WOODVIILE ELECTION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2678, 19 August 1887, Page 2

WOODVIILE ELECTION.

MR BAKER AT EKETAHUNA,

Mr Horace Baker, a candidate for the Woodville electorate, addressed a largely attended meeting in the Eketahuna School house on Thursday evening. ' .

Mr Von Redeo, J.P., wasvoted to the chair and, in a few well chosen remarks introduced the candidate.

'• Mr Baker, who was loudly applauded, commenoed by reviewing the present financial position of the colony, The present Government wanted to increase taxation through- tbd ! Customs, which really meant that ,the working classos would have to pay beyond their ability to do so. He would usk: Was it fair to expect them to do so 1 (Cries of No, No, and applause,)-The proper remedy lay in retrench tuont. The Finanoial Statemont of' last session Bbowed a deficiency of £130,000. The question was how could it be made up? They could uofc effect a saving when Ministers wero delivering, speeches in difforent centres to further .tbeh* political views, at the expense of the ratepayers (applause). That was not the way to oarry out retrenchment, He referred to the difforent departments where great savings could be effected. It would have to be doue by amalgamating departments and cutting down salaries, When engaged as Commissioner of Crown Lands in the Napier Distriot ho had to make out two returns, one for the Auditor-General aud the other for the Land Revenuo De-partment,-both containing, the same information. There was no real necessity for the two returns. This sort of thing was merely done to find employment for junior clerks in Wellington,. The high rate -of the Under-Sec-retaries salaries depended on. the number of clerks engaged i under them. If their salaries were' to be kept up it was to their interest to keep on as many clerks as : possible. (Applause,) The work of auditing the accounts of local bodi.es-. -.could be equally as well raauaged by oleics resident in the district, who would be

only too glad to; do so at a nominal sum. He knew -,of a clerk who was j sent tip from Wellington to audit vouchers, not.forty miles from Eketahuiia, who, after spendingiDiy or two over them, went away, promising.to return in the course of a few days and 'finish-them, but instead of doingjjo he went to an hotel and got on the... spree.-., (Laughter) This was.--only one instance how the affairs of the

(Applause,) .Wfhough't a saving of' £IO,OOO could .easily be made, in the Treasury department, Before an. acoount could be paid it had' to'paSs through : the handa-of at least eight or ten clerks, and everyone knejfiwh'o Bad any dealings with.the Government the delay : that was ticcasioned before tlie ■ money, was received. (Applause.) -Any business manpoald reduce the whole of at into a nutshell. The money should be paid direct by somo officer appointed by thb Govern- • meut who resided in the iuimediato neighborhood., .Referring' 'to foreign mails, he thought they could.do without the San Francisco mail aer'vico. Tho direct lino' of staunors were quite suffioiont; Ho.did not think it would bo suoh a serious matter if the English mails were one or two days late, and it would mean the saving of thousands of pounds to the colony. (Hear, hear.) Auckland was the only, place which reaped the benefit, and it wag not fair that wo should havo to bear the burden. (Applause.)' There could also be a saving of something like 15,000 in tho Customs. Amongst; others :ho considered the services of the Government steamer Hinomoa might be dispensed with. It was purchased in the days when tliey had trouble with the natives, and as that danger was now orer, he considered the Stella was quite capable of doing all tho Work that was required. If members, wished to travel about, let them do so by the Union Company's steamers. (Applause), With ieler» once to Native legislation, he thought the time had arrived when ■theycould look after themselves. He thought if the lißnd Boards had the sole control, a. saving of £5,000 could be effected. Speaking on the subject of defence, he did not think there was any necessity to'keep up tho expense of a permanent force. This alone cost £40,000 a year, and if they were to out down expenses, ho thought this was an item thatcould bo"dispensed" with. The Survey Department was so elabotate

that he thought, in due time it would break down of its own weight, Refer•ing to' Waste Lands Boards, he. considered they had 1 been filled by political -supporters of the Government. (No No, and Yos.) He instanced the class of men who occupied positions on the'various Land Boards. In Hawkes

"Bay there was a carpenter, (laughter) dti ironmonger, and a photographer, (R'euowed laughter) sitting as members 'toadministor tho Waste Lands. ■ He "would like to know what they knew about land.. (Applause). These men depended' tipoil the Chief Surveyors and Commissioners for their' information. If that was so, he felt, certain they could do without them.. (Applause). As showing, the wilful dxpendituro of public tnouey lie stated that.the other day a party of Governineut officials, including the SurveyorGeneral and; Cora.niissioner of Crown Lands, and one or' two others paid a viait'for tho purpose of inspecting the. Village iSettlemonts, ■ in a conve'yanco drawn by five horses, He did hot

think that was tlio correot thing to do at the expose of-' the.- Colony. (Applause). If they wanted a change 'far-the benefit of their health, let them pay for if out of their own private purse (bear hoar.) .Referring .to Crown and Native lands, he thought tho latter ought- to' \>ay their own . rates, and tho Goverornont those of the 'former. Thero was an expenditure of between £1 6,000 and £17,000 in the State Forest' Department'; He was sorry to see that there were very 'fow forost roservos w here

the timber was worth reserving, He thought a saving of ,£6OOO could he niade in this department if it was left in the hands of the surveyors and

