MR HOGG AT PAHIATUA.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3670, 24 November 1890, Page 2

MR HOGG AT PAHIATUA.

;, Mr A. WV Hogg • addressed two '■ hundred 'electors' in -.the Pahiatua Public Hall on Saturday night, Mr i J rib' Yile occupying the chiir. ■■■ ■. i .The-candidate, whose health had evidently been affected by tlieohange of oliniate and surroundings to which ha had been subjected, could hardly make himself audible, and therefore apologised for haviug : previously overtaxed his powers. His speech was iu meaning the same as that delivered at Masterton. He row frequently cheered for the allusions he made to the Atkinson Government, and again exhibited his long list of territorial magnates, which elicited roars of laughter, He referred at considerable length to the effect of the property tax, and compared with it the pet schemo of Mr Ballauce for a land tax. He did not'wish to see the village settlers make their properties freehold, because the bailiffs would be put in and the hungry landsharks would derive the benefit, The property tax, he maintained, was introduced for the express-purpose of gottingrid of the land tax. They had two celebrities, Sir Harry Atkinson advocating the property tax, and Sir G. Grey the land tax. Which of these gentlemen, he asked, was the true friend of the people, (Cries of '•Sir Harry.") He then'referred to the figures quoted by a certain paper after Lis speech to show the advant. ages of the property tax, The com. mentatorof these articles, which lie was sorry to say had been copied into the Pahiatua paper, was following the example of Sir Harry, Atkinson. There was, he maintained, no comparison between the land and property tax. A settler hi Masterton • had told him he paid more in taxes than' his land produced. There were men tramping the country in search of employment who would not dare to invest their money in land under the property tax. (A voice: They have no money to invest.) He denied that Sir Robert Stout had opposed the land tax. According to the Napier Mvmlwj News he had been misreported by the Press Association, 1 Proceeding, he lamented the faot 1 that Mr Buchanan was going to have a dip worth £BO,OOO 1 which was earned by the laborer, and trusted nobody would be beguiled ! by tbe crocodile tears shed by Mr Beetliam over the farmers. Wheu they bought their tea and sugar, the people fid not know they were contributing to the Oustoms duties. But it was so. The industrial classes were paying £1,4(10,000 a year in Customs (A voice: But ain't you a - Protectionist?) The interest on the nationaldebtcametoabout£l,Boo,ooo per annum, whilst the income from the property tax and the Customs oameto about the too, He believed i the land tax would be more than i ample, Without a "busting up" ! tax, he thought it would not only be ' ample, but would open up roads and ' provide bridges in such country as ' the Forty Mile Bush (cheers), He . did not believe in oppressive taxation \ and for that very reason urged upon , them not to return tho Atkinson , Government to power. He thought \ he had oouvinoed them all of the I fallacy of the retrenchment of the 1 present Government (A voice \ So,) 1 He then referred at length to the 1 witting down of big salaries and the [ appointment of the Eailway Couiv missioners, He would show how retrenchment might be effected to the i extent of £1,000,000, They oould reduce the defence YQte by £25,000 , #iou.t touching the noble band of men—the Volunteers, They were lavishing money on fortresses and 1 tinpot oannona in the neighbourhood 1 of the leading centres, whilst they knew they were not of the slightest use, Another way to retrenoh would be ! to impose a merciless tax on absentees and pensioners. - He countenanced the pension of Dr Ppllen as illegal, and urgei) that every pension granted i represented a good road through the Forty Mile Bush. Tho ?«hlio Works Committee might reasonably t» nh,olißlied, together with tho Aged-General's Department, and the Native Department might partly ho abolished. The masses had to choose between a property tax and a land tax, between the perpetuation of class legislation and the removal of the burdeu from tbe shoulders of the people. He was not so much known by his speaking W by his writing, I|a had boen pressed into the publio service by Messrs Bailauce, Beeves and Hutchison, and was determined to represent Liberal' ism throughout. Having denounced In strQug tops the action of Mr ijeetham in going to tho Paris Exhibition and the gambling hells of South Fiance, ho said he did not roly pn Masterton fot his support. Masterton waa looked upon throughout tho country as a " rotten borough, l ' as the|squatters' stronghold. He was not t'Qlyiug on these unfortunate little, squatters, nor npon the storekeepers of Masterton and ; WoodyiUe. / , out upon the thrifty settlers of (lie Forty Mile Bush, assisted by Viie working men of Mastorton, In conclusion he trusted they would show their support and their determination to stick to the true cause of Liberalism on Decomber sth. He would now bo glad to answer any questions. An ejector: Are you in favor of buying out village settlements ? Mr Hogg: I am certainly opposed to any alteration in tenure which will tend to depopulate the village* settlements. It would be a dangerous thing if a mati had the liberty to sell his land to purchase a cow, ;..-. . An elector: Are you in favor of making concessions to denominational sohools beyond granting scholarships, and have yoii pledged yourself to support the Roman Catholics in their endeavor to got Mr Pyke's Bill passed ? (tfproar).

