PARLIAMENTARY. HOUSE OF REPRESENTSTIVES. Wellington, June 8.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 156, 12 June 1886, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY. HOUSE OF REPRESENTSTIVES. Wellington, June 8.

Mr W. F. Buokland re-opened the debate -On the Budget. Ho proceeded to deliver 1 W «*tit€ o ! n>the FtaattdU'stifc^i; gifing the rendering of that ddcument from an Oppwation,^o|nt ! of | v^.iHftrcomplafned^ that instead oL-relieving the colony of its' burdens, , the r { .was*, increasing jthem^ayjbyfday.ta^d h^ aaid; thatevery man who had an interest in. the country 'was sinking in his^shoesr; InHHe South there was extreme ''depression. r ln {the North. they had to some extent battled. *gsinet it, bu,fc only, by,, borrowing money *ud running at a Joss. Wellington 'was being Kept alivefcy the Civil Service, which ■ before the end of the session would,' be largely . reduced. feared a deficit of , £50,000 to £100,000 this year, and .unless a '"rise of our farming products occurred speed-, Hy, the colony could 1 not go on.' He was con? ' vinced that a rush was about to, set in for JSamberley, and* we were about to lose numbers of our best colonists. The men who smoked tobacco and drank liquor were our , best taxpayers, and those were the men who vere going. Instead of making railways pay, 1 the management was bad in the extreme,'And a sum of £50,000 had been spent In Auckland 7 for no other earthly purpose • than to keep a gang of workmen employed. 3n the state of the colony, and with a failing \ land revenue, the Government should have > tsome down with a strong and firm system of thorough -retrenchment, and an alteration in some branches of the public service. They had failed to carry out their pledge of retrenchment, and the House would have to take the matter up. In order that they might deal with the matter of retrenchment he would move an amendment for going into Committee of Supply, " Tkat the Chairman do not leave the chair for the purpose of going into Committee of Supply till both the Public Works and Supplementary Estimates shall have been brought down to this House." (The amendment lapsed for want of a -seconder. Mr Montgomery, who was received with Opposition cheers, said that after the very exhaustive and very able address of the «x-Treasufer he did not propose to go at length into the- figures of the Financial Statement, or to examine the minutiae connected therewith. He agreed with that bon. member that the surplus of £37,000 was imaginary, owing to the way in which various accounts had been dealt with, and there was no reason for congratulating the colony as had been done. The character of our finances was, " borrow, borrow, borrow." We must borrow for land fund, defence and subsidies, and we had to borrow £300,000 some way for Road Boards, and we had to borrow for forests. Take away borrowing from the Treasurer and he would be very mere mortal. It was most unsound to borrow in aid of ordinary revenue, and if ye did not take care it would land us in great difficulties. The speech of the Treasurer at Auckland alarmed many people, for the policy was looked upon as most dangero us. He had said that if they wished to give the coleny another chance wo must borrow to •give the colony that chance. Taxes were to be increased. The Treasurer told the people of Auckland that if they did not accept his policy they would not have the North Trunk Railway. It was the speeches of the Premier Ahroughout the colony that had moderated the Treasurers proposals, but he himself did not wish to relieve the people of their burdens. Holding strong views respecting retrenchment, and knowing that they must do something more to justify the pledges they had made to their constituents, he would not be doing his duty it he did not put the question to the vote, and he would move, before he Bat down, the motion, "That the Govoriiiiient Bhouid reduce the estimates of" expenditure by £75,000." This he considered a very small reduction to ask for in the circumptances of the country. In 1884 we remitted the property tax and loet £130,000, aud kept Treasury bills floating till the present time ; and they now had to be met out of loan. When the Treasurer brought down hia proposals, it was felt not only by his opponents, but by his supporters, that very