PUBLIC WORKS AND IMMIGRATION POLICY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1294, 21 September 1872, Page 2

PUBLIC WORKS AND IMMIGRATION POLICY.

MR. HARRISON'S SPEECH. The following is the speech made by Mr Harrison during the recent no-cor Ideno\ debate : — Mr Harrison. — Sir, I shall not attempt to follow the example of some honorable members and speak for several hour 3, but shall endeavor to give expressions to my opinions in as clear and concise terms as possible. When the honorable member for Timaru rose to move the resolutions now before the House, I felt a; certain amount of pridp, aa an old supporter of his, in the fact, that he had at last assumed that propec position which was due to his statesmanlike character, and had thrown away from him those outside influences which appeared to affect him during the previous part of the session, "when he was taking advantage of side-winds for the purpose of gaining tho object he has now declared to have in view. The honorable member's resolutions have at any rate the merit of frankness. They attack the Government on probably one of its most vital points, and for that reason I felt a considerable degree of pride, when I recollected the old sentiments of respect which I had for the honorable member, when he proposed the resolutions in the terms in which he did. But, Sir, I must confess I felt very much disappointed at the manner in which that honorable gentleman referred to the grave charge which was conveyed in the terms of his resolutions. I listened wich great attention to him and also to other honorable members on the same side, and failed to discover anything in the shape ot explicit charges of such a nature as would warraut this House in turning . out those Ministers who have initiated a large and useful policy to the country. The honorable member for Timaru, in his speech, confined himself entirely, so far as my memory serves me, to accusations of a gejaeral character, withotit, possibly from inability to do so, having made any direct charges. I have listened to the speeches of other, honorable members on the same side, and the few explicit accusations that have been ventured upon, have, I think, been conclusively answered, and the impression upon my mind has been created that the whole intention and purport of the resolutions of the honorable member is simply whether the gentlemen who occupy those benches shall continue to occupy them longer, or whether certain honorable members who think they ought to occupy them shall do so ; and I think that is the interpretation generally placed upon the resolutions by the House and the country. Speaking to the resolutions of the honorable member, I find that he first attacks the administration of the public works policy. lam not going to follow those honorable members who have gone into figures and made statements, which have been, to my mind, conclusively answered hy the statements of the Resident Minister and the Colonial Treasurer, and which will probably be still' further answered by the Minister for Public Works ; but I consider it to be my duty, as the representative of a very important district, to speak of the administration as it affects that part of the country which I represent. I venture to say that there is'no part of the Colony of New Zealand which has benefitted so much from the administration of the present Government as the West Goast of the Middle Island ; and 1 shall endeavor to point out what appears to me to be the benefit which that part of the cotintry has derived. Sir, one result of the policy of the Government is thatalarge sum of money — borrowed, it is true — has been expended in opening up, by good and excellent roads, the greater portion of the West Coast gold fields ; a state of things which, I believe, under other circumstances, would have been still a matter to look forward to as in the distant future. Large benefits have also resulted to that part of the country by the scheme which* the Government initiated .for the assistance of tho miners, by providing a water supply on the gold fields. That scheme was carefully considered by this House, and by the special Committee to which it was referred, and the resjjlt was, that certain regulations were drawn up under which aid for water supply might be obtained in order to provide regular means of carrying on mining operations. In consequence of some misunderstandipg with regard to those regulations, they' were not taken advantage of until recently : the conditions appeared to be hard, and it is only lately that the miners have begun to understand them. Before the House met, and since then also, a large number of applications have been received, and works of a beneficial character will shortly be commenced. That part of the country has, I think, every reason to congratulate itself on the policy and administration of the present Government. With regard to the South-West Gold Fields of Nelson, I can only say that the administration of public works by the General Government came upon that part of the country as a gift from Heaven j and it was so utterly new to the people there to have anything like a system of public works inaugurated, that it was some time before they could realise it. The difference between the vigorous administration of the Colonial Government and the maladministration of the Nelson Government was so great that they were astonished at the benefits which were showered upon them. The honorable member for Nelson City (Mr Curtis) took occasion the other day, in criticising the administration of the Government, to state that the Government had done too much for that district. He said that they had proceeded with the works too hastily in that part of the. country, which will, I believe, become the most valuable portion of the gold fields of the Middle Island, and that the haste of the Government had led to a wasteful expenditure of public money. That remark^ Sir, is the key of the honorable member's plan of administration. 