To The Electors of Riverton.

Western Star, Issue 348, 15 May 1880, Page 3

To The Electors of Riverton.

Gbntlemeh, —I purpose doing myself the honour of waiting oa you at Winton and Riverton prior to my return to Wellington, but as there are many amongst you whom I shall be unable to mast on these occasions, I have deemed it expedient to lay beforo you a short resume of my services as your representative during last session, a glance at our present position, and offer my suggestions for the future. In ordei: that you may clearly understand the platform on which I stood, and the course I felt it proper to follow in your interest, and in the interest of the colony, I will quote part of my" address to you when seeking your suffrages. I said— It is clear to me that the Government of Sir George Grey has done more for the southern portion of the colony than any previous Gtovernmer t, and that we can safely expect more at their hands than any Government likely to be constituted from the Opposition benches j and for these reasons, and from the fact that I am a warm admirer of the Minister of Public Work* (Mr Macandrew,) 1 will, if electeJ, give the Government my general support on all points set forth in Mis Excellency's speech at the openiny of Parliamerit; but I do not wish.it to be understood from this that I would become a b'ind fol lower of Sir Ge»rge Grey in any further autocratic proceedings with individual members o f ' his Ministry, or of any measures calculated to set class against class, or disturb the present harmony existing between labour aud capital, ■which would m the end produce the state of anarchy between classes ami the misery and destitution now unuappily prevalent amongst the labouring class in Victoria. You will thin observe, that the support I promised personally to Sir Georgo Grey was dependent on his proper and impartial al- - ; and, holding fast to t'lis feeling, I was as fully and freely prepared to accord to him loyal support as any other gentleman occupying a seat in the House of .Representatives. .But, gentlemen, I had scarcely reached the seat of Government, when I but too dearly discovered that, with an autocratic hand, the Premier was himself controlling the entire affairs of the 'colony, and the whole machinery of Government. He had formerly dismissed from .place aud power his Treasurer, one of the most able and gifted iinanciers in New Zealand. Now, there is no one will deny to Sir George Grey the great qualities of a diplomatist and statesman, but, however great hi* claim to these distinctions, there were never claimed for him any powers as a financier—powers in themselves a speciality, and to which he never himself pretended. It will thus scarcely be wondered at that the finances of the colony, under the treasurership of Sir George Grey, got into a had state, and were allowed to drift on the wave of circumstances - as the tide might direct. As showing how far this allimportant! matter of all administrations got astray in his bands, I may mention that the late Government's estimated revenue for the current year, fiom . various.. sources, was £3,442,000, and the .estimated expenditure reached £3,974,034, sluwing a deficiency cf £532,034, to which had to be added ;a deficit from the former year of £131,82-1, making a total of £663,858. Deplorable as this seemed, the ascertained revenue ab the end of the, first quarter of the current, year, pointed cleanly 'to an actuali yearly deficiency of £911,958, to be provided, for by reduced expenditure, or increased'taxation. So much for the finances under Sir George Gr -v.

