MR BALLANCE AT TURAKINA.

Wanganui Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 2656, 16 December 1875, Page 2

MR BALLANCE AT TURAKINA.

A very well attended meeting of the electors of llangitikei took place in the Town Hull, Turakina, on Wednesday evening, for the purpose of hearing Mr Ballance give an account of his proceeding in the past session and, his views of the future. The room, was well filled, many electors coming from Bulls and Marton. On the motion of Mr A. Simpson, G. Y. Lethbridge, Esq., was voted to the Chair. The Chairman said that all. present very well knew the object of the meeting, it was to enable their' member, Mr Ballance, to give an account of what he had done during tho last session, and to ask them to secure his re-election. Ho hoped they would give him a fair and impartial hearing. It had been said that their meetings were generally rowdy, but he hoped they would not deserve the character on this occasion. Mr Ballance, on rising, was received with cheers, and said that he came before them on the present occasion to give ihem an account of his stewardship, and what he had done as their member. That was the course which custom had rendered imperative, and it was more particularly so at the present time on the part of those who sought re-election. He was not aware that ho had clone anything since they had done him the: honor to elect him as their member to forfeit their confidence. He had called them together as !soon as the writs for the new Parliament were issued in order to tell them what he had done. He would in the first place refer to the past session; then to what was the probable course or the next ; and then to other questions which more particularly affected the-district. -They wore all aware that tho last session of Parliament was by far tLie most important tvhich had ever been held "in ]N Tcw Zealand. The Abolition question had received the attention of politicians of every shade, and it had the effect of rousing; the passions of many. It had excited more attention and discussion than any question which had been brought forward, in JsTcw Zealand. In speaking of Abolition he meant the abolishing of the system of Provincial Government which had been in force since 1851. That system had been planned by Sir ■George Grey, and he avowedly took the American Government as his model. But there was a great variance between the scheme adopted here and the American system. In America the Senate was elected as it were by the Provincial Councils, and Sir G-eorge Grey proposed the same here. But the Home Government rejected _ the proposal, and Provincial Councils in their present form were called into cxistensc. When Sir Julius Vogel first brought forward the Abolition question he did not intend it to apply to the whole Colony but only to the Is Torth Island. But it came to be a question that while the wealthy Provinces of Canterbury and Otago were able to carry on and pay their way, there was no reason why Marlborough and Nelson, who were not able to cany on and were in no better position than the provinces of the North Island should bo left out. The question was discussed during the recess, and it was said on all hands, why not make it apply to. .the whole colony. Foremost among the advocates of. entire abolition 'was the Otago .Daily Times, which had now turned round and was opposing the Government. The effect of the discussion on the question was that the Government made up their-minds to do away with Provincial Councils in both Islands. 'Now, these Provincial Governments wr ore the especial pots of Sir G. Grey, and he had said over and over again that if thej were abolished the people would lose their liberties. This was met by the reply, was there less liberty in the other colonies or in England,whcre no Provincial Councils existed? Then we were told that the Provincial Institutions should not be- abolished because they had performed their administrative duties fairly, but that too'was a disputed question. "■ When the question was brought forward the Government had a majority of more than two-thirds of the House. The Opposition saw that their position was desperate and they adopted the only course left to them, that of delay by talking against time. In this manner they would have been able to frustrate the intentions of the Government, and in order to obviate this the Government came to a compromise. The consequence of this was that Provincial Councils got a nine months longer tenure of life 'than was otherwise intended they should have. It had the effect of causingan alteration in the Government scheme of finances. The first proposal was that the Road Boards were to receive £2 for each £1. raised by ordinary rates, from the Government, and in addition lo this the license fees of all kinds, which now went to the Provincial revenue. Municipalities- were also to receive pound for pound raised for-local purposes. By the modification which had become necessary, the land fund was still to remain the property of the Provinces, but the Road Boards were only to have pound for pound, while the Municipalities- were only to receive ten shillings in the pound on the amount they raised themselves. But, as he had already stated, the land fund was to remain Provincial revenue to the end of next session. He would give them one instance of the operation of these proposals. In Rangitikeithey had raised by the Highway Boards about £1,600, and they would consequently be entitled to £1,000 from the revenue for eight months of the year, besides a share of the land fund of the Province. With regard to the remainder of the land fund it had been proposed that it should be distributed b}' the General Assembly. But great opposition had been made to this,,and it had been contended that it should go to the Land Boards. For his parb he believed its distribution should be managed by the General Assembly. (Cheers.) The next question was the Local Government Bill. This Bill . contained 271 clauses. It proposed to create Shire Councils formed by the amalgamation of two or'more Road Boards, and provided for a K,oad Board system. The proposal as to the Shire Councils was not consider-

