TO THE ELECTORS OP THE PROVINCE OF OTAGO.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2456, 30 December 1870, Page 3

TO THE ELECTORS OP THE PROVINCE OF OTAGO.

GENTLEMEN—T have Lad the honor to receive several requisitions requesting me to continue to hold the office of Superintendent of the Province. Prom the numerous signatures attached to those requisitions, I am led to believe that they embody the general desire of the people throughout the Province ; and under this assumption I have much pleasure, notwithstanding the fact that the present position of the office of Superintendent is, to my mind, most unsatisfactory, in complying with the request. Elected by the whole body of the people, under the belief that they arc conferring upon him unlimited powers of administration and redress of grievances, the Superintendent nevertheless practically finds himself pretty much in the position of being the mere registrar, or instrument of giving effect to the wishes of those to whom the Provincial Council confides the duty of being his responsible advisers. It must be manifest, therefore, that in electing a Superintendent pledged to certain principles, and to carry out a given policy, the electors only stultify themselves and place him in a false position, unless they elect a Provincial Council not only pledged to the same principles and to the carrying out of the same policy, but who will also fulfill those pledges. If the Superintendent is to he the mere instrument of giving effect to the decrees of others, well and good ; only in that case let it be thoroughly understood so, or let him be nominated by the Council itself or by the Government. If on the other band the Superintendent is to be appointed by and held directly responsible to the whole body of electors throughout the Province, for the carrying out of a certain line of policy, it is obvious that the existing state of things presents an anomaly peculiar to New Zealand. As a practical illustration of the actual state of the case, I may observe that when you did roe the honor of electing me Superintendent four years ago, believing that the Provincial Council would be returned on the same platform, I pledged myself to a generally progressive policy, especially as regards railways, the development of our goldfields, and the settlement of the country. Unfortunately, however, the Provincial Council has not concurred with me in my endeavors to attain these objects, and the consequence has been that as regards railways, with the exception of the Dunedin and Port Chalmers line, no practical progress whatever has been made. As regards the goldfields, they have been pretty much left to themselves ; and the settlement of the country has been going on at a comparatively slow pace. It is a singular circumstance that those who are the most noisy in declaiming against me as having broken all sorts of promises, are also the most loud in denouncing my endeavors to induce the Provincial Council to enable me to fulfil the promises referred to. The principles which I have always enunciated, and the policy which I desire to carry out, have for their object the peopling of this Province with an industrious and thriving population ; and unless the Provincial Council about to he elected is prepared to concur with the Superintendent in giving effect to that policy, I would infinitely prefer not to be Superintendent. Of course there will always be differences of opinion among earnest men as fo the best mode of carrying out any particular line of policy ; and while difference of opinion is the very life’s blood of free institutions, at the same time I believe it will he found that where there exists a genuine desire to arrive at a given point, earnest and sincere men will not allow differences of opinion among themselves to prevent that point fi om being reached. As already the point at which I wish to arrive W speedily as possi-

blc, is to sec this Province fully occupiel hy a happy and prosperous population; t» secure this grand result there are many es sentials. I shall only allude to one of whai may lie termed the primary ingredients First and foremost, in order to the intono 1 of the Province being beneficially occupied and its vast rcsoursos, agricultural, pastoral and mineral fully developed, it must be rendered easily accessible by means of the mos; approved system of road making,—to wilj economically constructed railways. Tills is an object which I have been aiming at for years, as the following motion, prepared by me in the Provincial Council in the year'lßo3, will show Ek.soi.vjsl) “1. This Council is of opinion that the system of road-making at present pursued throughout the Province as respects the main trunklines, is behind the spirit of the ago, and at variance with the true principles which ought to be acted upon in the construction of permanent highways in a now country. . “2. That in forming the chief arteries of communication between Dunedin and the extremities of the Province, regard should be bad to, and advantage taken of the latest improvements which have resulted from the experience and ingenuity of other countries, in as far as it is possible to adapt such improvements to the circumstances of this Province. “3. That in pursuance of the foregoing views, it is expedient at once to abandon the construction of macadamised roads, as being antiquated and (owing to the high rate of wages as compared with old countries) enormously expensive, and in lieu thereof to substitute iron tram roads adapted for animal power, the rails being of such a standard as shall render them suitable for light locomotive engines, whenever the traffic may render such advisable.

