THE ELECTIONS.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 468, 14 December 1875, Page 2

THE ELECTIONS.

MR. MOORHOUSE AT THE ODDFELLOWS' HALL.

Last evening the Oddfellows' Hall was crowded on the occasion of Mr W. S. Moorhouse, one of the candidates to represent Christchurch in the House of Representatives, addressing a meeting of the citizens. His Worship the Mayor said that he had been requested by Mr Mooihouse to take the chair on that occasion, and he felt very great pleasure in doing so. He would mentioa that Mr Moorhouse had served the provirica for many years, and the Lyttelton and Christchurch line of railway was owing to the thought and exertions of Mr Moorhouse, whom he had great pleasure in introducing to their notice. [^eers.] Mr Moorhouse, who was received with cheers, said that he addressed the electors of Christchurch then under circumstances very different from those which prevailed when he addressed them some years ago. It was now more than five years since he had the pleasure of meeting a Christchurch audience, and he was very glad,iu the interests of the colony, to have another opportunity of renewing his acquaintance with his old friends and of making new ones. [ Cheers.J It was true that he had not beeu much heard of of late, because in these prosperous times people were so engaged in minding their own personal affairs that they had little time to look after anything else. But there were many present who in times past had fought with him in gainirg the successes which had proved advantageous to the province and the colony—successes which had eventuated in the expansion of the colony, and more particularly in the expansion of this particular part of it. [Cheers.] He had been aske I Bince he came down here why he had not stood for the Heathcote, where his success was certain. With this on public grounds, he was bound to disagree, and to state that his proper place was here. [Cheers.] He had been connected with Christchurch for years, and had achieved some of his greatest successes therein. Moreover it was for Christchurch that he last sat as a member of the General Assembly. Before going any further he must at once state that he was a thorough abolitionist. [Cheers.] He believed that the colony had arrived at that stage when they must prepare themselves for development into a nation. New Zealand must no longer be looked upon as a mere aggregation of villages, but prepare herself to take her place amongst the nations of the world, and now was the time to begin the work. [Cheers.] It had been urged against him that he had lately been converted from a provincialist into a centralist; but he could assure them that, on the contrary, ho had held the opinions he then expressed for a very long time previous. He did not greatly approve of reading long extracts, but he would mention that iu 1868, when by their favor he filled the high office of Superintendent, he sent down a message to the Provincial Council urging them to consider the altered circumstances of the colony, and to see whether the t me had not arrived to consider those reforms which were required in order to promote the interests of the colony. With that view he had, after considerable thought, arrived at the conclusion that this province' should take the lead in digesting a scheme for expanding this colony into a nationality. With that view he sent down a message dated 28th February, 1868, and in it he reviewed shortly the condition of the province and its Government, and he made suggestions which would very shortly be carried into effect. That message was received with indifference, and a reply was sent him which scarcely bore upon the matter contained in the message. So far as he understood matters at present, it was the intention of the great party who had carried the wonderful reform about to take place, to give to the people the most absolute power to govern themselves in all local matters. Now when he sent that message to the Council, forecasting what in the nature of things must eventually be adopted, he suggested to the Provincial Council that the administrative officers should be elected, and with reference to the Superintendent he said—" But, uuder such conditions, it would be v cessary to take the utmost security for his fitness in point of capacity, as well as of respectability and popularity. The question then arises, how thefie desiderata can be arrived at without an abandonment of the elective principle in the appointment of Superintendents." Now that message of his was written long before the present development of things. He wished to have an alteration in the then existing state of things, and referring thereto he thus wrote to the Council—'< Let the General Assembly, upon the suggestion of the existing Provincial Councils, divide the several provinces into road districts ; a ratepayers' roll for each having been prepared, let the ratepayers, first, elect their Road Board ; secondly, the Board its chairman ; and, thirdly, let a council, composed of Road Board Chairmen, Mayors of Boroughs, and Chairmen