THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3250, 1 December 1881, Page 2

THE GENERAL ELECTION.

MR M'DOTJG-ALL AT THE THEATRE ROYAL.

Pursuant to announcement, Mr <T. "W. M'Dougall addressed the electors of Napier at the Theatre Boyal last evening. The building was crowded. Mr H. Monteith was Toted to the cliair, and said he considered it to be of the greatest importance that each candidate should have a fair opportunity of coming forward and explaining his particular views go that the electors might have an opportunity of judging for themselves which candidate would best represent the constituency. Speaking of certain reports which had found free circulation in Napier recently, implying that Mr M'Dougall had been guilty of treachery, he had felt a particular interest in the matter, and from enquiries which lie had personally made he considered that Mr M'Dougall was perfectly justified in the course of action he had taken with reference to Mr Buchanan. THE TREACHERY CHARGE. Mr M'Dougall, on coming forwai'd, wa3 greeted with applause. He said that before proceeding to put his political views before the meeting he would like to clear himself of the charge of treachery that had been laid against him by certain parties in relation to his opposing the candidature of Mr Buchanan. He also wished to say that in spite of rumours to the contrary lie was before thorn as an independent candidate. Not a sixpence of outside money or an ounce of outside influence had been employed in bringing him forward, lie believed he was the only candidate for this electorate who, having been a prominent member of tho liberal association and identified with liberal interests, h».d not changed his coat. He came forward because he believed that Mr Buchanan's desire to get into the House eclipsed.his desire to stick to his political principles, as he would endeavor to point out. Some kind friends had taken, the trouble to pub an

advertisement in botli the local papers inviting working men to " suspend their judg* ment and vote for a traitor." (Hear, hear.) He hoped to-night to show who the traitor wtis. (Applause.) It would be necessary for him in elucidating the matter to say first of all that Mr Buchanan in the past had been a consistent opposer of Mr Ormond and j\li- Ormond's policy, and in fact had first taught him (Mr McDougall) to be hostile to Mr Ormond. He (the speaker) did not believe in the past career of Mr Oi-mond, and so long as he knew Mr Buchanan to be opposed to Mr Orinond's policy he stuck to that gentleman. The time, however, had now come wh°n he had it proved to his entire satisfaction that ]Vfr Buchanan was not only favorable to Mr Crmohd but was actually assisting Mr Ormond's cause. Now, he would say here that the only chance ever Mr Buchanan had of being returned for Napier, was because of his promise given thai, lie \fould use every endeavour to bring the great cause of Ormond down, as had indeed been Mr Buchanan's line in the past. B\it instead of Mr Buchanan keeping good thig promise he (Mr McDougall) would sbow\the meeting that that gentleman had tried to influence country voces in Mr Orniond'e favor. An unholy compact had been-* entered into, which, were it carried into effect, would have driven the electors of Hawke's Bay province into three huge sheep-pens. (Hear, hear, and applause). (A voice : why did you not expose this before). He did not know of it until very recently. (A voice : Bosh !) Hβ would show that it was not bosh. An agreement had been made which, provided that three persons, viz., Messrs Buchanan, Ormond, and Russell, should be returned to represent the three electorates of this province. (A voice : Prove it.) He would endeavour to do so plainly and clearly. His first suspicions were aroused through, a conversation he had with Mr Eobjohns opposite Mr Scnrfe's store in Hastings-street, when ib transpired that, accoiding to Mr Robjohn's view 3 on the subject then expressed, Messrs Ormond and Buchanan were pulling together and in opposition to Mr Smith, tlie liberal candidate for Waipawa. Seeing Mr Buchaoan shortly afterwards he asked him concerning the matter, when Mr Buchanan said, " Mr M'Dougall, I think you ought to know better than that I coiild be a supporter of Mr Ormond's." With this explanation he was satisfied, until he again heard that Mr Buchanan had said he would bring fifteen electors up country from Napier to record their votes for Mr Ormond. He challenged Mr Buchanan -with this also. The reply he got was that Mr Buchanan had not the great influence over electors with, which, he was credited, and that, moreover, if he had it would be exerted in a different direction. Again he heard something further from other parties. (A voice : Name them.) (Mr McDougall: Never mind names j you will have more of them yet than you want.) He heard that Mr Buchanan had sent .a telegram to Mr Sheehan at Mr Ormond's request. This he thought sounded queer and he could not for the life of him understand it. At the first meeting of the Liberal Association succeeding this he challenged Mr Buchanan to explain it. Mr Buchanan had read the telegram and said the members of the association