The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) MONDAY, MAY 20, 1878.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5349, 20 May 1878, Page 2

The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) MONDAY, MAY 20, 1878.

Some time before the event it was notified very generally that the Hon. Mr. Bai,lan'cb,' representative of itaui'itilcei, proposed to address his constituents, and it .was allowed to bo understood that upon that .occasion;.'besides; tho account of the local stewardship which a 'member of the House of Representatives owes to his district,- the colony should have an indication of the matured policy of-the colonial Government, and of the measures to be introduced in tho next session, in order to give effect to that policy. Mr. Ballakce has .never been distinguished for loquacity.' On the rare occasions when he has made a speech, the always prepared ■ himself diligently, and never failed to secure general .attention, and sometimes applause even from those who differed with him in opinion. In addition to those which may bo.called personal claims to consideration, Mr. Ball ance ! appears now iin ,the official character of a colonial Minister speaking the mind of the Government, with authq- ( rity, in regard to questions of public interest and of the 'intended action of the Government, of which he is a member, in regard to those questions. No more than, a necessarily meagre telegraphic report.of his'recent speech at Marton having at first been,furnished, .it. would; have hoqn unfair to offer any criticism upon it, and that will acconiit for our silence!,- but we have now before ns the full report given; by the “ Wanganui- Herald” on the 13th and 14th inst. As that paper is, or is reputed to- bo’,- the property- of,'or 'at least controlled by, tho honorable wo may assume that tho I report has .been corrected and approved. Its, length arid tlie deiriarids upon our space preclude us from reprinting, the report in extenso, but as the portions of it which treat, of; the policy of the Government are those which have tho greatest interest for readers outside the electoral district of Rangitikei, wo extract them, jj Mr. BXllan'cie’s constituents are satis- 1 fied with the reasons 1 which he gave 1 them for his desertion of the party with whom he had acted forso inanyyears—in that Jio had found something.; wanting in one of their measures, the Native Lands. Courts Bill—and for' his having .suddenly discovered in Sir George Grey '“a leader whoso, son-; tiroents and. {corresponded - “most closely with His own,” ,and a congenial colleague in office, we have only to say that they appear to bo easily satisfied. , Looking ,at the results ,of. so-called ‘public meetings” held' within a short distance of each other, in time and in locality, it may be . doubted whether, such :g(itheririgacan be taken'as or the opinions formulated for them as being those of “ the people,” we will not say of tho electors, of any particular districts; Mr. Ballancb is wise enough probably not ,to place too pinch reliance Upon those opiirions, or. to believe, that’ they would certainly be confirmed by an appeal -to'the ballot-box at a general election.

