A VIGOROUS SPEECH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11201, 25 August 1898, Page 2

A VIGOROUS SPEECH.

* 1, MR SOOBIE MACKENZIE ON LAND SETTLEMENT. Wontinutd.) ' Mr M. J. S. Mackenzie,—The honourable gentleman prides himself ; on a very good memory, but whatever I said was true, and I trust the same can be said of the honourable gentleman. But, as a matter of fact, I was not in the House at the lime, and the Auckland letter was written years afterwards. He had enormous toil and difficulty to wipe off his liberal predecessor's deficit, and he' ultimately succeeded. He succeeded in producing surpluses'- for the;' two- following years, though the present Premier carries forward the ...deficit- to • those years. And did the right honourable gentleman then ever question "the validity of the surpluses? Not for an instant. He was one of those who supported the late Mr Ballance and all his disastrous finance while he was in the House -—though he had not been long a member, I admit; but he supported the unhappy finance which led to the deficit he.now, ascribes to Sir 'Harry Atkinson. He shares the responsibility for the huge deficit, and when Sir Harry Atkinson reduced the accounts to order1 and'showed surpluses,-the honourable gentleman never once got up on his'legsto question j the' substantiality of them.' Looking : down I the table Wo come to the year 1891, and" we' find a surplus, of £143,00U —we are. getting into the "rogion of the surpluses now—shown to I Hie credit of the' late Mr Ballauce. The j honourable gentleman knew perfectly well | that surplus was also the work "of Sir Harry j Atkinson, though in his fancy table he sets • it down to Mr Ballance—a surplus produced by Sir Harry Atkinson after dping precisely | the same thing for the Stout-Vogel Government that he had 2>reviously doiie for the ! Government of which Mv Ballanee was 'JL'rea- | surer—that is to say, he.took-over the whol6 of their difficulties also and produced order out of financial chaos. It ;was his surplus; and, Shy'the' late- Mr ,Balkace,/I' am- bound to say, displayed a" degree, df -manliness, truth, and generosity in dealing with that surplus that the right honourable gentleman'who succeeded him would-do well to try and imitate. In the Governor's speech of- IS9I, Mr Ballance, who was then Premier, 'put into the mouth of the Governor in opening* Parliament, the following words: — "I am,able to.congratulate you upon the continued evidences of the soundness of the colony's financial position1, and the substantial progress made by the chief industries. The provision ,made .-during... the session of 1690—.that waSj of course, by Sir H. Atkinson —for carrying, on the public, service has proved more than sufficient." '.'■'■ ■ That was what Mr Ballance' said—a manly , acknowledgment af ; a generous tribute, to, the.work that.had been done by.his predecessor., .Sir, L.thi.nk that.no language is too strong ( to,, condemn, and. ' denounce. a tableVsucli'.,as this.,' which ; has, no .other .objeot thayi.. to f jd{?liberaiely deceive, the people'of. Ne\y '.Zealand, j Tho. late John Bright onc§ said, thai violent j language ..was. defensible provided 'it rested i on a moral basis'/ and sure am 1 that there, is i moral basis enough to support language'much | stronger, than I have applied, to this table. Then, .Sir, I want; to ask another question before I go further)into'the''body of the Statement. What .reliance can we.,place on any ! financial proposal in.the present Budget or any undertaking involving..votes of public money in the light of what occurred last year I in connection with the expenditure proposed j for our parliamentary library? Honourable I members may perhaps think it'is. an old, story, i but it is one of the'highest importance, for it involves the whole question of parliamentary control over public,. moneys,' as' well as of the relianco to be placed/.on the financial engagements to which the 'Premier commits tli'e House. In the I'inaricial Statement last year the.Premier said:—"'' ■; . I "The necessity for a 'brick"building for . the parliamentary library" lias long been admitted^ The.risk from fire is Very great, and the", destruction of'■.our iWag'nifieent library would be a national calamity. The buoyancy of. the revenue pormittitifj;'it, a portion of the:surplus could not be put to "a better, use. Plans'have boeh-ordered to.be prepared forthwith, and the work, if approved by Parliament j will be put in hand- so as to be completed before next session. ' I propose to devote £7000 for this purpose." There wo have a definite statement enough. ' I; will guarantee there is>not a'member on either side of the House who did not then believe arid kndwthat a definite sum was to be voted for a definite objoot—naniely, £7000 for a library. Honourable members have dealt with that subject"so'-Mly"-that I shall now only deal with points .that have been overlooked.' '.When ihe '.'