PARLIAMENTARY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1793, 20 September 1884, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

(United Press Association)

[By Telegraph.]

In the House yesterday Mr Walker gave notice of motion for the country volunteer corps to be placed on a better footing, Mr Seddon gave notice to ask the Government to introduce a Bill compelling vendors of medicines, tobacco and cigars to take out licenses, such revenue to go to local bodies. :■; '..: Mr Hursthonse gave notice to ask if the Government intended to revive immigration.

In.answer to question? the Government said the Maori traditions were not yet complete. The annual report of the Deads Registration and Land Transfer Department would be pre-: sented nept week. With reference to pattern posts the Government were making enquiries with a view of enabling parcbls to be sent to England of the same size as most of those, sent from that country here, ■:■■'.. The following bills were introduced: False Notice of Birthjkj Dog Registration, and abill to amend the Juries Act. ■ v.- -;''. ;:.'v:,

The Public Revenue Bill was introduced from the Governor and read a first time. . ;•■

• Sir J, Vogel explained that the object of the bill was to provide for the L 50.000 of deficiency bills mentioned in the Statement. It would be necessary to pass the bill on Tuesday. The' Parliamentary Honorarium and Privileges Bill was read a second time. Captain Russell intimated that when in committee ho would move the reduction of the honorarium by half. The Public Health Act and Slaughterhouse Act were read a second time, and the Foreign Companies Act was passed.

At the evening sitting, Major Atkinson taid the statement was an empty one, and failed to grasp with ioiportant features of finance. The statement had not shown any entanglement or mismanagement of the finances. He explained that in October last there fell due L 20.000 of loan raised in 1873, and he had omitted to explain this in the last statement. The debentures were, however,. in the hands of the public trustee/and he left them until he decided how the matter was be settled, 'The''.'Colonial Treasurer had not said a.; word about tliis. Then- with regard to the floating debt, they found from the statement that £450,000 out-of the Colonial debt was accepted as temporary, and for a year, as he (Atkinson) had before suggested. " There was a deficit of £150,000 last year, and why did the Treasurer relieve the Property Tax so as to decrease .the amount, simply because it was to make things pleasant. Everything in the statement tended that way, and the Treasurer had not courage to say anything which would be disagreeable. He, in the last statement, had a clause which said he could carry on without extra taxation. He was.quite prepared to do this. Take off £26,000 expended on extra to session. £15,000 on Civil Service reform, which he would have shown to the House, and £IO,OOO for Charitable aid, and thou you had a large and clear > saving. The Treasurer had said with regard to education that he could get a better article at'less .cost. Ho'-had uot, however, shown how this was to be done. There was also nothiug. definite about railways. The late Government had the courage of its opinions, and had not been afraid to raise rates whether acceptable or not, He was ut loss to understand the two pages in the Statement which treated of loans and. sinking fund, and he doubted if any member did. Every sentence bore a double meaning. He defended his Government against the charges made against them with referenco to the inscription of stock, and said they had acted on the advice of Sir Penrose Julyan, who was one of the ablest financiers in England. The loan agents, ho admitted, had done their part admirably, but it was only justice to say that the result obtained was the outcome of the Govemnenfc management of finance, He next referred" to the sinking fund, and said one apparent reason for taking the fund was that the colony bad been dozing for five years. Well, he would show them that it had not. He looked at the increase in immigration, grain had doubled itself, the frozen meat trade had sprung up, and we had two of the finest direct steam lines, The Treasurer could not show a better record, The late Ministry had spent L 1,000,000 on public buildings, and how was the Treasurer to provide for these buildings in the future. He felt sure the House would not agree to au additional loan. The Treasurer was going to relieve the sinking fund by L 244.000. The only way he could do this was by inscribing the stock before the end of the financial year, in othor words he would have to borrow the amount to recoup the consolidated fund. He was of the opinion that some substantial reason should be given why such a large amount of taxaeion should be taken off, and those who supported the Treasurer were. avowed supporters of the Land Tax, The member for Auckland East saw his way to get the land tax imposed, and he seized it, Sir G. Grey in fact was master of the situation. He would not refer to public works in the absence of the statement, and said the scheme for borrowing a million a year was a great success, He contended that the royal commission to enquire into the question of local government was useless; day after day they heard the Government decline to deal with important applications on the plea of want of time, yet many agreeable actions were to be taken, such as increased capitation to Volunteers, and Fire Brigades were to receive aid. The Financial Statement, he asserted, was the most unsatisfactory one he had ever heird.

Mr Moss moved that in the existing condition of finances of the colony it is not desirable to reduce taxation unless there be corresponding reduction in the cnrrent expenditure of the Government of the colony. Sir Julius Vogel characterised Major Atkinson's speech as that of an old scold, and of one who lamented he

had not brought forward proposals himself. The Government hadAflt used the eetimatea of the late Government, but had done their best, to revise them. In respect to the Civil Service returns he said it was utterly unwarrantable and disgraceful that a Bill drawn up should have been removed from/the Government offices, the BjjS, involving as it did a policy which, wasr the property of the-Colony- if only the preamble had been framed, A reason why exposures had not been made in the statement was because that the document would be received in England and other places. He said the dealings with 120,000' referred; to by. Major Atkinson did not reflect credit oh that gentleman, The late Government certainly had the courage of its'opinions to such an extent that the. Colony wanted a change. He defended their action in reducing Property Tax, and there was rejoicing from one end of the colony to the other, The-whole ot the arguments of the late Treasurer had been such as to confirm the merit of the statement. If the late not forced Sir George Grey som&TPne back to take a. 2| million instead of a four million loanj the colony would be in a better position at the present time. The member for Egmont had brought finance into such an entanglement as the, House was unable to understand it. If the bbn. gentleman thought be would frighten him (Vogel) he was very much mistaken. .There was, be said, evidence from all par.ts of the colony that the .proposals of the Government were favorably received. He characterised Major Atkinson as a baby in connection with finance. Mr Wakefield said the Colonial Treasurer, instead of using arguments, had called names, and .the whole speech was ungenerous. Mr Wakefield continued with reference to thebonds for £20,000 which Sir Julius Vogel had said were dishonored. He said if the Treasurer had never done anything more illegal with bonds and debentures he would not have erred to any great eptent. The whole principle oftho Statement was borrowing. Theajgn. gentleman had something for fmybody, but he (Mr Wakefield) thought it was the most unsatisfactory statement which had been delivered in the House. Sir Julius Vogel came to the colony as a sort of" Paul Pry" with " I hope I don't intrude, just looked in, and am off again to-morrow" air. He ridiculed the exportation of frozen meat to the Indian Ocean and Arafuta Sea; also the intention to hold industrial : exhibitions. There was, however one thing they heard in the statement, and that was blocks of land wero to bo secured along the line of route of a North Island Trunk Railway. He hoped the Treasurer would give a guarantee to that effect,. because speculators were already in the field. The House adjourned at 1 a.m.