The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1887. THE HON. W. ROLLESTON'S SPEECH.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1569, 16 April 1887, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1887. THE HON. W. ROLLESTON'S SPEECH.

Tab general election is drawing near. This could have been seen by the increased energy thrown into his speech by the Hon. W. Rolleston last Wednesday evening. He worked himself into almost a pension when detailing the delinquencies of the present Miigstry. The first and greatest objection he appeared to have to them was that the Premier made speeches in various parts of the colony dnring the recess. This was a terrible crime, but if Mr Rolleston would not mind taxing his memory a little we should like to ask him jhow often did Major Atkinson stump the country from Invercargill to Auckland ? Was not “ The Major on the stamp ” the subject of a poetic lay f Does Mr Rolleston consider it a virtue in Major Atkinson to stump the country, and be hooted down as be need to be, while it is a vice in Sir Robert Stout to address meetings in response to invitations at certain centres of population throughout the colony, and receive universal applause ? And did Major Atkinson make himself the laughing stock of the colony with bis compulsory insurance fad ? When Mr Rolleston was » Minister did he not frequently boast of the ;way he went about the colony and. made himself acquainted with the wants of every district ? And also, is it not a fact that it used to be thrown in the face of previous Ministers that they had no knowledge of the condition of the colony because they used not to go about enough? It is superbly absurd tor Mr Rolleston to accuse Ministers, of sins for the commission of which he and hie colleagues have been notorious.

He next alluded to the supposed disagreement between members of the Cabinet. Now, how often has the same thing been said of the Atkinson Ministry, and have not the disagreements reached the extent of some of them baring to resign ? Major Atkinson f»vors protection, Mr Ivolleston freetrade ; Major Atkinson favors denominational education, Mr Rolleston secular education ; Major Atkinson favors compulsory insurance, Mr Rolleston disagrees with him ; Mr Bryee recently spoke disparagingly of perpetual leasing, Mr Rolleston is one of the high priests of the fcheaae. Mr Rolleston and his late colleagues have voted in different lobbies frequently since the tie of a salary of £1250 a year and n ministerial residence ceased to biud them together, Then, sppaking colloquially, is it not " like the pot calling the "kettle black " for Mr Rolleston to accuse the present Ministry of differences of opinion. " The Ministry may be said to be one of promisee bu' scanty fulfilments " is bis next thrum. They have reduced expenditure by twice the £30,000 they promised. In that scanty fulfilment of promises ? How often did the continuous Mn:i6try promise to reduce, but never did it? They did once. They reduced the poor civil servants' salaries by ten per cent., and paid twice as much as they saved to members of the Royal Commissions they appointed to inquire into it and other matters. When they oame into office in 1879 thev found it impossible to retain power and pelf without giving a little soothing syrup to some of their disappointed followers, and so they had to invent Royal Coramissions to inquire into this, that, and the other thing, and these Royal Commissioners of eourse could hot be expected to go from end to end ot the colony for nothing. Mr Wakefield was one of thostt who was silenced in this way, and Mi Saunders was another, These Commissioners suggested to make a reduction oi ten per cent, in the salaries of the civil servants, but we doubt whether it covered the cost cf the Commissions. Does Mr Rolleston remember when his administration was appropriately: styled " Government by Commission." Great sinners ought not to be hypocritical when discussing the sins of others, It was, however, while discussing the borrowing propensities of the present Government that Mr Rolleston's virtuous indignation rose to white heat pitcb. Now, honestly speaking, who has done the borrowing ? Major Atkinson joined the Vogel Ministry in 1873, and was in every Ministry continuously from that date until 1884, with the exception of the two years during which the Grey Ministry held office. In 1876 Sir Julius Vogel went home to' England, and never returned until 1884. All this time Major Atkinson was Colonial Treasurer, and did all tho borrowing. Of all the borrowed money nine out of every ten pounds were without doubt borrowed by Major Atkinson. Yet Mr Rolleston does not blush to come before the people of Temuka to throw all the blame of the ' muddle in which we find ourselves on the shoulders of the present Ministry. As regards the part Mr Rolleston played in the borrowing, we find that be took office in 1879, and that the public debt was then £23,958,311. (S*e page 185 Statistic?, 1879 J. In 1884, when be was ousted fr<>m office, the public debt was £32,860,982. Mr Rrdleston entered the Ministry on the Bth of October, 1879 ; b» relinquished offie on August 16tb, 1884. He w»s not, therefore, fully five years in office, and during that time the pubic debt increased nearly £9,000,000. Besides, j the Ministry left a large floating debt ol j Treasury bills, and it was only a shor 1 . j time before tbat tho £3,000,000 loan i was authorised. The present Ministry J

hare borrow'*! ODly £1,500,000 since they took office, and it is both dishonest and. dishonorable to accuse them of bating be>u the cause of the colony's indebtedness. These are solid facts, not bunkum statements. The figures are taken from the statistics of the colony, and can be seen by aujone; yet on* 1 who did not know the facts listening to Mr Rolleston, would think that it was tbe present Ministry who borrowed all the money we.owe, and caused all the muddle, Mr Rolleston next accuses Mr Ballance of making use of the Press Association to sing the praises of the Ministry. It is very wicked of Mr Ballance to do it. He ought not to let the public know what the Government is doing, but probably it is a failing. II*» hns to be civil to the Press, and to give information to its representatives when asked for it. He ought not to do it, and, above all, he ought not to lit it be known that he has been settling people on the land by the thousands, and that in that way he has made the boastful actions of his predecessor look very small. Still it is better to supply the papprs of Lis own colony with information than get leading articles praising up himself and running down his political opponents inserted in papers outside the colony, and then get them reprinted in New Zealand papers. Former Ministries have frequently and freely be<m accused of the latter action; and we must confess we like the look of it much less than Mr Bailanca's outrageous sin of letting the public know what the Government is doing. We like honest, Sensible criticism ; we have attacked some of the actions of the Government severely, and may possibly do so again, but dishonest misrepresentation is not f«ir criticism, and certainly for Mr Rolleston to try to fix all the blame of the unfortunate condition to which the colony has been reduced on the shoulders of the present Ministry is unfair.; Jlis speech was from beginning to end a tissue of misrepresentations of the present Ministry, unrelieved by a single suggestion as to the way out of tbe difficulty. We have not now, after listening to him for an hour and a half, the slightest idea as to what " Her Majesty's Opposition," as he bifalutinly styles himself and bis late colleagues, is going to do. If he had been less critical, and showed us where improvements could be made, his speech would have been far more satisfactory. His cure is economy and let things go on as they are get better, which is a cure that is by no means new. We flhflll refer to his speech more fully on another occasion.