MINISTERIAL SPEECH.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2050, 24 May 1890, Page 2

MINISTERIAL SPEECH.

The Hon Mr Fergus addressed his conatitutents in the Town Hall Queenstown, last Thursday even' xng. He congratulated the meetmg on another surplus, the Gorernment Doing able, after meeting every legitimate demand on the revenue to present a baJance sheet showing the good ’ and not-

withstanding the fact that the newly o q P nnn ta p ri^ did ? ot P roduce £4-9,000 of the estimate. The task of the Government was still difficult and he did not think there was much chance of imposts being reduced. Certain charges, such as public buildings, would require to be transferred trom loan to the consolidated account and Government intended to ask the sanction of Parliament to setting apart a sum of money for the erection of school buildings where required and also to devote some pertion of revenue to the classification of inmates of asylums. He disliked the property tax but at present he considered that it would be exceedingly absurd to fT uww a , ngo i Hq bad thought that local government loans should be consolidated. If this were down at 4 per cent, a saving would be effected of £73,450. He was strongly of opinion that local self-government was grossly overdone in Hew Zealand, and the Government had under consideration a measure for amalgamating some of the local bodies on the West Coast, giving them greater power thm at present, The Government was of opinion that the time had arrived when every endeavour should be made to secure as much native land as possible when it came into the market. They had resolved not borrow, at least for the present, but thought that money for the payment of these lauds might be raised by the creation of land debentures to be a fixed charge oq the when solcji or se|;t|ec|. In cppnecfcion with this was the question of reading the lands, and Government thought that they saw their way to raise the necessary money by the issue of road debentures, Goyernm^tt

thought that a great deal more must be done to open land for settlement. Considerable areas were being held nnprofitably bj land and mortgage companies, into whose hands land fell through the inability of mortgagors to pay interest, and the question would have to be faced of how best in fairness to the companies and in the interests of the colony those areas could be made available for settlement. Respecting charitable aid, the Government thought that the measure introduced last session was an equitable solution of the difficulty. The Government intended to submit a measure for the classification of the Postal and Telegraph Department, whereby officers would be classified and rise according to service and merit. The subject of making teachers Civil Servants, and of similarly classifying them, was engaging the attention of the Government. In conclusion he said that before he believed in federation, or that the other colonies were in earnest in their desire for federation, he would see them take off instead of put taxes on our natural products. '"A vote of was unanimously passed.