MR. REID’S MEETING.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2450, 22 December 1870, Page 2

MR. REID’S MEETING.

(Concluded.) He came now to deal with the second point in the Colonial Treasurer’s speech, namely, that the Clutha Railway could be constructed upder the scheme if the Provincial Council were agreeable. The Colonial Treasurer said he was under the impression that the Provincial Council was not fully aware that the General Government was in a position to go into the measure. Ho had only to complain that the Council was not informed of it. He, however, assured the meeting that the Provincial Council had before it every tittle of information that was in the possession of the Provincial Government. The first time he heard the statement as made by the Colonial Treasurer was at tile public meeting at the Princess Theatre. But did it tallj" with the Colonial 'I rcasurer’s letter? Notwithstanding that statement it was impossible to get it done for L 5,000 a mile, and they engaged to guarantee only Lo,00(). When the Colonial Treasurer stated that the General Government was desirous to get these works carried out, he (Mr Reid) said that the refusal of the General Government to advise the Governor to give his sanction to the Ordinance passed by the Provincial Council last session, proved that he was not sincere. held in his hand an offer whichdiad been made to construct the railway at once on favorable terms,, :f the Governor would give his sanction.—-(A Voice : What about the Port Chalmers Railway ?) If the construction of the railway was to be limited to L 5,000 per mile, they would not get a better railway than that which was being constructed from Dunedin to Port Chalmers. The Provincial Government had the power to guarantee at the rate of L8,0l)0 per mile on the Clutha Railway, and the General Government had reduced the sum on which they took power to guarantee to L 5,()()(» per mile. They might depend upon it that would not improve the character of the line.

Mr Reid read a letter from Mr Audley Coote, under date Hobart Town, November 5, offering to construct the line ou the following terms : —■ “ 1. The terni of guarantee to be extended with a reduced guarantee. “2. He could not hold out hope of the guarantee offered being accepted. “3. If the Government would undertake to amend the Act ‘next session,’ he would come to Otago to make preliminary arrangements. ”

On the receipt of that offer, the Provincial Government communicated with the General Government, asking if an Ordinance were passed hy tjic Provincial Council extending the term of the guarantee, it would be assented to by the G overuor ? They received a reply to the effect that the Colonial Treasurer was coining to Dunedin, and that they could arrange with him. The Provincial Government introduced a Bill extending the term of the guarantee to meet Mr Coote’s offer, which was passed by the Provincial Council. They also represented the matter to the Colonial Treasurer when he arrived, showing that it was necessary to get the line constructed at once, and also showing that the Province had power to guarantee to the extent of 1.8,009 per mile ; whilp under the scheme of the General Government a guarantee could not be given on a larger sum than L 5.000 per mile, at which sum is was not at all probable the work could he constructed. They wished to get the work carried out at ouce, but the reply received from the Colonial Treasurer was a prompt and emphatic refusal. He said the Governor would not be advised to give his assent to the Bill. The Colonial Treasurer wanted to make it appear that according to an Act passed in 18(37 it would be ultra Viren, as it was impossible to give guarantee on lauds. But since that Act was passed the Clutha Guarantee Bailway Ordinance had expired, and an Ordinance passed in the seas on of 18(39 had been assented to which not only gave the Province power to guarantee 8 per cent, on a sum not the railway, wlipp constructed, at a cost of L 400.000. He contender thm flic same power which could allow them to do tl;ai if they had so desired, have assented to au Ordinance extending the term of the guarantee to .To years, seeiig that it was to bo reduced from 8 to 54 per cent. And if the Colonial Treasurer had been sincere in the statement, be would have placed the Pro-

rince in a position to take advantage of Mr Cooto’s offer. The Colonial Treasurer said the General Government were in n position to commence this railway at once. Ho (Mr llcitl) however considered it very doubtful. He was doubtful whether the Colonial Treasury was financially in such a flourishing position, for he found that the sum of L 50,000, to he paid to Southland, had been kept out of the pockets of the civil servants of that Province for a very long period. (A gentleman spoke to Air Ileid.) His friend told him orders had been given to pay it. He was doubtful whether the Colonial Treasurer was in a position to enter upon the construction of the line, and even if it were, it would be impossible to get contractors to construct the line for the sum he was empowered to give. The Colonial 'Treasurer had also staled that if the railway were not constructed by the General Government, it could not bo constructed at all. Now, what did the Colonial Treasurer say in the General Assembly? It was really unfortunate for public men that their words were sometimes taken down.—(Laughter.) The Colonial Treasurer, on tho occasion referred to, said—

“ But let us look at the position of Canterbury ami Otago in tho matter. Each of those Provinces already has powers which would enable it to go on with the construction cf railways during the recess; and it is quite certain, if nothing else is done, that those Provinces would use their powers during the recess. What would be the result of that 7 ”

The Colonial Treasurer was evidently alarmed at that.

