THE ELECTIONS.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 461, 6 December 1875, Page 2

THE ELECTIONS.

MR. H. R.- WEBB AT LYTTBLON. Mr H. R. Webb, one of the candidates for the representation of Lyttelton in the General Assembly, addressed the electors of the Borough at the Colonists’ Hall, on Friday last. There was a large attendance, the hall being filled in every part. His Worship the Mayor (J. T. Rouse, Esq.) occupied the chair, and in opening the meeting said that he had been requested to take the chair by Mr Webb. He did so, not as a partisan of either side, but as one perfectly neutral—[hear, hear] —and he felt sure all would listen to Mr Webb’s remarks quietly and put their questions in a plain,, straightforward manner, so that Mr Webb might answer them similarly. [Hear, hear.'] He thought Mr Webb was entitled to great consideration at their hands, as he had represented them for some years, not only in the General Assembly, but also in the Provincial Council, where he had succeeded in obtaining much which had benefitted the town of Lyttelton, [Cheers.] He therefore did not think it necessary to say more than to ask for Mr Webb a fair-and impartial healing, Mr Webb, who was warmly greeted on rising, said that he had asked them to meet him that evening to give them as briefly as possible a statement of what he had done in the last session of the Assembly, and also to state what he intended to do in the future. The last session had been one which would be marked in the annals of the history of the colony, because there had been introduced a Bill for the abolition of the provinces, necessitating a change in their constitution. He should speak presently of this, giving them a short outline of its main provisions, and also tell them what his opinion was on the subject of the abolition of the provinces—a subject which, as he had said, was one fraught with interest to every one in the colony. He did not intend to dwell verj lengthily upon this point, because they had heard and read so much about abolition that they must have had very nearly enough of it. [Hear, hear.] There was no doubt of one thing, and that was that throughout, the state of the colony was one of great prosperity, a result which no doubt might be attributed to the successful working of the public works and immigration policy of the Government by the opening up of the country by means of railways. Before speaking of railways generally throughout the colony and their present condition as to time of completion, &c, he might say that the line in which they were most interested —viz, that which would connect Canterbury with her Southern neighbor Otago, would be opened for traffic through to Dunedin in about two years. The line from Christchurch to Timaru, a portion of which—that from Temuka to Timaru—had been opened recently, was expected to be complete in February of next year. The total appropriation made by the Assembly for railways amounted to £6,091,981, which was esti-

mated to complete 991 miles of railway fully equipped. With three notable exceptions—one in the North, and two in the Middle Island—these railways would be constructed for an average cost of about £5600 per mile. The exceptions to which he referred were the Wellington to Featherston in the North, and the Port Chalmers and Dunedin to Moeraki in the Middle Island. The fonner of these would cost about £IO,OOO, and the two latter £27,600 and £9OOO per mile respectively. Of the 991 miles of railway which would ultimately form the railway estate of the colony, there were now open for traffic 278 miles; but during the next three months an additional length of 173 miles would be opened, and before the end of the year another length of 116 miles, so that they might calculate on having a total of 567 miles of railway opened at the end of the year 1875. [Hear, hear.] So far then he thought they might very fairly say that their railways were in a very satisfactory condition, a result which, he thought, was to a great extent due to the excellent manner in which the works throughout the colony had been carried out by the Public Works department under the very able superintendence of the Hon E. Richardson. [Cheers] The practical knowledge and great business capabilities of that gentleman had been of the greatest possible service to the colony as a whole. —[hear, hear] —and he (Mr Webb) trusted that Mr Richardson would again be returned as a representative in the new Parliament [hear, hear] —as if he was not so, he felt sure they and all the people ol the colony would agree with him when he said that it would be a great public loss. [Cheers.] As regarded immigration, the next branch of the subject connected with the public works and immigration policy, he might say that the Hon Major Atkinson had been complimented on both sides of the House for the admirable manner in which the work had been carried out by his department. The total number of immigrants introduced since the commencement of the policy had been 61,322 souls, equal to 50,747 adults. Of these, the number landed in this province had been 16,263 souls. There was, he believed, during the past winter, no cases of absolute want, or excess of labour in any great degree, and the statement made by Major Atkinson in the House had given great satisfaction. There was, therefore, no reason to doubt that the immigration policy of the Government had been a success. [Hear, hear, and cheers.] He would now shortly refer to the amount of the debt of the colony, and he might say he did not intend to weary them by reading a lot of figures, but would simply state in round numbers and as concisely as he could the amount of the debt, and the annual charges on the revenue of the colony with respect to it. The total debt of the colony, both colonial and provincial, when all the loans now authorised had been raised, would be £19,380,906, and the annual charges in respect of the total prospective debt would be, for interest £925,140 10s, and for sinking fund, £110,635 ss, making a total charge in respect of the nineteen millions of debt of £1,035,875 15s. He would now read them a short extract from the Colonial Treasurer’s statement, to show the reduction likely to be made in the amount of the debt:— “ The annual charges in respect of the total

