PARLIAMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 5171, 1 October 1879, Page 1

PARLIAMENT.

THE ADDRESS IN REPLY. Tuesday, September 80. At the afternoon sitting, Mr :«.. r. Andrfws («Jity of Chustchirch) roe to move—'''lhut a respectful sdWs be ptoent'd lo His Excellency iu leply to the speech which Hi* *xceliency has b en pleased to make to both Houses," and was received"with cheers. He craved the indulgence of the Hon** aR a new me'mbe'K and said he would deal with the subjects as they appeared in order in the Speech. Jie believed the House wjuld agrne that, notwithstanding monetary pressure, the co .dition of the Colony was commerci<i)ly sound. On the subject of the dissolution, Lo re:erred to the important measures which weie made to depend on the changes in the district he represented. Were every freeholder, hou eholder, or lodger able to exercise the franclme they would not be satisfied with anything short of manhood suffrage They would not ask fur more .than the residential clauses the new Electoral Bill which gave fullreoietentation to all classes. He approved of the alteration in registration, because the present system was not. even tqual to the privilege cf dog registration..- A man, landed iu the Colony and was not able t> qualify until a ceituu month came round, instead of being able to do so at onoei be thought the hou sof polling should be alt -red in ( Chri,tchurch. ) hey had some 4,200 per»on« on th'e roll; but. allowing for Cead and departed, come 3,fC'6 should be able to vote, but the fact wa< that, owing to the limited hours..on y 2,500 were able to record tneir votes.; JKLen would hot ask for a haif-houi to vote in, ang the time shou d bo extended from Sa.m uatil ;6-p.m.'in order to enable the working m ;n to their, votes. He did not wishlto qutffe' ''Libera'ism " aud " Conservat'sm." I.ut the fact wai these questions of amplifying registration and erilarKiog the hours of voting were not new, and y-*t ffipy had not been dealt with by the Hou>e The personnel of the new house showed that a change was considered necessary, and he trusted their action would thow tint they were »n improvement ou the old J'a-lUment. A Kedistrioufib'n of Seats Bill whi hj was not based on popula'i'jn, he apirelith'ltd, w.ould not giv-e tatisfVtiorr or ace .id with, the < onstituaou under which thoy were assembled. They wanted local self government improved in order'ihit all districts might work in harmony and *ltn economy of administration. On the subject -of plurality ef voti >g amongst local b die:«, he a change was nece-wary. A man of property ml<ht be able to record some forty votes at venous electioua. He knew of one rnau who lodged at a pub!ic-house who* a *bl ■ record twenty votes, and a man wrh a wife three children who had only one vot.; (>n hj: subject of farms for the working cLssen he thought they vlnuJd provide homes for the people,' with constant employment. In Wellington, ior instance, the houses were so Mtuited that they were only fit for lodgers, iastead of men with families. Such provision won Id cause men to go out into the country and provide dtcent houses for. their families, and cultivate the lands. _ Tney al-o warned nominated immigration to assist the intr iductiou of imca a das as would occupy thetr.lands. If they would int.oduce such persons they would have no difficulty in finding employment fir them. They wanted trunk railwavs and other public works proceeded with. ' O.i the subject of is'ative lands he said that in the South people called land agents iu Maori districts wore regaided as evil men requiring some means of regulation at the hands of the GjviT.iment, and he trust d sorcetn:ng would be done to deal with this cliss. 'i he policy shadow d forth iu the Address met wMi the approval of the 'people in all parts of the Colony, and he hr.dno dn.bt it would meet with the approval of that House .< fie should assise to the best of his ability in carrying out ihosa great liberal principles, and in doing so woul 1 comply win the wishes of his constituents. He wuld help to cirry out those liberal measures, and hoped the fclousj would assist him to do S').

