THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1892. NOTES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2390, 2 August 1892, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1892. NOTES.

Tlie Midland Railway Company are urging on Parliament their claims for altering their contract. Mr Guinness is to move a resolution for the appointment of a Select Committee on the subject. Ever since the company started in New Zealand they have never tired of asking for more. First the agreement of the Stout-Vogel Government with them was that the land adjoining the railway line should be given to them in alternate blocks. This was changed, so that they could pick the choice pieces out of it, but the Government reserved the power to themselves to proclaim, as Government land, any portion of the country which was deemed fit for mining purposes. The present Government, believing, no doubt, that the company were getting too much, have taken advantage of this power and reserved a certain area which is supposed to be auriferous, and hence the trouble. The company do not find the present Ministry such pliable tools as the representatives of monopolists, and they are appealing to Parliament to get further concessions. They got the route changed to suit themselves; they got the Abt system adopted to avoid having to bore a tunnel, and now they want the Government to guarantee them »L per cent, on the cost of the line when it is finished. A contract is a contract, and why should not the Midland Railway Company be made to carry out theirs as well as anyone else ? If it had been a poor man he would get very few concessions '. he would be made to adhere to his contract, and we think the same law ought to apply to this big company.

In a recent issue we pointed out that according to a return laid before the Legislative Council only £28,000 could have left the colony. Even this proves to have been incorrect. In compiling the return a gross blunder was made, £40,000 appearing in it as £400,000. This has now been corrected, and it is shown that instead of £28,000 leaving the colony £882,000 came into it, or at least there is that sum lent on mortgage now more than there was last year. What is the use of keeping up the cry of - : Frightened Capital "in the face of this fact. We have always said that there was no increased taxation on money, that consequently there was no danger of it leaving the colony, and this proves our words to have been true. The fact is, the money-lenders got up the scare In the hope that money would leave the colony, and that the rate of interest would go up. That was the sum and substance of it, yet these people pose as the farmer's friends. It is time the farmers found out that no good can come out of the Nazareth of money-lending.; and that mice might as well send cats to Parliament to make laws for them as for farmers to send money-lenders.

The ways of the Opposition are curlons, Mr Richardson last Thursday evening made a fierce speech, in which he proved to his own satisfaction that the Government were the greatest rascals on earth ; that the finances were in a great inijddle : that the Government had increased P»r indebtedness by £834,000 instead of decreasing it by £117,000; and that everything, in fact, was scandalously mismanaged. The Hon. J. MeKenzie got up to reply to him, and proceeded to make mincemeat of his arguments, when Mr Scobie Mackenzie objected that, he was reading his speech. About half-an-houv was spent in arguing whether Mr MeKenzie was reading his speech or making use of documents to refresh his memory, the object being, Mr MeKenzie said, to put him out, so that he could not show the fallacy of Mr Richardson's arguments. Next evening again the attack on Mr MeKenzie was renewed by an effort to make him lay on tjie table the documents from which he had been reading the previous night, and a great part of the time was taken up with this. A full fortnight has been spent in discussing the statement now, but it is supposed that it will not be over for another couple of days. When Opposition members make three-hour speeches and waste time in this way. nothing dse could be expected.

Mr Jackson Palmer, M.H.11, for an Auckland constituency, has as accommodating a conscience us the famous Vicar of Bray. In his speech t\}& #ther evening lie said that he was once a Wesl&y&y,. then lie became a Presbyterian, was coiaiime'i In the Church of England, gave the Catholic Church a turn, after which he migrated to the Christudelphians and Calathumpian*, Mr Jackson takes the palm for versatility, and yet' we believe he is a young man under ■ M 0 years of age.

The Government evidently mean to push business on as fast as possible, they have already taken Wednesday, which is usually a private members' day, for Government business.

A great deal of noise was made in Parliament the other evening on the alleged ground that the Government advertising to the Dunedin Globe which it refused to the Dunedin Star. The Globe is a Government poper, the Star is Conservative, and hence the tears. Now we are not going to defend or condemn the Government as regards this matter. Our experience is that

accusations made by the present Opposition against the Government are often frivolous or baseless, and must be taken with a grain of salt. At the worst it is not a very serious crime, even if the Government has been guilty of it. This, however, we may say : We support the present Government as heartily and as consistently as any newspaper in New Zealand, but we have never been rewarded for it by getting Government advertising. The honest truth is that we got far more advertising while Conservative Governments were in power than we have got from the Liberal ones. We see Government advertisements, such as the Public Trustee's, the Insurance Commissioners', and soon, in the Conservative papers, but we cannot get them. That we at any rate know. It is true we have not canvassed Ministers for their patronage, because we do not think we I have any claim on them. We do not work for them; it is not a personal service we render them ; we advocate their policy because we believe it to be good, and we believe them to be the best Government New Zealand has ever had. If better men, who would introduce better measures, and administer the affairs of the colony better, arose, we should very soon be found supporting them. We do not support the present Government for the sake of what we can get out of them, for that is nil, and it is just as much as we expect, but we support them because we think them worthy of it. and because their policy is fairly well suited to improve the condition of the people of this colony.

A deputation of Otago members waited on the Government last Saturday to support a petition in favor of constructing the Otago Central Railway. All the members urged the necessity for carrying on the work, and did not seem very particular if a loan for that purpose were raised. Mr Earnshaw, the labor member, however, objected to a loan, and would not support* any suggestion which would involve borrowing. Is not this extraordinary ? Here is one working-man representative out of the whole lot, and he is the. only one who objects to borrowing more money. It was said that the Government were ruled by the Labor Unions, and that in order to provide plenty of employment, the Government would be compelled to raise a loan. Here Mr Earnshaw proves conclusively that the labor members are the most determined opponents of borrowing in the House. The Government declined to undertake any work which would involve borrowing, but promised to do their best with the funds at their disposal. The Government prooose to compel foreign insurance companies to lodge a certain amount of money in the hands of the Public Trustee at i per cent, per annum. The most of those composing the deputation denounce this, not bebecause they think it was wrong, but because they were afraid the Government would borrow it. What stupid inconsistency ! They would like the Government to borrow for the Otago Central, but denounce their efforts to secure a loan under the most favorable conditions under which it could be borrowed.