WAIKATO ELECTION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2995, 24 September 1891, Page 2

WAIKATO ELECTION.

Mil LAKE AT HAMILTON. A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE. ADDRESS BY HON. JOHN imYCK Mil Kovvaui) Laick, a candidate for the vacant Waikato seat in the Opposition interests, addressed a meeting of tho nlect..rs at the Public Hall, Hamilton, on Tuesday evening, and was very favourably ri'Ciiived. Tho night was a very wet one; but notwithstanding this there were i.ver lfiO present, including one lady, who was hold eno-.igh to face the weather. The Hon. John Bryce, ex-member for the district, was also present in the hall. In the unavoidable absence of His Worship the Mayor of Hamilton (Mr 1.-,aac Cnates), Mr Lawis O'Xeill moved that Mr 11. V. Sandes take the chair. This was seconded by Mr D. Salmon, and carried by acclamation. On takiug tlw chair, Mr Siindes, after briefly introducing Mr Lake, Ha id that he noticed that Mr Bryce, the oxmember for the district, was in the hall, and ha felt sum that it was the wish of the meeting that Mr Bryce should occupy a seat mi thu platform. .(Applause). We ttifin invited Mr Bryca to take a seat on thn platform, which he did amid loud applause. Mr C. Tippen then called for three cheers for Hon. John Bryce, which were most enthusiastically eiven. Before Mr Lake commenced his address, thfl chairman road the following letter from Mr W. A. Murray:—

Kihikihi, 21st September, 1891. The Chairman Public Meeting at Hamilton, 22nd September. Sir,—l see that Mr Bryce is expected in Hamilton to-morrow, and will most probably attend the public meeting which Mr Lake is to address. I therefore request you to read this Litter at and to the meeting. I think that we should apain try to induce Mr Bryce to allow himself to be re-elected. The session will be over belore he could take his seat, and Mr Bryce would Spain be our representative till next session, when it is to be hoped that thu influence of public opinion and kindlier feelings will prevail to remove any disability to Mr Bryce resuming his position in Parliament and of public usefulness to tho colony. I feel that in writing the forefjoinir I but express the feelinps of the many colonists with whom I have the honour and pmileire to act in entire sympathy. If Mr Bryce does not accede to the wish—l believe the unanimous wish of the electors of Waikato—to consent to re-election, we will hold the field against all-comers. Having to address a public meeting at Ohaupo on Tuesday night, I regret that I am unable, personally, to meet Mr Bryce on his arrival.—Your obedient servant, Wμ. Arch. Murray.