had been talking about it. The terms of the compact it seemed to him were that a threat o£ some kind had been held out that in the event of Mr Ormond opposing Mr Buchanan in Napier, Mr Sheehan would "run" the Waipawa election against Mr Ormond. Mr Buchanan told him. that he had met Mr Ormond at Napier who reproached him with, breach of faith and asked whether or not if; was true that Mr Smith had received a telegram from Mr Sheehan approving Ml" Smith's candidature for Waipawa. He (the speaker) did not know if this was true or not. (Laughter, and hear, hear.) He meant to say he did not know if Buchanan spoke the truth or not. (Applause.) At Mr Ormond's request Mr Buchanan wired to Mr Sheehan and received an answer something like this : —" Why do you ask ? Have wired nothing to Smith except not to take any decisive steps until I come." He (the speaker) remarked that it was strange that Mr Buchanan should wire to Mr Sheehan on Mr Ormond's behalf, to which Mr Buchanan replied, " I have nothing whatever to do with any compact or agreement; Mr Ormond asked me to do him a favor, and I did it." But what did Mr Orruond mean by " breach of faith " in his conversation above ? This he (Mr McDougall) could not understand. An agreement must have two or more parties to it, and how could there be any " breach, of faith" if no agreement ever existed between Messrs Ormond and Buchanan. (A voice : Give us your political opinions.) He there and then determined that if John Buchanan h:id altered his views and turned his coat he could no longer support him (A voice : Shut up.) Those parties who had charged him (the speaker) it seemed were unwilling to give him a fair chance of justifying himself. (A voice : Yes, we'll send you down for the borough.) There was still another matter connected with Mr Buchanan's tactics he would like to elucidate. Some ten days ago when coming to Napier by train a gentleman called him out on to the platform of the carriage and asked him, " How is it that you are supporting Smith while your big man in town is doing the very reverse and supporting Ormond ?" On his doubting the imputation the gentleman further said, " Well I told him (Mv Buchanan) the other day that I was going to vote for him, and tiiat I had a vote for Waipawa, which I thought I should give to Mr Ormond." To this Mr Buchanan replied "Yon cannot give it to a better man." (Applause, and cries of " name." That gentleman was Dr. de Lisle. Mr Dillon, of Patangata, had also told him (the speaker) j that in a conversation with Mr Buchanan the latter had said " I am surprised that yon are going to vote for Johnston. I mean to vete for Mr Ormond, and do all I canf or him.' If this statement was doubted by any persons the chairman would have pleasure in showing them a letter received from Mr Dillon bearing out what he said to be true. Mr Dillon had also said that if Mr Buchanan denied having made use of the language he was ready to face him and re-assert it. After all that he (the speaker) thought he was justified in saying that there had been a breach of faith on Mr Buchanan's part. It was Mr Buchanan who was the turn-coat, not he (Mr McDougall)—he was not such a harlequin. One day recently when he mentioned the matter to Mr John Begg that gentleman replied, "Why, it's not" inconsistent. Mr Buchanan told me from the first that he was going to vote for Mr Ormond." Since that Mr Buchanan himself had said in the speaker's presence that he would now publicly declare for Mr Ormond —the man he had consistently opposed for fifteen years. ME II'DOTTGALL'S POLICY. It now remained for him to point out wherein he would oppose Mr Buchanan's political creed. No doubt Mr Buchanan's iine would be not that he had come round to Mr Ormond but that Mr Ormond had come over to him. That mattered little, however. He would cite a few of Mr Ormond's views in order that Mr Buchanan might see them, and tell his constituents whether or not he agreed with them. He would ask whether John Buchanan, who had hitherto figured as the working man's friend endorsed Mr Ormond's action on the 27th of August, 1880, when he " paired " against exempting civil servants' incomes below £150 from the ten per cent, reduction ? Did he approve Mr Ormond's action on the lfth August in the same year when he voted direct against exempting incomes of £200 and under from the ten per cent. (A voice : Oh, bosh, give us your own opinions and never mind Buchanan.) He brought these matters forward in self-justification. (A voice: Good on you, Mac). TAXATION. The first public question he wished to refer to was the question of taxation. _ It was necessary that a right apprehension of the

