THE New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 1894. POLITICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVI, Issue 2274, 2 August 1894, Page 2

THE New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.)

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 1894. POLITICAL NOTES.

With which are incorporated the Wellington Independent, established 1845 , and the New Zealander.

[K.A.L.] Sacred right of question is found entrenched across the road of business. Fifty strong is the sacred right. It gets itself respected. Most notable of the questions is the one relating to Standing Orders. Will the Government have them suspended for the purpose of giving hon members a loose rein in the financial debate to-night? The Premier is quite equal to the occasion He faces the questioner with blank amazement. Is he not awaro that the time limit last night proved a great success. Someone whispers to the Premier as bo stands looking over in his astonishment. The Premier says as if to himself 44 Of course ” —adding to the House that his colleague there, the Minister of Lands, made last night the beat speech ho over delivered in his life. He gets several emphatic “ Hoar, hoars,” after which ho has a magisterial word or two to say about the excellent effect of the “time limit.” Oh, dear, no ! Very decidedly not. The Government dees not intend to let go the floodgates so carefully tied up only the other day. Not for Joseph! As for the Premier himself, ho is moat anxious to try the effect of the time limit on his own exuberance.

The Standing Orders come up twice more, once in connection with the rule which forbids men who have spoken on amendments to speak on the main question. The Premier can’t possibly think of taking the 400 Standing Orders back into the forest of perplexity. Sir Eobort, who has put the question, thinks it hard, Mr Speaker says straight out that the Order in question is a mistake. He declares he will do something with the permission of the House. What it is wo cannot hear, but as the House applauds him we suppose it is to the effect that he will treat that Standing Order of as much effect as if it were one of the cedars in a row in the famous forest of Lebanon. Mr Pirani raises his question about adjournments once more, but nothing comes of it. Mr To Ao hag a rasper about Mr Williams as photoed by the judicial artist, Mr Kettle. Ho wants to know wtere is the remedy for the people who have suffered. The Premier tolls him to look for it in the hands of tho said people. We have the Libel Bill in a now phase, somewhat. It finds the Hon J. McKenzie in a jocular mood. Does the Government intend to bring in the Libel Bill f Well, the Government did consider it. They asked me to take charge of the measure and get it through. Tho House roars with laughter at the idea.

I will tell you why, says the Landed Potentate, raising his voice to the well-known fighting scream. Because I have been more libelled than any of my colleagues by the journalists of J) ew Zealand, and I have taken absolutely no notice. Here the House again interposes with a guffaw. The much-libelled Potentate then becomes milder in his manner. Ho is getting a Bill prepared. The House may laugh—which it does oonsumedly—but ho has no desire to evade the. question. He is not joking at all. His colleagues did this in a weak moment, and ho is redeeming their promise. The Bill ho is preparing ; he will not promise to make it a Government question, but he will guarantee that it will effectually prevent any chance of libelin the future. The Premier makes an explanation about the salary of the Sorgeant-at-Arms—which, being summarised, may bo set down as “ my mistake, sir, most unfortunate, very sorry, over-worked.'”

Mr Vaile appears for a njoment ijijdcr the leadership of Mr Crowther ; he wants to take charge of the railways. He does not succeed. He only succeeds in njaking the House laugh. THE SHADES OP BVBNISJS Asf?> FIANCE. Taking,the wind out of their sails ! That la the manoeuvre of Mr Ward as the oiir.t&in rises on the,Financial Debate. Instead of the usual formal motion he makes a speech traversing the coming speeches. Certain “interviews” ho wants to reply to, with Which various leaders of the other side and Sir Eobert stout bays favoured various newspaper*. First among the h«?nos of contention is the list of proposed borrowings. Mr Ward worries that in his yoluble way, a n <J with his usual spirit. Sir Robert Stout’s views are the first to go through the Process, and there is, of course, a running fight- ' Before wo get far the proposals with roganji to the insurances companies receive now light. As the result of one of the hottest skirmishes wo learn that the deposits of those companies are not intended to b,e Government securities. Mr Ward explains that the expression “New Zealand securities" means securities in New Zealand; mortgages, and that sort of thing. The upshot, he argues, is that the companies will invest money in the Colony which is the object of the Budget, and that the Government will not got any money in this way, as they never intended. Borrowing he goes into in detail; “not like the borrowings of the Governments of ijld,” he shows his proposals to be. These are not borrowings in that sense, not borrowings, “ What are they f” says Patea. “What are theyf”repeats the Treasurer. Sir Kohert shouts a laugh, so does Patea, and the laugh goes round. Mr Ward says it is very easy to laugh, bat ho stick's to his guns. Do they want to resume estates, to road country for settlements, to acquire Native lands ? If not let them oppose the proposals, In this lino he goes for a long time. Consols, “ a world wide system,” he touches off lightly. Get the money! Why the Post Office Savings Bank gets as much in a quarter.

