European News

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 215, 1 November 1860, Page 3

European News

By the mail, arrived at TFellington on Friday afternoon, we have the following intelligence. Parliament was to be prorogued on 28th August. . *—• : ITie Hew Zealand hill was to lie over till next session.

The government does not intend to subsidize a line of steamers via Panama.

The Fortifications bill has passed -after some opposition. .£4,960,000 is to be appropriated for the National defences between Ist August, 1860, and Ist August, 1861. The Amalgamation of the European forces in 'lndia bill has been passed. There is to be an Indian loan of 3,000,0001 Mr. Jas. Wilson, minister of finance in India, is dead.

The battalion of the 14th had not embarked for New Zealand. It was to come in the Himalaya steam transport.

Prince of Wales arrived at St. John’s 23rd July, and bad been received there and at Halifax with great enthusiasm. He had reached Canada, where he. was met by the Governor General and his Cabinet. ;

One of Garibaldi’s aides-de-camp was in London organizing a battalion. . 500 had been enrolled. The Great Eastern had arrived at Milford Haven, ten days from New York and seven from Halifax. £20,000 had been taken at New York from visitors.

21,514 Scotch volunteers were reviewed at Edinburgh by the Queen on 7tb August. The Goodwood Cup was won by Lord Armsley’s /Sweer/Sauce. The-Earl of Lauderdale and Rear Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh are dead.

At the August wool sales 80,000 bales had been sold. Prices of good qualities well sustained ; inferior sorts,, particularly trie halfwashed ill-bred New Zealand, brought relatively low prices. Bad accounts of the harvest. Trade greatly depressed. A/any mercantile- failures' had taken place. . . The Daphne left Woolwich 22nd August for* New Zealandj with detachments, of? the Royal. Artillery and other corps.

FRANCE... The jEmperor lias written a letter to ' his ambassador in, : London, renewing his assuran-

ces of pacific intentions towards England, in amanner which commands attention, respect and confidence, Mr. Cob Jen and the English Commissioners at Paris are engaged with the details of the Commercial Treaty. The Emperor and impress had .left Paris on a visit to Savoy. The treaty of Turin, ceding Savoy and Nice has not been acknowledged by any of the Great Powers. In a reply to an address from the Chamber of Commerce of Lyons, .the Emperor says—- “ Nothing will make me deviate from the path of moderation and . justice which I have to this day pursued. Give yourselves uf> therefore with confidence to works of peace.** The crops are endangered by the continuous rain and free importation of corn and flour is to be allowed till 30th, Sept:., 1861,

GATRMANT. _ The- - volunteer movement is making rapidstrides. . ' ‘ The Emperor of Austria and Prince Regent of - Prussia have agreed on a common line of policy as to maintaining the Ottoman Empire ;- as to a liberal policy in German national matters? as to. the retention of Venetia by Austria unless she. herself throw off the- yoke ;• and the Prince Eegent is to endeavour to bring about a reconciliatioa between Austria and Russia. The political programme of the Hungarian members of the Council of the Empire .of Austria has been adopted by a committee of the Council. ITALY. Garibaldi is in Calabria, and threatens Rome and Naples. Reggio capitulated to him on the 21st August, the day on which he crossed the straits, and two Neapolitan brigades surrendered at discretion. He lias 8000 men with him, and has been personally in ivaples, consulting with the leading. inhabitants as to his procedure. It is expected that as a matter of course he will conquer Naples and Rome—which will be annexed to Piedmont. Austrian vessels are lying ready to receive the kirg and his family, should they be driven out of Naples. The king’s uncle, the count of Syracuse, has declared in favour of Victor Em manuel, and another uncle, the count of /fquila, has been ordered to leave Naples for conspiring against the king. Austria will not interfere unless attacked in Venetia, which she continues to strengthen.

TURKEY. A strong feeling against tire Christians prevails throughout the empire. Fanatics are traversing the provinces, exciting the faithful to rise in defence of the Crescent. In Constantinople the military were called out to stop the outrages which had been commenced. An organized conspiracy to massacre the Christians had been discovered in. Bulgaria. At Balbee the mountaineers had again attacked the Christians. There had been 4000 killed in Syria, and 3000 Christian women sold at 25 piastres each for the harems of the Mahometans. 800 persons, including Ahmet Pacha, the Governor General of the province of Damascus, and the principal civil and military functionaries* had been arrested as being implicated in these massacres. -If found guilty they were at once to be executed. A convocation of the Great Powers has resolved that Syria be occupied for 6 months by 12,000 European troops —half of them to be French, The first division of the French troops left Toulon on the 9th August. Lord Dufferin had been sent to /Syria as British Commissioner, to take steps for the liberation of the Christian women-from the harems, and to suggest measures to prevent the recurrence of these frighful massacres. Henry Bulwer has made energetic representations to the /Sultan as to the dangers which threaten the empire, and reforms have been promised.

