MR DAWSON AT THE NORTHEAST VALLEY.

Evening Star, Issue 9155, 9 June 1893, Page 4

MR DAWSON AT THE NORTHEAST VALLEY.

Mi W. Dawson, M.H.K. for Dunedin Suburbs, addressed about 150 of his constituents in the Public Hull, North-east Valley, lost evening. The chair was occupied by Mr Myers, Mayor of North-east Valiev, and Mr D. Pinkerton, and Mr K. C. Allen occupied scats on rite platform.

The Chairman said that though Mr Dawson had not Idled many pages of ‘Hansard, lie thought that they would 0,11 admit that at any i.itc he had voted according to Ids pledges made >)■ iTiie lie was ;i. nicniher of Parliament. -(Ap-p‘,»;i-.c.) It was not always tlie greatest talker « ho was the host inenihor or who actually did die largest amount of work. (Applause.) He die chairman) did not. think any body could say that .Mr Dawson wim nut an eminently practical in. "u or that hr had not done a great deal, in fact, as much as possible, for his constituents. 1 Applause.)

U, iiavvsd.n, having made sympathetic 10tV, .in- i,i me lien in oi .Mr Halumee, proceeded to-.,u ; It is now a little more tuau two years a the lii>-L time I addressed you inking lor vour suffrages and to represent yon in the Parliament of the colony, to which position you were kind enough to elect me, and I think it is now on 1 v l ight, that I should place before you a brief .-o.i of the position taken up by me during that period. When addressing you then I said that it elected I would go into the House unpledged either to the then Government or the i »pposition party, as after a fresh or general election the position of parties in the House of Representatives would he very much altered. D yon are all aware, shortly after the election Parliament met and the Atkinson Government i eliivd from office, and the late Mr Hallaiu'e was -rut for to form a Ministry. This he .succeeded m doing, and as the principles they advocated were those which 1 firmly believed would tend to the better government and greater prosperity of the colony, 1 decided to give them my support, and the measures they have since brought I.,run id and in most cases carried through nave, 1 contend, justified me in the step I then took, and which I intend to follow in the future.- , App'i:un 1 , i lii order that I may place all nutter-in as eleai and distinct a light as pos--Pole hell ire you, 1 will refer yon to what 1 then ii,l about the SETTLEMENT "E THE CROWN lands. ,Mr Daw.ioii then quoted from his speech on mis question. I Continuing, he said ; I would a-i; von if these ideas are not the leading principles of one of the gteat planks of the present i i.e, ermnent ? Air tiu*\ not striving to settle ibe people on the hind as speedily as circuin--miici-s will permit? And that, 1 contend, is ;iie chief, if not the only, way by which the i doin' can become permanently prosperous. Is t anvone wdio has his eyes open go up the i *!.igo ('entral, and see the largo fertile plains ih -re, with scarcely a house to he seen—only -beep runs. If these plains were cut up into farms of 200, 300, or 500 acres each, and till ~ i tied upon, would it not contribute ten ~ve twenty times more to" the general pro--(.eritv of the colony than to allow them : i remain as they are'.' A few weeks ago 1 had a trip up tiie Otago Central line, when a settler there told me that the produce ..f two acres of the land he was settled iipoii would keep a person easily all the year iMiind. If .such he the ease, is it not a pity liut such fertile lands should only be occupied 1 1 v -hecji, and held in such large tracts as sheep ..ud e itile runs by one yr a few individuals? 1 do not blame the present holders of the runs for suel; n state of affairs; hut I blame the i .overumeiits of the past for allowing those large tracts of laud to he taken up and moiiopoli-ed hv the few to tile detriment ■.f the maul. I shall always lie found • trough supporting any measure which may i-'ii.l in the direction of occupying the land, I observe from his speech at I’almeiston a fortsight ago that the Hon. the .Minister of Lands has in contemplation an improved farm system setting aside blocks of land to he cleared and mads made through the same. The nun who iio this work aie then to he allowed to select land on this improved block ; the cost of the improveaie'iits to he added to the value of the land, and the selectors to pay <1 per cent, interest on the total co-t to the Government. After taking up that land they would be given .1 rwelvemuntii’s work to clear another block, and with the wages they thus would earn they would have the chance of a start. This scheme would, in me opinion, materially aid people who Ka\o not much capital in settling upon the land. (Applause, I STATE -I'ifniil. EARM-. iaiv address to viui when soliciting your votes I advocated that State s.dmol farms should he i-staMishe 1 in each provincial district, and 1 am • till of that opinion. 1 am peril atly sure that i .'h farms would he of immense value to the i.huiy in teaching the rising generation the ! i-est and most desirable met noils mid systems "i fanning and dairy wo k. Everyone must admit that there is great room for improvement ■ i rhe manner in which our farm products are ■nr to foreign markets. With the want of care and knowledge they are sent to the markets of Me' world in a slovenly and very mixed chiiiaeIf wu me to hold our own with such large producing countries as America, India, and K.issia, our proiiuets will have to Iv shipped in tic very best condition possible. .Somethin''; is ,ih-olutely required to he done. To give as an 1" itanee our dairy industry. From the latest reports in the newspapers it willhave been seen that rim Victorian butter u bringing u higher price in ■he English markets than the New Zealand article. This, with our superior climate for gras-, growing and oilier advantages, should not be, and results, I am afraid, solely through the ignorance of those who manipulate and pack the butter. [u support of this contention I ipiote from the latest report of the New Zealand Dairy Association as follows: “Notwithstanding the great advantages possessed by New Zealand as a dairy country, it is a very unpleasant thing to have to record that the London ■butter experts say that just now inferior qualities of butter otter mainly from New Zealand, that at present Australia is utterly beating New Zealand in the London butter market, and we oust agree with them when they say that ‘with New Zealand’s unequalled natural capabilities •he surely might to stand first.’ Messrs Samuel •'age and Son say that only a very small proportion of New Zealand butter is equal to the best Melhourmt," I think that there will hii'e to lie ■ system of grading the various parcels of butter -cut for export from the colony introduced, so as to obtain some uniformity amongst them.— i Applause.)

