The Press. THURSDAY MAY 25, 1882.

Press, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5217, 25 May 1882, Page 2

The Press. THURSDAY MAY 25, 1882.

THB debate on the Address in reply, Jft Monday tdgbt, was mainly confined to file QpposH-on, and was afc exeeedmgly tame _id%ninterestteg t_-air. The attack was led by the member for Akaroa, who, it is understood, will be selected as leader of the party, bnt who in the meantime has consented to act in conjunction with Mr. Macandrew until final arrangements have been made. If we cannot congratulate Mr. Montgomery on the grasp and vigor of his remarks, they indicate, at any rate, a disposition on his part to deal with the questions before the Honse in a calm and dispassionate spirit. If the speech was feeble and common place, it showed no bitterness; and in the course of it a promise was given that, while the measures of the Government would be duly and fairly criticised, there would be no factious opposition indulged in. The promise was no doubt made in all good faith, but we very much question whether Mr. Montgomery fully realised the extent of his responsibility when he made it. The discnssion of Monday night was occupied with two quite separate and distinct questions—the conduct of the late Government, and the policy of their successor, as set forth in the Governors Speech. The Opposition are naturally exceedingly unwilling that the Hall Administration should get any credit for the change which has come over the affairs of the colony within the last year or two. Accordingly, it is attempted to be shown that the comparative prosperity which we now enjoy is due to causes altogether beyond the control of that Government, and that, therefore, they are in no way entitled to praise on this account. But we are not aware that any one has ever seriously maintained that any Administration, however prudent, can make a State prosperous if there aro other and larger causes which stand in the way of that prosperity. What, however, has been maintained is, that it ia in consequence of the action taken by the Hall Government, during their term of office, that New Zealand was in a position to take advantage of the wave of prosperity which we are told has visited all the Australian Colonies in turn, and has now reached this colony also. Neither Mr. Montgomery nor Sir George Grey, nor any of the other leaders of the party will ever succeed in persuading the people of New Zealand that they were wrong when in 1879 they demanded the expulsion of the Grey Government from office. They may talk till they are black in the face, the one about the " larger causes " which have produced the late change, and the other about some imaginary sum of money which was in the Treasury when he 1 resigned, but no one will take the slightest notice of them. The actual state of affairs during that critical period in 1879 is too well known for them Ito succeed in deceiving the country in the slightest degree, even lat this distance of time. Not only did the Hall Government find the finances in a disordered condition, it was abso- ; lutely the case that no provision had been I made by their predecessors before retiring for the most pressing payments. One lof the very first +«hings which the j Treasurer had to do was to go down to the House and ask for power to issue £200,000 of deficiency bit- —although £400,000 worth had already been issued —to meet current payments. As for the loan, it was discovered that half a million of it had been spent during the first three months of the then current financial year, and engagements entered into which necessitated the finding' of three-quarters of a million more by the end of the half year. .All this was done before a sixpence of the five million loan was raised, and before it was known that it could be floated at all. Such was the state of a___ira when the Hall Government took office, and the change which has been effected between that time aad now is simply marvellous. No wonder that their opponents grudge them the credit whioh the colony generally have so heartily given them. . But the Opposition would show a great deal more wisdom if they would let the past entirely alone. With a folly, whioh to us is simply astonishing, t hey, year after year, persist in bringing up such questions, although they ought to be satisfied by this time that the only effect of such a proceeding is to injure their own cause. Then, the criticism which was indulged in the other night upon the Native polioy of the late Government was equally futile. We could have understood such attacks had, by any mischance, Mr.' Bryce's policy proved a failure. Had bloodshed resulted at Parihaka; had the King Natives broken out in open revolt; had none of the murderers and would-be murderers, so long protected, been arrested, they might have been able to mako something of a case against Mr. Bryce. But when he took such extraordinary precautions to command success, the position is altogether altered. The Native difficulty has in fact been settled. If the strict letter of the law has been exceeded, the peace of the colony has been secured. Bloodshed has been averted. Hiroki has been brought to trial for a cold-blooded murder, and condemned to death. Two other Maoris, charged with attempting to take life, have been seized in the Waikato, and will no doubt be brought to trial in due course. Titokowaru is in safe control. In fact, the Native policy of the late Government has done as much as any other of their administrative acts to restore confidence, and enable the people of New Zealand to pursue, undisturbed, the peaceful arts of colonization. On the whole, it must; be confessed that the attacks made on the late Government, in the course of Monday's discnssion, have been of the feeblest description, and have simply succeeded in once more placing before the colony in a striking light the immense service the Hall Ministry have done to it during the time they were in office. That part of the debate devoted to a discussion of the policy of the present Government appears to have had reference mainly to the action of the Colonial Treasurer in consulting the local bodies on the question of local government, to the loan, and to t_e Government proposals for leasing Crown lands. As regards the last of these questions, considerable diversity of opinion apparently prevails. Sir George Grey thinks that it is now a matter of no importance whatever, whether the small portion of Crown lands left is leased or otherwise disposed of. Mr Montgomery is content with making the sage raraark that a'great question has been raised, and then p-oceeds to quote from the speech of Mr. -Hall, at Iteeston, to show that the late Premier does., not agree with the present Goven_a*nt on t__ subject—as

if whatever to do with file matter. speakers thought that the froposals did not go far enough, and that the House should be invited to pass s law making all their lands inalienable. Major Atkinson did not throw much additional light on the subject, and we must therefore be content to wait till such time as the Government . Hnfold their plan, and submit reasons for the course they wish to pursue, before we are in a position to come to a sound conclusion regarding it. It is satisfactory to note th!t members seem to with the necessity of proceeding ™jj«» utmost caution in connection with further borrowing. In the Governor s speech the subject was referred to ma very guarded manner, and the leader of the Opposition has been at pains to make it clear thathe has no desire to encourage anything Hie recklessness in contracting fresh liabilities. He spoke in favor of a policy similar to that indicated by the Colonial Treasurer last session, and by the late Premier when addressing his constituents at Leeston. Other speakers adopted a similar tone. If these views are shared in by the rest of the party, the Government ought, in connection with a new loan, to have no difficulty in proceeding with the utmost caution and deliberation. The only other point raised in the debate worth speaking of here is the charge brought against the Government of passing over the representatives of the people, and appealing directly to the local faodies on the question of local government. It seems to be thonght that Major Atkinson has treated the House badly in issuing his famous circular, and that he should have been content to leave the question to be dealt with by the members who had just come fresh from their For our own part we see very little in the point. If this question of local government is to be dealt with at all, it is of the utmost moment that the best possible plan should be devised, and the Government are surely entitled to take such steps as they deem desirable to enable them to frame a workable and satisfactory scheme. Had the Government invited the Opposition to assist them in passing a measure which would meet with general approval, they would probably have been told that the province of an Opposition was not to frame policies, but to criticise those submitted to them by the Administration. If the Government submit any plan during the session based on the information and recommendations they receive from the local bodies, it will still be in the power of the Opposition to criticise these proposals, and to reject them if they so desire it, provided they have a majority at their back. ,_