PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 8149, 21 April 1887, Page 5

PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION

ME D. BEESE AT LINWOOD. Last night, Mr D. Eeeee, M.H.R. for Stanmore, addressed his constituents at the Oddfellows’ Hall, East belt. The attendance numbered little short of 150, and the chair was taken by Mr H. W. Toomor, Chairman of the Lin wood Town Board. The Chairman briefly introduced the speaker, and claimed for him an attentive hearing. Mr D, Eeese, who was received with loud applause, spoke to the following effect: —ln accordance with the approved custom, he was there to give an account of his stewardship during the last session. LAST SESSION. That session would bear favourable comparison with the sessions which had preceded it. There had passed 56 public Bills, besides 14 local and 4 private Bills. One of the first serious debates had been on the new Bill relating to the New Hebrides Islands, which had been brought forward by Sir George Grey, to prevent the French from taking possession of those islands. The resolutions were disposed of by being referred to a Committee, who reported to the effect that the British Government, America, and Germany should agree not to take possession of the islands, the other great Powers to come to the same agreement. This, Sir Eobert Stout did not support, and ultimately the report was rejected. He (Mr Eeese) had supported the adoption of the Committee’s report. The next question of importance was the Midland Eailway Bill. ' After a serious debate, it had been decided by a majority of ten that Mr Richardson should not have his plan. Mr Richardson, however, afterwards proved that there was sufficient land for the Syndicate. Further concessions had then been asked for, to the effect that the land might be taken as the contract proceeded, and that interest should be paid during the construction, provided this did not exceed .£400,000. These concessions were agreed to after discussion. The Syndicate had since let a portion of the work, on the other side of this island, and good progress was being made with it. It now appeared doubtful to some whether the Syndicate were going on with the contract. His own opinion was that they were waiting further concessions. They were desirous of taking two and a-half millions of acres of land at 10s an acre. If such concessions were asked there would be further complications, and the battle would have to be refought in the House. Another Bill was the New Zealand Loan Bill. In the schedule of that Bill they had branch lines from Westport to Inangahua, and from Blenheim to Tophouse, which were struck out. Then .£44,000 was taken off the permanent way, making a reduction in all of £175,000. With this reduction the loan was agreed to. Of the loan only £BOOO was apportioned to Canterbury. The Government then put down £175,000 for railways in the Middle Island, but this was lost by two votes. He had supported the £175,000, as also the two railways, which had been struck out. (Applause.) He had tried to get the £175,000 scheduled, as he was anxious to have £26,000 of it for the Sumner railway. (Applause.) The Minister of Public Works and the Treasurer had been favourable to this, but the Bill was passed for only £1,375,000, instead of the million and a half. The Civil Service Reform Bill had been proposed with the view that all Civil servants should pass an examination, and that each member should have power to nominate to the Public Service. This clause, however, was not passed. The First Offenders Probation Act had already been found to have been of great benefit. (Applause.) The Government Life Assurance Bill simply gave the Government the power, instead of a Board having it as in years past. The Loans to Local - Bodies Bill was one that was very necessary for country districts, since the Roads and Bridges Act had been repealed. The Municipal Corporations Act was a consolidation of previous Acts. One clause, as proposed, would have abolished Town Boards, but the Linwood Town Board instructed him (Mr Eeese) to see that this was eliminated. Thanks to the Hon Mr Stevens this was done, and though no Town Boards could now be formed, those already in existence would not be interfered witn. The Administration of Native Lands Bill was a useful measure. FINANCE, The indebtedness of tbe Colony was £31,915,000, and the annual interest was £1,689,000, out of a total revenue of £4,000,000. This was a serious state of things, for the interest absorbed the whole of the Customs and the amount received from the Property tax. The people of New Zealand could not pay this from the falling revenue, and something would have to be done, either this or next session, to prevent any talk of repudiation. He believed that all that was needed was retrenchment. RAILWAYS. The administration of the railways had not been satisfactory. It had been hoped that the Hon Mr Richardson would have popularised the railways, but he bad not done so, and consequently tbe railways had not returned the revenue the Colonial Treasurer had expected. REPRESENTATION. Another Bill that came before the House was the Representation Bill, but it was rejected. The North Island members favoured it, as it would give three extra seats to the North Island,' these three being lost by the South Island. The Bill would again be brought forward during the coming session, when the struggle would be between the town and country representatives. He was of opinion that representation should be on a population basis. (Applause.) The Redistribution of Seats