THE COMING SESSION.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 471, 14 May 1890, Page 6

THE COMING SESSION.

MR BALLANCE AT WANGANUI. The Hon. J. Ballance addressed his constituents at Wanganui May Bth. The Mayor accupied the chair. There was a large attendance. Mr Ballance, in reviewing the business of last session, said they bad been looking for some declaration of policy on the part of Government, but up to this they had received nothing of the kind. It was said that the next session would be a short one, that no great questions would be brought before the House, and they would soon be sent about their business. Last session began with a long discussion on representation, theissueof town and country being raised. He objected on principle to any difference being made between voters in town and country, holding that they should be equal electoral districts, and that all should have the same voting power. Reference was made to the allocation of £300,000 or £400,000 for purchase of native lands along the line of the North Island Trunk Railway. When the present Government took office they declared they were going to open up the lands to private persons, as the measures of the previous Government stopped settlement. They had found that this could not be done in consequence of the unsatisfactory state of titles of native lands, but though this sum had been set aside, nothing had been done to carry the purchases into effect. The sum of £29,000 had been made available for purchases in other parts of the colony, but they had done nothing in the way of purchasing lands for the purposes of settlement, their only transaction being the expenditure of £IO,OOO on Rotorua leases, which the natives were now

TRYING TO REPUDIATE. During the session they patched up a number of native titles and since then the Government had appointed Mr Edwards as Commissioner, at a salary of £1,500, to go into titles. He believed they could get plenty of men at £6OO quite as capable of the work. Mr Edwards refused to accept the post unless he was made Judge of the Supreme Court, an appointment which he (Mr Ballance) considered illegal and unjustifiable. Last session the appointment of the Sweating Commission, which was moved for by two members of the Opposition, would, he thought, be more far-reach-ing in its effect than any measure carried for years, for he held that the colony could not afford at this time of day, especially considering the attitude of labour all over the world, to allow the stigma to rest on this colony that they were laying the foundation of a system condemned by every civilised nation. He had been, and was still, opposed to reduction of members, nob because it meant the loss of 24 seats, but because it was a retrograde step. At present there was no community of interests in many of the constituencies, and with settlement going on and population increasing, he thought the numbers might have remained as they W6re. He condemned the proposal to create A PARTIAL - PAID FORCE at the four large centres, and abolish the country volunteers. The country could nob afford any increased expenditure in this direction, and he thought that with the protection of the British fleet, for which they were to pay £25,000 a-year, the colony was safe from any attack by Russia. With respect to borrowing, he thought they should stop borrowing entirely for a time. The cry cf selling the railways had been introduced by those desirous of doing away with the property tax ; and he was astonished that Mr Bryce at Waikato had advocated the selling of the railways. He objected to this colony entering into Australasian Federation. He thought they should look to the mother country and retain their right to a voice in the affairs of the empire when the time came for strengthening the bonds thab at present existed. He did not think that the colony could stand the heavy loss that the reduction in ocean postage would

mean, and he believed a preferable reform would be a penny postage when the colony could afford it. Referring to the single tax he could nob see that it was practicable, and did nob think the time had come for the substitution of a

LAND AND INCOME TAN. for the property tax ; but he thought that : under the latter agricultural improvements ! and machinery should be exempted up to £2,000. He also believed the tax should I be graduated, for he thought the great estates of this country were one of the ! causes of New Zealand standing still. ! With respect to the reduction of Customs, I he thought if they had a surplus they could not do better than reduce the duties on the necessaries of life, instancing tea as an example. So far as the protective tariff had gone it had worked well, but he thought the time had come when inequalities should be revised. Coming to land administration, Mr Ballance spoke at considerable length on the policy of the present Government, and pointed out that selling 2,000-acre blocks of land did not encourage settlement, and was not good in the long run for labour. With regard to the village settlement scheme, many would imagine that they had only established four

Or five settlements, whereas there were no fewer than 62 in the colony, and nob a single complaint had been heard against those in the South Island, but because two of the settlements north of Auckland required assistance for a year or two the system was condemned as a failure. With respect to the village settlements, he pointed out that they had placed 900 sons of settlers and heads of families on them, and not a single word had been said against them. He believed the stoppage of that system had most to do with the departure of the 10,000. After a few questions, the speaker received a unanimous vote of confidence an<f thanks.