SIR G. GREY AT AUCKLAND.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2377, 15 November 1881, Page 3

SIR G. GREY AT AUCKLAND.

[PBKSS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM. 1 AUCKLAND, November 14. Sir George Grey addressed the City East electors this evening at tho Choral Hall. There was a crowded audience, and Mr J. T. Boylan presided. Sir George on coming forward was cheered. He said he offered himself bb a candidate for Eity East, and desired to explain his views and answer any questions the electors desired to ask; to explain his proposals and how he would carry them out. It was not at present simply a choice of men, it was a choice of measures. It was stated in the press that there was no real difference of opinion as to the measures, that all parties were liberals. He himself believed there was no similarity between the two parties into which New Zealand was divided. He hoped to make that clear to them before he had dono speaking. People here were rioher than those in England in having greater privileges and a share in the Crown lands, the railways, &s. It was a short-sighted policy for men to look after their own individual possessions, and secure and protect these, but allow a set of men in power to do as they pleased with the national estate. Beference was made to the clausos of the public works system, by which vast estates had been immensely inoreasod in value by the expenditure of the loans without bearing a fair proportion of taxation or paying district special rates, as was originally intended, where lines ran through such properties. The people were shareholders in these railways, but they might rent assured that they would never see any profits out of them. Bailways should be made to develope traffic and settlement, not to aggrandise favored individuals. New Zealand was a corn-growing country, yet the tariff was so arranged that it cost 3d a bushel to carry wheat simply from Timaru to Christchurch, or, he supposed, from Waikato to Auckland, while it only cost 2d a bushel to take it from New York to Liverpool. How could they compete with the American farmers at such figures, for reokoning thirty bushels to the aore, such charges amount to a small

rental. Auckland citizens were paying Id a pound more for their beef and mutton than they should do but for the high rates for transport of cattle on the railways. Then coal mines suffered also from the same cause. The authorities said the railways must pay their way on the charges of management, and therefore these rates were kept up ; but he thought the better way was to tax those whose properties had been immensely enhanced by their construction. He condemned the Government insurance system, by whioh the general public had to bear any loss through bad management; but was glad that, as the result of his action in the Assembly last session, a scheme was being devised for the benefit of the Government insurance system being extended to the humbler classes, as in England. Bir George again referred to the Patetere and other land speculations as being demoralising to the publio virtue and a flagrant wrong to the people. Also the abuses of the preemptive system in Canterbury, of which Mr Sealy's pamphlet would give them some rotion. As with the Grown lands so with the Native lands the same jobbery was going on, and the colonists defrauded of their interests in these lands as provided by the treaty of Waitangi, owing to the initiation of a system of direct purchase. His administration had been ejected from office because it would not sanction the Patetere business. Then the pensions to certain officials, daily validated, wore illegal, and on that head he had the opinion of one of the highest legal authorities in New Zealand. He had always protested against suoh abuses, and was not to be deterred by contumely and opposition, as he would fight while he lived. The Government had no policy, and brought in measures which they said were his, but they were not. When these measures were oriticisod, they said, " Why they are his own Bills ; nothing will please that fellow." In office ho was hampered by his colleagues and his party, but out of office he brought in a Bill whioh would have given true representation acoording to population, whioh the Government measure did not, as it favored country electorates at the expense of the city population. His measure would have deprived the Government of the power of manipulating matters by representation being adjusted by the result of every census. The South, with its new found accession of votes, would control everything, and such a state of things was intolerable. If the votes of both islands were equal he could trust the people to do common justice. He explained the debate in the Assembly by whioh the leasehold vote was abolished, which waß the act of the Premier. A number of important measures had been thrown out in the Lords. The Lord deliver him from suoh Lords, he said. As to looal self government, the funds would be largoly controlled and spent by local bodies. They would Bee therefore that on nearly all groat questions he and his party were altogether at issue.and had no community of ifeelingwith thoßo on the Ministerial side. As to the Native question, Te Whiti should have baen shut up long ago, when his followers were imprisoned and the prophet willing to go to gaol. He was sorry it was done just now before the general eleotion. They should read the history of Rome in the time of the Ctesars to see a oomplete parallel to the state of things at present going on. There was the same love of power, of office, of gladiatoiial combats in the arena as manifested by these ancient rulers. Before an eleotion they got up a war or disturbance of some kind, for in the general oxoitement the people forgot all about their liberties, their revenues, and self-governmont. He warned the electors not to be lod away by a cry, but to return men, not on a particular Native policy, to be carried out within a specified date, but on

general measures of universal importance, for ' on Native matters the peoplo could alwayß got them well carried out if in earnest. What was it to the citiiens of Auckland if 400 Native prisoners lay in Southern gaols compared with getting local events attended to and local interests represented t When he visited the South and saw their railway lines and stations, public buildings, and public institutions, and compared them with the miserable state of things in Auckland, his blood fairly boiled. In every deDartmont ifc was the same —Auokland was bohind. Their public school teaohers were not paid on the same scale, and the result would be that the best of them would drift southwards. These and like questions wore of more importance to those he addressed than whether a fow Maori prisoners, more or less, were incarcerated. Sir George was warmly applauded on the closing of his address. In response to an invitation by the chairman, no question were asked by the electors. Mr T. B. Hill proposed, and Mr Thos. Gee seconded a motion that a vote of thanks by tho mooting be accorded to Sir G. Grey for his speech, and pledging the meeting to nee its utmost exertions to secure his return for City East. The motion was carried unanimously. Three oheers given, for Sir George Grey closed the meeting.