Mr Ward's Departure.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 178, 28 January 1895, Page 2

Mr Ward's Departure.

IMPORTANT SPEECH BY THE TREASURER. (Times' Correspondent.) Dunedin, Jannary 27. The Colonial Treasurer was entertained at a social on Saturday evening. In his speech he said there were some ( persons who contended he should remain in New Zealand. The reason assigned for this was that they feared that in his absence trouble might overtake the Government aud country. He asserted that some of those people who gave utterance to such expressions, if they were not Judas Iscariots, were hypocrites of the first water. He would tell them why presently. (Applause). Had they noticed during the last few days a cablegram published in the local papers stating that a cable message had been senttoEnglaiid, aud publicity been given there to an announcement that there would be a deficit of a quarter of a million in the finances of this colony '? If they had noticed that, and would put it side by side with the desire there was on the part of those opposed to the Government to keep him (the Colonial Treasurer) in the Colony, they would realise what it meant. In all honesty their critics, when talking about the departments in which there was a deficit, should also mention the departments where there were surpluses; and there were surpluses in every other department but one, and that a small one— the beer duty department. The surpluses in the other departments, after providing for the deficits in Customs and railways — and not only so, but after discounting the next quarter to the very utmost — not only made up the deficits, but would give an excess of £20,700 over and above the deficit. The meaning of this was that, after allowing for every possible contingency, instead of having a gross surplus, as he had estimated, of £341,940, he told them now — and they could watch the figures when they came out— that after March 31st the surplus would be over £350,000. Mr Ward then referred to the cheap money scheme of the Government. There had never been a safer system promulgated on the face of the earth ; that as a matter of fact the three millions the Government proposed to borrow gave at the end of the 36 years a surplus of four millions by way of security. That was the position, and let him tell them this -it was well that the settlers should know it— any settler who api>hed for a loan under the Act for '66 years, ah the end of six mouths, or 12 months, or at any time afterwards, if he had the money, had only to give notice to the department and the repayment of the loan could be made at once. He stated that in the House last session, and he would like to inform them that as this proposal had been questioned by some legal gentlemen the Government had taken the highest legal opinions in New Zealand on the matter, and what he was now telling them was borne out by these opinions. (Applause.) As a matter of fact, too, a circular had been sent out by the head of the department to every applicant under the Act in New Zealand, telling them that it they obtained a loan under this system, find wanted to repay it at a shorter date than 36 years — say, at the close of one, two or any other number of years — the money would be received and the mortgage discharged. (Applause) One objection that was urged against the scheme was that it was an interference with the lending by private individuals. If the Government had succeeded in causing the rate of interest to be suf ficiently reduced by those who loaned out money privately they would be satisfied. Their desire was to let those who needed the money have it as cheaply as possible