The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. THURSDAY, JULY 30, 1896. NO CONFIDENCE.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 26, 30 July 1896, Page 2

The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. THURSDAY, JULY 30, 1896. NO CONFIDENCE.

The Premier has professed to be astonished at the action of the Leader of the Opposition in proposing a vote of want of confi ience in th« Ministry, particularly :ir, a time like the present when " the people of thw colony are on the tip-toe of expectation as to the outcome of the banking enquiry farce." For ourselves we feel assured that " the people " are really indifferent on the subject, for the reason that it has beeu apparent since the Committee began its sittings that dust was being thrown in their i eyes and tbe committee-room made bat ! a place of combat for rival parties in the House. By one of these accidents, on which sometimes tbe fate "I a nation depends, th rebate m tbe Financial Statement came to a sudden end, thus lepriviDg several honorable members of

an opportunity of telling the electors, throngh Hansard, why they who were pledged to economy of administration and a policy of non-borrowing, should have as soon as the elections were determined broken those pledges and helped to add to the burdens of the people a yearly tax of £165,000. Captain Russell has given them one more chance, which, donbtless, will in some instances be taken advantage of ; but the real truth that, under the stern rule of Mr Seddon, they dare not " move to the right band or to the left " when be had decided otherwise, will be carefully hidden away. Such a confession of abject weakness is not likely to be made. The notice of motion given by the Leader of the Opposition reads : That the administration of the Government has been unsatisfactory ; while they had professed to abstain from borrowing the public debt has been increased between March 31st, 1891, and March 31st, 1896, by £4,928,581 ; in seizing the sinking funds of the Local Bodies they have defeated the ends of the Loans to Local Bodies Acts and have used for the purposes of revenue the capital sums provided by the ratepayers for the purpose of paying off their loaus, and are depleting the Land Transfer Assurance Fund for a similar purpose ; the alterations in " The Customs and Excise Duties Act 1895 " passed by the Government, has imposed further taxation on the people, aud increaed the charges upon the necessaries of life." There is a plethora of charges here which will prove an insurmountable obstacle to the success of tbc attempt, if the attempt is made seriously. We do not think it can be because Captain Russell knows perfectly well the Ministerial Party is so numerous that when it eoes to the vote the Opposition minority will not have increased. Still, the people of the colony will be taught in the coming debate that the men whom they retnrned to Parliament solemnly pledged to reduce expenditure and lighten taxation on the necessaries of life, have on the contrary pluugcd the colony farther into debt, and made it harder for the working classes to obtain food for themselves and those depoudent on them.