THE WAIAPU ELECTION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1583, 13 October 1905, Page 3

THE WAIAPU ELECTION.

MR LISSANT OLAITON AT GISBORNE,

There was a orowdod attendance at His Majesty's Theatre last evening, when Mr Listant Clayton addressed the oleotors of Waiapn. His Worship the Mayor presided, and claimed for the oandidalo a fair and impartial hearing. The oleotors had the ohoico of throo candidates, and care would have to bo exeroisod in making a selection. Mr Clayton, who was most cordially received, stated that ho had a very hard I task bofore him, as he was opposing Mr S Carroll, a gontlemau who was hold in the liighost esteem throughout the district. It would bo his aim to strictly keop away from personal reforcuoe to that gentleman, but he would not bo afraid to severely oritioise the measures of the parly to which Mr Carrol] belonged, Passing on, the candidate statsd that ho was an Independent Oppositionist, in full sympathy with Mr Massey. Mr Clayton first dealt with the land polioy of the present Government, trenchantly oritioising the altitude taken tip by the Premier in regard to the question of freehold. He considered the lease in perpetuity meant a great loss to the State, An elootor, who expressod approval of the lease in porpotuity tenure was mot with the following rejoiodor from tho candidate : 11 1 hoar one gentleman say * hear, hear,' but I shall show him by aud bye that he is entirely ignorant of what he talks about.” A voico : “ Go on,” and applauso. Mr Clayton : Another person says, “Go on,” aod I intend to do so. I am here to advooalo tho viows whioh the party I belong to hold, and no amount of opposition will prevent mo from doing so. No amount of howling will put me o£f this platform. (Applause.) The candidate spoke at some length on tbo land question, his remarks being much on tho lines of the address delivered at Patutahi. Tho question of Native lands was next dealt with, tho candidate pointing out that, although the Premier had many times promised legislation on this question, nothing of a practical character had resulted. At present there wore two laws in regard to Native lands, one for the Europeans and another for the Maori. Ho said that the natives wore intelligent enough to doai with their own lands. They were told by tho supporters of Mr Carroll that be was a great stateaman,but bo (Mr Olaytoo) would like them to name one measure on the statute book to support this. Beferriag to the East Coast Trust Board Mr

Clayton said that he purposed before the campaign was over of dealing at length with that body. It was well known one appointment to the Board had caused universal dissatisfaction throughout this district. Re contradicted the statement made by tltt Native Minister that there were only COO,OOO aores of native land in the Waiapu County, addiDgthat the honorable gentleman was either deliberately misleading the electors or else he was totally nnnnSttod to bold the position he did, seeing that he did not know the affairs of his own department. (Applause.) There were no less thao 774,000 acres of native lands lying in an unproductive state, and they ell knew what this meant to the district. The Native Minister had been the biggest drag on the district during the past twelve years. (Applause). He did not wish to see a system of Maor ''endlordiam established in the colony. The speaker instanced what had been done by the Native Minister in regard to the Te Araroa township, and also mads special reference to the Native Rating Act, whioh he held required amendment. Speaking on the matter of roads and bridges the Candidate sought to show that the district bad been shamefully neglected in regard to both compared with what had been secured by Opposition constituencies. It was not until ooe man went from Gisborne that the Government promised to give a grant of £3OO towards the Paatas Rock 3, the danger of which bad been repeatedly pointed out by the Connty Council. The vote was not given until it was pointed out that the seat of tbeir representative j’Was in jeopardy. Ocies of “ Oh 1 Oh 1 ” Mr Olayton: Yon can howl as muob as you like, and get at mo ai much ae you oan. I say that the people of the district are dissatisfied with the eittiog member, and I intond to prove it. (Applause). A voice ! He sleeps in too long in .tho morning. (Laugbtei). Continuing, tho speaker went on to refer to the fact that tho district had not received aoything in proportion to what Opposition constituencies hod been voted, inatanoing tho amount received by Waikato and Bay of Plenty. Waiapu during the past year bad been voted £21,000, against Wostland's £39,000, The grants voted 8o eaob constituency should not bo dependent on the will of a Minister, and a proper aod equitable system of allocation Bhoulj be arrived at. At present they had

