PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 8122, 19 March 1887, Page 5

PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION.

ME TURNBULL AT TIMAEU. Mr Turnbull last evening addressed his constituents in the Assembly Booms, the Mayor presiding. Mr Turnbull was well received, and, after the usual civil preliminaries, said , that it was impossible, unless a member met his constituents, for them to know what was going on. He had been called a "croaker," but, notwithstanding that, he would repeat that the times were critical, •• especially in finance. The Premier, speaking the other day at Marton, complained that the croakers injured Neiv Zealand on the loan market. Weil, that might be, but he would tell them this, that there was a deficit of .£BO,OOO after all the retrenchment that had been piomised. He (Mr Turnbull) would object to this being met by Treasury Bills. They must pay the sum due as well as this deficiency, and that would be £IOO,OOO. Then there was £BO,OOO on last year’s loan, £30,000 for charitable aid, and education £20,000, and that really the House would have to provide £250,000. Let them look at this and their present taxation, and they would see the position was really serious. This beautiful country could not be ruined by misgovernment, but what was keeping everyone down was the accumulation of land by private individuals. No Government had yet had the honesty to touch the land, the sacred land. They would pile on Customs dues, but never touch the laud. Warren Hastings had years ago said the rule of the countinghouse was better for any country than statesmanship, and that , was applicable especially to New Zealand. This Colony wanted good business men, not statesmen. Three courses were open to them viz. (1) Borrowing, (2) retrenchment, (3) taxation. Well, he would sanction no borrowing unless, perhaps, to fill up special gaps in public works. He would sanction no loan for the Otago Central construction; let the wise men of Otago do it themselves. As to retrenchment, he believed in reducing luge salaries, but not in docking small wages. He would certainly advocate retrenchment where extravagance began, viz., in the House. Fifty members could do the work as well as 9-4 now did. Let the people assert themselves in this matter. The more the members, the more frequent the local pulls on the public purse, and real patriotism was choked by districtpatriotism. Regarding taxation by raising money through the Customs, he said he would no longer sanction this, except in one instance. As education was becoming costly, he would advocate a small tax on tea to make up for the growing requirements of our education system. Beyond this, he would resist taxation, even though it came in the pleasurable guise of protection. The only taxation he would accept would be direct and progressive taxation. He would tax land before individuals. Ho believed in equitable or equal taxation, and that must be progressive. A progressive property tax means a land tax. The landholders had the benefit of the public works, defence, &c.; let them pay for these things. Passing from this, he criticised severely the Colonial greed for land. The landholding of the feudal days was intelligible j but now it was mere hunger, and hungry monopolists ought to pay. It was objected that taxation would lower the value of. property and deter the English capitalist, but this was quite erroneous. The English capitalist, if ho cpnld buy land ' cheap, would cheerfully'pay taxes. He paid them in England. Something should be done to relieve the poor fellows who were grinding and struggling under the thumb of the big companies, who paid 15 and 17 per cent dividends. Referring to the democracy of New Zealand, he sorrowfully confessed that this democracy was now leaderless. The Premier started as a democrat, but place, power and position, both professional and political, had emasculated him, and he was now but a democrat in name. All that the democracy could do was to be careful who they sent to the House at the next election, to be a real leader of the people required a man not corrupted or drawn aside by office or position.. The democracy would find themselves opposed at the election by a powerful combination—tho Banks, the 1,5 money lenders, and the lawyers. All these would oppose farther burdens being laid on the land. They had, thanks to Sir George Grey, got several things, but one thing they still lacked, viz, annual Parliaments, and that they must fight for. Two questions were to come before the House, the Representation Bill and the Suffrage for Women. As to the former, he would advocate representation on the basis of population. In regard to the latter he would grant the franchise to property holding women and single women working for their living, but he would not introduce politics into the home circle. The railways, ho thought, should be managed by a Commisioner, as in Victoria. Tho present management was bad and unprofitable, and would always be so, as long as the Government had the lines under their direct control. They could see now how Mr Maxwell, the General Manager, sat upon them like an old man of the sea. In conclusion, he reminded them of the nearness of the general election, and said he should contest tho seat as before. He was, as they knew, candid and true, and he never sailed under false colours.

One or two unimportant questions were put and answered. In reply to the question whether he would favour a reduction of the honorarium to members, he said not for the members of the Lower House, because it was little enough for them, and as to the Upper House—well/ they could not he expected to commit snicide. As to the members’ railway passes, he would do away with these, except for use when on public business. Mr Evans proposed, and Mr Dillon • seconded a vote of thanks and confidence, which, with-a vote of thanks to the Mayor, was carried unanimously, and the meeting dispersed.