THE HON. W. FOX BEFORE HIS CONSTITUENTS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5005, 9 April 1877, Page 5

THE HON. W. FOX BEFORE HIS CONSTITUENTS.

The following amplification of the telegram I published in our issue of Wednesday, is from the Wanganui Chronicle : The Hon. Mr. Fox, after a reference to local men and local politics, dealt with the question of abolition. He could very well understand that in districts similarly situated with Wanganui public feeling ran very strong on the subject of abolition, and he had no doubt that had the vote of the constituency been taken on the question, Wanganui and many other places would have polled in favor of abolition. He himself had been one of the leaders of the provincialist party, to which and all its essential surroundings he was strongly attached until the year 1870. Then the change came. Public works and immigration were decided upon as the future policy of the colony. All the most Important features of this policy had been administered, and satisfactorily administered, by the Provincial Governments, until taken over by the General Government. Public works and immigration had been carried on by the Provincial Governments with satisfaction to the country, Tint.il the necessity made itself apparent for borrowing money, when the days of provincialism were numbered, and it became apparent that provincial institutions had no longer the power properly to execute the functions with. which the new policy would necessarily invest them. It would be the height of absurdity, for instance, for the General Government to borrow large sums of money, and hand the same over to the provincial bodies to spend. Such would -be simply insane and preposterous. He had no intention whatever of supporting a retrogressive policy, meaning a renewal of abolished provincial institutions. (Loud applause.! Nor would he support for a moment any such proposal as insular separation, which really amounted to pretty nearly the same thing as the old form of provincialism. They could not expect that the new form of government would work smoothly right off. The machinery was new to the people, and the people new to the ■. achin ry. But by the local form of government the administration of their affairs was brought nearer to the people, closer to their doors. It was a question, however, if the last Parliament had been successful in their legislation in the matter. He feared that it would be found that a grievous mistake had been committed in that immediately after abo iti n had come into effect to inaugurate the county council system, and expect that these bodies could work well and satisfactorily alongside of the road boards. The machinery of the county council system was new and rough, and would not assimilate with the long established road board organisations, yyhich had done such good service. He would be in favor of the road boards continuing in existence, and would give them increased powers. By this much confusion would be saved, which had been caused in trying to make them work in parallel lines with the county councils. The county council system could be judiciously modified, so that the road boards could act harmoniously with them. Herein, he foresaw, no difficulty would be experienced. Although somewhat premature and necessarily imperfect, still the county council system was a step in the right direction. When in Rangitikei, he could speak from experience, very little attention was received from Wellington, and the same in other districts similarly situated. As the county council system had a tendency to bring the administration of local affairs more directly within the control of the people, on that account he regarded it with favor. Of course it must be remembered that many of those who had been elected to administer the affairs of the county councils lacked qualification, experience, and previous acquaintance with public routine duty, and, by what he could see in the papers, many possessed but very indifferent knowledge of the nature of the new form of government. Besides, there were the inevitable party squabbles by which these organisations became embroiled, and by which their means of usefulness was retarded.

Although by no means a perfect measure, still the country had made a start in the new sys,tem of local administration, of which it was now having practical experience, and though in a crude form to a ceitain extent, it was doubtless doing a good service. With the affairs and duties those undertaking their administration would get more familiar as they learned to understand the correct rendering and application of the Acts of Parliament, with which many showed a lamentable lack of acquaintance. With certain alterations he was willing to accept the system as at present, and during the next session of Parliament amendments would be introduced, which would have a tendency to improve the system as at present being administered. To one feature in which the county system was defective he would like to refer. They were aware that from participation with the county councils the Government had excluded municipal bodies. Thus neither Wanganui not Wellington were any part of the counties, as regards administration of affairs, in which they were situated. Each municipality could rate itself without restriction or interference by the county council, and could carry out its own undertakings. This was quite right and proper. The administration of the affairs of the municipalities and the counties ought to be entrusted to separate bodies. Neither should the municipalities exercise any control over the outdistricts. Thus Kangitikei should not be governed by Wanganui. What he objected to was the small local boards as at present constituted, as parts of the county council. He considered that they ought to be placed on somewhat the same basis as if they were larger municipalities. The counties were expected to undertake their share of the public works, and settled districts might without difficulty take charge of the roads within their boundaries. But the idea would be monstrous that unoccupied districts should be expected to open up roads through localities where there was only a sparse and scattered population. His view was, wherever the Government had legal possession of the land purchased from the native owners, they should, prior to its re-sale by auction, construct roads through it, and add the coat fco the price of the land, to which

