THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTION.
MR TURTON AT THE MASONIC HALL,
On Saturday evening Mr. Turton addressed the City electors in the Masonic Hall. Mr H. J. Walter presided. The hall was completely filled.
Mr Turton, on being introduced by the Chairman, craved the indulgence of the meeting on account of a severe cold under which he labored. He wished it to be understood at the outset that he was out and out favorable to the policy advocated by his Honor the Superintendent, and ho would be prepared to support such measures as were advocated by his Honor’s Address, and supported by the present Executive. —(Applause.) The present Provincial crisis had been brought about through the disputes of two individuals. It could not be denied that it was in consequence of the misunderstanding between Mr Reid and the Superintendent, that the country had been put to the expense and trouble of an election. As they were doubt aware, that misunderstanding first arose in consequence of Mr Reid having joined the Stafford Government. Mr Reid saw fit to become a member of the Colonial Cabinet without first consulting his Honor. He (Mr Turton) thought it was due to the Superintendent that Mr Reid, occupying as he did the position of Provincial Secretary, should have consulted with the Superintendent on the subject. Not having done so, nor yet made any move in the direction of resigning the Provincial Secretaryship, the Superintendent wrote to Mr Reid on the subject Communications passed between them which resulted in the Superintendent dismissing Mr Reid as a member of the Provincial Executive. There could be no doubt but that that was an extreme step on the part of his Honor; but he (Mr Turton) could not see that the Superintendent could have done anything else. He could not well see how he could retain him in office, seeing that, as a member of the Provincial Executive, be was his Honor’s subordinate, and at one and the same time, as a member of the Colonial Ministry, he occupied a superior position. Under these circumstances, he contended, the Superintendent had no alternative left but to follow the course he did. Moreover, he (Mr Reid) could not give that attention to the interests of the Province which would be required of him as chief of the Provincial Executive. He would have to reside in Wellington, and to attend more particularly to Colonial matters. After the Stafford Government was turned out of office, Mr Reid was invited to rejoin the Provincial Executive. Mr Reid refused to do so. In that refusal he (Mr Turton) thought he was wrong. The reason alleged for his refusal was that people would say that in rejoining the Executive he was greedy of office. If Mr Reid felt himself aggrieved, there was another course for him to pursue in order to obtain redress. What he ought to have dona was to rejoin the Executive and lay his grievance before the Provincial Council when the Council met. In consequence of his refusal to rejoin the Executive, another Ministry was formed by his Honor the Superintendent—viz., the Tolinie-Turnbull Government. That Government was selected by the Superintendent without the consent of the Council, and was taken from a minority in the Council. That the Superintendent had the right to take his Executive from whence he did cannot be denied. He had a right to take it from whatever section he thought fit. Things went on in this way until the meeting of Council. When the Council met, the reply to his Honor’s Address was moved in a speech by one of the Ministerial party, upon which an amendment was proposed by the Opposition : that is, by the Reid party. He might be mistaken ; but, in his opinion, that resolution was a direct snub to the Superintendent. —(Applause.) Had he been Superintendent he would there and then have felt justified ia bringing about a dissolution of the Provincial Council. That would have been the proper time for his Honor to have insisted upon a dissolution. On the Bth May they found that the Tolmie Government resigned office. On the 10th the Superintendent sent for Mr Reid, and on the 13th, before Mr Reid had had time to form a Government, the Superintendent sent a Message to the Council, which concluded as follows “ Referring to his opening Address, the Superintendent had hoped that the Provincial Council would have reciprocated at least some of the opinions expressed by him with regard to various matters bearing upon the advancement of the Province, instead of which, however, the Council appears altogether to have ignored the matters, referred to. As it is, the Superintendent cannot but feel that there is between the majority of the Council and himself an absence of that mutual desire for progress, and of that community of sentiment which are so essential to the promotion of the public weal. Under all the circumstances of the case, therefore, the Superintendent is of opinion that it would be better to afford the people an opportunity of electing a Superintendent and Provincial Council which may work together harmoniously, and with which view he respectfully solicits tile concurrence of the Provincial Council in an application to his Excellency tlie Governor for an immediate dissolution.” Mr Turton proceeded to say that he did not think the Superintendent ought to have sent that Message at that stage. Mr Reid had not had an opportunity for forming a new Ministry. Indeed, it was whilst he was in the act of forming a Government, that that Message was received, On the 15th May Mr Reid succeeded in forming a Government, the names of which he submitted to his Honor. In reply, his Honor informed Mr Reid that the names of the Executive proposed were not satisfactory to him, and that he