POLITICAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5488, 13 February 1896, Page 1

POLITICAL.

• .' ♦ — — THE COLONIAL TEEASUREK AT THE DEILLSHED. The Drillshed was densely crowded last night, when the Hon J. G. Ward gave an address on political matters. A large number of ladies were among those present, but young people were not admitted. An extemporised platform had been erected at the northern end of the shed by the Canterbury Engineers, and seating had been provided for about 1200 persons, but a large .number of /people were unable to obtain seats. . The chair was occupied by Mr IL "8."83xk, and among those on the platform were the Hons J. E. JenMnsonand W. C. Walker, Messrs 1 B. M. Ta,ylo_y ; & W. ; •.Eussell, W. W;. Cqllinß, B, ?Mereditb,; • Shand, C. liouisson, W?*__k <Sa_hu^vahd> TW. I*. -Ballinger. The Hbn^i-O. r*T?!ard; who/ was Yaccompanidd by? the . Hon! J. .M'Kenzie, wSk .greeted witfcf heaa^ap^* pj^iise and .cheers as he entej-pd ;'the i-OOlli." " " ': 'y'i ■■''-■- ■ .■"-■■' "' : -*"-r'., ..-■'■ The Chairmah, in opening the proceedings, said that Mr Ward was about to address them on the- leading political questions of interest to the people- of New. Zealand, and he (the Chairman) hoped that the audience would give mm that patient, fair and attentive hearing, which his high office demanded. (Applause.) This was the moire to be hoped, as Mr Ward had to leave for another part of the colony at the olose of the meeting. . Mr Ward,* who was received with continued applause, said he esteemed it a verygreat pleasure to have the privilege of addressing a Christchurch audience that evening. Publio men in every colony necessarily required to be kept in order by the caustic criticism of an Opposition Press, and his experience for the last year or two was that, in that respect at any rate, he had beeni kept alive, as he ought to hare been, and probably there was no place in the colony in.- which the Conservative Press haid devoted so much attention to his humble self as in Christchurch. That being bo, he -thought th§y would agree that a sense of British % fair play usually allowed a man who had been attacked from time to time to' defefid himself, and when the opportunity presented itself, they could take his word foritthat, as brieflyashe could, on the many matters he wpuldref er to, he would endeavour to place his side of the question before them, so that they could fairly and impartially judge whether some of those wild statements directed against . other members of the Ministry ai well as himself — as though they were savage beasts — - ---were warranted. Before proceeding with? 'his speech, he might be allowed to refer to two. matters, locally upon which he had ; been asked- to speak. * ..:/ ? '/?■'? ,y- --????..'";?'''' ?GOV__BNMENT, PEINTING.?" .; ''?;:•?.■;' He had "been?*. told that one of ?t__e departments under his administration had been guilty of ' a sin of .'coStuiiission by having sent to England for printed matter which could, be printed in the colony. He referred to telegraphic forms and telegraphic envelopes. As a matter of fact, the whole of the telegraph forms used in this country were printed in the colony. The Government gave to one of the local printing offices, which they weretold could carry, out this class of work, an order to print half a ("million telegraphic envelopes, offering a price of 25 per cent beyond the cost they were paying in England. Unfortunately the firm referred to had to ask to be relieved on the ground that they could not carry out the contract. The desire of the Government was on all occasions whenever possible to aid local industry and give the work of the colony to people in the colony. (Applause). THE CHINESE. • . He had also been asked to say a word or two about the Chinese. The solution of the Chinese difficulty was largely in the hands of the Consumers tii tius . colony— (applause)— for if they would only do what was calculated to lift the community in which wei lived to a higher plane and employ Europeans instead of Chinese, what might be - a great canker in this country would soon remedy, itself. DOMESTIC SERVANTS. • He noticed on casual visits of this kind that there was a great desire in the hearts of some people to catch votes and to obtain support, and one could not wonder that so much interest should be displayed in regard to domestic servants. It reminded him of a parody of some of Eudyard ICpling's verses : — The working men are duffers, And they're never worth a groat ; But it's British bone and sinew , When they^ want your blooming vote. : -They want yonr tlobmin? Votel'toy lad, ' .■■■ They want your blooming vote; . Oh, it's British bone said sinew; ...,. _.*' '-. ' When ; they, want your blooiniiigvote;* (Applause.); ;• Tiuafc.was all he would say about that matter.' ■ "* ? :>. '.'