The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1896.

Waikato Argus, Volume I, Issue 22, 29 August 1896, Page 2

The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1896.

late no-confidence debate was a waste of public time and public money. Tin's is an opinion which will not be held by any man who lias read the report of the debate. The motion upon which the debate was founded was the charge that the public debt had been increased surreptitiously by the present Government. Ministers and their henchmen havej stated on every available occasion that this has not been the case. During the debate no member from the Colonial Treasurer downwards has been able to deny that the debt has been increased, but some have quibbled to the extent of asserting that there has nevertheless been no,borrowing. None, however, have attempted to explain the miracle that the debt has largely increased, in spite of the contention of Ministers: that each year has shown a surplus of revenue over expenditure. The men who have so acted have done so with the hope that their constituents, to whom they are shortly to return, will accept their palpably absurd contention in mitigation of the political crime they have committed of having been returned to oppose a policy of borrowing, and in spite of the pledges, having done quite the contrary. What utter twaddle it is to contend that to get money on the credit of the colony is not borrowing because the money has been expended on re-productive work.' If this were logic it could be asserted that no money lias been borrowed by the colony, notwithstanding the fact that it has to oarry an incubus of interest upon some forty millions. All the money borrowed before and since the days of Sir Jultus Vogel has been avowedly procured for the prosecution of re-productive works. All the schemes to which this vast sum has been applied were expected by those who advocated them to prove re-productive. Some hare done so to a certain extent, and others, unfortunately, have not. The money, which the present Government has acquired on credit, may or may not prove reproductive in consequence of its application. Now that they have at last come forward with a scheme to borrow a million, the word " loan " is carefully kept in the back ground. Jt is a Hill in aid of certain specified undertakings. The old familiar dodge, the term is appropiiate, of taunting the Opposition with not having promulgated a policy was of coarse resorted to. Notwithstanding the thousands of times it has been pointed out that it is not the business of an Opposition leader to state a policy, small politicians still follow the old beaten track. Cai't. Russell, of course, had to reply in the old teims to the old accusation. He added, however, the truth, that the party to which lie belonged had introduced as many Liberal measures as the gentlemen who sit on the Ministerial benches, and that it was they and the party to which they belong who had opposed these measures. It was the present Opposition party that first introduced the Truck Bill, Workmen's Wages Dili, and Arbitration Bill. He claimed the credit for the Old Age Pensions Bill for Siu H. Atkinson. It is well that we should quote what Capt. Russell said on this question, in reply to a member who interjected : " You did not carry them." He said : " You do not realise that it is in administration that the whole secret of good government exists. The lion, gentleman thinks that in introducing a crude unthought-out scheme he is providing for old ago pensions, and ho boasts that it is a Liberal measure ; but it is known that the question of old age pensions is engrossing the attention of all parties in the countries of Europe and of the Conservative party in England.'' The most useful feature of the debate was that many of the Liberal followers of the Government were placed in the position of being obliged to condemn much of their administration and at the same time state that they meant voting against the motion, which is equivalent to stating that they had confidence in the Government and approved of their doings. What their constituents will have to say to this style of thing regains to be proved. Some of these representatives must feel very uncomfortable as to their chances of re-election. They can only be returned on the supposition that their constituents are as illogical and fickle-minded as they.