CAPTAIN RUSSELL AT HASTINGS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7177, 1 June 1885, Page 2

CAPTAIN RUSSELL AT HASTINGS.

Captain Russell addressed a meeting 1 o^BbJ of his constituents in the Hastirigß^owD^f^^f Hall on Saturday evening. ■' Tfiere^as.^i^pH a good attendance. ' ■ > ' Mr R. Wellwood' waa yoted to ,'|Ede.i|]^^B chair, and in briefly referring ;to;»Cfche l'S^tflfl object of the meeting, said he tbLdQg^i.| ;% H>^H would be better if members wouM;;mal?ei;^v4|tH a practice of addressing 'their^'Opn^*lf'f|flß tuents as soon after the session "^m [ov'e'R-fS^H as possible; and while thedelib)Brliti})nl;|l^M and actions of ParUam6nff ? '^i^^tiii I : 'S5^H fresh ih the minds of the ptob|io,f ;-;|;|-}if|.^H Captain Russell, who waa ; r|c^iv6d t f^H with applauae, 1 said he iMH present two apologies. The .firat'^aJtolS^H causing them to leave their -homeßjjlSSipH such a wretchedly cold night thaii^evf^^^yH the chairman was glad to Bit . with ijia H' ;^«| top coat on, and the second was f or nn£ iSiljH having given longer notice o^f bis.infcli|Sp.w|H tion to speak. The reason 1 , for ;.t^|3pffti|^B notice was that he had determinea^itp3J:l^Bj .address the constituency oil :^l;lefM^|^H ing, as being mdra convenient ff pr,ff||||f;j|^B publio, and because it would be a" mQtifllliß light night. At the beginning ipL'vtn^|U week he had suffered ao' 'much^fromf||^Sß| lumbago that he was doubtful :whetfi^|l^B he would be able to speak a^t er j>P:rJan|H^H he had given notice of hib intentipn^|i6s|HH to do as soon as he began to get better^mHH In reference to what; had -^^ll^MjlH from the chairman on the t quesfcipi^^Hß of addressing '-the constituenciea; spo^^^H after the end of a session, there 'was^tt^^H advantage in speaking later* , ; Py ■Bpeatt^pHß ing shortly before the commencemen|^^l| of a session a member waß.not'only^ljiQ|||fc|H to tell what had transpired during: the^|,|i4H previous session, but he could of 'W'gff|S||B an idea of the policy that wasvto ! "come|M|il up at the next session, , and of^wfia||jpi course of action he wouMytafte !m^l@#S tion to that policy. The result '"Q?,£t]ie||p | last election was to prove ;thW^|tpS|ft Atkinson Government could' not, cio^Jir'g mand a working majority in tie; 'Hpul|^|^| and Major Atkinson tendered &s:;resig^3' | nation. Sir Julias Yogel waaßenjb'^r^g to form a Ministry, and' he, flucp^Me^|%f« His Ministry, howeyer/c6usisted-aliinp|ii|pr| entirely of Sorfth Island membera^na||^J the meeting would ,remember' tb^vhe;^ f (Captain Russell) when objecting iq;|]hie^3§ I passing of the Representation Bill, pre-5^ I dieted that it would result in placing the jvfv balance of power in the hands of. the rr A South Inland. Theasaemblirig.'cifj-thej;^ I first Parliament after the parsing of thaV||| | bill proved the speaker to b'erigh^«i§^ ; J his prediction. He was glad to sayYfip.wpi -i M ever, that the House did not lpdk uap^^jl Sir Julius Vogel's • Southern 'Mijj||js^|. as capable of administering the Gaytgrni^i-M ment with fairness and, justice .'t^JpU^l r, parts of the colony, and they were/ dW>;<fj| leated on a division by",a' majority? of ;sjk 19, almost the largest majority • against "zim any Ministry in this colony. M^oifc-jf || Atkinson was then sent for 'again, arid:v/v4M undertook to form a Cabinet.- '\ ifsKDtH asked many gentlemen to join him, an&yjst-s^H among others asked him: (Captain. MjH Russell) to become a member fcf ! the "^y?^B Government. He looked Supbn; tlie3|^H request as an honor, and although she" fc%H doubted the ability, of Major Atkinson ', : -' ; JjM to form a Ministry that would .stand, £/||M determined to do his best to help >§M him to hold the reins oorf r po'wejr. i|W Captain Russell looked upon his short v||« connection with the Government not only as a personal compliment to himself '^H from Major Atkinson, but was moirej, ,vj|M pleased with it as showing his con-^p|fl stituents that they had returned a\ -vMJ member who, whether a valuable one prL jHB not, was deemed worthy to take a a |H share in the Government of the country?. ,'J-^H Major Atkinson's Government, how-"V;;«j ever, did not stand, for actually before i ijH the whole of the portfolios could tye .9 filled, and before the Ministry had time to enunoiate a policy, they were ovei^- ; ; jjfl thrown by a vote of want of confidenc^ <M Mr Stout, in speaking, against the : ifl| Ministry argued that it was only the 9^ old Atkinson party,' wbioh the colony! /. fl had shown it did not want anything to, '",- ' B do with, and the old . joke was revivedl - ■■^m of whether the tail wagged the dog; prl V'jjß the dog wagged the tail, members want- \ IB ing to know the probability of Major \VJH Atkinson wagging his tail of a Cabinet, T.fi| or the Cabinet; as a tail haying sufficient, power to wag Major Atkinson. How- jH| ever, he (Captain Russell) ' contended m^M tbat the Atkinson Ministry should haye\ HHj hud a chance to enumerate' a polioy^/Bm Before , the Ministry actually went out^^ff^ of office there was talk of a coalition Ministry, and speaking for himself he w must say he was in favor, of it.: He f was willing to sacrifice himself and leave -^j office in order that a really stable Gov- .'. ernment might be formed. There was alao another reason why he was in favor, J of the coalition Government. He felt, r then as he felt now, that Sir Julius Yogel was not to.be avoided — ; he. . '.? was the inevitable. The country had ''« '\ got to think him a conjuror, able to do someting with nothing, or multiply r \, twice two into five. He was, a clever ■"■ man, with a brilliant intellect, but in •■"< his (Captain Russell's) opinion was absolutely reckless. Money would, be bor- v. rowed to carry on every possible :.• scheme, and old settlers who could not i

