Mr McKenzie at Palmerston South.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 6 June 1891, Page 2

Mr McKenzie at Palmerston South.

■ — ■■ — « . Mr McKenzie, last Monday' addressed his constituents and laid before them his account of what the Government had done, and what they intended to. We have abridged his remarks from the N, Z. Times very full report, WHAT THEY HAD DONE. Immediately on going into office each member of the Government went carefully into the affairs of his department. Those of them who, like himself, had departments in 1 various portions of the Colony, made visits of inspection to as many ot those places as they possibly could, with the result that they met together in Wellington as a Government in Cabinet, and came to the conclusion that a very large amount of retrenchment could be made in the public service without impairing its efficiency. They had, during the four, months they had been in office reduced the public expenditure of the Colony by between £50,000 and £60,000, and the public service, he

ventured to say, was being carried out at the present moment just as well as on the day they took office. , THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT j so far as he was able to announce it to them that evening — and they would understand that he was not able to speak so freely as he would did he not occupy the position of a Minister of the Crown — in the first place was a policy of "no borrowing." In fact, the Government had come to the conclusion that the time had nearly arrived when, instead of borrowing, the country should begin to think about reducing its indebtedness, and he hoped the time was not far distant when they would be able to submit proposals which would enable them to do so. They had decided, as he had no doubt his hearers were already aware, to submit a proposal to Parliament to reduce the postal rates throughout the Colony to one half what they are at the present time. They also proposed to submit to Parliament during the coming session a scheme for the alteration of the incidence of taxation, so as to equalise the burden of taxation by reducing that now borne by the bona fide settler, the industrious classes, and the masses of the people. He could not possibly give them the details of the measure just then, as they had first to be submitted to Parliament, but he assured them that the measure had been carefully considered in all its details. He also proposed to make such provision in the Land Bill as would put a stop to dummyism. One of his chief proposals in that direction would be to make any breaches and evasions of the Land Act a misdemeanour under the Act. It would be a misdemeanour by both parties, that is the actual ' dummy and the person who employs him as such, and he was convinced if that was done a ilarge number of those engaged in this system of dummyism would never try it again ; they would be liable to imprisonment without the option of a fine. his land pouct. He proposed, therefore, in the the measure which he would submit to Parliament in the forthcoming session to provide for bona fide settlement. He was quite prepared to give any person who paid, a freehold, pure and simple, the right to acquire a certain area of land, but only on condition that such land was improved and not held for spec • ulative purposes. This then would give an opportunity of acquiring a freehold to those who wished to do so, but the area would be curtailed, though it would be such an area, as would enable a family to live in comfort and plenty. He also intended to continue the deferred payment system on conditions of residence only. Thus would another opportunity be given to those who were desirious of obtaining a freehold, and were unable, through insufficient means, to purchase the title right out. But as he said before, they would be compelled to settle upon and improve the land. He also proposed to provide perpetual lease for those who wished to have land on that system ; and the terms would be such as he hoped would be most popular, but the terms would be perpetual lease only. The small grazing runs tenure, he contended, should remain in force, but it would be surrounded with safeguards which would prevent the areas becoming the property of large owners, and would also provide for the subdivision of such small runs amongst families ; That is if a man wished to take up a small grazing run he could do so, and divide it during his lifetime or at death amongst the members of his family. He would provide that the large area of pastoral country which was left, and of the classes of tenure he had referred to should be disposed of for the future in a manner which would be more conducive to the pnblic interests of the Colony. STOCK INSPECTOR. The next question which he would refer to, and upon which he had been assailed by the Conservative press, was the appointment of Mr Eitchie as Chief of the Stock Department. On taking charge of the Stock Department he found it in a most disorganised state—he found that instead of having one head to control the whole department and responsible to the Minister, there were no less than six chief inspectors, one in each provincial district ; and that instead of confining their expenditure to the amount of the vote of last session passed for the purposes of the department, they had expended some thing over £2000 above what was voted by the House. He had found that thousands of pounds were each year spent by those six chief inspectors in keeping down rabbits on Crown lands without any control whatever from the head office in Wellington. He then saw that it would be impossible to devote sufficient time to manage the whole of the Stock Department himself, and came to the conclusion that the proper thing to do would be to appoint a head over the department who would have his headquarters in Wellington, who would be responsible to the Minister for all his actions, and who would have to consult the Minister before entering into any plans which might cost the Colony any considerable sums of money.

Having come to that conclusion, the next thing he did was to select a man for this important position, and on going through the lists of the department he did not find one in whom he could place sufficient confidence to appoint to the office, He then looked outside of the department for an able man and thought of Mr Eitchie. He did so, because^ he knew Mr Eitchie well. The only conclusion he could arrive at as to why the appointment should be so bitterly assailed by the Conservative 1 press of the Colony was that they have probably only been used to appointments of that nature being made for very different reasons than those of necessity and qualification for office. (Groans.) Time would not allow him to go into all the measures the Government intended to propose to Parliament when it meets, but they would introduce a number of measures which they considered to be in the interests of the colony. One of them would be a reform of the Upper House, limiting the time in which members of that body could retain their seats. -The Government would introduce a Bill dealing with the Electoral laws of the Colony. The object of this -Bill . would be to consolidate all; the present laws in existance in connection with their electoral rights, making at the same time, such .amendments as had been found necessary. It was also proposed to submit to Parliament measures dealing with the question of labour and capital, which they hoped would prevent any undue clashing of those twb great interests. These measures would not be of a. revolutionary character,. neither would they contain "any fireworks ; but they would be such as they hoped, would meet with the approval of both 'the -'labour classes and the capitalists who employed labour, -.'■■■"•■ : Shortly after his asSunu||g gdpbe as Minister of Lands it camefwlMis knowledge that- a large nhmber of selectors in the Wellington Provincial District were not complying with the law and carrying out. their improvements which they were bound to do under the Act. In consequence of this he had appointed two -surveyors (selected by Mr Percy Smith, Surveyor-General), to investigate and report to him as to how the settlement conditions were being complied with in the Wellington Land District. On 31st March last the first instalment came to hand, and showed that out of 268 cases they had reported upon 56 selection^ were reported as not having don^i anything to improve their selections, and a large number of others had only partly complied ; whilst out of the total number there were only some 95 residing on their sections. In reply to a further,communication, asking the Commissioner of Crown Lands himself as to what position he took up with regard to Mr McKay's report of 1890, he (Mr McKenzie) received from -the [Boajd the previous resolution with a snub to the Minister of Lands in the shape of an enquiry as to why he should doubt the same, and he (Mr McKenzie) had up to the present time never received an explanation from ;/I tfie Board as to how, it they had done their duty. (It will be remembered that the Board has replied very effectively to this Minister's charges. — E». M. H.) . .^

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