POLITICAL JOTTINGS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11609, 11 August 1892, Page 2

POLITICAL JOTTINGS.

Thirty two Government and twenty threo Opposition members spoke in tho financial debate. The Government propose settling the present co-operative workers on sections of ten to fifteen acres, forming village settlements near their work. Sir John Hall's summary of tho Government policy is " tho colony is going to livo within its means and borrow money to do it." The defence works have cost the colony J2478.000, half for the material of war, .£36,500 for land, and ,£203,000 for forts, launches, reportß, &c. The Auckland Chinamen having taken a vegetable supplying contract from the Lemon Company, Mr Latvry asks the Government to intervene to prevent Celestial competition with the European contractors. When Mr Eapa was speaking on the Financial Statement, the Ministers had all left the Chamber. Mr Kapa at once stopped and said that as he was speaking for the edification of Ministers, he must request that they roturn to their benches. The House roared as first one Minister and then another was brought back to his seat. The Financial Statement on " self reliance "; " We have marched for twenty years at a furious pace, too severe to last." Sir John Hall : " I think the hon. gentleman is a. bit of an anthorit3 r on the subject. (Laughter.) He was on the Treasury coach at a time when the pace was certainly too severe to last." A. feature of the Native Land Purchase and Land I'or Settlement Bills, which wili meet with groat hostility, is the proposal to give the Government authority to spend great sums of money without appropriation of Parliament. Whilst 4 per cent. New Zealand consolidated stock is at 104, and 4J per cents should certainly be worth 110, the Treasurer has converted five per cent stock into four and a-half it par. That is certainly bad finance. — Sir John Hall. ;Mr Ballance some time ago wrote a pamphlet in favour of landlnationalisation, in which be stated that its advosates were entitled to appeal to every prejudice in order to seenre the reform.