THE ELECTIONS.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2384, 23 November 1881, Page 3

THE ELECTIONS.

MB WEIGHT AT ASHBTJRTON. On Moaday evening Mr E. G. Wright, at present the only candidate for AEhbnrton electorate, addressed nearly 400 persons in the Town Hall. Mr Joseph Ward was voted to the chair, and briefly introduced the candidate as having worked hard for the Coleridge constituency, which he recently represented. Mr Wright, who on rising was received with applause, deprecited any intentional contempt in not meeting the electors at an earlier date. Parliamentary duties, the work of the Railway Commission, and matters connected with Head Boards, County Councils, the Plantation Board, and the Harbor Board had occupied his time. Two years ago ha had advocated triennial Parliaments, and he was still of opinion that three years were long enough for a man to be trusted with responsible duties. As to his vote on the fir-.it reading cf Mr Murray's Bill, that was merely complimentary. It was understood the Bill would not pass the second reading. In. point of fact, it was re j icted by sixty-three votes to three. The Redistribution of Seats Bill, by which the old district cf Coleridge returns three members instead of one, was important, and for their determination in passing this measure the present Government deserved grateful remembrance. The Hall Government was charged with stealing Sir George Grey's ideas, but Sir George failed hiU<r alia to carry out his ideas in. regard to representation according to population. Under-representation in Canterbury had cost ns 20 per cent, of our land fund. It had also co-,t us a property tax, expended in military manoeuvres and military roads in Taranaki; and had cost a third cf the railway traffic payme ts, to be squandered on political railways in the North Island. He had voted for the Gaming and Lotteries Bill in evrry Btage, its object being to suppress gambling hells ard stop gigantic sweepstakes ; nor wonld the police disturb the privacy of clubs unless these required looking after. The Prevention of Corrupt Practices at Elections was a necessary Act, to keep down election expenses and prevent the entire representation from, falling into the hands cf the wealthy classes, or of political adventurers who hoped when in Parliament to recoup J their expenses. The Licensine: Bill had the merit of pleasing both the pnblicans and the Good Templars, tending to.Fuppress'badly-condujted houses. Its working would depend on the mass of people who might secure the election of men of moderate views for the Licensing Bench. The Fencing Bill repealed twenty-two provincial ordinances, some of which had been declared ultra-vires. Now, every man could compel his neighbor to pay a just shore of dividing fences. The Railways Construction Bill was regarded by many as & boon, which, aided by English.capital, wonld work wonders ; but ha doubted if a single mile would ba constructed of either the Wellicgton"VVest Coast railway, the Canterbury-West Coast, or the Otago Central. In reducing the Property Tax and restoring the 10 per cent, to the Civil Service, tha Government had taken a sanguine view of the financial condition of the colony—a view not justified by their own estimates. A f6w additional thorough-going economists, like Mr Alfred Sannder3 and the Hon. John Bryce, were needed in the Assembly. The fact that Te Whiti had constituted Farihaka a refuge for evil doers had been a menace to the lives of settlers, and it was intolerable such a state of things shonld have been allowod to continue. In order to have placed himEelf in a prcper light before the colony, Te Whiti should have long sinco expelled Hiroki. The difficulty seemed cow over, and the Natives Bhould be generously dealt with. The railway tariff was an old subject, but not the less a very potent grievance. The railways in that part of the colony, taking the good and the unprofitable together, paid at least 7 per cent, net profit on their cost o£ construction, being at least 2 per cent, in excess of the cost to the colony of the borrowed money. On the other hand, there were railways in tha North Island which did not pay 1 per cent. The Wellingtou-Maaterton line paid oniy sixteen shillings per cent, per annum, and was bat a political machine. There were four trains daily to tho Upper Hutt, including two through to Masterton ; and there were seven trains daily to Lower Hutt. In fact a few members resided at the Hutt, and practically had special trains for their own convenience, while in the Middle Island could be found services of but two trains daily. A3O or 40 per cent, reduction was needed on the present charges, not onty on the goods tariff, baton the passenger traffic also if practicable. The New Plymouth Harbor Works he regarded as simply a fraud on the colony from first to last. If retarned, he was not prepared to pledge himself to support the present Government through thick and thin, though he had eo far given them, a cordial support in the majority of case 3. He would not hastily oust the Government, and not at any time unless ho saw by so doing he was assisting to put in a Ministry capable of doing ampler justice to the colony. Mr Wright concluded by thanking the audience for their patient hearing. [Loud and prolonged applause.] In reply ta a question, Mr Wright said he would urge the completion of the Mount Somers Railway, on whichever Eido might seem most advisable, reasonable regard being paid to the question of cost. A vote of thanks and confidence was unanimously passed by acclamation, on Mr Steele's motion, seconded by Mr George Cates. Tha proceedings closed with the customary compliment to the chair. MS MONTGOMERY AT AKARQA.

