MR W. CARNCROSS AT MOSGIEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2201, 7 May 1896, Page 54

MR W. CARNCROSS AT MOSGIEL.

Mr W. Carncross, M.H.R , addressed a meeting of his constituents at ths Volunteer Hall, Mosgiel, on Saturday night. The Mayor of Mosgkl (Mr H. Inglis) presided, and there were about 150 persons present.

Mr Cauncross congratulated bis hearers upon the improved prospects of the colony that were now visible. We had had he said, a magaificent harvest, the prices ruling bad been better than for some years past, wool had taken au upward turn, there was great activity in the export of dairy produce, land settlement was going on vigorously, maDy thousands of pounds of Eciglish capital were being poured into o ir ! gold nuoiiig industries, a valuable market for our agricultural produce had been created ovviug to New Soulh Wales having adopted a Freetrade policy, our population was increasing, and he must be a pessimist of the first water who could not see thab the outlook for New Zealand was brighter now than it had been for vcrj many years. The farmers had had a hard struggle for a long time, and it was cheering to know that things were at last looking a bit brighter. The last session was in many ways a disappointing one. They were for five months in session, and it could not be deaied that a considerable portion of that time was wasted in nnneceesary and unseemly wrangling. The manner in which time was deliberately wasted, at a serious financial coat to the colony, by supposed to be sensible men who are sent to Wellington to look after the interests of the colony was enough to mske the very angels weep. The bill introduced during tha session by Mr Joyce, providing for the election of Governors, was one of there absurd measures which were frequently brought in by hon. geniemen who hsd no hope and no particular desire to pass them, but who could make them the vehicle of a talk to constituents through Hansaid. Only about two hours were wasted over this precious bill, and on a division the second reading waß lost by 22 votes to 32, and his rote was recorded against the bill. If the Governor were to be elected by the people he would' necessarily become identified with a party, and he (the speaker) did not think that the country would be any better governed under such circumstances. ' They would also easily see that a Governor with party predilections would be a rather one-sided tribunal to appeal to when it came to a matter of— should he cay "stuffiug" tha Legislative Council P He was of the same opinion as Captain Russell that the pacing of an Elective Governor Bill was the firs!; step towards separation from the mother country, and anything that bad a tendency in that direction he was not prepared to support. There never was a worse, or wore inappropriate, time than the present to bring forward any such proposal as that. We have lately learned that a new Power has rr'if en, a Power that is not to be slighted— he referred to Japjn, — r.nd it would be utter madness for us to pursue a policy that savoured in the slightes!; of isolation. He believed that , thegreatmajorityofuswore proud of ourmother country, and would, if necessity arose, fight for her ; and while n that feeling animated our breasts there should be no room for any thoughts of severing the silken bonds that bind us to Great Britain.— (Appkuse.) Referring to the banking legislation, Mr Carncross proceeded to remind his constituents that the present directors of the bank and the present Government had no responsibility on their shoulders for the unhappy condition into which the Bank of New Zealand had drifted. Sj far as the present directors were concerned they deserved the thanks of the colony for probing thoroughly into the condi'ion of the bank arid laying it before the Government in all its nakedness. As for the Government, they were placed in the unenviable position of fcavJDg to take upon their shoulders a burden in the creation of which they had had no stare. They had to rectify the state of affairs created by swindling, and blundering, and robbery of past yearn by people who never had any sympathy with Libtral Government*, but who were, and still are, the sworn foes of all Liberal Administrations. Thie was no caie of the Government coming to the rescue of their friends. It was a time to drop all ptrty spirit and do all th&t could be done for the welfare of New Zealand. The Government and the Hou3e proved worthy of the occasion, and if they did not permanently settle all difficulties they, at any rate, postponed for many year* a very evil day. In the face of the figures presented by the report of a joint committee of the House, could anyone doubt that anything in the shape of closing the doors of the bank meant widespread ruin and disaster that it would have taken m*ny a long year to recover from. He supposed that the Bank