eel satisfactory and the Bill was ultimately Withdrawn, as much for want of time to discuss it, as there was no pressing haste for it, and it was generally regarded as an unsatisfactory measure. The next important measure before the Assembly -was ail alteration in the Bankruptcy Law, called the Debtors and Creditors Act. By this it was proposed to give more extended powers to the creditors in dealing with the estate of a bankrupt. District and. Supreme Court Judges were necessary to its administration, and the former had extended powers conferred on them. In connection with this was the Fraudulent Bankruptcy Act. which ■contained some very stringent provisions and powers. He did not think these Acts would bo very satisfactory in their fresh working. Creditors were not used to exercise thepowers whichhad been eonferred_ upon them, and would find a difficulty .in carrying its provisions out. It coiitained'elauses called "after acquired' property clauses," and provided—That all debtors should pay 20s in the pound, and that those who did not do so should be liable to pay it out of any after acquired property they might obtain. It was held that where a debtor honestly and fairly gave up to his creditors all his property, he was entitled to his discharge, and. free to endeavour to retrieve his losses. But if after giving away all he had Ins after-acquired property was liable to be seized by his creditors, the consequence -would be that he would bo driven out and'would- go" to one of the other Colonies, and this was nob at all desirable. (Cheers,) These clauses were afterwards struck out. For his part lie believed that where a debtor had given up all his property and received his! discharge, it should be absolute, and wlicie he obtained any after-acquired property it should be left to his honor to pay his: old creditors. (Hear hear). These' Bills had been introduced by the.hon. Mr Bowen, who had been removed from a Resident Magistrate to become a Minister of Justice, and he had become a legal reformer. He was, although only a layman, a man of great ability and sterling honesty. He had already consolidated the Stamp Acts, the Acts relating to Births, Deaths and Marriages, and had introduced anew law substituting a declaration instead of an oath. They all knew; that the Quakers! were permitted to affirm an intention to speak the truth, but the new law provided that any man who had conscientious scruples against an oath could make a declaration, and if it was proved that, his evidence was not in accordance with the truth, he was guilty o£ perjury, and liable to the same punishment. But although, he had already consolidated many laws, still greater reforms were promised in this direction. Tne next question to which he would allude was the incidence of taxation. Sir George Grey had made an effort to take the duties off sugar and tea and other necessaries-of life,"but he had proposed no substitute. "With a stroke of his pen he proposed to Avipe off £150,000 of taxation and to put nothing in its place. If such a proposal-had been adopted, the consequence would have been liiat the Government would hare been £150,000 to the bad. The proposition was thrown out by the Assembly, but capital had been made out of it. It had also given rise to the feeling that the time had come when the wealth of the colony should contribute to the revenue. Sir George Grey had stated that every man, woman and child in the colony contributed £5 per head to the revenue from the consumption of dutiable articles. In order to test this Major Atkinson went to a storokecj)er, and took a model working man with a family, of four, and earning £100 a year. He took the amount of duty on the average consumption of such a family of dutiable articles, and found that ho contributed £4 to the revenue, or £1 per head per annum. The next question was the loan debt.of the colony, and this was one of great interest. We had been borrowing siaco 1870, and up to June 1875, the'public works expenditure and liabilities were £9,839,877. Of this 5um£5,795,200 had been raised tip to the time that' Sir Julius Yog el had gene home, and there was still required £4,044,677, to complete the works^ already projected. Sll1 Julius went home in 1874 to raise the four million loan. He went to the great house of llothschild, and with them placed the whole of it at once. This loan bore interest at the rate of 5 per cent. When he went home, Sir Julius Vogel thought it mighi bo raised at ,5^ per cent; so that he had been successful by placing it at a rate of interest slightly under his estimate. The balance yet to be raised of the loans authorized for immigration and public ; works is £1,312,100, including £800,000, of the Imperial guarantee. The sums required during the next two years to complete the works already begun, are £882,786. In that time