Mr Jlcuttromory addressed a mooting o? the electors of Afcrrna at tha Oddfellows' Hall, Akaroa, on iiojdiy evening last. There was only a moo. rate attendance. Mr J. D. Garwood (the Mayor) occupied the chair, and briefly introduced the ca::did.=te.

Mr Montgomery said ho camo before them to g vo .-in account of whal ho had done during tha hut session of Parliament, and to express his opiuions regarding nittetsthat wcnld. have to bo considered in the future. After referring to the question of the Liltle River railway, and exp'aiuiug the provisions of the Akaroa High School Act, which ho had succeeded in passing last session, ha ->roeeudcd to speak on subjects t'.flectiug the colony generally. They wero aware that 0-3 of the most iwpovtaut measures passed latt session wr.s tho Licensing Act, tha two principal features of which Tere, the substitution of an elective instead of the present nominated iJjr.ch, ai_d tho adoption of the local option principle. With regard to the first poini, if the people of a district like Akaroa, for instance, were not atia to choose respectable and sensible men with character and judgment, to say whether tho conditions on which licenses wero held wero ccniplicd with, and whether old iicenses should bo ronowed and new ones granted—if 'the people were not fit to do that, they werc> not fit to have a voico in any pub'ic Jseing of opinion tfcit tha

•power Bhould be" ill tho hands of the people, he voted very cordi.lly for entrusting them with the privilege of electing the Licensing Bench. With regard to the question of compensation, ho had always considered that when a tieeaso w.vt granted and the liojse was properly conducted, inland of being a nuiBance it was of servica to tho district; and there was no more danger in entrusting the d cision as to tho renenml of such a liceuso to n, committee electoi by tho people than in allowing tho matter to bo decided by i» nominee Bench itreBponsiblo to the people. With respect to tho eraniirgof new licenses, the power wis now lefcinthc hinds if the pcoplo, and ho hoped they wonld use it wisely. Atother mea?uro ti which he desired to refer was the Gaming and Lottaries Act. Evertono would agree that paining houses were vicious and demoralising, End that no law could bo too strict that was devi=e 1 with object of suppressing them. Bat on tho subject of lotteries there might be Borne difference nf opinion. Tt might appear iirmlc s for a man to put a little uioiey into a sweep or a .'otter/, hut the evil thr\t was sought to be guarded agiiiust in this respect wa3 a growing one. Iu count:ios whoio lotteries wero allowed paoplo wero attracted from tho pith of settled and steady industiy by a de.-ire to became enddealy rich by means of lottery prizM, and believing that anything which tended in that direction was detrimental to tho interests of tho State, ha had cordially voted for this part of tho Act, knowing that it could do no harm and was certain to accomplish somo good. The next subject to which ho would al ude was the Corrupt Practices Prevention Bill. Hitherto he did not think them had been much tion at elections ia New Zealand, but a great deal of money was spent, especially in towns, In Cbristchnrch the list election had cost one candidate about £BOO or £1000; another in Wellington had paid soniewhoro about the same amount, aud a roomber bad openly ftated in the House that his first election od the West Coast cost hioi £S"O. A caudidnto ccrald not spend such a large amount as thatlegiii natcly, and the meaning of ic was the employmmt of wealth to obtain a seat in Parliament. If the money were only given away it would not matter so much, but its expenditure called f jrth a host of men •who were not seen at other times engoging in settled industry. Therefore, not only on the ground of political morality, but aiso in order to give tho mau of moderate means-he ill! net like the expression "poor man"—a fair chance against the rich man, he had voted very cordially for a moro strirgent measure respecting corrupt practices at elections. [Oheers.l Tho most impor;ant Bill of last session was tho Representation Bill. When last before them he expressed bis opioion that representation should be according to population. On that occasion he siid that he was in favor of equal electoral districts, but failing tj obtain that would accept the next best thing, namely, representation according to the population in each provincial district The Government brought in a Bill which accomplished thi3 latter object, and ho supported it. They were no doubt aware of what took place respecting this incisure, a 3 tho actioi of the at newallcrs had brought it very ■prominently before the notice o' tho public. Tha Nelsm mnmbers especially