THE HON, MR WARD AT THE GAIETY THEATRE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 9540, 28 November 1893, Page 3

THE HON, MR WARD AT THE GAIETY THEATRE.

Last night the Hon, J. G, Ward, Colonial Treasurer, addressed a meeting of electors at the Gaiety Theatre. Long before 8 o'c'ook the building was packed to the doors. The dress circle and the whole of the stage were reserved for the ladies, but many were finable to gain admittance. Mr H. P. Cohen occupied, the chair. The appearance of Mr Ward was the signal for an enthusiastic demonstration and three cheers for him. Mr Cohen, who introduced the speaker, said the Conservative journals had been distorting Mr Ward's figures, and if their charges were true they should have Indicted Mr Ward before tbe Supreme Court, Mr Ward had left) a sick family and travelled night and day to meet bis accusers, who had done their beat to keep the people away, but he was glad to say the attempt had failed. Mr Ward, who was loudly applauded on rising, said it was always gratifying to meet his adversaries face to face, and he

ventured to say it was not his fault tbab he had to criticise the statements of some of the brilliant financiers of Napier, (Laughter and applause.) It might be asked why he was there. It was becanse he had a most courteous

iavitation to come, and he took it to be the duty of prominent public men to see that both aide? of a question were put before tbe public. There was bound to he a diversity of public opinion, and the Opposition rightly criticised the Government. He would commence right off the reel with the " dry " part of his address, which would necessarily deal largely with figures. He compared the finance of the colony to the base of a ateeplo— unless the base was solid and substantial the steeple could not keep its place. That was why the Opposition tried to undermine the finance of the Government. They were told that they professed to be a non-bor-rowing Government, but financial critics declared that that waa not so because the j

mblic debt had increased. That was done

I by a distortion of ordinary increases in debt. Before tbe present Government came into power Sir Harry Atkinson declared It) to be essential that a loan must be obtained, though he proposed to raise it in the colony, In contradistinction to that policy the present Government gave it out that they would not go back to a borrowing policy, and they had made no attempt to raise a loan either in or out of the colony during their two and a half years of office. Befoie the present Government took office a £2,000,000 loan was converted, so that conversion was no new thing, That) Important fact was kept in the backgronnd by their opponents, and when he had done he did nod think they would attach much importance to the criticism in that mornings Herald. He would read an extract from the Financial Statement and then a statement by Mr M'Lean. [The extract showed that there was last year an increase In the net public debt of £468,861] Mr M'Lean Raid they claimed that tne public debt' had decreased. (Applause.) They could judge from that bow mnch weight should be given to the statements of that gentleman. There was a series of questions put to him in the Herald, but the article had to bo claseed with the statements of Mr M'Lean. The article stated that when the present Ministry, took office the isßne of Treasury bills was limited to £500,000. Had the writer inquired he could have fonnd that In 1888 Treasury bills were issued to the value of £952,750. In 1889 they stood at £819,000, iv 1890 £719,500, and in 1892 £836,000. If they were limited to £500,000, wby did not this critic ask how the last Government issued nearly a million in Treasury bills? He had selected these two statements as samples of the accuracy 1 t.f Mr M'Lenn and the Herald. The authorised issue in 18S8 was £900,000, not £500,000. He said it authoritatively that this information had been taken from the records of the colony, and verified by public servants, For a moment or two he would go back to Mr M'Lean, He said in the same speech that the Government claimed to have reduced the interest on the debt by conversion operations, but that the sum payable for interest had increased. The trouble was that Mr M'Lean did not understacd the question at all, and mixed up two simple matters. (Applause,) It wae true that by two conversion operations the interest was decreased by £53 000. But the one thing had nothing to do with the other. The interest on the public debt and tbe total Interest charges were as different as

the town of Napier and a itttle island outside whose came hd did not know.

