POLITICAL NOTES.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 307, 4 June 1889, Page 2

POLITICAL NOTES.

irBOM OUB OWN OOBBBSBONDBNT.} Wellington, last night. Mr George Fisher is about to address his constituents at the Opera House this evening. It is the largest meeting held in the city for years. Hundreds are now awaiting admittance at the doors. It is expected that he will have it out with Government re his resignation. The Government have decided to increase the volunteer capitation for all arms to £2, and it is possible that a still further increase will be decided upon.

New Plymouth, Friday.—Mr Samuel addressed the electors last evening. There was a large attendance. He gave considerable credit to the Government for their earnest efforts to retrench, and particularly to the Minister of Lands for his land policy, Hs hoped that Mr Richardson would never allow the Premier's tendency towards land nationalisation to rule the Government, He predicted failure for the new railway commissioners, but said they should have a fair trial. He deprecated the pessimist views of many of the leading politicians, With continued economy, and more hopeful energy in risking capital to develop the latent sources of wealth of the colony, be predicted a prosperous future. Whilst he would 'probably still continue a member of the Opposition, he would not be a party to factious opposition or to any attempt to oust the present Ministry, unless he could sea that a better one could be formed to replace it. An enthusiastic vote of thanks and confidence was passed. Ohristohurch, Friday.—Mr W, P. Beeves addressed a crowded meeting of his constituents at St Albans last night, and rccelvsd a vote ot thanks and confidence. He claimed credit for tha Opposition for having unselfishly assisted to reinstate the finances of the country. He attributed tha delay and confusion of the last session to tha disorganisation of parties, and to the weakness of the Government. Sir Harry Atkinson was a strong man wretohsdly supported. The Opposition followed no leader, and the Government led no following. Party lines wanted drawing sharply. He would sunport a Liberial leader if he could get him. He would oppose the San Francisco service, the break, ing up of the charitable aid districts, and any increase to the quota of the country electorates, and he would resist what he considered the guiding principal of the Government—centralism disguised as economy.

A contributor to a contemporary writes Sir Robert Stout has been accusing the present Ministry of “ parsimony.’’ Well really, Sir Bobert, I am surprised at you I What I A Ministry parsimonious that flings away its thousands over a silly Te Kooti scare just be. cause it did not number within it one strong man who had the courage to say to Te Kooti —" You shall not disturb the peace of a quiet, settled district 1” A Ministry parsimonious that flings away every coin it has pinched and scraped from charwomen and labouring men in stupid mistakes over Loan Bills ! A Ministry parsimonious that has both the Stella) and Hinemoa in commission again, and oan keep these expensive toys running all over the New Zealand coasts with the Atkinson Biohmond crowd I A Ministry parismonious that has spent £BOOO in beautifully refitting and doing up the Hinemoa to suit the msthetic tastes of their sisters, cousins, and aunts 1 A Ministry parsimonious that sends the Hinemoa—at a cost of goodness knows how much a day—over to Picton eepeoially to convey Judge Richmond, then back to Wellington to take in Atkinson, carry him to the West Coast, and dance attendance at his pleasure up and down the coast as long as he chose to keep it there I Does Sir Robert oall it parsimony to spend hundreds in cablegrams tisements calling for a railway expert' whom it was never intended to employ? (And when, by the way, the beat available expert in England—Mr Bee— did apply when he wasn’t wanted to, it put thia parsimonious Ministry into a rare fix, from which they were only re-

lieved by Mr Bee withdrawing bis application.) All this may be new-fashioned parsimony, but it is about as old-fashioned profligacy aa anything I know. Why, if extravagant Vogel had squandered half the amount of money indicated above there would have been a howl from end to end of the colony. All I oan aay is, if this sort of thing is parsimony, retrenchment, and economy, give ma, on, give mi Vogel’s axtravaganoe, io aa to let poor New Zealand have a chance of saving money in other ways than by cutting down wages on relief works to 8s 6d a day.