POST-SESSIONAL UTTERANCES.

Evening Star, Issue 2875, 7 May 1872, Page 2

POST-SESSIONAL UTTERANCES.

MR MACANDREW AT PORT CHALMERS. According to announcement, Mr Macandrew, M.H.R. for Port Chalmers, met his constituents last evening in Crickmore's rooms. 1 here were about 120 persons present ; and Capt. G. Clark presided, Mr Macandkew said : Gentlemen—lt is scarcely necessary to say that I appear before you to-night as the representative of the Port Chalmers electoral district in the Parliament of New Zealasd. I had fully intended to have met you immediately after the rising of the Assembly six months ago. Official engagements, however, for some time afterwards somewhat stood in the way ; and subsequently the months have slipped away imperceptibly. However, gentlemen, here we are, better late than never. 1 may say that I was the first Otago representative who set the example of meeting his constituents at all; and if I have been somewhat late in doing so on this occasion, I beg that I may not be deemed guilty in any way of slighting my constituents or of undervaluing their good opinion. Gentlemen, I do not know that I can give you much more enlightenment as to the proceedings of the Assembly than you already possess ; and were I to attempt to give you an epitome of “ Hansard,” it would probably not tend very much to your edification. My object in coming face to face with you to-night is chiefly with a view of affording you whatever explanations I can as to any point in connection with my action as your representative, as to which you may desire to be informed, and also with a view to our mutually conferring together as to what action will be most conducive to the general benefit of the Colony for the future. Gentlemen, as you are aware, during the past session I was a general supporter of the present Government—not that I agreed with all the details of their policy, but because they are the first Colonial Ministry in New Zealand which has gone in for a policy of peace as regards the Maoris, and a policy of progress as regards the Colony as a whole. The past policy of the Opposition or of what may be termed the Stafford-Sichmond-Munro party, as regards the Maories has been practically to plunge the North Island into a state of chronic rebellion and civil war. at the expense of the South; their policy has been to exterminate the native race by fire and sword. The policy of the past has been, as I said before, to spend mouey on what I might call a gunpowder policy, at enormous expense to the Colony. The policy of the present Government, on the other hand, while not shrinking from punishing crime, has been to conciliate the Maories—to leave them alone to employ them, not in shooting down Europeans, but in constructing public works, and in developing the material resources of the North Island. We have seen what Maori labor can accomplish in the work which has been done by a handful of Maori prisoners in and around Dunedin. One reason, gentlemen, why I supported the present Ministry was that the policy oi their predecessors meant the extermination of fie natives by fire and sword. If any* thing can have justified your representative in swallowing many of his own political predilections by supporting the present Government, the alternative of allowing the native policy of the Stafford-Richmond party to regain the ascendency was, to my mind, a full and sufficient justification. M ethinks I hear some one exclaiming—What has the native . olicy to do with us in Port Chalmers? Well, gentlemen, I will tell you what it has had to do with you in the past, and that probably may be some indication as to what it may have to do with us in the future. The native policy of the past has mulcted this single Province of the enormous sum of one million and a quarter sterling out of its current revenue —one million amt a quarter expended en Maori disturbances in the North which ought to have been expended within the Province in developing its resources; had it been so, who can estimate the beneficial results ? And, gentlemen, not only has this accursed native policy of the past deprived us ef one million and a quarter of our customs revenue, but it has involved us—that is the Province of Otago—in an annual payment for the next 30 years of over LIGO.OOO m the way of interest on loans which have been incurred in connection with these nat ve disturbances. Just fancy what this LIOO,OOO would have done in the way of diminishing taxation and develop-

