POLITICAL.

West Coast Times, Issue 10427, 4 December 1896, Page 4

POLITICAL.

[?H Uxitzo Pillss Association.] Xapier, Dec 3. No-iinaiions for the Eastern Maori eleet</ ate-— Wi Pere, Tare Meta, Marka Tarul:, TaaiaLl Tautuai, Urhta Nopera. (From Late .^changes.) In a recent speech at Dunedin, Mr H. S. Fish, ex-member for Dunedin, said, in referance to Mr Seddon and the Female Suffrage Bill : — " He and his Government were thoroughly opposed to this measure, but their fmpporters and opponents in tte Assembly forced them to pass it : but in the Legislative Council the Premier d^tti rained to wreck it if he could, and wiiin my own knowledge he lobbied members ot his own party in that Charr.'jcr to vote against the measure. But en this occasion the astute Premier •was foisted with his own petard, for a iew membars of the Upper House, wh« did not approve of the measure, voted for it in order to mark their disapproval ami abhorrence of the Premier's duplicity. And after the measure had been carried "by, I think, a majority of one only in the liegislative Council, I myself saw and 'heard the Premier in the lobby of the House violently gesticulating and using language much more forcible than polite in condemning the bungling action of his colleague, the late Hon. Sir Patrick Buckley, in allowing the measure to come to a jinal division without being sore he had a .majority against it. This very aame man, a few days later, when the question was absokr.ely beyond recall, bad the brazen effrontery to say to the women of NflW Zealand—' Sej wliat, I have given you ; I have given you tho fracchiae,' Such, is

the Premier of the colony 1 Such is the i ; Government which governs New Zealand. 11 The Post presents the following strong indictment of the Government: — "We are opposed to the present Ministry, and deaire to see there dispossessed of office, because they have abused their power, resorted to unconstitutional means to compass their ends, and have armed themselves by Statute law with extraordinary and arbitrary powers that have been and will be exercised to maintain them in office rither than for the welfare of the country. Among other reasons why, in our opinion, Mr Seddon should cease to i ule this country are tbeae : — That Parliament has been absolutely ruled by one man instead of being controlled by the people through its representatives ; that, the Premier, in the guise of Democracy, has set up an absolutism that has already curtailed political liberty, and will, if continued, prove a serious menace to the best interests of the State ; that the financial policy of the Government has been one of deception and concealment throughout) md there is the gravest reason to supple that the true position of affairs is undisclosed ; that the Government, I .xgrnst the mandate of the country, has nVained a million httß in order to placate tha constituencies fWftt the right of ParWuv.ent to obtain information and returns -fleeting the welfare of the country has been denied ; that the cost of living to •he masses has neen increased by added axation upon the n3ce3saries of life ; that Parliament has been compelled to tbe appropriation of great sums of money without discussion ; that the Government improperly appropriated the sinking funds of local bodies." * Some of the blessiuga of co-operative labour are shown in the following ex" j tract from last year's official returns:— ! In Auckland 94 men earned 3r 2d per day, in Tarauaki 34 men earned 2b lid per day, in Hawke's Bay 144 men earned 2s 3d per day, in. Wellington 28 men earned ] r 8d per day, in Westland 54 men earned ! 4s 3d per day, in Southland 4 men earned ' Is 2-3 per day, iu-Otago 10 men earned 2s •"i 1 per day. Mr Seddon himself is becvud to draw anything between £2000 i i mm £3530 a year in one way and another. Men are moved by hundreds into electorates to vote for Government candi- , dates, and are put on works dignified by ' tbe name of co-operative contracts, and enrolled for the district the work is in. They are not allowed to seamen, shearers and muaterers — to vote where their 1 homeo are.. M r Seddon actually got a ' Bill recommitted, and forced the clauses ' out remedying this, by means of a servile majority who owed him gratitude — which 1 is a lively sense, of favours to come. If there is r>ne subject upon which Mr 1 Soddon and his followers have talked J j more nonsense than another during the 1 ! prj-^ent campaign it is the reduction of ' i the price of money. According to the 5 great " I am "of New Zealand the fall ' has been solely brought about by the Advances to Settlers Act. Everyone who " kndws anything at all about what is ' ijoiugon outside the Colony knows that 5 this is not the case, but the Premier ' j "jooms away at the same old song, and ' * his followers, who mostly know even less 1 about finance than he does, supply an obedient chorus. The fact is* that money is simply going begging all over the " world, and New Zealand offers no excep1 -lon. Aa important department of the ! ! .Hi!>lic service, tbe Govern meut Life In- " sur.in.ee Department, is advertising i j •■ Cheap money," and off-rs to lend sums nf from £100 to £10,000. Uuder £5000 1 ihe interest is 4^ per cent; over £5000 and under £10,000, 4£ jjer cent; The Go'evnmeiiG charges 5 per cent, for loans ; ..nder the Advances to Settlers Act, and - lie pressure of cheap money in the great commercial centres of the world is thuforcing a Government dep.m'n *iit to ofi ler money at a lower rate than the Government itself offers to the settlers. Yet Mr fieldon reiterates, in every speecu lie makes, the statement that that Act has reduced the rates of interest in New Zealand. Could audacity, or ignorance, go further ? •' Is it a proof of Liberalism to be an autocrat — to domineer over and bully everyone who dares to differ with him — lo udopt the American system of " spoils : -o the victors, — to refuse informatiou to , i iciabers of Parliament so that the people i . rt; prevented from knowing the true state j 1 public affairs— to make unnecessary '„ l^ts for political i'upp'brteiA, to openlj io'ate the law in order to favour politi<a! friends — to bullysand thr«,iten judges* who do their duty fearlessly and honourably — to stump the country making inflammatory speeches to support weak and grovelling members of their pardy (instead of looking after the affairs of the countiy for which they are paid) — to institute the \ villainous system into tbe various Government offices, so that officials dare not call their souls their own — to corruptly , favour a section of the Press to obtain pmitictl support — to swamp the L,eyis i.v.ive Council with empirical imbeciles an 1 nonentities an a reward for being blatant, and loud-mouthed in their support ! y the Government*— to appoint rhemj I<n& to fat billets outside ot Parliament — '<> prostitute pu/o au<J honest fcovernii' ,v in every way possible —to appoint si i^h members of their pirty to useless anc' unnecessary commissions, such as the Tariff and others, as a reward for thf ir dumb-dog support — and all at the cm.i . f tbe working man. I ask the supporters of the Government if this is what they call Liberalism ? AH I can say is that, if they do. I thank God that I am not si Liberal ! Aiid I say, without fear of contradiction of all these political offences are the Seddon Government guilty."— Mr Fish at Dunedin.