THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2661, 30 July 1887, Page 2

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Hojt. J. BALLANCE AT THE THEATRE ROYAL.

'• The were';, between six and seven hundred present at the Theatre Royal, Masterton last evening (Friday) including a number ofladies, when the %n. John Balkijce delivered an address on •' the political situation." Mr A. W. Benall occupied the chair. The speaker, on being introduced was loudly cheered, and commenced by saying that'he should not discourse upon the subject with the impartiality

of ,4'judge, but point out his views to the best of his ability,-and place only his;own views before them, The present position of affairs was extremely complicateil as so many issues of a side character) had been introduced

into the present election, that it was impossible for any ordinary person to cope successfully with them. , They had been told by the Opposition and press generally that retrenchment was necessary, and he had no doubt the. orying demand of the colony was retrenchment. There were some schemes, which, if earned out, would •not'be retrenchment all, but which

would impair. the. efficiency of the service and make it more costly to the state. By what he could discern in this cry, was that every district wanted retrenchment, even if it was at the expense ot another. Theve was no harm or offence in shedding a brother's blood (applause). For instance, through the terms of the Sheep Act, and the efficiency of the officers of the Department the colony has been

rendered free from sheep disease, and j the Government had come to the conclusion that they could leave a clean district without an Inspector, but immediately the officer was removed the people of the placo say " You must not touch a hair of his head. (Laughter) Referring to the Otago Central Railway which the Government were constructing through rough and hilly country, he said that a syndicate was formed to carry a line through the best part of the country in opposition to'the' Government one, and that

there was a proposal to give tlicm Crown land to the value of a quarter of million of money, and yet, when the vote was to be taken on so vital a question, the leader of the Opposition —Major Atkinson—absented himself from the House, Sir John Hall, Major Atkinson, and other prominent members of the Opposition had said that they wanted a less expensive system of educatien. They say the present one is too expensive,, yet those gentlemen had seen the system in work for ten years, and had riotfounc fault with its expense till the present

election, He considered that the most valuable period in the education of children was between the ages of. five and seven, and although the proposition to raise (he minimum to seven years might turn out 185,000 children from our schools at a saving of of £IBO,OOO, he thought it would'be an injudicious thing to do, as he considered that tlio groat succobs of the' standard schools was the outcome of the excellent preparatory sohools. If the lower standards wore cut out he contonded tnat the children of the working classes would be the

sufferers, as they could not. as a rule; afford to let them stay at school. lie had issued a challenge, which had not'been taken up, to prove that tho majority of the children in the fourth and fifth standards woro of the working classes. There, was 'a

desire on tho part of tho working classes to educate their children, which should be .encouraged. Ho did not consider the payment of fees for the higher standard would be retrenchment, and unless tho children received the full .benefit of education. New Zealand must eventually fall b.ohindand' suffer maiterial'loss .and

disparagement in comparison with other colonies, He would not say that retrenchment could not bs carried out in this branch of the public service, and referred 'to Sir Robert Stout's proposals to deal with .it by a system of tapering off, without in any way impairing the efficiency. He

said one half of the sohools in the colony had only one teacher. It ■ required the same amount of teaching power for forty as for fifty children, and those persons who spoke so much about retrenchment knew very little about the question in this department, No one could say that the teachers were overpaid, they were in fact not paid 'enough. It was necessary to get teachers of the highest character as the character of the child depended upon the character of the teacher. He explained that the system was so arranged that the town schools assisted in a measure to pay for the country ones, the expenses of the latter being considerably more in comparison with the former. He warned them to be careful in their schemes of retrench-.-ment, otherwise they might do away' with those institutions that the people not spare—institutions of vital importance to the Colony, (cheers). The opposition had virtuously said, takeoff £2OOO from the Governor's salary, and there would be 412000 saved, and if the selection was left with the people there was just as much likehood that they would elect as good a man for £2OOO a year, as the Downing Street party were likely to nominate. IJe contended that there were different qualities of Governors, and passed a high enconium on Sir William Jervois. He advocated the payment of members' so that men of ability with limited means Bhould not be kept out of the] House. If payment was abolished it would be a Parliament for the wealthy- legislating for themselves. He said- the people of the colony must look to their constitution, and see that their privileges were not [impaired. He denied that there was. anything in the constitution, saying that the Upper House should represent the monied classos, it should be in sympathy with the Lower House. He contended that it was really an elective chamber as the members were nominated by a Committee from the popular side of the House. He thought half payment was quite enough for them, and advocated a term of office for them for seven or ten years, considering that would be quite long enough, as they could then drop out, attend to their domestic concerns and prepare for another world (Laughter). It wa3 asked why was not the Government retrenching ? The answer was

