MR MONTGOMERY'S MEETING.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 4, Issue 394, 14 May 1880, Page 2

MR MONTGOMERY'S MEETING.

Mr W. Montgomery. M.H.R. for Akaroa, met his ennstituents last evening at the Oddfellows' Hall. Akaroa. Plia Worship the Mayor occupied the chair. The attendance was not large, but the very inclement state of the weather was chiefly answerable for this fact, and there were electors present who had, in spite of this drawback, come a considerable distance, for the purpose of hearing the utterances of their representative.

Mr Montgomery, in Hs opening remarks, stated tliat lie regretted that the stormy night and the heavy rain prevented many from attending, who would otherwise huve been present. He would not inflict a long speech on them this boisterous evening, but would shorten hi« address a* much as possible. fctiuce he lasthad Lhe honor of addressing thorn, many things had happened in the field of New Zealand politics, but nothing had given him so much pleasure as the generous and out-spoken expression oi confidence from that constituent;) , on the occasion when a few. a very few,, discontented persons wished him to change sides and turn traitor to his party. When the news reached him in Wellington that on the very short notice given the electors had come in from all parts of the district to attend the meeting, and when he further learned that they had passed v resolution of entire confidence in him, leaving him entirely unfettered in his course of action, he l'olt proud of being the repicßciitiitive of mch a constituency, and also that he owed a deep debt of gratitude to the men who had so nobly stood by him in the time of trial. He would briefly touch on local matters. He regretted the railway works in the district

wore not further advanced. He had clone all in his power to further Hie undertaking. Tenders had been received for -the plate-laying of the first seventeen. miles, but had not, he believed, been accepted. The survey of the eight miles to Little River was* in progress. He had endeavoured, without success, to get an appropriation for the new Post-office. The Government proposed patching up the present miserable building. Ho Avas told by the Premier that the : Akaroa ■■ district had been well attended to already. The surveys, as they were aware, had. 'been greatly in arrears. He had done all he could to have additional surveyors placed ou the work. There were now seven or eight survey parties ort the Peninsula, an A he hoped the boundary lines of all the sections would, shortly be surveyed. The compensation claims for land taken for' roada were now in a fair way of being settled. ■■'.::■■'•

Ihcy were aware that the elections gave a considerable accession to the strength of the Liberal party, arid that the policy of the late Government, which might, be summed up in. a few words—extension of the franchise, triennial parliaments, redistribution of seats, and adjusting the taxation fairly between individuals aud property —had. the eupport of the great majority of the people of New Zealand. Well, the Parliament met, and it was found that parties were nearly equally divided. There was a hot pursuit of votes, The Opposition strained every nerve and promisee of grants were freely made. As .a specimen of the action taken, he would refer to the case of Mr" Maatere, the member for Grey Valley. It was expected that that gentleman would vote with the Grey, ministry, but after a few interviews with the gentlemen who pulled the wires, lie wrote a letter to his constituents. This was what he wrote :—■ Mr Montgomery here read the letter in question, which had been read in the House, containing, among other things, the following words :—" I have also had many hours'private conversation with the leaders upon harbor works and railways, with ike view of obtaining a pledge beforegiving my support." He voted straight for the people who promised the money grant, and he and they had their reward. He got £40.000 for Greymouth Harbor before the session closed, and, compared to subsequent transactions, it was considered cheap at the money. This and some other votes obtained in the same manner turned the scale, and the amendment was carried, but not carried aa a plain, straightforward vote of waait of confidence, for it was so worded as to catch some votes from men who would not have voted for a No Confidence motion pure and simple. However, it had the eiiect of displacing the Ministry. ! After detailing the circumstances which took place after the new Ministry was formed, the speaker went oh to enumerate the .reasons why the party with which he was acting objected to the new Ministry. They objected to Mr Whitaker. of Pfako Swamp notoriety ; they objected , to Major Atkinson, on account of his management of finance in 1877, and, before/that time, for declining to look the financial difficulty in the face, and for his continual, issue of Treasury Bills to tide oWr that* difficulty. They objected to it because Jiiany of the principal men in #ie Ministry had been opposed to Parliamentary reform lives. . ■■■..,;. ,: v>.; , The speaker here read some extracts from former speeches of ■• Mr Halty expressive of what he called good,- -sound, tory dectrine, and said that though he could <pespect such a man for his aincerity, he did not think he was the person to be entrusted with the framing of a Reform Bill. Reform measures should be framed and carried by men who had been earnest and enthusiastic in the cause : for years, and he, holding that opinion, joined heartily with those who wished to put a real Re--form Ministry into power. • Mr Montgomery here gave a short J account" respecting the defection of the four Auckland members. Concerning this nefarious transaction, this act of political perfidy would never be mentioned without calling forth the scorn and indignation of all right thinking men. lie wonld say, further, that he considered. it a matter for profound regret that the Prime Minister should have so far forgotten himself as to lower tlie dignity of the high office lie filled, by entering into any compact of which any mention of money grants to a district formed a part, for the sake of gaining votes.

