PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 10059, 10 June 1898, Page 5

PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION.

THE HON. J. M'KENZIE AT RICOARTON.

The Hon. J. Sl'Kenzie, Minister for Lands, gave a political address in tho Biocarton electorate last night at the local schoolhouse. There was a very large attendance, including a number of .ladies. Mr W. Boag occupied the chair, and referred to what he called the eveniug'a entertainment. They were invited to a treat, the treat of an address from the Minister of Lands. He asked for a feir hearing. (Applause.) Mr M'Kenzie was reoeived with applause. He had, he said, come before them for two reasons. The first was for the purpose of defendingthe Legislature and the Government of which he was a member, and secondly for the purposes of protecting his family from the slanders cast upon them in that same schoolhouse some time ago by one of the leaders of the Opposition. (Applause.) Hβ detested on any occasion to have anything to say regarding personalities in politics. It was very much better when they were left out. Ho was not one *f those who started that sort of thing, but when his family was accused of being engaged in something criminal ho had a right to protect them, and if it were not for Mr Rolleston's statements regarding his sons' regarding Bushy Park he would not have been there. But he did not want it to be cast up against his family that they -were eu« gaged in any transactions, and that he was unable to defend them. If the handle were turned on some of these people who were doing this sort of thing, they mitjht nob come out so well as ho had a dono. He could promise them that if they continued he would come to Christchurch and hire one-of the theatres thero, and turn the handle on them, and show the misstatements that had been made. Thero were two sides to every question, and he wanted a fair hearing for his side. The opponents of the Government in tho colony of Now Zealand were very active in misrepresenting the actions of the Government. The Tory papers would lead people to believe that the Government was incapable of a single good action. The Tory papers had the means of circulating matters regarding the Liberal party which the Government had not. They found that the Press Agency and a large number of newspapers in the colony were continually opposed to them, and tho National Association active in publishing anything they thought proper regarding the Government. In Wellington hundredweights of literature were disseminated by this party regarding the Government, with the idea that it might oatch the eye of some one and damage tho Government. The only chance the Government had was to come before the people as he was [ doing* It was true that in Canterbury they bad two papers, which gave both sides of the question. In many parts of the colony this continual misrepresentation was doing damage to the party. Tho Liberal party had no means of supporting its Press. Papers must live on advertisements, and these advertisements must come from the moneyed party, who had money at their disposal to carry on their business. These people gave their advertisements to tho Tory papers. In Otago not a Liberal paper could live; I they were boycotted and starved out. The Ministry consequently had to como before the people. In this press the Opposition traduced the private characters of Ministers as well as their legislation. As a rule, the man slandered was the last to hear of it himself. * ft opposition policy. Referring to the Opposition, he said the opponents of the Government had no political policy of their own. He had; heard they were about to adopt one. It wob their policy to traduce the Government in every shape and form. He instanced how the Opposition had continually prophesied the defeat of the Government on every election and every seseion, yet the Government had come back with a sound majority. They were told that they would drive capital out of New Zealand. That special prophecj ! had not come true, and they were able on each occasion they mot Parliament to meet it with a surplus. People wore told it waa a bogus surplus. Again this year they were ,fcpld jt> was a bogus surplus. Before they could 'show that they must show that the ComptroUerrG«neral the officers of the Treasnry were con* Bpiring w&h tho Government to delude the electors. The Comptroller - General waa not the servant of the Government. He was tho servant of Parliament, and could report to Parliament. Those who cried out that it was a bogus surplus would have to show that M"r Warbuxton was bringing false balance-sheets before them, and prove their case. There one single member of the Opposition who would cay that he would do any such thing. Neither ho nor Mr FitzGerald before him would have done Buch a thing. They (the Opposition) fell back on the question of corruption. Bepple were told that the Government was the most corrupt Government that ever was in the world. Well, they had failed in everj case to bring such a charge home against the Government. Surely these people . would be able to bring home one case. J Dnring the time the Premier was at Home the question of corruption was to be taken up when the House, met, and proved against the Government. Hβ was acting-Premier at that time, and tied hand and foot; in Wellington, and could not leave it to defend himself or the Government. They