prospective public debt of £19,380,906 will be £925,140 10s for interest, and £110,635 5s for sinking fund, or in all £1,035,775 15s ; but I must remind the committee that on that amount of indebtedness being attained, and that annual charge incurred, the whole of the cash balance now available, plus the proceeds of the loans yet to raise, or in all a snm of £3,877,696, has yet to be expended ; and here I must again refer to the sums set apart as sinking fund. The sum which the colony is now annually adding to its investments of sinking fund amounts in respect of the colonial debt, as it stood on the 30th June last to £110,635 ss, and assuming two years to elapse before the balance of the several loans is raised, the accumulated sinking funds will amount on 30th June, 1877, to say, £1,400,000, and the total prospective debt of £19,380,906 will have been practically reduced to £17,980,906.” So far there was no doubt that the financial condition of the colony was a sound one, and though the debt might be looked upon as a large one for a young country like this, he thought the results flowing from it would more than counterbalance this. Besides, he might point out that the railways when completed would be worth eight millions. The negotiation of the four million loan in England was carried out very satisfactorily, mainly owing to the presence in England of Sir Julius Vogel, as also the completion of the mail contract. Now, speaking of this contract, he might say that many members of the House as well as himself had been rather surprised at the step taken by Sir Julius Vogel in entering into a contract in excess of the votes of Parliament. [Hear, hear.] Besides this it was objected that the large steamers were not needed to come down the coast, as they had steamers of their own quite able to carry out the coastal part of the contract; but at the same time there was the point to be considered that these steamers might carry wool to America from the various ports without transhipment. A Bill was introduced during the past session to remedy the present anomalous state of the law referring to registration of votes. One of these, introduced by Mr Steward, the member for Waitaki, and for which he deserved the thanks of the

whole community, provided that the raterolls should be the basis of the electoral rolls, hence the present cumbrous machinery now in force would be done away with. [Cheers.] This Bill was taken up by the Government and passed into law, but would not corac into force in time for the present elections. Another Bill was the Lodgers’ Franchise Bill, of which he approved in the main, although he could not agree with the manhood suffrage, as he thought that it would not bo of use to a community, but rather thereverse. The presence of Sir Julius Yogel in England also expedited the arrangements for the laying of the electric telegraph between Australia and New Zealand, which would be opened in April next. Another Bill was the Bankruptcy Bill which had been passed. A clause was inserted in this Bill referring to future earnings of a debtor, which he opposed, as he did not think it fair. [Cheers.] In committee, however, the Minister of Justice yielding to the expressed opinion of the House, struck out the clause, and the Bill passed, Another Bill which affected the electors of Lyttelton was the Municipal Corporation Act Amendment Act, under which the ratepayers had the privilege of electing their own Mayor. [Cheers.] This Bill was brought in at the request of the Christchurch City Council. Mr Richardson and he (Mr Webb) had received a communication from his Worship the Mayor and the Borough Council of Lyttelton, desiring to be brought under the Bill, which was done. Ultimately Mb. Richardson, finding that many municipalities wished to come under it, made it general in its application, and the election of mayors would now be by the ratepayers throughout the colony. [Hear, hear.] There was one Bill for which he had voted, and which he was very sorry had not passed into law—viz, the Municipal Corporations Loan Bill. This, he thought, would have been a great boon to municipalities, and he hoped whoever was their representative in the next Parliament would see that this was ultimately carried. [Hear, hear.] He now came to the Bill of the session, the Abolition Bill. When he addressed them on a former occasion he told them that he would support the abolition of the North Island provinces, which was then all that was proposed. Provincialism was all very well years back, when communication was uncertain and precarious, but now, with the telegraph running throughout the islands, and steamers on their coasts, the provinces could well cease. They had done their work, but now for financial

