WELLINGTON NOTES.

Waikato Argus, Volume III, Issue 163, 29 July 1897, Page 4

WELLINGTON NOTES.

[rnOJI OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT]. WELLIXOTOX, J"'}' - : '- SPREADING THE CLAD TIDINGS. The poverty of intellect in the Cabinet is just now beiim made evident in the North Island from the tact that the good Mr Hall-Jones is the Minister selected to travel the country and address meltings with u view ot feeling the public pulse as to another loan, aud in doing this he has fallen into that very bad habit which seems to be inseparable from the present Ministers of stating what is contrary to fact. Not but what the hyphenated Minister is the very soul of truth aud honour in private life so far as the average news-paper man knows, but the fact is very clear that whoever prepared the data of his New Plymouth speech for him must have stuffed him with material intended to mike a laughing stock of him. He said, according to the local paper, "There had been increases in customs duties, but they were on imported stuffs that were luxuries, such as wearing apparel to order, beers and spirits. On necessaries of life the Government had made reductions in the new tariff; and also on lines that were needed to aid the development and prosperity of the colony." This is explicit enough, the only drawback to it is that not one word of it is true. The official figures were published a month ago, and Mr Jones, instead of quoting them, made use of the language stated above. As regards apparel on order ; meaning clothes made in London for New Zealand customers and which are charged 40 per cent., it is open to question whether the total amount for the year will equal what Dr. Scddon will have to pay on his Windsor uniform and L.L.D. robes on arrival. That is if he does pay, fcr it is more than likely he will get them through as " worn goods. As for beer, the duties collected for the past three years ore as follows : —IS94, £39,393 ; 1595, £42,641; 1896, £35,118 ; aud this is what the unreliable Jones calls " increase." Spirits have remained about the same, but woollen goods, which arc not luxuries, went up during the past three years with the following leaps and bounds :—1894, old duty, £157,320 ; 1895, half old duty, half new tariff, £170,793; IS9G, all Scddonian tariff, £235,932. 'While on "Lines to aid development" machinery jumped from £70,225 to £113,376. So much lor Mr Jones' platform finance. But that was ouly introductory to what he really started out on his campaign for. What he aud his colleagues exist by is borrowed money, and he is no doubt actiDg on instructions from his chict in London in spreading the glad tidings of more loans for all sorts of jobs. The way he puts it is on a par for veracity with his tariff allegations. He •■ maintained that the Government had not departed from the policy of John Ballance, and quoted from a speech to show that he bad laid it down in 1592 that the Government should proceed in a judicious way wit\ roads and railways." Now if Mr Jones bad only looked up what John Dallance really did say in his Budget speech in that year be would have found this : " I have propounded in other places a financial policy of self-reliance, and shown the necessity for weaning the colony from a servile dependence on foreign dealers in money. I do cot think it would be wise, even if it were feasible, to attempt to raise another loan in the English market. We propose, therefore, to keep faith with the announcement, and to refrain from placing any loan on the English markets AVe have determined on a policy of true self-reliance, the only policy, I firmly believe, to make this a great country." From this it will be seen that the good Mr Jones is no more reliable in his quotations regarding Mr Ballance than he is respecting the consumption of beer. His absolute ignorance of what is the condition of affairs in the Government lie is one of the ornaments of, is just as appalling as that of the Hon. J G. Ward of how the losses of his wondrous association came about. AT BAY.

And diy by day ntw light is vouch Bafcd to us as to what went for years by tlic name of brilliant finance. The managing director, the auditor and the secretary of the marvellous Southland business have all been in the box. and DODC of them know how it came about that there were 130,000 sacks of oats deficient, although Mr "Ward bin self produced the warrants in Court to convince the Judge that they existed on paper. No one knows how folios came to be torn out of the ledger. Mr Ward declined to give an opinion as to whether it was right or wrong to square accounts ao balar.ee time, or to conceal lingo losses from his fellow diiectors and shareholders, and both lie and the auditor preferred to remain silent than to give replies which might, as the Judge said, be used against them. And while in this humiliating and inglorious position he auuouoces in braggart language his intention to seek reelection on the grounds that he has made the name of Southland known throughout the world. It is quite true, and mores the pity for the sake of the honest people of that province. Many a year must pass by before the stain of the Southland frauds will die out, and if Ministers biibe sufficiently it may even happen that Mr Ward will be re-elected, but it may be taken for granted that he will not sit. We have sunk very low, but not to that depth yet, and if the people of Awarua choose, to deliberately disfranchise themselves by returning the tin god a section of them worship, it will merely be another proof that man and womanhood suffrage was given to the people before they were ready for it. OUR JUBILEE AMBASSADOR.

And while the Jones-cum- Ward doings are occupjing our attention, the cables are singularly silent as to 'lie doings of Dr. Seddon. But the English papers have a great deal to say. In the early days of June there was a boom in colonial Premiers. Now the slump has come. Dr. Seddon seems to have grasped at every opportunity of making himself notorious and lo have courted interviews with the reporters of any paper who might call on him, from the Timss to tlie Evening News. This latter is a .small four-page pink sheet devoted to revolting descriptions of the doings in the Police Courts, the news of the slums and gutters, and in its slovenly get-up is nearly equal to the Premier's own paper, the New Zealand Times. The reporter of this organ called at the Hotel Cecil on June 3rd and enquired for the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon, P. 0., L.L.D., and was informed by ttiat magnate's Private Secretary that the Prime Minister was exceedingly busy with " Governmental work." However, on enquiry the great man himself appeared in the corridor and the reporter describes how he told him that as lie was just going down to huston Station to bid good speed to Lord Raufurly that the reporter had better accompany him and talk on the load. So Mr and Mis Seddon, the Secretary and the reporter entered a four-wheeler, ai.d the first observation which fell on the reporter's note-book was this : Mr Seddon pointed to the roof of the cab and said, •' You know this is twenty-live years behind the age. In New ZeaUnd we ride in landaus, so that we can breathe the fresh pure air/' He then proceeded to treat the newspaper man to a relation of various episodes in his career and this is how the copy of the paper happened to find its way out here. ft was sent by a London publican who felt hurt that there was no mention made of the great man having at one time beta in the trade himself, because it was the intention of the Licensed Victuallers to have given him a banquet, but they refrained when they found that he ignored their festive calling. Then when the reporter desired some information as to New Zealand as a field for emigration, the Premier let himself out.

THERE ARE NO PAUPERS THERE said he ; ull a man wants is frit, plenty ' grit—we don't tout for emigrant?, but any man with £SO who ernes out as a settlor will be taken by the hand by the Government and made a farmer of. " Whosoever will, let him come," said Mr Scddon, quoting a Sankey hymn. When one raids this in a London paper and equally indiscreet thing? in Lancashire papers, they had to surmises us to the quality of the turtle soup at the nightly banquets, aud to doubts as to the truth of the complaints of local bodies that the strain of the charitable aid subsidies they have to pay are strain ing their resources. "No paupers in New Zealand " says Mr Scddon, while the co-ops on the roads are on strike because their earnings do not average 20a per week, aud tin y can save nothing to send their wives and children. "They ride in landaus" he tells the interviewer, and settlers on special settlements have not even a pack track to take provisions to their homes, but have to make beasts of burden of themselves and live on promises made by such incapablcs as the <:ood Mr Jones, that if more loans arc granted them to fool away they will Lave roads and bridges. Between the landau and the swafger is a wide gulf, but so long as the occupant of the landau asserts that all men nro equal, the other fellow swallows the pill and votes accordingly at election time.