3e has had under his care the administration of the Province of Nelson, and has, within the last few years, had about L 200,000 available for public works ; but up to very recently the Reefton district and all the towns in the-interior were un- •; connected with any port. He expressed the opinion the other evening that it was unwise to push on the road works now proceeding, until the value of tho reefs '. have been satisfactorily ascertained. Sir, i it would be impossible to apply the test ] which the member for Nelson City flesires, : without doing what the ■■. Government, are I '. doing now. The Hon. the Premier will < bear me out in the statement that, before <

the General Government undertook the road works, there was no means of communication throughout the wholeof those gold fields. 1 say, therefore, with regard to the administration of the Government in that part of tho country, that the people are satisfied, and would view with exceeding regret any change in the Govornment. I have heard a great deal that has been said in this House as to the failure of immigration under the administration of .the Government, but I think there is veiy little weight to be attached to those charges, when we consider the circumstances under which the scheme was inaugurated in England. Every honorable member who is at all acquainted with the condition of the mother country, must be aware that there never has been a time when the competition for immigrants by different countries has been so great, and when so small a number of immigrants have been available^ Wa»es were high, manufactures were in. an extraordinary state of prosperity, and it was impossible that the Agent-General, in conducting his operations, could have succeeded at once in securing that extent of immigration which the Colony might have been led to expect. Great efforts have been, made to bring about an improved state of things, and large numbers of immigrants are" on their way out and arriving here every day, which will supply the wants of the Colony, and keep pace, with the expenditure upon public works. The honorable member (Mr Curtis), who, I am sorry to say, is not in his place, took occasion, in the course of his remarks, as another instance of the maladministration of the Government, to refer to the course which was taken with regard to the . railway which this House authorised between Greymouth and the Brunner coal mine. I myself confess to a feeling of great dissatisfaction with the Government for the manner in which they have neglected that very important undertaking ; but the mistake they made was in not doing what they threatened to do, namely, to take the mine out of the hands of the Provincial Government of Nelson and form it into an undertaking combined with the railway. The honorable member also complained that the Hon. the Colonial Treasurer tied him down to conditions which he thought he could not fulfil — that he insisted that a certain quantity of coal should be brought down to counterbalance the terms agreed on by the Government for the carriage to the port, and that the amount demanded was toolarge altogether. Why, Sir, it is not many months since the gas-works in the town of Greymouth were absolutely dependent upon a few hundred weights of coal which the steamers, whioh were themselves waiting for coal, gave them, Coal was, so scarce at that, time that any quantity of coal from this mine might have been, sold in the Colony at a large profit, but the mine was kept.locked up; and yet the hon. member says that, on account of the hard terms which the Government wished to impose upon him; " the whole thing is hung up, and a great colonial work— such as I maintain the opening of this important coal mine is — is to be deferred owing to petty details." I think if the Government, instead of making terms with the honorable member for Nelson, had taken the mine out of his hands, which they could have done, and made it a General Government reserve, and leased it or worked it themselves, that, so far from the mine having been hung up, there would not have been those great complaints of the short supply of coal, which we hear every clay. I very much regret to find that the honorable member for Hokitika intends to vote in direct opposition to the views and opinions, of his constituents. Mr White : No. ■■.-.