had had an opportunity of proving any case of corruption when the House met, and had utterly failed to prove one case. He gave an instance of the corruption of the Opposition in connection with the recent Mataura eleotion, when Mr Ward was asked a question whether Mr Seddon was paid for each portfolio he held, and had answered that he had received £1000 a year of public money during the . eighteen years he had been in tho House. He had been one of the skinflint party and advocated reduction ; but aa soon as he got into power he raised the salaries all round. He had made £18,000 since he had been in power. This was the sort of thing the people were led to believe. Mr Seddon had. of couree, only received his honorarium until he became a Minister, when he received £800; when he became Premier he received £1000. The reply to the question was to make the people believe that he was paid for each of his portfolios. Mr Seddon was never one of the skinflint party, and never raised the salaries when ho got into office. Time after time the Conservatives had tried to raise th% salaries. When they got into office they would reap the benefit and put the blame on the present Government. (Laughter.) The reply had not been Mr Ward's. It was manufactured in Wei-

lington, and sent down to him to use to the injury of the Government. Many euch were sent out. This was a sample of the corruption the Opposition tried to make the people believe the Government were guilty of. Calculation would show that Mr Seddon had received less than £7000, and he had tc keep his family on that. In addition, many demands were made on his pocket, and he. was a generous man. (The speaker war interrupted at this stage by an individual at the back of the hall). Continuing, he said the corruption had ended in a charge against the Government of bribing con' stituencies by building roads and bridges, and by enabling settlers to obtain cheap money. If money was spent in the district of a Government opponent it was legitimate expenditure; but if in the district oi a Government supporter, it was bribery and corruption. He described members who or the public platiorm declared against borrowing, and came up the backstairs to him to try to get a vote on the Estimates. The trouble was that for many years the Conservatives had governed the colony, add when a Liberal Government was formed of men who had risen from the ranks, these people did not think it possible they could govern New Zealand. It was the same regarding the Civil Service; they thought •- no one was fit for it except their poor relatives. (Laughter). SPECIFIC CHARGES." General charges had been made, he now came to the specific charges. One was the charge.against the Premier, and the amount of money he had spent on his visit to London. He had been sent Home, and had don®, his duty and done it well. Before he went Home he was allowed to charge hie own expenses. He charged nothing except what he was out of pooket. He quoted a comparative return, giving the expenses of various Ministers of the Conservative party who had gone Home. Sir Julius Vogel on his first visit had cost the country £3161, and on his second £8877. Sir William Fitzherbert had oharged £6134, and Messrs Stotherston tad Bell £5640. Hβ did writ

wish to «ay (or one moment that one o! them had charged sixpence more than he had a right to, but they should compare these with Mr Seddon's before they charged him with spending more than he should have done. Another accusation against the Right Hon. Mr Seddon was in connection with his being en the advisory board of a Home syndicate. A great deal had been made of this by the Tory Press, which had however failed to prove that the Premier's duties on the boferrl anil as a Minister had come into conflict, and until they did it was futile to try to show that Mr Seddon bad no right to tlo something for himself. Did they wish Ministers to jjo out of office paupers? Their salaries would nut keep them, and surely when they went out of office they ehouW have something to fall back upon. The Premier was a man of his word. He had said he would not let his duty to the people clash with that to the board, or that that to the board should clash with that to the people; and he would not. (Applause.) An accusation against him (Mr M"Kenzie) personally was that he had transferred a small interest he had in the New Zealand Colonial Co-operative Conaignment Company, and that he advised the company a 9 one of the advisers. He saw no reason why he and hie fellow producers should not, if possible, yet a little more for their produce, and his ollice had nothing more to do with the interest he had in the concern than had the man in the moon. He was quite right to be on the board so long a? his position did not interfere with his duty as Minister ef the Crown. (Applause.) THE HON. W. ROLLESTOJf'S CHARGES. He now came to the charges made against them by the hon. the member for Riccarton. They were accused of robbiug the people of their liberties, and of altering tho standing orders to deprive the people of their liberties. What were the facts? The standing orders were altered by the House of Representatives, and not by the Government, on the report of the Select Committee. How could the Government be accused of altering tho-e orders? (A Voice—Becauee you have a majority.") Wei', majorities must always rule—(Applause)- and it "Hansard" were