THE ELECTIONS.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1726, 1 September 1879, Page 3

THE ELECTIONS.

MR ANDREWS AT THE GAIETY ] THEATRE. 1 _ ] Mr S. P. Andrews, one of the candidates i for the city, addressed the electors at the i Gaiety, on Saturday evening, when there was i a fair attendance. < His Worship the Mayor occupied the ( chair, and spoke of the services rendered in ( the past by Mr Andrews in the Provincial t Council. Ho trusted that they would, there- i fore, give Mr Andrews a fair hearing. Mr I Andrews would be happy to answer any ques- c tions which might be asked of him at the end s of the meeting. [Hear, hear.] c Mr Andrews, on coming forward, was re- v eeived with cheers. He said —In coming t before the electors of Christchurch that even- c ing, he wished to claim from them a patient j hearing, as he might not be able to make him- I self distinctly clear on every subject to which i he might refer in the course of his address. 1 In the first place, it would bo impossible for 1 him to deal fully with all the questions upon ] which he desired to address them, but the ( meeting might rest assured that he should 1 treat all the questions upon which he intended t to dwell in a fair and impartial manner, and t they could then form their own opinion as to t whether he possessed a sufficient amount of 1 knowledge on the general questions of the i day to warrant them in entrusting him with ( their confidence, and their votes at the forth- i coming election. In commencing his address 1 he should like to explain how it was that he i came before the electors at such a late hour j of the day, so far as the political contest was ] concerned. At first he had an objection to ( coming forward when asked to stand for the ] House of Representatives, but at the request i of many friends and the almost unanimously ! expressed wish of the Liberal Reform Association, ho made up his mind to come forward and contest the questions which were now j before the country. [Applause ] Coming at once to the political platform ho affected, he might say that he looked upon Sir George , Grey as one of the finest leaders of the people of New Zealand—lending dignity, , energy and force of character to the task he had set before him. As on indication of the good that gentleman had done the colony he | might mention that one of his first political i acts—one of the first things he did on enter- i ing Parliament, was to break down the abuses of the New Zealand land laws of the colony, i a system which reflected very considerably on i the Yogel-Atkinson Ministry, particularly in i reference to certain transactions in the North Island, such for instance as the Fiako Swamp. His impression always had been and still was i that the Government of New Zealand was in i this respect in a sorry state, and most of the ] members of Parliament did not appear to be ■ fully aware of the injustice being done to the i public in reference to these land transactions. This had been the case for some time, and Sir George Grey seeing this and other abuses in the State came forward and entered the political arena, with the object of ousting the Ministry of the day. In the task he had thus taken upon himself that gentleman met with success. In connection with this subject he might say that, in his opinion, a great mistake had been made by the late Governor (the Marquis of Normanby) in not granting a dissolution when it was asked for in the first instance by the Government of which Sir George Grey was the head. In that case the country would have been saved from two years’ opposition and awkward contention in the House of Assembly. A dissolution had now been granted, and one of the results of that dissolution was that Sir George Grey, in answer to a requisition from a number of the electors of Christchurch and the Liberal Association, had come forward to seek our suffrages in the coming contest. Mr Moorhonse having retired, it appeared to be a walk over for Messrs Stevens and Richardson. [Cries of “No” and “Hear, hoar.”] But he looked upon this as calculated to be a most unsatisfactory state of things. A dissolution of Parliament having been granted on the ground of a division in the Assembly resulting in the defeat of the Government of the day, he thought that the Premier should stand the test of a contested election, by which the feelings of the people towards him would be ascertained, and he would not be permitted to enter the House simply as a go-between. Personally, he would rather see Sir George Grey go in last on the poll than walk into the House on the strength of a non-contested election. Now, departing from affairs of the past, he wished to tell the meeting, as far as possible, his views on the many questions before the public at the present time. He would take them in their political order, commencing with the question of the franchise as that which first appeared on the Government programme. In this connection ha might say distinctly that ho believed in manhood suffrage with a residential clause. It appeared, however, that all the candidates for the Assembly travelled on that ticket ; but the way he looked at the matter was this : That those members should be returned to the Assembly who would not only consent to the advisability of these measures, but who, acknowledging certain matters to be desirable in that way, would set themthe members of the Liberal Association,

