The Press. TUESDAY, MAY 16, 1893. A CANDID FRIEND.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8484, 16 May 1893, Page 4

The Press. TUESDAY, MAY 16, 1893. A CANDID FRIEND.

: Mb. E. Thompson, M.H.B. for Marsden, has nob occupied a conspicuous place in Parliament, and has never made Iblmsdlf famous except for a somewhat bitter attack upou a, public, servant, now dead, which celled , fo£th a most scathing reply from a prominent member of tho vpxesj&tUj Opposition, ■ Of late Thompson has supported the present Government, "but 'whether the incident referred to has had anything to do with his present attitude we are nob prepared, to say. At any rate the member for Marsden is counted upon in party divisions to support the socalled Liberal Government. He is by no means, however, a warm-hearted; follower of hia leaders. A few evenings ago Mr. Thompson , addressed his constituents at Waipu, and in the i course of his remarks explained that he was ft lappotfcer of the Government in a general way, although never a blind supporter. He explained further that he had found two or three weak spolis ia the admioiietrfttion | of the present Ministry, and he thought that a little honest criticism , might do them good. We KaVd read the tep6rt of ilr. Thompsons speech, as given in the columns of an Auckland contemporary, and it appears to us that it -con-" , sists of little else than faulty finding from beginning to end. j Speaking of the administration of Native lands he referred to jthe,j case of Mr. Ltjndon's purchase on behalf of the Government, which formed afc Ja» | session. Ministers, ib will be remembered, agreed to pay 7s 6d per acre for certain Native lands, and as a matter of faot did pay that amount for them, although only 4s 6d reached the Natives, the balance, some £785, being retained byTSTr. IjUNDOn for his own use. As the ! affair is at present occupying the Courts in -Auckland, - we cannon, of course, discdss Mr. LundoiTs conduct at present, Wfeat we have to «ay, however, in n& way fiffeots the merits of the csee, bat xleah with the purchase itself. Mr. Thompson tells tie that " mn immense Quantity had been purchased by the Government for the Bum oi 7s 6d per acre, two-thirds of it befog mountain tops and unfit* for fcettleinenfe. The remainder Wai of Inferior quality, and probably may fiell for 53 per acre. This land had been in the toarket for ik Jpng ..^time, at 2s 6d per acre." Mr TfiOMPaoN therefore charges the Government, and we think rightly, with a want of ordinary bi«it*6eV tScfc

in paying auoh a high price for a large quantity of land, a considerable portion of which is wholly unfit for settlemeut of any kind. Seeing that there is a great demand j for suitable land for settlement, this waste of funds upon valueless mountain i tops cannot, be allowed to be passed Over in eilence. \Ve may therefore expect, when the House meets, to find Mr. Lundos's purchases once more occupying the attention of the Legislature. Still acting the role of tne caudid friend, Mr. Thompson deuounced in strong language the conduct of the Government in usurping the power ot appointing as many members as they thought fib to the Upper Houae, so that their measures might be certain of passing without revision. He thought that the Council had shown its value in modifying a considerable number of panic measures rushed through the House by Minis* tere, but if it was to be made a mere reflex of the Lower House he would prefer to see it abolished altogether. Mr. Thompson, also, dwelt upon whab he called the "strange and erratic ,, proceedings in the administration of the property tax department, which had resulted in the values of certain properties being j largely reduced in Hawke's Bay, while those in Canterbury were maintained at such a level as had forced the owners of the Cheviot estate to offer tbeir property to the Government, and he predicted I a lively discussion on the subject when the House mat. The Small Farm Association regulations next came in for some hostile criticism, Mr. Thompson declaring that they had "done much harm in locking up for three years large blocks of land from settlement. ,, Hβ maintained that the regulations had been used for the purpose of so locking up land from settlement at the iuatigation of persons who never had "the slightest) intention of settliug on ib." About the only thiug this caudid supporter of ilie Government had to say in their favour was that vhey passed the " Unclaimed Lands Act," which would prove of some value to his district. Ho also spoke of the " liberal land laws " of the colony, but qualified his approval by deolaring himself a warm supporter of the freehold tenure. Having said this much, he immediately relapsed into oriticism once more. He doubted the genuineness of the surplus, " which cannot be relied upou as quite as large as appears on paper." Mr. Thompson, supporter of the Government as he is "in a " general way/ , evidently distrusts them in the matter of taxation. It would be necessary, he told hie hearers,as "country settlers" to watch closely every attempt ab altering the incidence of taxation, which mighb result in placing " increased hardens upon them, several attempts in that direction having already been made." Hβ even concluded hie speech by solemnly warning them to wake up and watch the political affairs of the colony. He urged them as country sebtlers to assert themselves and their interests, so " that class legislation might nob be introduced, and which might prove greatly to their detriment;." As Mr, Thompson received a unanimous vote of confidence, we may conclude that the Waipu electors have (rfeo arrived at the conclusion that their interests are not quite safe in the hands of the present Government.