Being assured and satisfied thut the l»t« Government, without an efficient Treasurer. had allowed the finances ;of the colony,.which are the mninspring of our prosperity. t...run into a position of danger, I felt, without hesitation, that a change Wiis isnper.itive., I was Strengthened in that feeling upon disebverin;!. that the Premier -waji at "war with the tJ6v«rn ment Baaflu the) -Uaiik »»f New Ze.-dm d war wit.h'-tSa. i.nth'>ritu*s at wui iritli the present Governor, -is he had hj'tyi a 1 war with,the past. Such were the rel iti-n.* in which■hustond' - to those pow-rshy .»\iic ! i. we are environed,land between-.whom and the Government the ; mo«it perfect ha-monv sht'til I prevail. His quarrels wiili'th.- B.iiik of So-v. Zealand iieceesitatml 'his-'having reG>>u>*it to another bauk todiscount TrqaMiry Jiills, an I he neglected, or'wilfully refused.'to lollow what is the unvarying practice, to hypothecate the debentures of Me new loan to'suine hunk, and secure a credit for the large disbursements' presently to be made, in and out of the colony. Instead of adopting this precaution; the debentures were forwarded to the frown •agents--of the colony, and had not our loan floated when it did, r is doubtful whethrr we should not for a time have stooped payment, to tho ; ruiriatibiii of bur credit and our prospects.- : -'i>' l'< Vi'j'ijtill - . wiijj ■ ..-:: ...: I His Native polioy was little bettor, and,was characterised by weakness and vacillation—at*bnd"time pandering' to the Maories, and sowing- money amongst them broadcast in purchasing land—Rt:another .moment imprisoning them wholesale. Within twelve months he cominittod the colony to purchases of native lands amounting to £1,250,000--lands in many instances purchased at a price two or three times their value, and this at a time when our finances were strained to the utmost, and .our credit most seriously impaired—and for what purpose? To open lands ior settlement in remote districts, more or less disturbed, whilst there are in your district, and through the whole of the Middle Island, practically an unlimited extent of lands in the hands of the Crown available for select! on and settlement. I maintain that to spend, or commit the country to, this sum, in our present impecunious state, and in all the circumstances of the colony, was an error of administration amounting to a eritns. Sir George Grey totally ignored Parliament, dismissed the only Minister who stood against his will, and with o Cabinet overawed and reduced to obedience, he commenced.the- construction of the Thames railway, without the approval of the former, and with the "passive submission of the latter. He received deputations of the ' unemployed clamouring for work or bread, and condoled and promised relief in sad and soothing tones, his Government meanwhile actually telegraphing to the Agent-General for 450 or 500 more immigrants to swell the ranks of these poor people. He appearel to me a strange combination and contradiction of character and qualities—a man who had filled with honor and distinction the duties of a soldier and the more exhalted position of representative of his Sovereign iu many parts of the world—a man possessed of high personal attainments, charming eloquence, and a great and varied experience of the world—but, as a politician, and as (Premier, wily, untcrtiptilous, treacherous, and, overflowing/with a malice prompting him to set class against class'; capable, in tba*. high position,- to use the Governor'-* words, "of telling only half the truth," and and incapable, even to the poor-men calling aloud for work or bread, of honesty, candour, or kindly feeling. | ; Such, gentlemen, were the impressions I forme! of Sir George Grey ai ) Premier, and such as I have related was the slate of things I found in Wellington under his administration—our public credit endangered, and the peace and harmony of tho Government, with all surrounding it, seriously impaired. Gentlemen, I would have b. en fake to you, false to the true interests of the colony, and false to that trust you reposed in me, had I assisted in perpetuating by my vote a continuation of Sir George Grey as Premier —Premier, not as you will understand the office, but as you ittiust suppose it filled by a functionary disregarding the home authorities, the Governor, and Parliament, and surrounded by an obedient and pliant executive, administering (the whole machinery of State with his alldirecting hand. I felt constrained to represent my views to Mr Macandrew, who was the priacipal conmectiag link between tho late Ministry and myself, and to urge upon him that, as the

