The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1887. THE FINANCIAL DEBATE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1707, 9 November 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1887. THE FINANCIAL DEBATE.

Sir Julius Yogel, m resuming the long adjourned Financial Debate last night m the House of Representatives, made an incisive speech m which close reasoning was more conspicuous than oratorical display. That its effect was " telling " is evidenced by the assertion of the Minister for Education, who replied to him, that it was the weakest speech that had ever fallen from the lips of the ex-Treasurer. Sir Julius commenced by congratulating the Premier on some features of the Financial Statement. It was a clever Statement from a literary point but he could not say it was so from a moral point of view. The late Government would undoubtedly have been condemned had they come down with a similar Statement, and bad shirked their duty by proposing to borrow a million more and promising vague retrenchment. He characterised the promises made m the Statement, with regard to retrenchment, ns little more than those made during the lastelection, and yet the Government had asked lor unlimited power. He went into details to show what a hollow sham Major Atkinson's retrenchment was, and claimed that, compared with his proposals, the late Government would have come out better than Major Atkinson could show with all his economics. The reduction of the Governor's salary, he considered, would be no saving as more would be required for travelling allowances as special j votes. The reductions m Ministerial j salaries he regarded as excessive, and i thought the reduction of the honorarium should not extend beyond the present Parliament. He questioned the statement that -£60,000 a year was to be saved m the Education vote. He contendee that the whole purpose of the Budget was to get them into the way of living on borrowed money, and maintained that no retrenchment would meet the necessities of the colony unless the Customs revenues were increased. Sir Julius concluded a vigorous speech by stating that what the country wanted was a strong Government, and he , was of opinion that until a stronger Government was formed than the present, borrowing would go od and rQtrenchraent*wouliJ not be made,

i The Hon E. G. Fisher's speech conj tamed one or two gond points. Re- | ler.ing to the savings which the late | Government had promised, he would I remind the House that those savings came a iittle late m the day. He praised the present Government for having conferred great benefits on the community be relieving their minds on the question of taxation. He professed himself quite as much opposed to borrowing as any one, but was convinced that it was impossible for a Government to carry on at present without a loan. Mr Fisher concluded by very naturally contending that there never was a time when it was so necessery that individual differences should be sunk m order to extricate the colony from the difficulties into which it had drifted. Mr Ballancs was brief, terse, and to the point. He drew attention to several changes of front on the part of the Premier and his colleagues, and said that if reports were correct the Premier intended to reverse much of what he had previously done, as he intended supporting ihe repeal of the Triennial Parliaments Act and other liberal measures which he had been instrumented m passing. He condemned the appointment of Railway Boards, as he felt sure they would not work. He was opposed to a reduction of the Gcvernoi's salary, and thought, with many others, that a Bill to give effect to such reduction would not be assented to at Home. The retrenchment proposed by Ministers was, he considered, m many instances m the wrong direction.