THE CITY ELECTION.

Evening Star, Issue 3480, 18 April 1874, Page 2

THE CITY ELECTION.

Mr Barton addressed a numerous meeting of the electors at the Oddfellows Hall' last evening, Mr A. Beck being voted to the chair. The following are the principal parts of the candidate’s address t

THE WATER COMPANY’S BILL. . I on examining receipts for Corporation rates and water rates, that the Corporation rates property at Is 3d in the pound of its value for all the annual city expenditure for gas, watering the streets, drainage, and road making. 1 find that the Water Company rates the same property at about Is 5d in the pound of its value, to pay their L2O per cent interest on their L 37.000 of expenditure. So that to realise L 7,400 per annum of profit on their paid-up capital, this Company assesses us to an amount nearly, if not quite, equal to all our other city expenditure put together. Such being the case, no wonder the Company’s shares are at a very handsome

premium, and ate, ia fact, not to he pur* chased even at the nominal premium. Yet they present the singular spectacle of being so poor that they are about to bor* row a further sum of money with the aid of the Legislature. I want to know why they do this, with their whole original shares not issued, and those that are issued not paid up. When they answer that question to my satisfaction I will vote for their Bill giving further borrowing powers—-but not till then. In other words, I will never vote for such extension; and. on the contrary, I will do my utmost to shew that such a Bill would be a swindle on the people of Dunedin. I have not time to show up the almost numberless instances of injustice to the citizens contained in the Acts already

passed. Let them pass. It is the fault of the citizens themselves to have puit in representatives who permitted such things, and now I, as a lawyer and conservative, say that so far as I am concerned, I shall look upon the privileges which you have given the Company as their property, and refuse to be a party to deprive them of these just as I would have equally refused to have been a party to grant them. Shares of a company almost daily change hands, and incomes and investments are built upon the faith of public statutes like these. lam lawyer and conservative enough to respect them, however unjustly obtained through your negligence of your own interests.

THE LAND QUESTION. Practically, I look upon the land question ag almost settled in favor of the squatter and land speculator by our present Land Acts, and especially by tha Act of 1872, than which a worse or more illiterate Act does not disgrace our statute book. It has created an irresponsible Laud Board. It has further assisted to render the public lands of the Province almost inalienable without the consent of the squatter ; it throws every obstacle in the way of declaring sufficient Hundreds ; it limits the 'land that may be occupied under the system of deferred payments to 30,000 acres in one year, and I see hundreds of methods by which the work of the Act mar

be hampered at every step if that step be in the popular direction. 1 am almost hopeless of any improvement in these Acts, because B e* m s to be laid down as a principle that the General Assembly will not even consider a measure proposed in the popular interest unless it be first recommended b'y the Provincial Council; while, on the other hand, whenever such a sarasure came from the Provincial Council, the Assembly cuts out all the clauses in favor of the people, and leaves in and adds to the clauses which the Provincial Council gave as concesions to the pastoral tenants. It is a case of “Heads X win, tails you lose,” and each Act that is passed has hitherto only made matters worse. lam as warmly a land reformer ha ever I was, but I am less hopeful of seeing an end to the squatting' system than formerly. Its proportions become more

gigantic every year, and its hold upon the country seems to grow tighter instead b! loosening. The only hope of real land reform that I see is, that a general land system, applicable over the whole Colony, should be enacted. Such a measure could not fail to be more liberal than our Otago system, and would give ns a chance of oh* tainipg the aid of representatives from other Provinces, less squatter-ridden than our own. I will give my support to any liberal land measure that will help to place the people upon the lands ; but I confess that my hopes of seeing such a measure carried are not very strong except _in the events I am about to mention, which eygnts depend upon a future already marked out for us beyond recall. ' :! l ‘

IMMIGRATION AND PUBLIC WORKS. . au advocate for keeping Julius' Vogel in his place, to work out that policy to its ea .d- I would do so, first, because he is the originator ol the policy, and to him belongs the responsibility—the credit of its success, or the disgrace of its failure. If we let him out of that responsibility, by putting his op* ponents in power, he may fairly say, “ I am not to blame for the fatal results that hare ensuedand his opponents may equally fairly say, “We are not responsible for the fatal results of this policy, which we have always opposed, as likely to lead to these very results.” On these grounds I desire, if returned, to support the Vogel Administra* tion, and keep Mr Vogel to the responsibility he has incurred. So much as to the admihis* tration of the policy ; how as to the policy itself. I highly approveof railway extension. I think it is the cheapest and most profitable way of opening a nejV couptry for settlement, and for creating markets and outlets for ihj> industry of the settlers; and I point to America as a glorious example of that fact. A II kinds of industries are be&tfitftd by railway extensionm—-iners, manufacturers, and farmers, producers and consumers alike. Whatever may be Mr Maoandrew’s fault, he deserves well of this Province for his strong and persistent advocacy of railway extension, m spite of all opposition, and I hope that no differences with my ideas' of land policy and his may prevent us from working together to push on this and other classes of improve* ment on which we caa agree. I think that the ultimate result ef this very railway and im» migration system must be to force open the lands, in spite of all present laws to the WB*

_ trary, and 1 hail Vogel and Macandrew as land reformers, and doing fche very work I wish to see done, though they probably were not conscious when they began that their efforts tended in that direction. But, be that as it may, their road now joins mine, content to walk alongside in push* mg ahead railways and immigration, for its inevitable end must be either of two things —-rum for all of us, or else the settlement of the people on the lands. I think I see the pressure of this dilemma already showing its Signs, and I am sure that we nave already advanced on the way too far to return. lam no advocate for immigration without land settlement. lam no advocate for railways without population. I will not willingly be a party to bringing people here to starve, but I can see no outlet from Vogel’s scheme of progress but to carry it out, and either sink or swim with it. So far, it has produced prosperity. If wisely supplemented by a proper land system, that prosperity will increase instead of diminishing. LAW RETORM. My first reform would be to make the office of Attorney General again a political one, and the only road to the Supreme Court Bench, as it is in England and Victoria. I would make it worth the while of all leading lawyers to enter the service of the people, and in that service to earn the confidence of the leaders of the party to which they attach themselves, and to learn that moderation and love of constitutional freedom which Parliamentary debating always instils into the ? 11l m 8 of the men engaged in it, whether they be Tories or Radical. . The glory of the English Bench is conferred npon it by the f'eat men who have reached it through the arliament, and who have carried into the Courts the wisdom and moderation and

public spirit learned in the Senate. My first effort shall be in this direction, and if I succeed I shall try to be myself the first of a long lipe of Attorney .Generals, If I can find a Prime Minister whose policy I can sufficiently agree with to enable me tq enter his Ministry, and who will bo willing to accept my services, I . will endeavor to codify our Statute Book, and I should be bold enough to Suggest, for consideration, an entire change in our judicial system, and in our jury system? and, above all, in our system of legal posts. My mind is tolerably well filled with sphemes of reform upon these subjects ; and, notwithstanding that I am so conservative, I would apply the pruning knife pretty freely, because now I think .1 know what to do, and .would not fear to tread boldly, if 1 got into the place where I could do so. I will never consent to abolition of Juries if I can help it; nor will Ido anything to place our lives or property out of the power of the people themselves, or within the control of Judges or any other officials. I think the time lost by Juries in service on Jury trials is amply repaid to the Jurors by the control they exercise over their own concerns. If the Jury lists were made up as they should be, no man in the country would be burdened by too much Jury work, and all com- • mon case* could be well tried by Juries of four instead of twelve. I would make it unlawful for any Judge to express his opinion of the truth or falsehood of witnesses. Such conduct by the Judge practically amounts to Ms being a thirteenth juryman, and his comment is almost always an unjust or onesided comment. I should confine him to expounding the law to the Jury, and compel him to leave them to, decide all facts without comment or pressure from him. I would abolish the use of a dock, or any other de ■ Sedation of men charged with criminal offences; and I would enable them and force them to give evidence f®r and against themselves .in their own cases—and thus helping the innocent to prove their innocence and depriving the guilty of the shield of enforced silence. I would desire to see considerable reform in our judicial system. I think the single Judge sitting alone to decide points of law is open to very grave ©bjee tiona indeed. Every Judge has unconscious preference for particular practitioners, or for or against particular persons, and when he sits alone, it is but human nature that he should display these preferences. I would like, in this Province, to have a full Court for the decision of all ques- ; tions of law arising in all the Courts; and perhaps even our District Judges—Mr Gray, Mr Ward, and Mr Bathgate—to sit with Jndge Chapman, to decide all their questions. Such a system would work well. One member of the Court acting as president, and as such attending in our Court of Appeal as the delegate of the Court below. Under some such system justice might be brought home to every man’s door, and at the same time the best approach ceuld be made towards