do iaJSpcenißDt So rats themselves. The Te Karaka railway had coal £IIO,OOO ; <66077 per milo, and at the rate of the present progress it would be nearly 20 years before it reached tho Moliu. The vole for the oarrent year would not carry the line more than a couple of miles. Tho candidate quoted several instances, showing the extravagant cost of the line as oompared with lines built by private enteipciso, The whole oountry was permeated by political jobbery, and it was his purpose to break ifc down. (Applause.) AO soma length Mr Clayton dealt with Pablio Revenues Act and the system of auditing tfe- which exietod, wbioh he considered required reformation. The system of Government book-keeping was also severely criticised. , . Commenting on the expenses >noo« ea bv mombors of the Government, Mr Clayton said be frankly had no time for Mr Seddon, although no doubt the latter had served the country socordiDg to his lignts. It was, however, he contended, beneatn tho dignity of a Prime Minuter to malso many of the charges that had been made. 1 Tho oandiuete expressed his gratification m that the Liberal Association had seen bt Z to honor him with a oircu'ar detailing j) various beneficial measures passed by the Government, several of whioh he would ') nrove to them they could not take to themselves much credit for putting [ no tho staiato book. Tbe State coal mines, { lor which great kudos was taken was

working unaaiiafacfcorily, and had v noß benefited anyone, the prioe of coil not being reduced by sixpence. In■ regard to State Fits lasuranoo little credit coold be olaimed by the Government, and the methods adopted to secure business were not as they should be. Ho did do, think any more crodii was duo to the Governmenb for the preservation of the Bank ot New Zealand than to the Opposition, seeiog that the whole House was in favor of it and voted for it. The penny postage was nothev measure whioh had been forced on the Government. One measuro that the Liberal Association had omitted to mention was tbo Shops and Offices Apt, and be was surprised that they should have left it qut. (Laughter.) The candidate severely criticised tbo :action oi the Government in regard to the Shops Act, poioting out the great dissatisfaction it had provoked. The necessity for tne establishment of a Civil Service Beard was advocated. The Government had a noble army of iospectors. and very little good resulted from tboir eervioee. In fact be thought that many of them would ne better omployod foiling bu3h. Passing on Mr Clayton spoko of tbe valuation oi land for the purposes of taxatioa, stating that IhefaoverQmeni had issued iaslrucbioos to"tbeic valuers to assess tho land as big as they possibly could. Mr 0. F. Lewis : It is a lie. v

Mr Clayton : Slnoe you are the valuer, Mr Lowb, I can tell you that it is absolutely (rue, and I am willing to prove it. (Laughter.) Mr Lewis : I pay it is a lie. Mr Clayton : I soy, ladies and gentleman, that no man has a right to speak io this way to a candidate c n p-atform, Mr Lewie says it is a lio and I am sorry It r him. A. voice: Fight it out. Mr Clayton : 1 can prove what 1 say, and I repeat that any man who makes that statement rashly—wol), I am sorry for him. . The candidate stated that ho would giro his authority from Hansard, showing that Mr Seddon admitted that the head of the Deportment bad given suob instructions. Continuing, the speaker dealt with the aqosltyn of local option on the lines of bw

addresses alroady published, Ho considered it was against tbo interests of a oaudidate to tako anything but a neutral attitude. Ho was absolutely in favor of maintaining tbo prosent law. Wore bo a politician of Mr Seddon’s typo bo would at once ally himself with tbo prohibitionists and gel their vote, especially whon he i know that the licaused victuallers were working hard sgainst him. Roferring to the absence of Mr Carroll from the district at tbo laßt election, the candidate stated that ho had boon challenged at the Motu in regard to a statement that Mr Carroll had not addresred tho electors. He (Mr Clayton) still adhered to the assertion, unless one oonld oall addressing 16 Of 20 men in the taproom of an hotel a meeting. That was tho only time ho had addressed them. Ho said that Mr Carroll would address them many times during the present campaign. In support of this they had only to look at the copies of Hansard during tho present session and ' oompare it with those of three years ago. In conclusion, Mr Clayton warned the audionco against being led away by the eloquence of the Native Minister. It was tho first lime he had addressed suoh a largo mooting. A voioe: You are doing very well, old man.

