PARLIAMENT.

Opunake Times, Volume III, Issue 117, 16 August 1895, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES

In the House Mr G. W. Russell resumed the debate on the Financial Statement. He had been returned to the House as a supporter of the Liberal Party, but after carefully studying the Statement he had come to the conclusion that its dominant theme was one which could have come down from the most Tory Government that had ever been in New Zealand. He said this with a deep and bitter regret from a party point of view. The Budget was absolutely colorless. It was a Budget of pure opportunism. With such a large majority at their back the Government had lost a grand opportunity of carrying out an advanced Liberal policy. The financial condition of the colony was far from satisfactory, and the result would be that the colony would shortly have to go in for a large loan, to be scrambled for on the floor of the House. He was opposed to the South Australian and Canadian treaties, and objected to £20,000 being thrown away in the Vancouver Mail Service. It was a great omission that the Budget made no proposal for finding work for the unemployed, and the stagnation of the labor market was due to the fact that our natural resources were not developed. Now that the Liberal Party had got the tariff on the floor of the House, they would be very foolish if they did not stand firm and seek to bring it into line with the Liberal principles. The reductions proposed by the Treasurer were so insignificant that they would never reach the consumer. He intended to move that the duty on tea be removed altogether and an increase be made on other articles in order-to make up for the loss.

Mr Morrison said Mr Russell's speech was one of the most impracticable, unworkable and hare-brained utterances he had ever listened to. As to what Mr Russell had said about spending large sums of money in opening up the resources of the colony, he did vot think the Government would be justified in expending large amounts in creating artificial settlement. He admitted that the co-operative system required to be worked on a different system than at present, but Mr Russell himself had assisted to swell the numbers of unemployed by stating on the public platforms that it was the duty of the Government to find work for every one who needed it. This was a most rotten doctrine. He referred at considerable length to Mr Ward’s mission to England, and defended the position he took up with respect to the sinking funds. He hoped the good sense of the House would see that the Liberal Party would not be divided over the tariff proposals, and that the House would assist the Colonial Treasurer to make his proposals as acceptable as possible. Mr Buick objected to the released sinking funds being regarded as ordidinary revenue. The real fact was that for four years the colony, in its internal administration, had not paid its way by £95,224. One cause of this state of affairs was expense in the administration of the public service, and there seemed to be very little sincerity in the retrenchment undertaken by the Government. The public offices were as full to-day as they were before the retrenchment was supposed to have taken place. If a large increase in the burdens of taxation was not to take place local bodies must look to less assistance from the Government, and the public must expect less favors from Government sources. It was a blot on the Budget that in face of the deficits and falling revenue no suggestion was made of retrenchment in the public service. The Public Works Fund was gradually disappearing, and if the colony was to go on with the Public Works policy there were two alternatives before it—the colony must either go slowly and moderately and keep within its means, or pursue a vigorous policy which meant floating a loan of considerable magnitude. The real solution of the unemployed difficulty was in the vigorous administration of the Land for Settlement Act.

Captain Russell said the Premier’s speech in the Budget debate was not a defence of the Budget or of his policy, but a long dissertation on ancient history, and an endeavor to show that the borrowing policy of the StoutVogel Government, whom he had supported, was greater than that of his own Government. The Premier had led the House to believe that the actual increase of the public debt during his term of office was only one million and a half ; whereas the returns laid on the table showed that the actual increase was £2,291,109, and this amount by no means showed the liabilities incurred by the Government. The Premier altogether forgot to tell the House of the liability of two millions incurred for the Bank of New Zealand. It might be argued that that was not borrowing, but was a promissory note, which might have to be met some day, although he hoped that day was a long way off. There was also the liability of one million and a half for advances to settlers. He asserted that the gross liabilities incurred by this Government since they took office was actually £6,511,109. As to the tariff’, nearly every member on the Government side of the House had spoken against Mr Ward’s proposals. The Budget was both long and dreary, and contained no reliable information on any subject, Mr Pirani had referred to the great progress of the colony for the past three years, but that progress had been backward. Both the Customs and Railway revenue had considerably decreased. The next year’s surplus was to be made up by imposing £IO,OOO on the necessaries of life, and getting £20,000 from the widows of the colony. He asserted that the finances of the Government had.completely broken down, and if it were not for the two items he had mentioned, the predictions of the Opposition, that the Government ware

galloping to a deficit, would have been completely fulfilled. As to the banking legislation, he warned the Government that they would not be allowed to force any Banking Bill through the House this session without giving the fullest information about the matter. The Opposition were determined to take a firm stand on this point. The Government boa t j.l that they were instrumental in lowering the rates of interest, but he had seen advertisements in the Australian papers that hundreds of thousands of pounds could be got there for 4 per cent on good security. He should not now propose any amendment, but would on a future date propose the following resolution : —“ That the Colonial Treasurer be requested to withdraw the proposed resolutions of duties of customs on the grounds that by them no simplification of the tariff is effected, few existing anomalies are abolished, no appreciable relief is granted to anybody, while extra burdens are imposed upon many, and the estimated increase in the revenue (viz., £10,300) is not commensurate with the general disarrangement of trade which will ensue.” That would give the House a fair opportunity of discussing the whole question, and he would move the resolution in no spirit of antagonism to the Government.

The Hon Mr McKenzie said the Leader of the Opposition had shown nothing to prove that if he were in office the Colony would be any better off. The Premier had been accused of going into ancient history, but the Government were not afraid of ancient history. He thought Captain Russell had shown questionable taste in dragging in the Bank of New Zealand, but he asked who had caused the Bank to be in its present condition ? Certainly it was not the Liberal Party. The Government had acted last year in this matter to prevent a crisis, and had been supported by the Leader of the Opposition. As to the Advances to Settlers’ Act he reminded the House that a million of this money was lying in London yet. Looking at the low price of produce, he thought the Government were to be congratulated on the position of the Colony, especially considering the'state of the other Colonies. The Government had never claimed to be a non-borrowing Government, but contended they had not borrowed in the same way as it had gone on in the past. The Government had plenty to show for the money they had borrowed, and if the Oppositions thought differently, let them go to their constituents, and they would see what their verdict would be. The Government had spent on roads and bridges, since they had been in office, £506,665, and it mattered not to him whether the member was of the right color or not so long as the necessities of the district required the vote.