leave the country, and who did not : ■ desire to do so, would be forced to . pay ■ for the development of his schemes. " ' Some people in the House considered , A Sir Julius Yogel good, but only as '•' Sir Julius Yogel with the break on." The T' coalition Ministry waa rendered impos- ' ■■":; sible by the Canterbury members, who .■ . 'C>;* supported Sir Julius Yogel because . '^f they seemed to regard him as able to „, l ,^\j lift Canterbury out of the difficulty and - distress it was then in by discovering .• BOtae "royal road" to prosperity. He w 5 (Captain Russell) believed that they ; I were wrong, and that trusting to any- .. |1 thing but energy and perseverance, and ■ ■ -B putting their shoulders to the wheelj '''•j waa leaning on a rotten reed. Still, he : l|B admitted fully, though he waa sorry K^^ •»■ admit it, thai; the people generally did; £'• • | !■ not seem to think with him. People >V , : : ;; lB still believed that borrowing, v and v, s ;'i iB borrowing again, and yet again' bdr-i^'/, : *fiß rowing would make the colony better i;*:';ftß off than it was at present. But let that' •£ -j'vji ''i ?m rule be applied to private affairs, and its '■' -k }} %fl f filly would soon be scon. BorroWing {'A "^M for legitimate purposes was . right j!V-^|?j| enough, bufc to continue borrowing fot ft-s££fta| fancy schemes could pnly end in^alljij'i^^l^ljß into the hands of the money lender^: an^^lMifl in disaster, He , was: afraidj;^atv : ;|hei'pSj||H colony ma going iii that djieotionj for ftfi^HH

}■■■ ..large portion of the money that had , ;'-"' been borrowed, and money that would yet be borrowed, was for fancy schemes, ,-''" andnot for legitimate purposes. To his :•" mind, the country had gone through „ , what he might call a debauch; and was , . suffering from a fit of financial delirium '■■, >;„■ tremens. Under Major Atkinson the V; f£fc<?ttntry got rid to a great extent of its •,# attack of the horrors, but like a man in . a somewhat similar position, apparently . wanted " another drop " to hasten recovery. The country was now going in for another "dram" of borrowing, and as snre as his hearers were in that room, ho sure was it that the country was going in for another financial debauch under Sir Julias Yogel, from which debauch recovery would be slow and painful. So clever, . so able, so unscrupulous was Sir Julius : Yogel, that the borrowing schemes of the Government were wrapped up so that the public did not perceive what an enormous amount of money was to be borrowed. They might be surprised to hear it, but it was true, nevertheless, that the legislation of last session authorised the borowing of the enormous sum of £7,000,000. Probably very few persona were .aware that such a sum as that was about to be borrowed, but that was the fact. Some put it down at a | larger amount, and it might be larger by taking account of the sinking fund, but he' would confine himself to the borrowing powers actually conferred by Acts passed last session. There was first the necessary work of constructing the North Island trunk railway, £1,000,000; the West Coast (Canterbury) railway, £1,500,000; and the Gtago Central line, about another million. Then it was decided to pur- , chase the district railways, at an amount stated at from £750,000 to • £IjOOO,OOO. Various other items (some of which he admitted were right and justifiable, such as the connection of Hawke's Bay with Wellington by rail) .helped 'to swell the total, and then thefe was the Westporfc harbor expenditure* something like £500,000, and the harbor at Greymouth. In round number^ the total was £7,000,000, so that, " -.