“4. That such tramroads can be laid down at a price little if any exceeding that which macadamised roads have hitherto cost in this Province, while the cost of keeping them ir repair would be greatly less. “ 5, That by means of animal power m such tramroads both passengers and goodi could be conveyed much below the price a: which they can be carried upon commm roads, while by means of steam-power tin rate would be reduced lower still. Resolver further —That a respectful address be trans mitted to the Superintendent, embodyin* the foregoing resolutions, and expressing the earnest hope of this Council that with reference to the subject of them,* he may be pleased to coincide with its views, and to give practical effect thereto.” Had these resolutions been adopted and acted upon, we should at the present moment have bad many miles of railway throughout the Province. Unfortunately, however, it was not so ; .and the Province has gone on literally throwing away hundreds of thousands of pounds upon a system of road-making under 'which it is utterly impossible for us effectually to open the country. Gentlemen, I need scarcely say that to my mind tlio first and the only thing which will give vitality to the Province which will lead to the full development of its resources, and to its beneficial occupation is a network of cheap railways. It was this conviction, coupled with the consciousness that under the existing political constitution of the Colony, there is not the-slightest hope of this Province or of any other being in a position to raise money without the sanction of the Colony, which indued me to accept of the financial proposals ivliich have been enacted by the Colonial Legislature. I frankly admit, in so far as they involve the carrying out of public works under the control of :he Colonial instead of the Pi o\ facial Executive —that to me as an advocate of Provincial administration, the proposals of tne Colonial Parliamcfit were somewhat dillicult to swallow ; at the same time I. believe that in this Province at least with a Colonial and Proviicial Executive working in harmony, the control of the former would be tc a great extent nominal ; and that in point of fact the case resolves . itself into a very simple problem, viz., we must either accept the Colonial terms, or dispense altogether with railways, water supply on Goldfields, and everything besides, which necessitates our going into the money market. For my own part, I do not fool disposed to act the log in the manger, and because I cannot mysdf provide for the public works in, question, resolve to dispense with them. Depend upon it, we may air our eloquence as to General Government interference and Provincial ndependence as we will, but unless we arcjlprcparcd to go in for a revolution, such declamation will uot alter the real position of die case. Now thatOtago and .Southland have become reunited, I believe that this Province possesses witlin itself all the ingre limits of a prosperous Colony ; and I for one shall be prepared t( pay a handsome price in order to secure that absolute separation from the North, wlioh without doubt would be sol greatly to »ur advantage. ' Pending this, however, and without prejudice to my action which we may see lit to take inthis direction, it appears to me to be the nost absolute folly to suppose because thisProvinoe declines to avail itsel) of the bornwing powers of the Colony*, that, therefore, those powers will not he exer cised. Tint they will be exercised sucees fully, and to the fullest extent authorised by law before the next session of the General Assembly, I have no manner of dovbt. What we night to aim at is to control the expendituis of the loan, by returning rcircsentatives to the General Assembly who will act to jet her, and sacrifice all party consider ation o the great object of securing tlat no one jpait of the Colony shall obtain an undue ad'antage at the expense of lie rest, I obscrw with some regret that one strak argument used by* those who have indued the Proviicial Council to adopt the coursedt has done, has been that the Land Fund if Otago is tledged to the public creditors n respect of;he proposed loan. Now*, any oie who will tike the trouble to look into tbs matter wil find that it is not so. The Loai Act expresly provides that the money sh;ll be raised apou the security of the Consoldated Revmue, and the Public Revenue A a, 1807, exprssly declares that the Laud Fud is not Couolidated Revenue. Of course it s competent for the Colonial Parliament it any time bo rescind this law*; at the sa.no time if,tht representatives of Canterbury an I Otago (tin Provinces chielly concerned) <o their duty there is very little probability if the land revenue being diverted from is original pirposes.^ Anothc stock argument against our avaling oursekes of the loan is that part* f it y. jl ; be oxpciirad iii other Provinces nqtiq a pob i tion to 'fao,y ’fyo interest and sinking fiui. Now, if ly our standing aloof we could pe-

