THE HON. MR BALLANCE AT WANGANUI.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1455, 16 January 1886, Page 3

THE HON. MR BALLANCE AT WANGANUI.

The Hon, Mr Ballance, Native Minister, addressed his constituents at Wanganui last Wednesday evening. He first briefly referred to the work of last session, saying he was quite prepared to leave it in the hands of electors to decide whether the unsatisfactory result of last session was owing to the peculiar state of parties, the factiousness of the Opposition, or the incapacity of the Government. The noconfidence motions were alluded to, and the speaker went on to say that the Government had brought down a tariff which was said to favor prot ction, and the freetraders formed a very strong party against it, with the consequence that, the tariff was destroyed. He believed it was the duty of the Government at this stage to have tendered their resignation, and as a matter of fact they were about to dp so, when 52 of their supporters implored them to continue in office, and they, believing it to be their duty to the country and their party, acceded to the wish. The increase of taxation proposed by this tariff was necessary to wipe out the deficiency of the previous Government. Its Treasurer had piled up deficiencies year after year till they amounted to £830,000, when they were wiped out atone sweep by being transfer r ed to Loan Account, The last year they were in office their deficiency amounted to £130,000, and it was the intention of the present Government to wipe out a portion of this deficiency, and gradually reduce it by means of the increased taxation. During ■ the session the Government brought down a number of measures. He (Mr Ballance) had charge of the Land Bill, the Premier of the H ispitals and Charitable Aid B'll, afl J §ir Julius Vogel of a number of financial m® aßUreß r Some of these were carried, some lost, and some very largely cut up, but the result of the session could not be considered wholly unsatisfactory. They had placed on the Statute Book about 62 public Acts, fie held that there had been no more important measure passed in the history of the colony that the Land Bill, which extended in a very material degree the liberal

principles of land settlement in this colony. Credit was due to Mr Rolleston, the late Minister of Lands, for throwing aside all obligations to his party, and coming forward boldly to assist in passing the measure into law. Referring to Major Atkinson’s no-confidence motion, he said no bread question of policy had been traversed. He did not know that the best friends of Major Atkinson’s could say of any Government of which he (Major Atkinson) had been a member, that any broad question of policy had been submitted by it. If there had been any such they had been got rid of with wonderful facility. As an instance of this he quoted the national insurance scheme, which had been preached on every platform between Auckland and Invercargill, and which Major Atkinson had either no intention of carrying further, or else ho was not possessed of sufficient energy to carry it through. The speaker then dealt seriatim with the Hon. Major Atkinson’s no-confidence resolutions. When the three million loan was raised the Hon. Major Atkinson had promised to limit the expenditure to £1.000,000 a year—yet when the present Government took office it amounted to £1,800,000. With regard to the East and West Coast Railway, in 1882 his (Major Atkinson’s) Ministry actually proposed the same railway, but, finding it so unpopular in the House, he had dropped it. It was generally said that if Major Atkinson got back into office the very first thing 113 would undertake would be the East and West Coast Railway. With regard to the obtaining of land along the North Island Railway route, in 1881 the Government had taken the pre-emptive right to four and a-half million acres, thus preventing any private individuals from acquiring a single acre of land along the route. The Hon. Major Atkinson had implied that the Inn I did not belong to the natives, and Mr Ormopd had urged again and again lint the land should be given, but he did nut think Mr Urmond or any other European would give his land for a similar purpose. It was a question of purchase. During last session no charge of maladministration had been brought against the Government, though this was the usual ground on which vetes of no-con-fidence were based. Referring to Major Atkinson’s statements at Hawera, Mr Ballance said some of Major Atkinson’s best friends were heartily ashamed of the position which he had taken up with regard to the North Island Railway Loan. Major Atkinson had taken the blame to himself for not noticing that it was in the Appropriation Act, and had charge! the Government with unworthy motives for putting it there, while as a matter of fact it had appeared in the schedule of the previous year, when the loan was, authorised, and consequently it could not be placed in the Appropriation Act until the route had been decided upon. In 1882 Major Atkinson’s Minister of Public Works strongly recommended non-political Railway Boards, but since then the Mrjor appeared to bare swallowed his principles on this point. Regarding Native affairs, he said time would show whether his dealings with the natives had been right or wrong. He held that the scare at Parihaka had been got up by interested persons. The number of Armed Constabulary for the preservation of peace in native districts had been reduced from 428 to 48, and the expenditure is proportionately decreased. His Native Land Disposition Bill had met with considerable opposition, but he was glad to be able to say that at a large representative meeting held at Hastings, he had found the natives unanimous in (he support of the principles of the measure. The principle of the Bill was that henceforth no native land should be sold to any private individual, except under the Waste Lands Laws of the colony. The other Native Land Bill which had been brought down was for the consolidation of the existing laws on the subject, but without the Native Land Bill it would not be of any great benefit to the colony. The Natives at present held about thirteen million acres, and it was not yet too late to commence saving this. It had been said that they were going to create a Maori aristocracy, but he had no intention of doing so. There were at present about 40,000 natives in the colony, all being British subjects, with feelings and sympathies the same as ourselves, and it would be to the credit of the white people of this colony that they should not be cast out and allowed to perish, if by stretching out our band they might be saved as far as possible. It was our duty to encourage the natives to abandon their habits for others more nearly approaching the European. He thought that every native should be settled down upon his own piece of land, under a Grown grant and inalienable, and encouraged to live under bis own vine and fig tree. The elevation of the native people should be the great object of every Government. The hnd policy of the Government was next alluded to, and he dealt at length with the advantages to be derived from the special settlements and small grazing runs system wbicii had been introduced. One of the most important questions in the future would be the settlement of lands in the vicinity of towns, and he was prepared to say that the Crown had a right to go in and take any property it pleased for this purpose by paying property tax valuation plus ten per cent. With regard to the resumption of lands in this manner, he behoved that after the Centra! Government had acquired the land the municipalities should be entrusted with the. management of the settlement. Means for this could be provided by means of 4 per cent, debentures, the Stale to issue the debentures to municipalities. If the people paid about 4£ per cent as rent for the land, he believed the system would add materially to the prosperity of the town as well as to that of the occupiers of the land. The question of freetrade and protection next came under review. He held that it was well for the welfare of the country that it should have manufactures, and for this he was prepared to support protection. He had been a freetrader for many years, but had been led to alter his views on the matter. He believed that protection would npt increase the price of necessaries, inasmuch as competition would be keen and prices kept down, In regard to the Property Tax, he was in favor of reducing the jtfiQO exemption, Owing to the Banks threatening t) remove their gold to Australia the Government had Iheen compelled to do something during the recent war scare. • Ho wished to encourage the Volunteers, and so had

secured them increased capitation, and ordered weapons of the latest pattern — Martini-Enfields. He was averse to New Zealand entering into Australian Federation, but he trusted that when Imperial Federation became possible Now Zealand would be able to act on its own account as one of the principals. If they ware to be part of an Australian Federation, they must, as a guarantee, have the right of electing their own Governor. On the question of local bodies, he stated that there was a probability of the present subsidy system being discontinuad. He supported the construction of the East and West Coast Railway as a work which should be constructed by the colony, and with regard to the borrowing of ten millions said that the question had not come before them, but lie cuuld state that the policy of the Government would be cautious, nothing rash or heedless being done. In his opinion, in the present state of parties, the Government should avoid the cost of two sessions, and should ask for a dissolution before the House met.

Mr Bdiance spoke for two hours and a a-quarter. He was enthusiastically received, and was accorded a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence.