THE ELECTIONS.

Evening Star, Issue 3211, 5 June 1873, Page 2

THE ELECTIONS.

MR TURNBULL’S MEETING.

Last evening, at eight o’clock, Mr George Turnbull addressed a crowded meeting of electors at St. George’s Hall. Mr Black was chosen chairman, and he, after thanking the meeting, said that he knew ho need not ask an impartial hearing for Mr Turnbull, for all would agree that he was entitled to it on account of the long and faithful service he had rendered to the City. Mr Turnbull said he appeared before the electors in somewhat different circumstances from the other candidates who had addressed them, as there was a brand of censure placed upon him by the Provincial Council—(laughter) —a brand fixed upon him, with the rest of the Executive, and the Superintendent. He would not, however, accept the opinion of the majority of the Council on that point, but preferred taking that of the electors of Dunedin, When, through the adverse vote of the House of Representatives, Mr Vogel was driven from office, and Mr Stafford filled Mr Fox’s place, Mr Reid joined Mr Stafford’s Ministry. The Superintendent thought he could not consistently fill the officeof Minister of Public Works and Head of the Provincial Executive. In that opinion he (Mr Turnbull) entirely concurred. He knew from personal experience the adverse influence brought to bear against Otago by Mr Stafford when in power, and that therefore Mr Reid could not consistently hold the two offices. The Superintendent by every means in his power tried to induce Mr Reid to re-sign his office, but failed. All present were aware of what took place in Wellington, and in consequence the Superintendent found it necessary to come to Otago and remove Mr Reid from office. He (Mr Turnbull) was Deputy-Superin-tendent at the time. Mr Tolmie afterwards received a telegram asking him to form a Ministry, aud he asked Mr Cutten to join, but that gentleman had a convenient fit of the gout. He afterwards made an appointment, but did not keep it—he seldom did, excepting it was late in the afternoon—so that Mr Tolmie could get no answer. But neither Mr Reid nor any others acting with him spoke of the constitutional question at that time. After considerable delay Mr Tolmie decided he would wait until the return of the members from Wellington, before attempting to form an Executive, aud himself (Mr Turnbull) and Mr Shand carried on the business of the Provincial Government, and very badly it was done. Messrs Bradshaw and Thomson were afterwards invited to join Mr Tolmie as leader, but after consulting their friends, they declined, and he, at his wit’s end what to do, as a last resource, applied to him (Mr Turnbull). It might be said, and Mr Reid did say distinctly, that through a love of office that was highlv commendable- or at least he applied it to the Executive, of which he (Mr Turnbull) was a member—he had accepted office. He wodld read a letter which would throw light upon that point “ November 9, 1872.

“ Dear Tolmio.—Referring to our conversation to-day on the subject of the formation of a now Executive, I have now to state in writing, what I told you verbally, that my taking any position in one just now is very much against my inclinations; as, in consequence of the state of my private engagements, my doing so will be a matter of great personal inconvenience ; and there are, besides, other reasons why I should much rather not have become a member of the Government at the present time. I have only assented on your urgent representations as to the difficulty you will have in forming an Executive should I decline, and with the view of relieving the Superintendent and the Province from the deadlock which now exists in consequence of the peculiar position of the present Executive. You will, therefore, understand that I do not join with the view of remaining for any lengthened period, and that I shall be at liberty to retire when you can secure another suitable member of the Council to take my place, or should my own private affairs require doing so. I understand that the views of his Honor the Superintendent and those you hold, and which are to guide the action of the Administration you| are forming, are in accordance with my own opinion on main points, viz. “ Ist. To give the new land laws, which will shortly come into operation, a fair trial, and to endeavor to get the Waste Land Board composed of competent unprejudiced men, likely to administrate the Act fairly and impartially towards every interest throughout the Province. “ 2nd. To push on railways, immigration, and other public works in concert and harmony with the General Government, as long as we consider its operations are consistent 'with the interests of the Province ; and “3rd. To endeavor to bring about more simplicity, where possible, iu the various departments of the public service, with a view to efficiency and economy—not by the process of reducing salaries, but by having competent officers and reduced numbers. . . “ If I am in error as to your opinions on any important point, perhaps you will advise me before proceeding further with your arrangements. —lam, &c., “ Geo. Turnbull.