vent such Provinces from sharing in the loan, there might be some force in this avgnnicrt. As it if, however, it must be borne in mind that the loan has been duly anthoised, and for aught we know to the coutrcy already negotiated, upon the security of our consolidated revenue in common Mth that of the rest of the Colony. To my mnd it is clear as the sun at noonday that i wc arc to exercise any influence in prevetiug the misapplication of the loan, it is nt by refusing to participate in it, but by soiling members to the Assembly who will at together as one man in securing that the*terns upon which the loan was sanctioneihrc duly fulfilled, that is to say, beyond he amount allocated to each Island and officially charged, no Province shall rcceivi any portion of the loan, unless it can saisfy the Legislature that the work will hi reproductive, and recoup itself. / Agai, it is urged that hy incurring further lans the Province will come under a load o debt which will completely extinguish i: Those who entertain this opinion, howeve, cannot possibly have given the suhjectdue reflection. It depends entirely upon tie object to which the loan is to be applied. In the present instance, paradoxical is it may appear, the Province by incurring a further loan, will practically diminish instead of increasing its annual liabilities, inasmuch as by substituting cheaply constructed railways for the roads now in use, a very great saving null be effected hj the annual estimates of the Road Departnent, not to speak of the saving of time tothc general public, and the reduction of the cost of travelling, and inasmuch as the moicy invested in Water Supply on Goldfields aid Immigration will recoup itself a thousard-fold, it will be poor consolation for Otago to know that it has denied itself the benefits of Public Works, simply because other P.’ovinces, not in a position to pay for such works- have secured them at the expense of the Colony. Gentlanen, it is a wretched thing to reflect tha; those of your so-called representatives in the Provincial Council, as well as those wlo have the control of the so-called leading purnal in the Province, who have been rust instrumental in denouncing the financial policy of the General Assembly, have hem influenced more by the fact that the polity in question emanated from a particular individual, than by any intelligent comprehension of the bearings of the policy itself. 1 do hope and trust that in the forthcoming election “measures not men” will be the watchword. I have every reason to be= litvo tint had this maxim been acted upon, aiother mouth or two would have seen the wuole o) the Southern Trunk Ilailu ay contacted lor at a cost not exceeding £2-50,000, aid a large sum being expended upon water sipply on the Goldfields ; the money to be fame! b/ the Colony at a comparatively low rta of interest,

