AUCKLAND SUPERINTENDENCY.

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 2042, 20 November 1869, Page 2

AUCKLAND SUPERINTENDENCY.

(Fron} the Daily Southern Cross.) In. connection with the election of a Superintendent for Auckland, Mr Williamson, one of the candidates, stated, at a recent meeting :—“ If I succeed, I shall be proud to point the Colony to the result as a victory that will say, not only here, but throughout the Colony, in effect, ‘ The Provincial institutions which we now enjoy under the Constitution Act shall bo retained.’ It will be a declaration that the time has npt come when the Colony can be governed by one body, from a centre. I do not say the time will not come when that can be done safely, but I do say the Provincial Governments have yet a great work to do." Mr T. B. Gillies said ;—“ There is, I admit, a time when the system of provincial institutions must disappear. But it will be many years before there will be so many interests united in the respective Provinces as to form one whole , . I think also that a great deal may be done towards the reduction of the cost of Provincial GovernGovernment . . There has been a paying of salaries, which are retained for political purposes, and not for the purpose of doing work. . . Gentlemen, I was offered office in the present Ministry; it was offered unsolicited on my part. . . I was offered the office of Solicitor-General, with all the political advantages that belonged to that of Attorney-General. These offers were made to me through my friendship with gentlemen composing the present Ministry. At their request I went to Wellington, but when I went there I found that if I joined the Ministry some of their supporters—some of their Auckland supporters would turn round to the other side. (Cheers, groans, and uproar.) That was what I found there—that Auckland members would not continue to support them,—(Cries of “Who told you that 1 ?’’) I will tell you who told me. I went to some of them, amongst others to Mr Williamson himself, and from him I obtained the assurance that he had no objection—(loudcheers)—but that there were objectors. When, therefore, I found that there were concealed objections, I said, ‘ No, I am not going into the Ministry to weaken it,’ I should have liked to be able to support them ; it was a Ministry I liked. I was told of the desire .of the Ministry to have me in office, and after some further discussion of the matter, I said if its

Auckland supporters would put their names to a letter, stating that they would still give their personal support to the Ministry in the event of my joining, then I would join it. I said, at the same time, that if they would not do that, but would use my being in the Ministry as a means of getting out of their pledges, then I would not join the Ministry. Well, there were some of them that would not put their names to any such thing.