consider--able retrenchment must be effected A saving was promised on the Civil Service Reform Bill, but it would effect no saving, find the bill to inquire into the price of provisions was nonsense. He did not want to see themiserablesalary of a juniorclerk reduced. Ministers' salaries should be reduced to begin with. The Premier received £1,700 a year and a free houpe, which had to be kept up ; the other Ministers received £1,250 and iree_house3. All that they should require ttcis enough to meet expenses and keep up their houses. He wished to ccc Mirister's salaries reduced, in order to produce simplicity in the public departments. The necessities of the country absolutely demanded the resolution wh»ch he now moved. The Premier eaH that Mr Montgomery an old enough politican to know the nature of the motion he had moved, and it could only be accepted as a motion to interrupt supplies. The resolution was not ■at all akin to the resolution moved by Captain Russell last year, because that wan only an instruction of the committee. He was not surprised , at' the hon, member moving his motion, because he was disappointed. .After bis recent travels he should . know that the colony was in a better condition than.thoie places he had visited. With regard tothe £25,000 Sinking Fund, that . bad been applied, according to law. The subsidies had not been kept back, and it was unfair for the hon. gentleman to mix up 1 permanent charges with, other , charges outstanding. . Thera had been less charges., not met this year than •ny [ t other year. With regard to the 1 defence yote,last year they took £25,000 cut of 'the loan "; this year they only took £12,500. - Where was the borrowed money going in aid.of revenue ? - He denied that it was anything of the kind. He said we had no £800,000 left for works, « and he asked .wb.ere the money was 'to come from for these railways. With regard to the ' liabilities/ (lid ' the hon. member imagine that the whole' of the sum put down for ' landf und was goinglto be spent at once* ? -Only" -£202,000 put of £238 000 were c6n.^tingen^liabilities, leaving £36,000 liabilities Against naiivelands. '- ",*>' •• ; **~tb Mo%TGo3iEßY^aid'that if the Govern- *' mebt s: w6urd"give' a "guarantee that they , would reduce^ the estimates by £75,000/ he ' would J withdra^ his motion. - ; ' " , ' ;-'; -' ! ." T\}s Premier' said no such guarantee f was ? "Captain- Russell's -motion. With :^ra't'otHeee liabilities wae it to be fiup- " foW^djKbittfle¥ aC'all'? He would ask the, House was it honest or fair" of : any hon/ geri^Si&TnY'tfttetript^ng to take a leading , position, not having the courage to say what . jKef bolrowingßKquld bri '? W b^mean $tiat< ;tSblie T idWs WSe'^rried^on' -witfumtMt ?' * !W»hMglMtd%eWil Service Bill it had 2mW&^e?6re%e Hbhw b^met,and'

servants the system he thVtfesfwa4<M»93 ft? :-I{W^ not Would try antorba'ch' tHSm f!Withl' gbme 'eysWtiiVandbiiildup'Bdtoiiflysfeni'fbVtlie'sers»larie^'iVwb'ttld!rnot#e6t th'6 f;£7s,OoOreT( ductittti^^Urtl^s'tW^^B-tW^-prepared' Vagfis eirierelseH* functioni, therS was^ptwa^bfefoctiiiy the* THS.Civil'S'ervißew^ 4«n creft'&ihg,- while the population Wa^increas-, togilnShtK* O6veri?nsnt»got } <no io^ii for* that. 1 tJnl&s by(dsio^'ftway twithaetVicelV ,or-makingVlO pef cent: redaction allVbuud; there Mfrafe no^way^of saving'ttie £75,i300f The hon. gentleman'had' not'discussed! the FirianciaVStatemenVbutfmefcly* little {bits* of the |Begsht§L-al ,$251. Colonial Treasurer. 1' The reference made b*y*Sir* Julius Vogel to New South Walos in hie' Auckland speech was to show that if those colonies were^ going ahead, this colony, must, not, go^back' 1' wards. The Government were anxious for* judicious retrenchment, *but; not to create h scare euch as was createdunTlB79. iTliatf scare was such as ,to injure,, 6\if financial reputation. Hie believed that, nob entirely by the "Civil Service Bill, but by economy, they would be table to bave, £30,000 or £40,000, and if they passed that bill it would aid in this. Their policy was, nob one of indiscriminate borrowing, as the hon. gentleman had said. He had all along said this colony required groat care in its borrowing, but if the colony wasi to go' ahead we ought to have vigorous adminie-. tration. Some people talked as if this colony was played out.' He thought it was