The cardinal points of the Ministerial policy, as they have been announced’and' defined by * the' Premier, are, manhood suffrage, redistribution of the ' representation on; the basis; of population, .and a change in the incidence of taxation. Upon the first point let us hear Mr. 1 BAntANCEi He says I ’'' • i He now came to a question of large importance, but it was one that the electors of Ilamjiiikel had not shown themselves much in favor of. He referred to; manhood.suffrage/1 Now these words'to some, people's minds conveyed the impression that it would be grant-; ing the suffrage to loafers of ,a community, l to loose 'characters,'or tomonwho care not for the past, present, or future of the country they reside in. lie •wodld 'aslc what of inen In Marten could bo called loafers? (Laughter, and “ask the Bobby.”) They were ,ft mere sprinkling, and might bo counted on the fingers of one'hand. So it was to a large extent with the rest of the colony. The loafcrdom of the colony was not a class/but the residuum of a class. His contention was that the constitution to bo safeshould rest on ft broad, basis. ..They could not have •rings and cliques where the franchise' is extended/as ! they, could only exist the franchise : was ro-i strained to a circumscribed area. He would not give a voto to every man he .might happen to meet/ but would give it to a man who was a bonfi fide resident J ln the colohy; and who was capable of understanding what a-vote meant.;, (Hear, hear.) The conclusion had been arrived at that the present franchise, was unsatisfactory, and it was proposed t? introduce a residential qualification. But if the franchise rested entirely, upon that ground it would; destroy a number of electors, as no man would be able to have more than one vote, no matter the amount of his property or where it was situated. Thenew BUIof the Government therefore would retain the three qualifications undcriwhlch votes can now be recorded. Firstly, the franchise by right of property would be retained, as it. was held that any man should havo'a vote for property Svherevcr ‘that' property existed. Secondly, the ratepayer’s qualification would be retained, and here he would remark that only under this qualification should Maoris: be allowed to vote, such franchise to be hehl by them only so long a < they fulfilled the qualification. (Hear, hear.) Thirdly, the household franchise would remain.- f Henow came down to the residential qualification, and it would absorb the franchise now granted to lodgers and to holders of miners' rights', i It was ! perhaps- pfetty : well -known I that a lodger, paying, four,i shillingsfper week rent'could' register his vote : but lie must bo the sole ledger, so that if two men lodged toge her, and paid- twenty shillings Ipcr-week each; they were debarred. The restriction was wrong, so that it h»d been considered better to include it with the residential qualification. ’ Now, wlmt was residential qualification, and what did it mean? It meant that every man who had?,been resident in the cal-myfor two sbars should bo entitled to vote, provided that after having been say thieo or six months in any one district kc applied to have his name registered a* a voter/ and i hen he must bo able to sign his name to the claim; (Such provisions, while acting in a measure as an educational lest, would pre-' vmtthe flooding of any roll by ilmmlgrants by* Government! aid; 1 It must bo remembered that . this , residential qualification wa» only additional. o ‘'A'* new settler in the colony could register-in-the ordinary way under tho; old qualifications if necessary. He considered-’-the measure ho had sketched out was safe one, wl limit a single dangerous fcaUltb in it. ; (Hear, hear) In referring to the ratepayer’s qualification ho had forgotten to mention that if women paid rates they should be as equally entitled to vote: for a. general election us for a municipal or local election. Indeed he would even go further, himself, with respect to the equality oflthe sexes, but :tlmt !waa only by the way. The proposal for an extension of the suffrage has been put in a concrete form and showed the opinion of the Ministry 011 this point. The proposed measure was ft perfectly safe one, calculated to -protect the righfs of all; classes of'the community alike. (Loud cheers). •/.. ?; ■ ; fewest, possible, words, we may say, fcUis' means fcliafc' tho only change in tho electoral system proposed, to bo made is that tile miner’s right franchise shall be abolished and a “ residential qualification ”, .substituted, for it., Under this bc'ad every' man,’ says Mr; Ballance, shall be entitled toyole who, havinglivedfortwo years in the colony, and having resided, -three, or six months/in 1 anyieleotoral district, shall have had himself registered as ari'ielectof for snob" district, and who is so far educated as to bo able to write Iris name. In addition to this, the elector under.residential qualification, if he is fortunate'enough':tb hold property of sufficient value, - ill; ; every electoral’ district in the colony, shall have a- vote in every - such; electoral district. 1 One man, or even it appears one woman, inay thus, 1 possibly, 1 have seventy-one votes,; that being the number of electoral districts in the colony. Now, as we have -said/ according to--constitutional usage and parliamentary custom,,, the publicly declared policy of'the head of the Government is accepted as being; that of the Cabinet. Upon this cardinal point of .manhood suffrage lot ns hoar tho j Premier... A,t the meeting,in the thoatro in Duiiddih bn tho ' Stli March last -Sir Geokob Gxiet said—, . S ■ -

AVhftt I Jim anxious to see clone mysolt—what tlioso who think with me in I'nrlinmont are anxious to see done—is tills: that the franchise should bo extended oven beyond its former liberal limits, and.that ,the new law, in fact, shall:say Ibis—'That.every male adult who half resided tor a period of twelve months within on electoral district should hnvo a vote in that distr'et to return its representative—(cheers),—and that- no man should have, more than one vote, (Itonewed applause.) . , , ' At each and everyone of the meetings which,' at very groat espouse to the public, the Premier has thought it his duty tb hbld throughout the colony, this has been the burden of his song without the alteration of a note. At Napier, at Auckland, at tho Thames, at Taranaki,, here in Wellington,. on tho West Coast, throughout-Otago and Canterbury, tho possible oppressor of tho weak, the man. who could exercise forty-five votes to the poor man’s one. vote, has been hold up as tho shocking example of tho present system, and one of the many crimes of the •late 1 Government.: : At" Ashburton, Sir OkOROE Grey was particularly'gushing in his. pleading for. the .right of, tho uneducated and the' intemperate to bo‘'placed upon t)io same doctoral level as" -the well,

educated and the sober man, whilst he was precise in his iusiatance upon the great point of his policy. He said :

