MR LUCKIE AT NELSON.

Globe, Volume I, Issue 82, 4 September 1874, Page 2

MR LUCKIE AT NELSON.

[SPECIAL TELEGRAM FROM A CORRES PONDENT ] Nelson, September 3.

Mr Luckie addressed GOO of his constituents here last night. He said the chairman had referred to his connection with the Premier. As regarded his commercial connection with that gentleman, he could only explain that Mr Vogel and himself were shareholders in the Croxs Company, beyond their connection as old friends and as respecting each other as" such; and the contemptible accusations of subservience were not worth a snap of his fingers. He knew that in the House and throughout the colony there had been very great diversity of opinion respecting the propriety of abolishing the provinces in the North Island. For many years, as those who knew him could testify, he had been a strong provincialist. Shortly after ke came here, eleven and a half years ago, the question of abolishing provincial institutions came prominently before him, and he, fresh from the old country, knowing only the grand Parliament of England, and city and borough councils, and county commissioners, saw with surprise the " playing" at Parliament, which looked to him like a farce. No doubt up to lately provincial institutions had done a (freat service in the work of colonisation. [Hear.] The peculiarity of the country, itsisolation, and the distance existing between the various populations, rendered provincial institutions very valuable, but at the same time there was a great deal of useless paraphernalia, and as time went on people began to see that the time would speedily come when changes must take place. When he addressed the electors the following paragraph occurred in his printed address, which would show, he fancied, that at that time he had been gradually changing his opinions on the subject. The paragraph ran " respecting the provinces, in the absence of any superior method of local self Government, 1 am in favor of a modified provincial system, by which the number of provinces shall be reduced, the average cost lessened, and their usefulness increased." It was not expected this year, when Parliament met, that such a victorious onslaught would be made on provincial institutions. Wellington had been unquestionably for years the sturdy beggar of New Zealand. Its system of finance had been " get money by any means, but get it," and Mr Fitzherbert, the Superintendent of Wellington, and Mr Bunny, had taken care to get it on every possible occasion. He thought then that it would be geneaally admitted that the condition of the four provinces of the North Island would be such as would fully warrant the large majority that greeted the resolutions brought down by the Premier last mouth. Respecting the provinces of Nelson, Marlborough, and Westland, he said they were placed in such a position that the sooner they were embodied in the Act that would abolish them the better. [Loud applause.] Although that applause was perhaps not general throughout the room, he took it that it was generally felt not only in that room but throughout the province. [Applause.] What was the position of the Superintendent of Nelson at that moment. Mr Curtis had stated in the House, that he had put his name to public documents from which he disagreed, as being in his opinion not only not beneficial, but detrimental to the province. [Applause.] Had he (Mr Luckie) been in the Superintendent's position he would have adopted an entirely different course. [Applause.] Before he would have sacrificed his opinion, especially when he believed his opinion right, and when to acquiesce in the opinions .of his executive would have been detrimental to the province, he would have said '"Gentlemen, you may go." That would have been the true way, and he would have been willing to sacrifice his own position rather than sacrifice the province. [Loud applause.] That was a sound principle of Constitutional Government; and he would tell them at once that, as far as he was concerned, if his constituents were not satisfied with him they had only to say so, aud he would retire from his position. Although his friend the chairman had termed him a distinguished foreigner, he believed he had served them as honestly as any man could; and he did not believe he- had done anything to forfeit their good opinion. .[Voice "No applause." | ■ For- some time past, he was sorry to say, the .progress of Nelson had been backward, and there did not seem to be very much vitality in the pioviuce at that time. He must confess that their great drawback was the want of back country, similar to that of Otago and Canterbury. With respect to Westland, he could only say it was a crying injustice that that province should occupy the position it did. It was only a part and parcel of Canterbury a few years ago, and was now loaded with the debt which Canterbury ought to have borne, and was then as poor as a pauper, and like Nelson, requiring additional aid from the Government. Canterbury was rolling in riches, and her exchequer was overflowing. It was said that, during the current year, she would r-xpend £1,250,000, whilst Westland was starving. It was right that the land which she held as the property of the people of the province, should be applied to the benefit of the colony. Canterbury might howl, and Otago might call out, but the day was coming when their revenues should be made colonial revenues. If the laud were preserved to the colony at large, the great public works scheme, of which Mr Vogel was the projector, would be the means of doing a great amount of good to the country. It seemed to him, considering the large amount of immigration which was now going on in the colony, that the diversity of the land laws, where capital was seeking seeking investment, was one of the worst things a country like New Zealamd could laoor under. He believed his colleague, Mr Curtis, had said the other day that it would be impossible to make one land law for the colony, but he believed it was quite possible. They wanted also a proper Gaol Act, a proper inspection of lunatic asylums, and a general police law, which should run through the whole colony. These, he considered, they could never succeed in fully carrying out except by the abolition of the provinces. It was remarkable that of the sixteen members who voted against the resolution of the Premier for the abolition of the provinces in the North Island, there were very few totally disinterested. There ;were Messrs

