THE BUDGET DEBATE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10691, 10 August 1912, Page 5

THE BUDGET DEBATE

m THE HOUSE OF RZHRtSENTATIVES

( Ha T*>Un,aah—l J re&i Association.)

WELLINGTON, Last Night. Tlu '.budget Debate was commenced in. Committee of the House of Representatives to-night. Mr G. W. Russell (Riccarton) congratulated the Minister for Finaoce lion the ! ; peed with wli ';h the Budget lad been brought down. The Budget, he said, marked an epoch in the H-htiw of the country. He reviewed ■the prosperity of the Dominion Dince the Liberal Party came into- power twenty-one years ago. The underlying principle the party was the attack upon monopolies. He instaiii-.--ed State Fire Insurance and State «oal mines. Ho tnen referred to the position of the present Government. They were not, he said, justified in holding the Treasury bencher-. According .to the voting oi the ; people of the country, ~. ~000 votes were ca<s't against the party now in power. Tho change of Government was due ■to four members of the Liberal party -changing from tint arty to the Re--form Party. He then dealt with the Ministry, five of whom, ho said, were residents of Wellington. The west coasts of both Islands were unreprc- 1 «©nted. Further, there was no representative of the small farming interest in the Ministry. Referring to thr> Mii-tsoy Government land pro- i pasals, lie said <the Prime Minister j< would experience a good deal of effort and energy before he could improve upon, the existing laws and place more 4 people on the land, than hid beer: _ placed there during the paofc few | jycars. The change of Government, j ] however, he said would not do much harm. The young people of the coir.i- } try were growing up, and did not know liberalism from Conservatism, except by name. Before six months j. had passed the people would find out j\ what was going on. . They would fiiid • the rate of interest going lip, and iv> 1 j -employment becoming rampant. He j disked how it was that 'Mr Hcrdman j ] held the portfolio of Attorney-General 1! .rli-Ic til? H?a, H : P, B?ll, W?. IK.C., and 'Senior of the Bar in New ( Zealand, held a comparatively minor j ( portfolio. He would watch what was j. -going to happen with regard to the ,' Crown Law Office with great interest, j * The creation of that office had been 1 'the cause of the malignant hostility! showe to Sir Joseph Ward in Wei-' ■Jington. Mr W. H. D. Bell: "You had bettor he careful." Mr Russell, continuing, said there.. Shad been charges against the Ward, Government cf maladministration, i reckless borrowing and wasteful., ex-1 penditure. In what respect, he asked, did the policy Cas far as principle - was concerned) of present Govern--•"o-nt differ .from the policy of the-late Government. The bind policy of the Massey Government wae wild and reckless. The whole of the proposals j in the Budget had hem stolen from the ! MacKenzie Government. The Re- » jform Party had talked of an increise " in the " graduated land tax proposed in the Budget only affected 198 peruana. ' Dealing with loins, ho forecasted that.t-ho amount which would he required to be borrowed by the I Ministry would be £4,500,000 in the next twelve months. There would bo, according to the Budget, an increase in the expenditure of £454.000, as ■compared with 1911. The Budget, looked at matters from a f.Winer's , standpoint. The Government was a Freetrade party, and dare not confer industrial matters or the trades and Commerce of the country. The • Uudget contained' nothing about, land for the landlcft". The Hen. F. M. B. Fisher caid the •member for Avon was unstable and unreliable, a>nd as a member of a i party was untrustworthy. . He traversed Mr -Russell's statement as to pending unemployment. It w.if., he fiaid, without foundation, in fact. He drew attention to the fact that the estimates brought down by his party had bee.n prepared by the MacKenzie • Government. They had not had time to affedt any material alteration. As far vis Mr Russell's references to Messrs Bell and Herdnuv.ii were con•cerned, ho said the party was to be ■congratulated upon having two such able men in their party—two men who were able to take the portfolio, whereas Mr MacKenzie had not got 0:10 to occupy the position. Mr Rueeel had spoken of the geographical distribution of Minister;.', but he (Mi* Fisher) could refer hirn to the Mu-Ivenzie Cabinet, of which he was a member, and which contained four Canterbury members. He congratulated Mr Massey on deputing from the geographical distribution doctrine, which was unsound. Another matter referred to by Mr Rmsell was the graduated "l.wJ tax. Ho informed the House that 371 -persons would be affected by the tax, and not the number mentioned hy Mr Russell. Mr Fisher then referred to the Vancouver mail service. and stated that the £30,000 subsidy paid by New Zealand was to be spent in the interests of this -country. His party was going to lower the whip on the flanks of monopoly, and he could wiy that some members Oiiii the other side of 1 the House were not going to have protection any longer. One reform his Government was going to carry out was that the State service would not be underpaid. The system of appointments and promotion by Ministerial favour was going to cense. The day of those thingp w.vs over. Political patronage and

political touting was a tiling of the past. 'Tiro Minister dealt-exhaustiv- j ely with t):p expenditure of public | money. He instanced amounts which { had been spent upon public buildings in Wellington. On Parliament buildings alone lie said £938,796 bad been expended since the fire. A sum of. £14,430 had been: expended in alterations to the present chamber, £20,122 on the old wing, £52,000 cti the new Government- Hmiso, £7214 <vi> preliminary works now going cn in connection with the new rionse, sii'.id not a brick had been laid. They could have had a new Pari:iment House for that amount. The country at large \vn« crying for reform. The continuous Ministry bad hoodwinked the manufacturers of the country in regard to the Customs tariff. The inaction and nnithy of the late Minister had loft manufacturers standing where +liey were to-day. r lhe Budget of the Government had been favourably received by the conimonsonse people, of the country. It was accepted as , a plain, unvarnirhed policy of a Covi emment which intended to carry out everything contained there in. Huini Y-'tarian legislation had been inj eluded in the policy. justice being 1 done, especially to old soldiers. DealS ing with the conduct of Departments, iho mentio>' r 'd that the firm of Mac- ; Alistor, in Tnveronrgill, had bv \tinisJ terial instruction in the past received all work in connection with the Government Insurance jjepirtment. in that town. That maimer of con due-tins; public businow was to cease, and the Departments were to be run on business linr'-i. r !he old system ot letting tenders before they were advertised was at an e,nd. - All tender?' would now be rilled publicly and let a proper manner in the future. While the Reform Government remained in office i'iro special consideration would be shown to friends of the Miliary or. special persons on account of lineage or birth or connection. Everyone would be on a level. Merit alone r-nnld c r nnt for all. Mr Guthrie moved the rnent at 10.10 p.m., and the Hon*? roflo.