MR. MAIN'S MEETING.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 90, 4 November 1870, Page 2

MR. MAIN'S MEETING.

The electors of the Mount Ida District met at the Victoria Hall, at the invitation of our member, Mr. Main, on Friday evening last. There was a large attendance—in fact the Hall was crowded.

Mr. Peter Gillies was called to the chair, and after a fow brief remarks relative to the importance of the occasion, seeing that we were on the eve of a general election, and that we would be called upon shortly to elect a Superintendent, two members for the Provincial Council, and a member for the General Assembly, he called on

-Jr. M.iin, who rose and said : He appeared before them politically for the last time. He had had the honor of serving them in tlio Provincial Council for four years, comprising' sis sessions, and after a short session commencing on the 15th of November next, convened for the purpose of completing the re-union oi Otago and Southland, his political connection with the District "would cease. He proposed to acquaint them with the doings of the Provincial Council during the last session, which ended on the l<°tli June; and, if time permitted, he would give a cursory review of the proceedings of the General Assembly, so far as they affected the social wellbeing of the community and. the interests of the Goldfields. In point of fact, he proposed giving them a political history ot the past six months, during the whole of which time he had devoted himself to his parliamentary duties and the public service of the country. He would state that, so far as the interests of the Goldfields generally, and of this district in particular, were concerned, lie had devoted himself arduouslv to his dutiei; and although he had not succeeded in carrying every matter connected with this district, he had done his best under the circumstances. His efforts bad not ceased with the session, for he tound it was necessary during the reerss to see that the moneys voted were actually spout. The Government never thought ot expending votes, until they were applied to, either by the member or the residents ot the distrioi. - Notwithstanding repeated applications of his to have the whole of the £GOO voted for the road from Naseby to Jlden Creek spent last year, he was sorry to say that only £142 18s. 6d. was expended. Ihe vote was again pissed tor the current year howcver, : and he would do his best to see that the road was put info a proper state of repair before the winter sets in again. A small sum was also voted to improve the ford at Hamilton crossing, and several other amounts, varying from £SO and- upwards, for repairs to roads to Hyde, and Ky«buru. Mr. Main then summarised -the proceedings and named the Ordinances passed during the session, commenting on each and explaining it as he went along. The new Representation Ordinance, whereby Mount Ida gets two members for the Provincial Council, and the G-oldfields generally, Mr. Main considered, obtained a fair share of the representation, although the special representation of the G-oldfields was done away with. The miners' franchise whs then explained. The holder of a miner's" right or business license can yote in the district in which he resides, on presentation of his miner s right, which is marked by the returning officer as having been used,, as well as those on the electoral rolls for the district. The usual inotion for repealing the gold duty was lost last session by a small -majority, and a further attempt in the General Assembly to give Provincial Councils power to reduce or repeal the duty when they could, afford to dispense with it, was also lost by a majority of two or three. He was certain that the new Parliament would gradually reduce the gold duty until it was entirely done away with. He then read the report of the Taieri Floods Committee, of which he. was a member, which showed that the workings an the Goldfields had little or nothing to do with recent floods on the Taieri

Plains. He also read Mr. Grillies reporfc 011 J sludge channels, which was laid on the table ! of the Council, and said he gave notice of mo- ' | tion for'a sum of £2,000 to be placed on the Estimates towards the Naseby cliaunel. He found, however, that the Government were opposed to it, and he had a considerable majority against him, and as he felt that it was a hopeless task, he requested Mr. May to move the resolution - for Tiim, which was the reason of his not moving it himself. The Government promised him, however, that they would contribute £2 to every £1 subscribed by the district, and that if the miners could buy* up the Dead Level Cdmpany, the Government would recognise the purchase money as a contribution. whi6h they would double. He communicated J this to the residents here at the time, first bv j letter and then verbally when he was present, j but.found that the people generally were averse I to subscribing. Afterwards, Mr. Lewis came I to town as a deputation from the miners here, ? and saw him. -He-introduced the deputation, ! consisting of Mr. Brown, ■ Mr. Hughes, • arid j other Goldfields members, to his Ilonor/ and j

