POLITICAL ADDRESS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2119, 1 November 1890, Page 2

POLITICAL ADDRESS.

MR A. E. G. RHODES AT TEMOKA

Mr A. B. G. Rhodes, one of the candidates for the Geraldine constituency at the approaching election, addressed a meeting of electors at the Volunteer Hall, Terauka, on Thursday evening. There was a very large and representative attendance, the meeting being a most orderly one. Mr James Blytb, chairman of the Town Board, occupied the chair, and in a few preliminary remarks urged upon the electors the necessity of paying careful attention to the views of the candidates addressing them, as the country was in a most critical condition. He bespoke for Mr Rhodes a patient hearing, such as they had always hitherto accorded the several gentlemen addressing them. Mr Rhodes, who was greeted with applause, then came forward and said:—

Mr Chairman and Gentlemen, —I am present this evening in a two-fold capacity : first as your representative for the past three years, and secondly as a candidate for your suffrages at the approaching election. Prior to giving a retrospect of the last session I may be permitted to mention the loss the colony and this district in particular has sustained through the death of Mr Richard Turnbull, formerly member for Timaru. Having known Mr Turnbull nearly all my life the few words I have to say before the turmoil of the election begins may not be deemed inappropriate. I shall always remember the kindly sympathy .he displayed towards me when 1 entered the House, and his willingness whenever possible to co-operate with and assist me in any matter of interest to the .... district. (Applause). The announcement of bis death was received with universal expressions of regret, not only in the House, but throughout the provincial district of Canterbury. The last session was almost entirely wasted by lengthy, and for the most part wearisome, discussion, principally on three subjects —(i) A no-confidence motion ; (2) Mr Hutchison’s charges against the Government; (3) The “ skinflints ” attempt to cut down salaries. The NO-CONFIDENCE DEBATE took place upon a motion of Mr Ballance’s, but it never went to a division. If carried it would have put tbe country to the expense of & double session, and I am sure the country did not wish that. The Government promised to hold the elections as early as possible, and call the House together immediately after the end of the financial year, viz ,in April. The election, however, has since been delayed for a few weeks. The rolls, owing to the alteration of boundaries and other causes, were found to be in such a bad stale that time was needed to rectify them, and to enable those whose names were omitted to register their claims to vote. In this district about 500 names have since been put on the roll. Into THE HUTCHISON CHAKHES

I should not have gone this evening were it not that Air Hutchison’s last speech, that ©f August 22nd, has been widely circulated through this constituency by my opponents with a statement that there has been no answer to the charges contained therein. With the nature of these charges the bulk of those here present have doubtless made themselves acquainted. No doubt it is unfortunate that Ministers or members of Parliament should be largely indebted to public companies or even to individuals, but I hardly think that a democratic country like New Zealand is prepared on that account to debar them from holding public office. There seems to be little doubt of the fact that members not only of the present but of the previous ministries have been largely indebted to the Bank of New Zealand, but it has not been proved that on account of this indebtedness the ministers have financed the Public Account in the interest of the bank

and not to the interest of the country. Until a p'ima facie, case could be shown that the public funds had been manipulated ia the interest of the bank the House refused to allow the private indebtedness of ministers to be enquired into. I think j®u will admit that until maladministration has been proved cause for such maladministration should not be sought for, especially when the course proposed would expose the private accounts of numbers of persons besides those | actually concerned, Mr Hutchison declined to go on with the proof of maladministration and the enquiry fell through. Nothing was clearly proved except that a committee of the House of Eepresentatives is an unsatisfactory

tribunal before which to try charges against members of the House. Personally I believe the charges are unfounded, and that the memorandum by the Colonial Treasurer convincingly proyed such to be the case. The tables therein contained were furnished by Mr Gavin, the secretary to the Treasury. If the charges could be anything like proved I should certainly be prepared to oust the (Applause). I am afraid there is not time this evening to gp through Mr Hutchison’s last speech, but I will show how full of inaccuracies it is. The first matter dealt with is the New Plymouth Harbor Loan. The advance wa-» made to prevent the defail t of the Harbor Board affecting the million pouveraion Loan. This advance may have ■ been a mistake, but the Premier was not alone to blame!