of New Zealand was preeminently tbe farmers' bank, and there was no class in our community who would have Goffered more severely than they had the crash' not been avoided. He might tell them plainly tbat ho was not satisfied with the legislation affecting the Colonial Bank. But in the House the position was this : The committee strongly insisted that it was necessary to strengthen the Bank of New Zealand by authorising the purchase of the Colonial Bank (though that inttitution was not directly Darned) a transition which was estimated to increase tbe earning power of the Bank of New Ze*land. The committee he took to be honourable men. They were aff >rded exceptional opportunities for ascertaining the true position of affairs, and he did not feel justified in pitting his small knowledge of the matter against their superior opportunities for knowing the facts ; therefore he supported their recommendations, and on them must very largely rcsb the responsibility. Soon after his return from England the Colonial Treasurer (Mr -Ward) tabled his Financial Statement, and, on tha whole, it was a satisfactory document. Hia estimate of the receipts for the year had been £4,235,000. while the actual receipts bad been £4,281 995, or £46,995 in excess of his estimates. The expenditure was £83,487 le»s than the estimate. The Treasurer claimed that no lees than £11,000 of this reduction on the Estimates was due to the early collection of the land tax, which rendered unnecessary the issue of Treasury bills for as large an amount as had been anticipated. The net surplus on the year's transactions was £180,024. However, in spite of surpluses, our national debt went merrily on, and this tiny little scrap of a country rejoiced in a debt of £39,635,032, necessitating the payment of something like £4500 a day in the shape of interest. The increase of our net debt from 1891 to 1895 was £2 291,100, but by comparison with previous Administrations the increase of indebtedness was nothing that the supporters of the present Government need be afraid of acknowledging The real thing was to consider what assets could be fairly set against tbe increase of debt, and a consideration under this head brought tha present Administration out with flying colours. To what purpose has the money been dtroted which the present Government has borrowed? Out of the £2,291,109 which he had admitted to be t £ e *« n n™ RBe in our debt » no leflS than i1,A55,00U was actually earning more interest than we were paying for it. Can they point to any previous Administration who could say the mom thing P Now, how had we been spend- J

ing the money P It had not been spent in building rotten political railways. We had purchxsed a million acres of Nabive lands for seMfonaenfc in the North Island ; wo had purchased other lands for settlement — we had purchased the Cheviot estate, also the Fomahaka ; we hid spent money for roading land 1 ?, for the benefit of those settlers who had gone oat in the bash districts. Then, £529,800 had bsen advanced under the Loans to Local Bodies Acb — legislation which the Government are not responsible for, but which had proved very ussful. Then, our debt went on increasing owing to conversion op2rations, for which the present Government a)s i were in no way responsible ; and these operations would proceed no matter what Government might be in office —(Applause.) Proceeding to refer to the question of land for settlements, Mr Cavncross said, excluding the Cheviot estate, which was not purchased under the Land for Settlements Act, we purchased up to March, 1895, 14,133 acres, at a cost of £55,15*. Up to the date he had mont ; oned out of the 14,000 odd acres 8929 acres had bsen selected — there had been more taken np since. For the money spent on the purchase of that land we are in receipt of interest, by way of rental, which averages 4- - 14 per cent., and the amount ef arrears of rent to the 3lst March 1895 was the trifling sum of £320 2s sd. Now, as one who assisted to pass the legislation that enables the State to purchase land for settlements- he might say that he had never entirely approved of nil the det tils. under which it was worked. He thought it would give more satisfaction to the country if, before estates were purchased, the fall particulars were furnished to the House, and the whole country knew all the details of contemplated pu-cbaseg. Then, again, he was slroDgly of opinion that there should be a sinking fund in connertion with all these purcha'es. Of course, the occupiers of the land paid the interest charges on the cost of the land, but the State remained responsible for the capital sum, and he should like to sse some permanent provision made for the ultimate acquittance of oar liabilities in connection with our land purchases, and not allow them to remain aneverlasting burden on thenation.