The Timaru Herald. SATUEDAY, MAY 30, 1885.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 3330, 30 May 1885, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. SATUEDAY, MAY 30, 1885.

Probably there has been no private member more closely identified with the present Government than Mr Leonard Harper, M.H.R. for the Avon district. Some people have gone bo far as to regard him as quite " a power behind the throne," Sir Julius Vogel, they said, " ran " the Government, and Mr Harper to a large extent influenced Sir Julius Vogel. However this may be, there ia no doubt that few men on the Ministerial side of the House carried as much weight either with the Government or with the party. Mr Harper was one of the very limited circle to whom Sir Julius Vogel would confide the full nature of his policy before he entered office, and throughout last session there is no doubt he derived immense assistance and support from the hon. member for Avon. Mr Harper addressed his constituents at Papanui on Thursday evening, and bearing in mind the circumstances we have narrated, there is much more interest attached to his utterances than is usual in the case of a private member. His speech by no means indicated a servile support of the present combination, and in fact in many respects was l-efreshingly outspoken. For instance he admitted candidly that it was an unpleasant surprise to the Canterbury members when they found that an arrangement had been come to between Sir Julius Vogel and Mr Stout that the latter should take the Premiership. While remarking that all knew what extreme views were held by Mr Stout, and how distasteful these were to the Canterbury members, Mr Harper admitted that the Premier had kept his word during the session by setting aside all questions on which he held extreme views, and working at practical legislation. He, however, went on to deprecate strongly the remarks made by Mr Stout at Auckland, on the bad taste of which we ourselves commented at the time. Mr Harper justly observed that as Mr Stout he might say what he liked, but such a speech from him as Premier was likely to do harm. To eay the least, he added, Mr Stout had been unwise in giving utterance to views which it would have been better for him to keep silent upon, as he had done when in the House. In regard to the coming session, Mr Harper made some significant remarks which the Government will do well to lay to heart. He declined to commit himself on the subject of local government until he knew fully the nature of the scheme proposed. He was in favor of the railways being handed over to a non-political Board, and in regard to the Federation scheme he thought, as we have urged all along, that not very much good is likely to come from it, and for the present it might wfill__feo_Jaid aside. He agreed with the proposal of Sir Julius Vogel to limit the term of appointment to the Upper House to five or ten years. He expressed, however, his surprise — a surprise fully shared by the country — that immediately after the Colonial Treasurer's remarks on this subject, so large a number of new appointments should have been made. " This," he said, " had been brought about by the incongruous elements the Ministry was composed of. This action, and one or two other things that had occurred during the recess, had made one think that the present Ministry would have to be watched very carefully, and disposed one to believe that the support the Ministry would get during the coming session would not be so hearty as it had been during the past." In this remark, Mr Harper has precisely hit off the feeling with which a good many people who were in favor of giving the Government a fair trial, are now disposed to regard it. Another important matter referred to by the hon. member as likely to give some j trouble, was as to the land for the North Island Trunk Railway. When the loan was authorised, he understood, as did most people who had given any attention to the subject, that the Native lands would be taken over at their then valuation. The improvement in their value, consequent on the construction of the railway, would go a long way to pay the expenses of construction. But he added, he now understood that the present Minister of Native Affaire intended not to require the Natives to part with the land until after the railway has been constructed, and then only to lease the land. Pat in a nut- 1 shell, this means, of course, that the railway is to be constructed at the entire cost of the colony, for the entire advantage of the natives ; that the lands are to be locked up for an indefinite time, so that the colony will not even get the indirect benefit of the progress of settlement. How in such circumstances the railway is to be fed with traffic is difficult to imagine, but the point is perhaps not worth dwelling upon, as we are satisfied that if such j a one-Bided arrangement is contemplated, the colony will never tolerate ifc. We hope, with Mr Harper, that the Government will learn wisdom on these and all other questions, in which \ case he intimated he should continue his support. Mr Harper not only pointed out very clearly the chief shortcomings of the present Government, but he indicated with j great fairness the causes which led to the downfall of their predecessors. The Atkinson Government, he said, had not committed any grievous sins, their sins being rather of omission than of commission, but the country had simply got tired of them. He quoted with approval an extract from a speech made by Sir Julius Vogel, in which he said: — I never, in all my experience, remember a Government leaving office in which, personally, the members of the Government were held in more general and higher eateom than m the present case. But the very f aot of the high personal esteem in whioh the members of the Government were held emphasised the fact that tho country still wished for a change of Government and a ohange of policy. It is not neoessary to look far to know why it is desired that thoro Bhonld be a change of Govern, ment. Besides the idea that it had outlived its usefulness, there was present the idea that it promised and told people to hope and hope, and that still the circumstances of the colony wero not uaproTiojr, Tjut wero getting worn*

and worse ; that there was no sufficient graßp, no sufficient idea of the circumstances of tbe t colony with any view of loading it into a moro E prosperous condition. In fact, if I may say so, its colonising function was virtually dead, and had been dead for years, and there were t wanting in tho Government men of sufficient resourco aud constructive power to find out for the colony the way in which not only it could recover from the depression into which it had sunk, but also to point out to it new i paths of progress. < This, it will be admitted, was a ( generous admission of the virtues of tbe 3 predecessors of the present Governtuent, and on the whole it reflects very ] fairly the hopes which led people to j try what the present " new blood " will : do. Sir Julius Vogel, however, laid ; down a very high standard by which j the performances of the Ministry were to be gauged. People are already be- . ginning to ask where are the signs of I the promised revival of prosperity ? and J will be apt to take it ill if the " new paths of progress " are to assume the \ shape of an increase of general taxa- ; tion, the imposition of fresh burdens on < local bodies, and the withdrawal of the license fees from the boroughs. All these are contingencies which are loom- \ ing very ominously in the horizon at ; the present time. <