MEETING AT THE GAIETY THEATRE.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1725, 30 August 1879, Page 3

MEETING AT THE GAIETY THEATRE.

A meeting of the friends and supporters of Sir George Grey and Mr S. P. Andrews, convened under the auspices of the Liberal Association, -was held in the Gaiety Theatre last evening, there being a large assemblage present. Mr Alport, who was chosen chairman, expressed hiß gratification at haying to preside on an occasion that was very important, not only to Canterbury, bnt to the whole of New Zealand. He was a Liberal in his views, and in favor of Sir George Grey, and he hoped those present would enroll themselves as members of the Liberal Association. He was the treasurer of the association, and there was no lack of funds tojcarry out its purposes. The iaesociation laid claim to having brought Sir Georgo Grey down, and if they did nothing else that was a good work. He called upon Dr. Turnbull to address them. Dr. Turnbull, who was received with applause, explained that the meeting was not so much one of ithe Liberal Association or he would have occupied the chair as President, but it was one of the friends of Sir G. Grey and Mr Andrews to form themselves into a committee for the purpose of aiding the association. The association was not supposed to be merely a thing of to-day, but was intended to go on for years cultivating and doing work. That was required by every great Liberal party in every country, and the association intended to live beyond this election. [Hear, hear.] They would endeavor as time went on to facilitate the all important matter of registration of voters. They intended to lay their plans for securing liberal candidates for Parliament wherever a vacancy occurred, and in doing what lay in the resolution, which he had the honor to this meeting do form itself into a committee for the purpose of returning Sir George Grey and Mr Andrews to Parliament this session." [Applause.] He did not feel fit, through the exigencies of daily work to do justice to the matter in hand, and in the first place he would bring in a matter personal to himself before them. An accusation had appeared in certain journals of the place that while attacking Sir George

Grey in public eighteen months ago, he (Dr. Turnbull) was now the inviter of the same knight to stand as a member for Christchurch. It had been from no contempt or thoughtlessness of his that he had refrained from replying to any of those attacks. He felt confident in his own sincerity of the advocacy of liberal ideas, that he could stand before Ohristchurch or a Christchurch audience now as he did, and say that throughout all time that he had known himself as a man he had been an advanced liberal, and was to this date. Ho had beon so accused, and he would take the paper itself and give them his opinion of Sir G-eorge Grey fiom it, and explain the condition he then occupied and now occupied. This was at a meeting which Sir George Grey addressed in the Oddfellows' Hall eighteen months ago. The paper said : " Dr. Turnbull, who commenced to speak from the body of the hall but afterwards came on the platform, said that they had tonight heard a specimen of that oratory of which so much had been said and written. Nor sould they say that the praise had been inordinate, becauso that evening they had learned that Sir George Grey could be graceful in diction, as well as powerful in thought. [Cheers.] He could only say, for one, that Sir George Grey commanded his admiration for ths many noble qualities which he had devoted to public service. So great had been his services and so persistent his advocacy of advanced Liberal views that it would be absurd in him (Dr. Turnbull), as a mere onlooker, to say that he stood on the same political platform. He had scarcely placed his foot upon the steps leading to the elevated sphere occupied by Sir George Grey as a reformer of evila, as an elevator of _ the masses, and an ameliorator of the manifold distresses of humanity, but in his own sphere he (Dr. Turnbull) had persistently advocated the principles enunciated by Sir George Grey that evening. As a humble follower of Sir George Grey, and a radical to the backbone, he desired to take their miuds back to the years 1867 and 1870." He would read a few lines more, and show his opinion of the policy of Sir George Grey, and that he wbb a radical to the backbone. He could safely say this, that if there were twenty Greys and twenty Foxes to do justice to Canterbury if they were both of the same party he would do his best for them. When two years ago Mr Montgomery introduced him to Bir George Grey he took off his hat and said, "Sir George Grey, the moment I put my foot in this House I am your obedient follower." He quoted an extract to show his action in the Provincial Council so far as liberalism was concerned, aud so far as he was justified in taking the position he now held in the Liberal Association. He had sat in the Council Bince its commencement, and he would give his opinion regarding such Councils. He did not take any new name, but would adopt one which seemed to express the first principles of the government of a country —he was a thorough radical. He advocated entirely the interest of men as opposed to the interests of property. He had the greatest respect for the merits and rights of property, which were considerable, but he had a, far higher respect for the rights of men than any other. Now, he repeated that he did not for one moment through contempt refuse to answer any of the accusations levied against him, but he did so from a conscious rectitude as to his feelings in favour of this position, so far as his opinions had been expressed in this province, and if they looked to the motion now he stood there wishing nothing, asking nothing, seeking nothing, but as a simple citizen of Christchurch, ready to