— (Applanse) Alluding to the tariff, the speaker said he did not consider it any reproach whatever against the Government that they brought down more than one tariff, though come, people ncemed to think that it was. One of the great problems that face us in connection with the tariff queition was whether we were prepared to open our ports and compel our own flesh and blood — our own sons and daughters — to enter into competion with the half-starved workers of Continental cities, the prison-workers of America, and the hordes of yellow men He did not think we were yet prepared to face euch & state of affairs. — (Applause.) A very important measure — the Bleotive Executive Bill— was introduced by the Hon. M»jor Steward, and although there was absolutely no debate on the bill yet it was one which, he thought, was quite within the domain of practical politics. The bill was rejected by 35 votes to 27, and he went into the lobby against the bill. The bill was in the main supported by those who ara, or profess to be, opposed to party government, and tried to flatter themselves with the belief that the bringing in'o existence of an elective Exe utfve would abolish party. For his part, he did not think that it would. Whenever a body of men were in office party appeared to be inseparable. It appeared fco him that the feeling against p^rfcy government was in some quarters being nursed only for one purpose — to get the prcent raliog party out of office. He woe not blind to the evils and abuses of party government ; they were maDy, but he thought that a greater independence on the part of members woald do mach to lessen the evils. Closely allied to the Elective Executive Bill was the referendum ; in fact, many people thought the one was the natural sequence to tke other. H« was not in favour of it. It appeared to him to be opposed altogether to representative government. In connection with this bill they had heard the cant phrasa " Trust the p°ople." He said trust their representatives, and if they could nob trust them turn them out and pub in men they could truet. If the referendum really did mean trusting the people, he might view the matter differently. By trusting the people, he meant allowing them to go quietly to the ballot box to record tbetr votes. But this was not what would h-vppen. Whatever the subject upon which the appeal was made they would find a host of speakers who, instead of trusting the people, would have ao little trust in them, and so poor an opinion of their int^ligence, that they would take to the platform to induce them to vote the right colour, whatever it nrghb be, on all sorbs of questions. Going on to tpeak of the licensing ques'ion, Mr Carncross said last session members -of the House had their annual picnic over licensing legislation, and they would have another next session. There was more ranting, canting humbag o?er this subjeot thaa any other that came before the House. He believed that in our New Zealand licensing laws the temperince section of our community have more concessions granted to them than in any part of th-3 world ; bub tha fact remains that they were nob satisfied, and never would be. Their position is quite understandable— they aim at prohibition by a bare majority, and he hoped they would never get it. He had nob th 3 slightest objection to prohibition being carried in New Zealand as a whole and by a fairly tubstantinl majority; but he said most emphatically it would be mere midsummer madnesi to allow eniix an important revolution to be carried by a bnre majority — (Applause.) When prohibition was car- I ried let it be by a substantial, solid majority, so thab there might not be a return awing of the pendulum threa yeara afterwards.— (Applause.) The Advances to Settlers Act had now been on trial for a little while, and in one respect it had been ' disappointing. He referred to its administration. At the inception of the acb we were informed tjhat it was to be a huge engine of^corruption for the purpose of bribing settlers of the wrong colour and rewarding those of the . right colour. The money, we were told, was to be scattered indiscriminately amongst borrowers on rotten security, and was to be squandared at the expense of the colony. How had fill these predictions been falsified P Instead of the monej being scattered indiscriminately on rotten securities, the Lending Board had been moat niggardly and conservative. They had refused loans on good securities— securities which were afterwards taken up by private lenders. If the board had been purposely trying to bring the act into disrepute they could not have adopted more effectual means. The political opponents of the present Government, some of them, wera making capital out of the number of refusals that haft b9en made by the Lending Board, and declared that there never was an earnest intention to assist the settler 3. It was quits true that there had beeu a number of refusals ; but a large proportion of the refusals were quite justifiable. Bub although some borrowers had been disappointed, they should not blame the Government for the admistration of the act, and they should remember that the main effect of the act had been to raduce the rates of interest. The act had also been of great advantage to the farmers of New Zealand by its influence upon the rate of interest, and so doubt the money-lending "fafe met)" el

