ADDRESS BY MAJOR ATKINSON.

Te Aroha News, Volume 1, Issue 45, 12 April 1884, Page 7

ADDRESS BY MAJOR ATKINSON.

On Monday evening hst the lion. Major Atkinson ndlrcsse I his e-.m^tiueuts at Hawera. After pome preliminary remarks he said : Alter t;iu turriuLj picture w!n'"h had been drawn of the state of the country, ifc was only reasonable to give sonic account, of the finances. Tli re would be a deficit upon tho operations of the last fin inei-d year. Possibly it. might amomit to £i?0,'()00. No iloui)t it was to be regretted. Tiie deficit did not eqivil the amount of the property lax w rich \v<\-3 remitte 1 the 3 oar before jast, together with the cost of the Armed Constabulary, which in that year, for the first time, was thrown upon the consolidated revenue. He justified his action in remitting that taxation on the ground that it was the duty of the Treasurer to take from the people in any one yeai no more than was absolutely required. There was no doubt that the very considerable falling-off in the price of wool had contributed largely to the deficit which had occurred. Customs had not come up to the estimate by about £120,000. The net receipts from railways were £80,000 short ; postal was£2v),ooo short ; stamps had reached the^estiinate. The deficiency in Customs was 'partly owing to savings on the part of fche^ people. The loss on wool amounted to something like £400,000, because all the expenses had to come out of the reduced amount received. If wool had not fallen, the Customs revenue would have readied the estimate. The frozen meat tra 1c had made up the loss to some extent, but it had increased the value of flocks. rather than added to the revenue for the year. The falling-off in the railways had arisen because" the tariff was undoubtedly too low, and the increase in expenditure, owing to deterioration, had not yet reached its maximum, nor would it do so for nearly two years. The net receipts were less than expected by £CO,OOO, while the expenses had exceeded the estimates by £20,000. As to the direction in which savings could be made, there was first the Civil Service. Excluding the railways, the expenditure on salaries, wages, and certain departmental expenses amounted to about £400,000, and the three departments of Justice, Customs, and Post and Telegraph, amounted to £237,000. The Custo ns, at the present time, were col'ected more cheaply t'.ian the English Customs, an i no appreciable reduction was possible in that department. Neither was there in the Post and Telegraph. As to the Justice Department, there ni'g'it be a reasonable increase in fees, so that, as .-it, present, it should not cost fie State £200,000 a year to enable traders to collect t'leir debts. ihe sc.ieni' 1 of Government was, shortly, ihi^ : To reduce the Uiuler-fcjeoretaries to a definite number, to be fixod by law — jt'ioi'fc eii-ht — and group the whole of t.'ie departments under thorn. No fresh department to be created without the express consent of Parli iin»nfc. The clerks in the service would bo djvido ! into grades, e.ich grade to have il.s maximum and minimum salaries ; nil person* to enler as cadets aFtor undergoing competitive examination, and advance from one grade to another, to be decide 1 on after an examination as to the person's fitness for the particular office. This would secure a cheap an 1 efficient service, and make the service the roughly contented. There mnst be pensions and retiring allowances. He hoped the House would consent to the scheme to compel 1 the Civil Servants' to make contributions to a lund which would make provision for them when they should become unfit for work — the same as was done in the Indian Civil Service, with such great advantage to the service and the public. The Anne I- Constabulary might be reduced to 500 men, but it would not be safe to reduce it below that. As to the question of charitable ak|..and hospitals, something" would 'have j to be done. It wag now costingioinething like £100,000 for. charitable aid "and hos pitalp, perhaps npore.^ H*v favoured; the idea ol hospitals i ; |beiug gnpp<irte*J ■ as-'ofj old, partly by,the; : prynei.' rt l and partly by tljg 1 dis.tj'lpfc.?;' ~ BoibeUujjg, like £50,000 be^Baye]fe|pJ ; reform in j fch 0 ;- H^.^f) ij|4!\m » S -pfe 4?%% W^l/J

