MR. BALLANCE AT MARTON.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5353, 24 May 1878, Page 6

MR. BALLANCE AT MARTON.

(per press agency.) Marion, May 13. The Hon. Mr. Ballance addressed a meeting o£ his constituents • at Marton to-day. There was a very large attendance; Mr. Cash in the chair. The Hon. Mr. Ballance' commenced his address by reading the European telegrams received that day, relating to the probable peaceable issue of the Kusso-Turkish war and 1 of the European crisis, and commenting upon the beneficial results likely to follow. The■: hon. gentleman then referred to his desire to have addressed his constituents before, and his sorrow at having been forced through events (to which he intended to refer at length), and the . pressure of business ensuing therefrom, to delay meeting them. After referring to the order, in: which he intended to deal with the matters which he had to lay before the meeting, he went as to apeak of the Native Bauds BiU introduced under the Atkinson Ministry. It had at first been regarded with pretty general favor, only two newspapers criticising it unfavorably. Major Atkinson personally condemned the course taken by Mr. Ballance against it. He (Mr. Ballance) moved an amendment urging that a colonisation clause should be introduced into the Bill, to prevent it becoming merely food for lard speculators. The idea had not been well received by the Ministry, and cold water had been thrown upon it. The hon. gentleman then pointed out on a map prepared for the purpose the amount of laud under native tenure and available for colonisation in.the North Island. Mr. Ballance then referred to the next important measure of last session—the Lands Bill, and stated that the principle of which it consisted had not met with his approval. Mr. Ballance in the Waste Lands Committee had drafted a clause, 1 which was subsequently embodied in the Bill, to rectify certain effects of the de-ferred-payment principle of which he had not approved. Sir George Grey had been afraid of the effects of certain concessions made to the Canterbury settlers, and had determined to let the Bill drop. He (Mr. Ballance) had with Mr. Stout gone to him and represented that the Bill should be carried through. ; .Sic. George Grey had persisted in his opinion that the Bill would give too much power to Canterbury settlers, and then it was that he had induced him* to ask the Governor to veto 'it. at, the close of , the session. He (Mr. Ballance) then spoke of the Education Act, and in favor of secular education. He contended that, the effects of the Act should be watched, and time given to prove its worth and remedy its defects, if any should become apparent. . ,The Act should be received with gratitude, as providing adequate means for the 1 education of all classes. He believed that it was: the intention of Government to place on the ; Estimates a sum of £IOO,OOO for: the erection of school buildings throughout the. colony. : ■ Mr. . Ballance. then spoke of the means by which Sir George Grey and his party had been brought into power. Sir George Grey commanded the allegiance of the Auckland party, the largest section in the House, at the time of the success of Mr. Larnach’s vote of want of confidence. He (Mr. Ballance) at this time had lost all faith in the Government, in consequence of circumstances attendant . on the Waka Maori debate ; and of all the men available for the office of Premier, he had found all he required inSir'George Grey. At the fall of tte Atkinson Ministry almost every member of the Middle Party had been nominated. He (Mr. Ballance) had proposed Sir George Grey, and Sir George Grey was elected by a large majority, because he commanded the respect of the majority, and because he was generally recognised as the best man. Shortly afterwards Major Atkinson proposed a, vote of want of confidence, on which House divided,* and which was decided in favor of the Government by the casting vote of the Speaker. Major Atkinson immediately moved another vote of want of confidence —a thing unprecedented in the annals of British Parliamentary affairs; a vote of want of confidence on an abstract question immediately after a previous vote had been lost was not to be entertained, and the Government would not put other measures aside to give it precedence, Mr. Ballance then stated that his principal grounds for supporting Sir G. Grey were that the Premier was a man who was wedded to his principles, of which principles he (Mr. Ballance) mostly approved, and that Sir G. Grey was a man of clean hands. Mr. Ballance then referred to a belief which he said appeared to exist to a certain extent, that the present Government intended to re-

