REFRESHING THE MEMORY OF THE ELECTORS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1671, 24 September 1887, Page 3

REFRESHING THE MEMORY OF THE ELECTORS.

+ Before the next issue of the " Mail " appeats the ballot-box will ha^e declared ihe verdict of the electors on the issue now before the country, and will have proclaimed whether the Ministry were justified m appealing to the constituencies. What that verdict will be of course no one can perdict. The re-adjustment of the electoral districts increases the difficulty of arriving at even an approximate estimate as to the general result of the election, whether it will prove favourable or adverse to the present Government. We cannot help thinking, however, that with such a damaging record as that left by the present Opposition when they were ignominiously expelled from power, there is the slightest probability of their being so soon again entrusted with the government of the colony. When the Atkinson Administration was defeated, its vanquished leader discreetly kept m the back ground, trusting, no douDt, that time, which is said to cuie all things, would heal the sores caused by the extravagant administration and classlegislationof his Government. In our opinion he has, even now, come to the front far too prematurely — before the sores have had time to heal, seeing that they were so deep. Since they were ousted the colony has passed through a severe ordeal. There was, at that time, some indication that the dark cluuds of depression which had been lowering over New Zealand, m common with the rest of the worid, were about to lift. But anticipations on this point were not fulfilled, and here, as elsewhere, the gloom has deepened, and it has been as much as our industrious settlers could do to hold their own. Under these circumstances it is easy to imagine that many of the electors have forgotten some of the items which go to make up some of the items which go to make up the Cl damaging record," to which have referred, as left by the last Atkinson Government. We propose, therefore, m the present article to refresh their memory. For this purpose we shall quote largely from a speech delivered m Parliament on the 31st May last by Mr John Holmes, m the presence of those to whom his charges apply. As these charges were not denied, nor Mr Holmes' remarks dissented from, we may take it for granted that they could not be refuted. We may add that his speech was m reply to the member for Geraldine (Mr Rollestonj, one of the candidates for the Rangitata seat. Charges ot reckless extravagance are commonly indulged m by the Opposition when an election is looming m the immediate future. Such charges, it is believed, tell well with the constituencies, so, of course, Mr Rolleston resorted to them, but, with what success, may be gathered from Mr Holmes' reply. According to '* Hansard "he said : — " I cannot allow the honorable gentleman to make the charges he has made with respect to the Government, and to belaud himself and his compeers m the manner he has done, without pointing out some little flaws m the armour of that past Government which did such wonderful things for New Zealand. The honorable gentleman has attaoked the Government on the score of extravagance ; and when he began to do so I said to myself, ' Good God ! have men no shame I ' The honorable gentleman was a member of a Ministry m power m 1882 which came down to this House with a surplus of £203,000. What was the first act of those hon gentlemen who are now denouncing extravagance ? They increased the expenditure of the country by over £400,000 m one year." Retrenchment is always is a good stock electioneering cry, and nearly every candidate avails himself of it. During the present campaign the Retrenchment horse has been well nigh ridden to death. It is amusing to read the promises that have been made on this head, Major Atkinson, however, claims that his Government is the only one that can be safely entrusted with the task of effecting it. But the candidate's words frequently do not correspond with the member's actions, so let us hear what Mr Holmes said to Mr Rolleston and his Chief on this subject : — " When it was proposed m 1883 to reduce the expenditure of tho country by £50,000, what did they Bay ? They said it could not be done, and that they would not do it. They would not touch the unfortunate Civil servants. And now, what did the hon member for Egmont say? In the debate last week he said that the Government had done wrong m proposing to reduce the salaries or m any way tax the Civil servants. While every other part of the community is suffering from depression, while the trader gets not one-half, and the farmer not one-tenth, of the profits they used to get, whilst the professional man suffered a reduction of 50 per cent, off his income, whilst the laboring man has suffered a loss of from 15 to 30 per cent, m his wages, whilst all these people are suffering, and whilst the prices of produce and all the necessaries o f life have fallen considerably, I say the only people m the country who have kept their high salaries, and who even have had their salaries increased by the hon member for Egmont and tho hon member for Geraldine, are Civil servats." From this the electors can judge which Government is the better suited to carry out retrenchment — Major Atkinson's, who did not go further than promises, or the present one which has given an earnest of their intentions by retrenching to the extent of or already, and made provisions for further retrenchment to a very large amount. Charges of f< Corruption," are as freely bandied about as those of extravag?nce, with which they are sometimes intimately connected. With regard to this particular political sin ihe Atkinson Ministry had not very clean hands, m fact we are disposed from what Mr Holmes told them, to put them at the top of the class. This is what Mr Holmes said of their achievements m this line : — "And then those two hon gentlemen who talk about extravagance, how did they deal with the public moneys m 1882 and 1883 ? I ask the hon member for Akaroa to remember how he had to point ou Ito them from the other side of the Houee how one member, supporting the Atkinson Government, got £10,000 given to his district for a bridge, another £10,000 for a road, and a third £16,000 for the removal of tolls from a bridge. Then, the hon member for Geraldine went to Otago, and at a banquet given him m the distriot of Wakatipu, he and the hon member for that district who supported him, boasted how much money was given to that particular district to favor their own supporters. And did not the publio prints on the West Coast deolare that another member had said that, though he had been returned to support the Opposition, he had supported the Government, and had got £75,000 for bis district, and woujd not have supported them but for that concession. And these are the members who talk about the corruption on the Government Benches ! " In connection with this subject a curious case came under Mr Holmes' own observations, and to this he attended later gn m $he?e WQtds «-—

