PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVII, Issue 2582, 7 August 1895, Page 3

PARLIAMENT.

: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; T>’po/M v, AdfiusT 6. the Speaker took.thO Cilaii' At T.iid pirfl; >s Tilß L\TK jl f pCiR RICHMOND. , Oil ilfJ3 inptirjn pt, tbo, P/;pMiEit,,tbo House adjourned, until 7.'30 L qut,of,.respect, to the of.fJm.Mtb Hlcitiridria; TIIJ3 ir'/N’ANdJAt bEIiATR., _ ■When the House resumed at 7.30 p.m , This Cor/A,TAT. THEABur.rh; opened the debate on the Financial Statement. ' He

proposed, ho said, to take tho opportunity, m far as possible, to refer to tho matters in tlio Financial StatimleUti 11.0 woiiid first of .nil reibT to the laHft .pfotfosals. It C'JjfUv'l It) hiiU deyiraijib tliilt ifytli flidby of thd Holisb shciUld unite iii littoritpilhg to frjime feasonilble. talilf proposals: In the first place hb dlplthd to fitatb rhoSt that Fliilij fttiitktpd tji flijfept reaspnabjoamendments, the . Gpyerhweut wdlil'd bioSt.fitrepupTlsiy oppose any propbsiu llfat, would, weaken ,tilo .toiohy’s linaheO. a'ti wollid fllipr-this d'etermin'atioh.., lle_ would , now ie‘ol? t!f some, of tpe proposals brought down by' tho Government .upon v/hioh there might bo. a difference of, opinion. .In passing he Would. tljqt it w H very .Aenoua matter jhat. before tlio, ip.nit prop'’eais were - laid ; before the jtoixse they wore made public;, apd. 1 (;or,tfl,iri,, .importers were enabled to make clearances of their goods amounting to some £ 14,'500. He would now draw attention to. four articles—tea, fencing;wire,, .kerosene and rice— ; wiiich meant an annual loss to the revenue of, .£20,800. It had be.eii stated that .the aptual.Gousuiniir would,not benefit by.tbjs! kdd in koipmltteo ti’O Government would bd..prepared to boiisicjtii tiiii 1 ; • TlidJ' would also consider tho, question of re-

moving the duty off packages altogether. Representations had also been made against tho duty on jewellers’ stones, and this, he thought, might well be considered with the view to removing the'duty altogether. Then there was flax shooting and similar material, in connection with which concessions might also be granted with advantage, The same with tinctures. It had also been urged that this data of coming into operation' of the new tariff should be nltßled. Lind • feilsbtt giVfifl ffit this Was 1 ill feoiuiattioii with the cargo of tho steamer Tainili. Part of the steamer’s ihlrgd 'Fas,.latidpd.Eli; Aiicßlafjd prior id the ,iow tariff cbiKitlg lns. toiqe; .and, tli,a halftHCß itt/iJclist parte bf ilie volddy under tlib llpw,tariff; •■.This;.ho Copaidqred. pnly brio .of ihii, fortunes, of.,.wqrj giid .in ’his opinion Po oharigo,.should .hs wade.'j The. ’tariff should remain as at present, subject to any alterations made in tho Customs Bill in coramitteo. .Ho said this,to sot at rest any doubts’that might exist ip the minds of importer* Ho 'now proposed to say sofnebliiri'f npefl the Gunadirn .tariff, .treaty. There appeared to be anTduii, in thb iFifld? of some that 'if every item in" the treaty |was hot agreed ■ to 1 tho treaty must fall to' tho ground. ’’ This was not. §o. Any item might be eliminated! It j bad been-urged that the concessions pro-, posed in regard ■to "admitting timber into the Colony would injure a large industry here. A man of' •' considerable" joxperience In the industry in the TVellington district had told liim that those in the timber trade hero were mistaken about this. Now Zealand could hold its own in this industry. However, the matter would be loft to tile House, : ' They should approach’ this matter - broadly; Already some - bf the mercantile community' Wore anticipating the advantages- likely ' ttf accrue from the admission of Wool and tallow into Ganada free Of dirty. Last year Canada imported-wool arid WdOlieii gobds

