MR MURRAY'S MEETING.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 17, 29 October 1874, Page 3

MR MURRAY'S MEETING.

. w 4 A..Mm^^^ l H fff ifflfrfiml , feTaffifrs my m\wti on Friday Mn&.f r«ii^^ the Jhclemebcyi' of thb 'Weathef^ /and 1 several other rneeti^gs in tbe'towh'aiill 1 . fiCTghbOrhrM>d bavin^^tt-fixed'foT'ihe . tame evening, tm?att«TidiMJC^ wiwiinot' so large as it; otherwise would have • beeiiv •"-'•** t««tm:v 3-\ui ( ;.-csJ:>=s i:\0ll &. -CunningbaHt;' Esd: 1 tree; culled to the chyir, andU.ri^y *^f»b«ned tbe'ob*: ject ef the meeting, "awi asked for Mr Murray- a :patf_iitJheßriß^ "?pih Uv.nw'A ■a :-. Mt'; 'MtorTfejrrf^ifch-t a$ marty mem^ had already, 1 With <orrrmendable prompitude, given tbe history "of the : Sesfeion, be' woul4 -waste itirae by ■ repetitions about miner matters -but would' devote bi^remarks to those, quee- f tions which were of Colonial importance or of Bpecial iiiterest to them.; Though: . . the€i^oii'{h^dlh«en-ru»Mj^uall.y short. . • they, had paissed'^ptihlic:tindj.9 f p^yjfttet Act*; betides. ;lat gejy [ .r#WU66iog(B».any \ - rejected measures. Amongst the: for^v wet The : Post [Office BaviPg# Ba»k . authorises d©i>osihf"to, be received .up Co "z partnr/; frpm t^pse,,. rjrirY?iplef, on wMcj^ { ti.ii inetitutioq tyas efitaWisbed^ and has been described ■ as ; an . Wtejnpt to witb- . draw rqoney . frpm : private .mtk^mi , anfii pursuits, and ;; tq. ; bnpg -g^t 'tf w$ :| Treasurer's miU father .than. Jijpm ; «6a- 4 .j •jderatipn of tlje interests of the intjus-* tripus' poor. ; ijfft/doubr *&& WOQfiQQ i thy s withdrawn from tlbie mjoney* tokric^t; ' ; . *n& squandered by." (?6yeTOment| ( M\l j . make rndp^ey . scarcer ' a bit lse*ffii Will . ; di>epprage,the exWpsJon oi'.exisfrn;^ "and .. the 'e^taWishirient x ofne^ ' . .wiiV/th'us'ieailt,: jM^^^Sil!^'.-^^ irofking "classes for whos^,lienefit'the | Government Savings Hank is claimed to.haye } b^ft^fftbligfiea; v> , a;u : tULI *- ■ THE' < ;Nw , Zbal^^^'^^ . Act tmui&tiSs foV J the former Affiitif' Wrrpppttrenf-oihe %6W, tlr^Cdufjcils of the; New ;^laria ! %^ . ' titf«, and btliwcotl^iate in^fituif^n's.' ' ' : Tfi ft : Civ j I ll: t^ftV jfc-V 'Apt/, puiToj'ts' %6^deduWsJ ''^^fc'^tt^yil/lterr, . vinW td prbviffea y^ Governmen i; tjfe %by 6 \ been employed tor' this purpose; I>ut it ' was otberwife 4etettriiPe^:: .W^J* pet cent; ar^ thPs: dfeHiicte'd fronl 'clvii' servants / for tf' : p(n^M^ Solely : M'tWr benefit, the tJovernpierit '%kfr jn'crejased all Balaries under ;fifj to ; ?$' pi?r cent, and saiaTrie'S over LSOO by lump votes 1 of £100 or feo; f c !/ '.' . ,'-! The Supreme Cqu pT'JirriiJE^s Act increases the Juo^rii* g^feiotis, and ihe facilities for their nc'qpwitwhV' I'^'1 '^ ' . v l * THB ! EtECtBidTKL*6RA ; i*H 'kittiiH'p-. vent A ct pToviileß iii ah a'rbftriiry man *' vevr for the aVrest. apd : jidnisllrhehV pf pew'rtns tetio, whether by i&ciiibtii'ttT design, injure. &&^^^i6l^gTaph?'it'is also' ir)feno*iefl to pkyetrt '& rej^eti'tiba t of part of the WflrfCharjiPaii Wanrjal:^/ ; /' !' ! The HpGfri.A'Ti3N op Mife'ES^Atf and' the ttKbv£jsi<)N^of M 'ActritikW Act were bbtli tiseftrl ;a/hd much pWded measures ; the rormOT : fspe6ialiy so, cop--' * siderinj^ : tire '!vast imporfarice ;Mich. mining is likely tb assume fn ihis* C - Wy. To Mr*Reid is due'this c'rerlif of iatfoducib^; this ( lmj^^t , 'qhrNßfroQ l to' 'plrliamentary con^ideraHoTi- Had^ifch; ji measure been in force in IShglandin 1802,'. 200 valuable^ 'lfves^wbril^haVe been 'saved iri 'the West !: Hariley-t?dai mine a%e; It/ is of importahc^ih/at ohr educahVpal : :'fps^iifi^h^ 'tfuriftrt* amSrd that reclinical insrfucfioii , w^lch'ls requisite to . qualify 1 ttmjff ' mapa'^ert 'td ' perforiri tteir duty with intelligence aod success. ! t; ' , " : "" : '-;■''"" r '"--^ ''-• ';; :! - : ' : - ;| 'The/ ; Il j r, iJLiftrb Jt J *-' ' A"tf e&wm>?