Parliamentary News.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XVIII, Issue 3253, 13 July 1895, Page 3

Parliamentary News.

(PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Wellington, Last night. In the House last evening Mr Ward moved that the circular issued to the public in London by the Agent General in respect to the 3 per cent loan for £1,500,000 be laid before the House. In doing so he said he thought it was to be deplored that attacks such as had been made on the Agent General should bo made against a gentleman occupying such a high and important position in England. The reflections made on himself (Mr Ward) respecting his truthfulness while in London he took for what they were worth, and he would endeavor to defend 8»r W. Perceval from the charge that he had made misleading etatements in London. He referred to the question of the £3,000,000 of securities, and read a speech ho had made before the London Chamber of Commerce. He maintained that what ho eaid in that speech was undisputably correct, and that when he spoke of £3,000,000 security the total amount of the securities was over £2,900,000. Sir R. Stout hoped that whatever difference of opinion they had in politics they fi hoold not be charged with a desire to do the colony barm. He was pleased at Mr Ward’s return, because they bad had nobody on the Government benches in the f-reasurer’s absence to give the House *ny information. He (Sir R. Stout) still jnaintained, after the Treasurer’s speech, that what Mr Ward told the London Lnamber of Commerce was not true and Tu P rov ®d by the papers laid on the “ble by Mr Ward last year. It was “true to say that securities in London e re unpledged, and Mr Ward’s statement was tpe most damaging ope ever made to 6 credit of the colony. The Agent--I*2* 8 - c * rc °l Qr waa untrue and mis».,D Bi° every paragraph. Instead of tb barges having decreased since i 8 wvernment took offioo they had an< * ever y penny of the per cent debentures, said by t L n 'ar to be still in the possession of »8o ' it J7. ernmen t had been spent years I ’ ° lr Robert also pointed to other toDdJf erDe nt 8 * n the circular, and conboht • ere WBB no justification for np t* l ® colony in the way the General had done.

Mr Reeves said Sir R. Stout had stated that £BOO,OOO of debentures had all gone, but the faot was that £476,000 of thoso were free and were held by the Government, whilst the remaining £324,000 were held by the Post Office Department, and could be used in the event of a great national crisis such as that alluded to by Mr Ward. As to the raising of the loan, he said the total number of peoplo applying for it was only 30, and they consisted of astute brokers and financial experts, every one of whom knew well what he was doing.

Mr Hutchison said the two Ministers who bad spoken had treated the subject with flippancy but without argumeut, and the Colonial Treasurer had blaff id the House as he had bluffed the country. He asked whether, if it had been known that the Treasurer was prepared to pledge the trust funds of the colony, he would have been trusted by London financiers? Certainly not, and none of the 30 money lenders would have lent their money. As to the securities. Could any man say they were unpledged when they belonged to the Insurance Department, Post-office, and Public Trustee ? Was it ever seriously contemplated to make advances against them ? Why for less than that men bad undergone terms of penal servitude. Mr Montgomery add tho Agent General had no doubt put the position of the colony in a most favorable light bnt he was quite justified ia doing so. Dr. Newman said the circular in parts was deliberately inoorreot, although the Treasurer had stamped them with his approval. Mr M'Laohlaa contended that it was all moonshine to say that the Colonial Treasurer’s mission had not been a success Mr Buchanan considered tho AgentGeneral’s circular would throw grave discredit on the colony, and its administrators throughout tho civilised world. Captain Russell complained that the Treasurer had given the House no information at all, and he believed the country would not submit much longer to be hoodwinked by those half truths that were continually uttered by Ministers It was stated in the Agent-General’s circular that our exports were steadily increasing, when as a matter of fact they had from one canso or another been decreasing for the last five years, and had only slightly in creased last year. He thought it had been conclusively shown that the Colonial Treasurer had made two opposite statements to the House and tho London Chamber of Commerce. He moved as on amendment that the Agent - General’s oircular be referred to the Public Accounts Committee for investigation and report. Mr Seddon said he would not accept the amendment. He could only take it in one sense, and that was as n vote of censure on the Government. Ho justified the Colonial Treasurer’s statement with regard to the securities, and deprecated the unpatriotic way in which the Opposition had treated the whole matter. Messrs Bell, Dutbie, Allen, and G. J. Smith spoke in support of the amendment, and Messrs Mackintosh and Flatman opposed it. A motion by Mr J. W. Kelly for an adjournment of the debate was lost by 34 to 23, and Mr Massey waa speaking when tho telegraph office closod at 2 a.m. This day

After tho telegraph office closed this morning Captain Russell's amendment was rejected by 37 to 16, and Mr Ward having replied, the motion that the Agent General’s circular be laid on the table, was agreed to on the voices. The House rose at 2.50 a.m.