THE HON. MR TOLE AT AUCKLAND.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1477, 9 March 1886, Page 4

THE HON. MR TOLE AT AUCKLAND.

The Hon. Mr To!e addressed his constituents at Auckland on Wednesday night. After a few preliminary remarks he said though he had recognised one man as bis political leader, he had said that if a coalition had been possible* between Sir George Grey and Major Atkinson, no mun •would be more loyal than he (Mr To;le) ; ahd'at tbetime he felt that this statement had sympathy among his constituents.- He then detailed rj^lhe'session of 1884, Ind the formation and of successive Ministries. He justified his action in joiniug the Ministry, and paid a tribute to Sir Juliuß ; yogel, Btaling there was no abler man itiithe antftfontii'more submissive to the decisions of his colleagues, or who regarded the'interests of the colony from a mora truly colonial and impartial standpoint. He detailed the work done by the Ministry during the session of 1884 and 1885—work that was not equalled by the previous Miuistry. It would be impossible, he snid, for a Government, at whose head Mr Stout was, not to carry on business vigorously, for he was a giant in ability, energy, and appetite for work. The finances and expenditure had undergone a scrutiny, and were administered with a care which resulted in a surplus instead of a deficiency. Native affairs had been placed on a peace footing. Public works, especially the North Island Trunk railway, which had been hitherto neglected to a degree almost criminal, bad been pushed on with earnestness. A Colonial Exhibition was inaugurated, which gave an impetus to manufacturing enterprise. The colonial defences had been vigorously carried on under the auspices of a Governor, in the possession of whom, to supervise the works, the colony should be iustly proud. The mining industry had received the undivided attention of a Minister, and with good effect. He eulogised the Hospital and Charitable Aid Act, and said the Fisheries Act would draw to our shores a thrifty class of settlers, who would develop an enormous industry. 200,000 acres of land had been tiken up on various conditions during the time the Government had been in office. He considered that the perpetual leasing system would establish a permanent St*te revenue, and would secure relief from taxation, and guard against the creation : 'large estates and absenteeism; He said! 'that the principle of the resumption of land round large towns, as propounded by Sir Geo. Grey, has not escaped the attention of the Government, and they had imported that principle into the Land Act. In connection with the increase of the Customs, he pointed cut how we must preserve our industries, and how a million and » half of money was going annually out of the country for articles capable of being manufactured in it, and ; notwithstanding that duties upon these particular article-* havb beeu from time to time increased of late years. Speaking of the policy of the Government, he might say at once that the policy of the Government was n vigorous prosecution of public works, especially railways. We cannot be behind the neighboring colonies and allow ourselves to be.depopulated, but must inarch on in= progress; with them. WV must open up our lands and attract useful and capable population to aid us in developing our resource and sharing our burdens. He pointed out how .during the past five years nearly a million of money had been spent, £600,000 on railway construction arid over £500,000 ou material; on unfinished lines, and tha,' interest while the material was footing. He asked how much we had been not completing the island PHlPffFf&c and the North * "Island' (north of Anckland> Railways f Would it not be better to have a trunk line finisl/ed in three rather than in eight years. This was the only way to tap the wealth of the country and let it flow in abundance. Ho next referred to the East and West Coast -Railway, which, though, not it? favor in Auckland, he said would have to be made. Local jealousy was an ignoble reason to assign it. It had been said that borrowing was good, but that it uhould be postponed until after the, passsage of a land tax and other measures to secure for the State the unearned increment. But the country could not stand still for the settlement of these questions. A vigorous policy would not impede the consideration 1 o<! those questions. It *as their first duty to employ people and keep them here. He said the simple question for the people as the ultimate tribunal was : Shall these unfinished colonial works stand still, and those men who profited by the past be able to say, "We shall have no more loans. Your present condition is good enough for you. If not you can go elsewhere and let us monopolise what you leave behind." If for no other reason, a dissolution was necessary to pronounce emphatically on the point. At the same time it was only just to the Governor to say that the Ministry had no promise that (a . dissolution would be granted. He concluded by saying that if the country supported the polioy of the Government he conscientiously believed that it would accelerate the progress of the colony, and make by {bier, by the development of her own resources and her relations as a commercial centre with all the islands of the Pacific, the premier colony of the Southern Seas. Mr Tole was accorded a vote of thanks and confidence.