■■■■ : ■■}■ Mr Harrison : The honorable member says "No." Ido not suppose that he would come here in the capacity of a delegate, but I do say that the honorable member, in giving his vote as he has indicated, is decidedly opposing the wishes and best interests of his constituents. Mr White : I ask, Sir, if the 'honorable gentleman is to be allowed to say that I am voting against the best interests of my constituents. The Speaker : The honorable member i 3 merely expressing his opinion. ■Mr White • If it is only his opinion, I. do not mind ; but if he states it as a fact, I contradict it. : : , Mr Harrison: I only repeat what '. have -already stated. I lately received a telegram, signed by the Mayor of Hokir tika, ' forwarding a resolution which .had been passed at a public meeting, to the effect that no Government should be supported by any West Coast member, which would not pledge itself to bring in a measure this session for the unification of the West Coast Gold Fields. I refer to this telegram in support of my opinion that the honorable member is voting against the best interests and wishes of his constituents, because, if the. present Government are turned out, the' Superintendent of Nelson will become a member of the new Cabinet, and all hope of the unification of the gold fields may be abandoned. I listened very carefully to his speech, but I failed to detect any one argument in support of his vote. Heaccused the Government of corruption,: and the only thing he could • do, by way of proof, was to read a long list of the payments which have been made to the different newspapers in the Colony. I am sure that if the whole question were submitted to an impartial tribunal, the . charge of corruption* would be scattered to the winds. My connection with a newspaper in this city, as well as with newspapers in other parts of the Colony, : euables me to assert, without hesitation, that the charge that newspaper support is obtained by corrupt means is utterly and entirely unfounded. The honorable member stated thai one effect of the policy of the Government had been to deprive Westland of a large portion of its revenues. I feel equally with the honorable member that the financial charge which took place in 1870 was against the interests of the County of Westland, but it was in the very nature of things that, in the .division of the consolidated revenue, a part of the Colony like Westland, which contributed a disproportionate share of the customs revenue, must have inevit^ ably suffered. But he forgot to tell us that this very system, ' which the House and.the leading minds of the coun-; try had for long desired, had been originated by the Government of the honorable member for Tiraaru. Whit did' 'the honorable member for 'Hokitika himself do? He has been supporting resolutions ] for a reduction of gold duty, Which will i sweep L3OOO from tho revenue of West- 1 land,; making the Government of that part ( of the Colony : still, more unable to carry ( on its business. The honorable member,', i

in support of his accusation of corruption, • referred Mr White : I never used the word " corruption" in the whole course of my speech. ■ '•' Mr Harrison : If the honorable member did not make a charge of corruption, I think my memory must be very imperfect. He concluded his speech with a . remark to the effect that he believed the , present Government to be corrupt, but I am happy he now does not say so, and admits that the present Government is not corrupt. The honorable member then referred to the Press Association, . an association formed by newspapers of all shades of political opinions for the purpose of collecting and distributing news amongst themselves; and he tookit\ipon himself to Btate that that Association was a political organisation; that it was used for political purposes ; arid he backed that statement up by saying that the telegrams supplied by the Association to newspapers were , strongly tinged with a political bias. I can, in answer, say this : tliat the Association has been joined by every paper of respectability in ;thq Colony, of all sides in politics, and the instructions given to the agents are to telegraph impartially. I will give a proof of this., A few days ago the honorable member for Nelson (Mr, Curtis) brought under my notice a telegram which ap- . peared in a newspaper from Auckland, with regard to a certain meeting held in that city respecting the resolutions brought forward by that honorable member. He complained that, in his opinion, ( > the message was tinged with a bias. I, ! - ■will now read the copy of a telegram '. } which, by my instruction, was sent at once to the agent of the Association in Auckland. It was as follows :— .-. " Telegram regarding public meeting re provincial resolutions and action of provincial officers appears to be subject to charge of political bias. In all cases confine telegrams to facts." That was strictly in accordance with the printed instructions to the . agents, ancjj* though every possible precaution has been **" taken to prevent it, agepts may be occasionally influenced in some degree by their political feelings, but in such cases they have always been called io account. The honorable member, in making that assertion, forgot to say that he had acted as agent for a rival association until hia • services were dispensed with. With regard to the second resolution, censuriugMinisters for their absence from Wellington, I assert it would be very much better for other parts of the Colony— parts that, like the West Coast, have been neglected— * if Ministers would travel about to a greater extent than they have, visit those places, and make themselves personally acquainted, with , their condition and requirements. The visits of the Premier and the Resident Minister of : the Middle Island to the West Coast gold fields have, I am sure, been productive of great benefit to that part of the Colony. Honorable members representing the' '. West Coast