objected to this Bill, because it tjok away thr. e members from their district, and gave six to Canterbury, and thrse to Otago, thus destroying, as they contended, tho balance of power. There were others in the North wno were also angry against the Bill. He was sorry to say that men whom he would have expected to have acted on broad piinciples opposod the measure because the North could not get representation according to tho Native as well as tue European papulation. Mr Hall, in his address at Leeston. speaking on this subject, said the Government lost some of thoir best friends, especially the Nelson members, who were joined by some others from the North, mentioning Sir George Grey's name; and then he went on to Bay that the Opposition strenuously opposed the Bill. Now though the word "Opposition" miijhb ba taken to apply only to the Nelson members and thaso acting with them, yet it was put with a capital O, and would mean the Oppo itiou as a whole—those who wero generally opposed to the Hall Government. New Mr Macandrew and the whole of the Otago members in opposition to tho Government supported the Bill, as did also all the Canterbury members •who usually opposed Mr Hill. Therefore the Premier should hivo been a litt e more ingenuous and given cred t to those whs loyally supported the Bill through thick and thin. Beforo leaving this question of representation he wished to say that the late Parliament would be memorable as having parsed mo3t liberal electoral laws. It bad extended the franchise so that every man in the colony who had resided in an electoral district for six mouths could vote at the election of a member of Parliament. It had simplified the registration of electors. It had relegated the trial of 'H-puted elections to tho Supreme Court, instead of their being decided as formerly by a partisan committee of the House. It e:tablished triennial Parliaments, which would hive the effect of bringing the repr sentatives of the people before the people themselves, and of doing so every three years, when, if they were not in accord with public opinion, they wonld have to give place to others who wero. Thoyhadat last framed a measure which gave representation according to tho population of eaah provincial district. Although there wero still some things respecting the franchise and representation which ho would like to see altered audimproved—he would be glad if plural voting wero abolished altogether—yet he waß happy to say that practica.ly the power was now in the manhood of the colony; tbat the peop'e had really got the power, and that though by plural votirg wealth had a greater advantage than it should have, yet it weighed bnt as dust in the balance compared with the inflaence it exercised in the past. It now rested with- the people themselves to shape out the future. [Cheers J But though the Parliament which bad just expired would be remembered somewhat iri tho same way that the English Parliament of 1832, which passed the Beform Bill, was remomfcered, yet he wished to point out that what it had done during the past two years was simply tho outcome of public opinion formed before:- t:.at, time—beforo the members were chosen to go into that Parliament. They might as well say that the men who reaoed a good harvest were deserving of all the credit for that harvoot, and forget those who bad cultivated the soil nn&.fown the seed as say that the men who passed tho Electoral Bills last session had a right to credit for those liberal measures. That credit was largely due to those men who formed public opinion before the Parliament eat. TCheers.] _ He made these remarks becanse different opinions had been oxpresssed as to whether theso measnr.es belonged to the Ministry or tho Opposition ; whether the .former did not steal the Bills of the latter, and dresß themselves in tho borrowed plnmos. There was something deeper than ithat—there was public opinion, there was the opinion of the people expressed at the last election, and that public opinion carried those Bills. [Cbeer3.] He now came to two measures, as to the paternity of which there was to, question—>they ■were undoubtedly tho offspring of tha present Government ; and as Mr Hall had stated in his speech at Lee3tor» tbat tho Government, would introduce them again next session and en deavor to pa3s them, he would be obliged to refer to them at greater length >than if, as he bad i naginei was the case, they hud been, consigned to the limbo of forgotten things. He referred to the Road 3 Constructircßill and the Crown and Native Lands Bating Bill—measures •which, if passed, would be moßt pernicious to the country. Tho former was an old .friend under a new .name, having been introduced during the previoui session under the title, of