ministerial Address

Southland Times, Issue 11462, 23 May 1890, Page 2

ministerial Address

[By Telegraph.]

Queenstowx, May 22. The Hon. T. Fergus addressed his constituents in the Town Hall this evening. He said he would not take up their time with a review of' the past session as nothing had been said by the Opposition requiring answer. Some tune was devoted to a reply to attacks made through the Press, principally by Mr Fisher, M.H.R., on the financial administration of the Government. He congratulated the meeting on another surplus, the Government being able, after meeting every legitimate demand on revenue, to present a balance-sheet showing LI 15, 174 to the good, and this notwithstanding the fact that the newly-adopted tariff did not produce within L 49,000 of the estimate. The task of the Government was still a difficult one and he did not think there was much chance of imposts being reduced. Certain charges, such as public buildings, would require to be transferred from loan to consolidated account, and the Government intended to ask the sanction of Parliament to setting apart a sum of money for the erection of school buildings where required, and also to devote some portion of the revenue to the classification of inmates of asylums. He disliked the property tax as much as any member of the Opposition, but at present he considered it would be exceedingly absurd to make a change. He had always thought that local government loans should be consolidated. If this were done at four per cent, a saving would be effected of L 73,450, and he regarded it as the duty of the Government to legislate so that local bodies when their loans fell due shall be re-issued with such restrictions that these bodies shall obtain money on more reasonable terms than at present. The question of local borrowing led up to the whole question of local selfgovernment. He was strongly of opinion that local self-government was grossly overdone in New Zealand and the Government had under consideration a. measure for amalgamating some of the local bodies on the West Coast, giving them greater power than at present and enabling them to put their finance on a more sound basis. Speaking on the subject of the land he said we had a grand estate in the lands of the Crown and of the natives and the question was how best to bring these under occupation by the people. The Government was of opinion that the time had arrived when every endeavour should be made to secure as much of the native land as possible when it came into the market. They had resolved not to borrow — at least for the present — but they thought that money for the payment of these lands might be raised by the creation of land debentures to be a first charge on the land when, sold or settled. In connection with this was the question of roading these lands, and the Government thought they saw their way to raise the necessary money by the issue of road debentures. The Government thought a great deal more must be done to open up land for settlement. Considerable areas were being held unprofitably by land and mortgage companies into whose hands the land fell through the inability of mortgagors to pay interest, and the question would have to be faced of how best in fairness to the companies and in the interests of the colony these areas could be made available for settlement. Respecting charitable aid tho Government thought the measure introduced last session was an equitable solution of the difficulty. A question of some importance in the goldfields was that of the export duty on gold duty. He had long thought this duty was a relic of barbarism, and he considered the time had come for its abolition. To provide local bodies with the revenue which would be lost through the abolition of the duty he suggested that if areas held under miners' rights had an annual miniwivim value put pa each, by the

Government, aud the localbodieswere author- ' ised to rate up to that value that would meet the difficulty, while at the same time forcing mining speculators, who held claims for shepherdingpurposes.to contribute to the revenue. The Government intended to submit a measure for the classification of the Postal and Telegraph Department, whereby officers would be classified and rise according to service and merit. The subject of making teachers Civil servants and of similarly classifying them was engaging the attention of the Government. In conclusion he said that before he believed in federation or that other colonies were earnest in their desire for federation he would see them take off instead of putting taxes on our natural products. A vote of confidence was unanimously passed.