we should have ; to spend the: four million loan which/has been just raised, and the sum of £882,780 in addition. The public debt on the 30th June - 1875, was £17,671,106,; the sinking fund accrued, . £1,074,(547, making tlie net debt £16,596,458. The annual charge for interest is £835,150, and on the sinhing fund £110,635, making a total of £915,785. The prospective debt, when all loans authorized are.raised and expended, will be £19,380,906, and the interest on this amount,' £925,1 40, and on the sinking fund£llO,63s, making a total'of £1,035,735.' The amount of the accumulated- sinking fund; would be £1,400,000, thus practically making the debt of the Colony £17,980,906. There was a great distinc-. tion to be observed between the public debt of England and of this Colony. The English creditor resided there, and the country, by paying interest, became no poorer. Here the interest left the Colony, and it was made the poorer by that amount. But there was one fund, the interest on which did not leave the Colony, and that was the Public Trust Fund, which now amounted to £2,000,000. In 1878 We should, in round numbers, owe £17,000,000. The actual revenue for 1874-5, including the surplus from the previous year, was £1,906,860, ami the expenditure £1,786,413, leaving a.surplus of 6120,446, This was; the answer the

Colonial-Treasurer \vas able to make to the charges tliat they would not be able to meet their-expenditure. He was able to \say:'-we shall have a surplus of £120,000. He would now refer to a most important question, namely— Would the prosperity of the Colony continued ? The Colonial Treasurer estima+ed that the customs revenue for 1875-6 would be £1,325,000, while the actual receipt for 1874-5 was £1,223,014, showing an increase of £101,380. Now. the important, question was,... Will this, state of prosperity continue 1 If it did not the anticipations of the Colonial Treasurer would not bs realized. He must confess tliat -the Jit-st -quarter; by which they could test the estimate,looked ominous. To realize the estimate we should have a surplus in the first quarter of £25,000. But how did "it stand ? The 1 September quarter of lS74gave a revenue of £311,031, while the corresponding quarter of 1375 yielded £312,472. It was this fact which led Major Atkinson to say at the banquet given in Wang<mui to Mr Bryee, " tliat if the public works are to be carried on the public must pay for them in the shape of higher taxation." It was evident that the customs revenue would bear no further strain upon it. 'Such being the case there were three modes in which the expenditure could be met. By taxation, by - retrenchment, or by increased consumption.of dutiable articles. Major Atkinson had based his calculations on the last. : But if the last three quarters did not turn out better than the iirst, he would have to turn to retrenchment. Mr Reeves had said in the course of one of his speeches that the Government could save a large sum by retrenchment. But Major Atkinson said at Wahganui that retrenchment was limited, arid that -unless there was great prosperity fresh taxation was inevitable, and that: if public works <vere wanted they would have to pay for theirs. He (Mr Ballance) believed that in the nt-xt session the Government would retrench to a very great extent. As an instance of what might be done by a change in the manner^of levying a duty he might instance the change which had been made from measurement to ad valorem duties, which was said to be a new tax on luxuries, and had increased the revenue by nearly £200,000. :He believed they might follow with advantage the policy introduced by Mr Gladstone of increasing the revenue by decreasing the taxation j udiciously. He might refer to the recent alt rations whi h had been made in the rates of postage between New Zealand and the Colonies, and the reduction of the postage on newspapers in the Colony from Id to M. As to any fresh taxation he should oppose anything in the shape of an uneven tax. He believed that all should contribute according to their means' to the revenue. The Government should take into consideration the real : property of the Colony in' proposing any fresh taxation. He ' hoped, however, that there would be no necessity for any increased burdens being placed on the people. With respect to what might be termed new legislation the three most important questions were local government, education, and the disposal of the waste lands. With regard to local government, they had the plan put forth by the Opposition of a Provincial Government for each Island,and a Federal Government for the whole Colony. He rejected, for his part, these plans, and and considered that they should have their local government as much as possible after the form which had been proposed. They should have Shire Councils with large administrative powers analogous to. Municipalities, with powers to borrow to carry out such public works as were required. Pie firmly believed that such a form of local Government would be satisfactory to the whole" Colony. On Education matters he thought they had taken a favorable turn/ But it had been said by the landowners that they ought not to contribute the greater part of the expense of maintaining education as they do at present ; that the consolidated revenue should give back to the working classes a portion of what they paid as a contribution to tlie education of their- children: He would read what the Colonial Treasurer had'said oir this subject. 