POLITICAL ADDRESS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 3524, 14 January 1886, Page 3

POLITICAL ADDRESS.

THE HON. THE NATIVE MINISTER AT WANGANUI. (Br Teleqbaph.) Wanoanui, Jan. 13. The Hon. Mr Ballanco addressed his constituents lost night. He stated that he had heard complaints of his not having addressed the electors between the sessions of 1884 and 1885. His reason for not doing so, he explained, was that he had stated his opinions at a banquet tendered to him during the recess, and ho had nothing further to say at that time. Referring next to the work of the session, be was quito prepared to admit that, from a certain point of view, there had nover been a more unsatisfactory session in the history of the Parliaments of New Zealand. It was, however, necessary that the electors should apportion the blame, and state whether they arrived at the conclusion whether the state of affairs during the session arose out of the peculiar state of parties, tbe fractiousness of the Opposition, or the incapacity of the Government. He was quite prepared to sub-, mit the issues to thorn, and ask them which explanation appeared the most reasonable. When ho last addressed a Wanganui audience he had indicated as far as possible the policy of the Government, and he was prepared to show that that policy had been embodied in legislation. When the House ( t_ot last session tho Government wore

met with a voto of want of confidence, moved by Sir George Grey, which ended in a most complete fiasco and the ignominious political death of the great actor of the occasion (Mr George Grey himself), who forgot when the motion was to coma on, and did not reply to the debato which hud arisen, and camo into the House in a breathless stale of anxiety and excitement, to find that the whole, question had been decided. The responsible leader of the Opposition kept himself in tho background, carefully concealed, and saw '■ confusion worse confounded," while he himself ignored his own position for a time, and played the part of a private member. This game was carried on from tbe beginning to tho end of the session, and there was nothing in tho nature of constitutional Opposition until the last days of the session, when Major Atkinson plucked up the courage to table a vote of no-confidence against the Ministry. Mr Ormond had been asked to lead tho Opposition against tho Government, but Sir George Grey declared he would not follow Mr Ormond, and repudiated the very idea of doing so. Mr Montgomery was also askod to lead tbe Opposition ; that was to say, that the man whom Major Atkinson had been ridiculing for the last ten years, as being utterly unworthy to lead any party had to come forward. Mr Ormonu refused to act without tho consent of Mr Macandrew. Then Major Atkinson himself came forward, and in tho debato which followed Mr Ormond said he had no confidence in Major Atkinson, though tho latter appeared to havo confidence in, and was willing to follow Mr Ormond. There further arose a party calling itself tho Middle Party, which said, " We must keep tho Government in, but their measures out. This saying bad been looked upon as being equal in wisdom to somo of the proverbs of Solo non, but a more unconstitutional proceeding ho had never heard of. If the Government could not carry its measures, and if its measures ought not to be carried, it was tho plain duty of the Opposition to eject them from office. The Government had brought down a tariff which was said to favor protection, and tho freetraders formed a very strong party against it, with tho consequenco that the tariff was destroyed. He believed it was the duty of the Government at this stage to havo tendered their resignation, and as a matter of fact they wero about to do so, when 62 of their supporters implored them to con tinuo in office, and they, believing it to bo their duty to tho country aud their parU acceded to tho wish. Tho increase of taxation proposed by tliis tariff waß necessary to wipo out tho deficiency of the previous Government. That Government had been great in deficiencies. Its Treasurer had piled them up year after year till they amounted to _830,0i'0, when they were wiped out at ono sweep by being transferred to Loan Account. The last year they were iu office their deficiency amounted to £'3'>,oou, and it was the intention of the present Government to wipe out a portion of this deficiency and gradually reduce it by means of iho increased taxation. There was thus a justification for the taxation proposed, and though he was not prepared to say that increased taxation was not always justified, yet there »ere exigencies in every country when it became the duty of the Government to undertake it He knew that Major Atkinson had admitted that we soon should have to provido for the increasing wants of the colony. During the session the Government brought down a number of measures. He (Mr Ballance) had charge of the Land Bill, tho Premier of the Hospitals and Charitable Aid Bill, and Sir Julius Vogel of anumberof financial measures. Some of these were carried, some lost, and somo very largely cut up, but the result of the session could not bo considered unsatisfactory. They had placed on the Statute Book about 62 public Acts. He held that there had been no more important measure passed in the history of the colony than the Land Bill, which extended in a very material degree the liberal principles of land settlement in this colony. Credit was due to Mrßolleston, tho lato Minister of Lands, for throwing aside all obligations to his party, and coming forward boldly to assist in passing the measure into law. Referring to Major Atkinson's noconfidenco motion, he said that no broad question of policy had been traversed. He did not know that the best friends of Major Atkinson's could say of any Government of which he (Major Atkinson) had been a member, that any broad qujstnn of policy had been submitted by it. If there had been any such, thoy wero got rid of with wonderful facility. As an instance of this he quoted tho national insurance schema which had been preached on every p'atform between Auckland and Invercargill, and which Major