the Local Public Works Bill. It was then considered such a ri&iculous measure that it sever came to a second reading. Its author, Major Atkinson, withdrew it; in fact, it woe laughed out of the House, and members thought they would never hear cf it again. He would first call their attention to the constitution of tho Hoard which it was proposed should aid the local bodies. It woo to consist of four members —the Minister for Public Works and thre3 members to be electa- by tho Houso, to whom the Disqualification Act should not apply, and who should each receive a salary of perhaps JSSOO or £6OO. Of cocr. e those three merabera would be chosen from Abe mnjority, no matter •what Government wa*. in office. Now, what waa that Board to dof First, what were the .funds with which it wcnld have to deal r It was to be entrusted vith .£150.000 from the Und fund, JEISO.OCO from loan, and .£IOO,OOO from the trxat funds of the colony. How were they that money, so as to put local finance " upon a sound and satisfactory batis ? ' He would give the words of the Minister himself who put it in a manner which was simplicity itiolf. jThe speaker here quoted from the Fpeech indicated, and also several clauses from the Bill.j In order to obtain say X <!0, a local body would havo to make an application to the Board in Wellington, accompanying si with plan 3 and and if tue Board agreed thay wero thin to call a meeting of tie ratepayers to ascsrtain if they would take a £oll, besides having to advertise it. Nothing cculd be more objectionable than that the local todies throughout the country should have to depend in that way upor- a Board in Wellington, of tho Minister of Public Works, and three members chbeezi from the House of JRepreacn'Ca.tives. Why tho Board would be the means of buying the .p&ople throughout the country. 1 ha proposal v<ts to ridiculous that tho fricc£a of tho Government said. "Ton must not let a Bill liko th&t ; bs carried; it i 3 all non=ec3o.'" He now came.to i tho Crown and Native Lands Bating Bill, and' would first refer to tho pr&7i3ion affecting; Native lands. They wero well p-vare that in the' North Island a considerable qnac£ity of Native ; land had been acquired by Eur-'jean Bettlerj. These settlers naturally desired to make roads, which when constructed of course benefitted the lands of tho adjoining Natives, and it K-as said, why should not these pay rates. It was provided in the Bill that whenever a rate was mado by any local body, a certificate of the amennt should bo transmitted to tho Colonial Treasurer, -who should pay tho rate to tho local bodies. The Treasurer thought it would be inconvenient for the Natives to pay, and mijht Cgnsg

trouble, so bo said he would make them contribute by and bye, and this was tho provis on he proposed for the purpose-. " Whenovrr any Native land is sold or exchanged for tha first time, and whenover it n lO'iFed, after tho passing of this Act, to other than aboriginal Natives, thon the amount of all rates paid by tho Colonial Treasurer in respect of such land shall bo repaid to tho Colonial Treasurer, and shall bo deemed to be a duty payable on such sale, exchange, or lease, and shall be payable as euch." So that, in point of fact, in localities where people had got their lands for oa or 10* an aud want id roid3 to them, they desired that tho Colonial Tro-suror should pay the r»tes with which the Native landi were charged, and the Minister proposed that tho money of the people should go in payment of those ratis, to bo recovered fromtbe Natives when they fold the land, which might be in twenty or thirty years time, or in somo instances never at ah. Even if the Government were to keep it ns a debt hanging over tho Natives, did anyono think it would bo enforced P Did anyone think that tiny scheme of a Colonial Treasurer, and especially the present one. wou'.d last for twenty years ? Certainly not. Did not tho Parliament when it passed tho Public Works and Immigration Act in 1871 distinctly pay that if the net profit on any railway was not sufficient to cover tho interest on the of construction the deficiency should bo a charge on the provincial district in which tho railway was situated? And did it not in 1875 repeal that provision and make the deficiency a charpe upon the whole colony ? It was a delusion and a snare to suppose that the money of tho colony paid for theso rates would be recovered in twenty or thirty yearß time. If these persons who had pnrch:;sul their landj fur 10s or i2a an aero wanted road 9 let them make them. If those roads benefitted Native lands, let those lands b-a rated and mado to piy direct. The proposals made in this Bill wero so preposterous, and the Board to be constituted uuder the Roads Construction Bill was so ridiculous and to dangerous to tbc liberties of tho people and to public bodies, that the friends of tho Government said ''Wo cannot support this scheme; it is all nonsense;" and Mr Ormond, without any consultation whatever with the Oppo.