for it. Before the advance was made the whole matter was laid before the Public Accounts Committee, and the Premier took Mr Ballance’s opinion upon the matter. He (the Premier) stated to the committee that as Mr Ballance agreed with him that the advance should be made he would take the responsibility without any expression of opinion from the Public Accounts Committee. A notice of motion had been given that the Government should not make the advance, but the committee refused to express an opinion upon this, and Mr Larnach moved the previous question, Mr Ballance voting with him. ' As proof that Mr Ballance was at that time in favor of the advance I may quote a passage from Hansard in which he admits it. [Passage quoted]. I can vouch for the truth of this, as I was present on the committee at the time. Even if the advance were a mistake there was no corruption on the part of the Government, for the leading members of both sides of the House were convinced of the expediency of the course. The next serious charge was that ef aiding the Bank of New Zealand with money. This is the main charge, and was fully answered by the memorandum of the hon, the Colonial Treasurer, which showed that during the two years and and a half the present Government have been in office, from the Bth October, 1887, to the 31st March, 1890, the daily average balance in the London Public Account was £134,860; the daily average balance of the late Government for the three years they were in office being £254,000 —almost double. Of the moneys at credit of all the Government accounts at Wellington, the average daily balance was £378,573 ; the late Government’s, £428,357: and of such moneys in excess of the limit of £400.000, and on which no interest was allowed by the bank, the excess in the Government’s case was for 299 days, with a daily average of £51,368; in the previous Government’s it wae for 608 days, with a daily average of £133,880 —more than two and a half times greater than the present Government in amount and double the length of time. From January to Jane, 1888, the average daily, balance of the Government accounts as a whole in Wellington and in London was Jt.618,000, while the daily average during the whole term of office of the late Government was £682,000. So that as a matter of fact the balances daring the term of office of the present Government remaining unproductive were two and a half times less than similar balances retained by their predecessors. To show what reliance can be placed upon Mr . Hutchison’s figures, I find that in 'speaking of the above statement he declares that there was excluded from the compilation of the average daily balances in "Wellington of the present Government the last day of the financial year 1887-8, that is the 31st day of March, 1888, the very day upon which the bank made up its half-yearly balance. This day, upon which there was a large balance at the bank, and on which the £350,000 mentioned by Mr Hutchison was paid in from the Colonial Bank, was not excluded from the calculation. The 31st March, 1890, when the balance was £427,720, was excluded. Had this been included it would only have raised the average balance for the whole term by £55, viz,; £ Total sum of the daily balance of the public account and other Government accounts at Wellington fr<un 9th October. 1887, toSJJi March, 1890 342,230,622 Balanee on Slat Match, 189 J 427,720 £342,658,342 Average daily balance (905 days) £578,628

' I think it is hardly necessary to i follow Air Hutchison through his lengthy statement about deficiency bills, but to enable any of you unversed in the subject to follow this portion of the charge, which was fully answered in the House, I may state 1 that deficiency bills are issued in aid of revenue, and are given when there is not sufficient cash in the consolidated account to meet the liabilities There [may be plenty of cash in thb bank to the credit of the consolidated fund, but the Controller will not issue a voucher for payment unless the money to meet the same has been brought to the credit of the revenue by means of a deficiency bill‘ or otherwise. When Air Hutchison complains that because the late Government had borrowed £600,000 from the Bank of New Zealand there was no necessity to issue deficiency bills for £320,000 in October, 1887, to pay interest in Bngland, it shows that he did not know the meaning of deficiency bills. What really happened was that Sir Julius Yogel had made arrangements for supplying the treasury with the neces? sary cash, but this could not be used as revenue unless made available by deficiency bills, and £320,000 was by. this means used in aid of revenue, £295,000 of which went to pay interest in London, aud practically this amount was merely a transference of funds, and the money received for the deficiency bills was not additional borrowing. As a matter of fact it appears that tfip present Government have not a}Jowed the Bank of New Zealand an unusual amount of public money. If they bad done so there would have been some excuse, and it must have been in the interest of the colony to do so, as the

