The Ensign. GORE: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4. MR McNAB AT GORE.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 657, 4 November 1899, Page 2

The Ensign. GORE : SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4. MR McNAB AT GORE.

Mr McNab's speech at the Gore Town Hall on Thursday night marks the opening of the campaign for the district seat in real earnest, and no doubt this candidate will find much food for comforting reflection, as well as discern a happy augury for the sucoess of his QjU/didature in his conversion from the Opposition faith to Liberalism of the gentlemen who moved and seconded respectively the highly complimentary vote with which the proceedings terminated. Time alone will test the value of the practically unanimous motion of confidence he received, and while many may harbor doubts as to Mr McNab's fitness to represent this electorate, all can join in agreement with the oracular deliverance of the seconder of the resolution, that whatever Mr McNab is, he is. Departing from his usual and misguided custom of dosing his audience with soporific applications of figures and statistics, Mr McNab devoted a considerable amount of time to discussing the legislation of last session, and we may say at the outset that we heartily agree with him that little real work was done. This regrettable fact he attributed to members' invariable habit of addressing their constituents in the last session of any Parliament through the medium of ' Hansard.'but here we part issues with him. True, indeed, members comported themselves with an eye to the main eleotoral chance, but had it not been for the discovery of sundry little bits of dirty political work — the Marine and Wrigg scandals, to wit— coming to the surface, and the fear of the Premier to allow his following a free hand in arriving at a decision on important matters, placing the halter round their necks by choosing to regard non-party questions as direct no-confidence motions ; had it not been for these happenings, ample time to accomplish a thoroughly satisfactory session's work would have been afforded. Consistently in accord with the wavering, continually changing nature of the Government's policy, Mr McNab appeared as an apologist for borrowing, and in a highly ingenious simile likened the State to a freezing works by way of explaining how it fell out that while there was a handsome surplus, borrowing should be necessary at the same time. The illustration he provided, however, was not particularly Rpt, but no doubt it served his purpose admirably in bridging over the weak places in his argument. For instance, the Southland F/ozen Meat Co. (to whoso methods of finance was ascribed the dubious honor of resemblance to the fearful and altogether wonderful modes of the present Government) was shown to be possessed of a handsome surplus on the half-year's transactions, and also to be under the necessity of making a call on a certain issuo of shares. It was explained by Mr McNab that the profits, and receipts for these calls were devoted towards providing against a contingency that had arisen— viz., the necessity for additional storage accommodation. The Government, he further stated, was in an exactly similar position ; it had made a handsome profit on the year, and purposed making a call on its shareholders with the object of providing additional storage accommodation. But the positions of the two institutions do not stand in any such relationship. The Southland Frozen Meat Co.'s surplus of £5000 for the half year was actual profit, honestly made ; tho Government's surplus is made up partly by including with it the expended profit of the previous year, and by judiciously underestimating receipts and over-estimating expenditure. The Southland Frozen Meat Co. made a call for a specific and tangible purpose ; not for purchasing popularity for tho directors or for making their re-election to lucrative positions secure. The Government has made a call simply to be provided with the sinews of war ; to be enabled to scatter coin in favored districts, and to be placed in command of a powerful weapon of offence and defence when the elections come round. Who has not heard of the dumping down of a hundred or so co-operative laborers in a district when the elections draw near, to swell tho voting for the Liberal candidate ? Mr McNad certaintly has heard of it, because such a scheme was successfully exploited for his particular benefit six years ago. This is one of the appliances a " call " made upon the shareholders in the State company by the Government places in the hands of the present corrupt Administration, and is termed "erecting additional storage accommodation" by one who knows the real inwardness of the whole matter. Passing on to other subjects. Mr McNab showed himself to be still smarting under Mr Scohik Mackenzie's colloquial castigation of him at Gore just before the last session opened. While he (Mr McNab) produced solid proof of the incorrectness of Mr Mackenzie's figures regarding land settlement in Canterbury in 1878, he entirely omitted to explain bow it was he himself unconsciously (politically unconsciously, no doubt) flagrantly misled the electors all over the district previously by including in the extent of railway constructed by the Government 107 miles constructed by private companies. In a passionate denunciation of Mr Scobie Mackenzie and his methods of fighting, Mr McNab declared that he would not insult his audience by explaining the facts regarding his mistake of i 67 miles in the extent of railways constructed by the Government; an insult which the audience would not only have received without retaliation, but one which it would have positively welcomed. The incident goes to prove that Mr Scobie Mackenzie is not the only one of our public men who may politically innocently distort figures to mislead the public ; only Mr McNab is" more delicate in his modes and declines to insult his hearers by offering them an explanation of it. We are thoroughly at one with Mr McNab in his contention that railways should precede settlement in forest districts, but would remark in passing that the Government to whose apron strings he is tied have been tho greatest sinners in the past in the matter of dumping settlers in the bush back blocks, leaving them to carve out their destiny by ruthlessly destroying thousands of pounds' worth of valuable timber yearly. In his explanation of his reasons for voting against sending a New Zealand contingent to the Transvaal, Mr McNaii was labored and unconvincing and obviously not at all proud of bis action. He laid great stress upon the fact of war not having then been, and the remote probability of its being, declared, slating his motive for voting against the resolution was to avoid pressing Britain to declare . war. Politically innocent was he of the fact that at the time the debate occurred in the New Zealand Parliament practically all the arts of diplomacy had failed.and that the statements of Cecil Rhodes and Dicey as to the chances of war being remote were made some time previously, before events had so far developed to make war inevitable. But ' Hansard,' from which Mr McNab made judicious quotations, avoiding the convicting passages relating to his speech in the House, puts another complexion altogether on his attitude on that occasion. He Said : " I regret exceedingly the remark passed by the honorable member for Wellington City (Mr Fisher) when he said that we were called upon on this occasion to wipe out the memories of some past defeats. I think there would have been more chance of the motion going through the House without any dissentient voice had members of the House got it fully impressed upon their minds that there was no such feeling in this resolution — that there is no such feeling in the minds of those supporting the resolution — but that the resolution and the support which has been given to it was simply that we might be able to show before the whole world a united front with the Mother-country in all her troubles. But I tannot get over the impression that there is a vast deal in the support which is given to this resolution in the colony of New Zealand because of the old cry Deleiidu ent Carthago — we must avenge the troubles of the past. On that ground alone I shall lecord my vote against the proposal that is brought forward to-day." Although strenously protesting his patriotism, and quoting fragments from ' Hansard ' in support of jt Mr McNau omitted to express an opinion as to the right and wrongs of the trouble. But ho did during the debate in the House, and to this effect : " I say that I have read the history of the Boers, and, if the question had to be decided in regard to justice or injustice, I say that the Boers beyond being a stubborn, and, to our minds, a stupid people, are in the righr, and that Britain to-day is in the wrong. That opinion it held by New Zealanders in the Transvaal to-duy." Mr McNab discounted very gieiv'y the knowledge of his audience as to the pnrp'> tof the Premier's motion if he assumed (for ihe sake of argument, no doubt, ratlin- tha out of regard for strict accuracy) that earning the resolution meant sending a tiojp fr in New Zealand, rather than, as was the actual fact,

