POLITICAL ADDRESS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 8664, 6 November 1899, Page 4

POLITICAL ADDRESS.

MB, FITZROY AT WAIROA. [From a Correspondent.] At VV&iroa on Saturday evening Mr Fitzßoy continued hia political campaign. There was a large audience, and the speaker was accorded a good reception. In his opening remarks he made sympathetio reference to the bereavement susUined by Mr Carroll in the death of h» father. Mr Fiußoy's address to he electors was somewhat on the lines ot the apeeoh delivered at Tiniroto, although a good deal of fresh ground was covered. TAXATION. Dealing with the question of taxation, he showed that 75 per cent, of the taxation of the colony was derived through the medium of the Customs, and contended that the necessaries of life were unduly taxed, the policy of the Government in this matter being thoroughly antagonistic to th« inUrests of the working man. The taxation was equal to £3 13^ lid per mean head of population. The Colonial Treasurer boasted of a half million surplus, but it was easily seen how it was acquired. Either the Government were extracting more taxation from the working man through tho Customs or they were not paying over to the local bodies the full amount of the votes authorised by the House for roads and bridges. It would be the object of the Opposition to remit the duties on the necessaries of life, and so relieve those earning their living by manual or clerical work. REDUCTION W THE CIVIL SERVICE. These remissions could be made up by a corresponding reduction in the Civil Service, which was at present extending beyond all reasonable bounds. He referred to the ever-growing army of inspectors, clerks, etc., made by the Government, many of the positions being instituted for the purpote of finding employment fur friends of Ministers. He was opposed to the Gove nment further increasing I lip functions of the State ; and was against State Fire Insurance, and also private ownership of freezing works and coal mines. The coat of the Civil Service had increased siuce 1897 by £284,852 At Home, when the Chancellor of tho Exchequer finds a surplus lie remits taxation, but in New Zealand the Government continues to squander. * I,AUD s£TrZ>E..rENT. He gave the Government credit for their bona fide endeavor to get people to take up and occupy the land. He considered the system of perpetual lease, introduced by Mr Rolleston, the best which could be adopted. The Government had instituted a Bystem of lease in perpetuity, and had thus created a cJasa of Crown tenants for life. On this point the Opposition joined issue with them, and would adopt tinprinciple, but would also give these Crown tenants the option of making it. a freelioM. He was opposed to purchasing liijjli piiclands unless contiguous to large centres of population. • KATIVE LANDS, This was a question of paramount interest to the East Coast. The Government ha-i at the present time sole monopoly to purchase Native lands, and this had resulted in absolute stagnation and gross injustice to the Natives. The Government firofesscd great anxiety on account of andless Natives, but they were, through their agents, bringing about this state of things, inasmuch as their agents purchased from Natives without any enquiries as to whether or not they had other lands or adequate means of sustenance ; whereas a European had to satisfy the Trust Commissioner upon this score before-he could deal in the land. The Government acquired shares in blocks, but completed the purchase of none, because they only offered one-eighth of tbe value of the land. The policy of the Opposition would be to see justice done to the Natives in the matter of dealing with their lands. Ample reserves would be made so that no Native could be left without fifty acres of land. Regarding any other lands owned by them the tiiles would be individualised, and tho Natives would be empowered to deal with the land. The Native was as well able to look after his own interests in this matter as the European. Any Native land Suitable for close settlement would be best dealt with by the Government purchasing it right out at the market value and opening it under the Lands for Settlement Act. This wouW facilitate the^ acquisition of small farms by Europeans who might not care to deal with tho Natives direot. No one travelling through the district could fail to be struck with the vast area of Native land which was at present locked up. What immense strides the district would make if all this laud could be made reproductive. OhX> AOB PENSIONS. The Colonial Treasurer relied upon the surplus to make the necessary payment under the Old Age Pensions Act. Honeßt. finance should rest upon a more permanent basis, or they might find themselves having to meet claims of £200,000 without any surplus. He did not consider the fixed age of 65 years cquitabte. The whole scheme bristled with anomalies. The man with £34 per year from investments got a pension equal with the man who had nothing, whilst many who were not in receipt of £52 per year had to contribute to the pension fund. He considered 7s 6d per wtek inadequate, and would vote for 10s provided the scheme was on the basis of State aid lo self-help. At some length Mr Fitzßoy showed how the colony was stinted to enable money to be lavishly Bpent in Westland, that place in every case getting its undue share of expenditure of public money. the Licensing law. 'The speaker then referred to the present licensing law, which, he said, placed ihe power of saying wheth r spirituous liquors should be sold in a district in the hands of the people bj a three-fifths majority. He was opposed to the bare majority as being too much in the nature of a oatoh vote. He considered that for the stability of the cause a majority should be obtained in districts where do license was carried. He was opposed to the exemption «f clubs as being absolutely inconsistent with the spirit of the Act. He would also do his utmost to prevent any further restrictions being placed in the way of prohibition. By abolishing all temptation to drink at hotel bars and doing away with the pernicious custom of "shouting," the most undesirable elements of the liquor traffic would bo scotched. CO-OPBBATIVB LABOR. Touching upon the question of co-opera-tive works, Mr Fitwoy said that this system was originally introduced to assist the unemployed. But in practice they found that it bad beeu used as a huge peripatetic machine. They found gangs of men brought from outside the district and dumped into a place just on the eve of an election for the apparent purpose of influencing that election, and dismissed as soon as it was over. The system had no consideration for the working men of the district. He considered it was nothing more or less than using legislation for vote-cat ching purposes. The cost of supervision was too great, and the average wages were very unequal. On co-operative works 108 2Jd was the average wage paid per day in Westland, whilst in other parts of the colony it was slightly over 7s, the following being tho correct figures : Auckland 6s, Rotorua Bs, Taranaki 6s 6Jd, Hawke's Bay 7s DJd, Wellington 7s 4Jd, Nelson 7a lid, Otago 6s 5Jd, Southland 6s lOd, Wesiland 10s 2Jd. BROKEN PLEDGES. In regard to their administration, the present Government had undoubtedly lost the confidence of the country. They came into office as a nou-borrowing nnd selfreliant Government, and as a result of their nine years' administration the public dubt of the colony had been increased by eight millions. At the present time from borrowed money we had to spend £'2.>0,000 on existing lines of railway for replenishing stock, etc. Under the system of Railway Commissioners this was not so, the repaira to the lines being paid for out of revenue, but they had now to borrow money to do so. Under the present Government the appointments made to the civil service were made from political color rather than the competency of the applicants. He strongly advocated the setting up of a Civil Service Board, free from all political influence. During tho last few years they had been in a regular maelstrom of political scandals, which were in no way creditable to the colony. The tendency of the administration of the Government was to secure patronage and power for themselves. The Colonial Secretary's attack on Captain Russell ami Mr Rolleston were instances of the length ho and hia party are prepared to go in trying to blacken tho character of their opponents, although the statement referred to was supposed to have been made over thirty years ago. TUBLIO WORKS EXPENDITURE. Healing with the public works expenditure, not including railways, Mr Fitzßoy showed that the average amount per head of population spent in Weitland in 1899 was 20s 4cl, and in Hawke's Bay 10s 2d. The proposed expenditure in 1809-1900 was iv Westland £■'11,806, or 42s 9d per head, and in H.iwku's Buy only £20,342 or 11s 2U per head of population, In connection