will agree with me that there has been the greatest difficulty in making „ the Government and the House under- / stand the position and wants of the West Coast gold gelds j their representatives were few, and we were unable, in the absence of that sympathy which could only result from a knowledge of that part ; of the Colony, to get proper attention paid, to them. The visits of the honorable gentlemen have resulted in creating a confidence in the Government of the country, whether it be that of the honorable members who sit on these benches or any other. ■ The inhabitants of the West Coast feel thftt, now something like an intelll* gible knowledge of their condition will be made known to the House, they will receive the attention, that has long been deuied to them. I could not help being amused at the second resolution of the honorable member for. Timaru, and I should like to knoar — although two blacks do not make a white— how the business of the Provincial Governments is carried on in the absence of the Provincial Executives for three months in each- year. We have present in this House the Superintendent, the Provincial Secretary, Gold Fields Secretaryj and Provincial Solicitor, of Otago ; the Superintendent of Auckland, the Superintendent and Provincial Treasurer of Nelson, and the Superintendents of Canterbury, Marlborough, Tara-: naki, and Hawke's Bay. We have jjfej^ these Provincial officers cqming here for . .>•■ three mouths, and I have never heard ; it advanced in this House that the :, Provincial Governments .would suffer thereby. If there is anything in the second resolution of the honorable member for Timaru, it 'would apply to Provincial Executives, . and I am not aware that any member of the Ministry has been away from Wellington for so long a time as three months, excepting of coursa the Colonial Treasurer, when he went to Eng--land. With regard to the third resolution, .; I must say I heard it moved by the Kon. v member for Timaru with a great deal of . pain, because it appeared to be a bid for support from the advocates of Provincial- ' ism. When I first entered Parliament! supported the honorable member in icon,-, sequence of the stand taken by him to abolish provincial institutions, or rather to reduce them to their proper and legitimate functions, and absorb their larger and more important powers in the Parliament of the country. The third resolution is to my mind but a repetition of the intentions of the honorable member for v Nelson (Mr Curtis), when he brought in \ his resolutions,' which were dropped when ' ; it was found they , were too hot to hold. I am not aware that there is any objection to making use of provincial machinery where it can be employed advantageously, but I do not think experience has been in a direction to warrant the House in giving - - that amount of latitude indicated by the. third resolution. The Colonial Secretary issued a circular respecting immigration; >■ to the Provincial Governments, and in •" some cases.it was treated with nothing short of contempt, and generally it was not responded to in the spirit in which it .-. was sent. On the contrary, the Superintendents very soon took . up,.a positively hostile position by inviting their Councils, at the opening of their sessions, to express an opinion in favor of handing the administration of public works to the respective Provincial Governments. But it was remarkable that no response whatever came ; : from those bodies— they either treated the invitation with contempt or declined altogether to acccede to it. In 1 the Province of Otago, I believe, the Council passed ovo* that portion of the Superintendent's speech that referred to this matter in silence. , In . Canterbury : the i ■ Council did the same, but the Superintendent, not satisfied with disapproval iiv> ferehtially expressed by «Uen«e/ Wtiqgui T ' '

it forward in another shape, but with no result. In Nelson the same thing was done. The Superintendent, in his opening address -I do not know his exact words— invited the Council to express its opinion as to the interference of the Government with respect to public works. Mr J. Shephard : I must inform the House that the honorable member's statement iS distinctly contrary to the fact. Mr Harrison : I am sorry that the honorable member should say so. I think he will find, on referring to the reply presented by the Council to the Superintendent, that it declined to express an opinion on the subject. In Wellington the Supertendent made an urgent appeal to his Council, but was unsuccessful ; and my honorable friend, in that skilful manner for which he deserves so much credit, avoided an adverse expression of opiniqn by abolishing what he called responsible government, and as it were, aping Parliament by doing away with the address in l reply. < If the proposal of the Wellington Superintendent had been discussed by the Council, I am perfectly certain they would give given an expression of] opinion en-