offering their services to the Imperial Government if required. There was noticeable throughout the uncommonly lame excuse of his conduct he put forward, far too much of what he thought and too sparse a supply of what he and other members knew. The man who proclaimed the -opinion three weeks ago that the Boers were ripht and Britain wrong cannot consistently now when the conflict of these same rights and wrongs have provoked open hostilities turn round and applaud the action of his country which has all along been standing out for rights which he but a few days ago denounced as wrong. The fact of the whole matter, shortly, is that Mr McNab previously favored the Boers' side of the quarrel, and now, to bring himself into line with popular sentiment (which is the arbiter of votes* is piping quite another tune. His wriggle out of this uncommonly awkward corner may have been ingenious to a degree, but it lucked the one essential of carrying conviction. In his solicitude to bring about reform of (he constitution of the Legislative Council Mr McMab laid his finger upon a plague spot which has become only too obvious in later times —the plague spot of Ministerial patronage pushed to the furthest extreme of crying injustice. All must agree with him that the constitution of the Upper House stands in need of some reform, but the suggestion would have come better from one whose actions showed be whs sincere in what he proposed. It will be f ri sh in the memory of most that when Mr Taylor moved that the House be given an opportunity to inquire into the matter of Legislative Council consiitution, the whole weight of the Ministerial influence was cast BRainst the proposition, and Mr McNab recorded his vote with the Seddonite following, or in a direction exactly opposite to the position he now assumes in regard to the question. Consistency is most to be admired in a politician, but Mr McNab appears to place plausibility upon a-higher plane. Mr McNab gave no hint as to his future plan of action in politics should he be returned to represent the district, and the inference therefore is open that, as in the past, he will be content tc merge his identity with that of his party leader ; to subscribe approval upon all that is done in the name of Liberalism and to attune his sentiments and political thoughts to harmonise with the demands and exigencies of Seddonism. Wo had long ago lost hope that Mr McNab would ever betray any feeble sparks of independence in his political career, and his speech on Thursday night servec to confirm our worst suspicions.