GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2556, 17 June 1882, Page 3

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Fhiday, June 16. The Council eat five minutes, the only business being the third readings of the Aliens Act Amendment Bill and the Sheriffs Act Amendment Bill, HOUSE OF BEFBESENI ATI VES. Fbiday, June 16. The House met at 2.30 p.m. QUESTIONS. Beplying to Mr Allwright, The Hon. Mr Johnston said he would consider the propriety of giving effect to the recommendation of the Bail ways Commission of a previous session in favor of abolishing free railway passes except to members of Parliament. Beplying to Mr Bracken, The Hon. Mr Dick said that the appointment of a member of (the police force, Wanganui, to be a gaoler was made as the police officer in question happened to hare special fitness for the position. Moreover, it would have been a reduction of salary for a senior officer of the gaol to have been appointed to that post. Beplying to Mr Barron, The Hon. Mr Lick said the Government was not unfavorable to the introduction of the cental of loOOlba as the standard for the sale of grain, but until the population was educated thereto it would be injudicious to adopt it. Iu South Australia it had been adopted, but afterwards abandoned for the reason stated above. Beplying to Mr J. Green, The Hon. Mr Dick said an Order in'Counoil was being prepared, declaring I hat stoats, polecats, ferrets and weasels, the natural enemies of rabbits, were protected under the Babbit Act. The owners and lessees of land could obtain the services of imported ferrets from the Government on certain conditions. THE CHINESE. Mr Tubnbull, on behalf of Mr Daniel, moved for leave to introduce a Bill to disqualify the Chinese from holding miners rights and business licenses on the goldfields. Mr Beackbn denounced the measure as tyrannical and uncalled for, and thought the House would consult its own dignity by refusing leave to introduce such measure. Mr Shepherd moved the adjournment of the debate for a fortnight, to enable them to ascertain the nature of the Bill. The motion for adjournment was carried. TIBET HEADINGS. The following Bills were introduced and read a first time : Coroners Act Amendment, 1867 (Mr Steward) Mining Companies Validation (Mr Weston). VISIT TO THE EXHIBITION. Mr J. E. Bbown moved — “ That this House do adjourn from Thursday, the 29th inat, until the Tuesday following, to enable members to accept thej invitation of Messrs Joubert and Twopeny to visit the New Zealand Exhibition at Christchurch.” Mr Fish seconded, and after some discussion, The Hon. Mr Bolleston said the Government would give every facility to the proposed visit. IN COMMITTEE. The following Bills passed through Committee :—The Waikato Corfircated Lands end Trades Mark Amendment Bit's. NATIVE BBBEBTBS BILL. Mr Kelly resumed the debate on the Native Beserves Bill. He objected to the principle of the Bill, and moved, as an amendment—" That the Bill bo r r ad that day six months,” as it was expedient that Native lands should be administered by the Land Department through its Land Boards. Mr Conolly thought the short title the only reoommendable part of the Bill. At the best it was dangerous and improper. The Hon. Mr Bolleston contended that Bill as it stood was framed materially in the interests of both Natives and Europeans. Mr Db Lautoub insisted that the principle of the Bill was bad, inasmuch as it arrived at the creation of irresponsible Boards to deal with largo interests in connection with the landed estate of the colony. In other words, shifting the responsibility from the Government on to the shoulders of irresponsible bodies, thereby establishing a policy antagonistic to that of the abolition of the provinces. It would be an improvement if the Natives themselves had a voice upon the proposed Board. Toe amendment not having been made in a hostile spirit, bo would support it. Mr Stevens said the Bill was calculated to demoralise the Native mind, and give them a feeling of entire dependence on the exertions of others, peculiar to children. That he insisted was opposed to the spirit of the Native policy or the day. The debate was interrupted by the 5 30 adjournment. EVENING SITTING. The Home resumed at 7.30. ESTIMATES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT. The estimates were received by message from the Governor, and the House having gone into Committee, the Colonial Treasurer delivered the Financial Statement, after which Mr Montqomeey pointed out that it was difficult, if not impossible, to consider the financial pelioy until they had the Public Works Statement before them, giving them particulars of the expenditure and mode of expenditure proposed for the ensuing year. He thought that the latter end of the statement might well have been left out, as calculated to; provoke party contention. The balance was nothing more than might have been expected. In the neighboring colonies matters were equally depressed a few years ago and yet they too had a balance. Iu

these colonies, however, the Government did not take credit for having produced that balance, but admitted that it was attributable to the wave of prosperity which had been going all round. Otherwise he looted upon the statement as clear and satisfactory. However, it was satisfactory to know that at last they were able to meet the ordinary expenditure out of the ordinary revenue. Mr J. W, Thomson congratulated the Treasurer on his recovery. He was not prepared to criticise the statement just made, but the closing remarks were uncalled for. Upon the whole it had been a clear speech, especially as respected the finance of the colony. He was, however, inclined to think the incidence of taxation was not so very satisfactory. About the closing remarks, the Treasurer had made them so cfton that he was beginning to think they were true. It the colony was in the desperate state the Treasurer alleged three years ago, where, he would like to know, had all the money they had been spending on public works come from ? They were to have two Bills in connection with local self government —one relative to finance, and the other to the constitution of the local bodies. Ho reminded them that they were told years ago that endowments would be made for these bodies so as to obviate the necessity of the words roads and bridges being mentioned in that House. That hope had been disappointed, and he was much afraid that this was only another of these promises. Mr Tubnbulili pointed out that despite the reflections cast on the late Native Minister for entering into engagements in the Native land purchase, yet it appeared that the present Government intended to go into similar engagements to at least double the amount of the other sales. Sir John Hall said that it had been asserted by the Treasurer that when the Government took office there was a deficiency of £900,000, with an annual expenditure of nearly £600,000 in excess of the income. That statement had been taken exception to, but up to the present time no effort had ever been made to show that it was not correct. A million added to the debts showed how