They were ail aware that there was a deficit of a considerable amount. At the beginning- of the financial year this deficit amounted to £80.000. Since then, owing to the falling off in the Canterbury, Land Fund it had increased to about £600,000, and rendered additional taxation necessary. If the difficulty had been looked fairly in the face four years ago, It might easily have been provided against. As , it was the choice was offered the House between taxation and repudiation. A Customs Duties Bill was introduced, which levied additional, duties on spirits and tobacco, and also increased the .ad- valorem duties on other articles by 50 per cent He,had supported this Bill, because he considered the former articles fair subjects for taxation, and because the increased ad valorem duties would have a beneficial eHrect- on. local manufactures. He then came to the property tax. He was in favor of a moderate property tax, in order that large holders, of land for speculative purposes might be "compelled to pay their share of the expenses of the country, and the interest on loans, whose expenditure had benefited their property. But the present Act was very different. For instance, machinery was taxed twice over—once on its introduction into the country, and again every year. He objected to this because it handicapped colonial industry, and also these and other things subject to the tax (farm horses for instance) were part of the producing power of the country. But the very worst feature in the Act was its taxing all personal elt'ects. They would have to put down every article in their possession—chairs, puts, pane, &c, and ascertain their value at auction. There was no getting away from it, as a penalty of £100 and the inHiction of treble duty was inflicted for failure to comply with the provisions of the Act. Altogether, he thought tint a more obnoxious means of raising money was .iiever*"*inyeiited. (Cheers.) When the people got the forms to fill up they would .see the enormity of it, and from North, South, Eaat, and West such a cry of indignation would be raised that the obnoxious tax would be swept away. (Cheers.)