House and the country were in a majority against the Premier, it was expedient the Cabinet should imprejs upon Sir George Grey the wisdom of his retiring from the Ministry, in the interest of his Cabinet, of his party, and of tkose bills and measures which he had foreshadowed and professed to love bo well, and in time to recommend the Governor that he (Mr Macandrew) or some other Minister should be sent for and empowered to form a a fresh Ministry, and I for one pledged him my unconditional support. Whether or not the Minuter of Public Works felt the full force of my argument I do not know, but, I need scarcely add, be remained true to his leader. Failing in this interview, I attended a meetinj of the Opposition, when the situation was freely discussed. There were gathered together on that occasion men with various degrees and reasons of opposition, and whilst, with all the others, unanimous in the opinion that the presence of Sir George Grey as Premier was most injurious to the wellbeing and credit of the colouy, I did not entertain the same feeling towards the remainder of the Miuistry, and I formed one of a few who pressed the clause " as at present constituted," thus qualifying a vote of cmisure on a Ministry, soma of whom enjoyed my full confidence. The vote, as you are aware, came on, and the Ministry was defeated, and resigned, and the mover, Mr Hall, sent for, who forthwith fo-me 1 a Ministry. You must understand that further than being a party to the vote in the particular fonn I advocated, which was to censure certain men.bers of the Ministry, I was pledged to uot.u'ng, and when that was carried, I was free to vote or act as 1 pleased. The Ministry which was formed certainly, in my opinion, represented it 11 classes of the community—men liberal and practical, without any extreme views, who had the best interests of the country at heart, and would faithfully and honestly administer its affairs. But presently, 'oil the now Ministry being announced, Mr Macandrew tabled a nocon jdenee motion, which, if carried, would have the effect of placing him Premier of New Zealand ; and he, above all others, being the one I conspicuously pledged myself to you to support, my course then was quite clear, and whilst the existing Ministry enjoyed my confidence, my pledgesj to you demanded that I should support the member for Port Chalmers, and I, with two others, joined his party, arid stopped supplies to bring on the vote of no-coufidenee. At this stage the defection of four Auckland members turned the scale <rt-e more in favor of the Ministry, .vhich gave them a majority of one, and rendered hopeless the no-confidence motion then pending, which was with irawn. The Ministry having signified its intention to bring in and support all the measures to which I was pledged, I saw no longi-r the • wisdom ol any factious opposition on purely party quarrels—a kind of opposition which is unhappily too much indulged in—and I intimated my intention of voting with the Government .on all the measures of which I approved during the remainder of the session. You will doubtless have observed that I voted, amongst other measures, for a bill granting manhood suffrage, and for another shortening the period of the present and subsequent Parliaments to three years; also for the .Land Act Amendment Bill, which had the effect of reuueing the price and granting more liberal terms and conditions to selectors under the deferred-payment system. The Bill has now become law, together with many other measures calculated to improve the law or a lvance the colony. I voted in favor of all bills of a 1 -cnl .nature in the interest of the district, and I introduced a. mea-ure to amend and simplify the Counties Acts, to enable Road Boards, or pans of Boards, to merge into.one or more counties, and to authorise counties to construct, tram \ays or light, railways, in districts where they would be more effective on'd more easily constructed than the less modern, a,!!.!; in many cases mora costly, macadamised roads. .This.'Bill passed the third reading, but, owing to the great number o f clauses a tded to meet .oeal wants thr mghout the colony, and the advanced stage of the session, it did not reach the Upper House. It will, like others, by a resolution of the House, be taken up at its present stag-.; during the eoiniri * sooiosi. ant doubtless will become law. ■ Tue Drainage .i t in wM-h I was greatly interestei'ii itr id need hy.'iny fri ;nd the member for Bru■•! , s..aro i a li«e late, hut wdl pro b.ibly become la.v next sessi -nl 1 pressed, in oomm m vviin ait the other members from Southland, the claims of the Western railway*, aud a n pleased we go' these extensions con--idera'dy-advanced, and I might, hero add my tribu e to my colleagues from Southland for their co-operating with mo in all things of a local or general, nature that were in any way calculate l to forward the interest of the province.