of Municipalities, elect the Superintendent of the Province. By such a plan the Superintendent would uot only be an elected, but a thrice elected officer ; and, as a matter of course, would be most gladly accepted by any Government as ex officio administrator of General Government Departments in the Province. By administration in this latter sense is meant administration under instructions derived not from a Minister, but from the law." That was his idea in 1868, and it was his idea now. He believed that in all local things the Government of the country should be by officers not nominated by the General Government, but by officers elected by the people, and that he should advocate if sent to the General Assembly. [Cheers J He found pleasure in placing those extracts before them, because they would have an opportunity of judging how f« h: bad beeq

consistent. He had done nothing for himself, but he was happy to say that the province contained some standing monuments of his existence. [Cheers.] They knew what he had done in the past, and he could assure them that he now had the opportunity of doing much greater things than he ever had before. An objection had been urged against him that if he was elected he would be away. He would beg them to dismiss that from their minds at once, for he knew all about the place—knew all their wants, and could at all times advocate their interests on the shortest notice. Was it necessary for him to protest against a foul insinuation, that he was going in for mere profit ? He never was influenced by such sordid motives. [A Voice—" When did you make your fortune?" Cheers.J He had made none. [Cheers. | In plain terms, in a speech made by a celebrated man, and re ported by respectable men, he was told that he was that night to be charged with public robbery. [Cries of •' Name," and great confusion. | He did not want to name, but he had an advertisement in his hand which he would read. It was as follows :—" Wakefield will further explain the great Murimotu plan to rob the people's estate, by two Moorhouses, one Studholme, two Russells, and others ; in nine shares, two of which are reserved to buy Parliamentary support, backed by the Government and Bank nominees." [Cheers and laughter. | To those acquainted with the English language, he thought it must be perfectly obvious that it was the intention of somebody to charge him with being a party to a robbery. [A Voice —" Jobbery."] He had never been accused of "jobbery." It was true there had been a great deal of tall writing against him, but it had come to nothing; but never had any person had the audacity to attempt to prove anything against his persotal honor or public integrity. [Cheers.] He trusted that they would excuse his going into personal matters, but it was impossible for him to ask them to choose him as their representative in the absence of an explanation from him with reference to statements that had been made respecting him, and he was very much ashamed at being compelled to do so at the instance of a gentleman who had no claim on their respect whatever. [Cheers, groans, hisses, and much confusion.] He was compelled in justice to himself, to them, arid to the Government, of which he was a supporter and admirer, to give the most emphatic denial to the atrocious charges which an unprincipled min had made against him. [Cheers, groans, and hisses.] The whole story, so far as he was personally concerned, was this—He was a solicitor and an English barrister, practising as a solicitor in New Zealand. [A Voice " And a Yorkshireman."] Yes, he had the honor to be a Yorkshireman. The whole ground for the charge which had been made against him was contained in the document he held in his hand, and which he would read. It was a memorandum of an agreement made between the Superintendent of Wellington, the Minister of Native Lands, and his clients, and was dated at Wellington 25th March, 1874. His clients were Messrs Morrin, John Studholme, Edward Moorhouse, Colonel Macdonald, Captain Macdonald, and Mr Walker. The agreement which he drafted, and which was approved by the Native Minister, Dr Pollen, and the Superintendent of Wellington, Mr Fitzherbert, was as follows :—" 1. I have undertaken, on the part of my clients, forthwith to surrender to the General Government most completely all claim whatsoever, in law or equity, to certain native lands mentioned in the schedule hereto and shown on the plan annexed. 2. From and after this date none of the parties (my clients) interested in the native lands, the subject of this memorandum, shall (except upon the request of the General or Provincial Governments), directly or indirectly attempt the purchasing or leasing of lands from the natives in any Jportion of the Northern Island. 3 That ilio best efforts of my clients shall be at all times at the service of the General aud Provincial Governments in aid of the acquisition for public u--es of the lando, Hie subject of this memorandum. 