“ It would be to upset, probably, that equilibrium which we have succeeded in establishing during the present session, by the measures of the Government. If left to themselves, Canterbury and Otago will go in for railways on their own account—they will do oo upon extravagant systems probably", because they are not in a position to get their lines constructed, or to borrow money for consti ucting them, advantageously; and once such steps are taken, those Provinces would probably refuse to become parties to a system designed to he, ard which we say is, applicable to the whole of the Colony.” It would be seen that the statement which the Colonial Treasurer made in the General Assembly did not tally" with that made here. There he said Canterbury and Otago would construct their own railway's—here that the Clutha line could not be constricted except under the scheme of the Colonial Government. Now, it would be impossible to get that railway constructed for LSOOO per mile, according to the estimates of the engineers ; and they were hound to accept their testimony.—(A Voick : Yes, there has been plenty of expenditure.) There had been very little expenditure on that line, comparatively speaking, since he and his colleagues had t'keu office, although more had been done to bring it into public notice than had been done at any time previously, and at less cost. According to Mr Paterson’s estimate, the total cost of the Pne, after reducing everything to its lowest cost, would be L 375.000. Air Brunton, after having made further reductions, estimated it, exclusive of cost of laud compensation, at L.358,800 —a difference of only L2OO a mi'e. — A Voice : What was the gauge ?) The gauge was 4ft. 8 .(in, The average cost petmile throughout, under Mr Paterson’s estimate, would be L 7,200 ; the cost from Dunedin to the North Taieri Plain would be L 17,777 per mile. Some persons frequently sneered at the estimates of engineers, but in matters of that kind they could not do without them. The third point placed before the citizens bv the Colonial Treasurer was. that unless they accepted the Act as it stood, it would, if altered, he rendered more distasteful to the Middle Island. It was very ill-timed ou bis part to give utterance to such a threat. The electors had the remedy in their own hands by securing the services of men whom they had tried, and who had the welfare of the Province at heart. —(Who are they?) If the electors elected such they might rely upon having the scheme modified so as to advance the interests of the Middle Island. He said do not send men who would not pledge themselves to °ee that the Middle Island bad a fair share of Government expenditure. The Colonial Treasurer also favored the citizens with a quotation from tire London Titms, Ho also remarked that the Government had received very satisfactory information from home as to their being enabled to carry on those works. It was, however, much to be regretted that the Colonial Treasurer did not read a few extracts from the information whicn he stated the General Government had received. He really must say the information from the Home paper was to his mind very unsatisfactory. The writer said : “ It is impossible, in short, to conceive a more satisfactory report of affairs than that now before us, and if, as \vs arc assured nothing beyond tbo maintenance of peace is needed to convert all these anticipations into realities, the end ought not to be doubtful ” Now bo (Mr Reid) considered that the Colonial Treasurer could not have given the citizens a more weak and frivolous quotation than (hat, because it was very probable thus the people outside the Colony would look at the scheme in a vary different light from the colonists them°elves. The Provincial Government did not dispute that the scheme might be good if properly and carefully carried out: they merely objected to it ip its present shape. The scheme as it stood would result in the colonisation of the Nqrth Island and in the cojistruqtiqn of public works there at the expense of the Middle Island ; it would result in the Middle Island lapd fund being absorbed info one common purse, apd that meant the control of it would be taken from the people of the Mjddle Island. He bad no doubt that the gentlemen who wished to make the scheme more cqlonial supported the idea of taking away from the Middle Island tlffi cpntrql of the waste laiffis, pnd making the central pqipt of administration Wellington. He tliqugiit Ife had shown that the Provincial Council were perfectly justified in the course it took to prevent anything being done under tue Act, until the electors had had an opportunity of saying whether they would have the scheme as it stands or insist upon some modification of it. Would they be content to have L 3.430,000.430,000 spent in the North Island as against LI, 401,300 in the South Island?— (Cries of “No. 1 ”) If so, let them make the fact known at the elections. Ho would now refer to .a statement which had been industriously circulated with regard to the action of a majority of the Provincial Council. They had always been charged with not wishing to £i;y p ogress. It had been thundered forth to'thom evening attep evening from the penny 2>aper that administration under the present Government meant starvation—Reid and clodocracy—and he bad not the slightest doubt that the citizens

were beginning to believe wbat they had been told. They had had placed before them in not elegant language the doings of “ Reid and his tail.” He believed he could trace the inspiration which had suggested those articles. He had no doubt that if he were sufficiently pliable to meet those views —he could speak for himself at all events — there would be no better men in Otago.— (Hear, hear, and oh ! oh !) Had he given way to those blandishments there would have been no better man in the estimation of the evening paper than Reid. He stated with the utmost deference to the meeting, and to the party with whom he acted, that if any gentleman was found who it was believed would carry out their views that gentleman would secure his hearty support. Hb had not improved his position in a pecuniary psint of view in the slightest degree since he had had anything to do Iwith politics, and was sure he could say the same with regard to those gentlemen who had acted with him. In fact, the first thing the Provincial Government did after they took office was to reduce their own salaries. It was not considered too much for their prececessors to receive LSOO per ann. ; but the present Government reduced tho amount to LSOO. He wished also to show that the Government took steps to obtain a loan for the construction of largo public works, and it was well known that a majority of the Council were in favor of that being obtained. They took power from the Council to obtain a loan of LGSO 000, A similar application had been made by our predecessors, but the General Government were justified in refusing these applications, inasmuch as specific security had never been offered. In making application for this loan provision was made that it should be obtained for the following purposes and sccured, namely :—“ Southern Trunk Railway, L 400,000; Water Supply on Goldfields, LIOO.OOO ; Immigration, LuO.OOO ; Embankment of Rivers, L 50,000 ; Camara Dock, L 20.000 ; Waitaki Bridge, LIO,OOO ; Kakanui Harbor, LGOOO ; Waikouaiti Wharf, LBOOO ; Shag River Bridge, L4OOO ; Lower Mataura Bridge, L 200 0; total, LG50.000. Such loan to be a general charge upon the Provincial revenue, and to be specially secured upon throe million acres of land, at present held under pastoral lease, and yielding a rental of L 32.000 a year. Provision to be made whereby the lands set aside as security can be released from time to time, in proportion to the extent to which the principal of the loan may be extinguished.” They offered to the Colonial Government 'tangible' security for the loan required, and forwarded a map showing the lands proposed to be set aside. But what assistance did the Colonial Treasurer give ? He would read his speech on that occasion. It was as follows :

“Of all the provinces there could not bo one which had a larger claim for a vole of money for public works than Otago. There was no Province which could offer better se« curity, nor was there any which had more sincerely at heart the progress of settlement. There might be other Provinces of which as much might be said ; certainly there was no Province which was entitled to more consideration in that respect. But the question they had had to consider all this session was, whether there should not be some self? sacrifice on the part of the more wealthy Provinces in favor of those Provinces which were not so fortunately situated ? Were the wealthy Provinces to stand aloof and see the smaller and less wealthy ones starve? or were they not rather to endeavor to aid thp progiess of other parts of the Colony, and by making them participate in the large works about to be undertaken by the Government, promote the general prosperity of the whole Colony ? Otago has given up, in favor of the Government measures, the charge of constructing its railway. Having adopted the principle that the whole of the Provinces should unite for the purpose of promoting settlement in different parts of the Colony ? it would be inconsistent to go back frorp that position and to say that one particular Province should use its borrowing power in such a way as would lessen the credit of the whole by dividing up the borrowing power.” —The Colonial Treasurer desired that our land revenue should be secured as a means to borrow large sums for expenditure on works in the North Island. When the Middle Island only had land to offer as security, it had a right to expect that it would be allowed to borrow on that security. But the Provincial Government were refused that opportunity, and were therefore precluded from entering upon these public works. He proposed saying a few words respecting the Clutha Railway, as a serious misajiprehension existed amongst the public in respect to it. Charges had been brought against the Government that it was not in earnest in regard to it, and he wished to show that the Government had done everything in their power to secure its construction. There seemed to be a great misapprehension as to the powers possessed by the Government to give land as security for the cost. The Government had received a great number of offers, but very few were within their power to entertain. The meeting had uo doubt of the offer made by a local company. That company npght have done good service tp thp Government by undertaking this work, and thus not al- - the work to be stopped through the expiry of the Act of 1867, then about to expire ; but as the term of the Ordinance was extended, they had no occasion to enter into such an arrangement as was proposed by the company. They proposed that on being registered as a, Joint-Stock Company, if froip any cause the Superintendent did pot agree to guarantee dividend on the paid-up capital at 8 per cent, for 15 years, on 14 (|ays after the termination of the negotiations, all costs and charges should be repaid to the company which had been incurred with the previous kppwletlge of the Superintendent and Executive for the time being. The Gr. vernmept requested tlgc company to name’ the maxitmpp amount which they wquld requirg, but they rqfuaei}, because they §aiej they might have ’to gq to America (o nego ; tiate for rpouey,’ and their negotiations might be attended with great expense. They would do all they gould to meet the views of thp Government; but of course they did no{ want to be out of pocket. Was that a roa« * sonablo position for the Government to be placed in ? The Ordinance was extended, and the Government, when they had an extended Ordinance Tor another three years, told the company if they would make them an offer within the terms of the Ordinance the Government would give it their favorable consideration. But the company did not think fit to do that. The Government then advertised the fcatter in the Australian Colonies and the newspapers, and told tip company, if they sent in an offer as favor? able as'aiiy othe’r, they would get the pr. 1 ference. He regretted to say that the Government did not receive an offer which came within their power to accept, There?