,to'the : extent. of £QO4,fMy Which itiednt that if New Zealand' • only 1 sbrit -‘half that value there It would mean ;i very TTfatoricl benefit to the Colony' ih Opeiling up a iiew - market,., and tho bhancb of better phiCes; trt 1 this. llliittbr ’ It, was fot the benefit of tile ; wliblo 'ddiiiithy' tb; bring, about a-tAriff treaty ' wltlP’- CanriflEp , and they should therefore deal with the matter broadly and' apart ' from all : prirty questions. ‘ Look how Caiiada Was willing' temerit them. ■ They.had'offered to- carry our mails, overlaid' for* two years free of' chrirgO, which meant a yeaf br thStoaoblltai . This tHoWqd that Canada was in eamoat./Now.astoth’e tariff treaty with .South .Australia. ~..1t was only to bo expected that’those likely to be injured ,rit all 3 would» it. Ho ventured tb tliink.’hoivbvef.’that'iiJ the present case the proposals could be adjusted so as not to injure Anyone and yet be of, great, advantage to the. Colony. ( .lie had to say a Word or two about an interview In which Sir EohbfF'.StoUt had expressed his opinions lippn'tho'Gqvorninont’s. nnaricialproposals/'and in which’ho had' fallen into error. Sir Robert/Btbut was in the . habit of using 'very nasty Words, and . had in this'particular case, accused the Government 1 of-seizing the sinking-funds. They had not been seized at all.

Sir Robrkt Stout*. You are going to. Mr Ward i The hon ■' gentleman is changing his story.' ... Sir Eoße»t STdtrir’! You arri going to seize, JJ2U,D()O. Worth' illegally) iriipropet’ly arid Without WutWah^' ' ’ • Mr WaUd, Continuing; said that this was not so, as hi would show. They had not been seiiod. 1 <' The 1 Consolidated Stock Act of 1884 showed authority for the use of the sinking funds in the manner in Which thri' Government had Used the funds: It was'Utterly' incorrect to 'Say that the Government had w soiled Ji ■■ thtr funds arid Sir Robert Stout knew this when he used tho term. It • was very easy to convoy a wrong impression like this - into the minds of tho public by the Use of misleading terms; / He'was amazed; arid, astounded at tho audacity of, the hon member in making such . statements./ . By.,ithe Consolidated Stock Act already referred to it was only after, the, Controller and Auditor-General had approved of, the . manner; in; which the funds ; were iiised ! that they. Could be, so used.,f/Did Sir Robert Stoilt meatt to gay that the , Auditor-General, would , approve of .the “iseizure” of /the i funds P: He thought-net.r .r;. r-’l -i / Sir Eobbbt Stout : The hon gentleman has entirely misrepresented; me. . Mr Ward t I have not finished-yet.- Continuing,; Mr Ward went, on to quote from Sir Robert Stout’s utterances in 1886) /when •that;, gentletriatt . held /an - opinion /-entirely opposed to the . attack hei now/made upon the Government. r !v.v'v./,'i ;/ - Sir Roebbt Stout i Not at all.--: .! •;. >

; ; In 1886, the' Treasurer' continued, - Sir Eobert Stout had done exactly the same thing as the present Government had now done, and he (Mr. , Ward)hoped ,that after this Sir EobertiStout would not attenipt to accuse i the Government andmake/misleading statements in'this way. There had beon * ; no iaeizureof the local bodies’loans sinking funds. (Mr iG.: Hutchison: Annexed,) They had not been " annexed.” What next would they .say ? (Laughter.) What Sir .Robert Stout said had been done had not been done.. (Sir Eobert'Stout:: It had been done.) .He said, most emphatically. ..that it had not been done. ..Even, however, if jit had been: done, it was the law introduced by Sir Eobert Stout, that was responsible for it. (Sir.Eobert. Stout: No.) He hac[ it upon indisputable evidence that it was so. Turning to the.interost charges ho contended that . the . change in the system made by the .Government meant . that , for the year , there was a. .difference, .in. the., amount . pajd. of .£216,712 lose than the previous year., .Ho did not, say that this, was all saying, but it was necessary ,to: show this account in the Financial Statement. ' 'He'asked, members to recollect this, that his desire had been .to furnfsh as' fully ! as possible all information available to enable the House to grasp the financial position of the Colony.. There \ had been ■ important changes made and 'proposals submitted in the FmanoialStatc-, ment that would call for adverse criticism,, but he urged all members to consider what; was best for the benefit of the Colony. Sir Eobert Stout explained that whatr he had" said about the seizure of sinkingfunds, dealt with special loan that waa> not in existence when the .Act of 'IBBA was, passed;"’ ."v ‘ j\ Captain Eussem, asked that the figures quoted by the Colonial Treasurer m regard, to consolidated stock should be laid nponj the table' of " the''House to ' .enable , the ; House to consider these now figures and discuss them; The ' debate should be adjourned for this. ' i The Colonial Treasurer declined, tolay his notos upon the table ot -the S(ouso,: and protested against the ideamf adjoum-i meat. - * i Captain Eusseoi.. wanted to know ’which] figures they were to discuss, those, in ‘the. Statement or those 1 used by the Colonial; Treasurer.

