OTHER FEATURES OF LAST SESSION.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7546, 8 May 1890, Page 5

OTHER FEATURES OF LAST SESSION.

The OrUnlhal Evidence 1 Act, Introduced by Mr Hutchison, was referred to as a step ih advance of any of the colonies or the mother country, and one likely to be followed* elsewhere. The Ward-Hislop incident was alluded to at length,- and the action of the Opposition in criticising Mr Hislop's "conduct commendedi One act' of last session, the appointment of the Sweating Commission, which waa moved for by two members of the Opposition,' would, he thought, be more farreaching in its effect than any measure carried fdr years,'for he held the colony could hot afford at this time of day. especially'considering the attitude of labor all over the world, to allow a stigma to rest on this colony that they Were laying the foundation of a system condemned by every civilised nation. The inquiry wotild bring to light the grievances, if any, that existed; and that was the only way of adjusting the wrongs. The question was one affecting everyone, whether capitalist or laborer, as no capitalise could feel safe while the great bulk of the people en* trusted with thefranchise were dissatisfied with the relations existing between them. Passing on to ths measures thrown out, Mr Ballance alluded first to the Hare system ot representation, pointing out that it was beyond the comprehension of the average elector, and that the size of districts would have been a great drawback co young politicians and candidates who were not wealthy. The Electors' Registration Bill bad c been thrown out, as the present law was more simple; and the Corrupt Practices Bill, because it favored wealthier candidates, and would be a hardship to those without carriages and other luxuries of their own. He was 'oi opinion that an improvement could be made on the present law, but objected to revolutionary aad reactionary legislation, and thought tbey should follow constitutionally the practice of England, and as far as possible give equal electoral dlataricts and single electorate*. He believed that by the destruction of these Bills the Opposition -had-.'earned-the gratitude of the colony. 1&; had been charged against the Opposition that they had thrown out the Charitable Aid Bill, but this was not so. It had been condemned ail over the colony, and ; the Minister is charge had not the boldness to bring it on for & second reading .Theyhad rejected the proposal to construct a number of railways, which were to have been provided for by the Kauri Forest revenues, because they .knew there were no each revenues, ana that ia 1891 the advances would have been consolidated, aud further borrowing would have taken place, and they thought that if borrowing waa intended it should be done openly, and not sub rota, He, had opposed an attempt to raise the school age, aud not to take tree education above ths fourth standard, on the ground* that* the children of the working classes .had te ga w school at aa early age* ac fcbey

could not be kept there any length ot time, and that the benefits of thehigher standards' were mainly availed of by per* sons who were able to pay» ...He had supported the Private School Bill, which applied principally to Catholics, aud enabled their schools in the large centres of gipulatiea to ha aided by public grants, c was opposed to denominational education, but did not think that this measure would have the effect of introducing it; ou the contrary, it would create much greatet Interest in the present system, and tend tc strengthen it. He put this matter fairly, before them, as he might be accused of having changed hia opinions. He was not aware he had done so, aa ha bad always maintained that it waa their duty to encourage a system which would enable the blessing, ot education to be imparted to the whole population of the oolony. He had voted for the Eight Hours Bill, but in his opinion it would be better for Unions by combination to secure this boon than to attempt to get it by legislation. He did not hold the Government responsible foi the Railway Employees Bill, It having beaa introduced by them at the request of th« Railway Commissioners,buthehad opposed It aa most unfair and unjust In its provisions. The measure had been unlver sally condemned by employees aud wat not likely to be re-Introduced. He had been blamed for stating that it bad been the intention of tbe Railway Com mi* sioners to reduce wages, and he waa etill assured, cm the most positive Information, that this had been their intention, but instead of doing so they had adopted th. tactics ot employing boy labor, which ha believed to be dangerous to the publio* i NEXT SESSION. It was said that next session would bi short. Whether it was or not the Onpo sition would not delay business, aad U the Government had no policy tha aoonet tbey went to tbe country the better, s< that they might fight out their principles at the hustings. He had been and was still opposed so the reduction of not because it meant the loss of twentyfour seats, but because it was a retrograde step. At present there was no com muuity of interest iv many of the constituencies, and with set dement going ob and population increasing, he thought th* numbers might have remained as thej were. DEE-SNOB. He condemned the proposal to create* fiartlally paid force at the four large Genres, and abolish the country volunteers, The country could not afford any Increased expenditure in this direction, and h« thought that with the protection off th* British fleet, for which they were to £25,000 a year, tbe colony waa safe from any attack by Russia.

BORROWING AND TAXATION. ..,, With respect to borrowing, he thought they should stop borrowing entirely) for a time, and pointed out that the fluctuations in the colony's credit in London were mainly due to the •bulling and<: H beafc ing" of large Syndicates, who u&sd the colony to their own advsatag®, Theory of selling the railways had been introduced by those deslrota ot doing away with the property tax, and he was astonished that Mr firyee <a£ Waikato had advocated selling the sail ways. If agitation by employees waft to go on, he (Mr Ballance) considered it wiser to remove the grievances and retain the railways, reducing the rates on produce whenever possible, as be was qutta sure that if they passed Into the hands Of Syndicates thoy would not be run for the : benefit of the colony. He Ob* jected to this colony entering Into aa Australasian Federation. He thought they should look to tbe Mother Coautrs ana retain their right to a voice in tbfl affaire of the empire when the time cams for strengthening the bonds that at present existed. He did not think that fcfcs colony could stand tho heavy loss reduction in the ocoan postage would roeaßu and he believed a preferable reform would be a penny postage when the colony could afford it. Referring to the single tait, he could not see that it waa -practicable, and did not think the fcloM had come for tbe substitution of a land and income tax for the property tax, but thought that under the latter agricultural implements and machinery should be exempted ttP to £2000. He also believed the tax should be graduated, for he though! the great estates, of this country were one of the causes of New Zealand standing still, and he pointed out that the argu utents of those who stated that at th< ; death of the present owners tbe estate* I were split up, waa not correct, aa wa« I shown by recent estates left in trust. With respect to the reduction of eh' Customs, he thought if they had a surplui they could not do better than reduce tbe duties on the necessaries of life, instancing that on tea, which should, aa far as possible, done away with. Coming to. X,AI?D ADMmiSTKATION

Mr Ballance spoke at considerable leugfch on the policy of tbe present Government, and pointed out that selling 2000 acre blocks of land did not encourage settle* meat, and wan not good iv the long run for labor. With regard to the village settlement scheme, one would imagine that they bad only established four or nve settlements, whereas there were no fewer than sixty-two in the colony, and not.a single complaint had been heard against! those iv the South Island; but, heeauM two t. f the settlements north of Auckland required assistance for a year or two tv€ system was condemned as a, failure, attd with respect to the village settlements b« pointed put they had placed 900 sons 0% settlers and heads of families on the th, and not a single word had. been, said against theqa. He believed the of that system had more to do with tht departure of the 10,000 people Whblell the colony .than all the other causes put to* gethe., because the present sy&teia of putting up lauds left mci without tho hope of gutting a pla« to settle down iv. He maintained ,wut these two Systems, properly c&isl&d.ont would do a great deal to restore conft deuce in the,colony. Iv conclusion, m thanked theoa for the confidence shown to him In the p&at, and said thai so long as they were satisfied Un refcttfs him he would endeavor to do hisduty. ; After a few Questions, the spe&ktsrre ; celved au unanimOua vote of and thanks. .*"..,'■