Bill would be another measure ou which a struggle would take place. Ho was in favour of single electorates, whenever possible, as this would give representation for local needs. He would fight for Stanmore being thus represented, whoever the representative might be. (Applause.) PROTECTION. With regard to Preetrade and .Protection, he would in the future, as in the past, fight against any further extension in the direction of Protection. (Applause and dissent.) The true test of this question was the amount of business done with other nations. He believed that New Zealand exported to most places more than she imported from them. Out of a total business during the last year. New Zealand had exported produce to the extent of £6,672,791, and imported to the amount of £6,759,013, leaving a loss of only £86,222. The speaker here quoted the amounts exported to and imported from the United Kingdom, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, West Australia, Pacific Islands, Guam, South America, Tasmania, Canada, United States, China, India, Africa, Mauritius, Continent of Europe, and the whale fisheries. These, he thought, showed very clearly that very soon New Zealand would be exporting more than she would be impel ting. The speaker then detailed the chief items of the exports from New Zealand under the headings of " Manufactures,” “ Agricultural and Pastoral Produce,” and " Local, Mining and Fishing Industries.” EDUCATION. Education was a question which had caused a little alarm, and many members had appeared to be favourable to a reduction of the cost or a return to taxation j but he, for one was opposed to any tampering with the present system. (Applause.) Tbe secondary schools were handsomely endowed, and cost tbe State not less than £2O &-head for each pupil; that was, after taking into consideration the fees paid by the patents. He mentioned this to show

that if any tampering with the system was to take place, it should begin with the higher branches. (Applause,) The cost per head of the primary education in Canterbury was less than the average of £4 ahead throughout the Colony. He was satisfied that if retrenchment was to be made it could be made with the Central Department at Wellington. (Applause.) The speaker cited the cost of the East Christchurch scholars, £2 12s 5d per head, to show that the heavy expense was in the country districts. He did not chink the teachers were by any means overpaid. He would do all that he could to uphold the present system. He had now referred to the measures of last session. NEXT SESSION. During the next session he would support the Government in any measure for retrenchment, but he would oppose further borrowing. He was sure that the people of New Zealand would never think of repudiation, but would rather adopt such a measure as the Victorian Black Wednesday. He would support single electorates, and fight for population being the basis of representation in Parliament. (Applause.) In answer to questions, Mr Eeese said that New Zealand was not paying interest out of borrowed money. One of the causes of the deficiency was the decrease in the value of imported goods. He was satisfied that the natural increase of the population would very soon reduce the amount of taxation per head, without any immigration. He would, if the Stanmore electors wished, oppose the proposal to allow the Drainage Board further borrowing powers. (Applause.) He could not vote for taking away the licenses of properly conducted hotels, unless compensation was given. That compensation he took to be the value of the property together with that of the goodwill of the business. He was not in favour of Mr Richardson’s scheme for Eailway Boards, but would support elective Boards independent of the Government. With such Boards there would be none of that political influence which was the cause of so much mismanagement. He was in favour of the Woman Franchise. (Hear). Mr J. T. Smith moved —“ A hearty vote of thanks to Mr Rees for his address, and confidence in him as the Representative of Stanmore.” (Applause). Mr Clephane seconded the motion, which was carried by acclamation. Mr Reese acknowledged the compliment and proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman, which closed the meeting. MAJOR ATKINSON AT HAWERA. [Per Press Association.] HAWERA, April 29. Major Atkinson addressed his constituents this evening. After referring to various matters of local interest, he spoke on general subjects to the following effect:— LAST session’s WORE. Many useful measures were passed last session, including the Local Bodies Loans legislation to take the place of the repealed Roads and Bridges Construction Act. The object of the repealed Act was to divide the land fund so as to employ it for the purpose of constructing roads throughout the country. But the land fund had disappeared, and the new Act made provision for the application of borrowed money to the same purposes under certain conditions. He gave great credit to Mr Tole and the Legislature for passing the First Offenders Act, which he believed was working, and would work, well. A great blot on the session, however, was the failure to pass the Representation Bill, a failure which would cost the country a. considerable sum. There was no excuse for this, as all the arguments used against passing the measure last session would apply equally next session, and those who voted against it last session would vote against it during the coming session. There were people who did not approve of it because they were afraid their seats would be