ELECTORAL NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 3982, 29 November 1875, Page 2

ELECTORAL NOTES.

Two other candidates—Messrs Beeves and M'Guire—announce their intention to contest the seats for Grey Valley. Mr Harrison, M.H.R., has withdrawn, and gives as bis reasons his professional engagements and inability to devote the time to canvass the district. Mr Newton addressed a crowded and enthusiastic meeting on Saturday night, and received a unanimous vote of confidence, and his election is considered certain. Seven candidates are in the field.

on Saturday night, Mr James M'lntosh addressed the electors at biverton. Bis speech was nearly an echo of |Mr Macundrew’# 1 manifesto. After his address a vote of no confidence was moved t also an amendment that the other candidate be heard before they gave any support to Mr M'lntosh. On a show of hands being taken the voting was very equal, but the Chairman declared the motion carried. The only o her candidates announced are Mr James Wilson, M.P.0., and Dr Hodjkinson, all being Provincialists. It is thought if Mr M'Gillivray, or any other abolitionist comes forward he would stand a good chance to go in unless sums ot the Piorinci lists retire. Tne campaign was begun in the Mount Ida district by Mr De Lautour, who, on the 22hd inst. addressed the Hamilton’s portion of the electorate. In the * Chronicle’ he is reported to have said ; —“ He thought that Government in New Zealand had gone ahead of the people —had got. beyond their control, and as a result we found an oppression of Government on every side. The result of this was that the people were for ever looking to the Government, as the old heathens <lid to Jupiter, to do the mest trifling thing for them which they could do for themselves. Nothing was more common than to see men sitting idle, or putting up with a nuisance, for fear that if they themselves applied the easy remedy they might be d ing what the Government would do ultimately fm them. The loss of labor in the country owing to this constant waiting upon Government was something enopjnous. 11 was no wonder that there was so general a desire for government simplification. The oppression of the General Government was moatfel'. The Provincial Governments were more in harmony with the people than the Colonial Government. The aim of all who wished well of New Zealand should be—the re-estab-lishing the true relationshi between the Gove ament of the country and the people The Abolition Bill would be in this sense a benefit, Thu Provincial Councils might be as bad as they were made out to be, but he could not lorget they were the representative bodies of the,people, and that the franchise was a liberal one. There could be no uoubt <>ur Council could he simplified,'lt might to advantage be stripped of its political functions, and converted into a Beard of Woiks of twelve or fifteen members—the members being held responsible for the resulto of their acts rather than the acts theraselv s. Ho did not consider that any arbitrary creation of counties or road boards could prove a success. There would be no advantage in superseding overgrown redtapism l»y creative redtapism. Neither did he think that either one Council or two for each island would prove more satisfactory outside a twenty-mile radium from the governing centres than the governments of the present. . . . He found it greatly repugnant to him to support what was known as know, ing, as he did, the evils of the presant dual system, but the distance which even Provincial OoTotuaoDtß had drifted from the people tm

only exceeded by the distance from the people reached by the t’denial Gov-mment, If we could simplify our idea of government, ai\d reduce that simplified idea to practice, originating the government in the intelligence of the Colony, and divorc ng it from the interests of the few, there could be no doubt that New Zealand as a country had a great future before it. Such simplifications as be had alluded to at some length would cut the ground from under the abysses of dissension and heart-burning questions of the day, such as education, pastoral tenure, deferred payment extension. &c. In answer to a question Mr said he should, if retained, give his strong ™pport to the Opposition party in defeating to* Go ‘ vernment and establishing a system of Government which would give local control to each island, At the same time he could not go all lengths with some of the views of individual members of the Opposition, At the conclusion of the address, the following resolution was carried unanimously:—“ That this meeting—judging from the past public career of air D« Lautour, as well as the principles enunciated by him this evei ing, and the fact of his interest being Identical with the people of this district —is of opinion that he (Mr De Lautour) is the best person we can obtain to represent us in the next General Assembly.”