A f- rmor Government passed an Act known as " The District Railways Act," which empowered companies, with the sanction and authority of the ratepayers within a given district, to construct district railways. By this Act, seven per cent, interest was guaranteed on their cost of construction In the event of the railway revenue not reaching that return, the territory within the district was amenable for fiv« per cent.; under a special rate, and the additional two per cent, was to be a charge upon the consolidated revenue. This gave a great impetus to enterprise in railway construction, and several companies were formed, and undertook railway making with jut a sufficiency of their stock being subscribed- — relying on selling preferential debentures for which the Act specially provided, not after the completion of the lines, but upon the certificate of the Engineer-in-Chief, and Minister of Works, that the lines were undertaken and in process of 'construction. It was found, however, that these debentures were unfavorably received and unsaleable on the Stock Exchange. Owing to the weakness in the Act, and to the fact of the lines being unfinished, and as the limited amount of subscribed capital was expended, there arose'the uuforseen difficulty of several of these lines in course of construction being threatened with a total suspension. In this exigency the companies applied to Government for a tern porary advance—out of the abundance of.funds provided by the floating of the loan —ut seven per cent, interest,, to enable them to finish their lines when their debentures would become marketable. They had two claims for making this request. First, the Government was a semi-partner in the construction of the lines, by approving thereof, and guaranteeing two percent, oncost; secondly, because the difficulty chiefly arose from defective legislation. Knowing there would be ample funds at the Government's credit in the bank for a longor period than the companies required it, I could see no reasonable objection to the application being granted, but, being interested in on» of the lines, I did not record my vote. Mucli has been said and written on this subject, but I rogard the companies asking, and the Go ternmentfavoring, under the circumstances, as most reasonable. It availeth not whether lines pass through public or private lauds j it cannot be disputed that the construction of these lines of railway is a great public benefit, by rendering means of transit, developing the resources of the country, and forming important feeders to the traffic of the State lines. Further, it should be remembered that nearly all the capital investo i is paid away within the colony in the form of wages, and for such material as the country can produ e. All these enterprises combine to do good, and to make a country great and prosperous. Yet, unhappily, there are amongst us men ignorant and base enough to prefer seeing these great works suspended entirely, and the enterprising companies who undertook them brought to a standstill—not through their own fault, but by the unforseen circumstances I have described—to approving of Parliament making a temporary loun, on good security, and at a rate of interest three per cent, higher than the money would have earned lying in the bank.

With regard to your immediate wants, I am pleased to tell you that my eSoits for the Ibrest Hill district were succetsful in seouriug a vote to open up the extensive tracts of fertile land in the hands of the Crown, and rendering means of communication to those pioneers who have been settled in the Hokonuis for nearly twenty years, without yet having anything pretending to be a road, The session being bo far advanced before the loan was floated, I was unable to secure as-

istance to open up that fertile and densely settled, but neglected district, lying between the Oreti and Jacob's River, but I feel assured, especially as the Minister of Public Works has personally observed their wants, that justice will be done those settlors in the coming session, and that my efforts then will be successful. I trust also to secure a transfer of the Riverton Harbour Reserve from that benighted wilderness, granted by a former Government, to some block of land which will be possessed of a marketable value, thus facilitating the Trust in negotiating financial matters to render that port available for intercolonial shipping. I now come to the allabsorbing question of colonial finance. It would be wicked and false to deny that the colouy is at the present moment in a serious condition, and that condition has bee l brought about by a comrination of circumstances — the low price for some years of wool, the staple product of the country ; the equally low price hitherto ruling for wheat, ai i the present almost worthless value of oats —all converging on us ut a perio I when the world is swept by a wave of financial aud ommercial depression, added to our extraordinary heavy taxation for interest on our public debt, have paralysed, temporarily only-, I hope, all tra ie and commerce. Under tnis state of tilings, and until a recovery sets in, taxation must undoubtedly be reduced. At best, and under the most favorabieJJ circumstances, we are most heavily burthened, but now, unhappily, matters have reached the tension, point. Let us calmly review the Our population numbers only 450,00.), something