MR MOSS ON THE DISSOLUTION.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 207, 18 June 1887, Page 5

MR MOSS ON THE DISSOLUTION.

In the House on May 31 st Mr Moss spoke as follows : — ' ' Sir, the Colonial Treasurer has invited the House to consider this question impartially. I venture to say that in the events which have recently occurred I, for one, have endeavoured to consider the great difficulty we are in impartially. There are three questions before the House to be settled. The first question is the definite i&suo which for the iirst time has been raised by a Government in this House, the issue of protecting our colonial industries. Upon that question there has been no uncertain sound, and the country will be able for the iirst time to express a definite opinion. Then we have another question, the gravity of which cannot be over-estimated — the question of reducing the enormous public expenditure which has been growing unchecked in this country for a number of years past. Upon that point no certain sound has been given by one side or the other. No plan has been sketched out. In fact, we have had no plan for the last ten years for reducing this enormous public expenditure. I have seen crisis after crisis of the present kind in the House. Honourable members who are new to the House may not be aware of it, but I tell them it is no uncommon thing for a Treasurer to declare that the country has been ruined by his predecessor, and that retrenchment must be adopted. But wo have never had any plan by which expenditure is really rodueed — that is, no plan acceptable to the country. I have heard one Colonial Treasurer tell us that he had a deficit of L 182 ,000, and how did he get rid of it ? By taking twelve months' revenue against eleven months' expenditure. That is a shitt that may bo used once, but it cannot be repeated. lhave seen another Treasurer declare that wo could not reduce the expenditure, and then put up one of his followers to move a 10-per-cent reduction off all Civil servants' salaries. That reduction disappeared in a short time ; it was only a temporary reduction, and that is how the crisis was then got over. I shall not trouble the House with the various expedients that have been adopted, but I have indicated what we have had submitted to us in the past, and I say that on the present occasion we have had nothing better. We go to the country on this subject

Without any Clear Issue put beforo the electors. No scheme has been promised by either side of the House. The third difficulty is the Representation Bill, and that seems to me to be the smallest difficulty of all. I venture to say that the Representation Bill which we are now passing is of far less importance than the country has been led to believe. Had the number of members been reduced, or had the bill contained the simple principle of representation according to population, I should have valued it much more highly than I do. But the bill as it now stands is a bastard bill, a hybiid bill, containing no very valuable principle for the country. I hope honourable members from the North will agree with me in saying that I believe there is sufficient patriotism in the people of the North to induce them to forego any small advantage, or any large advantage even, that they may gain under the bill, when they see the very serious difficulty in which the country is placed. Therefore I hope, as far as I am concerned, that the Representation Bill will not be allowed to influence us for one moment to the prejudice of those far greater questions, protection to native industry and reduction of the public expenditure. I was extremely sorry that the House threw out the Tariff Bill on the second reading, because it appeared to me done without full consideration. It was deciding

Against the Principle of that measure. On the second reading we discuss the principle of a bill ; in Committee we discuss its details. Now, the only principle I saw running through that bill ■was that wo should, as far as lies in our power, encourage local industries. That was the reason why I voted for the bill. I regard the encouragement of native industries as one of the great means of extricating the colony from its difficulties. I regard it as a matter of deepest import to every man, woman, and child in the colony. If we carried it out, nob only should we gain largely in the way of finance, but wo should be adding to the present educational system of the country the best and most practical technical schools that it would be possible to establish. We have had in this House much talk about establishing technical schools, and of spending large amounts of money for that purpose ; but what more effective technical schools could we have than well-ordered workshops and factories ? I know of no better policy than that embodied in the bill for bringing this about. I speak, of course, of the protective parts of the bill. As far as the rest is concerned, the items for increasing tho burdens of the people, no one would be more opposed to any increase of the burdens merely for revenue. Honourable members may laugb. I know lam on what they consider an old hobby, but I hope we shall find that the country will say the same. Perhaps those who laugh will tell me what single

suggestion they have made that would onablo the Government, or themselves, or anyone else to reduce the public expenditure Those honourable gentlemen who la.ugh have all had their opportunity. There will be