[from our correspondent.] London, 27th August, 1860. The political world, like the commercial, is now influenced by the lull which invariably sets in towards the close of the summer. Perhaps it is less marked this year than usual, owing to various causes, one of the most notable of which may be termed the atmospherical, and another the parliamentary. Owing to the singular backwardness of the season, the usual flight of summer tourists from London has been retarded by a full month at least, while the waste of time in the early part of the parliamentary session, with the unparalleled ‘strife of tongues’ that then raged on subjects of inferior interest, or subjects that had no definite result, has left our legislators so much in arrear that they must now work double tides for six weeks or so beyond the usual time of prorogation. Whole months at the commencement of this session were used up by lengthy debates, diffuse, purposeless, and undignified; and night after night saw a repetition of what, to parody Gray’s celebrated, lines, might be termed ‘ long speeches that defied all use, and eloquence that led to nothing.’ Looking back on the wordy quarrels of February to June inclusive-—on the questions of Savoy, the French treaty, the Keformi bill, #c. —it may safely be affirmed that, if our most wise ana noble legislators had been in a trance in Sleepy Hollow during all that time, not the slightest detriment would have happened to therepublic, its material, gains would probably hav.e been greater, and its loss pf dignity would certainly l have been less. Leaving parliament to its own devices, the Court has gone to Balmoral. Her Majesty’s ‘heart’s in the Highlands,’ and the Prince Consort is *a-chasing the wild deer and following the roe’ with his usual success. On

, lierway north .the the Scottish volunteers at Edinburgh,^an-event of which you will have a full description tft'om other sources, no doubt. The sight was a magnificent one—superior, in scenic attractions at least, to the one a few. weeks before in Hyde Park. Her Majesty is said to have shed tears on witnessing the display/ and the fervid enthusiasm of her reception from the 200,000 spectators who lined theeslopes of- Arthur’s Seat. One can understand the. depth of'her feeling from the message she sent to the Duchess of Kerit >f flji;.Frogmore on the close of the-' review- Jd'/London: “ All has passed off' well—weather /favourable—a glorious sight—a. proud -day/’/ A, message that appears, to nie full of right feeling and singularly happy in dramatic point. There is one other recommendation—that; the incident is authentic* a thing we cannot say of every story in which the Queen figures as the hero- : ine, with the usual fatesof pja<jeg. -the moment the- asffecFof' both foreign and home affairs is somewhat, more agreeable than it was ar few Weeks ago./ The two questions abroad that Excite attention are the Syrian and the Italian. The . frightful massacres, of the Christians; in Syria/by tlie Druses haye divided public,interest with the brilliant successes by Garibaldi in;:,Sicily. The letter from the Emperor of the French to Count PersigUy, by showing a marked, desire to co-operate with ;Englandron both those points, ' has quieted to a certain extent{the apprehensions of our alarmists, and as the great European powers have agreed .on the details of an intervention in /9yria, all : for a little seemed peace and harmony. But surgit amari aliquid —something bitter is sure to turn/ up when Louis JVapoleon has anything' to ;do with the brewing of the potion,; Ifis now said that a much larger French force is being sent to the east than was stipulated in the protocols, and those-.among jis who are |e|oFfed-tb find- fault with everything the Emperor of the French , does—a numerous class I assure you—shake their heads ominously, and'lpint af a French Viceroy for Syria coming-on the tapis when , lea^expected. Abdel Kader is the viceroy • hiuted at. He happens to be on the spot, is an Oriental and Mussulman, and therefore likely to be not displeasing tq,. a Mussulman ■ population, and, being,attached to. Louis Napoleon by ties of gratitude,.'is certain to be anything but displeasing/to, that disinterested potentate. I attach little faith to these speculations, but a few weeks wi.ll, ,show. Meanwhile, Fuad Effenji, the Turkish Cfommis-: sioner in Syria, is showirig 1 gfriat. energy and , fairness in bringing the offenders to justice, and by the time he has decapitated or shot a few hundred truculent Druses and half a dozen conniving Pachas, a : ’ result by no means unlikely from present. appearances, it is to be hoped the authority *of fhe Turkish government will be sufficiently established to render unnecessary a continuance,.of foreign intervention,, and thus put temptation out of Napoleon’s way. The Italian question is much more serious and complicated, and increases daily in interest. The “ Washington of italy,” Garibaldi, has advanced from success to success, till now all Sicily is his; Naples is rising ; the Papal dominions thrdb with"sympathy; and even down-trodden, Venetia ..dares to hope. All Italy is in a feimeht/ and straining with all the ardour of her impassioned nature after one idea—a united kingdom under the sway of Victor Emmanuel. Ot this idea Garibaldi is the active embodiment. He has now a powerful army and no contemptible! navy, but his great strength lies in the universal sympathy he inspires -among- the people"he has sworn to free. At T presenfe everything seems to favour his great enterprise. ;:>By the -late interview at Toplitz between the 1 Emperor of Austria and the;-Prince,oi; :‘Erussia*|Louis Napoleon has been estranged from -them both more widely than ever, and will probably see it to be his interest, to countenance" the revolutionary movement in Italy.!?: At least, having liberated his conscience by ? his efforts to reconcile the king of -HaplesT arid the Pope with their subjects, he will interfere no -further in their favour, and thus Garibaldi, with the whole Italian race at).his';-beck;' and bidding, will conquer JVaples—rwifl revolutionize the Rpman States, despite sll thev;effbrts of General! Aamoriciere and his-mo'ngrel bands of German and Irish mercenaries—and will then advance to the final and'; desperate struggle before Afantua and Venice.,, Were it any other than Garibaldi we should fear the worst in so unequal a conflict;; huts the, truth is, his vent, vidi, vict style of doing things hitherto has inspired boundless/confidence in his mili : tary genius and faculty for 'commanding success. Besides, there can-be-little doubt that Piedmont will be drawn into the conflict, and thus the rich plains of northern Italy will witness a renewal pf the! old/,fight between Teuton and Italiarir-between the “ detested white uniform” and the banner of Savoy. - But Garibaldi has. other allips yet. The heterogeneous provinces of/aust'ria are troubled, i and Hungary for one 1 Is ripe for revolt. It j appears that some understanding is established i between the Italian and the Hungarian move- < ments, and by operating On the port of Fiume ■ 6n the Adriatic Garibaldi \vill open a commu- ’ nication with Hungary through Croatia. Mean- i while Austria is preparing after her own fa-1 shion for the inevitable' •/Yenetia is < transformed into a vast entrenched/jamp; the i dissatisfied populations of the empire are pro- 1 mised many, reforms, and an agreement has: been crime to with Prussia of a nature to keep < things safe on the side of Hungary and 80- 1 hernia. Kossuth.; is>. hoverifig about: the continent, scenting the battle sfaroff, and another i stormy petrel of revolutiop, Father Gavazzi, is in Sicily, declainiing one despotism in the dust, and/predicting me doom pf others.