then dealing with the Treasury bills Mr M'Lean raid the Government bad not

gone to London for a loan, bat had raised morey in New Zealand by the issue of Treasury bills as debentures, and endeavored to convey tbe impression that in that way the pnbllc debt was being added 'o, because thoee bills had been Issued payable In 1899. The revenue was something over £4,600 000, which gave about £1,100,000 a quarter. To meet the necessities of tbe colony the English practice was followed, and in anticipation of revenue Exchequer bills were issued to the extent of a quarter's revenue. He wished to make it clear that these Treasury bills were issued in anticipation of revenue. If a man. had to provide tor £500 to meet an engagement tomorrow,

if be bad not the money coming in, bnt had £2000 coming in at the end of the quarter, be would be foolish not to provide for the payment of that £500, ani so save his good name, That whs the position of the co'ony, and thflee bills were isßued to meet engagements falling due, payable when the revenue came in. They were discounted as promissory notes were, to enable the colony to pay its way. In October last £650,000 for interest had to be provided in London. Even if they had had the money in hand it wou'i have bean expensive to cable it to London, so bills to )bis amount wore Bent to London in advance to meet the interest. And thas was calM borrowing. ' It had been the practice of all previous Governments. Mr M'Lean next " explained " the conversion operations, and the conversion of the Imperial guaranteed loan of £500,00, which he asserted wi.s to get £163,000 accumulated sinking fnnd at a ruinous sacrifice. He (the speaker) maintained that it was a most beneficial operation, bb ho would show. The Government had converted virtually three 'oans, issuing 3} per cent stock to pay off higher priced loans. By converting one loan they saved annually £24,039, and the saving in 48 years, when the old loan fell due, would be £1,153,872. Another conversion resulted in an annual saving ot £29,443, and for the 37 years' currency of the loan was £1,089,390. The two operations had saved the colony £2,243,262 (Applause.) After providing for the increased di-bt the saving was £2,052,018. Mr Hunter, a candidate for Waipawa, stated that last session the Government restated an at-

tempt to set np a committee to inquire Into the public accounts, and that fufor-

mation was withhe'd from Mr Gavin, All available Information had been given, except some mutters referring to one delicate transaction not completed, which was kept back at the request of the Agent General. Ministers had not, as stated by Mr Boater, refused to refer the Public Revenues Bill to a committee, as was the usual practice. The previous 5 ear some dances from such a bill were Bent before the committee, bat not t'je parts referring to Treasury bills. Last year the Opposition tried to get the clauses referring to Treasury bills before the Public Account* Committee, but he wbb Dot such a fool— not because there was anything to buppieas, bnt because he was I responsible for what he did arid be was not going to allow irresponsible opponents to drag Ministers through the mud before

tbe Public Accounts Committee. Be was ready to publish tbe whole of the bill, for there was nothing to be ashamed of In it. That was a sample of the way candidates, some perhaps Dot intentionally, distorted facts to discredit the Government, They had been referred to as the seven devils of Socialism, political spielers, the directors of babble companies, and bo oq. Ib was not conducive to tbe good of the colony to have such things go abroad

irom men high Jo tbe political world How wonld some staid o'd gentlemen in England regard saoh epithets « It should be the first aim of every pubiio man to conserve the credit) and good name of the colony. (Applause.) Now he would explain the increase of debt, which was alleged to be due to sly borrowing. There had been no attempt) to conceal the increase in interest charges, which appeared In the Financial Statement. It was not possible to borrow without an increase In the debt, but it was possible to have an increase In the debt without) borrowing. Sir Harry Atkinson's la«t Ministry increased the gross debt by £2,926,297. The present) Ministry had increased it by £589,890, or over £2,400,C00 In favor of the present Government (Applause.) The morning paier atked bim not to fumble with figures, bad deal with the Deb debt. The Financial Statement did that, and showed that the increase on the net debt was £468,464. fie had not kept back the position of the gross or set debt. Bat bis critics did not take tbe financial year, bnt balanced some five or six months afterwards, and atked for a balance-sheet from Ministers. If he tried to do what tbe Herald asked him be wonld have to telegraph to Wellington and keep up the Treasury officials all nigh* 1 . (Laughter and applause.) Be was content with balancing at the end of tbe financial year, and be bad never heard before stzch criticism of the finance of any Government. The increase of interest had been brought about by accretions to tbe sinking fund, louns to local bodies, native land purchase?, and naval and military settlers, and the conversion operations he had referred to. Thtse items came to £744,000. That was more than be had stated as the total increase in the debt becauee