•EfOOO ■'for'-'a 'library swelled to £40,000 for .parliamentary htiildings, wholly unauthorised', jjiembers of .she Government .tried t6.,.hic}p"(tjio": contempt of Parliament involved by. saying that the matter was before a committee who had two sets/of plans before them.: Here, then,'let me''ask a question. What-.committee was;the matter referred, to>? 'It was ..flent: .-to-; the Library...Committee., But), how >is>it /that- i,t went to. the, .Library. Committee;, ajid the Library Committee alone;.,? \.~L am.' a member of the Library C6inmr£tee. The/Library Committee nevfer ,by\ any ohan'cef''discusses auything corinected with 'any' portion' of "tK'ej House but the library. V ".-' "-.-.'..'._; ~ ■ An Hon. Member.—Hear, hear. • Mr-M.'J. S/ Mackenzie.—r am glad .the honourable, gentleman, also a member of the Library .Committee, endorses what I say. Evert this year honourable members will recollect that something' connected with another portion of the House:'came before us, and we passed it on to, the House ■ Committee. ; The House Committee; is set lip as follows. I' am how quoting the..formal motion:— ■ "That the Standing Orders be'suspended if. order that, a committee consisting of 11 members.be appointed. •;;■;'..... to provide for the comfort and convenience ,of members of both Houses, etcetera."-. ''.'." That is the order of .setting, up the House Committee. But in the "new building we have committee rooms, tea robins, reception rooms, and rooms .of all. descriptions. The entire matter goes to the: Library. Committee, not to the House' Committee- The latter is never once consulted through out, the, .'en,tire business. Is not that significant? Taon;the Library Committee send the matter back, with the plans for the library alone cut down to £7000, to suit the Premier's estimate of the cost, and with a broad red line drawn through the plan, dividing the library, which was to be erected for £7000, from the rest of the building. Yet the Premier had the effrontery to tell the House and the country that there never was a definite intention to build the library; that it was c£ matter, for "him-.-to choose ..wjjejther. to ere'et' tlie'building ;iiow goirig; ,on," or a) library 'pure atid simple; It .fiinounts' to,, nothing, mofei nor 'less thana 'conspiracy,-, for "h'is.'bjvn purpose's', to- deceive the House and the people'of New Zealand, and to throw parliamentary. authority to 'the winds. And I say very plainly that honourable gentlemen on that, side of the House who, much against their will, I believe, voted with Government, are accessories after the fact in this, conspiracy; , There is no question about it, Sir. I do not know whether it i 3 Liberalism to defy the authority of Parliament, and to throw the country s money about to suit the Premier, but I do think it is a sort of Liberalism that will yet bring its punishment with it when the colony gets enlightened as to the nature of it. Now, I want to complete the case with something not pointed out yet in this very connection. Mr Seddon.—May? Mr IVI. J. S. ' Mackenzie.—-No, Sir. , not May ; but I may possibly give a little of May later in another connection, and when Ido the Premier will 'uqt, like 'it.1 1 ftm going to give A'lay upon the Police Commission. I have here the Hansard for 1891, from which I will quote some curious remarks of the Premier on this very subject In 1891 a discussion arose on the legislative estimates, the legislative estimates being then in the hands of Mr Speaker. The responsibility for them has been taken from the, Speaker since. Would {'•: were not so., T think the Hon. Major Steward was then Speaker. He made some necessary alterations in th.is Chamber, to suit the reduction in the number of members, at >i cost of £270. The ■•pork was done and the amount appeared upon the Speaker's estimates .—the legislative estimates. _ What did- the Premier say in relation to" these ■ estimates when they came up?, He wanted to getcon: trol of this department, and he never" rested till-he.got these estimates out of the hands of Mr, Speaker. And' [what did he then .say about this 'paltry vote of £270 which had been expended for the co'nveiiience 'of members? Here is what he said: — . " Mr Speaker had mentioned the fact that on the Snpplementa?y Estimates a sum would be provided for expenditure in connection with the alterations,. There was. a sum of £270 odd which the Committee would have to find for alterations in the building. Now, when the House Committee " —let honourable members note that it was the House Committee. The Library Committee had nothing to do with it—" was asked to go into the q:iesion about the alterations he objected: but they were subsequently made, and all the Minister knew after that was when he got the bills to pay. They must be paid ; but at the same time the House might say