THE CITY ELECTION.

Evening Star, Issue 3151, 26 March 1873, Page 2

THE CITY ELECTION.

THE NOMINATION. The nomination of candidates took place to-day. Mr W. P. street, Deputy* Returning Officer, presided. The following nominations were received ; C. S. Reeves, proposed by William Crecio, seconded by T, M. Wilkinson. H. S. Fish, jim., proposed by John Barnes, seconded by Jos Sherwin, Evan Prosser, proposed by W. D. Sutherland, seconded by J. F. Millar. Mr Reeves said he intended to avoid personalities throughout the contest, and he hoped his friends and supporters would do likewise. It ha I been said that the working classes always carried elections in Dunedin ; he believed that to a certain extent. He was young, as it were, in public speaking, but he thought the -working classes had had enough of long speeches, which meant very little ; they had heard men make promises which meant still less; therefore, if he (Mr Peeves) went into the Council he , would not go in as a talking member, though ; he yvould talk when occasion required him ' to do so, and talk to .the purpose.' Re would not jump up on his legs every how and then to speak, as some members did; and if he (Mr Reeves) did nothing else, he would save thp electors many a 19s a day. The Provincial Council had talking power enough for the Colonial Parliaipent, and with one or two more additions, it would equal that of the British House of Commons, With regard to his political views, it seemed that an idea had got abroad that he was not of the party which Mr Fish -was now supporting. From the first time that he took an interest in public affairs, he had supported the party to which the Superintendent belonged—a party that had inaugurated measures, which he believed would tend to the advancement of New Zealand to a permanent position among the British Colonies. At the present time there was no great question before the constituency ; the important matter that would come before the Council would be as po who should go in and who go out; and there would be a determined attempt made to oust the present Executive, From his personal knowledge of them embers of the present Executive, he had no hesitation in saying that they fairly represented the ability and respectability of the Council; and, therefore, unless he saw good cause why they should be moved out, and the others moved in, he would, if returned, distinctly support the present Government. There was a strong personal canvass now going on ; and for himself, as a business man, he felt a certain amount of diffidence in button holing people and asking them for their votes. Such things should not be with the ballot, as they wore likely to cause a man, who would not otherwise do so, to commit a moral wrong, as he would likely vote when asked for one man, when, unmasked he would vote for another. He had not yet entered upon a personal canvass ; but when he saw everybody else doing so —(Mr Prosser: No) —he supposed he would have to follow suit If he did not ask people for their votes it was not because he did not desire them ; he would prize them if given to him, but he would prize them higher if given unasked. From the support that had been promised him. Hp fpjt sure of being placed at the head of the poll, ’ Mr Fish considered Mr Prossers seconder should not have mentioned the mattero he did, because they could not be explained so as to be understood just then. He (Mr Fish) denied that, on the hearing of the case of Cagli v, Graham, he had said anything against the working man. He said, with reference to Graham’s journal, that he was perfectly convinced that the libellous articles in it. such as the one that formed the subject of tbe investigation on that occasion, received no sympathy from the working men of Dunedin. (Applause) To his mind, what he then said, instead of being against them, was to the credit of the working men. He was free to admit that every public position he had filled during the last six years was owing to the support he had received from the working men ; and he was not conscious of having done a single act which should induce the working men of Dunedin to withdraw their support from him on this occasion. During his career as Mayor and Councillor he necessarily made enemies, because, to carry out his duties with a regard to justice and the interests of all concerned, he was bound to tread on the corns of some. He had tried to do his duty impartially and honestly, and if he had gone wrong he bad only done so to the extent any man in similar circumstances would have done. They would give him credit, at any rate, that he had acted under a conscientious belief that he was doing right, and with no intention to falsify the trust reposed in him. Mr Millar had said there was no limit to his (Mr Fish’s) ambition. Probably there was not; thepeople of Dunedin recognished in him a child of their own, and he thought they should rather be proud than otherwise that there was no limit to his ambition. He would recommend bis opponents to 1 do as he did : show that they were desirous of good'by climbing from the lowest rung of the ladder to the highest position—first in the City C6unc;l, and then , in the Troviiigial Council. Re had no besi- ; tation in saying that if he returned to the Pro viucial Council, and, if satisfied the oonsti-

tuency then, he would ask them to send him up to the Assembly. Rut the time wasfar distant: at present he could n d afford, in a monetary point of view, to go there ; but in time he would ask them to send him there, if. as he before said, he satisfied them in the Pro vincial Council.