affected by it, and they would have exactly the same reasons next session. He had doubts whether the Bill would get through next session. Bat suppose it did, in what position would Parliament be in reference to the great questions now awaiting settlement ? In view of the deficit, it was proposed to remodel the taxation of the country. There were the questions of Protection and Preetrade, and the resumption of land for settlement, and other large questions which still are dangling before the country. Suppose Government, as seemed certain, held to the revision of the tariff, and were beaten, as was not improbable, they must appeal to the country, and a second session, with all its inconvenience and expense, would be necessary. He confessed he did not like to see great questions Redded by a moribund Parliament. Questions of taxation, borrowing, and land legislation—all these questions should have been relegated to people. The Representation Bill should have been passed last session, and Government, in the recess, should have gone to the country on their proposals, and a new House of Parliament might have met to consider them. He did his utmost to avoid a second session, but he feared it was inevitable, and the fault and expense, would be at the doors of Government alone. finance. Dealing with finance, he said the position was not what he would have liked it to be. Government now admitted that their finance had entirely broken down. Not one of their promises had been fulfilled. All the hopes they had held out had failed ; as, instead of telling of extensive borrowing, bringing with it progress by leaps and bounds, the Government nowonly spoke of economy, retrenchment, and thrift, and pointed colonists to paths for following which the preceding Ministry were ejected from office. After three years of financing without success, the Government bad taken to praising tbe methods which their predecessors had followed. No doubt the present financial position was difficult, and the people, judging by the tone of the Press from one end of the Colony to the other, were awakening to it. It almost seemed as if Government were awakening to it too, for several reasons: In the first place, Mr Bailance spoke lightly of increased taxation, telling the people they were taxed no more heavily now than 1869. In the next place. Government were paying too much attention to various schemes for distracting public attention, instead of concentratingtheirattention upon the all-important question of finance and the restoration of the credit of the Colony. Nostrums were out of place at the present crisis, and neither Protection nor Freetrade, nor the resumption of private estates, nor nationalisation of land, nor Female Franchise, important as each was in its due time, was the proclaimed question of the hour. Look at the condition of our credit in the London Market. It cost the Colony at least £IO,OOO when the last loan was' floated, when bonds honestly worth from 100 to 101 only brought a shade over 97. What was the cause ? Not Fronde's slanders ; not the Standard articles; not even the deficiency in the revenue; but the statement of the Treasurer who in his official place iu Parliament, told people that the Colony could not afford to carry on its engagements ; and that the Colony, must instead of payin g Sinking Fund out of revenue, pay it out of loan, in order that it might borrow seven n illions more without feeling the burden Fronde's book and the Standard, articles set English capitalists enquiring, but . t was tho Ireasnrer’s action in breaking engagements that had done the mischief. The money taken out of loan to meet the tinting Fund was not saved, but employed for paying the interest on further loans. The tact of our debt being exionnoae

and of £240,000 previously paid out of the revenue, being suddenly taken out of the loan to meet the Sinking Fund, was quite sufficient to account for the loss of credit. Our position, then, was that we had a debt of thirty-two millions, and onr credit was low, and there was a deficiency in the revenue, even after the removal of the Sinking Fund charge of .£240,000 a-year from the Consolidated Revenue. The deficiency, he roughly estimated, would be from £IOO,OOO to £150,000. As for the Land Fund, it was less than nothing j the charges exceeded the revenue by something like £20,000. The position was, therefore, difficult; but afforded no ground for lack of confidence. The first thing to be done would be to restore credit, and that could only be done by not merely making both ends meet, but by securing a substantial and bond fide surplus this year. It was the Treasurer's business to do this ; but in general terms he would say that there must be retrenchment, not only in the Civil Service, which had been, it was said, cut down as closely as possible, but also in the general expenditure; and he should not be in fault were he to say that it would be possible to escape further taxation, though this must only be resorted to after the strictest retrenchment. On this condition, however, he would certainly be prepared to support such increase of taxation as might be necessary to restore the credit of the Colony. As to Protection and to Freetrade, he should be glad to be in either one camp or the other, but he could not. Such cries were misleading, for the Colony could not at present afford to be either Protectionist or Freetrade, because it must have revenue. But in imposing taxation for revenue purposes, they could, as he had done in the past, assist local industries. He should, in voting for