reasons as well as others it was time their functions should cease. He would commend to their notice the remarks on this ! subject made by Mr Montgomery at Akaroa, j who, when he went down to the Assembly, was a provincialist, but changed his opinions after going there. To the Bill introduced by the Government there was determined opposition from a minority of the members of the House, but he would ask who were they 1 Let them look at the division list of the Opposition, and they would find that it was made up of Superintendents, Provincial Secretaries, and Treasurers, and others depending upon the continuance of provincial institutions. As had been well said by one of the leading statesmen of New Zealand (the Hon B. W. Stafford) on the occasion of the Bill being before the House, no doubt they must look at the question from a bread and butter point of view. Sir George Grey was the leader of the Opposition because he was the father of provincial institutions and the drafter of the original Constitution; but he (Mr Webb) had reminded him in the House that the majority alike of the House and country demanded the abolition of the provinces. L Cheers -J The Abolition Bill provided that out of consolidated revenue, after certain charges had been paid, there should be paid £1 for £1 to municipalities on the rates raised, and also that the dog taxes, licenses, &c, raised by themselves should be available as local revenue. The rates of Lyttelton would amount -if all paid—to about £llOO, so that they would get £llOO from the Government in addition, which, with taxes, license fees, &c, would give them about £2700 per annum to carry on their works with. [Hear, hear.] The Bill also provided for the payment of £2 for £1 to Road Boards, which he thought was a fair arrangement. He might perhaps be asked what was to take the place of provincial institutions. He replied in the words of the Colonial Secretary that nothing was required. They had municipalities, Road Boards, &c, which were all doing good work, and quite able to supply the place of provincial institutions, fCheers,] The Bill, though passed, did not luto law until the end of the first

session of the new Parliament. He conceived that the Bill was one which gave them the greatest amount of self and local government, and he thought they would do better when limited, as they would be under it, than now. At present, under provincial institutions, they were divided, and a diversity of interests would be created which would be swept away when the Abolition Bill was an accomplished fact. The hospitals, gaols, police, &c, could be very much better managed under one head than by so many different authorities, Their telegraph and postal services were now under one head,and the success attendant on their management was a guarantee that if this were done with regard to others no detriment to the public service would follow. [Cheers.] The Opposition had tried all means to prevent this Bill passing, saying that they wished the people to be consulted, but he (Mr Webb) was of opinion that the people had been consulted before, and had expressed their opinion most strongly in favor of abolition. Altogether he thought the country would be benefitted by abolition. [Cheers,] Another Bill passed was the Representation Bill, by which the number of members of the House had been raised to eighty-four, or, including the Maori members, eighty-eight. The rule seemed to be that all constituencies with over 1000 electors should have another member added to them. Of course Lyttelton, with the small number of electors on its roll, could hardiv expect to have another member, and

