POLITICAL. MR WITHY BEFORE HIS CONSTITUENTS EXPERIENCES OF A LEGISLATOR.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 243, 25 February 1888, Page 8

POLITICAL. MR WITHY BEFORE HIS CONSTITUENTS EXPERIENCES OF A LEGISLATOR.

Weiuesday, February 22. Mr E. Wi rtrv ,iddre-*s>ed his constituents at St. (Teorgo'-i Rail, Newton, last evening. There w.s^ a Luge attendance. Mr F. J. Jone^, Jvf iyor of Newton, was elected chairman He stated that Mr Withy, en his return from Wellington after his maiden imp, Mould no doubt bo able to tell hu> constituents :i good deal of what had beon done during the pa^t se&sion. He thought there was no ucowt} to a^k lor Mr Withy a patient hearing. (Applau.se.) Mr Withy it was just five months since his eon>tiuients did him an honour by fcal.ing him. an unknown man, without any past, record in Now Zealand, and sending him doAva to Wellington as their repro.sentacive. H* tho efote thought it neeesnary to give them, as early as possible, some account ot what he had been doing in Wellington. LMore touching upon questions that wore befose the House lie wished to say .something about matters ot inoie importance than the measures themselves, viz., with reteienee to the

Party Government. Throughout the British dominions they hixd had party government, and all knew $\\ 'itty well what that was. He wanted to ■show that pai ty government was one seiies of compromiie-i 'right through. There was a gteat deal of ineon^stency among members, 'and a great deal of apparent inconsistency. Ife voted for a greut many things that ho did nob'wfah for. He voted for thetTQvernment Land Act, for instance, and he did hot believe in that Act. He believed in 'land nationalisation. (Hear, hear, and apnlause.) .Sometimes ho voted for a fching^ and afterwards voted againritit. (Laughter.) There win a motion brought on after tho Financial Statement was presented thattho number of our Minister-* should be reduced to five. He'believed in it, But' voted against it for this reason, because it seemed quite ovident lo a number of members that the ihotion was simply got up by the Opposition to try and catch the votes of some advanced members of the party of Government supporters, and for a catch Vote against the Government. He was nob a very old hand, but her was not caught in that trap. (Laughter.) When the matter came on afterwards in committee he voted for iivo, but they did nob succeed in Carrying it. He believed that a number •of electois fancied that the only in<sOtmiatencies existed in their membora t and he believed that if he asked any who believed in every measure he had advocated fco hold up their hands, nob one would do 80. They J voted for him, .therefore, because they thought they could Igeb the largest amount of what they.thai* vidually wanted. (Applause.) An Oppo»it|l«nl«t Well, he went down to yi>JJjagtqn, and went down distinctly as an Oppositionist, lecause bo always apok§ against the-late

stampede. Hours of Sitting. In the eat\y part of tho se.-sion tho Houso tjcit for fojr days Meekly, usually beginning to sit at 2 30 p.m and rising at 5.30 fur two hours. They eat again from 7.30 till an indefinite hour, sometimes 12 and sometimes 1.30 a.m., and besides this some members had committee work to do which otten kept them occupied till 5 o'clock in tiie morning, when they had to begin afresh ;».t 10 v»i li o'clock. For his own part ho (Sir Withy) tnod to make up for lo.st .sleep by frequently taking it in advance. Ar 2.30, when the questions came on, if there was nothing particular to do, and the member occupying tho next seat happened to be absent, he managed to secure a square quarter of an hour or hilt-hour. In this way at 7.30 he was pretcy well alive for another two or "three hout^, ami \\ hen it came to the 10.30 adjournment hf^got a cup of cottoe—of course something else was obtainable if he .hod wanted it (laughter)—and he -was not going to say whether other membois had coH'ec oi not (Laughter.) When it came to midnight he used to look for the snuggest bench and the least diaught, and he down properly at full length on his back, with a pile of books off tho shelves tor a pillow. (Laughter.) There he slept till the division bell rang, when he would get up, find out what was going <»n the best way he could, ,uul go into whiehe\er lobby seemed to be \he most desirable one (Laughter.) This sort of tiling wa-» repeated each time the division bell rang. He waa not going to tell any tales of other members, who could answer for themselves, but this was his own frank confession of what he had done. He a->ked, why «houM .work have to bo done in this fashion. (A voice : Certainly not !) Gould the work be done in this way ? Most certainly not in an honest workmanlike manner (applause) ; and if that method was right, why wa- it not adopted in connection wfthourlocal bodies? Thatkindofthingwas not healthful to our liberties, but entirely •subversive oi them. It resulted from a lot ot talkatr-e men wasting the time of Parliament when members were fresh, vigorous, ■ixrul inclined to look into things carefully, .md the only alternative was that business jtnu-'t be gone through in a hurried kind of \v\y. Indeed, it looked \eiy much like a conspiracy to thwart the wishes of the majority, and bting about the state of thi»g3 tint existed. (Applause.) If majorities were not to rule they should face the question, nnd should decide what should . ru'o. In h'm mind thedifficulty arose through A number of cons tittit-neies sending the wrong jmiMi, (Hear, hoar,) men who don v t work for the good of the country, and there was only one way in which this kind of thing could bo got over. Thepeopleshouldhave greater knowledge of the men who are hi ought out ar, candidates, and should accept none without pjew<.>'jsly pro\inj* their fitness by the most searching investigation. (Applause.) A--, for hirhsclf, he would certainly wait to consider before he would enter into another contest f<>>- this or any other constituency. A* ho had anticipated, the most unpleasant, part of Ins duty was done at Wellington, 'because ho had to sacrifice home comforts for three months of the year. Tho scene w.ts one of constant annoyance from beginning to end, and life was one perpetual Hi: ife.