old bonds to tbe value of £210,000 had been redeemed, (Applause.) He maintained that tbe last Financial Statement placed the position of tbe colony mire clearly than it had ever been placed before. (Applause.) Previously only an expert could tell the real balance ao tbe end of the year, but now Treasury, bills were separated from revenue, and there was no confusion, the real balance, credit nt debit, being seen at once. An Opposition member had told him that before that was done only tbree men understood tbe accounts, of whom he waa one. (Applause. ) Everyone could now see tbe real state o: affairs at a glance. But before the end of the session they accused him of keeping things back. The morning paper did fcl> same thing in connection with the £500,000 loan conversion, and then in a huff-hearted way gave the answer— be. cause the transaction was not completed, and only complete transactions could be taken into account. He might be softlooking, but he was nod fo be had by old dodges like that. He would now show how the interest had increased. Last year there was a decrease of £76,000 since 1892. Bat his critics asked for the figures or this year. Well, the interest was larger by £80.500, but less than it was when tbe Government took office. Tbe increase this year would l.&ve te n £133,500, had it not been for conversion operations. What had caused the rise in the debt? Conversions were responsible for part, and the balance whs due to the land for settlement loans, naval and military settlers' claims, loans to local bodies, and other things which had by Act of Parliament been provided for out of loan, These increases were automatic, and no Government could avoid them. He had no more to do with one source of increase,

the drawing of old bonds, than had anyone in the audience. As to the subsidies to local boilie.", would those bodies be content to go without them ? No Govern-

ment could avoid that expense The Government would have failed in their duty if they had neglected any of these things. Part of the increase in interest was £8400 through the put chase of Cheviot, but against that the rent and money received for land went. But even if it did not, it was a good thing for the colony to have that eßtate cut np for close settlement. The sale of part of the estate had fully justified that transaction. Tbe applications for perpetual leases were numerous. [The Treasurer went into details to show that the purchase waa necessary to protect tbe revenue, as if the ownar's valuation had been acepted many other valuations would bave had to be reduced,] Under ordinary circumstances the Tax Department would bave taken the estate, but the Minister for Lands, who was going back to Parliament with a large majority— (applause)— took it over for settlement purposes. The only increases for which tbe present Government were responsible were items amounting to about) £12,000, inclusive of the purchase of Cheviot, and the revenue from these transactions should be put against the interest paid, Mr Ward next referred to the £476,000 increase in the issue of j Treasury bills, with a currency of five yenrs. The actual Increase was only £26,000, which had to he repaid to the Public Works fund. Why were these bills required at all ? In 1870 £476.000 loan moneys were taken tor the Public Works Fnnd in debentures, and the Post-cffire took others, to tbe total of £800,000. 1 his £476,000 waa lying in Loodun, and was invested in Imperial guaranteed debentures. This year that money was required for public works, and £476,000 could uot£be' taksn from revenue te release thfl guaranteed debentures, so Treasury bills to that amount had been issued. Those bills were not issued tor sale to raise money in the ordinary way, and was not in any way borrowing. It merely released these debentures so that they could be lodged with the Bank of England as security for the payment of interest on tbe public debt of the colony, and to preserve tbe ciedit of the colony. That was the whole transaction. Mr Ward next referred to the conversion of the £500 000 Imperial guaranteed debentures. It was said this had been done to get £163,000, and that the public debt had beeu increased thereby to a large amount. Tbe Government issued £610,000 new btock to redeem tbe £500,000, but out of tbat sura £96,000 of outstanding deben-

