PARLIAMENT

Evening Post, Volume L, Issue 36, 10 August 1895, Page 4

PARLIAMENT

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Ykstiedat's Afternoon Sitting. various bills. The Evidence Further Amendment Bill (the Attorney-General) and the Auckland Harbour Board and Devonport Borongh Exohange of Land Bill (the Hon. W. Jennings) were read a third time and passed. The Hawksbury Borongh Connoil Reserve Vesting (the Hon. J M'Gregor) and the Waimate Municipal Reserves Bill (Hon. W. C. Walker) were read the second time. MINING COMPANIES ACT AMENDMENT. In Committee on this Bill, the Hon. W. M'Culloch moved a new olause prohibiting sharebrokers from buying, dealing in, or holding shares or stock in any mining company registered nnder the Joint Stook Companies Act, unless the shares or stock were aoquired or the instrument exeouted before the commencement of this Act ; also defining the term " sharebroker." The Hon. Captain Morris objected to the clause aa an unwarrantable interference with the liberty of aharebrokers ; and the Hon B. Pharazyn thought the proposal monstrous Aftor some further discussion, the clanse was rejected by 21 votes to 9. The Bill was then reported with amendments. THS UNEMPLOTED QUESTION. The Hon. Sir George Whitmore resumed the debate upon the Hon. W. Bolt's motion for the establishment of State co-oparative settlements, saying that while sympathising with the efforts of the mover to remedy the evil, it was not proper thai State charity should be looked upon by workers as a right. The establishment of State farms would only result in a financial loss. The Hon. J. Bigg considered the trouble waa due to the spirit of mercantilism that ruled the world. What we wanted in this colony waa something with more humanity in it and less of profit. He advocated State and Munioipal Sooialism, towards which consummation we were moving as fast as we oould go— with our Post and Telegraph, Land Transfer, Publio Trust, Co-operative works, Labour Bureau, Government Insurance, the Government Printing Office, Savings Bank, Advances to Settlers, &c. The Hon. W. Montgomery objected to the prinoiple that it waß the duty of the Government to find employment for every person • who was ont of work. After further disoussion, both the motion and the amendment were negatived on the voioes. The Council adjonrned at 5 p m.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Yestebdat's Afternoon Sitting. tub financial dibits. Mr. G. W. Russell renewed the Financial debate. The Budget might hayebeenbrought down by the most Tory Government there had ever been in New Zealand. It was one of opportunism, of drift, and a Liberal Party oould never afford to drift It failed to provide an old age pensions scheme or a solution of the unemployed difficulty, by more rapid settlement of the land. It was colourless and sombre, giving no hope of the future. There should be reduotion in ex penditure, and prudent administration. Instead of reductions there were inoreaseß to highly -paid officers, and a proposal to spend .£20,000 on a mail service with a country with whioh we had no connection. Theremußtbeatime when these Binking funds with which the Treasnry had been spoonfed would come to an ond. At the present rate there must be an end to them in four years. The polioy of past years had been " Let us eat and drink for to-morrow we die." The time must soon come when a big loan must be thrown on the floor of the House to be scrambled for. .And that must mean freßh taxation .and increased Customs duties and further burdens on the working men. The Treasurer was already conßtrainod to twist round for items of revenue. It was never contemplated when sinking funds were created that the Treasurer should issue debentures to absorb them a3 they accrued. Let them be honest and do away with sinking fnnds altogether if they must. The colony a few years ago had proposed a foreign policy in connection with Samoa. That fizzled out. To-day we proposed to open up a foreign commercial policy, with Canada and South Australia. Reciprocity was desirable, but it should be with colonies with whioh we had already trade relations, and our trade relations with Victoria and New South Wales were enormously more than with South Australia and Canada. It was significant that of the trade with South Australia more than half came from the Bluff and Invercargill. It was said that the loss of revenne to New Zealand would be small under the South Australian treaty, but if each polony secured a monopoly of the trade in the treaty articles with eaoh other, South Australia would lose .£11,384, while New Zealand would lose £25,000 per annum, " while our fruit industry would be dislocated and the wine industry deBtroyed. The painful incident showing that the wrong Canadian tariff had been published in the Statement was, he did not doubt, due to the mistake of an official, but it was impossible to understand the matter until the Government published new tables. Our export last quarter to Canada waa £3, per parcel post, and our imports .£2OO, and for this we were asked to sanction a subsidy of .