-. -:^as it was put in the Financial State'•ment, the public works o£ the colony might be carried on night and day. Of that enormous expendi- • ture none of it, with but few exceptions, such as those he had noted, could be regarded as likely to be remunerative to the colony. The expenditure would cause serious embarrassment, because when the works were stopped, and there was a reaction, there would he the interest to pay to the money-lenders. Probably the question which' most exer- , . cised Parliament was the so-called District Railways Purchase Bill, but which in the lobbies was described by tbe more unparliamentary name of the "District Railways Swindle." He would endeavor to explain to them •what this precious measure waa like. In 1877 there was passed a bill under which what were termed district railways might be built. Under the Public Works policy certain parts of the coun- * try were opened up by railway lines, but in other parts, where population was limited, and where a railway could not be built to pay, this District Railways Act gave the ratepayers power, by going through certain forms, of constructing a railway through their properties or through their district. A clear majority of ratepayers in favor of the railway had to be obtained before the railway could be constructed, and the vote was taken by ballot, so thai; ,it could not be said that any of these ■wgrks were forced upon a district. If ; '']. the vote were in favor of the railway the ' . interest on the money for its construction must not exoeed seven per cent., five per cent, being paid by the owners of property immediately benefited, and two per cent, by the -Government, this latter payment being intended as a recognition o£ the fact that the districts - had not benefited so much as others by the public works scheme. Yarions jr^ilways were made under the Act. It ""•Was quite absurd that they should be made, so far aa traffio was concerned, but ; quite natural so far as the desire of ' property owners to improve their posBesaidns was concerned. He might „.' ' remark, as to the hopelessness of these > • railways ever paying, that many lines in ; populous districts did not pay. Howi; ever,, several lines were made, and I among others the Waimea railway. For \ -, the year ending March 3lst, 1884, after ]'■■'. paying! working expenses, that line had ,1. 'yielded a revenue of £12 14s 6d. The ■f, bill before the House last session proi' Tided for the Government buying these h railways to relieve the " poor rate- ?■'•'• payers," and this Waimea line was one i\ of. those it was proposed to make the '• Jiolpny pay for— not at its market AY".- "price, it should be - borne in mind, ;-j , f l but at what it cost to construct Lr at the tim 9 the work wag being carried c\ out. The chief "argument" in favor \lj bf buying the lines was that the rates :. : ' - .■were pressing bo heavily upon the rate- ;; ■ payers through whose district the line |\ ran that they .could not struggle along, 'i arid that . therefore it would be f. ■ better for the country to purchase l; the lines with money borrowed at a [\ ■ low rate of interest, and so relieve the I -poot ratepayers from paying their five 1 per cent. He would give them an idea of what it would cost the country to take over these railways, which were put down solely to benefit private pro- - 1: perties. The rate levied to pro vide interest on the cost of the Waimea railr way was £4744, and tbe poor struggling ratepayers objected to pay it, ami i wanted the rest of the colony to pay it instead. Now one of these tC poor and

V struggling ratepayers" was called the f\ New Zealand Agricultural Company \ x probably one of the richest :*|j&brporatioßs in the colony. This strugr (gUng ratepayer out of the total sum of ■>■ ? £4744, paid £3003 2a 6d, bo that the '■'■ property of this company was chiefly ,\ , benefited by the railway. And yet : the country were asked to pur- - chas ( e this line! The thing was ': monstrous. (Loud applause.) He v would tell them of other instances, and f( they would see what a monßtrous '£ "'.'< iniquity thin district railways affair v/. ; really was. It was a wretched job, and I yet a body of men accustomed to be f:-- reviled — the Legislative Chamber— '--r had alone prevented this iniquitous measure being made law, for they ..' refnsed to pass it after it had been V; passed by a majority in the House. The h:i> I)untroon railway was another Hue ■,'.:-*•, built under the district railways affair. '&)■■ -V".' One gentleman, a member of the legis;;s' , lature, had 3600 ten pound shares in ■IK thia railway, and what did they think ■fj' 1 .this gentleman had actually paid up? Btft ".' According to his own statement, just ■-?■'>."' 'one shilling on every share, and. the ■Iv; whole of the called up capital in con■l£V nectlon with the railway was £370, H<^% although the cost of the railway was ■f^\ £80^000. As a matter of fact, this gentleHi'"^ ; man had really only paid sixpence per H^: .share. He (Captain Russell) was glad ■-i/ s : Vto say he was one of the minority who ■ifr" .considered the proposal to buy the H|?|^; railways a monstrous thing, and Hl?fv strongly objected to it. (Loud ap■St£*' vplause.) "When the "legislative Council Btf i^ ;threw out the bill, then came trouble ■fc^and all kinds of threats. There ■^^wffcpfcs"'" to be a dissolution, and the H<§© Sovernment announced that the whole BSu^Vtofjhfeir bills formed a series, and that Hif'-'.Vctiie .could not stand or fall without all Mf*K '"-*■ 'sending or falling. The • end of it was Hs;o"that a^resolution was carried, empowerHfste'ing the Government to enter intc ■Bp^-v'nego.tiatious durinst the recess for the purchase of these district railways. Thii Hl|rp£?iWa^ just a, shade batter than when the B»il^iU;;:=w;«s. ( passed, because when tb( before; the House agaii J^Hip^emberai-vsrpuld .have an opportunity o: ■^^^fflng^i^^l^BtioD,^^ . o;