-ition, bv.t being m confidential communication with many mombers of the Government side, and observing their discontent, tabled a motion to tho effect that the proposals of the Government were unsatisfactory. Mr Ormond expected to have a majority with him, but before a vote was taken a Minister of tho Crc.wn promised the ordinary supporters of the Government who could not vote for these Bills that if they would allow them to be read a second time nnd save the Government from defeat the Bills would be dropped. Yit the Premier now said he was going to bring those measures forward agoin! If the country returned members who wonld pass such Bills as those it wonld bo doing tho worst thing it had done for the last twenty years. fCbeera. ] He desired to Bay a few word* as to the -financial position of tbc colony. The public debt, after d'ducting accrued linking fund, amonnted to £2B 010,170; tho interest on that sum was £1,513 000, and the profit on tho railwayß came to about £3l-1,497 for last year. Now the difference between the latter sum and the interest on the debt was £ 1,200,000, which had to be makeup by taxation. They would see at once that the question of the incidence of taxation became a very important one. Ever since the Colonial Treasurer first to k office he had differed from him in his management of finance. He (the Treasurer) had never succeeded in equalising the ordinary revenuo and expenditure—apart from loans and public works—and was too fond of issuing Treasury bills. It would be remembered that when Majar Atkinson went out of office in 1877 there was a great outcry against the issue of Treasury bills. When he took effice again in 1&79 he drew a very gloomy riiture of the position of the colony, and issued Treasury bills to meet a deficiency in the revenue of nearly a million, the greater part of which had accrued during tho time he held office. In ISBO he started with a balance of £38,000, to as-ist him to eke out the consolidated revenue. His nuance was never Bound; it never provided sufficient revenuo to cover the ordinary expenditure. It was, of course, sometimes necessary to issue Treasury bills to cover the deficiency for any one year, but all sound financiers took care that such Treasury bills were redeemed by the savings of subsequent years. The wave of prosperity which had recently bsen felt in the Australian colonies had reached New Zealand, as was evidenced by the fact that the Customs revenue for the quarter showed an increase over that for tho rorrespondirg quarter of Inst year of between £CJ,OOO and £70,000. This was owing to an improvement in the condition of the people. It wonld hive been better had the Colonial Treasurer in 1879 have said," We are Euff„ring from a depression which is pasting over all tho Australasian colonies and from a great falling off in our land revenue, and we will have to meet the difficulty by increased taxation and greater economy.*. While the colony of Victoria was redeeming Treasury bills which it issued in time of depression, we in New Zealand wore net doin? so. but were adding to our national debt. Then with regard to the Public Works fund. Notwithstanding Major Atkinson's statement that when the Grey Government went out of office the whole of tho five million loan was spent, and the gloomy account he gave cf the finances, there was to the credit cf the Pnblio Works fnnd on the 31st March, 1879, tho sum of £1,860,000. Would it not have been better, when the people wero gasping for money and paying as high as 10 and 12 per cent, for it, and when men could not get employment, to have put that money in circulation instead of having it on hand now ? If that had been done, wonld there have be n as many commercial failures, as much trouble and difficulty, and so many unemployed as waß the case in 1880 ? It was a very nice thing for a Ministry on the eve of nn election to have a million ot money to spread over tho country. It made them very comfortable. When there was plenty of money everything went swimmingly. _ But it would have been better for tho colony if that money had been spent at the time when it was so much wanted. The next question he came to was that of further borrowing. There was no doubt that authority to raise further loans wonld be asked for next session of Parliament. Money Ehould only be borrowed for the prosecution of public works that were proved to be of permanent value to the country. It ehould be definitely allocated to specific works, otherwise it would get