THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1893. THE PREMIER'S SPEECH

Temuka Leader, Issue 2569, 17 October 1893, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1893. THE PREMIER'S SPEECH

Tije Premier has opened the campaign at Feiiding in the North Island with a speech of great ability,-. One of the most notable u Herance» in'th® speegh is his assertion +w +W* was no truth in the report that tnat tnero h j t JoJ it was the wish o. (M g Mq \ that any one other than . v .., a j ' should be Premier. There was «j» understanding that he (Mr Seddon) be Premier, and Mr Ballance handed over to him certain papers previous to undergoing the operation. This sets at rest a question which has been much discussed since the death of Mr Ballance. At that time it was said that the late Mr Ballance expressed as his dying wish that Sir Robert Stout should succeed him, but now we have evidently the truth. No such wish was expressed, and ?f it had been we feel certain it would have been respected. We publish a very fall and well condensed synopsis of the speech in another column, and we recommend its perusal to cur reader?. There is in it food for reflection. For instance eleven persons 0wn£4,835,562 worth of 1.-uid, and forty eight persons own £9,009,000 worth of land. Now how did the3e people get all this land ? Did they bring the money that purchased it into the colony ? In most cases they did not; in fact, very few of them brought much money into ic, they have made it all in New Zealand. To talk about the men who made the colony is to talk rubbish, for it was the colouy made them, not they the colony. They got cheap land and the colony borrowed money with which it was improved. That was how the colony was made, not for all, but the fortunate few, and now these few object to being taxed for paying interest on this borrowed money. Up to lately they were practically escaping taxation, they were saddling the main part o£ it cm the backs of the in,- j

dustrial classes, but now Nemesis has overtaken them, and not before it was time. Another matter which Mr Seddon had just ground to complain of is the way he was treated over the female franchise. Resolutions were carried all over the colony thanking Sir John Hall and others for having carried the female franchise, and ignoring the Government. We have shown in a previous article that the female franchise was first introduced by the late Mr Ballance while the Liberal Government of Sir George Grey was in power, that it was again introduced while Sir Robert Stout was in power, and now it has been carriad by the present Liberal Government. It has never been mooted during the term of office of Conservative Governments, but they are trying to take all the credit for it because Sir John Hall was in favor of it. Every effort is being put forth to make the women believe it has been given them by the Conservatives, but it will be found in the end that the women will find out who their friends are. Mr Seddon's programme for the future is a continuation of the policy of the last three years. Much of that policy has been marred or mutilated by the Legislative Council, and it will be necessary to bring that body to its senses, and compel it to agree to popular demands. On the whole we congratulate Mr Seddon on his very able address, and we certainly think it will be a misfortune if the Liberal party is not returned to power.

THE TIMARU HERALD. The Greneral Election is at hand, and the Timaru Herald has already given us an idea of its acrobatic capabilities in an article on the claims of Catholics to a grant in aid of their schools. This is the first somersault, and we must say that it has been taken iu a good, businesslike way, and in a manner that must win the prize for agility. Once every three years the Herald suffers very badly from a malady which it calls its conscience ; the fit lasts always for about a couple of months, just while the General Flection is on, and then the normal health of our dear old contemporary returns, and it settles down into its old ways. Six years ago, when Messrs Twomey and Rhodes contested Gladstone, the Herald was not able to see that the Catholic claims deserved consideration, and a few days before the election it screamed to the electors not to allow the candidate of a compact majority to get elected. It told them in plain words that Mr Twomey was the candidate of a compact minority of Catholics, and that he should not be elected. Just about the same time, Bishop Grimes, of Christchurch, visited Timaru, and in his address he referred to the claims of Catholics to « grant iu aid of their schools. Next day the Timaru Herald came out with a most abusive article, and violently attacked the Bishop. This was at a time when the Herald was on the other tack. It was suffering from its triennial fit then, but it was attacking it in a different form. It had turned inwards, and, like the measles when they turn that way, it was making our dear old coutemporary squirm, and wriggle illtemperedly. Last election its conscience touched the Herald, and during a few weeks the Atkinson regime was villainously wicked. The election over, and the conscientious fit having worn off, the Herald relapsed into its former condition of health. A few years ago the candidate of a compact minority in Gladstone should not be elected ; now the candidate of the same compact minority in Timaru should be elected. So far as the Herald is concerned, it depends not on whether the claims of Catholics are just or otherwise, but on who they are voting for. If voting for certain people the"' - ? claims are just; if voting against them, they are a compact minority whose candidate should not be elected. The Herald is a respecter of persons, not of policies, but it never yet carried its candidate in Timaru into Parliament, and we shall he astonished if it does now. Spectators may be amused by the splendid acrobatic performances of the Herald, but not ta an extent that would induce them to give their votes in return for the entertainment.

STATE BANK.

The Hon. J. G. Ward promised that during the recess the question of establishing a State Bank would be considered, The Premier in his Feildiug speech also said there were some talks of . a State Bank. Under these circumstances there is room to hope that the subject may yet come forward, more especially if, as we anticipate, money becomes more scarce, and times become much worse. The Wellington correspondent of the Otago Daily Times says that he has good ground for believing that the present Government, if returned to power, intend to settle people on the land with the assistance of a State Bank. He points out the fact that the Premier said the farmers wanted cheap money, and that it could be found through a State Bank. By an Act passed last session the Go-vernor-in-Council has the power to issue postal notes, and this slipped through so that not a soul in both Houses noticed it. Where was Mr Rhodes our great financial genius, that he has allowed a State Bank to be practically established under his nose with.wt bis knowledge I Yet this is what has happene4 according to the Otago Daily Times, ~ Here is what the Times says :— tc From factp ascertained, and various things that have come to my knowledge, 1 venture to think that it is the intention of the Government, if rc • turned to power, to associate their projected land settlement with a national paper currency, and State Land Mortgage Bank, Strange as it may appear to your readers, the statutory authority for such a curfepcy fs aj.rgacty' in existence. It is illustrative qf the att,entjpu raven shat. Uiq passed bpth Rouses before its ♦ ■ WO? noticed.?’ So the prereal me.- after all too clever sent Governing. * -• hitfg tp for them, and now they ..This issue States notes when they liae.

explains what the Premier said about postal notes. In our next issue we shall publish the whole thing, and in the meantime content ourselves with saying that according to this it is the intention of the Government to settle people on the land by means [of State Bank notes. Now is the time for those who desire to settle on the land to rally around the Government.