Mr Hurst (Auckland City We t) rose to scond the Address in Iteply, at-d was received w.th cheers. He congratulated the Speaker, whom he had Inown in a simi ar capacity el.-e----where. He would refer to the liberal measure before the country, the financial position of the Oolony, and to Native affairs. He told the hon. gentleman at the head of the Government that he held pronounced views on the finances of the Oolony, and was informed that he and th-.se who were with him wanted only what was right, and he ielt sure he did. As to the measures before the country, he was convinced that they were desired by the country, whatever tney We»e by the sr ntlemeu of the Opposition, who propped to bring forward an antagonistic motion, if they want d to depose the Alinittry, they should first nee to measures which were before the country, and then let them join ispue if they liked and oppose the Ministry. l'hey bhould _ accept the position and go «.-n with the business before the country They had the fact that the men who w<rj strongest ia opposition to liberal measures were such as the minority. Eleven <f them only represented some 2.186 constituent ; whilst two members who supported the pjlicy represented quite as many as these eleven representatives. He conside ed the House had been reckless in dealing with the policy of public works, and they should look tin- matter f*iriy ii the fac;. If it should happen that they could not get the five million loan they would find themselves in un awkward predicament, and he cast the blame of such situation upon membiis of the Opposition. He next referrd to tl e question of Native lands, and expressed hi* satisfaction -with the policy enunciated by the Hon. the Native Minister recently in Aucklai d. He considered that the Natives should be placed in a positim whereby they wou'd be able to look Tip to the .(jovernmert with confidence. A man who could aif rd to buy large tracts of Native lands c <u!d afford to fee whilst poorer people could not, and should look to Government for assistance in such a mutter as the purchase of lands Pe would now refer to the recent Native disturbance at the Bay of Islands That shooting was a mere family quarrti with which the Government had nothing to do, and could not ba blamed. As to the 'I ham-s affair they were not to blame for that. The matter arose through the purchase by a former Government, but had no political significance They were quai-relling amongst themselves, and the person who was shot wae mistaken for a Maori, as he was ve y dark. He thought the Government acted very rightly in referring this matter to the House before doing anything One of the officer* who went 'up to the district in which the shooting took place said he only wished the Native Minister had given them permission and they would have gone up bwi shot the whole lot of them. He thought it was well the N»ttve Minister had not given the permission because they would not be abb to say where the matter would end. The Native Minister had dealt very guardedly in all his dealings with the Natives of the North. The altered conduct of Rewi showed this, for he had actually started off to assist the Native Minister when he beard of the Thames shooting by Natives, and unfortunately met with a very serious accident on the ro-id. He would not prolong his remarks, but thanked the gentlemen for their courtesy in liitening to him. (Cheers.) 3he Address in Reply was then read by the Speaker. The address was merely, as customary, an echo of the Governor'* Speech, the language) being identical. The Hon J. Hall then moved the adjournment of the House till 7.30. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. The Hon Mr Hall, in rising to move a n amendment congratulated the mover and seconder of the Address. The former was essentially a working man—one with whom he had been ass ciated in the Provincial Council of Otago He hoped the other speakers in this debate would follow the moderate tone they had taken. He denied, however, that the Govertment supporters, as they had set forth, representei a larger number of the inhabitants of the Colony than did the Opposition. He quoted a number of iattances to prove th'B. "J he facts were that a few districts in thf» North Island pronounced in favor of the Government, while thote in the South had done quite the opposite The last House of Representatives bad declared by a large majoiity that the Government hid not the confidence of the House, and they, as the successors of that House, were bound at the earliest date, now that they had. returned from the country, to test the question in the House,

