POLITICAL NEWS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 1483, 17 October 1885, Page 4

POLITICAL NEWS.

■ . * — : — ■ . MR* BfiUCE * BEFORE 'HIS' CON- .-..., STITUENTS. . , - --,- Mr Bruce addressed his constituents at Marton> on. Monday evening. -"We utake the following extracts from report of his speech, as published m the |sVangariui Her (ML v — . ' ■ ' ' ' LOCAL liQDJES FINANCE POWERS BILL. , Mr Bruce said that , the Government had in' the previous^ session promised' to bring down a great'schemeof local Government. He, for one, had not expected that there would be any great improvements on the present or rather late system. He was not, however, going to giv& the measure the unqualified condemnation that spine had done. . The greatest fault of the -bill, he 'considered, lay m the borrowing power it gave to local bodies. M? Bruce -then gave a summary of leading points of the bill, which he said, might suit some outlying distrjctg i very"weil, but it would givejise to extaw&gance all over; the %<jlqnfs It ! had iie>h)al|e^ed"in ' the^HoujEie ;|hat the looal/^pjlfeiB ;' w>uld haye? *&iven| them powfer "to borrow 7£ mUlidtts; but JtUat was"ndt his own opinion, as "lie did hot they could go > into" the market on the same favorable, terms that the Go- ; verriment ' did. The most important ! clause m the measure was, that repealing \ the ttoads and Bridges Construction Act 'In reference to the latter he said that he ! considered it au honest atteni pt at the «, ' solution of the great problem, , the polojimsatipn of this colony. The : Act* however, was only a tentative one, as it provided only for subsidies for six months. Details of the bill as it affected the 'various classes of local bodies were given, and Mr Bruce went' on to the HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS BILL, which he said he considered an honest attempt to grapple with a very difficult question. ■„T he details of the measure m this instance were also entered into, at length, and the speaker then proceeded ;to state. Hh'at >wßile! ithad jriuchTto recommend it, there, was also much m it She cotild not approve* 'of^ He believed 'that under it the maintenance of the sick land poor would fall with undue weight ;on the large cities. They appeared to gravitate m the direction of centres of rather than remain m the jcountry. The act, however, was at least jworth "a trial. The next measure dealt [with was ?- _ . ; I -THE LAJiix BILL -* : which m Mtvßruce's^estimation-was one of the most* important and useful measures introduced during the session. It was principally a consolidating rAo^andv Icoh'iaSnyd ) improvements trti ptejvious measures. One, of the most imjportant of these was the extension of the jhomestead system to^alLparts^^ the icolony. fifootlfer iitiprovemenUwas that i giving Waste Lands Boards powar to relax the regulations 5 'as' to 1 > residence. alteration of the system of putting iup^tM^rbwri'^andsHo ttfe I fcallot^P 1 item instead of .by. auction, had ,'hjs support, > 'With' regard' to settlement he Svould like to see the three systems adopted^ . cash 1 ;; deferred- payment, arid leasing, as by these, means they would get the rich arid pobr 'mixed up togetKer. It. was because the special sQttlementß/ jflid not provide for this that he was inclined to think they 1 would fail. He believed thatj Mr Baliance-as. Minister for Lands deserved a great deal of credit for the energy he had displayed m opening up the lands of the colony for settlement. No one could gainsay that; everyone m the House gave him that credit. While approving of his land^twlicy he could hot approve* of his ,propoßefl. method of disposing of native lands. He (Mr Bruce) hot speak with any sgreat authority^ on native matters, but he' had been told by such men as Mr; Donald Fraser, of Kangitikei, that - J the system would be absolutely unworkable ;_ and ' further, ;that it was m reality play^. ing* igto^the hands of .the\ very lanfl rjngs Ihat-^Cr Ballknce'w& so *anxious to avoid. ; As a Native Minister, he had been said- by some to be a complete failure ; by others ,he r had been, termed a complete .sja^ceis,) probably . thfe truth lay between the two. The Maoris m Wellington had told~'hiin (Mr Bruce) that they were well, -satisfied with Mr Bal^ctO^laia^irhapVafteVlW' Bryce's it liad a soothing effect. He riextyief erred to, > >. : s CAPT4JN EUSBELL'S BESOLUTION ;; ; ; to reduce the expenditure by half. a million. ;He (Mr B) was not aware that the resolution was to be' moved until an honr b i e^ore Captain Bussell moved iti He had heard tli'at it was said m the. district that' Messrs AtkinsHh and Brj'ce had brought presgnre to-bear ! ph.. him to vote m its favour, but this was absolutely untfme. He voted for the resolution, and he woujd gi^e,them his <reagons.