ing our resources. Well, people are surprised that the Provincial Government is not now in a position to subsidise municipaliti-s as it used to do ; and to make roads, build schools, and so forth ; but it ought to be ivineml ered that over LLOO.OOOof our Customs revenue is now absorbed in paying our share of the interest on Colonial loans that have been expended uselessly on Maori wars, gunpowder, and so forth. These are facts ; and I have not over-estimated the figures—if anything, I believe I have understated them. I m _ us ,t confess that it almost makes my blood boil when I think that there are not a few men among us who are striving per fas aut nefas again to place the destinies of this community once more in the hands of the men who have brought about this state of things—the men who instigated, controlled, and persisted in a policy which has proved so disastrous to the whole Colony. The policy of the present Government has been stigmatised as a sugar and blanket policy. Well, let it be so. I, for one, would infinitely rather have a sugar and blanket policy, which preserves life and property, even if it cost a few thousands a year, than have a gunpowder policy which involved a waste of millions of money and the loss of many valuable lives.—(Applause.) I said that one of the reasons why I supported the present Ministry is that ib is the first Colonial Ministry that has gone in for the material advancement and progress of the country. I allude, I need scarcely say, to the loan for immigration, public works, and water supply to the goldfields ; and in passing such measures as the Land Transfer Act, the Assurance Annuities Act, and the various measures of the kind which are exercising, and will certainly exercise, a great influence on the welfare and material progress of the country. The only weak point, to my mind, in the public works policy is the want of local administration. I must say my experience ot the last year or two goes to show that this is the weak point on which it will break down, if it break down at all. No doubt the electric telegraph has done a great deal to destroy time and space ; but the telegraph cannot give the local experience and personal interest necessary to efficacious administration. It may be asked of me— Who is responsible for this state of things ? <• Surely,” ic might be said, “a Government that took office with Provincial proclivities might have arranged its policy so as to have given effect to Provincial administration.” Well, gentlemen, I believe I have good reason to know that such would have been the case if the Government had had the slightest chance of carrying the measure in that shape. But you all know that in political and party warfare it is necessary to trim your sails so that the ship may not be capsized. I believe this is really why in the great public works andimmigration policy central administration has b en stamped upon it. We must attribute this to the action of such men as the Superintendent o£ Canterbury, the Superintendent of Nelson, and the Superintendent of Auckland —men above all others who, it might have been supposed, would have appreciated the importance of local administration. Through such men being in steady and constant opposition to the Government, I should attribute the breaking down of this great policy, should it break clown in consequence of being centrally instead of locally administered. To my mind, Mr Vogels great scheme just wanted two things to make it perfect, the one is local administration—the other is to provide the means wherewith to carry it out without having recourse to the money lender at Home. I believe ib was quite possible to have found within the Colony the means to carry out its great public works upon its own credit. No doubt, gentlemen, this is entering upon a rather wide subject, and involves a dissertation upon political economy, which I cannot say 1 am exactly prepared to enter upon at the present moment. But mark you, had this been done, it would have saved us, by aud bye a good deal, and retained in the country half‘a million of money, which will by aud bye go out of it in the shape of interest on loans, and be expended elsewhere. This was a great mistake, and might have been obviated. Gentlemen, I may say that the total amount of money which has been authorised to he expended on railways up to the preenst date is L 2,861,660. Of this, LI, 100,000 is applicable to the North Island, although in that island the expenditure will be spread over a much larger period thau the sum applicable to the Middle Island, which is L 1,761,660. Of this amount Otago gets LSoOjQOO, or about one-half of the whole expenditure for the Middle Island, and nearly a third of that authorised to be expended in the whole Colony. Although, of course, I do not mention this as showing that we receive any advantage as compared with the rest of the Colony or vice versa— for yon must bear in mind that these railways are to be charged against the various localities in which they are to be constructed—or that the railways constructed in the North Island are being constructed at our expense, or the railways in the Middle Island at the expense of the North ; but that each Province will have to pay for its own railways. The contrary has been generally propogated ; but it is a fallacy aud a mistake. Among the railways which were authorised in the North Island, there is one which I supported. I have been considerably pulled oyer the goals for doing so ; a-nd one of the mepibers for Dunedin has' ventured to charge me with treachery to my constituents, and I den t know what besides. There is a large sum down on the estimates for this line viz., L 350.000. Now, gentlemen, I will explain the reasons why 1 supported that railway. In the first place, I supported it because it is a part of a railway which is intended to be carried from Wellington to Auckland—right through the North Island, and which will open up an enormous tract of country—the finest territory, I believe, in the whole of the North Island, I supported it, moreover, because I believe that if constructed within the sum named, it will pay working expenses, and ultimately recoup the cost of its construction. I supported it also because the construction of such a line is the moat effectual way of settling the Maori difficulty. Had the three million loan been pent upon this railway—at least, not upon this particular portion, hut upon the whole line from Wellington to Auckland—the Colony would have been in a different position from what it is at this moment. 1 repeat that 1 supported this railway because it opens up a largo territory available for settlement by European families which could never have been available otherwise; also because I believe the Province of Wellington in as good a position in every respect to recoup the Colony for any advances made as any other Province. There has been vast claptrap and prejudice expressed in regard to the Province of Wellington. The member for Dunedin to whom 1 have referred

