PARLIAMENTARY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1300, 28 July 1886, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES;

Tuesday, Jolt 27. The Mouse met At 2.30 p.m.

{ Mr Oowan resumed the debate on the Loan Bill. Amendment could not be contrived In any other way than by a direction to Government to take back their Public Works policy and recast It. The Government could not accept it u one of no confidence. The debate bad assumed more the appearance cf a fight for office than for the .ntereats of the country. He hoped Mr Klobudaon’i emsndment would be rejected by a substantial majority, though be admitted that the schedule might be improved. He regretted that there was any necessity for the Bill at all. H defended the Government from the charges as to the purchase of Native lands, bat thought they might be twitted with their railway administration. He regretted that the Hou e did not sanction the Government proposals for school buildings. It' was not the Ministry who were responsible for the efiaoement or pasty lines but the Poblic Works Ipolicy, and parties would not be clearly defined till that policy was nearly complete. Mr Sutter said that the proposals realty meant borrowing 2£ millions. There waa .less attempt at economy thi> session thaw for years past. Mr J. Thomson was opposed to ex* otsiiva borrowing. He took exception to the mode in which it was proposed to spend money. He objected, however, to the attempt to remove the Government by a side wind, aud would vote lor the second reading. Mr W. P. Buckland bad no doubt Cowan would always vote for the Government while there was a prospect of thyiv buying the Waimea Plains Railway, a remark for which he was called to order by the Speaker and withdrew It, and continued t> say that hitherto money bad been chiefly spent on railways, to the exclusion < f equally deserving oHj cts, such ae the development of the mining industry, «"4 the introduction of new industries. The expenditure on defence works was simply a waste. Mr Lake reviewed the speeches of previous speakers on the Government side. He twitted Mr Oargarviile with-being reedy to tarn his face to every fartmtable breeze from whatever q lartar it came. The purchase of Sta<-k’s property at North Shore, Auckland, waa a notorious of twisting the Property Tax valuation to any purpose He o nitmned the Wd purchases along the Northern Trunk Hm, and objected to the charges for snagging the Wanganui river being cast upon that railway. He intended to support the amendment. Mr Buchanan thought the Prerain’e speech was little e.se than sound and fury, and challenged him to prove his assertion that Opposition members vara actuated solely by a desire af obtaining votes for their own districts. Ha <1«»M that the Government had ever attempted to put any rer trie ions on borrowing, or that the Minister if Public Works M introduced any reforms. The hon gentleman traversed the public works proposals at some length, and was still speaking at the 5 30 p.tt. adjournment. On the Housejreaaming, Mr Buchanan finished his speech by hoping the Premier weald fu fil the pledges he made last nl|M more completely in the future it™ ha had in the past Mr Taylor described the previous np»H»ph as sugar for the Premier and vitriol for Sir Julius Vogel. He defended the Government generally and contended if anyone had reason to be with the Public Works Statement It was the members from his district, which waa not mentioned it. Mr Locke objected to constant "notions of this character. He would be quite willing to follow the leader of the Opposition in a decisive vote, but he would vote with the Government on this issue raised * by private members. Sir George Grey s d they had a very serious question bef re them. He did not consider the introduction of a large quantity of borrowed money an nnmlvfd good, especially when, as he insisted was the cose, we were paying interest out cf loan Me complained that measures of his which would have done Immense good to the* colony, bad been sacrificed early In the session by the House adjourning for a ball, that railways had chiefly benefited owners of land who had paid nothing for the

improvement of their property. The rates ought to be so adjusted that every* one would get an equal benefit {root public works. The appearance of the unemployed in large numbers was alarm* ing. In his opinion Government ought to provide work for these men at reasonable wages ; not beat them downj other* wise them would be a general fall of wages, and a great injustice indicted on the whole of the laboring classes of thp colony. Regarding the proposed expenditure, be thought it practicable to reduce it, but if bis plan of providing farmers with capital had been entertained. It would have been much more easy and less violent te do it >, The great holdings would also have been broken np