•Of home affairs,'the most serious, topic for discussion at present is the prospect of a very bad harvest. Our summer has been the worst ever known—wet and cold beyond all' precedent or conception. During the- dog-days, that is, about the end of last month, the ther-. niometer on- one occasion fell below- the freez-ing-point, and- fields in Yorkshire were covered with snow —an event that the memory of the “ oldest inhabitant” may safely be defied to parallel. We.have had no summer heat, and scarcely any sunshine, but instead • nearly continuous rain. Rain,, and again- rain, ever since the .tperry month of May , and the cry is still, it comes. Sometimes the big drops “ come dancing to the earth” in the form of ponderous thunder showers; the next day it will fall gently diffusive penetrating, forming- that charming combination Which they term- in the north a safe-day* The crops are heavy, but can scarcely i’ip«n at all 1 , andi harvest wilt be a month later than usuaL 'While f write*there are some signs of an improvement. St. S-withen’s watery reign shoiild come td- ah. end in a few days, and we cherish a feeble hope- the sun will then- resume-the ascendant. - As yet, the usual speculation-, that distinguishes- the- corn trade is notwithstanding- the- prospects of scarcity ;■ another fortnight, however, will decide the fate of the harvest, and will also decide whether we shall have abundance and comfort throughout the country, with ample employment for the labouring classes, or scarcity and high prices, short hours and low wages, a- drain- of gold and an increase of pauperism'. Fortunately, the accounts from abroad are favourable —from America especially. There is plenty of grain for us, but the payment of it will involve a serious diminution of our specie, and the consequent contraction of' all mercantile operations, with tightness in the-discount market. Otherwise business generally is in a healthy state at present. The failures in the leather trade have done good by clearing away rotten houses, and allowing that market to settle down on a healthy basis, while the demand for hides and skins is very steady and sure to improve. The value of various other articles of import will likely be high next, year. Among these I may mention wool, which has kept up in price throughout the season, but in all probability will be much higher next year, when the free import into France begins to tell. All these calculations, however;; it must not he forgotten, are subject to the contingency of an European war, which may bredk ont with a fury and width of development sufficient to disturb and confound the most careful speculations. But it seems to be admitted that France for the present means peace, and if so, there can be no doubt the other European powers will be only too happy to follow in her wake.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

DR. FEATHER STON’S FINANCIAL RESOLUTIONS

Dr. Featherston said : Mr. Speaker, as I am desirous of bringing under the consideration of the house the Financial position of the colony, I believe I shall be in order if I do so before) you leave the chair. I do noc know what impression the Financial statement of the Colonial Treasurer produced in the minds of other hon. members, but it excited in mine a feeling of surprise and alarm, which a subsequent perusal of his speech has strengthened and confirmed rather than allayed. I was surprised and alarmed both at what my hon. friend disclosed, and at what, he did not disclose. And however dry and uninteresting the subject of Finance may generally be, it can scarcely, -after the dis closures of the Colonial Treasurer, fail to be clothed wito a deep interest to every member of this house. For it does and must appear strange, that after having adopted in 1856 a scheme which, it was said, would relieve us from all our difficulties, and place our finances upon a sound, satisfactory, and permanent basis, we should now find ourselves threatened, if not already involved in, precisely similar embarrassments; it does appear strange that after the glowing pictures which the Colonial Treasurer painted in 1858 of our financial *prospects, and of the comfortable and easy-going' circumstances in which the colony was-'placed, that we should, in the short space of two years, be called upon to repeat the operation of 1856, and have recourse to another loan as the only means of relieving our immediate necessities. So sudden a change, surely,: renders it imperative upon every member of this house to inquire into its causes, with a view to apply the' necessary remedies. But if additional reasons are wanted for instituting a searching investigation into the causes of our present financial difficulties, they are afforded by the enormous increase in the expenditure of the General Government, and by the rapid, diminution of the surplus distributable among the Provinces. In the remarks I shall offer, I shall follow as far as possible the divisions of the subject adopted by my hon. friend the Colonial Treasurer. First, then, with reference to the loan of 500,000 1, 1 must confess to a feeling of very considerable disappointment that the go-| vernraent have not offered any explanation as to the manner in which that loan was negotiated; it is a matter upon which so much discussion has taken place out of doors, and in regard to which so much dissatisfaction exists, that I still, hope that either the Colonial .Treasurer Qr my hon. friend the member for Christchurch, will explain how it was that the usual practice —the practice invariably followed in the negotiation of loans—was departed from in the present case.. Every hon. member in this house is aware that the custom is to entrust the disposal of the loan to some party of l the requisite standing in the money market, to

