MR HARRISON'S MEETING.

Grey River Argus, Volume V, Issue 320, 1 February 1868, Page 2

MR HARRISON'S MEETING.

On Thursday evening a large number of the electors of Greymouth assembled in the Union Theatre fov the purpose of heaving Mr W. H. Harrison's political address. Mr De Costa took the chair, .and after a f oav preliminary remarks introduced Mr Harrison, who said that this was the third time he had stood before them as a caudidate ; twice he had been unsuccessful, but he had not yet been beaten, and he entered the field again hoping to succeed. It was a customary thing for candidates to impress upon the electors that the election in which they are engaged is more imjjortant than any preceding one, and by so doing they undoubtedly added to their own self importance. But he thought it hardly necessary to point out the important character of the present election. They were entering into a new sphere of political existence ; they were about to set in motion a system of government the machinery of which might work well or might break down. For his j>art he had grave misgivings about the successful working of the system ; he hoped it would be a success, and if they sent proper men to the Council — men who had some knowledge of the science of government — the experiment might work out properly. If, on the other hand, improper or incompetent persons were returned, he felt certain that nothing but confusion and disorder would arise. Mr Harrison then proceeded to explain the system of government under the County Act ; describing the respective functions of the County Council and Road Boards ; and pointing out the necessity of securing proper men for the local board. Before proceeding to express his opinions on the various subjects which he thought would come under the notice of the Council, he had to make a statement which ho was sure would excite, their surprise and indignation : owing to the ruling of the Registration Officer or his superiors the whole of the miners in the Grey district were prevented from voting for any of the candidates for the goldiiclds, and could only vote for the two members for Greymouth. How in the world that decision had been arrived at he was utterly at a loss to comprehend. It was a monstrous injustice, and he confessed that he could scarcely believe it to be a mere mistake. It was an injustice to the town, inasmuch as the miners could swamp the election ; it was an injustice to the miners, as it excludes them from choosing a member specially representing them, and it was an injustice to the whole district, inasmuch as it reduced its position in the Council to two members against six for the south. This was a matter that ought to be immediately rectified, and should he be returned he would endeavor to get a more equitable arrangement of the representation. (Hear, hear.) As he had already explained the County Council would not have to direct the expenditure of the whole of the revenue in detail — the road boards would do most of that — but it would have the allocation of their respective shares of the revenue to the various boards. They might rest assured that he would take care that the Grey district would receive its fair proportion of the revenue of the country, and that its claims should not be neglected. One of the most important questions that was likely to engage the attention of the Council would be the disposal of the waste lands — a question at all times difficult to decide, and especially so in a country almost exclusively devoted to milling. Recommendations on the subject had been drawn up by the Westland Commission appointed by the Superintendent of Canterbury, but they had not been accepted by the Provincial Council, and the matter rested in abeyance. The Council would probably have to pass resolutions which could form the has s of a Bill to be introduced in the Assembly by the Government. There Avere three sets of opinions regarding the sale of the land ; ' the unreserved sale of land suitable for agricultural occupation ; of the sale of such land under special reservations in favor of the miner ; and third, the leasing of the land for a term of years, with a right of purchase. In dealing with the question they ought not to forget that although mining Avas the staple industry of the country, it was essentially necessary that agriculture should be encouraged. For his part, he did not believe in the plan of selling land coupled with reservations, giving the miners a right to enter upon the land Avork it ; for this reason, that any I such plan Avould be inoperative — no land would be sold, for no person would invest capital in land subject to such conditions. The system of leasing for a certain period, say five or seven years, with the option of purchasing at the end of that time, and compensation in case of the land being taken for mining, appeared to him to be the easiest way of reconciling the interests of the two classes ; but the great difficulty was, that unless the revenues of the County were supplemented from some other source than the Customs, the many public Avorks required for the development of the country could not be carried out. As well as he could guess there would, npt be more than 000 at

the disposal of the County Council for the whole of the current year for public vporks. and that Avould not go very far, Jhe only resource beyond the Customs' was the land, and imdoubtedly s,ome of the land would have to be sold. The subject was one which would receive his earnest and careful attention, and he had no doubt that some satisfactory plan would iiltiniately be devised. (Hear,hear.) Whilst on the land question, he might say that he was strongly of opinion that a provision should be made for granting land, either free or on lease, to individuals or companies avlio undertake t,o carry out work of great public utility. They must ] bear in mind that for a long tim,e to come ' they Avould have to depend on private enterprise, and private capital for the car* rying out of many Avorks of public utility. Capital ought to be invited, and private enterprise encouraged. He did not think much of government guarantees of interest. At the best they offered little mr duccment to capitalists, and always fet-r tered the operations of .the company accepting the guarantee. To illustrate his idea he would point. to the proposed Lake Bruhner race ; they all knew that in the Arnold and adjacent districts there was a very extensive" area of auriferous country, capable of giving profitable employment to thousands of men if 'the means of working the ground were available. About two years ago a company was formed for the purpose of bringing \n a large race from the Brnnner Lake, which if carried out would have found water for working an immense extent of country. "But the enterprise failed because it was found that the capital required could not be obtained. Now, he Avould in cases of this kind, and upon proper conditions, grant a certain quantity of land along the race to the. company on lease, and he felt sure that if that were done capital for many large and important public undertakings would be easily obtainable. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the Coal Reserve, he should closely Avatch that the conditions of the lease granted to the company at Christchurch should be strictly fulfilled. He would offer all possible encouragement j to persons willing to construct tramways, and Avquld give them some more secure tenure than that they had noAV. There Avas another very important subject which it would be the duty of the County Council to ta,ke up, and that was the iniquitous arrangement earned by Mr Moorhouse, by Avhich the heaviest share of the interest and sinking fund of the Canterbury loan was fixed upon the Customs revenue of Westland. He had no doubt that this flagrant injustice co\ild be rectified, and he should certainly unite with his colleagues in the endeavor to obtain a remedy. Another subject which should have his attention was the sale of the Maori reserves in toAvns. He believed that the trustees had power to sell and reinvest, and he thought that a resolution from the County Council shoAving the desirability of selling the town reserves would result in the Government consenting to the measure. (Hear, hear.) He did not knoAv if the County Council Avould have much power in the appointment of officers ; at any rate it would be able to " advise" the Governor's delegate in the exercise of all his powers, and despite tfie sweeping economies and changes now being carried out by the Hon. John Hall, he should certainly endeavor to have a warden appointed for the Grey Gold Fields. The amount of official neglect which the Grey Gold Fields had suffered Avas incredible. With very few exceptions, not a single mining district north of the Teremakau has been visited by a Warden. He did not wish to cast any reflections upon the present Resident Magistrate and Warden, for he believed it simply impossible for one man to discharge the duties of both offices efficiently. | Economy sometimes defeats its own object, nnd he was of opinion that the salary of a Warden would be much more than repaid i by the additional revenue which might be produced. The Grey diggings being so systematically ignored by the Government had no prestige, and the Government had never been in possession of full information concerning them. Be concluded by another reference to the position and poAvers of the County Council, pointed out the danger of any antagonism with the Governor's Delegate, and the necessity of sending men of intelligence and cipacity and with whom Mr Hall could act and work. He had no hesitation in placing his election on the issue of personal fitness, and he trusted that if they did consider that he Avas a fit and proper person to represent them they Avould vote for him. (Loud applause.^ One or tAvo questions having been put and ansAvered, Mr Davies moved, and Mr Hamilton seconded, " that Mr Harrison is a fit and proper person to represent the town of Sreymouth in the County Council. " The Chairman put the resolution to the meeting, and it was carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to the chair concluded the meeting.