with the development of tho thermal springs in that district, the speaker showed that nothing had been spent, althom'h the sum of £250 was voted under the Public Works Act in 1896. He approved of the Advances to Settlers' Act, and thought it was doing good work. THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY. Continuing, the candidate took exception to the statement made by Mr Carroll that the Opposition were in the Inimilating position uf having to accept the legislation of the present Government, and that tln-y dare not repeal it. It was not, he said, usual for a succeeding Government to repeal the legislation of their predecessors. They would make amend menta where necessary, and introduce other measures which they deemed to bo in the interests of the colony. If they repealed all legislation of the present Government, how impossible would the government of the country 1)0---come The Government never tired in endeavoring to make people believe that they were the only party which introduced legislation for the benefit of the masse!. He pointed out that the so-called Lon servative Government passed the Government Life Insurance Act, Truck Act, Factory Act, Shipping and Seamen's Act, and numerous other measures in the interests of the working classes. It was Sir John Hall who passed the one-nmn-one-vote and secured manhood suffrage ; also the female franchise, a measure which did not meet with the unqualified approval of the Premier or the Colonial Secretary. CONCLUSION. When the history of Liberalism in New Zealand was written up, the name of Richard Seddon would bo held up in public execration. He had prostituted the trust belonging to the people, and gratified his own ambition and buy the support of the mob. The party of which Mr Seddon was now the head were plated in power nine years ago under Mr Ballance, tho cardinal features of their policy being non-boiTOwini: and self-reliance. With the deiitn (if Mr B.illanee, all good work ended. The present Premier l««ikeil upon _u-ud«s unionism as the dominant power in the country, and the past nine years had been a time of retrogression So low hud politics sunk under this bastard Liberalism that many gocd men shrunk from becoming candidates. It would be a bad day for New Zealand when young men were brought up to think that it was no longer a matter of pride to represent their fellow settlers in Parliament. Their young men should deem it a matter of the. highest honor to hold a seat in the Parliament of the country, which was instituted for the purpose of holding up their independence and promoting good government. The triennial period had again come round, and the electors of Waiapu were asl;ed to exercise their votes. Upon this occasion they had a larger range of choice of candidates, and he left the mutter w'th absolute confidence in their hands, knowing well Hint lliev wi.nlil vi.U. f"r the candidate (hey thought the brat (iiti'd to represent them iv the nationul Parliament.