this: That if there was any money to be used for a purpose of this kind it ought to be voted first— not 'spent first and voted afterwards. That was a reversal of the proper order of things. Let the House note the phrase .'" it ought to be voted first and spent afterwards, not spent first and voted afterwards." To spend £270 first nnd vote the money afterwards was a crime, and a reversal of the proper order of things, when he wanted to get the control t.f these estimates out of the, hands of the Speaker. But when it com6s to be a question of £40,000 to be spent on Parliamentary buildings, and the honourable gentleman himself has a special object to serve, the constitutional rule goes by the board at once. The right thing then to do is to spend the money first and vote it .afterwards. But the fact in ihat the real author of this mistake, or rather

the innocent cause of the extraordinarj business is the honourable member for Wei lington City (Mr Duthie). He is the mai really responsible for it. I was not in tli. House in 1894, but' many honourable mem bers will remember the fateful night whe. the two millions were demanded for the Banl, of New Zealand, That sum the then Trei surer declared .would make tho bank'unmii takably sound, safe, and stable. I thint these were his words. Next year lie had k confess that three" millions more would I>< required for the same purpose. Tlie Hou*; was naturally aghast, and demanded, in Hi perplexity, a Committee'of Inquiry. Th :v it was the Premier said "I will accept am man in the House for the Committee except Mr Duthie." So I suspect it was at tho byelection he said, "I will allow anybody U come into the House except Mr Duthie, and imorder to keep him out, I will get as manj co-operative voters to work on the Parliamentary buildings as possible/ I,declare my belief that that accounts for the contempt of Parliamentary authority. I wag here in Wellington at the time, and have little doubt that election is at the bottom of the whole business. There are members on that side of the House calling themselves Liberals whp stand up there and defend the right honour,able gentleman when he casts asjde the authority of Parliament nnd expends public mpjiev when and haw he chooses...'Now*, after; exposing the .falsification of ".the figures, I want to .showthat there,are, assertions in the,.body of -the, Statement,, that carry o_ut a ; system, emphasise ..and maintain a~ deliberate ; system, of imposture—l can call" it 'nothing else--which hns been carried on in this colony for years, for six or seven years at all event*. Honourable members will understand wtut I mean when I' turn to page 6 of the Statement and read a sentence or two alluding to settlement. It is this, — -; "In my opinion the above is a fairly complete answer to the allegations that the ir.creased revenue is caused by tho tariff of 1895. I feol sure that the increased .revenue is owini? to the prosperity of the country arising from the impetus to mining, the prevalence of fairly good prices for agricultural produce, the increased spending power of the people, and the settling of the people oil the land. In another part the right hon. gentleman g_oes .on to; say that, if we want to see tho signs of settlement, we. should go out into tl\9country, and so forth. Now, it is a fact, and an. extraordinary one that at least the unthinking and . unobservant portion of our population, and those 'who have not the meiins of verification at their command, are under the firm belief—the delusion which has been fostered by Ministerial speches delivered in all parts of the "colony—that the settlement of .the. land in New Zealand dates from about the time those honourable gentlemen toot possession of the Treasury benches. I have mot hundreds, if not thousands., who are under that curious belief. .But I want to take this opportunity of giving, within,the compass of a few minutes, a real photograph, a,s-if. were, of. the settlement of the eoimtry, ; extending,'; over .a/ .'period, of '21 yearsY". and when ;I am;"ddiie1.',,T ,_w?ui't the''Tffitiister for ; LaSiids'; to ':f"e't^Hift' ifi his pines—l: am sorry 'i;o: . sco^hp'hbnpurableVgQritloii^n scowling at rrie' : >I ?,.'th(ij£-i'way : •IMitfpe1 ho 'does, not intern! 'to: ■ extend- to 'me a Highland' welcdme .to' his'home in the south—the young Lochinva'r bus'iness r - I want, Sir. the ■Minister to. get'up Tin 'his plKco and tell us precisely where the figures ore materially wrong: This table, I may say; is substantially the same as the'one I gave, when I addressed a publics meeting iv Duncdin, but I .hax'e since revised it with the aid of the means'placed at my disposal here, and have-included the; present-year. It is a tnbio that will show exactly what has takenvplace ... in the way of settlement1 during 21 years,' and as • I have said, I want the Minister to point out some time before the debate closes where my figures are' wrong—-that is to say,. substantially wrong, for there may be a solita.