And parts with as much, it is suggested. Mr Ward understands, and is not losing sight of anything. He gets back to the borrowing question j he .explains the essential difference between the present ppho^pud

those of the past ; “ borrowing and squandering ”he calls them. He fights away at hia ir.ost rapid rate, and threshes out the subject. Then he gets hold of Dr Nexvmaa, who has also been interviewed, and worries away at him for some time, to a running accompaniment of Ministerialist laughter. He holds up the Doctor and his interview to ridicule; he emphasises all his adjectives as he reads them* ho draws out the Doctor’s proposal for a two million loan with certain railways in question; he twits the Doctor with regarding himself as the Leader of the Opposition. Ho tells how the Doctor actually took the seat of the Opposition Leader, and the House roai’s and screams as he tells the story. Ho details his suggestions for making a new Opposition. “Do you think it will be a success?” he quotes the interviewer as asking. “ Certainly,” ia the reply of the Suburb*, and it is received with derisive cheers. As we hear that the Doctor regards the new Opposition which he is founding as more up to date, more intelligent, more everything, these cheers increase. Mr Earnshaw comes in for the next dose of gruel. From him Mr Ward gets to the Opposition. Blue, hopeless, gloomy he finds them. He includes Sir John Hall in the list, holds up his recent interview in London to ridicule, he denounces the Opposition hotly, and finishes in slashing style exactly at the end of Ins time limit. Mr Mitchelson, who protests against the opening manoeuvre, begins with “ flapdoodle.” He "ocs on to “ persistent sham and humbug?' “bubble and burst,” “wildcat proposala.” He can’t see any of the boasted self-reliance or abstention from borrowing. He surveys the numbers on the other side, he recounts their jeers and cheers. He finds the sad tale of the small numbers of the Opposition discouraging. But he won t flinch. He will go through with his criticism of the most extraordinary Budget on record. He deals with the surplus, the Treasury Bills, the Public Works Fund, in which he finds kudos for the Atkinson regime. With these things he deals in his tame undemonstrative way. The plain speech of a plain man it is, working his way steadily through many things. He is a man digging hard and methodically with a spade. His face is set ; he comes to various treasures as he digs ; he holds them up mechanically without change of expression; he describes in a few simple words ; he throws them aside to go on with his digging. He finds the Customs revenue for the quarter, ho shows it to us, and points out that £IO, OOO has been broken off. There’s a deficit coming, he says; but he doesn’t even shake his head. , , J ._ Ho unearths the history of land settlement during the last six years. Better by 579 settlors is the Atkinson record. Ho seems to derive a melancholy satisfaction from the circumDown goes the spade again with methodical monotonous thud. This time the Native land policy is held aloft. A good thing to resume preemptive rights, but where is the money? Without the money, why prevent other people buying? He throws away this dog-in-the-manger dross. When the spade brings up the cheap money, it has many things sticking to it. The worst is failure, and the next worst is a big new department. There is the Lending Board of the Government Insurance Department; We don’t want anything more of that kind. Sir Robert Stout says “ Hear, hear.” The spade brings up telegrams and travel" ling expenses, and as they are held up the bells rings. The digging gets a little brisker, and when the last piece of treasure trove is held up Mr Speaker says “the time is up.” The digger stops in the middle of his explanatory remark, says ho is very sorry, and sits down. Mr Tanner contributes al workmanlike, sharp, thoughtful, little speech. Sir .Robert Stout, who follows, gets up with a large sheaf of notes, and a general air of meaning business. He shakes the sheaf at the Treasurer by way of preliminary, ham* mering at him for his new departure. All for the purpose of talking, and what has he been talking about ? Sir Robert sends waves of scorn over the things talked about, thrashing them with the sheaf.

