EVENING SITTING.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1905, 20 September 1884, Page 2

EVENING SITTING.

Financial Debate. O.v the motion for going into Committee of Supply, Major Atkinson said the Financial ytatenieut showed no attempt to gi apple with the difficulty of tho financial position. Its chief aim was to make it pleasant and avoid the leal difficulties of the situation. The cmntry was led to believe that gieat disclosuies were to be made of the conduct of the late Government, but instead of cursing that Government the Statement had blessed it by following in their lines, except in one case. They enteied on then 1 duties with a determination to expose their predece^&ois, not for pnrty gain, but in the real inteiests of the country. In not a single case have they shown any mismanagement or entanglement. At the outset he states that the history of the past year's finances had been alieady before them. If there had been maladministration he c.mld not have accepted the Statement of the late Government, as he htates he does at the outset. In other words, they were told that hib estimates weie accurate. They had not even been asked for ways and meant, other than he had asked for. There was a loan called the General Purposes Loan, and of that £110,000 was to be used for buildings. Of this loan £20,000 fell due in October, These debentures were held by the Public Trustee under arrangement that he should hold them until the House met. That, together with another smaller sum, amounted to £120,000. Not one word was said about it, and Sir Julius Vogel was bound to tell them that these debentures were due, and others becoming due. Not a word was said to them about the great difficulty they had to provide for, viz,, the £150,000 floating debt. To meet tins why did not he letain the property tax ? The answer is, that to retain it as it was would not be pleasant, and it was his business to make all things appear so. Had the floating debt last year been treated as this years is proposed to be there would ha\ • been a surplus and not a deficit. _ Why did he not treat these two periods in the one way. He (Major Atkinson^ told them that he was prepared to make provision for the service of the year withont further taxation and that statement was received as incredible. If they turn to the estimates before them they will find that that assertion is simply verified. As to the figures of Sir J. Vogel, he asked them if anyone could dispute his figures. The civil service proposals'were t next referred to aiui diacussed. He (Major Atkinson) " contended that they were in all respects akin to bis own proposals. In the, ,waiter of education, they were told that^they were to have a better article at a cheaper rate, and yet not » singlo proposal in the .'dftee tion was>ttempted. The fact was that Ibey found reduction in that direction was not waqted, and he had to act accordingly, in order that be might make all things plea3ant. # Then, as regards the railways, " similar reform was. to to wrought, .Tim QovwHnqit were auv«

rounded by men who had made, so to apeak, a life-study of this subject, and what had they proposed ? Nothing ! The late Government h.vd to bo punished by Canterbury for their tauff, but the Government, \ory unlike the pieseut one, h;id the courage of its opinion and made reforms when they said they were necessary. Altogether, they would sen that the exact lines of tho late Government were being followed. That was, all they had got by this change of Government. Now coin°s the greatest entanglement of tho who]? statement. He lefened to the branch of the subject lefciring to loans, commencing on page five and extending to page nine. There was no use criticising, as it might mean something and might mean nothing. Why were they told that the permanent debt was to remain as it was, and yet are told that it was to be increased by the amount of the Sinking Fund and the borrowing of other £3,000,000. Such ambiguity as that was most reprehensible, and should not exist in a statement of this importance. On page 7 of the Statement it is said that at any time during the past five yeais eeitam reductions could have been made, and yet further on he tellb them that he is going to ask them to pass a law for the very purpose he said could have been done at any time within the last five years. These allowances were made to inscription, and yet the fact w.is befoiethcni that they weie driven to all manner of shifts, moro especially in the year 1879, to get off these loans. Sir Julius Vogel then told them that they could only inscribe a limited amount, and now he told them that it could have been done at ,xny time during the last five years. The various steps in the progress of inscription carried on during tho time Sir Julius Vogel was one of the loan agents were , minutely traced, and the various communications from them on the subject of inscription rcfened to, showing th<t,t the Govern ment had acted in this matter in strict accoi dance with the advice sent by the agents, of whom Sir Julius Vogel was one. That, lie contended, was a complete justification for the only fault the late Government was charged with. If they had acted otherwise they most ceitainly would have inclined blame. As a, loan agent, Sir Julius Vogel took eiedit to himself for having placed financial matters on a pioper footing. The fact was it was not the financial agents but the Government took the responsibility of the steps that they took credit for.' They weie told in one breath that the cr<lutvy had a bleep during the past five years administration, and yet the next, he gives states that great commercial and public progress had been made. So great was the progress that from having sailing vessels they had now two nt the finest steam lines trading to ai & from Great Britain and the colony. They weie told that tho country was groaning under taxation, and yet they weie not told, as they ought to have been, where the shoe pinched. If they were to relieve the country of fi2 jO,OOO oi £2(i0,000 of taxation they ought to have been told where and upon whom this taxation falls, and who is it that demands relief. The fact was that Sir George Grey saw his opportunity for sweeping away the Property-Tax altogether, and substituting the Land Tax. It vv ,is Sii George Grey who was master of the situation, and he merely made use of the Government for that purpose. It was not a small Land Tax, but one that would lead to the nationalisation of the laud. They were told that his scheme of finance had broken down. He asked how, adding that lie contended it had seen a maiked success. He denied that great waste had bee&going on. When the one and a half million loan came down they would insist on having the woika all scheduled. After all that had been said for year-, by the membeis of the present Government about the question of local government, they now talked about a royal commission to cnquiie into the subject. The ipa! fact was that their great object was to make things pleasant, or, in the woids 1 of the book of common pr.iyei, their language was :—": — " Give peace in our time, O Loid." The statement was pleasant to the eye, but it would prove gall and woimwood to the taste. (Left Sitting.)