because the people would not" let them; If the people were sincere the Government would do it, and he maintained that they had effected considerable savings since they had been in office. He would not bother them with but referred them to-Sir Robert Stout's and Sir Julius Vogel's statements. TAXATION. The great question was, How was taxation to be put on ? He said the whole secret of the.embittermentof

the Opposition was the principle of the Progressive Property Tax,—the boldest innovation yet introduced by any Government. , The 'Opposition would not' swallow the pill however it was gilded over. (Cheers). The proposal of : the Government was, ithat properly up to £2,500 should have the £SOO exemption, over' that amount, it..should be taken off and tip to £2,50.0 should pay j a. rate of thirteen-sixteenths of a penny in the■£,. and over' that, a penny in the £. He thought they should go further thanthfit, and ■ foy every £IO,OOO ail extra farthing "in .the .& should be

imposed, Jand for all large holdings, a land tax should." be introduced. Some say lfGo badk to the Land,-Tax of 1878,".. he would' say," go forward to the land tax of 1878, by adopting I the progressive property and land tax." (Cheers). He did not think real and personal property should pay the same tax, the land should pay 'more as. it rose in value. He knew property increased half a million through a Government railway going near it, and considered that it would , be just and reasonable for the lucky individual tb contribute something to the state, as he was enriched by the credit of the Colony, and it would only be asking the man to pay to the Stote what was justly duo to it. He briefly alluded to the tariff, and said ii

was impossible to got an unbiassed opinion from the Chambers of Commerce on tho subject as they were closely allied to the Opposition. He considered the necessaries of life should not be taxed. (Cheers). PBOTEOTION, He would protect things that could be well made in the colony, so that

the manufactories would be encouraged. Some people said they were made to pay for things they did not require, but the question was to be looied at in a broad sense. The farmer was as much interested as the people of the towns. The beat and steadiest markets were the towns, and it was to the farmer's interest that it should be so. The foreign markets had ruined the farmers of the Colony. In 1877, sixty-four million pounds of wool was exported from the Colony and in 1887 •this was raised to' ninety million pounds, and although there was such anincrease of weight, the price of it had fallen £8,000,000. Some said the Government were responsible, and wero driving capital away. It was true that capital was leaving the Colony, but it was leaving because their products wore of less value. The fluctuation of the markets was enough to ruin any country. The freetraders should look these facts fairly in the face, and try and establish, steady

markets in the Colony. He wanted to see. all olasscs prosperous, with a steady market for their produce, He considered -the Colony the best market in the world for its own products excopfc wool.- Out of Six million bushels of wheat raised iu the Colony last year four millions were, for homo consumption. He would refer to what some of the socalled protectionists said. Major Atkinson aaid at Hawora that if tlioy took off tho protective' duty one half

the people would/leave the Colony, and now- ,ha- said he was neither a Freetrader nor a Protectionist, (laughter). Ho said Major Atkinson was evidently one of those who believed iu revenue first, consumer second, and produce third, hut he (the speaker) j would say produce first, consumer second, and revenue third, as he con-

sidered that if theproducer was prosperous the whole community would be. benefitted. Ho had no desire to set class against class. The Freetrader's cry he argued was cheap labor, but what was required for. the Colony was steady and lucrative employment.