deciding whether the railways should be purchased' at their market prioe, or at tbe cost of their construction. He disliked tha whole affair, however, looking upon it fa a disgusting job, and he considered (hat the sellers would bo in tbe position of saying to the colony "Heads I win, tails you lose." There were many other railways in connection with which there would probably be an endeavor to force them upon the country, such aa the Manawatu railway, the Waimate railway, and the Eotorua railway, and the railway to the West Coast. They should do all in their power to strengthen the hands of those representatives who objected to that sort of thing. (Applause.) In reference to native matters, it was difficult to predict the line that Mr Ballance intended to take, but it waa believed that his colleagues bad already squashed several of his j fads, daptain Russell bslieved that in native matters there ought to be continuity of policy, as when changes of Ministry took place, and one Miniater undid the work of the preceding Minister, the natives put it down to weakness. So far as could be judged frorrt tho papers, Mr Ballance seemed to have designed a scheme which he (Captain Eußsell) thought radically wrong, as he proposed to confer upon native committees the power to adjudicate upon titles. To suppose that tho natives would form good judicial tribunals was to imagine Maori civilisation to be much higher than it was. Mr Ballance seemed to desire to create a native landed aristocracy, with the Maoris large landowners instead of land sellers. This was contrary to his scheme for creating sett'ements . on Crown lands, but how he could think Crown lands could be cut up and placed in the possession of European settlers, unless Maori land were treated in the same way, he (Captain Russell) could not make out. That millions of acres of land should lie unproductive in the hands of Maoris for all time was a policy neither just nor politic, and he for one would oppose it. The Maoris should be possessed of defined inalienable reserveß, but in other respects their landß should be treated as the land 3 held by Europeans, and be subject to the same rates and taxes. That would do more to civilise the natives, and to cause them to bring their land into useful cultivation, than any scheme for creating a class of Maori landlords. In relation to local government the speaker did not believe in revolutionary measures. Local government, to be successful, must be a thing of growth. There were many anomalies to be remedied, but the scheme by which this could be done required careful consideration. Perhaps a plan by which the counties could be endowed wish larger powers would partly meet the case. Gentlemen were members of the County Council, School Board, and various other bodies, and in nearly every case the members composing one body met again with the others. For himself, being a member of about 16 different bodieß, he found his time so fully occupied that he hardly had any time for his own business. He thought that system might be remodelled by a scheme by which the counties could deal with hospital and charitable aid, education, county matters as now understood, and so forth. But he "would not like to see tbe road boards abolished. They did their work well and cheaply, and were of great service in outlying districts. If the Government brought down local government proposals ho would devote his best attention to their consideration, but if they proposed to abolish or curtail the powers of road boards he would oppose it. (Applause.) There was one subject in connection with local government he would like to say a word or two upon, and that was the Roads and Brides Construction Act. The newspapers seemed to have a very bad opinion of this measure, but he thought it a good one, and hoped to see still larger concessions made to local bodies in a direction similar to that provided for by the Act. Captain Russell dealt with the education question at considerable length, and defended the line of action he had adopted .on the Education Board. He referred to the straits the Hawke's Bay district was in for want of funds for educational purposes, and argued that if the Board had thrown upon the Government the onus of administering the school district, much better provision would have been j made. Hawke's Bay wanted at least £10,000 for school purposes, and had only £2000, and the difficulties they were laboring under would remain unless the matter were strongly forced upon the attention of Parliament. In reference to the honorarium question, he was glad that a bill had been passed that would preventin future tbe unseemly squabbles that had taken place in the House, with members voting their own remuneration. The amount was now fixed by law at £210, with £105 for a second session should one be held. For himself he thought £105 was enough for any session, and had formed one of a minority who voted for that, but he was pleased the whole question was settled by Act instead of having to be discussed every session. In reference to the way in which the district was looked after, he was happy to say that Mr Ormond, Mr Smith, and himself, though they were not quite agreed politically, worked well and harmoniously together in all questions involving the welfare of the district, and whatever could be done for its benefit was done. It was the same with Mr Locke, and now there was Mr