The Premier said it was plainly evident, that tho speech of the Colonial Treasurer had knocked tho bottom out of tho speeches, prepared by the Opposition. • i Tho Hon E. Mitcjielson said the; Colonial Treasurer had formed a precedent that he hoped would not be followed. Ho had enunciated a policy altogether dif-] ferent to'-that'contained in the Statement; There was very little in the Statement apart from tho'tariff treaties arid tariff pro-! posals; In the Statement the Treasurer had congratulated the country upon the year’s work. Ho (Mr Mitohelson) could not soe any cause for gratification in it except] the absence of any of tHo:wild-cat schemes 1 noticeable in previous Statements of tho present ' Government. They claimed ha] surplus cl AfilSO.dOO;-which''was-8110,000 less than last year, and yet the Treasurer claimed that this was satisfactory. In his opinion the Colony had reached the bed-* rock both of the Consolidated and Public Works Fund. The Treasurer Had included in his surplus the amount appropriated to tlio Public 1 Works Fund with ■ tho object of deceiving the people' of this country and of England. : ■ ' ’ ■ h ■ : Mr Ward rose to a point of order. Was the word “ deceiving” parliamentary ? The 1 Speaker ruled that 1 it must be withdrawn, and also tho term “misleading ” substituted by Mr Mitohelson. Mr Mitchbeson, continuing, said he could find no word suitable* Of tho sur-

plus of, djlS'O/io'O’ it was proposed to 6A T - Pend j6l5O,(XfCf .on! ■.public, ;works, and he lipped the Government 1 Woiiid riot bring this forward to hnlslQi' tip a sdrplus for the coining year. The Public Woi-Ee Fund was now. practically, exhausted, but the G’oVernnfont had not brought down any jirepes'd. fbV the future.. When the Gqvermribrifc edfflri itfto office they had, in , -.round, figures JtlffMfXK} of Ip’ari wlpeij amount they notv had.:,!fijffn,CW,La<?airist, whiob.i tli,ere were liabilities , to’ j®|2.C)o9,’ leaving only 452,000 for new votes lor priM/i Works, jrtie miserable nmount of New Zealand Consols taken up daring tbo'year, s h°wed | that the people of the Colony preferred to keep the money in their .old Stockings rather than invest It With tho Governrdenk.if he .Premier They ptlt It into tho •Piriii Hwco &virigs Bank.) .. 'lad., amount of ikkilh' VJlJty thli jjatikJit ifew

Zealand, Was ri geidd ipvetyft&fi Colbriy but a fj’ad prie for thb Bank,.wnlch ohlv icebiyes 3£per ririfit. 1 fpr what it paid •li perceiit- iof/.. iflorfMisleading;to say.that th’a..riet iricrease 01 trie.pkfirTCdept had ..beori Tl.iMCKiOb.as, set in tne ! Btriteme’rifc Tho , . Increase ,was , really : X'j/I'Ji.lbV: .(Mr TV/ird f,.Quite .ipAorrect.) The figures co’uicf. ne I’drinefT frpm The tables atiacned .fbotljb. a(ate?n6n%r 'Jjbo Treasury bills. brrtstaridirig.at, the .end of j the yearwera riotinoluded.in' th'e.publicdebt. | Eiid they b'eriri, «f'., the fluhlio debt of .the , Colony jwoujd riayo Katl tOi.bqjstated at j tho enormous earn, of X-lO.Tfo.fXiO. Idofi; ns 1 to thp,actual amount of .intprost paid.upon : our public debt.. It had been .claimed that there had been a saving through the con- ; version dpriratlori'ft Thera, should, bo a 1 saving through these operatiuffn We. 1 ) it not 1 for .tho fact that the!debt had. .boon rfi- 1 creased,-,. In -1894 the amount paid was.; T!lJioß,Bbßj exclusivo.of interest on. sinking fiifid; and ln:,;180rii the amount .was F1,G74,859, or 4oS/j'(d more tiian.iri ; i-T.894. Now, as to tho sinking funds. li Wha .tji% use of these that had increased the .public, debt. He proposed- to show that the Government had borrowed, and borrowed largely. Excluding tho amount borrowed under tho -Advances to Settlers Act, the Cheviot -estate purchase,! and the loans

