PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXI, Issue 7229, 1 May 1884, Page 5

PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION.

ME HOLMES AT THE ODDFELLOWS' HALL. Mr John Holuwa, M.11.R. for tho district of Christchurch South, addressed the electors at tho Oddfellows' Hall lost night. There was a very large attendance. His Worship the Mayor presided, and on tho platform woro Messrs Montgomery, Andrews, Keese, Ivoss, White, Howland, Pavitt, and others. The appearanco of Mr Montgomery wa3 the signal for loud and long-continued applause. Tho Chairman briefly introduced tho Bpeaker. Mr Holmes, who was loudly applauded, spoke to tho following effect: —He considered it tho duty of every representative to meet his constituents after every session to give an account of his actions in Parliament. A representative was a delegate, bound to carry out certain principles as much as if ho had entered into a bond to do so. He would ask if ho had fulfilled his promises ? [Voices : " Yes," and applause.] The past session had not been a fruitful one. On going to Wellington at tho opening of Parliament, ho had taken action with the other Canterbury members, and the representatives of the Wost Coast, for the purpose of furthering the initiation of tho West Coast railway, a work which ho believed would be of the greatest advantage to Canterbury and the West Coast. Those with whom he had connected himself had passed two resolutions—one condemning tho East Coast line, another that the Government should make the West Coast lino; and had endeavoured to carry a third to allocate tho .£IBO,OOO to the West Coast railway. In this he had been supported by only Messrs White and Ivess. The Canterbury members had been unanimous up to thi3 point, but Messrs Thomson and Allwright—(hisses)—had preferred the welfare of the Government to that of their constituencies, and had refused to do anything that would embarrass the Government. (Hisses.) They had accused him of personal motives. (Hisses.) The Government had consented to surveys, which were now being made. The opponent to the project was the Hon Major Atkinson—(hisses)—while the Hon Mr Whitaker had proved himself to be friendly disposed. (Applause.) They would recollect that the Minister of Lands had brought down his Land Bill containing the principle of perpetual leases. The Bill at its second reading had been supported by him (Mr Holmes), but Mr Eolleston found that his own party would not support him, and he would have been defeated but for his (Mr Holmes') vote. Mr Eolleston blamed the Opposition, instead of his own want of pluck, like that of Mr Bryce, who had acted very differently under similar circumstances. Had he done so, the Bill would have been passed, and would have proved of incalculable benelit to the State. Some people seemed to think this question of leasing the land of little importance; but it was one—taken in connection with the heavy burden of taxation —which could not be over-estimated. He would instance a case in which some reserves which, a few years ago, would have been sold for £2 an acre, had been let for 3s an acre for 14 years ; and now that their first lease was expired, these lands were tendered for at 9s, 10s, and even lis. Had such a system been adopted with the land throughout, they could easily see how great a relief the revenue derivable from leasing would have been to the burden of taxation. He would, therefore, support the Bill if it came again before the House, though it did not apply to the agricultural lands. He (Mr Holmes) said that not one single more acre should be sold. (Applause.) With regard to Federation, he was opposed to such a chimerical project, and, with Mr WynnWilliams, had opposed any money being spent upon it. Had Major Atkinson had the power when in Australia to spend money, he would have pledged the Colony to such a scheme as would have involved them in a war with France, and entailed a heavy expenditure. The Russell Exchange of Land Bill had been brought down by the Minister of Lands. Mr Thomas Eussell, in contravention of the Land Act, had negotiated with the Natives for the sale of their land in the North Island. Mr Eussell was not alone in this ignoring of the law, for the Government were in sympathy with him. The Government took over Mr EusselFs agent, and agreed to give him compensation for giving up his right. Now, Mr Eussell had no right at all, and the Government for some years refused to recognise the claim, until Mr Russell's partner, Mr Whitaker, came into office. The Bill was brought in by Mr Eolleston, but the hand of Mr Whitaker could be recognised, in it. The Pill was for an exchange of land, to which Mr Eussell had no claim. [A Voice: " Talk about the unemployed."] Mr Holmes would say what he had done about the unemployed. With others he had urged