On tin part of such as are dependent for tb support of th unselves and families upon tb labor of their hands, I cannot conceive .more suicidal course than that of frustrating the efforts of those who are endeavoring t< secure the immediate and certain initiation o: public works which will in themselves be eiinentiy* reproductive, and afford constant ciployncnt to thousands for years to conic. t desire especially to call the attention of tb laboring class throughout the Province trthe real point at issue in the forthcoming c-iction. They witl no doubt be to’d that tie question to bo-decided is, Arc Railways, Water .Supply on Goldfields, &c,, to be provied for by and under the control of the Gncral or Provincial Governments? Now tht is not the real question. The real point a issue is, not wdio is to have the control of tese works, but arc we to have such works a all? That is the practical question. Wo my envelope the subject with any amount o' talking ; but substantially*, “to be or not tibe, that is the question.” If I could sec the slightest prospect of aether twelve months’ delay* enabling the Povince to go on with these works ir res poetic of Colonial assistance or control, I. might prhaps bo content to wait; although in the pcscnfc state of affairs delay under any* cimpiteration is almost unjustifiable. As it is, ti my* mind, any* such prospect is delusive ; itis trusting to a forlorn hope: and there is nthing for it, be the result of the general eketion what it may, subjected as we are ti a political constitution, under wdiich the Glony is unequally yoked together, but eiher to accept the proposal of the Colonial G.vermnent or to stand gL;!l, or rather to rarogradc. Another matter of great importance upon wlieh I may* be expected to express an opinioi is that '{iicu'sHo rernfn —the land ques-. tim. Itis a question which will not be sat-, isfictorily disposed of and set at rest until the public estate passes into private hands. it appears to me that the best Land Act which was ever in force in this Colony was the Otago Regulation of 1854, which I had some share in initiating. Under these regulations land was acquired for 10s an acre, and an obligat'd! to expend 40s an acre in the eonrsc of four years upon buildings or other improvements. Thoso regulations were eminently calculated to promote bona fide settlement, and I should be glad to see them re-enacted, The confliction of opinion, however, upon this subject and indeed the absence of any intelligent public opinion at all arc so manifest, that any successful attempt to revive the regulations of 1854 would, it is to bo feared, prove futile. Practically I am inclined to think, looking at the vested interests which have grown up under tic existing Land and Goldfields Acts, that it will bo very* difficult satisfactorily to amend them, and that the wisest thing to do row is to direct our efforts towards their enIghteaod and judicious administration. Ihcre is a good deal of force in the old adage, “ Better a bad law wisely administered than r, gool law badly administered” ; and I believe that discreet administration would do mere perhaps than fresh legislation to mitigite the objectionable features of the existing land laws. With this view I should he prepared to recommend an alteration in the constitution of the Waste Laud Board. In cealing with the Waste Lands, the subject mist be looked at from a revenue well as frmi a settlement point of view. . The problan to he solved therefore, is to secure both. One party Advocates unreserved free grant) of 1.20 or 040 acres each, forgetting that hj t)ta„-o land is but a limited quantity. Anntler party insists upon making roads and subsidising Road Boards ad libitum, which can oily* be doneby*charging a moiyey price for the land. My own opinion is that if we are to have fresh legislation upvn the subject, it shoull |,;\kp yhc. direction of classifying the laii'.t im.i fb;ing- the price at as, I Os, 15s, and ‘.!p-i at aero. By* no doing, and by extending* the moral ion of the Otago .Settlements Act, 18011, which provides for the setting aside of blocks of land for free grants, and by extend-

ing the operation of the agricultural leasing system which provides for deferred payments, and under which a large amount of bona fide settlement has already taken place, we shall be adopting the most effectual means of settling the country in as far as our Laud Regulations can effect such settlement. In conclusion, perhaps I may be permitted in justice to myself to add that, although for the reasons already stated the high anticipations with which I entered upon office have been come far short of, at the same time my tenure of office has been by no means barren of beneficial results. Taking into account the circumstances that there has been neither the large revenue nor the extensive loans to operate upon, which were at the disposal of my predecessors, it will be found that Otago can show more real progress throughout the past four years, than during any other similar period of time. The short time which is likely to elapse before the election and my official engagements will, I fear, render it impossible for uxe to address you excepting at a few of the principal centres of population. I need scarcely add further that should it be your pleasure to re-elect me, it will be my aim to continue to be in the future what I have been in the past—identified with no particular interest or party. It will bo my endeavor to strive to administer the government fairly and equitably, to initiate, and if hacked by enlightened and liberal men in the Provincial Council, give effect to such measures as may be best calculated to conduce to the general welfare of the Province as a whole. I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, Your most obedient, J. MACANDREW. P.S. Since the foregoing was in type, official intimation has been received from the Colonial Government, of their intention immediately to proceed with the construction of the Southern Trunk Railway, as authorised by Act of the Colonial Legislature, at a cost of not exceeding L 5.000 a mile : a figure within which responsible contractorhave expressed themselves prepared to undertake the work. There is, therefore, now a certainty of this long-wished-for undertaking being at length accomplished, and abundant employment afforded to those who may require it. Moreover, it will be the prelude to the certain extension of the railway system into the interior of the Province,