tlie result -was tliat a Commission was promised to be sent up to enquire and report what -was best to be done under the circumstances. The result was that Mr. Pyke came here and en* quired fully into the -whole matter, and has since reported to the Government- The gist ot his report he believed to be a recommendation to the Government to buy up the Dead Level Company, upon the terms that the company should still retain possession, and take all the gold to be found in the channel, and to widen and keep in repair the present channel, which the public would have a right to use foi" all their tailings. He would see that the ' Chronicle 1 was placed in possession of the report as soon as he could obtain a copy for the benefit of the district. He would also take care that effect should be given to the report, by asking the Government a question whether they would lay it on the table of the House, and if done, lie would move that the Government give effect to the recommendation contained in it. There was a large sum on the Estimates this year for sludge channels generally, so that it the Government had funds at their disposal there was no occasion for voting any money nest session. There was a sum of £2,600 upon the Estimates for that portion of the road from Palmerston to Eden Creek, which he hoped would be spent in diverting the road from the Houndburn Hill, so as to save that heavy pinch, and shorten the distance to Naseby some six or eight miles, by crossing the downs straight through by* the Messrs. Sanders' station. The traffic to the Dunstan and the Lake* would then all pass through He lnul made this subject his own, a;id had already attended a deputation to the Superintendent upon the mutter when Mr. Oliver, the roadl engineer, was summoned to the presence. Mr. Oliver, he was sorry to say, was unfavorably disposed to the proposed route. The gentlemen who accompanied him (Air. Main), however, convinced his Honor ot the practicability and importance ot the change of route, and Air. Alain believed by dint of perseverance, the change could be effected; The telegraph was next alluded to. it the General Government had not taken over the Provincial lines and proposed extensions he believed that JSTaseby would now have been in telegraphic communication with Dunedin and the up-country districts. Delay was caused by the tranfier ; but lie was happy to inform tiiem that the survey was already completed—as the} could see from the white along the route from Palmerston to this place. He had seen Mr. Lemon, the general manager in Wellington several times, and agreed with 'him that it was better to bring the line from Palmerston than from .Alexandra, as it gave two strings to the telegraphic bow ; for if the line over the Knobbys failed, th« line' when completed through iSt. Bathaus to Alexandra would stand in good stead. Tender* were now being invited, and he hoped to be able to transmit a congratulatory uit-jt»ag<j to them before the end ot January. jle regretted that the bulk of our Provincial re»«muel was spent hi the southern portion or the Province, and that the north-cuatern districts did not receive their fair share. The road from Dunedin to East Taieri (already formed) required £3l 400 to keep it in repair for one year ; £l i,7oo'was voted for roads round Dmiedm ; and proportionately large sums, for lvpairs only, to Tokomamro, the Clutha, and to the West Taieri He hoped, however, with the increased representation to this district, a;ud the formation of electoral districts instead of the absurd system which obtained of haying six members for the (jroldiields responsible to a constituency extending from tiie Mataura in the south to the Lakes m the north—that a fair share of the revenue would be spent in this district A resolution was also passed, authorising the •superintendent to introduce a Bill in the General Assembly to raise £650,0U0, by way of loaii for certain public works, ineluuin<* the railway to the Clutha, bridge over the YVaitaki £30,0u0 for water supply on the Goidlields' #3U,UUO for a dock at Uamaru, £B,OOO for jetty at Waikouaiti, and other- items, which the Superintendent intro aiced, but was lost on account ol the financial scheme of the Gene:-al Government" already providing for the principal works. Jfor instance, £<soi,Qoo was authored to be raised for. water supply to the Goldfields throughout the Colony. Mr. Main then said that tiie time had 110 tv approached when some organic changes were absolutely necessary in ourjorm of Government, so as to lessen the expense and do away with the complex system which no w existed* He was quite prepared to abolish Provincial Governments altogether, but fpr the fact u, our territorial revenue being in danger. If W e couid settle that matter, and have our land tund secured to us, he would vote tor one Government and one Legislature for the whole Colony, instead of the ten we now possess. He was sorry to observe that the estimated revenue would turn out to be considerably below the Treasurer's estimate, on account of the conflict about the Hundreds .Regulations Act, and the general depression of trade which existed—the consequence of which would be that many of the sums voted for public works of great utility would not be spent,.to the loss and detriment * r S ? ou . utr y* r - Main then gave a resume ot the legislation of the General Assembly, lhe House met on the 21st of June, so that tie had just time to reach Wellington after the Provincial Council was prorogued. The session was remarkable for their having been no discussion on Native ailairs, no vote of want of confidence m the Ministry, no debate on constitutional changes, and no organised Opposition. lhe character of the legislation was also remarkable, as being the most useful session ever held m the Colony. The Acts passed were mnety-mne in number,* and might be grouped in the following manner. Those connected with the cariying out of the great colonising scheme of the Government were the Immigration and Public Works, Defence and other purposes Loan, Payments to Provinces, Colonial .Reciprocity, Hail ways, Immigration and Public YY orks Loan. Mr. Main then explained these various Acts. The Immigration ind Public Works Act provided for the detailed expenditure of four millions of money over a period of ten years, including a sum of £500,000