^t Act permits ! assurers to *liare'ir) pTofirs.;^ 15 :;^ \l l, "; i - v; ' ;Tb fc' ilc^&si'rio'.'Aci 1 / nikr ' Act was ostensibly to remMv defects in the ; Acfbf t875. ; These defects wqre : pbt diie td "Mr. ~'ft\£p Bjil, 1 Whicfrwas; carefully. "drawn firod e^ Thought : abd rtppp ; cori'siH^fafiPri, but/the, House treated; it $ the;Mnk<% treated, thfe wafchyabd with almost e^ual v intelligenceijahd hebce the' Refect?: ; The a*W". Act ' jirovides fi>r' /trlbre 'frequent licensing '' rqeetilige,' for limiting ' -tne hmtiofWitiM* titixi' li' to llj arid fo> )imitin r g* tli^ populat 1 'right if veto. Mr fax 1 Tteiil ■*' ffiat fhe cleav purpos^jof the; kct r was/ to induce ' tb'dn^t; wlio flra'tik'ibt before^ 1 and.t^ose'Whbi draplr! o^fore- to" ilrink the'more,"' and. there 1 can be M ' est^jihat '':&*' d&c. m_il^B J or'.^the^aiuVyte^ . be; ' quence rfiaici fhe sobriety of "the 'people. Mr : FWs ;;^Act/or 1873/Wim:ei! .aVtoo xouch and" defeated the "objects' he !! bad ; in" view j; ! it ir/njolalfwaV.s. wbot'le best 'that should' fie t: atf^m^ted;' bnt r ivhat ! ; the ! f .best I : possible./ 'AVe shouM^lby^it^ public' tfb^ses J tp ' ,'increaseV t^err '^s^ifitahiifty, 3 |^ J thUs..^edire^^^ wjia'e.a this ttitter^ia-^lie^ eo'mp^iaoii: '/The' honest and respectable publican . sboii ld not \k as' *an 'oii^t ! iii the eyes of the law ; such men diid no t wish their houses fieqUented bjf'the^isreijU-: tal'li* apd'/thfi :^ Aka"^| ltbl^ir t '^P u f^i would be fyjf^hli^lioc^Mi^j^n aud aot'd^s^debavh-heWj' w%jf woufd l^ ♦Hinted irf >he : ca4W.brtemr^n f ce;^ ifcVvirar" against t^ose'^o^Jefl^S h^d' frrog poisoiiei* who are lMpnv^&it)i^ x .it^iße vile bc^^lfn^W^')?*^ fatally f <&sastrdui t» ; the n^^^^ jelicwhichdeclErirm^sl&'or^&f poverty to be a crime, while the Act

!vr i trr*.'-iv || i*iTT-TnF>jiw*nnj..'i. ■j. ll ' '■".■:,. „ i provides that \ the fraudulent sb»ll i not . Teseape, v y,SewJ-^«ndJn v tbiß^gTds*.n j«th# «*s«flfn> if&t:rtm&!4 ./aid., en- ( [lightened views, nnd to Mr : QiJljes of ; Auckland was: much' of, the oredit due. l jO^AW,rß^?Ryps4eT<rTrft«(Goyern,- -, Imejitand the IJpper House would, not, sanction ifee; grentjngrj of., the, 2«000,000 lasses wt«ji^rt^tiife/Prpyjb,pey:and.th« [ ,Qm^r^BmhmCMnMng mm ha)£ifl \ fafrsmtesieix t^an- bo .bre^d,: accepted) ' jtb^QftVf^meniiftflreripf jkfeQOfyflcrasj 1 i The Gluthftß«?erve.Actv He wished to commend his ,ftlVn4: jVt Thonipspn ty tk& gPp4 jplk/i JofjClutbafor ,}ss■. • sue- • |cefifn)i.9ctiQiit4n:tbi^i?na.l^e>r.--' He had cordially yf^ugUt with.Mr Tbompson, jhflt thfii.feujifl<eß9.ibeing ?^rrapg:ed , withthe Government'andboth IfousGP, or in otb,er wordftjb»virjg , ,be.en .-eettled^out ;pf, : 'fytwtiii ywisbfitjer; to hayiß ; no. 4is.(?us-, ' sion.in such oases./ fSilenqe . is g-olden >; Tbe rents, of-thig reserve-. of 50,000 •■ acres and, .the. price if sold are. to be der iv^iftofWjiUi^oseg of the Trust; ' The .Otago Waste Lavds Bii^l vtpii l t>ne of Aseven !L&hd Bills, but less t forbinate than tbe others. After passing tbe jßoiise without a division was opt>oßed by. the squatting- element in the I/Cgislative Council and rejected by the Wafonty 4 of orie Maori vote This rendered the passing of the Otaoo Wastb jLiWi Bihh neces«ary. to make the present' Act at all workable, and even cpnpiprebensible. ; /Tub Excise Duties Act ..abolish di^iltatron* 'which is .