begin and go on with his daily work and start up again when anything else threatened the great party. When they looked at things now, they had before them no different men, but exactly the same state as existed at the time of the abolition of provinces. Exactly the same party were now face to face, exactly the same candidates face to faoe, exactly the same committee on the side of the opposition members who abolished the provinces, and if they looked into the question they would find that this was a necessary resultant from that most dastardly and wrong doing. When they had the provinces they had a good form jof legislation at their own doors; they could keep a watch, and express their opinions and communicate with the Central Government with the utmost facility, but now they had the whole Government centred in Wellington, surrounded by everything that was difficult to approach, and they could not realise to themselves that the Government they had two or three years ago was gone from them. It was gone from them, but not for ever. What they had to do now was to bring back to the people of New Zealand the power it held with Provincial Councils, and to assert that the Government of the colony of New Zealand shall be conducted by men of the colony and not be ruled over by merely holders of property. Why he stood there supporting Sir George Grey was that when they had a vastly eloquent man toppling over the heads of the people, as Saul did in olden times, a man of wisdom, eloquence, and tremendous pluck, who could risk himself in a frightful turmoil such as that of Satnrday night last, he would support him, because he was the incarnation of what the people of New Zealand of liberal opinions desired. From the moment in whioh the Opposition party realised that they had a dangerous man before them, as shown in the Government struggle over the Piako Swamp, from that to the present time nothing had been hurled at his head but abuse, abuse, abuse. No argument had been brought forward but he had unflinchingly stood before them and upheld the rights of the people. They had a man who would [wake the country from one end to the other to seoure justice to all concerned. The movement they were engaged in was not merely of local importance, but the cause of Liberalism was general. It was a wave of thought that had gone through the world for many years. They were going to put a stop to class legislation of any kind whatsoever, and to see that men were placed on an equal footing no matter what their wealth might be. He was not advocating anything that might be dangerous to any community, but he was advocating that which would save the people from destruction. Their principles were just, and right, and great, and when men were thinking quietly and calmly as they were at the present moment, there was no danger of establishing what was unjust. We in New Zealand, above all countries in the world, required particularly to look closely to the system of legislation that we have to live under, because we were a small country. We were only a couple of islands, but those islands would be filled in a'generation oi two, and the population would increase to such an extent that the country would be comparatively well stocked with workers, and when that time came and we had families with sons and daughters ready and willing to work they would learn to love it, and settle down here. Then the class legislation would be felt, and cause years and years of suffering. The people of New Zealand should now decide what the Legislation was to be, let them rise and say there should be no laws but the laws of New Zealand, and we shall look after property rather than property shall look after us. There was a peculiar feature in this election, which, in his mind, almost indicated what might be called treachery on the part of the Opposition, in attempting to adopt the views of the party who had advanced them alone, and who were advocating them alone. There was no opposition because they were all Liberals, but let him give them an idea of what Liberalism meant. Take the matter of subsidies to local bodies. An attempt had been made to wipe out those subsidies. The effect of wiping that three hundred thousand pounds would be to give that amount to the Treasury, and would do away with any tax on land. If they added to that a re-imposition of duty on the necessaries of life, they had a sum not far short of half a million re-imposed on the people of the country, taking away the necessity of taxing property, and they said they were quite willing to establish the tax ; but, if tho neces-. sity did not exist for having a tax on people, what liberality was there in that. They had mistaken that idea of subsidies most completely. Having referred to the beneficial effects of the local subsidies given by the Imperial Parliament of England to schools and other institutions, he said that many of the great difficulties in a young colony like this could only be overcome by granting subsidies. With regard to the effort made to remove the seat of Government from Wellington to Christchurch, it was unfortunate that there was a want of unanimity in the case of the Ohristchurch people. This was because the platform it was put upon was one of a mere mercenary aspect. He thought it would be better for Chriatchurch to have the seat of Government. Canterbury and Otago together paid two-thirds of the whole of the taxes of the colony, and a good deal more than half of the whole Customs revenue of the whole of New Zealand, The energy and enterprise of Canter-

