MAJOR ATKINSON AT HAWER.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1345, 26 May 1885, Page 2

MAJOR ATKINSON AT HAWER.

Major Atkinson addressed his < stituents at Hawera on Friday even! He said it was his business to criticise action of the Government, but he ho that his conclusions would be honest not carping. He believed in men, no measures; for after all measures were a secondary importance to good adm strators, and it might be that even if opposition agreed in general with measures of a Government, but mistrut the administrators, it would be its dut; turn those men out of office. He did believe in harrassing a Goyernmeblsin for the sake of harrassing them, first referred to Federation, with respec which there was no Bill before ffim. ' question was, Were we to remain part great nation with the people of Engl and the Australian Colonies, or did desire to have a separate existence a from them 1 He desired the former; we should become part of a large em{ and be could not say that he agreed v the objections to the Federation ] posals urged by the present Minis As to Defence, he was only partially formed as to the reasons Government for the action they had taken in prow ing with the defences of the coldnH therefore be could not say whetheiflf proved of everything that had been t! It seemed certain a short time ago 1 war would take place, and therefore Government were justified in wypenc public money without the Parliament. He thought the Gov< ment were wise in proceeding to carry the plans approved of by Major Caul and the Governor, but whether they w justified in spending £200,000 witl the authority of Parliament, and cal out the militia, he should be able to when he had considered the reas which had induced the Government t( it. He did not believe that this colon] any colony should start a navy of its O' and if it were true that the Govorna had sent Home to obtain a cruiser entirely dissented from their jpcti The proper method would bo for colonies to devote so much towards maintenance of the Imperial Navy ( ditionally on their being protected by British Navy. Ho eulogised the acl of the New South Wales Governmen sending troops to the aid of the Mot Country, and agreed that under the cumstances New Zealand was not ca upon to do the same ; but had emergency arisen, he bad no doubt t New Zealand would have made whate sacrifice that might have beep requii and would have been justified in doing With regard to the action of the Govt ment in the Samoan affair —lie though the Government only intended, as t stated, to send a high official thereto asi tain whether the Samoans desired JMjj

tion under Sir George Grey’s Act, they a« quite right. Neither the Imperial Gov« ment, Germany nor the would, however, permit New Zealand annex Samoa. Speaking of Local * vernraent, he said no doubt good h government was the root of the prospe of the country. Qnfortunately the po of the ratepayers was this: if they covered a mud hole, they ran to tl member to stir up the Government to up the hole. No local government wo be satisfactory until ratepayers had termined to be more independent in way of doing matters themselves, altho he did not say that there should not assistance from a central authority, argued that the unit of local governni must be the Road Board, and if any I take had been made in the past iLJ tint the Counties Act was they should have done was to hare re upon the Road Board system, and h given the Boards power tounite for ( tain purposes, such an for the purpose carrying out larger works in Then they were told that they were have assured finance, but what did it amount to 1 That the peoplb must their hands in their pockets if t! wanted more money. It was not j sible to do all works out of rates, ai therefore it came to this—that thewm borrow money for making roads. the Government were going to p pose in that respect he did know except it was to subsidi The only' way in which the Governin' could assist local bodies to borrow i under the Roads and Bridges Goristracti Act, and be should be prepared to a port any rpeaspre which wpnt in tl direction but be would not support g

rantees to local bodies. The Premier, at Dunedin, had expressed horror at something like £200,000 being spent on roads and bridges, and said the country could not stand it, but on the contrary he (Major Atkinson) said the country not only could but must stand it, and that the expenditure in this direction was only a method of securing successful occupation of the country. Without regard to Public Works the present Government, despite promises, had not been able to rush on with Public Works as fast as was expected, and ho instanced the Otago Central Railway. Still he did not blame the Government for that. Regarding the purchase of the District Railways, ho said he foresaw when they were constructed that the Government would have to purchase them, but he was not prepared to give for them more than they were worth, nor to return to ratepayers what they had had to pay. He did not think Railway (Management had improved under the new Government; Mr Richardson had recently stated to a deputation that he could point out 500 faults in the present tariff—but he did not remedy them. Ho (Major Atkinson) was opposed to the proposed non-political Beards, as he did not think they would be of any use. As to Native Matters, he did not think there was any fear. An out-break was possible but improbable, and this was due mainly to Mr Bryce, who made the natives understand when he said a thing he meant it. They did not all approve of him, but they believed him. He thought that the policy of the present Native Minister was wrong, inasmuch as it raised hopes in the minds of the Natives which could never be realised, and he was afraid the action of the Government in pushing on the North Island Railway before arranging with the Native owners as to the amount they would have to pay for the land tand taken would cause the Colony serious trouble and entail great expense. Te Whiti’s influence was still great, and he still taught the Natives that they were going to get back the land ; largo bodies of Natives were travelling about the country making statements that they were to sell their produce at ruinous prices, get back the land, etc. Therefore he thought the removal of the Armed Constabulary was a mistake, as to the Natives it lent color to Te Whiti’s teachings. Ho understood the Government had a great Bill in preparation, which was to have the object of creating a Maori aristocracy in this country by enabling them to lease whatever land they bad more than they required for their own use. If that were the intention be should certainly be found opposing it. Ho did not believe in creating Maori landlordism in this country, any more than a European one. With regard to the Native Minister’s Special Land Settlement Scheme, he thought it might have the effect of inducing people to settle on too small pieces of land, but if it were found not to have that disadvantage he thought it should be supported. He was opposed to the Finance of the present government because it was not honest. The Colonial Ireasurer held he was going to save £300,000 by abolishing the Sinking Fund, but the saving had consisted not of ceasing to pay the Sinking Fund but of paying it out of loan instead of out of revenue. They were said to have a surplus of £20,000 this year, but if, as formerly, this Sinking Fund had been paid out of revenue the accounts would have shown a deficit of £200,000; yet last year, in the face of this, the Treasurer did not hesitate to take £130,000 taxation from the shoulders of those best able to bear it. Meantime the cost of education, which was to he reduced, had gone on increasing, and they were told that there was defence to pay for, and that the Government were seriously considering the position. No doubt there were difficulties, hut the Government had created them. The taxpayers would have to take up their burdens again, though things had been made pleasant for a time. He referred to the question of the want of employment, and said he was not going to enter into the question of Freetrade v. Protection, but he said this:—lf to-morrow they were to remove the whole of the Customs duties—supposing the colony could afford to do without the revenue—-one-half the population, would, of necessity, leave the colony. What that argument might bo worth was a matter for people to consider; but it was as certain as possible that, if the protective duties of 15 and 25 per cent were to be removed, it meant the closing up ef the industries of the colony. That was a matter that needed consideration, and he was certain that the local industries question was one of the greatest problems that was to come up for their consideration. He bad no confidence in the present Government, but his opposition would be the opposition of fair criticism. He would never bo a party to useless obstruction, but as soon as be saw that the people of the

country were satisfied that two and two / could not be turned into five be should do ' bis utmost to eject the present Government from office. In the meantime, there •was nothing to fear for the colony. As he had always said, even in the gloomiest times, the colony was thoroughly sound, and he ventured to say that if the colonists went on as they had done in the great work of colonising which they bad undertaken, they would see the colony made more really prosperous it had ever been. But there would not be progress, as the Treasurer put it, by “leaps and bounds,” It would only be by the labor ot our hands, and the sweat of our brow. Industry and thrift must take the place of crying to Government, and then colonists / would be convinced, ns they ought to be that their lines had been cast in pleasant places,— Several unimportant questions were aiked, and then a vote of confidence was carried, there being only two or three dissentients.