CAPTAIN RUSSELL AT HASTINGS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10306, 13 March 1895, Page 6

CAPTAIN RUSSELL AT HASTINGS.

(Peb United Pjiees Association.)

Hastings, March 12,

The Hon. Captain Russell, M.11.11,, delivered a poot-seisional speech to his constituents tonight, the mayor presiding. In opening, Captain Kutaell said that during his political life ho had rarely ever defended himself from the Attacks o£ his political enemies, but ns tho Premier had made it his duty to come to Napier for the purpose of making a personal attack upon him he felt it his duty to go to Napier before he adclressod his constituents to answer these attacks. It waß a foolish statement thab was in circulation, that the iuteresta of the employer and employed were dissimilar, and that employers hud got rid of their servants for the purposo of damaging the oredit of the colouy. He instanced tha very kindly feeling that existed between his own employees and himself, (is shown recently on the niurriagu of his daughter. Thn charge that a man would injure himself to injure the Government was absurd. Wbeu the fall in the value of wool and agricultural products generally was considered it could bo plainly seen that the farmer who had spent all he could in improving lands was unable, owing to the enormous fall in the value of his products, to spend as much ao he had done in previous years. Tho cash did not come into his possession. "With regard to

TIIB BORKOWIXG POLIOr of the Government, if they had not actually raised the money they had endeavoured to pledgo the credit of tha colony to the amount of £7,500,000. Their policy involved this, as the figures quoted in his speech at Napier proved. The reason he referred to this was that the New Zealand people had not thoroughly realised the folly of pursuing such a course. ' The people of New Zealand numbered 672,000, and had almoat the most heavy indebtedness of any colony, yet the Government wished to borrow about £11 per head more. The population of Great Britain and Ireland was 39,000,000, and if the Home Government were to borrow at tha same rate there would be an addition of £429,000,000 to the national debt. The line of conduct of the Government, which called itself a non-borrow-ing, self-reliant Government, would simply lead the colony into a state of bankruptcy. Probably no bill introduced into Parliament was more far-reaching than the Bant of New Zealand Share Guarantee Act. It was a matter of great moment and fraught with tho gravest effect. The colony had become a partner in one of the largest private trading businesses in the world. Although the colony might nob be required to pay the £80,000 interest upon the £2,000,000 guarantee to the

UASJK OP NEW ZEALAND, yet it was nu extremely risky step, and Ehouldbe provided for in the same way as any business man would provide for any bill to which he had put his name. At least three-fourths of tho buiiness transacted by the Bank of New Zealand was done out of the colony in matters in which probably New Zealand had very little interest. By the action of the Government in appointing a president, an auditor, and other officers the colony was practically made tha senior partner in this trading firm, and with an enormous amount of responsibility. The information gi'eti »6 to the internal affairs of tiho bank at the; time tho guarantee was made w.ia most meagre. In the event of a crisis, what would bo tho right thing to do ? Would it be to again bolster up this private trading firm, end were the interests of the colouy to be further pledged in its behalf? Tho colony had in its folly handed itself over into fee hands of tha Premier, a gentleman who know nothing of finance, and of the Treasurer, who was deeply versed in all tha tnuddlmgf) of finance, and who thought that, by some political jugglery, two and two might be ms.de into more thaa four. When tho speaker stated that opinion in the House, the Premier told him that such an opinion !wns impolitic; but k8 considered it was the most patriotic policy to Ist the people know the truth. These two gentlemen came under the hands of an astute business man, who certainly did not believe that two and two would make more than four, bat did know how many beans made fiv<?, aud under Mr guidance a bill w&s shortly after introduced by which this private financial institution became guaranteed by the State. This gentleman's first duty was to consider the interest! of his employers—the bank, —and the second duty to thß taxpayer*. At any rate, ont of the troubled waters of finance the bankwas shortly piloted into one of the artificial harbours o£ New Zealand.—(Laughter.) On tho 29th June he (Captain Russell) was made aware that tho Standing Orders were to be suspended, and that the whole of the bill was ] to be passed through the House in all its stages I before the House roee. It waa an unfortunate thing that a great many msn in th<s House were interested in the bsnk, and therefore a very great responsibility was thrown upon the small Opposition who were in au absolutely independent position. AS 8 o'clock at night they got tho bill, and, a3 everybody knew, it was an enormous surprise. The House was told a fearful catastrophe would happan unless the bill was passed that night. The Treasurer gave a good many figures as to the trananctions of the bank but nothing of the raason lor the crisis, and it was found that the people who should have known all aboub this— in whom the people of New Zealand had confided their trust—could not give tho iuforrna- j tion they ought to have baen able to do. The j Opposition could have stonewalled the bill, but that was their only reeource. They therefore were practically compelled to agree to the passing of the bill upon information which no businees man would lend £20 upon for one week. Before this bill was introduced his Excellency was made to say that the position of his colony was one of real satisfaction. The Premier, in reply to the speaker, said that when that was written the Government wore not aware of the state of the bank. This showed, if it waa true, the negligence and ignorance of the Government were culpable in the highest degree. If it waa not true, it was stated by the Government intentionally to mislead iv their attempt to pass s. bill of which they knew the particulars weeks before. How did the majority appreciate the fact that the Bank of New Zealand Estates property was an unknown quantity, having a face value sat down as £1,850,000, which was well known not to be the real value ? Moit persims would imagine that these assets consisted principally of landed estates, but instead of that ironworks, fellmongeries, station properties, timber yards, s racecourse in Australia, he believed, and securities of almost every description were included. Waa it possible to reconcile the statements made by the Premier ? The Governor was made to say that everything was prospering. The Premier sa;d he did not know the state of the bank's affairs, and the Hon. Mr M'Kenzie said they had beeu known for 10 months. As a matter of fact, it was not possible to obtain information even in the records of the bank. Only a short time before this crisis the shareholders were paid a dividend, and everyone was kept ■in a false position. Every half-year favourable reports were published, far different from that report published directly after the bill was passed which threw the responsibility of the bank upon the colony. In 1893 they said with confidence that thsy were in a thoroughly flourishing condition. In February 1831- if; .was too early to state what the result waa going to ba as far as the I Assets Company -was concsrned. They were j afterwards told that never on the average did the Bank of New Zealand get more than 1£ per cent, out of the Assets Bnt'ite Company, and that they h*d been making a loss of £70,000 to £30,000 in interest. Ho drew attention in the House to this statement. The Premier replied that tha Assets Company had not depleted the Bank of New Zealand, and the interest on the debentures hs d been paid by the Assets Company. The Premier did not tell all about the matter. The management of the bank had been sigoally unfortunate, and under the depressed condition of the colony it waa doubtful whether evsn 1£ per cent, would bs realised from the Assets Company. The Governmenfc ought to have considered tho interests of the great majority of the p«ople first; in preference to the interests of the shareholders. The position should have been facad, and even had liquidation been necessary it would only have been temporary. It was high time the colony took stock and faced its difficulties, and phoenix-like it should rise to a bettor position than it ever held before. Another instance of

THE INACCOEACY OP THE PREMIER was shown. At N»pier the Premier said they had acquired 1,074-,000 acrna of Native land against 70,000 purchased by the Atkinson Government. As a matter of fact, 657,823 was the actual amount they had purchased. The Premier was only 100.000 short, bnt thi3 was a small matter. The Native Land Ministor's own statement showed that interest had been acquired in 532,681 acres of land, for which £34.313 had been puid on account. Of this, however, about £30,000 was paid before January 1801, the negotiations and the purchase being made by his predecessors. Tbeir claim was therefore untrue, for most of the transactions were made by their predecessors. If they had these large quantities of land on hand, why was the

tAXD FOE SETTLEMENTS EILL brought in ? The first duty of tho State was to get the land profitably occupied everywhere, and when the whole of the colony is occupied, then the time would come for tho question of the resumption of large estates, i'here wss plnnty of laud in the m».rket. He instanced land at Takapu recently put up, for which thero wts no bidding even at a lower reserve pries than it practically coat to bring it into its present condition. It wss very well for i. man who h»d not lived on the land to cay that thero was no injustice to a man in turning him out of his estate because he gob compensation. There could be co compensation for a man who had watched the srowfeh of every tree and hedge- i

row until the estate becntuo part and parcel of himself. Ho was anxiouo to conserve family intcirestß, and thought if they wero destroyed it was the fii-st step to ruiu. A. uian might have »is nous Browing up, arid wishing to placa them on this land lie would bold ou to it even at a monetary Haerifioe. He moved in the House that half the valuo whioti he himself was entitled to hold obould bn conserved for his sons. Mr Pirani also moved a moot .sensible amendment that it should bo the duty of the board to take estates in tho following ordei1:— 1, Unimproved lauds ; 2, estates partially improved ; 3, estates whereof the ownero havo not resided in th« colony within three ynars; 4, the highly improved estate. The Government, howevor, refused their supporter's amendment. The present was a time of great depression, but it was merc-ly a temporary one. An effort must be mndo

TO IiKSTOKE CONFIDENCE, The tendoncy of the pa^fc two or three years hnd been to destroy it, and until it was restored trade would not return or go ahead as it had done. The Government had not affected the prices of wool or grain, but they bad struck at the capitalist, and, having done so, he would not invest capital. The returns of the last election were full of promise to the Opposition. Although tho Government had a strong majority in the House they had not in tho country. Out of 303,075 votes recorded in Now Zealand, 153,663 were for ths Government and M 9.4-13 for the unsuccessful candidates—in reality a very small majority. He believed that at. the next election the majority would be on the other side. He did Dot think that the peopla of the colony believed that revolution and confiscation were good things, and the Opposition would go to tbfi country with a riarao for restoring confidencii and with a programme of social progress and social reform.

In reply to a questioner, Captain Russell claimed that the present Opposition were the first to introduce bills referring to labour legislation.

A hearty vote of confidence was unanimously passed.