THE HON. MR LARNACH AT LAWRENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2303, 21 April 1898, Page 21

THE HON. MR LARNACH AT LAWRENCE.

The Hon. W. J. M. Larnach addressed tfcfelectors at Lawrence on Saturday night. Tho Mayor (Mr J. B. Browne) presided, and thew> were about 40 persons present.

Mr Larnach, afts-r some preliminary re« marks, said thab since h« had Ihe pleasure of. inaetiug the electors of the districb lasb yeac there had nob beeu much legislation passed. He thought the ?*ei that there had nob been much '"giti&uoa was not to be regretted, for i£ the kefcU'l-Uu-tj uisiy passed half a dozen welleoa.ii'S^i'cd measures in an ordinary session ifc would !e All the better For the colony. They had hold two sessions since he bad last been there. The first was held for a special purpose — namely, in connection with the Queen's Jabilee. The Premiers of all the colonies under tbe British flag were invited to go to England to take part in tha general rejoicing, and Parliament raised no objection to the Premier of this colony going Home. It dealt with the matter in a proper and commeodable Bpirtfc, and left tha Premier a free band to spend what was necessary to uphold the dignity of New Zealand, besides voting the large sum of £3000 in order that a contingent from the Defence Force might be sent Home to show the people what class of men we had here to a-sisb, if necessary, the mother country iv times of trouble, AJter the Premier's return the second seasion took place. It was the ordinary session^ for tho transaction of business and was therefore practically the first session since the general election. As a result of the election the Opposition had gained considerable strength in numbers, and no sooner was tha House calJed together than they showed the tactics they intendi-d to pursue. They found fault with the constitution of the committees, and they were sufficiently strong to prevent the committees being set up foe some considerable time. The main objection preferred by the Opposition in regard to the committees was that it was not sufficiently represented on them. Eventually a compromise was arrived ab and the difficulty was settled. In the fire weeks which remained at its disposal the Government passed some important measures which greatly affected the interests of the majority of the people of New Zetland. The Minister for Lands introduced an amended

LAND FOR SETTLEMENTS ACT

which give dim extraordinarily extended powers in connection with the land policy. When the acb was originally adopted by the House in 1894, it was called experimental legisletion, and very dangerous legislation. It was experimental legislation, no doubt, because no other country that he was aware of could point to such a measure. No country had ever thought of such a measure, before the Parliament of New Zealand had 'patsed it, and be it to tho credit of the Government thab they had brought in tuch a measure. There was a considerable amount of opposition to it. It waa ' said that ib would have the effect of driving all respectable people out of thß colony, that ifc I would ruin the country should the proposal to ■ take large blocks of land for settlement whether the owner was willing or not be passed into law, and such a proceeding was considered very outrageous for a British country. Notwithstanding tbe opposition the measure was pa3sed. lb was not at all perfect till two sessions after — iv 1896, — when ib was made at anyrate workable. The Minster had power to borrow to the extent of £250,000 per annum till March 31 lasb for the purpose of acquiring large blocks of land in places where no Crown lands existed and where there was a demand by the people for land for close settlement. It was not intended to take the land from the owner without first giving him the opportunity of meeting the Government an<i selling at tbe market value to the Government. The machinery of the act worked in this manner : If in any districts in this country there were no Crown lands and the land had all been purchased, ia large blocks, tho Minister foe Lands had the right to .ask the owner, or owners, whether he, or they, were willing to sdl, and, if so, to name the price. If tha Government thought the price was too high it had the right to ask the owner to appoint an arbitrator, and the Government appointed ari arbitrator. The two appointed a third, and bhas the market value of the land was arrived ai>. He had supported this act because he thought: it was a good act, even if it were experimental legislation. In fact, one of the sins charged against the Government by the Opposition was the amount of experimental legislation ii: passed. He might not agree with the whole,o£ their experimental legislation, and many members on the same side did not agree with it, but: it was impossible for a Government to be righb in all its proposal*, and bhere could nob be progressive legislation unless there was experimental legislation. Under the old properly tax law there was a clause in the act — which, clause had been incorporated in the new Land .Tax Act — that if a taxpayer was not satisfied with the valuation placed upon his property by the Government he could call upon the Government to purchase the property at the valuation thus set upon it by the Crown. It was that; clause which probably laid the foundation of the Land for Settlements Acfc. One of the chief: planks in the policy of the present Government before they came into power waa the repeal oft tbe Property Tax Act. They did repeal it, and in. its place substituted the Land and Income Tax. Did they not think that the repeal of the property tax was a good thing for the colony ? The property tax was a vicious policy. Ifc penalised enterprise, because every landholder who had property and improved it penalised himself year by year by increased taxation. In. repealing that law the Government met with, very considerable opposition from certain, sections of the House, but eventually the work was done, and the new measure embodied ia the statutes of the colony. The people of New Zealand should be grateful for that act alone. It represented a great saving to them, because instead of paying on their land values And all improvements on the property they now simply pay on their land values alone. Under