Letters apologising for unavoidable absence were received from Measra I. Coates and S. T. Seddon. Mr Lake, on rising, said that he was at a considerable disadvantage. A great many measures at present bofore Parliament were in an uncurtain statn, und it was not safe to quote from a part of any Bill now before the Houso. Hβ did not propose to go exhaustively into the late session. He would take thu leading points of tho Financial Statement. It was the old old story of a slowly increasing debt, the actual increase being £150,000. He would not discuss the parts referring to finance, but had only alluded to them to lead up to tho incidence of taxation and t.lm new regulations for squiring land. Throughout the Financial Statement there was a want of sincerity. The Premier, notwithstanding a dramatic allusion in it to the working man, has not taken any steps to reduce the cost of the necessaries of life. At the end of tho Statement there was a piece of gallery piny with reference to the number of persons who die iu the hospitals at Home. But many who go there are not paupers—a number of the richer class taking advantage of the benefits of these institutions—and tha impression of poverty was not carried out. There had been no attempt to make any concessions to the labouring classes by lowering the Customs duties on the necessaries of life. The main points of interest are with regard to the questions relating to the land and the incidence of taxatiou. The principal difference between now and past years was that under the old system, land was taken up on perpetual lease, under more liberal conditions. Under the Act of 1885, the freehold could be obtained in a certain time, and under the Acts of 1887-1888 it could be obtained at any time, but there was nothing to prevent the perpetual lease remaining. The main point with the present Government, was to do away with the hope of getting freeholds. This was a false step. One thing which had induced many people to come to Now Zealand—himself among the number—was the hope of being able to get a freehold. Tho benefits of perpetual loase and State tenure would never make up for the nonexistence of freehold. The present Government hove decided that the perpetual le.ase shall be for 50 years instead of 30, and the freehold done away with. Instead of 5 per cent on the capital value 4 per cent was now charged. This no doubt was to act as a bribe to induce people to take up the land under perpetual lease. As the Government have to pay 4 per cent for money, the consequence will be that a large amount of debt must accumulate. There are now large suni3 owing on deferred payment and perpetual lease, for the recovery of which no Government will dare to take proceeding . Another alteration in the land laws was the doing away with absolute cash purchase. No doubt a lot of damage had been done in the past in permitting the mopping up of large blocks for speculative purposes. The present proposal was not so bad, and was very similar to the one in force in OLago some years ago, when a title could not be obtained unless improvements to the value of i' 2 per acre had been effected within seven years. This would prevent the taking up of land for speculative purposes. However, it had long ago been done away with: he presumed for good reasons, Thn deferred payment terms are also reduced from 14 to 10 years, mo that in all ways discouragement is thrown on tho obtaining a freehold. The present Minister believed in the right of the State to the land of the colony. This question was capable of argument, but any attempt of the Government to force this on the colonists and take possession of the land, would only end in disaster. To some extent the Land and Income Tax was coupled with the Lind Bill. It was an attempt to force down the throUs of the people thu State right, not only to the unearned increment hut nlxo to the land. This was what he called confiscation. The taxation proposals are neither one thing nor the other, the Laud Tax being a poor substitution for thn Property Tax, and would Imvn to be entirely re-cast before any practical use could be made of it. He admitted that the middle class would have t<i pay less, but this would bo done by taxing out of existence the large property holders. This taxation wjk not for revenue purposes, us the Government were able to remit £10,000 in postage; but it was for bursting up the large estates. When the Pink" swamp and other large properties were being worked, they largely supported Hamilton, and he held that all expenditure from the large estates helped the smaller holders to e<tabluh themselves on their own fariin. (Applause). The tax was so fixed as to cive an unfair advantage to the inhabitants of tho large towns over the settlers in the country, hut those latter were much relinved. Mr Ballance had told them that he intended to po much further, and that if this did not burst up the laive estatos the tax would be doubled or trebled. A considerable number of the Government supporters were single tax people. He did not intend to disenss the land tax and single tax, which were quite different. Hβ thnueht if the whole tax were placed on the land fur revenue purposes so much could not be urged agaimt it, but when it was put on for bursting up he was decidedly opposed to it. The Government handbooks, especially those published by Sir Julius Vogel, had induced ninny people to come to New Zealand in the hope of obtaining freehold land. Some, when they seo the present scheme of taxation, would wish they had nevnr seen these books. A land tax had always been defined as a tax on the land values without improvements, but in the present Bill he would poiut out that no exemption was innde for improvements made 10 years ago. This was probably borrowed from some old lease in the Old Country, but would not apply here. Many improvements —such as draining and bnshfalling—had not disappeared iu ten years and he did not think tho State had any right to Ux those as the value r.f this land had not boen inarnasod hy thn inenvwd population. The increase of population had not made any unnamed increment during the last fnw years, and they all know that farms in many cases, now, wnuld not fetch the cost of the improvements let alono the price of the land. Another point in connection with the land was to devise sotno scheme, now that all the money from loans was expended, to give access to Crown lands about to be taken up. The land fund is now, and has been for sove-al years, insolvent, , and the proposal of thn presnnf. Govern I

