POST-SESSIONAL UTTERANCES.

Evening Star, Issue 3186, 7 May 1873, Page 2

POST-SESSIONAL UTTERANCES.

HON. J. BATHGATE AT THE MASONIC

HALL*. The Hon. the Minister of Justice addressed his constituents at the Masonic Hall, last evening. The room was crowded, and the Mayor occupied the chair. The hon. gentleman, who, on rising to speak, was received with applause, premised his speech by saying that it was with much satisfaction that he availed himself of the opportunity of being a week or two in Dunedin to meet the electors, and say a few words on the recent session and the present posture of public affairs. Before doing so ho had to state that lie had received a telegram from his colleague, in which he said “ The papers here say you address your constituents to-night. Please apologise for xhy absence. Unavoidable circumstances prevent me, as you are aware, being in Dunedin at present. I hope you will have a good meeting, and that you will satisfy it.” (Applause.) Some might think an apology was due for him not appearing at an earlier date, but circumstances had hitherto rendered it inconvenient for him to do so. Besides, he did not want to make himself a target for other people to fire at. He rather wished to hear what others had got to say, and then he might be able to place a centre or bull’s-eye in the middle of their orations. He had that confidence in the Dunedin constituency that it would treat him at all times with that generosity which would enable him to choose the tifne most convenient to himself for meeting his constituents. It was true that some anonymous writers attacked him in the papers for not making an earlier appearance. These remarks did not come from his friends, ahd he did not care what his enemies said. They would gratify their ill humor at the expense of principle, truth, and justice. The fact was when an anomymous writer • imputed motives and made base accusations, he was unconsciously drawing a of himself. Few men were so gifted as to be able to analyse their neighbors’ minds. We all set ourselves up as the standard, and our criticisms were the result of our subjective condition. The philosophy of this was well put by Hare, in his “ Guesses at Truth” : —“ A man prone to suspect evil is mostly looking in his neighbor for what he sees in himself. As to the pure all things are pure, even so to the impure all things are impure.” So, when he read a letter stating that he was afraid to meet his constituents, he said to himself that man was an arrant coward; and when the electors read duch effusions they might rest assured that the malignant scribe was only drawing a picture from materials furnished by his own blackness. He congratulated the electors on the signs of abundant prosperity which were everywhere visible, and said it was pleasant to talk about the universal prevailing prosperity. Surely the croakers and faithless would be satisfied. He had told of this commercial prosperity for the past two years, both in public and in private. On that very platform, in January, 1871, he said:—“We had turned our lowest point, and there was light in the distance,” In January, 1872, he said “ I now express the belief that if you are true to yourselves, and have that faith in our adopted country which we ought to have, the clouds that have long h\mg over our heads will rapidly pass away, and we shall yet have occasion to rejoice in the sunshine of prosperity.” These hopeful anticipations were hut gloomily received, but the truth of them was new everywhere acknowledged. He wished to impress upon them the fact that because the prosperity was long a-coming it was more sure; and he believed it would go on steadily increasing for the next four or five years. It arose from the growth of trade, from the savings of the industrial classes, and from the accumulation of capital. They knew that there was in the Colony now a million more capital than was needed for the requirements of commerce ; besides which there was the increased price of wool, which had enabled station owners to pay off their debts and to enter into plans for improving their properties. Local mdustrieshad spread with marvellous rapidity; and, putting all these things together, he hoped the electors would not be deceived by any lurking remnant of a croaking idea and sudden burst that the prevailing prosperity was due to railways. He did not think the present prosperity was likely to soon ebb; on the contrary, he was satisfied if any of them were spared to see the next ten or twenty years, they would see prosperity, compared to that which they were now enjoying was as nothing. He then proceeded to refer to the history of the session, which might be summed up in the statement that the session was consumed in an effort of the friends of progress to keep the reins of Government, and to keep the obstructive party out in the cold, and on the part of the obstructive party to get into office. The session commenced in the middle of July, and some dissatisfaction was expressed on the part of the Provincialists as to the administration of the Government in reference to some departments. The Provincialists on all sides of the House had laid down this principle : that the public works and immigration scheme would be better managed by the Provincial