THE SUPERINTENDENCY.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2475, 21 January 1871, Page 2

THE SUPERINTENDENCY.

The nomination of candidates for the office of Superintendent took place on the terrace of the Government Buildings to day at noon. There were about 1,000 persons present, and Mr Burnside, the Returning Officer, presided. After the usual preliminaries had been gone through, the following candidates were proposed:— Mr James Brown proposed Mr James Macandrcw as the most tit and proper person to be the Superintendent of Otago.— (Cheers.) The nomination was seconded by Mr Benjamin J. Lowry.

Mr Bathgate said he had been requested to undertake a duty this morning that he would rather have shrunk from, for personal reasons. (A Voice: Don’t do it then.) After the excitement of yesterday’s contest, he was both mentally and physically unable to do so. However, much against his feelings, he had been asked to undertake the

duty, and when it became a ma 1 ter of duty with him no consideration would prevent him from doing it.—(Confusion.) He regretted (interrupt! >n) that he was obliged to come forward to propose for the acceptance of another candidate. (Voices: “No speeches,” “ Don’t do it.”) Personally, he had no dislike to his Honor ; and if he had acted up to the promises he had given (applause, he should not have been compelled to have opposed him upon this occasion. But he had not; there was no concealing the fact that Mr Macandrcw allowed himself to enter upon a course which was not for the benefit of the Province. He had not abided by his promises, and he had supported the Hundreds Regulation Act, giving unlimited compensation to the squatters. Mr Bathgate made some other observations, which, owing to the frequent interruptions, we could not hear so as to report acurately, and concluded by proposing Mr Donald Reid as well qualified for the Superintendency. Mr Prosser seconded the nomination in a few words.

Mr Graham proposed Mr Stafford, but the nomination was not seconded.

No other persons being nominated, Mr Macandrevv came forward and said, that owi g to the strong statement made by Mr Bathgate, that the Hundreds Regulation Act provided unlimited compensation to the squatters, he thought itjnecessary to say a few words. It was expressly passed to define the amount of compensation. The electors must have been dosed with speechifying during the last fortnight, and he would not therefore waste their time by lengthened observations. If he had the honor to he elected Superintendent a third time, he would do lushest for the advancement of the Province, he had devoted a life time to them, but if the el ctors preferred that he should stand aside in favor of a younger man, although he would feel greatly disappointed it would not break his heart. In many respects the office of Superint ndent was a thankless one. It was impossible to satisfy every one where so many conflicting interests were to be consulted. It was a highly honorable office, and with a well chosen Provincial Council, might be made conducive to the interests of the Province. He did not feel that he had gone so far down the hill of life as not to be able to do some effectual service, but if he had to retire, he should have some satisfaction on reflecting that he had done something towards the glorious work of founding and developing the Province. Chi' f attention was now reqnired to reducing the expence of Government, and that could be but done by uniting offices. He did not think it wise to reduce salaries, but to require plenty of work to be done by well-paid men. Ho could not understand how Mr Bathgate could have the hardihood to make such observations as he had done on the declarations he had made. They should not have been made by anyone representing Dunedin. Mr Bathgate came forward to ask a question, but was met by such a storm of hoptings that for ajlongtimehe was inaudible. He then asked if the cost of improving land so as to bring it into cultivation was not from Li) to LlOan acre ?

Mr Macandrew had had some experience, and set it down at L 25 per acre. Mr Bathgate : Then if a squatter had ploughed up land 200 acres in area, he would be entitled to 200 times L 25 as compensation ? Sir Mai •Andrew : My reply is, it would have been a very good thing if the squatters had ploughed up the land. The oompensa: tion would have to be settled by arbitration, and tkcre would not have Iren the slightest difficulty in paying for the improvements. Any man coming into possession of it would have to plough it, and as he had no doubt he could do it cheaper than the squatter, he would have had only to payjhim a fair"vacation.

Mr Macandrew answered a number of other questions.

Mr Reid remarked that it had been circulated throughout Dunedin that his opponents were very glad that he had come out first because he was to be immediately dissected in such a way that he would never again appear before any constituency—(A Voice ; “•Bosh.” and “Who said' so?”). Such reports had not been circulated by one nr two - (Confusion.) These men were very much annoyed that he had met the elect ms face to face, and explained his views, and they were now circulating false reports against him with a view to damaging h : m in the eyes of the electors of Otago. It had been stated that the statements he had made with regard to the financial scheme, at his meeting at the Masonic Hall v ere without foundation, and a certain gentleman, a member of the Provincial Council and General Assembly, in the course of a speech he made in one of the suburban districts, referred to those statements, and attempted to prove they were without foundation ; and he (Mr Reid) would take an opportunity of showing that they were substantially true, notwithstanding hi assertions to the contrary. He meant Mr fl. Driver, he and that gentleman would not agree, which was not surprising, seeing that they would not understand each other, if he were pla-ed in the position to which he aspired. Wherever he had- been in his tour through the country, unsuccessful attempts had been made to damagohis candidature (hear) ami he w-ns proud to say the views he held were entirely appro veil of. (Applause, and loud cries of “ NV>.” He had such assurances as justified him in stating so (interruption), but he was content to leave it till the polling day for the electors to determine between those who called out “ no, no.” and himself. He then referred to Air Macandrew’s address at the Masonic Hall, and stated, in answer to what had been there said by that gentleman, that the Government had done more to carry out the Southern Trunk Railway (cries of “Oh, oh”) —he said it without fear of contradiction—than ever

the Vogel Government with the Superintendent had done. (A Voice; Give the laborer 2s 6d a day.) He challenge i Macandrew to show in what respect the uoverument had prevented him from giving effect to his views for the advancement o the country.—(Applause.) The Government had proposals placed before it for flooding the country with some 16,000 immigrants, who were each to be placed on 20 acres of wilderness —(cries of “ Shame ”) —proposa.s for the construction of a sham railway company, to be registered at the expense of the Province, but who would not in ike any offer when requested to do so—these were the proposals the Government felt compelled to oppose. He would not have referred to the matter, but for his Honors statement in answer to Mr Bathgate ; but he declared that the Hundred! Act gave the runhoklcr such unlimited compensation to squatters, that it was almost impossible to getlaud for occupation.—(Cries of “No.”) A Voice: Who gave them 640 acres pre-emptive right? The Reid Ministry.) A majority of the Provincial Council forced the Reid Ministry into giving it to them. Mr Reid then proceeded to attack the Evmbui Star , and denounced in language due reverse of gentlemanly, the action of the Minister of Public Works and Mr Calcutt. Mr Reid answered a number of questions, after which a show of hands was taken, the Returning Officer declaring the result to be; —For Macandrew, 350 ; for Reid, 100. Three cheers were given for Mr Macandrew.