Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1890. The Language of Exaggeration.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 12 August 1890, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1890. The Language of Exaggeration.

. » Thi Goyernment, haring been successful in upsetting the Committee appointed to inquire into Mr Hutchison's charges, should now take the opportunity to clear up eTorv rumour connpoteel with their actions during the past three years. If any single indiridual is to blame for ugly suggestion* as to the bond fillet of the action of the Government in raising the last One Million Loan, it is certainly Sir F. Whitaker, the AttorneyGeneral. To secure the passing of the Bill through all its stages in one sitting in the Legislative Council, he used such " language of exasperation," as he aftsrvrai'ds admittfid, that led mpmbers, both of the Council and House, to believe he spoke more on behalf of the Bank than the Colony. The history of the Bill and Bank run curiously together. In the session of 1887 the House passed " The New Zealand Loan Act," under which it was proposed to borrow ono million pounds. It was introduced at a very Into stage of the Be-siou, and the Government al'owi?d the House to insert a <lause in the Bill — the 19th — which readaß follows :— " Suhjwct to the proviso to this clause no loan, of which the principal or interest s'lallbepavable in the United Kingdom sha.l be issued by the General Government of New Zealand before the thirty-first i day of March, 1892." The Government, after the session was at an

end, discovered thut the above clauso practically d^birred thorn from going into the English money market. On Parliament meetiug on the 10th May, 1888, the Government rushed a " Lo .n Act, 1887, Repeal Bill " aud the " New Zealand Loan Bill, 1888," through the House. Rushing is a nvld term to use, as the Second and Third readings ofthe Bill were moved on the 17th May ; and it was also pasted on that day. On the next dav the Bill wa . read a Second and Third time in the Legislative Council. In the year 1887 nothing was known of the financial position of the Bank of New Zea'and, but early in 1888, shortly prior to the meeting of Parliament, the first shareholders' meeting was held, when the Committee of investigation was appointed Sir F. Whitaker, up to thia time, was Chairman of the Dire-tovs of the Bank. " The New Zealand Loan Bill, 1888," waa introduced to take the place of "The Loan Act, 1887," repealed, and was in every particular the sam* Bill, only th . 19th Clause was omitted. To secure the Bill passing Parliament so quickly, the Premier in the House, and Sir F. Whitaker in the Council, used powerful arguments, though the Premier's w^re as nothing when compared with those used by the Government in tho Council. The reports that get into Hansard are very much pruned down from the words utter d in the heat of debate ; bufc it will be neon from the extracts we make tfiafc Sir \*. Whitaker looked upon the passing of the Bill as of most serious consequence. Hansard reports he said — ... a considerable portion of it (the loan) has already boen expended. . . . Now I .ay at onco that if you reject this Bill the consequ. neo_ will be to throw the whole finan.euof Government into absolute and complete confusion ... • unless the Council is preparod to at onee bring about a greafc crisis they must pass this Bill . . . ■ but I say at, once that it is absolutely neeessary for the Bill to pass. . . . This ia strong language and probably the words were stronger, and to the hearers certa'nly convoyed a different meaning to what was intended, as the Hon- Mr Buckley inquired of the mover — '' Whether he means what he said when introducing the Bill?" and Sir Whitaker replied : " I would not hare said it if I did not mean it." The Hon. Mr Buckley, to make the matter more concise, stated — " The honourable gentleman told us, when introducing the BiU, that t'_i<* money is pledged, and unless we get it we shall have te file eur schedule." Sir F. Whitaker, in replying, ia reported to have said — " No doubt there has been pressure on tho Council to pass the BW in a hu'vied war ; and I should not havo ,' .ought of doi.ig it exeept under great necessity — unless I hnd felt that it was essential that the Eili should be passed." In order to show that the language used was different in strength I to that reported, we need only quofe j Sir F. Whitaker's recantation, made a day or two after his speech — I '• I hare been represented as pressing for the passing of the Bi' l in o> 'der o beln the Bank of New Zen 1 ?, nl, and dec 1 -ring that if the loan were not . ise. , rnd raised immediately, the bank wou.U'. b_ in a position of insolvency. I never alluded o the ba.il.*, nor had anything that \ said any reference to that institution, whicli nei- ie: seeks, nor expects, nor requires assistance from tho Government out of Iran or otherwise. . . What I did say was : tliat lha Government had incurred liabilities, rnd unless we — the Government — were going to file our schedule we must have money to pay them ; and 1 afterwards explained this was the language of exaggeration." Our readers will notice that there conld hardly have been stronger language used than Sir F. Whitaker's when he said — "It you rejeot this Bill the consequences will be to throw the whole finances of the Government into absolute and oomplete eonfusion." And the excuse urged for using such a'-eumenU ae being " 'anguage of •xaggeration " hardly conveys the correct meaning, if the explanatiou of the hurried passing of the Bi I, giving by the Premier in the House, is true. On the day following the Bill passim? the Council, a member of the House inquired if the statements there made were correct, and the Premier replied — " The real reason, and practically tht only reason, which made the Governmeat anxious to get the Loan Bill passed through at onoe, was that they were officially advised from Lendon that it was advisable there should be power to place the loan in May, if pos.ible. The loan is not anticipated : and, deferring to the request of the authorities in London, it in not our intention to hurry on to place the han on the market ; and we have no intention of raiting short-dated debentures in anticipation of the loan." The italics are ours. It is quite propable that the Government have done nothing but what th- y had a perfect right to do, and only acted in the be«t interests of the co'ony. The extraord'nary language of exaggeration used by Sir F Whitaker as to the reasons for the urgency of the Bill being passed, the confident manner in in which he spoke of the posi ion of the Rank of New Zealand, (which ha* since been »hown to be inac curate) and tho impressi n his -angunge conveyed, should have prompted the 'o over nment to have wi ing'y afforded every assistance to 'et tho question be impartially enquired into and sett'ed. The e ag eration was committed by a leading member ofthe Government, and the a' laying of the a'arm there, fore rested upon the Government.