The Globe. TUESDAY, JULY 9, 1878.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1372, 9 July 1878, Page 2

The Globe. TUESDAY, JULY 9, 1878.

In a few more weeks the public should be in a position to judge of the performances of the present Government compared with their promises, and to arrive at some conclusion as to their trustworthiness. In the meantime it may be well to briefly recall to our mind the nature of the promises which have been made. During his now famous tour throughout the colony, the Premier preached with unwearied zeal, the doctrine of manhood suffrage, and the abolition of the property qualification, a change in the incidence of taxation, by which he proposed to relievo the Customs duties to the extent of some three hundred thousand pounds by the imposition of a laud tax, and last of all we wore to have a liberal land law which would enable every man who wished to do so, to acquire a freehold of his own. The enunciation of this comprehensive policy was skilfully mingled with appeals to tho prejudices of his audiences, which undoubtedly had the effect of winning applause aud support. " Greyism " has become a recognised creed throughout the colony, and its very indefmiteness is undoubtedly one of tho chief causes of tho spread of the faith. But tho rapid approach of the session has made it necessary that some slight check should be placed upon the great expectations which had been formed in some quarters, and so Mr. Ballance was authorised to unfold a part of the Ministerial programme. He startled a portion of their supporters by announcing that the Government had no intention of doing away with the property qualifications all, they only intended to add a fresh one —a residential clause. Of course this abandonment of a cardinal point in the Grey policy had to be accounted for, and an effort has accordingly been made to explain away thg meaning of the Premier's words, which amounts to this—that he did not moan what ho naid, and that his views when properly understood were quite consistant with those of Mr. Ballance. Notwithstanding the efforts of the Ministerial journals, most people, however, not blinded with party prejudice, will admit that tho published views of the two Ministers are as wide as tho poled asunder. But not only are the promises of the Premier regarding manhood suffrage to be disregarded, there aro signs of a still greater departure from the Grey platform. Tho readjustment of taxation was a cardinal point in his policy. But indicationsarenotwanting that in this connection also his promises are to be abandoned. 'The 'item Zealander, the organ of the Government in Wellington, is throwing out hints to the effect that to jcasko a change in tho incidence of Indirect imposts would bo injudicious at the present time, and that we must bo " content with small beginnings." Coupled with the significant silence of Mr. Ball&uce on

tlio subject, these feelers on the part of the Ministers' paper are, to say the least of it, suggestive. Wo have thus seen that a cardinal point in the Grey policy has boon given up by his Ministry, and that there are signs that another great feature in the programme is to be abandoned. Why, wo ask, do men still put their trust in the Ministry? What promise have they fulfilled, or what have they done which should entitle them to the confidence of the Colony ? At any rate, what ground have the people of Canterbury, especially the working men, for trusting in them ? Not only have they none for doing so, they have many very powerful reasons for strongly opposing them, and suspecting the sincerity of their statements. Their promised measures are proclaimed to bo in the interests of the "people" as opposed to the wealthy. Well, when they had an opportunity of proving the sincerity of their professions have thoy done anything to justify the character which thoy assume ? Those patrons of the working men have been their greatest enemies. Their conduct, for example, in connection with the Canterbury surplus land fund should have convinced every one here, that their professed friendship for the sons of toil is all " clap-trap," intended only as a means of climbing into power, and of keeping possession of their seats. In defiance of every principle of justice and honor thoy have kept back from the Counties and Road Boards of this district, over £250,000 belonging to them. Had that money been in the hands of its lawful owners it would in the course of time be nearly all spent on public works of various kinds, and thus bo paid away in the shape of wages. We ask those of our readers who are directly interested, if they have realised what that means. Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds spent in this district means liberal wages and continued employment to hundreds, and its appropriation by the Colonial Government, a direct " robbery " of the patrimony of the Canterbury working man. Under one excuse or another the payment of the money has been withheld till at last the local bodies are obliged to take legal steps to recover it —till, as the Timaru Herald puts it, " the Treasury stands very much in the position of a fraudulent debtor, who having dodged his creditors for three months, is at last run to earth." But not only have Ministers retained this large sum which would otherwise have reached the pockets of the working men of the districts, they have wronged them still further. They have had it in their power since the Land Bill became law, to throw open the waste lands of the Crown on deferred payments. Now, if we are to believe the head of the present Government, it is his eager desire to place those lands within the reach of tho working man o.i easy terms. The other day it is true a few thousand acres were withdraw from sile, but whether tho land is to be thrown open on deferred payments or not, we as yet have no information. At any r.ito, during the last six months Ministers have allowed half a million worth of laud in this district to ! pass into private hands, without lifting a finger to give the working man an opportunity of obtaining any portion of it on deferred payments, although they had in their power to do so. Those friends of the people are endeavouring not only to rob us of the money which by law belongs to us, but, in order to fill the Colonial Treasury, they have been selling enormous quantities of land to the speculator and capitalist, to the evident loss of the working man. The other points deserving of notice must be reserved to a future issue.