ADDRUSS BY HON. A. J. CADMAN.

Thames Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 7032, 14 January 1892, Page 2

ADDRUSS BY HON. A. J. CADMAN.

The Government's Policy . Explained.

VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN OUR MEM-

BER AND THE GOVERNMENT.

The Hon. A. J. Cadman, the representative of the Thames, and tho Native Minister, addressed his constituents in the Academy of Music last night. There was a large attendance, the seating accommodation of tbe capacious Hall being taxed to its utmost capacity, while seats upon the platform were occupied by Messrs J. McGowan, H. C. Gillespie, Theo. Wood, G. Trusoott, A. Bruce, J. Bead, A. McLoughlin, H. Paltridge, A. Newdick, B, Nowdick, J. Gibbons, T. Lawless, W. Burton, J. Townsend, and B. Harris.

• Mr McGowan said that the first duty which devolved upon those present was the election of a Chairman, and he would propose that His Worship the Mayor (Mr James Benshaw) should be voted to the position.,

This was seconded by Mr Ifewdick, and carried unanimously. The Mayor then assumed the Chair, anfl after, having expressed pleasure at seeing such a large assemblage of electors present, said if; was very desirable that once a year the representative of a district should have an opportunity of meeting his constituents, and explaining the work carried out during the session, and his action regarding the principal measures that had been introduced. They had before them that aigbt a gentleman who was well-known fo? bis hbDi33iy of purpose and straightforwardness, and i^ (the Mayor) was assured that it would be a pleasure to him to answer anything which those present might hn^o against him. (Hear, hoar.) At the close of his addregs., every opportunity would bo afforded those desiroqs ofqaestipuing theif representative. The Mayor then called upon , The Hon. Mr Cadman to address the meeting, and upon the hott. gentleman rising fro?Q bis saafc he was greeted with hearty applause. He said that the result of the last election had most materially altered the position of affairs, and for the first time in the history of the colony they: had a clear and distinct party Hue' $raw§ between "••

' LIBEBAM ANB CONSEBrATIViIS, a line so distinct that upon future occasions when w.ooiog the suffrages of the electors, candidates would bo asked, not whether they were for or against Governtnentj but whether tEoy v?era liberal or Gonsesyatiye; This would mean that the occupation of the rail sitter—the caadi* j date who trimmed to catch the fp^eg of: j both parties~-woo|4 be gone. (Applause.) This result bed been mainly brpughit about by the Labor Party, and the change had hastened the Labor Bills and the progressive Land Tax. Fqp joarg past th? BtTBDEN OP TAXATION had been placed upon the wrong shoulders, but as the result of the legislation effected on this matter by the present Government £60.000 had been removed from the masses and wquld now be borne by a class of people more able to pay it. (Applaose.) What aad been the resalt bo tar? Tho J

Conserrative side had the whole of the wealthy in their ranks and an influential portion of the Press, while in the ranks of the Liberals were the masses. They had thus on the one hand wealth, and on the other numbers but poverty, but they must be prepared to meet the utterances end misrepresentations of the Conservative side and its newspapers, and do their utmost to place the troth fairly and impartially before the people. He counselled those present, when reading articles in a newspaper commenting adversely on the policy of the Government, to consider upon what side in politics that paper wa«, Bnd to treat what was written accordingly. I (Hear, hear.) He had been rather amused to see the attempt made to raise an outcry about the proposal to increase the honor* arium, when by the sweet will of the Premier in the past, an increase of 1 per cent, discount allowed a monetary institution upon thousands of pounds was of much more importance than an increase in the honorarium. (Applause.) He would now like to give a GENEBAI REVIEW

of the position of things after the last election. When the present Government assumed office there was a strong demand from the country for, further retrenchment, no more borrowing but if possible the (reduction of the debt of the colony, the repeal of the Property Tax, the reform of jthe Legislative G&uncil, the reduction of taxation, an alteration in the lavs relating to labor and capital, to relieve the burden for hospital and charitable aid, an amendment in the land laws, and the putting of native affairs upon a better footing. It would thus be seen that the matters requiring legislation were not only important but numerous, and he thought the only mistake made by the Government was in endeavoring to accomplish so much in one session, for it should be borne in mind that when the present Government took office, the whole of the Ministry, with two exceptions, were new men, and it was found that public works were virtually stopped and the exodus had to be faced. The Ministry at once recognised that something required to be done to keep the people in the colony, and to accomplish this it was necessary to find employment. Thus the

lABOB BUEEAU had been established, and although its inauguration wbb adversely commented upon in many quarters, he maintained that it had proved of great benefit. In support of this statement he might say that .during the period of seven months it had. been ia existence, employment bad been found for 3177 men, while out of that number 1450 had been worked off into private employment; The Bureau bad worked wonders, and its value bad already been clearly demonstrated. (Applause.) The Government had been left with quite