Hitherto, wherever he had been before tho public there was almost unanimous absent to his proposals. There was only one point which was not, or might not - po, adopted by the entire country, but if he gave up that oijo pomt;hehmight give up tho whole. The Osiers might bo assented to under partial pressure ; but tp'cedeithii’brie point would be to leave room for tho subsequent destruction of all his plans, and to lose all present chances and advantages. People dul not like this idea of manhood suffrage, either through not. understanding the*subject or through being blinded by self-interest. i And again For himself:Jiojiad only one vote In New Zealand — ■ lio waa entitled’to'claim more, but that was alljie had [ —but ho might bo excused for saying that ho believed ■ lie was suillcleutly esteemed to bo able to command V votes~voice'S-who would go with bis own;; out 6? regard and affection. No man. who had ren-' dored services to his town or district but could get twenty or thirty votes to go with his own out of respect if he only lot it bs known how he was voting. (Hear.) Ought not any man to- bo contented witlv'thatXluVny man with self respect should be content to go to the poll with one vote,- and such was - tho temper of the people that if a man .deserved their/votes he would get them. /. The'very drunkard to whom tho fastidious rich man might object ns being.unfit .to e.xercise. a.* ''yotb/inightiollow him' t i llie poU io’Vote as he didr~ llesides. it would bo eminently unjust to exclude tho many for the sake'bf 'objection to a,few poor.crea , tnres.'-'Tlio law itself, while-.punishing those who offended' against it, ‘ did hot deprive.. them of their rights to Vbte as citizens. - :

Now upon this point of,manhood'suffrage the 'declared policy of the Premier differs as wo see tolo coelo from that which Mr. Ballancb represents to-be the policy of the Government as embodied in the measures intended to be presented to .Parliament, -Which ;is i right ? If Mr.' Ballakce bp right, Sir George !Grey has bpon deluding, the people'of the colony since the close ! of; 1 the session of Pari in- • mental if'Mr. ! Ballance, as wo are bound 1 to believe, 1 is wrong—he., has been probably reckoning without his host—then there is no concert of measures .and no concord of opinion upon a vital point of policy between the Prime Minister and his colleagues. . As regards the subject of the redistribution of the representation, upon which Sir George Grey is so eloquent; - Mr ;Ballange ; is,- perhaps 'discreetly, silent ;; the point lias probably not yet bean considered. He; however, expresses his own approval ■ of triennial Parliaments,, and promises that “ if that question comes up “ he shall certainly vote for it,” , In the House and on tho “stump” the necessity for a change in .the incidenceof taxation has been insisted on. by the ; Premier, The duties upon lea, sugar, clothing,! and what are, called the .necessaries of .life,... were to be.taken offfor the irelief- of the poor ; -tho loss of revenue thus involved was to be made; up" by a levy upon the rich.' Whenever, ho ventures to spoak upon financial questions Sir. George Grey exhibits remarkable incapacity; and. his views of, tho , incidence , of tho proposed tax are . .vague. . Sometimes in ,his speeches it is ,to be a land tax, sometimes an, incom o. tax, and some- • ; times both..,- What.is clear is that he desires to ‘' burst up” somelarge properties .that he knows of, and, as there is’ often; the spur of personal animosity in his grandest schemes for the benefit of the human race,'that there is some largo .Now . Zealand land holder in .'England whom -lie’;would-like to pinch, or bite.,, Upon the promised change in the incidence' of taxation Mr. BallAkcb sriys :—j .