noiißDWi.Ni;. Two years ago I told you that I would oppose borrowing in any shape in th'e future, and that if the people would make up their minds to live within their incomes New Zealand would b.- one of the soundest countries financially in the world. I Applause.) Von all know that i his has been done everyone trmn the Government downwards has practised economy, and i lie consequence has been that, instead of as in ii.rnmr Governments, the Colonial Treasurer always meeting the House with a balance on •h' wrong -ide ot the ledger, the Hallance Cm eminent invariably showed a sumlus, and .'.h.u tiie Treasurer makes his Financial •statement in the coming session he will have ;iv Mime cheerful story to repeat. (Applause,) 'lid; has all been done without borrowing, -iniplv le- reducing our expenditure and living wiibin mir■ means. 1 think, nevertheless, that lu order to complete the Otago Central and

.her main lines of railway, it may ho necessary •hj go upon the money market fora loan, still I would he strongly inclined to defer that step mtil Hie last po.-sihle moment --(applause)--and nut mull every other method had been exhausted. 1 would rather that the colony should Ji.nv Hime self-reliance ami economy, and -nice as far as possible to complete our public works with our own earnings and savings, and .how to the world at large that we arc and can hj ■ independent.—(Applause.) The colony has already gone through many years of depression. N’oi, i hat we arc recovering and forging steadily ih'-ad again let ns show that we have profited ii\ the lesson, and, as a burnt child (beads the lire, he cautions indeed how we again entangle • aii'selves in money matters. \\ hat has become .a' the Opposition's continued prophecies that tin- Government we re galloping to a deficit; .hat they were driving capital away—ln fact, going to ruin the country, and going to play up ■ld Harry generally ? An Opposition member . reported to have said: *‘lt is not that the i .o.eminent have done anything seriously wrong as yet, hut it is what they may do." Was ever such nonsense uttered as that? if the Opposition have no stronger arguments than those to use against the present Government, i hen 1 am afraid that they will have to remain in the cold similes of Opposition for some time longer. - (Applause. | There is no satisfying ■n'nii people. Thu Opposition also prophesied tint the (lovernmeut were going to hurst up all i lie large estates, but because this has not oeen done, and one large estate purchased instead, they still are not satisfied, ami never will he intil their party again occupy the Treasury h' i’.elits. ■ (Applause.) TAXATION. since 1 last addressed yon the Government have .substituted a Land ami Income Tax, which I think will lie more just and equitable in all respects, for unless you are earning an income • ■fat least £3OO per annum, or your property, together with improvements, is valued at more : I.an £3,000, you have not to pay any taxes a I all ; whereas under the property tax everything you were possessed of—furniture, inom-v in the hank, stock-in-trade, shares, < tc., acre all liable to taxation, the only exemption h/mg an allowance of £SOO. Now all that is wholished, and your u household goods” are all free, and the exemption upon the improvements on your property is increased to freely prophesied that this experiment would prou* a disastrous failure, that the revenue would suffer, and so on : but the contrary has