into the hands of a Minister and be used to purchase political support. This hid happened in tho past to an enormous extent. What did a candidate for a northern seat in this island say recently ? That "latterly he found himself in a position of power more than formerly, and used his influence to get money for his district." If the colony was going to borrow moro monej—and ho did not say it should not it ehould be for works actually required ; there should be proper surveys ana estimates as to cost, nnd it should first be ascertained that the works would be of permanent benefit to the whole country. With regard to tho question of loeol government, the first condition to be insisted upon was a complete separation between local and general finance, so that local bodies should not havo to look to Wellington for funds. It was absolutely impossible that the Parliament in Wellington could attend efficiently to local as well aa colonial subjects. At present nearly all the session was taken up _ by members asking questions and tabling motions concerning purely local matters, and the large questions of colonial importance, as well as the estimates, generally came on at twelve or one o'clock in the morning, and were disposed of in two or three hours. He did not see why the people in their respective localities could not attend to such subjects as hospitals, charitable aid, asylums, prisons, and police. As to the ..best description of local body for tho purposo.'in out of the way places Boad Boards be necessary, but there might bo constituted a local borly cho3en by people with a community of .interest. From the Bangitata to the Rakaia, for instance, there might be twenty men to look after all local matters. The money Bent to Wellington to pay the property tax .would bo sufficient to defray the cost of administration in regard to the different subjects be had mentioned, and why should not the expenditure of that money bo in the hands of the people themselves. With regard to taxation, be was in favor of a property tax but wished to exempt machinery, and he would support an income tax which would reach those whom the property tax did not touch. He thought the time had come when a progressive land tax should be imposed, and would be prepared to support such a tax upon all lands fit for cultivation bnt which wore not cultivated. On tho subject of education, he would only say that in Canterbury religiouß instruction was .given in many of the schools outside of tho ordinary school hours. 1 here should be no sectarian teaching in the State schools. There was one quC3tion which ho would not liko to shirk—tho Native question. He held that both Native and European were equal in the eye of tho law, and when the alleged murder of McLean by Hircki took place, he would havo been willing to hare pursued nnd taken tho latter at any cost, so that the law migiit be'uphold. He would have spent any amount of money in maintaining the law, but would not have mixed up with a breach of tho law tho taking of tho land. (Cheers.) The present Government succeeded to a difficulty which it was admitted was created by their predecessors, and which led to tho surveyors being turned off tho plain?. He alluded to the neglect of tho then Government to lay off reserves, nnd their carrying tho surveys through Titokowaru's cultivations. For this Mr Sheehan wa3 re sponsible. Those who wished to obtain a knowledge of tbia Nativo question should study its i.istory as traced iu the exhaustive and impartial ropQi-t of tho Boyal Commission, which was a mo3t valuable document. It appeared from this repast that To Whiii was peaceable, when all around him were in rebellion. In 1867 the Opunako Mock, comprising 41,000 acres, adjoining Parihika on the south, was given back to Wi Kingi, a loyal chief, and the land in the Stony Giver block, to the North of Parihaka, was returned to the owners who also had not been in rebellion. Bnt Te Wfciti'a lac;l we.? not gi7jn bickj although hi

never joined in tho war. [The speaker gave an outline of the proceedings on the West Coast from the date of the fi'st interview between Mr Parris end To Whiti in reference to road making at Parihika, quoting largoly fromtno report of tho Boyal Commiss-.0n.) To Whiti was a pure living mau, without spot or blemish, and possessed a mosmerie iLtlaence over all who came in contact with him. Believing, as ho no doubt did, tbat it was his duty to do good and to preach good things, it was no wonder, considering all tho circumstances, that ho had become imbued with a certain amount of_ mysticism and fanaticism ; and if, when speaking on the 17th Soptomber, ho had committed a fault, nt any rato bo ebonld not be tried by the peoplo of Taranaki but by tho peoplo of Otago