Then he consults that instrument page by page. The first page is inscribed with figures dealing with the increased debt, with the surplus and the interest. Sir Robert analyses these figures. Nothing but borrowing. “ Simply a puzzle of figures, entirely fallacious, entirely misleading.” This is his verdict on Table A, attachedto the Budget, which shows a saving of interest of .£87,000. “ Not saved a penny,” “entirely misleading, entirely fallacious.” At half-past ten he is well set, and being wound up asks the House to let him finish his speech, and the House agrees. He comes to the Budget proposals. The air* grows sultry as ho reaches them, striking right and left. The House listens breathless as he tears his way through them. He reaches the climax. They mean for the year a borrowing of three millions at least. A thing unparalleled it is in our history. No Government on record ever had so much at command for a year. “What about the five millions of 1879? ” asks the Premier.

“ five millions of 1879,” retorts Sir Robert. “ That shows that the bon member knows nothing at all about finance. That money was not for expenditure in 1879, and much of it was already engaged.” Prom the year the criticism rises to the full scope of the new policy, and with it the voice of the speaker rises, becoming more denunciatory and more fierce, the sheaf of notes making great play the while. Another climax soon comes.

This policy moans the borrowing every year of two and three-quarter 'millions —to go on for over ! Can the Colony stand such a strain pasks Sir Robert. He declares solemnly that it is a strain unknown in any country m the world except in war tine. Therefore, sir, I denounce these proposals as audacious, and the Budget as an entirely Borrowing Budget. Presently ho gets to a deeper note. We are Liberals ; and what is the first principle of Liberalism P Not to put the people under the heel of debentureholders. To enforce that argument ho reads from a work of Emile de Laveleye a very eloquent passage about the worst form of modern slavery. The book is open in the left hand, the right hand emphasises the points with the hammering gesture we all know so well, the voice is full, sonorous, vibratin'*. Another principle of Liberalism is purity of administration. But here the so-called Liberals have introduced the principle of “ the spoils to the victors.” In the strong language of indignation Sir Robert describes how that system has ruined the fair land of America, reducing to a by-word the American institutions which ought to have been a pattern to the world. Ho declares that the system has reached hero, and he gives rapid survey of it.