“W. A. Tolmie, Esq., M.P.C., &c., “ Dunedin.” (Cheers.) That letter sufficiently remove from him the imputation of being anxious to take office. Ho never was anxious for office : in fact, be bad enough to do without it. But he and his colleagues took office, and soon afterwards, a circular signed by twentyseven members of the Council was sent to the Superintendent, _ asking him to call a meeting of the Council, and urging reasons why it was to meet. He (Mr Turnbull) did not agree with those reasons. Ho said plainly the two principal reasons were not given at all. i he first was, convening the Council would give Mr Reid an opportunity of blackguarding the Superintendent—(laughter)—and the second was, the Reid party would have an opportunity of going back to office with all speed. There was no other possible reason for calling the Council. T he votes were not expended ; everything was going on rightly and properly, and it would have cost L‘2,000 or L 3,000 in honorarium and other charges. He would not go into the question whether the Superintendent was right or wrong. There "was more bunkum talked about that constitutional question last month, than about all other subjects put together. But supposing him to have been wrong in the first instance, he put himself right by offering to reinstate Mr Reid after the expulsion of the Stafford Covemment; and Mr Reid was wrong not to accept it. Had he been one of Mr Reid s supporters he would have said, “You have sold us : you have not done us justice, x °u had the opportunity of going back to office and of appointing a Waste Land Board, and you have refused through mere personal pique. He (Mr Turnbull) thought Mr Reid would have proved himself afar better statesman bad he pocketed the fancied indignity, and continued to hold the position of Head of the Executive _ until the Council met. He believed his best friends must think that, whatever others might say, that was the course he should have adopted.—( A Voice: “He thinks so himself now.’) After the Executive was formed they tackled to business, and though, perhaps, he should not say it, he ventured to assert, without fear of contradiction, that the affairs of the Province had never been better nor more vigorously administered than since the Tolmie Executive took office. The Superintendent and the secretary visited the goldfields ; the votes were all expended, and, in some instances, were exceeded, and if the Council had allowed a fair investigation of what had been done the Executive would have come off with flying colors. He thought the Press throughout the Province approved of what had jbeen done, with the jingle exception efttye JSfiicn which wsi