Government to provide work. The Government did provide a sort of work for the unemployed, and devoted a portion of the money they had obtained for bringing people into the Colony to the support of the people already in the Colony. (Applause.) He came now to discuss the present condition of affairs. Let the past bury its past. (Applause.) He would first enquire into the causes of the present position of affairs, and then consider the remedies. The population of the Colony was 500,000, and the public debt was £30,000,000, and the private debt as much more. Of this £45,000,000 was owing to foreigners, requiring an annual interest of £3,000,000. Major Atkinson spoke slightingly of this, but in nis (Mr Holmes') opinion the position was desperate. Let them consider what the payment of £3,000,000 per annum meant. There were about 120,000 taxpayers, and they had to pay about £2O per head. Trade was stagnant, employment was difficult to find. (Applause.) This was"" the position ; and, in addition, there had been a bad harvest, and the staple products, grain and wool, brought low prices. More than this, there was a spendthrift and corrupt Government which had brought upon the Colony half the evils they were now suffering from. The result of the depression was a diminution in tho Customs revenue. To make up for this Government had raised the railway tariff, and particularly the charge on grain, for the express purpose of catching tho farmers of Canterbury. In consequence of the outcry this caused, Ministers had been making a stumping tour. (Applause.) Major Atkinson had begun at Hawera, and then he had come here, where ho had shown himself egotistic, a braggart, a bully, and totally devoid of tact to a degree. His whole desire was to fight anyone who disagreed with him. (Laughter.) He (Mr Holmes) had been present last Saturday in the gallery of the Tuam street Hall, and could not help saying to himself, " What would any stranger think of our public men, judging by the demeanour of the Premier." Major A<!'i"°on was wanting in selfrespcyi, ,r,.iL ...s demeanour reminded him (Mr Holme:.,) of a " Cheap John," very quick at repartee, full of sound, of coarseness, and of cunning, but devoid of anything sound,aman from whom you got nothing that was honest. (Applause.) How greatly had things altered when such a man was a successor to the position occupied formerly by Sir John Hall and Mr Whitaker. Major Atkinson's conduct last Saturday was only an example of what it was in tho House, except when he was trembling under the attack of such a, man as Mr Dargaville. (Applause.) Had Major Atkinson given them a policy ? (No.) Oh yes, his policy was to borrow, and his practice had been to buy. (Applause.) At Hawera he was to have given his views as to the state of the Colony. He began by saying there was no depression. This ho denied down here, but his arguments showed that he

must have said bo. And tins was not tho first tiuio that he had denied what ho had said a minute or two previously. Hansard showed that lie had been accused of taking J 2120,000 from fho Treasury, contrary to the law. He said that ho was not bound by a promise rf hiH collefltfuoa. He (Mr Holmes) had challenged hia statement as outrageous and disgraceful. Ho had taken down Major Atkinson's words, but that gentleman at once demod having used tho words. On having the words held up to him he then said: "I never intended to say them." (Applause) So it was with tho' statement as to depression, for ho (Major Atkinson) went on to say that people were building houses and spending money at races. Down hero he acknowledged that there was depression in tho building trade, thus showing that ho had known nothing of the circumstances of Otago and Canterbury. This was tho gentleman who stumped the country in order to induce the people to allow him to continue in office. Major Atkinson had gono on to say that there was a deficit of .£170,000. By this he had convicted himself of being what Mr Montgomery had called him, a hollow financial failure. (Applause.) Ho had miscalculated the Customs 4'ovenue by .£120,000, and tho railway income by .£BO,OOO. During the la3t two years the Government had made away with £340,000. When coining into office ho had a balance of .