Manner of Carrying on Business. '. The practice was at least during 1 tho laat action* that tho Hist part of the session was entirel} wasted (applause) in fruitless talk, m attempts made to onset, tho party in power, atid by <.i general system ot annoying tactic whichdiduogood tothecountry. (Appliu.se ) At the early part of the session .there was an adjournment oi two or three weeks to unibk- the Government to propound theit policy. Very great obstructions were raised, particularly by the Opposition — .not in fau debate or in criticismg 1 tho propo^als of the Government, but in mere iactious opposition. Tiie onl}' result ot that soi t ot tiling was that the early part -of the se-sion was entirely waited, as far as any good to the people of New Zealand was concerned, and tho consequence s t business had to be run through during the last week, whoa tho ru&h became a perfect stampede.

Governmonb. There Avore two ideas pre1 dominating, vial., retrenchment in the first place, and in the nestt place that, if we W6ro to have retrenchment, Sir J. Vogel must go out of power. (Applause.) The first question, therefore, he had to consider wa* whom ho should follow. He attended an Opposition caucus. They suggested various leaders., and the man who came uppormost was Major Atkinson. (A voice : " And he is no good.") (Laughter.) We considered that in him wo had the gvoatcst hope of keeping Vogol out of power and providing something like retrenchment. Major Atkinson brought down his proposals, and when the Opposition yw thorn most members stuck to him. There seemed to bo a busincss-liko ring about them, and a hope for the serious condition of the colony. But did they support him because they bolieved him in everything V lie (Mr Withy), for one, certainly did not, for thore were various things about Major Atkinton that ho did nob like. (A voice : " Hear, hear.') Indeed, of all his followers probably not one believed in him throughout. So it was compromise all round, ail having to gno way on somo point. Thero wero some people so stiff in tho back that they would not votn for a man unless ho was exactly like what they wanted him, and some would not for a man who would oppose Bihlo-reading in schools, whate\or else they might believe in ; but this would , not holp to mend matters. (Hear, hear.) Some persons would not vote for any member before them, and some members would nob support any Government. Tho result was that man}' electors disenfranchised thomsolvcs. Some members failed to give support to any Government, or such support as would enable their policy to be carried out, and if there wero enough of these men in the House no Government would be able to rule and no policy would be carried out. (Applause.) Something of this kind had been 6eon in New Zealand not \ery long ago. {Hoar, hear.) Some Cabinets biought about the same kind of thing by their dissensions. They could not agree, or they, perhaps, agreed on throo point* whilst they could not agree upon a fourth. Instead of currying the tln%ee points upon which they could agree and then discussing the other, they fought over the whole, and the valuable time of the colony was entirely wasted. Therefore, we came back to the necessity of making compromise. It held good in the case of a ship, and in household affairs thero was a series of compromises. (Laughter.)