GiT-ies, May, and Williamson, all Auckland men, and every one of them strong provincialists. He believed they voted against them, because they did not consider the resolutions went far enough. He had had the honor of being burned in effigy in Auckland because he voted for the resolution. The Premier and Messrs Wood, Greighton, and Buckland were also burned at the same time for the same reason. It struck him he was rather lucky in being 400 miles away, but he had no doubt the day would come when the people of Auckland would acknowledge that the burning of the effigy—rubbish as it was—was an injustice. He had no doubt that the three men whom he had previously named would have voted for the resolutions had they been for the whole of the provinces. Of the thirteen that remained no fewer than eleven were either Superintendents, Provincial Secretaries, or members of Provincial Executives, and drawing considerable salaries, and one was the Speaker of the Provincial Council of Otago. One of the Nelson members, (Mr O'Conor) was a marked exception among the Provincial Executives. He voted in favor of the abolition of the provinces, knowing it was the death knell of the provinces in this island. He would also give credit to Mr O'Rorke for sacrificing his position for a principle in which he believed. With respect to the Fores's Conservation Bill, Mr Luckie said it was of the very greatest importance to a colony like this, and he believed it would be the forerunner of the conservation of timber for which future generations would thank the Government of the present day. Were they to allow their land fund to be squandered, to the detriment of their ability to meet the interest and debt of the future ? So long as that was allowed, so long would the immigration and public works policy be I precarious in its ultimate results. And he knew very well that the provinces of the South Island, knowing that next year the provinces of the North Island would go, knew also that they must gather their mantles around them and die with that dignity they could assume. It was known by most members who voted with the majority that the time would soon come when all the provinces would be abolished. The policy of 1870 necessitated the substitution of complete colonial interests for those which were hitherto provincial. By the public works and immigration policy the colony practically superseded by one grand system of colonisation the diversified methods previously pursued by the different provinces. That policy necessarily led to the absorption of the provinces, and he should be glad to hear that large and influential meeting express views similar to his. [Applause.] Ashe happened to be the first member who had addressed his constituents since this great question had arisen, he trusted'that his action would be concurred in by the meeting, and he asked for evidence of that concurrence. [Loud applause.] He condemned the vast amount of provincial legislation which with the General Assembly Acts (which last session numbered 119 new Acts), made New Zealand the most Act-of-Parliament-ridden colony on the face of the earth. He alluded to Road Boards and their success, and that they could be made to supersede all the paraphernalia of Provincial Councils. Some of these undoubtedly required remodelling, and he instanced the condition of the Waimati Road Board, and which, without collecting any rates from the wealthy proprietors within its bounds, possessed a bank balance of £90,000, while other Boards and provinces were starving for lack of means. Referring to the immigration policy, its success, he thought, had been very remarkable, and the best instance of that success was the pleasing disappointment which the denizens of so called " sleepy Nelson" experienced when the first arrivals—some 350 —for whom there was so much fear that work would not be found, had been so quickly absorbed. LApplause."] Instances of this kind had occurred in the South and North. With respect to the addition to members' honorarium, for which he voted, and about which some people professed to make out a cry, he said he had voted for it on the principle of the payment of members being a wise procedure in a democratic country. He knew the vote would be carried without his vote, but he preferred recording his vote frankly according to his belief, to voting against it for the sake of making political capital among his constituents, as one who voted against it did, wishing all the while that their side would loose. ["Laughter.] He contended that but for such payment the Government and Legislature of the country would go into the hands of the merely wealthy, who would make laws, and especially land laws, to suit their own ends and interests, as had been done many a time before.

Mr Luckie concluded by referring to the various Acts passed during the session and sat down amidst loud prolonged cheers.

A unanimous vote of confidence was passed.