• thus the first Oolomal ''industry that must- directly «uc ciimb to the exigencies of the State, ;to L, ine hecessitiy for increased taxation, ann\ th,e influence of import merchants. Tfiey must: .cheapen, oats by growing jwheat instead of barley,, and while ithey titfte to seek in England for a market the British farmer will grow jflie : barley or beetroot, from which- the imported/ spirits i are produced by EhW?»1i. workmen, For this great public advantage tbe Colony has to pay L? 7,500. < ; 111* Provincial Public Works AAfnncps Act. concedes with L 60,000 pfbefwise advanced to Wellihgton, a toW'of;iilo7,6.oo.'tb the provinces of Wellington, Southland, Nelson, .and |Har?horongb« ! Tftß JM'MJGBATUW AND PuBUC ' Works Act : gives \L&o;ooo for^he bioiritmp fit the Thames,- Lfio,ooo for North Island Roads which are not sup- ! posed/ to pay 'any dividend, and ' LrlO.OOOYjusfc to Weep up the equilibrium) for - Middle Ldand Bail ways. whirh we are told will be enormously profitable. * i! y Thw "Ratlwats Act gives an addifiohaV appropriation of over L 240.000, and he believed that of this and Canterbury got only J A 5,000 for the increase in the -estimated cost of the Waitaki Dridge. Otago was to have got< L 500,000 on account of the purchasr'of the Provincial Bailwavs, lmt this clause was expunged by the Lords. *onW of their number probably antlcipafing that Otago would be forced to sacrifice rbe keys of her wins, when tbev- "faould ' have the Chance of good piokirigsr Another Bill was passed to advance Lfio,oo to Otaeo if slip would put' her nuhvafg in pawn. ThR Lords iid not venture to reject this, possibly owing to the attitude which the House assumed. -,• ./; -y ] T^^ iMJIIQRATIOtI AND PuBCTC Words' Act authorises the Go/ernm^eht tH borrow four millions at six per cent, interest Of this L3,000,n00. are for 'rail w»v». f»500 000 for immigration, dnd JJ)00,000 are for rruhlic buildiug-s and other purposes; This apportionment, isfdrttml ahd illusory, for a clause in the A : ct % provides that this L 4- /00 000 lofln'-piay be applied to atmost any ourpolse/cohtssmplated nnder the Great Scheme. . ? ;:.--i •.!•■ ■-.> . Thespssfop promised to be calm and pp eventful, flti'd the Premier early indidicated"'"that if membeis would only restrain their eloquence^- that is v quietly acquiesce in hie < proposal, there was, nothinar, to prevent their getting home in a' week' r or two. • ;FrOm other causes , thaft ! thktipolicy of equilibrium which | fb« Premier J claimed in 1873 to bay« dis(;6Vered,' no opposition was manifested and everything went harmoniously, till , the. Premier introduced his Forests Bill. Hey(Mr.i Murray), had at. the time pointed ■-••out'-- what he considered objectidnablfrin the Bill. Rnd ih rhereasops adduced in support of if nearl vail thpse ! bbfecttdiiabje features wtre. eliminated, from the Bill, till,, to use Mr. VogeVs words, *( it was like tbe play of Hamlet, with Hamlet left our;" Ft was simply. an; Act authorising Li o,ooo a ye^r to br'spen*- for : - ten years to su priori* anbthet/Goyernment department This, irj 'th^'eyes bf'the House, insignificknt expepdifiire being regarded as a cheap. peace offering to the Premier for their! daring to destray-bis-^ill. Jn Otago, by the Premier's own' data, there was timbef tpruigh to last for hundreds of 'while;. in the- north and west of this Island, and in a great part of the North Island^ : timber is. the greatest obstacle to colonization. . He s (Mr. ;Mu*rat) had reftised'pnce 200,000 acres «f Basn land tit? 3s 6d per' acre, whereWHth^sairie land ,if open woulci, have bwn W«H worth three times-tbat. price. H« ifW^ropeyed.that SQme > years ago an QtagoV:<Jon&tituency returned a meiriber to: the House of Representatives for the brilhant - discovery he had made of setfjmgf the Native -difficulty by barking 'tb|Mesi ; Jt {^r^rjsing tbat;Mi :fegel { snoum 'now^verloo^c sp.ingenipus anrj. itatesmanlike a proposal. It is notable that Mr. Vog«l'« new-born forest zeal