■ OPPOSITION CRITICISM. , They had doubtless heard a great deal concerning the present 1 Ministry since it had been in office about their extraordinary desire to misrepresent the financial position of the colony. If they were to judge.by . the descriptions: which had appeared- about. :. the members of the Ministry, they would suppose they were all-men who were largely trying to; delude people instead of -placing •before them, as honest administrators, the real facts of the position of the colony. He had been accused of misleading, both the Houses of Parliament, and even the great financial magnates o£ London. Did his audience suppose that the whole of the, executive officers who had been employed in this colony before the present administration took office at all, with their high reputations to sustain, if an attempt were made to gull the people of the colony, could be made for the time dishonest public servants? He would say that, unfortunately, there had been for the last year or two an attempt by a part of the community, in order to get at the policy of the Government, to traduce and ruin the characters of the men who, for the time being, were carrying on the affairs of the country. For his own part, he had the greatest possible regard for the criticism of the Press. He honestly believed it to be essential for both parties that they should have a free, impartial and fearless Press, but he said that tho Press also had great responsibilities as well as those whom they criticised. (Applause.) NON-BORROWING. The present Government had come into office upon what was called " the cry of the non-borrowing Ministry," and because from 1891 to 1895 the indebtedness of the colony had increased by -81,566,000 they were everlastingly pointed to by their opponents as men who came into power for the purpose of deceiving the people. The position was that those who criticised them knew fully that the preceding Government had gone on the London market for the purpose of borrowing millions. That policy was very inimical to the welfare of the colony, and had to be stopped. At that time the late administration knew that the power of converting loans was at their disposal, and when they went out of office they cabled to London and cancelled ah instruction sent by them

for the conversion of lo£ms, with the distinct object of embarrassing the policy of the Government which was to follow them. The interests of the country should have been paramount on such an occasion. The difference between the two policies was that the Atkinson Government did not depend upon conversion operations, but believed it was desirable to obtain borrowed millions. Predictions were made at the time that the Ministry would drive the country to the dogs and "gallop to a deficit." The question of whether they had increased the indebtedness of the colony had never been denied by any member of their Ministry or by any honest supporter. As a matter of fact they had only to take the Budgets iio find the records for themselves. , THE PUBLIC DEBT. .-.. What was the increase;'? It was _61,666 ? 000, and 6i. that sum ho less than *;^33^opo:.']^?by. < -nvesi^ent brought to .'the Paplony. more interest -than was paid fupon the -tfhole -61,666,000. (Applause.) > ? r ' THE 6UEPLUS. "..... ■'.' They had "been .• told that the surpluses which -the present adnsiiiistration. had surprised their opponents with were what was. termed paper surpluses, ahd were of a bogus character, but he defied anyone to say that the statements he would give them were not correct and true in every detail. In March, 1891, the gross surplus was -6222,565. The sum' of -678,600 was paid in reduction of the deficit of 1888, leaving a net surplus of .£143,965. In 1892 the gross surplus was •£295,573, out of which -630,000 was paid in aid of the Public Works Fund, and _eioo,ooo in reduction of "the floating debt, leaving a net surplus of .£165,573. In 1893 the gross surplus was -6483,780, out of which .£200,000 was applied to the Public Works Fund, leaving a net surplus of .£283,780. In 1894 the gross surplus was .6550,458, of which -6250,000 had been applied to public works, aaid .810,220 in a contribution towards the purchase of the Cheviot Estate, leaving the net surplus -6290,238. In 1895 the. gross surplus was -6430,041, and the amount applied to public works .£250,017, leaving the net surplus -6180,024. He would show how unfair was the argument of those who opposed their surpluses. These opponents— and among them was a powerful institution, the National Association — (applause) — argued that Government ought not to bring forward the balance from the previous year. They might ask any man or woman in the community whose earnings amounted to -6150 or ,£2OO a year, and who was able to carry over _850 at the beginning of the year, if he or she would not take that to help to liquidate the. liabilities of the.current year. (Applause.) But in the Financial Statement the Government showed their position both ways. They showed the actual earnings, and the actual expenditure of the colony, and they showed the actual surplus .on the year's operations- and the: gross surplus also; .They showed their estimated revenue ?last year as. -64,341,200, andthe expenditure an excess -..of revenue of .£9357; that was the net surplus. They had a balance at the beginning of the year of -6180,024, and they added that, to the net balance of -89357, and got a gross surplus of .