for that stand was well formed and homo out by recent events. His first charge against the Government was that they had t tally faih-d in e-,. ni.ig cut their promises. They pro'-i.-ed to reduce tr.e co«t of the Civil Service rurally Sir Geo ge Groy said lie o..u'd do i- ;>/ Ll'JO 000, whereas it had 'been tl.e fist year and tho next 1.1 o, '-00. Tn:\ agdn, thsir twn per.-onal proc e Tugs h*d been conducted on the most extravagant style Minsters had brought down a proposal t > reduce their own sa'a*-ies. In was opposed by their own supporter-., the mover and seconder of the Opposition being pu dshod by being made JP.'s a«d the proposal wvi not again brought down. Then, again, th • extrava.'ance i: 1 - ?wr<"?'-:m W"!i the f--r steamers wai something notorious Tuu coaduct of Native affairs had likewise been most extravagant, and yet the position o r JNaMve affvr» was not a« good, a«:t had beeti two year* acjo. The preatiufc i-uii vc Minister n-oiai>-cU gM'At t.U ■g I '. when he got into office. He admitted that tho affairs of this Department we*o not wh-*t could hive been wish d who i he took ofli.te, b'it <L\:l he maintained that had loir D M'Leau bnoi spared things would have beew in a very different state L-1-o-j.i p-o-pectt were held out by Government from the intervention of tli3 greii; chief Ko»i. had not heard anything m to the results of th vt intervention and he conld only conclude that they had come to nought. The st ite of matters on the Ww*t Coast wui next re erred, t>. It hid been alleged that tho Government w.\s cot to blame for that una wt-.a-factory sta'o of but their predecessor in the GoTernment. That was just v»hak they expected in view of the failure of tho Government effort:'. T>is he would contend : th-t t.lw« w.-va a state of discontent and a fooling of lawle-sness j which was not the oase when they took office. The■mwtakt; hj id be-n the attempt t > administer Native on a different principle f om of the luvot>eans Kega-ding the question of finance, the shite of o\ir finances w.s wh-vt everyone wanted to know. It was well-known that a great deficiency existed. Ho did not blame the Government for that deficiency ; what he blamed them f'T was that they hud formed far too high an estimate of certain branches of the revenue. In asking them to authorise heaw loans, it Mas absolutely nece*. sarythata fu'l and detailed st-.tcment of the financial att'airs of the • Colony thould bo f urnlshed. V.'hat wan the case whou they wor;< asked to authorise the last heavy loan ? KtuVring to 'Hansaid,' Mr Hall lead a paragraph stating that no uoto had been taken of it, f >r certain reasons. In r-ality, Mr Mall continued to Eay, there w .s no financial s'ateme-'t to nuko | at all. That was a state of affairs bound to operate against the Colony in the estimation cf the Home in on (7. market. Ho v.r,jt alluded to the charge that the Government had tampered with the new.-ipaper Press They had taken away theic wtve-thements fiorn an o'd established pa;>er in Wellington City, and given them to ene e t..,'. I'shed not more tlun e ; ght"-0 months, ami *:f whrh inetnhcrs of the Gove nment were shareholders. A similar courte aad been pursiejd i:i ChristchurcL. Tint was a most uiifait cr.;i-sc of prooedurs, and wa« c,Icul?tel to <h fc.-t the very object of a-ve.-tis-ing altogether. The cam-.* thing had Veen done towards°tl.e Press a'l over the Colony. II * next all.i'.V-..! to ihe fpecial wire, hi c-'/ise-quenoe of that ariangt'r.ient or.e. pv,-cr iu'..'hr.;itchurch got ihe te'egraphing service lor J.oOO, while aaothdi paper had to p.iy as much as LI,.'CO. Th. .s,r.ik'r next rtierrid to i: fair dealings in th. Civ.l ye-vica, and the reiterated charges against the government 0.1 thia score by Sir "William Fox. Kefere:;co 'a:i?, next made to the apt 0 ntmert of Mr T-uckio. Civil servants wri-e 1 >cv. as a ru!e well paid, and wlie.il a compar.-ivivrey csy well-paid :-ituitou wa< vacant it was "the duty of the Govcrnm-int to, advance some ef the old servant*, and no.; to go outride the st nic ■ and ainwin; a on the plea solely ef tho political support he h.id rendevod. T-'io judicial system w.u u-jxt attacked. He referred to tho d.l.y -_f tho Govorr.-rx".K i:-. apiointing aRo.-idcnt Slaji- ta'.tu forLj'ttelton, I ' the great inconvenience ar.d lots of the distrct, and the neglect of the Government to supply gaol aeeomniodatiun at A dmgton, Criiter/.u'y, although that accommod Uion might have been provided fir without the slightest trouble on their p*rt. The scandalous conduct ef Cove nmeat in neglect iig to provide proper r.ccoinuiodation for -unatitia v/a-i next coinm'uUd on. Ileceut r poi:3 <n the su'ject were read and commented upon sind condemned. L> all thece cases the chavgjs were.not ag.'.iist the Government cihcidly, but in reality they were blunders comnii ted by Mmrrte-s iud v*dua!ly. The Premier was in a very great rru'ar.UTe priraari'y re ponsible for tin., st d-j of ; hirg-; He took the i- -Jo 0 ntrol of inatters into his own hnnds, and would not allow his crll-agucs to ex irciso ihe d-cretion they were crtkh-d to cxerc:«e. He quot d a number of «•; £. on tin.' }>art of ti:o I'j'emiei- i-unh as that whejh t.em;ielltd tlw late Colonial Treasurer to n.:d,'n The point resolved tfse»f into this—were'hey to hive personal or vwe th<y to havo Co-jstltutioiial G. vei-nrnent ? 