THE ESSENOE OF PARLIAMENT.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 50, 23 June 1880, Page 2

THE ESSENOE OF PARLIAMENT.

'"After disposing ; of fdur'or flre questions, on, the Order Eaper.ijixdgranjbuig Mr. Dick, leare. to, iniroddce the Census "l Act Amende ment Bill, th« He use yesterday settled down s to the debate on Sir George. Grey's np-confi« . 4ence(mqtipn,oii the pnjTOJJis evening. There^ appeared, howerer, to be a lack of interest in during ithe s afterno9n, and; t^wcejy half ttt^ "hbtiorable gentlemen''-vrul-e iii wieir* places. Important debates ih 4 the House neyer.ariei.as liw^W daylight as under ;the .influepca.of 'the erening gas. ; M>. itQsp. Ttho._jeas. last night :unprepar«*d to/, speak upon the subject, opened hj|s remarks „ Ky repudiating" tii% «jigges^ion I thaj;{ as the, Opposition stodd no, ohmoe o| mflfceiw, they. Bbpuld'go i ,to'the.Tote. wif-hput debate. He. thought it thiduty of-members to enunoiate, their riews on so important a matter, and ejcpressedla, hope that: Ministers would no6 ". prevent their party from taking part in the debat*. , The. Financial Statement h# spoke of as an,. " extraor^nary dooument" — an, " extraordinary "niealey,"' with two leading . features running through ifc, the first being; td remind the Hbuse of what the hon. gen- ' tleman had said, and the other to cast dirt upon the hbn.geitlehun's predecessors^ Mr. Moss, beh'eving the Government partjr-