selves to carry them out. If elected to the Assembly, his endeavors would be to carry out the measures prominently placed before the country in the speech of the Governor. [Applause.] And one of the principal features of that speech was an indication of the policy to promote manhood suffrage with a residential clause. In respect to this he was a firm believer in manhood suffrage with a residential qualification of three months. He did not believe in the principle pure and simple, because the effect of it might be to swamp an election ; but, on the other hand, he thought that any man who had been three months in the country as a resident in any particular part, was entitled to a vote and a voice in the government of the country. [Loud applause.] But, there was a question of vital importance in connection with this, which was that of registration, which was most unsatisfactory in connection with elections at the present time. He was in favour of population as a basis upon which elections should be established, as it was in the voice of the people that they were calculated to discover a correct estimate of what was requisite for the benefit of the masses. A singular thing in this case was that in almost every other instance of the kind, all a man had to do was to register straight off—in the way of property, for instance, or marriages, births, and deaths. The same law ought to apply to voting ; a person should be enabled to register at any time, instead of the period at which he can record his qualification being confined to a particular time of the year. To meet the case of the working men, who, with the rest of the community, desire to exercise the franchise, he would extend the time of polling from 9 e’colck in the morning till 6 o’clock in the evening. [Applause.] He would even extend the time to seven o’clock in the evening. With reference to the waste lands of the colony, he believed the whole of them ought to be open to public purchase on deferred payments ; that a certain percentage of the purchase money should be paid at once, and the remainder hereafter. In that case thousands of persons would be glad to settle on the land and purchase (where they did not immediately settle), with the view of ultimately becoming the owners of the property. He was a plasterer, and worked at his trade, but he believed that every mechanic had a hope beyond their trade—that is, they had expected to have places of their own upon which they might rest after their labors and reap the reward of their toil and industry. Another thing he might mention was that the land should be selected before the purchases were made, by which means many of the evils at present felt in connection with this question would he avoided. In reference to the gridironing so much talked about, he had taken a deep interest in the matter, and had done his best to remove the obstacle in the way of legitimate speculation. With regard to the public works of the colony, he thought that all works should be let by tender. This would have the effect of preventing the letting of sub-contracts, which had this evil, that the laborer had to look to private persons instead of the Governnment, for their money, and they were in that case more liable to have to wait for their money, the Government not being the responsible party. He would advocate a railway between Christchurch and the West Coast. With reference to the official reports on the proposed route, there was, he thought, a great deal of prejudice in the matter, and he anticipated that an excellent route would be discovered. He did not think the Local Government Bill brought down by the YogelAtkinson Ministry was satisfactory j in fact, he thought it had proved most unsatisfactory. The matter of charitable aid and hospitals had been dealt with in a most unsatisfactory way, both by the Atkinson Government and the present Government. They doled out such a pittance to these institutions as was thought fit, but there was no settled rule regarding them, and they did not know how public contributions were regulated towards them. The Local Government Bill had been, to his way of thinking, an entire failure, and he had always been pleased with the position Mr Rolleston had taken in this matter. It was very well saying that if the Government would not arrange these matters that we must manage them ourselves, and put our hands in our pockets to contribute towards these institutions, but he thought it most unfair to be continually asking the people to do such a thing. It was a State question, and it was not a proper thing for this or that person to be continually going about the streets begging on behalf of poor people. The Government should lay down fair constitutional rules for dealing with these matters. He disagreed with any party that allowed nominated boards to do the work of the people. Ho would oppose everything by which a few nominated persona could do the work of the people, but he said let people express themselves by their vote as to who should rule and govern them. He was of opinion that they would not have had such difficulties- in connection with their Land Boards, in the matter of surveyors if those boards had not been nominated. If those boards had been elective by the people they would have had civility from them, and an amount of respect and attention different to what they had received from time to time for years past. He could never suppose for a moment that any one but a nominated irresponsible board would ever have allowed the whole matter of the survey of Canterbury to