£20,000 a year. And this was the result of the Bpecial visit of a Bpccial Commiesioner, Mr. Lee Smith, and of the Colonial Treasurer. Mr. Ward evidently met in Canada a much smarter man than himself. Investigation of the position of trade with Canada persuaded him that it wonld be a fatal thing for us to enter into this treaty and into the treaty with South Australia. It was a dangerous thing to attempt thus t force trade into fictitious channels. . What we should do would be to send smart commeroial men to Canada, China, and Japan with samples of our produots, and let them endeavour to open up trade. The most painful thing in the Budget was the absence of provision for dealing with the unemployed question, exoept by some bastard system of settlement called the alternative system. Shame on the Liberal Party that had nothing better to provide for the workers than private charity. In Christchurch he saw 700 men sweeping snow off the streets for charity, and in Wellington ho found charity again stepping in to provide relief work, and- he found the unemployed forced to a soup kitohen. And yet the Government polioy in this matter was marked by the opportunism whioh characterised so many of its actions, and which would yet prove fatal to it. He did not undervalue what Ministers had done in the past, but they should devise some meana to utilise for the benefit of the colony all thiß surplus labour. If they conld not do this they should go baok to their constituents and ask them to send to the House 74 better men. The trouble was in part caused by pressure of taxation, reduction of prices, compelling reduotion of employment, and the banking oollapae in Australasia. New Zealand was in a unique position to solve the matter. She was not over-populated. But the natural reßonroes of the colony were looked up, and it was the business of the House to provide the key. The oredit of the State should be used for endeavouring to develop the natural resources of the colony. Take the coal, for instance. Even if necessary State-owned bottoms shonld be provided to take the coal to new markets. The timber industry should be developed. Mr. Steward had told of one district where if .£IO,OOO were spent to bring in water 4COO men could find profitable employment in gold-mining. Then there was the fishing industry. Mr. Ballanee's policy of village settlements most be carried oat The Canterbury members were instructed to support land settlement, yet only 74 aoret had been bought in the vicinity of Christchuroh. Land should be taken wherever it was wanted, with the only condition the • payment of a fair compensation Let Government bring down a proposal for half a million to open out the coalmines, and they would soon find who were the Liberals and who the Tori es in their Patty, and let them ask for another half-million for other industries. If they could find two millions for the Bank of Nev Zealand they could find a million to solve the unemployed question. Deposits rolled into the Post Office Savings Bank, and tbe Treasurer' took them with Treasury Bills Let them instead use this money of tlif workers to find work for the workers, and it they did not do that let thorn get money it. the open market. Ihe tariff was devised to get aaditiopal taxation The reductionwere insignificant, and would cover reach the consumers. He would propose that the dntj be - entirely taken off tea, and that the * reductions proposed on coffee, kerosene, matches, and rice be not made, and to main up the defioienoy to inorease the boor dnty and the duty on fancy goods, &c, and also to prevent the introduction of prison-made goods. He did not consider himself bound to the Government, but to the people who sent him. Mr. Morrison oondemned Mr. Bussell'B speech as one of the most unpractical, harebrained, and wild-cat speeches he had heard in the House. He was strong on coal, beoause he knew nothing of it. Only two coalmine-owners in the colony hod made more than Si per oent. He commended the Treasurer, and hoped the Liberal Party would not be divided over the tariff. Mr. Buiok protested against the way in whioh the colony's housekeeping aocounts were kept. He did not understand why released sinking funds shonld be inoluded as reyenue. So far as he could make out from the national balance-sheets between 1891 and 1694 the deficits in our housekeeping acoount amounted to .£110,608. The colony had not lived within its income. There Bad been unwarrantable expenditure inthePnblio Service. There was no sincere retrenchment. That retrenchment was difficult owing to the want of independence of our colonists. Unemployed fell back on the Government, parents olamoured to get their ohildren into the Civil Service, and even banks oame to the Government for holp. So long as people were taught to look to the Government for everything it was useless to expect the preient unsound financial position to improve. The Budget did not attempt to solve the defioit question by the practice of economy, but by increased taxation. Publio works could not be stopped at present. An extensive borrowing polioy wonld create an undesirable class, who lived by public works It was all very well to put people on the land, but if land settlement was to be a success they must have the right olass of people, and mUBt provide them with capital. Once settlers were aided in that way it would be diffioult to discontinue assistance. The timo was not far distant when the colony must oither adopt & policy of straight-out Socialism, or . one of jiffid . : naiTit3nolism. in which everyone must look out for himself. Evening Sitting. Mr. Bnick said that instead of the new tariff removing anomalies and evils, it intensified them. TKe working ulasacs bad called for revision heoanse they felt that. their chances of work were getting fewer and their wages becoming less, and they must have an equivalent i a the reduotion of their burd«m. But instead of receiving relief they were going to be taxed from head to foot. Bevenue was the keynote of the tariff. Although returned ms a Freetrader, he was prepared to make every allowance for revenue purpose!, but he would not support a Bugle item of increase to be borne by the