been the case, as not only ' has the amount received realised the sum estimated—£3so,oo0 — but exceeded it by the handsome total of £15,000, thus fully hearing out the prediction of the late Premier and Treasurer. - (Applause.) I trust that the Government will see their way during next session to exempt all improvements on land. If this be done, it will then bo one of the fairest forms of taxation possible. It is extremely amusing to hear the members of the Opposition -raving about the large surpluses that the present Ministry have had since thev came into office ; hut is it not better that there should be a good substantial surplus annually, so that our public works may be kept going, than a balance on the wrong side of the ledger every year, ami the consequent stagnation of business and employment which would most assuredly follow? I believe we would have bod hundreds of workmen idle during last year had it not been for these large balances in tire colony’s lavor, which have enabled the Government to go on with public m n moderate way. At the same time, I would not care to see a much larger surplus than lias been obtain..d this year. It is greater than the Ministers anticipated at. the commencement of the financial year—arising from various causes—showing the returning prosperity of the colony, the elasticity of its resources, and its ability to bear taxation. —(Applause.) RAILWAYS. With regard to our railways and their management I regret that I cannot speak satisfactorily. The Commissioners do not seem to run the railways for the convenience of the public, but have been charging exceptionally high rates of fares and freights, so that a good balance-sheet may be shown annually, so much so that in many instances road carriage has successfully competed against them, which should certainly not he the ease if the railways were properly managed. I do not think that the railways should )>e run so much to pay interest on their cost as that they should be utilised for the public convenience, so that; travelling should be made as cheap as possible, and to induce more people to travel, and also that all farm products may bo brought as cheaply as possible to a market or shipping port.—(Applause.) I am sure if freights and fares were reduced in many cases there would lie u largo increase in the traffic, which would repay itself in time. I am glad to see that the Commissioners have reduced the rates and fares on some of the lines, and hope they will do the same all over the system. I have not yet made up my mind as to the proposed now Railway l!ill, which proposes to make the Minister of Public Works one of the (’ummissioners, having, however, the power to veto. I wish to hear the matter discussed more fully in the House, and to consider the provisions of the Hill, before deciding whether I shall support it or not. I would not like to see the railways revert to the old system of political influence and its attendant evils, but Parliament must have some say or control in their financial management. It seems to me to be a wrong principle that the Commissioners should have the sole control of their finances, without Parliament having the slightest power to interfere. LEGISLATIVE ('DENTIL. With regard to the Legislative Council, I stated in my former address to you that I would be in favor of a reduction of members to, say, onehalf of those of the House of Representatives. If any vacancy occurred by death or removal from the country, it should be filled up by election. The term should be seven years, and a certain number should be elected every three years. As yon are a ware, a Hill has been jmssed through both Houses abolishing life nominations and limiting the term of holding office to seven rears a measure I am sure you will approve of most heartily, fam still, however, of opinion that it v, mild not be a wise step to do away with a second or icvising chamber I or council, because, no matter how careful the I Lower House may be, there is always the danger | of an important measure slipping through all its I readings before all its provisions are thoroughly understood and examined by members, and which n;av lie found to be of a highly injurious character when it came up for calm discussion and dissection in the Cppcr House. It is quite impossible for any one single member of the House to get a thorough grasp and knowledge of all the Hills which come up for consideration every session in Parliament. List year, if my memory serves me right, there were 1200 measures presented to the House, many of them containing from 100 to 300 clauses. The Legislative Council only has to deal with those Hills which have passed the House of Representatives, and therefore they have a better chance of considering them more leisurely and calmly, and in a more judicial and impartial manner than in the turmoil mid bustle of a House of Representatives, and thug a great many errors which unintentionally pass thu Lower House are detected and revised. As I have already said, I would advocate the Legislative Council Doing reformed, not abolished, as I am strongly in favor of it as a second or revising chamber.--1 Applause.) KI U’t'ATH IN. I am still of opinion that it would be very unwise to interfere with the present system of education.-- (Applause.) lam afraid if it wore meddled with it would lead to the revival of denominational education. I must give the Roman Catholics every praise for the manner in which they support their schools and the great sacrifices they must make to maintain them : hut if aid were given to them the Presbyterians, Anglicans, mid other denominations would be equally justified in asking for a similar concession—(applause)—and I have not the slightest doubt they would immediately do so if the Homan Catholics got it, and as they are a great deal more numerous (and consequently their influence would he much more felt at the polling booths) they would be sure to obtain what they asked, and that would inevitably lead to the downfall of the present system. I am not going to discuss the merits or demerits of our educational system, because I do not think that sufficient time has elapsed to give it a fair trial to definitely ascertain whether it is as groat a success as its friends would claim for it or not. There is one thing certain, and that is ; that it is costing a large sum of money every year, but under it every child of the colony is assured of a good education.