" I reoolleot myself one of the most scandalous soenes whioh occurred m this House m 1882. A member began a speech against the Atkinson Government, and began speaking against them most bitterly. Then at half-past five the adjournment took place. He went out of the Chamber, and there he I was sent for to the Cabinet room. I saw him sent for. The hon. member for Egmonfc (Major Atkinson) was there, and the member for Waitotara (Mr Bryce) waa there. The member had been trafficking m Native lands, but he could not get his title. The megger for Waitotara had lodged his caveat against his dealing with the land, and he oould not get his title until the caveat was removed. But the Government was engaged m a life and death struggle. Something happened m that room, and then the hon. members came out at half-past seven. He resumed his speech. This is as true as gospel. It can be vouched for and endorsed by many members m this House. He continued his speech, and after he had got a little further, he said that though he had no confidence m the Government he did not see how a Government could be formed from the other side, and he said he should feel it his duty to support the Government. Soon after the caveat was removed and he got his title." This shows pretty plainly to what lengths an Atkinson Government will go when it comes to a question of political " life or death." We now come to a theme that will have special interest for our readers at the present juncture — the class legislation of which the Atkinson Government were guilty, and which eventually drove them from office. Mr Holmes did not fail to remind them of it, and we trust I that it will long live m the memory of the outraged farmers of Canterbury, m order to avoid its repetition. This is I [ what Mr Holmes told them : — " Why were they turned off those Benches ? I say to the member for Geraldine, (Mr Rolleston) because they did one of the most unjust and iniquitous actions which was ever done by a Government m this country. Coming into power m 1882, and having then a surplus of £203,000 to go on with, and having increased the expenditure by £400,000 ana the next year by £47,000, they camo down m 1884 with a deficiency of £150,000. The hon. gentleman allowed their friends the wool-growers, the great squatting element— those gentlemen so dear to their hearts, those men who go about the lobbies of this House influencing votes when the fate of a liberal and just Government is to be decided— to send their wool by rail at low rates, but immediately that was done increased the rates m order to impose on the farmers of Canterbury a tax whioh was to yield £100,000. This was a class tax on the industrious settlers with a vengeance, and was imposed by the leader of the Opposition, and supported by the member for Geraldine (Mr Rolleston.) Is it any wonder after this that Canterbury sent up men of charaoter and independence to this Houee to represent them, and that those men turned out the Government?" Now, we put it to the electors, are the Atkinson party, with such an ugly record as they have left behind them, to be again entrusted with power ? Will the iarmers of Rangitata record their votes m favor of that party which so grievously wronged them ? One word more and we have finished. Let the electoJS bear m mind that the Opposition party means the Atkinson party. — Mail