-y figure here and there requiring such correction as can only come from the department. It is substanially accurate, and .the number uf settlers given for the past seven years -must be right, bocauso it .agrees with the honourable gentleman's own statement of what has boon done, since he took his place on those benches. .'.'■-.',. . . ■ •■.', Mr J. M'Kenzie.—lf it is your Dunedin tsblo it is all wrong. . . .; Mr M. J. S. Mackenzie.—lt. is substantially the. same; but there are small corrections which have the effect oj making the position j better for the .honourable gentleman's: pi'edi*- , eessors ;nnd worse for himself. I will read : the figures:— ; ' ~ , ... ; '. , ". \ j ' fe. T7~~%~~~\ '- ■■: : , I '-2 »: IS- S--'| ■'*"• . ■- •' two '£'"'£ \ £•*"%■" ■' §~M Government "' Pate., X o & f L-g§-S:,..ag,a-3. ; .. .in Office; ■■*<■■ I ;';'^i;j •'^BB(f ,°; &r#/ 'Grey. ;•;•/; 3879 I 5,050;W '20^ ■ 5,030"i': :••?■' .'■.-..•0-' V■. ISSO' !2,087 -•)■• J 13. ■■.-.' 2,024 f. -• • V .:-..-' ..: . v .1881: 3,373. Vl O7 ~, v 3,330 X . Hall-Atkinson .... ,JBS2; . ;3,03|f.q [ 301/ ,5,031, ,-,..'" f.~ ; ISS3'-. ;2,102;'1-^'w 2,osq) '; r ; ::. , ; j ISB4' .a-318 '■ :■ ■- 09 ■ 2,219 V ■' •'■■- -'? i ISBS >s2,ni ■■■>■■ 145 v o toui vo<rel ' ! ISS7, ';?Mi .-; I,'p^f, ■SffiX, \> '":':/' ,■!",' '.•,'/■-. i isss' ;&,ioo ]■;■■ ~i7o -'^ ■;2,02d"i ;' •'•■. ■:■"■»■■'■"•■■■ i 1689 ■■2y3->2*p-t 212 ''■ 2,180 V* 'iiicinotiu "i'"'"iI -jsiOoV ,2'o3** | .212VJ. 1-S22f-.-.. .-; ..,-.. i 189 X 1,881, ... 200 • 1,681 J . ■:..•-.; j 1892 1,953 ' "240 '1,713^ : ! 3853 2,578 201' 2,377 ' ! ' "" ' ).S9t. a,454 :i, :2SG .2,218 ' *■ . . 1 1895' 1,988" :892' 1,59! iV • Eallance-Seddon : 1806 -2,504 I ,"891. 1,813 . , . 1807 1,735 813 ... 922 . . . . i IS9B 1,639. ).. 704 ,835^. . . . j Mr. J. M'Keiiaio. —The figures you havii j. quoWd ■■ from Sir George Grey's .time were I owing, to the gridironing that went on. . ! Mr M. J. 8. Mackehzie.-^-I will meet the j honourable, gentleman .on. .that point; Mr i James M'Kerrowi the head 6E the department, • ; in his statement .for the year, says this *. — '. j " During, the year, 4-151 bbuglit in Canterbury i 554-,168 acres..; In Otago, .417 persons settled i on 92,865 acres." Now, this would give an j average in Canterbury of 133 .acres apiece, and inOtajro 222 acres. There is no gridironing in that. The honourable gentleman nttempted to take me off the track, but I was preparod for him. The table I have given, then, is the story of 21 years. I am.going.to formulate,no' charge af-ainst-the Minister on i it. The honourable gentleman has been j doing the best he could for settlement—as j his predecessors did before him. I am deal-' i ing now with the belief that is firmly rooted in the minds of those who do not question | the. loose statements made by Ministers j throughout' the colony that'settlement has,; under the Government, been advancing at a • rate'it never did before. Now, I will give, an abstract of tho table, I. pmit SirGo.or^e I Grey's year, -because;it stands alone. This is-'-thlß"'abstract:^ -:i- •■;■.;■.■:•■■':-■. ■■. ■ \ *, •,,;„•■ Table,'of*AvßßAoi-s-pE1 Jr'NisTßiEsj. . " !. ■■ '■"'"" '■ "l gi"' gV|^i' it Ministry. ||. || ||| || * fe <** Yrs. Hali-Atkhison .. 3,131 60 .3,081 5 Stout'Vos;el . ■.. .2,801' 152 2,100 i; Atkinson .. .. 2,126- 200 1,926 i j Ballance-Seddon.. 2,107 406 1,611 '7 Take the gross number of new settlers put on ; ; the land, and you will find that they have put fewer-people on the land than any of their predecessors, immediate o.v remote. Take the forfeitures, and you will find that they have increased more, infinitely more, in proportion than in the case of any previous Government. Take the net settlement, and you will find that the number is fewer, than in the.time of any previous Government. Now, no dolibt ; previous Governments had. advantages in the old days, in that they had more Crown lands ; at disposal than the honourable gentleman, , but he has the advantage of having the private estates ; so that the net Tresult is that -the honourable gentleman, with the aid of , £800,000—1 think the sum is—to purcha-.s private estates with, has put fewer settlers on j the land than any previous Government in [ , the-history o£ i the cplony.; ■_. . , ._ , ... An Hon. Member.—Whjere was the la!nd? Mr M. J. S.Sfackenzie.—That no doubt .'is on the credit side of the honourable geritlo- ! .man's case. I have already said so.: Idesiro i to.be fair; but I must point out that during j.even the last year of his predecessor's term of ' office the then Minister put more men on Crown land all the same." What I am now combatting An Hon. Member. —Move a vote of no-oon-fidenoo. j Mr M. J. S. Maokeniye.