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Evening Star, Issue 11725, 7 April 1902, Page 1

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■■•' , :' i Tint member for Riecarfcbn has been addressing his consti uents, and'delivered on Thursday evening last a characteristic speech, in which, among other things, he seemed to assure* the possibility of a new Opposition of which he would be a distinguish? 1 ' member, and possibly not be .above accepting the Leadership. Mr G. W. Russell may v be summarily described as an aspiring politician, who has not succeeded in realising his aspirations. Originally returned as a redhnt Seddorrian, his services were not appreciated by the as he considered they should have been, and he " turned dog" on the Government, opposing them with the bitterness generally displayed by apostates, religious and political. A Cbristchurch contemporary in a recent issue gives an admirable sketch of his parliamentary history, from which the following leading facts may be presented, as being instructive in the position he now arrogates to himself as the coming Liberator of New Zealand:—ln 1893 Mr Russell entered the House, having been elected for Riccarton on the Ministerial ticket, and he continued a staunch adherent of the Government up to and including the Christchurch bye-election in 1896. when he stumped the electorate on behalf of their candidate, whom many of the party refused to support. Just then there were two vacancies in the Cabinet. In tilling them, however, Mr Seddon passed over this faithful henchman, and appointed Mr HallJones—whom Mr Russell now politely designates as an "administrative larrikin" —and Mr T. Thompson, of Auckland. Mr Russell at once evidenced conscientious scruples as to the Ministerial policy, and proceeded to make himself very much a nuisance to Ministers and to the Hoirse. He formed, and in a manner led, the Left Wing—which politically was neither " fish, nor flesh, nor fowl," Iwit generally exasperating—and mdi'bed in a variety of vagaries, which excited ridicule, and by no means adorned his recml At the General Election at the end. of It'"'6 Mr Russell was rejected, but in 1899 he was again in the field, and, professing penitence -for his former default, declared himself a supporter of the Government, and on that footing was returned. In 1C99, as in 1896, there were two vacant portfolios, and again his claims to office were ignored, and his loud-mouthed loyalty was changed to open revolt, the Premier l>eing the special object of his attacks. It is to be noted, however, that he has taken every opportunity of eulogising Sir Joseph Ward, and the surmise is very general in political circles that these eulogies are prompted by gratitude for favors to conic, the member for Riccarton hoping that he may have a better chance should a reconstruction of the Cabinet under Sir Joseph, as i»: not likely, take place in the not dH!'.ri«'!ture. All circumstances being taken into account, the utterances of Mr Russell do not merit, nor arc they likely to receive, much consideration from the people of Now Zealand. Tainted, as they iinmisiakeably are, with strong prejudice, his statements as to the financial situation and the general administration of affairs cannot be unreservedly accepted, although we are disposed to think that there are many grains of truth in the charges which he prefers with so much vehemence. It must, be recollected that he is still professedly a supporter of the Ministerial policy, aud presumably in the possession of information which is not available outside the party to which he nominally belongs. Mr Russell is especially severe in his criticism of the Government finance, which he denounces as very much a fraud and a sham. The last surplus of £320.000, he asserts, was a " paper" one. During the June quarter £75,000 had been paid to the Public Works Fund ; while there was an overdraft of £96,000 at the end of the quarter, in addition to an increase) of the floating debt by £IOO,OOO. During the second quarter £255.000 was paid to the Pcblic Works Fund, while the floating debt was increased by another £90,000. At the end of this quarter there was only £52,000 in the Treasury, although £190,000 of the. surplus was still owing to the Public Works Fund. During the third quarter, ended December 31, the, Premier paid over to that fund the balance of £190,000, but he closed the quarter, Mr Russell asserts, with an actual deficit of £387,000. The floating debt was increaw-d by another £50,000, making the total additions to the floating debt during the, financial year £240,000. On September 20, he proceeds to say. the Colony had a total credit of £53,000, although on the following day Ihere was due in lyondon £112,000 for interest and sinking fund. During the December quarter th<? Colony had to pay in London £797,000 for interest and sinking fund, and the Government, Mr Russell states, borrowed many thousands of pounds from companies at 4 per cent. Referring to the enormous increase (£847,000) in.the departmental expenditure, the honorable gentleman declared that the Colony had entered upon a course of the "wildest prodigality." which could only end in linancial chaos if persisted in. During the first nine months of the financial year just terminated (March 31) the revenue showed an increase of £IBO.OOO, and the expenditure of £380.000. The revenne during the period amounted to £4,210.000, and the expenditure to £4,674,000—£464.000 more than the revenue thus being expended. "If "the Premier was able to make a surplus "out of this, he deserved a. good deal of "credit for his ingenuity." Referring to the land question, Mr Russell explicitly charges the Government with failing io carry out the land for settlements scheme initiated by the late Sir John M'KenzJe. The true policy was 1 o " settle the army of co-operative workers on the land." How he would propose to effect this, considering that these workers are the very last people in the Colony who would willingly commit themselves to the laborious occupation of cultivating tJie soil, and who, as a rule, are absolutely without means or any qualification for agricultural pursuits, the honorable gentleman docs not vouchsafe to explain; and he may retort that ho is not called on to do so till he is charged with the responsibility of office. In that case we are afraid that it will lie a long time before Mr Russell will be required to propound a policy for the consideration of the constituencies.,