supposed to be inspired by Mr Reid, in opposition to the Superintendent. So well was the country satisfied with the measures adopted that members arrived from the country districts pledged to give the Executive a fair support if they continued in office, and one of the reasons why many of them would not see the Council again, except from the strangers’ gallery, was that they had broken their pledges. Had the Executive thought otherwise, they would certainly not have faced the Council at all. Their intention was to have resigned at the opening of the Council, and to have allowed it to have formed a Ministry in whom it had confidence. Everything was ready. The Estimates were made out, printed, and ready for circulation, and business was in such a state of forwardness that the affairs of the Council would have been concluded in three weeks or a month. However, whoever might he their successors, they would find the Estimates so carefully prepared that they could hardly be improved upon. He trusted they would excuse his saying so much on that point, but the Executive had had no opportunity of sayiru3y.t before the Council, and, therefore, it was riguffc'it should be said at that meeting. He need not tell of what took place when the Council met, for it was almost the scandal of the community during the past month. The Council were quite right to say in whom they would place confidence, had they looked into the state of business, and found matters had not been properly conducted; but instead of that they adopted the novel sort of justice of hanging them first and trying them afterwards. In fact, they were driven from office without a shadow of justice or fairplay. A number of members arrived in town pledged to support the Executive, and to approve what they had done; what was then their astonishment to find them performing the operation of ratting. He might mention that amongst them were Messrs Mcrvyn and Armstrong, who had gone to their constituents and asked them to send them again, Mr Hallenstcin, too, brought down a list of roads and bridges which he intended to propose should be constructed, but on looking over the list and comparing it with the Estimates, he found provision made for all but two. Then Mr Hickey and Mr Sumter, whom they thought their friends, turned against th«rn. Mr j. C. Brown—(great laughter)—too turned round, and Mr Wood, from Invercargill, who, in a speech he made at his election, said, “If he found the Executive worthy, ho should support them ; if not, he would assist to put them out, but he would not do so merely because they had been appointed in an unusual manner.” Notwithstanding that, the first night ho was in the Council, he showed himself fierce on the constitutional question, and set himself to turn them out. His name was Wood, but he thought he was a bit of bad timber to build an Executive upon.—(Laughter and applause.) There was one exception to the general approval in Mr Reid’s speech, at Mosgiel. He said that the appointment of the Waste Laud Board was wrong, and that men should not have been appointed who were mere money-grubbers. Had what he insinuated been true, it would have been good reason why tliey should not have been appointed; but he took leave to differ from Mr Reid regarding the characters of the members of the Board. Mr Strode, Mr Buttenvorth, and Mr A. W. Morris were the names of three men whose integrity, ability, and impartiality were beyond dispute. —(Cheers.) He would like Mr Reid to propose three men whose characters stood higher in those respects. It was nsnsense to say a man could not understand the land laws without having grown potatoes or cultivated the soil. His impression was that the Opposition thought nobody could understand them unless he had been on a farm on the Taieri Plain. It would be just as reasonable to say a magistrate could not decide on the requirements of an Impounding Act unless he kept a pound ; or a warden on the Goldfields Act, unless he had been a digger; or the Collector of Customs on the Customs laws, unless he had been an importer; or a Justice of the Peace on a case of drunkenness, unless he went home every night groggy. There was really no reason why those names should be condemned. The constitutional view was an afterthought. It was never thought of before. There was one little matter that suggested desire for office. He believed that was at the bottom of it. He believed they longed as much for the sweets of office as the Israelites for the fleshpots of Egypt. —(Great laughter.) The next step, after the adverse vote in the Council, was the formation of an Executive consisting of Mr Reid, leader • Mr Stout, Solicitor; Mr Green, Land and Works, and Mr J. C. Brown, Secretary for the Goldfields.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Ho thought Mr Reid, as a sensible man, should have shown his good taste by keeping in the background. Mr Reid and the Superintendent could not work harmoniously. He believed he did intend to have done so, but was overruled by his party. Against the proposed Executive, with the exception of Mr Brown, he had nothing to say, but he thought that person' totally unfit to be a member of the Executive, and in that opinion he was supported by persons who resided a long way off, and were quite impartial. He would read an extract from a letter on the subject which he. had received from a gentleman not connected with politics: “18th May, 1873. “I really cannot understand what kind of men compose the majority of your Provincial Council, seeing that they passed a resolution characterising the action of the Superintendent re Donald Reid, as unconstitutional, Personal or party feeling must blind their judgment. Such a community, if the Council fairly represent it, may thank God for their land revenue; for if they were dependent upon their own united efforts to sustain their Provincial establishments, they would infallibly tumble to pieces. ... I don’t see how the Superintendent could possibly accept Donald Reid’s Executive : the nomination of J. 0. Brown was enough to damn it. Who on earth would sit at an Executive table with Mr J. C. Brown, and entrust him with the control of the vast mining interest and capital of the Otago Goldfields? That would be a charming prospect indeed ! The other men I don’t know, except Reid; but J. 0. Brown and their willingness to associate with him, is enough for me. I hope you will get a dissolution. Surely the Province has too high a principle of self-respect to tolerate the rule of Reid and Brown! Your Province is eminently prosperous—what you want is steady hard work, and public spirit on the part of your Council and Executive.”

