MR BRYCES ADDRESS.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1558, 8 June 1885, Page 3

MR BRYCES ADDRESS.

: +. Mr Bryce addressed the elector* of Waverly last night. He said that the present Government secured their position by stating they would make dreadful disclosures in the Treasury, disclosures of the utmost importance to the colony, and would only leave the benches under physical force. The disclosures to be made turned out to be all the merest moonshina. For their further security they introduced as policy bills the District Railway's Bill, the East and West Goast Railway Bill, the Wegfcport and Greymouth Harbor Bills, which had a direct interest for members or members friends, and stating that the bills must stand or fall as a whole ; and he stigmatised their action as a huge piece of log-rolling that had npver i>dflh equalled in the colony before. He severely criticised the District* Railways Bill, and portions of the East and West Coast Railway Bill. He also at acked the Government's finance, quoting Mr Thompson to show that authority for borrowing £1,000.000 for the North Island Trunk Railway, £1,500,000 for the loau of 1884, the loan to the extent of the accrued Sinking fund, £2,762, 808, and -to the extent of this year's Sinking Fund, £244,000 had been taken this sessiou, also authority for indirectly borrowing for the Westport £500,000 guaranteed debentures £150, 000, Otago Harbor £750,000, bringing the total borrowing authorised up to £9,436,808. He pointed out that the Sinking Fund was being paid by issuing debentures, to raise money for the Consolidated Fund, out of which Sinking Fund was paid, And the debentures addnd to the debt of the colony ; but he strongly objected to the colony's land being raised to a fictious value as inducing an unsound condition. He denounced the scfteine of local government so far as is known as worse than the present form, and ridiculed the way proposed to secure local bodies substantial endowements. He censured the commencement of the main trunk railway until a satisfactory title to the land had been obtained. He did nob attach any importance to the present Native irritation, if firmly dealt with, but he held that it was necessary to enforce the law against th« Natives the same as Europeans. He could wot feel as hopeful as Atkinson about the future prosperity of the colony unless other •measures than those of the present government were applied. He said the present Government had politically lived on exciting expectations in exery way possible, and they would ! die politically of the disappointed hopes j they had created. A unanimous ■vote of confidence was passed. I