-sostTdf 'pHm^ry^ijtc^on 'was.' '&sJ&pibQ\ of wljich '£zs;Oo{HcomW f»*<jm . j'?«°ry(fs," nnd/the Jbala.nc-e , fronT M\& "Consolidated Krind, -ThVoodt of -' secondary gdhbols^ .exclu ling fees, was £26,000,* of . wliich £2 *,o\'o camp from reser>es -and £3ft >0 from coiisoiiJ.iU'd rot en no ;> and college Hiiu mlive sifies co^t aUo £/»>,oOO, r/ which £kooo cutnp from consolidated revenue and £ I tf.u JO from reserve*, so that fho total oosfc of education fro'n the Gmsoli I ite I Fond was £3:>4 000,, and vnat, wns exclusive of interest on the money spoilt on buildings. Sihee JB7<i £l>oo-000 fiiitlf iiit I hcen spent on school buildings, yet the necessities of the position irid not been overtaken, for in , - ome districts there was not sufficient, sitting' room for the children. U the intern' t on thi-- £(>O0,0U(), nw\ an allowance *'or depreciation for buildings (another £30,000), were added, it would ho seen that t.ie expenditure on educitiou w-is something like £400,00:) a year, without in living any provision for new buildings, on which £50,000 was spent last year, £82,000 the previous year, and in respect of which there were now denian >s for £150,000 to uleefc what they termed by the Hoards, " neec-sary ivquirements." The education given was not more tlian w.is d^man led by' t.ie people of the country, and he saw no way of reducing tie expenditure *o longas pre-ent demands were kept n/u T*io amount *et apirr for educition buildings out of thy last £3,000,00 ) i< ,m w.is exli'iusted, and Ip did not t.'sink t mt the Notice would bono'v nioivy for such a purpose Tin* qu was whether the money for building mare schools bhould be borrnwc I, nisod by taxation, •or by loe:d ratos. Hi thought that one of two latter courses wonl.i have to be adopted. If the school a^e of chil Iron wei-e raised from fivo to sevci there 'would be a saving of sonu^iin^ like £50,000 a year. " But this would fall principally upon thesniallcountiy schools. Speaking for hinisrlf, but not for the Government, he must say he was not satisfied with the present systoui ; but he knew he was in a minority, an I tnat tlit electors had determined to maintain the present system as it w is, cost what it would. The charge for interest and sinking fund on loans wa« between £1,500,000 and £1,600,000 a-year. During last year, by conversion of loans, £30,000 a-year had been sa\ed, and as the Imperial Government di ! not require further payment of sinking fund on the guarantee J loan of 1856, another £10,000 had been savpd— in all £40,000, just the amount payable in respect of the last £1,J00,u00 loan, fie then referred to tho increase of railway rates, and defen led the action of the Government. The railways were not returning 2 per cent, and if the low rate had been continued .there would have bejn £5j,000 to £b'),Ui>J"m re of a deficiency to make up. Tue Government ha.i power to raise the rates, and he ventured to say that Parliament and the country would say that Government had only acted right in doing as they had done. He held that the milwnys of New Zealand belonged to tne people of New Zealand, and tiie profits were to go into the pockets of the ppnp'e of New Zealand rather than into those of people residing in particular districts. If the farmers of Canterbury ten or eleven years ago had been told that their grain would be carried at the rates now charged, they would have been perfectly contented. The railway revenue during current year would be but 3 per cent on the cost of the railways, and t.he nnney to build them cost about 5 per cent. He ventured ro say that the electors of the colony would not be >ati-fijil with less revenue from the lines thin three per cent. He said that there was in the deficit nothing to frighten or dispirit the people. He had come to the conclusion that there was no real depression, that the colony was perfectly sound, and tnat t ,c spending power of the people had not been soiiously diminished. Tne deposits in the savings Uanks had fallen by £73,000, as compared with the previous year, but on the ot'ier hand the deposits in other banks had increased by £300,000, although the Government deposits had been decreased during th it tiun by £110,000 ; so that it would seem iint the pooplo had not to draw upon their savings. He also pointed out the fact tnat there was little or no diminution in "buiid'n js in the country ; that fresh lands were being taken up for cultivation j that large sums were spent on nmusewients, esp"eially horse-racing, whica seemed to indicate that when people wanted to spend nrmvjy there 'was always plenty of spare caedi to be found. The payers of property tax had increased by :^4OO, as compared with the previous valuation ; no doubt there was commercial depression, which he set down to over-trading, over-importation, an 1 a tendency on the part of persons to take up more land than they could profitably use. In reference to the private indebtedness of the colony, he pointed out' that while the mortgages amounted to 30 millions,' of which 15 inrilions* was advanced by colonists, the valiie of, real property in the colony was ] 500 .millions, and the mortgages were therefore about 30- per cent, of • the, value of the' property/- as against nearj}^ JOv^er^dent in', Great Britian 1 ; / JEIe. IhQilghtvtlie Vpojtjtion ~ofthe, colony' was notf so^terribl^as' vv.asi'e-[jresen.ted--;by^tha,t. claW-Sqf: f>\np\% iylio, W<?i^Wol£l-^olfc^ r^M 'v&ilft^^fc*? t_ _ f- _■**_ ___..t___*_ V _^ ___