bury and its importance rendered it the most desirable place for the seat of Government. With regard to the dual voteß of Maoris, he was perfectly satisfied, from careful enquiry, that this dual voting has been in existence ever since Major Richmond introduced it into the Electoral Act. Sir George Grey did not introduce it. It had beenin existence for several years, and the Native Minister, Mr Sheehan, implored the House to continue it for a term longer on account of the disaffected Natives. Dual voting was not without precedent, as the principle was in vogue in Great Britain. They had been asked by what right they claimed to be Liberals, and his invariable answer was that that they had not adopted that title themselves, but by one common consent the liberal party had given it to them. They expected from them what could only be done by most ultra-liberal minded men. They were asked not only to condemn Sir George Grey, but to punish him for committing some little trifling error in looking after the people's interests. Sir George Grey was not aiming at mercenary gain or power, but sought to establish the rights of the people. He was perfectly satisfied that if Sir George was standing on that platform he would confess his errors if there were any, and would ask the people to condone his faults, if he had any, because he would be looking forward to those principles, of which he would say, I may come and I may go But they roll on for ever. [Loud applause.] A question was put to Dr. Turnbull, but he declined to answer it, on the ground that he did not occupy the position of a candidate. The Rev Mr Eraser in seconding the motion said he had no intention of taking any part in the elections further than as a private citizen, but one particular point had induced him to address them. Sir George Grey had been very severely attacked, and he remembered some few years ago when Sir George Grey entered tte House of Representatives he (Mr Praser) was assured by many of the Canterbury members that he was worn out, had lost his spirit, and was drivelling in his dotage. He warned them at the time that they had better look after Sir George Grey; he was a wily old swordsman and would lay them on their backs before they knew where they were. He came down to them in his dotage, and they saw what kind of a man he was; and they knew very well that in point of ability, experience, and statesmanship, they had not had his equal in New Zealand. He was glad to see that while the Pbess was ready to charge him with every political wrong, they stated that he was a great ex-Imperial officer and a polished gentleman. He believed that, practically, the great colonial policy of Great Britain was shaped and formed by Sir George Grey. The policy of the Opposition during the last short session showed a want of judgment and statesmanship, or very considerable selfishness. They had a majority and could have passed the Representation Bill before ousting the Government, thereby giving Canterbury eighteen or twenty members instead of fourteen and a half, but they would not do so. The Opposition made a great mistake there in the matter of policy. It might have been selfishness, but he would not charge them with that. They challenged the Government on the question of administration but accepted their policy, and at that time they did not think the Governor would grant a dissolution. They made a great mistake, and one which might put the country to the expense of two seasons of elections instead of one. He upheld the Government in the matter of the dual vote, and urged that the Premier only wanted to give the Natives manhood suffrage, and would also have given manhood suffrage to us too if the Opposition or Legislative Council had allowed him. That was simply consistency. He upheld the Government for the manner in which they had dealt with the Natives during the critical period of the Native scare. They had gained a grand point in securing the services of Rewi, the famous Ngatimaniapoto chief, and in sending armed constabulary to Taranaki they had shown greater wisdom than they would have done had soldiers been sent. The Bill for the construction of the railway to run along the foot of our hills had been introduced by a member who was almost a stranger, which showed apathy on the part of their Canterbury representatives. That Bill would have the effect of cutting up the runs for settlement, so that the plains would be wholly occupied by farmers and others. It was expected that the price ef this land would be reduced to £1 an acre, and he knew of one gentleman who was prepared to purchase 20,000 acres at that price. With regard to the suggested removal of Mr Conyers, Commissioner of Railways, from Canterbury, he thought that was not a subject to be brought forward during the elections. Mr Macandrew, Ministerfor Public Works, had taken a most independent and praiseworthy stand in regard to this matter. He had actually retired from the contest for Dunedin, and gone to another place, on account of pressure being brought to bear on him to aid the removal. He maintained that Canterbury had been neglected in the matter of endowments. Dunedin and other places had valuable endowments, but the representatives of Canterbury had neglected her interests in this direction. The speaker strongly condemned the opinion expressed by the Hon. Mr Hall on the subject of education, and said that while he sympathised with the Roman Catholics on account of the position they were at present placed in, yet he did not approve of special endowments being made for them. The motion was put and carried unanimously. The Chairman informed those present where the association's rooms were, and invited them to join the committee. Mr Andrews, being called for, said he would address them on the following evening. Scurrilous attacks had been made upon him in the papers, but he was not affected by them. He asked for their support, and if returned promised to look well after their interests. Mr Treadwell announced that he was going to address a meeting at Sydenham, and intimated the subjects upon which he would dwell. The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman.