Ashburton Guardian Megna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1893. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Madame Melda, who has been Binging at Stockholm, has been decora'ed by the King. Mr J. G. Restell was the succewful share holder in the drawing for the third approp riation by ballot of the Ashburton Building Society. At the R.M. Court this morning, before Mr D. Thomas, J.P., a first offender, suffer ing from the effects of drink, was remanded to Lyttelton for a week for medical treat ment. News has been received that the hill tribes near Tonquin, in China, have revolted, and the French, garrison is besieged. In conse quence of the outbreak the railway and road works have been abandoned. Owing to the state of unrest which is prevalent in certain districts in India the Viceroy has determined to prevent the renew al of religious riots and to protect Hindoo and Moslem rites, » The Marquis of Lansdowne is visiting Burmah to delimit the British sphere of influence there, with the view of preventing further encroachment on the part of the Chinese and French. At a meeting of the Women's Political Association on Tuesday in referring to Mr Waby's Ashburton speech, one enthusiastic supporter declared vehemently that "if ifc had been an angel in heaven had come down the Liberal would not have had fair play from that audience." Well, it wasn't. A "Traveller," who writes on both sides of the paper and so cannot be printed, complains of the condition of one of the boarding houses of Ashburton in regard to fire escapes. There is not one in the place, and the building in the case of fire would be a death trap. The regular mo thly meeting of the Ashburton Masonic Lodge was held last Thursday evening when the attendance was very fair considering the holiday and wet initiation, and three proposals for member evening. One candidate came forward for ship were reewked. The Lodge was closed at the usual hour by theW.M in peace and harmony, Mr George Cates writes to us wishing to remind candidates that he does not want gas ; that steamers are being built of 14,000 tons for the meat trade; that this colony carries sixteen million sheep, and ought te carry niney million; that Great Britain spends £15,000,000 per annum on imported butter, and that the direct cable must be neglected no longer. Major Steward addressed a crowded meet ing of the Waimate electors in the Library Hill on Monday evening last. There were about forty or fifty ladies among the audience. The chair was taken by his Worship the Mayor (Mr J. H. Graham). .At the close of address questions were asked and answered, and Mr J. O'Brien moved a vote of thanks to the candidate for his address, and of renewed confidence in him as member for the district. Mr T. Page seconded the motion, which was carried, only three voting against it. Major Steward thanked the meeting for their vote, and hoped that the constituency would return him. The E*rl of Gl sgow, Governor of New Zealand (says the " Melbourne Argus of Nov ember 4), visited the Minister for Railways at hia office in Spencer street on Thursday, and had a somewhat lengthy interview with him on the subject of railway management, His , lordship was on the directorate of a railway company in the United Kingdom, and takes a keen interest in the State railway policy of these colonies, and in the effort being made to work the railways on commercial princi ples by commissioners. Mr Richardson gave his views on the system of this co!ony, drawing special attention to the fact that there was now a greater control by Parlia ment ovsr the finances of the department than for some years past. The Earl of Glasgow not only related his experiences of thp N/jw system, but favoured the Minister \v£th some valuable information concerning railway management in the old country. Oa Monday a meeting of ministers and delegates representing the various donomi nations was held in St. Stephen's School room to consider a request from the Hon Secretary of the Scripture Text Book in Schools Association,thafc a public mee^ng b$ held with a view of explaining and advocat ing £bp introduction of a Scripture Text Book into tftep&bjic schools of New Zealand. The meeting was well attended, and the Rev T. .A Hamilton presided. The follow ing resolutions were passed; -J. "That a public i»ee)bioj be held at a tjme and place i(to be arranged by a committee to be ap- j pointed) for the purpose ojt advocating and supporting the daily reading of a Scripture Test Kotffc m the Public schools °* New Zealand o» fcb* li»«s pjM»l>«sed ty <fche A*s° tion formed la CUristchurch and elsewhep?/' 2. "That a committee consisting of tfce Revs G. B. Inglis and James Cockwr and Mr J. H. Twentyman be appointed to arrange fey a public meeting, draw up a programme, draft reioiiitiGßS, and select speakers." The meeting then terminate,

THE GENERAL ELECTION.

