POLITICAL ADDRESSES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 138, 13 June 1893, Page 2

POLITICAL ADDRESSES.

THE WAITEMATA ELECTORATE.

MR JACKSON- PALMER AT DEVONPORT. Last evening Mr Jackaon Palmer, 2.1. H.R., addressed the North Shore portion of his constituency in the Devonport Hal!. His Worship the Mayor of Devonport (Mr B. W. Alison) presided. There was a good attendance. The chairman said that at last elections Devonport formed n portion of Mr Palmer's constituency, but now it formed portion of the Waiteinaba electorate. Mr Palmer intended at next election to stand for the new district of Waiteraata, and thereforo would not again seek the suffrage of the North Shore electors. During his term of office Mr Palmer had performed his work conscientiously and well. (Applause.) Mr Palmer was received with applause. He opened his speech with a reference to the work of the young order of politicians as afainsb that of the old school of. politicians. He referred to the land tax, and said that his objection to tho presetiD. land tax lay chiefly in the fact that it fell upon improvements and taxed thrift and industry. Ho compared the old era of borrowing and squandering with the present one of progress and prosperity, and mentioned the fact of the present halfmillion surplus as a proof of the benoficial effect of the non-borrowing policy. The present half-million surplus was an absolute saving in expenditure. It had been predicted that tho preseub Government would beg"ar the nation, and would increase the national debt, but what were tho facts? The country was prospering, and tho exrjendituro was now well within tho revenue. He explained tho manner in which the national debt fluctuated year by year. This year they had to provido oub of the consolidated fund £59,0U0 less than last year. That proved, surely, that the national burden was decreasing. After dealing with the financial position of tho colony, Mr Palmer referred to the question of party government, which he condemned as wrong. Tho po3ibion which the Opposition took up in party Government vomindod him of the typical Irishman, who when he landed in a new country, inquired it thero was a Government there, and then declared that he was "ag m tho Government." Party Government did a ereat deal of harm, too, in the Government) of a country, and led to endless trickery and jobbery. He thought that if they introduced the Swiss form of Government into the New Zealand Government, the change might be beneficial. Referring to the system of representation in tho Parliament of the country at present, he °aid ho thought that the present system was a Government of the people by a minority of the people for the majority. He explained an electoral system which he thought would be a much more satisfactory one, as ensuring representation of the whole of the people. Mr Palmer went on to defend the recent appointments to the Legislative Council, seeing that ''new blood was constantly needed in the Upper House. He looked on the Upper House as a safeguard against hasty legislation, and the recent now appoinomenta would make it a moro representative institution He hold thab it was better that ton good Acts should be thrown oub by Parliament, than thab one bad law should be placed on the statute book. He referred to the past legislation of tho ses° on and gave credit to the Ballance Snmenb for many excellent pieces of legislation, instancing theßankruptcy-Act, he Land Acb.the Unclaimed Lands, Ac j. the Manure Adulteration Act, and other Acs. While he agreed with the majority ot the legation of the past session, he did notS toto with the Acts ot the Governtent. While there was uneulbivutod land 'mil which g.ave the Government authority to borrow &,000 a year from the, Trust t? lu-Hut ournoso. He also objected KSo BillTo Boordfaß-houM BUI. iSSmer concluded his address amidst ap: P] After a number of. queatlena had.been

a9kod Mr Palmer, he was accorded a vote of thanks for his address, with an expression of appreciation of his services by tho Devonport electors while he had represented tho Waitemata electorate in Parliament.