SIR JULIUS VOGEL AT CHRISTCHURCH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7928, 20 July 1887, Page 2

SIR JULIUS VOGEL AT CHRISTCHURCH.

U'hh Ukitkd I'iikss Association.)

('i"(i.vivuuiicif,.July li). Sir Julius Vngel addressed the electors of Christchiirch North to-night at the Theatre Royal, which was crowded. Tho mayor occupied the chair.

Sir Julius Vogel, who was warmly received, first referred to the (;reat regret ho felt thiit Mr Holmes was not coming forward for this I'lirliiiment, and to the loss the House and the colony would sustain in consequence. He should endeavour to avoid personalities, but he would frequently refer to Major Atkinson because he regarded him as leader ol the Opposition. He had been subjected to so much hostile criticism on account ol the policy of public works, that he would

KKVIKW TUB PAST. It was alleged that the I'ublic Works policy had tailed. In JBo9tho colony was in a condition 01 extreme depression. Ho would compare that period with this. He then cited elaborate statistics for tho two years 1809 and 1880, of which tho following are some of the items : — Population, 237,000 as against 589,000 j,, i BBO . eusto £ 823 ,000 against £1,311,000; customs pr>r head t% 0s 5d against £2 4s Gd ; woo ], 27,000,0001b weight against 00,000,0001b weight- value wool £1,371,000 against £3,072,000; value'per lb| Is 4d against 8d ; railway miles, W against Jvfilvi «"<'er crop, 251,000 acres against JS.i,OOO acres; land sown in grass, 050,000 acres 'i^onnnn' ■•°^ reS- sayi "Ss banks deposits, £320,000 against £2,158,000; to which might be ft?mnm-"T flln° accumul"«°ns equal to £1,^85,000 in the Government office -md Dm bably £100,0fX)/»0inotberoffices Heleftoifice to go Homo ns Agent-general in 1676. He remained .n New Zealand during several months of the later year and he accepted responsibility tip to his leaving from 18C9, but he was not responsible afterwards from 1870 to 1884 He read extracts to show that Major Atkinson and Sir J. Hull approved of what he had done, and said he could road many nazes more by old friends and by opponents, lie was not to blame that after he left the local government introduced to replace the provincial system was a failure, and that land wasnot put apart for railway reserves as he originally proposed, and proposed again in 1884. Ihe great misfortune after he left was wild laud speculation. He pointed out the evil, and in his last budget proposed a large increase in price to arrest it. It was cowardly to blame him. Everyone who was prudent had had an opportunity of.doing well. The very men who had become rich, and who but for his policy would have been poor, were those who now attacked the author of the policy which enriched Uioui. He claimed that the present Government had been prudent and economical. The distinguishing feature of their policy had been the encouragement of local industries, in which he included land settlement and mining. He would briefly refer to

THE ruINCIPAL FEATUHES OV T2IEIE ADMINISTRATION, enlarging afterwards on some of the subjects. They had started the North Island trunk line, ??'!^ Proceeded with the Otago Central, the Hokitika-Greymouth, Wellington-Napier, and the north of Auckland lines. The Midland railway had been started, putting in hand the completion of the trunk system in each island exceptiug the Marlborough connection with the Midland. They had established thoroughly friendly relations with the Natives, and they had brought into force a system for stopping laudsharkmg, by enabling the Natives to dispose of their lauds through the Government. They had undertaken the systematic defence of the principal ports. They had carried on with success negotiations concerning the Pacific islands, and avoided the disastrous federation to which the last Government- had nearly committed the colony. They had secured the opportunity of making New Zealand the naval station of part of the Australasian squadron—aresult for which he had striven for 17 years. They had amended and improved the laws relating to local bodies and had substituted the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act for the Eoads and Bridges Construction Act. VVhen he took offico there was great disorder in the Post Office in respect to the carriage of Home mails. The Post Office in London insisted on sending part of the mails by way of Melbourne at a heavy cost. He had even to threaten to put on a special rate by way of Melbourne before the London Post Office gave way. They made the contract with the direct steamers to England, and he almost immediately saved £7000 in the cost of the Californian service. Ho was charged by his opponents with sharp practice with regard to the. latter service. It was a singular thing that he had just received a pamphlet lately prepared by the Pacific Company contractors in New York, in which they entirely exonerated the New Zealand Government, and admitted that they had no complaint against them. A parcels post was about being established, and he had introduced a system of extending delayed telegrams, so that practicall}', except for important business, the cost of telegraphy was reduced one-half. . It was fresh in their memory how the Government had saved £5000 a year for continuing the cable subsidy. lii connection with this matter, he made reference to the fact that he originally negotiated the contract for laying the cable between New Zealand and New South Wales. He had gone to England empowered by act of the Legislature to pay £35,000 a year for 20 years for cable communication between New Zealand and Australia, whereas all thai he had paid was £5000 a year fur 10 years. He referred to SirJ. Hall's remarks in the Legislative Council eulogising the contract and his negotiations. It was to be found in " Hansard." It was stated by Captain Fraset that when some remark was made to Dr Featherstou about his (Sir J. Vogel's) expenses that gentleman exclaimed, " What are expenses compared with the splendid arrangement he has made for cable communication butween New Zealand and Asstralia?" The present Government had also arranged that most difficult matter, the purchase of district railways. This purchase was rendered necessary by the clumsy legislation under which authority was given to construct the railways. There wm no resource but to buy the lines out, ynt if the legislation had been sound no better object could have beeu served than to encourage the construction by private enterprise of branch lines to connect with main railways. The Government had