principle which underlies taxation should be appreciated. There were but; two sources from ■which taxes could be derived—land and labor —and in the long run, to push the matter to a logical conclusion, all taxes came from the land. Land and labor stood in different positions so far as Regarded their- ability to bear taxation. Land was indestructible, and though one yeaf's crop might be destroyed the land romnined there and would give its wealHα another year. But labor was different —the professional man might bo incapacitated by paralysis, and the laborer might break his leg or his neok. That brought him round to another part of the coincidence of John Buchanan with John Davies Ormond. On April 25th, speaking at Waipawa, Mr iOfmond advocated an _ income tax as the fairest form of taxation, saying he had Advocated it many years ago and was still in favor of it. Now he (the speaker) held that jm income tax was the most unfair tax ilvhich could be levied. Some incomes were merived from investments in shares, but 99 cbut of every .100 were drawn from labor, ejither of brain or body, and such incomes ;were liable to cease afc any moment. But .'the land remained for all time, and was the / fair object to tax. An income tax would be most inquisitorial—a Government inspector -would have to see a tradesman's books, assess his liabilities and assets, and J;he temptation would be great to convert us into a nation of prevaricators. He could not say he looked upon the property tax as an unmixed evil or an unmixed good. He thought the stocks of merchants and retailers, most of whioh had already paid 15 per cent duty or more—(A voice : It's 16£ per cent.) —should be exempt. He thought the tax a good one where ifc fell upon land and personal property. (A voice: Watch and chain.) Under a land, tax alone he thought Hawke's Bay would pay more than Auckland, a far larger province than this, aud a wealthier one than ever this was likely to be unless we get a good breakwater afc Napier. Under a land tax much valuable property escaped taxation, and he failed to see the right of this. By personal property he meant that which was really valuable. He believed that such alteration in the property tax as would cause it to fall chiefly on land would make ifc a good tax. There mighb be a graduated scale, providing that land held in blocks of over 5000 or 6000 acres should pay a slightly increased percentage, so that those persons holding large blocks might be induced to improve them, employ labor, increase the productive power, and benefit everyone. He did not agree with " bursting up"—he would induce improvement. Another fault of the property tax was that there was a large leakage. Suppose a man with a wife and three children. [A voice: Give us facts.] There were plenty of such facts in Napier, it was not a very daring supposition. (Laughter.) Suppose that man had £100 a year, of which £50, less Is a week, were paid for rent, firewood, and other nondutiable articles. All these were increased in price by the laborers who produced them consuming dutiable goods, but he would not take that into account. The Is a week he had exempted he supposed was spent in tobacco, and that meant over 6d a week to the Government direct, £1 3s 3d a year. The other £50 was spent in dutiable articles, which paid an average tax of 16| per cent., raised by the property tax to 18J-, and wharfage, and so on, another lj, making 20 per cent., or £10 in all. [A voice : Bosh !] He thought, perhaps, any thinking men present would not consider it bosh. Supposing the man did not indulge in such dreadful dissipation as tobacco, he paid £10 per annum out of £100 for taxes, without reckoning local rates, ami if he smoked he paid £11 3s 3d. If that man paid 10 per cent, of Ms income, 10 per cent, should be taken from those with much larger incomes. He learnt that the real and personal property in New Zealand wa3 worth £104,000,000. Now if that paid 10 per cent, for the protection it received, the revenue of New Zealand -would be £10,400,000, but as a matter of fact it was not £4,000,000 apart from customs and land revenue. This showed there was a screw loose somewhere. Property was only property—that is, it was only worth money— as long as it was protected. Without peaceable and orderly government it would Dβ worth nothing, and it was fair that it should pay for the protection it received. The whole of the Government expenditure on gaols, police, lighthouses, &c, was made chiefly with a view to obtaining peaceable good government. Somebody had said that the sole end of the Government was to put true and good jurymen into the jury box. That was rather an exaggeration. He thought the sole end should be to allow people to live in peace and good order, and thus obtain the prosperity of the country. It was only fair that those who had their property protected should pay a percentage of their wealth for that [protection. (Applause.) He had thus proved that the property tax was faulty, as it allowed a great deal to slip through its meshes. Floating capital and scrip of all kinds should be taxed, and there should be a lowering of the Customs duties. He decidedly objected to an income tax. (Applause.) (A voice : You don't own 10,000 acres). He should not be ashamed to own 10,000 acres provided he came by it honestly. EDUCATION. He intended to deal very plainly with the question of education. He did not know whether he was entitled to conclude from the fact that he had received no circular from the Bible in Schools Committee like the other candidates that his views were well enough known, but he would tell them plainly what his views were. He had always consistently and earnestly