'He stated— ''Before passing on there is one ; service: hitherto .under.Provincial control, which: I desire specially toniention, and that is Education. ;It is because the Government recognise the subject as of vital importance and as a general, that is. colonial concern ; that they.desire to feel their way most carefully before moving in it. Education is now carried on more or less succesfully throughout the colony. The Government desire ; not to alter until they are satisfied they can improve. For the present year, therefore, wo propose to leave things as tliey are ; seeing however, that proper provision is made where it is-wanting.- The Gov--ernment is of opinion : that education is properly a charge upon bur ordinary income, but in order to guard against the imposition of an excessive burden'upon'' our consolidated fund it is proposed for the present year to ask for authority to defray this -charge out of .the land fund; The valuable education reserves already made iv several Provinces "will remain subject to their present trusts, and reserves of a~ similar nature will be madein other districts when.practicable." He considered that education was a most important question, and that the Teachers should be certificated and placed on the footing of civil servants. ; Hitherto they had not been recognised in such a status,and their recommendations had been small, and their employment precarious. They had. been taken from the world, and if from want of training, they did not succeed they had been thrown on the world ag.dn. They should be properly trained and adequately paid, lie would give the Local Board power to choose the teacher and dismiss him, subject to the ultimate control of the Minister of Education. He would also give to the Local Boards power to levy a small rate, andfronrthis to supplement the salary of the teacher if he proved to be efficient, and he would also.give them, the providing ot all .school accommodation and .everything necessary ; for the good management of the school. He would further, give them as mucn power as possible, for they had a direct interest in the welfare of the

schools. But he would do away with the Provincial Education Boards. They AVere filled by men who did nob attend to their duties and felt little interest in them. They caused, as had been the case here, too much ccntraiizaticn in Wellington. jSToav, as to the land question. Major Atkinson had laid clown a rule, and it was one whicli all candidates would do well to consider and adhere to. Pie said •' the land shall be only disposed of with a view to settlement, and not for revenue purposes.' Instead of being disposed of as had been the practice, hitherto it should be conserved .for bona fide settlement. There never was a more important principle laid down, and if it was adhered to there would be a new era of prosperity for the Colony. In the disposal of the laud there were two methods of.sale. Tlic first was auction sales after survey. The land should bo surveyed as far as possible for occupation and then sold. He would have no more large areas sold, but would have blocks opened where the intending settler could talce up land on the deferred payment system. He would make these two modes each complementary of the other. Ami .if these p rans were carried out on the principle laid clown by Major Atkinson they would lead to most important results. And now with reference to the Government. He had been a most careful observer of the conduct of the present holders of office, and had. failed to discover any of that corruption with which they had been so freely charged. He believed that the members of the Government were actuated by a desire to do their duty honestly and faithfully. He did not .say that they had not made mistakes.: But that only proved that it was necessary for the representatives of the people to keep a watchful eye onthem,and that the best government was the one which made the fewest mistakes. He could not agree with Sir George Grey and his proposed federal system. If under that a mistake were made the Executive could not be turned out, but must go on to the end of their term. He believed that the best way was that when the Government no longwr possessed the confidence; ;of the representatives of the people, let them go out. That was the course followed In England, and he did riot think they could have a better. He now came to the question as to whether they should have a local man, and it had been said that he was not one. He looked on that as a technicality. (Cheers). He thought that what was necessary for a representative was a general knowledge of the districtnot a mere Road Board knowledge, but an acquaintance with the general requirements and wants of the district. He believed he possessed that knowledge,and when he went to the Parliament he did not weary the House with merely Road Board requirements. He had attended carefully to the wants of tho district. He had brought every want under the notice of the Government and had got what he wanted. (Cheers.) And with reference to their railway.. When Mr "Richardson made his Public Works Statement he said:—" The line between Wangaimi and Manawatuis all surveyed, and those portions not under contract can be lee as soon as circumstances render it desirable to do so. This line has proved to be five miles longer than originally estimated for. About twenty miles will be ready to open by April next." With reference to this he (Mr Ballauce) in the House asked the Minister for Public Works, " What