THE BUDGET DEBATE.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8867, 9 August 1894, Page 5

THE BUDGET DEBATE.

The debate apon the Financial Statement is now fasc drawing to a close. Mr Lawry started off this afternoon, and addressed the House in hie moat vigorous style. He certainly made a stirring speech. . He commenced by. calling in question. several features'of Mr Massey's utterance last night, though he referred to the member for Waitemata in generous and respectful terms. Major Steward and Mr Bucnanan followed, going over the now well-trodden paths, and introducing little or no fresh matter. After the dinner adjournment, however, the i debate became extremely interesting. Mr George Hutchison and the Minister- of £!duo&tion had been waiting for one another for several days and to-night the former rose to speak to crowded galleries, saying he would no longer keep back the Minister's carefully prepared and intellectual speech from the House. After pouring withering satire upon the way in which toe Government bad avoided theme of the word " borrowing" in the Budget,' be proceeded to state that the term "liberal" had fallen in sorry the present Premier arrogated to , himself the. leadership of the true Liberals. Mr Hutchison, went on to criticise the Budget proposals ia an exceedingly able and relentless manner, concluding with an eloquent denunciation of the policy of the Government a3 a record of dishonesty and duplicity, and he warned the House against adopting a Budget which contained pro., posata that meant borrowing, borrowing, sorrowing, from one end to, the other, Borrowing Was hidden under such terms as ".providingfor" and "asking for." Mr Hutchison finished up with a very slever take-off of the leading characteristics of the gentlemen forming the Ministry. The Minister of Education.ab once rose to reply, commencing with a little pleasant banter* ing.. He then traversed the points of Mr Hutchison's speech, and pasted on to justify the action of the Government ia connection with the Tre&» sary Bill. Mr Reeves did not conceal the fact that he had been a most diligent student of the opinions of the Opposition -Press of the colony upon the Budget oii bis colleague, and while bis irony wot somewhat tempered with humour, hemadenothing more clear than that in the estimation of the Government the iFisanciai Statement had been largely discounted in public estimation by the published opinions of its adverse critics. After these two speeches the debate fell very flat..