SAVED TAXATION, although they found the finances in a most disordered condition. Withadeficitof £150,000 they bad practically introduced a system of retrenchment. They had unceasingly in every direction endeavoured to encourage local resources. They had taken means to make two Newcastles on the West Coast—in Greymouth and Westport. They had offered encouragement for the development of fisheries, and had taken charge of the conservation of forests. It was well known how anxiously they had aided permanent settlement upon the lauds. They had endeavoured to increase the tariff in 1885. They had dealt^vith the charitable aid question,which had evaded tho ability of previous Governments. They had reduced the cost of administering justice, besides introducing some valuable acts, such as the First Offenders' Probation Act. They had virtually stamped out scab in sheep, and were on the point of relieving the ban placed upon it by other colonies. It was a cummon assertion of their opponents that the present Government had introduced crushing taxation. But what were the facts ? When they came into office the property tax was Jd. During the three years they had been in office it had averaged 11-lGths of a penny, or 1-Gth of a penny less than when they took office. They had not increased tLe taxation through the customs, but the revenue had fallen immensely through the change in the habits of the people in regard to the consumption of alcoholic drinks, and the fall in value of goods subject to ad valorem duties. Any Government must reinstate the customs duties. Great objection had been raised to Mr Ballance incurring liabilities for village settlement to the extent of £60,000. He admitted it was irregular, but not illegal, since the law allowed Government to exceed votes by £100,000. They had plenty of precedents—as, for instance, orders in advance for immigration. The liability was not for final expenditure so much as for advances, and a great part of the amount might be considered due to the emergency of dealing with the large number of unemployed. Examples could be found of far greater responsibilities undertaken by other Governments. He would give one of Major Atkinson's. In his Financial Statement in ISS4, that gentleman admitted that the Government had " slightly " exceeded the authority of Parliament. When the word " slightly " came to be interpreted, it meant £261,000. Major Atkinson when disclosing it said, with a maguauimous uir, it was right Parliament should know of it appearing to take credit for even informing Parliament. Sir Julius then proceeded to discuss THE QUESTION OF HETIiEN'CHMKNT. He read an extract from the speech of Major Atkinson, showing that he considered retrenchment merely a popular cry to displace the Government. The year 18S0-S1 was Major Atkinson's model year of retrenchment. He alleged ho was making a gross saving in the Estimates of over £500,000. Two years afterwards he admitted he was increasing the Estimates by nearly £300,000. Though he alleged the increases were partly nominal and partly to avoid undue hardship to public servants, Major Atkinson's retrenchment was taking off one year and putting it on another. He read an elaborate comparison between ISSO-S1 mid 1886-87, showing that there was great reduction in ordinary expenditure after eliminating some items which he explained, and that this saving was notwithstanding the fact there was ail increase of 100,000 in the population and much larger wauts to satisfy. Thu speaker proceeded to sny that they claimed to have initiated a system which would permanently lead to a reduction in the cost of tho future civil service. He explained that the saving of £1300 a year had been made hy recent changes in the Customs department. He (Hil not mean to say however, that, they did not Kiiffer by losing the services of experienced udicir.-i. He referred to the savings in the proposed Estimates, which, had the Government [proposals been given effect to, would ■iavr; led to the saving of £150,000, of ivhieh at least £80,000 might be set down to ion-recurrent votes. The Government now .imposed a further retrenchment, as tho country wniKil in earliest about it, but it must be clearly ludorstood that reduced expenditure beyond a inrtain amount would moan reduced services. It was yet to bo Been whether when the various mrts of tho country actually felt what retrenchnent meant t^ey would be content to accept it. If the country showed its determination in the matter of self-denial, the separate districts might be exercised to an extent which they had never yet been. For his part he meant to do all that could be done to reduce expenditure, even at the cost of losing useful services not abso lutely necessary