£yater supply to Goldfields throughout tin \ ' for immigration (at.th< r g°f £150,000 per annum), £400,000 fo: *■«» in the North Island, £4OO,G(XKfoi» rail "^gf.* 11 the Middle Island, and £200,000 fci rf 9P * f rom Natives in North Island 111 Defence Act proposed to borrow a millioi: ofeeeping the peace .n the* No'rth : Island foi toy years—thus £IBO,OOO for the first year - each third, fourth'and fifth years, instead Ol t.ie unlimited expenditure out of revenue "wlich had heretofore prevailed. Our current re?niie would, for the future, be devoted tc inicre legitimate uses, and it was to be hoped th|t, at the end of those five years, Maori d is - tu&ances would be mote matter of history than of/sad reality. This Act further provided for raising £173,000—£50,000 for Southland liabilities, £50^000; for repayment; of moneys for the Port Chalmers Dock Trust, an I the balance for Auckland, Taranaki, and Wellington purposes. The Payments to ProTirices Act provided for the Provincial share ol th£ consolidated revenue being distributed in proportion to the population of each Province aft*r a capitation rate, and a . sum of £ofT,OOC for seven years, in similar proportion, for road districts, with 'bonus to Westlaip, on account ot having a greater male po,piiitiqn tli m the Provinces, and consequently consuming a greater proportion of dutiable Tliis arrangement will prevent the increase of taxation, and remedy the evil ol th< G-eneral G-overnment having to raise £2 frcn the people when they only required £l, as formerly—the rule being that out of all eufoms duties the Provinces were entitled tc on-half of the moneys raised. The Colonial »RtMpracity Act enabled the G-overnment tc enßr into commercial treaties with the neighboing Colonies, whereby the produce of everj Coony might be admitted to every othei Colony duty free. The Railways Act provided | for the immediate construction of certain rail- ' ways contained in the schedules to the Act (read). The Immigration and Public "Works Loan Act provided for the raising of the money for these purposes. The present ,disturbaiicpa in Jiurope would pre veil t the money from fteing borrowed for some time, but the Colonial Treasurer has tafo'ri power, bv the Temporary Loan Act, to borrow £500,000 tc enable him to proceed with the necessary sur veys, preparatory to undertaking the works A second class of Acts might be groiiped to> gether as being of the highest practical utility, the passing df which alone "would have made fch? session illustrious beyond all former sittings of Parliament—Torrens' Act, New. Zealand 'Unive'raity, Sonth Sea Islands Drawbacks Juries Act Amendment, Ballot, New Zealand Government Insurance and Annuities, New Zealand and Australian Submarine Telegraph, Thf.se Acts. Mr. Main explained in a most in ; teresting manner in detail,- and showed thai t-luy would aid in developing the material, intellectual und social prosperity of the Colom to an oxtent that no previous- legislative meacv<?r attempted. The next class of Actf hejjronpo:.! was of a local and colonial character* combined, of gr?iit prncticnj' merit, and Virypentlvvrequired in particular parts of the CoI lony—Sales for Non-payment of Rates, Militia i and Southland Union, Hawke's Baj l Marlborough Rivers, Stamp Duties, AgrxProduce Lien, Mining Companies Limited Liability Amendment, Native Lane FmudsPrevention, Canterbury Railway Guage Then Mr. Main briefly explained and justified Ins action in favor o? the .Otago and Southland Re-union Bill. Adhesive stamps, lie stated coi;ld now be used for agreements, bills, anc pnjni3sory notes ; and the battle of the guages wlfeh iniß fought over again at the Antipodes ■wai detailed by hira £ll a most amusing mannet, and elicited shouts of laughter. The Land passed during the session Were, of course, local in their character, but some of them contained the solution of long and much vexed questions. The Hundreds Regulation Amend- ! meut Act for Ofcago he hoped would now put at rest the cry of " unlock the lands." Hundreds of 20,60 D acres in extent- could now be ! obKin«l anywhere throughput the Province, in Ltoldfields and out of them, in a manner 1 -witch would remove existing sources of antagonism between different classes of the comma--1 /nity, i-\id the annual squabbles in the Provin- ' cia Council about Hundreds. The next group of lets passed might be described as of a strictly leal chamcter: Intestate Estates Amendment, Pmishment of High Treason, Larceny Act Amendment, Partition, Deceased Persons EsI tafis, District Courts Criminal i Bwnsion, Patents, Neglected and Criminal C'ldren Amendment, Vexafcious" Indictments, §;i!8 v by Morgagees, Aliens, Escheat Act Arendment, Maine Act Amendment, Tfonkrutcy Act Amendment, Dangerous Goods Axendment, Court of Appeal A mendment, Uninorporated Boards Acts; Resident. Magistrates Science, Supreme Court Act 1850 Amendmat, County of Westland Act Amendment. Inact. the Assembly was literally flooded with leal Bills. Mr. Sewell had been appointed <Miist.tr of Justiee, with a seat in the Lesislativ. Council, and;he showed us how hard.he woked by producing a crop of Bills, the like of jsrlcltovas-.never seen during one session in .any in the world, Imperial or Colonial. If (s value as a Minister is to be guaged by the nuiber of Bills introduced, Mr. Sewell is the fir* Minister of Justice in the world. Another grap of Acts was of a miscellaneous character, theitles of which would sufficientlv designate thjff various uses. They showed that the tin? of the session was not wholly occupied, as in 3rmer years, with wretched Maori discussion, but that domestic legislation suited to the commercial and mining interests of the Middle Islaid was attended ; to. Goldfields Act Ansndment, Limited Liability Companies Widing-up, New Zealand Post Office Act Airendment, Timaru and Gladstone Board; of Works Amendment, Wellington and Hawke's Baj Public Debt Apportionment, Canterbury Rivers Repeal, Gold Duties, Nelson College, HaWke's Bay Renewal of Licenses, Representation, Harbor Boards, Government OfficersGuarantee, : Fire Inspectors, -Census. Acts 'Amend«ient,: Disqualification, Bay of Islands' Settlement, Merchants' Ships Officers.Exami-