. A NUMBEE OF LEGACIES by their predecessors in office, amongst these being Judge Edwards, the Public Trust Office scandal', Old Soldiers' claims, and an almost rotten state of Native affairs. Mr Cadman then explained the Judge Edwards appointment, the refusal of Parliament to vote his salary, and the decision in the recent case, and added that the case would be tried at Home. Eeference was next made to the Public Trust Office, which dealt with the estates of persons who died and left their property, thinking that this office offered the best security that could be given. He presumed they were all acquainted with the revelations made by the Eoyal Commission appointed to enquire into the matter, so that it was unnecessary to further refer to this great scandal, and although the office was now in a sound position, the cost to the country had been goveral thousand pounds. Then thero were the

OLD SOLDIERS* CLAIMS,

in dealiDg with which considerable difficulty had been experienced because of the attitude of the Legislative Council, which offered great opposition to the Bill. In consequence of an alteration made by the Council in the Bill which cams before Parliament last session, vis;: the insertion of a clause making the scrip non-transfer-able, an injustice had been inflicted upon these old soldiers, and the matter had naturally given rise to considerable dissatisfaction, inasmuch as the effect of the clause was that persons must take upland and sell it by deed. This was unjust to many, and he had opposed the clause as being altogether unnecessary. The Council bad also altered a figure in the original Bill, which dealt with all claims as far back as 1860, by making it 1870, thus throwing out a large number of applicacations, The Government had decided to make arrangements for the payment of old and decrepit soldiers m cash, and although they were perhaps to a certain extent breaking the law in doing so, and their action would be criticised next session, still they considered it the proper course to adopt.

MONET MATTEBS. Financial matters wore then referred to at some length; Mr Cadman explaining that the Government had been obliged to meet a number of most exceptional claims. Fop instance, they had for the first time to find £21,000 for naval defence, £8009 as compensation to the officers who were dismissed from the service in connection with retrenchment, £12,500 for the census, and£l3,{)QO for the assessment; for Land Tas purposes, while they hid also foand «n item of £3500 discount on remittances to London, which had not been i providedl for by the late Government. This made a total of £58,000, and the only item which would occur jigaitn for some time was that for saval defence. Notwithstanding: tLia, however, the {general Estimatea had been reduced by over £40,000. Burthen they were told that the bopplementa?^ Estimates had been riS?A w"l<?h ***'*<* a fair statement, as 4?2G,,.000.was fos munitions of war, the order for which had been' seat Home while the late Government we?o in office, bat about which they appeared to know nothing, and £27.0GA was asked for by tho Railway Qosasaißsionerß for opening Jinas. Ihis anade an exceptional expenditure of over £100,000, for which, liowever, the Government had been given but little credit. (Applßpae.) The next subject touched apoa was the auvjwi

BBPBA£ OF mji- J.BOPBJJTY TAX , Daring t!i o ten years he bad been in ■Barlument he (Mr Cadman) had always voted on thefsame side as Sir George Crrey for the repeal of the Property Tax, and he was pleased to be able to say that at last that reform bad been successfully accomplished. (Applause.) Thegoldfields had certainly much cause for congratulation over the repeal of this, obnoxious tax, which, from a mining point of view, might almoat be said to be.worfcb half an ounce to.the ton. (Laughter.) The tax

had been paid out of calls, and in the case of one Coromandel company alone, with which those present were well acquainted, a sum of over £100 bad been paid for the privilege of losing several thousands of pounds in the development of the property. This measure, however, had now been repealed; and in future mining'companies would have to pay income tax out of dividends, and nothing out of calls. This, he considered, was only just and proper, and be thought the result would be more satisfactory and' beneficial to all concerned. (Applause). A great deal had been said and written regarding