did not think either the Council or the country would approve of them. Then came his Honor’s Message No. 6, in which reference was made to Message No. 3, and requesting that the Council would agree with him as to the necessity for a dissolution, and that a resolution to that effect should be passed in Council. The reasons given were that Mr Reid had failed in forming a Government of which either the country or the Council would approve. He (Mr Turton) thought that in taking this step the Superintendent had done wrong. He ought to have given the Provincial Council an opportunity of saying whether it would take the proposed Executive or not. His own candid opinion was that the Executive was not a satisfactory one, and that it would not have lived forty-eight hours. (Applause and interruption.) An attempt at forming a coalition government was then made, and failed. Afterwards, Dr, Webster was sent for, and he too failed in forming a Ministry. At length, on the 19th May, the Council was prorogued by his Honor the Superintendent, and so ended this so-called Provincial crisis. Looking at the aspect of affairs from an outside point of view, he thought there could be no doubt but that the Reid party had made up their minds to make matters rather warm for the Superintendent ; on the other hand, his Honor had determined to get a dissolution. These were matters, however, he continued to say, for the Superintendent and his Executive to satisfy them upon, and not for one like himself, a candidate, who had never been in the Council, to explain. He had simply referred to them in order that the electors might know his opinions on the point, and thereby save them the trouble of asking him questions on the subject. As respects the legal power of the Superintendent to bring about a dissolution, there could be no question. Now that a dissolution had been brought about, it was their duty to send in men to the Council who would support Mr Macandrew, as there could be no doubt but that Ije (Mr Macandrew) would be returned Superintendent without opposition. His (Mr Turton’s) own opinion was that he ought to bg returned Superintendent. He was the very best man they could get. He did not believe that a better man could be found in the Province just now.—(Loud applause.) He had the best interests of the Province at heart. He had all the go-aheadism that was required for a new country. He was a man of progressive tendencies, and he (Mr Turton) would just ask them to send to the Council men devoted to the interests of the Province, and not men actuated by party motives. If their representatives would consider measures and not men, more good would be done. Anyone who came forward and said he was not in favor of the progressive measures now before the country, lie (Mr Turton) would look upon him as a political scoundrel. There was first the question of construction of railways to be considered, He was
not only strongly in favor of railways being con structed, but also the completion of railways already begun in different parts of the Province. He instanced the Mataura and Moeraki lines, more particularly the Moeraki line. If completed in a very few years, these works would more than pay the interest on the whole loan, and in tire course of not very many years would go toward? reducing the debt itself.—(Applause.) The extension of these railways into the interior of the country was likewise a mattter of importance, in order that they might be brought into contact with the mining interest. By that means the development of our Provincial resources would be promoted, and in many localities coal as well as gold would be found. The development of these and other resources would be promoted at much less expense than could at present be done. Then there was the subject of roads. Railways without roads would be of very little use. The dredging of rivers was likewise a subject for their consideration. The speaker next mentioned the immigration question and the educational system. In alluding to tye latter, he referred to the satisfactory progress that had been made during the last year, as shown by Mr Hislop’s report. He (Mr Turton) said he would warmly support the proposal made by the Superintendent in his Address regarding an increase of school accommodation. He was in favor of a secular system of education, and added that he understood the Colonial Government intended bringing in a general system. Other matters referred to in the Superintendent’s Address, such as encouragement to whale fisheries, &c., would have his wannest support. ( The Dunedin Waterworks ought, in his opinion, to become the property of the Corporation upon the terms agreed upon. Government advertisements inserted at present in the Gazette alone ought, in his opinion, to be inserted in the newspapers. An instance of the baneful results of advertisements being confined to the Gazette came under his notice some time ago. A quantity of plant was offered for sale at the Clutha. It fell into the hands of one party who was fortunate enough to have got his eye upon the advertisement in the Gazette. The plant was purchased for a sum of L3OO, and immediately afterwards the purchaser was offered L6OO. He believed that a great amount of money was lost through not having advertisements of this kind inserted in the newspapers.—(Applause.) The last thing he would refer to was the erection of a Harbor Trust, which would, he said, have his warm support. —(Applause.) A few questions were asked regarding the terms of arrangement for taking over the waterworks, the mail service, &0., after which Mr D. Ross moved and Mr Macgregor seconded a vote of confidence in the candidate, and the motion was carried without dissent.