worked for the cause of education, and had used every legitimate means to advance the cause. (Hear, hear.) [Mr M'Dougall here entered into a long explanation concerning his having written several articles on technical education to a Napier publication called " The Schoolmaster," and having also offered his services to the editor, Mr H. Hill, with a provision to fill up spare time by writing for the Hawke's Bay Herald for a salary. This he believed to be the foundation of a report spread about town that he had offered for a stipulated sum per week to give his services to Mr Ormond's party, therefore his offer as above had been construed into the meaning that he wished to work for Mr Ormond.] .Returning to the subject of education Mr M'Dougall expressed himself a believer in the present system, pure and simple. He did not say, however, but that he should like to see it go a little further. For instance, ho believed in the introduction of technical education into the schools ; it would be much better for the Government to impart such knowledge than to employ tutore to teach prisoners in gaols different trades. They should try to prevent the youth of the colony from. becoming criminals. (Applause.) He also believed that, although the present cost of the system was very heavy, yet if the matter was fairly considered no sensible person would think it too much for the benefits which would be derived from it. Then again the cosb of initiating the system had been very heavy, and in future the cost would consequently decrease. If only for one reason — the extension of the suffrage — the present eysfcem should be kept tip, so that they should have educated and intelligent voters. (Applause.) He also believed in the present system because it was free, and was really the greatest return the poor man had for his contribution to the revenue. He was utterly opposed to the introduction of Bible-reading during school hours.—(Applause.) He hud several reasons for this. First, it would bo unfair to tax Catholics to have the Protestant Bible read. Again, it would open up the way for a ruinous denominationalism, and would also trench severely upon the already short time occupied in secular instruction in schools. He regarded the action of the Bible in Schools Committee as a political movement. As a proof of this he would mention that though permission had been granted by the Napier committee to a clergy-

man to read the Bible in the public school after hourg no advantage had been taken of that permission. TltK IIAREOTC. Ho could not, like one of the other town candidates draw a plan or sumbifc specifications for the construction of a harbor at Napier—lie -was not an engineer—but as lie saw the urgent existing necessity for a good harbor for Napier ho might tell them what he could and would do. He would, if returned to the House, do all in his power, from whatever quarter the proposal might come, to forward any scheme to secure the getting of a subsidy for harbor works and for having increased borrowing powers. (Applause.) TEIENNIAL PAULIAMENTS. He was strongly in favor of triennial Parliaments, and' ho would use in their favor the arguments advanced by Captain Russell against them, viz., that it took v great portion of the first session for members to learn how to work, that the second session would be principally devoted to work, and that the third would be occupied with members talking to their constituents. He did not believe that it would take any man of average ability a whole session to learn how lie was to sib and how he was to vote, but that a good deal would be done, and the second session ho believed would be devoted to work. In the third session if a member talked to please his constituents he could only talk on measures before the House, and thus the constituents could learn their precise views and see if he suited them. Another objection made against triennial Parliaments was the expense of the frequent elections. This might easily be remedied by taking £50 a year off the honorarium of members to meet such expense. (Applause.) THE UPPER HOUSE. He was in favor of the Upper House as at present constituted, and would vote against an elective Upper House. (Applause.) The present Legislative Council had sometimes done good, and sometimes harm —he believed they did wrong when they threw out the Law Practitioners Bill. At present the Council could not deal with money matters, nor with money bills, nor impose any taxee, but were it made elective they would also hare power to tax. (A voice : IN'o.) But it would be so. If they made any difference in the qualification for the two Houses, if the Council was made elective, it would probably be a high property qualification, and that would throw real power into the hands of the very wealthy, and instead of being a step in the direction of true Liberalism, it would be towards an oligarchy of the worst kind. (Applause.) Those who maintained that the two Houses should be on the same qualification basis should also logically contend for only one House, and he hardly thought the time had come when the people of New Zealand could say they could do with only one House. (Hear, hear, and