CAPITAL BEIKG BBIVEN OUT OP THE COUNTBY

" in consequence of the passing of (he Government measures, ■ but personaliy he doubted the correctness of the statements nude. Ad infallible guide of the, capital available was the rate of interest, and he would ask whether that'had altered during the past twelve months P Certainly not. And this might be token as a most satisfactory proof that capital was not tearing - the colony to such a great extent as it was sought in some quarters to make people believe. (Applause.) Mr Cad man then referred to the Bank failures in Australia, and said that in consequence of these a certain amount of capital had perhaps been called up. In New Zealand, but he emphatically maintained that this had not been caused by the progressive Land Tex introduced by the present Government. (Applause.) Then, again, the Congevative Press of the colony had endeavored to show that- under this Act the small farmers would have to pay a greater amount of taxation than they had been called upon to do under the Property Tax. Wow, statements of this kind might mislead people and cause misapprehension for a time, but the proof of the unfairness of these assertions would be realised when the farmers and those interested obtained their papers.and were enabled to contrast their position under the two forms of taxation. (Hear, hear, and applause.) There could be no doubt, as he bad already remarked, . that £60,000 of the taxation cf the country would be removed from the masses, and be borne in futnre by that class of peoplo who were best able to payjt. Tbe poorer classes would be relieved, and when the peoplo understood this more clearly, as would be done when the Act was in full operation, they would then soon realise how .beneficial was the change. He challenged anyone to say that the repeal of the Property Tax bad not been satisfac- - tory so far, and as a proof of his conten- . tion that the new taxation was proving beneficial to the colony, Mr Cadman said he would give two instances, and take tbe GLOBO ASSETS AND THE K&.UBI TIMBER COMPANY. Now, one of these companies—the Globo Assets—were cutting up large estates into small sections, for which good prices were being obtained. Then, again, the same company were employing surveyors to ont op into small pieces estates in tbe South Island, and these would also shortly be sold. These lands oonld now be settled upon, and be maintained that the result must prove of undoubted benefit to the country. (Applause.) Then let them Hsjitake the case of the Kauri Timber Co. EpJThifl company would have to pay the ■■progressive Land Tax without doubt, but ffflft was amusing to observe that the comhad'gone so far bb to blame that tax for its present position. (Laughter.) He would like,to point out, however that so far the company bad only paid Property Tex in the ordinary way, and would ask anyone to dispassionately consider whether the Government could be blamed for the present position of affairs P Was the company, in the way it was now going on, doing any good to itself or the country ? (A voice : " No.") He had no hesitation in saying that no sane man oould assert that the company could go on for long as at present. ■ (Applause) The result - would be that the property would have to - be cut into small properties and sold, and . worked individually* (Applause.) That would be beneficial to the colony. '- • . • . ABSESTEEB, . it was pointed out, had now to pay 20 -; per cent, more than those resident in tbe colony and who bore the beat and burden of its affairs. He was strongly of opinion that this taxation went in the right direction, and he was convinced that not - a. single complaint would, be received were there not an absentee to pay the tax nor a large estate. (Applause.) The

IEGIBI/ATITB COVNOIJt had been a stumbling bloqk to get over. (A voice, "Dr Pollen.") The Council , was hostile to the present Government, lints appointments henceforth would be only for 7 years, and the will of the people would be obeyed, perhaps better than, heretofore. At any rate, it would hare to be obeyed. It bad been laid by some of the newspapers that the' . WfTBENCHMBNT effected by the Government had bepna , < tn»re fbirn, but ke desitd th»t rach ws«

the case, and contended that it was far too much a reality for many of those interested, who bad done their utmost to get reinstated. Time would, not permit him to go too much into detail, so he would confine himself to giving an instance in bis own Department— THE NATIVE DEPABTMEKT. When he assumed office he found that the expenditure for Native Lands Courts had been increasing annually, nntilJasfc year the vote amounted to £20,55.0..as against £10,000-ten years ago, while for the last five years £10,650 had also been paid under the head of unauthorised. He looked at the whole subject, and asked himself the question, "What am I to do ?" the result being that he determined to obtain a return of the amount of work to be done by the Lands Courts. He ascertained that there were 11,000 cases to be dealt with, of which 7000 were succession orders, and to do this work thero were twelve Judges. He foutid that a considerable expense was entailed jby these Judges travelling from one district to another, and also that for a large portion of their time they were not kept employed owing to the manner in which the affairs were managed. He therefore came to the conclusion that the work could be as efficiently performed by seven Judge*?, and five were dispensed I with; districts were formed, and a Judge appointed to be stationary for each district, touch in the same'way as the Besident Magistrates. Each Judge was now responsible for his own work, and be (Mr Cadman) believed that when the system had received a fair trial it would-be found to work well, and that the duties could bo performed by the seven Judges. He might mention that he expected to be able next year to effect a further reduction of £1000 in the expenses of this department. (Applause.) He dow came to the '