THE RANGITATA SEAT. MR E. G. WRIGHT AT TIN- J. WALD. ' Mr E. G. Wright addressed the elec tors in the Templar Hall, Tinwald, last night. There was a large attend ance, nearly half the number being i ladies. Mr M, Redmayne occupied the chair, and introduced the speaker. Mr Wright, who on rising was ap plauded, said—Since I was first elected to represent this district in 1879, I have experienced the utmost goodwill and cordiality at your hands, and am therefore induced to offer you my services for another Parliament. FEMALE FRANCHISE. The first question calling for notice at the present time is that of the female franchise, and I desire to con gratulate the women of the Colony upon their having obtained, through the exertions of Sir John Hall and other friends, the enormous power con ferred upon them by the Electoral Act of last session—i.e. an equal right with men to choose their own lawmakers. Seeing that this privilege had been ex tended in this Colony to every man whether educated or uneducated, there seemed to me no valid ground for re fusing it to women of the highest in telligence, and »s the boys and girls of New Zealand are now receiving equal education in the public schools of the Colony, there is no reason to doubt but that the average woman of New Zea land will be able to give her vote upon all public questions with quite as much intelligence as the average man. The history of the world in all ages has furnished many notable examples of the power and wisdom of women in guiding its destinies, aad I need only refer to the fact that one of the wisest and best of women is now at the head of the British Empire. As I have al ready stated, this grant of the fran chise to women is due to Sir John Hall and other friends, and not to the exer tions of the present Government. It is well known to all members of Par liament, that the Government were sorely disappointed at the passing of the Act. The older members of the Legislative Council, by a majority of two, rejected this measure in the ses sion before the last—and in the last session, the Government very cun ningly arranged that of the twelve new Councillors, six should vote on the one side and six on the other, thus relying upon the older Councillors to throw out the Bill a second time. But the duplicity of the Government was seen through, and two of the wisest Coun cillors reversed their votes of the pre vious year and carried this measure, to the immense chagrin of the Govern ment, who have been boasting ever since that they have given the fran chise to women, whereas they have only been playing with edged tools, and have damaged themselves by the process. RAIIAVAYS. The proper management of our public railways is a question of the very first importance, affecting as it must, not only the convenience of the travelling public, the developement of the re sources of the colony, and the contribu tions to the revenue, but also the immediate interests of a large section of the people who are employed in the service. It is necessary that in all its ramifications there should be even handed justice, no favouritism and no partiality — and ifc was on these grounds, that I did what I could some years ago, to place the management of railways as far as possible outside the influence of party politics, and that it ifc should not be left as a sort of happy hunting ground of political patronage, in which each succeeding Ministry might be driven by political pressure to find billets for all the hangers on of themselves and of their supporters. The present administration may not be the very best that it is possible to secure, but I claim for it that the principle upon which it is based is both a safeguard to the public purse, and a protection to the very large staff employed in the service who so long as they perform their duties honestly and well ai© protected in their several posi tions, and sure of just and equal pro motion according so their merits; whilst, under the old system, with an unscrupulow Government in power and enforcing the doctrine of " the spoils to the victors," they would be subject to wholesale dismissals, to make room for political toadies, and the hangers on of the party in power. So that the whole service would be liable to become demoralised, and the lives of the public placed in jeapardy by the appointment of incompetent officials, lam not here as the advocate of the Railway Commissioners, and I am aware that the system is not perfect, and that some dissatisfaction is felt at the manner in which inquiries are con ducted, where complaints are mad« against subordinate officials. There may be need for a change in this re? spect, but I cannot shut my eyes t© the fact that the whole railway system has been made to produce more revenue under the management of the Com» missioners than it ever did before, and that at the same time the fares have been lessened and the rates reduced upon many items—representing in the aggregate a gain to the public of £40,000 to £50,000 a year. Again, under the present system we have an accurate account of the profit and loss accruing on the several sections of our railways. All necessary renewals are pa|d for out of revenue and there is no confusion between capital expenditure and working ex penditure, which frequently occurred under former public works administra tions ; renewals being charged to capital artcounfc in order to make the profits appear larger than t&ey actually were. If the present system needs amendment let it be amended, but not by such a maasura as Mr Seddon sought to pats, he would have had all t"ie power and the Commis sioners all the odium for whatever went wrong. The one object of all this abuse and denunciation of the Railway Commissioners is ito obtain possession of the railways for p?xty purposes, and fyo^ £h&t power would be abused is very aptly $hqwn by wfcat occurerd thjLs la§fc session in an enqleayour to spend money for political bribery, in the erec tion of a goods station at the Te Avg encj of Wellington. The expenditure

