COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS.

Kumara Times, Issue 1600, 12 November 1881, Page 2

COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS.

MR. W. LINNELL TO THE ELECTORS AT DILLMAN'S TOWN. There was a good attendance of miners and others at Reynolds' Hotel, Dillman's Town, on Thursday evening, to heat Mr William Linnell, one of the candidates for the representation of the Arahura Riding in the County Council of Westland. Mr Beattie was nominated to the chair, and stated (hat Mr Linnell had called this meeting that the electors might hear his views on County matters. Mr Linnell had contested a seat in the County Council before, and was not shamefully defeated. He had, however, represented them as a member of the Arahura Road Board. He hoped they would give Mr Linnell a patient hearing ; at the close of his addiess Mr Linnell would answer any questions they might ask. Mr W. Linnell, addressing himself to the Chairman and gentlemen, said : This was the second time he had come before them as a candidate for the County Council of Westland, and he hoped to show them that he was a fit and proper person to represent them in the County Council. Although he was a peifct new chum at that time, there were 9G electors who gave him their ■support on the first occasion.. H« had come before them now principally as a mining candidate—for the. encouragement of industry and a good supply of water. In course of time the railways would be •springing up and the coun'rv would l.e cultivated. With these, preliminary remarks, he would proceed to the consideration of County Council matters. And first, as regards the County revenue. The amount of revenue derivaMe from gold duty was £OSOO, Cliiistchurch road tolls £I2OO, publicans licenses £IOOO, rates (£3i)o, but with .£ for £ subsidy) £7OO, dog tax and other incidentals making a total „f .£9o:>o or .£IO.OOO. Of this sum the miners contributed more than one-halt, which was in..re in pioportion than any oilier class i.-f laborers. The heaviest expenditure was in the bo. ronidis, the residents of wlr'eh do not contribute more than £IOOO or £I2OO. lie ndvoc.itod the erection of tolls upon the roads] Why si).mid not money be, raised in this way ? T",ey need" not expect if this were done that Mr Fuldi would raise the price of matches a penny, or th'ii Mr Tennant would put a p. nay a pound on meat. B\' raising revenue in this way the Council would

afford to have miners' rights reduced t<» ss. He did not believe there would be much falling off in the revenne, as all men could take them out, whereas ac the present time men were working without a minei's right, for some could scarcely afford £l. He was also in favor of their being taken out for an\ length of time, as much revenue would accrue by so doing. He was not in favor of taxing miners' huts ; miners were taxed too much already, hindering all progress, and stopping improvements.— [Applause.] Respecting the maintenance of roads and tracks, between £4OOO and £SOOO had been expended. He believed in keeping the roads in order. There were 218 miles of road in the County, but they had cost more than any other roads in New Zealand, and he would say honestly it is the present system of day-labor that is causing it—it is a feu de joie with them, a fire of delight.—Laughter and applause.] He had seen day-labor men walking nine or ten miles to their work] this was not consistent with the probabilities of their doing a fair dav's work. They did not go to work if it rained; and it took them all their time to dodge the drops of rain.—[Laughter.] Many of these men went to work wh*n they liked, and knocked off when they liked. Alt that was required was that a man got well in with a councillor, and he was sure to get on.—[Laughter.] It was a game of see-saw, right into one another's -hands; He would refer to the gross negligence that had been exhibited in the matter of the Arahnra bridge. Notwithstanding the frequent warnings to the Council 'from practical men, and letters in the papers, that driftwood was accumulating on the banks uear the bridge, no notice was taken. If a man had been seut down to clear the driftwood away, the collapse of the bridge would never have occurred. Generally he was in favor of contracting for everything; it was far cheaper than day labor. He believed by this means That one man and a subordinate would do the work of three men. In the matter of administiation, he was not pleased with it ; members were constantly nigna»<Wn« at one another. With iv.gard to the abolition of the gold duty, our member for Stafford stiougly opposed it, because he said he did not know where the money was to come from and seconded the resolution praying that it may be thrown out, all in one breath.—Applause.] This was three or four months' ago. Can he show you that at any time he did anything for the ruining interest? He seut a telegram to Wellington that the Council disapprove-! of the reduction.—[Applause.] There were some honorable members who had too many billets. In some respects boroughs were against councils, and a member of both would not act consistently. Neither did he believp in a member of the House of Representatives being a member of the Council at the same time. How can members sit in Council and go to the House of Representatives to pass a Corrupt Practices Bill, an.l such practices going on at their elbows'?— [Applause.] Some day such a sou'wester would come as would go ri«ht through their bread-basket, and leave neither a shop nor a locker.—[Laughter and applause.] Concerning Chinese immigration, he would be in favor of placing a £25 tax on Chinamen.—[A Voice: " Make it £SO, old man !"]— We offer to these people the Scriptures in one hand and a sword in the other. Years before the Christian era, it was said, these men were examples worthy of imitation.—[Laughter.] But if you want to see what they are like, just put your nose into Little Bourke street, Melbourne, or into some of the streets where tli-y reside at Bendigo or Ballarat, and if in two miuutes yon dent turn away disgusted—well, then, he must say, you will have a very strong stomach.—[Loud laughter.] They are like ants ; they eat our sugar. [Laughter.] Use all your interest to keep them out of the country, and likewise to keep them down.—[Loud applause] The man who advocated Chinese immigration was on a par with those who are charged with cruelty to animals, and he should be treated as such. [Loud applause.] This Council is fast drifting down like the Arahura Road Board. If you allow these three members to go in again, things will go in the same crooked way. There were three miuers in the field, and he hoped to see these returned ; it was his ambition to serve the electors honestly and well.—[Loud and continued applause. In answer to the question whether he would support a reduction of the Chairman's salary to £l5O, Mr Liiinell reptied—No; but he would make it £2OO, to include expenses. Another question was—ls it not as reasonable to impose a tax on us as to impose a tax on Chinamen ? To which Mr Linneil replied— That would be

placing us on a level with the Chinese. It i.-i just as a man approved or disapproved of it, I suppose.—[L-iughterj and a voice " Go h -me, John !"] Mr J ; Caldwell proposed tint aftet the able address delivered by Mr Litinell, he had im>.ch pleasure in proposing liini hs a lit and proper' person to represent them in the County Council. The motion was secouded, and, oil being put to the meeting, Carried UnanU mously. There were about 150 of the elector* present.