THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 1892. MISREPRESENTATIONS

Temuka Leader, Issue 2367, 9 June 1892, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 1892. MISREPRESENTATIONS

Oxck upon a time a comical little boy used to make fools of people by crying out “ Wolf” when there was not a wolf within leagues of him. At last the wolf came, and the boy, as usual, indulged in his customary way of giving the alarm, but the people thought he was only joking, and took no notice of him. The same thing will, without doubt, happen to the opponents of the Government. A day scarcely passes in which they do not find that the Government has been guilty of some outrageous act of cruelty or wrong, but generally the next proves it to have been utter rubbish. The present Government arrested -7. R. Scott in Dunedin, and their opponents from end to end of the colony characterised their action as a terrible outrage. Subsequent proceedings proved Scott to have been a dummy. We could enumerate many other instances of a similar nature, but we shall content ourselves with the most recent instance of the w r ay in which the actions of the Ministry are continually misrepresented. As we have in a previous issue stated, the Government have instituted what is termed a Bureau of Industries : that is, an institution which collects information as regards the number of people unemployed in any centre, and also, places where employment is likely to be obtainable. Recently the Napier Bureau discovering that work was plentiful in the Gisborne district sent sixteen men to that place. A few days afterwards the news was telegraphed all over the colony that the men were starving, and could get nothing to do, and this was attributed to the blundering interference of the Government. An officer of the bureau was despatched to make inquiries, find now we learn that thirteen of the sixteen men found employment with which they are perfectly satisfied, and that three returned to Napier, but of these two were offered work if they desired to accept it. Thus the story about starvation and no forth was all a make-up, purely and simply to bring discredit on the Government and the Bureau of Industries, The story was invented in Napier, the most Tory district in New Zealand. Napier is the sacred country : the land of the •' Twelve Apostle.? the land bought 'with beer and tobacco from the Maoris : and HO doubt the squatters ■ there did not like the idea of the mep having been taken away, as it lessened their chances of getting cheap labor. It is in this way their opponents are trying to liiid fault with the present Government, but every eliort has so far proved a failure, and if it ever happens that the Government make a mistake it will l;.e a difficult matter to make the people beljeve tj/at it is not another invention of the epeiny, It is evident that the Government are doing well when no better accusation can be raked up against them.

THE PENNY POST, Last session an Act was passed to reduce the inland postage on letters from two pence to one penny. On the Ist of last April that Act ought to have been enforced, but for some reason it lias so far been allowed to remain a dead letter. We learn, however, that the Government have no intention of abandoning it, and that it will be enforced in the near future. In the meantime, however, their opponents are making an immense amount of capital out of it; they allege that the Government have not the courage to carry out their policy, and they point to it as evidence that the Land and Income Tax will not yield sufficient revenue to carry on the business of the colony. We do not believe a word of it, although we must admit that there is some ground for the suspicion. It is the only legitimate fault that has been found so far with the present Administration. But the Government has already done a great deal towards putting the Act into operation. At {(resent all commercial letters, if open, will be carried for one penny, and that is a great concession. It is, however, remarkable that it is the people who do not

wish that the postage should be reduced that are taunting the Government with delay. They would be very glad if it could be delayed altogether, as theydonotliketolose £SO,OUU a year to the revenue. Now as regards this £50,000, it is absolutely wrong to treat it as revenue. If a letter can be carried to Auckland for a penny, it is undoubtedly wrong to charge more.

The returns of the Post Office prove that it can. The surplus to the credit of the Post Office, alter defraying all expenses, has been £72,000 a year, and this sum has been taken out of the pockets of the customers of the Post Office wrongfully, for they ought not to have been charged for the carriage of their letters more than the actual cost. It is therefore only right and proper that the postage should be reduced. By the reduction £50,000 will be put into the pockets of the customers of the Post Office, and there will still be a surplus of £22,000. Me hope, therefore that the Government will be as good as their promise, and relieve the people of this burden as soon as possible.

THE COMING SESSION.

Ix a couple of weeks. Parliament will be in session, and somcFVery vigorous stone-walling may be expected. Until the last few weeks of last session Mr Fish the champion wind-bag of New Zealand politics supported the Government. He was then under control : he could not, without disarranging the plan of campaign mapped out for conducting Government business, speak at his own sweet will, and consequently he did not indulge in his customary orations to any objectionable extent. Next session things will be different. Mr Fish has now gone over to the Opposition, and will undoubtedly do all in his power to harrass and annoy the Government. However, he cannot do much harm further than to delay business. Everyone knows that the reason he left the Government camp was because he was not appointed Chairman of Committees. Almost the same thing may be said of Mr Fisher. He too aspired to some position and because he did not get it, he has asserted in the columns of the Evening Post that he will be avenged on the Government. Mr Fishery as will be remembered was kicked out of the Atkinson ministry for malfeasance into which we need not enter now, and of course was elected as deadly opposed to them. He supported the present Government in the beginning of last session, but went into Opposition when he found that nothing could be made ont of them, so whatever he also may say will be taken with a large dose of salt. As for Mr George Hutchison it is hardly fair to say that it is because lie got no billet that he deserted the ministry; there is no direct evidence of it. but there is plenty of room for suspicion. He too deserted the Governmeut in the middle of the session, and no doubt his temper will not be improved by his libel action with the Premier during the recess. Now these are the three ablest and most unscrupulous talkers in the House, and as their opposition is more of a personal, than a political, nature, they are sure to make things lively when the House meets. One thing, however, is certain : their utterances will not carry much weight, and as the Government will have a majority of about 8 without them, we do not see the slightest danger of a change during the coming session. The Government will we feel certain be able to carry their measures this session, but as regards their prospects in the following year, no one is in a position to judge. If their new scheme of taxation proves jj, success, they will win hands down : jf pn the contrary it results in a deficit, they will have tp contend with very serious opposition.

j THE SALVATION ARMY. ■\Vii foai-u mm) a contemporary that i General Booth addressed a series of meetings at Plymouth on April JoAlluding to his scheme for the rescue r-f the ” submerged tenth,” he remarked j that people complained that he had not done all he had premised: but he never promised to get all the schemes gfc H'ork in 1.2 months. Altogether V-jOIVJtJb had bP en subscribed, and with the except m ut set ' ;s?>de for the over-sea eoloiiy tbe )fliole of it had been spent. They had also committed themselves to M ttxpenditure of ,£20,000 more. U e stipulated for an annual guarantee income of £-10.000. but that had not been forthcoming. He did not sep how the public could expect him to fulfil his part of the bargain if they did not fulfil theirs. The site of the over-sea colony had not yet been selected. During the last seven years no less than (5000 ex-prisoners have gone through the Australian homes of the army. No less than 47 officers are set apart for prison-gate work in Cape Colony. So jj2d,()(>(.) is all the General has to establish his colony in New Zealand with. That settles the matter ; he can do very little with it. He has spent £IOO,OOO already and done very little, and this proves how futile all*these philanthropic schemes turn out. Not long ago Peabody spent half a million of money in an endeavour to ameliorate the condition of the poor of London, but where is the result now V Nothing can do good unless it is taken in hand systematically j and honestly by Government. i