I Mr Clayton :If you oloot mo I promise I you I will not lose my individuality in Mr I Massey, as your present member haß lost I his individuality and beoome a servile I henchman to Mr Seddon. Mr Carroll’s followers say that ho is a statesman. I defy them to prove it. Ho has been a I failure as representative. Ho has been a failure as Native Minister. He has been a drag upon this district for tho last 12 years. (Applause.) And I toll you, you won’t lose your Jimmy, beoause if you elect me as your member he will go into the Upper House, or else bo eleoted for tho Eastern Maori electorate. It has beon assorted that I am going to withdraw;

I this is not so. Three was a time I when I was prepared to make I a compromise. I made offers, these I were rejeoted. lam not built that way. II am going to fight to a finish. If lam beaten I oan take my gruelling. I oan take it from tho Liberal Association or anyone elso. (Applause.) I am going to hit ten times harder than I have already hit. I will make the supporters of your member squirm, beoause I shall disclose things which they have not heard before. I am not going to ask anyone for his or her vote; I would not degrade myself to do so. It would be beneath my dignity. If returned I will do what is right aDd just, and I would do my best for nob and poor alike. It would always bo my aim to do my best for tho district. (Loud applause.) Upon resuming his seat Mr Clayton wa3 accordod loud and oontinuod ap-

plauae. A very large number of questions were asked, several of which were of a humorous character. The candidate expressed himself as oppoaed to further Ohinose immigcption. He was prepared to support the present lioensiog law, and would vote against the present local optional term being oxtended to nine years. He favored justioa being done to J. J. Meikle, who, ho thought, should be compensated for the wrong done him. All matters aSeoting British against foreign commerce had his hoarty support, and he would be in favor of replacing foreign sailors on British ships. He heartily supported Mr Chamberlain’s tariff proposals. He was opposed to preference to unionists, as he did not see why 8000 men should dictate to 50,000. He disapproved of the restriction that a man should be of a certain height before he securod employment on the rafiway. Mr Clayton was asked by Mr Charles Ferris whether he considered the Maori people" were an inferior raoe, and in reply stated that equal opportunity should be given to the natjves as was granted to the Europeans. At present the Maoris were not equal in intellect and education, and required direction. They could not expect an infant to go unguidod. This was the position of the native raco at the present time. Mr Ferris: The Hon. Jas. Carroll is not an infant. (Laughter and applause ) Mr Ferris : If returned would you give the same opportunities to the native race as to Europeans, both socially and politically ? Mr Clayton: Of ooursa as far as politics are concerned they have tboir option. We must abide by the treaties which we have made. Mr Ferris: Would you treat them the samo as the Europeans? Would you allow them to walk on the same footpath as yourself? Mr Clayton: They undoubtedly are treated in the same way. Whatever my personal feelings are, it will be my aim to deal fairly and honestly with the natives. You seem to havo the idea that I should say something to hurt the feelings of one section of the community, but I am not disposed to do it. In answer to further questions, Mr Clayton said he wae prepared to give the Maoris a vote on the liquor questioo, and would support them in everything that was just and reasonable. If their lands were taxed they should have the right to vote and all other privileges. He approved of the Anglo-Japaneee treaty. In regard to the alleged inslruotions issued to the land valuers, Mr Whyte askpd the candidate to read the extract from Hansard which be bad referred to, and Mr Clayton stated that he would hand it to the papers on the following day. Captain Tucker said he had great pleasure in moving a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Clayton, whom he highly complimented on his masterly speeoh. That gontleman bad in an able maDnor clearly brought out all the points, and they could bo satisfied that in the present eleotion contest there would be keon interest taken in political questions of tho day.whioh was a healthy contrast to the state of things prevailing three years r.go. The motion was seconded by Mr VV. Morgan and carried with very warm ap* plauae, followed by three oheers for Mr Clayton. ■ . , , , In replying Mi. Clayton warmly thanked the electors for tho hearty reoeption given him. Ho said that he was yet a comparatively young man with ideals for which he was determined to fight, for ho was deeply sincere in the matter.