nient is to 'ake tT>O,OOO borrowed on the ."'curity of this land, and place it at the dispo.-iil of the Minister without any check by Parliament. This \v;n a new step, and must bu regarded with suspicion. It seemed easy to use this money for political purposes by granting roads and biidges for which the Minister was responsible to nobody. Mr Hallance sugsests that by adding the cost of roading and admmistralinn—say, four or five shillings per acre—to the cost of the land he had got over the difficulty ; but ho could not soe how the addition of further charges to an insolvent fund could make it solvent. During the past few months a question that h;id been greatly talked about was Federation, but he did not think it had taken very much hold. It would no doubt be very desirable if New Zealand could retain its trade with New Sauth Wales. The Australian delegates seemed determined that the Victorian tiriff—i.e., a taritf against the worldshould be adopted. The Federal Government would take over the Customs, and, if necessary, part of the direct taxation. He did not think this would be satisfactory to New Zealand. If they were to take over the loans and make them federal loans, no doubt the financial position would be It would be unwise to tako any *teps to federate with Australia, but they should try and get closer connection with the Old Country, which must form the greatest market for New Zealand. It i.a cuiious fact that at tho present moment the old accepted maxims of Henry George and Co., that the value of land depends on the accession of population is not now applicable. The price of land is not n.nv materially altered by tho population of New Zealand, but by tho demand for mutton, cheese, butter, wool, etc., in the Old Country; and even if the population ware to still further decrease, it might be that the country land would nso in value; in fact, land value -vas now quoted in terms of sheep, etc.—i.e., how many sheep it would carry, nothow many people were on it. No daubt amongst the various items the education vote sticks out as one of the largest. (Jut of the total expenditure there is only about one and a-half millions in which any reduction can be made ; and to siy that the Civil Service can be greatly cut down is a point that will require more self-denial than colonists will exercise. Very little can be taken off expenditure by the reduction in the Civil Service. Hewae always a supporter of the national system of education, and it was one thing that the colony must be proud of. They must not, however, consider it like the Goddess Diana of Ephesus, as having fallen straight from heaven, perfect and not to be touched. Some reduction must be made, but whether it should be by reducing primary education to the fourth standard, he was not prepared to say ; but if no attempt was made in tho present reduced circumstances of the colony to check the increase of expenditure, ho feared that it would only give occasion for those who were on rarious grounds opposed to the system to make a sari ma attack on it. With regard to secondary education, the remarks he had made previously wero made in ignorance of many facts. The South Island is amply provided with endowments f<.r secondary education, while the North Island has a very few. He thought that the whole of the endowments for this purpose should be colonialisad. Mr L.ko said he did not think there were any other subjects of importance on which he could touch, but he would answer any questions that might be asked. Loud cries wore now raised for Mr Bryce, who on coming forward was reCHi'ved with loud applause. Mr Bryce suggested they should first usk Mr L-ika any questions they wished, after which he would ba pleasod to address them. (Loud applause). Mr Keep asked if there was any law tp. compel the Government to clear the furze from the roads in front of Crown lands, and why some individuals were compelled to clear the furze and others were not?

Mr Lake said he was sorry there was uo provision to compel the Government to clear the turzo ; but for private individuals there was the law, and it should bo put in force. Mr Keep asked if Mr Lako was in favour of an increase in the wages of the members of Parliament? In reply, Mr Lake said that he quite agreed with the term wages instead of honorarium, and he was very much against the increase. Under the present proposals a member could draw his £20 per month for nine months between the sessions, and reare just before the opening of the session. leaving his successor only three months' pay for the whole of the work. In reply to a question from Mr Hobb?, the caudidate said, if the question implied that the State should not only pay a sufficient Hum to maintain members while on duty, but should also vote a sum for their election expenses, he did not see why thi expenses of tho defeated candidate should not be paid also. He would be very sorry to see the country spending money to create professional politicians, and thought £150 a year quite sufficient. When the session was over, members should return to their ordinary work. Mr G. Reid: Are you in favour of Vaile's railway scheme? Mr Lake : That is a straight question and I can give it a straight answer. Ido not understand Vailo's scheme and cannot pretend to support what I do not understand. (Applause.) In reply to Mr Hinton Mr Like said he was in favour of doing away with the Payment of Members, and to Mr Bettley that he was in favour of female franchise, and had always voted for it as Hansard would show. In the form iu which the Shop Hours Bill went to the Upper House he was not in favour of it. Mr F. W. Lang, chairman of the Waipa County Council, proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Lake for his address, and confidence iu him as their representative. Hβ said Mr Lake was well known to them as nil honest straightforward and hard-working member, who had represented the district on a previous occasion with credit to himself and the people he represented. Mr Cassidy seconded tho motion. The Chairman nsked if there was any amendment, and thero being none ho put the proposal, which was carried unanimously, Mr Lake thanked those present for the very kind wav in which they had expressed their confidence in him, and slid that, if elected, hu would do his best to preserve that confidence. (Applause).

