A Young Member.

Gisborne Times, Volume VIII, Issue 583, 29 November 1902, Page 1

A Young Member.

The senior member for Dunedin City, Mr H. D. Bedford, received considerably more votes than any other candidate at the election. For this reason, some idea of his political views will bo of interest. Speaking at Dunedin at the beginning of tho campaign, Mr Bedford said that in criticising tho Government finance, ho wished to mako clear at the outset thut he was in favor of a moderate borrowing policy in a young colony like this. In such a colony they wero building railways and roads, which were valuable assets to the colony, and which assets would bo bequeathed to posterity, and should not bo bequeathed freo from tho burden of debt, hut the cost of these assets should ho distributed over tho generations immediately to come. It was nob for tho pioneers of any colony to equip it with roads, bridges, and railways and pay all the cost of these, because posterity would reap a great deal of the benefit, and should bo therefore saddled with a proportion of the cost. ...

It seemed to him that tho Government during tho last year or so had been so eager to maintain themselves in office that they were paying attention to every demand of overy member of the House for every trifling vote for every trifling public work, and so long as there was a Government in office which put tho maintenance of its power first and the interests of the country second, and sent to Parliament members who scorned to think tho only way of serving thoir constituencies was to got as much of the loaves and fishes as possible, they could not have tho most progressive and boneficial prosecution of public works. It was high time the Liberals of this colony took a stand for principle, and pronounced strongly against any temporising legislation or policy of any kind. The people had nestled so long under tho protecting wings of the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon and Sir J. G. Ward that they seemed to have lost all independence. Ho did not wish to under-rate the services of the legislation of the present Government. When ho heard of tho strikes in America, France, Belgium and Germany, and realisod the tremendous amount of misery they wore causing, as well as tho dislocation of industry they brought about, wo could not help feeling truly thankful that we had here in New Zealand an industrial conciliation and arbitration law. But that Act did not realise the end of progress, and that and kindred Acts did not usher in the millennium, and because we had brought in those Acts was it to follow that we wero to have stagnation '! It appeared to him that on tliis occasion the Government was appealing to the country in the name of bribery and cowardice. Bribery, because the Budget this year was a cornucopia—a horn of plenty, out of which every one in the colony could get a little ; and cowardice, because of their manifest fear to tackle principles, as evidenced by the dropping of the Land Bill and the half-hearted way in which the Referendum Bill was taken up. As a result of this election he believed there would be a large increase of the independent element in the House, and it was high time new life and enthusiasm was introduced into the Parliamentary debates.

A seaman was sealed up in a spip’s storeroom in an Australian port the other day. He was released by breaking the Customs seal. The Customs authorities arc suing the shipping company for releasing the man by breaking their sacred sealing wax. Sir William Jukes Steward, coming from an electioneering meeting with a friend, frightened tho buggy horse, which bolted, Sir William walked eight miles homo. A local motor-car agent is sending him a circular. At a race meeting in the Wairarapa a jockey was throwD. The horse galloped away with the saddle-girth uppermost. Jockey took a 11 bike ” from a spectator, chased his mount, caught him and won the race bareback. Ob I Since the “ salt cure ” was added to the world's facts, salt eating is gaining ground among women in New Zealand. It leads to loss of hair and thirst, particularly the latter. Begging for libraries from Millionaire Carnegie seems to be quite the proper thing to do. What you would scorn to do privately, can be done collectively without a blush. It ceases then to be 11 cadging.” The people who were going to return to New Zealand by the Elingamite, and did not, are legion. One man had his portmanteau on board, but the police considerately took him and his property into safety. According to Barclay, the referendum would become “ the sheet anchor of the shuffler.” That is, a shutiier would admit that the joint decision of the people of New Zealand was worth as much as his own. Mr Barclay would decide 11 on his own " you m&y depend,