Sheehan, who might reasonably be expected to study the welfare of this district, had been elected for Tauranga. There was also Mr Beetham, who represented Wairarapa, and altogether there was now quite a strong phalanx ready to see that iustice was done to this district. Regarding the coming session, he looked upon Sir Julius Yogel as " The Inevitable." He had, in vulgar parlance, got the country "by the wool," and he would hold it tight, although he (Captain Bussell) was afraid the result would be a great loss of the Baid wool before the finish. He did not see that any good could come of turning him out, as the country seemed determined to have him, and he (Captain Russell) would not lend himself to anyf atuousopposition simply for the sake of causing obstruction. It was the duty of every member to try to guide the Government, and try to prevent them doing more mischief than could be avoided, but not to try to oppose for the mere sake of opposition. He might have to vote "at his party's call," bub Mb individual opinion was that the Government should bo let alone for the coming session. In referring to the probable financial policy of the Government, which was supposed to include a. repeal of the property tax and the substitution of a land and income tax, he could only say that nothing definite was known. But on the question of taxation there was one thing that made him wonder. When Messrs Stout and BaUance were members of Sii George Gcey'a Government, the talk was a great deal about the " Free Break fast Table," and the dnties on tea anc sugar were reducsd. Mr Stout and M: Ballance appeated then as Freetrader^ but they were now allied with Si Julius Voget, and would probably tab taxation off property, as they did las year, when they also passed an Ac directly in favor of Protection. H (Captain .Russell) had often advocate beetroot sugar, but he was afraid b must now alter his opinion, not becaufi of a change in, him, but because^ of change in eugar. (Laughter aud a]

plauue'.) Th"c price of sugar had gone down several pounds per ton, and that took away all possible profit outof beetroot sugar. But what had the one time advocates of the "Free Breakfast Table "done? Messrs Stout and Bsllance had actually caused to be passed last session a bill providing for one halfpenny per pownd difference between the price of sugar made in the colonies and that imported. In other words, they provided that every person who consumed sugar should pay one halfpenny per pound tax in order to aid peop'e who thought fit to attempt the manufactu re of sugar here. (A voice : For how long F) That was for 15 years. ' ' In other words." said daptain Bussell, "if I choose to grow oeefrooi for sugar working purposes, you are to be taxed one halfpenny per pound to make 1 my farming profitable." Captain Russell went on to speak at considerable length on the subjects of federation and defence. He believed Australasian federation would be bad for New Zealand, as the antagonistic interests of the other large colonies would overshadow the interests of this colony, which would consequently suffer. In the matter of defence he referred to Admiral Tryon's letter advocating colonial union for defence, and fot indemnification in the case of injury or damage to any portion of the united colonies, aud endorsed the proposals. He also congratulated New South Wales on despatching a contingent to the Soudan, and said he believed that if the need existed the colonies conld furnish men not iv hundreds, but in thousands, and men who would be more efficient than tbe soldiers of the Imperial army. Captain Russell concluded a long and able address by stating that so long as they honored him with their confidence he would not seek personal popularity, but would endeavor to the best of his ability to do his duty, so that the best interests of hiß constituents might be served. The speaker resumed his seat amid loud and prolonged applause. In reply to a question, Captain Russell stated that he would not attempt next session to get the honorarium reduced, ac ifc would now need the introduction of a special bill for that pur^ pose, and he was convinced by the discussion on the question last session j that Buch a bill would stand no chance of being passed. j Mr A. T. Danvers proposed the following resolution : — " That this meeting accords Captain Russell a vote of confidence, and also a vote of thanks for his able address this evening." The motion was seconded by^ Mr j£. j H. Muadoch, and carried unanimously. ! Captain Russell having briefly replied, the meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman, carried by acclamation.