A CHARACTERISTIC SPEECH

Evening Star, Issue 4276, 9 November 1876, Page 1

A CHARACTERISTIC SPEECH

tenths of the people ofrßunedin**** at the Conye&orLVd^r 13 ** 4 ** 2SSPV 1 %*>*!»** School cSttee? Moe at thw convention, Monday to, resolved ttat,l aß houS no faSS 1? However, as I conaidfired that that invitation was addressed to myself "peraohaH*%i * fP^e^tivemanmthro^^oilC^ch ■ the matter under wrisSerationly tEconJw 0 ?: \^ w Canterbury becaußelsappoteihey look upon meaea^oJarchrebeL-^dßghter^ .fcithe that pape? appear W following resolutfotfpjttea by a 'Oonventio<;cbulsih*atiV f snapfS^J jpassed. ./What, then,, option' dot rObviouay.oiJ^^^, ment.qf the. make arrangements iQfjpuag* to-lawjoy the purpose of demonstrating.lthe : inability of the * SSS *S? wne man in the Colony imagine that either of these lead to any good whatsoever 1 ? Aasnn&ft for the purpose of argument, that the UtasoTroymoialists can raise Jar*e fnnfa Jnaid of S Clr uld , «**<* force or law Jielp them* Take force, to begin with; s£pos. terous as the notion may appear to molt of ns, some hot-headed persons in Otajro might possibly desire to have reoourse But IIT" 5 !^ 3 ?»*»* to overybody stdl with that old idea that tW is *o\k>dv worth BpeaJsJngijf nortiuifihaJEaiiaki-the whofertrengthbf law, everything else; lies in the reit pt the Colony, and therefore that a physical strujsrffle could only end *in the disooinntu*6' of the rash minority."—(Mr Makdbbs : Hear.) We know full well: it is * ve ll known fact—it is a matter of history i there* fore I hope that what T am going to say will not be taken as meaning any offence t but is a notorious fact the Caataswry Pro* vmce was settled.by.our neighbors of Emland, while the; Province of Otago is essentially a Scotch ithese -gentlemen ] their ancestors crossed the idTJ 8 !*. M ■ b * t « «*»P north -of the Waitakd.-tHea*, not intend to occupy jour, time'. for%ay lengthened period, neither- dtf T intend by figures to support my «piniohßf fttkk has been done already by sWer|W4e: r sam* side Iwouldra&eVolrStWamnS to the present as a time of great moment to us as a country, and the necessity there now exists of our speaking and acthwrwfor ever holding our peace and hiding our diminished heads. True, there liaveTmany a time and oft questions of grave, and, for the moment interest arisen, ?in our midsV bpt .of T ery t Jittleuitereßt *o«n§outsirle the limits.rof, ;Q ur tolßte viTake, for instance, the gas question, the water question, and the Princes street but Then-again,,of more manding an interest n6t limited to the Colony alone, was the Maori war. It was of us sbecanßerwerhadxtoffeid s great proporfaon, of the feno*,,** caS on that and, we are :i n Q t; likely soon to forget thataiany intelligent;***™** wen*- * OB JS d 6 ,* 11 a weighty matterTOthout due deefirea tfcatX* small .Pro'nncfesi had'lolfhinir else to depend upon, -might l pw ricFa? our ex* pense, being utterly heedless oT" the mieeiv they entailed; aridye|uwfc«r*tbl6>&af wa a father, a brqthern* a son, but who who! Ae'lrftadlTofk the de^enoeleßs^oni^^ d w t g 1^ ,^jg a J n helped the race guUty of ihese barbarities. Was there a smgle woman; iwhe! -sister, burned and laid desolate, the inniaterSSoheronsly butchered,, but dropped longed, for a to revfece their oufraged sisters M.4he . a£i ye ; t we there ; speaking of Aorth oflbe-mitaki.) i ThereVno chmce of our forgettmg thai. One would Hot ourJpteitioVat "the present time. Pharoah s fat cattle knew, to theJR cost thnn. I wereleM^e'inm-l^^f^ d %^ nay, as' eagerly are now submttting to be spoiled of their tights and constitution bv these people in the .ttosfch. Wo sr»-k>M WeU.graat for the I aav It Hoes, we do want wS only want to be left a.re'pbor; leave.uS alpnejn our poverM'ltat • is our concerniand no v 6ne elsei. M]f«m Zealand is interested but our interests are there wtothe one hand the lean »vd hungry unable to support a member of ih^^i^d 1 !^ ° 9 11 lwk to. theitfsolve., then: own.energy ftf %heir^w tt sVp. the numerical strength of tiiose opposed to do not^fp^sgi' firmly, so sure as Aaron's rod swallowed *n ' the other eleven, solWwlTvoube ffiS out, and become simply hewers of wood and drawers of water for your big broth<» up North. Ah, no; tHey will tike*ery*b I care we shall not WJ-fr-4 VrMßhnilir t ' nortbottheWaitaa 4ioiyoupSE? "\ «ngie^ctrof " Government for Mnti&Aek