failure of the Bank must have been a National calamity. That this is no prejudiced view of the case is evinced by the fact- that Sir Robert Stout ■poke to » similer effect at Invercargill 1 think, and also, in a letter to the New Zealand r J imes, under date 22nd May, 1888,hesays in regard to the Bank

of iNew Zealand—“ I have no interest direct or indirect in this institution. Its members, 1 believe, have always been politically opposed to me, and at the last election voted against me and those who supported me. But why should this colonial institution be criticised as it has been ? It is, I believe thoroughly sound and strong. If it were weak it would pay this colony handsomely t<v strengthen it, even if it had to give half a million or more, but it is an institution of onr own and hence it must be abused. I hope the colonists will set their faees against this abuse of New Zealand and its institutions —an abuse that is to blame for half our depression.” THE SKINT LINT REDUCTION".

By far the greater part of the session was occupied by an attempt to reduce the estimates in the House. Before going into this question it is only fair to state that the Government bad reduced the expenditure to an extent never contemplated last election. The Treasurer claimed to have reduced the public ezpenditure for 1888-9 as compared with 1886-7 by £298,000. This includes some items, such as subsidies to local bodies, which are not really savings to the country, but have been shifted from the Consolidated Fund to the local bodies. But even allowing for all such doubtful items there must have been reductions to the extent of some £200,000, and I think the Government deserve great credit for their economical administration. But as it was necessary that our expenditureshouldbe reduced to the narrowest limit I and several others asked the Government to reduce the Estimates by £50,000, and after some negotiations they promised to do so. Notwithstanding this the Opposition determined to make the reductions in the House, and absolutely wasted a great part of the session. The estimates were eventually reduced by about £46,000. In the course of the debate it was clearly demonstrated that it is impossible for the House, the bulk of whose members have no knowledge of the departmental work, to assist much in definitely settling individual salaries. As the result of some such attempt we find that the salaries of seme officers in active service were reduced to an amount bat little more than that which they are entitled to as retiring allowances. The result will probably be that they will retire upon their pensions, and their places will have to be filled by other officials on full pay. This is clearly far from desirable. A notable instance of the incompetence of tho House to deal with the details ef the estimates came to light in con-

nection with the Audit Departmeat The vote for this department was reduced by £945. The Controller and r Audifeor-General, on receipt of a request from the Colonial Secretary to draw up a scheme for the distribution of the sum of £5265 allocated to his department, declared his utter inability to do so without the dismissal of three or four clerks, and the discontinuance of a large part of the audit of the public moneys. In the course of a letter to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary upon the subject he stated that the older clerks who had given the bestlpart of their lives to the public service, and whose experience and knowledge of the laws they were assisting in administering rendered their services of special value, were not receiving any higher remuneration than they would be earning in any other business to which they had devoted such long and faithful service. He also submitted figures, into the details of which I need npt go, showing that the Audit Department of New Zealand was carried oh at a considerable less expense than the majority of the Australasian colonies, and secondly that it was a means of recovering considerable sums to the public chest, so that in gome years the Audit Department had not cost a farthing. When it is con sidered that the vote for the department was the subject of a long and acrimonious debate a faint idea may be arrived at of how valuable time has been wasted. I have on nearly every occasion on which I have addressed you urged the necessity of some system of cloture being introduced. It seems monstrous that a small section ot memDers should be allowed to monopolise a largo properties* of the time ot tne House, and prevent useful legislation being gone on with. (Hear, hear). In dealing with the subject of