true it was. The improved state of things was due to the careful husbanding of the Government. He denied that the Treasurer hod ever taken credit for having brought about the improved commercial position. What he claimed was credit for the improved financial state of the colony, although at the same time the former had been stimulated by the latter. He challenged the Opposition to dispute the assertion about the state of affairs in 1879. Sir Qhobqb Geby said he had never beard so weak a financial statement made, Any little boy in the town could have made a better one. It gave no information at all. It simply told them of sums of addition and subtraction, and nothing more. If a financial statement, they ought to have had a school teacher and a black board, demonstrating the fact that two and two make four. What they wanted was a statement worthy of the great statesman the Treasurer professed to be. The local self-government question was one of old standing, and yet they only had the old story without any broad comprehensive statement as to how these bodies were to be dealt with in the future. Why was it that the new Parliament had not been called earlier together to prevent the large dispoilation of the public estate in Otago. When they got their proper strength, which they were now fast obtaining, the Government would have to answer to Parliament for this and other direActions of duty. Had a land and income tax been imposed, the colony would been in a sounder condition than it was. Their policy had driven away many of those who would never otherwise have gone. The statement did not deal with any of these important points. They had the power in their hands, and he asked them to use it in forcing the Government to do the duty it had so long neglected. Had the Grey Government remained in office, they would have had the tame means for meeting the commercial crisis that this Government had, and had the administration been left in the hands of the former, the difficulty, would have been more efficiently met and grappled with. Mr Sheehan thought the Opposition should delay the debating the Financial Statement until they had the full statements before them. He defended the land purchase system of the late Government, and showed that large amounts of money which would have got into the public purse had gone into that of private individuals, the latter having gone in and completed purchases begun by the Grey Government, but repudiated by their successors. At the present time they had locked up 600,000 acres of these lands under one proclamation. That was the hot springs country, which ought to have been opened to all for purchase. At present it was only the favored few who had the means o f obtaining these lands. Alluding to the debts attributed to the Grey Government, he asked who incurred these debts. It was the Government of which the present Government was the outcome. The fact was, the Grey Government took over a bankrupt estate, and that estate was bequeathed to them by the Treasurer and his colleagues. It was the Government that borrowed largely in 1870 for public works, and who brought down the schedule of these works blank to be scrambled for on the floor. The Grey Govern, ment came into office with all their difficulties ready made. When the whole system of finance was brought down they on that side of the House would be prepared to have a stand up' fight on the subject. He would support the Native policy, but on the policy as a whole he would stand by his party.

Mr Maoandkbw commented on the bad example shown by Bir John Hall in opening up a debate when they were not ready to go with it. Three months after the Grey Government left office the journals of the House showed that there were £3,770,000 in the treasury. Eighteen months later the balance was £1,636,000, and now they were told that the balance amounted to £900,000. Did these facts bear out the statement that the Government left office in a bankrupt state. Ho would deny it emphatically. So much then, for the story of the Government having extracted the colony from its perilous position.

Mr Moss denied that the Government had reduced the expenditure o£ the colony as claimed by them. It had simply been produced as an apparent saving by a system of jugglery of accounts. In 1879 they were told that the Grey Government had committed the colony to the expenditure of four million out of the five million loan, and then Sir John Hall tells his Leeston constituents last year that the present Government had spent three millions more out of that loan. That was a system of finance beyond his comprehension. Four and three wore seven million, all spent out of one five million loan. How was it that the local Government Bills were not before them. As usual they would be brought down at the end of the session, and then shelved as had been the case in previous years.

The Hon. Major Atkinson contended that the statement did give a clear insight into tho finance of the colony. He took credit to himself for having got the finances of the colony into such a state that nay boy might have understood and expounded them. What was stated in 1879 was, that engagements had been entered upon without the authority of the House, and before tho loan was obtained. That was what had been complained of. As a matter of fact the Treasury was empty when they took office, despite the fact that when ha left office he left half a million, besides other balances, belonging to other accounts. All the speakers to night had mixed up the public works with the consolidated fund. He produced and quoted from the public accounts of the period, and challenged contradiction thereof. He denied that he had taken credit to himself, as had been alleged. It was the settlers and the colonists to whom ho had given the credit. It had been said that the statement did not take a broad view. The fact was that the statement took as broad a view as could be taken. His business was to view matters from year to year, and that was the breadth of view he expected to take. He had been told that the Grey Government would have done better had they remained in office. If that was the feeling, then it would be for the colony to say eo, eud place them again in tho Government. He, however, would not like to be the Treasurer who would come after them. It had been said that tho Government ought to have made provision for that wave which was approaching when they left, office. The fact was that they left sufficient in the Treasury to liquidate all their existing engagements. He had taken the trouble to find out the incomes of 146 of tho largest landowners in the colony. The result was he found that a land tax of Id per £ would produce £16,000. An income tax of 7d per £ would produce £17.000. Whereas the property tax yielded £42,000, Progress was reported. At 11,20, the House adjourned.