Mr Bryce, on ooming forward, w.ia again received with loud applaii.se. He said he had come up to say good-bye to the electors of this district personally. He i-ecognisod to the fullest extent the kindness with which he had been treated by them, and it was, he thought, duo to and to them that ho should return thanks personally for their kindness towards him as tlieir representative. The position was a very painful one to him. It was 25 years since he had become a member of the Hou*o of Representatives. Hβ had always been proud of the position, and had endeavoured to sustain its Innonr and dignity. (Applause), [t could not be a pleasant thing to feel that the House which ho had respected had passed a vote of censure upon him, or to feol that the vote had been passed on him unjustly. He never had any doubt what his duty required him to do, and neither his late constituents nor anyone else could know ao well as himself. After the vote of censure had been passed he knew that it could not stop there, and he had to do something. Up In this time the Speaker had never condemned him nor his words. The Speaker had said in a hesitating sort of way that the first portion of the sentence was unparliamentary, but when takon with the succeeding portion it ceased to be so. Therefore he had nothing to withdraw, nothing to explain, and nothing to apologise for. He wished to point this out as the Government, in the mean course which they had adopted, had tried to cuet the blame on the Speaker. He would not wholly defend the Speaker. Whilst the Speaker was hesitating a motion came from the Premier that his words be taken down. The Premier had a perfect right to move this, but he (Mr Bryce) was not aware if thn words had been taken down even now. There was a lot of irregularity then, and the words had got into the Speaker's hands, although possibly not on the journals of the House. Up to this point ] lih had done nothing out of order. According to Parliamentary custom he had now to leave the House, and when he left ho thought that the words he had used were parliamentary, and he also believed that the Speaker thought so too as he had said something to that effect. When ho cairo back he found that he had beon tried and condemned in hie absence and had boon called back to hear his sentence road. Then he had to do something. If in the Housn of Commons ho might have had to go on his knees at the bar of tho House and apologise, although he did not think that he would have been made to humiliate himself so much as that. But there was nothing for him to apologise for, and it was only by the action of the Government and their supporters that ho had been condemned. Mr BaU lftnon and a oolloaguo had niked him to