fore those gentlemen who stated that the work might now, hut for the action of the Government, have been in progress, did not toll the trnth. The action taken by the Government, however, had resulted in several offers being made. For instance, the offer made by Mr Audley Cootc, which was a most favorable one to the Province, would have come within the power of the Provincial Government to accept it if the General Government had agreed to the Ordinance which extended the guarantee to thirty-five years. The Government also received an offer from Mr John Millar, of Dunedin.—(Laughter.) He really did not understand what the meeting were laughing at ; ho could assure them that Mr Millar’s document was a very voluminous one. He would not read the whole of it ; he would merely read the substance of Mr Millar’s proposal. Mr Millar tendered to construct the line for L 371,000, guarantee S per cent, per annum for fifteen years ; 400,000 acres of land to be granted to the Company, &c. That was not an offer within the power of the Government to accept, for the Government had no power to grant land as security. The Government received another offer from Mr J. R. Davies, of Melbourne, who said, if 400,000 acres of land were set aside and sold with the view to the purchase of the railway at the end of 15 years, a company would at once be formed. Then Mr Brunton offered to proceed to Britain to raise the necessary capital if land were set aside as a guarantee, and he was paid 3 per cent, on the amount r.i'sed. Mr Larnach then offered to raise L5()0,000 on a guarantee of 8 per cent, for not less than 10 years, or more than 50 years —security to be given over railway plant, &c., and land equal in acreage at 20s per acre, Ac. Mr J. R. Davies’ offer was a repetition of the one he had already read. The next offer was from Messrs Poyman and Abbott, who offered to construct the line on a guarantee of 8 per cent, up to L400,0000n the amount expended ; the Government to purchase on or before 15 years ; 400,000 acres of land to be set aside as security ; the company to receive rent and profits thereof, &c. He had said enough to snow that every one of those offers depended upon land being Bet aside, which the General Government would not give them power to do. He did not know whether he need refer to the remark made by the Colonial Treasurer as to the Port Chalmers Railway. He had told the citizens that the railway was being most extravagantly constructed, (Cries of, “ Right, right.”)—and that nobody’s interest was protected except that of the contractors. He certainly thought the Colonial Treasurer went somewhat out of his way to refer to that transaction. —(Mo, no.) He did not himself approve of its being made a tax on the jetty dues. It was not fair to tax the labors of the boatmen in order to construct a railway to compete with themselves. But it was the Colonial Treasurer who initiated that scheme. However, he (Mr Reid) had nothing to do with that. It was impossible for the Government to withdraw from it. A company was formed for the construction of thas railway; wno asked a guarantee of 8 per cent, on a sum of LIOO,OOO, and wished a block of land to be set aside as security. The company comprised most of the great men of Dunedin, and he believed it had been formed so large in order to intimidate the Government into acceding to their terms. The Government offered to give the company a guarantee of L 70.000 without land. A resolution was passed by the Provision'll Committee, when the Government declined to accedo to their request to set aside a Mark of land, or to give a guarantee on a larger amount than L 70.000, in the following