get into the position it had done. He would next refer to Maori He was not a Maori scholar, and knew nothing of the Maori language, but ho knew something of the people, and would say that it was high time that the present system of dealing with the Natives was put a stop to. He could not understand that it was right a Native Minister should have such a right or power over his subordinates as the present one had without some constitution to guide him. Whatever was done with the Maoris should be upon a sound constitution, and he was convinced that there was nothing which gave the Maoris so much dissatisfaction as that of continually changing your manner of dealing with them, and a change of Ministries and persons had a great effect upon them. Sir Donald Maclean, when Native Minister, took a certain course to govern the Maoris—the matter was entirely in his own hands, and he worked it as one of exigencies. As the exigencies of the case arose so he conducted it according to his own impression ; but when that Ministry got out of power, and a new Ministry came in with a new Native Minister, the line of policy carried out by Sir Donald Maclean was reversed and he looked to his subordinates to do what he desired and carry out his dictum. The persons were not willing to break faith with the Maoris ; they had before explained the course they were going to pursue, and many of them preferred rather to resign than commit a breach ot faith. There was the Native Minister of the present day with his subordinates carrying out his idea of things, but where were the subordinates of the previous Ministry ? He took it that they were prompting the Maoris to work in opposition to the present Government. There must be an end to such doings, and the sooner it took place the bettor it would be for the Maoris and the country. If elected, he would strive to sweep away that style of government and let the Maoris be dealt with in a fair and constitutional manner. Let the judge of the European be the judge of the Maori. In connection with the Maori dual vote, the Electoral Bill showed very clearly that that was first instituted by Mr J. O. Richmond in the year 1867. The Hon. Mr Sheehan, who introduced the new Electoral Bill, did not wish the right granted to the Maoris by the Bill of 1867 to be interfered with. The clause relating to dual voting had been in force since 1867, and it did not belong to the present Ministry. [Applause.] The question had been asked, and he himself had prompted it, why was not such a clause struck out ? It was a matter of expediency. The term expediency was a most objectionable one. He remembered once, whilst listening in the House of Representatives, that Sir Donald Maclean, the then Native Minister, being fiercely attacked by the Oppesition (and he thought Sir George Grey was a member of it at the time), and an answer demanded of him as to some doings of his subordinates in a certain direction. Sir Donald Maclean appealed to the House and said it was a matter of expediency ; they did not want or oven dare to expose their hands as to what they were doing, and the whole thing must be left to the Native Minister. He said further —“ If the House has no confidence in me as Native Minister, the honorable gentlemen must bring forward a vote of want of confidence, and that is the only way to deal with it." He (Mr Andrews) was pleased to see, judging from the speeches of candidates during the present campaign, that such a thing was now at an end. They would have no more of the Maclean, Sheehan, or Mackay regulations, but the Maoris would bo dealt with in a constitutional manner, A few days ago he mot Mr Rolleston, the member for Avon, in the street, and, in course of conversation, that gentleman expressed his surprise that ha was not included amongst

He (Mr Andrews) said it was a very simple matter, and he could easily become a member if he chose to identify himself with the programme they had adopted. Mr Bolleston asked who there was in Canterbury more Liberal than himself, and said he was the first to advocate a free education of the people—an education free and secular. He (Mr Andrews) said he had advocated the same thing in an essay he read at the Foresters’ Hall some years before, and he was not the first. He was not a trimmer, and believed in a fair secular and compulsory system of education. [Hear, hear.] When ha first stood before a Christchurch audience, and was in the Provincial Council of Canterbury, he strongly advocated such a system. He went this far, that the State should see everyone receive an education up to a certain standard. Children should be taught to read, write, and cypher, and when the State had conducted a system to that extent, it should put a shilling dictionary in the hands of every child, and after that should say “ That is all the State can do for you ; everything else is a luxury.” When in the Provincial Council he had said he might in some future time advocate a superior class of education, but until the system ho had named extended to the reach of everyone he was not prepared to go a bit further. He had voted against colleges and ho would do so again to-morrow, because it was a luxury the working classes had to pay for, and which they never could enjoy. [Applause.] He instanced the case of a professor of jurisprudence in this city who had never more than one pupil. [Laughter.] They had to keep up that professorship, but how many were there amongst the tax payers of the country who having