vive provincialism. , To. refute this charge, which he declared to be most unfounded, he quoted from the speeches of Sir William Fitzherbert, of the Hon. Mr. Macaud.-ew, and from Mr. Larnach’s Financial Statement. The speaker declared the Government hadno intention. of going back to old institutions, or of separating the islands. The Ministry was ready to abide loyally by the decisions of the Legislature,. and to carry out the measures they had adopted, and to strengthen them by the true principle of centralisation, which means delegating to local bodies the powers previously held by the Government. . With regard to manhood suffrage, the popular idea seemed to be that the privilege of voting was to be extended to the very lowest classes, to the scum of society, to loafers. This was almost a mythical class; indeed only the residue of a class. It was a question if the extension of the franchise should be denied on these grounds. He was sure that it was generally recognised that the present system was not working satisfactorily. The Bill under consideration of the House at present contained the three privileges existing in the present franchise. The principal features of the proposed franchise of which he could speak authoritatively, were leasehold franchise; ratepayers’ franchise, under which Maoris should be included, with only a right to vote as long as they, retained their qualification; household franchise; and residental franchise in which lodgers’ franchise and miners’ rights franchise - should be included; a residence of three months in the colony ho would hold to qualify a person under the iast-mentioned clause. He would further hope to soo the right of voting , extended to women. He (Mr. Ballance) then went on to speak of the incidence of taxation, andstrongly condemned any proposition of a tax on improvements. He advocated the imposition of a class tax on laud, and spoke of an improved system of valuation which would render it practicable. Any. alteration in the incidence of taxation should be to procure a more equable distribution; of. the burden, and to put the weight on the backs most able to support it. He proposed to tax joint stock companies. He did not believe that an income tax would be practicable. Ho firmly believed that the prosperity of the country consisted in the distribution of the land, and instanced the prosperity of Prussia as an example of the benefits derived from the policy he advocated. He thought this should be the principal policy of any Government, to cut the land up, and colonise and cultivate it. In connection with the native policy Mr, Ballance said that the effects of the recent meetings between one of the most, refractory and obstinate tribes and the Premier would be very beneficial. It was evident that the Maoris were being openly and honestly dealt with, and that the Government were plainly telling them what they required. The natives required protection, and by dealing fairly and openly with them this end would also be served. The Native Land Bill, promised for next session, would contain a colonising policy to enable the, poorer, inhabitants of this colony to acquire small areas of laud; and to provide homesteads for themselves and their children, and to pre-. vent the success of the land speculations which are so prevalent. Mr. Ballance went on to speak of Government chaiitablo aid, and expressed his opinion that every community should have it in their power : to distribute charitable aid through benevolent societies. With regard to triennial Parliaments, Mr. Ballance stated that this was the system in which he believed, and which he would advocate, as bringing a representative into closer sympathy with the wishes of his constituents, with regard to the payment of ,members, he advocated the continuance of the present system of honorarium. Members ought to receive a fair allowance for their services, to enable them without any hamper to carry out the duties to which they had been elected. There would be a Licensing Bill brought in next session, into which he hoped a.compensation clause would be introduced. He considered that the principle of compensation should be held to. He advocated temperance reform, but was convinced that it would be a work of time and was not to bo brought about by any Act of Parliament. In connection jwith the Civil Service, he considered the true principle to be a careful selection and careful supervision. The Civil Service was the backbone of the; Government,; and should not be swept away. He after careful study did not believe that any reduction ; could be made. The only manner to ease the work and dispense with a number of the staff would be in centralisation and the imposition of more work bn; the recently constituted local bodies. As to public works, ho would not advocate too much borrowing, and would suggest that all borrowed money should bo spent oui main

Jines of railway. Mr. Ballance ‘went on to speak of the advantages of the Government undertaking the -responsibility of railway construction where railways could bo proved to be likely to be advantageous. He would advocate direct responsibility by Government in railway matters. The annual revenue had exceeded all expectations, the deficit being about a quarter of a million of money, the annual income bringing the deficit down to £IOO,OOO, which has been made up by retrenchment and other means ; so that at the next session the. Government would be fortunate enough to be able to announce a surplus. A part of the policy of the Government must be to be prepared to forego a large proportion of land revenue in order to further the interests of settlement on deferred payments, and by retrenchment and promoting railway extension and communication to make up the deficiency for a few years. Mr. Ballance then summed up the principles of the’ policy of the Government, and called on his constituents to approve them. He then,' having dealt with matters of colonial interest, referred to local questions, commencing with the matter of the Rangitikei County boundaries, and pointing out that it would have been better to have lei them alone. - He promised, however, to undertake to do his best in the furtherance of theii wishes in the matter. Mr. Ballance concluded his address by expressing his willingness to. resign his position if called upon by a majority of his constituents ; but in thu absence of such n requisition, he should continue to represent the electors of Rangitikei, and to do bis best in their interests.

After a number of questions relating to the county boundaries and other local matters had been disposed of, a vote of confidence was moved, aud carried almost unanimously, a few hands being held up in opposition. The meeting terminated with three hearty cheers for the member for Rangitikei.