Ministers Not Above Suspicion.

Opunake Times, Volume V, Issue 220, 13 October 1896, Page 2

Ministers Not Above Suspicion.

(From Hansard)

I am more than surprised that a Government which never tired, for a considerable time after coming into office of stating their objections to and strong feelings against financial and banking institutions, and the encouragement of mortgages, should have given such assistance to such institutions as those, and should have relieved them of such heavily-mort-gaged non-paying-interest estates as they have doue. This leads me to say that, notwithstanding the statement that we were going to have a nonpolitical Realisation Biard, we have the Premier sitting on that Board, with a gentleman as Chairman who comes from the same part of the colony as I do, and who previously was connected with a financial institution of which the Hon the Minister was and is now a director. The institution lends considerable sums of money on lands aud estates, and, though the Minister of Lands has not a seat on the Realisation Board, I have no doubt he exercises some influence. As I have said, be is a-director of one of these companies which have money advanced on estates may have been purchased under this Act. One I know has. I saj the things one hears are in all probability not absolutely correct, but Ministers should be above suspicion ; and can it be said they are while they are directors of companies dealing with the Government ? J think not; and suspicion will continue to exist so long as Ministers occupy these dual positions. Then, when I refer to the lands report which has been laid on the table this year, aud find the reports of some of the officers in connection with these estates and their occupations not at all in accordance with unofficial opinions, I wonder how much truth and how much falsehood there is in the statements made so ofter here and elsewhere that some officers make reports to order, lam perfectly satisfied on this point, whatever doubt I may have on the other : that the officers of the several departments will not now supply you with information as they used to do under the administration of other Governments which were not called Liberal.—Mr Green.