certainty in our legal decisions that is attainable in a youag Colony. , lo answer to questions, Mr Barton said he understood frond Mr Wales that the n«w Waterworks Bill intended to increase the borrowing power of the company. He weuld oppose such a Bill. He would oppose it tooth and nail, in every place and on every occasion. He would rather have a Parliament for each island. He approved of the idea of dividing the two islands qa far as the Government was concerned. In answer to a question— ** What compensation would the present Attorney-General be entitled to for the loss of hie pregent monopoly ?” Mr Barton said he understood a written promise had been given to the Attorney.General by the Government when he entered office, that he should bo made a Judge of the Supreme Court, so his compensation was already settled. He (Mr Barton) was in favor of secular, and not of denominational education. In answer to a question whether he was in favor of railway trains running on Sunday, Mr Barton said he would not do anything to stop the running of trains on Sundays. He thought that whenever a member of Parliament accepted office in the Ministry, he should go before his constituents for re-election. He thought some check should be put upon the readiness disjjlayed by some peqplp to come forward as candidates at elections, for the mere purpose of opposition. He thought that a candidate should get at least five or ten electors to hi? l - H a man, in a constituency of 2,000 or 3,000 electors, could not get ten or even five men to nominate him, it would be better for the constituency that he should not stand. He Was in favor not only of manhood suffrage, but also of womanhood suffrage in a well-educated community. There were many good men who could not read or write; but a man who could not

read the newspapers was not able to understand what was going on about him, and would do more harm than good by voting for a member of Parliament. 8 Mr Duthie proposed, and Mr Gilchrist seconded, a motion, affirming that Mr Barton was the most fit and proper person to represent Dunedin in the General Assembly. MB WALES’S MEETING. Mr W ales addressed 150 of the electors at the Headquarters Drill-shed; the Mayor occupying the chair. The following were the principal topics discussed by the candidate ;

THE WATER COMPANY’S BILL. He was decidedly in favor of the Waterworks being in the management of the Corperation, and believed that if they were so and judiciously managed, the present Corporation rate would also cover that for the water supply. (dear, hear.) There appeered to him to be two issues on the quesfion. The first was—la the event of his

being returned, would he or would he not support a measure about to be introduced'by the Waterworks Company, the effect intended by such measure being to increase the powers of that Company; and secondly, would he or would he not support a measure about to be introduced by the Corporation to enable it to construct Waterworks for the City ? These were the two issues to which this question was reduced. To the first he most emphatically, without reservation, and unhesitatingly answered, that he would not support any measure to give the Waterworks Company any further increase of power, or in any way strengthen their monopoly, which pressed so heavily on the citizens,-(Hear, hear.) He was opposed to monopolies of every sort, and it could not be denied that the Waterworks Company possessed a very strong monopoly. T® the second, he would give his answer—ln the event of the Corporation and the Waterworks Company failing to come to au understanding whereby the present works could be secured to the Corporation, and placed under their management, hei would support the Corporation Bill. If the Waterworks were under Corporation management, the cases that had occurred lately of impurities to the water would scarcely have been possible. Another point connected with this matter, which probably had not been thought of: On reading over the Waterworks Act of 1864, he found a clause under which the Assembly reserved to itself the power to alter and revise the maximum rates charged by the Company. Now, he would even go further even than his opponent had done, and pledge himself to this ; That in the event of a Company not coming to some arrangement whereby the works could be secured to the citizens at a reasonable rate, he would support a measure brought forward to take advantage of this clause, and have water rates so arranged that they would not be so heavy on the citizens. If it could be shown that the Corporation could construct works aud supply water cheaper than the Company, he thought that this clause should be taken advantage of, and the Company’s rates assimilated to something

like that for which the water could bq supplied, At the same time he was a lover of fair play, and took into account the circumstances under which the Waterworks Company was commenced, and the circumstances under which the shares rose to their present very high figure. He did not think it fair to those who held shares that anything should be done which would reduce the value of those shares. At the same time, if the Company expected to increase the value of fche shares, and tried to charge an interest up to the full rate allowed by law, he thought the clause he had referred to should be taken advantage of, and the rates allowed to be charged reconsidered. He again denied emphatically that ho was a nominee of the Waterworks Company, notwithstanding what anyone might say to the contrary. It was a “ weak invention of the enemy ” to damage his candidature, and to prevent him from getting a seat in the Assembly.