Railway Boardf Bill. The Kuilway Boards Bill he (Mr Withy) did not consider a desirable thing, because ho did nob believe in the handing over of railways to an autocratic body of three railway commissioners. What he saw of it, however, convinced him that ib was better, to have any alteration than to let things remain as they were. A statement was prepared on tho subject, and it showed that the Government railways,.as compared with private railway com panics, employed lfr to 2tol as many men, He believed that the railways should be free from political control for aperiojiofyears, and, ho, voted for the bill. There was one' thing in the bill that'he did not like at.all.a plause giving the oomtn.isflioners ppVer to license jrofreshmen t-roojns at any station, no matter whether the residents of the district were agreeable or not.* He had seen a good deal of refroah-o(iant>-jrqppii,on railway JUnea in England, and he knew that it did not give passenger* the greatest confidence, fco see the guards coming out of these- drink-shop* wiping f/heir lips. Ha h,ad ■ *een these rooms made tjise of by ief i<jco,tf,, *n<i by r ladies who .wej*t..b<sin4- t.he .. acwm

Retrenchment, The first matter dealt with was retrenchment, as embodied in tho financial proposal? of the Government. The House ,of Representatives decided to reduce the honorarium of, £210 to £150 a year for, the first session in any yoar If there was a second session they would receive £100 inetcad of £105 as formerly, and they also made a provision that members residing within three miles of, tho House of Assembly'should receivo £75 for,the second , session, instead of £100. (Applause.) The honoiaria of Legislative Councillors were reduced from £210 to £100 for the' first session, and those residing within three mil^s of Wellington received none. (Applause.) The Prime Minister had been receiving £1,750; viz., £1,250 a year salary, and £500 allowances ; that £1,750 wus reduced .to £1,000., Cabinet Ministers' salaries were reduced—£l,ooo. to £800, und where houses wero not provided house allowance was fixed at £200.instead ot £250 as hitherto. Travelling allowance was reduced from 42s to 30s per day, and the total to be spent in any one, year was not to exceed £1,000. (Applause.), The reduction in the Govenor's salary and allowances 'meant u saving of about £2,500 a year. This could not be done with tho present Governor, who had com? Kore under a bargain, and £hat bargain ought to bo honourably adhered to. (Applause.)- At tho. nexfc general election, the number of members in fcho Houae of Representatives wpuld bo reduced from 95 to 74, and when that had taken place the number of Ministers would be reduced to 6.

Acts Passed. There were 56 Acts of Parliament passed last set-sion, 3 of which were public Acts, 21 legal and personal, and 4 private. Ho candidly stated that he knew very little abouj these Acts of Parliament. (Laughter.) He did not know how much other members knew, and he feared he would pass a very bad examination in them. Ho'v was it possible for a man utterly wearied out, annoyed, and short of temper to study these 56 Acts of Parliament? (Laughter.) He would, however, refer to some of them.

Democratic Institutions. At the elections ho distinctly declined to go to Wellington as a delegate, and also declined to say whom howould support, and he would not come before any constituency after lhi> Parliament unless he w« distinctly asked to do so. (Applause.) He was anxious to advocate right principles (hear, hear), and would try to induce them to take thoroughly into consideration the responsibilities that rested upon them as to how the business of the colony shall be conducted. All men above twenty - one had votes, and all should exercise them privileges. He whs anxious to make democratic institutions a success-they were not a success yet, and tho older countries were looking to the colonies and watching our progress with great interest. Thoy were on their trial, and he wanted to see them succeed. (Applause.) They would not succeed by men coming before them who were not able to tell plain homo truths. He was anxious bo make them succeed by aiming blows at selfish, narrow and short-sighted policy; he would urge the widest views of patriotism (applause), and the most thoughtful and prudent men to try and lead public opinion. They should not be afraid of a rotten egg or a bag of Hour (laughter), but come out and take their places as citizens. (Applauso.) As for himself he did not regret having come to tho front, and taken annoyance as his reward. (Applause.) If they would do this they would form such a strong phalanx against all cliques that they would be irresistible, and would get the. light men into tho House. (Applause.)

and had their glass of wine on the- quiet. He did not object to ladies having: their cjlass of wine, but he did obioct to Railway Commissioners having the power to license such places in opposition to the wishes of the people (Applause.) ! , j