authorities with the local knowledge they possessed. This was not intended by way of opposition to the Fox-Vogel Government ; on the contrary, if that Government had adoptedtheviews of the Provincialists as then expressed, it would never have been turned out of office. At the meeting referred to, some parties who supported Mr Stafford endeavored tq influence the meeting to subvert it, and reu&F it subservient to their end, which was to turn out the Minietpy. It Was found that the Government wqjiM not accept the resolutions, that they would be opposed by some and that there was no hope of carrying them ; so it was agreed to move the previous question. The curtain thus fell on the first act of the sessional drama. Mr Stafford then brought down his famous resolutions, which wore, expressive of a want of confidence in the administration of the Government. After they were tabled, an unexampled struggle took place. It lasted sixteen days, and the speaking power of the House was completely exhausted. Fifty-six speeches were spoken, and when the division took place every Ipenjbe/: wa.g in his place. They all knew that the Fox-Vogel GoV«wpucnt was turned out' by a majority of three. He (Mr Bathgate) had a word or two to say about that. It had been said of him that ho supported tho Fox-Vogel Government as against the Stafford resolutions, because he knew the Government would win. Would the electors believe it, but from the beginning he had means of knowledge ; he was on terms of intimacy with men on both sides; lie had counted heads, and knew when he stood to oppose tlie resolutions that the Fox-Vogel Government was doomed. When he did so, die thought he was doing a chivalrous action in standing up to them.—(Cheers.) He would give them the proof of Ids assertion. Ten days before the division took place he wrote to a friend in Dunedin, who published a sentence of Ids letter in the Daily Times, in which he (Mr Bathgate) said the Government would he beaten by a majority of three—the exact number. That sentence was published in Dunedin before the division, Jte cjjasi(jsre4

shown how groundless such an aspersion was. If he took a side, it was not for men, but for what ho believed was to ensure the progress ami advancement of the country. He had been gathering experience during the last two sessions : Ini knew a little more of the ropes now. They could not get :a correct idea of the leading men in Dunedin from what one mu) in the public newspapers.' those Lepers that ku (.ported them praised them through t,hU ami thin, and those that opposed beunattered them with dirt, whether they deal,, ved it or not. Therefore it required personal uxpmienee in .Parliament before one could understand the leanings of our public men. It was imposaible be could oppose any man favorable to the Public Works Policy. He was bound to anpport the development of the reHoiur.es of the Colony, by a scheme of public works such as was now in operation. Further, he found out that ft number of the leading ’men of the Opposition had a hitter hatred’to Otago, Now, lie liked Otago, He had been laughed at for saying that Otago was New Zealand, and he had not seen much to shako his faith yet as to that. he that as it might, a nnmb"r of lead ing men of the Opposition had H bitter hatred towards Otago, For example; The matter of our University; everything has been done to thwart ns arm pot u« down, Even in regard to ft Bill for charitable purposes a most hitter opposition was cxpcriemsjd from Messrs Stafford, Gfllies, and Holiest™, and so in regard to everything in Parliament the leading lights of the Opposition were dead against Otago. Then wo prized our land fund, and wanted to see it devoted to the making of roads. We entered in 1865 into a compact by which the land fund was secured to each of the Provinces, and upon the faith of that wo became liable for our share of tVc four millions sterling that it has cost the country in Maori wars. Now, what did one of the leaders of the Opposition, Mr Gillies, say’? He once said, in addressing his Auckland constituents: —“But there was one means by which that growing deficit might be met. That was, by making the waste lands of No, 3 the property of the whole Colony. No Government would be worth the name of Government until they met that problem. The Provinces of the South had received more from these lands than would pay for the war expenditure and L 3,000,000 loan.” There was no mistaking the (fact that these men had a longing eye on our land fund; but if he knew Otago and the men of Otago, we would keep our land fund in spite of them all.— (Cheers.) In Sir David Monro they had a bitter opponent of railways. He characterises them as luckless extravagance, and unstatesmanlike. Every man has a right to his own ideas, but these are not his (Mr Bathgate’s), and he could not sympathise with them, and, therefore, gave his support and v>te to the party of progress.