It would have been impossible for Govern ment to have spent a farthing of this m votes of last session, for they had £2,145,000 cash m hand, and their votea only amounted to £2,Vt0,000, 8O Uiafc tiieiy cry was only to dis turb people's minds. It would bo seen that the Opposition, m granting the rotes it did, took every precaution that the North Island Trunk loan should not be infringed upon. The figures aro patent to every one. Now ns to tho policy of the praeenfc Government, it was difficult to say what it wns, as. they ap peared to havo no policy. They sent up ONB BALLOON APTEB ANOTIIBE, which went into space and wore seen no more, but the statements of their real meaning were only known, for language seemed to be used to conceal thought. Sir Julius Vogcl said m addressing his Auckland hearov'3 £l)ut he knew his own mind and the mind 3of his colleagues, leading them to suppose that ho was submitting a duly-considered Bcbem.e, which ho thought should bo submitted to the peoplo aftur a dissolution. Now, m saying this, Sir Julius Yogel was, m a sense, threatening Parliament, therefore he (Major Atkinson) had a right to criticiso tho scheme propounded. Tho first part of the schemo was the big balloon of the ten million loan. Many men looked forward to tho time of in

flated expenditure as an opportunity to realise and clear out, but he had no sympathy with such men. The Premier, apparently, did not coincide with the big borrowing scheme ; he had.a good deal of prudence, and showed it m his speech at Dunedin tho othor day, bo they were now told they would not have that scheme, but a lesser scheme, including an expenditure of a million and a half per annum. The Colonial Treasnrer, at least, seriously proposed tho scheme as one on which a dissolution ought to be granted. Let us Bay he increased the taxation through tho Customs by £100,000 with tho object of borrowing £2,000,000, spending most of it on reproductive works. It might reasonably be asked, why start a new policy beforo we had worked at the old one? Tho reason given was abundance of cheap labour and cheap material. 