tares was p»id off, leaving the net increase £13,500, and there was an actual saviog in interest of £2950 per annnru. If

it loan of £163,000 had been raised the annuil charge would have been over £6000 a year, so that the total saving to the colony was nearly £9000 a your. The late Treasurer had been blamed for buying these £600,000 debentures at too high a price. Bat as a matter of fact) the actuarial valnation was £124

per cent, wbile they were bought at £117. A man might as well be blamed for not baying Bngar at less than the market price. The Government had been ac« cased of increasing the departmental expenditure by £200,000 a year, But baking the expenditure over which Ministers really had control there had been a i eduction of £60,000 a year. There were rnaDy increases which no Ministry could stop, anch as the increase in the payment of interest he had explained, the increase in the education capitation allowance, and the railway expenditure. The Government's critics included all these things, aud then blamed Ministers for the total increase. There were many

items be wonld be delighted to etc increased every year if the colony cou'd nfford it. He did not believe the people wanted the Government to be perpetually reducing the Civil Service, as tbe present Government had to do on its access to office. He only hoped that tbe next time thnt was necctsary be wonld cob be in office, for it was more painful to him than anyone could conceive. He believed In economy, bnt he did not believe in reduelog salaries, so long as tbe men are earulng them fairly and profitably. (Applause ) He believed in advertising, and he thought that the colony needed advertising, so when tbe last Financial Statement was delivered he cabled some thousands ot words over to the Agent-

General, who sent it to every newspaper in England, and for the first time in the history of the colony New Zealand's financial position hnd been intelligently explained in the English pnpers. (Mr Ward read extracts from the London

Daily Chronicle and the Morning Adver User very favorably commenting upon the position of the colony. By way of enntrnst he read an extrocD from the /»• veston' Chronicle, which ridiculed the surplus, founding its article on a speech by Sir John Hall to bis constituents, aid on a private letter from the colony, which alleged tint the Post office and other colonial funds had been strained to tbe utmost to keep public works going. The letter professed that the colony would soon have to " borrow or burst."] That was a very gloomy picture, emanating from a public man in a high social position, and he contended that was not the way to do

tbe colony good. Sir John Hall bad in error assumed that £80,000 ot interest! lnd been postponed from last year, bo that threw bis calculation over at once, bnt tbe whole blessed lot of the Opposition leaders fell into the sime trap. They

then deducted the surp'us lett by Sir Harry Atkinson, which the Government had freely admitted, and deducted that from Mr Ballance's eurp'ns, bnt Mr Ballance bad used Sir Hariy Atkinson's surplus and £3000 more to reduce the public debt, and his surplus was entirely Independent of that, (Applause.) It was wrong, improper, and unjust lo the memory of Mr Ballance. (Applause.) Last year's surplus exceeded £600,000, but £200,000 was banded over to tbe public wurks fund, and another pait was used to make good a deficit in tbe land fund, but after all this had been dotie there was an actnal eurplns of over £800,000. Ont of that £250,000 was to be taken for public works, aud yet Opposition critics like Mr Mttohelson and Sir John Hall denied that tbere was any snob Butpluß, and by taking wrong figures reduced it to some £34,000. To dispute the surplus was to iropngn the honesty of the officiate of tbe colony and to injure New Zealand and every man in it. MrWaid next referred to the fact that he had reduced