Mr Prosser had received a requisition signed by 150 citizens, asking him to come forward. He regretted very much that his seconder made those personal remarks on Mr Fish. They were totally unnecessary, and .such matters should not have been raked up against him at such a t mo. From the reports of Mr Fish’s speeches iu the newspapers, it appeared that he claimed to know his policy, as be waa represented to have stated that he (Mr Prosser) was going in to support a vote of want of confidence in the present Executive. That was totally false, and Mr Fish was not warranted in making that statement. Ho was sorry that the fight of Boid versus Macandrew was again commenced He thought the public bad had enough of Donald Kc-id aud James Macandrew during the last Superintendents! election. Was it any reason that he should be tacked on to Mr Reid’s tail because be seconded his nomination ? He should think not, and if returned, be would co into the Council independently of both Mr Eeid and Mr Macandrew, and do his best for the electors at large. His requisition was signed by the supporters of Mr Macandrew as well as Mr Reid ; therefore he did not see why his coming forward should make it a personal question as between those gentlemen. It was not the first time he had bad experience in public business. He had sat for a short time as member for Westland in the Provincial Council of Can terbury, and, as his seconder stated, ho would have been re-elected without the slightest doubt had he consented again to stand. His business engagements would not, however, allow him to do so. He arrived in this Pro vince in 1863, and was located at Queenstown He had taken considerable interest in local politics, and when the West Coast rush took place he went to Hokitika, and was there one of the leaders in public matters, besides having been elected to the Borough Council of the place, and twice elected Mayor; so that for experience in municipal matters he was very much on the same footing as Mr Fish. For a long time the cry had been raised that good men were not willing to come forward. He came forward at great sacrifice of money and time, but, having a weakness for taking an interest in all that was going on around him, hia return would be a step in the right direction, as it would be encouragement to others who had the interest of the country at heart to come forward aud help them faithfully and honorably.

'I be show of bands was : Fish, 53 ; Prosser, 47 ; Beeves, 3. A poll was demanded by Mr Prosser, and fixed to take place on '1 nesday.

MR FISH AT THE MASONIC HALL. There wad a large meeting of the City electors, at the Masonic Hall, last evening, to Hear Mr Fish, who is one of the candidates for the seat in the Provincial Council rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr E. H. Cargill. The chair was occupied by Mr Black. Mr Fish prefaced his remarks by expressing his regret that circumstances had led to Mr Cargill’s resignation, because in that gentleman’s hands the citizens’ interests were perfectly safe, and because that gentleman was better fitted to fulfil the trust the citizens placed in him than he (Mr Fish) was. (Hear.) Before proceeding further, he desired to say that during the contest he would studiously avoid personalities, and he trusted bia opponents -would follow a similar course. Whether he was attacked by them or not, he would studiously refrain from replying to attacks of a personal nature. He had heard it said by one or two persons, within the last few daj's, that his coming forward and asking the citiz-ns to elect him as their representive was a piece of impudence'on his part. So far as he could see, there was no impudence iu him asking his fellow-citizens to place him in a position of trust and responsibility, which might be a credit and honor to himself, and, if he represented them properly, acreditto them. (Hear.) With regard' to flip glaixps fop support which he had, as against the other candidates, he submitted be had some claim, at any ra‘e, for their kind consideration, During the last six years—the best six years of his life—he had devoted himself, as zealously as his humble abilities would allow him, to their interests, both in the City Council and the Provincial Council, and the fact of having filled those public positions was some claim for consideration. There had been a custom with some persons, particularly his opponents, to say that he had changed his opinions—in point of fact, had turned his coat. His political views were unchanged ; he had expressed himself to that effect on two or three oc asions before the Dunedin and other constitueuces, and he was there that uigb£ to say it again ; further, he challenged anyone to say that jp apy ppblic act of his as their representative he had, in any single instance, promised to fulfil a pledge, which pledge he had not fulfilled ; and he relied on the verdict with confidence. His principles