ten times better, and those who were continually prophesying evil were doing injury 1 to the colony. This colony would; every year progress. All we asked was. vigour,' and all we asked was hope. (Cheers). . Mr Fisher (Wellington South) followed! He defended Mr Montgomery from the attack made upon ■ him by the Premier. He twitted the Ministry, with their action in retaining their seats after the Premier had declared they would resign if Captain Russell's motion were; carried, and cast ridicule on such Ministerial declarations. He considered that it spoke badly for the gentlemen on the Treasury benches that they allowed a large department, such as the Land Fund to go to the bad to such an extent as £50,000 in a year without making an attempt to reduce expenditure. He asserted that there was a system of extreme corruption throughout the public administration of the colony. He quoted, the Premier's words that the law unwisely allowed the North Island loan to be diverted; but on his recent return from Melbourne he found the whole North Island ablaze respecting the threat of the Premier that they would divert it. He quoted the remarks of Mr Donald Reid, of Dunedin, the " Sydney Morning Herald," the "Western Australasian," aud "London Standard," in condemnation of the Treasurer's estrangement and reckless financial policy, and asserted that, our credit-in the English money market had already been damaged, and was being ruined. When the Treasurer was appealing to the' Auckland people to " give the colony, another change," the Premier awoke to the consciousness of the financial position of the country, and proceeding to Invercargill, preached a policy of moderation, and said it was time' to edge off. This proved that the Ministry were not, by any means, a happy family. The speaker referred, in severe terms, to the Premier's advocacy of perpetual leasing, and denied that anything had been done in the way of assisting industries, or of giving loans to small farmers, about which so much talk had been made in the House. • The hon. gentlemen were not. more happy on the subject of the land tax, and he would like to know whether they had fixed views on any one question. Their position in the House was a complete reverse of their position last year. The Premier, the sup posed leader of the Liberal party, had introduced the most oppressive measure ever brought into the House, in the Strikes and Molestation Bill. The Premier explained that a misapprehension existed respecting what he said in speaking to Captain Russell's motion. Mr Turnbull spoke after the supper adjournment. He congratulated the last speaker on the excellent speech he had delivered. As to the Treasurer's modification of views, he said that it was a matter for congratulation that the hon. member had changed his mind on mature consideration. He believed the member for Akaroa was actuated by the purest of motives and an earnest desire to effect retrenchment ; but all those holding retrenchment ideas were not actuated by the same pure motives. It was the pastoral tenants of Otago who were moving in the matter. If a saving of £75,000 were required the Crown and Native Lands Bating Act should have been repealed, and £62,000 would thereby be saved. This was an Act affording the grossest bribery and corruption. Retrenchment would not benefit the working classes, but would merely relieve the property holders. . He would not touch the Education Vote, but thought ten per cent, should be taken off all salaries over £250. This would save £24,000. He considered that in the position qf ,the country the Government should have submitted a proposal to borrow £5,000,000, and also believed the consent of the State should be necessary to private borrowing. An adjournment.of the debate till 2.50 on Thursday was carried on the motion of Mr Bryce, who will therefore resume the debate. ' ,