bis estimates of revenue, not becanse

be expected a decrees?, bat beoaaee he wanted at all coat to avoid a deficit, and now that the revenue was coming in well he was aconsed of doing so to make a snrplus. The speaker next referred to the statements made that the House had been asked to vote more money for public works than the appropriation, and quoted from public records to show that this had been done before, and explained that it was due to the exigencies of flnance. Ha oontended ihat the public works expenditure at the present time was reasonable, and quoted figures to show that, after providing for lhbilities, there was under £500,000 to the credit of the fond when ibe Government look office, yet at the end of last year, after deducting liabilities, there wa« £618,000 avHilable. (Ap« plause.) From what h.e had heard from responsible men in the Departments at Wellington it was evident that all round the present Ministers bad a greater grip of their departments than any Government for many years. It) was said that the policy of the Government would drive capital away, but the deposits in the banks had increased by over £1,000,000, and the advances by the banks were over £1,000,000. The colony's stocks to-day stood higher than ever befoie, except for a email period, when the 3J per cents stood at 99. Now tbey were at 97, and the 4 per cents at 106, which was the top price of all colonial loans, and that was in the face if the terrible financial upheaval In Australia in the last six months. Mr Ward next referred to the co-operative works system. He ad wit ted that there might have been fanlta in administration, but claimed that it had proved moat suitable to the colony, and

had enabled the excess of labor to lie absorbed. Formerfy there were 8000 men on pnbllo jsfoi'ks, and 1600 In receipt of public relief, but now only some 1700 were employed on these co-operative works. Mr Ward next referred to woman franchise, reading some satirical lines . whiohcausedconsiderable amusement. He j thongbt it would prove to the benefit of tbe colony in many ways. He believed that the bnlk would vote with their husbands, fathers, or sweethearts, but that giving votes to the women would tend to greater purity in politics. He believed thit at the polls next day the great bulk of the women of Napier would stand by the present Government. (Cheers and laughter.) He went into a 'lißtory of the bill to prove that the Ministry were sincere. He admitted that some members of tbe House who voted for it would have given their boots to strangle it. A flaw was discovered in the bill, and if the Government bad watted to kill id as was inserted by the Opposition tbey could have killed It as dead as Julius Cresar by recommitting the bill. But instead of that they brought in anether amending bill, to avoid any risk to the woman

francbise clauses. (Applause.) He did not deny what credit was due to Sir John Hall in this matter, but if Mr Ballance bad not put woman suffrage in his Electoral Bill It would not now have been

aw, (Load applanse.) Mr Ward then referred to the Licensing Act, and defended it as far in advance of any llceising legislation iD the Australasian colonies. He especially defended the eniargemeot of the licensing districts, and stated that the electoral boundaries had beea suggested to tbo Government by a temperance deputation. Referring to clanee 21, he atroigly denied that It was intended to override the decision of the people of Sydenham, and said the proof of it was that the Appeal Conrt did not interpret It to apply to Sydenham at all. The rating of native land was next referred to, and he claimed credit for the Government for making a start in that direction. Then be touched upon the qaestioa of the Railway Commissioners. Be had, he said, no quarrel with the Commissioners, bnt he contended that a part of the public estate valued at over £15,000,000, and Involving an expenditure of £744,000 a year, should nob be put beyond the control of Parliament. He urg<»d that it was only reasonable that a Minister should have a seat on the Board. At present the Commissioners had such power that at any moment they might so reduce charges as to utterly paralyse the finances of the colony, and do men should have tnat power. He did not, however, think that the Minister should have the power of veto. Mr Ward concluded by promising to pay another visit to Napier, as be had only dealt with the fringe of the subjects he had intended to deal with, but it was then a quarter to 11 o'clock, and he must stop, He indicated that Messrs Carnell, Hall, and Reardon were the Government candidates in Hawke's Bay, each name being received with ronnds of applause. At the conclusion of the address Mr Ward and Mr Carnell were presented with very handsome bouquets. Mr Cornford moved, and Mr H. Williams seconded, a vote thanking Mr Ward, expressing confidence in the Government, and pledging the meeting to support Mr CarLell. The motion was carried unanimously, and the meeting broke np with the usual compliment to the chairman and cheers for Mr Ward and Mr Carnell.