is the cause of the delay in calling for tenders for the Marton section of the Wanganui-Manawatu railway V In replying, Mr Richardson said:•' He did not consider there had been any delay in calling for tenders for this work. ft was true that the surveys were all completed, but it did not follow that because, this was the case it Avas necessarily a proper time to commence the work. At present labor was very high in the district, and the Government had to consider the matter very carefully before calling for tenders. The lion, member must bear in mind also that the Government had also to consider with regard to this and other works whether they had funds in hand to.meet the expense. The Government however saw the way with perfect clearness to complete this and other lines mentioned in the statement within two years from the present time. He might add that Mr iiichardson came, to him afterwards and admitted tenders might be called tor for this line, and promised that there should be no delay in the matter. The tenders had since been called for, and his efforts had' been crowned with success. (Cheers.) Mr Watt—Did you ask why the line was five miles longer 1 Mr Ballance said lie-did not, but he took care the money was placed on the estimates for the five miles. But if he did not ask why the line was longer, he found it in the Public Works Statement, and he might be able to find it again. But he believed he had done his duty when he got the money. With respect to the Post Office afc Turakina, the circumstances had occurred before he was elected. After he was returned he went to the Postmaster and pointed out that the' Post Omce Avas -away from the business part of the township, and that the people had to go half a mile for. their letters. They promised something should be done, and had appointed a special messenger to carry and deliver the letters. That was the best arrangement which could be made., and lie was glad to find it had given satisfaction. He had forgotten to state that there existed a gap between the Gorge and Master ton of about fifty miles, and this would not be begun until all the lines now in course of construction Avere finished. He wouldread an extract from the Pubic .Works statement. '•" The Government hope to be in a position to submit to the Assembly at its next session estimates of the cost of completing the portion of the main trunk railway through the j^orth Island, betwen Wanganui and Taranaki, and Masterton and Manawatu and Napier. Survey parties are now engaged onthesc routes, and although the cost cf completing these railways will be large, still the Government are. satisfied then1 will be no difficulty in raising the necessary funds when the railways now in hand are finished, and the extension undertaken Avith economy. He would read another extract as to the

cost of railways in Victoria and New Zealand. The statement said:—" It shows that in the year 1574 there were opened in the Colony oE Victoria 441 miles of railway, the total cost of which was £11,557,484; the average cost per mile being £2G,207 ; the gross receipts from all sources wert> £881,042 ; the working expenses wove £374,715 ; and the net income was £476,327, being interest at the rate of 4.12 per cent on the total capital. Now, sir, we in New.Zealand have. 991 miles of railway for the total cost of £0,091,081. or at the rate of £6,000 per mile." The Minister of Public works added that the whole of the railwaysin Now Zealand were paying twoper cent on the .cost of construction. He would refer to one or two matters of a personal nature before ho concluded. He was a supporter of the present GJ-ov.ern-ment, audhc believed he was doing them justice iusupporting them, while he was at the same time thoroughly independent. He believed the present Government to be the best which could be got in New Zealand at the present time, and he would if elected, go down to Wellington to support them. He would act so I long as he had their confidence, and iwncu they told him he had that no longer, he would give. back into their hands the trust that they had confided to'him. He asked them to review, his past career, and say whether he had done anything to forfeit their: confidence, or whether he had .worked from.selfish or inte rested motives. He believed he po assessed their confidence ; and. • that . of the entire district, and if he did not sincerely believe it he would not, have put them.to the trouble and expense of a contest. He would not if elected betray their confidence, but serve them honestly and to the best of his ability. (Cheers.) ' .'"'.- The Chairman said Mr Ballance would answer any questions. Mr Parkinson asked the difference . between a tax on the annual value and a property and income tax. Mr Ballauee said he would reply as Adam Smith had. that there was no difference. ' . ' '" Mr, Watt asked if Bank "stock would, be considered property ? ' '\ Mr Ballauee—Certainly'-. Mr Taylor said that if. there were no 'more,questions he would propose that Mr Ballance is a fit and proper man to represent the district. : '■'■■; Mr Simpson asked whether Mr Ballanee would tax the English' money lenders ? ■ :- : • >' ; Mr Ballaxoe said "No," it was desirable to encourage tliem to invest their , money here. Mr Parkinson then seconded the vote of confidence. The Chairman put it-to the meeting,1 and declared it carried unanimously. Mr Ballance thanked them, and said, he meant to do his best to win. After a vote of thanks to the Chairman the meeting separated. ,