£189,381. That was plain enough, yet ever since the present Government had been in office, a section of the public and Press of the colony had been telling the people that the Ministry were endeavouring to deceive tham, when all the facts were set out. truthfully /'"'aaid" fully. (Applause.) A GROUNDLESS CHARGE. lie might say a word or two concerning another financial dealing upon which there had been a gre&t deal of talking and writing. He had been accused of having misled the House in his last Financial Statement on a matter to which he had referred in his Statement of 1894. He had found that in dealing with the drawn bonds, when they were remitting money to England to meet them,' they were in the habit of making a cross entry on the other side of ' the ledger. In his Financial Statement of 18G4 he directed the attention of the House and the country to the matter, and said that this would be discontinued, and that accordingly after that year the charge for interest on the consols would diminish in proportion as the debt became extinguished by the annual drawing. This was done in the last Statement, and he was told by Opposition members that he was deceiving the public by trying tb show the interest at a lesser amount than the colony was fairly liable to pay. The matter was referred to the Public Accounts Committee, which took two months to investigate the diabolical deeds of the Treasurer, and the result was nil, or rather, the result was an attempt to create a public opinion that the Government "was not to be trusted so far -as. the. finances of the were cor.corned, but it failed. (Applause.) V- THE RELEASED SINKING FUNDS. ■ It was somewhat amusing to read the strictures ebneerhing the sinking funds of the 'colony. /He would tell them something about them. The total amount of the released sinking funds from April 1, 1891, to March 31, 1895, was -81,624,616. It was disposed of as follows :-— To the Consolidated Fund for the redemption of debentures, .£1,083,376 ; floating debt paidoff,-81p0,000 ; Public Works Fund, .£441,240. The amount of accrued sinking fund pn March. 31, 1895, was .£751,932. They had been told that-fchey ought not to use^fche released sinking funds.- ~\Why? If a man, intending to borrow _816,000, borrowed .£2OOO, knowing he had to borrow another .£BOOO, would be, if a sensible man, take .£3O out of the =62000 towards wiping out the -68000. The'idea of putting a comparatively small sum towards a sinking fund was, in the opinion of some of the leading financial authorities, a mistake. There had been no general opposition to using the sinking fund till last year, though there had been a simmering of discontent among the Opposition. The real explosion took place last year, when it was said that the .£145,000 worth of debentures had been issued against a certain local body's loan. They had been told that Government had adopted a system of robbing the local bodies of the colony of the fund which, under the Act of 1892, they had a right to have set against their loans, but those who said that did not tell the whole truth; they did not say that under the Act of 1886 sinking funds should have been created against the loans of the whole of the local bodies of the colony. They did not say that Mr Ballance, in the year he went out of office converted .8480,000 of the local bodies' loans into consolidated stock, and that no sinking fund was provided for that at all. He would tell them that the accretions of the Sinking Fund of 1892 had not been seized; they were absolutely intact. Government had issued debentures against the Sinking Fund, a very different matter. If a man issued a debenture, or raised moneys, against a flour-mill, a house, or shipping, was there anything to prevent him when he got money, from retiring the debenture and not touching the security at all? In regard to the sinking funds, when a

debenture had been issued againsta particular security, that security had not been touched when the debenture became due. (Applause.), If any of them wished to familiarise themselves with the financial position of the colony they could not do better than read up the evidence which came before the Public Accounts Committee.-' No one would be foolish enough if he had to obtain money and could obtain it at 3 per cent, to pay 1 or If per cent more. That was not the way to create a healthy position for the local bodies of the colony. Instead of these large sums of money paying 5 or 1 per cent as at present, they should under conversion loans be paying 3\ or 4 per cent at the most. To take a matter, of this kind piecemeal in connection -with the whole of the financial operations of the, colony was ridiculous. Local bodies should he able, to obtain money under a system of finance by which the rate, including a, sinking fund, would not exceed 4% per cent. The executive .officers be-> liev6d the transaction to be 'a good one. It was in accordance .with the law, and 'Mr George Hutchison scad. Sir Eobert Stout,, who had discovered a mare's nest, after a long investigation, told the House and the country that this system had been the means of depriving the Treasury of no less than J>lßo,ooo during the year. Mr Hutchison, at Patea, had said it was quite true that the Treasurer was deprived of .