LAND LEGISLATION 1 must remind you that when the amendment giving choice of tenure was carried in the House it was never for « moment con-te nplatid that owners of 640 acres of first-cLss land or 2000 acres of second class land could purchase any Crown lands. It was found, however, that they were able to enter into C'»m-

petit ion with others, Judge Williams ruling that there was no first or s;conie class land before the Act of 1887. This is undoubtedly a serious flaw in (ho Act, Bad the Government in the following session carried a clause amending this through the Lower House, but it w*s thrown out iu the Upper House, When the Bi 1 came down to us ( gain the Governpient gave way to saye thp other ptauses of uieir B U. I opposed this, and was fully prepared to fight > his matter over and carry out the original mention of the Act, In UvnUrbury. unfor unaleiy, there yrm very little land left fit for settlement. Y*ry fow at the 1 >st eiec tiou appeared to realice this j in fact, only

(hone (laying an intimate knowledge if locality nave any idea of how far bark and purchases have been made. In North Cu) f e>bury the Midland Railway Company have the control of the greater part of the Crown lend, and I think it will always be a slur on the Stoot-Yogel Administration that in the original contract with th» Midland Railway Company they did not put in settlement conditions, so is to prevent the alienation to large land-

owners of any land editable fer settlement. Nearly all the land that has been ho d has gerne into the hands of adjoining owners. I»i South Canterbury that in he neighborhood of Geraldine was probably the best, but it w«s by no means fit for small settlement. This has, on the wi.ole, been fairly dealt with. Certain charges of dummyism in connection with 'he disposal of Canterbury land have been made, but 1 will de*l with that subject iarer on. In the North Ithsnd settlement has gone on at an enormous rale. The following s : atis : icß attached to the Financial Statement show that there has been a

large inceaee in ngricnlural hnidincs luring the past three years :—ln 1887 here were 33,332 holdings of over an acre ©ccupie and cultivated, and in 1890 there wer* 38,178, showing an increase of nearly 1650 holdings settled yearly. There was evidently a large amouct of Grown Isnd dealt with, tho greater part being for bor& Ida settlement, although ao doubt a pr porhon of that sold is not yet occupied. The return of agricnlinraltur .I holdings this y«ar shows an increase of 2,430. The average increase for the past tun years is 1260, and the largest increase for any year up to the precsnl was in 1886, when it amounted to 1950, so that we have this year ao increase of 50G on any previous year. The urgent amendments we want in the existing land laws are—First, stronger

regulations precluding persona at present owsiug 640 icres of first-class land ( hut is, land valued at £1 per acres, and which roust not be confounded with what m*y be c‘Med first-class land in this district) or 2000 usres second-class land from taking up Crown land at all. In the second place the Land Board should have be right to examine all app'icmts on oath, so as to asc rtain the bora fides of their applicadoo, and they should also be empowered to allot the land applied for to tbn moat suitable sett er. Again, the board shou ! d have power to refuse to grant transfer?, ev-n where tha freehold has been obtained, for three or four years

after purchase frara the Grown. Numerous instances have occurred where land has been allotted to presumably suitable applicants who, even before they bare acquired a title, transferred thsir interest to others for a slight consideration. The land board should also be furnished with frequent reports upon the position of land settlement-—reports cf who is using the and that bus bean sold for cash, and in case the oiiginsl applicant is not in occupation an enquiry should bs held into the circumstance. These amendments, 1 hiuk, if st'tctly enfsrced, would be suf-

ficient to 'make the present Land Act workable *nd suitable to oar requirements. There must be no hesitation in enforcing the law, and the board should be instructed to prosecute all offenders most ruthlessly. la fact, an amendment should provide machinery that would necessitate the laud board holding an enquiry whenever there is the slightest suspicion of dummyiera er attempt to evade the Act, and taking legal proceedings without rofareece to the Minister of Lands. There seemed little doubt that a good deal of BUMMVISM