4. That for anil in exchange for the considerations mentioned in the three previous paragraphs, the General and Provincial Government?, as now represented by the Hon the Native Minister, and his Honor the Superintendent, had promised and agreed : 5. That whenever the native title to the said lands shall have been extinguished, immediately thereafter the Superintendent of Wellington shall select about twenty-five (25) per cent of the lands, the subject of this memorandum, for settlement. Blocks selected not to exceed four. 6. That the remaining seventy-five (75) per cent of such lands shall remain in the occupation of my ! clients as practical tenants for the term of fourteen years from the extinction of the native title, subject to the rental now relerved by the Wellington Land Regulations. 7. That in the event of the General Government only acquiring from the natives a leasehold tenure of the said lands, then my clients shall hold the said lands as pastoral tenants, at the rate of rental and under conditions reserved by the now existing Provincial Land Regulations. Provided always that the rental paid by my clients shall not involve a loss (annual) to Government on account of rents possibly payable to natives. 8. That whenever the Provincial Government may require for purposes of settlement the whole or any portion of the said lands, the same shall be vacated by my clients on reasonable notice, compensation being paid for the surrender on an equitable scale. 9 Ttatas doubts exist as to the power of effectuating this agreement under the existing hind regulations, it is agreed that the Qeneral and Provincial Governments shall take action to secure such measures of legislation as may be necessary for giving effect to this agreement. 10. That the actual money payments by my clients (acknowledged by the natives concerned as being payment to them on account of lands to be acquired from them) shall, upon proof to the satisfaction of the Hon the Native Minister and the Superintendent, be refunded to my clients by Government." From that document they would perceive that this Muri-motu estate was not the people's estate at all, that it did not belong to the Crown, but to the native owners, and that neither the Government nor his clients had one shilling interest therein, except what the native proprietors chose by deed to cede He (Mr Moorhouse) would contend that, in framing that agreement, he had not only secured the interests of his clients, but had looked to the welfare of the colony If he had strained a point for his clients, he had been paid for it as a lawyer to do so [Cheers.] He had done his best for hi clients, just as he would do if he were culled to attend the police court to-morrow, iu yrdci

to endeavor to mitigate the punishment to be meted out to some unfortunate for a drunken escapade. [Cheers, groans, and hisses.] Those who knew him professionally, could bear testimony that he always did his best for his clients, and that without losing self-respect or personal honor. | Cheers.] In the matter referred to he got his clients what they wanted ; but after all they had not got a very good bargain ; they had not got, as had been said, 200,000 acres, which would graze a sheep an acre. He did not know the land himself, but the surveyor had informed him that it consisted greatly of fern and scoria:; and he (Mr Moorhouse) would ask whether such land was likely to carry a sheep to an acre. [A man in the meeting had been creating confusion by repeatedly interrupting Mr Moorhouse, and loud cries were now heard of " turn him out."] There was a great bobbery about the matter, and Sir George Grey brought it before the Assembly, and it was alleged that those who were members of the Assembly were disqualified under an Act which prohibited, aud very properly so too, members from taking their seats who held patronage from the Crown. Well, hi s friend Mr Rolleston moved for and obtained a committee, with the view of inquiring whether any breach of the Disqualification Act had been committed. Three of the members of that committee belonged to the Opposition, aud three were supporters of the Government, and after due examina tion the committee reported that the matter had been done without legal sanction. He (Mr Moorhouse) was perfectly aware of that, but it would be seen by the terms of the agreement that there had been no infraction of the spirit of the Act. What Act ? Not an Act for the prevention of robbery, but merely of the Disqualification Act. It was all gammon and clap trap, he believed, as to the disqualification, and he believed that every squatter in the country, by becoming a Crown tenant, was as much disqualified as was his friend Mr John Studholme. He would not say one word more on this subject, but he believed he had said enough to convince them that, although he was the lawyer of the gentlemen he had named, he did not forget that he was a gentleman and an honest man. [Cheers.] He would now shortly state to them his opinions on the leading topics of the day. He believed in the free education of the people, and he believed it was of greater importance to them who hoped to save money, to hold property by