Mr Sevan objected to the tone of the debate, especially Mr Bryce’s lugubrious forebodings. He quoted from a speech of bis at a banquet in Wanganui in 1876, to snow that he held very different opinions of Sir Julius Vogel then to those he had ottered recently. He entered at length into the arguments brought against tha Government administration, and criticised the remarks of a number of the

members of the Opposition in detaO, Ha described the Opposition as the political Agoetra of tha Treasury Benches. He particularly defended the Treasurer from the attacks made on him during the bebsl* and reproached Mr Montgomery lor his attitude to that gentleman. Mr Hatch considered reductions could

land might to be made in ha Hallway ! Deputment He blamed the Government ! for not having the debate finished <m Frid y night. Mr D “ ; 3 n .va? ro io le deterred by Me B.s iti’a speech ft.-m express lug ha views. He would support no Government

contain log Sir Julius Vogel. Hu prais H ‘ the Premier’s speech, bat it was a' variance with the Treasurer's. There was no necessity for the Tophcuae line tiii the Midland Railway was made, and he would D’t object to money bein applied to the esteoson of other lines, such as the Blenheic -Awatere.

Me Duncan strongly attacked Mi r» lesion’s speech of the previous si'ting, end announced hU intention of voting against the amendment. Mr Bruce also objected to the no-confi-dence motion being brought on by a sid wind. Ho addressed hima-df at iongth t b i speech of the Premier and the other members oa the Governm nt side. Ue contended borrow.ng had a demoralising eff O'. on the country and on the fl >or of I the Home but admitted that he did not (65 h?a way to taper iff borrowing ; it was absolutely necessary to raise money to complete onr railways. He would support a moderate borrowing policy- He suggestid money should be found for the purchase of native lands by striking off the schedule some of the new lines. He ’warmly upheld Mr Bryce’s native policy. Mr Gore said he thought the amendment held out great inducement to the Otsgo members. He did not intend to vote for it.

Mr Beetham upheld the claims of the Masterton-Woodville line. He would vote for the amendment. Mr Barron said the Premier’s speech was a fine effort of oratory, but it was disfigured by the special pleading. It was , •he speech of an-advocate not a stateman ; of a man who would retain office in face of any consideration. As to Sir Julius Vogel he objected to his being mixed np, when Agent-General, in transactions of financial companies, and asked what success had attended either them or anything else he had undertaken. He reviewed the pnblic works proposals adversely and wanted to know what would be the cost of completing ail the lines in the sohedrli of the Bill. He supported the amendment.

Mr Fulton eatd they bad heard of a !(• down-and-wait policy, but the Govern* ment's was a lie dowa-and-be-kicked one.

The report of the Failway Commission, In which he bad taken part, was against borrowing, and hia view' bad not changed. He exhorted the Premier to stick to the views enumerated the previons day.

Mr Levestam reiterated his former statement that <he Topfaouse branch was not a new line, but was to be found in the original railway schemes, and had better claims (than such works as the Oiago Central. The House divided on Mr Q. F. Richardson's amendment— Ayes, 30 ; aoes, 17. The amendment was lost and the Bill read a second time The House rose at 2 am.

The following is the division list:— Ates 30 Bov an O’Callaghan Cadman Beese Duncan Beid Fitzberbert Richardson Fraser Boss Gore Samuel Guinness Seddon Hatch Smith Holmes Stout ivess Taylor Lance Thompson Larnach Tole Levestam Turnbull McKenzie, J Vogel J. McMillan Walker Noes, 17. Atkinson Lake Brace McArthur Buchanan Montgomery Buckland, W. F. Newman Conolly Eichardson, G, F. Fulton Eolleston Hamlin Trimble Hirst Wilson Hobbs Pairs.

For : Macandrew, O’Conor, Ballance, Joyce, Harper, Locke, Menteath, Pratt, Stewart, Steward, r owan, Brown, Wi Pore, Garrick, Allwrigbt, Hursthouse. Bradshaw, Grace, Dargavllle, Pearson, Kerr, and Coster. Against: Johnston, Moss, Peacock, Pyke, Bussell, Grey, Barron, Wakefield, Moat, McKenzie, Ormond, Hislop, J. W. Thomson, Fisher, Bryce, J. C. Bnckland, Mitchelson, Whyte, Dodson, Fergus, Beetbam, and Hurst.