was being carried so in New Zealand, so in conjunc ton with other members I asked that an enquiry should be held. As perhaps mos r of you are aware the matter was referred to the Waste Lands Committee, and a most exhaustive enquiry has been held. A Parliamentary report of the er.q nry has been printed, which possibly smua of you have read. It took a lon/ time to procure ail the evidence, and it was consequently 1 vte in the session before our report was presented to the House. The following is our report, and it is based on a resolution moved by Mr J. Mackenzie and myself in the Waste Lands Committee, ‘ The Waste Lands Committee reported that the evidence adduced before them during the Dumrayiam enquiry having shown conclusively that the Land Acts have been in a number of instances evaded by false declarations made with a view to dummying, the committee is of opinion that it is th« duty of the Government to take steps to enforce the law, and recommend that offenders against whom a charge will lie be prosecuted, with the view to putting a stop to like practises in the future.” I do not know what steps the Government intend to take in the matter, but after the strong recommendation made they are bound to try a test csss. SMALL SETTLEMENTS, My work on the Was'e Lands Committee daring the past three years has convinced mu of the necessity of making some provision in certain parts ef tbs colony for holding of a sufficient area of good land for homes. Especially should settlement upon the land be encouraged in places like (his, where there is a scarcity of work during certain seasons of the year, and where, moreover, the land is likely to be legitimately cultivated by those who thoroughly understand it. To place a population upon the land who are ignorant of the common laws of agriculture is merely to court disaster, I may frankly statu that my opinions upon this head have bvcoqm considerably modified through the experience I have gained during the past three years, In this respect I trust that my work upon the Waste Lands Committee has not been unprofitable. It must be borne in mind that for purposes of such settlement no little money will be required, and, although I am strongly opposed to further borrowing, [should be prepared to countenance it to a certain extent to give effect to a sqheme likely to give a fair trial of land settlement, say, in Canterbury or North Otago. I m 'y here f.t»te that, except for such s purpose or for the opening by reading or for the purchase of native lands, I au» mterly opposed to further borrowing. During the lust three years the Government have been tapering off the expenditure of loan money. 1 have systematica 1 y opposed the construction of new railways during the last three years, and I «u» s ill nf opinion that we should sfop Wilding fresh rail ways. I have on previous occasions given account ef ray opposition t i tne Otago Central and other railways, and am still of opinion that yfe should burrow po tporo rqoney at present for cons ! < noting public works. Eventually it will be necessary to go on with the

North Island Trunk line, but this should not be pushed on into the Maori country until the land has been bought from the natives. Daring the last three years we have placed on-revenue a great part of tho cost of erecting public buildings, and we must place on revenue a good deal ®f expenditure previously paid for out of loan moneys; but if we are to buy

i Native land La tbe North Island, or private property in tbe South Island, some money will have to be borrowed for

the purpose. In connection with the question of land settlement I may mention that 1 have been accused of voting against the interests of this district in refusing to vote for a certain £IO,OOO. I de not think that this question has bean properly understood. This proposed vote of £IO,OOO was for the purchase of private property for reaaleby theGovornannt, and my pledges at last election were so explicit open this subject that I could not honorably support each a scheme, even at the risk of incurring the accusation that has

been made. The proposed vote was, if I remember right;, on the Supplementary Estimates, and only circulated a few • hours before it cune before the Houses; and there was no scheme propounded by the Government. No legislation was proposed, #nd it was practically too late in the session to bring in any legislation, [t has been stated that >he vote was lost by my vote ; se, out of curiosity, I looked up Han-ard, and saw that it was lost by two votes, and that many extreme Radicals, mentioning Sir George Grey, either spoke or voted agaiust it. I may, moreover, point out that such a sum was

totally inadequate to serve any purpose I of legitimate settlement, as it would of necessity have to be divided among several districts. At last election, and even two years ago, when some of our financial institutions were in trouble, it would Mayo been very inadvisable to have held oat hopes of the Govern- J ment relieving them of their speculations. Many members belieyod when the vote be I fora the House some such land was ready to be off-red to the Government, I need

hardly say at a price far in excess of us value. For this reason alone it was perhaps as well that the financial atmosphere should be cleared befoie aoy such purchase was made. It will be readily seen that the legislation on this subject must be of the most careful and definite description. The utmost publicity mast be given to the proposed purchases, if any, by the Goveroment, otherwise infiuite jobbery may result.