to local bodies, which totalled .£2,100,000, the Government bad borrowed from sinking I funds £541,000 j in New Zealand CoflStflSj,!. 2UOB/.XIO j lands . improvoide'jrt; j Jdrida fof , eattlempnt,4G3,90fJ; Native iarid (furphade, £l¥j,7oo i fpr, rihvftl and. military settlers;. £27,226; making a .total of. -21,133,.892.' If the amount borrowed for adyaneps to settlers, tlffi Cheviot estse purchase arid ..loans to local bpdies vvere,, ifipU>dri3.,it worild^mJkP tho,.total -amount borrowed, Pj.orifiJfOA After this,tho give up thoic name of . a non-borrowing Government. He denied that the country was in the satisfactory state claimed Tor it, andcondemned tho proposed reciprocal treaties as unlikely to be-.of any advantage to tho Colony.-, Regarding the tariff proposals with ftotfth .Australia, - this would aim a serious blow at .$0 wlnribiak%<, industry springing up in- parts of theiColoriy,'- At(d the' fruit-growing industry. .Spoing, that' South' Ari;! ;ralia ■ imported so.much timber, why. had not' Now- siorii an ", t im p er been includecl iri the freeTistP The Canadian' treaty favoured Canada as against /New Zealand. The' only articles that New Zealalidi-"could 1, send- to-‘ Canada.'with advantage would be wool and .woollen goods, . Regarding' -the admission .'of Canadian timbei- into tho Colony free, a 'gentleman, had recently, told hifn that ho saw tiifibrir placed on hiiitVd ,ri bdat iff Canada at ffOs per lOOtfft; ithieh ivaS codSidetablti less than timber cotlld 'he isrot in

the Wests bf New; Zealand,. The proposal ;was likely tb sefiofisiy Ifijtire the timbCj ttride bf the Colony; As to'the propost/a .Yancoti^er..mail' setvice, /he; condemned: this. 1 Tho Treasurer, .be. asset ted; had been! jnconsisteiit iii UiC ftetibps id fogaM to’ gradually extinguishing the Cplpfly!?, debt by setting aside sinking funds. 1 ThO’rifir tioipatfed'surplus ■ 6f',/e9367 .at the erid Of tho borilifig year was a manufactured ’one'. /It was plain that tb’o fliaricOs of the , Cbun- : trj. /verb dpt in anything like tha. satisfaotory‘ couditioii stated' Bjr.' the I TreHStfrer/ jit was impossible to discuss the triiilf /proposals, seping that tho Goyerriii'en't'pro-' •posed i& . modify them', 1 ’ / Bome p’foyi'sipn 1 jshodld 1 be,.made, W'VaUpwirig’Natives to’ /realise / bn 'their lands./ He could.n'o't see jthat’tho optlook for the ’ coming year was ’satisfactory ■—the outlook .promised, iin Jorripty Treasury at the end of Me year, ' j { Mr Pi bani complimented Mr .Mitohejsbii! mpon his mild speech. Mr MitohelsonjLe ;went on, to . point,, out,. had. made: many .’prophecies during the,-financiEd .'debate of' /last/year,..but .those had been falsified' by the. iGovernmont.,!’Anibrigst, 'th’ein..w’oce,prophecies,, qntibipating‘.a’;'do-/ ’floit i thp assertion,'that,'lf 3 per cent.,loan’ iObuldnot'be .‘floated 1 ; and' the' statement' /that public works could not be carried out '■ without a loan. Mr.Mitchelson had proved

