TELEGRAMS.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1385, 9 April 1884, Page 2

TELEGRAMS.

(from our own correspondent,) ashburton, 7. Mr J. C. Mason, ex— M.H.R. and a supporter of the Government at the last general election, addressed a meeting at Ashburton this evening, and severely criticised the administration of Major Atkinson. At the conclusion of his address Mr Mason said he would oppose Mr Wright, the present member fer Ashburtou, at the next election. Marten, 8. The Minister for Public Works left here to-day to personally inspect the central railway route from Marton to Teawaniatu. Waipawa, 8. A man named Hans Anderson, poisoned himself with strychnine at Makau yesterday. An inquest will be held. Christchurch, 8. Patrick M'lvey, a farmer at Leeston, committed suicide this morning by taking strychnine. He had been j drinking heavily, and was in pecuniary difficulties. Dunedin, 8. A seduction case, in which £250 damages are claimed, will be beard at the Supreme Court to-morrow, before Mr Justice Williams. The plaintiff is Terence Dunn, a commercial traveller, and the defendant is Hugh V. Morris, a photographei. The plaintiff alleges that his daughter, Mary Christina, aged seventeen years, l>ore to the defendant a child, which died on the 20th of February last. The defendant denies the allegation in the plaintiff's statement of the claim. 8. In the seduction case Dunn v. Hugh Morris, in which damages of £250 is claimed. Judge Williams found for plaintiff for £150. The girl, aged 18, was employed in the same photographic gallery as defendant. Hawera., 8. A large meeting was held here tonight to hear the speech of the Premier. The Mayor was in the chair. Major Atkinson said he did. not propose to occupy much time in discussing what was past, because there were many questions awaiting solution of greater importance, and upon which the electors, must make up their minds, if that solution, was to be satisfactory. A terrible picture had been drawn of the financial condition of the country. There would be.j. deficiency, possibly, of £170,000 on the operations of the past financial year, but although this was to be regretted, it was absurd to represent it, as some did, as a very serious matter. The low price in wool also had a depressing effect on Customs as it involved a dead loss of £400,000 to the colonists generally, and a proportional diminished spending power. The frozen meat trade only partially made up for this loss. The railway deficit was due to the tariff being too low while the increase in expenditure owing to enlarged traffic, had not yet reached its maximum, nor would it for some two years to come. The gross railway receipts were £60,000 less than the expenditure, and. the expenses exceeded the 'estimate by £20,000. The great question now to be considered was in what direction could savings be effected? First there was the Civil Service. The scheme of reform proposed by the Government last session had engaged their attention for months. . The Government proposed to reduce | the number of Under-Secretaries to about eight, fixing that limit by law, and grouping all the Departments under them, no fresh Department to be created without Parliament's express sanction. The clerks to be divided' into grades, with fixed maximum and minimum salaries, and all officers to begin as cadets, after competitive examination, and to advance from one grade to another after examination as to personal fitness for particular offices. There must also be pensions and retiring allowances in the case of men who had served well, but were past service, on a scheme of pensions to which all civil servants should contribute, as in the Indian Service. The armed Constabulary could not safely be reduced below 500. Hospital and Charitable reliei should be supported partly V>y the Government and partly by the district. New Zealand colonists were proud of their Education system, but it cost a good deal, some £400,000, without including any provision for new buildings, for which the boards now deiTianded £150,000. During the past year the saving effected by conversion of loans,., etc., just equalled, the additional sum payable for interest on the latest million loan. The railway rates were lowered some time back as an experiment, the revenue then being elastic, but it had not proved a success, the New Zealand population not being large enough to provide proportionally increased traffic. As the railways were not returning 2 per cent., and the deficit would have

been £50,000, or £60,000 larger unless , the rates had been increased, this was | accordingly done, and he was convinced Parliament and the country would support Ministers in their action. The Canterbury people had made the mistake of persuading themselves or allowing themselves to be persuaded, that the lines were local property, for that was- the point which underlay the whole of the agitation! Apply that to the post offices and telegraph offices and Justice departments, and the re suit would be the splitting of tlie Colony into little districts, each district being allowed to do the best they could, while strong ones grew stronger. What was the Public Works system for if not to open up weak parts of the Colony. Strong ones did not require such assistance. If it was argued that directly a district was populous enough to make railways pay 4or 5 per cent, all profit above that was to go into the pockets of the people in that district, then it must be acknowledged that the New Zealand people were not prepared to do their duty as colonists, but were merely striving to secure particular benefits to each of their own little districts, The railways ought to be made to pay at least ; 3 per cent, as the mouey to build them : cost 5 per cent. If a non-political board managed the railways this would still have to be secured. The question of saving expenditure rested with the people themselves. Members of the House would talk by the hour about the desirability of reductions in every possible direction, but the mo* nient you put your finger on a police man you were told that the country was going to be ruined. The responsibility rested with the electors. Ii the people insisted upon their members studying economy, economy would be studied. There was in the deficit nothing to frighten, or dispirit people. The payers of the property tax had increased., by .' 2,400, as compared with ! the previous so altogether, he did nokthink the position of the Coloay. was so terrible as represented by. some people. It would be a great mistplie' to .part with another acre of pastoral land, and they would ask Parliament to prohibit the sale of any more. If a better tenure wer** given, larger rents would be received, and by that means a very grateful addition to the revenue would accrue, and the taxation of the people would thereby be reduced. The Government had largely succeeded in removing the Native difficulty, but a fresh oneinight be created by a very little mismanagement or by any shirking from firmness and justice. The present mode of dealing with native land was most unsatisfactory. The general idea was that the Natives should be permitted to sell their' land through officers of Government, who sell the Crown land generally, or that they should be allowed to sell land to the Government direct, but that payment should not all be made in cash, but that some of it should be deferred. This would be a great revolution in the North Island and it was a matter on which parties be divided. It was premature to express any opinion as to whether there should be further borrowing, as there was still another £1,000,000 of the 3 million to be raised, as that loan would not complete all the works in hand, it might be necessary to borrow further at some future time, but, if so, this should be gone about with extreme caution. Ministers hoped to be able to make satisfactory representations. On the question of Federation, he pointed out that the French Government were laying claim to pretty well all the islands in' the South Seas between New Zealand and Panama, and had only claimed an island named Eipe, which had a wonderful harbor, and lay right in the path of steamers from Panama to New Zealand. The Panama canal would be finished in a few years, and our high road to the Old World ought not to be at the mercy of a foreign natiou. He referred to Mr Montgomery's promised speech, and remarked that Sir George Grey. was the real power in the Opposition, which party had no policy but that of getting into power. He rediculed Mr Macandrew'« idea of a united Colony with financial separation, and said it was impracticable to devise a separation scheme fair to both Islands. The Government had come to the conclusion that the large, towns should be consolidated" into single eletorates. He held that the Colony would revert to denorninationalism in a modified form in the large centres. He did not think the country was ripe for the change, but did not doubt that $ would shortly come to it. Don't die in the house. — " Kough on Kats " clears out rats, mice, beetles, roaches, bed-bugs, flies, ants, insects, moles, jack-rabbits, gophers. Moses, Moss & Co., Sydney, General ASents.