He thought that the cost of maintaining the poor should be partly borne by the wealthy squatters in the country. Mr Ormond, one of the wealthiest men in New Zealand, had said that in his opinion, the poor should be supported partly by the wealthy. There were leagues of country from which men had been driven, so that no poor existed there, and as this was the case, the wealthy men should support the poo"r who were driven into the cities. THE NEXT SESSION. As to the work of next session he should vote against the San Francisco service, and should also resist strongly the attempt to give 30 per cent, quota to the country districts, and if this brought about a disso lution he would still vote against it. He would vote for an improvement in the property tax, but he thought that the time had come when a land and income tax was necessary. Major Atkinson had said, and he was glad to hear him say so, that he was in favor of taxing absentees. He should oppose the expenditure of money on useless railways. EDUCATION. He was not at all satisfied with the expen diture on education. The salaries of teachers were far too small, and he felt that the amount which was taken off the vote should be put back again. Some persons were saying that he was a tool of a certain denomination, and that he was in reality an enemy of the State system of E lucation. Now he asked them to look at Hansard aud see every vote which he had given on education, and he would assert that he had always been found voting on the side of the btate system of education, and shoulder to shoulder with the best friends of the system. CONCLUSION. If he could see a Liberal member coming forward who would lead the Opposition be would follow him. If he couli help to put in a more liberal Government than the present he should do so, as he was by no means satisfied with the present Government. Sir H. Atkinson was no doubt a very strong man, politically speak ing, but he had a very weak set of col leagues, and he thought less of his party than of his Ministry. 