ealf for tendersaiid to fix a) minimum or reserve price, which is not disclosed until after the tenders have been opened. The highest tenders, provided'they are not below the minimum fixed, are accepted ; but in the. event of the whole of the loan not being tendered for at or above the reserve price, the balance (is. kept for future- disposal. »Yuch, I believe, is the practice of all countries when they require to Any other course is open to grave and obvious objections. It was the duty of the government to order the hon. member fpr Christchurch to place the loan in the money market in the usual way, and on the usual conditions. Failing to receive such instruction, it was not, the less the duty of the hon. member to have entrusted the disposal cf the loan to some party, known in the money, market, to have fixed a reserve price, and then call for tenders, instead*- of doing this, the hon. rhemlw jonoo wiU. tlio secretary of the; Union; Bank, and after some haggling-, agreed to sell the loan nominally at par, but-really at a discount of 1/ Gs. 6d. per cent.;; for the bonds were to be. do ted, .and to> bear interest, three months prior to any-moiiey. being provided by the. Bank. Now, sir, the object- of obtaining the Imperial guarantee was, to enable us to borrow at a lower rate than we could have done on our own credit. The Imperial government having made itself liable for the payment of both interest ancl principal, the loan became very nearly of the,. same value as a loan raised by the Imperial government for Imperial purposes. That, advantage was, I contend, thrown away by disposing of the loan by private bargain. We may be told (for I gather as much from the correspondence), that the terms were the best, that could be obtainel; hut admitting this to . be true, it affords to my mind no excuse—not the slightest justification—for disposing of the loan by private bargain. For in the first place ■ there was no need to be in such a hurry—-no , money being required for several mouths after • the bargain with the Bank was closed! I do. not remember what the price of Consols was , in December, 1857, but unless it was considerably under 90, it is, inconceivable that a) loan bearing 4 per cent., and guaranteed by. the Imperial government, would not have • realised a premium. What, however, really happened ? The bonds were no.sooner handed to the Union Bank, than they bore a premium. of 8 or 9 per cent., and in October, 1858,. when in Melbourne, I was informed by a high: , authority that the premium would rise to 12: or 14 per cent. Thus, simply because the loan was not thrown open to public competition, but sold privately, a loss of some 45,000/ or 60,000/ was inflicted upon the colony. That sum of 45,000/ or 60,000/went ifato. the pockets of the shareholders of the t/niou Bank, instead of into the chest of the colony —a sum which* would have gone far to relieveus from our present financial embarrassments. Passing on to the expenditure of the 10an,.. I need not detain the house by any other ■ remarks respecting the first two divisions; except that it is fortunate, looking to the manner in which they have dealt with the portion of the. loan over which ministers have had eon.--trol, that they had little or no discretion in • the expenditure of the 200,000/ due to the New Zealand Company, or of the 120,000/ appropriated to pay off old liabilities. With respect to the 180,000/ allocated to the pro--vinces of the iVorthern island for the purpose of extinguishing the iVative title, the Colonial. Treasurer boasted that there was a consider- , able balance unexpended, and seemed to takecredit for having husbanded—[“ No, no,” from the Colonial Treasurer] —the fund; well, at any rate he stated in his speech, “ that it was not quite the fact that We have got through the whole of tlie 180,000/. There is stilt left some 100,000/ for my hon. friend the member for Christchurch, or any other hon. member who wishes to try experiments in, Native land purchasing, to play with.” How far the hon. member or the government is entitled to credit for a wise and economical disbursement of this Land purchase fund of 180,000/ will be sufficiently seen by a brief statement of facts. From the returns moved for by the hon. member for Wairarapa, it appears • that of the 90,000/ allotted to Auckland, there ■ has been expended 29,108/, leaving a balance: of 60,892/; of the 36,000/ appropriated to Taranaki 2552/, leaving a balance of 33,448/; and of the 54,000/ allocated to the province of Wellington as originally constituted 46,382/, leaving a balance of only 7618/. Of the fairness and impartiality with which the last mentioned sum of 54,000/ has been spent, the house will be enabled to judge from the fact admitted by the Colonial Treasurer, that .while. 30,188/ been spent in Hawke’s Bay, only 16,000/ has been spent in the present province of Wellington. OF course the government, in the apportionment of the 54,000/,.. have been actuated by the purest motives—by an earnest desire to mete out equal justice between Wellington and Hawke’s Bay. I! have no doubt that the hon. member at the head of the government.will, as on a former occasion, disclaim auy intention to act unjustly towards Wellington, and will profess that in this as in all other matters —{Hear, hear, from Mr. Stafford] —liis great and chief anxiety has. been to promote its interests. But to say theleast, it is singularly unfortunate that facts, seem ever to belie his professions—that he never practices what he preaches But; sir, in order to show you how the Land, purchase'fund of 180,000/ has been, and still is being frittered away, Trhust'beg permission to lay before you the cost of the Land department. Of the 29,108/ expended in the province of Auckland, it appears from the return I have already referred to, the sum of 14,211/ was the cost of the department—[Mr. Richmond: Including the Purveys?]— yes, including the surveys of the. Land piu>.