After the failure of Mr Reid to form an ExecuDr Webster attempted tp form one composed i f parties from both sides of the Council. He did him (Mr Turnbull) the honor of communicating with him, and he said, although he did not want to go into office again, if the party with whom he acted thought he should do so, he would consent, with the concurrence of certain members on their side. The condition proposed by Mr Reid’s party was that they should appoint four members, while his party should only number two. He therefore said he would not be one of the two, as they could have no voice in the management of Provincial affairs. Dr Webster then threw up the sponge, and relinquished his task. The Superintendent asked for advice, and they recommended him to ask for a dissolution. He (Mr Turnbull) believed it to be the right course, for the Council could not work. If the dissolution led to temporary inconvenience, it might prove a permanent good for the next four years. He believed the Council about to be elected would be very superior to the Dst, and that the electors of Dunedin would show they were determined it should be. He did not include himself in that superior Council, but he hoped to be one of it. He felt bound to say, on behalf of the Superintendent, in answer to the charge of wanting to be an autocrat or a dictatoi’, that he was the last man to aspire to such a position. Ho had had the honor of working with him for some time, and on his first election he voted against him. He (Mr Turnbull) had been since that elected to represent the City, and felt bound to say he never knew a man more ready to give way if his opinion was not agreed with. If he brought forward a motion at an Executive meeting, and there was a feeling against it, he never pressed it. He brought forward the brightest ideas that ever emanated from a human mindideas that with a little Scotch caution and pruning here and there, would be for the highest public good.—(Cheers.) He did not think he ought to say anything further on public affairs, but ha should like to say a word or two on the proceedings in Council. There was too much talk there. In the British House of Commons, with 640 members, and a revenue of L 75,000,000, there was scarcely more talk than in the Provincial Council with 46 members, having L 300,000 to dispose of to road boards and for building bridges. It was perfectly monstrous, and utterly unnecessary. If one man brought forward a motion, five -aud-twenty thought it proper to get up and say they entirely agreed with the remarks of the honorable member, and every man repeated his arguments. There was no necessity for it. It was like turning a coffeegrinder. Many times ho felt disgusted, and wished himself away from the Council. The Bank of England Directory, Harbor Trusts at Home, and several other corporat bodies having the disposal t)f larger amounts than we, sat a few hours and disposed of the business without spending two months over it. He had the honor of proposing a resolution that a speaker should