terms : “That the proposed agreement with the Government having been read and considered this meeting finding that as the amount fixed by the Government on which the guara itee is to be paid is much under what it has been ascertained the railway can be built for ; that as the clause giving the comnr the additional security of a block of as agreed to by the Provincial Council has been struck out; and that as the Government has inserted terms and conditions in connection with the construction and workof the proposed railway which the Committee considers both unreasonable and absurd, Resolves, That unless the Government is prepared to accede generally to similar terms as were embodied in the original draft agreement, the proposed company abandon the scheme altogether, and recpiest the chairman to intimate this resolution to his Honor the Superintendent. Carried unanimously. November IGth, 18G9.” The Government allowed the Company to abandon the undertaking, and whatever the Colonial Treasurer might say about the railway being constructed in an extravagant manner, the Government contended that they had made the best arrangement they could for the Province under the circumstances, and its interests were better protected under that arrangement than it was under the Immigration and Public Works Scheme of the Colonial Government. They had been told that the Provincial Government were not desjvous of constructing any public works. They had been told about “ Reid and Starvation,” and “Reid and no public works”—(lnterruption)—“ Reid and Clodocr.icy but there was another evil to be feared as inoeb as Olodocracy—namely, Suobocraoy ; and if there ever was a country in which it was necessary to guard a danger, it was Otago that be protected‘°r gainst Hie rule of the snobocracy. (Laughter.) |those persons who sneered at clodocracy sneered at the stalwart artir.an and brawny laborer. They had no sympathy with the working men generally, however much they m ght pretend to have. They would have the people believe that the interests of the agriculturists were the same as thgir interests.; He -’ lSi i-. C( p |o explain what occurred to lie Government, and' why a supply of land had not been placed in the market, and why public works could not be constructed. When the Government accepted office they found that their predecessors bad scraped together every penny they £ould fr.ftin the sUe pi the w*ste L*mis of the Grown, Reserves which had been made for tbc benefit of the settlers were forced on the market—what would not sell at. LI was sold at 10s ; and even the fee simple of lands, which bad been reclaimed from the ha bor at a great cost, which, if let for a term of 99 years, would have yielded a large rental to the Pro\ ince, were sold at auction for a mere bagatelle. One of tlicir tirst acts was to try to throw open large areas of land into Hundred!,. And how were they <* n Ac.t passed ‘by tfie Assembly, throwing 'every obstacle in Hie way of the lands being opened for settlement!' Ho could ‘not refer W this matter without feelings o£ indignation at the manner in which that Act had been passed—an Act which placed tbc ruuholdcriu a position