eliase.department. This is equal to 49 per: cent, cf the amount,.expended. Of the 2,51 M > expended in Taranaki, .1,0117, or 40 per cent. ■ was spent, on the department.. Of the 16,000/ spent in Wellington, 4633/, or 29 per cent., was absorbed in ; the expenses of the department; and of the 30,188/, spent in Hawke’s Bay, 3.958/, or 13 per cent., was the cost of the department. Of the aggregate sum of 88,000/ expended in Zand purchase, no less than 23,815/was swallowed up in the expenses of the department, Comment upon such, a such facts as surely be wholly, unnecessary. Neither the government nor this house can be surprised at my protesting against guch scandalous waste of the public money being any longer permitted, But I protest not merely on account of the monstrous cost of this department, but because the Land Purchase Commissioners have, for the last few years, been really employechas political agents foreign to the duties for which they are paid. I submit, therefore, that it is unfair, unjust, to .charge the expenses of the department against the Land Purchase fund, and that the facts I have'-thus briefly alluded to speak powerfully in favour of the separation of the Land Purchase from tlie Native Secretary’s department. Speaking, sir, simply on behalf of the province of Wellington, / do earnestly hope and pray, that ministers, having regard to the small balance .of its 54,000/ unexpended (amounting only to 70001) will lose no time in dismissing the whole of : the staff connected with Mr. Serancke, and will simply charge the province with the salary of a district commissioner, on the understanding that the provincial government will provide surveyors. whenever required.;. To demonstrate if possible, still more, clearly, bow recklessly the Zaml Purchase fund is being squandered, I may mention—l speak in round numbers from memory—that the total amount expended in the purchase of land in Wellington ’(including the Ahuriril from the Ist January, 1853, , to the 30th September, 1859, was ,£112,000 ; that the cost of the Land Purchase department and surveys (general and provincial) cannot be less than 32,000/; making a total of 150,000/. The proceeds of Land sales for the same period have been £176,000; thus leaving an apparent profit on the transaction of 26,000/; but when it is understood that of this land sold only a tithe lias been surveyed, I need not say that instead of a profit of 26,000/, there will be. a loss probably of double or treble that amount. Such is the result of the Zand Purchasing operations in the province of Wellington. In what manner the Land Purchases in the province of Auckland, have been effected I shall leave my bon, friend its Superintendent to say. But the fact of so small a portion as 2511/of the, 36,000/ of the Taranaki Land Purchase fund being expended, after the unfortunate anxiety to acquire land in that province, is a sufficient proof that' the government are not entitled to claim any credit for having either husbanded or wisely administered those funds; that a balance of 100,000/ remains unexpended is isimply owing to the government having failed to acquire land.

Turning now to the estimates of Revenue, I must say I cannot congratulate the Colonial Treasurer upon the accuracy of his estimates. Nay,.l doubt whether any one holding the office of a Minister of Finance has ever committed such gross and g'aring blunders, or has shown so little capacity for making a reliable estimate as my hon. friend the Colonial Treasurer. It is impossible to point out a single estimate which he has ever framed that has approached to anything like accuracy. But the point to which, in connection .with this part. of the Financial Statement, I desire to draw the attention of this house, is, the very decided falling off in the increase of the Customs Revenue. I showed in 1856 that the average annual rate of increase for the nine years ended June, 1856, was 20 per cent. The increase 0f1856-57 over 1855-56 was 18 per cent., of 1857-58 over. 1856-57, 16 per cent., and of 1859-60 only per cent. The Colonial Treasurer himself, in his speech of 1858, stated that the regular ratio of annual increment for the seven years ended June 1856, was per cent., and that the average' annual increase of the European population for the same period was per cent. Now, sir, we have this remarkable fact staring us in the face, and for which my hon. friend did not attempt to account, —that while the population increased in 1859 over

that of the previous year per cent., while the imports rose from 1,141,2732 to 1,551,030 Z, or per cent.; while the exports of Ko-»r iicaiami produce ; rose from 433,9492 to 521,3082, or 20 per cent., and while during that year there was a very large sum expended in the purchase of Native lands, the Customs’ revenue only increased 10 per cent. Considering that during the previous seven years the ratio of annual increase had been 16| per cent., while the average rate of increase of the population had only been 10 per cent, it is clear that with an increase in the population of 20 per cent., in the imports of 35£ per cent., and in the exports of 20 per cent., the ratio of increase in the Customs, coeteris