increased taxation, not vote on any abstract theory, but should consider each item separately in view of the interest of the consumer and of the producer, but above all in the interest of the State, regarding the revenue required for the maintenance of the national credit. BORROWING. As to the question of borrowing, he was glad to see a general feeling in favour of " tapering off." By some it was held that borrowing must cease entirely, but be did not think that was practicable. A large number of men were determined to reduce borrowing, and to begin the reduction at once. He was one of them, and thought it would be a fatal mistake if it were not done. But there waa a distinction between that and absolutely ceasing. At present we borrowed for railways, roads and bridges, purchases of Native lands, public buildings, including Lunatic Asylums, Gaols, School Buildings, Lighthouses, Telegraph Extension Works, Goldfields, half subsidies to Local Bodies, and Loans to Local Bodies under the legislation of last session. How was it possible to cease borrowing entirely for these purposes ? How was it possible to raise the money for these purposes in any other way than by borrowing ? Taxation could not be increased sufficiently to enable the Consolidated Fund to bear the charge. Seeing that with the utmost economy and the utmost retrenchment, the present taxation could not meet the ordinary charges, we must borrow moderately for some of these purposes. They must cease borrowing gradually. He should not be a party to any loan being authorised next session. The Government, ho believed, had wisely and rightly held their hands as to expenditure to a considerable extent during the past year, but they had not expressly disclaimed a Loan Bill during the coming session, and if they would not propose “ tapering off" to a considerable extent during the present session, he should be in favour of a repetiti on of Captain Russell's motion, which had none of the dire consequences foretold, but which had prevented the expenditure of some £500,000. He thought Parliament should step in and say that the public works expenditure should be something like half what it had been during the past two or three years. This should not be done rashly, but firmly. SETTLEMENT. As to settlement of the land, it was second only in importance to finance. Mr Ballance was an enthusiast, honestly doing his utmost, he believed, to get the country settled, but doing a great deal without knowledge. He waa afraid a great disappointment was in store for the country, and for many of the unfortunate settlers who were put on the land under Mr Ballance’s scheme. It was simply impossible for many of the settlers who had gone' on these small lots, in out-of-the-way places, to make a living. They might stop so long as the Government paid them for improvements; but it was hopeless to expect that they could maintain themselves upon the land by growing fruit in out-of-the-way places. He said this, as one who had practical experience of the difficulties of settlement, and was anxious that the question should not be treated from any Party point of view. He complained that Government had not recognised the necessity of establishing a Rent Court in connection with perpetual leases. It was utterly impossible to arbitrarily fix a rent which would be fair for any length o‘f time, either to Government or to tenant. The experience of all countries seemed to show that it was advisable to introduce a more satisfactory tenure than that of freehold. He had a strong preference for the perpetual lease, and he believed that it would work well, but a necessary condition precedent was a system under which the rent might be proportioned to the price of produce and the profit of the tenant. It waa against the policy of the country to see men holding land at rack rents ; but if the system waa to be a success, there must be something whi ch would regulate rent in accordance with the value of produce over an average number of years. NATIVE AFFAIRS. As to Native affairs, the Government were taking credit for what they had done for the Natives, and informed the Colony that the Natives loved them. The love of the Natives for the Government was cupboard love. The Natives loved Government for what they could get out of them; and they seemed to be getting pretty much all they ask for. He repeated his former complaints that the Government had neglected to take steps to acquire land before starting the Northern Central Railway. At the present time not an inch of land had been obtained on the line proper. The large blocks which had been recently spoken of were under negotiation long ago, and land in the King Country properly so called had not been touched. Not an acre had been obtained, and his information was that Wabanui had not the least intention of allowing the Government to have any of it ; in fact the Government advised the Natives to lease it. The Government rather approved of large block landlords. It was only the white man who should not bold more than a certain quantity of land. The Maori might hold unlimited acreages, which were to be subject neither to taxation nor rates, but were to have railways made for their improvement. Some settlers, it was _ said, in the old days had talked of petitioning the Government to be declared Aboriginal, and he believed that a good many people in the Colony would be better off than some land-owing Europeans, if they could change places with some of the landowin° Natives. He ridiculed the claims for the success of the " one policeman policy," and said the Manaia incident last winter showed that the sum and substance of that policy was that Government had abdicated their functions, and left the preservation of the peace in the bands of the settlers. The Europeans on that occasion had acted with coolness, courage, and discretion, and the Natives with forbearance—although the Natives were the aggressors—and it was the display oi these■ qualities alone which had pre-