THURSDAY'S SITTING. The no-confidence debate was resumed at 3 p.m. by Mr Bbyoe, < who was received with Opposition cheers. He said he took a despondent view indeed of the financial position of the colony. Of its ultimate position, he had no fear, but for some time we should have to go through a deal of 1 -financial ' distress. If he could have * made' up his mind to refrain from speaking now, he could make up his mind; to' retire, from politics altogether. It ° was the 1 duty ot every member to speak out plainly and. fearlessly, .notwithstanding any reproaches that might be heaped upon him from any quarter. He did not believe those who took a despondent view were going to do the qolony-an injury. On the contrary ,'-they *would> do it an incal-: culable good; ■ "The* feeling f was that »therei was a gentleman holding, a high'position On the GoveVninent hbenches cWhose . name. x throughoutfche financial worlds wast synohy- 1 mous withHhe idea of bofro wing,' vThe pre-,, sent 'Government the! re-,' trenchmebiqueition befdrei 'If there was one figurestandingontimore prominently in their nature 1 than'the dtlierß it< was their desire for popularity'hunting;,and any gentloraen undertaking '■retrebehment *in<i the | puhlic service naturally ca^t.odium oh themselves,.^ The Premier well knewtb'at'the people of the,! South leUrid were'groaning, under thehpre- 5 -sent" deptesrfoni *rid weferin^mortal djeadi that, taxafaoh^Would be linoreaoed.j r th.6 public'works policy'he'had to associate* '• the;? Treisurer-A an»mei -and citis*; remarks - against' "• thati f{blfeyq*-nri|afei t&pply* /in} very great •''refepectsv.tpf.-'Sit^ i &4iti£r> * Vogel. 1 '.The 'Financial,; Statement ,vi\vas i ft » remarkable: <6ne( liif **many,*fjrespec;tB,;< but in no reßpect more th'dh* twheni it -'^ipre?r dfete.^THroMgHout;! thoVpoltcf of publics workshAdibeen^extrkVtrgant, »nd,A trouble/;

to the coloriy'in thewoy it had been carried, d^ll*llSH©lfp^aictio)os*moiK| nsftde tferej sanguine, anafoottfetfpondent, and thie jwiae,.. on a par with -the Treasurer's attitude! throughout. ;/ Hef -referred to the prospeot&w frozen meat,. and pointed out that otherT ntne8 D #e^e a com^in^ with' 3 NW Zea-J laiid' to r^uoh' an 1 extent that there ;\vae noreaiom^or. the (Treasurer's ,hopo > that prices; ■ mMMott\y A rt^' Nothing wft mox*' .merit the. term of *• fragmentary thanJthej frSil ways' fprBp6sf pr8p6se s (f fri, the '^Statement; *' The jiiffeVenc'e^etween thdliiVes now proposed and J those* formerly proposed undei* 1 public^wpufce/ policy, waVthat the .Treasurer was now pre- : i I pare'dro'construct 'nbrnroproductive fworks k < 'A'Vel&^^buld'feho^ ' lines now, nr6p/os<pti' ;wejre^nbt' 'reproductive 1 , bftt* fpr^ otihef purposed were ready atfdpye'f/ar^a-'tb sgrapple5 grapple with"the difficult 'lips/ , Tfie* Treasurer's ' really^ meant' twb* and ."a-half millions /this yjear,-'ab'd-th'e country' was'h'ot 'prepared for- 4 suph; extravagant expenditure'. 1 ■ 'He was sure that \ people" ' wereP already' suffering froms 1 heavy ' fiaxatibn ' would look before thenis before increasing their burdens. We 'had attained*, such' a reputation for taxa-, tion 'and /indebtedness' throughout ! the world " thatY people <" were afraid' to r come to these snores ';" but these were trifles, light aaai'r compared- with the demoralieation that Was/permeating the country from ; end to" end. (Cheers. )'" Occasionally we had people entrusted with the" management of* the colony" whose sympathies were' not identical with the colonists. T Did the proposal to lend ' money to farmers at low interest mean that' we should have serfdom and slavery in' order that fettlera might pay a usurious interest ? ' If it did, any person putting forward such a proposal was not a true colonist. '• Cheers.) ' The ■ financial position of " the colony with regard to borrowing 'was j now very different ' from what it was ( in 1870, - when the country' was free from indebtedness. He joined issue', with the Colonial Treasurer and others who wished the vigourous prosecutibn of public vorks because that meant large borrowing and a sudden stoppage leading to'distress. Theonly safety for the colony' was" to' gradually edge off or taper off our borrowing, and he would like to see this done during the present year. He could vote for a million and a-half , he might agree to a million, but would prefer only half a million. The necessity for making retrenchment to a far greater extent than was now proposed would be insisted on before many years'. Mothing would give him greater pleasure than to hear the Premier say he • would undertake to reduce his estimates' by £75,000. If he failed, he would 1 incur the responsibility that would be distressing to him in after years. He did not think we should borrow