were the same. The change that had come over him since he was their representative in the Provincial Council was not one of measures, but of men. He was free to confess that he now held different views with regard to different men to what he formerly held. At a later period of his speech he would state certain reasons which he thought justified him iu changing his opinions with regard to certain individuals, or, at any rate, which excused him for having done so. It was somewhat difficult for a candidate for a scat in the Provincial Council to find sufficient matter from which to compile a speech, as the real question—the land question—was practically settled by the measure which passed the Assembly at its last session. With regard to the land question : he was opposed to the sale of, large blocks, and was in favor of the system of deferred payments. He believed in placing the people on the land, and in selling the country ip SfpalJ spptiops pot exceeding (iOO or 700 apres, as in Victoria. Ap to the policy of settlement by deferred payments, his; views had never changed, nor were they likely to change. Unless some such system was carried out in its integrity, he was at a loss to see what would become of the immigrants who were to come to our shores, or how the agricultural resources of the country could be properly developed. He had recently travelled from Invercargill to Dunedin, and had passed through the Mataura Plain, one of the most fertile plains (he did not hesitate to say) iu this or any other Colony. The soil, so far as he was able to judge, appeared to be of the most magnificent description—eighteen inches to two feet in depth. This plain, which was “ beautiful and smiling as the ;pofD,” wag capable of supporting IO,QOQ families j yet he was informed that 170,000 to 200,000 apres of it were held by an English company, and he did not suppose that the whole of the people employed on the estate exceeded 200 or 300 iu number. Any system of selling land in such large blocks as that was most pernicious, and fraught with most serious evils to the future prosperity of the country. (Applause ) As he before said, the laud question was practically settled for a considerable time by the Act of last session, which he supposed was to be regarded as as satisfactory a solution of the question, as could be arrived at by a compromise of conflicting interests. Whether for good or for evil, it was law, and they must be satisfied with it for a considerable time to come. It was another thing whether the Act was being impartially administered. He next came to another question on which he intended to give no uncertain sound. They were aware of what had taken place in regard to the Executive of the Province.- He did not-thcu intend to go fully into the propriety or otherwise of the course adopted by either side ; he would refer to that later, it was his intention unhesitatingly to support the present Exe.

cutive, should he be returned, unless they had done something detrimental to the inter* ests of the country. (Applause.) The Executive, rs at present constituted, were as liberal as the late Executive, and be also believed they were quite as capable of carrying on the business of the country, and with as much intelligence, business capacity, integrity, and uprighfness as any Executive that had preceded them. Their views on the iand question, so far as he knew of them, were as liberal as could be desired, and be felt c r rtain that the prosperity of the country wa* just as likely—perhaps more so —to result from them than from the previous Executive, With regard to the Education question. He did not know that it would occupy any prominent position beyond the question of increased school accommodation. Fe was content that we should remain under the present system for some little time longer. The system at present in vogue had worked very well indeed; and he was not aware that it had pressed very hardly on any section of the community. He was content, as he before said, to continue under the present system, until by ventilating the subject from time to time we hit upon one which suited better. If, however, a change should take place, he would decidedly favor a system of secular education which should be compulsory and free. (Applause.) He was inclined to think that people were running riot on the Education qu stion, and in saying so, he referred to the large sums that were annually spent in fostering and keeping up such educational establishments as the High School and the University. His idea was that it was the duty of the State to give as good an education as possible to the bulk of the community ; but he did not believe in the bulk of the cup ■ munity being taxed for the purpose of educa? ting a few, and he said distinctly that such institutions as the High School and University should be self supporting, because it was obvious that, as the education of youth afforded by the