directly or indirectly to pay for this, could afford to send their children to enjoy these lectures on jurisprudence? The matter arose of reading the Bible in schools, that he had expressed himself against. He could not see the propriety of the Bible being read in school during school hours, but if there was anyone who wished to instruct their children in a religious manner by the reading of the Bible, or illustrating it, he had no objection to the Bible being used, provided it did not interfere with the ordinary school hours. The matter, however, was one which should be left in the hands of school committees, but the Bible should not interfere with the ordinary course of education. [Hear, hear.] He earnestly hoped they would never see the old denominational system back again. He was prepared to let well alone until they found a better scheme of education. He had been asked this question: Are you a protectionist or a free-trader ? to which do you declare yourself ? He said they must judge by his past actions during the long period he had lived among them, and occupied a public position. If they had not discovered his views upon that subject, the mistake was theirs, not his. He did not like to be called a protectionist, because there were rabid protectionists who ran to extremes; but he believed it was essential to the welfare of the country to encourage looa’ industries. He believed in some cases it was necessary to subsidise. He believed it was advantageous for a country to subsidise manufactures than for any new industry to die out. When in the Provincial Council he moved that a bonus of £250 should be paid to the man who should manufacture fire bricks or clay ware, and he also moved for a bonus of £250 for the manufacture of Portland cement, or cement of an equal value to that in present use, and he would be prepared again to advocate a system of that kind. He was of opinion that the £250 on fire clay was the means of putting a well known firm hero in a good position to conduct the manufacture. In the matter of cement there were thousands of pounds sent away yearly from New Zealand to introduce cement into this country, while we had all the raw material hero for its manufacture. He knew a gentleman here who said if they would only put a duty of one shilling a barrel on cement, he would manufacture the article, and would make twenty or thirty thousand pounds a year by it, which money wonld be spent in the country. He would certainly advocate a protective duty being pnt on, and the raw materials in New Zealand being utilised. [Hear, hear.] Coming to the subject of immigration, he was firmly of opinion that that matter should be left to govern itself. He believed thoroughly in nominated immigration, and the matter being left in the hands of those who made the nominations. He was sure no one would attempt to nominate their friends unless they were certain of getting employment for them in the country. They should have a free immigration, but entirely by nomination. The game laws were very distasteful to some, and it was not a matter that touched so much upon the people in the town as the country. Ho could never consider it justifiable that they should have gun licenses and matters of that kind as a protection to game. It was not right that a property holder should have his land overrun with game and not be allowed to shoot them. It might be well to have some protection, or else acclimatised game might be exterminated, but to make it the privilege of of a few to take out a gun license was a thing he did not believe in. If possible he would use his utmost endeavor to abolish all game laws from the country. It was a most unjust and cruel law. With regard to triennial Parliaments, if they were to be saddled every three years with an election it would be most injurious ; but if they took up the full liberal cause (and he claimed to be a full liberal), they might yet come to say that each and every Parliament should be subjected to a new election. He was not prepared to advocate that at the present time, but he was prepared to go the full length that Mr Stevens advocated some considerable time ago. He believed Mr Stevens was the author of triennial Parliaments, and had never heard anyone else urge them in preference to quinquennial ones. He was a teetotaller, and with regard to the Local Option Bill, he could not conceive any man who claimed to be a liberal that would not support that Bill. He believed in letting the people decide such questions as this. If elected ha would vote for the Local Option Bill, providing it had a clause giving compensation, as that was only an act of justice. This clause was not approved of by the teetotallers generally, but there were those amongst them who held one-sided views, as in every other class. To come to anything like a satisfactory licensing law or Local Option Bill they must work together. He said this, that he did not think it was right for a man to find himself in the position of having erected large premises on the promise of getting a license, and th-n to have the license taken away by the vote of the people without compensation. There were, no doubt, many rabid teetotalers, but, still, he believed that they would not advocate such an injustice as this being done to any section of the community. [Hear, hear.] For himself, he intended to vote for a Local Option Bill with a compensation clause—if he could not get bettor. [Cheers.] They had a Local Option Bill now, but it was