MR BARFF'S MEETING.

Kumara Times, Issue 242, 14 July 1877, Page 2

MR BARFF'S MEETING.

[Continued.]

He (Mr Barff) disagreed with the alterations lately made with regard to the Police Force. It was a step in the wrong direction to reduce the pay to such an extent that good men would not stop in the Force. A good man was worth a good pay. During the last ten years there had been in Westland a smaller amount of crime, in porportion to its area and population, than in any other part of the colony. To a very large extent, this was due. to the presence of an efficient Police Force. They would not get good men at 7s a day. He should feel it his duty in the Assembly to act with the object of trying to subvert the present ridiculons order of things before the country lost good men, and had nothing in their places but a lot of duffers. If Government said they had not the money to pay them he would say nothing, but what was the use of knocking two shillings a day off the men and nothing off the salaries of the heads of departments. On the question of special Settlements he would say that' he believed them generally to be special failures. They had seen that this was the case in the Jackson's Bay Settlement. ;H*d the money spent for that been expended in a more practical manner, they would have seen far better results. He never had agreed with it and never should. He did not say that it would be Mr now, after taking the people-down there, to leave them to starve, but he thought rather than speud another £20,000 on that settlement, it would be' better to pay their passages to some other part of the Colony where they would be able to earn a decent livelihood. He believed that it was necessary that the licensing laws should be altered. They were in almost preposterous condition, the result of an attempt maflle to discourage intemperance. The Hon. Mr Fox's Act was no improvement on the previous system. "With regard to the Local Option bill he would not pledge himself to support it, until he saw it, He regarded its principle in a friendly manner, but trusted that there' would be no sudden or violent changes. He believed in temperance though he was ; not a teetotaller and neve* should be. He was in favour of taking off duties from light wines and encouraging people to drink something else |than brandy. Another thing that"™ would promote temperance would be the preventing "peopl 3 being poisoned by bad «vo£. They probahly knew what " fighting brandy" was. He would like to see the Adulteration of food Art so altered that a man offending against it should expiate his offence iu the logs, or in doing work for the benefit of the country. As to the Central Board of Education, he thought there was much room for improvement in the Act under which it was constituted. The majority of the Board had retained their seats without re-election. He was of opinion that it was not a fitting thing: for Government officers to hold positions in a body chosen by -the people, ■ Government officers did not understand the value of money. To prove this he wonlrl quote the proposals ma.de by the Board. - They were most absurd, but had the Board possessed the power as they had the will to tax the people occupying their reserve they would have chased the population away from Kumara long before this time. (Mr Barff j here read the proposals to which he re- | ferred.) The Central Board had done j much good in erecting good school : buldings, but their working expenses were much too heavy. He did not approve of their making a track and caMing it a road, and then wanting the Road Board to take it over aud make it for them. He held very decided opinions on the question of the Honorarium, and would stick There was a more dangerous class than the class of professional politicians, and that was a paid aristocracy. It was impossible to get members of sufficient capacity, intelligence, means, and experience to give up their business for four, five, or six months of the'year, unless their expenses were given back to them. If they did away with the honorarium they would shut the gates, against the men who would db their best to serve them ; and the only cla«s that would be found in the Assembly would be representatives of sheep and of their own interests, not representatives of the people. There had 'h* en a misapprehension with regard to the steps taken last year, for 1 the iecg&se of. the honorarium. It had been stated that the' members proposed to raise it to £3OO. There was no proposal of the kind. One of the most wealthy members'in the" Honse (Mr Larriach of Dnnedin) brought forward a motion to go into committee on the question. The majority might have been in favor of £3OO For his own part he (Mr Barff) thought this sum would be too much, unless a session were to last a very long time.

[Our space will not permit us to publish more of Mr BarfFs speech to-day. We shall continue it in a future issue.]