Mr Montgomery next referred to the attempt of. the Government just at tue

close of the sessiou. to foroo through a mpasnro far the purchase of certain District Railways. These rail wfiyS.-twiri been projected and cnirriettj,:,p by-rich men, assisted by the Banks,., .and when' they found it inconvenient to pay their call s they ftHkedthe Government to purchase. Notwithstanding the cry of the ruinous state ol the financed the Government tried to get a Bill 1 through; to purchase*. th'um. The cost was estimated* at £400,040,; hut lie believed it'would-have been nearer £600,000. But there were a" few determined men who were determined that,the Bill should'not pass, and they resorted to stone-walling to attain their end. Eventually the Government Had. to abandon the Bill, and Parliament gave them permission to issue debentures to tha extent of £60,000, taking security for tho same. If proper security were taken; the Colony could hot lose, now that they hnd frustrated the attempt of a few rich men to get the Colony to buy up railways running through their property. They had all heard that the late Government, and especially Mr Macandrew, had plunged the. country into fiuancial difficulties. Attempts had been made to blacken the political character of the members of the late Government, and to a certain extent these had been successful ; because when a cry like that is raised, it is sure to have ebmo effect. The expenditure under the heading of oHinary revenue, and that on -account "of Public Works loan, formed- two* :; entirely v sepa-rate 'account's. All new works were-'paid'for out tif the loian.,;,lt, the r^nai|oeeTW,ere-. in.a.bad,state, it ..w,as not because. Mrifracandrew had. pledged the loan, buj; jbecause! theordinary revenue -had hot been equal to the ordinary expenditure. He believed that Mr.Ma'candrew's action in sending'home and rolling stock had;;resul<!ea*in a v o"ufrefit to the Colony, as. they had :been procured .atr a cost: little, exceeding ■the half .of what they • would now cost. ... This,;" however, did -mot justify him, if "he had exceeded the votes. But his opponents did not object to his action on the ground of his having broken the law, but because of his , having caused a financial difficulty,. Now, the Government had askqd for an inoreased vote for all these works, except the Thames, rail - way; He,did not justify a Minister in going outside the law,, nor did he justify . the expenditure which 'had taken place on Native Lands; wa.afri'MY Sheehan r s department. Out the- present Government while dilating on the financial difficulties, did not hesitate to vote money ; for roads, bridges, •&<;..,. all aver the countay. '"" They had .given £G5,000 to I Captuin Colbeck'sdistrii'f, £50,000toTarauaki, and £40,000 to Mr Master*';, district, and asked the House to allow./thehi to purchase the I)jstrict railways from their friendn. Were these, the high;toiied, prudent men who "should', have the management of "their Affairs ?;; The whole plan.of the Government was to give money to get support , . "He-ffeltsure that there remained £3.ooo,ooo:pf:\{keioan yet.unspent. . ■■'.':. ■ to ..the!;ordinary revenue,; they b.egan : ..|lj.e .year ,;iyith a, deficit of £80,000, 'At the end'(unless additional taxation waft imposed ■ <) o,rv, i exp.enditure cut down)," the'" deficit Votild' "amount to £600,000. For two years prior to 1877, Major Atkinson had stayed off the difficulty Hy'.tljeJfiiftieof *£reasjry. -irf fact, borrowed money to pay the interest on monay. But "in "1877, when dioney mnst be had, the Canterbury Land Fjind was seized. Canterbury had, in fact, carried the country on its'back. Now they were Hhcnjt-by.justthe amount of this fund. Had Major Atkinson four years ago put' on a in.oderate taxation, and reduced the expenditure, they would not now have had this crushing, grinding tax- I ation laid on tbern when least able to bear it. Had the enormous overgrown Civil Service been reduced, they would not now have the present frightful state of things and a deficjt of £600,000..,

With regard to the Native question, it was evident that they could not go on spending £600 a day upon an armed force. The expected large quantity of availableland on the YVaimate Plains turned out almost a complete myth. They could not settle the few acres .that were available , ,' unless they made satisfactory arrangements with the Natives, for they could not keep a picket at each end of a field while the plough was going in the middle. The cause of the Native difficulty had been the greed for land .shown by speculators, and their desire to get hold of Native land. There was more land in the hands of .the Government than"would suffice iho people of the North' ■ Inland for. the next twenty years, but there: were, certain. PakehaMaoYis who desired to get hold of- the lauds for a mere nothing, an.cj.sell them again at ari' advanced pfiee,- and Government had to keepiup force to give them possession. He - hoped the people of Canterbury -would remern*»er that they paid 'Land Tax'as the whole North Island. With regard to education, he should oppose any attempt to disturb otfr educational system, either' by the Introduction., of school fees, orby anything tending to introduce sectarianism. lie wished in this matter to speak with no uncertain sound'/ The Royal Commissions which had tseen travelling about the country were" com- r posed entirely of Govermijent •suppojters, either members of - Parliament, or men who were rejected by: constituencies at'the last, elections. He considered there ought to be a semblance of fairness in these Commissions, or what were they to expect ? He did not believein their utility. Fancy the Civil Service Commission asking clerks whether they could not be reduced In number or salary. They would act as buffers between the Government and the Hou.se, and gratify a numjier of Government,supporters, and so far might be useful to the Government ; but a very pretty bill would have to be paid. He did- not know what measures wore to be brought forward next session, as. Ministers had not spoken out. The Treasurer, however, 'had promised a-measure to place local finances on a satisfactory and permanent basis,-' He hoped it would be an improvement-on their present state. Then there, was the question of re-diatribution of seats;vernmenti'had promised a measure on the subject last session, but had shelved. H,,'; This time he thought they .would not'bee., able to shirk it. Canterbury and Otagb'"" wurc under represented, and Nelson and - Taranaki had too many. But Government w-ere - unwilling to take away any members frotii these latter p'aqen, because they supported them. They must have a re-distri-bution bill this time, or, know the reason why. A bill to settle disputed elections and disqualifications was required. These questions ought to be referred to an ontside and impartial tribunal. As long as