the clanee referred to in the Property Tax Act the agents for

THE CHEVIOT ESTATE objected to the valuation placed upon it. The estate comprised 84,000 ceres, and the Government was called upon to reduce the valuation by many thousands, or take the property over on the valuation placed upon it by the Crown. "Well, the Government had, as some of its opponents would say, ihe audacity to take it orer at the valuation it had placed upon it, and many people thought, and rightly thought at -.the time, ihat the Government had done a foolish thing lo pay the sum it did for the property. He thought it had himself. , However the" property was bought and cut up, and the result was that instead of.having a few men and women with a great many thousand sheep "on the property they had now 1500 thriving settlers with many more sheep, and it was not only -paying 5 ' per cent, to the Crown, but it was returning £5000 a year. as a sinking fund, which was likely to increase in amount ; so that *t the en& of 40 years the property would owe the eiiony nothing. Since the Land for Settlement- Act bad come into torce •THE GOVERNMENT HAD PUHCHASED 49 ESTATES, comprising 155,000 acres at a cos 1 ; of £670,000, which wa< at an average rate of £4 6a per Tcre. It nrght seem * large average,; but ,ibo average wes augmented by tbe purchase tt pi ices ranging from £50 to £60 per acre of email blocks near town 3 and citie3 "for cattic gup for workmen's village settlements. The land t*ken up under the Land for Settlements Act w as cifered to settlers on liberal term 3. ' The ; "machinery of tbe act required that after the land hsd been cut up and roAded the whole was edded together, and the settler was f n'itled to tbe land at 5 per cent, on the capital cost, with the expense of roading and cu'ting up /.dtled to ir. Those terms were liberal enough, at 5 per cent, on the total cost, if tbe Minister could be entrusted to buy the land at a fair value. Of^the 49 estates taken up all woui<* return inierest of 5 per cent-., excepting t .; Pomahafca. At present most of the latter Is » ■was seltl&d upon ; but a small portion was si 'il in the hinds of the Government, and the Pomahaka wa» yielding the Crown a return of 4 percent. He was a strong supporter of that land policy, and hoped never to ccc the day rrhen it ■would be weakened, far less repealed. Even if the Pumahaka estate instead of paying 4 per cent, was an absolute loss, that would not be a sufficient reason for the discontinuance of the policy, 'such were the benefits it had conferred on the colauy through the purchase of large estates fcr close settlement. Another important measure p*s?ed last cession related to MINING COMPANIFS '*»ho had their head effice iv England or abroad. The act required that *ny mining company doing business in New Zealand and having its head office abroad should h?ve an at'orney in the colony, and to keep an office here, where would be fi'ed a share register and full reports "of the company's proceedings from time to time for the benefit of the phareho'dsrs'heie. Another act was passed to prevent labour ip .conntctioti with mines on Sundays 'except in cases of scc ; dent or necessity. Another piece of txpeiitnental legislation passed by the ■Govern m< nt a few setsions ago, and fcr which it got a lar?.e amount of abuse. wa<» the ■ ABVAKCES TO SETTLERS ACT. "Whs that a bad act? Did they thiuk ib bad clone any gocd ? Before that act came into law Bettlers were p*aying 8, 9 12, and even 15 per tjent.'on 'very gcod secun ies. Did that state of things exist now ? Wlaen the measure waa introduced the Opposition said it was ths worst measure ever attempted to be passed in any colony. They we»e quite right in bo far as they said it was uniqne, becauße no Parliament had Attempted it. before. It w&3 experimental. But it was eaid it was .to drive capital cut of the country. No one" with capital would ever come into it. In fact, anyone who had property or capital would get out of New Zealand as fftsb as they could if, the act came into law. Bat what were the real results ? The Government, in the face of a strong Opposition, got uuthority io borrow £3,000,000 of money. When it got the authority it was said that no capitalist would lend money to the Government for such a purpose, and if the 'money was lent it would nevsr be got under 4£ or 5 per tent. The result tnrned out difil rpntly. 'Although it got authority to borrow £3,000,000. it said that it would only borrow half, and ib borrowed one and a-half millions, and it got the money about 3£ per cent. And how did the prognostications of the Opposition come out *s regarding the geteral effect of the policy on riie colony ? The simple effect of it was that bOOO settlers who had bee.n paying in years past from 8 to 15 per cent, for their money got it now »t 5 per cen*\ No losses were sustained by the Govercmeut, and the value of the securities were manifold greater than the money letit en them. And not only were the settlers benefited, but the whole colony was benefited directly and indirectly. The eett'ers had more xnoriey with which to improve their properties aud to spend generally ; thus tradesmen, shopkeepers, and others were benefited, while many other settlers, u-ing the Advances to Settlers 'Act as a fulcrum, compelled their mortgagees So reduce the rate of interest to the rates upon "which the Crown was advancing money. — (Applause ) Those were three important Government measures ; and he asked them as reasonable people, and whether they were opposed to the Government or not, to consider these experimental acts and to say whether they had been productive of good to the colony or not. Another net for which the Government wa3 entitled to credit was the conciliation end arbitration measure. When it Vm brought down it was pronounced to be unworkable. The act, however, had worked well. Stver&l disputes had been settled under it, and although it *as experimental legislation would anyone tell him that' it wes unwise legislation ? — (Applause.) Another very important sneature, and one to which they had doubtless given a great deal oi consideration, because it affected every taxpayer in the colony, was endeavoured to be passed into law — namely, THE OLD AGE PENSIONS SCHEME. JThe Premier krought that measme do*n lant cession, and was successful in passing it through the Lower House. The Upper Chamber disagreed with its principles, or rather Jfche basis upon vihich it was formulated, arid threw it out. As their representative he might tell them, as perhaps they already knew, he had opposed the bill. He opposed it very stroi gly, and if the same measure was brought down on /the same basis he wouid conceive ie his duty in the interest of the colony to again oppose it. Sj'et them not suppose that because he opposed Ibis measure he was opposed to old age pensions. He believed in old ege pensions, but he wanted to see an old age pension act passed Lhafc .would be a. credit to the colony — an old age pension fund whicb would bs placed Dn a strong basis, and which would iv the course of time become self-supporting. He Considered that the measure brought down last leesion was class legislation. It wai not universal. An old age pension established in the colony must be established frcm the contributions of every taxpayers in Ihe colony, indeed that was tbe proposal to a certain extent, because the nioney for its support was to come out of the consolidated fund,