;^^at^b||l|;i*hn! h \\hd d^e^failgi; "1& ' " k' o!l ■ £ iriiamenti had 'It J\QS?^Msit threw o;>*n Ti?ij,ie < :lan l i'ifp g<n&ml purchasers. litrveniniwjTfetiimfgjit' t)ie pnl/jsdljitfou of the rli^eulfyMVqnld 1 be -fot "-khei - Crown to resu me ,'tlle ■ p»-p-or!;^LVo:%.it, jvil tn.-y, , 'wq! ! -'-uls P,irUamont'to rpsnme the ri^ht tinder cerfcnm C()n»litiojjs, of wln'oh tho Native lUinistei* woul.l speak* belord very loili,'. 'As V)fHj\hlic works an-l immigration, the question was whether there "was to he i'urthpr borrowing. That, \vn* a ques r tion whioh (■" Overrun put, at present have not eonbidored ami on which at tlifl present time he was no!/ prepared to PX])ross an opinion If New Zealand did not join the Australian colonies, Ihere would bo the Australian Motion, and Npw Zealand would have, nolhiuo- to Sl y j,, tj ie control of the islands in which she was seriously interested He ridiculed Mr Mauaiidrew's id 6* of a united colony with financial separation. He concluded by saying if the- Colonists only determined to live- w*Hhhr their ino.uis, and to be really economical, then th?y would have in the near future as grent prosperity ns ever they had enjoyed, umeh sounder prosperity perhaps, and be near realhintf that, which the best wore ever looking for with happy hearts — the condition of a happy, coutente I, and prosperous people.

Feminine precocity : On :j rai'ron'l train nearinu 1 Troy a few day** ago, was a five-year-old amusing herself by putting on one of her mother's gloves. When the operatios was ended she looked inquiringly about hor and nulled out a ininisteriallooking old gentlem in, to whom she throw a kiss with the gloved hand. On leaving the ear the gentleman pa-^ed the little mis<s, with the remark : " G-ood-bv, little sweetheart." The chid indigiutiy siraight'Uied heiself, and replied in tin impatient ton • of voice : " Oh I was oniy tin tin» with yon." — Tr«»y Tinus A couple of pickpockets followed a gentleman for som<j blocks, with a view of a\aiiing tli'ine'v;^ oC the first oopoi (unity to r-lievo him of hi.s pur-.e. lie; suddenly tarn d into a lawyeaA* oilice. " Whnl «hall wo do now '?" nbkod one. l ' Wait for the lawyer " «aifi the other. >( My deai," said Mr Jonu.s to nib wife, " you are mighty free to call p vcn body a fool. Can you tell me what a fool looks like V' 1 " Yes I can, but 1 won't," sh« replied. " Why not, love?" •' Because you can look in the <jlass and see for yourself. That's the way f found out." The average number of letters per head written in a year by the following nationalities is given as follows in the report of the British Postmaster-General : — England and Wales 40 ; Scotland, 30 ; Ireland, 16 ; United States, 21 ; France, 15 ; Oerunmy, 13 ; Ltai> , G. — Madame was inc lose conference with her dressmaker. The waiiing-maid entered md said :—": — " Madame, the doctor is down stairs." "The doctor! I cannot soe him. Tell him lam aiek." — " There are 1,400,000,000 people upon the earth at present, according to the latest statistics," said Mrs Smith, looking up from the pap t. " Only think of it ! and we have'nt had a caller for two days !" j — Boston Transcript. Fruit put in tin cans should be taken out when the can is opened for use. If allowed to remain after the can is opened the action of acid juiceb upou the tin when exposed to the air may form acetate of tin, which is poisonous.