practically unworkable, as the districts were too large. Now, he had stated that he was opposed to all nominated Boards, and, therefore, he was opposed to a nominated Upper House. [Cheers.] Ho had lived in Victoria, where they had an elective Upper House, and he believed that, for the good of this country they must do away with the |nomi'» nated Upper House and make it elected by the people. [Cheers.] We should not then have occasion for the charges made by Sir George Grey, that gentlemen, who had made a compact to serve the Crown for life, broke it continually ; had thrown off the promise and taken it up again. [Cheers,] If the Upper House were elected, any gentleman resigning his seat and wishing at some other time to come back, he would have to go before the people before he could take his seat there again. [Cheers.] He had now laid before them as briefly and as plainly as possible, his opinions on the various subjects before the public. If there were any points he had omitted he trusted the meeting would ask such questions as would elicit the information they required. He had now only to thank them for the kind attention they had given him that evening. [Loud and continued cheering.] The Mayor—Mr Andrews will now be ready to answer any questions which may be put to him. I may say I have here a string of written questions which have been handed to me by Mr Willmer. I will read the first of them, which is as follows:—‘‘Are you favorable to bona fide farmers, that is settlers, being able to purchase land at 20s per acre, so as to settle the country with honest industry ?” Mr Andrews —There is more to be considered in this question than at first appears. I should not, for instance, be in favor of selling land at 20s which is worth 40s per acre, but I should be in favor of, and would do all I could, to advance anything which had for its object the putting of the land into the hands of the people for bona fide settlement — [cheers] —according to its value. 1 should be prepared to do this. [Cheers,]

The Mayor—The next question is, will you, if elected, advocate monthly express mail trains from the Bluff ? The Postmaster objects, but it will be a great convenience to mercantile men. The coat is the objectioS', bnt how many thousands are voted for useless purposes. Mr Larnaoh’s £2OOO to wit ? [lnterruption, and a Voice —“ Don’t answer it,” “Tear it up.”l Mr Andrews—lt is a question which should be answered. Yes, I would advocate such a train, as it is important that our mails should come through as quickly as possible. We are all anxious to get our mails as early as we can, but of course it would really resolve itself into a matter of cost. [Cheers.] The Mayor—The next question has already been answered by Mr Andrews in the course of his speech. It is with reference to the West Coast railway, and Mr Andrews has already said he is in favor of the prosecution of that work. [A voice: “Bead the question.”] Well, if you want to hear it I will do so. It is as follows : —“ Will you act in unison with members favorably impressed with the importance of a continuation of the railway from Amberley to the West Coast, where there is so much valuable timber, and some good land, and apparently much auriferous country ?” Mr Andrews—Certainly. I will do all I can, if elected, to push on the work. [Cheers.] The Mayor The next is, “ Will you support a liberal exemption from the land tax. The small farmer cannot afford to pay it; but will you vote for a property tax ? Mr Andrews—l would vote for a property tax. [A voice : “To what amount ?”] Well, lam not prepared to say. That is a question as to the exigencies of revenue. I think that a property tax is a fair tax, and that the land tax is not, and cannot be as just a tax as a property tax. [Cheers.] The Mayor—The next one is—Will you advocate that all police magistrates must be brought up to the legal profession ? Mr Andrews—l say that no one should sit on the Bench as a resident magistrate until he has passed his examination and become a full fledged barrister. [Cheers.] If this were done, I say it would be an enormous saving to the country, because numbers of cases would be enabled to be dealt with summarily, instead of being sent to the Supreme Court at great cost to the country. [Cheers.] The Mayor—The next is—Will you advocate strict economy in carrying on the Government ?

Mr Andrews—Well at present I know nothing of the system on which the Government departments are carried on, but if elected I will see that economy is observed as far as possible. [Cheers.] An Elector—Can a ratepayer vote at this election if he has not registered ? Mr Andrews—Yes. If he has paid his rates and his name appears on the burgess list he will probably find it on the electoral roll. There is one thing I wish to say in respect to this, and it is this, that though a man may have paid his rates, and may be on the burgess roll, yet he may not be on the ratepayers’ roll, and we can find no one who is responsible for this omission. [Cheers.] I don’t think there are many who have been omitted, but there are a few. [A Voice : “ Yes, I’m one.”] An Elector—Will Mr Andrews, should he be returned to Parliament, pledge himself not only to oppose the removal of the workshops from Addington, but that he will oppose any Government proposing such a thing; and that he will, in view of the vested interests of hundreds of the working classes who have (relying on the good faith of the Government) invested, in many oases their