Mr D.M. Macarthur at Palmerston.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1636, 16 February 1886, Page 2

Mr D.M. M acarthur at Palmerston.

The member for Munawatu, Mr D. H. Macartnur, addressed his constituents ut the foresters' Hall last evening. The electors present, of whom there was a a large number, gave him a very attentive liearing. Mr Alex. Ferguson occupied the chair, and having briefly introduced Mr Macarthur the latter commenced his address. He said he thought that they would agree w ith him mi n that he did not earlier address them for the good reas >n that he had hud all the more time to maturely consider tiie events of the late session, and could speak more dispassionately on the various subjects" and the matters which had received attention m the House, more particularly those affecting their own district. He believed that all the members of the Ministry had spoken as individuals and not as collective Ministers of the Cabinet, but nevertheless thought he could f»rm an opinion of what they intended to do. No doubt their proposals would , be cut down. The Protection tariff and borrowing policy more or less vigorous were the principal matters which would receive attention. These proposals, however, he believed would be very much modified. He would deal with three subjects that evening, viz., the Rail .v ay and Borrowing Policy, Froe Traue v. Protection, and Local Government. Necessarily he would have to refer to what had happened last session, but would try to touch on them only as rerequired. First the Railway Policy and Further Borrowing — The Manawatu District had been very hard hit m the matter of railway construction, by Capt, Kmsell's m >tion. He (Mr Macarthur) iLail voted against his motion and v so doing voted m opposition to a good many of his own party. The East and West Coast Railway party had combined to cat the rote down as they could, not get their own vote through. He considered the amalgamation of interests -by these two parties an .unholy alliance. They really inteuded to go m for an extravagant railway policy next session. The Minister of Public Works intimated where the reductions were to be made, and that £70,<)0J were to come off Otago Central Line. This item is an important one, as the Premier had done for his constituents what he would not do for the reot of the Colony, as will be seen. Ht; (Mr Macarthur) considered the stopping of the trunk lines an absurdity. It was absolutely ' necessary m his opinion that they should be finished m order to be reproductive "to the colony. A certain amount -of money had been ,sunk on these lines, and the money voted for their complete construction had been used m other ways. Me the Gorge' Line this was a legitimate line, and if it was finished it would m his opinion pay not only the i' 4 per cent, it now paid but also help 'to pay .the interest on other lines. Everyone m the House admitted this line to be a legitimate one, but they were compelled to adhere to their compact i» order to serve all alike. However the fact of the general admission of the necessity for completing this line gave them at least ■ good hope tnat it would receive careful attention m the future. Capt. Russell's motion cut the estimates down £385,000, and then the next Bill passed was thatto buy the district rail waj s, the sum to be expended m the purchase to be from £300,000 to half a million,. Some of the members were interested m these railways to the extent of thirty thousand ; one m ; fact had his vote struck off on account of this. The whole transaction reflected, he considered, the greatest discredit on those concerned. Our district had been very hard bit indeed. Out of a total reduction of i"385,00, £113,000 came off railways affecting the district viz., J48.00P of Marton. Central i' 65,000 off the Gorge Line. Nearly one third of the whole or deducting* the £15O,Q0O ; for .the East and West Coast Railway which had' no chance of passing nearly one half the total reductions,. Iv the case of Otago Central the Minister of Public Works bad stated on Bth Sept. that he could reduce* £70,000 of the vote on the 11th, however, he said that dnlj£2s,ooo could come off connecting this with Mr Stout's declaration to his constituents at Dunedin it was plain that a point had been worked m their favor m the matter of the Otago Central. It is evident the Minister thereby used his position to benefit his constituents to the disadvantage of the colony at large. Be the Greymouth-Hokitika, he had taken notice of the vote for this, line, and had asked that it be reduced the same as the others. It had been arranged to leave this line alone but he (the speaker) succeeded m getting it struck out with others. After the railway vote was cut down a general arrangement was made to cut everything down. In one case he (the speaker) was successful m getting a gold field vote reduced £28,000. BORROWING POLICY. ; > ; He assumed that the Government pro poaed to borrow ten millions. He would not support- this. A little fictitious prosperity would be the' only result m his opinion with plenty of disaster, to follow m 'its wake. If the matter were put to the country at the general election 1 they would protest against it as a common sense community. However, lie believed it would hot be proposed,' at least not m one lump sum. Sir Julius Vogef, he believed, would propose a scheme of borrowing' the amount for each railway to be specially earmarked for it and spread out over a number of years, say one and a half millions a year. He would then be able to taunt bis opponents' for. having blamed him for going m for a large borrowing 1 scheme. Tne three million loan was earmarked m this way that every railway was to have had some, but Parliament" Used the money otherwise m spending it only on one or two lines. The various reports on the E & W Coast line went to show that that railway would Bcarc'ely 1 pay working expenses. He ! knew the , line well and the country through which it passed, and believe it utterly impossible