•angers to look after. The honorarium

paid to members of Parliament he considered could be reduced by one half. Ho was also in favor of reducing tho number of members to one half. Considerable time would also he saved if each member were not allowed to

speak more than tenor b'fleenminutes unless it was on an important debato, such as a no-confidenoe. motion, 4c,--With reference to "the; Governor's salary, ho did not believe in reducing it at the present time, but they Bhould wait until a now one was appointed, and then reduce it by about one half. (Applause.) He believed thero were many capablo men .at Home who would bo only too glad to -accept half

the amount that was now paid to their present Governor., [Applause).., He was of opinion that considerable • savings could be effected in the Public Works Department. Ministers were all paid and he thought it unfair that'

;hey should have fino houses and furniiure at the expense of the.country, Jiey could well afford to pay. that ex-

pense, A great saving could, also be made in the construction of railways,' He referred, in very strong terms to the action of the present. Government, in discharging a person named"Vickers from the Native Department; and taking on three extra hands in his place. Theße men were no doubt political

friends of Mr Ballance or his supporters. (Cries of no, no, and yes.) He briefly referred to the unsatisfactory position which tho Colony held'iu the London market. Now Zealand securities were lower than any'of the other Australasian Colonies,, .with the excoptiouof Queensland. - They must have money to complete.:; their.; main trunk lines, aud thore was'no'othor way of getting them finished, unless thev went in for borrowing. Ho considered where the Natives had bene, fitted by road and railways they should be rated. The way in which railways were managed was anything but satisfactory. Under their present system of management, the railway department, instead of trade.

were keeping it back, (applause), On the subject of land, he thought it was the duty of the Government, to mako the Land Act as simple as possible", He held that the deferred payment system could be made easier, At present a

selector was limited to 320 acres. He considered that this #as too little for a man with capital. If they wanted to Bee settlement carried on successfully, he considered a person should be allowed the right of acquiring 1000 acres, It would give a capitalist an opportunity of finding employment for men round .about. He "did . not believe in Mr Balance's soheme of allowing As-i sociations to-take-Up some'of the finest blocks of : land-. in:,the Foftf in the open "yuerket, so as'to let ever/' orie\ ha mih .opportunity of purchasing/ (Applause). He- • ■ maintained' that it had; been disposed' in .this way .bj' raewr ■ political ■fluijpwterr; bf- : Mr Bjlltiiice;. (Cries of ipent); ; ''He' knew fora fact that'an Association had'recently, been formed pt the Hutt for the purpose of taking up'a large block of land, and to make Burs' of getting it they-went to Mr Fitzherbertj and told him if he did-'not secure the land for theai they wouldnot Vote'for Mm, Tbo result was that Mr Fittherbert wont to Mr Ballance, and tho wishes of.the Association'wero "granted. It. was most unjust that those men should' havo the preference'over nienwh'o were in the distriot. (Prolonged applause), He was opposed to theperpetual lease syßtero, but was a firm believer in the small grazing ruu system. ' He, was strongly opposed to the Village Settlement. BCjietne, and characterised it as being the means of creating an unemployed olass in the busb diatrictßi The- effect of this system was already apparent iu Bahiatuaand Woodville; and he .quoted one or two illustrations to bear out the truth of hia. stateiient. He: preferred a land, tax to' a .property tax. The Native Lands' \must be taxed.; by so doing they would eithor force :the Natives to sell their land or improve their properties, This. tax would get at the large landowners, who, he considered, were not bearing their fair share of taxation; (hear, hear) lie was not iu favofof taxing anyone under i2OO. With' regard to education, he could hot see'where any saving could be effected, unless it was in the neconditry branch, and then he did not think.it worth having. He was opposed to. altering the ago of attending sohool from five to seven. If this were done it would simply mean closing the greater portion of tho'lmall country Bchools.'in fact he.considered it would be a mistake td interfere.with the present Act at all. With reference to the question of Free trade aiiid Protection he would inform them that he was. a firm belifver in Freelrade. There had been : a great deal' said about high ] wages in Victoria, but from what he! could learn they were lower thau. in New J Zealand. He was in favor of abolishing County Councils-, and leaving the whole ot the work in the bauds of Road Boards, He felt sure by dividing the various Boards into wards they would reap a greater benefit) ; The; state of the Forty Mile Bush'road, which, was under the control of the Oounoil was disgraceful. The Alfredton ratepayers paid something .like £3OO a year to the County and all thoy got in return waa'one:surface, mail to look after their roads, and thoy all. know hdw much one mail could do inkeeping a road of this dificriptioa in, repair. HethofighttheGliairmiinoftlie various Koad Boards should be the propor persons to olectQU Land Boards and that aieetinga should, take, place-, every'.three months/instead of fortnightly.. This''district had been rerymcoh neglected.', by the Board. I« was the duty of their memberu not only to open up Crown Lands in Alfredton but also the whole of that over the Puketoi ranges, Thero was nothing to prevent its boiog takon up yoars ago, • The greater part of this was only auitablo for sheop. grazing, but if the late Government regained power they would make special settle' mbntsofit,