paribus, ought to have been considerably more than 16| per cent., while in fact it was only 10 per cent. To what cause is this material falling off in the ratio of annual increase attributable? It can, there being no other disturbing cause in operation, only; be owing to the alterations effected in the Tariff by the present government., ' And here, sir, I cannot speak too strongly in condemnation of the present Tariff. Turn it any way you choose, place it in any possible light, and its excessive unfairness will he made conspicuous. Articles that are the

most important necessaries of life are singled i out for taxation, while articles that are used | exclusively by the wealthy either go scot free, < or are very lightly taxed. It appears to me that, under this Tariff, taxation is for the 1 benefit of the opulent, while .the industrious ■ classes are made to conti ibute an excessive < share of the taxes. To illustrate my mean* ing I will refer to a few items. Those descriptions of tea or sugar which would suit the circumstances of the poor are taxed to the same amount as the best descriptions used by the wealthy, On the same principle a cubic foot of silks and satins pays no more duty than a cubic foot of cotton gowns or blue shirts. The Tariff is however not only roost unjust in principle, but it is also unproductive of revenue, for the most bulky articles are generally free ;o.f duty. The loss of revenue cannot be estimated at less than from 10,000/ to 25,000/a year; for if the same ratio of increase had been : maintained as in previous yearsi the'CTistoms’ ■ receipts for 1859-60 instead of being 177,645/ would have been at least 186,000/; but in all probability, having regard to the increase of population, of imports, &c., the increase under the old Tariff would have been even move. Sir, I find that the Customs receipts per head in 1359-00 are ss. less than in the previous year, equivalent ’to a loss of 17,872/. The average receipts per head for the five years ended 30th June, 1859, were 21 16s„ or 7s. a head more than in the year just ended.. This shows a loss by the present Tariff of 25,000/ a year. It surely, Sir, can scarcely be a matter of surprise, when we find the government throwing away a premium of £50,000 on the Loan, and then some £25,000 of income, that the colony’-should'be plunged into financial.difficulties,- should be verging on bankruptcy. It is difficult to say whether their administration of Native or of Financial affairs has been most disastrous. If we turn now to . the expenditure, the state of affairs, is if possible, more unsatisfactory ; for if my bon. friend cannot create a revenue, be can. at any rate spend and dissipate one ; lie displays an amazing ability for burning the candle at both ends. If there has been a falling off in the ratio of the annual increase of the revenue, I am sorry to say that the same does not hold good of the expenditure. For we find that while the expenditure in 1856-7 was 65,770/., in 1857-58 it was 85,884 being an increase of 30 per cent. In , 1858-9. it was 104,750/. (exclusive of supplementary expenditure) being an increase of per cent., and in 1859 60 (including the unauthorised expenditure) no less than 145, 785/., being an increase of 40 per cent. The increase of the expenditure of 1860 over .that of 1857, a period of four years, is no less than 123 per cent.: and in this are not , included the war expenses, amounting already to some 40,000/. When it is thus seen that while the revenue in four years has increased only 63 per cent., the expenditure has increased during the same period 123 per cent., the provinces can have no difficulty in understanding how it is, that the surplus diyisable amongst them is becoming “ small by degrees and beautifully less.” With a revenue in 1856-7 of 123,089/,

the surplus divisible among the provinces was 55,0002, equal to 45 percent. With a revenue in 1857-8 of 146,4042, the surplus was 64,000, or 441 per cent. With a revenue in 1858-9 of 175,3102, the surplus was nominally 70,539 Z. I say nominally, for the whole of this 70,5392 has not yet been distributed to the provinces. With a revenue in 1859-60 of 202,2701, the surplus proposed by the Colonial Treasurer to be divided among the provinces is only 56,0002, or 27\ per cent What the surplus for the cumnt year (1860 1) will be depends upon the decision of this house. According to the Colonial Treasurer the excess of revenue over expenditure for 1850-1 will be 61,1802, being less than threeeighths of the gross customs by about 11,0002; but then there is the war expenditure,- amounting to some 40,0002, to say nothing of the other war expenses that are going on at such a frightful rate, that unless the Home government pays them they will more than absorb the whole revenue of the colony, both ordinary and territorial. Let us assume, however, that we have nothing to do with the war expenses; still the Colonial Treasurer admits that the sum of 40,000/ is a liability which we must pay. Deduct then this 40,0002 from the. estimated surplus of 61,0002, and you have for the current year a surplus of 21,000/ for the provinces ; that is, the provinces will

get barely 10 per cent, of the ordinary 1 revenue. Such, sir, is the starvation point to which my. hon. friend the < Colonial Treasurer is attempting to reduce the provinces. This brings me to a matter in which the provinces have a deep and vital interest. I refer to the refusal of the Colonial Treasurer to pay over the balances due to the provinces on account of the surplus ordinary revenue for the financial period ended the 30th June, ■ 1859. By the law there is no discretion left to the Colonial Treasurer. After debiting a province with its share of the expences of the General government, and certain other charges authorized by law, he is bound to pay over the balance or surplus to the province. Has