•nimseit a propnet or tne.wprsc Kina, ana ic Iwaa/ahout time . Jb/e /stopped croaking, and / cryirig down the position of the Colony, and give, instead credit: for,the progress made. by/it),As to the New Kcalaud consols issued, it,Was ridiculous, to ekpect people,.td take’up/Gpyernfflerit.ephsals'.at S.Vpor cent, When' tlib Best Office S:mngs. Bank .tt'aS giving i per Cent: on money deposited With it; It Was.fitircttlciUri tO'-talblabont seizing the sinliitig/ fiinds bf,thb as, had been doner. evenit^iciEcfl.iSWetefi jteiflg the money for the benefit bf the Colony, and according to...the law.. ..The proposals of the... Government. in /regard to Native lauds ~ ho eulogised, and the proposals generally, in, the Statement, he claimed, to, be itt thft boat interests ,of the Colony, and likely to do a considerable amount of'good to;/all classes. 1 -The ..inteiition of ,' t/he. Government to obtain, a new cable steamer', he conndered /necessary, .■ as„the, use .of. the/Terranbrri really, imperilled the,lives of those who went out in her to mend.(the cable. The Pacific ,Cable .eoherae he ; supported strongly,: /and. also,-.the suggestions contained in the, Statement in; regard to,the conversion ; of , the Colony’s loans. These loans, however, were, so appreciated on : the market that it was not advisable to think o£conversion ritpresent:/.; .While: the fact that our loans were sb appreciated as to earn the title of “gilb;edgOd,{’.j,was highly gratifying, it,had gave him pleasure td’- fearri' that the Government ~proposed.tQ.kr aoS d,tfl® law oflocal gove'rriinenfc/ti-Thei //proposal to modify tho tariff-found favour in his eyes. He /trusted that in committee ( anomalies would be /removed,; and a far more satisfactory tariff framed. /There Was no doubt that the present tariff., was not satisfactory, but . while it was impossible toampnd it to any ./veryi/great .extent,, still,it .cpuldi bp made much. >more;; Satisfactory, r . /Any amendments, however, would not, of-course, givev satisfaction; to rill., /He trusted that the, proposals ofr-the,. Treasurer,,would;do away, / with ,/the i croaking against the r!r»lr\nv •/, onrl/ fcvlf. •, an-Ho.; f,Vin+: i-TlTr- Wnrrl’a

visit to England shad been to its .advantage. ■ v ... ;■ - Mr Duthie thought tho Colonial Treasurer. had’taken l an .unfair advantage of the House in addressing-thorn that night. Practically the : now" tariff had been withdrawn by the Government, and'members wore:',thbß‘placed in a' false: position:;by being unable to discuss it; Turning tothe Statement, he said the Colonial Treasurer had:taken credit for. the-falling offi inthe revCnue'not being-as'la'rge as anticipated, buttbis was merely getting up.bOgiesto knock them fttWir again.: (The Statement: had nob been made ; clearer than: 'usual—it was most- involved iand diffioult, to*’understand.' It- was full: OfiinaCCurabiee.i For instance ( there were : t Wo] differeut'sets of '■ figures 'given :ae'• to' 1 the excess of. re venue; over- the. .estimate; ‘Then the- low prices prevailing < for . produces waS a misleading ‘ reason to' ; give for ‘ tho. depression- ex- • rating ■ in the Colony. Tho ’ spending power had increased by ; - .£369,276, wages, had not been reduced and prices of food all round wore-lower. . Therefore the assertion that the low prices obtainable for produce being responsible’ for the’ depression -wasmisleading-- - One of the chief • reasons for the depression was •• the lack of means for the Investment of . capital and the insecurity felt, which caused the money i to;,be- locked up. in,the banks, Wasthej .falling; off in-the -population ape-.of the; -causes- for the- congratulations ..in - the Statement on the- past..yearis work. Ee-n garding i the, - surplus., .of. - the. year,-, the. real surplus. of - revenue. -over., expenditure, was -£15,283. This was bordering upon a. deficiency; If' money in the hands of the: Post Gffico for mail services‘and a'sum of ; -.£15,000 odd-for -land'settlement purposes' -Had been .paid over - arid 'expended at the. proper‘time there' would have' been a de-i • licit., j Tho Budget 1 of last year was a much, more ■ cheerful document*than this year’s.; No* doubt in. I .regard 1 to tho surplus the 1 Government were only adopting the usual course in bringing forward- tho amount 1 over’frora tho previous year, and counting: ;it as . surplus, but still the actual amount of the surplus on the year’s work was as he] had stated. - "Where money was, a receipt? and .interest was,paid upon it, it was-ripti .actual revenue, and should not be counted] in the surplus. -.During the four.years that -the. Government had been in',office there! had actually been a deficit - on- .the’ revenue and expenditure of .£50,289 ( i.whereas the .Government; claimed ■ that] there had been a surplus of-£1,609,800.) Language;, could,, not be,, used.,too] (strong in condemnation of, such conduct. (Mr Ward: You are not correct.) Mr Ward was-in the habit of (! making- these kind of assertions', but he never’attempted] to ,prove the figures. The Government, he; contended, had not contributed onepeimyi from revenue to the Public Works Fund; it had all been borrowed money. During the time the Government had boon in office] they had increased tho public debt by 112,291,109. -The assertion that the interest account of the Colony had been reduced by] conversion operations was misleading.' When the Government took office the in-! terest account was -£1,570,252, while during the past year it was -£1,599,289. The gross] debt bad . been increased from 381millions to 405 millions, and the net debt from 371-millions to 39J millions; which accounted for tho increase; in ' the interest to bo paid. Mr Duthie re-.