SETTLEMENT. He had been connected with the settlement of Crown Lands for the past three years, and was generally spoken of as a most disreputable character (Cheera and laughter)" His greatest fault was, that he had the audacity to upend £65,000 in settling the people on the Ci'own Lands .of the Colony ; without the consent of Parliament,. (Cheers) He defended his action iit. connection with this matter, by saying", that he knew lie had the people with 1 him in his endeavor to settle them ohWaste Lands, and he hoped the time was not far distant when the people" would go in entirely for the perpetual' leasing system, which meant in the end Land Nationalisation. (Cheers) Some people said that the Government did not go in lor settling all clasaea onthe land, and that they did not encourage the cash system, but he could tell them that the cash system had been carried on under the present Government, as under the previous ones, but the reason they had not been so extensively taken advantage of was tlio low price of produce and the. faot that largetracts of laud wore not pat into the; market at low figures as was the casein' fast years; ' He had. followed the wishes Qf the people in connection with the special settlomeutß. They had applied for land and said "give us ten years to pay for it," and he had given them' the-facilities for so doing, with the- result that in ten years there bad been four hundred families settled in the Wairarapa with every prospect of making; theuiselveß happy#, aiid comfortable for life. (Cheers,) He had with' difficulty got the Mangataino'ke block of sixty thousand acres from the natives, which .was now thickly populated, aud which might have been placed in the market in large blocks' at low figures and snatched up by capitalists. He contended that the cry for the cash system was at present a significant one, and was owing td the faot that the leased of the Canterbury runs expired in two years, and tho Opposition wished to get the cash system bo that those tracts of land could be pub in the market and sold, but lie would never be a party to sacrificing the public estate for the purpose of raising the revenue. (Cheers.) Wh,en he took office be found there were thousauds of. bis fellowanen who werS looking for . employmontv>'and instead . of setting, them to work in filling up 'holes and other useless jobs he devised the plan of settling them oh the waste lands. By this means the public estate was 1 being improved, and the money spent

more satisfactorily than was the when the previous Government employed them on unproductive public : works. With regard to the statement

that he had spent £65,000 without the . consent of the House, he said that in 1886 he asked lor £SOOO for that year, and then afterwards said he should quire £50,000 a year to carry outlfe ~ settlement scheme. The House wd gone into the question with their eyes ■■ bpeh, an cite asked the verdict ; of,' his.' fellow cituens whether he had. 'done'. ■ wrong or not. (Cheers) They were • creating communities .wfiete there .was-.. previously' desolation, He" considered;;. ; the State the best .landlord .the people could'have, and he would not bo in*. >■>: clinecl to press for' the rent of .their. tenants, believing tliat tbey were repay* ' iug the state by improving the land, ' and paying rates through the customs. Tho time had not arrived when his Land Nationalization Scheme should bo brought into operation in the North Island, but contended that it could be J done in the South Island, whore the large ®

estates wero being held by individuals to tho detriment of the cohny at large. He was quite prepared todrivo capital away from the Colony if it meant breaking up large estates, as there was no limit to wealth but there was with land, and he argued that the land ef New Zealand should ever reniaiu tho heritage of the people. (Cheers.) ; IHMIQBATIOK. It had been said that the time had arrived when there should be a different ' class of immigrants brought into the " Colony— men with capital, Tho Government had tried to introduce that'

system, and had within nine months, induced fifty-six families with a capital of £25,000, to come the Colony. A large portion of the money had been placed in the hands ot the AgentGenoral in London to pay over to them on their arrival in New Zealand. From enquiries made, it was found that nearly every one of those immigrants had spent their money in purchasing improved farms, and wero not a class

to aubduo tho forest of the Colony. He found that the sons of the sellers, the young colonists, were tho;moßt valuable settler in bringing the waste lands of the Colony under cultivation. He bolieved that the Government would have to go still t further. Larger road making powers must be adopted, for upon that everything depended. He did not say that every man must have a road to his door, nor say, like the gentlemau who Svas standing for the liush electorate/that roads should be made before tho lands wero sold. He (the speaker) could speak with confidence on this subject, as be had given it great consideration, NATIVE LANDS.':