k the Colonial Treasurer done this ? He admits r that he has not. From the surplus revenue account: for the f period ended the 30th June, 1859, it appears 1 that, under the Surplus Revenue act of 1858, . there was a balance due to Auckland of 21762, i to Taranaki of 2452, to Wellington of 48632, to Hawke’s Bay of 1832, to Canterbury of 27982, to Otago of 7962, and that there was a balance due from Nelson of 11582. Sir, I i cannot help feeling that it was unfortunate for l the other provinces that: the province of Wei- t liugton should haye appeared in this balance 1;

sheet as so large -a-cr^ditor; for this fact "may i possibly accouut i fqrf',the-illegal and unjustifiable:: course pursued by. the Golouial -Treasurer. ji Instead of handing over these balances, the Colonial Treasurer pays to Canterbury a dividend of 55 per .cent., and to Wellington a dividend of 40 per cent. The Colonial-Treasurer tlius arrogates to himself the power of, setting aside the law—of dealing with the surplus revenues as he thinks fit. He will either, pay the provinces or not as he pleases ; and holds himself at liberty to vary his dividends~-to give one province 55 per cent,, to another 40 per cent., or what* ever other amount he* may choose. Such is, sir, the course pursued by the Colonial Treasurer in regard to the balances due on the 30th June, d,Bs9—a course so illegal, so unfair, and so calculated to seriously embarrass the'provinces,’ that I shall feel bound j to take the sense* of- the house upon it, by! moving a resolution to -the effect, that, these? and all other,balu»ces due to the provinees be forthwith paid. . -. r - - The plea,: and the only plea, urged by the government for not complying with the law, : is, that they have violated the law by iucur- , ring an .expenditure--of 38,000/ in excess of the appropriation sanctioned by this house. , To cover this unauthorized expenditure they , seize hold of the provincial balances. Air, let this bouse once admit such a pica, as justifying the:''government in -impounding the balances; due to■>the: provinces, and there is nothing to prevent the Colonial Treasurer, 1 by an unauthorized expenditure, from absorbing at any moment: the whole of the'surplus ordinary revenue, and leaving the provinces without a single farthing. The .Colonial Treasurer is exceedingly anxious to create-an impression that lie could not have paid these balances ; 'without either diminishing the advance of three-eighths of the gross customs, or edging the colony into debt, Had it not been foirbis illegal expenditure of 39,000/, or including his war expellees 80,000/,- the balances of surplus revenue might, have been paid either u with out any future diminution of the rate of advances,; or without running the colony into debt, I must again; warn this bouse, that if it once admits the doctrine’; that unauthorized expenditure justifies the government in withholding the amounts legally due to the provinces, there is an end of all secuiity to the provinces, and this house gives up and loses all check upon the expenditure of the General government. ; To prevent any tampering with the provincial balances, I propose to move a resolution that any unauthorized ' expenditure shall be charged (if not otherwise provided for) against the revenue of the year in which it is submitted to this house. • ; JThat, then, is it I claim on behalf of the

provinces ? / simply claim that the.whole balance of the revenue (for the biennial period ended the 30th June last) remaining after the authorized expenditure is defrayed, be treated as surplus distributable: among the provinces.

but of this 93,819/ the Colonial Treasurer only'means, if ?fhe. caw-help it, to give the provinces 56,000/. The surplus due to the provinces for the biennial period ended the 30th’June last is 164,379/, of which the Co. lonial-Treasurer intiihates his intention only to give the provinces 126,000/, thus depriving them of 38,379/ legally due to them. This 38,379/1 claim for the provinces under the Surplus Revenue act of 1858.

Having thus shown, amongst other things, that the expenditure of the colony has been increasing at double the rate of increase of the revenue; that there is a very material falling off of the ratio of- annual increase of the customs receipts; having endeavoured, I trust not altogether in vain, to trace that falling off to its true cause; haying pointed out the illegality of the course pursued by the Colonial Treasurer in withholding and misappropriating the balances legally due to the provinces ; and having demonstrated that the surplus .divisible.axnppg the. provinces,-if.-the present maladministration of the finances be much longer continued, will be reduced to nil, I might now close my remarks, were we not bound to consider what means we can adopt to restore the equilibrium-between Hie revenue and the expenditure—to relieve the colony from the financial difficulties into which it has been plunged by the present' government. It is evident that in this, ;asln other matters, the government have no policy of their own ; that those who have created these difficulties have no other idea of remedying them 'than by another loan.

In 1858, ministers, when they found 5p0,0002 placed to their ci edit—a sum more than equal to write off all their liabilities; when they found themselves with a; flourishing revenue-—a revenue amply sufficient to provide for all the requirements of the General government, an 4 to yield a handsome surplus for the proyin©es7f\tbenicthe proclaimed that they intended to keep out of further debt, and to make the. provinces do the same; they declared, that the. credit of the colony was high, arid they meant to maintain it unimpaired ; that-' tirts burdens were heavy enough, and should not be increased;

