The Star. SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1887. A SCRIMMAGE AT FOOTBALL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6017, 27 August 1887, Page 3

The Star. SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1887. A SCRIMMAGE AT FOOTBALL.

Sib Julius VooKii at Ashburton has again made a most brilliant defence against the attacks of his opponents. His speech on Thursday is perhaps the most convincing answer to the various charges brought forward by the different and differing sections of the Opposition that has ever been published. As, however, there must be many of our readers -who have not the time, though they have the inclination, to read the mass of the speech, we cannot do better than reproduce hero the claims of the Government on the electors, as set forth by a member of the Ministry.

Sir Julius recounted these claims as follows : —

" The Government has been the means " of encouraging local industries in many " directions, although not to the extent " they desired. Through it the coal har- " bours have been commenced and have " been proceeded with, until the coal in- " dustry is becoming a very large one, and " steamers are being sent out from " England to deal with it. The Midland "Railway and the North Island Trunk " Railway have been commenced. We have " encouraged fisheries. We have offered a " stimulus in the direction of improving " the mining industry. We have given " special attention, not without a large " measure of success, to ' promoting " settlement upon the land. We have •• pacified the Native 3 so that there is " now peace between the two races. We " have stopped the horrible system of land- " sharking. (Cheers.) The Statute Book " haß been comparatively remodelled. We " have done away with that measure so " hateful to those who reside in tho greater " part of the Middle Island — theßoadsand " Bridges Construction Act, and wo have " substituted an Act which seems to find " general approval throughout the country

" — an Act to enable the Government to " make loans to Local Bodies. We have " made a provision of which very little

" notice has been taken, but we nave bo " provided by legislation that, in the caw "of all loans issued after last year, " it is impossible that thera should be the " same misapplication from the purposes "for which they were raised, as was " formerly the case. (Cheers.) We have. " attended to the question of the reduction "of the railway rates, and although we " have not boasted very much of our " efforts in the direction of retrenchment, " we have laid the foundation for a material " future reduction in the cost of the Civil "Service. (Cheers.) The Government, " after long and arduous negotiations, " have succeeded in procuring for New " Zealand the opportunity of becoming " one of the naval stations of the " Empire. (Cheers.) We have kept down " taxation. Many of my hearers will bear " me out in saying that when I addressed " you in 1884 it was anticipated that there " must immediately be a large increase in " taxation. .But as a fact we reduced it by " one-half, although, afterwards we had to " Blightly increase it. The first and second " years we had a surplus, and this last year "we had a deficit of i£93,000, the causes of " which I have previously alluded to. I " have given you briefly the record of the " Government, and I say it would have been " a better one still but for the obstructions " with which we have been encountered."

In the face of this great record of good works, the people are earnestly pressed by the Opposition organs to vote for men who have no policy, who are utterly divided among themselves, ' and who have no leaders, as they theniI selves admit. No simile was ever happier than that used by Sic Julius Yogel when I he compared the position of the Opposition | on the confession of one of their own men Ito a game of football, when a scrimmage is on. Their plan is to knock down Government after Government until they get one that will puit. We saw this done at the commencement of last , session, and we shall see it again if the i Opposition are strong enough. If the j electors want to avoid all this waste, confusion., and uncertainty, they will vote for those who intend to support a Government with a record such as is now published. If they want to see time and money wasted for months in the Assembly, they will vote for the men who are going in to turn the session into A SCRIMMAGE AT FOOTBALL.