PARLIAMENT

Southland Times, Issue 13284, 10 August 1895, Page 3

PARLIAMENT

(By

Telegraph.)

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Wellington, Aug. 9. The Evidence Further Amendment Bill passed its final stages. The Mining Companies Act Amendment Bill was considered in committee. A new clause proposed by Mr McCullough to prohibit stock-brokers from dealing in shares on their own account, was thrown out by 21 to 9. After further debate Mr Bolt’s motion affirming that the State should find cooperative settlements for people out of work was negatived on the voices. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. MrG. W. Russell resumed the debate on the Financial Statement. He had been returned to the House as asupporterof a liberal policy, but after carefully studying the Statement he had come to the conclusion that its dominant theme was one that could have come down from the most Tory government that had ever been in New Zealand. He said this with deep regret from a party point of view. The Budget was absolutely colourless; it was a Budget of pure opportunism. With such a large majority at their back the Government had lost a grand opportunity of carrying out an advanced liberal policy. The financial condition of the colony was far from satisfactory, and the result would be that the country would shortly have to go in for a large loan to be scrambled for on the floor of the House. He was opposed to the South Australian and Canadian treaties, and objected to L 20,000 being thrown away on a Vancouver mail service. It was a great omission that the Budget made no proposal for finding work for the unemployed, and the stagnation of the labour market was due to the fact that our natural resources were not developed. Now that the Liberal party had got the tariff on the floor of the Ho se they would be very foolish if they did not stand firm and seek to bring it into line with liberal principles. The reductions proposed by the Treasurer were so insignificant that they would never reach the consumer. He intended to move that the duty on tea be removed altogether and that increases be made on other articles in order to make up the loss.

Mr Morrison said Mr Russell’s speech was one of the most impracticable, unworkable, and ba'rbrained utterances he had ever listened to. As to what Mr Russell had said, about spending huge sums of money on opening up the resourses of the colony he did not think the Government would be justified in spending large amounts in creating artificial settlement. Ho admitted that the co-opera-tive system required to be worked on a different system than at present, but Mr Russell himself had assisted to swell the numbers of the unemployed by stating oa public platforms that it was the duty of the Government to find work for everyone who needed it. This was a most rotten doctrine. He referred at considerable length to Mr Ward’s mission to England and defended the position he took up with respect to the sinking funds. He hoped the good sense of the House would see that the Liberal party would not be divided over the tariff proposals, and that the House would assist the Treasurer to make his proposals as acceptable as possible ; but he objected to the released sinking fund being regarded as ordinary revenue. The real fact was that for four years the colony in its internal admistration had not paid its way by L 95,224. One cause of this state of affairs was the expensive administration of the public service, and there seemed to be little sincerity in the retrenchment undertakings of the Government. The public offices were as full to-day as they were before the retrenchment which was supposed to have taken place. If a large increase in the burden of taxation was not lo take place the local bodies must look for less assistance from the Government, and the public must expect less favours from Government sources. It was a blot on the Budget that in the face of deficits and falling revenue no suggestion was made of retrenchment in the public service. The public works' fund was gradually disappearing and if the colony was to go on with a public works policy there were two alternatives before it: the colony must either go slowly and moderately and keep within its means, or pursue a vigorous policy, which meant floating a loan of considerable magnitude. The real solution of the unemployed difficulty was in the vigorous administration of the Land for Settlement Act. Evening Sitting. Mr Buick, continuing his remarks, said he should not support a single item of the increase of duty on goods used by the working classes until he was convinced that all reasonable reductions in the public expenditure had been made. Captain Russell said the Premier’s speech in the Budget debate was not a defence of the Budget or of its policy, bub a long dissertation on ancient history and an endeavour to show that the borrowing policy of the Stout-Vogel Government, whom he had supported, was greater than that of his own government. The Premier had led the House to believe that the actual increase to the public debt during his term of office was only one and a half millions, whereas returns laid on the table showed that the actual increase was L 2,291,109 and this by no means showed.all the liabilities incurred by the Government. The Premier altogether forgot to tell the House of the liability of two millions incurred for the Bank of New Zealand. It might be argued that that was not borrowing, but ib was a promissory note which might have to be met some day, although he hoped that day was a long way off. There was also a liability of one and a half million for advances to settlers. He asserted that the gross liability incurred by this Government since they took office was actually L 6,541,109. As to the tariff, nearly every member on the Government side of the House had spoken against Mr Ward’s proposal. Tho Budget was both long and dreary, and contained no reliable information on any subject. Mr Pirani had referred to the great progress of the colony for the past three years, but that progress; had been backwards. Both Customs and railway revenue had decreased. Next year a surplus was to be made up by imposing LIO,OOO on the necessaries of life and getting' L2OOO from the widows of the colony. He asserted that the finances of the Government had completely broken down, and if it were not for the two items he had mentioned the predictions of the Opposition that the Government were galloping to a deficit would have been completely fulfilled. As to the banking legislation he warned the Government that they would not be allowed to force any banking bill through the House this session without giving the fullest information about the matter. The Opposition were determined to take a firm stand on this point. The Government boasted that they were instrumental in lowering the rates of interest, but he had seen advertisements in the Australian papers that hundreds of thousands of pounds could be got there for four per cent on good security. The amount of trade with South Australia and Canada did not warrant the proposed treaties. As to tariff, no attempt had been made to remit duties on the heoes* series of life, and he asked why the Treasurer had R9t put M extra penny on