but what the amount was' that would be yearly drawn out would be an unknown quantity. The amount disbursed, moreover, would be a charitable contribution annually to a certain class. An old sga pension fund was a fund from which every individual in the colony had a right to draw from at a certain age, but in the measure proposed by the Government an individual was entitled to contributions from it only if he had arrived at the specified age and was in indigent circumstances. It would simply mean that charity would be dispensed by the State instead of by the charitable institutions of the colony. This problem was one which had occupied the minds of thinking men turoughout the world, and no satisfactory solution had as yet been adduced. Personally he desired very much to tea a scheme established, but to his mind none would be satisfactory unless provision were made for every man and woman who had arrived at the age indicated in the bill — whether they had been reckless, extravagant, unrighteous, or not ; or whether they were in affluent or indigent circumstances. He would nob ask old people wiio had arrived at the age of 65 to contribute if they were not able to do so. There might be 10, 20, or 30 thousand cf them at the time the'acb was passed for whom the^ colony, in bis opinion, must provide, whether it cost a quarter of a million or half ».. million, but he would draw the line there. All otherF, including the youths of Hhe cslony, when they first mike a start for themselves should be requested to contribute. The coutetbutions shoul<3 extend over 30 years, and should amount to, say, threepence per week. At the end of 30 years the contributions nrght cease, and when the contributors had attained the sge of 65 they should be entitled to draw as a right on the accumulated fund for their pension. He thought the Crown should be asked to contribute, an equal amount, and not only that, but he would favour a proposal that it should contribute, if necessary, a double amount or two-thirds to the individual's one-third. The Government measure was not only not self supporting, but ife would ba provocative of all sorts of chicauery, deceit, and trickery. It nvght bo said that his scheme would cost as much, if not more, than the Government proposal, but his scheme would be on the basis of an insurance fund. There would be contributions from every individual. The Government would not bs called upon to pay the pension to every individual who had contcibuted, because in the natucal course of life many contributors would not live for the period of years marked out in the bill. Mfcuy who contributed year after year might die jast before the time wherein they would be entioled to claim on the fund. It was on that basis that insurance companies were enabled, with careful manageaor nfc, to accumulate such enormous funds. , He hoped he had made himself clear. He was not an opponent of sn old age pension fund on a proper basis. His proposal wouli at once relieve all who had arrivfd at the age of 65, and were unable to contribute. It was too Jata to a&k them to provide anything. Tho colony should provide for them. All others should contribute, and when the tim*. arrived for tb.6m to claim a pension they could do so as a matter of' right, if they desired. The Government scheme "was simply charitable aid, and "would have a demoralising effect on the c >!ony. Thoso were his opinions. Whtther any of his sux^portew disapproved of them or not— he would be sorry if they did disapprove of them — is would not make him change his opinion,so greatly did he think that a measure based on Iheliue3 as proposed by the Government if carried into law would be injurious to the interests of the colony. Wiih regard to