Before introducing his Bill dealing with native lauds, it was only the monied class that could get the nativo iands—men who could {lay large suras of money to [rave the way for their purchases. He saw that the -small settlers aud poor men could not get it, and introduced the system of obtaining the pre-emptive righWrom the natives so that their lauds .could be disposed of the same as tho crown lands of the colony. He did -,cm whethor the' natives sold their land or not, but if it was sold, they would have the satisfaction of knowing that it was disposed of in a legitimate manner. At one time the speculator got all the good land und the Government the bad, but things had been reversed, and now the Government got all the best lai;d. (Cheers.) He said if his Bill had not been passed the splendid Mangatainoke hlojk would have been in, the bands of a few runholders instead of.being settled with the four hundred families as it was at present. There was no injustice dono to the natives:! at the same time it tjav# enormous power to tho Government. It had been said that the natives wished the act repealed, but no doubt they had boon tuned up to it by the Opposition; but he hoped the people would not have it repealed until there cqjild be shown good reasons for it. (Cheers.) Bible in schools, In alluding to the Associations in favor of religions education in the State schools, he said that by tho introduction of the Bible in schools, great injustice would be done to teachers and scholars who, from religious scruples, could not take part in it, and who would be compelled tostuy away from school while that part of the instruction 'was being given He referred to the tfeißou system advocated by Major Atkinson in 1877 as pressing unfairly on thß Catholic party, but now, wheu the Major found that lie required tho ; support of the Catholic party, ho (tho speaker) thought it strango that he 'should be found voting against it, Ho contended that tho kelson system would press unfairly ou the Catholics , : where they were in the minority, and though he would not say that the ; Catholics should not participate in the Education system in large centroa, ha would not he prepared to support a.'/.'! scheme unless it could bo shown thai' town and country would benefit alike under-it. (Cheers,) .//" QOVEBKHBNT POLICY. The future policy of the Government , he summed up as follows: —They intended to carry out further retrenoh-

ments to the extent of £BO,OOO or £IOO,OOO, Protestion of the young industries of the colony, so that they could he placid on a sound footing. Ho had,not advocated ftwholesale of ■ protection without making duo Inquiry as to the effect it would have upon the people of the colony, and it aunt, be done without cruslpg any industry in their midst. A progressive land tax. The Government would standby the proposals as brought down by Sir Julius Yogol,. but he hoped it would lead to the land tax touching the large properties, as proposed by himself. Borrowing for reproductive works only, the best iu bis opinion being road making, bo that the lands could

be opened for settlement. They could not knock ; off the borrowingat one?, and great care would ■ spent. .(Ceeara). Settlement oHhui Waste Lands. He contended that it must notcame.to a.standstillj and said the issue was tobe between the preuont Government's Special, Village, .'and Small Run schemes, and the gridiron

pojjjfrof tho Canterbury members. In conclusion, he said ho could leave it with confidence in tho hands of the people'of the Colony, and asked for their support in carrying out his policy. Mr Ballanc'e then resumed his sent amid prolonged cheering. QUESTIONS.'

that the 1 District hailways 'were taken over tiy, the .Government-to relieve the ratepayers in .those districts/' und was done .at the expense of the Colony,' The Kail ways are self-support-iflg, and/better jan naged under Government control than they were before., In a'nSwer. to Mr Lyons, he was afjiti that the power of the CanterOtago,members in the House was to great to allow the Government to restore the' Educational endowments of the South Island to tho common funds of the Colony. He did not ; think it would be just to commence restoring iheui, as it would have to &doue all over the Colony, but conaT^eu' that the children of the working clauses should have'greater facilities for obtaining education at the high schools. The wealthy could send their children to Oxford and Cambridge, whereas tho poorer class could not. (Cheers,) Mr Woodroofe proposed a hoarty vote of thanks to Mr Bjilbuice for his address, and confidence in the general policy of the present Government, particularly in the administration of publio lands, Mr Gardener, contractor, seconded the proposition. Mr G. Eeetbam said he had intended to move a vote of thanks to Mr BatffKjce, as he knew they were always pleased to welcome a statesman among them, whether ho was the same opinion as themselves or not. He was glad to, ;have heard tho policy of tho and what they intended to the future' He did not'approve of moving votes of confidence at public meetinqs, as it always had a tendency to raise dissention in otherwise orderly assemblies. The Wairarapa district had to thank Mr Bulltfjite for the introduction of his land as they had greatly benefited by it, and he called upon Mr Ballance to say whether he had not dono ' all in his power to assist in his scheme of land settlement. He did not believe in' all of Mr Ballance's policy,and it wos for the electors to say who tlie v would cliooso after having heard him (Mr Bfj'dthanj) state his whole policy. (Cheers). , was then put and curried rathe voices. Mr- Ballance in returning thanks said ho had always received the support of the Land Board of which Mr Beetbatn wan a member, and that they had rendered him every assistance to carry out his schemes. (Cheers). A vote of thanks to tho chair concluded the meeting.