be limited to ten minutes in commenting upon any subject.—(Hear, hear.) He would rather limit it to fire minutes. At a large meeting at Detroit large year, a resolution _ was passed restricting each speaker to five minutes. If any speaker attempted to go beyond, down went the hammer, and he was obliged to stop. Dr Blackie and others were delighted with the plan, and he hoped it would be brought into operation in the next proceedings of the Provincial Council. There is another point he wished to bring ont, which was that members of the Executive should be composed of men who do not require to go to Wellington for three months. From experience he found things nearly at a standstill during that time. Mr Cutten and Mr Shand helped him when he acted as DeputySuperintendent, but did hardly anything. _Mr Cutten went occasionally down and entertained them with a few jokes, which, however, were perfectly disgusting when business had to begot through. In fact, Mr Cutten shirked the whole thing at the Waste Land Board. He (Mr Turnbull) said to him one day in Princes street, “Cutten, why do not. you attend the meeting of the Waste Land Board, and look after those proposed sales of land ?” “Oh!” he said, “lam not going to get into more hobbles after the manner in which I was treated with regard to the Moa Flat sale.” No doubt, his colleagues ought to have showed the responsibility after the manner in which the thing was done, hut that showed that no Executive should include members who had to go to Wellington. He had jotted down some memoranda on immigration matters, which he intended to have brought forward, but was not allowed. There were L 45,000 arrears due to the Province on immigration notes. That disclosed a very lax state of affairs on the part of those parties who had the looking after those notes. He intended to have moved that a commission should be appointed with a view to investigating whether to wipe them off, or to compromise with those who could not pay for a smaller sum, and thus have the matter finally settled. He thought when immigrants were brought out at a low price, it would be better for the Government to compromise with those who had not made a position, enabling them to meet those notes, for a smaller sum, than to hold them over against them. It was purposed also by the Executive to take down Bell Hill and cast it into the sea. _ It would have given occupation to many during the winter who did not wish to leave the town in search of employment, and would have proved a profitable investment for the Government. It was no use telling them he was in favor of railways. He considered the question a vital one. At present the Province did the trade of Timaru and the southern part of Canterbury ; but the people of that Province were trying to move heaven and earth to get a railway to the Waitaki, and thence to Oamaru and Moeraki. The General Government were favorably disposed toward* the Dunedin and Moeraki line; and if it were not carried in the General Assembly, he thought the Provincial Council should take the matter into their own bands, and make it themselves. Tbere was land of sufficient value to justify making ten times the number of miles of railway, and it would realise a price of three or four pounds an acre or more if railways provided access to it: so that the Province possessed resources to make them if the General Government would not. However, a dissolution had taken place, and he hoped the electors would send some men who were in favor of prosecuting these works—some men who would carry out the policy of the Superintendent: that was the main thing. There was L 17.000 to the credit of the Provincial Treasury, and throughout the Province, publicly and privately, the community was prospering. He wanted to see that prosperity maintained, and those present wanted the same thing. They wanted to see new Industries and manufactories established all over the country, so that employment might be found for all desiring work, and a state of increasing development, commercially, to provide homes for tens of thousands of our fellow-countrymen. These considerations were beyond any theories about the Constitution. The question at issue was “Macandrew and Progress v, Reid and Obstruction.” He said nothing whatever against the man—privately he respected Mr Reid—but the electors would not be doing their duty to themselves or other* if they allowed him to have the conducting of the affairs of the Province at the present time. He had in his following such a large number of men, each expecting ms bunch of carrots, that it was impossible to satisy them. It was not a matter so much of who should he the Executive, but who should have the lead. He did not want to say anything against Mr Reid’s administration. It had not, however, been fault less, any more than that of other people. He had involved the Province in two law suits, which would cost no small sum of money, and there were the Moa Flat and other sales, and he might also instance the agreement for the Port. Chalmers Railway, which was the most extraordinary document ever drawn up; and had, in • consequence, caused the Province to pay smartly for it, although it was worth all it lost. Then there was his proposal to construct the Clutha Railway at a cost of L 400,000, at 8 per cent., which the General Government had effected for L 300,000 at per cent. He had no wish to damage Mr Reidf, but he wished to show that, notwithstanding their boast, neither he nor his Executive was faultless.—(Loud and prolonged cheering.) In reply to Mr Shepherd : At the time of drawing up the Superintendent’s Address, he expressed Ids regret that the law limited the sale of land in deferred payments to 30,000 acres annually. He (Mr Turnbull) should be disposed to extend it to 100,000. He was not well acquainted with the district from the Lawrence to the Clyde and Cromwell districts ; but, in his opinion, cheaply constructed railways, though they might involve expense in their first cost, should be made, for a railway not only enhanced the value of land but, through development of traffic, was a profit in many ways. To Mr Ross : Not only did school buildings require extension, but renewal, and the Executive proposed to borrow L 30,000 with a view to increasing it, and to place schools in districts where they did not previously exist. —(Applause.) It was the intention of the Government, as suggested by the Superintendent, to fill up those flats by the distillery, but Mr Cutten put a stop to it, and would not have it done. When the next Executive was formed it was their intention to continue reclamation in that direction.

To an Elector: The constituency might rely on his vote in the Provincial Council for the extinction of toll-bars. He never liked thorn anywhere, and much less in Otago. It had been decided to call for tenders for tolls, but seeing there was a desire on the part of some members of the Council to have tolls abolished, the acceptace of the tender was postponed. To an Elector; He thought if thehonoramm was a limited sum paid at the beginning of the session, instead of limiting it to twenty-eight or thirty days, most of the members would very soon go home.—(Loud cheers and roars of laughter.) Mr Charles Smith proposed, and Mr David Ross seconded, a vote of confidence in the candidate, which was carried unanimously.