GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2834, 27 June 1895, Page 4

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The Council mot at 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, aud soon after adjourned for the purpose of presenting the Address-iu-Reply to the Governor. SESSIONAL COMMITTEES. On resuming, the usual Sessional Committees were set up, and the Council adjourned till next day. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The House met at 2,30 p.m, on Tuesday. LEAVE OF ABSENCE. Mr McGuire was granted leave of absence for a fortnight, aud Mr William Hutchison for one week. NEW BILLS. Mr McNab gave notice to introduce the Licensing Act Amendment Bill. Thirteen new Bills were introduced, aud read a first time. SIB GEOEGE OBEY, Sir Robert Stout moved, as a matter of privilege whether Sir George Grey is a member of this House be referred to a Committee.” As Sir George Grey’s constituents offered no objection to their member’s absence, he (Sir Robert Stout) thought that a Bill should be passed to validate the seat. The Premier contended that there was no necessity for setting up such a Committee. The motion, on a division, was rejected by 45 to 8. COMMITTEE ON DUTIES. A motion by the Premier, “ That a Committee of fifteen members be appointed to take into consideration the existing duties of Customs aud Excise, with a view of ascertaining whether any changes are necessary,” was carried by 33 to 22. THE ADDRESS-IN-BBPLY. Sir Robert Stout resumed the debate on the Address-in-Reply. He thought that the Speech put into the Governor’s mouth was a very lamentable production. There was no reality or earnestness about it at all. His opinion was that every single item of the policy on which the Government prided themselves last session had proved a ghastly failure. The consols scheme, the advances to settlers scheme, and the laud for settlement scheme, including the Cheviot purchase, had all failed. All the schemes of the Government to deal with the unemployed were utterly futile aud valueless, and they were now face to face with an unemployed difficulty as great as it had ever been before. In fact, everything which the Government had touched had lamentably broken down. He condemned the action of the Government with regard to the Urimera Country. He regretted to see the Midland Railway and the cyanide patent mentioned in the Speech, as both matters had to be fought out in a court of law, and were, therefore, out of place in a Governor’s Speech. The colony did not require an extra Minister, He did not object to the Fair Rent Bill. He condemned the proposed arbitration in the case of the New Plymouth bondholders as monstrous and unwarrantable. As to ihe 3 per cent, loan, the small and unimportant colony of Wesiet'll Australia got their £750,000 loan on more favorable conditions than our million aud a-half, for which Mr Ward had received such praise. He thought that, considering the price of money just now, this colony had not made a very great bargain. He referred at length to the misleading statements made by the Treasurer before this loan was raised, which really amounted to a bogus prospectus that might be issued by some wretched company. Ha (bir Robert Stour) still had faith in the Liberal party, but no party would succeed which had not a high moral ideal. The debate was interrupted by the 5.30 p.m. adjournment. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. The Premier resinned the debate. Ho complimented Mr Pira'J bis speech, and expressed the great pleasure with which he had listened to the manly, Outspoken remarks of the member for Kangitata. He also complimented Sir Robert Stout on his speech, as it was free from the animus that had characterised other utterances of his. He regretted very much the unpatriotic remarks Sir Robert Stout had made respecting the Colonial Treasurer and Aren't-General, and ha thought that the complaint that Mr Ward had wilfully misled the people of Loudon would have come with better grace if the Treasurer had been present. He (Mr Seddon) had no doubt that Mr Ward would be able to defend himself from the charges which had been made against him. He quoted extensively from figures to prove that New Zealand stood the highest of afiy colony on the Loudon market, aud New Zealand alone with its fifty years’ currency at £94 8s 9d compared more than favourably with Western Australia aud the other colonies ; in fact the credit of this colony since the Liberal Party came into power had advanced by leaps and bounds. Referring to Sir Robert Stout’s remarks respecting Mr Ward’s speech to the London Chamber of Commerce, ha said that at the time Mr Ward spoke there were actually £2,970,090 of securities in Loudon, and drafts were on their way to the amount of £105,000, so that when the Treasurer spoke there were actually wore than £3,000,000 of securities, of whl"h £1,288,000 are free. As to the surplus he thought that the Government should get every credit for the balance-sheet they had given td colony under such adverse circumstances. They bad also reduced the floating debt of the colony by over £IOO,OOO. He would ask whether any other Government had done that I The Government were quite justified in saying that their surplus was a genuine one, aud would stand any honest criticism. He spoke in defence of the Agent-General and Treasurer from the attacks made against them ruspecliug the raising of the loan, and asserted that if the railway, postal, and telegraphic assets of the colony wore sold to-morrow they would be more than sufficient to pay for the whole debt of New Zealand. As to the arrangement with the New Plymouth bond holders he had had no information at all, aud he was never more surprised than when he read a paragraph about arbitration. He denied that the cooperative system of the Government had broken down, but admitted that an emergency had arisen, and said that there was over a million aud a-half less spending power in the colony than formerly. Ho defended the administration of the Go vurnment as a wh !e, and felt sure that Mr Ward would nunvo all doubt respecting liis action in London. Mr George liulebismi quoted figures to prove that instead of there being an o.ycoss ■ f revenue over expenditure the colony had gone to the bad last year by over £l(,)»Tivj. Ho adversely criticised the admini itratiou of the Government, and condemned the method proposed to bo adopti-d for dealing with tiie unemployed. T'he cup of Mi listers was not yet full; imm dis would do tlu ni a great de.d i.f good, and he fell sUlu Would do a lasting good to the colony.

Mr G. W. Russell, Mr Duthie, Mr E. M. Smith, Mr Crowther, Major Steward, aud Mr McLauchlan also spoke. On the motion of Mr Buchanan the debate was adjourned till 2.30 p.m. next day. The House rose at midnight.