money to give people' who bought land the means to clear out.' We were approaching a period When a system of economy was become necessary of SO stringent a character that the proposal of the member for Akaroa would sink into insigni6cance. At the present moment, 'the public of New Zealand weie not prepared for stringent ecoporay ; but they would hail' with' satisfaction euch economy as was now proposed, and that only a million was to be borrowed. JHo hoped what he had said would nob he answered by cynical chßers or empty abuse The Hon. Ji Ballance tollowed. He submitted that nothing had been shown to justify a reduction of the Estimates by £75,000. He defended the Government land purchases, and denied the inconsistencies of which the Colonial Treasurer and Premier were accused. He said it was quite clear that the .£295,000 railway liabilities would pass into the one and a-half million loan, and would be dealt with accordingly, P*eturning to the native land purchase expenditure, he said the Government could control the amount this year. They would probably ask for a vote of £100,000, which would come out of the £SOO,OOO. The Government had the department well within the mark. In > defence expenditure he was convinced that the working classes were in better position to-day than in 1868-9, and was also satisfied that in proportion to' our population the public debt was hot much greater than it was then . The hon. member for i£gmont had said that certain lines would not bo reproductive, but would the hon. gentleman come forward and place his finger on those railways, and take the sense of the House on the question? (Major Atkinson: Yee.) He was glad to hear it. After making allowances for the liabilities, he* submitted that the expenditure on public works for two years would be £1,125,000 per annum. He denied thab immigration to this colouy had been affected by our indebtedness, and asserted that if they had liked they could have introduced immigrants at the rate of 100,000 per annum. He held that one effect of r the Government' policy had been to reduce the rates of interest on money. The speaker proceeded to defend the borrowing policy of the Government, and said that where great public works were concerned he did not thiak it advisable to edge off- borrowing. The Government had made a, very liberal promise to reduce public expenditure by £40,000, and that without causing any injustice. His opinion was that the greatest prosperity for the country would be assured by the judicious settlement of people on the lands. They were not afraid of the motion of the member for Akaroa,*eithor before the House or their constituents. Referring to Mr Fisher's quotations from the " Sydney Morning Herald V and " London Standard," he asked if they . were to appeal to New South Wales statesmen for a criticism' of our public affairs, and he would not be surprised if the'article in the" Standard "had emanated from the pen of an absentee politician wfio' vvas doing his best to ruin the credit of/ the colony. Hitherto 1 our 1 public men had stood ' in the front.rank of' colonial ppliticiansi and were they to be criticised and compared with New SouthWales politicians ? He' was convinced that , a grievous hardship would be caused if the Estimates were reduced by £75,000. •. < ! , Mr Maoabthur, kept the House tilL.tbe fy3o , adjournment. ,He tiaid,i£ ; 1 would be impossible to form a « Ministry 1 from all 'sides of the House, with greater divergence of views than were possessed by the .present, ,Goyernm,ent,!., Conscientious members ishould lnot: be^frightenecj. by" r thV bogey^jof . a probable , dissolution,'; .which ' tfte Government were; constantly. .holding up to' -tbeniyhTbey.should^otbe frightened frbm r yoking, for^he, motion by, this bogey, but if they swere,?frightened,5 were,? frightened, judgment, would as'- 1 .surefdlyiollow.jJrHe disapproved of the propoped a.u.toidy scheme, tq locaXbo/Jjee," and ; said 1 thas, t( as,; itj wa> evident *jbhg u <^qyprnment, t did^ u not^ntend,, r to t ,-br^qg r ija,» a for granting loans^to ifartiaerB,j i fartiaer8,j i t t'nat" \fobBmene£d/&ot^be\jref erred iq\ "lt w'a£a jpleasan^jß|ii!pry? ( e. ) to < find jtha^ ,the Go^erri.; dinent^ now/^pjjo&Ojsed-, sa V( f »ee;^ra'de tariff ' tHpyAj^^As^^g^4lraq^ P l)(a'J|naairec|; the.<ifee.h;n.g • af^he£c,Quntry,^an^.pdt tßetr' DQwn lajE^beiMit oteigh^fn owlf^lto. regain; fi made^e&e£o^^ t^gsiwo^^