looked up it would be seen that many gentlemen opposed to the Government supported the alterations, which were to prevent stone walling and allow the Government to get on with their work. If the Opposition got into office tomorrow they would be tht> last pereons to repeal the standing orders ; they would find them very handy to them. (A Voice— Very good.) It was Ministers rather than members who had cause to complain, for on one occasion when he introduced a bill he had to reply in thirty minutes to thirty ■peeches made by opponents, only one minute thus being allowed to each opponent. Then they were accused of interfering with the choice of the people in selecting their representatives. This meant tljat the members of the Government were to be quiet; they were to go nowhere; they ■were not to contradict the lies and slanders which were made against them. They were to allow the Conservatives and the. National Association to circulate these stories and not contradict them. When Ministers were charged with sins of commission and omission surely they had a right to reply.y (Applause and interruption). He hoped they would have an opportunity before long of choosing their representative, and he hoped they would be very careful before they cast their vote in favour of one or another. THE I'ARLIAMRNTARY BCILDING3. The next accusation by Mr Eolleston was of having committed an unconstitutional act by starting the Parliamentary Buildings in Wellington, which were to cost*£4o,ooo instead of £7000, which was the amount voted. He explained that the £7000 was all that could be expended up to the end of the financial year, and he did not think that amount was spent in that time, and there was nothing unconstitutional about the vote. These things often occurred, and he instanced the Selwyn bridge, for which £5000 was voted, as all that could be spent tip to the 31st March. But it would cost more, and he expected the colony -would have to find another £1000. This way of voting amounts was because they did not wish to load the Estimates with money they could not spend in the time and then be accused of providing surpluses from non-expenditure. They could not please these people, because they were not to be. pleased, for no matter what the Government did they would distort it to euit themselvea. (A Voice—••♦Of course, you can't please everybody" and laughter.) THE ATTACK UPON JUSTICE CONOLLY. He was now coming to personal matters. The Hon. Mr Rolleston had accused him of Attacking a Judge of the Supreme Court. If a Supreme Court Judge forgot himself, ac did the Judge in question, so long as he (the speaker) was a Minister of the Crown, he claimed the right to admonish the Judge in the way he had done, under his oath of allegiance to the Queen and his oath to see the laws of the country were carried out to their fullest extent. (Applause.) What he (Mr M'Kenzie) did was to place in the box a criminal and a perjurer who was accused of dummyism. That man was found guilty, and the Judge, to show his contempt of him t (the speaker), imprisoned him until the rieing of the Court. That was the way a perjurer was dealt with by Judge Conolly. If that was one of the sins of which he was guilty, he pleaded guilty to it, as he did out do his duty as Minister of the Crown. BUSHY PARK. The next accusation was in connection with Bushy Park, and they were led to almost believe that he had been guilty of smuggling the property into his sons' possession. He was also accused that he won his election by promising to have Bushy Park cat up, and then he was accused of preventing it from being out up for settlement. All these statements were incorrect. To how that such could not have been the case, he read a dooument signed by the members of the Land Purchase Board, Mr S. P. Smith, Chairman, and Surveyor-General of the colony; Mr J. McGowan, Chief Commissioner of Taxes ; and Mr J. P. Maitland, Commissioner of Lands for Otago. This dooument was dated two years before the M'Kenzie Bros, got the estate, and Mr Rolleston should have known of that document, and that tho3e gentlemen would not ■ign one which was false. Mr Rolleston must have known that the estate must have been recommended by the Purchase Board before a Minister of the Crown could touch it, and therefore should have been more accurate in this instance. He (Mr M'Kenzie) refuted the statement that at his election he promised that the estate should be cut up; and, knowing of the existence of the document he had referred to, how could he have made such a statement ? Mr Rolleston had said that the McKenzie Bros, were not called upon to pay a sixpence before entering into possession. They had to paj for implements and stock £4020, and their first cheque was for £2470 to the Purchase Board. Mr Rolleston in that room had charged his boys with being connected with a blunder worse than a crime. He challenged Mr Rolleston to mako that statement outside that schoolhouse, and he would give him an opportunity of proving it in the Supreme Court. (Applause.) It was the bounden duty of Mr Rolleston to make an apology to his boys. If he did not do that he should make a statement that they could take it into Court and bring evidence to prove it, and if ho did not then he (Mr M'Kenzie) would on every platform brand him from the North Cape to Stewart's Island. (Applause. A Voice —"That would quiet him.") They could take his word for it