applause.) LOCAL GOVERNMENT. Different men, he said, theld different ideas on the subject; of local government. Mr Ormond's idea was that the County Councils should be swept away, or the boundaries of the Road Boards made co-terminus with the Counties, in fact setting up a series of small provinces. Any attempt to re-intro-duce the provincial system would fail—it did not work well in the past. Any system which 'would encourage a system of small provinces was unwise. Ho believed that there should be only one rating body, and that the County Councils body. The Councils should undertake all works of any magnitude, and hand over funds to the Koad Boards for the maintenance of bye-roads and foot-paths. He would also like to see advantage taken of the Town Districts Bill. He did not see why Eoad Boards and County Councils should clash, but if they did so ifc would be better to sweep away the smaller bodies, though he was not in favor of doing so. The success of the Hawke's Bny County Council fully proved that the Act was not faulty, but that non-success was due to bad management. Even the Waipawa County, which had been pointed to as such an example of the bad and faulty nature of the Acfc, could boast of a balance of £2,600, without the subsidies and the uncollected rate. THE LICENSING ACT. He was thoroughly in favor of Elective Licensing Benches and would use his utmost influence in opposing any attempt that might be made to do away with them. (Applause.) Elective Licensing benches should have had existence 25 years ago. Now that they had this system he believed the country would decidedly object to any change being effected in ifc. SEPARATION. On the question of separation Mr McDougall to a great extent repeated the views recently advocated by Mr Smith afc Waipawa, the gisfc of which has already found a place in our columns. Pie would strenuously oppose any motion that might be made for the purpose o£ bringing about separation of the two islands. (Applause.) THE "WORKING- MBN. He was not going to make a number of preposterous promises to the working men. He was not going to tell them he would get them land for nothing and that sort of thing. He knew they had too much sense to believe him if he said, it, and he had sense enough not to tell them them so. But he was one of them, living amongst them, his sympathies were with them, and he would always do what was in his power for them. [A voice : And sell them.] He had said enough already about the selling business; let John Buchanan explain his part in that business to-morrow night. He (Mr McDougall) knew the working men's wants ; ho knew their interest, and while he would not promise them what he could not possibly do for them, lie would so watch legislsfcion as to secure for them that they should have fair representation and not be burdened with unfair taxation. Ho expected the working men to vote for him, and he would do his best for them, i THE TEADE INTERESTS. Referring to the position he intended to take with reference to the trading and commercial interests he said he would not appeal to his work in the Council, but he would ask whether he had ever attacked the legitimate rights of property ? He certainly did take a decided stand sometimes on questions that cropped up in the Council, and he frequently did so in opposition to men whom he respected ; but no one could say that lie bad ever tried to upset the true and just rights of property. He would ask them not to be prejudiced against • him because he was not wealthy. If they considered him a man otherwise qualified to represent them he asked for their support. While saying this to the trading and commercial people he would say to the working men, "Don'fc vote for me if you think me a noodle." (Laughter and applause.) He menfc to try to win. [A voice : Bravo, Mac] He would now be prepared to answer any questions—the more searching the better. (Loud applause.) QUESTIONS. Mr Maekew asked whether Mr McDougall had not voted against the Corporation workmen beinjr paid fornighfcly, also whether lie was favorable to Chinese immigration. Both questions were answered in the negative. In reply to another elector, Mr McDougall characterised Protection as a species of pocket-picking. Two or three other questions were put, one by Mr R. C. Harding asking if Mr McDougall would oppose the attempt whioh would probably bo made in the House to divert Clive-squn.ro from its purpose of a public recreation ground to a site for a town hall. Mr Leonard, whose appearance on the stage caused a good deal of upr-mr, said lie did nob come forward in the interest of any candidate, but merely to vindicate the character of a gentleman. Mr McDougall here interrupted the speaker, and a lively scene ensued, erica of " Booh," " Turn him out," mingled with cheers and hisses, coming from every part of the Theatre. A Mr Carnell also attempted to make some

remarks, bufc was prevented from doing so by the uproar in front. After some delay a vote of thanks to Mr McDougall was proposed and carried almost unanimously, a similar compliment being also accorded to the chairman. A vote of want of confidence proposed by Mr Leonard fell through.