WmW Mfitfmtolfifai last y'A , $f tfitf ' rec^Jfte/Bpeaker ,eaid rt tbat> t(U* Gown- «^ n 4 lh^ b^^ ' tMinff'jjttejl^w^aK^ldn^f cqCbpffirettBurer,f,in,,hi c qCbpffirett8urer,f,in ,,hi8 7 TuaßeJc^^anSelßtb/ proposed »iarge,bprrowing soheni^, bjtjthV fi aob r er, if ete^dyj „ Scotch,, 'people'' ref ueedj to H. ence A the Pre^ieV? / de'cJarWon a^APYfKSa'fg^Vtha.t. bo^rowyig, 'should foe?. ,taperpd<4 f J( T,he Government policy jXva^a J re ) v§rfafelevOjie., i ; T It jia^oue^ide^S W 'IW?« an^Pfl© for-rainy* jlf ecpnpmy were > 3a.nte d ? l s,Bhoiii(i,^ qt^c^d with (^hk .Land. iQwrds.jL There w,e/:e mejnberiipphe, House ( \fho Mi di[ew I , l £l2 ;rt! per' ( , t <montn. f ; including .Irayejling.expensea, whXe.l&rjiamen!? [w&a ,notj,sjtt|ng X and^thqugh, pjaerf^charged i travelling expenses, they?actually travelled with free, railway passes. w ;jt,was also, highs , time , the system .of borrowing in aid of revenue .was stopped. . He. ,urg€s, that a measure, should, bo parsed,, fqr^,; taxing absentees.and Maorj^j /.The Court's and, r ßystem of exhibitions,, should- >c' .abolished, and thereby , economy would «be brought about without; injuring the public, service; but for tlxe .expression of public 5 .opinion, ,-he believed tb^t^rgely increased taxation would have been' proposed. , The .apeaker next dealt >with "the Treasurer'a utterance at Ashburton,ito ehoVthat none of the promises he then made had been fulfilled j«- and concluded by saying that he regre£ted this had been turned into a noconfidence motion. t- . t ' The Minister for* Works was to some extent inaudible in the t gallery. He, was understood to say that it had been aaid over and over again that no* reductions had been made in any department. Large reductions had been made on .railways. Then 1 it had' been' etated that certain contracts had been let to Maoris at high prices, no tenderg having been invited. The . fact was , that the .work was keenly competed for, by the Maoris, and the work, done by .them was done exceedingly well, and,at ordinary rates. Inespective of the question of policy of getting Maoris to do fuch work, it wa,a of importance that this work should be done. It had been his endeavour to decentralise the work as much as possible. , Mr Whyte (VVaikatb) said that Ministers in the receas peregrinations had learned many ueeful lessons. Personally, he cared not who occupied the Treasury.bencbes so long as Ministers were men with the average amount of ability, and he hoped an average amount of honesty. Ministers had apparently made the peregrinations for 1 three objects— to abandon their Ministerial and departmental duties, to ascertain public opinion, and, render odious Opposition members in the eyes of tbejx consti tuents. (Hear.) Last year the Government supporters had determined to keep Ministers and their measures out, and this year those hon. gentlemen would have a comparatively hard task to keep the Government in . merely, the Government having kept their own measures out. (Laughter.) , He concluded by saying that .the Government had thoroughly learned the great virtue of resignation. Mr O'Connob, said that he could not support an Opposition .which had no cohesion or a possible Government which would not include prominent members of the House. He pointed out that the Estimates showed a decrease in nearly all departments, and were very moderate. A greac saving could still be made, but not in the manner sought by Mr Montgomery's resolution. , Mr Bruce did not blame either the present or past Governments for the existing depression, but did blame the Government that ignored the situation He doubted' the advisability of fabulous borrowing and public works policy, and asserted that the era of prosperity.commencing in 1870 was coincident upon and due to 'a rise in our products,and not to the public works scheme. He did not take 1 such a gloomy view of the future as the membex for Waitotara, and be would be favourable to a moderate borrowing policy. He would not support the economy effected by abolishing railway passes, or preventing children under seven years from attending school, but ha would cufc down largely ti>3 expenditure for higher education. *«He thought they were doing the youth of the