SIR JULIUS VOGEL AT WELLINGTON.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1498, 27 April 1886, Page 1

SIR JULIUS VOGEL AT WELLINGTON.

Sir Julius Vogel addressed a public meeting at Wellington on Saturday evening. Mr Dnthio was in the cli iir. Referring to Major Atkinson, Sir Julius Vogel said he was glad the latter was willing to increase his pace. Formerly Major Atkinson bad advised colonists to lie down and wait. Major Atkinsons did not appear to understand tiio course taken with the sinking fund, for lie bad failed to state that of the debentures created lire first year £70,000 wenpaid off, and in the second year ho (Sir Julius Vogel) bad paic off an additions amount of over £IOO,OOO. Had O-ipt,-iin-Russell’s resolution not been carri -i, works to the value of £375,000 wool I now be in course of cm-itruction. T" the resolution he attributed the warn of employment. It would have been ri i nlous, lie thought, for Government to iuve resigned when the resolution was carded, as it was, only by the aid of 29 of the strongest supporters of the Government. He said Mr Biyce and Maj >r Atkinson had great difficulty in man -giug Native r.ffiirs. They could noi divest themselves of the hatred which had deseeded to them from their lives of actual warfare, Tim attitude taken by Mr Ballauce tended to elevate the people of the colony as much as the poficy of the Atkiuson-Onrnmd-Bryco pariy had degraded and humiliated ihem. He said the statements now made by Mr Ormond were inconsistent with the communications concerning the Mr Orm mi of 1884, over winch a shroud of confidence was imposed. They were now

told Unit Men*'* OmUOU'I tl id U 0 ' wishpd to take the v« lands at it t Mr Ormond called ‘‘a nominal valnat A o' tic- kmi would bV * bidden by the Secretary of State. T-* corapiainta of Sir George Grey and t'miv about the monopoly of land y a Europeans whs much the s me hb i: cmmplaint ag dns natives for Ip vin . mu« > land unused. H ■ s.tibe cm ■' i’ l ftiib Sir George Grot's prupo- »<• •’ ,

■i imrdeaniah'e paper uir.ijcy. Tu*v.|». of it wan'd iM-re« ,, e the c»«t »i i t cl«-s «f consumption and incieta;- taxation, In the Aigenriue, where they had * paper currency, nil the evils under which the country suffered were attnbntaide toi>. With regard to Sir Quo-ie Gey’s land proposal, he s id a tf'e«E runny large owners were willing to c t up t ■eir estates. He thought, it (•■••s-obie a measure might lie introduced by which, under agreement with laud boards aud local bodies, estates would be cut up ! *nd l ind disposed of by Gover ment. "od c'vered with a Grow i t'tK Ths wold augment local re'enues b\ i tee -n ■ roads. He sai l the co ony suff. ie! greatly from delracion for political pu•• poses, and also from dim'ir>-hed eioel- - and employment i f , oopm, c q-rent upon the panic started by the Ute G veniment, and increased by ih.’ fa*' 10 • rice of the principal staples, won ,-n. w cat. The prospects of a rise Ui-pe*’>*«:( ipon other countries being able to pr titably produce at pre.-fui prices. The fail had brought about a reduction of the rat* of interest, and he estimated that during the last two years the money lending institutions, merchants and others had tc-ucsd tin amount of interest by £250,000 per annum. Instead of forced ci notny and diminished expenditure being a cure for depression it was one of its effects, and intensified it by reducing the amount of employment. What the colony wanted now was enterprise aud confidence. He was neither a frotectionist nor a Freetrader. It was useless contending against the soundness of the ■ rguraents in favor of freetrade. The question was their applicability to the of the colony, which re* qifred a population, and.which had already p.ud large sums for the introduction of population, and which must still consider that it is important to increase and retain -ach a population as to warrant a tax upon all tiro community, rather than that opulaiiou should be dr v* n aw-iy, n abor vainly seek emHuyrae'.r. illustrated by reference t some T countries what he h d emd, sho Mim b,t those indifferent to losing their population found freetrade answer their purpose. He did not consider it desirable that thequea* tiou of freetrade should be made a leading one either in the House or at next election. .Retrenchment of the Civil Service was another deceptive cry. Our service was particularly cheap. He read a statement comparing the post and telegraph, the largest branch of the service in Now Zen and, with the same department of Victoria, New S 'Vith Wales and South Australia. From (his it appears that iNTe s Zealand alone showed a surplus over expenditure, though the population was more largely served here than in those colonies. The average cost of the Civil Service here, exclusive of minis' judges, and railway department, was £162 per matt per annum. He was surprised the expendiiure at the seat of Goverunw t was so little- He contended they did all they could to arrest enlarged expemhdire. He now came to finance a d publicworks, He was glad to e«v m as * surplus under this head of £37,i'o h I remarks made by Mr Stout at Inveicmjiill about ‘‘borrowing for roads” were thus attributed by the Press to “borrowing for rail a ays.” As to the latter they could hardly go wrong. Railways now yielded 3 per cent,, and by raising the rates all round they could easily be ma> e. to yield 5 per cent., if tbe work done for Government was taken into account. Regarding tbe East and West Coast Railway, shares in the newly-formed Company would be offered to the public after Easter, but the construction whs assured whether the pnblic look shares or not, Wellington opposition to the line did it harm, for whatever conduced to the good of the colony must benefb We'dinuton from its central position. He still c osidered tbe Government would have b< ► u justified in building the line, and criticised the objections brought against its construction by a company. This was no doubt preferable, because of being more rapid, and because a company would be able to deal with land, and apply capital to develop its resources. Goverment still adhered to the policy of borrowing for railways, aud lessening the expenditure of borrowed money for other purposes. The four points he had laid down in Auck'aml wete substantially the same ns those in the Governor’s Speech of 1884. The finances now were in a good posi'ion, and owing to a fall in the value of goods, the Customs taxation never rested lighter on toe people. L'bor «aa pc ntiful ; money was cheap—they should make their railways, push on set dement and cncuimig" new imiutries. The major portion o: private borrowing had been ih voted to fostering the wool i' dusiry, but there wr-r 1 others a hmh ought to he pionvded. What was the depres- on in nos co'ony to 'hat in EiioUed or the drong tK-mirlen colonies of Australia ] He had been twe ty-five years in the colony, with short absences, and (tad always encouraged, everythingcalculated to unfold the resources of the colony. To the last he would raise his voice and declare hw undiminished conviction that the colonists were justified in developing for .themselves and their successors the grandest land for its size on the face of the earth. S.r Julms Vogel was well received, n- -' on iho conclusion of his address a o solution according a vote of (hanks, and agreeing with the programme indicated m h a speech, was carried by acclamation. Tue theatre * her* ihe address was olivered crowded, a large uuuioc. ladies being present.