orderly, economical thrift, to have the lower stratum of society perfectly educated, than to limit such education. [Cheers.] He would charge the cost of such education on the consolidated revenue of the colony, and he would make education compulsory. [Cheers.] He would make every man do his duty to his family by having his ohildren educated. At the risk of being charged with bad taste, he must express his regret at the difficulties which had arisen respecting this question with some religious sects. He (Mr Moorhouse) was tolerant of all religious bodies, and he looked reverently on the effortd of good men, no matter to what religious denomination they belonged. [Cheers ] He was sorry therefore to see that there were some men who stood out from the movement, and asked for a separate political religious existence. He hoped that tendency would soon die out, and be succeeded by a better temper and more tolerant sm'rit. | Cheers.] As to public works, he was an enthusiast in that matter, and affirmed that the prosperity of the colony depended on the unflinching continuance of the public works that had been inaugurated within the last few years. He rejoiced to find from the statement made by a gentlemau, who was most unromantic and unimaginative in disposition, that the railways in the North Island were paying from two to three per cent, and did they not know that the railways here were paying more than their co't of working. He certainly believed that before long the great scheme of railways that had been inaugurated and was now being carried into effVct, would, without a high rate of tariff being charged, be the means of reducing the taxation below win' they were now paying He would now touch upon the surveys of the colouy, and would take this opportunity of reiterating, viva roeo, what he bad stated some time since. He had been charged with being ex ceedingly volatile in his disposition—that no sooner did he. undertake a public office than he left ; but this he could say that he never forsook his post until their honour had been consulted. [Cheers and hisses.] He went out of office in simply because he saw no prospect of the Government of the day or any succeeding Government, making the surveys of the colony other than they had been. He (Mr Moorhouse) had inaugurated and left completed the land transfer system, which depended for its nsefo'nesfl on the accuracy of the surveys, which were in anything but a satisfactory state. Mr Moorhouse here instanced the case of Kelly, of Auckland, who was awarded by a legal tribunal compensation to the amount of from £12,000 to £14,000 through an error in the survey. He (Mr Moorhouse) found that these mistakes occurred in 100 sections, and therefore he sent in his resignati(n as Registrar of Land as the best practical protest he could make against tie inaccurate system of surveys which prevailed. With the view of bringing this subject before the Assembly, he tried to get a seat for Mount Bgmont, but, was defeated by Major Atkinson, who, he was happy to say. had now come round to the same view of thinking as himsolf. His friends had asked him why he gave up an office worth £IOOO a year, and said he was mad for doing so. He did not think so, because he believed he could make £2OOO a year by practising in Wellington, and he had done it. He did not intend again to seek office, for he always lost by it. When he was Superintendent he did not gain anything, on the contrary, he lost—[cheers, and hear, hear J —and he could tell them that when he left the province he did not take away one shilling, after living in it for thirty years This, however, he bad done, he had s-nt over £IOOO into it to pay his debts, which money he had earned in Wellington. He did not, as some had done, intend to croak about the working man—why should he. He had never robbed the working man, never injured him, and he :ould tell the working man that he never had a firmer friend. [ A Voice —" We do not want friends." | If the working man choose ■o confide in him he would find him to be just, and he believed the working man wanted nothing but justice. He had to say a few words respecting the waste lands. A cry had been raised that there was a probability, n consequence of the Abolition of the Provinces, that the land revenue of the Middle Island would find its way into the heft of the North Island. There was :io probability of anything 80 absurd