EDUCATION RESERVES. The manner in which Education Reserves have been dealt witb has been the cause of some little complaint, and the matter was spoken of on several occasions during the last election, A section ef the Education Reserves Leasing Bill of last session provides that before re-laasing any farms the commissioners are to send full particulars to the Governor ©f their plans, and if it appears to him desirable in the interest of settlement he can direct that the farm be sub-divided into allotments of smaller area. This wifi enable the residents of any district to show cause for sub-division of any reserves in their neighborhood, but as they are to be let by auction it may cause some injustice to present tenants. It has bean the practice of the Commissioners of Education Reserves in the case of reserves let before to give renewals after fixing the rent. If they have to bid at suetion they will be r»ck rented for their own improvements. I think there should be some legislation by which they should be allowed compensation for value of the homestead at any rate. At present lam opposed to FEDERATION

with the Australian colonies, although ultimately I hope we may bo able to arrange a Customs Tariff giving ua freetrado in natural products between the several colonies. I certainly thought it our duty to seed delegates to the conference held upon the subject after having been invited to do so. We should at all hfZirds maintain friendly relations with our continental neighbors. In many matters of legisla'ion, especially with regard to th« interchange of stock, our counection is bound t« be of an intimate character. My views on EDUCATION are fairly well known to my constituents. I have sys'ematicallysuppoited the present education system and opposed the Government proposals of raising the school age. My views are unchanged, and I regret that I cannot fall in with the wishes of my Roman Catholic friends by supporting grants to their schools. The Pr rate Schools Bill received a great deal of support from the last Parliament, but I am convinced that if the present elections pronounce in its favor it will entirely destroy the present system and ultimately result in closing all the smaller country schools. The end will be a worse education at a higher coat. At present the large town schools cost leas than the capitation, and the balance goes to defray the deficiency on country schools. Take the West Christchurch school, for instance, with an average attendance of 1201 children only costing £2861 12a 6d or £2 7s 8d per head, a saving of £1636 7s to spend on country schools, while Port Levy school, average attendance of 12, total annual expenditure £97, or £8 la 8d per head, ft seems quite clear ca me that if you have a lot of denominational schools in the towns drawing full capitation the country schools must be given up. The education question is vitally imp° r L ant tq the working men qf this co ouyj the wealthy wifi he always able to educate their children, and 1 must warn the working men that there are two factions at present trying to ruin the system, namely, those who want to top and tail, viz., raise the school age and redqce the standards, and Mr balance and others whq are going for denominationalisna. I don’t know which faction are the most dangerous, but I believe the educational system has never been suqh danger as at present. A nutter which came permanently before the House at the end of the session was

THE STRIKE. Most people, I believe, now regret that New Zealand was dragged into it. Unions are signs of the progress qf tfie age, but unless they working with some broad fundamental principle, and to remedy some real grievance, they cannot enlist the sympathy of the outside public, and unless the strikers have the sympathy of the public it is hardly possible for them to b 0 successful. The Lohdon dockers had the sympathy of the public and they Bucceedtd. I scarcely think it necessaryto go over the history of the strike iu New Zealand, as the matter is familiar to

yon all. It appears to me, however, that there must be absolute freedom for aoy individual to work when and where he wishes to do bo. A strike here whenever there may be some little derangement in Australia cannot but have a bad effect upon our colony. The effect of the present a rike cannot but be disastrous, not only in the direct loss to farmers through the c'osiug of their general market, but through the disorganisation of trade generally and consequent blow to our credit. It will eertainiy take the colony a long time to recover from the effects, as the public will be chary of investing their money in enterprises likely to be much affected by labor questions. It is a still greater pity that the strike occurred »t a

period when we were rapidly improving our position as a colony. Our financial position as a colony had greatly improved, and our credit was again established. Our exports in comparison with our imports have largely increased during the past few years, as the following figures will clearly show :—From 1881 to 1886 there was no excess of exports over imports, but in 1887 they exceeded the imports by £620,654. in 1888 by £1,825,425; in 1889 by £3,042,163, and for the h If year ending June 30, 1890, by £3,100,050. Much has bean said also about the decrease of our population by emigration over immigration, I find, however, that for only one year, viz., 1888, has this been the case. In that ye>*r there w«s a decrease of 9,175, Last year and in 1887 there was a small gain. But in 1888 the natural increase by excess of binLs over deaths was 1394, so even in that year our population really increased by 4,019, and 1 find that from the year 1885 to 1889 inclusive there was a total increase of population in this colony of 63,237. For my own part