and Canterbury. Tho settlors ef Taranaki had heard from their fathers of tho ruthless acta oE Titokowaru, and regarded the Natives as a peoplo who should be kept outside tho pale. Mr Hall, when speaking at Hororata on tho 2nd April, 1877, said: - " Giving tho North Island members credit for every dosire to bo fair and impartial, we must foci that they r.ro so mix-d up with Nativo matters, thoir feelings must bo so influenced by theso circumstances, tbat it mußt bo exceedingly difficnlt for them to bo impartial and unbiassed judges, and it is almost impossible for them to bo disinterested." If members of Parliament wonld tako such narrow nnd partial views, what could bo expoctcd from peoplo who had been brought up to hato the Maoris. They might form an opinion on this point from the action of Mr Parris in sitting upsn tho Bench during To Whiti's trial, and browbeating his own witness. It would have been better for the colony to have paid £2O an acre for tho 15,000 acres to the seaward of tho road than to havo adopted tho course which had been pursued. In what ho bad said to-night on the subject of Native affairs ho had not been attacking the present Government. He was afraid be had detained them too long. Ho came beforo them to ask that they would ro-elect him again. He had represented the district for seven ye r 3. Twice he had been Totnrned without a contest, and on two other occasions he had been opposed, but his friends had stood to him well. If elected again ho wonld endeavor to do his best for tho colony, and for Akaroa ns a part of it. But whether returned or not he would always be grateful for the many kindnesses he had received at Akaroa, and noyer forget the generous Bupport accorded to him. [Loud cheers.] Mr Billens moved, and Mr Bruce seconded, a resolution expressing the thanks of tho meeting to Mr Montgomery for his servicea in the past and its confidence in him as a fitting representative for tho district in tho future. The motion was carried unanimously, and a vote of thanks having been passed to the chair tho meeting terminated.

THE PREMIER AT SOUTHBEIDGE. The Hon. John Hall addressed the electors at tho Town Hall, Southbridge, on Monday evening, tho hall being crowded to excess. Mr J. B. Campbell occupied tho chair. Mr Hall spoke for over two hours, giving a full account of.his stewardship, and a brief outline of what would bo the probable policy of the Government if re-elected. At the conclusion of the addreßS the chairman stated that Mr Hall waa willing to answer any queationa that might be put to bim. Mr John Miln asked what would be the expense of the capture and prosecution of To Whiti and Tohu, and whether tho confiscated land would pay for the some. Mr HbII explained that tne expen?e would be very much less than it would have been had they left them where they were. Moreover, they wero maintaining therpeace of the colony. Mr Wm. Gabbie wished to know how these expenses were to bo paid. Mr Hall said the sale of the Crown lands would in a great measure recoup them for tho expenditure. Mr Osborne would like to know whether Mr Hall was acquainted with the bridges regulation. At present owners of traction engines were compelled to put out the fires a quarter of a mile before coming to bridges, while they wore standing all day amongßt straw, Ac., without danger Mr Hall replied that ho would look into tho matter. He could see the Benso of Mr Osborne's question. Mr Bennie asked Mr Hall if he was favorable to a general reduction on agricultural produoe. Mr Hall replied tbat he had answered the same question at Leeston, nnd saw Mr Kennie present at the time. The matter was under consideration, and tho Government hoped to make a great reduction. Mr John Miln asked Mr Hall if he was in favor of paying the Upper House. Mr Hall was certainly in favor of it, and had stated so at Leeston. If it were not so. no one but a rich man could reach the Upper Chamber, which he waß sure all wonld agree was a great error. An Elector asked what waa to be done with the non-paying railways. Mr Hall replied that ho was afraid somo would have to be worked at a losb for some time, bnt he was of opioion that eventually, with careful management, they would pay. Mr John McLachlan referred to the relative weights of four bushels of wheat, oats, and barley, and asked the Hon. Mr Hall whether it wonld not be more equitable to charge carriage in grain by the ton —to allow 10 Back 3, each 4 bushels wheat, or 24001 b; 10 Eacks, each 4J bushels barley, or 23751 b; 12 sacks, each 5 bushels oats, or 24001 b. Mr Hall said that he would have the matter looked into, although he considered that if Mr Back, the traffic manager, had been interviewed, that he would have seen that a modification was made.