less than that of the City of/G'asgow. vJur pubi'c debt has reached £28,000,000 and, at the present moment, our position may b« not inaptly likened to that of a farmer who has purchased a block of land, and borrowed the moioy to fence his ground, build his house, and stock his farm. But before the farm will have time to yieid a return, he will have to pay the interest on his inorl.gagj. Somewhat similar is the posi.ion of New Zealand. Her Public Works and Immig-atio.. scheme is now almost completed, lier railways, of wuioh 1 wilt speak prosoiuly, are built and the population increased —many, it is true, at present unemployed —to the number quoted. But the Publie \Vorlis aud Immigration scheme has yet not fully commenced to bear fruit, an I as a people, we, like the struggling farmer, will be compelled to submit to some self-deaial in order to pay our way and maintain our credit. And if we can stand tint test tor tint next two ycirs, un.ler these most unfavourable auspices, we can afterwards stand any test. The solution ot the dilliculty, for the reasons shown, is not so much liow we can raise taxes, a-* what taxes we can possibly avoid raising. In tile heat of the moment, and under the appaling announcement that our annual deficiency would be £300,000, I supported the Property Tux. I did so, in the first place, to pay our way, and at any cost maintain our credit; and, iu the second place, because land being taxed, Che eaine tax should reach other classes of property. But I find, gentlemen, that the country at the present time, and under the circumstances 1 have related, can ill afford to pay the property tax, and it is now quite clear to me it will be incumbent to exhaust all reasonable means of reducing our expenditure before enforcing, that tax. I will submit to you what I conceive to be the least oppressive means of meeting our engagements : 1. Suspend the present education vote for a period of two or three years. 2. Discontinue all subsidies to Counties and Road Boards. 3. Impose the beer tax; and 4. Ke-impose the tea and sugar duties. These combined changes would produce a credit of £600,000 per annum. . If such changes were insufficient to adjust our finances, 1 would not be unfavorable to imposing a light properly tax, but only under extreme necessity. The reasons which induced me to suggest these fixed changes are— First, I believe that absolutely free education, with our very limited population and under our heavy debt, is, at this stage of our history, immeasurably too costly a system ; and it is tiie largest vote of chose we are in a position to suspend. Buckle says—"Of all lh* results whieh are produced among a people, of their climate, food, and soil, the aecumulation of wealth is the earliest, and in many respects the most important. F.>r, although the progress of knowledge eventually accelerates the increase of wealth, it is nevertheless certain that the wealth must accumulate before the know,edge can begin." And I think Buckle was right. But it is not an accumulation of wealth we have to look for, it is to maintain this colony, as a people and as individuals, in a state of solvency. It is better that the children should submit to an indifferent form of education, or pay such fees as their parents can afford for two or three years, than that their parents individually, or the colony collectively, should come to a state of insolvency, unable to meet its engagements. It is owing to this sole aspect than, and no other, that I would propose to interfere with the education vote. Lot me therefore be not misunderstood, and I invite those of you who are zealots for the system to look calmly on the situation and practice, in this respect, self-denial, and assist by these means in tiding over these most critical.times. Secondly, I would suspend the Road Board and County subsidies, simply because the colony cannot for the next two or three years afford to pay them. These local bodies, especially since the counties came into existence, have done a great amount of work over the colony, and can now, without its being severely felt, circumscribe their operations. Thirdly, I advocate the imposition of a tax on colonial beer, because it is a luxury, and one of those articles that a man can do without; but, if he indulg-s in the luxury of its use he then should be made to pav for it. lii order, however, to protect the manufacture eff that article in the colony, and maintain' a market for certain farminz produce, I w mid. raise the duty on imported beer, to continue as at present the relative prices. Fourthly, I stated that I would re-impose the tea and sugar duties. I truzt my reasons for this may be clearly understood. The working man will doubtless have discovered that when heavy or oppressive taxation, or bad times arrive, he is amongst the first to ruffer, and suffer most severely, for, unhappily, he is usually without a little capital to exhaust for a time in maintaining himself. Now, the direct effect of heavy and oppressive taxation is a sudden circumscribing of operations by the employer. Works and employment, which, under ordinary circumstances, would be continued iu full play, are suddenly checked, and laborers abruptly cast out of employment. It is thus, therefore, I argue that t h laboring classes should meet their share of taxation, and thereby, as far as in them lies, conduce to the maintenance of