£203,000, due to the careful administration of Sir John Hall. Tho Property tax then was Jd in the £, and so it was the succeeding year. At the end of that year he found that the revenue was falling off. But did he curtail his expenditure ? No, but on the contrary increased it by ,i 8298,000, and the next year by ,£40,000 more. (Shame.) The man seemed to be incapable of oven learning anything. , He was like the Stuarts of old, who never learned anything and never forgot anything. He brought down an estimate of increased revenue from Customs, though he knew that business was falling off. No wonder Mr Montgomery had called him a " hollow financial shain." (Applause.) Another feature of Major Atkinson's policy was the land question. At Hawera ho said that freehold was not very satisfactory, and he did not know what the future tenure would be. He was positively, incapable of forming any policy, and only waited to see how the cat jumped in order that he might retain place and pay. (Applause.) Why was he (Mr Holmes) so severe ? It was because Major Atkinson had blamed the Opposition and had sneered at Mr Montgomery in a most improper manner. He (Mr Holmes) had consistently supported Mr Montgomery, and would attack Major Atkinson so long as he attacked Mr Montgomery. (Applause.) To continue the great policy of tho great leader of the Government [A Voice: "Leave him alone, and give us a little of your own policy." Applause.] The meeting should soon hear his views, but let them first hear what Major Atkinson intended to do. One thing was to import a great deal more of pauper labour. (Applause and hisses.) Major Atkinson had blown as to how he had raised the credit of the Colony. They would recollect that in 1879, when Sir George Grey—(loud applause)—was in office, a determined attempt was made to turn him, out. Major Atkinson made such a speech, that he damned the credit of the Colony, and caused a lo3s to the Colony of .£500,000 on the .£5,000,000 loan, by driving the price of the debentures down to i>Bo. The credit of the Colony had since, been restored by two good harvests, and the high price of wheat, and not by any action of Major Atkinson's party. (Applause.) Canterbury had hitherto been the milch cow of the Colony, and would continue, to be so if Major Atkinson's proposed plan of carrying on the railways wei'e followed. The railways were to pay 3 per cent, and the Canterbury lines, whetha'' paying 10 or 15 per cent, would have increased rates so long as the average of"We whole receipts from the railways did not equal 3 per cent. (Shame.) Why should not the railways be managed as a private business ? If a man ' were running coaches to Hokitika which paid him ten per cent, and another line at Wellington, which returned no income, would he increase the rates on the Hokitika line? Certainly not. He would either __ stop the Wellington line, or raise the fares on it. (Applause!) Nothing could be- a stronger argument for separation than the argument put forth on Saturday night by Major Atkinson. He (Mr Holmes) would be a candidate at the next election, and would make one of the planks of his platform a return to a form of Provincial Government. (Applause.) Major Atkinson had given two remedies for the depression., One of these was " plenty of immigration." (Applause.) He was going to enrich us all by importing pauper 3. The other means was, " Have faith in yourselves, have faith in me. Increase your productions ; grow two sheep instead of one; grow two bushels of wheat instead of one." It was very easy to tell people to do this, but not so easy to tell them how to do it. He (Mr Holmes) would tell them his view of how it could be done, before he sat down. Mr Montgomery, at Akaroa, had said that the present Government had simply carried on the system adopted by Sir Julius Vogel, who had said he had been compelled to devote one and a half milllions to appease members. Major Atkinson had denied that Sir Julius had said anything of the kind. Now, what Sir Julius had said was, that he had been compelled to " purchase support from the Provinces." Mr John Evans Brown, who was generally a strong supporter of the Government, had acknowledged that, "had it not been for concessions, the Government never could have remained in their seats forty-eight hours." He wondered if the West Eyreton line was one of the concessions. (Laughter.) Evidently the Government had bribed to the extent of one and a-half millions. This policy had been continued by the present Government, as was shown by the written agreement that the claim of Auckland for £BOO,OOO would be considered. Mr Billy Swanson, a firm, honest Scotchman, had declared that if the Government denied it, ho would nail the agreement to the Speaker's chair. Auckland had got a special loan of a million for a line from A-uckland to no one knew where, its destination being determined only by the number of votes the Government secured from the district. (Applause.) There was no need for him (Mr Holmes) to multiply instances. There was Mr Monroe, who had been gained by the throwing of ,£60,000 into tho Westport harbour. Mr Monroe had boasted that he was the proper man to represent Westport. At Inangahua Mr Wakefield had been opposed by Mr Shaw —nob a rich man. Mr Wakefield was an able speaker and a master of sarcasm. Major Atkinson did not liko masters of sarcasm and ablo speakers. It was a strange thing that