Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price 1d. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1886. Sir Julius Vogel on Political Affairs.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XIX, Issue 1800, 26 February 1886, Page 2

Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price Id. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1886. Sir Julius Vogel on Political Affairs.

Sin Jcuus VotiEL has at length made his promised big speech at Auckland. The first part of the speech was very dull and positively bristled with figures. It was duller even than a Budget speech, because the latter has the merit of being fresh, whereas Sir Julius Vogel only gave a rehash of old facts and figures. It can be gathered from the speech that Sir Julius does not see the possibility of reducing the enormous cost of the Civil Service. He never could see that. Then he considered the question of whether any additional revenue required should be obtained from Customs or property tax. On this point he remarked that if the property tax were decapitalised at lix per cent, it w./iild represent for seven-eighths of a peuny in lb.-. p und on capital value a charge equal to om hilfin;; and fourpcnce of tbe annual value, ami “.roc farthings represented one shilling and a halfpenny in the pound of annual value. He would not go into the question of changing to a land and income tax. Anyway, he thought with land yielding so [badly, one shilling in the pound of annual value was enough ; more would stand in the way of settlement. He next contended that the best way to raise additional revenue would be by increasing the Customs Bir Julius shirked the question of Protection, but it is quite clear from bis speech that he means to impose protective duties if Parliament will let him. We therefore expect that Sir Julius is pre. pared, should the opportunity occur, to onoe more bring forward the obnoxious Customs Tariff which was so summarily rejected last session. If Sir Julius tries 'that game, tbe utter and humiliating defeat of bis proposals is practically certain. Sir Julius then said that a puolic worka policy should be Ist, vigorous prosecution of railway works ; 2nd, a reduced proportion of expenditure fur other purposes; 3rd, works begun to be rapidly completed to a paying condition ; 4th, loans to be so tied up that they could not he diveited from the purposes for which they were bor. rowed. Then Bir Julios said tbe best he could for that contemplated monstrous job—- “ The East and West Coast Railway.” Ho actually told the Auckland folks that they would specially benefit by the construction of the iino, though how he arrived at such a conclusion it pu„„lc3 us to discover. He further asserted that there was splendid land all along that line, and that one bleck of sixty thousand acres was worth half a million of money. Now our practical farmer friend, Mr W. C. Buchanan, M.H.8., for Wairarapa South, lately declared in a speech to his constituents, ” that the land in question was practically useless for all purpose* of settlement.” Mr Buchanan happens to have seen the land, and is besides a most excellent judge of what laud is worth. Bir -.alius Vogel, who cannot stir from his perambulating invalid’s ‘-•tt, has of course never seen f tood a * oil ana "* the most ignorant man m ~ ’ . , ■ m the value and oapaMlihs whole co'ony as that there ties of land of any [sort. u .<l waT line were millions of acres along that ra- Jwhich were of tremendous value. Well, believe that the opinion of Mr Buchanan on | this point is sound and accurate, while that of J Bir Julius Vogel is so worthless as to be far below fierioue [consideration. The truth is

that Vogel 1b mixed up with a lot of scheme g who for selfish reasons of personal gam want a big job to be perpetrated in connection with the construction of this East and West Coast Railway, and so of course I o “ goes in bald-headed ” for the iniquitous scheme.

In another part of his speech Sir Jnlins shows, theoretically, how the railways in the colony could be made to pay splendidly. We wonder why it is that he and his colleagues in the Ministry have not therefore made the railways pay, in practice. Generally on the question of Colonial .finance, Sir Julius declares that if the colony does not go in lor a big loan and an enormously costly scheme of public works, things will very nearly collapse, and the people be subjected to great suffering. Well, we simply don’t believe what th's heaven-born financier says on this subject. If his views were adopted in their entirety the colony wouid soon be plunged in an abyss of insolvency and ruin. Sir Julius nearly ruined the colony some years back, and ran away like a coward, when trouble and danger were close at hand. He wants to try the same experiment again, but the colonists know their man, and will refuse to give him a chance. On the subject of, a dissolution Sir Julius said“ As to the possibility of a dissolution before the session. Ministers had not determined about it. They had not discussed it in full Cabinet, nor had they tendered advice to his Excellency on the subject yet. The reasons in favor of a dissolution were that the people should be consulted about the policy of public works. This being the last session, if a dissolution took place after the session began, a second session would cost £25,000. But this was the least argument in its favor. The most important hinged upon the question of time. If the dissolution took place first, Parliament could meet in May, as he believed the financial exigencies would make it necessary to do. By the end of June it ought to be decided if there was to be a new loan. If not, all public works must be stopped excepting those for which engagements had been made. The North Island trunk loan would about meet these, but without a new loan, the House would not be justified in voting much, and then only out of the North Island trunk loan. If a dissolution took place after the House met, authorities for raising a new loan could not reach England until nearly January, as was the case in 1884, when every expedition was used. Apart from the enormous risk'of being confronted with a bad market by waiting until the last moment, there was the yet greater consideration that delay in settling about a new loan would mean an enormous amount of misery in the colony. Every hour was important, and a dissolution taken out of the session would be very mischievous. There might be a way out of it, but he confessed he did not see it.” All this is very vague. We think it is absolutely necessary that there should be a dissolution before another session is held, but it seems that Ministers cannot make up their miuds either on this or any other question. With respect to the policy of next sessjon Sir Julius said he did not profess to bind the Government, but he knew generally the views of his colleagues, and he knew his own. He thought the decision cf the Public Works policy was the principal question next session. The local Government question presented many difficulties, and he did not believe it could be finally settled. A substitute for the Roads and Bridges Oonstruotion Act must be provrded. That Act should have expired of itself, for its basis was a land revenue that did not exist. There was no inclination on the part of the country districts to tax themselves or to be joined with the towns. The speaker then dealt with the question of control of expenditure. When the question of local government was finally settled they could not leave out of consideration the powers of the Land, Education, and Charitable Aid Boards.

He believed that final settlement would have to be delayed, but meanwhile something must bo done both as to continuing subsidies and to affording a substitute for the Hoads and Bridges Act. The Hospitals and Charitable Aid Act wanted amendment, but not in many particulars. He indicated the chief points requiring amendment, amongst them being making more easy payments from the Treasury, and enlarging encouragment to private donations. Having carefully read and considered the report of the speech, we come to the conclusion that Sir Julius Vogel has contrived to wrap np a very email modicum of information in a very great number of words. Altogether, the speech is dissappoin ting and unsatisfactory. It is not a definite declaration of ministerial policy, and when such a thing is to be forthcoming Heaven only knows—if indeed Heaven takes any concern ’in " the ways that are dark, and tricks that are vain of bir Julius and his ministerial colleagues.”