withdraw thu words, but tin: Speaker had nut Anno so, and h« did nut think it inciiiiib'lit mi him to yield v> \wm\\wh, ,-.i\ Vu. Government bunchc*. f-\.[>i»:->u-•■- j Ho did not feel in ;i positiiiii tu ;i|j<iloni.sts ms ln> <!id not think an apology was mscesHiiry. Unasked to be allowed to .sleep over the mutter and with the permission of thn Speaker he hid K'.ft thu chamber. If he had retlirnsd thi'io Would have) been a further attempt to humiliate him and as le »d-r of the < Ippisitrm liu was not in a position to have humiliation cast upon him. Hi* position und his own and his constituents' lion mr could not be disgraced by Im submitting. (Applause). It was not a member ol i.h'i Government who proposed tin , vat*, of ci'ii-iuh, but only a supporter of the Government | (Mr Koes), and lie had got his reward, h.ivinur been appointed Clnirinaii of Committees with a .salary of £400 a year. Tin; motion was seconded hy (i Mr Fish, of whom Hansard renders know something. (Applause). Mr Fish was a!s> a strong candidate for the Chairmanship of Committee", but as they hoth could not get the position, and as Mr Fish had only seconded th« motion, he could not e.<p(>ct it before the proposer, Mr line*. No do'.iht most of them had heard of a certain historical gentleman, Judas Ise-inVt. who had dona something pleasing to the prießta and rulers, for which he had received HO pieces of silver. Judaa afterwards went and hineod himself, but before doing m> ha returned the pieces of silver. Mr lines may politically have himeed himself, hut whether he has or has not, he will not carrv back rhu pieces of silver, or rather the £-100, the salary of the Chairman of Committees. (Liughter). Mr Bryco said the position wus one of considerable pain to him. The action of the House of Representatives which should have the respect of the people had degraded it. It had been suggested that he might feel relieved at getting rid of the cares of politics but this was not his feeling. He was perfectly satisfied with the party of which he was the leader, and he had no fault to find with his followers who had backed him up before thu vote was passed and had stuck to him afterwards. Although their number was small and they could not make themselves feit in th.-i divisions, they had done some Rood in the discussions which they had opened up. He would have felt proud to have continued in his position and it was to him a matter of oxtremo regret that he had been forced out of the House in such an unworthy way. If ho did leave from vanity, it was a. kind of vanity of which he was nob ashamed. It was the vanity of tei'ling that one should do what was right without feir of consequences. If he had come into conflict with his friends — lip cared nothing of what his opimnen's thought—and if the colonists and his constituents had disapproved, it would have added greatly to his discomfort, but eo far as ho could hear, on the contrary ha had secured that approval which he so much di-aired. He had come up to say good-bye and would do so now. Hβ would always have a warm corner in his heart for the people of W.-ii-kato and for the district, and if it wan ever in his power he would willingly do anything to further the interests of the district or the po'pple in it. (Applansp). Speaking as to the present position with respect to the Government and the election pending here, he said that with regard to the candidates namod, of those of whom he had any knowledge, he hoped he would be listened to. He called attention to the fact that the members of the present House, including those who supported the Government, were returned on certain lines, the most pronounced being retrenchment and a cessation of borrowing. He said borrowing is now being extensively carried on, but by concealed methods— methods which required an exnert to sea 'thorn and an expert to explain them—even then thev would not be understood by many. If borrowing mu"t be done, it shoulrl be dono openly, as this is the only way to ch<;ck undue borrowing. The recent proposals in tha Public Works Statement render further borrowing necessary, and at no very distant date. The Government had made great professions as to retrenchment, but he would express his opinion that thoir so-called retrenchment was not retrenchment at all. Some of the officers who had been dismissed had been replaced by others, and soma had been discharged because the works on which they had been engaged had ceased. If they were to give the Government all the credit they claimed, their extravagance would countet-balance any retrenchment made, and indicate that the country could expect no true retrenchment from them. In their representative they should not have a professedly independent man, but one who would oppose the Government; root and branch. It would ba better to have a Government supporter than an independent member. The time for independent members was gone. In a division a member must vote with the Government or with the Opposition. An independent member might be looking to the Government for some assistance, and to keep sweet with them would vote for them, and if he once temporised with them ha was a lost man. A member of the Opposition would have a place in the House, and could have his claims advocated as such. If they did not sendin astrongsupporterof the Opposition like Mr Lake, then send in a Government supporter, nnd not incur the curse which came on the seven churches which were neither hot nor cold by sending in an independent man. (Cheers). The whole of the candidates aro friends of his, and he was very sorry to have to speak like this, but he felt that he owed it to the district. Sir Maurice O'Rorko (who no doubt was a good Speaker), Ur. Brooma, and Mr Murray would not declare themselves, but would stand as independent men, Mr Bryce said do not vote for an independent candidate, as he must either be useless or support the Government, which he did not think this district wished. (Applause). Mr Lake was present, and he would not make any flattering remarks ahout him, but it must be admitted that he (Mr Like) was a "straight" man. (Applause). One great recommendation was iiis energy, which was always to bo relied upon, and he never spared himself in the se-rvice of a frieud or constituency. As to his ability there was no doubt. Ha had personal knowledge of his politicil conduct, and was sure that Air Lake would make a member far above the average, who would do credit to his constituency, and one they should see their way t>. return triumphantly »t the head of the poll. (Applause). Hβ now conclu lad by thanking the electors for tlio great Icindnesa they had shown him :iurine: his P"liticil connection with the district, nnd if it was evor in his power to do a service to the district and the people that service would not he grudgingly rendered. Mr Bryce took his seat amid loud applause

Mr Go". EJs?ecumba smd they must nil fuel gratified at the explanation made by Mr Bryce of the late unseemly proceedings in the House, and f.ir the manner in which he had clsared the matter up. Hβ thought they should put on record thr- feeling of the district with regard to Mr Bryce's action (applause) and moved that this meeting sympathises witli Mr Bryce in the unmented injustice put upon him by the Go vermnont, and desires to place on record its nni!bated confidence in him.

Cuptain Hunciinan seconded tho proposal, which on being put to the meeting was carried amid groat applause. Mr Bryce in returning thanks said he could net add anything to what he had said previously. If his action had met with their disapproval he would have felt it most keenly, but as it had met with their approval he had folt it quite as acutely, and he thanked them heartily for their expressions towards him. A vote of thanks to the chair, proposed by Mr Lake, concluded the proceedings. (BY TKLKGUAPH.— OWN COURKSrOVDKNT.) Cambridge, Last Night. Mr John Gwynneth had a telegram today from Sir M. O'Rorke, stating that he would give a definite answer as to whether ho would stand or not by to-morrow morning, and thut he would be up in Waikato on Saturday. He had previously wired, asking what chance a Government candidate would have, and he was told none.