and ideas of its own that could find justification in the works of absolutely no recognised authority on constitutional government would be held up before the world for ridicule.
As members were given a week to consider the Statement after it was delivered, the Opposition had plenty of time to gather its information and its forces together. The assault was led by Mr. Bryce, who, however, could find very little to criticise. He contented himself with saying that the Government was chasing capital out of the country. Mr. W. P. Reeves followed with a keen and slashing speech, in which he pointed out that the Government had already dared to go much further into reforms than its opponents believed it could possibly go. Another speech that held the gallaries’ attention was that of Sir Joseph Ward, who passed through a fire of interruptions and interjections, challenging members’ statements and being challenged in turn, but never being caught tripping.
Mr. Scobie Mackenzie made one of the fiercest attacks of the evening on the Government’s position, but was repelled by Mr. Saunders, who, as one of the pioneers of Liberalism, entered the discussion as a friendly critic of the Government. In that capacity he sustained his character as the Nestor of the House, a name that he had borne for many years. Thirty-six years previously, when he was Superintendent of the Nelson Provincial Council, he had advocated the imposition of a land tax, and he had been one of those who had clamoured most consistently against the iniquities of the property tax the Liberal Government had decided to sweep away. He dealt severely with Mr. Mackenzie, and quietly refuted the assertion that Liberals had inherited a large surplus from the Conservatives, by stating that the heritage left by the Continuous Ministry was a deficit of more than half a million of money. “Surpluses, in fact,” he said, “are merely the devices of Civil Servants of this colony; they have no kind of reality, and they do not exist except on paper.”
It was not until the debate was nearing its end that Mr. Seddon rose to take part in it. He was calm at first, but as he got well into his subject, he raised his voice and hurled his facts across the chamber to the Opposition benches. No speaker