MR REEVES AT THE WATER OF LEITH.
At Mr Reeves’s meeting on Friday, Mr Edw. M'Glash&n was elected Chairman.
Mr Reeves said that, knowing it to be convenient to the electors, he should confine himself to a few brief remarks, although a facetious friend had told him it was impossible when he warmed up to his subject. He agreed with most of what Mr M'Glashan had said, -and were he to repeat it, it would only be going over the same ground in different language., Having only a few weeks ago appeared before the electors as a candidate for a seat in the Provincial Council, his views were pretty fully and fairly known, for he still entertained the same opinions as then. He hoped at the coming election a sufficient number of citizens would vote for him to ensure Ills return. With regard to the dissolution that was the cause of his appearing before them, he thought, outside the constitutional point wny it should or should not have been, there were many reasons that rendered it desirable. Since the last Provincial general election, an extraordinary revolution had taken place in the minds of people in the Province. Not only was there a change in the views of the working people, but amongst thinking people, business people, and such of our politicians as had taken the lead in public affairs. That of itself would be a sufficient justification for a dissolution. Mr Macandrew now found amongst his strongest supporters many, who, when he first came forward, were the stanchest supporters of Mr Reid. — (Cheers.) They were well aware of the names of several gentlemen to whom he alluded. He would n”t further refer to them, as every man was liable to change his opinions on all subjects, not excluding politics. Some, who thought Mr Reid’s acts in 1871 were founded on a sincere desire for the public welfare, had altered their opinions of their tendency in 1873. So far as he himself was concerned, not having been in the Council, he had not doubtful conduct to explain or extenuate ; but if in the new Council about to be elected, the time of the country and the Council was to be wasted in the same manner as had been done, in the last, it would prove the period had arrived for an alteration in the constitution of the.Council. It was said by many old colonists that, when ijjiere was a Council of nine members only, the work \yas more expeditiously and better done than at present; and some day a beneficial alteration would be made in the Council. With regard to public works, there could be no doubt railways were required to open up the country. The lines in course of construction, connecting Canterbury with Moeraki on one side and the south of Otago on the other, must bo connected with Dunedin and Port Chalmers. Tenders had been accepted for the Tuapeka line, and lines should be pushed on in the interior, in order to develop the mining districts. If railways were constructed, the miner would get his machinery up more cheaply, he would be able to live cheaper, he would obtain timber cheaper, and in innumerable ways the population of the Province would be benefited. He would simply sum up the advantages by saying that in his opinion they were absolutely necessary to progressive and permanent prosperity. The Harbor Trust should have oeen taken in hand many years ago, but “ better late than never, ” and it was not yet too late to go into it. He thought it should be appointed, and that there was no physical impossibility in having inter-Colonial steamers up at the wharf in a few years. Farmers would then be able to ship their produce cheaper than at present. Fpr the present he considered the land question settled, and the Land Act which came into force this year was a great. improvement on anything hitherto projected. The land question had been fought out in every Colony; it was the question of the day in Victoria in 1854. In this Province it would be necessary to guard against agricultural land being bought up by capitalists. He was grieved to hear Mr Reynolds say, in public, that a man could buy 50,000 acres if he wanted it. It should not be’allowed to go into the hands of capitalists, for in a few years they would form an aristocracy. By opening up land through railways, settlement would be induced; but if all the land were bought up by speculators, what inducement would there be for men to save money? Therefore, whether or not there was