The No-Confidence Debate.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 29, 2 July 1885, Page 4

The No-Confidence Debate.

SIB GEORGE GRID'S SPEECH.

Sir 'viVi!'.;'; 1 iljvv .siid ih:\i". lie* ;4<>o,! \\v-\i night unlv-ViiMided. .Ho !i;id altninod thai age whsn it was unlikely t.h-it hs; would for much lonp;er address 'be Hon.;:; or the caunfry. ilrj i\>««: tli.it night m speak his mm.'l upon a subject of great importAn^e, ami to ask hon. members Id defend tlv.nuolvo* from a courts which was, iie believed, fraught with danger. The Financial Statement laid before this House had, there was no doubt, excited great. ■ discontent inside and outside ox the House, and m that discontent he participated. He believed iihe figures which were, always brought before the House amounted to nothing. On one side o£ the House they had ihe Treasurer tolling 'them that his policy was to the best interests of 'the country ; anil on the other side there was the member for Egmont telling them exactly the opposite. His own opinion was that the House had. been, to <v certain extent led aw;ay by those hon. gentlemen. How could, the ..finances of the Colony have be6n beneficially conducted if 'the result was that instead of taxation being decreased it was. increased? The radical cure, beyond all doubt, for the difficulty was the reduction of expenditure. (Was any proposal, made m that ..direction.?. What, was the necessity for adding so many members to the Legislative Council? There. was no economy pursued m !i the past, and no promise of ' reduction m ; the future. The speech of the hon. m«rn--bef for Egmont was hardly, the .speech of ]an opponent ; and it showed that he had not yet. become that "financial reformer that he would have been, if he had spent a little more of his time m the country" instead of m the Treasury ; and helhopod th.3 hon. gentleman would take stqps' before the" session was over to give ef&ct^tb his views. Sir George condelnned the, proposal to increase taxation as a ni,ere,teia,p,orary action to make the end . more disastrous. ' There was nothing m the Government policy Bills worthy oE a tnie Reformer. Who would have believed that such an advocate of laud . nationalisation as the Premier .would: siippo'^t a measure to give a million acres oE land for an unnecessary purpose. He denied 'that ibis was a coalition Ministry. Tlie Premier and the Colonial Treasurer before the last Parliament was dissolved, come-to4n agreement by which- the one to be Premier and the- other Colonial Treasurer.! .And ibefdre. ; the /Parliament mfct, and when the members were " like a ; : Hock of sheep who had never been . u rider a shepherd,": those gentlemen arrived m Wellington, and, on.the strength .of; an 'arrangement with the South, deCifled upon the offices" they were to hold. He (Sir George) had always been of opinion . that it was 'the Now Zealand -Agricultural Company, that was to take 'Officerr-^laughter) — -and that was why he ; would, not ;support. , But he waited ; and withipfSix days after they came into oft ;fi6e"ih'e; Government brought m a prop6salto'give the New Zealand Agricultural Company £4000 as a donation. He 'objected to these. companies being- repre'sdnted by Ministers, because they had too 'great a power. The bill he alluded to wjas, that.-introduced. as the District liail- ■ ways'- Leasing Bill ; but suddenly, and without notice, the name of. the Bill was altered to that of the District Railways "lJeas'rrig ; "aml Purchasing" Bill. That wjas one of his objections to the action of "tlie Government. He. objected to hon. ■gentlemen who had been connected for ■■•'njany years with companies holding office. The Colonial Treasurer- gave this House advice which was contrary to the „aflvice of "a statesman. He said, m reference to thii.? Bill, that the companies Who-, formed these railways ''Had got themselves into debt, ami' the result was that a- number of the proprietor's had made themselves ' personally liable for large ['sums, and had been placed m aw em- ; bjnEra'sed'.' position. Then; again, he said ithat "the intention of the Bill was, m I fact,;? so- : . to apeak, ■to -take advantage of the unfortunate position in' which. 1 tikes©-; companies 'had' fallen," arid obtain the railways on vary.gbodi terms." That ! wasrhe bqhtended.f a; wrong- sentiment for,ai Minister to advance; It was; very 1 nowise to allow this company' element -to intrude itself 'into : the House, for >it? r waalpossible for Minister unintentidn- ' . ally to lead the House and ths country astray. \ ■ The ' business ' of, thei country i since last; -session had been conducted upon the principles of. companies. ■'! The Cpionial.Treasurer had himself an in-< terest.in .16,000,030 acres m Western Australia, and it was with a view of following that policy that a Bill was introduced last session to give , a million of acres i,n the Colony away unnecessarily. ■ Turning..." _t'o,.''tho' Financial 'Statement, which' he Ead'read . with entire despair,' tliey found an allusion to the " survival of the fittest." Hoa. gentlemen would perhaps say m explanation, of that expression, that the survival of the fittest . applied to plants «and animals; but they vrriusfc remember that animals and plants did not make laws for their own government, and the survival of the fittest was tl c niofet (terrible misfortune that could b ifall. the country.. They were told that tl c people' were accustomed to a ; proper^jr 1 .tax,: although: the Government were opposed to it. Contentment unJderlsjuch circumstances indicated a low.: state of civilisation. He knew that hon. n: embers, were afraid to put Government out, because they did not know ywlio would take their places. But hon. members, by. that reasoning, must sub-, mit m the* mean time to 'bad -law's. Were they to pass a bad land! law now, and a 'hftd Native land law, becanse they were afraid of the consequences of putting the ftfiriistry out? Hon. members agreed that the Ministry ought to be put out. ..■Why'kot; put ; them out? Then the f ht;meet and appoint a coalition Ministry -to . carry out good laws. Were the cpepi who fell under Nelson less fitted toj survive than the stockjobbers of the block Exchange ? or the men who' died ml the Soudan less fitted to survive than tlie stock-jobbers who caused the war ? Yefc the Government talked of the survival of the fittest. If they wanted men used tp company transactions to rule the cc-untry, then let them have men who had been successful. (Hear, hear.) He should like to know the history oi the -New Zealand Land Agricultural Company- Even now, he believed, there was a fresh claim iaad9 upon 'the Colony, by a telephone company,' which, : for ought' they knew, was urged by Ministers I .' If the Ministry really believed, m an income tax, then let them 1 bring it down. (Cheers.) If they did not do thatjthen let them.romain m belief m office, *or put Major Atkinson, whom thay would all regret to see on the „ benches, hi po-ivor. The Government would" sa'erin'co all their professions to , keep that gentleman out of office, He did riot believe that there was a man m the House but held with him that the financial proposal of the Government should be absolutely routed. Yet they would rather swallow thorn than soe one mnii m power, Major Atkinson had asj gqod as told them that they owed a debt of-gratitucle to the Treasurer ; but there arbso an ungodly man, who used harsh 'w.ords — the member for Selwyn, Mr W.akefield — aud he had thought, when that hon. gentleman was speaking, that thpre was one heart m the IJouse that throbbed m unison with his. He urged the House to coalesce m truth ; to. hayo a great coalition to uetomiine'wh'at mea- ! sures should be carried, and not 1 allow to ; remain on the benches men who .brought ■. forward measures to the dictation of a . few. yir Georgp , Grey concluded a speech occupying an hour m puration by ;i.o •.■!;■:;-: i.l > ti iiuioiuliuoiii of whioli he had■ given notice. \