taking place, and for this reason, the representatives of the people of the Middle Island had a preponderance over those of the North Island, and it was therefore not likely that the event which people feared would take place. But, said the provincialists, the growing necessities of the colony or a great popular emergency might account for a drain being made on the revenues of the South. He believed that this was merely the fear of timid, nervous persons, and was not worth consideration. With regard to their borrowing powers, he could see that they might borrow more and yet be on their legs, when they considered what was likely to be the population of the colony to what they owed now. He did not object to fair and fearless criticism, because that did not make men cowards, but served to steady the nerves of the experienced men who guided the Government ship, and opened their eyes to dangers which they were thus enabled to avoid. Mr Moorhouse then proceeded to praise Sir Julius Vogel, describing him as being the greatest genius that the Almighty ever gave to New Zealand. [Cheers | That great man was now in England, and his presence there was worth thousands to the colony, notwithstanding all the gabble that had been spoken about him. Ministers looked for a condonement of minor offences against the mere letter of an instruction. [Cheers.] If he (Mr Moorhouse) was elected, he would be an independent supporter of the Government, and he said this, although he believed the very soul of Government was party Government, but in his own case no one would deny that he was the leader of this province for eight years, f A Voice—- " Worse luck," and cheers.] He had influence from that very cause in the Legislature, because people would say what would a leader of so many years say on a question when under discussion. That must be the light in which such men as his friends Messrs Stevens and Richardson —[Cheers | —must be regarded. About the runs, he must say that the squatters had been a very useful body of men, who had greatly assisted in developing the country. In the year 1880 the runholders would have to surrender their runs. He had heard that an impression prevailed with some that they need not surrender their runs in 1880, but his impression was that in 1880 the contract between the squatters and the people would cease, and there was no doubt that in 1880 the public would have a right to expect and to take from their lands a larger revenue. He had heard it urged that the best thing was to have a fair assessment made of the land, for if the land went to auction it would be only advancing the interests of a land ring. This he believed to be a fallacy, as he was of opinion that even if the lands went to auction it would be to the advantage of the squatters rather than otherwise. He believed, on a careful consideration of the whole question, that if the assessment was properly managed, a larger revenue would be derived than if the lands were put up to public auction. He would not make any pledge at present on the subject, because he thought it better that they should have an opportunity of conferring again with him on the matter. With regard to the employment of women he would do his utmost to restore to the women the privileges they had once under Mr Bradshaw's Act. Then as to the Friendly Societies Act, he intended to help th'i Government in an endeavor to rectify difficulties in the working of the Act. He would endeavor to answer all letters addressed to him except tlmse asking fir billets. He thought they would be wise in electing a gentleman on Ih<- spot. It might be said that Mr Richardson would also be on the spot ; that was true, but Mr Richardson most properly would be engaged in carrying into effect, the great policy of public works, and would not he able to d' vote that. time to local matters that an independent member would do. He should be happy to reply to any questions which might be put to hm. [Cheers.] In answer to questions. Mr Moorhous" said he was in favor of public houses being opened during a portion of Sundays. He had attended each race meeting and Agricultural Show held in Ghristchurch, and had seen tens of thousands of persons with every oppor!unity for obtaining drink, yet not one drunken man was to be seen. He did not believe that any argument could be brought forward to sustain the opinion that because the publichouse* were opened for an hour or so on that day, any Christian man would lie found walking about drunk on Sunday. Under proper restrictions no harm could result from opening hotels for the poor man's enjoyment, who could not. like the rich man, go to his club and have there what he liked. [Applause.] If elected he would pledge himself to be punctual in his attendance to his duties in the House of Representatives as member for Christ church. He would be in favor of keeping the compact of 1856. That was part of the programme of the Minister whom he intended to support. With reference to his voting for the abolition of the Arms Act, 1863, he considered that so far as the Act applied to the Middle Island, an arrangement could be made to relieve those who felt it oppressive, as the necessity for such an Act did not exist here. The Native Minister deserved the greatest praise for the manner in .which he had administered his department, which had saved the country immense trouble, and while on that subject he would a*k the meeting to rejoice with him on the present satisfactory aspect of the native difficulty ; and it was his firm conviction that if j istice were done to the natives it would be to the advantage of the whole colony. [Applause. | He did lay the foun-dation-stone of the Colonists' Hall at Lyttelton, aud would distinctly state that he did not then advocate the pulling down of workmen's wages. He did remember on one occasion saying that it was not likely that capital would be invested for any length of time, and with wages at 8s a day pay 12s for what would only fetch eight. He thought at the time he was only doing an act of common honesty to speak the truth as a leader of public opinion. He would ensure the attendance of children at school by a legitimate process of law—by a Bill carefully drafted, and then discussed in the Assembly, which would compel parents to pay a penalty if they neglected to send their children to school. [Applause.] Mr Chudley desired to ask a question, as follows: When considering the grand