£IBO,OOO, but then he had .8180,000 less to pay. No greater compliment could have been paid to a Colonial Treasurer. PUBLIC SECURITIES. Some of them would like to hear about the public securities. The Public Securities Bill was introduced by himself last session. In 1893, unfortunately, as everyone knew, a great financial disturbance was not only visible, but was in active operation in the Australian colonies, and the men entrusted with the great responsibility of Bteering the country clear of what appeared to be a financial crisis had laid upon them the duty of thinking ahead, in order to avert what might at anytime be a serious calamity. They saw that the centre of the' great financial world being London, where most of the colony's State property was invested, it was absolutely necessary that during any time of crisis the credit of the colony in London should not be impaired. They must place their securities in a position where, if the worst came to the worst, they would be perfectly safe. As the crisis grew, many institutions in neighbouring colonies came down, but this colony weathered the storm. They had about this time to make a large payment of -6600,000 for 'interest in London, and he would say the manner in which some membei-. had attempted; when this serious responsibility should have been upon their shoulders, to drag from him, when he had to : keep his mouth 'shut, the why and the wherefore, that the land tax was collected? a few months before it , was due, would ever remain a blot on them. The previous administration and other administrations had done the same thing, and were never questioned by members who were opposed to them in the House, when it was intimated privately by the Ministry or the Treasurer that it was undesirable that delicate matters of finance should become public. Not only were '• attempts made to extract these reasons, but it was again- and again stated thatthe tax wastobe collected, as the Government was in financial difficulties. The result was that private speculators took all the advantage they could of these statements to damage the colony's credit in London. Colonists for similar reasons wrote to London stating that the colony was practically bankrupt. (Voices : " Shame !") and when he was in London he found it necessary to reply— on receiving an invitar tion from the London Chamber of Commerce — to these statements, and he had to explain to business men the position of the colony at that critical time. On his return to the colony they attempted to discredit Mmandblackenhimfor attempting to maintain the honour and prestige of the colony. They had found fault with his speech as reported in'a journal, the British Australasian. The report of his address at the London Chamber of Commerce inthe British Australasian had been furnished, and that journal itself had said that it never pretended to be more than a summary ; yet it had been quoted as an authorised re-i port, and the people who had done so had' not had the honesty to publish the paper's explanation. In regard to his statement about the -63,000,000 worth of securities available to meet liabilities, the report of the public officers in Appendix 1 B to the Journals of the House of Representatives showed that at that time securities amounting to .63,000,823 were available. HIS VISIT 'TO LOOT- OX. He had been severely attacked and abused over his visit to London, but when there he had effected a saving of -63300. per annum to the colony in connection with the inscription of New Zealand stook by the Bank, of England. The AgentsGeneral of all the colonies had tried to do a similar thing and had failed, and it could not have been done in this instance had he not been -on the spot. Before he left he had'said in the House that it would be possible to raise money in London at 3^ per cent; and' his .opponents had ridiculed the idea, but he found that it could be raised,'' not ::- at 3^ "but at 3 per,cent. The -61,500,000 loan had been raised at 3 per cent, and New Zealand was the first colony that had raised a loan at that figure. It realised .894 8s 9d per .6100. By comparison with a loan at 3? per cent, if floated at par, this 3 per cent loan at -694 8s 9d resulted in saving on the ,£1,500,000 of -64125 a year, and if this were invested at 3 per cent for the fifty years of the currency of the loan it would produce .£466,000, or if at 3\ per cent it would produce over _8500,000. Though he had been very badly treated by a section of the community, he believed that the large majority of the people were with the Goverment in regard to that stroke of policy, which was calculated to do an immense amount of good. (Loud applause.) He thought that, as he had this opportunity of defending himself and his honour as a public man, he would do well to read them some extracts from letters he had received from business gentlemen in London— gentlemen in high positions in commerce whom he had met in his business transactions there. Mr "Ward read several letters, in which his work in London was alluded to in exceedingly eulogistic terms, the writers expressing surprise at his treatment bya section of the community since his return to the colony. Mr Ward, continuing, referred to statements that he had attempted to swindle the business men in London. Such a thing was an insult to the intelligence of these people who — a great deal cleverer than he — day by day and week by week, spent their time familiarising themselves . with the colony so far as its finances were concerned, and knew far more about it than he did. The statement was a discredit to, and a reflection on, those who made it. ADVANCES TO SETTLERS. In a young country such as this we were all largely dependent upon the productive power of the country, as its greater pro-