that John was able to take care of himself—(applause),— and to help the people of the colony he had gone through shoals of abuse trom the Conservatives and the Tory Press. Mr J. T. Ford rose to make a question, and was received with hooting, cries of "sit down " and " chair." Mr M'Kenzie said the question could be asked when be sat down. Mr Ford, who was attain treated to interruptions, asked if a better price could not bave been got for the estate if it had been advertised on the same terms on which it was sold to his sons. Mr M'Kenzie answered that the estate was advertised, and was open for two years to any one who thought of it to apply for it. He was of opinion that his sons gave lOeper acre more than it was worth, but they purchased against his advice. (Aeoiaaae.) The next thing of which Mr RoUeston accused him was of making the Adyanoes to .Settlers Board a political board; thatj&e put the Solicitor-General °j***& mad<S uimteK ohainaan. Now the tttttrftor-GeaenA never was a member, nor wa» he ohatanen, and he was appointed to hu seat by the House. The* showed them

for Riccarton were worth. (A Voice— " Give Mr Rolleston a chance; he's not here," and applause.) MINISTERIAL EXPENSES. Another accusation was in respect to a return of the expenses of himself and the Premier in travelling through New Zealand. Did they believe that that return wae never got? Ihe return had been supplied for years, and his expenses and those of his colleague had been laid on the table of the House signed by the Auditor-General of the colony. To make such statements to try and bamboozle the people as had been done was unworthy of such a man as Mr Rolleston. That gentleman forgot to tell them that when he was Minister of Lands he got £1250 a year and £2 per day, while he (Mr M'Kenzie) got £800 and 30a a day. (Laughter and applause.) THE CPPER HOtTSK. Then they were accused by Mr Rolleston of stuffing the Upper House by people of the right colour. He bad only done what the Conservatives had done before him, and it was their duty to see that they had such a strong position in that House that their mea-ures had a fair chance of being carried. But unfortunately for them some of those they put there became Conservatives. They put in twelve at one time who by their opponents were called the twelve apostles. Well, the twelve apostles had fallen off from grace. (Loud laughter.) To show what the Conservatives did, he mentioned the appointments made by Sir H. Atkinson when he was defeated at the elections. FREEHOLD TENORS. One plank in the policy which Mr Rolleston announced, if he got into power, was to have freeholds in connection with leaseholds on any block of land purchased by settlers from the Government. If that were done, there would be an end to the land for settlement policy, for leaseholders would demand that they should have the same right as the freeholders. (A Voice — " Right.") It was all wrong. If they did that they would be. back exactly were they were, and there would again be the aggregation of large estates. PLANKS IN THE POLICY OF THE OPPOSITION. Mr Rolleston had said the first plank of his policy was to enable the institutions of the country to have fair play. That was exactly what the institutions had, except when Mr Rolleston's party blocked the way. They blocked the Government in giving benefits to the small settlers; they had opposed everything that the Government had done, and they asserted that the institutions of the country did not get fair play. Another was that the Parliamentary machine was to be made to go smoothly. This, too, was exactly what the Government wanted. The crux of the policy was this—Mr Rolleston had been three years out of Parliament, and when he came back he found the Opposition was so bad that he proposed to introduce the Ten Commandments as part of the policy. If they doubted him (the speaker) they could refer to Mr Rolleston'a own speech. (Laughter). That meant that the party was so bad that it was necessary to introduce the Commandments to keep them straight. If so, they would no longer have graven images of money-bags' or sheep runs, and things of that sort. There was one important commandment that he would refer to, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." (Laughter, and a Voice, "Don't do it, then.") He was sure everyone throughout the length and breadth of the land would be glad to hear that that was a plank of tue Opposition policy. They would have no more slanders, out the truth in the future. Let them take the Tenth Commandment, "Thou ehalfnot covet thy neighbour's house," that was very "thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife." He never thought the Opposition so bad that they needed that sort of a plank. (Laughter). Mi* Rolleston did not accuse the Government of being guilty of this sort of thing, but his own party. Mr Rolleston had gone on to say that they were going to stick to land for settlement. The Government knew, however, that they did not approve of it; it suited them to say they were in favour of it to enable the people to return them to Parliament. After that they would see that it was inoperative. They could not be trusted. (A Voice—"Cut up Bushy Park.') Bushy Park, as he had already said, was not good enough to be cut up, and when divided would not be a large property. His sons would not have more than the law, allowed. MR BOLLESTON'B LAND POLICY. When Mr