The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 1885 The Premier at Dunedin

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 94, 24 January 1885, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 1885 The Premier at Dunedin

Mb Stout addressed his constituents at Dunedin on- Wednesday evening, last. He gave a brief summary of | the various causes which led to his ftjMniming the Premiership, and the part taken in the formation of thei preceding short-lived Ministries, lie paid high compliments to Messrs Macanbbew and Montoomeby. He said some of the Acts of the previous Administration • which came out last session were not very creditable, and instanced the San Francisco mail contract. He showed, however, that his Ministry had saved £9;000 to the colony by the firm stand taken against the Sydney Government in the matter. He referred to the measures taken for social reform passed during the session, •viz., the Married Women's Property Act, the Workman's lien Act, and the Amended Land Act, prepared by Mr Rolleston, but to which he had added some clauses. Mr Ballat.ce was a good administrator of land, and few understood the subj ect better. He instanced the blocks of land set aside in the North Island for small farm associations, by which means effectual settlement would be secured. With reference to the Legislative Council, his views had not changed. He had long held that two Chambers were unnecessary, but the colony was not yet ripe for one only. He believed the Council would be made more efficient by electing members for five or seven years instead of for life. He considered his Government was in an unfortunate position, as a majority of the Legislative Council was against it, and they were not certain that measures passed in Parliament would not be rejected by the Upper House. In Native Lands and Defence or Immigration, there would be a saving next session of from £50,000 to £80,000 in Mr Ballance's department. He considered that the administration of Native affairs so far had been very fair. He considered the idea of Australasian confederation was premature. As to Samoa and Tonga, the present Government felt they should be under British rule, and it was desirable New Guinea should be so also. They did not object to German colonists, and had already paid the passages to the colony . of several, and assisted them to settle down. A good deal had been said about the New Zealand Government sending a steamer to annex Samoa-, but all they really did waa to arrange to send the Hinemoa to ascertain the state of feeling in Samoa., They did not disclose what they were doing until they received from Lord Debby an answer to a message which, I they had sent him stating the position >of affairs. His reply was that, seeing that Samoa was an independent State,' New Zealand could not interfere, but Lord Debby did more than this, though it had not been made public till now. He had sent H.M.S. Mirandi from Sydney to Samoa. On the question of local government he said he considered the colony had made a huge mistake in passing the Abolition of Provinces Act. The present system of local government was imperfect. He would not do away with ridings, boroughs, and counties, and he would not have all institutions throughout the colony included in one pattern. The system under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act had . entirely broken down. For hospital and charitable aid there must pc an aggregation of some of the counties ' together so that they could deal: generally on certain subjects'. Some might say this was a return to provincialism, but he held that it was not. It was impossible for the central Government to manage the many local concerns.; they were called on to undertake. In conclusion he warned hishearers of the Democratic tide which was rising all over the world, and cautioned them, that if they wished to preserve their individualism intact, they must carry out their necessary reforms quietly, and carefully.