SIR GEORGE GREY'S MINISTERIAL STATEMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 458, 17 October 1877, Page 2

SIR GEORGE GREY'S MINISTERIAL STATEMENT.

In stating the Mm...ierial policy to the House i») Monday evening, the I lon. Frolnier (.Sir <!( «"yo <*rey) Kpoke .*f< follows:—!»'jr,—Before proceeding to the Orders of the Day, I request 111.; I louse Lo id low nu; to m.ke :i brief statement as 1o tli'j cireuiustances which have placed me in the position that I now occupy, and a:i to Ih.; course of proceeding widen myself :md those who have agreed to conduct with me the government of the country are nnxioim to pun-no. I would state, sir, to the lloiiho brielly what is within the knowledge of honourable gentlemen, that, within thedast few da;, s, what is called "a, iMinisteiial crisis" occurred ; that my lion, fii'iid the member for I tuned in cily having proposed a vote of want of confidence in tins «dministration, carried the vote, and it theseupon became incumbent upon lain to asatune the responsibility of forming a Ministry, lie having requested my assistance, I feit it my duty to attempt to give effect to what was the manifest wn.h of this House, namely, that a change of administra ion should take place. I had very great difficulty in bringing that object aOout, for, as honourable gentlemen know, the House was divided into three paits, and it therefore became exceedingly difficult to reconcile Ihc ddlercnccß when ha 1 arism upon tlm whole. 'J he only Ktlution that 1 foun«l cou'd \\<i ratisfaclorily ncc< n:];lishcd is feat which lias taken place. 1 desire, in cider, il po.-mliJe, to show tlio Hou-e that ic is <ur wish in every way to give clF.et to what wo regard a; tlio will of the House, to state the course which, uml«jr_J existing circumstances, we propose to pur- • lie. Fntt, 1 would say that at present only comparatively speaking a unall number of gentlemen have taken oliice. We have divided the portfolios amongst us, and w«

propose very shortly to add to our number two additional members. T!ie law permits us to do that, Init it does not require it from lis ; this is, however, the course we intend to pursue. We also intend following ont the fac:l:»it-s given ions by the laws oi' New Zealand, by associating wit h us certain Ministers oi the Native race. The g cat question is : What do we propose shsdl be_ the immediate object of our attenfi' i> ? if I have read the wi'l of the Hcu.=e ai-ijriic, 1 understand that the one thing huDouable members have at hea't; at thw present moment is a thorough consideration of the financial condition of the Colony ; and then, collected with that, 1 understand it is the desire that every pos-siUe retrenchement in or.r expenditure should be carried out which can be effected without JDJury to the welfare of the Colony, and without affecting the efficiency of the public service. As yet we have had but little time to look into the the finances of the Colony, but certainly the impression left on my mind is that they are in such a state that the retrenchment de.-ired by this House is absolutely necessary. I may say that it will be our duty very shortly indeed to apply to the House for further sums of money to cany on temporarily the affairs of the country. It will be within the knowledge of honorable gentlemen that even within the last few days an advance of LiOO.OOi) was given by this House. It was in hopes that we should have found that untouched that we came into office ; but that sum has been more than half exhausted. We have already tr-nched upon the remaining 1.44,000 that we found when we took office in order to demands for pa}--ments, so that the residue now left does not exceed 1 38,000. Again, the House is awa; e that in its liberality it thought fit to authorise the Government to draw to the extent of LIOO,OOO. Without any vote of this House to meet unforeseen expenses, that vote might have been available for us, but it is also nearly exhausted, and I think only about L3OOO of that sum remains at the present moment. The available balance, therefore, at our command is so trifling that we must soon appeal to the liberality of the House to get on even for the next few days. In addition to the immediate want of funds, I find—and my colleagues, I think, will agree with me—lhat the liabilities of the Colony at the present moment considerably exceed those liabilit es which we expected we should find in existence, btit upon this Bubject, and upon finance generally, I hope that to-morrow, or at all events within a very short period, the Colonial Treasurer (the honourable member for Duncdin City) in bringing lorward a motion for Committee of Supply, will give detailed information to the House,-which will set the subject clearly before the honourable gentlemen who compose this representative chamber. (To be continued )