Wellington Notes.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 102, 27 October 1896, Page 2

Wellington Notes.

1 \j fFROM OI7H OWN CORRESPONDENT. J If Mr Seddon has no better tale to tell the people of New Zealand than that he delivered himself of in his Apiti and Feilding addresses, he need not feel any disapDointment at the defeat which is inevitable. There is nothing new or surprising in his claim that his policy was the best that had been given to tho colony, nor that the increase of 75,000 in our population in five years was the result of the legislation of his Government, but he excelled himself when he said that the Conservative Government had by the Customs duties of 1888 added a quarter of a million to tne burdens of the people. A search through Hansard gives the history of the Bill and a remarkable fact is disclosed. On the third reading of it the following Liberals voted for the Bill in the final division — which was carri3d by 45 to 22 — Messrs Ballance, Cadman, Seddon, T. Thompson, W. P. Reeves, W. C. Walker and Ward ; the only two members now in the Opposition who supported it were Messrs Mitchelson and G. Hutchison. Against it were Capt. Russell, Dr Newman, Mr Buchanan, and others. The division was taken on July sth, 1888, and the full division list is recorded here. In the face of such an easily-verified statement Mr Seddon endeavors to discredit the Opposition by telling 400 people that it was " the other fellow "who did this, while his party to the man were the sinners. Even if it were wrong iv 1888 to add a quarter of a million to the Customs burden, why in the name of conscience should be, in 1895, put on another £100,000. The quarterly returns just published show that the increase for the first six months of the year is £49,000. but he did not inform the Feilding electors of this. He must have thought his audience a very gullible one when he told them that his Government had increased the number of producers and lessened the number of drones. Here, in WelliEgton, we sne more of the drones than are to be collided with in country places, although it is said that every third man in Westland is an inspector But aa for the producers it is a lamentable fact that the only new industry that has been started here during the Liberal administration has been the wax match factory. Before Government arranged with the proprietor for giving him a monopoly of this business the colony received £16,300 a year as Customs duty on matches. That is now virtually gone, and in exchange we have the following people employed : — Four youths at from 10s to 20s per week ; 51 girls from 6s to 14s 6d ; 16 men and two women at from 18s 6d to £2 2s 4d per week. Total, £3,133 paid in wages per annum. Iv Dunedin there are 17 boys employed at weekly wages from 5s to 8s ; two youths of 19 years of age at 21s 6d, one woman over 20 at 15s, and 19 girls from 14 to 19 years old at rates varying from 10s to 14s per week ; total annual wages, £938. This added to the cost of running the Wellington factory gives a total paid in the colony of £4071, for which we have sacrificed £16,300 of revenue. One curious feature about it j is that the lowest wages are paid in Dunedin which sends three labour members to Parliament.