common elementary or grammar school interested the whole community, all should therefore contribute in equal proportion; but the community should not pay all round alike for the education of a class. He said distinctly it was only a class—and a very small section of the community—that could avail itself of the privileges of the High School or the University. He did not deprecate high-class education, and would have no objection to the State fostering it to a certain extent, but steps should be taken to make the institutions he referred to selfsupporting. The High School would be better managed if it were taken from under Government control, and he should favor it being placed in the hands of a corporation or trust. The want of increased school accommodation was patent to everyone in the community. He knew a little about it himself, having been on the Dunedin School Committee for a short time. It was perfectly monstrous, and he used the word advisedly, to coop up a number of children in the way they did in the town schools, thus engendering disease and habits of uncleanliness ; therefore any step in the direction of affording increased accommodation to the schools would have his hearty support. If returned, he would bring before the Council the expediency of abolishing toll-bars. The time had arrived when some step should be taken in this direction, and if he could not succeed in getting them abolished altogether, he would move that those adjacent to the City should he removed, for it was iniquitous and unfair that every avenue from the City should be guarded by a toll-bar, or that they should be even within City boundaries as they were. He was surprised that action had not been taken before. Another question of importance was the creation of a Harbor Trust for Dunedin. Of course we had a railway to the Port, and it would be attempted to be answered. V>y some that the railway was sufficient to meet the wants of the mercantile ’community with regard to the transit of goods. But he held quite a different opinion. While the railway was a very good thing, it would be something worse than folly to neglect our beautiful harbor. If properly deepened, vessels drawing a considerable depth of water could come up to the town wharves to discharge, instead of being compelled to pay an impost for lying alongside the Port railway pier, and <tbe intercolonial steamers would also come up. The trust should be endowed, and it was the duty of the Government to create a trust under the A ct of las£ By vesaejsdogiing'to town jetties to discharge, a savi’pg pf os a j;pp would be effected, both on goods pomjng in and being sent away. They could not faU tip estimate the importance of this question to the mercantile community, which justly claimed for itself pre-eminence in New Zealand. The trust would not be iu opposition to the railway; the one would fit into the other ; and the interests of trade would be greatly benefited by the adoption of the course he had suggested. There was another reason why the matter should be considered, before being hastily thrown aside. The drainage of the City would ultimately have to be taken up and attended to. Just to discharge the drainage into the bay might be to create a greater nuisance than that taken away, because the scour of the channel was so srpal] that it tajee tqe-epty povpiug from the Cjty drains a certain distanpe, djapositiug it on a bank, where the retreating tides -would leave it, a festering sore, A Harbor Board, properly endowed, might carry out a scheme to the mutual benefit of both interests. Harbor trusts existed in old countries, particularly in Great Britain, where there were either separate harbor trusts, or the harbor was placed under the control of the COl poration of the City. He was convinced that the creating of a harbor trust would be found to work well. It was no argument to say a grant of land could not be got at the present time, andhe had nodoubtthe General Assembly would validate any grant the Provincial Council might deem it prudent to make for the purpose. The first thing to be done was to create a trust, for he believed it would be found that the money which the Provincial Council would have to vote for dredging the channels, would be more economically expended by a trust than by the Government. There was another matter of equally gr. at importance to the commercial community. He referred to the completion of the. Southern Trunk Bailway through sbu island. Tberp was np -rajlway connecting .Moeraki with. Dupedip, or Longford with Balclutha, The rest of the main trunk line was surveyed, the contracts were out and most of them accepted for it, with the exception of those two sections. It would strike everybody that if the Christchurch and Moeraki line stopped at Moeraki, it would drive trade to Christchurch, and in the same way, if the line from Invercargill to Longford stopped at the latter place, trade would go