INCHKASB OK THE CUSTOMS DUTIES was an absolute measures of safety dnmpsded by prudunco and honesty, when tiia liabilities of the colony ;md its responsibilities were taken into account. The customs duties in 1809 amounted to £3 Us 5d per head of the population. In 1880 they had fallen to £2 4s Gd per head, and during the first three months of the present year to less than £2 a head. It was quite possible to increase the revenue nnd at the same time to give encouragement to local industries. This had been the policy of the colony for many years past. Ho introduced in 1871 the first unmistakable measure of

PROTECTION. Lyttelton was exporting wheat and flour and importing timber, whilst Auckland was importing Hour and exporting timber. A judicious arrangement of duties booh led to Auckland and Jjytteltoii exchanging their products instead of Winding to and receiving from the foreign market lhe question at present lay in a nutshell. Are we tv disregard employing our population and put them m competition with cheap labour elsewhere? If cheap production was* supenor.consideration to keeping the people, then theyshould import coloured labour—an absurdity which the colony would not stand. They had seen this logical outcome of Freetrade in the late proposal to employ Kaffirs to shear sheep The plea that Protection would lower the rate of wages was an insult to the intelligence of the working classes. It meant that in the course of time—say, half a generation—such competition might grow up that labour would be excessive But how could they put such possibilities m the future against the present actual hardship suflered by the population through want of employment? The probability of future competition through excessive local manufacturing was modified by the consideration that as the country grew its wants would enormously increase. Working men must not be deceived. Let them ask themselves would the philanthropists who are now opposing Protection do so if they really thought it would reduce the rate of wages for the next dozen years? His colleague Mr Richardson had douo more than any 20 men in encouraging local industries, by having iron bridges and ocomotives made in the colony. If his colleague granted all the requests made to him, he would be more popular, but he made it his rule to conscientiously refuse to the few what was not good for the many. It was not proposed, as had been stated, to tax agricultural implements With very few exceptions they had still been left free. The farming industry gained largely by Protection. Farmers must recollect that they benefited more by a home market than by a foreign one. He estimated that at least five and a-half millions sterling of farm and agricultural produce, including meat, was consumed in the colony, and it was.short-sighted to think more of tho foreign than the home market. Exception had been taken to ' . • '

■ THE PBOPEKTV TAX PHOPOSAL. i lhe plan relieved some small payers who ought i never to have been taxed. Supposing the plan of ' the income tax exemption in England was followed, incomes being capitalised at seven years purchase, the exemption would be much larger than was now proposed. Supposing the rate . nmtormally was Id all round, exemptions on the , English scale would save small payers £18,000 ■ more than was proposed by the Financial Statel meut. 12.000 taxpayers now paid in all £9000. • or an average of 15s each; large owners wanted,. ■ by removing the exemptions, to make them. . pay 55s instead of 15s, and to get from thosei who now paid £9000 no less than £33,000. ■ I his was monstrous cruelty; As regarded the, I effect on England, they must not allow ■ themselves to bo scared by those who. : sought exceptional advantages. They must. Ibe just. Great Britain was really only; 1 affeote<l by the tax on mortgaged property. i When the tax was originally proposed, the- [ forcing lenders to pay the tax was a severei strain. But now contracts had fallen in, new ; ones had been made, and lenders of money had; ! notoriously protected themselves by putting on. ; one and a half per cent—equal to a penny and a, fifth. The tax had never approached this, so. lenders of money had made the difference be- , sides the exemption. He took an instanonofia. i mortgage for £5000. The borrower wouWi pay the lender half per cent, equal to £25V i whilst at an average of the last three ; years the lender would only have had to pay i with exemption £15 ss. Even under their pro- • posals in the Budget, a penny tax would still leave lenders gainers by one-fifth of a penny, equal on £30,000,000 to £15,000. This was pure gain to the lenders, paid lay the borrowers to be given by: the Government and kept by the lenders. He thought it would be well to remove uncertainty in the future, and to fix the tax on mortgage so that it should not be altered without five years' notice. This would save the exaction of a margin to cover risks. There was no danger of any Government of which he was a member committing spoliation. It was the duty of the Government of the country to protect person, property, liberty, and freedom. The working classes were interested in giving capital its due protection, for labour depended on capital; but they were not to allowcapitalists who wanted more than they were entitled to to blackmail them with threats of' withdrawing capital. They tried that on in, Victoria, but the Parliament thore nevertheless insisted on a land tax on areas exceeding 640 acres, and with an exemption of £2500. Thecolony had not suffered through it. He waa charged with excessive uonnowiNG, He read a statement of *he expenditure of borrowed money during the time he, Major Atkinson, and Sir G. Grey were in office respectively. .Two of. the years-he and Major Atkinson were in office together. It showed that during tha nine years he had spent of borrowed money £13,500,000; whilst Major Atkinson in eight spent £14,250,000. His yearly average was. £1,500,000, and Major Atkinson's £1,780,00 a He believed strongly in THE MIDLAND HAILWAT. Contractors and those they contracted with had seen the country and were satisfied it would be a calamity to let it fall through for the sake of any trifling concession. That question and the questions of RE-LEASING THE EUNS and the stopping of the incursion of rabbits in South Canterbury were subjects which would vitally affect Canterbury in the coming Parliament. There were 2,700,000 acres of runs in the hands of 92 holders, paying £47,000 rental. Itwould be a great question how these should be dealt with fairly for the benefit of the whole community when the leases fell in.astheywould in a little more than two years; the rabbit question supervened. Otago and Southland had been most cruelly treated. There percentage of wool to the whola value expended had fallen from 46 per cent, to 25 per cent. The Government had ordered a quantity of wire fencing plant. It was right that a large district should look after its own interests, but not to band itself against the interests of other districts. The greatest misfortune here was a want of colonial feeling—a feeling to appreciate that the whole colony benefited by any benefit a portion enjoyed. He had always considered the colony had the first claim on a member. PEBSONAL. He deplored the bitter tone adopted towards him in Dunedin, with* which nearly all his early public life had been associated. Ho was blamed now there for what they had frequently thanked him formerly. Whilst he would do his duty as a local representative, he had held himself free to aid any part of the colony. He urged as a fifth plank " United New Zealaud." There were TWO PARTIES before the colony—their own and Major Atkinson's. Those who voted against the one supported the other.- Sir George Grey and Sir John Hall could organise parties, but they had not declared their intention to do so. CONCLUSION. He could not conclude without expressing his bitter diappointment in the want of courage which distinguished most of the utterances throughout the colony. Nothing in the con--ditiou of the colony justified such gloomy utterances. Retrenchment was desirable, but a reinstatement of the customs revenue should cause no uneasiness. For the last three years it had been expected that. the property tax would be raised to Id. He did not believe any British community would submit long to " lying down to wait." The fact of the Government reducirg its borrowing should stimulate private enterprise. They wanted capital—not lent on mortgage, but invested in land settlement and industries. There was ample room for legitimately employing capital in agricultural, pastoral, mining, and manufacturing industries. He ventured to expect a reaction from the prevalent despondency.

The speech was listened to very attentively, and frequently applauded. The references to Protection, retrenchment, and united New Zealand caused loud cheers. A vote of thanks and confidence was carried amid great enthusiasm, only three hands being held up against it. Cheers for Sir Julius Vogel and the mayor terminated the meeting.