New Zealand would like to see, the present Government out of office and the acb repealed in order that they might obtain the same rates they were accustom 3d to in the past.— (Anplause.) Up to the 31st of M&roh last £539, 497 had beeu authorised to be advanced, and £429,172 had actually been paid over to the borrowers. Assuming thab these borrowers were paying only 2 per cent, less interest than formerly— in reality they are larger gainora than that — we found that in the aggregate they were gainers to the extent of over £8500 per annum, and the amount lent was always increasing. Extend that saving over a term of years, and the geueral saving bscomes a very large one. In the faoe of figures such as these not much argument wai required to prove what a banefib o.ur Advances to Settlers Aofc had proved, a<id was likely to still further prove, to the settlers for who3o advantage the acb was framed. — (Applauae.) Speaking of tbe Undesirable Immigrants Bill, Mr Cirnorosßsii'l the greab objection he had to this bill wis the contract Übour clauses. Under t'ae provisions of that bill the Mo'giel Woollen Factory Company would have been debarred from entering iuto a contract for a new designer. This session he thought the bill would not contiin such clause?, but would be confined to dealing with a poll tax and perhaps sraie restrictions upon people suffering from contagious diseases. He might meution iv reference to the Chinese thab their number in Nsw Zealand had be -n gradually falling off for some time ; but in 1894 there was an iucrease of about 100, the total Chi asse population being about" 4ooo. The proposil to place a £100 poll tax upon them was ouly coming into Hue with New South Wales, where a '£100 poll tax had bean - levied since 1888, and vessels were prohibited from carrying to the country more than one Chinese passeuger for every 300 tons of cargo, whiuh had resulted in the complete stoppage of Chinese immigrants. With regard to the railways, every farmer kaew that since the Government had taken control of the railways many concessions had beeD made in the way of reducing freights and excursion /are?. Many thousand* of children were continually being token over the lines in school excursions, and the educational advantage to thoio child en was a gain to the colony. Reduct'ons had been made in the prica of half-yearly, quarterly, and monthly tickets ! freights had been reduoed on rabbits, fob, milk, cream, choff, turnips, firewood, lime, scrap iron, coal for export, and other things ; and other renu3tions would be made as the revenue would allow. Thousands oF sheep that used to travelled by road nre now conveyed over the railways, and jet our railways for this year panned out £16,000 better th»n the estimate, and £13,000 better than last year. In the fiSt year, tco, the m-nagement expenses were reduced from £6375 to £3675. As regarded the Opposition, for the past five years tbey had wasted their o<vn and the country** time by denouncing all legislation of the present G.ivtirnment as bid, and likely to ruin the country, and uovr, on the eve of a general election, they said to the people : • Ouly let us have office and we faithfully promise nob to repeal our predecessora' legislation." Was there ever before in the whole political world such an absurd climax P If the legislation of the present Government was good, why had tha Opposition spent yea's in denouncing it ? Tha position resolved itself into this : The p*rty in power had passed la<\s that had since become popular with the people, so popular that the Opposition dared not for their very political lives pledge themselves to repeal tb'-m, and now they coolly asked tho psople to-ndoait'them to office that they nvght havßfche sd<niui*teriug of laws which had been framed, bat which they had neither the origin tlity nor the pluck nor the desire toframo wbtn they he.d the opp>rtunity. — (Applause ) In conclusi jn, Mr Carncross stated that he intended to contest the next election against all-comers. He had endeavoured tj teprcsent his constituents in the pasb in a faithful and honcnt manner, and whether or not th*t was their opiniou they would probably let him know at the next general (Applause.) Afbtr Mr Catwcross had answersd one or two questions, Mr W. Laing moved that he be* aocorded a hearty vote of thanks and confidence.

The motion was seconded by Mr J. Sfencb, and declared to be carried unanimously.