all, in purchasing land in proximity to the workshops, Addington, urge upon the Government the desirability of pushing on with the works and the erection of the machinery, instead of, as at present is being done, repacking the same and conveying the aforesaid machinery elsewhere ? [Cheers.] Mr Andrews—l ssy this, sir, that the removal of the Addington workshops to Dunedin would be the perpetration of a gross job, and I would vote against any Ministry which would allow themselves to go in for a job like this. [Cheers.] An Elector—What is your opinion on the question of Chinese Immigration ? Mr Andrews—lt has been expressed in this room that there are comparatively few Chinese in this country at this time. If the imposition of a poll tax would prevent any number of Chinese coming in here I would vote for it, but I would not vote for anything which would interfere with those already here. [A Voice —“ What about vaccination.”] Well the law says that all must be vaccinated, and though I may not agree with it, yet it is the law, and whether Chinese or not wo must all obey the law. [Ohaera.] An Elector —Are you in favor of the Government railway employes being paid for loss of time (through sickness and holidays), as it used to be. And will you bring it before the House, and see why payment for these things was taken from them. [Cheers and cries of “ No, no.”] Mr Andrews—No, I am not —[cheers] — because I do not think it right that any man should be paid for time he does not work. [Cheers.] I don’t know any man who would ask it. [Cheers.] I have been mixed up with working men all my life. lam a working man myself, but I never knew a man come up and demand money for the time he has been away sick, though I have known employers pay it. [Cheers.] It is quite new to me that a man should ask for payment wken he has not done the work. [Cheers.] An Elector—Will you, in the event of being returned, disassociate yourself with Sir W. Fox on the Local Option Bill ? Mr Andrews—l say this, that if Sir W. Fox can get a cabinet round him which possesses the confidence of the majority of the House, I am prepared to support Sir W. Fox, but it is well-known that Sir W. Fox cannot get a following in the House. [Cheers.] I wish to stand on principles not men. [Cheers.] To-morrow, something might happen and the head of the Qovernmeut might be lost to the country, but we must still stick to our principles. (Cheers.) An Elector—Will you explain to householders whether they are entitled to go on the roll or not ?

At this stage of the proceedings, the writer of the question above complained that the Mayor was not reading them rightly. His Worship then stated that the writing being so indistinct it was almost impossible to read it, and therefore he hoped the gentleman would come on to the platform himself. This he did, and again put the question, but with only a slight variation. Mr Andrews—l don’t think Sir William Fox is seeking to be re-elected on the Local Option Bill. I do not think this is any part of his programme. As far as I am concerned, I do not care whether it is Sir W. Pox’s Bill, Mr Stout’s Bill, Mr Feldwick’s Bill, or anyone else’s. All I want to see is the power put into the hands of the people. As regards the second question, I have already slated that if a man pays rates, and is on the burgess roll, ho will most probably find his name on the electoral roll. An Elector—ln the event of your being elected, will you advocate a bill for enforcing cremation ? [Laughter]. Mr Andrews—Certainly not, sir. But I may say to you that I moved in this matter in the Provincial Council to the extent that cremation might be permitted and not enforced in this country. [Cheers.] Whether I was right or wrong I am not now saying, but I say I am not in favor of enforcing it. [Cheers], An Elector—Will Mr Andrews, should he be returned to Parliament, pledge himself to call for the copy of the order given for rails now being delivered to the New Zealand railways with the roll brand G.L. & Co. (Guthrie, Larnach and Co.) on them j also, for the price paid for these rails, and the ruling market price of similar rails at the time the before-mentioned order was given. [Cheers.] Mr Andrews—lt appears to me that there is another swindle going on. [Cheers and laughter.] I am not in the secrets of the Cabinet, but I shall, if elected, be able to get an answer to the question. I shall be prepared to ask the question if anyone will give me information of such a swindle or job. [Cheers.] An Elector—Do you consider Sir George is right in using the Government steamer on his election tour. [A voice—“ Yes; of course,” and cheers.] If elected, would you call for a return of what he has expended on steamers and special trains for his private use, with a view to making him pay for them ? [Disapprobation, and a voice, “Tear it up.” “ Don’t answer it.”] Mr Andrews—l am not aware that Sir George Grey is using the steamer for his election purposes. [Cheers.] There is a log kept, and it can be seen at any time on what the steamer has been engaged. An Elector—Will Mr Andrews give his opinion as to whether he thinks that it is true economy, and economy in the right direction,