amount its actual value would be more than enhanced. On the ■security of the laud, provided the purchase had been legally completed, and the title was satisfactory, the Government would have no difficulty in obtaining loans, even were the land to be sold on deferred payments, extending, say, up to seven years, as there would be a positive certainty of the money being repaid when due. The Government were even now getting their eyes opened to the necessity of some such innovation in the present system of land sales, and Mr. Fox hoped that when he would bo found voting for the system of road construction previous to the sale of laud, he would not be acting contrary to their wishes. The land fund, he contended, should not be considered as ordinary revenue of the colony. Such it was not. As indicated by the term, it was the fund derived from the sales of land. He then referred at considerable length to the history of the dispute between the North and South as to the appropriation of their respective proportions of the laud fund. When certain proposals were made by Mr. Whitaker last session, it simply meant that Auckland wanted a dig at the land fund of the South Island. Years ago, when he himself was in office, the province of Auckland forfeited all claim to the laud fund of the South Island by its refusal to acknowledge a small claim due to the New Zealand Company, though it was offered then a proportion of half-a-crown on every acre sold thereafter in the South Island. Subsequently, it was directed that the land fund should be locally distributed in the provinces where the land had been sold. It was a great mistake to look upon the laud fund as revenue. The purchasers had a perfect right to expect a return of a large proportion of this land fund in the shape of public works. An amount equal to two-thirds of the purchase money should be devoted to the construction of roads and bridges, and the introduction of immigrants. Eventually, there would be a larger laud fund in the North than in the South Island, and he should certainly oppose the appropriation of the returns of land sales to any but legitimate purposes. Thirty years ago, when he and his fellow-colo.iists came to New Zealand, they had but one id a as r - gards their adopted country. That was to c lonise, to assist in making New Zealand the most flourishing and pro-porous, as it was the most fertile and salubrious of th ■ dependencies of Great Britain. Some had selfish views about their relative < and children not being adequately provided for in the way of land in the future, but such fears were alike groundless, silly, and unworthy. Here was a country equal in extent to Great Britain and Ireland, with a population only equal to that of Birmingham. There was room for all, and room for thousands more. Every true colonist considered it a chief duty to assist in encouraging the peopling of his adopted home. By no means could the obj’eot be so well served as by the establishment of s, ecial settlements. Some opposition to such schemes was experienced by tiie selfish remark about the necessity for first providing homes for the children of the settlers. This argument had great force in Melbourne, where it w..s used to restrict and retard the growth of ordinary settlement. Where and by what means had all the work of colonisation been acconii. Hshed but th ough the instiumantality of special settlements ? He would refer them to the oldest and one of the most successful special settlement organisations in the colony, viz., the result of the enterprise of the New Zealand Company in London, who had bought 100,000 acres in Cook Strait. Taranaki, Nelson, and Canterbury were also special settlements. In the latter the Church of England was the promoter, under whose auspices a good and wealthy community had been transplanted. This he considered a notable example of the advantages attending special settlement. But not less so was Otago, a special settlement inaugurated by the Free Church of Scotland, which was admittedly the most progressive in New Zealand, and was proud of its origin as a special settlement, and now the foremost in the colony. Some were under the mistaken impression that impediments to colonisation were the result of these special settlement schemes. Nothing could be farther from being the case. Take the Feilding settlement for instance. Among the purchasers of its land lately sold were some of the oldest settlers in the district. They presented equal facilities for purchasing as any other company had done before. There was no difficulty in getting land. Others, again, tried to make people believe that the tendency of such schemes was not of a progressive nature. Feilding had spent some £60,000 within its domain, and had introduced some 1500 immigrants. Would the Provincial Government have done the same thing on the Manawatu Block ? There was land enough for all, and he felt convinced no scheme was so satisfactory to colonists—though they did not always turn out so advantageously to the promoters—as special settlements. His idea was, first, that the Government should make roads into the districts, and the land thus enhanced in value would be eagerly purchased by promoters of special settlement schemes, who would not object to pay the extra price demanded, by which expenditure communication had been obtained, and thus would the country be opened up for settlement. As to education, the Government has promised to deal with this question next session. It is one surrounded with difficulties, not inherent in the subject itself, but growing out of the irreconcilable prejudices of several parties. The great difficulty is that which relates to religious teaching. If this were left to the parents, the children, and the teachers, there would be little or no difficulty about it ; but the difficulty is caused by the interference of the clergy and of that class of society which does not send its children to the common schools—the wealthier class, which fills so many seats in the Legislature. There are three sects, if we may call them*so, each of which holds views antagonistic to the other. Ist. Those who believe the Bible to require no interpreter, but is able to be its own teacher, a book which whoso runs may read. These would allow it to bo read in the schools like any other book of history or science. 