ductiveness meant more employes on the land, more prosperous people in the cities, and a more rapid growth of manufactures. Then was it hot essential that every man and woman in New Zealand who could do something to make the country productive should have every possible assistance in carrying out his business as successfully as he could? The Advances to SettlersOffice had been created because many men were paying a much higher rate of interest than they could afford. The Government knew before the general election that many people were suffering from tightness of the money chest, and that a lower rate of interest was essential They introduced a Bill, and after great difficulty carried it through. Under it 2925 applications had been made, amounting to .£1,132,561. Of that sum the gross amount authorised was [ -6620,084. Since the operation of the Act interest had fallen quite 2 per cent. As there was •£30,000,000 oh. mortgage in the colony, this meant a saying of .£600,000 a year outside the, working of. the Act. .:'•'■ " . CUBTOMS TARIPP... Probably* some :o£ the- local gentiem.en ; . had found ' fault with the Government for having largely 'increased tiie taxation of the colony* by the adjustment of the Customs tariff. T_h'ere were four items upon which increases : of Customs revenue had been received. On spirits there had been an increase of -646,000, •on tobacco _617,000 — no; alteration had been made in the duty on tobacco —on beer .61200 and on sugar .£4OOO, and no alteration had been made in the sugar duty. He wanted . to point out that there was an increase on tobacco and Bugar of -621,000, with no alteration of duty. The whole thing showed that the spending power of the people during the last few months had been greatly increased. What were the decreases ? Nothing was heard about them, but he would say what they were. On chaffcutters, .£36 ; raw coffee, -61139; fencing wire, .£9761; watches, -61594; tea, -634,387; binder twine, -694 ; turpentine, &c., .61037; woolpacks, .£4423 ; butter paper, _8368; sheepshears, -61050 ; maltine, chlorodyne, _6204 ; potassium chlorate, .688; and potassium cyanide, .£3266 ; or a total of -657,447.' He wanted to say a word or two about the adjustment of the boot tariff. He had first proposed a 25 per cent duty on boots, but the freetrade section of the Liberal Party united with the Opposition to oppose it, and finally, after the Government had had a hard fight, the duty was fixed at 22£ per cent. Now, he considered that in a young country industries should be assisted till they were? in a thoroughly healthy state; and all people should be ready to give and take to assist them, so that those engaged' in them might' gist a fair return for their labour. (Hear. 'Hear.) The impression, thatthe Government were largely dependent on the increase inthe Customs tariff for rev-? enue was not correct. The Customs revenue! for the financial year ending March 31, 1891 was -61,527,234, or £2 6s 3d per headof the population. For 1895 it was -61,569,767 or £2 3s lOd per head, a reduction of 2s 6d per head. To show that the Customs Department was economically administered, he would quote the cost of collection. In 1891 it was i>2 Os 3d per cent, and in 1895 _61 16s 8d per cent. This compared very favourably with other colonies. . In Victoria it was £3 Os 2d pet cent in 1891, and.-63 13s 2d in •1893 i -q L nd*in New South Wales it was £3 i&s 2d : °per cent. ministers' travelling. Ministers had been criticised because j they did not continually remain in Wellington. It had been said that they did not keep their eyes on the administration of their departments. The members of Australian Cabinets were often absent from the seat of government, and recently nearly all Jthe members of the British Cabinet were away irom London at the same timeIt was not necessary for members to remain in Wellington. There was not an administrative act which a Minister who was in touch with Wellington could not do in any part of the colony. railway administration. The Government had' made "great concessions to the public in regard to the railways. Their school excursions were unequalled for cheapness in Australasia, as were their excursion rates of ld per mile return. The first trial of the latter, in connection with the agricultural shows, had resulted in an increase of 4237 passengers and a loss of £131. The passenger traffic had increased 18 per cent while the revenue had decreased 3 per cent, but he felt sure that that loss would turn into a very large increase. It had been said that the reduction in the sheep rates wbuld cause a loss of .£7500 if no more sheep were carried, but for the nine months since the reduction there had been an increase of 275,709 in the number carried, with an increased revenue of .£755. The increased traffic had necessitated increased rolling stock, and had caused increased employment in connection with the railways. A concession had beeu given to commercial travellers by allowing free storage for eighteen hours to their luggage. It was proposed to classify the railway servants, which would mean an increased expenditure of -620,000 a year. And when that scheme was in force there would be even • more contentment thain ait the present-time. .-•■.- PUBLIC EXPENDITURE. They had been told that the present Government had been extravagant in its administration. The facts were that the ordinary expenditure, excluding interest and sinking fund for the year ending March 31, 1894, was -62,108,385, and for the year ending March 31, 1895, -62,189,710, The increase of .681,325 was to be accounted for thus : — Education, .835,362 ; lunacy and charitable aid, -615,688 ;