LAND ACT,

end B&id be might remark at the outset that no one bad been more misrepresented than the present Minister for Lands. He explained the principal features of the land policy of the Government nt some length, and maintained that the Government had never wished to do away with the freehold tenure, but they wanted to put people on the land where they could make homes and ;a living. Speculators wished perpetual leaseholders to acquire their freeholds, in order that they might be bought up, and when they did so the settlement of the country was not furthered by their action. la one word, the object of the Government was to stop speculators buying up perpetual leases. (Applause.)" Ho had bought land himself on behalf of the Government at 7s per acre for settlement purposes, and shortly afterwards had been offered n large increase on that price by speculators, but he had of course declined the offer, as what he desired to see was the land settled upon by the people, and the wealth and production of the country thus increased, instead of the land being held in big estates. (Applause) All that the Government desired was that a perpetual leaee should be a perpetual lease. TAXATION.

With regard to taxation, tbe Government had not been able to effect any con siderable redaction, because, as be bad already pointed oat, they h«d an excep tional expenditure of £100 000 to meet. Tet something in tbiß direction had been accomplished, and one of these matters was of considerable importance io people at the Thames, viz.: the stamp doty on native leases. These leases were now exempt from stamp duty,?and he felt sure the change/would be appreciated , at the Thames, and assist the cause of cultivators of the soil. (Applause.) Then there were the reductions in the charge for "tele* phones to £5 per annum, which had tended to popularise the telephone, aiul the revenue from this source at the end of the year would be very little short of tbe previous 12 months. (Applause.) Eeference was made to the postage reductions, and Mr Cadman remarked that be did not think many years would elapse before we would have a penny postage to the Old Country. HATIVE lAKD3. Another important matter, and one to which he would like to direct special attention, was the question of native lands. He paid a tribute of praiie to the abilities of the two Land Purchase officers, and specially mentioned the successful results achieved in the Wanganui district, adding that, he believed he would be able to show at the close of the year that 100,000 acrei of native, lands had been acquired by the Government, which was double the quantity secured by their predecessors 1 io office, the latter being for a period of three years. A portico of this land Was tfDldfields. (Applause.)

BOBBOWINO. . M Beferenoe was next made to jHfetipt"' menta being circulated that ta^SSd Government were in favor of tfMMMf. but he pttongly maintaioed

not tho case. As fast/however, as loans had become due they had placed them again on the London market at lower rates of interest, which was, of course, a distinct, re'ain to the country, and up to date £13,000 had been saved in interest. (Applause.) An illustration of these conversions was given, the case of the Thames Harbor Board's loan of £10,0C3 being cited, and it was shown that as the result of Mr Cadman's efforts the amount had been taken up by Government on such favorable terms that a sinking fund was now provided, as well as interest paid, for just about the seme sum as was previously paid by the Board for interest alone.