he had not made any application for additional representation, as it would certainly not have been granted to them, [Cheers.] Another Bill which had been introduced was the Canterbury Board of Education Bill, which had been thrown out by the Upper House. He had supported this because he had heard that the present system was not working well, and that the reinstatement of the Board of Education would be of public benefit, with which he agreed. He had now gone through the Bills passed by the Assembly during the past session, and he would now come to the future. First then, as regarded the pastoral leases in 1880, which was a most important subject, and one which deserved the most careful consideration. His opinion of the way in which it should be done, was that two years before the time the runs should be assessed by dis interested persons, and the runholder informed of the assessment. If he did not care to pay the amount, the time would afford him an opportunity to remove his stock if necessary, without compelling him to sell at a ruinous sacrifice. This, he thought, was the farest and most equitable mode of dealing with this very important subject. All he wanted to see was justice to all —on the one side to the squatter and on the other to the province. There could be no doubt at all of this, that the rents were now far too low. [Cheers, [ They ought to get at least Is 6d per acre for the bulk of the land now held by the pastoral tenants of the Crown. If this amount were realised —and he did not see any difficulty in the way of it being so—a very large amount w r ould come into the Treasury more than now. He had no wish to be hard on the squatters, far from it ; his wish was to see fair dealings with all, because he was not in favor of any one class. [Hear, hear ] He would only refer to the gentleman opposing him so far as this that ho was a squatter, and connected with squatters, while he (Mr Webb) was not in any way connected with squatting pursuits. As regarded education, which was a very important subject, he might say he was in favor of the school buildings being put up out of the revenue, instead of the cost being charged on the people. [Cheers.] They made bridges, roads. &c, out of the public money, and why not erect schools? [Cheers.] Therefore, he was in favor of free education, as far as elementary edoca> ion was concerned, and compulsory, if it was free. [Cheers.] All parents wanted to see their children rise in the world,- but theie were some who would no* send their children to school, and he thought some means should be provided by which the Government would get at these parents, either by fine or some other way, so as to compel them to send their children to school, because if they did not they would have growing up amongst them a prolific source of crime, and their gaols a d police courts would be full of them. It might be said that by adopting the course of paying for schoolbuildings and making education free they would to a "rest, extent be pan poring the people, but they must recollect that they all contributed indirectly to the revenue, and that therefore they had a right to say that the education of their children, and the erection of buildings wherein instruction might be given was a fair and legitimate charge on the consolidated revenue. These were his opinions on the sub ject, and he should, if elected, support any legislation having for its object the carrying out of these views. [Cheers,] Another subject which had been referred to was the constitution of the Upper House. It was too much the fashion to decry the Uoper House, but he thought it was a great safeguard to have the Upper House constituted as it was now. It might be elected for a longer period, with an understanding that it should not interfere with money bills sent up by the Lower House ; but generally he might say ho was in favor of the Upper House remaining as now. He himself bad seen great good resulting from the Upper House exercising a wholesome check over hasty legislation in the Lower House,

especially as regarded the Provincial Borrowing Bills, which he had voted for, because he thought it only right that other provinces should have the same opportunity as Canterbury. Now, however, he was glad it had been thrown out by the Upper House. There was this to be remembered also, that the Upper House could not be abolished unless they did it themselves, or by appeal of the country to the Queen. The question of the Piako’ swamp had been spoken of by several candidates, and he would refer briefly to it. This was a swamp in the Auckland province where the price of land was fixed at 58 per acre. The Government sold this swamp to a company of gentlemen with the understanding that 2s 6d per acre should be returned to those gentlemen on making a road through it to the satisfaction of the Government. The Opposition brought the matter up, and the Government consented to the appointment of acommittee on the subject, before which a large number of witnesses had been examined, and the result had been that the Government were exonerated from blame, the land being proved not to have been worth more. He would just quote them a short extract from : the Native Minister’s speech on the question to show the facts of the case. Sir Donald , McLean said:— ,£ That, in reference to the i investigation into the Waikato-Piako swamp

