The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1892. THE GOVERNOR'S SPEECH.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIII, Issue 2702, 24 June 1892, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1892. THE GOVERNOR'S SPEECH.

The speech from the Throne at the opening of Parliament has, years ago, ceased to be of very absorbing interest. Once upon a time it was looked to for authoritative announcement of the policy of the Administration, which was m it first made known ; but lately every step which it was the intention of the Ministry of the day to take has been publicly foreshadowed either by Ministers themselves or by officially sanctioned announcements m the public press, and the Governor's speech simply recapitulates and confirms previous piecemeal information. The speech now before us is more interesting than those which have for the last few years preceded it, only m that it is the first of a new Governor, who has already differed from' his advisers on an important matter. Those, however, who expected to find m the speech ar.y elucidation of the point at issue are disappointed, as the only reference to the matter is a statement of the more than decimated condition of the Legislative Council —the absence of any comment thereon or suggestion as to filling the vacancies m the roll having an emphasis strouger than could easily be borne by words! So much for the disputed point. His Excellency naturally began his speech with a reference to the heartiness of his welcome to Wellington—though whether this waa due to warm personal feeling towards him and loyalty to the Crown, or whether partly due to the spirit of rivalry that exists between the cities of Wellington and Auckland need not be too closely looked into. His Excellency received a welcome such as has been extended to none of his predecessors, and gave graceful acknowledgement m his first official i speech. He had also the pleasant duty of congratulating the colony upon its continued prosperity, the Treasury having a surplus, and the spending power of the people having increased, m spite of the bad harvest, and low prices for wool, while the exodus had stopped, and the tide of popula^on turned m the opposite direction. The progress of settlement and the position of the Native question are alike satisfactory, and the most important and satisfactory announcement is made that the change from the Property Tax to the Land and Income Tax will not lead to any loss of revenue whatever— a fact that will greatly strengthen the position of the Ministry and show the wisdom of the change. The management of the railways is to have attention : the co-operative contract system and the abolition of sub-contract-ing m connection with public works have been satisfactory to all concerned. The programme of work for the session is well filled. Land, Land for Settlement, -Relief of Crown Tenants, Purchase of Native Lands, Native Land Court, West Coast Reserve*, Land Transfer—all having their bearIns upon the great I^d Quoolicm will be legislated upon. Aniraportant addition is to be made to the Electoral Bill—probably the incorporation with it of clauses providing for Woman Suffrage. Technical Education will also be dealt with, the Jury system reformed, and the Bankruptcy Law amended ; and the various Labor Bi Is that failed to pass last session will be reintroduced, with other measures having the interests of labor m view. In a sentence, the position of the colony is thoroughly satisfactory, and the proposed legislation is m the direction which has been indicated by the voice of the country,