at tho time of the contest tho Government had granted a inino J 82900 for deep einlcing, though a few months before they had refused to give anything because it was a private undertaking. He (Mr Holmes) had asked for a Committee to enquire into this matter, but tho Government could not see it. (Laughter.) The Opposition was taunted with giving no policy, but who ever heard of the Opposition enunciating a policy at Home. This was tho duty of tho Government. But had Major Atkinson, had Mr Eolleston, had Mr Conolly proposed a policy? No; Mr Conolly was in favour of a Property tax of Id in the £. That was his remedy for the present depression. Mr Wynn-Williams, who was in tho confidence of tho Government—[A Voice: "He wants a portfolio."] No j he (Mr Holmes) did not believe that. Mr Williams appeared to be in favour of a progressive Property tax. Ho also declared that ho would oppose any Government that went in for borrowing. Major Atkinson declared that the present Government would still

borrow, therefore Mr Williams must oppose tho Government of Major Atkinson. But why did not Mr Williams voto against the Government in 1882, when Government proposed tho now loan which had caused tho present deficiency of £120,000. If Mr Williams claimed to bo independent ho showed his independence in a strange manner, by voting for a Government which followed a policy he did not approve of. If Mr Williams meant ho was independent of his constituency, then his constituents should not send him to represent them again to the Parliament. (Applause.) Ah to Mr Eolleston, that gentleman's reception at Papanui had been so warm that ho (Mr Holmes) would have lot him go scot free but for something he had said as to Mr Montgomery and himself (Mr Holmes). Mr Eolloston talked of Mr Montgomery's inconsistency, Yet ho had continued in a Government that ignored tho West Coast railway, which formerly ho had advocated so warmly. Ho had adopted tho railway policy of the Government. Formerly he had been the apostle of Provincialism, but now he was mute on the question of Decentralisui. Was it that ho held his tonguo in order that ho might retain place and pay ? (Applause.) Ho (Mr Holmes) now came to the main question of tho evening—the policy he would put before his constituency at his next candidature. (Applause.) To meet the deficit he would not impose additional taxation. The Customs, the Property tax, and the rates were so heavy that the people could bear no more. The only policy was retrenchment. (Applause.) At present there were 400 or 500 armed men in the North Island, costing about £87,000, a field force of no more use than the fifth wheel of a coach, lie would reduce it to 100 men, and thus bring the expenditure to £50,000. He would abolish the Natiyes Department, and thus save another .£30,000. The expenditure in the department of the Minister of Justice coujd be reduced by .£IO,OOO. Mr Conolly had admitted as much, but said the people would not permit it. He (Mr Holmes) would do it whether the people allowed it or not. The expenditure in the Legislature could be reduced. The honorarium could be reduced to a guinea a-day, in no case to exceed ,£l5O. (Applause.) The Upper House should not be paid; and this would effect a saving of ,£IO,OOO. [A Voice: "Pensions."] Major Atkinson proposed pensions as one way of relieving the depression, but he (Mr Holmes) had opposed, and always would oppose pensions. Prom tfhat he had said he thought it would be seen that the deficit could be met without further taxation. (Applause.) And now with regard to the depression. The first remedy was to stop all further borrowing. (Applause.) For three years he would oppose borrowing, and to this extent would support Mr Wynn-Williams. This, however, would not relieve the present depression. Three millions went away annually almost entirely to absentees. Now one of the duties of property owners was to live in the country. He would propose, therefore, that absentees should pay fifty per cent more taxes than the residents. This would cause these men to reside here and spend their money among the working men. (Applause.) This would not be sufficient. At present the exports amounted to six millions, and the imports amounted to eight millions. To remedy this, the country's productiveness must be increased, and something must be done to prevent such large importation. For this last purpose, local industries must be encouraged. (Applause.) The producing of wool, grain, aud gold must be increased. They had heard Major Atkinson's remarks about the gold miners, for which he had very properly been castigated by Mr Wakefield. (Applause.) Mining must be encouraged by letting the miners have the gold duty for themselves. The production of wool and wheat must be stimulated by cheap money and cheap land. Cheap money could be got