to Invercargill. The Invercargill people were fully alive to this fact, and were endeavoring to get the Winton line pushed on beyond that place, and so hoped to secure the Lakes trade. It might, be said that this was not a mattef fop the Cppupil j hqt'dtj could bring great pressure to bear on the General Government. If the Dunedin mer. chants did not wake up, they would one 0! these days find the trade north and south of them ; while Dunedin would be left isolated in the middle. The only excuse for the Uunedia merchants not being alive to this fact was, that they were making money so fast that they had not time to look to the future. He believed he was correct in saying that the Superintendent had had communications with the General Government on this question—that orje survey wa§ going on now, and that another was about to be commenced; but one man might fail unless he was supported by the voice of the community. The Council should use its influence to force these matters on the attention of the General Government. (Applause.) With regard to the Provincial Council, he must say, as he had said before, that he was in favor of its forms of procedure being much simplified, and of the number of members being reduced. The subsidies' to .road boards, benevolent institutions# hospitals, &c., should be continued, liberal a manner as the finances of the Pro* vince would allow ; but, at the same time,

the public should also contribute lib-i'ally. It was Impossible that the State could support them lone. and the public should prepare themselves by degrees for the tune which would come when they alone would have to support these institutions He thought the present salary of the Superintendent LBOO, was insufficient to support the dicnity of the office, and would advocate its increase to at least LI,OOO per annum. (Applause.) He now came to that portion of his address which would give rise to the greatest criticism, and in some portions of the community occasion dissent. He referred to the reasons why he would no longer support Mr Donald Kcid, if returned to the Council. (Applause.) Before going into the question, he said every person had a perfect right to change his opinion, when he found a man did not carry out his views as well as he thought he should do. lor instance, should a thousand citizens have supported him last year, it was no reason that they should continue their s \ l PP°”» “ they considered that he had not fulfilled his duty properly. The same liberty that he was willing to concede to them he claimed for himself, in regard to the course taken by Mr Reid. He said distinctly he had not the same opinion of him as a political leader, as when he followed him on a former occasion. Mr Reid and his party professed to be the exponents of liberal views on the land question • but there was one act of theirs which he disapproved of now, and had always disapproved of-the Moa Flat sale. (Cheers.) No greater abuse was ever perpetrated by any Government than that which was perpetrated by the Reid Executive on that occasion. He did not say it was not necessary m a financial point of view, but it was not necessary for that Executive to do it. When they found they were compelled to sell that land, they should have said “It is not for us to do this ; we will leave it to another Executive to do itand they should have gone out of qffice. It might be sahl that Messrs Reid apd Bradshaw were iu Wellington at the time, and, therefore, had no part in it - fcut they were aocountftbl© for th© acts oi the Executive. Whether absent or present, it mattered not a jot j for they did not take tlx© right steps to stop that sale. Mr Keid looked upon it as a political mistake on the part of his party; why, then, did he not say, “It is impossible for me to work with you any longer,” and have left them? But no —he did no such thing ; he seemed to have said to himself, “although it is a mistake, I prefer to keep my seat,” and he sold the land and kept his seat. So scandalous did the sale of that land appear to the representatives of the country in Wellington at the time, that some members of the Upper House, who were not supposed generally to he liberal in their views of the land question, suggested a commission to inquire into the sale of the land [Mr Fish read the names of the members of the Commission], and also the allegations contained in it, with the answers to the Superintendent of Otago in reply. The first allegation was that the land was sold for a less price than 20s per acre The answer was that 45,000 acres were sold at something under 15s an acre. The second allegation was that the coat of survey was excessive. It was found that 4,500 acres was given to cover the cost of survey, by which that liberal Executive gave away L.3,000 more for survey than they would have done had the land beensurveyed by one of their authorised surveyors. 