2nd. The denominationalists. They believe that the Divine food will not nourish a man unless it be chewed in their mouths before it is put into his. So dangerous a book do they regard it, that unless they have the interpreting of it by their creeds and catechisms, they would rather it were not taught at all. Then come the secularists, who contend that it is not the duty of the State to teach religion at all. That its businesss is to give secular knowledge, leaving the ministers of religion, Sundayschool teachers, and parents, to instruct the child in whatever creed each may think proper. A compromise, called the conscience clause, is proposed, by which religion may be taught in the schools at certain hours, such parents as object to it having power to withdraw their children at those times. The existence of these several parties make it extremely difficult for a Government to carry any general measure of education. Whatever they may propose provokes a triangular duel. If it is the Bible pure and simple, the denominationalists and secularists join to oppose it—if it is denominational, the Bible readers and secularists combine against it—if it is secular, the denominationalists and Bible readers are in league to defeat it. The result probably Ts a feeble compromise, which satifies nobody. Of the three methods referred to, the denominational is objectionable because it leads to the multiplication of weak schools, instead of one efficient one in a district, with corresponding increase of expense. The secular system is undoubtedly incomplete, as excluding a branch of instruction which most people consider of the highest importance, particularly to the young, and it seems illogical and absurd in a country where nine out of every ten persons believe the Bible to be the Word of God, that it should be the only book specially excluded from the national schools. His own decision would be in favor of Bible reading with the conscience clauses. But if the denominationalists and secularists will not suffer this to be the system, then he should certainly support the secular in preference to denominational, trusting to religious instructions being given elsewhere and by other teachers, whose zeal might bo increased by the knowledge that no such teaching was given in the State schools.

It could be easily understood that any attempts to enforce one particular and universal system of education would inevitably result in a triangular duel. Thus the denominationalists and secularists would oppose the third and also each other, and so on. His aim would ever be directed towards securing a thorough and liberal education, without which, with our truly republican institutions, we could never prosper. (Applause.) He would be therefore understood to say that if the system could not be successfully introduced, through the opposition of a section of the House, of having the Bible read, with the stipulation of “ conscience clauses,” he would be found supporting secular education. Mr. Fox humorously compared the pabulum supplied by the Parliamentary papers on the question of finance to a diet of sawdust withoutbutter. The study of finance from these records was a dreary and difficult undertaking. To hear some talk finance, one would think that they had sat on a three-legged stool in tiie Treasury all their lifetime, and were conversant with every detail. Judging by some of the speakers, whose utterances are reproduced in the pages of Hansard, the colony is on the verge «f bankruptcy. We are in a worse plight in fact, according to them, than the Turks or Egyptians. These croakers are always ready with their forebodings of evil to come. Of course they are for the most part entirely ignorant of the subject of finance, upon which they descant so fluently and dismally. So far from the country being in the insolvent state which these evil prophets would fain have us believe, there is absolutely no foundation for these gloomy predictions. The country is eminently prosperous, nor is there even the remotest possibility of the interest on the loans not being paid. Notwithstanding the doleful predictions in which some love to indulge, have not loans to the extent of two and a half millions been taken up within the last six weeks, while a million and a quarter was arranged for a short time previously. Could there be any more direct evidence of the substantiality of our financial position than this feature. And while Hansard went Home containing these gloomy forebodings, and newspapers with more of the same, New Zealand stocks were quoted, not at nil or unsaleable, or like Turkish bonds, but at satisfactory rates. He would read tiie following late quotations of the New Zealand Stock Market, which, he was sure, was anything but depressing or unsatisfactory:—“ The latest mail news shows that New Zealand securities are looking up in the Home money market. In “ Westgarth’s Circular” of the 19th Jan. it is stated that there has been a further general advance in Australian and New Zealand Government securities. In New Zealand stocks, the whole continue firm on the prospect of the cessation for the present of any further borrowing. In New Zealand’s, the 6’s are each about 1 per cent, higher, and the s’s (old issue, due 1911), at 104 6 x.c., J per cent, higher. The consolidated s’s, at are 1 per cent, higher, and the 44 p r cents., 11 per cent., and he new s’s, 1 per cent higher. In the provincial guaranteed stocks—Otago and Auckland 6 per cents.