TIIK OTAiiO I'EXTKAL UAH-WAV. Thin is n most important work to the people of Otago, ami one to which all their energies must he exerted to get it pushed through, as the lands in the centre of Otago will never lie properly settled until a railway is made, by which the produce can he carried cheaply to a maiket, and I venture to say that when this railway readies a certain point - such as Ewohuru, even—it will become one of the best paying in New Zealand. The people of Otago must rouse themselves up'and demand that this lino shall ho pushed on. Of course lam quite aware that the Ooverninent cannot make bricks without straw ; hut as there is a good surplus this year, a large portion of which tho Minister of Public Works promises to devote to public works, it is our honnden duty to see that we get a fair share of it for this line. I will give tho Government credit for what they already have done towards its prosecution, hut you know Governments are like individualsthey require to he kept up to the mark ; and 1 must also give praise to tho Otago Geutnil League for doing gll they can to get it carried on, Their hands ought to lie strengthened by tiie unanimous support of the public ami the members of tho Legislature. 1 believe that ways and means can be found for prosecuting the work without having recourse to raising a loan at Home, i think it was a great pity that tho Bill brought before the House some years ago to set apart a certain portion of tho pastoral rents of Otago Central as a fund to pay interest on money borrowed from Government institutions was lost. I think it was one of the fairest proposals made to provide the funds necessary, because, as the railway is extended, as a natural sequence the rents will necessarily increase with the increased facilities the settlers will have in getting their produce to a market or shipping port at a reasonable rate. So far as I can see at present, I would be prepared to support such a Bill if it should oome before the House this session, as I believe that the prosperity of Otago is, to a great extent, bound up with this line, and although I am opposed to borrowing, yet before 1 would sec this work where it is I would advocate a loan for it, even if we had to go upon the London market for it.--(Applause.) There is another phase of tho question. As a rule it is beautifully dry weather in tho Otago Central district, and tho people can settle on the land with a great deal less discomfort than when nearer the coast; besides, men can always make a living by rabbiting during the winter months. There is no doubt, also, that it will give a groat impetus to the mining industry, which I on sorry to say is not in tho most prosperous condition at the present time. -(Applause.)

('ONci.isrON. Gentlemen, I will not keep you late. The night is very cold, and I have placed my views briefly before you. It is for you to say whether I fulfilled the pledges I made when I became your member. If there arc any questions, I shall bo only too happy to answer them.— (Applause.)

In reply to questions, Mr Dawson said ho had not made up hm mind ns to which seat lie would contest at the General Election. It was his intention to stand for a seat, and he wonld let them know which one it was before he went to Wellington. If a Local Option Bill without compensation were introduced next session it would all depend on the lines on which it was drawn up whether ho wonld support it or not.— (A Voice: “That’s not a straightforward answer.”) They had local option already.—(A Voice: “No, not by the decision of the courts.") They could put a Prohibition committee in if they chose. He had always been opposed to the granting of the franchise to women, and he was still of the same opinion, as he believed the women themselves did not wish to possess tip; privilege. As far as he was aware

it was only a smalt number of tbe yrotneu of the colony who desired the franchise. Mr Rhodes proposed, and Mr James Akthiti seconded—“ That Mr Dawson be thanked fdr his address."

Mr Strain moved us an amendment a vote of thanks and confidence. On the question being put, the amendment of thanks and confidence was declared carried by a large majority, and the proceedings closed.