THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1890.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8372, 27 September 1890, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1890.

It can scarcely be said that the electors of New Zealand have the choicc of two parties, to either of which they may intrust the Government. The policy of any administration must be, in the first place, to maintain the solvency of the colony, and in the next to promote settlement. Solvency can only be maintained by obtaining as much revenue as possible, and by spending as little as possible. But although there is little scope for enterprising statesmanship in New Zealand, the electors may easily make a fatal mistake at the elections which are to take place within a few weeks. The financial position of the colony is such that the very greatest amount of care will be requisite for several years to come. We have no room for experiments. The Government of the country must be entrusted, above all, to prudent men. Within the last few days we have had the manifesto of the Opposition, in the speech of Mr. Ballance, and we are now expecting the manifesto of the Government in an address to be issued by Sir Harry Atkinson. Before dealing with Mr. Ballance's speech, we must look at the position of Sir Robert Stout, because that party could not administer the Government without him. If Mr. Ballance were Premier lie could not get on without Sir Robert Stout, and indeed would not attempt it. Sir Robert has lately distinguished himself chiefly by his letters on the strike. He has persistently declared that he thinks the Railway Commissioners ought to have obeyed the behests of the Maritime Council, and have refused to carry the goods of such firms as the Maritime Council desired to boycott. He could not avoid the question that to do this would have been against the distinct stipulations of the law, but to this his reply was that the law could be altered. As this demand of the Maritime Council to the Railway Commissioners was the most monstrous tiling put forward during the whole course of the strikes, it follows that Sir Robert would go the whole length and agree to everything. If he had been in office, therefore, he would have compelled the Railway Commissioners to refuse to carry the goods of any firm which the Maritime Council chose to boycott. He would, of course, have carried through the principle, and have compelled the post office to refuse to transmit any letters or newspapers which were obnoxious to the same haughty power. The return of the Stout-Bal-lance party to office means government of this kind.

During the session which has just terminated, Mr. Ballance acted with a good deal of caution, and his speeches were as moderate as could be desired. But it can hardly be said that he acted as leader of the Opposition. He was the leader of a section, but the real antagonism to the Government was embodied in Messrs. Seddon, Fish, Fisher, and a few other kindred spirits. They were the oratorical strength (or weakness) of the Opposition, and owing to the prominent part they took in the debates they must personify the principles of the Opposition in the eyes of the country. It is quite certain that a Stout-Ballance Ministry could not stand without their support, and' this must be kept in mind by every elector who goes to the poll. ill'. Ballance commences his speech by claiming credit for the retrenchments made But these retrenchments were no part of the policy of his party. They were all originated by the "skinflint" section of the House, most of whom were Government supporters. Those of the Opposition who voted for the reductions did so more out of antagonism to the Ministry than from any other motive. For any retrenchment therefore that lias been made, the Opposition are not entitled to very much credit. Mr. Ballance then goes somewhat out of his way to express grati■ lioation at the formation of a Civil Service Union. He might have waited till lie discovered the action of the union, but of course he is anxious to travel in the same direction as Sir Robert Stout, and this being an electoral manifesto, to miss no chance of gaining votes. He proceeds to speak of the action of the Railway Commissioners as a " lamentable occurrence," and of the men suspended as having been so treated " because they would not act as blacklegs." Mr. Ballance declares that there should be some " independent tribunal to decide as to the cause of dispute between the Commissioners and these men." The cause of dispute was simply what has aroused Sir Robert Stout. The men wanted to carry out the orders of the Maritime Council, while the Commissioners insisted that they should carry out their orders, and should do the work which they had solemnly pledged themselves to do. It is sheer and utter folly to talk of an independent tribunal" in such a case. Any tribunal would have been bound to say that the men should do what they had covenanted to do on pain of instant dismissal. But it would, surely, have been humiliating in the Railway Commissioners to have 1

submitted the matter to any tribunal when they had their own rule staring them in the face. . There is nothing more certain than this, that if the railways had been in the management of Ministers, we should have had a strike. The agitators would have known that they were subject to political pressure, Ministers would have vacillated in the face of ever-increasing demands. The agitators would have seen they were weak, and would have made a strike to force compliance with their demands. We should have had all traffic by land stopped. Mr. Ballance deplores the exodus of population, as we all do, but lie has no remedy. His speech, indeed, gives the go-by to what is the question most pressing on the colony, and that is, finance. He does not attempt to show the present position, and how the population which is leaving can be retained. He speaks of absentee landowners, and says they are " spending their incomes from this land in England." It is dilli- ! cult to see why a colonist who has spent many years here should not be at liberty to end his days in England if he so chooses, and enjoy an income from property in New Zealand. We are quite sure that it does no harm to the colony to have a few successful colonists resident in England. Besides, in the list of absentees lately published, we see the names of men who never were in New Zealand, who have spent much money in acquiring land and bringing it into cultivation, and who are deriving no revenue from it. And yet they are held up to hatred as the men who are impoverishing New Zealand. Mr. Ballance proposes that "ten or twenty men might form an Association or join together with the view of taking a piece of land out of a large estate, on valuation being paid to the owner." Who is to pay the valuation 1 The ten or twenty men or the Government? If the Government, then the scheme is scarcely practicable at present, for there are no funds. But is it worth while instituting such a scheme at present, under which there would infallibly be a great amount of jobbery, while there is still abundance of land in the possession of the Government available for settlement, and while land may be had all over New Zealand at a smaller rate than the market price 15 years ago. For the Government to take land compulsorily from private holders has never been a successful proceeding. Mr. Ballanee condemns the land tax. So do we. Our plan would be to reduce it gradually, and make up for the reduction by economy in the public service, and we hold that a large reduction might be made in the cost of education. Mr. Ballance's plan is to substitute a land tax, which apparently he calculated upon bringing in as large a revenue as the property tax. He does not show, however, how that is to be done. A land tax so arranged as to bring in as large an amount as the property tax would be glaringly unjust, and would indeed be an absolute impossibility.

This is the only thing resembling a policy in Sir. Ballance's speech. He would substitute one tax for another, just as if any change in the mere incidence of taxation would be of benefit, when tho complaint is, as to the total weight of taxation. The land tax and acquiescence in the decrees of the Maritime Council are the two principal planks in the electoral platform of the Opposition. We shall see whether they can bear any weight. So far as men are concerned, the victory of the Opposition would be a period of office for Stout, Ballance, Fish, Fisher, and Seddon.