This question was referred to last session* ami the . Government were pledged to bring down a measure to distribute the burden of taxation more, equally. The 1 taxation of land hud been referred to. as the tax that would have. to be/ put on aa ; the public services required extension. The question arose then, that if a Inew tax was required, how.conld it'be put on so as to impose the least hardship ? The conclusion: tho House •camoto was that the tax- should not press upon improvements. His- own opinion was that the present system of taxation how in force by County (Councils mid Highway Boards did so press upon improvements, and would have to be reconsidered. (Cheers.) Avoid- ; ihg improvements, they came to the natural value of r the.land, divided into classes, so that every man should pay according te the natural value-of his land, minus the improvements that his energy and capital had brought about.... Ho. found that there existed 14 million acres of land held hy tenants of , the Crown, also about tho same quantity that was ■ held by fee simple. -If-thoy divided land into-threo classes, andput, on one penny for the first class, two pence for the second class, and three pence lor the third; a revenue would ho .received, of about’£lso,ooo/and the, taxwould bring about what had never been done before— . ; the; largei;:land :owners iwould; contribute ‘ -more’: .in proportion: to. .their..revenue, , ;(Loud ' cheers:) He considered there ought, to bo some; cxcipp- ■ lion -in the cases of men who already contributed their fair proportion'to the revenue, - and he would take as his basis the exemptions of the income tax of England. Small incomes were totally exempted, and the amount, of the exemption also deducted from the larger. He would take the area 1 laid down in the deferred payment clauses, and say that properties under 320 acres in extent should be’ totally exempt. Also that the exeinptiou'sliould bo general, so that a man with 1000 acres would buly'pay’on that acreage less the exemption of~B2o acres. ' (Cheers;); It might/be said’that ; such an'exemption was unjust, and that the tax should go on all round., but the desire fora change in the incidence of taxation arose from the wish to more equally distribute tho burden. (Hear, hear.) Ho woulddnclude in tho scheme those largo companies who were reaping very handsome profit? in the colony, and would get at them by Imposing—say 21- per cent./ on their hot income. . The amount could easily be reckoned/ as' their accounts were'published perio- - dlc.dly. This plan of taxation was free from the objections'that have been/urged against thoincome tax—that It was too inquisitorial, and that it opened the way td clislionesty.' ‘ If the land tax was found to press-hard it would only be upon the lands at tircscnt locked tip, lands owned by absentees, andon lands neglected/ */ So great : waS ; tho* desire tp 'Accumulate land that he believed in - ten years time it ‘wbiild be'difficult to . obtain, • 3CQ' or 400 Acres. Even now one hundred 1 and twelve - men either. ’owned ■or (/occupied seven millions,. of, •acres, and, those men did not in any way contribute ’ , their fair share towards; the. revenue of, the ( colony i (Hear/hcarO ‘;Tllfero was ho desire, on the part of tho .‘Government to’put on : dh unjust tax, but tq put on one that could icasily bo borno, aud waich would only be found burdensome as he ha<L stated upon large .tracts of neglected country ; (Cheers.). The great, principle the Government had In'view was the distribution of land. /If l tho. aggregation:of■ great;estates was > Allowed to go on, thei prosperityiof the: colony would soon cca*?o. ..Had not, past experience proved (that? In Prussia, during last session, so keenly was this .question considered, that a Bill was passed preventing tho.. nobles .acquiring—enormous-estates by - Hwcoping away small farmers. :Mr,Heron, an eminent writer on jurisprudence, had said that the sole reason of X > russia’a strength was in her peasant farmers; men - capable of holding 1 their own; independent and Intel- ‘ ligent men. - The, Ministry desired to see such a class largely increased - in the colony,, to see the laborer become the peasant .farmer,- and’ r thO' peasant :fariner the yeoman. ; .These were the classes that formed the true strength of the colony. (Chopra ) A largo, land owner ‘had told.’him that’ ho desired to clear /out the r small 'farmers, 1 they" could not farm .profitably, and ought to; sell and clear out. The desire was a very patriotic one/hut wliab ,would be the ! result if carried into effect? Take Turakimi as an example of the result of this aggregation of estates,, and see how prosperity and progress have been cheeked.: (Ohoors),-i,.m:

Again, wo see that/tho > policy of .the. “stump” and the policy of the Cabinet are not in accord/’ There is horo no word of relief : of the poor man ”in the matter' of taxation on the necessaries of life.: An ■addition to the taxes already existing of an impost on land, and on the banks/ and loan companies • .who, bring into the colony and distribute tho capitals which is the lifefblood of progress, is certainly not “ a change in the incidence of taxation.” It is increased taxation, pure and simple.? If there bo no mistake in ' all this, a condition of affairs of a very grave tor is disclosed. ,Tho policy ; of : tliei Premier is more “advanced” than that of his colleagues id the. Cabinet, Ho has courted, popular: hot 1 without success, and he may 1 suppose -that he has entrenched himself thus, not only against, the other Ministers, but against ihe<majority of the representatives’ pf /> s tlio ) peppje 7 in tho House. Substituting the “popular will” for j a Charter and lloyal Instructions, ho may hope to re-establish by its aid some form of that , personal government in which ho has .so much faith, bring back the good ; old. days/before the 'Constitution,, Like* things diavo 'happened ; and history sometimes repeats itself/ *