THE PREMIER’S SPEECH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 6282, 31 May 1881, Page 3

THE PREMIER’S SPEECH.

From the full report of the Hon. John Hall's speech at Leeston, we make the following extracts : THE RAILWAYS. I wish to warn you, gentlemen, against a proposal which may possibly be submitted to the colony before long. Something which will be called a comprehensive financial schema, baited with offers to spend large sums in public works, and involving the sale of our railways. I have reason to believe that proposals of that kind may be made. I hope you will turn a deaf ear to them, for depend upon it they will be framed not in the interests of the colony, but of the capitalists from whom they will proceed. Our railways at the present time are not so valuable as they will be before many years. However, it is most unlikely that any capitalists will give us anything like their prospective value. It is most unlikely that they will be worked by them as anything but a more speculation, whereas if they remain in the hands of the colony they should always be worked, it is true, to return a fair interest on the expenditure, but mainly in the interest of the development of the resources of the colony ; and that is most likely to be done so .long as they remain in the hands and under the control of the colonists themselves. I trust, therefore, if any proposals of that kind are made they will not be entertained. (Applause.) But there are other proposals with regard to the constructed railways which are not open to the same objection. You are no doubt aware that the proportion of the loan available for public works has now become exceedingly small ; the expenditure, even, during the past year, has necessarily been very large, and, to a very great extent, in discharge of liabilities we inherited from the previous Government. Let Mr. Macandrew say what he may. The amount left is insufficient to go on with a number of works, which would be of considerable public utility—lines which have been authorised and partly commenced. Under these circumstances, it has been proposed that companies will probably undertake the completion of certain railways as their own affair, if they are assisted by the Government with grants of land to the extent of a certain proportion of the cost of those railways. Now, where we find that these works run through tracts of land which will not be available for settlement unless made accessible by a railway, and that companies assisted to a moderate extent with grants of land would make them so available for settle-

ment, and where we see little prospect of their being completed with the present pecuniary resources of the colony, there, X think, we may consider favorably any proposal which may be made to us f >r building railways upon that system. I believe that it is likely that the land which we should have left after the completion of those lines wou’d, in value, probably exceed the value of the whole of the land which we possess at the present time. It would be, of course, necessary that any scheme of that kind should be surrounded with very careful conditions, framed for the purpose of securing the actual settlement of the land which is alienated. HOSPITALS AND CHARITABLE AID. Among the Bills which were not passed last session, and which will be re-introcluoed this session, is one for the maintenance and management of Hospitals and Charitable Aid. This is a most important and a most pressing question, even more pressing now than it was last year, for now the Government is paying the whole charge of hospitals and charitable aid, while the actual management is in the hands of locally elected bodies. This is particularly the case in this provincial district, though in some other parts of the colony local associations pay part of the cost, as voluntary contributions are raised iu somo other districts. You will remember that last year I told you that the local governing bodies should pay half the cost of maintaining these institutions, and that the Government should provide the other half ; and that the local bodies should elect the Board which should manage the expenditure on these objects. Substantially, that will be the nature of the Bill which will be introduced into Parliament this year. We shall thus have the local body responsible, which ia not the case at. the present time—some body responsible for the management and maintenance of the Hospitals and to provide for Charitable. Aid. It is also proposed to give recognition to those voluntary bodies which are found in some parts of the colony, by giving them assistance, and that as the Government will provide some part of the expense it shall appoint some representative on the Board of such voluntary bodies, LICENSING BILL. There is another Bill to which I will refer —the Bill for regulating the licensing of public-houses. I have received a letter on this subject. I explained last year the principle on which this Bill would be framed ; that its object would be to make the law stringent but not unjust to the existing license-holders. It will give local option witli regard to new licenses ; in other words, it will not allow any new licenses in any districts unless by the consent of the inhabitants of those districts, but it will not apply that principle to existing houses, because we did not think that it was just to deprive of their licenses the holders of licenses who had conducted their houses well, and who by a long course of legislation have received an implied promise that they will not be disturbed except for misconduct, and that they will not be deprived of their licenses without receiving compensation ; and we don’t see our way to provide that. I have received a letter since I came into the ball from a gentleman who asks me to state what the main points of the Licensing Bill are likely to be. Well, I do not think that I can go further than I have done. He also asks me what probability is there of the Bill being dealt with, or of any new Licensing Bill being passed in this session. I can only say that I should very much like the writer of the letter to tell me that ; it is what I should like to know. (Applause.) But there is one question which has become an important one since last year, and that is the increase in some parts of the colony of the number of unlicensed houses which exist under the guise of Working Men’s Clubs. The bona fide Working Men’s Club is an institution which I shall do my best to support ; hut these so-called Working Men’s Clubs are often started not by working men, but by men who have either lost their license for some misconduct, or have been refused a license. These men provide a Working Men’s Club, which is a mere drinking shop, with most lux regulations as to admission to membership, without the house having any license whatever. That, I consider to be ooe of the most threatening evils of the colony at the present moment, and I consder that the best way to deal with it is that all the establishments, which are opened for the sale of liquors—whether for gentlemen or for working men—should take out a license, and should be placed under police supervision. CHINESE IMMIGRATION. In the year 1879, the Government introduced a Bill for restricting the influx of the Chinese into this colony. The Bill did not pass at that time, and since then, as the number of the Chinese coming to the colony has been diminishing and not increasing, the evil has not been a pressing one ; but I strongly object to a large infusion of the Chinese element into the population, as I believe that they bring with them habits and diseases which should be kept out. We propose to re-intro-duce the lost Bill of 1879, which, I may explain, is practically the law in Queensland, and which was approved by the conference of delegates in Sydney. We shall introduce that Bill, and hope to see it passed into law.