'lho manner in which tho Government attempted to influence iln; late eleccions was next; mentioned. If ever there was a time when, these elections nhiuld ha-e been left to 'he in p. ejudicd judgment of tho electors it waß the hist election; but what did thev find? The two Government st tamers wero jiut in nquisition, and sjjet-i.il trams were put in motion for the |iurpose of ennvoving Atinihters to various p.vrts cf the Colony to influence their elections Had the reposition had the same opportunities for rushing about;, there could have b.en mo doubt bu* that tie Governm-nt would, instead of cccupying tlio.-e benches, have stood as urivate mpir:bers on tie fl >or of the H'Mise 'J hen it wai weh ku-'WK that the telecr «| li c sy-ti m bad been largtly cn.pli-yed in these elect om-. they did not know,tho full e.vt-mt. A qu^m - on on the point •'!)'■ oiher day elioi.id the reply tnat a tel gr;:: 1 . ot t'" ; s kind had not been p-; ; d for, but that it would b-; paid for. Then, a,;ai , the time of commencing certain public works by some cm i --v.- C'->ir-ciilfciice was junt the time wli m theso elecvi-ns tenk ])laco, Thy cmimencing of eertrdu pi-bdc works ac lioss, on the We»t Coat,t, was cited as a ca-ne in point. The Ludtii gs Btieech of the member for tho district was produced .».ikl read, showing that a whole column was taken up with promises respecting the.se woiks, and hot more than lour liue< v;t;re devoted to the communication of hi'i political opinions. sir Hall v/ent on to say that with all these iuliuence.-; brought to-bear on the e constituencies, whet ebanoo was left for an Opposition candidate?;. 'Die visit of the Premier to Christchurch was rrxt referred to. Not having any other thi-r^-ti> givo the'«'lectors o5 that ciuy. he gave them t\. clock. On a mbHequoiit visit of thj Prim; r, an application was nude to h\rx to know when the loci subsidi. s would bo paid. Tin; ie, ly was next day ; and they were paid ac;.-ove ; -e.'ly. A r.fighb jrin;; district, in whi 1l Is. (Mr Helj was interested, made a Mir"l." application. Up to the present time its sum;i r iies had never been lcceived. Mv Hall went on to argue that if the Government took upuVi themselven to use Gi-vcrmnVnt steamers for their own private puroo.-es tliey might just/ as well use other GovernmeTit propeity f..r Hi; .si'.me })Urposu-:. Ye>rj it had been hud down that an abuse of thin kind in the Imperial Pnrliiinent was a very serious tiling indeed, ami ho hoped the Hou-e would bo prepaivd'io ..lßiin that doctrine The r.peaki.r thou proceeded to review the various ait cles of the Govc j iunie:,'.t policy. He agreed with triennial parliaments, because it .appeared to be the wish of the Colmy. His own idea was that a four years' Parliament would in the first instance have been much better. Still, he would accept throe jc.'.rs, i.eing th.it it whs tho avowjd wish of tho Col 'iiv. A redistribution of f.cats he »lso agreed with. The iawa they had got should be ;;dininistered, which he believed had not been done. He therefore moved the amendment.

Kir Gkokoe Gkky said ho expected quite a different Bpeach. The matters referred to were triflmg aud altogether unworthy of the- great thing-* the Opposition claimed for the Colony in view of a change of Government. The question fiimjily wai whether the old state of thing* woul-t he swept away, and a new state of things instituted. He had been charged with maladministration of th-) affairs of the Colony. It was the Opposition that had Wen gui ty of rnaladministrat;i n of the law. What tracts of the country had they acquired for thumselvta in that country th y "gridiromd " fo" their own purposes ? He next alluded to charge about the flinemoa, and m doi .g ho ho would remind them that this win a peculiar country, and the services of a under such •urcurnstances was absol"t»jy essemid. They did nut order the steam-r ; they found the steaimr there when tht-v ;.;.>t i-uo office, and he maintained he was enr,ir.ie i to make use of th-: steamer — going about making himself acqu doted with the affairs of the Colony, and bringing prreat and important matters affecting the welfare of the Colony under the notice of the people. If he had done rivht he wad entitled to the thanks of the Colony f and if he had done wrong the Colony w uld endemn him, but he boueved no Mich cm.damnation would follow. It had been said tint when they oamo into office NativH aff.vir.-. woro in a tranquil state, bu*. he denied trxat stat merit. Native m.tters woro then ii, a . > .-* condition th.*n they were now, He deine*: r.ii i r , tiV< advertisements: ;:iwn to the newspapers could possibly have inllueuc-d the Press, and !ia wondered at anyone who stand u; ■■<•■.• make such a statement. It was unwise, Hi'j'i-r., and untrue;, The chargj that no wiittMi Utenunt had regarding the £nu;< i :l s'.a*,oof the Colony win i-quaUy untenable Tney wrre on the eve of a dissolution, and r.r-'er th- c r.-uni'tancess he made such a statement a» he thought right, lie would like the Civil service to be appealed to as to whether or not they had acted unfairly toward;, it H.e rcv/ted iiatisfiid that the Service itneli word i v-quit him of all unfair dealing