for the Government to dispense, with the services of hundreds at working men, and to still keep op the notoriously enormous engineering staff at present sagaged ? [Cheers.] Mr Andrews—There is no proof that there is an enormously expensively engineering staff i kept up. If it is so then the sooner it is done ! away with the better. [Cheers.]! While on this question l l may say that it is stated in many quarters that there has been a disposition' on the part of the Government to remove old officials on the railway, and to pnt new men in the places. [A Voice—“ That is an election dodge.”]! Now, since Mr Marshman left the railway there has been no end of complaints about the changes made. [Cheers.]! am prepared to go with 1 what Mr Bichardson has said—Vis'., that in cases of a public department like the railway there should be a Board of Enquiry, so that tho men may have some means of making their grievances known. [Cheers.] At present they are discharged in such a way as to make it very hard for them to go and get a living again. Perhaps, if their oases were investigated by the Board I speak of, it would be found that they had been doing their duty to the country. I believe in cases like thic it would be well if the Canterbury representatives themselves formed the Board and reported to the House. At any rate, it should be so composed that the men shall have the opportunity of stating their grievances to a perfectly independent and unbiased body. [Gheers.j An Elector—l wish to ask Mr Andrews whether he would be in favour of the working men having a representative on this commission to sit with the members. This was done at the time of the enquiry before the House of Commons into the subject of trades unions. If a working man were on this commission, he could put such questions to the officers as would not be put by the other members. They would be blinked at by the upper classes. [Cheers. | Mr Andrews—l believe that this should be an elected commission, and not nominated. I am against any nominated Boards, so that puts an end to it. If the working men like to elect a man on the commission to look after their interests, let them do so. [Cheers.] The Mayor—l have received a question which is not relevant to politics, so I refuse to put it, [Cheers.] Let the person who wrote it come on to the platform and put it himself. [Cheers.] I say at once that no irrelevant or personal questions will be allowed to be put, [Cheers.]

An Elector—l wonld like to ask Mr Andrews if he is in favor of the hospital in Christchurch being supported by us in Christchurch, with a bonus from the Government, say £2 for £1 collected, or of carrying it on as at present P Mr Andrews—Let me say first that I believe there is something more in the arrangements with regard to the hospital. I believe, sir, that you have power to recommend persons to the hospital, but I say at once that I not believe in the subsidy arrangement at all. The Government should contribute every farthing of the cost of the carrying on of the hospital—every farthing should come from the consolidated fund. [Cheers.] An Elector—lf you are returned will you be in favor of allowing private persons to bathe in the public school baths ? [Laughter, and a Voice—“ Oh, that’s all rot.”] Mr Andrews—Those baths are in the hands of committees who are elected by the people, and if you cannot settle such a little matter as this amongst yourselves without carrying it to the General Assembly, I am very sorry for you. [Cheers and laughter,] Mr J ohn Lee asked whether Mr Andrews was of opinion that the electors of Christchurch should have every facility given to them to record their votes on the occasion of this election by declaring the day of polling a public holiday. Ms Andrews said that the people were, he felt sure, not in favor of having a public holiday as stated. [Cheers.] He should be prepared to see the hours of polling extended to say seven o'clock. [Cheers.] He was in favour of elections being carried out throughout New Zealand in one day. Let them talk , about the Maori dual vote, why they now had men who had three votes by voting at Christchurch, Coleridge, and Kaiapoi. Talk shout the Maori dual vote, why this was triple voting. [Cheers.] A gentleman mounted the stage and asked whether Mr Andrews was in favor of the nominated board of the Acclimatisation Society? Mr Andrews said that he believed the Acclimatisation Society was a private society. So far as nominated boards were concerned, he would be opposed to any nominated boards whatever.

Mr Izett came forward to move a resolution to the effect—“ That this meeting is of opinion that Mr S. P. Andrews is a fit and proper person to represent Christchurch in Parliament.” [Loud cheers, and cheers for Sir George Grey.] Ho was not an elector, though entitled to be one. He was a citizen of Christchurch, and had voted for the election of auditors and for councillors; therefore, he thought that he would be on the roll, but such was the iniquitous state of the law in this respect, by which property grasped all they could get hold of, that he : found himself out in the cold, as, no doubt, many others did also. Mr George seconded the motion. The Mayor then put the resolution, which was unanimously carried, amidst cheers. Mr Andrews, having thanked the electors, said there was just one question which had been handed up to him which he should like to answer. It was this, “ Will you be in favour of a clause compelling every elector to record his vote, or be subjected to a fine for not doing so ?” [Laughter, and “ Oh, oh.”] Ho (Mr Andrews) said certainly not. Let every man do as he chose. If he preferred to stay at home instead of giving his vote, why let him. [Cheers.] A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded avery orderly meeting.