—Unhappily I cannot move an amendment now, but I will give | the honourable gentleman later a specimen : of the amendment that oiight to be moved j if that will suit him. I say that what I am : combatting is the strange belief—created by j imposture—that the settlement of the colony dates from the accession of those honourable ' gentlemen to office, although people have J only to walk into the country to any of the flourishing ■ settlements in existence and inquire "What is the date of this settlement?" and they would find the tale a very different, •: one. The Minister for Lands never went the | length of saying in plain words, "We have done more in tho way of settlement than our predecessors." His method was very much simpler and more effective.. It was to pour out streams of confusing figures as to thn acreage taken up under different kinds of settlement, until the simple people gaped at what seemed the extraordinary success he hal had. J. had nearly forgotten that the Premier 'came to his assistance at Christchurch, and for the first time, let it be noted, alluded to forfeitures, and here is the way in which, at a publio meeting, he explained them: — " Shall I tell you whose settlers (the forfeiting and surrendering settlers) they are? :"4.'hey were,settlers,placed,.on the la,nd during

r ! the time the Hon. Mr Rolleston was Minister - ' for Lands, when the terms and conditions 1 were so drastic and severe that when the i liberal land laws of the present Government - , were passed these settlers_ came under the i ' j.»xMvenzie clauses." :■' The people cheered that, of course. They - did i not know how simply the assertion could - bo disproved. Four different kinds of land c settlement are tho invention of the Hon. the ) Minister for Lands ; thes' were initiated after 5 lio came into office: The lease in perpetuity— > .the 899 years' affair—which looks, I may here 5 say, as if it were about to prove a total i failure; occupation with right of purchase ; ' improved farms ; and village settlement leases ;in perpetuity. These did not exist in the time of the late Government; they were the ni vention of the honourable gentleman; and the [ number of forfeitures in these alone in the ' two, three, and four years of their existence : amounts to between 800 and 900. That really . settles the question as to whose settlers they r wpre;. the plain fact is that the.forfeitues under the honourable gentleman have enori mously increased as his settlers have gone i down. • ■ Now let me turn to another aspect of the Statement. There is something in. it which is held to cover a multitude of faults. There is> a surplus. We have heard a great deal about surpluses from members on both Bides, but ;I nm not really concerned- to; prove whether it • is' a, genuine surplus.. or. whether .it is noit It is no doubt a legal, surplus; the . Jaw ■ permits: the Government. to call..it, a ■ surplus,, and the honourable srentleman. is perfectly right in so, doing. yJJut;,although :it is a legal surplus, and therefore in a.sense i a proper one, it may still be n. manufaci tured surplus. I say it may still bo. legal, and yet manufactured, just on the same prin- : eiple as a man who has not natural :dignity ior truthfulness in him may manufacture the article and maintain a very decent appearance. " Assume a virtue if you have it not." itow is the surplus manufactured? That., is the point I want to: know. There .are some honourable members in this House who say, and it has scarcely been denied by the'other side, that the'surplus is manufactured by the simple process of under - estimating • revenue and overestimating expenditure. Wellj . now, is that so or is it not? . I am 'going to take a simple way of proving it, and I am going to prove it out of .the mouth of the Premier himself —that is to say, that I am at j least .going to prove that he has always been alive to the simplicity of the trick. In the year 1893, when the 'railways were in the hands of tho Commissioners, the, Premier wanted to get them-but of their hands, but he was met with a curious difficulty.. The Commissioners had a surplus,, which surplus pointed to /the fact that there had been good management of the railways generally—that they had a strong finance. The Premier went to Napier to address a public meeting. Hero is"what,he said:•.■ " Wo have been told that the railways have been such a success under the Commissioners .as to warrant the. colony .continuing them , iiv i the position.'"'/ There is a; surplus,' they say., '.over the estimates.!ij-But- that.-.is:easily enough done by making the..'estimates'>,of -receipts . for • the. • year... very, ■, low,. ■ and :the.