would probably run up to £40,000 or £50,000, and would be about as profit less as a similar expenditure upon a large goods station at Tinwald. Yet the Premier made a most determined I effort to get this done to gratify one of his political supporters and a few of his followers in Wellington. Then I ask you, how can you believe the the charges made by the Premier against the Railway Ooinmissiooers, when he last year applied to them to prepare exhibits for the Chicago Exhibition (where he hoped to figure largely as the representative of New Zealand) and this year denounced them for having those very exhibits made. There was a tinw when the word of the Premier of this colony could have been accepted as the truth, but I regret to say that tiaae departed with the advent to power of the great liberal party. If any of you doubt the manner in which the railways would be made use of for party purposes by the present Govern ment, I ask you to consider what is going on in the police force at the prevent time—where the discipline of the service is bting undermined by promotion and favors granted for party support and not for merit. j THE PUBLIC DEBT. You have heard a great deal about the self-reliance and non-borrowing tenden cies of the present Government, and I must trouble you with a few figures to show how little they are entitled to claim credit for, under that heading ; and that it is only an impudent asser tion, that is not borne out by facts, when they tell you that they are carrying on the public works without borrowing. It is quite true that they have not during their term of office placed a loan openly upon the London market, but they have had the benefit of £718,000 of loan moneys left at their disposal by their predecessors, and they have gathered in all the accumulated sinking funds which they could by any means, proper or impropei lay their hands upon. It is nothing, less than an insult to the intelligence of the electors of the colony to try and bamboozle them by the assertion that they are a non-borrowing Government, and that all the public works of the colony are being carried on by means of the ordinary revenue of the colony. As I wish to make it quite clear to you that what I state is nothing more than the literal truth, and is borne out by the public amounts of the colony, I must give you chapter and verse or sa y—letter and reference for the figures which I quote. In the appen dices for 1891, 86, you will find the unexpended balances of the public works fund set down as follows :— Under the heading of part T, £110,645 17s 9d ; part 11, £356,107 ; part 111, £251,343 7s lOd; total, £718,096 5s 7d. Then on page 2of No. 3of the appendices for 1892 you will find on the authority of the Audit Depart ment that the Commissioners of the Public Debt Sinking Fund paid to the public works fund for 1891-2, £338,085 10s sd, showing the loin money at the disposal of this Government, up to the 31st March last, to be £1,056,181 16?. The expenditure upon public works for the year ending the 31st March, 1892, was £328,564 13s Id, and for 1893 was £472,952 4s od, and out of the released sinking fund they reduced the floating debt in 1891-2, £100,000, £901,516 17s 6d ; total £154,664 18a 6d. The outstanding liabilities of the public works fund, 31st March, 1891, were £240,387 Ss Id, and on the 31st March, 1892, £229,360 7s 3d, showing a reduction of £11,026 14s lOd, and leaving a balance of £143,638 3s Bd. <O? loan moneys to the credit of the Government on the 31st March last, after paying lor all the expenditure upon public works, by the present Government, and paying off £100 000 of the floating debt. In addition to thia balance of loan money remaining to the credit of the public works account on 31st March last of £143,638 3s Bd, there was a sum contributed from the Consolidated Fund last year of £200,000, and to be paid over this year from the same source, if they can find it, £250,000. In addition to which the Government by financial operations, which I will presently ex plain, have raked in further sinking funds to the amount of £163,000, making the large sum of £756,638 3s Bd, which should be in the public works fund for the current year—i£ the boasted transfer of £250,000 from the Consolidated Fund is ever made, of which I have very grave doubts, or the Government would not have displayed such feverish anxiety to get hold of the Sinking Fund of £163,000 above mentioned, by a process unprofitable to the colony, as I shall endeavour to explain. In 1865 debentures for half a million were issued under the Loan Act of 1863, which authorised a total loan of £3,000,000. The debentures of this half million carried the guaran tee of the Imperial Government, and had a currency of fifty years, so that the colony could not be asked to re deem them until the year 1915, a sufficiently remote period ; but tied up with this loan was a sinking fund of £163,000, and in order to get hold of it the Government first agreed to buy the £500,000 four per cent debentures for £585,000, and to raise the money to pay that sura they sold 3^ per cent debentures to the amount of £610,000 at a discount. So that instead of owing £500,000, with a set off of £163,000, say £337,000, the colony now owes upon this transaction £610,000, with no set off, so that^ in order to rake in this accrued sinking fund of £163,000, our colonial debt has been increased by £278,000. There fore we are heavily discounting the future, and in a letter of 9th December last the Agent-General is evidently of that opinion, Then followed pro tracted negotiations in which the Premier expressed his anxiety to get these negotiations completed, but the exact nature of the sacrifice will not appear until we know at what discount the £610,000 worth of debentures were 80 ld—information which the Colonial Treasurer would not furnish, although it had no doubt been wired out by the Agent-General. If these transactions do not mean, the use of borrowed moneys I know not how to name them, but it is perfectly certain these funds are not part of the ordinary revenue of the year. Again I must ask if the Government are not borrowing, how i§ it that the public dehp of the colony has increased from £37,843,308 on the 31st of jftarch, I^9l, to £38,144,07.^ on the Slst of Bforcb, |893. Whifo