went to the Assembly with a foregone conclusion in respect of everything affecting the Province of Wellington—in fact, he may be said to have had Wellington-phobia on the brain. (Laughter.) Gentlemen, another very important resolution which was passed during the last session was the resolution in regard to the Californian steam service, which has resulted in the arrangement just entered into between the Governments of New Zealand and Victoria, by which arrangement this port will he the inward terminus of the main line, and Melbourne the outward terminus or port of departure for the main line—that is to say, the main boat from San Francisco comes right on to Port Chalmers, transhipping the Melbourne mails at Auckland, and the outward main boat for San Francisco takes her first departure from Melbourne, transhipping the Otago mails at Auckland. In reality, we are on a parity with Melbourne, ! Auckland being the pivot, as it were, around which the whole thing will centre. Under this arrangement one of the main line steamers will remain here about fourteen days each month for the next ten years ; and if we can only supply them with coals, we will no doubt realise more from the line thau the whole cost of the subsidy the people of New Zealand have to pay.—(Applause.) It is but fair to state that we are chiefly indebted for the service to the hon. Postmaster-General —a man who has done more for New Zealand than all the so-called Colonial statesmen who have preceded him put together ; and a man who has been traduced ar.d written down by those who are not fit “to hold a candle” to him. (Cheers.) I have no doubt, if he lives, he will be found one of these days taking his place in the arena of Imperial politics. So much for Mr Vogel. Another important subject which was mooted, last session was the subject of a New Bank Act. A select committee was appointed at the instance of Mr Bathgate; and I was a member of it. They just broke the ice as it were, by reporting on the subject; but no further action was taken. I hope next session that the subject will he resumed, and will lead to some practical conclusion. I may say that the substance of the report was that wo should introduce into the Colony an Act similar to the Bank Currency Act of the United States of America. Under that Act which has only been passed within a few years, and is now in force in every village and City of the States ; almost every trade has ito own bank, and those banks issue State paper—for which the credit of the United States is liable. I have no doubt whatever that by introducing such an Act we will give an enormous impetus to trade and commerce, and to every industry. We might have a local hank in Port Chalmers or in Tokomairiro ; in fact every town and hamlet in the Colony might have itt local bank, I have no doubt whatever that it will he a great improvement upon the present system. I am afraid I should be drawing largely on your pationce were I to endeavour to enumerate, much less to desscribe the contents of the 84 Acts of Parliament that were passed last session, hut I hope you will bear with me while 1 refer to some of the hills that did not pass. Among the latter are two of considerable imSirtance in Otago. One was the Education ill ; the other the Otago Waste Lands Bill. With regard to the Otago Waste Lands Bill, I may say that personally I did not take very much interest in it; aud further, that I neither vote! pro. or con, in regard to it. I believe, however, that in many respects it was a very good Act. At the same time I do not believe in the policy of bringing up a Waste Land Act every year, and of continually chopping and changing our land laws. I believe, if one thing more than another has tended to drive capital and settlement past our doors, it has been the uncertainty of our land regulations. I look upon them as laws which should, like those of the Mecles and Persians, which changeth not. I believe, mo-cover, that the view of our land laws being the real and bona fide settlement of the country, it would be better to content ourselves with trying to administer them fairly and properly, than to be constantly amending them. Ido not know whether I make myself understood; but that is my idea on the subject. I would rather put up with a bad law, and try to administer it fairly in the public interest than he constantly chopping and changing it. There is no doubt of the great injury of the constant agitations and ill-blood that is brought up in discussing this everlasting land question, and setting class against class. (Applause.) I may say that under the existing law we have got verylarge powers and very great facilities for settlement. For example, the Provincial Government has power to deal with no less an area than 400,000 acres of land on special terras, and practically the Provincial Government has decided upon giving away one-tenth of that area—making a present of it—with a view of making the rest valuable. The prices will vary from 2s 6d to 10s an acre. Then again there is a large tract of territory—of available country —spread all over the Province. These are blocks of agricultural areas, covering a territory at the present moment of 420,000 acres, a great deal of -which fa being taken up on seven years lease, at a yearly rental of 2s 6d an acre, with the option of acquiring the fee simple of the land at the expiration of thiee years. There is, I believe, within proclaimed Hundreds, 363,000 acres open for selection at LI per acre. No doubt a great deal of it is very inferior, hut a large quantity is very superior to anything within a radius of eight or ten miles of Port Chalmers. Of this 365,000 acres, 70,000 acres may be bought by auction at the upset price of 10s per acre, and there will be 120,000 acres more, which only require a resolution of the Provincial Council to enable it to be put into the market at an upset price of 10s an acre also. Therefore, 1 say wo have regulations which enable us to dispose of our land in almost every shape and form. The only thing we want is free selection. I should have no objection to say if we were to g t that power we must pay for it. We are acquiring land every day in different parts of the Province ; and have had to pay for it. I think the Bill is likely to pass next session, (To be continued.)