MR J. C. WABON AT METHVEN.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1265, 28 May 1884, Page 2

MR J. C. WABON AT METHVEN.

Mr J. C. Wason addressed a public meeting in the sohoolheuse, Methven, last evening. There were between seventy and eighty persons present. Mr Julian Jackson was voted to the ehair, and briefly introduced the speaker, and intimated that Mr Wason would be prepared to answer questions oh the conclusion of his address. ■Mr Wasoo on coming forward was received with applause. He said that although the furthcoming session of Parliament was likely to be a brief one, the critical position of the country demanded that an aspirant for their representation Should vary clearly propound his views' upon the important questions of the day, and he was there that evening to do this to the beat of his ability. The first and most important question was bow long the borrowing and squandering policy se dear to the hearts of the present Ministry was to continue. This policy was oloselr allied to centralism, and directly opposed to healthy local government. Money wai spent and frittered away upon uselesi works in Wellington. Roads, railways, and bridges were constructed in Ministerial strongholds without any reference to their need or utility. This practice was deplorable, and unless the necessary • treans were speedily found to check it, the country would reach a very bad scats indeed. It was imperative that a hard and fast line should be drawn betweei . general and local finances, as at presens the Assembly was nothing mor£ than i large Board of Works with a Ministry capable of absolute jobbery. The leaders et the people and the spenders of the peopled ; money must be brought into more direct 1 contact with the taxpayer. On this great question of localisation he was entirely it accord with Mr William Montgomery. That gentleman had been vary much misunderstood and misrepresented. Ths keynote of his policy was that the Genera! Government should control the Oostoma, stamps and other purely colonial matters and that others should be relegated to the local bodies. He (Mr Wason) thought a property tax preferable to a land tax, but with the present Administration he would, if elected, vote for a land tax. He was not surprised that the country was suffering an exceptional depression, which he thought was mainly created' by the’'multitude of policies advanced and followed by the present Ministry. 4{7be country was like an unfortunate patient handed over to a quack doctor who administered costly medicine without any h.-pe of effecting a cure. Major Atkinson had mu da proposals which he claimed would consummate the promises of the • millenium, but apparently the scriptural assurance that we have the poor always with us had escaped the Premier’s reool-... lection. The proposal for national insurance involved a very heavy tax npon the wage-earning class of the community, which was to be collected by the employer. He (Mr Wason) thought it very probable that an attempt to deduct even a very small sum from the hard-earned wages of the laborer would result in the employers’ heads being punched. Mr Rolleston, the Minister for Lands, had proposed to introduce all the evils of landlordism into their midst. He (Mr Wason) had no sympathy with landlordism. He had seen the flagrant evils of the system of the Old Country, and he thought that State landlordism would bo oven worse. Sir George Grey would consider no other question than that of the - unearned increment, and he advocated the suspension of all other legislation until this was. Lesser lights had suggested a National - Bank of issue, a progressive land tax and a general bursting up policy as a means of escape 'from our present embarrassed ' position. He (Mr Wason) hoped that a sounder policy would shortly emanate from this multitude of counsellors, and if elected he would diligently assist in any movement calculated to restore order and confidence. He thought that an nn- - natural scare pervaded the country Just now. The mad schemes of the Ministry had frightened capital and labor away. No capital would venture where a descent to continental socialism was threatened, hut in this country there should be no antagonism between capital and labor—their interests and objects being the same. They certainly had had bad seas ms and prices for the r produce wore low ; but in times of prosperity they had accepted lower prices for grain, and stock was at present exceptionally high. In face-of these facts they must look for other causes than those generally pointed to for their present snffering. Of all the mad schemes propounded by the Government the most . hateful was the nationalisation of the land. The crofters of Scotland and the peasantry of Ireland bore witness to the antagonism between landlords and tenants. It was an old saying and the experience of agee that if a man leased a garden he wonld convert it into a desert, while if he purchased a desert he would-convort it into a garden. Public opinion may influence a private landlord, but it could never influence a Slate, which had no soul to save or body to kick. The adoption of he scheme published by Mr George on this subject would be folh-w.s-i by dire calamity to the country Some sincerely well-intentioned people in this colony an; ported George’s scheme with the addition of compensation to the presentholders of the land, and this view was entirely in accord with the wishes of large land owner* and speculators who Voum