3rd. That a deduction of 2s Gd an acre was made, amounting to L 5,687 10s as compensation to the run holder for cancellation of the lease. 4th. That accrued head money on 30,000 sheep had been lost. To that there was no answer ; so, as fi'ence gave consent, he concluded it was a fact. The land was sold in August or September, and the sheep assessment was due on the Ist of October. sth. That L 450 had been paid as commission for negotiating the sale. The answer was, L 455 was paid. He thought such a transaction was unknown in the annals of government as payingabrokeragefor negotiating such a sale. He looked upon it as a most unbusiness like proceeding. Bth. That the decision of the Waste Land Board was not arrived at, at an ordinary meeting of the Board, but at a special meeting, and approved the folio wing day. He did not k now that there was any - thing peculiarly wrong in that, but he thought it strange the Waste Land Board should hold a special meeting, at which the Deputy Superintendent was not present, nor the Chief Commissioner of Waste Lands. 9th. df Qvfsipn had bpep jgadp joy roads through the block. The answer was that reservation was made for one road only, and that was one that already existed. A very nice instance of the care with which the interests of the community were watched over by a Government professing peculiarly to regard the welfare of the people : they actually sold 51,000 acres of land, and only reserved one road. He would ask, was not that a most improper procedure? 11th. Covenants existed, enabling 6,000 acres to be taken from one run, and 5,000 from another, and compensation was actually paid on 11,000 acres, at 2s 6d an acre. Part of that 45,000 acres was a block of 5,000 acres, which had been reserved and surveyed into 50-acre sections. igth, The iasd ■ wa.j sofd without public gotipo of Ih'p gale" befog given." Tbp answer was, < f the land was npt gazetted as open for sale, the regulations not requiring it.” He considered it ought to have been advertised, so that the public might have competed for it. L 4,136 was paid for the survey of that land, for the Executive allowed the purchaser a quantity of land equal to that amount. What it should have cost, on the Government scale of charges, was sixpence an acre, which would have amounted to L 1,250 ; thus they voluntarily paid L 4,136 for what ought to have coat but L 1,250. He therefore said distinctly, as a business man, he was justified in withdrawing his support from the men and the party when they acted in the manner he had indicated. The Select Committee reported to the House, in reference to that sale, “that the usual report from the Warden did not appear to have been called for, stating whether any part of the land was auriferous : that 3,000 acres, previously surveyed and declared fit for settlement, were included in the 45/00 acres; that the covenantwas not exercised which free(J 11,000 yes tpc block fi»m the allowance of 2a 6d peracretotheyunholder; that an allowance of gs 6d per acre was made for survey to Mr Clarke, while it should have been only 6d an acre; that sufficient provision was not made for roads ; that an unusual allowance of L 450 haid to Mr Clarke’s agent for negotiating the sale ; and they considered the legality of the transaction questionable, as the formality of declaring the land open for sale had not been gone through. ” The Committee were not Supposed to be very liberal in tin ir views on the land question ; but the transaction was too much even for their stomachs, and they declared it improper from beginning to end. He had been charged with being turncoat, because [ie did not auppbrt'Mr Reid. That nqt anything new. He expressed similar views in that hotbed of the Keid faction at Caversham, and thereby lost his election. It was plain, therefore, what he said was net merely in order to please them. He had been accused of deserting Mr Reid, but he was net singular in that. Many electors had deserted him also. The member for Lawrence, for instance, found his professions a mere sham. He (Mr Fish) had travelled through the Province during the last four months, and be said advisedly that y/erj the Si'periutpndentai 'election to be belch W-morrbw, and Mr Reid a candidate, instead of being 130 on the poll behind Mr Macandrew, he would be 2,000 behind him. He acknowledged be bad made a mistake in attaching himself to men who bad not kept their promises ; but having discovered it, the sooner a man avowed it the better. He looked upon Mr Bastings joining the present Executive as a guarantee that they were equally liberal on the land policy as their predecessors, and far more likely to give effect to iff. It was better &id wiser to ffilrcrtv bne?6 lot in with'a party who would fcdmit there were two sides to a question, and submit to a compromise for the good of both, than with a man who would never give an inch. Rut the last was the policy of the