only by the establishment of a National Bank. (Prolonged applause.) By means of a National Bank, Government could easily borrow a million, and with the deposits in the savings' banks, and from private deposits, the Bank would have a business second only to that of the Bank of England. Local paper could be discounted at 4 or 5 per cent, and the profits would be confined to the people of New Zealand. (Applause.) See how this would encourage manufactures for which we had the money and the materials. (Applause.) Again, the farmers who could get cheap accommodation, could improve their land. A remedy proposed by Major Atkinson wac cheap labour, but he (Mr Holmes) said " Good men, and good pay." He advocated the interest of the people of New Zealand : not of the landed proprietors. Well paid labour would attract the right men, not pauper immigration; and so would cheap land. The best of the land was now in the hands of monopolists, and lying idle. In the hands of agriculturists, it would produce ten times what now was got from it. The remedy for this would be a progressive tax on the natural value of the land, not on the improvements. (Applause.) By increasing production and diminishing outgoing prosperity could be secured, and only by these means. Without these the Colony would constantly be what was called " pulling the devil by the tail." (Laughter and applause.) The last plank of his platform woufd be Decentralisation. The Government should be deprived of the power of borrowing for public works, which had been used for buying votes and political purposes. The railways that were not paying should be made to pay, and to ensure this the management of the railways should be in the hands of a Board. There should be canton Governments for local purposes, and a Federal House of thirty members at Wellington. (Applause.) No more bicameral Government! (Applause.) The Federal Government should look after the Customs, the Supreme Court Judges, &c, and should pay the interest on the national debt. For this purpose they would have the Customs, the Stamp Duty, the Supremo Court fees, and an Income tax on all incomes above £250 a year. Theyshould also have aprogressi ve Land tax. County Councils should be abolished and their places be taken by Eoad Boards. Were this scheme carried out, Government would be the type of a free Government. (Applause.) Look at Switzerland, the United States of America, and the Greek States of old. (Applause.) Such a scheme would develop a diversity of character aud of talent—(applause)—which would strike out something new and originnl. Such was the programme he would put before the electors at tho coming election. (Applause.) One word more Ho had been a party man, but was now convinced that party government was a humbug and a sham. Ho would put his foot on it as far aa ho could. Ho would give an instanco of party government. Mr Bryco's Native Land Bill had been opposed by his own partisans and supported by some of the Opposition. Mr Bryco, who was a vertebrate statesman, had declared that he would carry it, aud the Government supporters voted for tho Bill, while tho Opposition voted against it. Ho (Mr Holmes), rather than voto against his conviction, paired oft with Mr Kelly. A similar course had been followed witli regard to Mr .Eolloston's Land Bill. Ho had resolved to do his utmost to bring about a healthier state ot things than party government which was simply an aping of Homo tactics Iho circumstances of tho Colony required Parliament to help to advance tho common interest, no matter who proposed a good C Tho member* should subjugate themselves to tho will and the interestsjof tho people they represented. (Long conHo.mks said that to put a tax upon personal property at tho same rate for three years as upon real property was monstrous, tho land increasing while the personal property was decreasing; that he had always advocated

protection; that ho would, if reminded of it, make a motion for enquiry into the management of the Government insurance ; that he was in favour of reduced taxation; that he would not support a Penny Postage Bill j he would support a blasphemy clause to prevent f-bscono language, but not to prevent discussion of religious dogma in a veverential spirit; that ho would not support a proposal to alter the present system of education; that ho would oppose any scheme for Federation which would cost the Colony anything; and that the Volunteers would protect the women and children from a Native outbreak, as they had done formerly. Mr M. Hall proposed, and Mr Howxand seconded—" That this meeting thanks Mr Holmes for his address this evening, and records its renewed confidence in him as tho representative of Christchurch South." The motion was carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to tho Chairman closed the meeting.