pl.'dly hand over their invo.»' n to the State in return for profitable com;'ensation. ■ He did not intend to touc i upon purely local matters unless in reply to ■ any questions which might be put to him at a later stage, but he could not refrain from remarking that the Government had treated this County in a moat scandalous manner. Xn addition to the richly deserved censure which the presept Ministry had received from impartial sources throughout tha whole colony, their friends bad been compelled to notice some of their more flagrant misdeeds The JPress newspaper, which had been the most consistent and able supporter of the present Government, had referred to Mr Rolleston as belonging to the socialistic reformers led by George, and the same friend of the Ministry stated that the L 3,000,000 loan had been forced upon the country for political purposes. Any Government holding office without the confidence of the country was an intolerable nuisance. They were always prepared to take advantage of the weak districts, and submit to the demands of the strong. In reply to a deputation from a neighboring County asking for some necessary work within his department, a Minister had recently, promised to urge the matter upon the Chairman of the County Council ! Sir George Grey and Mr Rolleston were both bitten by the maggot, unearned increment; the greatest fallacy of the whole platform. Ho (Mr Waaon) considered that every penny of the increased value was honestly and hardly earned. Many of his farming friends had Him that they did not expect any immediate return from their land, but looked for the future improved value. He noticed Mr Patton present, who was the first to grow wheat in the district, and had suffered hardships through which he could only be sustained by looking to the future value of his property. There would be no such stimulus to exertion if the State stepped in and confiscated the land. If this principle was established, the State in common fairness could not take the profits without the losses, and he thought the latter would far outweigh the former. Sir G. Grey and Mr Rolleston wished to interfere. with every detail of commercial and domestic concern, and possibly their religions liberty would be next trespassed upon. Britons had already successfully resisted interference of this cha-acter and he did not think they were at all likely to submit to it now. The colony had hitherto flourished in a meaner unparalleled in the history of the world owing I to Governments having recognised the great principle that each man should work out his own salvation. He thought the Government were very much to blame in not having taken the people into their confidence, and announced previous to last general election what measures they proposed to adopt. No member of the Ministry was better acquainted with the requirements of the people themselves. He was not in favor of a plebiscite being taken .upon every trival question of policy, but this would becc me a necessity if a Government of 'surprises remained in existence. The should have an opportunitj to discuss every measure before it became law by legislates action. Two important measures ■ much required by the country had been promised by Sir John Hall, but wore not persevered with by his successors. One of those had for its object the prevention of land being indefinitely looked up in Tut family estates by the law of entail, and the other, the ah litioa of distress for rent, which would have removed a disadvantage now un- • justly suffered by laborers and store- ' keepers to the benefit of landlords. (Applause. ) The immigration proposals of I the Government were thoroughly unsound. He did not wish to be charged with pandering to the wishes of the laboring classes, but he was satisfied that it was more capital and not more labor that the country required. It had been argued that if labor was reduced to one half its present price more land would bo brought into cultivation. From this bo ' dissented, and felt convinced that if the price was reduced the quality would deteriorate, and employers would have to adept the Old Country practice of employing to supervise and drive their laborers. At present the colonial laborer did a good dajre work and received a good day's wage. In reply to a question put to him at Us Chertsey meeting by Mr Mangham, he had expressed himself as convinced that members of Parliament would not surrender their free passes over the railways. At the .same time he had attempted to emphasise his disapproval of the excessive passenger rates by jocularly suggesting that they should be equalised, irrespective of distance. This had been taken seriously by his opponents, but he need hardly assure his audience that he quite agreed with an anonymous correspondent who had addressed him on the subject, and stigmatised the proposal as Quixotic and quite beyond the range of the present generation. The " ever, were far too high ; _ difficulties enough existed without the infliction of this special tax. Mr Richardson, the best authority they had on this question, and a gentleman of great experience a d nolitical probity, had shown the present rates to be monstrous. He had omitted to refer to many important subjects, but would be pleased to answer any questions from the audience. In respect to the contest upon which he had just entered, he had received most encouraging promises of support, and he believed that he had made, a very wide circle of friends ; those who differed with him he hoped * were political not personal opponents. He thought that the country had a special plaim upon his services, but he would not complain if the electors selected one - of the other candidates in preference to hipiaelf. The election was more their business than his ; ho regarded aperaonal Canvass as highly objectionable, and would never make it, but he_ relied npon the services of his friends in this direotion. It must be remembered that although his opponents were few they were vary influential, and their ramifications extended far and wide. It was a question of fieoh and blood opposed to money bags, .and although be felt confident that the former would eventually triumph, they must not forget the formidable opposition of the Government which had been so strenuously brought to bear against Messrs Richardson, Wakefield and Ormond, and which would undoubtedly be placed in the scale against him. The contest would be a very*keen one, hut he hoped that it would be so conducted that few heart-burns wcnld remain'after it, and the other candidates follow Mr Jolly’s example by refraining from insulting and abusing their opponents. The criticism of the 'electors as shown at the ballot box was ■the only criticism worth having. It was a very simple matter for any elector to make a fool of all he bad said, but he rincerelj hoped that the candidates would ; leave one other alone. Mr Wasou re- : earned his seat amidst loud applause. - In reply to questions Mr Wason said that he would endeavor, if elected, to have the telegraph office at Ashburton opened each evening between 7 and 8 o*clock ; in smaller places it would not bo dtodrable to incur the additional expense. ‘ He sair no way by which the present - ’ Education Act, which he thought had worked admirably, con'd ha improved. He would favor country and town volunbeing plnbad on the same footing as mwis driUsiand capitation grant; he thought the volunteers did not receive If they deserved from iffie 0 -3H fanblio. If the West Coast railway could constructed by a system of land grants iKv" fee Would favor it, but' would not support K i'loan of Lfi.OOQ.OJO for this purpose, certainly nrt'iupport the con-

atruo f ion of the East Coast railway. Mr G. EL Alinjton proposed—“ That this meeting has every confidence in Mr Wason as representative of the district. He did not know if Mr Wason was going to follow Mr Montgomery through thick and thin, but thought they might trust to his judgment. Mr Andrew Macfarlane seconded the proposal. Mr John Hobb failed to see what policy Mr Wason would pursue, as he did not favor the Government or the Opposition. Mr Wason said he took it that the one great question was Centralisation v. Local Government, and on this question he was in perfect accord with Mr Montgomery. The Chairman said that there being no amendment to the proposal he had to declare it carried, and thanked those present for their orderly conduct. The audience then dispersed.