question, alluded to by the hon member, it was a fortunate thing that the Government had a very distinct inquiry into that sale. The result, after very great care bestowed in the investigation—not hurried over, as stated by the hon member, and not arrived at through Government followers appearing on the committee —after a thorough investigation, had shown that that sale had been one of very great advantage to the colony, and that the price agreed upon was its full value. Now, it had been stated that this was a matter where the Government had sold the land greatly under its value—that it was worth 30s an acre; indeed some honorable members even spoke cf £4 an acre. Well, what did they find ? They found that the opinion of the committee was that the full value had been obtained for that land; and not only that, but that also a political advantage was gained of very great and considerable benefit to the country. For instance, the construction of the road proposed to connect the Waikato with the Thames river was of such importance as itself to be worth the whole swamp, as, when completed, it would have the effect of enabling the Government to make a reduction of a sum of at least £SOOO a year in the defence expenditure alone; and this would be only one of the beneficial results obtained. Reference had been made to the giving away of land at a low price, but they must remember that the various provinces had a sliding scale of price. The Assembly passed the Bills which were brought in by the representatives of the various provinces, and he would only say on the matter that the retention of the £2 per acre in Canterbury had been the saving of the province. | Cheers.J Every session there were Land Bills before the House from various provinces, but he was glad to say that on no occasion had Canterbury had a Laud Bill brought before the Assembly. 1 Hear, hear.J He would now pass on to something more personal. He saw that he was to be opposed; he did not object to this, but he did object to the way in which the emissaries of his opponents were hunting up for votes. Pressure had been brought to bear upon voters to a great extent, even so far as to tell tradesmen that dealings would be taken from them if they voted for him (Mr Webb). [A Voice—“ Name.”J He would not say who it was. [Mr P. Cunningham—“ Then I think, Mr Webb, you had better not say anything about it.”J He was only wishful to fight fairly, and he said this, that if he could he would only be too happy to do away with the touting for votes, which he said, was a mistaken system. [Cheers.] He was glad to see in Victoria that the people had determined not to have the touting for votes from any of the candidates, and no request except publicly. They heard the candidates speak, and made up their minds accordingly, without any application being made to them. Now he was quite willing to release all who had promised him if his opponent would do the same. [Cheers,] He now wished to know what the people of Lyttelton had against him. He had been accused of halfheartedness in connection with the endowment for Lyttelton in the Provincial Council. Now he urged it with all his might, and he was only laughed at for his pertinacity in pushing the claims of Lyttelton to an endowment when the House had rejected it for Christchurch. [Cheers] So far from being half-hearted, he refused to withdraw his resolution, although when it came out it was amended as follows :—“ I'hat it is advisable that the Government should consider during the recess some scheme tor the endowment of municipalities.” He had done all he could for Lyttelton, and everything he had undertaken for Lyttelton had been granted. He had got the water supply, and though some delay had taken nlace, that was not his fault; he had got the vote for them. [Cheers,] The time ball had also been procured by his exertions, and numerous other public benefits. Even supposing he had not got anything, he was not to be blamed because it would not have been bis fault. He had doue all he could for them, and he was at a loss to know why his opponent had been brought forward. That gentleman’s politics, he was led to believe, were the same as his own, particularly on the subject of abolition. Again, he had been accused of being led by his family connections, viz, the Hon J. T, Peacock and Mr J. E. Brown, both of whom were in the Assembly and Provincial Council with him. \JV,w it so happened that if they read the papers or Hansard, they would see fiat in almost every instance these gentlemen and himself were opposed. In the Provincial Council, however, when he (Mr Webb) had anything to bring forward for Lyttelton, he invariably asked those gentlemen to help him, and they had always done so. [Cheers ] If theyjhad anything against him (Mr Webb), he asked them at once to say it out, and not condem him unheard. Let them take his past services into consideration, and further than this his local residence, which under abolition would be a most important consideration, and he asked them to return him. They had the ballot, and he earnestly hoped to see the day when all canvassing and touting for votes would be given up. He now begged to thank them for the patient and attentive hearing they had given him throughout what had been a somewhat lorgthy address, and he asked them now publicly for their votes. He should now be happy to answer any questions. [Loud cheers.] In reply to questions, Mr Webb said that he had already told them that he was in favor of education being free. On the matter of the increase of the fees for children he did not vote, as he was chairman of committees. [Cheers.] His opinion was that to simplify matters if the present system was continued (which he did not think it would), the household rate should be continued. [The questioner; “Then I shan’t vote for you.” Laughter.] He had already told the meeting that he was in favor of free education. His opponent, he believed, was a large freeholder as well as a squatter. The amount contributed by the Government under the Abolition Bill would only be granted on the total amount of rates raised. He thought he had voted for the Education Bill of last session, and he thought he should have voted for the increased rate of school fees, and he would say why. The Executive had placed before them a statement, by which it was made out that the increased rate was a financial necessity ; now, however, there was to be a change, he said that education would be free. Under the old system the charge would be made on the land fund, but now it would be under the General Government and charged on the consolidated fund. If the Provincial Council were to meet again he believed education would be free; at least the cost