- ; rei turn will show the'.country-r.prosperous; \ -I claim that such is , not a true condition o£ things, because, though there may be shown a surplus^ ■ it' does not show-good managei ment." ' i Here we • have got the facts very ! strikingly brought out by the Premier; first, that a surplus .is a very easy thing to manufacture—a true surplus, mark you^-rand, secondly, it is a sign of bad management. It is quite a simple"thing ' "to: sh6w the country prosnerous." Now if "we are going to apply the criticism of the '■ railway commissioners to the management of tho colony, in which management these same railways are now Included, we find at . once that the surplus: lis '.manufactured, and that, the' management is bad. Another thing in connection with the i. surplus question is.worthy the attention of the. House. I do "not think it has been alluded to. yet. Let me lay down , this proposition to.' the. House, It is our duty to take care that any surplus, real or .fictitious, does not I act in this colony what I may call the part of a "whited sepulchre!" I mean that it ought not, by exterior :fairness, to attract thj eye, and divert the attention of the j people of .New :Zealand, frpm the foulness I ariel corruption existing within. I think' I that is .a, sound and reasonable proposition | to' lay down. The right honourable, gentleman the other night told us* on the authority of some-statesman he misquoted, that if his finance: was. sound' it jcould/be. proved : that ; his .policy1, was good. If .thatl w«re' sound doctrine; it would ,be ?equally. sound argument to v say'of; any scoundrel'who hadramassed ai'.;fortune that' his character.must ibe: good; I hardly think- that: even in 'these-.Tjiberal days we are prepared-to go* that: length. I am afraid^ our surplus', is- now shaving. ;the effect of divertingithe^ attention-of,the.people of :;Newr.Zealand rirom the moral slough into. which Tthe polony, hss Bunk during, the- past;. seven years. .", The. honourable-.member for Oamaru..taunted merto-night with, the authorship of the amendment just,disposed-of. \y"ell,-, ? sj/,...agree : .with, .the ..ainendmentj, ~I thought that it was wanted under the circumstances of- the moment*,:. I. also, think; the honourable gentleman opposite would Jiot havo-been so angry about it, unless , the/amendment touched.them on the raw in some way. But I am going to give the House my notion of what is the only amendment worth moving at the present: time in the colony' b history. .'I cannot, move,, of . course, '■ but I can mention it and Jet it go forth. It would take this --form.: " That no surplus, real, or fictitious, is or ought to be. considered a. set-oft" against the/moral evils which" have been engendered under the-present Government and. the serious 'administrative blunders they have committed." That is the'sort of amendment I should like to see moved1 and, I need not say, carried, and I believe it will be before very long—— Mr Duncans—lt is a little more high-sound-ing than the last. .. ■-. ' * Mr M. J. S. Mackenzie.—Yes; it sounds: well, does it not'/ And d,oes my honourable friend: know why it sounds so well ? Because it' is true. Whatever is true always sounds well. I cannot move it,' the.Standing Orders, forbid me, but the time will come for it. I say, Sir, that immorality and maladministration have become inextricably mixed ip almost every transaction the Government has entered mtoj and I propose, if the time "at my, ; .disposal will admit, to go over > some of; them. .' _ ' •"••'.' An Honourable Member.—^You have only' about, 10 minutes. Mr M. J. S. Mackenzie.—Then I' shall have to hurry on now, ■ and take another opportunity of. finishing what I have to say. £,wish now to draw.'the'atteiitioiv of'honourajjle members^p.tlife,analogy, that exists between the .prgsent reginieand that of Sit Robert Walpole in the last [century,' except that Wajlpole's great "fidajioialability isi here'wholly .wanting. , Here, is.what a.Ygr&lC historian says of Walpole arid his administration: j '" Walpole did not \initiate , corruption"—] these were/ corrupt, days, when the nation \ was accuctomed to corruption, corruption in nigh • places. " Walpole did not initiate corruption, but he systematised it, organised .it as a Bystem, and made it the normal process of Parliamentary government." Now, I cannot help thinking that any careful and inquiring mind will find a strong analogy between the condition of New Zealand for some years past and the' condition that existed under Walpole, except in'his success as a financier, j Let there be no mistake about it. I give j my opinion freely: and I declare that; go j where you may in town or country, you will { find that the atmosphere of New Zealand is | bositiyely foetid with political corruption. Yoii may hot readily see it in Jarge matters j that attract the eye. The honourable gentle- , man has got,' say, a judge to appoint, and j he makes a fair appointment. He did not oil one occasion. The man has passed away j from us. now.. He was an honourable man, and a pleasant companion," and I say no 'morel But, Sir, when he was appointed there, was such a howl of disapprobation'; throughout New Zealand that the Government never ventured such an appointment again. The. English people everywhere have the 'deepest respect for their courts, and will allow-no tampering with them, and, therefore, there ■is no tampering with them now. But y.ou go into tho country, districts, and you inquire, who are appointed'"to.'