they boasted loudly of their financial administration; and yet two years have scarcely elapsed since these high-sounding phrases were uttered, before they throw them to the winds —come down to this house and are obliged to confess that they have outrun the constable — that the ,hjilf ; million. loan has well,nigh disappeared ; that the. expenses of the General government have swallowed up the Whole revenue; and that there is'not a single farthing for the provinces. Such really; is the result of the financial administration of his Excellency’s present advisers. Air, the Colonial Treasurer estimates the ordjnaryrevenue for the, current year 1 at 224,000/, and tlig ordinary expenditure at. 143,420/, leaving a surplus of 81,000/ distributabre among, the provinces » ha proposes to supplement this by a sum of 8000/, which he takes from some j suspense account, and expects to save some 12000/ or 3000/ more on the, appropriations ; jby this means he ' will make up a surplus for l ! , the ii pV6vihce4' equal to three-eighths. But lie said notbi ng, about the .sura of 40,000/ already j gone in war expenoes ; and.it is clear that if these war expenses, for which he. says we are liable, were paid out of the revenue, there would be; nothing for , the provinces. IThe colony is verging on bankruptcy, and the only remedy the .Colonial Treasurer suggests is l another loan of 150,000/.. Under such a deplorable state of affairs, it surely is the duty of this house to consider well what measures it oah'and will adopt to retrieve.the finances, to provide for existing liabilities, and also to give 1 to the provinces that fair share of ,the ordinary revenue to which they are entitled, which they have been led to expect, and withr out which it will be well njgli.impossible for them either to meet -their.' engagements or to carry on their goveiuments. A loan may be an inevitable necessity, but unless it he accompanied by other measures it .will merely stave oft’ the day of reckoning, 1 ultimately involving us in still greater difficulties. 2'here appear to me three courses open -—to reduce our expenditure, ;to increase our revenue, or to do both. With respect to retrenchments, there is no difficulty in effecting! a reduction' of some 25,000/. Without going through all the items, I would propose that we adopt t l;e recommendation of the Steam Committee, [and revert back to the original contract, by which we at once save 10,000/. Z'hen, by disbanding the Militia, and encouraging the Volunteer movement, We shall save some 3,000/. or 5,000/. and get rid of a service most odious to the people—a service which has already driven hundreds from the colony, and; will still drive thousands, if it be not got rid of. I next propose that we should abolish the District Courts, (at any rate in every province in which a judge of the Supreme Court resides) and should impose the duties of the distinct judges upon the judges of the -Supreme Court, J'wlio are certainly not overworked and who, .1 have no doubt, wduld uot object, to extra work, especially' if some moderate addition were made to their salaries. By abolishing these Courts, we get rid of an expenditure of nearly <£3,000. Then by postponing all. the public buildings which the Government propose to erect during the! current yeat, -we strike some <£5,000 off the. Estimates. Lastly, no one can look at the enormouse increase in every department of the Executive without perceiving that considerable reduction may be made without imparing their efficiency. When one sees that while Mr. Swain, ol did ; without a clerk, the present Attorney:General has got an Assistant Law Adviser and some three or four clerks: that while Dr. Sinclair liad not, I believe, more than two or three clerks, the present Colonial Secretary has an Under Secretary and some half-dozen clerks; and that the same inordinate increase prevails in the Treasury, and every other department, I cannot help questioning the‘wisdom of our pensioning off , the old officials for the purpose of establishing Responsible Government,—seeing that, carried on as it lias been by the present ministers, a greater sham and delusion was never palmed off upon any community. By these reductions we shall effect a saving pf ■ from 20,000/ to 25,000/. But this is not sufficient to place our finances in. a satisfactory state. I therefore would urge this house to . increase our •revenue by abolishing the measurement and tonnage rates, and reverting back to the system of ad valorem and fixed duties, by which, as I haVe already shown, ,we should, obtain an! addition to the revenue of at least 25,000/ a year. I advocate the ad valorem sjTstem—not' merely because ...it.. would,. increase the revenue, but’because, it is the fairest in principle; arid’ because the change would be hailed with satisfaction by. all classes of., the community. If these financial . remedies are adopted/! believe that there. would be no necessity for a permanent loan, but that our present difficulties could be met by . an, issue of exchequer bills to an. amount sufficient to pay the balances due to the provinces, to continue

the advance to them of three-eighths of ; the gross customs, and to cover the past unauthorized expenditure. At any rate, it must be admitted that the measures I have proposed are practical, not theoretical, and that they have this further merit, that they, may be at once applied. I will merely add that when the ucuse goes into committee of, supply I shall inove the following resolutions; , 1. That the Balances due to the Provinces under the Surplus Bevenue Act. of 1858, on account, of the Surplus Ordinary.. B evenue for the financial period ended the 30th June, 1860 j ought to ■be vpaid iforthwith. i 2, That this House re-affirms the principle laid down by the JfinanceCominittees of 185556, thatall unauthorisedn expediture is.a liability s for whiph provision ought to: be made out of the Current; Bevenue of the year in which it is submitted to this House. (Applause.) . .

TO 27th AUGUST.

How does the account stand ? The revenue for 1858-50 was <£175.310 The authorized expenditure 104,750 Leaving a surplus of £70,560 divisible among the provinces. Of this, however, the Colonial;Treasurer has kept hack some thousands. : The revenue for 1859-60 was £202,771 The authorized expenditure 108,952 Leaving a surplus for the Provinces of ' £93,819