•core a point by saying if what he- said was not correct it wonld go forth to the world .unchallenged. He then jproceeded to criti? v oils £be'Q-oV«rnment financ«,'and endeavored to show that there wuold remain " a deft.cienoj of £233,000^ which it was proposed to meet bj reduoinig the depftrtmental ex.penditiure by £50,000,^stul leaving a. deficit * of £183,000. Hi asstrttd that thi alleged reduotionin the Native D«partme.it from £46,54^ to th.ium of £12,000 had bean, transferred to the Departmenb of Justice on the B! v st;inwit«s, and said the Government Wer% mainly responsible for the huge . incubus of debt which weighed down the : ,ooloay.. That G-oremoient, ;h> though, ought to weloooa* an organised Opposition. , condemned many of the reduction! pro- - jjowd in tbe native expenditure, as also the , vicious practice of ..revarding '- fntmies and ' alighting: friends. 'Speaking of the purchase . of 'native lands, he said the (Jbvifrnment must haTej.theexolusiire iightlfcb deal with them or hare nothipg.wbatever to do with ' theii. Oolbßel^imlrfetolfowed with a defence of ; the Q-overnment policy, which he . sapported. ' , As regards * the Property :Tax, ' he said nint-tenthj gfrthe opposition | was purelv factious arid tH# result of -misr#pre- : iehtation. ' 'As for- the- expenditnre on the : Armed^Cpnstabulary on 't^eVfaßf' Coast, . there'was not a:penny spent on the Plains but what good valuo was rwoeiTod for it. At 9 p.m.Mr. -^allance commenced ■■■* > speech, lasting nearly (Iwq hours, in which. h« criti* <JiMd,man exhaustiT* mannar the whole of proposals and;pi6t ; administration of the Q-overnment. The remedy for - the^settletiaeiir of tKe West ~Co*aat difficulty, -he tliQ^ghjt.-would haye|been to put s«ttl«ara upon theland to hoia it $j force under. r niilitary tenurer" The Property Tax was an fcuneren one, bearing on one class and axeiflpt- - ing anotiier,-and it wM rajade. iworse *by recent exemptions V: ; asked how : after. ' exompting f uruit^rej-ppuld the Q-overn nent gefc orftot'exemßtiqg ; machinery and agricultural implement:!. Later on he said theitax/irby exemptions, rrquld 'iqori be reduced;tQ aimareiland tax. ' The h.on: gen*. tleman.d4tvo.ted t considerable, attention "tq the departmental reductiQn,3 alleged to have been mado.and.ussfl the -Estimates to x show that the decrease effgct«d wa3 £18,375 and tbe incre«.j : e £S*,77£b or, » P efe increase of £6400. -^Tjlie Piiblia Works' Beard h,e |disapproved.bSft thoiighjt if.it existed jt would De infinitely iljettep; to make, the Public . Works iMinisben s.olely re.sßbjn.siblev; The Gorernment had boasted of what they 'hadj done, but they had relegated important fuWions to/ftgyal Gommissiong, c6mp6»ed of rejecUid .cancjdafceai -for- whom employment W»S found in defiance of the. Hii»fliuilifieation' Act. Speaking pf.tjl^ decrease |n the railway retuvp*, he, pointed out that, the alleged deficit was' more, apparent than" , jXeal.aji^ in jnakihg tbe. reti^rn for the eleven "months tb> grain sfjwpn.had- heen-omitted. '- TKis"tbe" Treasurer should . have .explained. to the Hpuseu He condemned, the stoppage of subsidies which had been promile.d, ' fdr, five year*,, and said the Govern ti^enfc pro-' posals would prevent small districts getting., roads made, »nd wo.old cruelly affect boroughs. • As far as tlie proposal we.n,the agreed; with rating native, lands, 'but, he 'cduid; not" see J even if rated up to 7. per dent Jbow more than £9000. oould be obt*ined, ; Awhile;- thejGfcovernment eitim«'ted- the. re--felptsj at '£'14,000. . He. .criticised the Property Tax at- a great length,, and <|be ap»thy of the Government in levying nn,d collecting it. The action of- the.G^vj-jernn^ent. ■in regaifd to tha district Vail way also enme in for a shareof censure. Mr. Ballance asset }d somewhat paradoxically that tb,a Govera- * mehfc- liad ! failed in' their pol'ci.', and .. Inhere they had-rsu-3ceede:l they In. d taken , tbe policy of. the late Administration; In ■ -fact, almost every thing the late Government Jiacl initiated the present Governmonfc had taken ;.f. rom. tbeni,. ~-\ ■'.'.; 4nd,l'- concluded the. ' epedker, " when they have accomplished theirs programme. <th?J . will sit. 4own and say,"' We Have not d'istppointei you ! See what we har^ done.! <* " Mr Reader W«od, w'>o rareljr speakif, followed with a speec.'i |*markable in many respect*. -It was «loguent and ppinted, but pulling, as to the direction it would^takai v He commenced as an "independent "member then vigbrpusly attacked the^weak points ip^ the Government policy, amid the nUujdits of the r,Ppj»osition,;wK"o evidently thoueht he \jras "going over," and wound up wiffi a poroi-a-----fion which must hare completely taken that party aback. He; earnestly implored ;'^sidei^.^'put'^laway^q;ttlb'bUng/ and to ' unite in getting fche^ colony out of the mess ,' 4* is in. The debate had taken an t>.crtmoni< 9us. turn which woulii advantage no one. TUe question of who was responsible, ought not to'ba coniid'ered, 'for lie would like to ,jkjnow v who.; was _not_respon3ible ? Like, a letter ininviiible ink; tbV resolution, of the . h,on. mqmber for tlie^Tliamea- had a double "meaning.. The, oho meaning was what it «kp\peare.d, the'pther was. sipaply that the gentlemen" who sat* upon' the Ministerial benches out to be put off, and the -gentle- :■• "men" who previously sat on," rh.*jti\ -pjaend instead. Taking'the resolution in its plain, moaning,^ he wrould like to /know who Expected the wiioleV of the financial gproposals to bene'Bt the .country? BTot the Government- he was sure"; ; but they were " imposed upon the country : by .its difficulties. ■ p eitlfer p^rty ha^' | airly grappled the real question;: "The nob.; gentleman then suggested two courses as 'left opeu . Ojie was i ;to -boiirow. where we couldj as much as we could, and practicality Hgo fche ; wlial'ai hog." These were not Mr Wood's words, but explain his meaning more bricflj than could' otherwise be; done; -The tecpnd was xf - ior jths Governnienf; to absolutely and resolutely 'seV their foot -upon borrowing another penny or. carrying :on any' more . 'public works. This the Government would not do. The Financial Statement bristled •with economy, and the, Civil Service report shewed 'that one-eighth of the p3pulation , W^re employed .tc • fadministerithe affairs of "^le" other ;' seven-eighths, :wbich was. mon-. A private" Individual would not; ' permit t/h^^bu^the^oyerrimeiit did not propose to reduce the staff because " some officer or mignt. suffer.". Yet, co^tmued Mr.- Wood, tfte' taxpayers are^suffer ing all the time.- He pointed out the use--lessness of small per centage. re.d,uction|>, and said : only large "reductions ancb sweeping; reforms should be effected.' T^ie. House fpidd insist upon :this,: orlbetterv stillj the. Government, could -bring down, th'e. Esti-' mates with 58 instead' of I^B. pages. But then- phjt G^overnmemV ','. hadiijt ; tfmj6,'-' It was their .duty to protect the taxpayer more, than others. ' As to,' the. Property Tax, hf VOuld support it a* far as the money was ceededi;>bat he proceeded' ta show that it would raise more than was: necessary, and the Treasurerrhadj m^de, a, mjist»k;e in. bis calculations regarding it. They might do MMe Ballance, Hi n,^ would d bf the, case, reduce it to a Land Tax, which would' be a fairerone. . After. doling; .wi^b ( the}l»nd rf.Tenue;and pointing out the necessity of ledaoing the price of- certain lands, l^r Wood proceeded to deal what h>*. ternwd the real meaning of - Sir George : %ey J s re3plation -s-. and , here, it was 'he dished, the^ hopes of tbe OpposiVion, if they ,lad»ny,,tothe gtoui\d. -He nude. lVthe. 1 subject of bis peroration, and. said—' Sut, Isball bendp>rty, to doin^ anything of' the kind, (taming out the Government to put in the previoui Ministry), an^ the'iea*)n why is this ; I balieve those gehtlemen to ; be 'fester administritdi-M than 'the 'a r ev, /wwn/neat. Idpn't believe the hoiiV »hi r lt^j# r - l|uuiitor v woul^ewr iir»' *Uf !

of Sardanapalus at the expense; I don't think the Colonial Treasurer will ever put his hand into the public Treasury to take tlierefrotn three-hundred sovereigns to pay a pet lawyer for a retaining fee; I don't think the Minister for Public Works will ever muddle away 2£ millions of a loan without knowing it ? (laughter) 1 ; I don't think the Treasurer will ever have » deftoit in his accounts of one million; without knowing it ; nor do t think the Ministry of Mr Hall will ever sanction the Qolonial Treasurer; -taking^ £2000 to^ caqij j;hjim and his family hotpe at the public expense for: (nothing at all. Q-reat'cheßi'ing). Throughout his speech the hon gentlen^an displayed great oratorical and dmmatio powers, and at times lie waa witheriaglj sarcastic. Mr. Pyke and I>r. Wallii followed '• on the other side,"* and the latter ■ had not con-, eluded his " discourse " when the House adjourned at 12-30 o^m.-^Post.-'" , '■ . \