/cried tb the floating of the if per cent, loan, Ocmtending that the TYest Australian - 3-i per cent, loan was a better bargain. Regarding the conl'eTei"U operations of the Government, he contended that all the tetav'ersiotfs nfeant ati ultimate 1038 ter the Colony, and there was really nothing in Hie Treasurer’s pVopotdl to’ ebuyert the whole of the loans. It was Ti'dl/y ,ari ! ,immature suggestion arising from lack of experience, The Estimates had been decreased 1 by £tiO,i/i(J, eh owing that the Government did not intend tii put any new life into the country, and that trie outlook was 1 hopeless., Thorp wjis, ari ominous paragraph I in th'cf *t*ftt-m'ejft in, (egard to the Bank of New Zealand TVhy sboiila the Colony bo atd'Jj&tt" the, affairs of any private trading coilijldhy ? lie should protest most strongly against the Government interfering iifthis matter. It seemed to him that the transaction by which the Bank of New Zealand took tip Ti.te///Xi.NeW Zealand consols at 3i per cent. With rbbaey for which they paid 4 1 per cent, was .most ffiihrteinesslike. There was' sbhiethfng , behind ..this/ Then it/ tb'A tqrfff.' ■lt wpuld. affect ! shirt’maxri'/J riri’d thA bdbK trade- adversely. He did not think ffe{f (tolbriy benefit from’ the, jfeciprocril' treaties Mr Huthiri cpnteri'dri'd' that the depression existing Jn [the bii&ty was drib to tho Government i policy.' ....... .. , , . ~ Mr Hoocf said Mr DiritniS had giveri' the j House a', very ■ doleful speech, but fciwd pd' doubt dorio his duty As a member, rif fn6' Opl'rJmnn, The stateriieilts" made by that ! gentlepiau, yty?ri7er, ( Were (juite inaccurate. ; Was. not', settlement ,at the ' present time as fast as everit/fims ? .. TYCro' 1 not large . buildings being erected in this very city ? , Tyere'riot largo sums of money being' invented In our riiimrig industries ? ' Did not those factj d&fiitgte tjie Astert;?n ; that, money was locked up m ffe, liriridp of I the .capitalists ? TYas it not a fact ami - thrift, 1 money was BOW cheaper than ever it was ? 1 T.h-m rie ,tp„ths pplipy of ..the, ~Government driving.peojlS Wa(q, ibid, liot the Population of the Colony ai'Stwmri JnpGO. during the past three years ? Mr Utithie, had asserted that the actual surplus for the past year had only been some .£15,000 odd. He (Mr Hogg) preferred to take the figures of the Treasury department rather than those of Mr Duthie. But even if tho surplus was only as stated it redounded to the'crodit of the Governirient to,have ft srii-pluil at all dt a time 6f tucll depfesslori in tile, Aiistralasliiri, doldrilbs;No one denied tha i there.hrid. beeil SM iririterioe iri the nublic debt of Hie Coloriv. hut a tilnir.