New Zealand beer,, and so get a revenue of L 20,000. He should not now propose any amendment, but would on a future date propose the following resolution “ That the Colonial Treasurer be requested to withdraw the proposed alterations of duties of Customs on the grounds that by them no simplification of the tariff is effected, a few existing anomalies are abolished, but no appreciable relief is granted to anybody, while extra burdens aro imposed on many and the estimated increase in the revenue (viz. L 10,300) is not commensurate with the general disarrangement of trade which will ensue.” That would give the House a fair opportunity of discussing the whole question and he would move the resolution in*no spiritof antagonism to the Government.

Mr John McKenzie said tho leader of the Opposition had shown nothing to p ove that if he were in office the colony would bo any better off. The Premier had been accused of going into ancient history, but the Government were not afraid of ancient history. He thought Captain Russell had shown questionable taste in dragging in the Bank of New Zealand,- but he asked who it was that had caused the bank to be in its present condition ? Certainly it was not the Liberal party. The Government had acted last year in this matter to prevent a crisis, and had been supported by the leader of the Opposition. As to the Advances to Settlers Act he reminded the House that a million of that money was lyinginLondon yet. Lookingat the lowprices of produce he thought the Government were to be congratulated on th’e position of the colony, especially considering the state of the other colonies. The Government had never claimed to be a non-berrowing Government, but contended that they bad not borrowered in the same way as had gone on in the past. The Government had plenty to show for the money they had borrowed, and if the Opposition thought differently let them go to their constituents and they would see what the verdict would be. He defended his land settlement at some length and asked how that settlement could go on unless there was money to carry it on with? The Government had spent on roads and bridges since they had been in office L 506,665 and it mattered not to him whether a member was of the right colour or not so long as the necessities of a district required tho vote. It was truer colonisation to open up roads than to make railways. The Government were acting] within the law in their dealing with the sinking funds and several of the railways under construction in the colony had been assisted by means of the sinking funds. The Cheviot purchase had been made with borrowed money and he ventured to say there was not a sounder balance-sheet in the colony than was presented by Cheviot. He quoted figures to’ show to what extent the Government had assisted small settlers. If the present Opposition got on the Treasury benches a huge loan would .be floated. He contended that the Government had done good work for the money they had borrowed and it was ridiculous to talk of no borrowing when colonisation had been going on so rapidly. Mr Fraser adversely crilicised the Budget. He said the Opposition did not altogether complain of the increase of the debt or the way in which the borrowed money was spent, but they objected to the assertions of the Government that the debt had not b: en increased and no money borrowed. He referred to the exceptional severity of the weather in the] south, and expressed the opinion that the Treasurer h.ia not made sufficient allowance for this emergency. Many of the runholders would be absolutely unable to pay their rent, so severe had been their losses through the weather. Mr Montgomery generally approved of the Government’s policy as disclosed in the Statement and gave them credit for being self-reliant.

The debate was adjourned and the House rose at 12.10 a.m.