—(Cheers.) Then the curtain fell again. The Stafford Government got in by a majority of three, and the others were left out in the cold. There was a twenty-eight days’ reign of the Stafford Government, and what did they do ? One would have expected new brooms to sweep clean: that when they got in, they would show themselves worthy the position they were ambitious to keep. But did they propose any new scheme : was there any effort made in connection with separation; any financial reform: any attempt to change the incidence of taxation : anything done to relieve the masses from the heavy burden of Customs duties, and lay it upon the head of those better able to bear it ? Nothing of the sort; it was just as if they had gone into, a field of battle, slain the enemy, taken the uniforms off the dead bodies, and strutted about in them.—(Laughter.) This became too much for the House ; but he was speaking his own feelings, which were shared in by many, and he sat patiently from day to day expecting, “Well, now, those fellows are in power —how they did pitch into the Fox-Vogel Government, talked of corruption, and everything that was bad—they will do something; we shall get at the truth now. But there was not a single word; the very plans of their predecessors were adopted ; and what had been said apparently were merely fanciful phrases instituted for political purposes. This was too much, and the consequence was, the common sense of the House rose up against it, and it was impossible the Stafford Government could keep together, seeing that they got into power on faUa pretences. Ou the 4th August a vote of want of confidence was moved by Mr Vogel, the Stafbrd Government hj id to yield, and to walk out of office ; and the curtain again fell. Mr Vogel was sent for. Mr Waterhouse was to be Premier, and steps were taken to form a Government. He had the honor of being spoken to, and was asked to give in his adhesion to the new Ministry. He stated publicly that upon no occasion did he ask a favor of a Government, or entreat in the smallest degree for office. The fact of his being - solicited to take office was due, he believed, more to the fact of his representing the important constituency of Dunedin,(jithan on account of any merits of his own—(Cheers.) The interests of Otago were now more strongly represented in the Government than they_ had ever before been. (Applause.) After receiving explanations, he gave in his adhesion, and for a short time was Commissioner of Customs -with the inflation of , being afterwards appointed Minister of Justice. They got into the saddle and managed quietly until October 25, when the session closed, and thfe curtain finally fell on the sessional drama of 1872. He then referred to the measures which had been introduced by himself, and included in the “ massacred innocents”; to the useful measures that passed last session, as the Public Trustees Act, Mining Company’s Act, Municipal Corporation’s Waterworks Act, Public Health Act, and Amended Resident Magistrate’s .Court Act. Otago had not been neglected ; oi> the contrary, it had received full attention r the Waste Lands Act Consolidated, North Ofcagp Loan Act, Oamaru Dock Trust Loan Act, Southland Waste Lands Amendment Act, Otago Dock Trust Act, Dunedin Gas and Waterworks Loan Act. So that, in spite of the difficulties and confusion of the session, our local interests, he was proud to say, were diligently and carefully attended to. (Applause.) It was a great satisfaction to himself and to his colleague to receive immediately after the close of the session a hearty and unanimous vote of thanks from the Municipal Council for the attention they had devoted to the City’s interests. He could assure the meeting that to attend properly to the local interests of a constituency like Dunedin was no small matter; they re. quired a great deal of watching, and a great number of dodges had to be met. (Laughter.) He and his colleage felt very grateful for the acknowledgment of their The general result of the session, exclusive of the legislation alluded to, was on the whole satisfactory. The making of 764 miles of railway was authorised, at an average cost of L 5,090 a mile, involving an expenditure of L 4,000,000 ; and though that appeared a big figure, no addition to the taxes would be necessary. Reproductive works, instead of being a burden, would tend to the ’ prosperity of a country. He believed he was under tha mark, as he always wished to be in forming an estimate, when he said that when the Clutha line was finished, the Port Chalmers line in full operation, and the Moeraki and Waitaki line completed, there would be a free revenue accruing to the Province of L50,00Q a-year. It might be doubted; but he was able to state the fact that the Provincial Government had been offered a rent for the Port Chalmers line of Ll3,sooperannum, the lessee agreeing to keep the line in repair, and pay all expenses of working. He considered the Government wise in refusing that offer, for, if he was not mistaken, in three S’B it would yield a revenue annually of ,000. In addition to that direct contribution to the Provincial Treasury, none could estimate the indirect savings. He estimated those at L 50,000 a year, which might be applied to other useful purposes, and which otherwise would have gpne put of .their pockets without any financial return,' The Government intended steadily to pursue the course they had marked out, and Otago would have its share. There were under contract the Clutha line, 50 miles; the Mataura line, 38 miles; the Moeraki line, 39 miles ; the Winfcou line, 22 miles ; the Lawrence line, 22 miles ; and the Port Chalmers line, 8 miles—in all 179 miles in the Province. In Canterbury, there were the Thnaru and Young’s Creek, 9 miles; Ashburton to Rakaia, 18 miles; and the branch to Southbridge, 22 miles—in all, 49 miles. There were also three bridges, the Wlitaki, Ashburton, and Ashley. There were alsq the Neh>CU and Foxhill, 13 miles ; Brunner lino, 8 miles ; from Picton to Blenheim, 18 miles; from Wellington to the Hutt, 15 miles; the Manawatu tramway, 21 miles ; from Napier to Paki-paki, 19 miles; from Auckland to Mercer, 40 miles; Onehunga, 7 miles ; and the Kaipara, 17 miles—making in course of construction, or conttacted for, 386 miles. The Brunner line of 8 miles would be invaluable to the Colony. He was sorry to find a leading representative running it down. In his speech he alluded to the large orders for coal going out of the country, and blamed the Government for not having constructed it; but if any one was to blame it was the Provincial Government of Nelson. First they wanted; it on a particular side of the river, and then, when the Government wished to make a condition that they should raise 50,000 tons of coal a year, they would not agree to it, but stood out

for to the Government’ by those who did not|know the facta' of the case* thus doing .what they the railway scheme for the benefit, qf thejptitiT. Then there must be an extension oLlS|£Waikftto line from.'Eiverhead tp Auckland‘lt would also be necessary to form, the line from Moeraki te Dunedin, from Clutha to Mataura; and respecting that? he was refreshed by the evidence or the Superintendent’s speech, that it was proposed to take the wind out of the Colonial Government’s sails, and that the Province should make the line.- (Cheel's.) Only those familiar with the nature of the work to be done in order to make railways, and bring them into operation, could imagine the trouble and time occupied in that branch of the Public Works Department to bring it into a satisfactory condition, It had not been done by the Government stroke. The officers had been at their duties from nine in tfie morning until midnight; and for the attention he had given to his duties the Minister for Public Works was entitled to the thanks of the public. His catalogue would be incomplete without reference to the construction of roads in the North Island. It was a sealed book, without means of communication with theinterior. But road-making had been pushed on with great energy, ami three months hence there would be one direct from Wellington to Napier—2oo miles long—extending to the 70-nyle Bush, and opening up a large area of valuable ground. Then there would lie roads extending to the West Coast of the North Island ; and as the present was the parent of the future, the activity displayed m prosecuting the works he bad alluded to, could not fail to be the parent of prosperity and the development of the resources of the Colony. (Cheers ) In conclusion, he would say a few words as to how those efforts had been appreciated by the opponents of the Government. It was not likely that any Go▼eminent could hold office without determined opposition. In the first plage he might allude to those local scribblers who tried to show that the Colony was going headlong to destruction. It was a favorite method to represent New Zealand as a heavily burdened country, compared with Great Britain. They pointed to the national debt of the Colony and compared it with that of ths Mother Country, and represented that the colonists per head were doubly indebted to the people per head at home. There never was greater rot. Everyone knew that the Government in the Colony did many works carried oufkt Home by private companies, corporations, and public trustees. And if the debts of these various bodies wore added to the national debt, it would be found that instead of the people of New Zealand being doubly taxed they really only had half the burden to bear, The nation*! debt of Great Britain was L 800,000,000; the railways cost L 600,000,000 more; there were 1,200 acres of docks and 35,000 miles of turnpike roads costing L250,00Q,000} telegraphs, now Government property, at an expense of L 7,000,000; public buildings, L 4,000,000; in addition to canals, all made with borrowed money. Those sums amounted to L 1,700,000,000 sterling, and taking the, population of New Zealand at 300,000, it would be found, instead of its taxation per head being double, that Great Britain was the more heavily burdened of the two.— (Cheers.) There were those who seemed to think the Colony was going to the bad, because it incurred debt; but public works could not be constructed out of ordinary revenue, and as posterity would enjoy the advantage of the works now in progress, they should share in the cost. The city of Liverpool, which had a population about equal to the Colony, had spent in constructing docks, covering 200 acres, L 5,000,000, and was going to borrow L 5,000,000 more to extend its reproductive works. It expected thereby to raise its revenue of L 600,000 a year to L 1,000,000. Canada, the exports of which, with a large population, .was L1G,000,000, had 3,000 miles of railway, whereas New Zealand had only 764 in course of development. He hoped henceforth no more would be heard of that eternal nonsense of