Mr Hogg: lam not in favor of materially altering the present system of education, and I have never given a pledge to support Mr Pyke's Bill, (Cheers). An Elector :• Aw.you In favor of an. pleotive Governor ? Mr Hogg: I bdieve the people are quite as capable of electing their own Governor as the man in Down-iug-street (applause).- ■: An elector: Are you ir, fftvol of reform in the Upper House ?"'.;. . Mr Hogg; Yes |. it is a great obstruction, I would lib to see it either- totally abolished or greatly altered.' An elector: Arg.T.ou in favor of abolishing the liiilway Commissionersl

Mr Hugg: Those Commissioners should take a turn at coal heaving, under pain pj losing their billets (laughter).'.' •

. An elector: 1 heard you say you would not support the Catholics. Da you think, it would be unjust that they should receive State aid in their schopla ?-\, . -..,-: • ; Mr Hogg: I do not know whether 'it would.,be., unjust :or no|, The G hoiks : 'dosyve Qrcd.it kk{\

they are doing in.■■ the direction oi education, and I did : not blame them fet.standing out;in the,way they, 'lid. But if the Catholios reoeived state aid, it-would: be ;imposaible for thc ; Government'; to"- refuse other, denominations,. The moment they, assisted the. Catholics thoy would be doing the same thing ns'was being done in Ireland,, they would be opening the doors of the Bchools' for religion, I regret very much that the Catholics should have their grievance, but I cannot see how they can be assisted without the introduction of denominational education. (Applause.) ' ■"'"/ An elector: What honorariums do the members of the Upper House receive?.

/•Mr Hogg: Ido not think' they receive very miiob. :■ ',/ An elector: Would you favonra policy which would abolish sooondary education? ■;"

Mr Hogg! I would like to.see the whole of the money uied in primary schools, with perhaps a higher class for those children who deserved it; '

An elector: Are you in favour of the present system of eleoting Land Board members? \ v " : ''.'■'■ .

Mr Hogg: The members of the Land Board are nominated by the Minister, and are. merely tools of the Ministry.' The present system is abominable. ,

An electorf Doyon think the Government will ] purchase the Manawak railwaysMr Hogg: I think the present Government will, if returned to power, They are pushing on the Gorge line'now, and they will purchase the Manawatu ere long at au enormous' advance for their own benefit. ;

In answer to : another question he said be'would construct the Ekcta-huna-Woodville line at once, An elector: How do you propose to stop the present'exodua of the population?

Mr Hogg: I should like to see a few of the dummies taken by the/ neck and turned out of the colony, (laughter,) An elector: Are you in favor of a National Bank of Issue for, Now Zealand, Mr Hogg: If I could anticipate it being sucessfully worked I migut be in favor of it.

An elector:, Would you bein favor of doing away mth Mansard, which is only affording an opportunity for "gas bags" to blow off (laughter). v Mr Hogg: Although T have a number of friends on the reporting staff, I think it an expensive' luxury (cheers), •■•... ; A great uproar was then caused by an elector suggesting that Mr Hogg would make good bacon, An oleotor: What do you think of the prospects of our village settlements ? .Mr Hogg: I think better land might have been secured, and the sections should have been larger, Mr A Reese then proposed a vote of thanks and confidence to Mr Hogg for his eloquent address, A good deal of shouting and screaming then ensued, but themotion was not seconded, and after a few words, Mr Hogg proposed a vote of thanks to the chairman, which was wrried by acolamation, and the meeting broke np in general disorder,