THE PREMIER AT AUCKLAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4670, 14 June 1893, Page 1

THE PREMIER AT AUCKLAND.

* [Per Pbbss Association.! AUCKLAND, Juhe 13. The Premier, the Hon E. J. Seddon, addreaaed the citizens of Auckland to-night at the City Hall. Theio was a crowded audience, and Mr Crowthor, the Mayor of Auckland, presided. Mr Seddon, having made a feeling reference to the death of Mr Ballance, went on to say that statesmen who had passed away should be judged by their works, but in some cases statesmen were not so fairly judged because their works were not fairly Bet before the public. For instance, the Liberal Government of 1879 had been made out,.in certain quarters, to have been a financial failure, bub he would Bhow that such was not the case, and that Sir G. Grey ought not to be charged with having overwhelmed the country in a great financial disaster. From 1879 to 1890 tbe Continuous Party, by debentures and by loans, raised the siim of and what waß the result ? Why, from 1879 to 1890 New Zealand was in as bad a position as the Colonies of Australia were at the present time; homes were broken up and people were fast leaving. Mr Seddon brought forward statistics to prove his statement, showing that over 14,000 souls had left the Colony. The same thing would have happened again if the problem had not been grappled with and overcome. Mr Seddon went on to refer to the general election which ousted the Continuous Ministry and placed the Ballance Government in power, and said that to thwart the wishes of the people the Continuous Ministry flooded the Legislative Council with men of its own party. The Government, however, had stood to its guns, and that matter had been rectified. Had the Ballance Government driven capital out of the Colony ? It had not. He referred to tho increase in the value of house property in Auckland as a proof of this. The Government had estimated that the Land tax would produce £350,000, whereas it had actually produced £365,000, and the exodus had ceased. They had now a gross surplus of £502,000, whilst for public works and the reduction of debt they had something like £450,000. If the policy of the Government was judged by the Chambers of Commerce, their figures gave a verdict in favour of the Ministry. The Progressive Land tax had not only given the necessary revenue, but had also caused great improvements to be made, In three years, from 1887 to 1890, the Atkinson Government had increased the amount of taxation by £623,000. This had more effect upon the progress of. the Colony than the graduated tax. There wera, for instance, some thirty persona who had between them £250,000 a year after paying their taxes, and it surely was unreasonable in the extreme for such people to grumble, for there were many who would like to be in the same position. He was not prepared to go in for anything revolutionary, but it was unfair to increase the taxation on the masses whilst the few were not touched at all. He did not wish to disturb or destroy confidence, but it waa not right, as was formerly the case, that the man who had the least should pay most. In the congested districts he hoped the landowners would come forward and offer their lands to the Government at a reasonable price. If this were not done it would inevitably result that an Act similar to that which has been passed by a Conservative Imperial Government will be introduced to enable the Government to take' the land required at a fair value. This could already be done for roads and railways, and settlement was more important than either. Daaling with the question of Native lands, he said they mußt be dealt with fairly. Were it not for the Natives they would have had the same monopoly in the North as in the South. There were about 42,000 Maoris, owning about 10,000,000 acres, but of these only about 3,000,000 acres were suitable for agricultural purposes. The late Government only bought some 78,000 acres, while the present Government had already bought some 385,000 acres. With regard to the question of land for settlement, Mr Seddon spoke in highest terms of Mr Mueller, the Auckland Commissioner. Mr Seddon rebutted the charge by Mr Bolleston of the present Government having starved the primary schools in respect of school buildings. On the other hand, the general average was abolished by the Opposition Party and the strict average introduced, to the detriment I of the country schools. The Government also reduced the, expenditure by £24,000. As to the Magdala Asylum vote, the Government, deserved credit rather than condemnation. That establishment waa open to persons of all faiths, the work waa being done upon unsectarian principles, and the Government was prepared to give a general grant for refuge work. Mr Seddon then referred to the Eailway Commisioners. Should the railways, he asked, be handed over to three irresponsible men to manage. (Cries of " Yes" and " No.") Those who said that the Government could nob manage the railways showed that they had no confidence in themselves, and did not deserve to be entrusted with the franchise. Why not hand over the poßtal service, also to the Commissioners ? Whilst the people were demanding retrenchment, the Commissioners were raising the salaries of the officers, but not of the workers. Inetead of encouraging the people to go far from the centres they were hampered in every possible way by the tariff. When a demand was made for less expenditure, workers were dismissed, and necessary repairs were neglected. At the same time many of the officers were given holidays on full or half pay. On the question of the women's franchise, the Government would reintroduce the measure next session. Mr Seddon spoke briefly on the Labour question, boy labour, and courts of conciliation and arbitration. The result of the arbitration must be compulsory, as in Massachusetts. The present was the time to deal with it. The Premier concluded with the assurance that the Government policy, so well begun, would be continued, with the result that happiness and contentment would reign supreme in New Zealand, the first country in the world. A motion thanking the Premier for his address, and expressing confidence in the policy of the Government, was adopted. A vote of sympathy with Mrs Ballance on the death of her husband was also passed, [prom our own correspondent.! The speech delivered by the Premier at the meeting of the Auckland Liberal Association last night, in which Mr Seddon declined to swallow the whole of the Liberal programme as recently published, was a well-timed rebuke to the small extremists and faddists, of whom Mr W. J. Napier, a lawyer and a parliamentary candidate, is the offending head and front. The programme was drawn up by Mr Napier and adopted by the Association without one consideration, and in defiance of a strenuous protent by the more moderate members. The Star, which represents Liberalism in Auckland, on Saturday last, attacked the programme in a vigorous article. It cautioned the Association against being led away by a few people who were losing their heads, and urged them to abandon purely chimerical schemes. The Premier last night spoke in a similar strain, and plainly gave it to be understood that "he " was the head of the Liberal Party. Tb9 Napier section is a. Email one, aad after the

caetigatfOiT administered by the Premier, seems very abashed. The incident will do much %° consolidate the Liberal ranks. Had the. .extremists and faddists been allowed to haW their " heads " there would have been serious risk of wrecking the party. The views put forward by the Premier are tbe views of the great bulk of tbe Government supporters in Auckland, and the Napier section will now probably fall obediently into tbe ranks. The Nap&eritOs bad further arranged for Mr Beehan to take the chair at Mr Seddon's meeting to-night, but the Premier asked the Mayor (Mr Crowfclaer) to preside in accordance with custom ; and this also meets vrith tbe approval of the Liberal Party as a whole.