.hosts of { small pffiqes, appointed under the Stopk de- j partment, and as valuers under tjie Advances j to Settlers Act*-and as justices of the peace, j and so forth! As-to the justices of the peace, ; = the less we say about: them the better, lor- : merly, when you wanted ' any formal work j from a justice, you used to ask merely, "Are you-a justice of the peace?" ISow , you have to ask two questions: "Are you a justice of the peace?" and "When were you appointed?" And if the appointment is recent, you feel inclined to button up | your pockets before you set to work. I j know a justice of the peace who was ap- | pointed shortly after he emerged from tl:o j Supreme Court, with the very narrowest es- ; capo possible for sheep-stealing. And he is ; - there; still. There was a justice of the peace ; the other day who was before the court for j refusing to support his mother — ' > When the J.P.s finished jumping on his! mother, ' j He loves .to lie a basking in the sun. .. - , - '. i There was one mentioned in the House the other day -who could not road or write: and j thero was one who was found to be qua.r- , tered upon the charitable aid of the colony. . j and so forth. • They are all, of course. Go- , i vernment supporters. I could dwell for a , ■ i long time on such things, but it seems as ] if the people of New Zealand were getting i careless abou* such matters. And why? ' Because, ' forsooth, we have got a_ surplus. 1 Honourable memlJerß have been giving in- j i strtnees of the spoils-to-victors system. There i is no need for details. Take the recent ap- ] pointments to the Legislative Council. I do . t ■ not want to say anything against the men. ! 1

I like the men, and I respect thorn. I am on perfectly friendly terms with them. But the Premier laid clown as his principle of action that "_\vhen two men presented themselves for appointment, and both were o£ equal ability, he.Would accept the friend." Well, that is plausible enough to the unthinking-, but it is an extremely dangerous principle, because they always find the friend to be the most able man—it is human nature. When a Councilor was wanted from Canterbury, Mr Twomoy, and,-say.'Sir John . Hall were there for choice. The Premier apparently found them of equal ability and experience, and chose Mr Twomey. It may be said it coiild not bo expected that a Government should appoint political opponents to the Council. To that pernicious argument I will- only say. Sir, that if the Premier or. Minister for Lands happened, to be out of politics, I should feel disgraced if they were left out of the Council, and their valuable services lost to the country. But let us suppose-, for argument- merely, they are justified in adopting the party principle. Mr Twomey presents himself with-Mr.'Alfred Saunders, the father of the House, as he was called, and a supporter of the right honourable gentleman. Mr Twomey never won a-seat-in this House. He tried several times arid failed—not that he is any tho worse for that.. Inever.felt prouder in. my life-^excepfc when-1 succeeded in Dunedin—. than when I failed for Waihemo. But/-'after repeated failures-to!secure the confidence of the community,:.he presents himself: with Mr Alfred • Saunders, the oldest-member of the House,- one-of the. oldest settlers in the colony, an extremely able man, and a supporter of the Premier. Why-was-not Mr haunders chosen?. -Because he exercised a little manlyI'independence of thought; or chivracter. He must have some one who goes berore him on all fours. I merely give this as an illustration of the corrupt prniciples now dominant and accepted in the country1 in these latter days. •:.'.Sir, this" corruption winch has -taken,root among.us, and the consequence, of. which our children will yet'suffer under—in: every corner" of the colony it is being- carried on and tacitly accepted—because, forsooth, we have got a surplus. If that is going to continue,' would ..to God, I say, that we could go back to honest poverty and purity again, that the honourable gentleman would take himself and his surplus somewhere else where they could not corrupt; and demoralise • the people. Here, I may mention, that a bill. has been brought be-, fore us to place the Council on a better footing, to further, reform it, as the Premier says. Why., there are 12 Councillors whose term of offioe expire next October 12 months, and if any^one of those Councillors shows the smallest sign of independence of mindj will he, does any one suppose, be reappointed? Not a bit of it. He has got to grovel and crawl if he wants, to keep -his place in the Council. If there happens to be a bill coming before the Couniil. which,in the interests of the colony, he feels He ought to vote against, he has got to support it ■' or , lose his : seat,' and that ■is '- what .