GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3123, 21 July 1892, Page 2

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. WEDNESDAY. The Council met at 2.30 p.m. The Oyster Fisheries Bill was considered in committee. A long debate ensued on the export duty clause, and eventually progress was reported with leave to sit again. The Westland and Grey Education Board Bill was put through its fiual stages. The Council rose at 3.40 p.m. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TUESDAY. The House met at half-past 2 p.m. THE FINANCIAL DKBATK. Mr Allen resumed the debate on the Financial Statement. Speaking of the Government land policy, he said thatMinisters themselves had made bo many statements on the freehold question that it | was very difficult to know what they meant. He challenged the Government to go to the country on the question of the retaining of the freehold tenure, and prophesied that they would not come back with a majority. The Financial Statement, he considered, waß loosely compiled, and contained some palpable errors, which were easily exposed. There was no reduction of taxation or relief to country settlers, and the only thing the Budget set forth was an increase of expenditure on public works out of loan money. In spite of all their boasting, Ministers had, he asserted, spent £17.000 over the Estimates of last year. They were told that the public debt had decreased by £117,000 ; but, as a matter of fact, it had increased by £322,000. Mr Tanner remarked that up to the time of Mr Allen's speech, no one on the Opposition side had attempted to criticise the Statement. Mr Allen had made many bold assertions as to the finance of the Government; but h (Mr Tanner) thought that a Government that had commenced with a surplus of £44,000, that had increased that surplus the following yflar to £167,000 that had a reasonable prospect ot increasing it next year to £330,000, was a difficult one to attack.

Dr. Newman twitted the PostmasterGeneral with having failed to carry out his proposal with regard to the penny postage, and went on to say that the present Government were in the habit of promising everything and performing nothing. Speaking of finance, he observed that it had been said that the House talked too much of figures, but he throught that if members' understood figures better, the unhappy colony would not be loaded up with taxation as was at present the case. Though Mr Ballauce talked of his surplus which was realised in the ordinary way, it was almost entirely due to the finance of his predecessors. He contended that the Budget showed that the Premier intended to borrow whenever he had the chance, and also to add fresh taxation. There was no question at all that the heavy load of taxation was killing enterprise and clogging the wheels ot industry. There could be no real progress for the colony whilst that state of things prevailed. Mr Buick said it wa3 evident from the Budget that the present Treasurer was not so extravagent as the Opposition had predicted he would be. By the unprecedented results of this statement, the evil day was postponded, and if public opinion had been aroused by the Opposition, the antidote had evidently been administered with good effect. Mr Moore said that the last speaker had referred to the Opposition in terms of pity, but they did not want his pity. All they wanted was fair play which they had not got this session. It was somewhat annoying, to his mind, to be continually told that because the Opposition would not support the Government, they were against the progress of the colony. He attributed the present condition of the colony not only to the thrift and industry of the people, but to the careful administration of the late Government. Mr W. C. Smith moved the adjournment of the debate.

Agreed to. The House rose at'l a.m. WEDNESDAY. The House met at 2.30 p.m. Mr Hutchinson (Dunedin) resumed the dqbata on the financial statement. Referring to Mr Rolleston's apßech he said that the Hon. Gentlemen had lately lived so far from the mnddning crowd that he had lost touch with the people and could not realise that certain questions, which a few years ago would have been laughed at if seriously advocated, were now coming within the range of practical politics. He (Hutchinson) admitted that our public accounts were in a perfect muddle, and no one could arrive at the amount of our public debt up to within a million or two. As to the surplus, he thought it unwise to spend the whole of it on public works, but would sooner see a portion of it used for the remission of the duties on tea and other necessaries of life. Mr Duthia strongly condemned the system of co-operative contract and relief works established by the present Government and siid it was not only a very unsatisfactory way of carrying out public works but it was nothing more or less than political bribery, designed to catch the votes of the working classes and to pluce other public men a,t a disadvantage who ventured to propose a sounder system. He was strongly averse to General Booth's proposal to form a settlement in New Zealand. He referred at some length to the prop)sed transaction with respect to the Public Trust Office which was to be the source apparently from which the Government were to get their self-reliant policy. The House rose at 5.30. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. Mr McLean congratulated Mr Ballance *pon his budget, and said the financial statement found acceptance all over the colony, lie charged the Hall Government with having secured political support for themselves when in office and with having disorganised the Civil Service by their famous 10 per cent, reduction. The Government were charged with making no reduction in taxation; but he thought them wise in that respect, as to have done so this year would have disorganised their finances. Seeing, however, that the Government had now a good chance of their new taxation realising the estimate, he thought the time had arrived when there should be some relief in this direction. He favoured a land tH\, pure and simple, with no exemption whatever and he had no ob jection to a man holding any amount of land provided he paid tax on its unimproved value. Mr McKenzie (Clutha), said the last speaker's address was in the worst possible taste. He had accused the hon. gentlemen on the opposite side of the House with having exercised tyranny and paid starvation wages to their men, but he challenged him to cite a single instance of this. M» McLean had referred to Mr Rolteston interfering at elections, but Mr McLean himself was one of those political cripples landed in the House on Ministerial crutches. Touching on the subject of borrowing, he reminded the House that the Premier had stated they should not have a servile dependence on the English money market, but they should thank God they had England to go to in order to, develope the resources of this Hue colony. Mr Hogg said they had just listened to a very lengthy speech, which might, however, be summed up in two words, thunder and fury. He (Mr Hogg) warmly praised the Premier for his financial statement and felt convinced that the Ministers would be able to v erify the figures therein. They had to face the House and country and if they were convicted of presenting a cooked statement their punishment would surely follow. (Left Sitting, 12 mid-night.)