe widow of the lato Mr Brown, because he did nob think the colony should pay it. He also voted againsb the payment to the Hon. Mr Ward as unnecessary, bub the Governmenb grossly evaded the law in this connection, as they did in more than one other thing. Mr Buckland then referred to the legislation of the pact session. The Land and Income Tax Bill met; with hia disapproval, and he thought it would surely prove inoperative. As ifc .stood ib was merely a catch for the farmers. They raighb be quibe cerbain thab a bax which pressed more heavily on one class of bhe colony bhan anobher" would result in greab harm. He objected to the professional man being let off more lighbly in the matter of taxation than the tradesman and storekeeper. However, he thought that when bhey next went down to Wellington they would be called upon to alter blio Bill in many eesenbial details.

He did not think the colony was wise to reduce the postage charges, for the defacib in .this line would be a great loss. The right of the Parliament of the colony to regulate the purse of the colony had been grossly violated by what the Government appropriated during the session virtually as " secret service money. He referred to the labour Bills of the session. The Shop Hours Bill was an arbitrary and ridiculous one, and he etrenuou&ly opposed it. To put down a cast-iron law like that would have been a hideous mistake, for it was quite unnecessary in the great majority of its clauses. For one thing, though, he was sorry, that the Upper House did not pass the Bill, for. if they had, then the country would have overthrown the Government before it had been a month older. , (Applause.) Then they had passed other labour Bills during the session which would lead to the introduction of a host of new Civil servants. He supported the Truck Bill in most of its clauses. The Friendly Societies Act Amendment Bill was one which he was strongly opposed to, and though the Lower House passed it the Upper House threw it out. The Bill was opposed to the Union S.S. Company's new benefit society, which be thought was an excellent and promising institution. The Land Bills had been muddled up, and the hasty legislation was already resulting in great native troubles and dieputee on the East Coast. He was very much hurt at the failure of the proposed legislation in the direction ot giving old soldiers their rights, andrthe Old Soldiers Bill was ■ greatly muddled up. Certainly he was in favour of paying off their just claims as soon as possible, and of giving as little trouble as possible to veterans getting their just rewards in land. Hβ referred ab length to the Land Bill, and said that it was very evident that Ballance intended to do away with freehold of land , in the colony. For his part he would always strenuously oppose any attempt to abolish the freehold system in New Zealand, for it would be a most ruinous course of action. He explained his action in regard to the Payment of Members Bill, and assured his constituents that he had strenuously opposed the proposal to increase the honorarium to £240. He had never gone with a deputation about it, and he. had thrown his vote and influence against it. A mistake had occurred in the pairing on the Bill, and he was certainly strenuously opposed to the increase of the honorarium, although he might tell them that he was at a personal loss through going down to Wellington, and thereby neglecting his business. Mr Buckland then referred to his exertions in connection with some local affairs, amongst other matters explaining his action in endeavouring to obtain a bonus for the iron industry. He hoped thac by the endof thisParliamentthey would bo so well satisfied with him that they would return him again in a handsome manner. Ho concluded by saying that in the future he would only support such legislation as would tend to the benefit of the colony as a whole, and be would never be afraid to speak his mind fearlessly. (Applause.) A number of questions were then asked by pereons present. In answer to one he said that he would certainly be in favour of selling the railways of the colony if there was any possibility of getting £20,000,000 for them.

A vote of thanks and confidence in Mr Buckland as M.H.R. for Manukau was moved by Mr Tole.

Mr Shaldrick proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Buckland for his address, but that the meeting express no confidence in him as member for Manukau for the future.

Tho motion was declared carried, and the meeting concluded amidst some uproar and excitement. „ . , .