that it would pay for many, years. The country was to a large extent unfit for settlement. Heavy pressure had 1 been brought to bear on the Government m connection with this railway. They had to assume a support they could not conscientiously give. The East and West Coast Railway ia the point, on which the railway pqlioy turns. . But' though tb,e East and West Coast . members band together and enter into compacts for the purpose of furthering this line still the other members see the imposition,, and also will band together and Qppo.se the combination. Great stres3 had been laid on the matter of gold prospecting m connection with the arguments advanced m support of the grant, but he considered that railway expenditure for such a purpose -was: decidedly wrong. There was very little likelihood of' new gold discoveries :on the West Coast, It was only at Kumura that there had been any rush of importance, during the last eighteen years and they were not, he thought, going to make any great gold discoveries m New Zealancj, the West Coast having been pretty well ransacked for gold l now. If n company did not consider it sufficient inducement to construct the line with a free grant of the land, then it certainly would never pay the Government; tb go to.:the expanse. They shquld, m His opinion, strictly limit themselves, to. borrowing as much only as was really re^uirecj, He would not vote for any mad scheme which would run the country into debt. As far as the Gorge line, was concerned, they were not asking' the colony to -do. a favor m granting its construction. It was at present as \\q b,ad said before, paying 4

percent. The Marlon Central line war a difficulty. It ha 1 been authorised m 1884 uader tha idea th it a Urge area of land was coming from the natives. Mr B&Uance had said that two million tores would be coining to the Government two years from that time, but nothing h^d as yet been done. Mr Ballance had said that the Maories should not sail their land but lease it. In his (\ir Mucarthur's) opinion, they did nothing towards contributing to the revenue of the country, m the shape of direct taxation. Th* Otago Central line should be finished. | There was so much sunk m this line-that -* unless it were completed the part already constructed would be almost useless, at least, as far as giving any revenue went. i Otago it also should be remembered con tri^"" buted very largely to the exchequer, and they had been promised a much larger amount than they got. No new railways should, he considered, be gone m for until those already started had been completed. . ■ ; „ < GOLD A.'PKECIATION. The question t.»£ gold appreciation «• \ aftecting the commercial and financial { footing of the colony was dwelt on at considerable length by the speaker and each elector advised to read up the quee* ' tion well and consider it m all its bear* ings before the next election. It was clearly shown that debt had practicallr doubled m these countries which had adopted borrowing schemes. The onlyhope of gold depreciating again was th*' i discovery of large gold fields which was not at all likely. ' v LOCAL GOVERNMENT. '„ The results of last session on thi».u > question might 'be ■ »•• ■*? miserable fiasco. The"""Local Powers and Finance scheme was a ■ mere stop gap until something was done. He did not think there was very much to find fault with m our local Government ex; > cepting that he considered we had too many local bodies and too many elections. 1 Inferior men were returned through { the interest not being taken that,,therf S should be. He would consider, the way of working adopted m Canada thY j mqst advisable viz, Road and Town Boards taken as the unit, members returned m the usual way. From 1 these* again form by delegation, County Councils and give them extended powers, that of Charitable Aid and licensing, Borough " Councils to be on their present basjg/ with the same additional 'powers.^ Higher bodies to deal with larger matter* such as education, hospitalg,&c. Before % manshould be returned for the/ higher ' boards he would have to pas* through the lower bodies first, serve as it were his ap^'' ! prenticeship before he was placed m th* more responsible position. By this scheme the undesirable result of having.unexperienced men m responsible position m ths local bodies would be counteracted*^*' Charitable Aid would be>" r ßest administered locally. Finance is % very much more difficult question. Local bodies borrowing would not be likely to borrow more than they' re*-"* quired. A scale of distribution is required whereby local bodies-would not get more than they would be able to repay. The roads construction of the colony was much underrated by the members of the Cabinet, most of whom are town men and have not the experience of the country mem bersof the House. Town members do not like to see the money spent on. Boltf* - : ' and 'Bridges construction.* '- v The v : We3t Coast members also object. The local Government; f scheme will be got through with next session, if there is no political squabble. Whatever doubt there it as to the Government coining down with a big borrowing policy, they will certainly come dowu with a protective policy, and of a very advanced tyjpe indeed. Messrs Stout and Larnach ire -- now protectionists. It is very strange that > these men should chauge so suddenly m their political belief. This question, I believe, is a more important one than borrowing, the effect of the latter being limited. Last election I was only.; once f ques tioued as to thy vie ws oh the raa&er, * abd I then statbd 1 was a Free trader. To this policy I am deterraiaed to adhere irrespective of all party ties. Major • Atkinson, my leader, is a Protectionist, and the party of Free traders is, as it were, a sheep without a shepherd. Theßree Traders carry, however, i good deal of weight atnougst them and this question may cause the Government tb appeal to the country. It has lieea stated that a dissolution. will take place before Parliament meets, but