tiroly opposed to the views of tho Superintendent. I am quito sure tint the assiatarce of the provincial offi*r.j is not a th ; ng to be desired by the Genera] government unless thr se officers wei a p'f <J at the disposal and were the servants or the General Goverument, by whom they phould be p- : d. If tKt course were not adopted, seilous compilations wot a arise, and I know that, : 1 the district I have tho honor to represent, comp':cations of this kind have already ai 'en, In support of tfo> view, I w U read, from a paper published at Greymouth, wh ? ch genera^y represents the views of the inhabitants of that d'stilct, some ex'-acU from an aiiicle on the resolution of the honorable member for iSehon (Mr Cniiis). It says— " Governments, like individual, livo to leatn, rid ?* the present Government live as lonu as we hope they shall do, we havo some fear that they wi" not live ye./ long without learning that in some instance they have already gonefar, enough in resigning to provincial officials tho ex -ution and supervision of public works. If the accounts which we receive as to tho nflaenco of the provincial clement upon the execution the public works now in progress in the Province of Nelson, oxpress oven half the truth— or rather if tho facts substantiate half the statements made— there is certaiulyserious causo for the strongest public representations to the Government, and ior the most stringont inquiry on tbe part of tho latter Government as to the propriety of leaving to Provincial officials any general work. It is with regret that, with such comment, wo should have to give prominence to these statements, but they have been so freely and frequently made that it would bo wrong on our part any longer to ignore them, or to permit our resprct for individuals, or our sense of the difficulties of tho situation, to stand in the way of duo publicity boing given to what has become, verbally and by letter, a matter of common complaint." Works are now going on between the port of Groymonth and Roefton, at which place are congregated some three or four thousand people, to which access is very difficult in the best of times, and in which, during inclement shasons, tho inhabitants are likely even to starve through want of means to take provisions to them. The present road is being constructed under the supervision of tho Provincial authorities, and recently tho storekeepers and residents generally, desiring to travel over it with stores for the town, applied to the overseer of roads for leave to establish a pack service over it, but the overseer declined to allow it. The inhabitants held meetings and communicated with the Resident Minister, who ordered the road to bo opened, but the overseer— a Provincial servant, be it observed — did not, until he was a second time peremptorily ordered, open the' road. That is a specimen of the manner in which things are conducted nnder tho provincial authorities. I have very little further to say, except that I intend to Bupport the Government throughout the whole of this fight. Although at the time when they first launched their policy I was opposed to it as too large, and based upon what I believed and what has proved to be faulty calculations, yet, seeing that tho House and tho country were willing to make allowance for somewhat extravagant expectations, and recognizing that it was a policy of progress, and that it would drag the Colony out qf the atate of stagnation and depression in which it was, I afterwards supported the Government in giving effect to it. With regard to the amendment, 1 have a few words to say. The original resolutions simply aim at the administration of tho public works. Now, I am not going to say that the administration has been perfect— l do not think it has ; and any man in this House would be expecting what ho could never possibly expect to get in this or any other country if ho expected that it would be perfect in all its details. Still I believe the administration has been carefully carried out, with every desire for the good of the Colony. Mistakes have certainly beon made, but I have heard of none which induce me to withdraw my support from the Government. The amendment presents a more direct issue to the House and to the country, as it asks us to say whether we have confidence in the Government, and not merely whether the public works have been wisely administered. What has been said about finance in this debate 1 And yet tho finances of the country have been plactd on a far better footing by this Government than they ever occupied before. The credit of the Colony haa been raised to & position which, it norcr bofore enjoyed, and tho repatation which the Colony now enjoys at home is entirely due to the policy which this Govornmenfc initiutod, and to the manner in which they are carrying it out. It is a great reproach to New Zealand, and to ail young Colonies and intititntions like ours, thai the Parliament oi the country is so fickle that it is impossible at any time to recognise what our policy for the next year or two is to bo. This public works and immigration policy has liad a fair start, and I say that if you now turn out the gentlemen who occupy those benches, and put in their places gentlemen who havo oppose^ the policy, and who, even now} have no sympathy with it, I do. not think it will be a measure which will conduce to the good of the Colony in the eyes of the outside world. have., heard some talk about a possible reconstruction of the Government, and, speaking my own individual opinion, I believe it niignt possibly bo advisable ; but at the present time I am prepared to place my entire confidence in the gentlemen who occupy the Treasury benches. I do so because they replaced a policy of war and of commercial and industrial depression by a policy of peace and progress, and because they are endeavoring to develope tho resources of the country.