POLITICAL ADDRESS AT TIMARU.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2342, 12 April 1892, Page 4

POLITICAL ADDRESS AT TIMARU.

Mr Hall-Jones, the member for Timaru, addressed his constituents last Thursday evening, there being a moderate attendance, and the mayor occupied the chair. At the conclusion of his address, which was langthy, a vote of thanks and confidence was passed, on the motion of Mr D. M. Ros;. The following synopsis of the speech is taken from the Timaru Herald :—Mr HallJones was applauded as he walked up the room, when he rose, and frequently during tfe delivery of his address. He had, he said. to give an account of his stewardship, as hehad not met them publicly since last election, but he could not, as the Mayor had suggested—it was not his duty to do ao —give them any information as to what the Government had been doing during the recess. As this was his first meeting since tae election, he must use the opportunity to thank the electors for the honor they bestowed upon him, and especially he thanked those who, unasked,unpaid, and uaknown to him, worked hard to secure hi 3 return. He then proceeded to review C3rtain features and doings of the present Parliament. The short January session Incondemned as utterly uncalled-for, but it was wanted by the Conservatives to enabl, them feo strengthen the Upper House in taeir favor, in view of the accession o labor members by the General Election. This purpose having- been served, the Conservative Premier resigned, after de olaring that he would meet the new House Tae Governor was petitioned not to accede to the wishes of tne beaten Ministry, but he replied that he was responsible to no om in tne colony—an incident which showe that the sooner the people had a voice in the choice of the Governor the better The first business to be done during that «hort session was to elect a Speaker, am. he wa3 very pleased to see an old frienu elected to that honorable position, and he believed the selection was now approved by nearly every member of the House. Then followed the formation of the Ballance Ministry, which had been more abused by the Conservatives and the Conservative Press than any previous Ministry ia the colony; yet never before had the government been in the hands of men who had more at heart the interests of ever.) man, woman, and child in the colony. They sought no selfish ends, not the interests of any one class, and seeing this he had no hesitation in giving them his support. During the recess the Government prepared their Bills, and effected considerable retrenchment, not by a miserabla cutting down of salaries, but by a reduction of staff and amalgamation of offices. There were increases of pay to officers given extra duties, amounting only to about £GOO, and savings to the amouut of £15,000. (Applause). The last session he thought the most important New Zealand had ever seen, not only on account of its legislation, but because there sat in the House representatives from the ranks of labour. There were a large number of socalled labour representatives, but only five or six conspicuous for their earnest attention to their duties. Mr Hall-Jones then described at length the principles oi the Land and Income Assessment Bill The exemption for improvements would have been complete, but it was necessary to raise a certain sum by the tax. The Conservative Press tried hard to persuade the farmers that they would have to pay more under the new than under the old tax, but he was confident they would find this endeavour opposed by the facts. He gave instances of farmers of different areas from 100, 200, 300, and 4.00 acres, to show large reductions in the direct taxation. The farmers would see who were their friends when the tax: was demanded. There were ten farmers in the House, and nine of them were Government supporters. The Conservatives said the Government meddling would not end here, nor would it. The Government intended to do all they could to help the farmers to reach their markets, especially through the railways, when they jrot the opportunity, which would be pretty eoon. They would not increase the farmers' burdens, but do what they could to lessen them. The graduated tax on the large estates he defended as a means of obtaining some return for the enhanced values given to those estates by the expenditure on immigration and public works. The large estates were held chiefly by absentee companies, and their profits left the colony. They wanted no large estates in New Zealand, where the area of good agricultural land was so limited. Such estates were a curse, and if the owners persisted in holding them to the disadvantage of the colony they must pay a heavier tax than that proposed by the present Act. The Land and Income Assessment Act might not be perfect; no new tax law could be. The property tax was twice recast and thrice amended, and if the new taxes pressed too heavily on any one class steps would be taken at once to remedy the defect, He next referred to the cry of the withdrawal of capital. Who started it ? Why, members of the Conservative party, and, alas, for their •patriotism ! it was done for the purpose of injuring the credit of the colony ; and then, like a pack of hounds, the Conservative Press took up the cry. (Laughter and applause). The London Times and Economist got hold of some cock-and-bull story about the new taxes, and the shareholders of big companies began to cry out, until there was a perfect howl. There was nothing in the taxation to justify the cry. It was got up for party purposes, and because they would have to pay what they had not paid before, a fairer share of the taxation. The Tory Press cried out, because they must live like other people; the shareholders did it because they would receive a little less in the way of dividends; and the London newspapers had been misinformed. Was it to the interest of the absentee companies or to the welfare of the people of New Zealand that the Government should give