RoUeston was Minister of Lands he (the speaker) was one who supported his land policy, especially the perpetual lease clause, and if it had not been for himself and half-a-dozen other Liberals, who went across the floor of the House and supported him, he would not have got the clause passed. Tlien Mr Rolleston went out of the House, and Mr Richardson became Minister of Lands. He brought down a bill, which was passed in one night, abolishing the whole of the clauses. Mr Rolleston, although out of the House, was a power in the land. Why did he not raise his voice against it? But not a word did he say to (prove his sincerity. Mr Rolleston had " also accused the Government of having done nothing regarding education. They had the present system, the best system of education in any colony. They had not disturbed it. Why should they be accused of not having done anything regarding education? He had told them sufficient to show that Mr Rolleston had not been careful enough. He would have plenty to explain. Before he parted with Mr Rolleston he might say that the Press had accused him of coming to attack Mr Rolleston when hjo was seriously ill. Ten days before it published a paragraph that Mr Rolleston had almost recovered, and that was all he had had to go upon. At any rate, he had had his turn, MR BALLANCE'S FOLIOS'. He had been accused in the House of deSarting from the policy laid down by Mr aUance. When Mr Ballance was alive not one nasty thing that had been said of the present Government was not sa\d of him. Now when they found his policy was popular they accused the Government of departing from it. They had never departed from it. New matters had cropped up which the Government had to deal with; no one could say what was going to happen, seven years ahead. Mr Ballance had left it to them to amend or enlarge his policy as time went on. They had instituted the land and income tax and abolished the property tax, which was one of Mr Ballance's planks. Before that the property tax introduced by the Atkinson Government, and supported by Mr Rolleston, was m vogue, so that one paid for everything he owned. A man was taxed for the very blankets he slept in. How any settler in New Zealand could be insane enough to support such a policy he did not j know.. The Government had reduced the number of farmers in New Zealand that were paying taxation by 8000, and a large number more had been relieved. By putting the taxation on the absentees ana large estates they had put it on the proper shoulders. (Applause.) LAND FOR SETTLEMENT. v One of the main planks of the Government's policy when it took office was to put people on the land, and it was necessary that they should have the means to do it with. When they took office they had only a few scraps cf land suitable for settlement, all the best of the laud was taken up and occupied by the large estates under what was known as the gridiron system. They found that the land under settlement in Canterbury, Otago and Southland was taken up by large owners, and in the North Island they nad no land of any consequence, and they had had to buy land—a new experience in New Zealand. If Cheviot had not been bought where would the Cheviot settlers have been? They would either have had to leave the colony or the Government would have had to settle them. (Voice —" Didn't you try to sell it in

Australia and advertise it. in the Australian papers.") In reply Mr M'Kenzie said the Government never tried to sell it, and the information was incorrect. (Hear, hear.) The Press had called it a white elephant. Now there was not a single complaint. They had followed up that system in the whole of Canterbury, and he ventured to say that to-morrow Canterbury could use another 100.000 acres in the same way, and it would not I* his fauit if they did not have it. (A Voice—" You shall have it, Jock, and laughter.) This policy was part of the corruption of the Government. Why? Because the people who previously purchased land from the natives and sold to Europeans were out of a job. The interest on the outlay was paid by the farmers. (A Voice —"What about PuinohakaT) Yes, Pomohaka was paving 4i per cent. There were three sections no one would take up, and he put turnips in, and the result was that 4000 Tory sheep were sent from Oamaru to eat the Liberal turnips. (Laughter.) LIBERALISING THE LAND LAWS. This was another plank on the policy of the Ballance Government. They had dove so, and be would quote figures to prove it. Between 1891 and 1897 the increase in the land occupied had been 2,810,807 acres, and 13,213 selectors had been placed on the land. Taking four as an average family, this gave 52,872 souls who were on the lani. lie had purchased native lands in the North Island to the tune of 2.260,000 acres, at a cost of £558,000; 2693 miles of roads had been constructed, 1923 miles of bridle tracks, and 387 bridges of over 30ft span constructed. The roads amounted to £1,558,000, making a total cost of £2,116.000. Between the sums of money they derived from the surpluses each year, and what they had borrowed, they had a class of settlers, and it had cost £2,116,000. They had seen time after time in the Tory Press that the M'Kenzie system of l«ind policy was a failure. The best proof was that in 1891 the arrears of the Crown tenants was £52,891, equal to £14 per settler. In 1898 the arrears were £14,437, equal to £9 9s 5d per