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Patea Mail, 14 May 1881, Page 4

policy to devote the amount specified to the work of filling up the gaps on the main lines. Revenue was the guide for borrowing, and no more should be borrowed than the increased revenue would pay interest upon. A portion of the Land Fund might be applied to i-ailway construction, but no more money should be borrowed for general purposes.

RETRENCHING UNDER PRESSURE. This was a burning question, and the Government were taking great credit for what they had done. As a matter of fact the estimates they brought down last session were in excess of the estimates of their predecessors. The Government proposed to take off 5 per cent., amounting to £50,000, but in consequence of the pressure brought to bear by the House the reduction was made 10 per cent. There was a clear understanding that the reduction should be in the nature of a sliding scale pressing more heavily on the larger salaries than the small ones. The actual result they all knew. The 10 per cent was made universal, taking in even the washerwomen at Government Buildings. When the Government first proposed to reduce their estimates by £50,000, Mr Ormond was not satisfied, and moved that the sum be increased by £200,000. The proposal was laughed at by the Ministers, and Mr Ormond, observing their merriment, said :—“ I see my honorable friends on the Treasury Benches laughing, but they will have to do it. The country will insist upon it.” The Premier grew angry at this threat, and turning round, cried out —“ Do it yourself.” Now that was as much as to say the i-eduction proposed was impossible, and that the Government could not make it. But the House did insist upon the reduction, and made it, reducing the estimates by the sum of £252,000. Now, this was forced upon the Government at the point of the bayonet, and yet Major Atkinson took credit for saving it ! How could he have saved it when the House never voted the money ? The Government could not havespent it had they been ever so willing. INCREASED LOCAL POWERS. Mr Ormond was in favor of a return to Provincialism, but he (Mr B.) did not think it possible. They had advanced certain steps towards local government, and they must maintain their position. They had County Councils, imperfect though they might be, yet they were far better able to attend to local works than a Provincial Government resident in Wellington. Give the Councils large endowments, and have them elected on a more popular basis. In addition to the Councils they must have an administrative body to proceed with colonization, and he would make the Waste Lands Boards elective with the Chairmen of County Councils as members. Such a Board could meet and devote the portion of the land fund coming to them, to the work of opening the country for settlement. The Councils should receive endowments for forest plantations, should receive the fees and exercise control over the inspection of sheep, and in fact all the functions that were possible should be centred in the Councils and Municipalities. The General Government were the worst administrator possible in these purely local mattersThey even could not manage a Lunatic Asylum although close to them. Major Atkinson wanted the local bodies to accept the Government valuation taken for the Property Tax, but he (Mr B) maintained that the local bodies were better able to value than the Go vernment. The Government ought to take the valuation of the local bodies and pay for it. PUBLIC LANDS. He was opposed to free emigration in any form. Five and a half millions of acres of leased land in the South Island were falling in, and the squatters wanted renewals with fixity of tenure. The Secretary of Lands was in favor of long leases and fixity of tenure, the best lands to be sold and the worst leased, Mr De Latour, however, had laid down a very good principle that all leased pastoral land should be held on one year’s notice. The leaseholders in Canterbury, whose leases ran out in 1882, were also very anxious, and desired to keep their friends in office. 12,000 acres were in the hands of 900 householders, while 400 persons owned 74 million acres. Much had been said about the large quantity of land that had been set aside by the present Government for settlement. He claimed that the credit lay with Mr Stout, who, as Minister for Lands, took the initiative in bringing the lands into the market. The Government promised to make provision which would enable associations of working men and others to avail . themselves of the special settlement system. Not one acre of land had been set aside as promised,

but large tracts of country had been given over to Grant and Foster, and to Vesey Stewart. He (Mr B) did not (object to these grants provided that settlement was enforced, but he considered that associations of poorer men should have the same opportunity. A partiality had been shown to the large speculators and rich men, which had deatroyed any confidence the people might have had in the Government as a colonising Government. MR BRYCE AND PARIHAKA. He (the speaker) was thoroughly in accord with Mr Bryce in carrying out the vigorous policy he proposed in regard to Native affairs on this coast ; but what occasioned him to be surprised was why this policy was postponed till the last moment. In 1879 Mr Bryce had brought a charge against the Grey Ministry that, having a large force of Armed Costabulary at their disposal, they did not demand the surrender of the murderer Hiroki. Why did he not do so ? Why were the Maori prisoners taken and sent down to the gaols at Christchurch and Dunedin, while this murderer was still at large, and Te Whiti left unmolested ? He believed the real cause was that Mr Bryce was not backed up, and because the real Native Ministers were the gentlemen composing the Native Commission. He was subject to their influence, and that was the secret why active measures were delayed so long. He could not understand why the letter was sent to Te Whiti asking him to meet the Governor, and when the harmless and incomprehensible reply that “ the potato is cooked ” had been received, why Mr Bryce had wished to move on Parihaka, as the sending of the letter had implied that the Government had entered upon a pacific policy in regard to Te Whiti. I’ATETERE JOBBING. In speaking of the Patetere Block, Mr Ballance said that when the Grey Ministry were in office an Auckland ring of speculators waited upon Mr Sheehan, and represented what a good thing it would be if they could get possession of it. Mr Sheehan telegraphed to Sir George Grey on.the subject, and he replied that the overture was an improper one, and that he should not have anything to do with it. When the Hall Ministry came into office a similar application was made to them by Mr Sheehan, as solicitor for the ring, and they replied that the block might be attained on payment of Uie money advanced by the Government on it. And Mr Whitaker advised that the Maoris should be induced to give the Government a tract of land in return for the money advanced. Actions such as these, Mr Ballance maintained, could not be justified. EXPENSIVE EDUCATION. There seemed to be a general opinion that the educational policy was too expensive, and in this opinion Mr Ballance to some extent shared. The annual increase of children of school age had been computed at 5000, and the colony had each year to provide an increase on the previous year of £17,250 for educational purposes. They could pay the present expense, but this progressive increase of expenditure was a great difficulty, and he did not see how it was to be met except by increasing the revenue from the reserves. As to Bible reading in schools, he was entirely opposed to it, as he was to a proposition which had been recently made to abolish Education Boards. REDISTRIBUTION BILL —A RUMOUR. He believed the Government were prepared to bring down a Bill next session for the division of each constituency into a single electorate, each constituency returning a member. He could see no good end to be attained by such division, and considered things would be much better as they are at present. He had that day received a telegram imforming him that the Government meditated introducing a Bill for the repeal of the Triennial Parliaments Act. He did not know if this was the case or not, but the only reason he could assign for such action was that if such a Bill were passed it would give them a longer lease of power. He was, however, perfectly certain that such a measure would not meet with the approval of the House,and would do his utmost to oppose it. CONCLUSION . Mr Ballance concluded by saying the Volunteer capitation ought to be paid in future ; that the railway lines were being completed too leisurely ; that the colony’s legislation had been for a class, but the extended franchaise would give the people a stronger voice. A vote of thanks was passed unanimously, on the motion of Mr G. Hutchison, seconded by Mr J. Chadwick.