of the buildings. If elected, he should vote against the large San Francisco boats coming down the coast. As regarded the question of a free wharf for Lyttelton, he might say that he had been on a committee which had recommended a free wharf for Lyttelton. He was therefore of opinion that the people of Lyttelton should have free access to the wharf. He would do his bestlo get a free wharf for people to go on without crossing the railway. He thought it very desirable that some means should be taken to make agreements with pupil teachers so as to bind them for some term of years in order that their services might be utilised. He believed this was going to be recommended by the Board of Education before the abolition of it. He was decidedly opposed to the opening of public houses on Sunday. As regarded pre-emptive rights he was of opinion that in 1880 the pre-emptive rights should be taken up, or the land revert to the Crown. No fresh pre-emptive rights should bo issued, as he was of opinion that the land should be open for selection, as the other laud was now. Regarding the question whether he was in favor of the cost of fire prevention being charged on special rate, instead of general rate, he was of opinion that when the Borough Council got their £1 for £l, they would have sufficient funds to provide for these expenses, without taxing the people further.

Mr H. Allwright moved—" That a vote of thanks be given to Mr Webb for his explanation of the business done during the last session of the Assembly.” This did not commit any one, as he considered it would be only fair to hear Mr Ayusley before coming to any decision as to the man in whose favour they should vote. [Cheers.] Mr P. Cunningham would second the resolution with pleasure. There was, however, one queslion which he would like to ask Mr Webb, and it was this. He should like to know the cost of raising the four million loan. Mr Webb had said that the arrangements made by Sir Julius Vogel in this respect were very satisfactory, and he (Mr Cunningham) would like'to ask if Mr Webb could give them the total charges for raising the money. Mr Webb could not at that moment from memory state the amount, but would on another occasion give Mr Cunningham the information he required, [Hear, hear.J Mr W. Graham then mounted the platform, and despite the calling him to order by the chairman, persisted in delivering a very excited and disconnected narrative of something which had taken place between Mr Webb and himself at a vestry meeting. Ultimately, on the chairman refusing to allow Mr Graham to introduce matters foreign to the resolution or the object of the meeting, he desisted. Messrs Merson and Chalmers having addressed those present in opposition to the resolution, it was put and carried by a large majority. A vote of thanks to his Worship for presiding having been passed by acclamation, the meeting dispersed.

fclß GEORGE GREY AT THE THAMES.

[By Telegraph.] Grahamstown, December 4. Sir George Grey spoke at the Theatre Royal this evening. The building was crowded, and Sir George was received with cheers, the people standing. Dr Kilgour and the Mayor were proposed for the chair. Loud demands were made for the Mayor, who responded to the call. Introducing Sir George Grey he said he regretted that his arrival had not been made under more favorable circumstances as he would have been glad to have been present. Sir George he looked upon as able to liil higher offices than he at present held. They had differed with him on one essential point, and he might, not expect such a icception as he had in Auckland. SirGoorgeGrey, who was received again with loud cheers, said he appeared as Superintendent, specially charged with their welfare. When asked to address them he had distinctly explained that when asked to accept office as Superintendent ho had fully explained his views. He now appeared again in the character of Superintendent to explain what had been done, and also what he conceived should be done with special regard to this mining district, They, not being his constituents, had no elairn upon him for the former. He had seen that the Thames was scandalously represented, and he had given their one member every assistance to get this remedied. A difference ex.sted between him and their member, but never on any question concerning the welfare of the Thames, and it would have been impossible to do more to promote their interests than he had done during the last session. With regard to representation, he was of opinion that three or even more members might have been given, but. those in power determined they should only have two With regard to the future, he would give their representatives every assistance, so that theymight consider they would still have three representatives. As to the question of abolition, and his line of conduct thereon, ho contended that the constitution and the law of the empire required that such a change should not take place without an appeal to the constituencies. He and povveifid frends had succeeded in getting this, and the future destiny of the colony lay with them, His own views after mature reflection and consideration with master minds were that it was the duty of every good citizen to insist that certain features should bo preserved in the constitution and kept steadily in view. There should be no secrecy. Every action of the Government should be before the public eye, the fullest information being afforded regarding every transaction. At present under the form of Government sitting at a distant locality, and with a newspaper press unable to disseminate information adequate to the public requirements, this was not done. [Here Sir Geo referred to the Tairua committee, and the difficulty attending the circulation of the reports \ In pursuance of their own interests they should try and obtain all information without delay. In other countries he had been in, every information from day to day had been afforded, and unless they had that they could not look after their own interests. The Superintendent here could not obtain that information, but it should be insisted upon. Another point was that of endowments. Seriously, he would say to all that those endowments were taxes to be taken from their profits. He objected to this on general principles. Taking the Middle Island, occupied by farmers and large pastoral tenants, the Road Boards were there only allowed to vote a certain amount; that was, they were not allowed to lay hands heavily on the large proprietor. He hoped that additional powers of taxation would be given