the sinking funds have decreased dur-« ing the same period from £1,487,042 to £1,113,770, a difference of £373,272, or a total net increase of debt amount ing to £1,174,034 since this Govern ment came into office. These figures are exclusive of the above mentionsd £273,000, which is an operation of the current year. The total amount by which the Government have profited by the released sinking funds is £501,085 (£338,085 and £163,000), and as the Government has had the benefit of £718,000 of loan money left by their predecessors, and also of £501,000 of released sinking funds, what will become of their self-reliant finance next year 1 There is very little more in the way of Sinking Funds to be got hold of by this or any other Government, and as they now tax the people to the extent of £250,000 annually for carrying on public works, when other moneys fail it will need a powerful turn of the screw to extract say £500,000 annually from your pockets to carry on public works, and the country will be in danger of being bled to exhaustion, and what for? Not for useful and reproductive public works, but to purchase support for the present Ministry. That is a pretty fair sample of the way the money is being expended that is extracted from the pockets of the hard-working settlers of Canterbury, and I commend it to your consideration. If you want further illustrations you may find them in the votes of £13,000 for the Thames railway, £15,000 for the Wangarei railway, £12,000 for the Helensville extension ; total, £40,000; upon which undertakings not a shilling's expendi ture can be justified; they are votes to bay support and nothing less. I hope I have convinced you of the audacity of this Government in claiming credit, for a self reliant and non borrowing policy. Having mentioned the £250,000, raised this year by taxation, only to be squandered for the most part in useless public works, it may be in teresting to you to learn how much, or rather how little of it, falls to the share of Canterbury. Out of a total of £195,569 voted for roads under Part I. of the public works estimates, Canterbury gets £2,951 —or about H per cent There is also a sum of £40,000 for roais under Part 11. of which we get nothing. Out of a vote of £74,655 for buildings £2880 i 3 for Canterbury, being less than four per cent., and if we allow for school build ings, the money for which is voted in globo, we shall find that out of a total vote of £693,068 for public works for the entire colony, Canter bury will receive less than £10,000, Don't let me be misunderstood, I am well aware that other parts of th< colony require developing, and so long as the money is well spent, we cannoi object to it, but rather approve the opening up of other districts, to helf forward the geneial productiveness oi the whole colony, but what Ido object to is the improper use of funds wrunj from the taxpayers of this or anj other part of the colony , Now let me refer to a matter that especially con cerns Canterbury and see how that has been dealt with—l mean the MIDLAND RAILWAY. The first contract for this work, was made in 1885, with a syndicate of New Zealand settlers, who, whilst they ob tamed certain concessions from the Government, were bound only in the nominal sum of £5,000, to carry out works requiring an expenditure ol mil'ions. The syndicate first tried negotiations with Messrs Meiggs, which fell through, as they demanded the colony's guarantee which was re fused. In 1886 the present Midland Railway Company took up the original contract but subject to certain variations. The Stout-Vogel Govern ment agreed to those variations, but wera unable to give effect to them without an amending act, and it was not until the 3rd of August, 1888 that the terms of the contract were finally agreed. The whole cost of the work to Nelson was estimated to be £2,500,000, and the company was to receive land, valued, at that time at £1,250,000 or half the total cost of the work, but the cost, as is frequently the case, was under estimated, and it is now found that it would amount to £3,250,000— instead of £2,500,000 — and the company having exhausted their capital, are unable to proceed, unless the- contract is modified. The Company issued £250,000 of share capital and £750,000 of debentures, and have made about eighty miles of railway of which only five or six miles are in Canterbury, and are at present not open for traffic. There now re main about fifty-eight miles only to construct, to connect the railways upon the East, with these upon the West Coast, and it is this connecting link that the interests of Canterbury demand should be completed as soon as possible. A.s a member of the Public Accounts Committee I en deavored to bring about such reason able modification of the terms of the contract as would enable the present company to raise funds sufficient to complete these fifty-eight miles, which the Engineer to the Company states can be done in 3£ years from com mencing active operations, and it will be advisable for Canterbury to send representatives to Parliament who will not be lukewarm in this matter—as the division lists of last session, show strong opponeuts from other parts of the colony, among whom Sir Robert Stout is the most prominent. Canter bury has assisted other districts liberally and should now help herself. There should be no half-hearfcedness in this matter as it would be im mensely to the advantage of Canter bury to have this railway completed. LICENSING. In the matter of the Alcoholic Bill he was of opinion that the promise of the Premier that he would introduce a bill to please everybody, had not not been quite fulfilled. The hand of the Gov ernment had been forced by the action of Sir Robert Stout and their bill was cunningly prepared; but it gave no satis faction to the temperance party. I will read my rough notes, made after per using the Bill as introduced.—" Elec toral districts too large for licensing, district. The provision that the poll shall be declared void unless half the electors vote, makes the act a dead letter. The bill gjves the substance to the brewers and 'publicans, and the shadow only to tt# temperance par. ty,