Mr Osborne brought under Mr Hall's notice the inaccuracy through tho present method of weighing grain at the railway. For instance—a new truck was made, taken out of the shop and weighed, and the weight marked on. Two days afterwards this same truck was saturated with rain, and wonld certainly weigh say 2 cwt. more than when it waa first turned out, the original weight of the truck always being taken for granted. Mr Ball stated that this was also a matter which should be laid beforo Mr Back for adjustment. 4ir John McLachlan nsked why the date of the first meeting of the Board of Conservators for the North Bakaia district had not yet been fixed.

Mr Hall Btated that ho was not aware of the fact, but he wonld see that the date was fixed. Mr William Gabbie asked if Mr Hall was in favor of preventing men leaving real property by will on such terms aa they thought proper. Mr Hall replied that he was not in favor of locking np land by will. Mr Lambio wished to know whether, when a railway did not pay, the land alongside such railway was to be rated for the purpose of making up the deficiencies. Mr Hall thought it was quite right to rate such lands.

Mr Bluett said that as a bridge over the Bakaia waa a matter of great moment, he would ask Mr Hall if the counties had funds to carry out the work.

Mr Hall stated that he believed both counties wero in funds, but no help could be looked for from Government. At the conclusion of the meeting a vote of confidence was passed in tho Hon. John Hall, on the motion of Mr H. P. Hill, seconded by Mr W. Giaham. LrRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAMS J AUCKLAND, November 22. Sir G. Grey, in all probability, will address another public meeting in a few days. Mr Seymour George addressed the Rodney electors at Port Albert, and received a vote of thanks. Mr Moss addressed tho electors at Pornell tO' night, and had a very good attendance. He stated that the. Hall Government was not a Liberal Government, and the Premier was opposed to Liberal measures. The Grey Ministry wero rejected becanse they would not agree to jobbety in Native lands. As to the Native question, circumstances wore exceptional, and had obtained exceptional treatment, which would require tho strictost investigation. Mr Mobs was well received, but hia remarka about the Native question elicited some dissent. A vote of thanks and confidence was carried, but not unanimously. Mr Owen McGee has announced himself for Manukau against Sir M. O'Rorke. THAMES, November 22. Mr A. J. Cadman addressed the southern portion of tho Coromandel electorate last evening, and after the conclusion of his oration, a vote of thanks, coupled with a pledge of support, was moved. The candidate counselled the meeting to hear hi 3 opponents before committing themselves in this respect, but the resolution was nevertheless agreed to. Mr Kelly, a candidate for tho Tauranga electorate, met tho Thames portion of the constituency at Puriri, and rsceivod vote of thanka for his address. TIMARU, November 22. Mr Tnrnbull addressed a crowded meeting of his constituents to-night, and received an unanimous vote of thanks and confiden"e. INVERCARGILL, November 22. Mr Joseph Hatch, one of the candidates for tha representation of Invorcargill, addressed a large meeting at North Invercargill to-night, and received a vote of thanks. He announced that if returned he would tako up an independent position. He would not, immediately that Parliament met, support a motion to oust the Hall Government. [fbom the own cobbbsfondbmt op ths " PKBSB."] A SHBHRTON, November 22. Mr C. W. Purnell received a vote of confidence at the Town Hall to-night. He said that, if elected, ho would not le prepared to oust the present Ministry unless bettor raen were available.