MANHOOD FRANCHISE.

Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 188, 15 February 1878, Page 3

MANHOOD FRANCHISE.

The following* are Sir George Grey's remarks upon the above subject at the New Plymouth meeting, as reported by the: Daily Times correspondent : — He * was aware tnat many held opposite views to himself on this subject, and he, would put.it to them in the following* way to make them understand exactly what his views' had been. He had just been reading a controversy, between Messrs Lowe, and Gladstone on the subject. Mr Gladstone now held exacdy his (Sir George Grey's) views. on the subject— two or three years ago He had differed from them, but now he held ,the same views. Mr- Lowe -held opposite views, bur Mr Gladstone holding the same opinion as himself did not, verify them. By the same reason Mr Lowe objected to those veiws from a reason that he did not understand at all. Mr Gladstone favoured universal suffrage on four grounds : First, because it was the right of every man to take some part in the affairs of his country ; second, because every inhabitant; of Great Britain contributed, to the revenue ; third, that every inhabitant, or male inhabitant, contributed to the wealth of the country by his labour. A rather curious reason was that the greater part of the population was poor, and that poor people always took the advice on eafh subject of pprsons on whom they relied, and therefore, they were likely to get well advised as to their votes, so that Mr Lowe's answer was that he did not see that every man had a right to take part in the affairs of his country, because the greater part ot Great Britan's population were quite unqualified to do so. Mr Lowe did not see further tbat contributing to the revenue gave every man a right to vote, because he said every drunkard who drank his glass of beer would on this ground be entitled to a vote. In reply to the third reason, . that every* man contributed to the wealth of the country by his labour, Mr Lowe said every cart-horse does the same, therefore if. a man had a vote so should a cart-horse. With reference to the fourth reason, it had been said that -a poor population will not be influenced by good people,* but will be more influenced ■by bad people. That was , a summaiy of the opinions bf those two great statesmen, hut the main argument with regard to themselves was totally different to any one of thosearguments. What- they had to deal with in Great Britain was the fact that they had a ; population of many millions which they had let grow up in vice and poverty ; hut if in a country like this they trained up- every person to know his' political duty, if they trained up every youth, so they would train persons to inspect their own judgment and to respect themselves in the proper way, and if they continued to do that from the first in a new country they would raise up a people infinitely superior to the mass of the population existing in any country in Europe. He had said every man being trained to take part-in the affairs ofthe country would create, in time, habits of self respect, but he would say it would do more than that. It would create habits of morality and of virtue. A man wonld prize his own home because of a feeling that he was capable of use in the country, aod would be ashamed to do anything that would damage him in the eyes of his fellowcitizens. By this means they would cease to raise up in the bosom of a country a criminal population. What the Government really proposed was that every adult male of 21 years of age, living for a certain period of time in an electoral district, should.be entitled'to a vote. He would -say ifc was an admirable institution which ensured that privilege to every man. In asking the people of New Zealand to help him to carry out a policy of that kind, he ! was asking them to do a thing, which would benefit themselves, and in no respect benefit himself or his colleagues. It would be very, pleasant for many persons to ■ feel they were the bornrulers in the Colony, tbat they were not two nations in the country — one who were born rulers and the other born to be governed. He would himself be in * the ruler portion, but he confessed his aspirations went in a wholly different direction.^ He would sooner be a unit in a nation where a great man had the power to become ruler, and he would rather become a ruler by the convictions of those who were ruled, than .he would he born with the right to rule them whether they chose to be ruled or not. He thought, therefore, in asking the people to endeavour to .found such a great' nation, to raise; up: anation of, freemen, well instructed, in political matters, determining whether at: the- caprice of a. few? they should be' compelled to give up a large portion oi their labours, or .whether, it should be done only of their vyill^ in asking them to lay the foundation 'of a nation of that kind— a foundation which in the history of the world had nevei been laid under such favourable au spices— they would ensure the gratitude of ages that would follow them. 1 They must know that large sums ..of. money had been borrowed for public works, and they -must be aware,-ihe,re/ were -fortunate individuals who knew exactly where railways were . to be. made r and. public works cohstrnctied before theiKfesl low settlers, and;acquir'ed r .' Jarge iblocks; of ,;land;to/;whic*h enormous sums had been given % moneyr.talcen, ciit.^dfrith&'V'pockfit of the- poVulationT Th ose gefitlemen m im ny cases: had never thr-awn; up* one* spadeful: oftfalrih, on*

.their own land,- having held it only for speculative i purposes, T and they contributed no- more to the public works than the poorest man in the country. Yet they wero becoming enormously rich by the. labour of others, hy money taken out of the community. Of course he thought this was wrong. He would say -let every man pay for what he gets. They had- passed a law to the effect that in the different counties into which New Zealand was divided a man was to have a number of votes proportionate to the value of his property. . Further, but of the* gpneral revenue of New Zealand, contributed by. everyone, large subsidies were to be given to the County Councils, and he who had paid just *he same sum of money : as an individual who was worth a. vastly greater amount was to have taken out of his pocket just the same amount of money as was taken from the other, whilst the richer man was to have a good many votes to the poorer man's one vote. To his mind this was humiliating. It was said to him, " You have no right to set class against class," but he was not setting class against class. Strictly speaking they were all one class ; but if every individual had: the same-rights with regard to the money to be contributed to the public revenue, be could say that if this system was allowed to go on they would create two nations — a rich nation and a poor nation, and they would create a poor nation of that kind, that those members of it who rose to comfort and competency would be very few indeed. Only lately he had been reading a report made to the English Privy I Council. It ' was reported that such was the case in England of the great mass of the population there, that all the goal they could look to in their old a-u*e, after a life of good conduct, was "•the Union." That was the goal to which they* all attained. The goal' which all men ought to attain, was the goal of a comfortable home, even if it was humble — -a comfortable cottage, if it was a small one. He ought to attain to the goal of a happy old age himself, with sufficient to eat and drink, instead of beingburied in pauper's coffin and a pauper's grave. Thus, his firm conviction, was if New Zealand did not insist upon a fair distribution of the public burdens, and if they did not insist ori all the prizes in political life being offered to every citizen in New Zealand, they who were poor now would leave their children poorer, and their grandchildren poorer still. He would ask them", the people of New Zealand, to remove the fault he had pointed out. Every man in New Zealand, 21 years of age, should have a vote, and every "man one vote only. Each man should have one vote, and no such odious distinction made between man and man as exists at present.