being afraid to incur debt. Not only was the debt less per head than that of Great Britain, but the colonists had broader backs to bear it. The resources of the Colony measured by its exports were larger than those of Great Britain; and if the colonists Were faithful to themselves, there wis nothing that could not be accomplished. Supposing the burden of debt equal to that of England, by reason of the greater productiveness of New Zealand, it would be more easily borne. The value of exports in proportion to the population was an index to the prosperity of the country. In a work published last year by Mr Brassey, son of the contractor, a contractor himself, and a member of Parliament, he quotes from a very interesting essay on “ Work and Wages,” by Professor Leone Levi, furnishing conclusive evidence of the prosperity of England over every competitor in the industrial field. He considers it sufficiently proved by the proportion of exports per head of the population. In England that amounted to L 6 3s 2d, in France to L2 XBs 3d, and Italy LI 4s Bd. But the exports from New Zealand were extraordinary. In 1871 they reached the astonishing value of five millions and a quarter, being the proportion qf Ll7 per head of the population o| 300j000 : that was to say, three rimes the nrp : portion of Great Britain. From Tiis‘Honor the Superinten dent’s speech, he found the production of Otago alone was L 3,000,000 for the year, against L 1,190,000 the year before. That was equal to L7O ier head qf the population—an amount, he tp say, unequalled m any qther part of the- world. (Cheers.) He would urge upon them that, wfille enjoying the prosperity of which that waq evidence, they should employ their faculties ip endgavphfs tp increase is, Having dja? posed of the question of legal products, he would turn to the speeches of the Horn Mr Stafford and Sir David Monro. He found no new idea in them, nor any indication of how they considered the affairs of the country must be conducted. The whole of their speeches referred to what had been well described as the “ wretched past.” What need was there to care, either in Parliament or out of it, about what was done four years ago. The country wanted to be told how to shape its course for the future, and to help the prosperity of the country. (Cheers.) But he could not gather a single idea from cither the one or the other. They were men of education and intelligence, —(cheers and laughter)—but such statesmen would not suit New Zealand. They might have spent a deal of money on Maori wars, but he looked upon them as only fit to be put into a museum as curiosities, for he considered them fossil statesmen. In no speech made by Parliamentary opponents had there been an attempt to arrive at particulars. Mr Stafford, iu regard to the policy of public’works, said “he looked upon the idea of the policy, and the policy itself, as wise and good ; but with dissatisfaction and positive distrust upon the way it has hitherto been carried out. —(Cheers.) He looked with considerable apprehension upon what might accrue to the Colony if there was not a considerable change in the carrying out of the policy.” He (Mr Bathgate) attached no faith to a man who talked mere generalities. If there were a better way, why not tell it ? Why not show to the public what was most desirable ? —(Cheers.) It was not sufficient for the Crown Prosecutor to charge a man with an assault: the how, when, and where it was committed should be proved, to obtain a verdict. So it would not do with one breath to proclaim a policy wise and good, and with the next say that it must be changed. Like Mr Stafford, the Government said railways were good; but they went further, and said the sooner they covered the two islands with a network of railways the better. One general charge was matte against the Government of constructing political railways. Never was an assertion more false, and he would prove it. Taking Otago as 'an instance; advertisements were opt at this ‘“moment inviting tenders fqr a railway from Tokomairiro to Lawrence. The Government was not forming that line because the district supported them, but because they honestly believed it was for the good of the country.—(Cheers.) Was the Winton line a political railway ? Did Mr Calder, Mr Webster, and the member for Queenstown, representatives] of the district through which it passed, support the Government? No. Yet in the face of those opponents of the Government, they were carrying out that line, fqr no other reason but because they believed it was for the benefit of the pqjjntry. On the West Coast there were three ’water-rades,' mainly advocated by an opponent of the Gbvemmefrt ; but because it was belived to be best for the country, they had given unqualified support to them. If any opponent of the Government would give the details of his views, they would be in a better position to understand what he meant, and to judge which was right and which wrong. He would say a word on the faithlessness of the Opposition. When Mr Stafford foqnd he came on second best, characterised •the Fox-Vogel Government as miserable wretches, and said if that scheme waa_ carried but he would wind up his affairs, and in three years shake the dust off his feet and the Colony. Had he done so? Instead of that he had taken another course, and Bpent L7O,UOU m the purchase" of property fit Canterbury, fll