I have no doubt bur that a fair settlement of tiie labor difficulty will be arriyed at, and that with economical administration, borrowing restricted to the narrowest limits, and lastly, but by far the most important, a judicious settlement of the people upon the land, the colony will make even greater progress than hitherto. CONCLUSION. In conclusion I have to thank you most heartily for the patient hearing you have accorded me. I have always been courteously received here, and 1 trust that the same good feeling will be displayed towards my opponent. Mr Rhodes on resuming his seat was loudly applauded, as he was also several times during bis speech.

QUESTIONS.

The chairman then intimated that Mr Rhodes was prepared to reply to any questions that the electors desired to put to him.

In reply to Mr James Davis Mr Rhodes said that he was not prepared to moys in the direction of Town and Road Board Districts being placed on the sama footing as electoral districts in regard to voting. The various boards h-id to deal solely with the money received from the property in the district, and it was only fair that the large property holders should have some extra say in the matter. Replying to Mr H. Goodey Mr Rhodes could not say from memory what amount was paid under the properiy tax in respect of unimproved land heid by companies. He would be happy to supp'y Mr Goodey with the returns upon the subject. iTor his own part be was prepared to advocate any measures that would cause them to pay a fair share. As a matter of fact be believed that many properties were undervalued. This was partly oa account of the valuators being underpaid. He thought that perhaps a better plan would be to appoint valuators from man outside the district, and that all valuations should be made as early as possible, and (bat every publicity should be given to such valuations prior to the sitting of the assessment courts.

He had no opportunity nor was there any necessity to justify the Government in their appointment of Judge Edwards. As a matter of fact the question never went to tha vote. He was of opinion, as he hud stated on a previous oceusioo, (hat the Government were wrong in making the appointment before the House met. A position like that filled by Judge Edwards should, he considered, bo held by a Supremo Court Judge, and the Government should have the services of as good a man as possible. He certainlysaidtiiatsincethe appointment h>d been made that bia salary should be appropriated to him. There was no doubt that such an appointment was necessary. It was, perhaps, not according to the general idea of constitutional law but there was no doubt, however, that it was a legal one. Mr Rhodes was not aware that it was legal to plump at elections of Town Boards. He did not believe in the system, and was opposed to it. Ho believed in the eight boors system, but did not aeo how it was to bo brought into operation by the Eight Hours Bill, He would not debar a man from working more thun eight hoars if he liked. The Bin in its present form was practically valueless.

Replying to a batch of questions handed up in writing Mr Rhodes said that he voted for an alteration of the land laws befoie any of the Canterbury lands were dealt with. He had urged the Government to fight the matter out with the Upper House, and he did not <jar« whethsrit was acase of Mr Brydone or any* one else dummyiog> the person dummying should he prosecuted. He had advocated a prosecution in any case. He would not support the immediate stoppage of the sale of Crown Lauds and the cancellation of existing provisions for conversion of perpetual lease holdings into freeholds. He was prepared to advocate a measure preventing the transfer of lands taken up for settlement purposes until some reasonable tim-i had elapsed. He believed the reason why raapy people elected to take up lapd under the perpetual lease system was with the view of making it freehold at some time. He saw no reason why a man who was economical and saved his money should not do so. Ha opposed the one man one vote measure because he did not believe in it. As a matter of fact the Government had only borrowed one million under a fresh loan and about £400,000 by debentures. The House practically came to the conclusion that fresh borrowing would have to ha dene. He did not vote on the question. Was certainly in favor of having the railways managed better, but considered that last year ihe Commissioners hardly had a fair trial. If the railways were to be run as a mi're money-making machine he should vote tor “ Backing’’ the Commissioners. He would not pledge himself to try and have them turned out of office,