| Though not an alarmist or croaker, he must say that he had come -back* -from ' Wellington rather alarmed at the financial, position ;of the colon.^.' 'At present he believed it sendinpr out r four millions at^rjyisr, for .interest oh^ubliij aHdprivaU^etts. andthe J 'total value nt its exports was little over f7jmi)lions. ..The revenue was little*nver~ -.3 -millions, and it was, m a sense, falling. Worse than all^wool*was«falhnsr, and he did not helive it was likely to rise again. jjOJnr indehtedn|Bß per head • waR more tljan double that of : any Australasian cblony, beins: £58| while the^next was only £24.' Our^ v jdebt , ;^as ra>j^ly approaching 85^ trillions' ahd^'this," with abput.half a ""million of population, of whom only one hundred and'iifj:y i l;b,pti>l 6e|nd were male adults. STJm<<wal a Sfjrious financial position, and every fresh million borrowed a'ddeda'6o.ooo, at least, to thjß^nnnal&iaMHttesjjpf the colony. It had,Be>n^aHl^)lhat %he reduction of ot penditure would be the means of throwin jyi great many workinef. men of em- . plbJmentvHe^a nol^po'of liewouid 1 ne t have vote^ifclr it; r >Sfr / Btucel here ;reul an extract from a speech on the ' suhjefit/hy^f r jt iHplmes,. whonK '-hj^ d*s/ ( crjbed. ,as • the f oren^p^^ working man^s * 'candidate m the .House. Those who vqtea farpr of the) reduction, were th'reateWed^tft 'political extinction, and' the'^iewHje'took 1 was 'this— they shouljT ' do theiriduty whether ithey*were^politically, eitmg.uished or mot. t' If .they were; ,so e^tfaguished t] lev could. go! back to i ' their farnifj again.,; For his own part he would' rather go to sea again, and work Jbefofe ' Jmast than sacrifice his prinifoir'th'e sake of a seat m the* House. " ; ,' ! T,HE PUBLIC I WORKS POLICY , , ■'■' !<' ».'■-,:;-:••; »■■!.!.;>■' ;>-*! vj» hi: >,> <> came next under review. He dm not believe that Sir. T. Ypgel nor any other,' » man' c'6ul(Tlift4his, Colony but'bf b'fs fih- * ancial difficultiesi : It r wa«for thempelVfes* tn d6fshaf/, but unfortunately, the Public 5 W;ork« Policy had demoraliaeid th^ people . of \ thqi^p)pfly r ,ap^ , taught ; them] to.lopk $ '-'toitne, t oOYerjQfpent j!sr h ejijerriihiqg^ m BteaH rof helping themselves. It . -was 4 wicked thiug for a Government m aca country into tliat' belief 'thai;. 1 it^ conW,'witha"wave 'of its magfc warifl, 1 banish depression and bring' ■ m prosperity. , J$ a, Government administered, the; finances economically, that was alljthati was required from it, the people themselves must do the rest. Bef erring nex^, to *' "''■ '. ' : . "'_ ". .. •••'■■ ■ THE MINISTSti » "" "•'"'' Mr Bruce, as an opnnß-tion member, 5 said that the Ministry had been Reyerely condemticSd 'for H6t Vefiignirig^ but he was noi inclined to swiell'the'chorusV ''He'wirts^ inclined tdi iwty-iwith >Mr ' iMcKenz'ej "Keep the M !f ?is»try/ m, bur, their : impat ) pures out.' t '[ , He, had, .nqjrtpjubty tbnjif^at was. the feeling of the majority pf the , members of ihe Hmise,. anrl *f]ie Ministry kntew, or they Would ' ,'have. r- signer! . Trerewastlie strongest fe^l-' ii g against the return of Major; Atkin 1 '

son, and .' he % himself *«tol<l Atkfeif son thai he' did not wisliytdWo liiimHSuicii^ iH .ftpvy^r. _ He (Mr .Brace) jiolioyejl JhjiL patriotism and ability wer j to tie found, in.the^jjroyerainent, but tariir usefulness : was ~rnuch : f impaired by the speculative schemes of the Colonial Treasurer. He believed that the middle p<Vrty would i soon forma Ministry and take. the reins. . In reference to tliis he would say that he believed that party could' furnish > > Grovernment as able as ithat noy on the benches. He would instance sts men who uiichtfonn an able Governnient Messrs Mcßenzie.Menteath, Fisher, BicH. ardßon, Lake and Garrick. He would be gla,d to follow any Ministry which-ap-peared to him to have at heart thu welfare of the colony, and would carry out its policy m an economic .manner,,, rn^t spe^diugfinore than a mUlibu-a year 0)1 publia wSrks^ i :■. * i ? ''-"•% w ">'