Travelling Expenses.

This was to some extent a personal matter, and he desired to bring it in. It had been said that the Government had been reckless in their personal and travelling expenses. He would like to compare notes, and make a comparison with those of his predecessors; Mr Bryce had held only the position of Native Minister, whereas he (Mr Ballance) had held the portfolios of Native Minister, Defence, and Lands and had had to visit many parts of the country which the Native Minister was not required to visit—especially in the South Island. Taking the expenses for two years, and while not censuring or condemning Mr Bryce, whom he believed had incurred the expenses rightly and conscientiously in the discharge of his duties. Mr Bryce's expenses during the two years he was in office 1882-83 for travelling allowance and attendants' expenses amounted to £1355, while his (Mr Ballance's) for the two years of 1885-86 were £1112, and he had had a great deal of travelling to do in connection with the administration of lands in places where the Native Minister was not required. He could have made the figures more favourable to himself had he calculated the expense of having buggies in travelling where there were no railways, which entailed extra expenses in travelling. They must consider that his expenses compared favourably with those of his predecossors, and they must come to the conclusion that his was not an extravagant expenditure. With regard to Mr Larnach's expenses, he might say that there was not a nook or corner where gold was to be found in the colony that his colleague had not visited during the year, when he incurred the large expenditure; but if he had incurred a large expenditure in comparison with his predecessor, he did the work for it, and his investigation had been productive of the most happy and beneficial results, (Applause.)