The climax is a specific charge, which he makes with voice vibrating with solemn indignation. Some two members of the Ministry mot some railway men in Christchurch during the eleotien. They arranged the retirement of two Eailway Commissioners; they had a list of names of officers who wore to go and to bo replaced. That was the price of the political support of the railway men. When the election was over and the Commissioners had been removed, one of the new ones took that list up to the Board of Commissioners, presented it, and said the bargain must bo carried out. He was told the thing could not bo done, so they determined to reduce the salaries of those men in the hope that they would resign. “la this true or false?” thundered _ Sir Robert. “I am prepared to prove that it is true. Let’s have a committee'.” For the present he mentioned no names of those implicated. It would not be fair to men who at this stage could not defend themselves. He gets to the Insurance Department, and keeps up his attack therfi. Is it fair to handicap the thrifty poor by cutting off their profits in this way p The work of destruction over, Sir Robert stop's awhile to construct. He unfolds a policy. There is plenty of money in the country, in the Insurance Department for example, and the Savings Banks, and the Public Trust Office. If the Government had utilised that money for the benefit of the struggling farmers, that would’ have been a statesmanlike pplioy. But they were simply plunging, reckless, placing the people under the heel of the foreign debenture-holder. . Mr Hogg tackles him, “ You want to stop all public works.” No. S}r Robert does pot |want to stop public works: ho only wants to reduce the pace in accordance with our moans. After the interruption he adds some touches to his building with grave carefulness. Then he falls once more to the work of destruction. What are these so-called Liberals ? One of them has just let their object out. It is to got the control of all the money available from all sources. That is coupled with a policy of tyranny, with the spoils to the victors, with Parliamentary autocracy. The Party are like dumb dogs driven by the word of Ministers, they dare not call their souls their own ; they are not permitted to think for themselves, they are enslaved and degraded. The second Chamber is to be flooded for daring to come between the wind and the ideas of the Minister of Lands, Ho calls upon them to remember their cause of Liberalism, to get back their self-respect, to rise above this autocracy, this tyranny, this belittling of them as men. He tells them this is the grpyest crisis in the history of the Colony, and ho begs them to bo true to themselves. Ho will say no word against the motives of the ’ Ministers ; he respects _ those motives, he is sure that if the Party is true to itself, Ministers will end by being true to the Party. The greater bulk of the House applauds him for his effort, and goes off to supperi The Premier having risen, is in possession.- Men say to one another there will be a Devil of a. row after the adjournment. So there is. When the Premier gets up it IS easy to see that he is in a rage. Concentrated passion is in command of him. But it does hot coneentieto him; at all events not for long. The time limit drives two big sharp Bpjjra ipto him. one bn each side. Ho springs upon Sir Robert at the start, hurling a shout at him which ought to be audible at Karori and Petono and Miramar and Island’ Bay. “Cold - blooded speech,”' he yells at binj> waving arms, working shoulders, swayjng trunk, shaking head, jerking body, blazing eyes, purple complexion, all giyo-foroQ to the " cold-blooded. ’’ They are the powder behind that hissing missile of debate. But for all ms fury, he docs not forget bis tactics. Ho would have listened with pleasure to -the cold-blooded speech if if had come from Captain Russell. But coming as it did from a member of the liberal Party, one who was sworn to aid the Liberal cause, he had hoard it with pain, and that feeling is nothing to the sorrow which consumes his soul os ho faces the task of reply. But reply he must. It is his duty. He admires the open highwayman. But the friend behind who aomes with a dagger to stab in the dark j words fail him to express his sentiments. He has nevertheless a vast flow of words, stentorian and fioorohing, furious. He hurls them with the aforesaid blasting powder at all footpads and assassins. Mere sulphur, forsooth. There never can he any more sulphur than we have now. The House is bathed in sulphur, and the House seen}3 rather to enjoy the brimstone. It gets its brimstone without any treacle/

Why not a Ministar to come after the Opposition Leader? The question earns for the bench in front of hini a handsome thumping, it does the same thipg for the Premier s

hands, it geti the floor a violent stamping. These are the eccentric effects of the residual powder left after the hurling of the mitsiles. A Minister forsooth I Why don't you elect a leader ? If you are incapable of choosing one from amongst yourselves, why don’t you elect tho senior member for Wellington ? The Opposition shout with laughter. Sir Robert’s cacchination rises above the din from his corner. The rest of the House looks on silent, listening intently. The Premier working no into a higher key, distributing whacks on the benches, waving his right aim in wide, ceaseless semicircles, flourishing notes, massacring notes with repeated hand crashes, uttering demoniac yells, stamping fit to break all the boards of all the floors in the universe, advances on the Stout-Vogel period: analyses accounts of Stout-Vogel period; keeps the thread of accounts of Stout-Vogel period. There is sound and fury galore ; and there is also something. The something is composed of deficits, borrowings which put the Colony under the heel of the deben-ture-holder, gross ignorance of finance on the part of Sir Robert; hopes that Mr Ward may never have such a terrible counsellor. These and many other things there are, and they are clothed in the Stoutian words which tho powder aforesaid sends back with unslacking vehemence. Mr Ward sits just out of reach, perched on the end of his bench, securely contemplating the angry man, and probably astonished that he docs not lose his thread. The Opposition is grinning broadly opposite. Clutha jeers across flouting, “ feu supported him, didn’t you.” The Premier calms down all in a moment. Yes, he was a faithful supporter. >Ve all have to admit youthful indiscretions. There is a laugh at the pointed reference to Clutha. But it must be remembered that Mr Eallance was the bright spirit in that Ministry. That’s something in the Premier’s favour. His people behind him say “ Hear, hear.” The storm rises once more, as it goes through the Stout-Vogel period. Refused their Customs tariff, stuck - to these seats, sir—and the seats have an awful bad time rather than resign as honourable men would have done with any respect for the strength of their finance.