country an injury by attracting them towards th,e j colleges and university, and feared tho tendency of the age was to produce parasites rather than producers. He gave the Premier credit for his Civil Service Bill, and eulogised the Minister of Lands for his energy and zeal in throwing lands open for settlement He looked with anxiety at) the competition in rhe wool industry from River Platel and feared that none ot them would live to see a permanent rise in wool , Neither, could they expect a rise in \vheab or meat.Therefore, they must cut their cloth to their measure. He had been long enough in the House <to see that no party had a -monopoly of virtue, and that one partyr was as willing to do its best! for the country, as another. He was satisfied that no man had. the welfare of the country more at heart than the Premier, but the teeling of the country waa that the Bouse should endeavour to secure economical^ administration rendered necessary by our circumstances. Mr Mokteith complained that both parties in the House talked of retrenchment, and joined in the cry against borrowing, • but their action showed their insincerity, because when ■on the Treasury Benches they effected no' reform. He objected to the form' 'in which the" member for Akaroa ; brought -forward' his resolution. 1 If- the attack had been on a borrowing "policy instead of departmental expenditure; itWo'uld have 'exacted hia sympathy more * ttha n it did v . They "were asked to* turn out" the Govern- * naent becauae they hadnot shown a surplus 1 ; 1 but was the administration not safer in the ! hands of a'Governmetit'that even balanced account's » than the late'Miriistry' which 'showed a 1 deficit oi £120,000, or in the .hands.of a. gentleman like the honourable member for, 'Auckland City East, "who 'showed a 1 deficit 1 E of a million?' There was a time' when- the > Premier, djd, not command* his allegiance^'but, he had sinee ' geen tKa't was' wrong.' 'and the speaker w.as^right,. and,hepce he (Mr-Men-teith) vow supported Kirn," j i} J ' "Mr RoSs- was in favour of l retrenchment equally with the member for 'A'kaVda, and he did'not kh^bw how to record His 5 vote on the present 'occasion. He 'ha^statedijthac". if the Government ; 'a,band6rie'd '-reckless borrowing and' their 'pro'poaals, > and guarantied to-ptedge c themgelves f to re--trenchment, .he, would ".offer no factous .pppoeition^fb ; the;; Government % Be th^t^theV^wer.e' in .earnest: in* their! ,desire to, ; reJjrencK . , JHe was' fipt'/opposed - i S° ty^SPiy"^/ but was ;decidediy,; ! opposed t .llaXiog ,Act t rp|alea/(^na^£ V 6^doo thereby 1 ,, l a ' vote v i»on \ a an yh^P|^»^«»kmeaiber,\; who was not; acting n *Wv}? ;make. (( this

Coast of the south Island. Auir," v 1 A division. f was , taken at 1r.30, ana Mr Moateomerjf B^esbluwo>n 'rejected by 44 to 28? r TM^ai^ibn irit-iS a% 7foll6wBJV^- - K,iH,qt's ,00**" 'Uin/x .«! XAWthLiivv} Allwright >, McMillan ?j, ,?'<", MJaUanca^i.,; t: /aij IMjßn£eitb,r /&%;;■'; ;;«a^,, n '•WrgaViiie ,* fw^;*.? I ' ■«;;'' ..,/Duncaa . . ' Kichajrdebtr' 1 uu ' lt&l t&& lJ x •'• RoW J '\,, '[ # . „ Qqre . , Samuel " '*"' "* Grace >w " Se^dorl: 1 ",,' „ Guinness , Stewa-r4 ;' " ! Hakuene Stewart ' Hatch Stout Holmes I --' •' ' Baylor ' Hursthouse ' * " Te Ao ' : ' 'Ivess ■'" ' Thompson *T. <<J Lance ' ■ l-Tble' :" < ■ , ■ Larnach •' . 'Turnbull ' - •■ Levestam Vogel' . - ' McKenzie, J. • Walker- >: Nobs: ' ' ' : I>>|ll Attcinson Lake' S[ " ' ' Barron ' ' Locke vl " Beetham ' Macarthur Bruce /Mackenzie, M. J. S« Buchanan ' Mitcheleon >: Buckland, ,T. Montgomery " Bucklahd, W. F, Moss Conolly Ormond ' ' Podeon Richardson, 1 G, F. , Fergus Rolleston ' "■ Fulton ' Russell !f j , Hirst Thomson, J. WHislop Trimble ' Hobbs • Wilson Pairs. , , For. Against Coater , Bryce Fitzherbert Fisher Garrick Grey Harper - - Hurst , Joyce , Johnston - Kerr Newman ' ( Macandrew , Peacock O'Connor Sutrer Peareon Wakefield Smith Whyte ' , The House them went into Committee of Supply for the consideration of the Estimates: ■ , Proerresa . was reported. . v , , Major Atkinson asked, how the Govern^ menb proposed to proceed with the Bsti« mates. „ * Sir R. Stout eaid he had , promised ta effect a reduction of £30,000'0r £40,000 durthe financial year, and be still adhered to that promise The House rose at twenty minutes tOr twelve