employment, and a continuance, if not an extension, of the field of operations, rather thun to throw the accumulation of taxation on their employers, with the result of stopping works and employment altogether. I hesitate not in saying that it is mainly the grevious and oppressive taxation now in force, and pending, that in this district has stopped works, suspended cultivation, and cast so many taeu amongst the unemployed. Moreover, another and a greater reason for reimposing this duty is this, that I believe the consumer never participated in the benefit of its relaxation', and that it was the importer, the tncrjba"t, and the grocer, not the consumer, who derived the benefit from the exemption from duty ou this class of goods. I trust my friends among the labouring class will not misunderstand me by supposing that I would for one moment, loan too heavily upon them, but I fearlessly stats what I believe to be in their true interest; and there are those amongst them who will remember tha<;, when I was or.e of the largest employers of agricultural labour in New Zealand, I was neither an advocate for low wagos nor an enemy to the interest of the working class. I state simply what I believe would be for their good, and the good of the entire community. I recognize in the soil, with cultivation, the source of wealth, the fountain of prosperity, and the giver of life itself. Seeing, therefore, that the soil and its cultivation are so important factors in our commonwealth,

as well as in the commonwealth of all countries I hold fi.'inly that it is most unwise and pernicious to lean too heavily with taxation, or single out for sacrifice, this primary source of weTiltn ani prosperity, which should be rather encouraged, fostered, and developed by every means in the power of a wise and paternal Government. I invite you to look back for a lit;lo. Has not the Stagnation in our prosperity begun with the land-tax? Has not. cultivation, fallen off with its first imposition? Can you not, from its first initiation, see the steady falling-off in employment and, with it the constant increase of the unemployed? Under these convictions, I hailed with"pleasure a tux which, if imposed on land, w ndd also reach all other classes of properly. The public works policy onriehe I more than the land-holders ; it enrich*! the manufacturer, merchant, public and private companies, money lenders, and every other class. If all these participated in its benefits, why not all share alike its responsibilities, and let all classes of property be alike amenable towards payment of a share of the taxation of-the Slate. I stated to you on the hust.imjs that I considered to tax only the land, and allow all other classes of properly free, was most unjust, and was elass legislation. I told yon that a man who invested capital in land, and with cultivation turned it to good acconnt, had no ri>ht, different from othei property holders, to be unduly pressed upon by taxation- I hold firmly to the same view still; I do not deny that property has its duties as well as its rights, and I supported, for these reasons, a tax —the property tax — which would treat ail alike. I supported it not because I like I if, but feeling then, and now, that as it is the first duly ot a State, as it .3 the first duty of a man t.> pay his way, I regarded it as an extraordinary necessity, to meet the falling off in our revenue. I now, however, fhid, from the causes I have already shown, and from my own actual k lowle.lgo within your district, that the o untry cannot stand this tax if it is to.be a heavy one. Although the farming interest in these parts is at a standstill—everywhere less and less cultivation —less and lew employment--and matters here are fast reaching an alarming state (I speak now more particularly of this province, where so much dependence is placed on the cultivation of oats) I am- pleased to say, in other parts, of the colony things are not quite so ba I, but I can I idly declara that in my opinion this tax niuit nit bs enforced until a!l the means of obviating it have been fully exhausted And whilst Ido not wisli it for "a moment supposed that I would be the means of pla-iug Sir G-eorge Grey again at the head of affairs, I feel constrained tj say that I shall be „o:»pelied to supp >rt. any Governmont that will be prepared to mase the financial changes I have suggested, in preference to one carrying out the present property tax in its entirety.. I am grieved to tell you that it appears to me the invariable study of Government succeeding Government to deviae what new duties or taxes may be imposed, rather than to reduce expenditure and redress -mevanoes or extravagant waste. lam of opinion that the time has arrived when all the combined energy and abilities of Governments are required in enforcing rigid economy in the various departments of administration, rather in toleration of, and indifference to, the abuses practised under its very eyes, and amongst all there is no department calling more loudly for reformation than the Railway Department. I am pleased that on this subject you will be able, with special clearness, to follow me, and to feel the force of what I say, for you must needs have already observed many abuses. At the end of the financial year 78 79 we had opened 1095 miles of railway, at a cost of £8,362,332, or an average of £7636 per m le, and