By this time the broad grins of the Opposition are seen to be reflected on the other parts of the House. Sir Robert collogues with the faithful Earnshaw to an accompaniment of strident, sardonic laughter. The ears of everybody are deafened by the raging voice of the Premier.

In a pause .of just a second the voice of Clutha peals out a plaintive “We can’t hear.” And at once the whole House bursts into uncontrollable roars of laughter. From this moment a period of merriment is inaugurated, all shades of politics following the Premier’s movements with undisguised mirth.

Ho finds a paper on which an ancient pledge of Sir Robert’s is inscribed. He roars all about that pledge for five minutes, he holds up the pledge, and makes tho paper quiver like an aspen leaf with tho noise like the feu dejoie of a company of infantry. He strikes that paper with frenzied whacks, the paper thinks the Day of Judgment has arrived. Coming from past to present, tho missiles and the powder are dealing with what Sir Robert has called a “new departure.” Not a departure at all, a logical sequence. He is unimpaired over the development of the logical sequence from the Liberal doctrine and practice of our chief Mr Ballanoe. There is no flagging of the powerful clear voice, no rest for the wicked much thumped bench, no relaxation for the suffering papers, no intermission for the stamped boards, no glowing of the spasmodic movements of the body, no surcease for the sweeping arms, no falling off in the glitter, of the blazing eyes or the vivid complexion. The feat of physical endurance is beginning to attract the spectators.

After defending the Treasury officials (who are responsible for the figures and the tables), who know their business —which is more than their assailant does-—he gets to the story of the interview. We have the pantomime of the whole thing. Sir Robert is depicted rushing to the doors of various committee-rooms, dragging his interviewer. Wo see him installed in savage burlesque dictating illdigested views for the Conservative proas. Is that fair, sir ? He ought in justice to his Party to have slept over it. Then we get to the dumb dogs. The roar which greets the sight of these unoffending beings is prodigious, and t as for the benches, they are in the very crisis of their fate, —and the papers —well, the papers are threatened with extinction at last. It is very evident they can’t hold out much longer. Dumb dogs! He will find—he is Sir Robert, who sits there in his corner giving out short barking laughs with methodical regularity—he will find that the dogs are not dumb at all. They can bark, and they can bite, too, and they will, and they will, as ho will find, they ivill bite. It is impossible to convey in words the concentrated essence of that screaming “ bite.” Throe parts of the House are in fits of laughter. In this fiercest of all his frames the Premier reaches the Christchurch story. He calms down before it, comparatively. He denies it in toto. He denounces Sir Robert for not having the manliness ts add a little of evidence to his bald assertion. Most unwarranted.

“ Quito true,” jerks in Sir Robert. Prompt -contradiction follows from the Premier, who puts the finishing touches to his case.

After that ho goes through Sir Robert’s indictment seriatim; throws his own Insurance Board in his teeth, declares that there is nearly a million of money in the country “hidden away in safes and teapots,” which will be available for the new Consols ; and gets along to the end of his hour with unimpaired vigour, the people behind him encouraging him with various rounds of applause. At the close he drops into poetry, and sits down boiling but unfatigued. It is by common consent a marvellous feat of physical endurance. He does not forgot before he sits down to rally the Liberals against the sword of the traitor. When the big round of applause is over, Sir Robert makes a personal explanation about the Christchurch incident, which ho promises to go farther into on the occasion of the second reading of the Railway Bill. The Premier challenges him to name the Ministers he says were present at the interview. There is much sensation all round. Sir Robert names the Minister of Education, and thinks the Premier was . there too, but won’t be sure.

“ 1 was not there,” says tho Premier hotly. “And I was,” says Mr Reeves very sharply. He is up as ho says it, and having said it ho proceeds to defend his position. He had every right to bo there, ho said that ha thought two of the Commissioners ought to be retired, he had said Sthat publicly over and over again, as everybody knows, it was nothing now, ho had every right to say it again. That ends tho incident for the present. On the motion of Mr E. M. Smith tho debate is adjourned. Tho House goes away gossiping about the most exciting evening of tho session.