vented bloodshed. It was not good, however, to leave the maintenance or breach of the peace at the mercy of any individual settlers; and no Government waa entitled to credit because the settlers by their conduct showed themselves to be super tor to the Government policy. IMPERIAL CONFERENCE. In reference to the Imperial Conference now sitting, he viewed it with great interest, as an event of considerable importance in the history of the Empire. He regretted that the Premier waa unable to go, but thought that, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, he did wisely in not going. At a time when Parliament was summoned earlier than usual to consider the position of the Colony, the Premier would be expected to be in his place. The Conference was important, not so much for what it did, as because it was the first time the Imperial Government had asked the Colonial Governments to send their Ministers to express their views on Imperial questions. It was a most important step, which would tend to strengthen the bonds between the Colonies and the Mother Country. He was strongly in favour of a Colonial Confederation, and was glad to see that the Premier now recognisedthat as a condition precedent to Imperial Confederation. He was afraid the electors did not take sufficient interest in the question, which he regarded as cue of the most important of the present day, watching, as it did, the defence of the Colony, and their future relations with what was termed the Mother Country. He viewed with alarm, the prospect of New Zealand being isolated from the other Colonies, and should always do what he could to promote union between the Colony and a Federation of the whole Empire. FEMALE SUFFRAGE. He doubted whether this could he dealt with, believing that it, with other matters, would be forced on one side by a majority of pressing matters, such as Finance. Aa far as he was concerned, he was strongly in favour of it. Women already had large power in the State, and he did not see why they should not bear responsibility also. He was aware that many very capable women, perhaps the majority, might not care for the Franchise at present; but so far as argument went, none could be used against it, except the old arguments which in times past confined the Franchise to a limited class. CONCLUSION. He again impressed upon his hearers the gravity of the financial position, but said that only an honest effort was required to put the Colony in a sound condition. The Colonists had the will to make the effort; they had the power and they had means. What they wanted was a lead. The Government must give that lead; and if this Government would not give it, they most have another that would. For two and a half years the finance had been simply drifting, and the Treasurer, with all his great abilities, had never grasped the real position. He had, Micawber-like, been waiting for something to turn up. That something was a considerable rise in wool and wheat. If such a rise had occurred, then the Government finance might have been possible for a time, bat only for a time, because borrowing would never bring the Colony out of difficulty. The people had the determination, he believed, to acquit themselves like men in the present condition of affairs; and if the Government would only give the Colony an honest lead, the ship of State would be steered safely past the dangerous rocks, which now seemed to threaten her, into the safe haven of National prosperity. CAPTAIN RUSSELL AT HASTINGS, [Per Press Association.] ' NAPIER, Abril 21. , Captain Russell addressed hia constituents at Hastings last night, and received a unanimous vote of confidence. He dwelt chiefly on the financial position of the Colony, contending that its credit waa so low in the London market that farther extensive borrowing was impossible, except at ruinous rates. He ascribed the low price of New Zealand securities to the legislative proposals of the Ministry. He also dwelt at length on the High Schools question, contending that the present system must be amended, in the direction of greater economy and more efficiency in thorough secondary schools work by excluding young children, and admitting only those who had passed the sixth standard in primary schools, and by scholarships or other plans, thus placing it in the reach of every public school scholar to enter a High School after completin g a primary course. GISBGENE, April 20.’ Mr S. Locke, M.H.R. for the East Coast, announces that owing to ill-health ho will not contest the seat at the forthcoming election. DUNEDIN, April 20. Mr Barron received a vote of confidence at Caversham last night. The local branch of the Protection League Joined issue with him on the question of Freetrade, and moved as an amendment a vote of thanks only, which found nineteen supporters, the original motion being carried by a large majority. Mr Ross, at Roalyn, declared against Protection, and said he waa prepared to support a certain section of the Government. He favours a revision of the Charitable Aid Act, and School Committees having power to grant permission for Bible reading. He received a vote of confidence.