j appeared to date from his ,la*t visit to the weal thy jprVd prosperous Provinces •. of Orago and Canterbury.. Did "he Consider/ that that wealth and prosperity was not chiefly due to the comparative » absence of forests? Did he ! think that ! the vast plethora of Canterbury's wealth could r ; 'be ' advantageously. . transferred from the Provincial to the general Treasury? The export returns, as com- . parpd; with ; Westland and Taranaki, ; rapjy to the first ;- the Forests Rill : spemed to foyor the latter supposition: Tlie proposal io splecf some 2,000,000 acres of the best.' Provincial lands, though" defeated, evoked such a powerful anti-provincial expression of opinion that Mr, Yogel. joining- Mr. Stafford : and his anti-provincialist supporters to his own adherents, believed, no doubt, that he might murder the Provinces and take their whole effects, instead of 'being-' content with only an instalment to effect., this. ' However, a tortuous course' was requisite, and the notorious resolution to abolish- the Provincial system in the northern f half of the Colony resulted. The other two resolutions were merely accessaries to the first, and had no real meaning otherwise. If Provincialism Ss abolished in the North Islandl the Northern members will votp en bloc for Northern interests and Southern lands, and, aided by the votes of the poor Provinces of the Middle Island, they will soon abolish Provincialism ... in that Island also. If Provincialism is to be destroyed, by thus .playing North and South "ag-ainst eacbflfher, the result will be. a grindine* centralism. He' (Mr Murray) had always opposed centralisation, whether General "or Provincial, and he was more convinced than ever of the evil effects of our complicated, costly, and inefficient form, of Govern- 'j ment; but -centralisation -was inherent] in human aature, . and to perfect the constitution of the State the constitution of man would have to be first made perfect Centralisation is selfishness — a perverse application to common practice of the Apostle's command, "Seek ye every one another's wealth." If Bruce, was . blessed . with local selfgovernment, the people of Kaitangata or Waihola would not be pleased to have their means taken to carry out that grand undertaking 1 projected by His Worship the Mayor of rooking" Milton a seaport town. Even in Milton tho residents in Spencer-street would object to pay for a culvert in Ossian- , street while they themselves wanted an addi'ton^l lamp-nbst. ft was Kennedy's story of " the twa baileys'" in every case. Mr Murray quoted his views expressed. in 1871 of local g-overnment —that the chairmen and mayors of small road boards and municipalities should meet quarterly to form the County board ; that the chairmen of counties and mayors of city; municipalities shou-d me^ half-yearly to form the Provincial Roard ; that five or more counties should be grouped into a Provincial District, and the Provincial Board to have tbe right to elect, a member to fhe Upper House for five years, independent, of tbe duration of Parliament; the powers and revenue of the Oeneral Government and 'the locid authority to be separate and clearly defined. ]f Provincialism is abolished piecemeal without "some such provision for local administration, we will destroy our only existing barrier against. " a rapacious central biiTPoucracv. The Premier bad compared the Superintendent of Wellington : 'to a blue-gum; be (Mr, Wormy)- could more aptly compare fhe General Oovenrment to a huge pctopes or jell.v-fi*b spreading' its tentacle* all round and sucking- the vitality OMt of the extreme-ties of the Colony. There appeared recently in the newspapers, and of course should be true, a story about one of these sea-monsters sucking: down- a ship; but if we are not careful Mr, VosreFs ootopes may siick in a Colony by depannprising and destroying our existing local institutions without supplying n substitute. ' He would, hoxyever, g*ladly support a measure for •local administration such as that he. had indicated, for, in justice to Mr, Vop/el, be was bound to say that be would not accept Mr. Voxel's position of having- to hold office only by Provincial log-rolling, and subject to the caprice pf : those ' wbo measure ' bis virtues by his capacity or disposition to concede their unreasonable demahdsv FT'e '; agreed with tlie Government as' to the; importance of the . Polynesian Islands to New Zealand, and while he did not think a practical man would : have made Mr. Vog-'elV proposal, he was willing* to give him due credit for zeal in the matter, and Mri Murray was 1 of opinion that the recent arineta tion of Frfi was to some extent due to the interest which New Zealand bad for tbe past year or two taken in Polynesian affairs, Tndrbtkdvkss of the Colony ~ A.r r ffpod ideal had been said about the Indebtedness of New Zealand. He' would 'briefly put their c*se Wore, them. T0i 869, the Colonial and Provi ridial debt, after deducting' sinking iund '] accrued, was L 7,968,060, . Oh the 80th June, 1874, there were debentures bf the above outstanding;; „. A ■„■',>.,:.. -■ .';:■.: -L..IT:/ Provincil Government... Mj973v175 ;-j General- . , f . ' „; f*||3l,B6l Debentures -issued since 1809 •-<**'-' . ;, General Government it.. ~ '<$75fi63 Provincial „ ■ ...y 231,537? .„_..*_ /' 13,411,736

Sinking Fund accrued (no" ' precise account of these sinking funds :is' in possession of the Treasury, %. it is said) •• .;. ... 902,189 12,509,546 Negotiated, but not brought ti account on the 30th June ... ... ... 1,500,000 , '/" ■ ' '''* . 14,009,546 Fn addition to which wo -- should add liabilities and engagements; which are as much debt as debentures ; no precise information is given under this - h«ad, but we may safely . estimate them at over ... 3,000,000 leaking Colonial debt ... 16,009,546 Uur net debt on 30th June 1869, ' was, by the state-' : : •'••- --raentdfthatyear, ... 7,209,000 We; have sanctioned- loans since then^ '• 'i L 1670 ... ..; 5,000,000 1 8?3 ...... 2,7oO;000 1874 '..;■ ... 4,080,000 North Otago... 50,000 Wellington debts 75,000 Westland ... 50,000 — 12,005,000 ■ ' 1(1 'll ii— I I I 19,274,000 Leaving L3,2(34,454 ; available out of Loan for Defence, Immigration, and Works authorised or in progress—- a sum which, judging from past expenditure, is utterly inadequate. So that in the scheme to which it is said we are committed' there seems no limit to oiiv borrowing and spending,, but our credit. Tbey had also sanctioned Inans for harbor, gas, and water works le a large amount. They were told that the Colony was prosperous, as evidenced by the large increase in the revenue. Let them analyse that assertion which he found, repeated in a. Dunedin paper lately by a gentleman who had the fortune to , have a shrewd moneymaking father. 