-■ we calPreforiri.'' '■ .;"'•• -■ •-; .■■:•.''■.... , .-./: Mr Mills.—Shame.■ ' : ■ <'f •- .-■ Mr M. J. S. Mackenzie.-^Shame! I should think so, indeed; and lam glad toi«pee, for the first time in his life, the blush of shame on the. cheeks "of the honourable' member. Then, there was.the seizure of the local bodies' sink-' ing funds. The House, no doubt, is tired of the subjeot, but it affprds a good, illustration of-the mixture of immorality with maladministration. For those funds were, in the first instance, secretly and silently seized. Not a word was said about it at- the time the deed was done. It was aceidently discovered by a member of the then House. And then, '"""■ forsooth, after taking all the money 10.0. they could get, after "taking £150,000, • ' ■ "practioally trust1 moneys, of- local bodies, the Government bring down a bill <o prkyeht it being done again. They Bay,.with art air of virtue, . We introduce a bill ,that will prevent Tis from* taking any more." It is' just''like' the criminal who goes to --the authorities, and-says, "I have stolen every pehnyl could get. and that I want; put the n\anacles on me, lock, me up, so that I may steal no more, for I find there is litle more for me to steal." I should like, Sir, to give vent to my indignation—would that I had a few minutes more at command—at the action of the Government in awarding the New Zealand' Cross to Cornet Harry Wrigg. This noble decoration is'the highest,and .most, coveted honour that the Queen .bestows on the lionhearted man who risks his life in the.service of his qouutry by some desperate deed, of valour. He must not, by the rules, aak for it himself; it is for his commanding officer, to say, "Well done, you area brave fellow; I will bring your valour to the notice of your sovereign;','; And yet, this ..man Wrigg ...waits.' for:3fl:yea»s ; and then getsithe honour. Is it not'a significant thing that he shpuld wait-for 30-years? ..^Whjr'j'shbTild-he.doUfe? '■S,ha,ll l l'tell the reason? He had to wait for"'3o years,until he found a New Zealand Government vena] enough to grant him this noble distinction upon,..testimony,.,got up,.by, himself, going I'oiinjd ■> the; colony v ci#Avling '„ to, t p.eopW .who klleW.-n9thlng.9f his.alleged'a^iori; .and beg; * King "of., them to testify, that he was a hero; I repeat that he waits for 30 years''until lie gets, a* Government so .'sunk' in venality that they would traffic in the noblest honours the Queen can ; bestpw upon the brave; "Is' it hot enough to raise the'indigh'ation of the whole country? ' t have other things to animadverit upon had "l the time: :.There is,-for instance, the' Police Commission'; I -will-deal with that on ', some other occasion. I only wish mj honourable .friend, the member for, Christchurch City (Mr Taylor) were here, so that I might let him into tha secret why the Premier ' refused to give evidence before the Police Commission. I believe; Sir, the Commissioners were properly -terrorised' before they, trumped up that excuse about impeachment in order to exempt the Premier from giving evidence;- I had intended to.mention the circumstances connected with the Bank of New Zealand as instance'of ;ghastly maladministration, but I have not the time at my disposal. As I commenced with.a question, I williconclude"with one: What are we to do to relieve the colony from the ignoble bondage in which it is now, and purify tM atmosphere from the poisonous vapours witn which it is laden ? Whut can we. do ? To whom are we (to look for relief?. Not to this House.- Honourable gentlemen on.the other side are bound and.manncled. They have got into such a position that if anyone dares to assert his independence, the Premier will flay. "Look out what you are about, or we, Will put up a candidate against you:at;the next election." That is Liberalism in New Zealand. Tho electors in an evil moment gave him that power. -...' The Government s.eeinsstrdng now, because they have pot to their bed-rock majority,. which majority if? maintained by holding over its head tha threat of i dissolution.' We can expect nothing from them .in ~such circumstances.,\ We.,.- of - the Opposition,* are powerless..for ilaclc. of .numbers.:,. ,the, t Left '\^ing, too/are. Jppwerlesa. What have..we to do, then, in bur extremity? I.Mr, Speaker^Y—Tour ...time, is up* '~ ■ ; ' -.'..Mr.. M. j <J. ",S. Macienzie^Then, I must ;hbrtly answer that. We mußt'.look to the aeople of jSTew Zealaiid,'at the next general election, to insist upon the purification of tha jolitical atmosphere: and, Sir, I shall be as;onished if they do not readily and satisfac;orily lespdnd to the appeal. ' (Concluded): ; :, •-.