—the prices are about 1 per cent, higher all round.” What was there now to justify such uncalled-for disparagements ! Although the last loan had been negotiated by two banking institutions belonging to the colonies, yet the fact remained that these transactions represented the feeling of confidence in New Zealand securities, which was shared in by the leading English financiers. But of one thing he was convinced, viz., the time was come not to borrow any more. Quite lately in Wellington he was told by two Ministers that there were" now quite sufficient funds to complete all the works undertaken, within the next two years. The public works must be pushed on, and if the Government were prudent and careful there should be no necessity for further borrowing for a considerable time to come. The railway to Manawatu and Wellington and to Taranaki must be completed as rapidly as possible. There was one thing that he would narrowly watch, with a view to restrict, and that was departmental extravagance. In this respect previous Governments had been far too lax and indifferent. Extravagance in an individual would bring its own punishment, and also with a colony. He described how it frequently happens that even Government supporters opposed retrenchment or reforms, because the position of some of their own loeal officials would thereby be affected. His principle would be not to keep more cats than could catch mice, and at the same time not to reduce salaries unnecessarily. Departments were fond of roomy and extensive offices, and this was one feature of departmental extravagance, which, with others, he would assist to reduce. When retrenchment could be effectually carried out was out of session. He would devote every effort to keep the Government up to the mark in this respect. He would insist upon exercising economy, consistent with efficiency, in every official department. He would be in favor of reducing establishments where such could be done without injury to the public service. He did not believe in the system of starving clerks ; there should be adequate departmental maintenance, but no extravagance. Friendly Societies, Mr. Fox contended, required periodical Government investigation. In the last session he had been in Parliament he had moved a resolution whether the Government intended to do anything with regard to Friendly Societies. Even in the old country discoveries had been made of late which tended to create unpleasant misgivings as to their substantiality. If investigated he feared it would be found that in New Zealand theirs was an uncertain existence. Through financial maladministration, in large towns in England, many of the members of Friendly Societies have been brought to destitution, the savings of years perhaps been swept away, and the unfortunates plunged in distress. A similar state of things was not palpably apparent in New Zealand, but it was much to be feared that the germ of the mischief would ere long show itself, and it would be wise by judicious legislation if possible to forestall the evil. Hitherto the legislation in such matters had been of a permissive and therefore of an ineffectual character. Few of the societies had satisfied themselves that the rates of contribution were adequate to the requirements of carrying on the lodges. This was the chief cause of failure. They would not have been bankrupt had their financial undertakings not been unsuuud. The Odd Fellows had made the alarming discovery that their society was insolvent to the extent of 2s. 6d. in the £, equal to an eighth of their capital. And this is generally the case with many others in Birmingham, where there are so many of these societies. The Odd Fellows, however, by prompt action are now in a fair way to retrieve their position. The Government had gone a little way towards legislating for Friendly Societies. They had established registration of rules. But this was not enforced. When the rules were refused to be registered, the society was told that its rate of contribution was not in proportion. Perhaps the society would inquire, what should the contribution be, and the answer would be to find out. Therefore, they were certainly in the dark as to whether their position was sound or unsound. There were four things which he would endeavor to carry out with regard to these societies. Regulation of rules, annual audit, quinquennial estimate of assets, and actuary’s valuation. This was one of those cases where the Government stepped in to protect the public where there was risk of possible danger, and make the societies do what otherwise they would not do. No sound societies would object to such interference. Indeed he would go one step further. If not satisfied with the actuary’s report, the Government should have the power, the same as with insurance companies in America, and wind them up, thus preventing further maladministration. Mr. Stout’s Bill, ho said, was much the same as Sir Wilfred Lawson’s, in that it gave the people power over the liquor traffic. At present the licensing board are appointed by the Government and not by the people. They rank the same as magistrates, and for the most part are justices of the peace. What they have to decide is, whether the applicant is qualified to sell rum, For be it known that it requires higher qualifications to sell rum than to be a representative of the people. There arc many things that would disqualify a man from selling rum, which would be no obstacle to his being a representative of

the people. That qualification may be safely left with the licensing board. But it is not every house that has the necessary qualifications. As it is only a man among men who is qualified to sell rum, so it is only a house among houses which is equally qualified. This latter feature can also be left with the licensing board. But what the people should have a voice in should be whether the man and house qualified to sell rum are wanted in the district. The board may know nothing whatever of the requirements of the district in this respect, or they may have a leaning towards the liquor traffic through interested motives, or may be unfitted in other ways from dealing with this phase of the question without prejudice and in the interests of the community. In Turakina and Harton every stranger will admit that there are twice as many public houses as are required. These districts do not want so many. The only difference between Mr. Stout’s Bill and Sir Wilfred Lawson’s is that in the former a bare majority of the ratepayers could refuse their sanction' to a publichouse existing in their neighborhood ; while, in the latter case, twothirds is considered sufficient. A Bill to enable the people to have a voice in such matters would have his zealous support. _ There were other questions upon which he could have addressed them, but he did not know whether they were of sufficient interest. He would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Fox resumed his seat amidst loud applause.