THE HABBIT ACT. Mr Laraach slated that ho had been harassed by the number of letters lie Jiad recaived as to the destruction of the rabbila. The inspectors had a very rifScuit task to perform; but he thought no satisfactory solution of the difficulty would be obtained till the Government took upon thetnsfilveß the responsibility of destroying the rabbi's. A tax could be imposed, and a bettex* arrangement would bs efE.cted than ths present on<*. There was one thing he was glad to be abe to tell them. Ifc was the intention of the Minister for Lands next session to bring in a compulsory wue netting bill. S.nie might think that would be a harsh measure, as many might not bs able to iocur the expense of putting up a wire neb fence, but he believed it was the intention of the G..vernment to bring in cot only that measure but to ask for authority to supply the wire nettiDg at a low rate of interest. For instance, supposing it cost a settler £500. the interest on that amount would be £25 a year. He would pay more than that amount for keeping dowD rabbits at ths present time and not derive half the satisfactory results that would ensue from a wire net fence. Although disastrous results were predicted in connection with

THE PRESENT ADMINrSTBATION, events went to show that they got on f*iriy well. They had bceu ah'e to show a surplus at the end of every financial year, and at the end of the financial year ended the 31st of last month the surplu* would range, so far as it was known, from £470,000 "to £490,000.—(Applause). There was no colony in Australia that was in such a sound financial condition. There was a time when the Government had to pay 5£ to 6 per cent, on borrowed money, and a hale was rightly called. Now, however, that money could be borrowed at 3 per cent, instead of 6 per cent-, he thought the tima had arrived when they should emburk on

A MORE FORWARD POLICY, and they shculd push ou the iarge number of unfinished railways that were in the colony, and which were so impostant for the purpose of opening up settlement, and which concerned so largely the interests of the people generally. He did nob know the secrets of the Government. It might st'll ba determined to carry on the affairs of the colony out of the surplus revenue. If it were bo determined it was a mistake. Hundreds of thousands of pounds had been spent on railways which were vi.productive, because they had not been brought to their intended terminus, and he would like to see a more progressive policy inaugurated, and these railways pushed on to their proper conclusion. When the colony could show such a large surplus annually a few millions of money could be borrowed for this purpose. He would also like to see the neci ss»-ry sum obtained for the conservation of water in the dry parts of that electorate. Regarding tha railways, he would aseist the furtherance of the Otago Central railway, the Roxburgh and Heiiot line, and he would also also like to see a sum allocated for the reduction of the grades on tbo Lawrence line and the shortening of its length, which he thought could be done at comparatively little expense and with a great deal of profit to L»wrence. — (Applause.) In conclusion he might ba permitted to tsy that he did nob see how the colony Cuukl be hei.efited by a change in the Administration. Although the Opposition came

Sir Hbvry Thompson describes natural ape rient waters as vastly superior to aitificial solutiors, how-f-ver skilfully prepared ; and " HunTADIJtNOS ' as "'JHE MOST COI^CENTBATED OF THE Saline GitdUP." Annual s-»le six million bottles. Signature, And tas Saxleiinjer, oh label secures eenuincaebs.

in with strengthened number*, the Government had a strong, solid majority o£»a dozea and a possible majority of 15. If they ody had a Bolid majority of eight they would be sufficiently strong to defy the Opposition. There was * feeling, he knew, that if a Government— it did not only apply to a Government, but to anyone holding an important appointment in the country — held office for any lengthy ; period it was desirable to have a change. The Government had now been in for seven | years, and were likely to bo in for nine years, j People said a change would do good for the country. They did nob say how it wou'd do good. Ho was not one of those who condemned the Opposition in their tactics, because if he were on the Opposition side he dared say he j would do all he could to turn Ihe other fellows out. He did not blame them tor that, but he did condemn the Opposition for alleging acts on the part of the Government that had no foundation. But supposing the tims came when the Government did have to go out, were the Opposition going to repeal this experimental legislation ? — repeal the Laud aad Income Act and reinstate the property tax ? Were they going to repaal the Land ton Settlements Act and prevent the purchase of any more large estates for settlement ?. Were they going to repeal the Advances to Settlers Act and bring about dear money again ? because so long as that policy was a live policy in New Zealand they coul-l never have dear mousy fcgain m this col uy. However, to nse tho vernacular, he did not think they would be "game" ii do it, and it was to the credit of the present Government that they had swept away the former state of things and introduced those and other measures, too numerou3 to mention, for the benefit of this colony. — (Applause.)

On the motion of Mr B. Hatit, seconded by Mr P. Doffy, a vote of tbaaks and confidence io Mr Larnach wai pa«serl wjfcbo'it diaaent.