GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2067, 3 July 1890, Page 3

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. On Tuesday, Dr Grace moved the second reading of the Catholic Lands Act Extension Bill, which was merely for the purpose of removing doubts as to whether the Archbishop of Wellington possessed the same power now the diocese had been created archdiocese as he possessed when he was only bishop.—The motion was agreed to. The Church Property Trust (Canterbury) Indemnity Bill, Arbitration Bill, and Mercantile Bill {were read a second time.

HOU3E OF REPRESENTATIVES

On Tuesday, Mr Ballance moved on the motion for going .into Committee of Supply — “ That.in the opinion of Ibis House the primage duty is unnecessary, and is a distinct breach of the understanding arrived at when it was first imposed ; (2) that further retrenchment is imperatively demanded, and can be effected without impairing the efficiency of the Public Service ; (3) that the retention of the property tax in its present form and the land policy pursued by the Government alike impede the progress of the country.” After saying that if the amendment should be carried nobody expected that Ministers on the benches would leave them, he expressed regret at the state of the Premier’s health, and said that the determination the Ministerial party had come to had placed the House in an anomalous position. They would all have liked to see the Premier in bis place that night, and able to take part in the debate; but he blamed the Ministry for having placed the House in its present position. Deferring to the Financial Statement, he asked what the present Ministry had done to remove the false impression which was afloat regarding the condition of the colony. As to the surplus, he (Mr Ballance) asserted there was none. The primage duty had been accounted for, but the liabilities of the year had not been taken into account. He quoted from figures to prove tfes there was £S4,QOQ defejenpy in the land revenue for two years by the Premier’s own showing. Taking all the items into consideration, the hon. gentleman made a net deficiency of £18,689. He referred at spiqe length to transactions ip the feuds Department qpd gajd fferp was a deficiency in the estimate of the Minister of Lands. As to borrowing, they were told that the Government were not prepared to recommend a system of ordinary borrewing, but prepared to revert to a system of extraordinary hqr,sowing. They were told that it would be wise to borrow for making roads to open up lands, and also for the purchase of Native lands. But he (Mr Ballance) thought s ffet hfltß these were fffepferous proposals. There has been great extravagance and illegality in the administration of the Government. He severely criticised the action of the Government in appointing Mr Edwqj»,ds as a Judge of fife fepreme Court, Goyerpnienf promised last session that the Native Department should be abolished, but they actually fppn(l that the estimates of ffet department were inqrpasfe hi ffe appointment of Natiye fend Court Judges, As to the Defence Department that had i spent nearly half a million of money in making fortifications, yet the Goi vernment wanted to go further. His opinion was that tfey were amply defended, at present for all purposes, i If e strongly condemned the proposal i to send delegates to the Federation > Convention, on the ground that the 1 colony had already decided against 1 j fedqratjop. Opting to the property ‘ be asserted that Government , should have made progress towards 1 changing the inpidpnpp pi taxation. 1 D e adyopatpd a Wad tax as the best fprm of taxation, and contended that • it was the duty of Government to i announce some policy for the conf stituencies to consider at the next ; election. But whether the Governi ment did so or not, the property tax ■ question would occupy large attention 1 during those elections. 'Jhe land ■ settlement question was referred to > at great length. The policy of the > present Minister, was that the more

[land alienated from the colony the more successful the land policy would be; but he (Mr Ballance) asked whether that was a policy suited to the colony. The number of settlers was at the present time decreasing, and yet the Government had the boldness to declare that their land policy compared favorably with that of their predecessors. In short the Government had no idea of land settlement, and they were promoting dummyism instead of stopping it Ho thought that the only remedy for the present state of things was an immediate dissolution, vs twenty-one members were now sitting in the House who had no right to sit there After speaking for one hour and a half Mr JBallance moved his amendment, and resumed his seat. Mr Richardson pointed out that Mr Ballance did not refer to those points on which substantial retrenchment could be made. The late Government had stated that it was possible to effect a saving of £350,000. The present Government had made a saving of nearly £300,000. Mr Bal lance’s speech was briefly this; There was no surplus, there should be more retrenchment, and in condemnation of the Crown lands administration. He disputed Mr Balance's as to the deficiency, and showed that in any case there would be a surplus of £6OOO according to Mr Ballance’s own figures, fie thought that the Government proposals for reading the lands of the country were very reasonable ones. Last session Mr Ballance had stated that a sure test of success in land settlement was the number of agricultural holdings, but he (Mrßichardson) now stated that last year there were 400 agricultural holdings in excess of the largest average of any year for the last four years. Referring to the perpetual lease system, he said that as that stood now there would be practically no freehold acquired under it for twenty-nine years. He desired to show that large areas were in the market, and that there was no reason for anyone to leave the country because they could not get land. Dummyism did not exist, he was glad to say, at present to anything like the extent complained of, and the Government were as anxious as any hon. gentleman to stop it, Mr Reeves (St. Albans) referred to the fact that the leader of the House had not replied to Mr Ballance’s speech. As to the land administration of the Government they had had three distinct systems of land selling in Canterbury. Each system was worse than the others. The result was that the province of Canterbury, which should be one of the most flourishing districts in the colony, was now one of the most depressed and stagnant. Ha remarked that the utter lack of enterprise in the colony, and the exodus of. our people, was evidence that the colony was not in a hopeful condition. Mr Kerr moved the adjournment of the debate. The House rose at 1145 p.m.