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did not know whetherJw• wiwfi remove hi. household goods or he wtffild re^ in . wife, a pillar Of bitterness. (Cheers.) Thei> was a straightforwardness about Sir Davi. Monro that gained respect. He said he al ways distrusted the railway scheme and trustoi. it still. There was no mistake about that. Tie went in for making ordinary roads, and said we must creep before going. He thought the Colony had passed the creeping stage. It was entrusted with constitutional government, and*was not in leading strings guided by the British authorities, but was able to stand on its own feet and walk without fear. If the country had started with railways instead of common roads, with indifferent engineering to a large extent, many thousand Sounds would have been saved. Mr jVTGrea, escribing America, said it was curious to find railways run into regions where there were no people. A railway was run into the prairie, and traffic and settlement were the result. He found that railways created traffic, of which the Southland railway was an illustration. Two years ago he was twitted about the annual cost of the Southland line. Would they belie ve that the last year’s monthly revenue of it was L 1,300, against an average of only L4OO for the previous year. Sir David Monro left Britain m 1844, before railways wore constructed, and had lived in Nelson, that Sleepy Hollow and he regarded him as an excellent representative of the most stagnant part of the Province of Otago. (Laughter and cheers.) There was one feature in Mr Reid’s speech at Mosgel. He rc■pected Mr Reid for his ability, but he would be a better statesman if he were more good natured and indulged less in personal animosity. “ We have heard a great deal about this policy, and also of the brilliant genius of the man who is supposed to have invented it. To my mind, it is a very old-fashioned policy. The policy of borrowing money and spending it in the construction of public works is forty or fifty years old. It has been pursued in all the Australian Colonies, and in the old country by public companies in the construction of public works; therefore there is no occasion for all this grent laudation of the Government for finding out something supposed to be new.” Why did not Mr Stafford, who had been half the period of New Zealand’s constitutional history in office, adopt that policy ? Why did he not avail himself of the opportunity when the Provinces themselves indicated the duty of carrying out public works ? And how did he support the Provinces? He (Mr Bathgate) considered that the key to a proper comparison. Mr Stafford knew, in 1865, that public works were required for the development of the Colony. And- btfw did ho help the Provinces that did their best to cary out these works? In the Southland Provincial Debt Act, 1865, section 19, tt was provided—That, from and after passing that Act, no Act or Ordinance of any Provincial Council for raising a Provincial loan should be assented to by the Government unless if had previously had the sanction of the General Assembly. In 1865 he said, “Go ahead, my dears,” but took, away the means. It was like taking the paddle-wheels of a steamer, and then giving the order to *’ go on” or clipping the wing of a carrier pigeon and bidding it ny. And when four years afterwards Mr Stafford was in power, did he come forward and advocate public works ? Had he done so. and suffered a checkj he (Mr Bathgate) would have given him credit for that policy; but it wis unfair towards the man who had the boldness to come forward with a scheme so necessary to Colonial development. That railway scheme was no new discovery, for Great Britain had it f but the man who had the boldness to put it into operation, which Mr Stafford might Jmvc done four years ago, instead of letting the Colony drift into suffering and distress, most certainly deserved the credit, and to say over and over again, as had been said, that it was nothing new was an endeavor to detract from his credit in ' bringing it forward. For a pilot to bring a ship safely through a storm was nothing new; it had been done over and over again, but it did not detract from his merit that it was not new. He trusted, therefore, that the last -had been heard of the difference between the two statesmen. (Cheers.) With regard to suffering he believed there was not a man in the Colony fro«(&865 to 1869 who did not losemoney. Would that have been the case had public works been gone on with? Certainly not. There was an example of a Province in the Colony that was not a shilling in debt, because it never had the pluck to borrow. He alluded to Nelson, that Sleepy Hollow. They erected a mill there, and found there was no wind; and they had never yet done anything to raise the wind.—(Cheers and laughter. ) Here was what a Nelson paper said in April last “Go to the inhabitants of the city, who in every street see shops and houses once occupied now tenantless; who know that almost every steamer takes away one or two families unable longer to earn a living in the place ; and who eel that around them the dire grip of poverty s hourly becoming closer.”