The clause, removing the disqualifica tion for bias, is the only good feature in the bill." And I therefore, voted for every amendment that was pro posed, with a view of making the measure more in accordance with the demands of the ternperanca party. However, the measure is now law and before parliament meets again, the ballot will be taken in March, which must regulate the traffic for the next three years, and, if the Act, after a fair trial proves a failure, as I fear it will, it must be amended —but the question is one of the greatest magni tude, as affecting the rights of in dividuals to choose what they should or should not drink, and so great a reform as the temperance party con templated cannot be brought about by any act whatever. It is a question of I educating the people, and as the rising I generation of JjTew Zealanders are 1 moat temperate in th«ir habits, time will be more potent than drastic legislation on this subject. All reasonable proposals to reform the liquor traffic shall have my cordial support, but as I am not a prohi bitionist, I am not prepared to say to my neighbors, you shall no longer take a drop of whisky, and you shall drink lemon squash. Let us be temperate in all things, even in our legislation, build up our progress step by step, and there will be less danger of any violent reaction. LABOR BILLS. As to the Labor Bills of the present Government, whilst some of their pro visions are perfectly fair and j reasonable, yet in the main, they are likely to do more harm than good. There are too many frivolous restric tions, too many temptations to men to turn spies and informers, and above all too many inspectors to be supported by the taxpayers. The Workmen's Wages Bill is one which I commend to the notice of all persons employing labor, more especially builders. If they wish to avwid trouble, they must study the provisions of the act. The Shop Hours Bill was happily rejected - as it was to enforce the closing of all shops at 6 o'clock, even in cases where no assistants were employed. Small shops kept by widows and infirm men were to be opened and shut, not when it, suited the convenience of the oWhsrs or the public, but on the stroke of the clock, under heavy penalties. We can get on very well with our present freedom and want no harras ging legislation of this sort. Then take the Noxious Weeds Bill. This was a very fair specimen to show how little real attention the Government bestow upon their bills before they put the country to the expense of printing so much rubbish, and members of parlia ment to the trouble of worrying their brains to discover if the Government are in earnest, or only fooling them. Then there is the sc-called Concilia tion and Arbitration Bill, with a penalty of £500 against the employer if he does not abide by the award of the court. Of what use, T should like to know is a penalty of £500 in a big strike, where the interests at &take may involve a loss of thousands a day. A true Conciliation Bill might do some gooi but a compulsory Arbitra tion Act, would be prolific of strife and ill-feeling, and nothing else, because under the sense o£ irritation tlie bill would excite the two parties would be something like fliat and ste3l —'and always on the look out for a row—or stimulated thereto by policical agita tors.

LAND FOR SETTLEMENT. You have heard much during the last three years about settling the people upon the land, and I must give the party in power [credit for having made more noise about it than any of their predecessors —but apart from noise, f fail to see they are doing better than the former administration. Here is an extract from the report of the Lands Department for 1892. In 1890, there were 2288 selectors; 1891, there were 2025 seclectors; 1892, there were 2069 se'ectors. Since that period there has been a large increase of bogu* selectors, under the special settlement condititions which are a species of lottery in land. If a man draws a good lot, he keeps it or more frequently Bellsfit at an advance tt the bona fide settler, who has to pay more for it than he would do under a pr«per system of selection. The^e should be no jobbery of this kind. Let the first come make his selection—without ballot—the first poineers have the greatest hardships to endure under any system of settling the land, and should get some privileges as early selectors and not be forced to ballot with the speculators residing in the towns, and who only enter these associations to make a profit out of the honest toiler, who determines to make a home out of the wilderness. Let the facilities and the inducements be the very strongest | you can offer. It is not the most attractive life to an educated man to [ be told that he must settle down upon a few acres, or even a few hundred acres of land, and that he must work out his own destiny upon it. You must bear in mind in dealing with this question that the whole population under our school system ought soon to become the best educated population on the face of the earth, and at present tha tendency is to accept the smallest pay in any shop or office work, rather than take to the more robust and healthy out door life that must follow the cultivation of the soil. On these grounds I repeat that the land should be offered to bona fide settlers upon the most attractive terms, and there must be no jobbery in the ballot box.