settler. The Crown tenants in 1890 numbered 12,164, now they numbered 16,292, or an increase of 4128; and yet the arrears were less by about a quarter than in 1890. That could not be called a ghastly I failure. They had established 179 village I settlements during their term of office. During Mr Richardson's term of office he had only created one small settlement. At present there were 1887 selectors occupying 34,716 acres, of which 28,882 acres were in cultivation. The money advanced in that time was £25,183. Those settlers had im-' provements to the value of £94,064; fortyfive improved farms had been put under occupation, comprising 526 settlers on an area of 50,318 acres, of which 13,573 acres was felled and 15,955 grassed, xae total values of improvements were £64,937, and the advances made, including the amount paid for roads, £60,000. In special settlements, to March 31st, 1898, the area held was 176,988 acres, the number of settlers was 1150 and the average holdings 154 acres. A great many of these people were artisans who had been taught to work before being placed on the land. A land sale was held at Wanganui on May 26th, of town and suburban lots at Taihape and.Raetahi. Out of 146 sections in Taihape 62 were disposed of for £755 10s; out of 13 suburban lots seven were disposed of for £345. In the township of Raetmhi 109 town sections were offered and 38 sold for £479 10s. Out of 20 suburban lots offered 11 were disposed of for £236 15s'. The Government got no credit for this, but if the people would go to the North Island they would find fallen bush and homesteads where before the present Government took office there were barren wildernesses. He went on to point out that under their policy of settlement where there had been ■wilderness there was now civilisation and progress, and he denied tbat their policy had been a ghastly failure. LAND FOR SETTLEMENT. Under their system they had purchased fifty estates of 155,844 acres, at a cosfc of £700,000, from 14s to £65 per acre, and they had 1083 settlers with their families upon them. He had endeavoured to get some land close to the place where he was speaking, but the price was too high, and they had not yet arrived at that stage by which they could compulsorily take the land in a packed community like that. They hoped to do more shortly. That was what their opponents called reckless borrowing. "Well,-if-it was, the people were ready for any amount of it. He was called upon for roads and bridges and land everywhere. We could not have that without we were prepared to pay the cost, and to meet that cost we must have borrowed money. Under the policy of cheap money to farmers, he claimed that the Government had lowered the rate of interest, for when the moneylenders found thut the Government were prepared to lend at lower rates they came down with their rates. They had lent no less than £150,000 to 5966 farmers, and they were prepared to advance another half million, but those who were already lending came down to the same rates as the Government. The real opposition to the Government was because they had provided a scheme to enable the people to get on the land, and because they could get cheap money without tolls, lawyers, aud commission agents. (Applause. OTHER LEGISLATION. Under their labour legislation he claimed that they had done a great deal for the working men, and he in&tanced as one good thing the Arbitration and-Conciliation Act, which, while it might need amendments and could be amended, had assisted the workmen without doing tiie employers any The village settlement scheme had done good for many people, and under the co-operative system they had employed men who could not get work with contractors. The Agricultural Department, he claimed, had been of great value to the people of New Zealand. Under the dairy industry creameries had increased from twenty-five to 320, the output of butter had reacfied 10,645cwt, valued at £346,618. At present the industry fetched in hall a million of money. He also claimed that they had reduced the railway freights, and that they had not yet reached their limit in that direction. In connection with sheep, this was particularly felt, to which'he need hardly refer to a Riccarton audience. Mr Cadman was the best Minister of Railways we had had, and he believed that before long he would be able to make further reductions, and at no distant date a very great reform in the railways. They were going to be one of our best assets, and he hoped that we would take care that no Government went into office who would endeavour to sell them. In connection with the valuation of land, they had been told that he had appointed as valuers no one except people oi the right He denied this, and said that valuers had been appointed on their recomj meindations, and not on their politics. He also -denied that instructions had been given to them to raise valuations. No instructions had been given except to make honest valuations, and they had taken an oath to do that. Then the Government had set up Assessment Courts, so that no injustice should be done to anyone. These charges i about instructions were like all the others, without foundation. In the matter of irrigation, he said he had seen no place so suitable for it as the Cante-bury Plains, and such legislation as would provide facility for that purpose would have the support of the Government. BANKING. He foundttaat