satisfactory reason was given for this—a reason showing that such increase had been tb'.Thp,.,advantage, of, .the Colony. He could apt. agreej.w/tll,, iripmbers who expressed disapproydi, .rif, ■ the ipiradiari and South Austr-alian treaties. ■ TYharerif tho loss of revenue might be to the Colony tho ultimate result would undoubtedly prove beneficial. Regarding the advances to settlers scheme, he knew of no proposal that would do more good to the Colony than this. Not only would it prot biota settlement/ but the circulation of oapibSl triri.dffd. the labour market, and,it/would,help,.(b dri With the .unemployed trouble. , $ *he administration fit the Government fit the' Colony I,J tliouglit . a matter requiring consideration., no did not say. the .Government were to blame for this, but the matter nevertheless required attention, The increases being:made; in the already large salaries paid to the officers. of the public Service could not he allowed to continue) while the wages of tha.^Working .classes were being reduced as those* of the, were by thei# ' being .-pat' on short l-lirie." No tariff proposals had everigiferi sritisfaritforiy ciild He Wris Ml. : ifttrjKtStetl at the' GoveThlrient proposals 0? this year being ;■ abused. ..Ife Would say,-: however,that lie had -beard very little said i« coat--. rri'eridaltion 6f it,-but a gdo'd deal-, of -almau. He rceo'gmsed' that tho Tariff Commission bad boeriMt ypry painstaldrig. bbdy, but did riot think it th'e body - bfeete suited - for the' work. --'lnstead of redutoingf'the-taiS-Ori teft' by Td ! per " lb! ' Which did riot i the ■ conhumor 1 but affected the revenue serfodsly! he advocated an.' increase bf the tax-by 6d:i -; This wohld not seriously aff6ot the'working classes; aM.Wottld: strengthenth'b'Vreyehue considerably, .-affd ■-•p#bWd® - funds for rpublic- 1 works , pr- settleiUCUt purpbseS; • 1 Rbgardirig the' Firiaripial State-ment.as’a-whole it w'as’Cheerfril; elaborate!' entered fully into' details; arid iv’as' one. tipdH 1 . which the Colonial Treasufer should bo corigl'dtpiatqd.. , Mr Ward- was entitled to. the., highest rCfod(t for his services - to 1

itno, country, aunng tne ,papt, year. ' Mr MCGowan said the 'present©pyefe;inent were entitled to the highest cpfffrnendation for the 'present position to which they had raised the finances of the Colony. At the same time the Liberal Party should consider the people who had 'placed them in a'position to do this. ’ They ' had- not' done this' in' the tariff proposals brought down this-session. It could not be said' that the proposals 'contained the principle bf : the greatest -good to the'greatest number. The consumers would profit very little from the proposals. The Budget made, reference to the mining industry. He hoped that more Would be‘done to., assist this industry Than had been done in the past. ; He thought (the Canadian tariff treaty threatened the timber industry of the Colony, and while (agreeing thoroughly with the principle of < reciprocal" treaties, pointed out • that. this \ (Was a matter reuniting serious considera- ‘ tion. Returning again to the new tariff, he .Urged that increased taxation should be (put ( On , luxuries, and reductions made (on.i the; . necessaries of. . life. Mr, (Outbid, had asserted, that it was the (policy-, (pf. the. Government . that.- had (Cramped, • enterprise and locked money i up in the banks 4 This.. was. not,so, as all. i business men must know. It was through shelf prudent'Uegislatktff as? the Liberal : ;party introduced that confidence 'was | ’ restored and capitalists took their money ; eht of. the hanks for the purposes'of invest- ■ meht/-, Regarding the coat .of the'adminis- . . tiratichv of/tlic,.Government of the Colony,' i hq could 1 .,n0t agree, with Mr Hogg.,. In- . conclusion, he contended that' the, recom-, i mendations of the. Tariff .Commission-were; ; infinitely superior to tho tanff proposals of the Government. ■ ; On" the'motion of Mr K. M. Smith, tile debate was adjourned,'and the House rose lit 0.60a.m. " 1