considering the nature and extent of the country traversed, probably the cheapest sysstein of tailways in the world. The gross earnings from our railways were £758,096 that year, and the expenses in working the lines reached the alarming figure of £545,478, leaving a net gain to the'colony of £213,618, or something over one-third of ths working expenses. Since then the earnings have fallen off, and the working expenses have increased. This is out of all reasou and bounds, and can only be explained by thorough mismanagement. Now, I will lay before you the result of observations 1 made during the past twelve months in travelling through Tasmania and Victoria. The Victorian railways cost almost double that of ours, or £15,000 per mile. They carried by 0.j.000 tons that year, a less weight of goo is at a tariff very considerably under our tariff ; yet the Victorian railways, with a somewhat equal number of miles opened, pay on their invested capital 4 per cent, interest. From the data before us, and properly managed, ours should pay on the invested capital from 5 to 6 per cent., instead of 2 per cent.—their present revenue. I trace this glaring misfortune principally to the folly ot a former Minister of Works in placing over, and at the head of all departments in the' Middle Island of the colony a gentleman wholly incompetent, inexperienced, and unable to control more than one of the many departments he was expected to administer. And 1 maintain it was foolishness to hope for anything but the result attained, and equally cruel to expect so much from him. The four heads of departments centred in the Commissioner of Railways are as distinct, and proceod from as different education, experience, and training, as that of a physician, artillery officer, or minister of the Gospel. Who, then, would ask or expect a gentleman of one of those three professions to be proficient in all? Your personal experience of our railways must have : taught yon how sadly they are mismanaged. The absence of order and organisation, the constant new rules, new functionaries, the cancellation of old rules and old mandates, with, above all, the conspicuously excessive number of servants employed, must have taught you that railway management was but being played with and experimented upon during the last five years. Rut, gentlemen, nearly £9,000,000 of property placed in the hands of two commissioners, and which you have to pay the taxes upon, and for which your lands are liable, is too expensive a toy to be allowed to be played with any longer. We irust at once insist or. immediate reformation, we must insist that our railways shall be made to pay properly. What is our position ? We are annually losing in interest on the money borrowed for their construction more than two per cent., and, basing calculations on our present returns, we could neither sell nor i«a ; e them at a figure that would at all reasonably compensate the colony. Another and an equally great grievance, is our civil service. This body, through a series of years, when the colony was flushed with the* temporary tide of prosperity, consequent on the lavish' expenditure of large su'n* of borrowed money, grew, in numbers and salaries beyond all bounds, and far bejoud the revenue and population of the country, and you, gentlemen, are now taxed to sustain this. The Government that will re-adjust this, and bring back the civil service, .in salaries and numbers, te its proper state will deserve the support of all honest mm, but, unhappily these officials form an important body on our electoral roll, and I regret to find Governments truckling for thoir support, unheedful that you are ground down with taxation to maintain them. To remedy the evil, I am convinced that once a man service under the Government, he should become disfranchised, and cease to make Governments feel that he is a political weapon and po*er in the Slate.

The next, and last, question I will touch upon is the matter of native lands. You are happily ignorant of this. Of all the sources of corrupt practices, chicanery and I'rauJ; this is the greatest. The opinion I hold is, that all sale of native lands, other than to the Government as settlement may demand should be finally stopped. There is the land. The natives love it—love to enjoy it in their own way, which means to allow it practically to lie dormant, that they may hunt orer it. And thus would I let it remain until all our Crswn lands were exhausted, and finally settled. When this shall be the Maorios will be greatly less numerous than they are to-day j and when they sell, as sell they wi 11 some day, there will be fewer disputes and border raids between the races ; for the dark man withers from tho face of the earth as fast as the white man im.ra.ftes. But ac the preet-ic

time the Native office, and the Maori tribes are infested with a horde of Pakoha Maories, the mist loathsome parasites of ths human species, buying from the Maori, and selling to the white man or the Government ; paying in kind or at a mere per centage of the actual pi ice at which the land is changing hands, which, but affords a passing momentary debauch to the degenerate pud demoralised native. I will announce to you through the Press the date on an early occasion, when I wi'l wait upor you at the places named. Relying on a renewal of your confidence I am, Right truly yours, P. K. McOAtroaAN.