TUESDAY'S DIVISION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1861, 7 June 1888, Page 3

TUESDAY'S DIVISION.

Tftß verdict of the House upon Mr Ormond's resolutions shows very plainly that it has determined by a large majority to carry out a policy of Protection to local industries, and hard as the Freetrade seclion will undoubtedly fight, the protection element of the Treasurer's proposals is now certain to be maintained. Mr Ormond's trap was too apparent to catch even the unwary members, and he is left m a minority so small as to be almost ridiculous. Not that it is to be supposed that the ideas expressed m the resolutions are utterly rejected by the House, but members very properly refused to agree to them m order to give the Freetraders £50,000 or so to come and go upon, and which they could and would have endeavored to apply to the elimination from the tariff of its protective element. Per »c the proposal to raise the school age to 6 I would command a large measure of support, but m addition to the adoption of " strict " instead of " working " average, the effect of the proposal, if carried, would have been to have crippled the country schools ; indeed, it must have led to the closing of many of these. It the age be raisod the working average must at the same time be restored, but what would, m our opinion, be far better than either would be the imposition of a school fee for the fifth and /sixth standards, and to this, with ample provision for scholarships, we must eventually come, and that probably at no distant date. The proposal of Mr Orrnond to refuse the increase of duty on tea, and at the same time and because of this to discontinue the subsidies to the local bodies was rejected as inopportune, because of the association of two things which need not necessarily be dependent, on each other. Nevertheless when the tea duty comes before the Committee as an item of the tariff, we fully expect to see it rejected and its place supplied by imposts of a less objectionable nature. The laßt of the three celobrated resolutions of the member for Napier, found, we are glad to see, little or no support m any quarter, as we regard as the most conimeudahle feature of the Budget, the proposal to abandon the practice of fund- ! ing deficits, and to provide for that which has to be dealt with by a special temporary impost. We can quite understand the Freetrade elementof the Atkinson party being infinitely disgusted with the turn things have taken, and it is natural t-ir Harry should m consequepce bethreatenedwith speedy vengeance. His old time staunch supporters may indeed well excuse themselves. What was the good of displacing the btout-Vogel Ministry only to accept their tariff somewhat altered at the hands of Sir H. Atkinson,