fhen at a public meeting at Nelson in April last—that meeting being for the purpose of furthering the prosecution of a railway from Nelson to the West Coast, Mr Adams, an old settler, said

“Nothing can prove this better than the Census: in 1864 qur population was 11,901; in law it had doubled, and was 23,214, and at the fike rate of progression, in 1871 it ought to have been about 50,000; but, on the contrary, it was qnly 22,501, showing a decrease of 1,313. (Hear, bear.) And while we ore stagnating, either Provinces are prospering to an unprecedented extend There was a time when Miss Nelson used to gather up hsr skirts with Pharisaical pride at the borrowing, railway-making propensities of her sister Provinces of Canterbury and Qtagq. But \t is Provinces w hiph have opened up the country most that have prospered most” What would the country have been had it been lying four years more in stagnation, in consequence of a Maori war ? It was his firm belief that if the progressive principles of the present Government were continued, they could not fail to be attended with beneficial results. "The present leader of the House, the Colonial Treasurer. had long since won his spurs. Every memocr on both sides of the House had paid him unqualified compliments. The other members of the Cabinet were new to their duties. The Government had been so long in the hands of statesmen of a certain class, that they seemed to think they had a prescriptive right to govern. But that was changed—(cheers)— and men better adapted to the work required did not exist than his colleagues. He referred particularly to fne Minister of Public Works. He was a man of independent means, well nc?uainted with his duties, and hail clone his best or the Colony, at considerable expense to himself and had devoted his energies to bringing his department to perfection. The result was that it was now excellently conducted, and could not be in better hands than his. With regard to the others he need not speak: they had their spurs to win ; but each challenged inquiry into the most minute details of their administration. He believed every effort was made by each member of the Government to carry out an honest faithful system of administration. For himself, in the course of a few months of office, he had done his best to lighten the Colony of the burden of judicial expenses. They were extraordinary, some L 70,000 a year. During his term of office he had reduced them L 3,000 a year ; and whether in office, or out of office, he should exert himself to cleanse that Augean stable, and reduce the expenses to something like a reasonable amount.—(Cheers.) The Executive hoped to prove by the results that their plans tended to the continuance of that prosperity that now dawned upon the country; and that manufactures and local industries would be stimulated and developed, so that the country might he the abode of a wealthy, contented, and intelligent people. He thanked them for the kind manner in which they had listened to him. He never expected, in a meeting like that, that others would have the 4dme thoughts B[e trusted that Would never be'the'case, for’ it would be a dist&trous condition to be in' wert there no independent thought; W whether they agreed or differed with regard to local and general interests, he could safely say he had done his best to serve them, both in Parliament and elsewhere. Every effort would be given by him to forward their local interests, and especially those of the great mass of the people, who were apt to have their interests overlooked, He was glad to receive a petition from the workingmen and others, forwarded by Mr Pavelitoh, and he Believed he would be able to get the Workman’s Lien Act, giving further protection to labor, made still more extensively useful They might rest assured that no exertion should be wantiug on his part to forward what ho believed to be their interests.

■ We are obliged to hold over the questions pul to Mr Bathgate. , „ _ Mr Black, J.P., moved, and Mr Lowry seconded, a vote of confidence in Mr Bathgati as one of the City’s representatives in Parliament, which the Mayor declared, amid ap plause, was earned by a very large majority, only three hands being held up against it.