future of New Zealand and forecasting the development of Canterbury, is the Moorhouse tunnel suitable to the case, and is the narrow gauge railway suitable for Canterbury 1 [Laughter.J Mr Moorhouse said that, as was often usual in such cases, these questions had been determined by Government under competent professional advice. After very anxious consideration, he had given it as his opinion that a sft liu gauge was the

most suitable to the circumstances of the province : but since that time it had been determined to connect the extremes of the colony by a trunk line of railway, and it had been found that the present resources of the colony were not equal to the great expenditrue of construct) ng a broad gauge line, and he would thus be content to have a temporary service by the narrow gauge ; but he was confident that the people of New Zealand were compelled at present to practice strict economy in this direction ; still, he did not believe they would be satisfied to remain long behind the rest of the world, and be content to travel fifteen miles an hour when they could travel at fifty, [Applause.] He saw no reason why these lines should not be used for the purpose of ultimately laying down such a railway as would enable them to travel a mile a minute if required. Mr Wakefield asked Mr Moorhouse whether his connection with the intended leaseholders in the Muri-motu transaction, in which he (Mr Moorhouse) said his brother and brother-in-law were largely connected, had ceased. Mr Moorhouse replied it had, and what was more, before the papers came down to Parliament, and before his visit up the Wanganui river to act for the natives. Mr Wakefield — Your connection with that transaction having entirely ceased, do you consider that you can act impartially in giving a decision as to the legal sanction of this transaction, if sitting as a member of the House of Representatives ? Mr Moorhouse replied that when a man was sent into the Assembly to make laws, he was as much upon his honor as a Judge on the Bench, who might be called on to administer laws which he perhaps had at one time assisted in framing. As such, he (Mr Moorhouse) considered he was as competent to give an unbiassed opinion on matters with which he might have been professionally connected. In reply to the question as to the benefit the colony would derive from the whole transaction and twenty-one years' lease, Mr Moorhouse pointed out that if the matter had not been one of public policy, it was not very likely that Sir Donald McLean and the HonMrFitzherbert,who never agreed in one single instance, would yet become parties to this transaction, and act together solely for the purpose of defrauding the public. The members who had moved in the matter had immense interest with the natives, and by obtaining this land had become possessed of the key to the adjacent couutry, which he (Mr Moorhouse) considered a master stroke of policy. Mr Wakefield—As you are intimately connected with the details of the transaction, will you vote for its legal sanction if it comes to a question of aye or no in the House ? Mr Moorhouse replied that he would most distinctly do so, and would consider himself a cur and poltroon if he was afraid to do what was right. Mr Wakefield—l have done. In reply to further questions Mr Meorhouse said he was not in favor of triennial Parliaments, as he thought it was quite enough to disturb the public every five years. If he succeeded in getting into Parliament he would lay his head together with those who would endeavour to prohibit canvassers, committees, &c, so that none of the privileges of the ballot should be invaded With the concurrence of the ripper Houbc he would endeavour to have it remodelled, so that some of its memb-rs should be elected at stated intervals, which would etill allow of its present conservatism He considered that every person who resided in a province should have a vote, as if h", had not been improvident he would by that time have acquired a property qualification. He desired to thauk the meeting for their attention. He would hold three or four meeting* at various places previous to the election, and would address them again at the same place if he could obtain the hall on next Monday evening.

Mr Moorhouse proposed a vote of thanks to his Worship the Mayor for presiding, which was heartily carried, and the meeting separated.