their atteation and energy ? The same cry would be raised no matter what new tax was proposed. It was quite an old story, and he could imagine two old Tories meeting one another, both with faces as Jong as fiddles, wringing their hands and staking their heads, and saying to one another " Tell me the old, o|Ld story." (Grp-at laughter). From its constant repetition they must get a great deal of satisfaction out of it. The withdrawal of capital was due to several causes, There might be a difficulty in renewing matured mortgages because land no longer had the fictitious values of past years ; the money nwrket might have hardened; there was a feeling of insecurity through the smashes m Australia and the default on Oamaru and New Plymouth local loans—it would be surprising if there were not such, a feeling. Bilt not even the most rabid Conservative could stretch his conscience sufficiently to enable him to blame the Government for any of these things. Then interest was falling here as advertisements (quoted) of money to lend in this district proved, small sums being now .offered at (i j nex cent. In one recent case within his j own knowledge there was keen competition between some of our banks to furnish a j large mm of money that was required, and J it was given at H per cent. There was i more money ia the country than could be , invested. Money was being withdrawn to ; reinvest; in tae Argentine, where 10 or 12

per cent, was paid, anil one large company hail given instructions for the transfer before the present Government came into ollieo. After the recent news from the Argentine, he wished them joy of the change. There had been no movement of capital except under the law of supply aud demand, and through circumstances over which the Government had no control, and with which they had no connection. The cry about double taxation of debentures had also ended in smoke. No matter what system of taxation we had, it would not be popular with those who had to pay it. He next referred to the Land Bill, whieh which was chiefly a consolidation measure, but contained new clauses to prevent dummy ism, to promote settlement, and to put a stop to speculation. The Bill passed the Lower House, but the Council struck out tiie vital points, aud as fchcy would not give way the Bill, was dropped. He explained the points in dispute, and then eulogised the real perpetual-lease provisions of the Bill— not a lease with;!, purchasing clause, as the present law provides for. He believed in the perpetual lease, pure and simple, and he hoped to see it carried next session. The Conservatives said that no one would take up land on such terms. Eut what were tire facts .' Within t,vo months of the House rising 150,000 acres were disposed of in lobs averaging 200 acres, and the trouble was that the land could not be surveyed fast enough. He was not a bit surprised that the Conservatives and the Conservative Press cried out agaiust this system ; it put a stop to the monopoly and speculation in land that had done so much to make a few richer and the many poorer. Another important clause was that providing for ■• one man one run" —meant todo away wit;i bhe aggregation of runs in tae hands of companies, the present system, which pur its six persons or companies to hold bhe leases of 125 runs, totalling nearly two million acres. The aggregation of runs allowed them to be worked cheaply, ami the increased profits went Home instead of being spread within the colony, and employing a much larger amount of labor. The Government were anxious to increase the number of those who have a direct interest in the soil, increasing production, and conferring benefit upon town and country, and no man had been more abused bhan Mr M'Kenzie by the Conservatives and the Conservative Press, simply because he did his duty. Mr Hall-Jones then spoke of the Electoral Bill, and its limitation of the franchise to a single qualification in order to simplify by-elections. The proposed penny post was next mentioned, and approved, as it seemed absurd to charge 2d for carrying a letter to the Washdyke and only 2£d to carry one to London. Post and telegraph should not be made sources _oc general revenue. They should be satisfied to make them pay their own expenses. The adoption of the penny posb was ouly delayed for a time; it would come into operation during the present year. Reform of the Legislative Council was his nexfc subject. The Bill introduced proposed that appointments be made for seven years only. He would wipe out the Council altogether. (Applause). Ho spoke strongly against the present Council, saying it did not represent one-tenth of the people of the colony, and if the Councillors stood for popular election not more than six out of the i. O would ever go back again. Some of the Councillors were men of high character and intellect, but others were as narrow-minded as could be found in the Southern Hemisphere. They could not expect such men to pass measures which would break down their • stronghold, the land monopoly, and destroy their favourite child, the dummy. How could they expect them to pass the Labour Bills'? They were mischievous because they represented no one; they should be wiped out. A second chamber was nevertheless desirable, as a revising-body, but it nrednot number more than 25 or 2(>, and it should be elective. It might be elected f.'.