uorl»inft classps until bo was satisfied lint tho pxpensci of the publio ser»ico wero goin^ to be rednced to tho very lowest item. (Applause.) He igreed with tho principle of both treaty pro- ■> 'sals, though the details may require amending. The treaties were one of the greatest Btrokes of statesmanship Mr. Ward liad accomplished. Captain Russell said that during the term jf this Government" the liabilities of the colony had been inoreased .£6,511,407. (Mr Ward -"What about the increase of .issets?") The only asset ho knew of was .£300,000 lent under the Advancos to Settlers Act, and he was not sure of that. The tariff had met with condemnation from Government members, but ho could not understand suoh suggestions as that of Mr. Hogg that Is duty Bhould bo put on tea, though he agreed with Mr M'Gowanthat enterprise throve best when Government iid not interfere. Was it the case that the tax on widows to provide the i!2O 000 for the Vancouver Mail Servioe was to be confined to estates of over £7500, as stated by the Minister for Labour? (Mr. Ward— "lt was.") Then to produce that -,urn men would have to die off at avery rapid rate. (Laughter.) As to the tariff, ho opposed Sir Harry Atkinson's tariff, and wonld willingly turn out any Bet of men to bring the country to Freetrade, under whioh he believed it would progress. (Applause.) The 'Ireaauror talked of the progress of the colony, yet last year the two chief earning departments, whioh were the pnlso of the people, showed a falling off of .£IOB,OOO, and r.bo estimated revenue was £32,259 less than four years ago, while the publio debt waa increasing year by year. The oountry Bhould know its true financial position, and until it lid so it wonld not cease to tolerate the extravagant expenditure of the Government. From the incident of the Canadian tariff it was evident that the Colonial Treasurer did not understand his own Budget. Government would not be allowed to force the proposed Bank Bill through the Honse this year till full light had been thrown on the matter. The Government nc ed not claim orodit for having reduced interest by the Advances to Settlers Aot, as money was lent by largo finanoial institutions a year ago at a quarter per cent. lesß than the Government was lending it this year. The threat held out igainst finanoial institutions in tne Statement would do more harm than all the pessimistic speeohes of whioh Government complained. The whole trade with Canada at present was less than the amount of subsidy which it was proposed to pay for the mail service. The Budget tariff was -a wretched one. Instead of tinkering with these things, why did not the Treasurer put on Id per gallon more on New Zealand beer, whioh wonld have produced .£20,000, without anyone noticing it. (Applause.) On some future occasion he wonld move " That the Treasurer be requested to withdraw the proposed alterations of the duties of Customs on the groundß that by them no simplification of the tariff is effected, few existing anomalies are abolished, no appreciable relief is granted to anybody, while extra baidens are imposed upon many, and the estimated increase in the revenue (.£10,300) is not commensurate with the general disarrangement of trade which will enßue." He wished this not to be b. Party vote, but to givo the House an opportunity of expressing an opinion on the tariff. The Ministnr for Lands considered Gaptain Russell should have moved bii motfon after the Treasurer spoke, and membera wonld then have had something to address themselves to. Membera who oritioised Government had offered no feasible polioy to replace it. The troubles of the Bank of New Zealand had not been brought about by the Liberal Party, but it had to get it out of its troubles. The history of the Opposition in the past was associated with the Bank of New Zealand. The colony had put its namo to the Bank Bill for two millions, and it immediately became good pnper, showing that the colony's oredit was good and that it might start a State Bank at any moment. (Applause.) As for the "leakage" in the departments, the tariff appeared in the Evening Post one or two nights before the Treasurer made his Statement, and Ministers could not be aooused of giving information to the Post. The Government nevor claimed that it was not a borrowing Government. All they claimed was that they did not borrow in the Bame way as was done in the past. In the past £10,000,000 must have been borrowed to squander on the constituencies. This Government borrowed for land settlement, purchasing native lands, and lands improvement, because it wonld be too muoh to raißO the money by taxation. Take the Wftimarino block. That cost £10,000 for 400.000 acres, and they were not worth more, but after roading and cutting up it was worth 12s Gd per aore, showing a profit bf £200,000. This Ministry hod paid over half a million on roads and bridges, and muoh of thiß was in the constituencies of the men who were always aconsing them of borrowing. L"t membera be honest. These expenditures were neceesary, and they were not done from Party reasons. He never considered " colour " in such matters, but let members be honest, and admit that these things must bo done, and that there must be borrowing or taxation for it. Thou, as to the sinking funds, other Governments took these sinking funds, and it was necessary to take these funds to go on with the railway works, or else impose taxation which the country conld not stand. These railways were not white elephants. Neither was the Choviot, which waß bought out of borrowed money, mid already showed an excellent balance-sheet. Tho village settlement By stem bad been a boon to the working classes, and be waa prepared to extend it. The Minister concluded amidst general applause. Mr. Fraaer and Mr. Montgomery also spoke, and the House rose at 12.10 a m.