enabling them to get more from large proprietors. When in the Middle Island they raised £1 by taxation, they would receive £2 from the general revenue, or general taxation. They (the Thames people), in the midst of a native population, would be able to raise only a trifling sum. They would, consequently, get little from the £2. Their interest therefore depended much upon this being altered, and this state of things might be altered by a tax on property. He then referred to the good state of feeling between the Thames people and the natives, and said that very little had been expended on railways, and therefore little of borrowed money had been spent there. Imagine a railway from this to the Waikato, and its influence upon two important districts; its influence upon the commerce of the Thames and the population it would attract, and how it would lessen the chance of a collision between the races. That was why he said they had claims upon the sympathy of the rest of New Zealand. With regard to the gold duty, he had told them that he believed it should be taken off. He had beeu told that his proposal to do this was unpopular. [“ No, no,” and cheers.] He had beeu told so in the Assembly, and the reason alleged in favor of its maintenance had been the two pound subsidy for public works. He might be wrong, but did not believe that it could have been paid for more than one year at most. He had ever regarded that tax as most unfair, and had never heard anything to the contrary. It was said that the tax was easily levied; the people were used to it, and the treasurer said that it only made a difference to the miner of five pence a day. He (Sir G eorge) replied that was a loaf of bread, and then it was stated that a mistake had been made, the difference was only three halfpence, and that money enabled them to be employed during the winter, so he concluded that that was equal to taking from them in the summer and giving it to them in the winter. [Laughter.] He had tried to get that tax taken off, and proposed a tax of a half-penny per pound on wool, on which a gentleman engaged in pastoral pursuits said that his (Sir George’s) coming back to public life was the greatest misfortune that could have happened. He still believed the gold tax to be improper and injudicious. There was no excuse for such a tax, it had its origin in turbulent times and amongst a rowdy set of people, where a large police force was necessary. To continue this tax was almost like giving them a bad name. He had also tried to have the taxes taken off the necessaries of life, for which they called him hard names, Jbut eminent statesmen in England held the same views, These taxes entailed large expenses in collection, and the more taxation was simplified the better. He was told that in asking these things he was rendering himself obnoxious to the people of New Zealand. If this taxation he had told them of were taken off, the difficulty could be easily met. Enormous reductions could be made in the expenditure, and the system of taxation assimilated to that existing in other portions of the Empire. A tax on property would bring in larger sums and be easier collected. In considering the future they should bear in mind that a necessity existed for a change in the incidence of taxation, and with regard to the expenditure at present, they did not know what the expenditure was. There was one amount of £BOOO in the Native Department which could not be explained When the estimates were passing, a question had beeu asked, and the reply had been that some officer required additional salary. This was one of the excuses offered. Block sums were voted, when full detai s should have been given in the estimates, and everything made clear. If not, these things would grow on the estimates, which were generally brought forward at an early hour in the morning, when members were wearied nut. He then referred to the constitution of committees of the Assembly, and the abuses which had led to taking power from Parliamentary committees and giving it to the judges In England, no minister concerned with the inquiry would go on the committee, but here it was different, and committees were comprised of party men. Perhaps it was not possible to get men interest- d in party matters to give an impartial opinion, but some remedy should be conceived to obtain a thoroughly impartial tribunal to consider such makers. They were well awa'e what they wmited, and could judge whether what he conceived should be done was best for their interests. Gold had been found in variable quantities, and his conviction was that the best places for gold had never been struck, and that the best fiuds would be made in the next century or half century. The chance of making these finds would be greater according to the acquisition of population. How were they to increase population ? They had no land open, nor any labor to offer for a large influx of population, but everything might be done to make this a great place. They had abundant tracts of good lands, but if they did not look out every acre of that would pass into private bauds, and if a railway to the Waikato wnis not made every acre along the route would pass into private hands. They should insist upon the immediate const ruction of that railway. If they were met with the leply that there was no money there was another way. Survey the lin", estimate the cost, and call for tenders, and guarantee six per cent on the cost, Government resesving the right to see the works canied out. Government had to pay nothing at all, as the companies which he had seen had made the works pay ; hut even if two per cent say had to be paid, the money would be well spent. Once that railway was made and the back country opened, he believed they would see that the land was not wrongly alienated. They would want farms for themselves. He would advise the people of the Thames to aid him in carrying out such a plan as he had suggested, and get the railway made at once. [Cheers.] Another point he would refer to. All over the colony people were bent on harbors in most impossible places. Here unusual marine facilities existed for harbor works. How they were to obtain harbor works it was not difficult to determine. A real endowment (not taken from their pockets) would now be given to them. The foreshore was to be given over for a harbor and kindred works, which on being earned out would employ a certain number of people in carrying out such works. Property might be retained instead of being driven away. In Otago he could see miners enjoying cottages and homesteads when their gold ran out. If a man claimed compensation for some fancied wrong in dealing with the natives, investigate the claim and give him money if his claim was found equitable, but do not alienate the land wholesale in the way indi-

cated, or in a way that had been done. Sir George then said he had said what was nearest his heart, what he conceived to be most near their interests, and in following out which he believed would redound to their own welfare. He had no desire to stir up party matters, and withdrew amidst great applause. A vote of thanks was moved, and a requisition numerously signed, asking Sir George Grey to stand for the Thames, was proposed to be presented; The motion was seconded; Mr Bagnall, M.P.C, opposed the presentation of the requisition. Sir George, after some confusion and cries against Mr Bagnall speaking, wished them good night amid cheering, and a statement was made from one of his supporters that he would stand for the Thames.

MR STEWARD AT OAMARU.

[By Telegraph.] Oamabu, December 1, Mr Steward, member for Waitaki, addressed a large meeting of his constituents last night. Over 300 were present. He reviewed the legislation of the session, and declared himself a supporter of a central legislation and local administration. He opposed insular separation, and the four provinces scheme. He saw no necessity for more than one Legislature for the colony. A Board of Works should be established to take charge of the main road and large works. These, added to the Road Board and municipal system, would provide ample administrative machinery. He advocated reform in the incidence of taxation. He would support a land tax which should not allow unimproved lands to escape; and also a reform in the constitution of the Upper House, the number of members to be fixed, half nominated members and half elective, The following resolution was unanimously passed:—“ That this meeting highly approves of the action of Mr Steward in supporting the measures brought forward by the Ministry for the abolition of Provincial Governments throughout the colony, and desires to acknowledge the appreciation of the valuable services rendered by him during the past five years as member of Parliament for the Waitaki district, and that the'thanks of this meeting be accorded to him for his address.”

MR GEORGS McLRAN AT WAIKOUAITI. [By Electric Telegraph.] Dunedin, December 1. Mr George McLeao, M.H.R., addressed the electors of Waikouaiti last night. His speech was an exhaustive one. He spoke at great length on the Abolition Bill and his action thereon, stating why he voted for abolition. He had formerly supported separation, but since 1871 it was not desirable to have separation, even if it could be obtained, and he considered it could not be. He would only support abolition conditionally on the laud fund being localised, that is reserved to each province. He reviewed Sir George Grey’s speech, and showed how the Auckland provincialists endeavored to get the land fund of the Middle Island for the benefit of the North. He referred to Sir George Grey’s past actions, to show that while Sir George now spoke about preserving the rights and liberties of the people, he had in times past raised storms of indignation by his despotic interference with constitutional Government. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr McLean for his action during the past session ; and further, that he should be the member for the district in the next Parliament, Mr McLean was complimented for being a hard working member for the district.