I do not believe that the Governor will grant • disiolution' ; (Sveri if asked to do so; ■. The Ministry will ask for a dissolution on the question of a Protection and Borrowing Scheme. Protuctionistl advance very plausible argument*" m favor of their policy. Plenty of work, high wages &c. Well America is the greatest protectionist couutry m the woWd, apd although wages have increased there 30 percent. yet the cost of living also increased 80 per cent In Free trade, England, wages increased 24 per cent, and cost of living decreased to 28 per cent, and pauperism decreased m 20 years !by '2o per cent. Also it had been proved that on the Continent where the protectionist policy is m vogue wages havO'decreaeed and cost of Hviug increased. The f suggestion is thrown out by protectionists^ as an inducement that ft trial ina^ be made, and industries protected • for a time and then relieved but this -is; »- mistake as bat m very few cases- is 4h* tariff evert taken off. The matter should be \veitrhed well by us all before giving ourselves up to a policy from wuich it> will be .found difficult to receee* Look at the men m England who. advocate Free trade - such stateßmec as Gladstone, Cobdeia, Brrght^ and Stuart Mill men who have made it a life study, who would not support this policy if they did not "plainly seethat it is o^ne which sub- , stantialy benentsttie* working classes. ' |We must leave the operation of natural" laws to take, effect. Self-in^erestr will guide us best m this matter, let industry^ take its natural chant, els and people will judge better for themselves whaf ought^ jto.be 'done than any Goyernment oan do' for them. The father of political economy^ Adam Smith, says that.'erecyj man^doing the best for himself will do what is bestfor the community at large. Another Jrnggrt; ant point m connection with this question is the ultimate drawing of the country population to the towns. . P,rotectionistf of course, see ' this, and* J say / $%%% a large manufacturing population is the I means o£ enriching the farmer by the requirements they entail m tide necessary supply of food, &o. • , ; \ LOCAL MATTEJBS. . The Gorge Bridge construction ha« been a matter of consideration tor eight or nine years past, and he wasj glad to say that at last they had ■'' succeeded although they had to pledge a special rate, to repay the moriey7 The bridge, would, he hoped, be finished m about a year, and would be a great boon ta the whale of the district.!. iConcemimr 'the rqad from the Manganitanoko Blq^k to Palmerstoni owing tai a reduction^ iif the Survey Department,, the matter was . held over. He, however, would be glad/ to go down and try to, arrange that the survey should proceed. There.- was not the slightest doubt but that this road would be of incalculable benefit to Paluierston when made. People will naturally: cqine from this district to Palmerston m, qrder \o proceed to Wellington rather than go via Masterton over the I^iiuutaka lse. the mitter qf a retqrn;iiig qfficer . rcqqirod fqr this district. This sh/.ill also receive my immediate attention, I have no fault to find \yith the present officer, Mr i{arria] none wliatever, but I> coqsider t\\x\ Manawatu has lonsr enough bean an an-*

penJige oi* Rnngitikei iii this respect and that the district is entitled to a returning officer, and is of sufficient importance to warrant such an appointment being made; The parties m the House are a* present very evenly balanced, and ; general election is likely to take place soon He would here take the opportunity of thanking the electors for the , independent stand they had allowed him t > take while representing them. Ho had seen cases where members had been receiving letters anJl telegrams from tiieir constituents calling on tlioin to vote m certain ways. He had never once recuived from any one person a communication of the kind, but had been left entirely free to use his own judgment. "It was very flattering to him to know that i hit? constituents placed this confidence m his discrimination and judgment. His natural leader was Major Atkinson. He however disagreed with him on many questions. On Freetr.vle for instance they were opposed, on Education the Major was denournation.il while he upheld the present system. On the question of district railways they also differed. Still he held that as Major At kinson represented a rural district and was himself a farmer, he (Macarthur) could therefore more confidently rely that he would further the interests of tht> farmers. He might state here that he had received every courtesy and attention when required from both Mr Stout and Mr Ballanoe, and morel especially the latter who made no distinction between lvm and his more nnmediatt supporters m the routine matters connectiye with his department. QUESTIONS. : In reply to M r McNeil, Mi- Macarthur stated that an injustice would be involved m dfiing as the Wairarapa County Council proposed, viz., to rate owners of property* who had not improved' their knd to the same extent as those who had. Mr Haultain wished to know if Mr Macarthur would endeavour to have the unproclaimed gold • mining districts placed on same footing as those already declared ruining districts. Mr Macarthur replied that he would move m the matter, and try to have the whole colony plaoed on. the: same' footing. In reply to Mr Geo. Richardson, he did not consider that the Insurance As sociation 'was managed m thoroughly ~ straight manner. He knew personally of a property boaght m Christchurch for £10,000, and he was informed by one of the best valuers m that city that the utmost it was Worth was £7000. When the House met the matter would be fully considered, and a material change be effected. The management, m any case, would be altered. • In reply to Mr McNeil, Mr Macarthnr believed that the property tax was a fairer way of taxing the country than either a land or a income tax. A vote of thanks and confidence was proposed by Mr Snelson, seconded by Mr West, and carried unanimously with 'applause.