Atkinson had either no intention of carrying further, or eke he was not possessed of sufficient energy to carry it through. Dealing seriatim with the resolutions proposed by Major Atkinson, he said that tho Government had undertaken to spend not more than a million and a quarter annually. They had undertaken, in connection with harbors, very largo works, which would amount to at least a quartor of a million, so that ther had only a million left for ordinary services, this hoing the namo amount as was demanded by Major Atkinson in 1882 and 1883. When the three million loan was raised Major Atkinson had promised to expend not more than a million a year, but when the present Government camo into offico they found an expenditure of _ 1, 800,0 0 going on, which it hud taken theui all their time to reduce to a reasonable amount. Major Atkinson seemed to swallow his own principles in laying down others for the Government. It was guid that he availod himself of tho excuso that ho was not responsible for tho actions of his Minister for Public Works, who seemed to have taken the whip iu his own hands and run away with the coach. The first was a mere catchpenny resolution, with no policy in it at all. Tho Government had been pledged not to exceed a million and a quarter, and they were determined to keep that pledge. With regard to the second resolution, dealing with' tho Eas-t and West Coast railway, in 1882 his (Major Atkinson's) Ministry actually proposed the same railway, but, finding it so unpopular in the House, ho had dropped it. It was generally said that if Mujor Atkinson got back into office tho very thing ho would undertake would be tho Itast and West Coast railway. The third resolution stuted that no new loan was required, but it was well known that it was not a question as to whether the loan was to bo raised, but as to when would bo the most fitting time for raising it. It was admitted that a loan was required for Public Works, and it must be assumed that tho Government would take the n ost convenient time for going into tho market. Resoluti >n number four dealt with tho obtaining of land on tho North Tsland trunk railway, and Mr Ballance showed that in 1881 tho Government had takon the pre-emptive right to four and a half million acres, thus preventing. any private individuals from acquiring a single aero of land along the routo. This was necessary before lands could bo acquired from the natives, as thoir titles had to bo investigated by the Native Lands Court. Major Atkinson had implied that tho lands did not belong to tho natives, but according to tho treaty of Waitangi the rights of the natives in this respect were bound to be recognised. Wahanui had been askod by Mr Ormond whether he was prepared to ccdo his land to the Government, and a reply was given that he was not. Ho considered it a question of purohase. Mr Ormond had urged the point again and again that the land should ho given to the Government, but he (Mr Ballance) doubted whether under similar circumstances Mr. Ormond or other Europeans would be prepared to cede their lands to tho Crown. The fifth resolution was that the Government was to save £300,000 this year and more next. When the expenditure of tho Government was under criticism Majqr Atkin-on could not put his hand on any item and say that it was extravagant, and yet he oxpected the Government to do in a lump what ho had been unable to do in detail. During last session no charge of maladministration had beon brought against, the Government though this was the usual ground on which votes of noconfidence were based. Referring to Major Atkinson's statements at Hawera Mr Ballanco said some of his best friends were heartily ashamed of the position which he had taken up with regard to the North Island railway loan. HoTiad taken blamo to himself for not noticing that it was' in the Appropriation Act, and had charged tho Government with unworthy motives for putting it thero, while as a matter of fact it had appeared in the ichedule of the previous year, when the

[ loan was authorised. In 1882 a clause was inserted in the Act providing that tho loan should not be raised until tho routo was decided upon. This was not done until 1884, and consequently it could not be placed in the Appropriation Act before then. Dealing with the Hospital and Charitable Aid Bill, Mr Ballance said the Hall Ministry in 1879 had brought down a measure containing similar proposals. Though the measure was afterwards withdrawn, yet it had been characterised by Major Atkinson at Hawera as a bad one. In 1882 Major Atkinson's Minister of Public Works strongly rocommended non-political Railway Boards, but since then the Major appeared to havo swallowed his principles on this point. After referring to the attitude takon up by Major Atkinson in allowing second rate members such as Mr Pyke and Mr Hislop to bring forward votes of no-confidence, Mr ballance went on to deal with the native polioy of the Government. He claimed that the highest qualifications for a statesman w»s prescience with regard to things which were to arise in the future, and he left it to them to say whether his action with regard to Parihaka had been right or wrong. He showed that the scare originated at Parihaka had been got up by interested persons, and thut his ' one policeman " policy had beon a great success. The number of Armed Constabulary for the preservation of peaco in native districts had been reduced from 428 to •18, and tho expenditure is proportionately decreasod. The policy of tho Government with regard to tho natives was constrasted with that of the previous Ministry. He had been accused of returning to tho sugar and flour policy, but he denied that he had ever attempted anything of the sort. Ho charged the Atkinson Government with offering bribes to Tawhaio in the shape of offering hiin a seat iu the Legislative Council, a Native Vssessorship, and a Justice of tho Peaceship. houso and furniture, and also a sum of £400 a year. To Kooti had been pardoned, in tho hope that it would lead to a settlement of the Waikato difficulty, but no one who knew anything of nativo affairs would over have supposed that the