Questions. Questions wore then invited, and several were handed in, to which Mr Withy replied as follows :— (1) He would not support a republic. (2) Borrowing to pay our Jobts would not cure depression, but the good oldfaßhionei way of waiting for things until we hud money in our pockets would, no doubt, give rolief in time. -(3) He thought a great number of the pensions given to public servants could not be right, bu,t when a bargain was 'made to pay a mana pension he ought to get it. > (4) He did not know tho sum annually paid for pensions j (5) bub would be pleased to obtain information with respect to the same nexfc r year. (6) The State endowments of the secondary &chools,should ba used for the objects for which thoy were sob apart, and not exclusively for any! He approved of the suggestion for putting the whoje.bf our educational system on' a workable grade, (7) The scholarships enabled s^holars ( from the primary's'choolatogo'on to the secondary schools. (8) He was sorry the minimum school age 'was not raised ; to 6 year's, (9) He did not think the expense connected with the Agent-General's establishment in London was very much, and ho felt that so long as we wero so indebted to Engjand as now we required someone to represent us. (10) The rising generation should be pub into all the openings available. He believed the colony was a much more hopeful place than Home, and he had brought his family but here under that impression. (11) The local manufacturer should fee taxed where necessary. (1$) ( He know very little of the rights of the alleged harshness at Newton East, School, but ho believed tho caso was' one in which the teachers looked upon the question as one of obedience rather l than poverty. The punishment had b^en administered, by, a lady teacher, arid fie .thought; that probably; tdo'mi\,chha£ beQU,made ) 6f tjie.nwtter. (13) With regaVd to railway material for tho colony, a fair share should be done here, except when any great saving could ' be effected. . ( . , . < ' ' "Mr '^hornpeon Imfyyf* ftfs 'Mr Whijij combo seconded J* To' At a vojbe of cantumqia confidence bo accorded to Hf Withy." spho motion w,a» carried' by acclamation a.nd acknawls4ped. ' PVocmpings., terminate^ witU a vqW qi bbuak^>to tb«. Choir main ■>j ■. . i

The Future. Next session ono question to be decided would be whether they would have more protection or nob. He expected they would fight this out. He hoped they would see a land and income tax in lieu of the property tax. They had not done nil that had to be done in the way of retrenchment yet. Though theorobical reductions had been made to the amount of £300,000, they would not get in the first year more than £100,000; in the second year £200,000 might be aaved, and in the third year £300,000. Those things could only be done by degrees. Ho hoped there would also be considerable alterations in the Electoral Act, and that something would bo done under the head of proportional representation, so that majorities should bo .allowed to rule. (Applause.)

Ijaw Practitioners' Bill. He said he believed some of his constituents were not satisfied with him for voting againpt the measure. He believed it to be entirely unnecessary, and not in the public interests. Its objects were really to do away with the necessity for passing a general knowledge examination, and it was making the way easior for young men with little time and attainments to become fullyfledged lawyers, which was not desirable. Mr Withy referred in forcible language to the troubles thatarose through incompetency in lawyers when dealing with deeds, wills, or in giving advice on intricate points of law, and he was borne out by several of the audieTice who had evidently sullered somewhat in this way. Mr Withy also spoke of the loss of time involved in the presentation of petitions witboutdue consideration, and then touched lightly on

money. Land Settlement. He had said that he did not like tho Land Act, but there were several sensible things about it. We wanted settlement on the land. The settlers would not come from the old country if they had no prospect of getting land that they could call thsir own. This bill, however, gave tho option of three tenures to anyone that desired to fcettlo, and ho voted for it as a common-sense compromise of a difficulty. Another thing that consoled him in voting for the Land Bill was that he believed it was the most feasible way of reducing speculation and bringing the land into the common use and benefit of tho population. (Applause.) Mr Withy then justified hisvotoin favour of the Midland Railway Bill by showing that a bargain had been made, and should have been carried out, and then he dealt at length with the

Borrowing. During the eloction he was askod if wo should do any more borrowing, and he replied that they could not do without it. The Government had decided to borrow £2,4oo,ooo—that was, tho balance of the North Island Trunk Railway Loan, another million besides, and £400,000 to extinguish a number of 1.0.U.'s that had been scattered about tho country. There was i to be no further borrowing during tho next j thiee years, and it was intended, as far as possible, to terminate the system of constructing tho public works of tho colony out loan

Property v. Land Tax. There was a rather disagreeablo thing that they had to put up with : tho property tnx was increased to Id in tho £," He did not believe in tho property tax (applause), but the state of finance? was such that, with tho mo«t sanguine views of retrenchment, it was impossible to mako things balance at all without sonic additional tax, and it was considered boat to put it on property. He, among others, assontod that the tax should be incroased. There was a motion brought in by one member that the property tax should bo abolished and a land nnd income tnx substituted. (Loud applause.) Ho (Mr Withy) was in favour of the proposal, bub it could not be dealt with last session. Ho hoped tho question would come up again next session, and that a change would bo made. Applause )

Naval Defence. This was another important bill tha*i was brought down last session. He was not a man of war and believed in peace, buC the rest of the world did not. If wo wero to have defences the best we could have was a ileefc thab could bo at hand in time of need (applause), which was far bettor than any set ot pop-guns at tho various ports of tho colony. Tho bill authorised tho Government to pay something liko £21,000 a year as our sharo, jointly with tho other Australian colonies, for tho presence of a Hoot in thc&c water*?. Tho total contribution asked was £126,000, and our tsharo was supposed to be £21,000. _ For that wo wero to have two vessels stationed in New Zealand waters.