tiie Christchureh Press and the "New Zealand Times" had gone for him on the subject of the Bank of New Zealand. He knew they would when he made his Palmerston speech, especially by the "New Zealand Times," which was the property of some of the Directors of the Bank. He did not care one straw for their abuse— (applause)-—and would go on in his own fashion, by doing what he found was the besti policy. He wanted to know why those who had gone for him had not gone for Mr Scobie Mackenzie, to whose address he was replying in. his Palmerston speech. He there said it was th'e officers of the Bank who had deceived the Government. Those officers were there yet, and he would say again that the Bank of New Zealand would never thrive so long as it was managed by officers who had deceived the Government as they had done. The articles which had appeared that morning had not disproved anything he had said. In connection with the firm to -which inference was made, it was stated that it was not insolvent. If that were so the Bank should not have let the firm go down. It should have got their money first, and then let the firm go down. It was, he saSd, a mean thing of the Bank of New Zealand to lower the prices of wheat so that a few of their clients might make a profit. He repeated it, and would do so again and again, that if the Bank was not fit to stand criticism the sooner it was madt

to understand so the better. If we could sell the Bank to-morrow, and get clear of our liabilities, it would be a good thing for New Zealand, fwe could not do .so we must ptit !it into a propei position, and have proper men on it. They were told by the Press that morning that the shareholders had large interfere in the Bank. He was glad to hear that, becanse if tfcey had the colony was right. He also referred to his Geraldine speech, in which he was reported to have said that he had threatened to put the Bank into liquidation. It was, he said, the Press Association which had made the mistake, and when the matter was placed before the Directors, and they were asked to inquire into it, they declined to do anything. During the absence of the Premier m England he had not wanted to have a row with the Bank, and he had steered clear of it. They thought he had forgotten it. Mc had* not forgotten, however, and he would make them squeak yet. THE P&XSS ASSOCIATION , . In Palmerston he had accused' the "Otago Daily Times" of cutting out a certain 'portion of his Stratford speech about Mi Scobie Mackenzie. He -was told the Press Agency bad sent it down, and they had cut it out. The editor, however, to save himself, had shoved tho blame on to the Press Association.. He said the telegram was exactly what he had received from the Press Association. Hβ (the speaker) had in. his possession the Press Association telegram from Wellington. There what he had said was put in in full, and the telegram had evidently been mutilated in Wellington. He knew now who was at fault, and he was going to have itout with him. The Press Agency was notlung but a political handle in the hands of the Tories of New Zealand, and the Government was giving them a subsidy to the tune of £26,000 a year. That subsidy must be stepped unless "the Agency Apuld be got to tell die trr.th. The people of the colony 'had no right to be called upon to pay for false information. If it was going to be made use of as it was at present he would stop it, and during the present session of Parliament he would do his best to put tue matter oa a right footing. CONCLUSION". Something more was wanted from the Opposition than the ten commaudmeuts as a policy. They did not provide land for settlement, or railways, roads, or bridges. It was the Opposition's duty to put the whole of their policy before the electors of the country and leave time to judge. For his own part he was beginning to get full up of it, tut there were plenty of young men in New Zealand ready to take the place of the present Ministry when they were not prepared to go on any longer. The Opposition only wanted power, they would do anything to get into office. If the present Government went to them and said "' we will let you into office if you will sign a bond not to repeal any Government measures" they would do it at once. He referred to the measures necessary for the interest of the country, and said they had a right to get the Old Age Pension Bill passed next session of Parliament. ■ (Hear, hear.) They were going to endeavour to pass it; it would be a disgrace to the colony if they did not. It would be a credit to the colony for every settler to say that he did not mind a little taxation so'"long as the aged had plenty at the tail end of their lives. It must become law, whether tne Opposition liked it or not. In conclusion he repeated the challenge which he had made that if Mr Rolleston did not repeat his charges in public or apologise to his boys he would brand him, and brand him so that he would never forget it. Mr M'Kenzie sat down amid loud applause. Mr Stewart, of Papanui, moved a vote of thanks to Mr M'Kenzie, and of confidence in the Government. Mr McLennan seconded the motion. Upon it being put there appeared to be about the same numb&r of ayes as noes. The Chairman declared the motion carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the meeting, after which cheers and groans were gi?en for the Hon. Mr Rolleston and also the Hon. Mr M'Kenzie.