end could be attained in that manner. Tho action of the late Government with referonce to Topia, Kemp, and Major Ropata was adversely criticised, and the great Parihaka scene of 18-t I referred to as a matter which might easily havo been prevented by tho Govornment. His Native Land Disposition Bill had met with considerable opposition, but lie was glad to be ablo to say that at a large representative mo -ting held ut Hastings, ho had found the natives unanimous in the support of the principles of the measure. Tho principle of tho Bill was that henceforth no native land should be sold to any private individual, oxcept under tho Waste Lands laws of tho colony. Great objections to the nonr Hill wore raised by tho speculators and great land accumulators, who s:nv that if it ever passed they would bo debarred from carrying on thoir unworthy game. Tho other Nativo Land Bill which had beon brought down was for the consolidation of tho existing laws on tho subject. But without tho Native Land Bill it would not be of any great "enefit to tho colony. Tbe natives at present held about thirteen million acres, and it was not yet too late to commence saving this. It had been said that they wero going to create a M ori aristocracy, but ho had no intention of doing so. There wero at present about 40,000 natives in the colony, all being British subjects, with feelings and sympathies the' same as our elves, and it would bo to the credit of tho white people of this colony that they should not be cast out aud allowed to perish, if by stretching forth our haud they might be saved as far as possible. It was our duty to encourage the natives to abandon their habits for others more nearly approaching the European. He thought that erery native should be settled down upon his own pieco of land, under a Crown grant and inalienable, and encouraged to livo under his own vino and fig tree. The elevation of the native people should be the great object of every Government. An old Maori was reported to have Baid that Mr Bryce was a very hard man, while he (Mr Ballance) was a jolly fellow. He utterly repudiated the character, and did not believe there wa3 anyone who had told them more real truths than he had, though he saw no reason to be harsh with them. The land policy of the Government was next alluded to, and he dealt at length with the advantages to be derived from the special settlements and small grazing runs systems which had beon iutroduced. One of the most important questions in tho future would bo the settlement of lands in the vicinity of towns, and he was prepared to say that tho Crown had a right to go in and take any property it pleased for this purpose by paying property tax valuation plus ten percent. With regard to the resumption of lauds in this manner, he believed that after the Central Government had acquired the land the municipalities should bo entrusted with tho management of tho settlement. Means for this could bo provided by 4 per cent debentures, tho State to issue the debentures to municipalities. If tbe poople paid about 4J per cent as rent for the land he bolievod tho system would add materially to the prosperity of tho town as well as to that of tho occupiers of the land. The question of freetrado and protection noxt came under review. Ho held that it was well for tho welfare of tho country tha- it should have manufactures, and for this he whs prepared to support protection. He had been a freetrader for many years, but had been led to alter his views on the matter. Ho believed that protection would not incroaso the price of necessaries, inasmuch as that competition would be keon and prices kept down. It was to tho interest of farmers and the agricultural portion of the community that a protective policy should bo adopted so that they might have a market at their own doors in place of having to compete with countries more favorably situated than Now Zealand. With regard to future taxation proposals, ho did not altogether object to the abolitiou of the £500 exemption, provided that those hotter able to pay were charged in proportion to tho property they held. Speaking on defence matters, he said that it hud been absolutely necessary to do something for the protection of their ports, as tho Banks had threatened at tho time of tho war scare to romovo their gold to Australia. Tho Atkinson Govornment had treutcd tho Volunteers in a very unsatisfactory manner, but it was his object to placo them on a proper footing, by giving increased capitation, and weapons of tho latest pattern. Ho had orderod MartiniEnfield rifles, which were said to be the best made. Ho deprecated tho idea of New Zealaud entering the Australian Federation, believing that it would tend to weaken the forces of tho colony, but ho trusted that when Imperial federation beoame possible Now Zealand would bo able to act on its own account as ono of the principals. If they wero to bo part of an Australian federation they must, as a guarantee, have the right of electing their own Governor. On tho question of locil bodies he stated that thero was a probability of tho present subsidy systom being discontinued. Ho was in favor of giving Road Board districts power to borrow monoy at 4 por cent, £100.000 to be advanced annually. After dealing with soveral local matters, Mr Ballanco roferred in flattering terms to the Premier, to whom tho colony was indebted for much of tho liberal legislation thnt had been pas?od. As to tho accusation that he was only nominally Promier, Mr Ballance gave a distinet denial to tho assertion. He supported tho construction of tho East and West Coast Railway as a work which should bo constructed by the colony, and with regard to tho borrowing of ten millions said that the question had not come boforo them, but he could state tho policy of the Government would be cautious, nothing rash or heedless being done. In his opinion in the present stato of parties, the Government thould avoid the cost of two sessions, nnd should ask for a dissolution beforo the House met. Mr Ballanco spoke for two hours and a quarter, and was enthusiastically received, and was accorded an unanimous voto of thanks and confidence.