they were decided .by a majopjty of the ! Hntise, pnrf.y feeling would, affect the decision. There was no'doubt that unseating the member for Christchurch was contrary to all precedent. Tlrpn, if a membei of the Flouse Were disqualified as a contractor for instance, they passed ah Act to whitewash him. Memb.ers of .Road Boards and Municipalities could".not do this, and it ought not.to be done in'the House. The system must be changed, and these matters referred to the Supreme Court. (Hear, hear). They had novsr been able to get a satisfactory bill for dealing yvitli.-Native Lands, because there were so' inariy persons interested in getting hold of those lands. Hβ advocated the natives being allowed to soil their lands only through the Government, and in blocks suitable for settlement. The surveys should be a first charge on the proceeds. Government should retain a fixed portion of the proceeds for protection of th c purchaser. He would support such a bil J, and hoped it would settle thelfrtive c question once and for all. ..(Cheers). c had very little more to say. A cry had been raised of great .financial diffieultiee. but the Colony ,wae perfectly sou,id. They would haveto reduce their expenditure, and make th^,railways p*y better. He believed tjiejr could increase their revenue" ft6in, this source j>y, £150,000 or £200,000; similar anrount could be niede mental expenditure. TogetotafTi these Would' amount to £400,t)00i additional taxation unaec>ee£vryv; It might seem a truism, but tliere- )vds nOway of getting rich except by. work land thrjift',, A people could never get rich by epeeulation though an individual uiight. He would ask his hearers, and would ask the people of New Zealand to insist on the Government practising the euma thrift and economy which they had to exercise in their private affairs. There wae then no fear of the future. Though their expenditure had been heavy, they had a groat deal to .show for it.

Ha belonged to the party of the Opposition. It: he knew that party aright, no factions opposition, would be offered. If full time were allowed for debute on all measures introduced then the minority must bow to the majority. He had great hopes of good being done by means df the Opposition. The best evidence of its being worthy would be that its proceedings were marked by decorum and vigilance. Mr Montgomery, in conclusion, aaid he liad detained them perhaps too long. He had to thank them very sincerely- for the Very patient attention they had given him that evening. Ho had to thank them, fpr, the generous confidence given to him and, renewed again and again. Though " he' could not express ell he felt in''this respect he was proud of being their representative, and deeply grateful for their. kindness. (Applause.) ; ~■■;-.. . Mr Shad bolt asked what about theN&r. tive.prisoners? . ■;;... ~V ' ... . ' Mr Montgomery replied' tUat "they were kept in prison in accord»nde' ; witb fch Act passed last session.; ,-•• Witen the GoverUr ment introduced tliie Bill,-;thß:Opposition not to obstruents passage, but, at .the same time, to throw on the Government the whole responsibility of the; measure. There was no doubt that nothing' but the'i'ifear of the most serious consequences could justify suchi*u ; aG.t.. .■"■'.'- ---' Mir Gar wood-said he the present property tax was an income tas,as well. Bid Parliamett intend "this ? Mr Montgomery said that in point of fact certain property was taxed twice over. An income tax would nut touch the holders of large estates which they were holding for speculation. Mr Garwood : " But about mortgages ?" Mr Montgomery: "In the matter of money-lending it directly touches income." Mr S. Watkins proposed the following resolution :— " That this meeting thanks Mr Montgomery for his able and exhaustive address to them, and beg to assure him of their confidence in him- as the representative in Parliament of tbie district." The motion was seconded by Mr Shadbolt, and carried unanimously." The usual compliment to the Chairman terminated the proceedings. |