TAXATION. The settlement of the land leads natur ally to the question of the land tax and the graduated taxation, and so far as the results obtained can be measured, it does not appear that the colony is the gainer by having expended .£30,000 to rub out the property tax and set up the land and income tax. I admit at once that the change haa relieved a few thousands of the middle class farmers of a portion of their direct taxation, and so far, it has done good, but to the o-reat mass of the people it has brought no relief. Will any laboring man tell me that it has increased his wages or made employment more abundant? Was the cry of the unemployed ever greater than it has been under the present system of taxation? And in spite of all the efforts of the Govern imenti tQ cop? yfith jt by spidtyg

money freely—upoa the so-called co operative works which, may more aptly be termed, out door relief works. Some of you may think that the present increase in the rate of interest is due entirely to the demand for money to meet the financial disasters in Aus tralia, but that is only partly the cause. There is a deep rooted feeling of resentment against the graduated tax of New Zealand—-a system not adopted in any other English speaking community—and the amount raised is not worth raising at the cost of so much resentment; men say—remit the money we have lent—and we will invest it elsewhere, rather than upon the security of land, which is subject to this sort of penal legislation. We do not know where it will stop, and our security may be eaten up with another screw of the graduated tax. Then it presses very unfairly upon the country settlers, as against the town settlers, in the matter of the exemption of improvements. The improvements in the cities represent a much larger portion of the total value of the property than do the improvements in the country. And this countryV settlers are handicapped in the race. This graduated tax was to burst up the big estates, and the Government will contend that it has been success ful, as it has enabled them to buy the Cheviot estate. It would have been more satisfactory if it had enabled them to buy Laghmor, or some other estate nearer to a railway where settlers could get their produce to a market. That market is for the most part on the other side of the globe, and the prices here are chiefly governed by the prices there, so that the success of this community requires that all classes should work together, with a friendly feeling of comiron interest, and a determination to promote the welfare of the whole community,—and stamp out every attempt to net class against class by mischevious legislation. The system of what is called COOPERATIVE WORKS requires a passing notice. You see none of it here, but there are nearly 2000 men employed under this system in various parts of the colony, and the testimony of all impartial witnesses is to the effect that the system is most wasteful. All local bodies are required by Act to call for public tenders for any work, the cost of which is esti mated to exceed £20, and the system on the whole works well, and if this system of public competition is con sidered necessary where the works are carried out under the eyes of the people who have to pay for them, how much more necessary must it be to have competition for works where there is no check whatever, except in the honesty and capacity of the Govern ment overseer. The offioial in charge may be perfectly honest, but not pos sessed of the experience to enable him to put a proper price upon the work, or he may have the experience and not the honesty required. If he has both, he will not give prices big enough to satisfy lazy or incompetent men, and he is dismissed under political pressure. The price agreed upon may have been a very liberal one, and good workmen have made, in some cases, say, 20s a day, and the bad or lazy say 5s or 6s. Then they chaige the engineer with giving short measurement, and a second official is sent up to check the work, and the first gets into trouble for his honesty, so that ia the end the public service becomes demoralised. I speak with a knowledge of the fact, and am drawing no fancy picture. Then the system is a hand to mouth system, and most slovenly and wasteful. Under a system of public tenders 'you have the safeguard of open competition upon plans and specifications carefully prepared beforehand, and you get the advantage of the skill and ingenuity of trained men, who know very much better how to set about their work to do it economically than any officia's in the Government service, who have not the same stimulus to exert themselves. The difference between the present slovenly system and one of open com petition upon specified plans may be compared to spade versus plough. The whole system requires sifting by an impartial Committee, and in the in terest of the taxpayer the system must be done away with or organised upon a very different footing.

QUBSTIONS. In answer to questions, Mr Wright aaid he was quite in favor of a co operative system, provided it was carried out on proper lines, and that there was a proper system of tendering. He could quite see that a body of say twenty men should be able to take the work equally well as one contractor; he was sorry he could not see his way to favor aid to denominational schools. If anyone could show him how the Catholics could be assisted without breaking up our national system of education he would give the matter his careful consideration. With regard to his opinions on the Direct Veto they had only *» refer tq " Hansard," He had voted for it throughout. He had no objection to a minister having a seat on the board of management for the railways, but he objected to that min ister being vested with the absolute control which would be gir«n him under the Government Railways Act Amendment Bill, with the ooramls. sioners to act as mero dummies or buffers to take the responsibility. If any person could bring under his notice cases of hardships to persons employed on the railways who were transferred from one place to another, breaking up their homes without any apparent reason, whether in Parliament or out he would have such cases investigated. He did not think any sensible woman would ask for a seat in the House. Mr Outhbertson was not standing in his interest. He knew nothing about his candidature. He would much rather that Mr Outhbertson was out of ;he field. A. vote of thanks moved by Mr Doherty, and seconded by Mr Clothier, to Mr Wright for his address was un animously carried. ! ' ' ' A vote of thanks to the chair closed the meeting.

THE AtoifflWrmr fIPABPmi « WEDNES&Aif, ftOVEMBEK IS, 189$.



QWING TO DULNESS OF THE*EASON G. J. NEILL and Co. ARE SELLING- Women s Strong Corsets at 2s 6i Women's Hats of every description at very low prices White Muslin 4jd per yard Good Washing Vrint 3£d New Dresa Goods 4|d Double Bed White Twill Sheeting 9|d Children's Sunshades Is each CLOTHING- CLOTHING »S E""caLoslAL SIwB E D SUITS. OTABMTBSDI ALL WuOL, 21s Boys Suits 4s lid Men's and Boys' Straw Hats from|6d Boys' Felt Hats Is 3d Men's Felb Hats 2s 6d BOOTS- BOOTS, BOOTS.: In BOOTS we DEFY COMPETITION formality and Price. Men's Bluchers 5s Men's Nailed Shooters 8* 6i. Women's Strong Boots 6s 9d ffil»^Syik Leather and M Shoes ( fi. J. NEILL & 00X FRIEDLANDER'S BUILDINGS, EAST STREET. CASH.-SMALL PROFITS AND QUICK RETURNS. T HIS SPACE is RESERVED for particulars of NEW GOODS, comprising GOLD AND SILVER JEWELLEBY —AND m<ftH CfcA&S SILVER * E.P. WARE For th. CHRISTMAS TRADE, to bo opened up by S. SALEK, ■WATCHMAKER AND JEWELLER.



~~ Wanted" A' TT "Nokomai," Havelock Street West, superior Board and Kesi denoe; piano, hot and cold bath ; .tabling | terms moderate.-MRS J. Quins. H ™ A'~ SHBURrON Women's Liberal Asso ciation,—Members are requested to Meet in Mb Waby's Committee Boom ToMoHxat7.3o.-MR 9 H. M. Carson Secretary. liJ^! TTIOWLS, 2i 61 per pair. Sirawbeny _D and Gooseberry Jam, Marmalade, Oranges, Bananas, Lemons Smoked Fisn, Phnts, etc, at Whithnoton's. BOOKS in greafc~variety to suit all classes of readers, at the Railway BookJStalv __^7m BAILWAY Bo ,k Stall.—A large and ohoice lot of books to select t&ifl. 7 Wd WANTED I\nown—That A. J. Walker repairs Bi yolee, Sewing •faehine*. Lawn Mowers, Medical Coils, and all descriptions of lightjn^inery. r^OUCHMEN'S Farmer's Diary, New V>/ Zealand Diaries, Aim nacs for 1H94 now in. Book keeping simplified for Farmers.—H. M. Joxes "EW~Stock inGiassware, Ornaments, Photo Frames, Albums, Leather Writing Case, Work Boxe*, Desks, Basketwvre. —H. M. J«^yes. DIARIES for 1894.—L. F. Andrewes and Co. 11 16 CHRISTMAS Cards for your friends in the Old Country at L. F, Andrbwes and Co. ___^ 11 17 WANTED Known—Spectacles, eye protectors. Gogarles, Folders, and everything in the optical line at S. Saxkk's, Optician. WANTED. —Everyone to know that we have too much Stock, and too ittle money.—Mitchjelt, and Turner. DON'T Forget to send your Bicycles along to the Old Kindergarten to tM repaired, at moderate rates. OMERSET Meat Mart. The oldest the largest, the best, and the cheap Mfc. Small 'jloods a specialty. Ful weight* guaranteed. A trial solicited. -W. J. Siloock. 4t182 WANTED— Buyers of drapery and clothing, to see the value we are 9X9 offering—Mitchell & Torver. IF yot. want fiist class fruit go to Adams' for Fiji, Tahiti, Auckland and Sydney Oranges, Citrons, Lemons, •tc. THK Best Nickel Watch in the Market for 15s. Usually sold l>y Jewellers it from 20d to 25^ each. Specially made In England to our order.—John Orr and Co. ■ » 192 I^IETCKET and Lawn Tennis Material v> just unpacked at reduced pr'ces. New Books, Games and Fancy Goods. All goods reduced in price for cash this month.—L. F. Andrewes and Co, Station*™' Hall. WANTED— Mothers of families to know that we cannot be beaten for value in Drapery and Clothing.— MIICHELL & TCBNKU. WANTED Known-For good value in first class Drapery, Millinery, Boots, Clothing, etc., go to Mklford B.OVSH. Beautiful presents now giving •way to all purchasers. SEED. SEED. SEED. I HAVE a specially selected stock of Cocksfoot, Eed Clover, Cow Grass, KapeSeed, G.f.Y.A. Turnip, P.T.Y.A. Turnip, I, <J. Globe, Fost Uybird, Devon Grey. Mammoth, etc. JOHN G. RESTELL, 10§35 West Street. In OMSbOW BISCUIT. Tlis latest and m tfeli



PRESENTS— Beautiful Presents now being given away to all purchasers of Drapery, Millinery, Boots, Clothing etc.—H. 0. Sbqebs, Melford House. FOR Bread, Scones, Pastry, etc., you will find Jumbo Baking Powder unsurpassed. Known—" The Corner " le * » showing a magnificent New Stock of Drapery and Clothing. — W. H. Collier. __ _. SUITS to measure, during the sale, 49s 665, 60s, 70s, and 755. Fit and workmanship guaranteed.—R. axcoßN, Saundwra' Buildings. ■_ \ '\ 7 ANTED Known—Some wonderful \V job lines n Drapery, etc., now oeing sold; also presents to all purchasers. H 0. Seobks, Melford House. ANTED Known—W. H. Colubr's noted four clasp Kid Gloves, 2b 6<3, have just arrived in all sir.es. WHO is your Plumber 1 Why W . Habdlhy, who is * Manufacturer lof Spouting, Ridging, Steel Gutters, Baths, Sinks, Tanks, etc., and who has on hand the largest atook of Pumps and Pipe in town. ___________ /HOFFEE as a Beverage is more pala \J table and wholesome than Tea. Use Orient*! Coffee. \I?ANTED Known.—To make room W for Spring Boots I will give ten per cent for cash. Repairs done at once cheaper than ever to stay bad times over at J. Moisoy, Premier Bootmaker. 8 18 RIENTAL Coffee is the blend of the Choicest Ceylon and Mocha. Try it. EDIOAL Coila made and repaired on the shortest notice at easy prices at A. J. Walker's, Old Kinder garten. ERBAL Beer, Ginger Beer, Rasp berryade, home made Jams and Marmalade, and all fresh fruit in season. T Hoult, East Street, Ashburton. 10 18 ]~KX)KS in good order and complete > bought or taken in exchange. New j Stock arriving every week. Circulating Library.—J. Maksden, Newsagent. BANG! Bang t Bang I Gmis! Guns ! Guns! by the best makers and Stted with all the latest improvements. Porder, Shot, Caps, Cartridges, Wads, and Cases at J. W. Hardlkt's, East Street. Guns repaired. fTTHEKEdo you ffec your Ironmon- YV gwy' ■*-* Hakdlkv sof course, where we get the best value in Sheet Lead, Nails, Locks, Hinges, Plough Chains, Rope, Wire Knotting, Gorse Knives, Spades and Forks, Lamps, Fender and Fire Irons, and »nything you reqniw WANTED KNOWIT. NEW ZEALAND BIBLE and BOOK SOCIETY will open temporarily inAehburton on NOVEMBER 16, for three weeks only, with a large and well assorted stock of New Bo,pks, Cards, etc, including all the New Annual Volumes, Boys Own, Girls Own, Chatterbox, Sun day etc.—N.B.—For three weeks only. *' J. K. MacDONALD, 11104 ABent' _ ~~ JUST ARRiym pianos. Piiibs. painos.; ORGANS. ORGANS, ORGANS j pROM £1 PER MONTH. DRESDEN PIANO COMPANY, i Hchoi 1 of Music, Sounders' Buildings. HOKACE A. GATES, 10t125 Agent and Manager. FCll SALE —2 sections w«ll situated ia Gliiik Street, Allenton, being lofce g3, and 23, containing 2 roods 6 perches, part of BA 8707- ,p_ BUt/WCK . I



, NEW ZEALAND CiiOTHiuro _ Factoby; SPECIAL DIS?LAY OF NEW GOODS FOR THIS WEEK. BOOTS HATS NEW PATTERNS 1 BOOTS inMen > 8 Boys'& HATS BOOTS Youths' Suits; HATS 80018 — HATS BOOTS Tennis Shirts Cricket Shirts HAI-8 BOOTS Cycling Shirts HATS BOOTS — HATS BOOTS All New GoODgt HATB BOOTS — HATg BOOTS White Shirts J Regatta Shirts \ HATS BOOTS OxfordShirta HATS BOOTS The largest stock HATS BOOTS m ABhburton/J BOOTS — J^J BOOTS TIESI TIES> TIES BOOTS v^ee our Special Dis play in Windows. HATS | [BOOTS HALT.ENSTEIN BROS; ALEX^ HENDRY, Manager



This' BEST Remedy Fon^NDlGESTlOX—Norton' Camomile Fills »ra confidently ' recommended as' a simple remedy for Indigestion, which ig the cause of nearly all the diseases to \yhieh we are subject. Norton's Pilla, which •' Justice" called the " Natural Strengtheuer of tha Humai Stomach," act as a pawer ful tonic and gentle' aperient, «re mild in their 4perq tion, and safe nr er any circumstances. Sold'in bottles, at Is ljd 2<| ld^by (all | iu«dfoinej vendot hrougUouttUcworld,  '■ ,• . ' ' "