-om and by the elective House, or by this House from outside itself; but he would prefer that the election should be by the people; they would then get a different stamp of men from those in the present upper chamber. The provisions of the Land for Settlement Bill was next described. This Bill passed the House, but was thrown out by the Council by two to one. The Councillors would rather see the working men of New Zealand walkiug about the streets than upon a holding of their own, where they could utilise their spare time ; would rather see them become recipients of charitable aid, aid inmates of the old mea's homes, than give them a chance to get a bit of land where they could make provision for old age, and grow food for themselves and their families. As at present constituted the Council was an excre.ieuce, a fungus growth that should be cutaway from the constitutional system. It was of the greatest importance that such a measure should be passed. Dozens of men had asked him about land for settlement in the North Island, who would be only too glad to settle in this, their own district, if they could. They had seen during the late harvest a great scarcity of men, and it must become worse for the farmers if provision was nob made for settling workmen qn the land. The Reserves Exchange Bill did go some way in this direction, and he was glad to say that in a few days the plans would be ready for the subdivision into 70 lots of LSOO or 1100 acres near Waimate, and other reserves would be similarly dealt with as the leases fell in. Women's franchise was the next question dealt with. Mr Hall-Jones explaining that after weighing the arguments on both sides he voted for the Bill. He stated several of these arguments, and with reference to the claim that women must next be allowed to sit in the Hou.,e it they desired it, reminded his hearers that the head of the British Empire was a woman, and as for intelligence, he would back the first 20 '//omen ho met in the streets in Timaru against au equal number of Legislative Codncillors. He next turned to the question of payment of members, l and defended the Government measure for a yearly payment. He would prefer to see no increase made for the present Parliament, but if the colony could afford it the members should not be jytdd a penny less than 200 guineas a year." A member had many expenses, even his postage was no trifle, and unless the payment was liberal i labor members could not attend Parliament. He next replied to the charge of Ministerial exjU-avagauce in travelling expenses —the expense* v/ere only a few hundreds —and Ministers must travel if they would inform themselves of the real state of their .Departments. The Ballance Ministry was a working ministry, not mere figureheads, tttul jf t'Lcy spent si- penny in travelling got it bad-: somehow or other. A great deal had been made of Mr Seddon's trip to Milford Sound I in the Hinemoa. The Hiuemoa had to go there with stores for the prisoners ; there I had been sharp discussions in the House on the quantity and quality of the work done there, and Mr Scddon determined to go and see for himself what was going on. He (Mr Had-Jones) and other members j were invited to go, and went, but not at the expense of the Government. There was a scale of charges on the steamer for members of Parliament, but when they asked for their accounts, Captain. Fairchild said he had never been asked for accounts before. ' and that when he had shown members o,f

Parliament the scale of charges they had simply laughed at him. They got their accounts and paid them, and the Government got a very good profit on them. From what he saw of the work done by the prisoners, he should say that the sooner they were brought away and the work Ut by contract the better. Referring to the Bryce episode, he said there was no one to blame for it but Mr Bryce himself. Other members had previously been dealt with with greater severity for similar offences. They had heard a great deal about the scourge of the Government whip in that affair, but no pressure at all was used ; members voted just as they pleased. Mr Balance was as usual conciliatory, and he could say—it had never been said before —that but for Mr Ballance the vote of censure woul.l have been much stronger than it was. (Applause). The affair would have been dropped, aud would have blown over had Mr Bryce shown the least brace of regret. Mr Bryce's retirement made way for a better man to the leadership of the Opposition, Mr Rollesbon being better fitted to be loader thsn Mr Bryce. He emphatically denied the assertion that the Government party was disorganised at the end of the session, but admitted that the Government majority was nob so greaoassome divisions might lead some people to suppose; still the party was solid, and would pull through the next session, and the next. He would have liked to speak about several other matters, the Labour Bureau, which had obtained employment fof 2:»00 men in nine months; the Eight Hours Bi 1 !, which might be made acceptable by fixing eight hours as the limit, except when labour is scarce. The mill hands of the colony were specially mentioned, their twelve hour shirts being exceptional, and maintained ouly because two or three mills refused to agree with the rest to eight hours. The satisfactory state of the revenue, with its surplus of .£IOO,OOO above the estimate, and the as yet unknown, but certainly larger surplus over expenditure ; the wisdom of the appointment of Mr Carroll to the Executive, and the departure of Governor Onslow were spoken of. In conclusion he said the Government would try next session to pass all the Bills he had mentioned. The people were with them, and the Conservatives and their newspapers might call the Government party Socialist, and their policy consfication, robbery, a~id wrong ; they did not care about what they were called so long as the people were with them. They saw the power of the press in the Wellington election. It was people versus press, and the people won, as they must as long as they we~e united. The Conservative prophecies came to nothing ; one after another had come out untrue, and the Conservative papers would continue to be false prophets. They should remember that the leading article was only the written opinion of one man —(applause) of a man who was paid for writing, just as another was paid for shovelling clay. (Laughter and applause.) His responsibility was not to any newspapers but to the electors, and if he acquitted himself well he would again ask for a renewal of their confidence. Mr Hall-Jones sat down amid applause.