but would do bis best to have the railways managed in the interests of the farmers aad the public. He was perfectly prepared to support the triennial parliament system. He would not advocate for an increased number of representatives in the House. Was not prepared to aay that it was against the iatereafs of the people that a reduction in’the number ot representatives h>d been made. He did not agree with the premises of thequeation, which assumed that the reduction of members to 70 left the representation of the country in the hands of the moneyed classes. Io regard to the Conservatives in the Lowejr House refusing to inquire into the Ward-Hislop affair, he stated that when the question came before them a committee of the tipper House were really investigating the charges. He did not believe a Committee ©f the House was a proper tribunal to investigate such charges. He had told the

Government that they could not depend upon hie vote if a direct charge was made. Mr Hislop resigned and his constituency re-elected him. With that the Conservatives had nothing to do, Replying to a question ss to how he intended men thrown out of employment through a combination of; offices to live, in view of the fact that wo were already in a world-wide revolution because they were without means of support, be said that he should like to know special cases. He could not compel employers not to “sack” men. If they were good men they would probably get employment. Practically the Government of a country were bound to support people unable to exist otherwise.

The Stati bad practically the power to resume posseession of freeholds under Mr Ballance’s Land Act 1885. He was in favor of Government giving a fair trial to a limited resumption of private lands for settlement, but there must be the utmost publicity,!!) that all transactions might be fair and above board.

He bad no objection to support a Tenants’ Bights Bill so long as existing rights were conserved. He would not promise to introduce such a measure if returned, as the man with a private Bill which be had no prospect of carrying through, was an unmitigated nuisance. He would be willing to Bound the House and see if there was a prospect of such a measure being carried.

Theoretically he was: in favor of putting a special tax on absentee landlords. He would support any system that could be devised that could reach absentee landlords without injuring those capitalists whose tnuney they desired to procure, but no workable scheme had eyer been presented. He should have no objection, personally, to give a return of election expenses. He did not think such a return would be interesting reading, nor would it be of much value, as if the return were to be made with the view of stopping corruption in all probability the account would be " cooked.” Ha would be prepared to advocate a measure compelling farmsrs or squatters to provide proper sleeping accommodation for their employee. He did not think, however, that the men would care to have beds and bedding provided. They would probably prefer their own blankets. Since the Government were attending to the sanitary arrangements of factories, aud so forth, he saw no reason why the accommodation and so forth should not be included. This concluded the questions. VOTB3 OB' THANKS, ETC. Mr J. Talbot then moved a vote of thanks to Mr Bhodes for bis address, and an expression of confidence in him as their representative. He had on a similar occasion recom

mended him for the suffrages of the electors, and he was pleased that bis recommendation had been endorsed. He bad given a very lucid exposition of his views ou the several questions of the day, and be (Mr Talbot) thought that be had much improved sines he had been in training. Us trusted the present contest would be conducted on straightforward principles, and that, whoever might be returned, no ill-feeling would result.

Mr Guild heartily agreed with Mr Talbot’s remarks, and begged to second the notion. Few' men of ability and and education bad the time or money to give to Parliament. They had a great many endeavoring ta represent them. He did not wish to be persona', nor confine hie remarka to this conetitotenoy, but when he heard candidates professing the working men’s cry be generally considered they hud an axe to grind. They were generally men who bad failed in other pursuits, and made the House of Representatives a Refuge for the Destitute. Mr Rhodes had a stake in the country, bat with others it was “Headsl win and tailsyou lose.” They were all working men, some working with their beads and others with their hands. (Applause.) Mr Twomey; Did you refer to me, Mr Guild ? (Great laughter.) Mr Guild said some people took everything to themselves. He meant nothing personal. Mr Twomey said he was sorry he misunderstood Mr Guild, but at the sane time he would say that in a colony where the law made all man equal, and where each man had one vote and no more, it was the height of absurdity and a most unca'led-for thing to talk about setting class against class. (Great applause.) The motion was then put, and declared carried.

Mr Rhodes moved a vote of thanks to the chair, and the meeting terminated.