a chance of the land being seized by the Colonial Legislature, such sales shquld not be allowed- Such an argument shpulcj not ipdupe the Prqvinqe to sacripoo its public estate in such a way. If the Colony wanted to take our lands, no doubt the Province could protect itself, for every man in the country was entitled to see that tne land of the country was properly dealt with. Under the present Land Act, 30,000 acres annually, only, were allowed to be purchased on deferred payments. He hoped before long it would be extended to 100,000, and it would bo necessary to guard it by an improvement clause. He saw in his Honor’s address some reference made to the defence of the Port. It was a matter that must be looked to. Ht the same time he thought the Mother Country was entitled to bear part of the expense, considering the large amount of British property in shipping exposed to attack and destruction. Many mining companies, especially quartz mines, had altogether failed, through not having thorough managers at their head. Ini his opinion, the Province should appoint a competent surveyor and mining inspector—a first-class man. Such an one might be obtained in Australia. He should not only know how mines should be worked, but in addition to the necessary scientific geological and mineralogical knowledge, he should understand so much of chemistry as was necessary to the efficient working of a quartz mine, so that if the stone contained different metals, he would be able to say what they were. He believed the expense would be amply repaid by fees to be charged to different companies requiring his services, Jt would ha the means of encouraging the formation of mining companies, for it would give confidence to business people to invest in mines. The Friendly Societies had applied for a grant of ground on which to hold their sports, and he was in favor of its being granted. He agreed with Mr M'Gl&shan that toll-gates were almost the last traces of barbarism, and might be abolished. The revenue was only LB,OOO annually, and most probably a tax on horses and vehicles would realise much more. He entirely concurred with the policy of the Superintendent as enunciated in his opening address, and if elected should support it; for his views were progressive. He believed that hey were in advance of those held in past times, and had they been acted on earlier, the Province would have been much better off than now. Ho
considered Jt a great pity that Mr Vogel waft not Colonial Treasurer wnenhe waft Provincial Treasurer. Had he then introduced the public works and immigration scheme, we should have beext in a position we were not likely to reach to for years. The last six or seven yean had been to a certain extent a season of distress. The banktfa few yews ago put tike screw on, but if a progressive policy had been adopted, everything would have been flourishing. It was the' third time he had asked the electors to return him, and he hoped on the polling day he would be successful. In reply to questions by Mr Charles Smith: Probably one of the changes necessary would bo to give manhood suffrage to. the people. Every man that could read and write at least should have a vote. (Cheers.) Many advantages would accrue. Coupled with the ballot there was less chance of bribery, for fifty men were more easily purchased than 500. By our present system a man’s moral fitness was tested by his pr >perty, while many really intelligent men were excluded. To an elector: He should emphatically say ho was prepared to support the Provincial Executive in office.—(Cheers.) To Mr Gibson: He was in favor of retaining the election of Mayor in the hands of the citizens, rather than remitting it to the Municipal Council To Mr Charles Smith: If through absence from the country he could not attend to hie duties if elected, courtesy and propriety would lead him to place his resignation in the hands of the Superintendent. On the motion of Mr John Allan, seconded by Mr Robert Pollock, an unanimous vote of confidence was passed in favor of Mr. Reeves.
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Evening Star, Issue 3208, 2 June 1873, Page 2
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3,442THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTION. Evening Star, Issue 3208, 2 June 1873, Page 2
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