'He cdmprred New Zealand, with New South W&les: he show-fid., in a way, that the revenue of the former had increased in four years 55 per cent., in the latter 45 per cent , but in the latter they had largely reiuced taxation, while in the former, allowing for natural increase, nearly all the actual increase was accounted for by increase of taxation. He would not gc back to the increase in the Customs and stamp taxes in 1870-71, but would refer to the taxation of the session of 1873. The revenue of 1874 exceeded thHt,of 1873 by L 300,000, and ex-, ..ceeded the estimate by L2f39,000, while the expenditure exceeded also the estimate, and but for the increase there would have been a deficiency of I L 93.000. Nearly 200,000 was due to j the chanjye from measurement to ad i valorem duties, and of the remainder, j the incresise was. accounted for by in- ! creased consumption of drink and to , bacco, and by iucrease of revenue from the stamp office, the latter showing that the public' are also, like the Government, circulating a good deal of paper money, and thereby contributing to the general prosperity* The gentleman referred to—a member of tha 'Lords, and a gmnt disciule of MrVrg d — bad vinclu hid receipts from •lauu sales in his 'estimate of revenue. 1 i It was something like the trader who 4 i finding a large balance of profit oiie year, resolved to spend L' 3,000 in building a new house, but. found to his cost that he 'had added the year of our •Lord into his profits. It was like bis chief .paying dividends out of capital on pubic works during Construction; Would he sell his station^ and spend the money, and boast. that his; income was half-a-million •■< a year ? That would be only consistent. The iacts are that sheep farming is prosperous, and money is plentiful, if not -cheap; and these combine to enable the. runbolder to borrow money to buy his <rtin; and the Provinces spend the money- which is still to a great extent ' borrowed ) but this expenditure re-a'cfs"on the yeneral prosperity, which is attributed Aa the opening. of the Wellington and Hutt Railway, the goods freights on which amount to L 34 a month. i *■ Mr Murray referred to several other matters—the 'navigable - rivers, the natural highways of the country* the great highwv; the sea J^ the wealth of the country in 4 gold,' iron, w»al, &c..; the industries already, established such us wooliien factories, iron works; pottery works, &c. H e conci uded by gi vi h% the Governmental! creJtt fori\ie attention they 'had given < to all matters affecting the district.-' ■■ He read the following telegram which he bad jajst received from the Minister of Public Works :— " W. A. MuRRAYy Esq , iM; H X., G lenoTe; Tokotnuiriro. il n : .wply to your letter of Ist-' 'Engineer-in-i Chief states that the .contract <ttoite for the completion of railway 'from Dunedin to Clutha is- Ist September, 1875; that probably it will be finished some weeks sooner, hut as this ; denend& upoh :^he contractor, I cannot igive atty .further pledge than -thai the Gbvernmen twill make every effort td give the public the userof the 4ine as -soon -'las r)ossible>^E»tvAr.d Ric^Aß»S(f>»^ , yProai aeonTersatiori he toad had with Mr-foichard-soti od his rerUßn^from 5 ;iihe> North/- he felt Convinced } he hvould riofcalloW-ythe Jin Wests of the ilWiriCe to suffer for thSK-want of JTaih^aj^ctdasUch^as the Tokomairiro and Kaitangata coal-pits. On the motion of Captain Johnston,

seconded by^ Hr;3Rebert Murray, - a. hearty vote of thanks to Mr Murray for bis address and public services, and entire confidence in him es their member* was carried unanimously. ; * Mr Murray replied to the vote saying he had always done what he considered his duty for the district, rather than what might procure him popularity. He had, however, that faith in his constituents that so long as be did his duty he would have their confidence and esteem. A vote of thanks to the Chairman concluded the proceedings.