Feld Government. He had seen it, for he had worked with them, was tired of it, and would have no more of it. He would say a few words in reference to what might be termed the Macandrew-n/w-Reid correspondence, which took place on the change of Ministry last session. Ho held with Mr Macandrew that Mr Donald Reid, on accepting office as one of the Ministers of the Crown, should have resigned his office as one of the Provincial Executive, because the two offices could not be held by the same person with propriety, as in some respects they were antagonistic one to the other. Mr Macandrow thought Mr Keid could not hold both offices beneficially for the Province. But whether or not, it would have shown good taste on his part to have retired. No one could read the letters impartially without being struck with the attempt, at least, at courtesy, on the part of the Superintendent, and with the snubbing style adopted by Mr Reid. At any rate he declined to resign, and Mr Macandrew removed him from office. In the meantime tin cause for his removal ceased to exist, and Mr Reid was free to resume his position in the Provincial Executive, The .Superintendent at once offered that position to Mr Reid. For several reasons, no matter how his sense of dignity and personal pride was stung, he should have swallowed his feelings, for he had often declared he bad acted solely for the good of the country, All were aware that the new Land Apt was passed last session. That new Land Act was a child of Mr Reid’s and as he had been the means of giving it birth, it might be imagined he would be anxious to watch its progrrss to maturity. The most important provision was the appointment of a new Waste Land Board. If Mr Reid’s party had remained in office, they wou’d have had the appointment of the Board that would have to administer their own Act. If they went out of office another Ministry would have the appointment. Mr, Rpid considered Mr. Maoandrew’s party would appoint men opposed to his policy, and, as his retirement from office would have ensured their appointment, there was abundant reason for his accepting Mr Macaudrew’s offer. But instead of that he refused. Could such a man lay claim to liberality, who set his personal pride in opposition to the interests of the people ? There was another phase of the dispute between Mr Macandrew and the Reid party. A deputation waited on the former, asking him to convene the Provincial Council. They were nearly all supporters of Mr Reid who professed to fear that the Land Act would be administered badly by the Waste Land Board. They sought to convene the Council, to place Mr Reid once more in office. At the time, he thought it might have been wise on the part of the Superintendent to call them together. Subsequent events, however, showed he was quite right, and that he could see further than either Mr Reid’s friends or himself on that subject. But a new Executive was appointed, and a Waste Land Board: and what had happened ? The new Waste Land Board was a very good one. Nine squatters out of ten members were not appointed, but men as sensible and upright as Mr Reid, and, therefore, the reason for calling the Council together passed away. Another matter he would say a few words about. Ho referred to the late strike in the police force. He pointed out to Mr Reid that the force was a fine body of men ; that unless something were done it would be destroyed. He as];ed iso be allowed to say their claims should be considered, "Had that been done, he believed most of them would have returned to duty. But Mr Reid said “ No, I will do nothing of the kind.” The force had not been entirely destroyed, but its usefulness had been very much impaired. The men in the force now—and he did not speak of them with discredit - were not so effective, because it took a policeman as long to learn bis duties, as an apprentice his trade. (Hisses.) There were three candidates in the field—himself, Mr Prosser, and Mr Reeves. If Mr Prosser were returned, he had no hesitation in saying that he would vote for the return of the Reid Government to power, and against a motion of want of confidence. But he would not go into the Council for that purpose. Mr Prosser’s return would make two votes difference to the present Government. (Cheers.) In reply to questions—By Mr Miller ; As a matter of constitutional practice an Executive should he by the Council. He did not think the crisis was one that required calling the Council together. The only reason was the appointment of a Waste Land Board. A vote of want of confidence would not be unconstitutional. To an elector : He would not feel inclined to support Mr Stout’s proposal with regard to the South Recreation Ground ; on the contrary, he would strongly resist it. Mr Pish sat down amid loud and prolonged cheering. Mr Groroe Elson, sent., proposed a vote of confidence in Mr Fish, and Mr Neill seconded the motion, which was carried nem. con.

A vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings.