by the Government, was to defend his old chief, Sir George Grey, from attacks made upon him from the ministerial benches. In indignant tones, he reminded the House that Sir George Grey had been the means of giving the colony manhood suffrage, triennial Parliaments, and a land tax. Mr. Seddon had been in favour of that tax from the first, and he believed that if it had been allowed to remain in force the colony would not have been in such a bad condition as it was in 1890. He was one of those who blamed the property tax largely for “The Exodus,” and he was not slow to affirm that with a land tax in operation people would return to the colony, and immigration would set in from the Old Country, as it had done before.
This speech bristles with tables and figures, dealing with land settlement, finances, charitable aid, and other questions. He supported Mr. Ballance in declaring that “dummy-ism” was rampant under the land laws that existed at that time. He always declared that liberal land laws in New Zealand commenced in 1885, when Mr. Ballance was Minister for Lands in the Stout-Vogel Government. Mr. Ballance was the first Minister who carried the village-settlement system into operation, and Mr. Seddon was not likely to permit detractors to take from Mr. Ballance the credit to which he was entitled.
He seemed to think that it was his duty to defend with all his might all members of the Opposition who had been attacked by ministerial supporters, and he passed from eulogies of Sir George Grey and Mr. Ballance to a confirmation of statements made by Mr. George Hutchison. Then the whole force of the Opposition Party was brought under his protection:
“The blow we have struck is a fair and open blow. The Opposition has been led to the attack by an honourable gentleman who has the entire confidence of the party, and I claim that the work we are doing redounds to our credit and is of decided benefit to the colony at large. Step by step, since the present Government has been on those benches, we have forced its hands. We have prevented it from doing wrong; we have assisted it in doing right; and in many directions we have protected the interests of the people. When we go to the country it will be for the people to judge between the Government and us.”
What annoyed him more than anything else was a chance remark by Sir John Hall that the Opposition was composed of