to obtain 2s 6d per acre for the surrender of his grazing right, besides full compensation for all improvements on lands taken. In the face of such an Act the Government did not feel justified in recommending Hundreds to he proclaimed, because the amount of compensation won,d absorb the sums realised for the land. The Government could not agree to take any action in the matter, and therefore decided to submit it to the consideration of the Provincial Council. A march had been stolen on the Province, and if there had been two firm members in the General Assembly, determined to do their duty to the Province, that Act would never ’nave become law. The action taken at that time would tell upon the future interests _ of this Province. What was the position tiken up bv the supporters of this Act—the Hundreds Regulation Act? The Government were met by the cry “put the Act into operation, and you can get Hundreds all over the province at once.” What were the facts of the ease ? Most urgent apjdicatiou was made some ten weeks ago to get Hundreds proclaimed under that Act, and he had reason to believe that there were two gentlemen travelling through the country at the expense of the Province with large cheese tasters—(applause and laughter, and cries of name), one was Mr Carr Young. They went with large cheese tasters to see whether the land which had been asked for by the people was fit for them to occupy. The people of the Province were the people to say when they wanted to buy land, but those gentlemen, who had little or no knowledge as to the requirements of the people, were to determine whether they should be allowed to occupy the waste lands or not. He that day saw a uery ridionlons telegram from the Colonial Secretory, to the effect th it the Commissioners had reported that certain Hundreds which had been recommended by the Provincial Council, after careful enquiry, could not be granted in the shape in which they were recommended, and suggesting to the Government certain other recommendations, when the Commissioners would again be requested to report. They bad been two months waiting for those Hundreds, hut as far as he could see they might have to wait another two months, though the people were anxiously seeking for land, and disheartened because they eoutd not obtain it. The land question was one which was intimately associated with the Immigration and Public Works Act. That had been remarked by many members of the Assembly, and one said it was the backbone of the whole scheme. He (Mr Reid) was of the same opinion. Unless more liberal provision were made for the population in the Colony, and which might he introduced under this scheme, to settle upon the lands of the country, it would, instead of being an advantage, tend to ruin the country, because unless population were permanently settled on the soil, it would be impossible to bear the increased taxation which this scheme must inevitably create. Whilst he sa : d this he was aware that exclusive attention should not be given to agriculture, other industries ought to be fostered ; but those industries could not prosper unless there was a population here to benefit by them, and the only way to secure that was by inducing people to settle upon theland.— (A Voice : Would you have peop’e working at harvest for 2$ Gd per day ?) lie wanted to see the people settled on their own lands, and they would be in a position to give as much as they could for hrrvesting wages. He waf much disappointed with the way in which the Colonial Treasurer treated that part of the subject. He touched very lightly upon it; in fact, he only just scratched it over, although he must hqvo been aware that the whole success of bia scheme depended upon it. The Colonial Treasurer told them that he knew there were other matters which interested them; for instance, there was the question of separation, and the land question He told them not to allow the land question to overshadow every other consideration ; hut he (Mr Reid) requested them not to lose sight of that question, as the scheme of the Colonial Government would not secure the advantages to the Colony which it ought to. They were putting it in a proper shape in Auckland, and it ought to he done in Otago, either by a system of deferred payments, with improvement clauses, or by free grants, if necessary, with similar restrictions. There was another aspect of the subject. Were they prepared to introduce into the Colony from 80,000 to 100,000 immigrants from North Germany, Norway, or Sweden?—(Loudcries of “ No.”) He believed, however, that the Commissioners Avho went home from the Colony had recently been travelling through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and North Germany, with a view to introducing immigrants from those countries. It would be cruel to induce a large number of persons to come from the old country unless they were prepared to facilitate settlement upon the land, and to commence necessary public. works. There was a class here, such gs ploughmen and farm servants without largo families. Those would find ready employment.—(A Voice : At the Taieri ?) Yes, there, and throughout the country districts generally, at wages from L4O to LSO per annum, and found.—(Cries of “No, no.”) He was bound to state his conviction whether they agreed wUh it or not. He believed a limited, number of that class would prosugy, bi.t 'to encourage indiscriminate immigration from the different countries of Europe would ruin the country. He wished to disabuse the minds rf the people of what they had heard regarding the prosecution of public works. He had in bis hand a statement showing what had been expended on public works in the last three years, which that they bad not been standing Atll. Fron? that statement A 'that during the year 18G7-8 L().‘i,824 had been expended on public works : | dunV'the year 18G8-0, L 162.211 ; during the year ISG9-70, L136.180.—(A Voice: Does that include prison labor?) No, those were sums actually expended from the reyynuea of the Province. Although l\e repotted as much as anyone th,qt there had been a time of spvmv, dep.rci.nc.n, be wished them to understand that the Government had done everything in its power to allievate it. But wnen it was remembered that wool had seriously declined in price ; that grain and other produce had been selling at low prices, they would see that all those causes had operated to cause depression, as well as the inability of the Provincial Government to carry ou£ large public works. Thqsy Vplpgs should be taken into account, wellj aslhc fapt that they hr.;’ Loeii’rouiscd a loan which they requested. and that obstacles had been placed in the way of land being open for sale. However much they might admire the peroration of the Colonial Treasurer about making this a great, noble, and thriving counery, he would remind them that tnat could not be done as the scheme now stood. He would ask them to compare bia action regarding (the settlement

of the country iu the past, with that fine pei oration, and say whether it was such as waslikely to make it thriving and prosperous. He was as desirous as the Colonial Treasurer could be to see the country prosperous. His family was in it. and his desire was to make the country great and hrppy. The only way to do that was to attach the people permanently to the soil.—(Applause.) In answer to questions, Mr Reid stated that he would not interfere with a scheme of Provincial immigration that would bring in a limited number gradually. The Government having contracted for the construction of the Port Chalmers Hue, had no power to interfere between the contractors and those whom they employed. He thought it was high time there was an alteration iu the constitution of the Upper House. He thought a clause might reasonably be inserted in agreements giving workmen a lien as security for wages. He should require to consider the subject fully before promising to support a Bill to that effect. He did not recoiled when the Port Chalmers line was to be finished. He believed in eight or ten months. There was not a single shilling expended on labor on Mr Duncan’s property. A certain quantity of material was required, and it was obtained there gratis. Had it been obtained elsewhere, it must have been paid for. The Government never sent Home any statement regarding wages. It might have been done years ago, but not by the present Executive. Mr Young’s failure to get the Clutha Railway contracted for was that he could uot get it done for L 400,000. The estimate given at Home was LGSO,(JOO. The resolutions and amendments have already been published.