post and telegraph extension, -637,481; railways (by increased mileage), -615,867 ; Agricultural Department, .£20,000 ; Labour Department, .63437. The whole of these increases was an indication that the country was being developed. They had made reductions in the Native Department, the Colonial Secretary's Department, the Treasurer's Department, the Customs Department and the. Defence Department, amounting to -651,000. The condition of the colony could be judged by the following figures *. — The value of imports jin 1890 was -65,930,000, in 1895 -66,116,000; exports in 1890 -69,570,000, in 1895 -68,550,000. The net indebtedness in 1891 was .£59 lis lld per head; in 1895, -657 9s 9d; the gross debt in 1890 -662, "against j£6o 10s in 11895. ! .:' . LABOUR. I A section of the community said that the Government had not treated the labourers fairly, but they had endeavoured | during' the last three years to do all that could be done for the working people. In 1891 the average number, of men employed was 994, 5 ik 1892, 1159 ; in 1893, 1 1183; in' 1894, 1148; and in 1895 (three months) 1178. The Government in 1891 found work for 2593 persons; in 1892-3, 3874 persons; 1893-4, 3371 persons; and in 1894-5, 3030 persons. The arrivals from Australia in 1891 had been 11,000; in 1893, 22,000; 1894,18,000; 1895, 14,000. The Government of the day had. to find work for these people, as they could hot be allowed to starve. PIRE INSURANCE. With regard to the question of. fire insurance, they could not, as a community, allow any powerful combination to extort jeates, beyond what was fair, from the people of this country. (Applause.) He hoped that the good sense of those connected with the insurance companies would show them the impropriety of a course which m|ißt,_n the long run, be injurious to themselves. A Bill dealing- with thiß question would be considered by the Cabinet, and would then be submitted to Parliament. (Applause.) BORROWING. The question of ,to borrow or not to borrow would have to be decided by Parliament in the course of a few months. He was against a big borrowing policy. Nevertheless Government believed that the colony should not be allowed to halt or to go back; and for the purchase of Native land, opening up lands for settlement and for developing the country money must be had, but they were not going on the London market for minions. If the colony was as bad as was said how. was it .that on Jan. -24 their 4 per cent inscribed stock stood at 111 J, and their 3 per cent at 104$ — thes highest of any of tne Australasian Colonies except New South Wales? (Applause.) '■ ' A SURPLUS. ■ He would venture to predict that the next Financial Statement would show a sur plus of .£IOO,OOO. (Applause.) Astotheit* future policy, they should proceed very much upon the same track which they had traversed for a considerable time. Progress must be sure ahd permanent, and hence they must be cautious. Government had not had to go back on any part of their policy, and did not intend to go back. They must open fresh markets, and in this connection he might say that Mr Larke, the Canadian Commissioner, had told him that a leading gentleman opposed to him (Mr Ward) in politics had said that it was in the interest of the country to give effectto the Government proposals, but that they were determined that this Government should not have the credit of doing so. (Applause and cries of " Shame !") It was the duty of this Government and of every Government to do all in its power to elevate the mass of the community. (Applaus4.) Everything possible must be done to foster the tourist traffic. (Applause.) Eeferring to Mr Eeeves's appointment to the Agent-Generalship he contradicted the statement that dissension had existed between Mr Eeeves and his colleagues. The honourable gentleman, after speaking for upwards of two hours, concluded with a peroration in which he vindicated the policy of the Government, and finally asked his audience to record their votes for his friend, Mr E. M. Taylor. He resumed his seat amidst loud and prolonged applause. Mr B. Muffett moved— "That this meeting accords a hearty vote of thanks to the Hon J. G. Ward for his able address upon the financial position of the 'colony, and also expresses its unabated confidence in the present Liberal Government." (Applause.) Mr J. Y. Beattie seconded the motion. Mr Billcliff mounted the platform, and was received with considerable uproar. The Chairman endeavoured to obtain him a hearing, but could not. He spoke for a few moments, but the noise was so great that his words were inaudible. The metion was then put, a very large, number of hands were held up for it, and it was declared carried amid loud applause! Cheers were given for the Hon J. .G. Ward and Mr K. M. Taylor) and the meeting closed.