4 IMMIGRATION. This was a question which affected the whole Colony, and one in which the whole Colony was interested. They had a Colony which promised fair to become a most important one, and it was in the highest degree essential to its prosperity that it should be peopled with a class that were likely to be energetic and good Colonists. held that, under the-present agency system, the indiscriminate and haphazard way of securing immigrants which was followed was not a judicious one,—(Applause.) There were but few, he believed, who were opposed to a steady flow of good immigrants. If the immigration scheme were to stop altogether, it would be a - sorry day for us. At the same time, the present system, or rather that part of it constituting the Home agency, for the selection of immigrants, was altogether at fault. The agents scattered throughout -Great Britain, and over the world, he might say, in the way things were now managed, sent indiscriminately to head-quarters all whom they could get to come out here. The nominated system, recently inaugurated, was working well. 2,558 had been nominated in Invercargillsince the introduction of that system, and 1,727 in Dunedin. Now, the large numbers like these nominated by people out here who were acquainted with the qualities requisite to make good colonists, and who, it was to be presumed, would send only for those whom they thought would do well here, showed the usefulness of the system of free nomination. He thought that if this system were encouraged sufficient immigrants could be brought to the Colony under it without the expensive toy of having agents over Britain to pick np and send here any who would come, no matter what character they possessed. He believed it was the case that certificates of character were required from intending immigrants, but any one knew that a clergyman or magistrate would give a certificate of character to almost any one who asked is; and the agents or the Agent-General could hardly refuse any one with such a certificate. He thought some alteration of this scheme was necessary, and he would, if returned, make himself acquainted with the working of it, and endeavor to have a modification of this scheme made, because he believed the scheme was now almost iniquitous. He did not believe one-third of the population was jn favor of tips part of the present system of immigration, He would now turn to the question of public works. These works, with the free immigration going on, had drawn attention to us in the old country. The greater the population the greater the prosperity, if that population were a working one. The public works must-be carried on vigorously ; the scheme had been entered on. and must be proceeded with: and, if returned, he should endeavor to get Otago her share, which, considering her population and relative importance, was the lion’s share

THE LAND QUESTION. Ha believed in the deferred payment systern, so far as ho had been able to Study it, but he could scarcely go into improvement* clauses and other details. He was not sufficiently well acquainted with the whole system to express decidedly and without hesitation his opinions on this point. Since this was a matter which had puzzled more experienced men, they would not expect him. now to hold clear opinions on every point * but he would say that, if returned, the Land’ Laws should have his especial study. He was in favor of allowing mechanics and laboring men at work in towns to take up land on deferred payments, without at once settling on the same, on sufficient proof being shown that they were employed at their trade. —(A Voice : That’s too open to dummyism). There were difficulties in the way, but provision against duuamyism could be taken. He was opposed to selling land m large blocks. So far as he had considered the matter, ho was in .or °* leasing public estate instead of selling it. That question, however, was a very deep one, and it would require three or four lawyers to manage that business. He claimed to be a thoroughly practical individual; and, if returned, should set himself to work practically, and to forward all matters before the Assembly; he would promise to be always at his post when any matter of importance was on; and he would not shirk voting on any question. The representative who shirked voting from the fear of displeasing one side or another of his constituency was not deserving of the confidence of the electors, Mr Barton, at bis meeting of the night before, and Mr Barnes, he believed, at the same meeting, stated that undoubtedly he (Mr Wales) was the nominee of [ the Waterworks, Company, because Mr

Rennie seconded the nomination. He might inform them that Mr Rennie did not know he was coming forward until after he had actually been proposed. When Mr Rennie heard hia name, he said, “ Was that you that was proposed for the Assembly?” and he (Mr Wales) replied, “ Yes, you had better second me and Mr Rennie seconded him. Mr Rennie seconded him, not because of his political views, or of any connection with the Waterworks Company, but simply beoiuse he knew him (Mr Wales) to be a straightforward man. Mr Barnes also stated that his (Mr Wales’s) partner wag a large runholder; but that was not the cate. Mr Mason did not own a sheep in the country; and he, as regarded his connection with Mr Mason, could not be considered as a squatters’ nominee.

PERSONAL. He had been mixed up with the working class—all worked here, but by what was commonly called the working class he meant mechanics and laborers—since boyhood, and his interests and feelings were more eonnected with theirs than with any other class. He knew their wants; he knew their feelings ; and if returned to the Assembly he would give expression to them.—(Applause.) In answer to questions, Mr Wales expressed himself in favor of manhood suffrage, excluding those who could not read or write, or who had infringed the laws of their 1 country. If the two mail services did not give an equivalent for the sum expended, he would be in favor of doing away with one of them. He was in favor of the e girt hours system being general, and being made the legal day, but he was not in favor of anything being legalised by which work could not be done beyond the eight hours. People should be allowed to work beyond the eight hours in urgent cases, but none should be compelled to work beyond that time, and if worked beyond the eight hours, they should be paid time-and-a-half for it. If elected, he would act straightforwardly, honestly, and independently of any party or clique ; and, moreover, if he should in the Assembly vote conscientiously in a way opposite to that desired by the citizens, he would, if a majority of electors asked him to resign, resign at once. He did not desire the office of Colonial Architect,, and, if it were offered to him, would decline it. In the event of his proposal for allowing people in town to take up land on deferred payments before they had saved sufficient to be able to settle on it being carried out, he was in favor of provision being made—such, for instance, as preventing the transfer of land for a number of years—to keep speculators from getting possession of small pieces and combining them into large areas. He was in favor of the legislation of the system which obtained in England and elsewhere of a member before receiving office as Minister having to go before his constituents for reelection. Mr Ure proposed, and Mr Pearson seconded, a vote of confidence in Mr Wales, which was carried.