THE POSITION OB 1 PASTIES. Before concluding, he would briefly refer to the position of parties. He claimed that the Government represented tho party of progress and those most calculated to advance the true interests of ISew Zealand, which would doubtless account for the staunch opposition of the Conservative section of tbe Press. The more influential uewspapers were against the Govern meat, and it waa that fact which had caused the Government and their friends to organise the Liberal party, and have recourse to direct appeals to the people themselves. The result of this, he I thought, would be, that even if it should happen that the Government might bave j to give up the keys of office, Liberalism and the Liberal party would'more than ever dominate tbe politics of the country. (Cheers.) For his own part, he was prepared to vacate his position if it was thought that it could be filled by a better man, but he wished to emphatically state that his successor must be a staunch Liberal, and one whose sole aim was the advancement of the prosperity of 'the people. Therefore, he would counsel them to hold v fast to Liberal principles, and if the present Government were to go out; of (ffioa. Jet their places be taken by Liberals. (Loud applause.) But since a ' powerful section of the PreßS. were arrayed against them, and the Government were not in a position to find the money to fight bye-elections, they bad determined to state their case from tbe public platform—to give a,fair and unbiassed statement of their policy, and' allow tho people to judge for.themselves as to whether that policy wqs not the one most calculated to advance the interests of the colony. (Applause.) They had so few of the papers on their side that they must take action from tho platform, as they were not prepared to subsidise ony of them. (Applause.) A National Liberal Association had recently been started-— much on the same lines as the Unions—to fight the battles of the Liberals, and the Secretary would in due course visit the Thames, when those present wpuld have the matter explained to them, and could judge for themselves as to whether its objects were such as should meet with their approval ,and co-operation. The present Government had been called into existence by the voice of the people, and they had tried to give effect to the wishes of tbe people, and therefore claimed front the masses their support. (Applause.) Mr Cadman said all he desired was that the measures they had introduced should receive

A. FAIB TBIAL,

as he was convinced they would comuseDd themselves to the maeses when they b^t came more cleariy understood, which had been almost impossible up to the present owid? to the unfair way in which they had been misrepresented. (Applause). He would only add that the Government went into office with an exodus goiDg on, and the public works at a standstill, and Ministers claimed that they had at any rate assisted to bring about the great influx cf people tuut was cow taking place, and pot; pabJia works matter*

upon a more satisfactory footing. The hop. gentleman resumed his seat amidst loud and prolonged applause.

The Chairman intimated that "Mx Cadman would be glad to answer any questions, whereupon the following were handed in :— QUESTIONS. 1 Will the Government construct the main drain through the land they hare purchased from the natives, situated on the Piako river, and throw it open for settlement ? -

Mr Cad man replied that he did not think it was possible to drain the land that had Dp to the present been acquired; but he had in view the purchase of the whole Piako Block for settlement purposes. In the coarse of bis address to the natives at Kauaeranga that day he had placed the whole matter plainly before them, and shown the manifest advantages that would accrue to themselves and Europeans alike by selling or leasing their lands for settlement purposes, insteed of permitting them to remain in their virgin state. (Applause.) The Block contained 250,000 acres, and required draining, the cost of which would, i be believed, amount to pretty well £lper acre, but if the Auckland people would devote their attention to this and throw their influence into the matter instead of the Main Trunk Line, what a valuable asset they would hare at their doors. Question: Do you think it possible to acquire the Komata swamp at a reasonable figure and throw it open for settle* mentP Mr Cadman said that when the land got through the Court he would try and acquire it for settlement purposes. Question: Will the Government [consider the advisability of calling in the worn-out silver coins ? Mr Cadman laughingly replied that as far as he was concerned he would have no objection. TOTE OF CONFIDENCE. Mr It. Harris said be had much pleasure in proposing, " That this meeting accords the Hon. Mr Cadman a hearty vote of thanks for his address, and desires to express its confidence in him as the representative^ the Thames in Parliament, while it also wishes to express its entire confidence in the present Govern* ment," Mr Harris remarked that this wag the first time a Government had been in office which could be termed an honest Government, and one that was endeavoring to do its utmost for the welfare of the working classes. He therefore thought they should be given all the support possible. (Applause.)

Mr H. Paltridge seconded the resolution, and said that it was now 9 or 10 years since he had first proposed a vote of confidence in Mr Cadman, and he had never since hed occcsion to once falter or waver in the opinion then formed of the ton. gentleman's sterling integrity aud ability. (Applause.)

The Chairman mentioned that on the night of the last election he had heard Mr Cadman remark that the portion of his constituents who were best acquainted with him had secured his election, and he trusted that when his term for the new eleotorate had expired, it would be found that he had acted ia such a manner that the Thames people would also learn to know him as well as his old constituents. The meeting had now an opportunity of saying whether they were satisfied with the Hon. Mr Cadman'a stewardship.

Upon the motion being put;, a perfect forest of hands was held up in its favor, and none against, and the resolution was declared carried unanimously amidst cheers.

Mr Cadman returned thanks, and proposed the usual compliment to the Chair* man, which eloped the meeting,