tawards it. Thu cha*g« of neglecting to make unvidon for lurid tics v,v.« next reforn <1 to. 110 lift-1 great sympathy with those unfoitunate*', but he remlndo-1 them that provisions of this kiml were made by the provinces, and wh t! p’-nvin'd il institutions were ruthle sly a ■•■iihh.-.e. no a leq | .n , e provision v.-w made for s ich institutions. It Imd been >a’d tliat his previous education nnfir.ttd li in for the post of Premier, and in a uuing the point lie referred to the injustice to the Colony in the nrvter of the Uuntc bury runs. In cnnectbn with that matter ho was quite prepared to show that the squatting interest would pursue him until he d ed, and that was practically what they were doing now. Referring to the Klcotoral Bill ef last season, he contended what they proposed doing was to got the Bill passed, «nd sent t > the 1/ gielfttivo Council, and i -id n>- w.nj! f communicate wth the Natives, with a view of taking away one of thoir two votes. That was precisely what the Legislative Council would not allow them to d >, rod hj the circumstances lie considered ho acted rightly in the con r ne he took with the Bill. He understood from what had been said that his rr-.i K/ nVinut from place to place prevented the electors understand’ng the question at issue. Kis going about enabled them to understand that issue, and what the Opposit'on wanted was to prevent: him going about, and by that means to keep the Oolonv in ignorance of the real state of affairs, the real point at ismo between the Opposition and the Government. He wou’d begin by saying that New Zealand had one of the freest Comthutions in the world. 3 hat Constitution was destroyed by the Opposition and their friends. They destroyed, a d were never able to e«Ubli-h anything worthy of its place. They diminished ihe renouces of the count-y, and burdened it with an enormous debt. In thst respect they had been tho enemies of their coun f ry. Tho members on the other side of r.he Hmi-o al 1 claimed to be Liberals, but what did they fid? Dhe leader of the Opposition himself had denied that the franchise was a national right of all men The speaker than went on to detail tho many evils rem’tingto other countries from a n&trcti n of the 'franchise To that fact were to be charged the numerous evils under which the M ’ther Country groaned, and the members on the other side of the Home would lo only 100 willing to see many of these abuses ie eited in this Colony. It was- a mere mockery to*tluvm to cbim for themselves the name of u Liberal*.” He dofcnclcd tho Gov< miner.t against tho charge of unfai ness in the adjustment of tho i cidcnce of ta* ation. He referred to tho past -Administration—the outcome of which was tho abu-e of tho land laws by wlrch the lands cf Cantchury had been g-idironed, and they had acquir'd for themselves and thoir friends large tracts of c ruutry. They were rr.p'dly comng to ft stats of things similar to what exi ted in Scotland, Ireland, and hnglnnd. where a few p.or»ous held tracts cf country hearing a large proportion of the whole acreage extent of these kingdoms. Thu reru't of such a state cf matters wa«, that it not only impoverish'd the ioa s*s, but heardoned the heart-' of the landlord to the distress of the population. The real question was whether that system should be propagated in tliis country or a new state of things lr ought shout. >t was not a question, as had been alleged, of personal government winch was at i«»ue. That was the real quest on—the one he bed indicated -and that was what he and those cn hi< side of the House aimed at e-dahle king in New Zetland, and what th-y would continue to. aim at-solong i.s they livod. They cared nothing fir the false accusations made ag dust them. They were determined to ttand true to the position. They sought for something greater and something nobler, something more a uding than tho good opinion of these who sought to defraud Now Zealand of its birthrkdit. Mr Saundkhh s.*id chat two remarkah’o speeches had b* eu delivered that night The one was wii.ut ho would doscii? cas a teirestr.al, and the other a celestial speech. The one sneaker hail de-lt with the business of the House, and the ether had taken them to Babylon and other out-of-the-way places. He described the Address in Kopiy as a thoioughly contemptible document. He proceeded to combat tho assertions made by the Premier to the offv-ct that the Opposition was illiberal in its policy, '