rite* through the Houses of Assembly ? Were we asked *fc'Q resign our privileges to the Bands of straightforward men, whose past career had inspired us with confidence, we might let things have taken their course. Do ; you remember when Vogel introduced the present tariff he professed only a sincere 'mxh. ( juat as if Julius Vogel could be sincere) ■ fe place: taxation on a mora equitable basis. He clid not require more money—oh, no ! .(. - The revenne was quite adequate for our requirements, and when he was assured it would bring L 50,000 more into the colonial «hest, he laughed those people to scorn. What was the net increase of L 200,000? Julius did not want any more—not be! but he never disgorged that L 200.000 of extra yearly .income, the bulk of which is raised by you and spent up North. And yet we are likely to forget there is anybody worth speaking of north of the Waitaki I Then look how Abolition was introduced—only the Northern Provinces would be abolished. Julius gives the wheel another torn and you are all blotted out; and see how " every Bill relSfing to Abolition was passed. He* always introduced the thin end of the* wedge quietly, and when a fitting opportunity , - /presented- itself he drove it surely home. ,><. We are told that the measures have been patsed that we are in the minority, and - eught to quietly submit. That we should hare spoken sooner I deny. We are in the minority, and did not we at the last election ( of ..members for the Assembly elected on the Abolition ticket, and, with one or two exceptions, all were returned pledged to reject Abolition. Was not that Bpeaking out ? Where would you have us protest if not at the ballot box ? There, surely, the people speak their mind—take Dunedin, for J- -example."- A gentleman of repute, having been thrice - elected Mayor, and a most popular mar?, tested public feeling here, and was ignominiously defeated. How are we in the minority, it our members were so unanimous? Aye, there again-1 am forgetting there is anybody north of the Waitaki. y. .' I would liken the nine Provinces of New '< '■ " Zealand^—that Were, I suppose I should have ]/'■'■ said—unto nine families settling down in a ' disturbed district, and, finding they could better protect their interests and forward -~? t&eir progress, join together, in a sort of icon- .• - federation,, and each agreeing to contribute ,l something for'the public weal to a common no' j.-foifd. • these families are .'• thrifty, and industrious, and the other ■even; are improvident and thriftless ; the husbands wearing broadcloth when they can Only afford -fustain, and the wives silks when cotton dresses are as much as they can afford. .Presently, the means for obtaining j: ; ... .even these t fails.,. They immediately begin iomt about Wjhat theyshall do, and instead of living within their means and putting their shoulder, tl .to. the wheel, they re- ■ solve to' have one common purse, in» '-faugurate a sort of little millenium ; for the whole community. The thrifty - - families are in the minority, but would anyone venture to say the majority were right and bad arrived at a just or honorable mode .of getting rid of their difficulties; and I hold *'"''.' that, as. regards New Zealand at present, the '? parable holds' good. We are also told, and it is thrown in our teeth every day, that our members should have got as much as they could out of the scramble. One is nearly ■■■; tempted "to call on the gods to hearken, and * the winged winds, that play around life's • \ pathway, to listen. > We are asked to accept for the land of our adoption and the home >: * - of biir children a constitution of shreds and patches, gathered in a scramble, the consti- ■ tueht parts of which were thrown by - Government on the floor of the Assembly. ».; :: -We have been often taunted with the want of leader?, and one journal asked ■:, ♦Where are our leading men—our Harbor ■ Boardt j I think most of yon will agree with '■'- me when I say we have nearly had enough ; ''- 'of them. Ido not think many would cry if they were abolished, but would thank .j • for .it. ; ," Where are are our leaders of \" :; . apyWojt ? Shall I. tell.you. where some of ;";.o'j thenVare." ; . We'hadin ourmidstaman who, r ,forap!^tiin^ ; ,was attheheadof our affairs, r.< . but-he- is. gahe.' -He -*ieft the narrow '■■ -iphere.of Provincial, for the wide and more exalted one of Colonial politics, and for a while, like the meteor that shone forth in ~ the heavens some time ago, he filled the r : ' whole firmament with his dazzling brightness ; but like it, too; he vanished ?rom°our gaze/ leaving the night darker, blacker than • it was before. J3ut w,e know not whence ..].-.. thef meteor comes,.nor whither it goes, and here the similer is at fault. I ought to have tatherusedthe-well known metaphor, he went up like a rocket, he came down like a stick. I have said that the General Government and the Assembly ara not to be trusted, that they are- thoroughly demoralised. > What did D: Reid say in the House of Assembly when discussing the successor of Dr. Featherston.and advocating the claims ■ of Juliui Vogel, but that he had done more ::: to demoralise the House and the Civil Ser- ;„■ vice. than any other man ? ; The statement 1 ' was-unchallenged, and this great demoraUser is sent Home to fill the position vacated by , : tj*© death of a man for whose honesty ap.d i] '."■■ among , find no fault; and .*i yet youwould have us remit the care of our .' <-oonQerns and resign, our privileges into; such - bands. I would ask where are our opponents—- -''■■ -these whasupport Abolition? (MrMandersHere.—Roars of laughter.) If they have the good of their country at heart, and there are among them men whom we all respect, J V and would respect them all the more were '"* they here" to uphold their opinions. While I must confess, that this motion is not exactly what I. ;jnyself, would wish, but, knowing that? this resolution has been drawn out by gentlemen of .greater experience and with cooler heads than myself, I support it. I however, rather have seconded a i fl 'mfotion which would settle the question one '"""rwayibir' another in a shorter and more decisive manner;