nation,' Qualification of-Electors," Mining Companies Limited Liability Amendment, >Kaiapoi Native Industrial School Grant, Volunteers Acts Amehdrfterit,' Deputy "Superintendent of Wellington, Temporary .Loan. Surely,, after such an "array of Acts rid one will" venture to say we were idle in Wellington";' Besides these, papers were presented,, and Select Committees reported on a. yaricty of of an. :eminently practical character •' In short, tlie'. sion -was distinguished by the ' great usefulness of its domestic .legislation, 'and\ stands prominently, before all sessionsas a session of great colonising measures. Mr.' Main then drew a vivid •• sketch of the' inner life of the House. He said it must supposed that all the 78 members composing the Representatives took an active part in t ie de!ihe:vitions on the various measures continued even to attend larlv the House itself. If it rr were otherwise it would prove exceedingly • inoon rerient,' and the business of the country, instead of occupying a fourth of the-whole year, -the' House would remain in session all .the year round. The members might b,e classed into six grand divisions. First, there was the hard i working'class, at which Mr. Hall might, be put at the head, consisting of members 'who at;-' tended regularly, read all the Bills' and papers laid on the table, and watched narrowly the progress of Bills as they passed through Committee ; the second devision' was composed of members who voted, but did not speak ; the third, of members who spoke much and voted' seldom. With a view to ' Hansard 5 they fired off their guns, and left the House satisfied that if they had not done their duty to;the country they had done justice to themselves. The fourth division consisted of dillefcanti politicians—dressy men—who considered themselves gentlemen of the House, and gave a tone to the proceedings ; who seldom and brie fly spoke, and only gave a dignified expression of opinion either for or against the proposed measure, and then sat down in an exhausted manner. The Maori members might be taken as the fifth division, and really, take them all in all, they were .a revv respectable class of quiet, inoffensive, dusky gentlemen, very useful to the for they always vote fo'i' the powers ATho ' control the . conimissai'iat." They speak in 'the Maori tongue, with a paid' interpreter who sits hy tliem, and who, translates their remarks £tentenceby sentence. The subjects upon which they -usually speak are native lands',';irhpoundiiig\ sales of 'spiritsin' native distriets.' 1 £ The : IfiSt andlmost impOrtaut 1 division consists of'the j Ministers themselves,' who have charge of the conduct of business,, and the, initiation of-» all measures pertaining to this* public welfare of the country;': One'bf their.Tiuihber is expected to speak,on,every, subject,.brought before the House, anjil announces t whether the Government will support or oppose it. In addition to their duties in the House they . each have his departmental duties to. attend to ; but they are all provided with private secretaries , to help them. Mr. Pox is Premier, and-leads the House,"takes charge of, and. speaks upon,; all constitutional and legal questions, for he is a barrister by profession ; Mr. Vogel is Colo- : nial Treasurer, Postmaster-General, Commissioner of Customs and Telegraphs combined (for two Ministers, Mr. Bell and Dr. -Feafcherston, are. at present in England on public business, and several portfolios must be held by one Minister.) He dazzled the House by his famous financial budget of last year, and one or'two members who had the temerity to characterise the scheme as " unpractical, impracticable, wild, chimerical, and gambling," lived to.repent of their rashness. Mr. Yogel is not an eloquent speaker, but powerful and unsurpassed in debate ; he hits rather hard, sometimes, however, and people say lie is rude, but; they are those he has crushed. The House enjoyed some fine passages at arms • between Mr. T. B. Gillies and the Treasurer, but the wordy lawyer had to succumb at last, and con-! fessed he was. fairly beaten. Mr. M'Lean is a fine specimen of genus 7iomo y and as his name denotes is of true Highland blood. His lon<* active connection with the native race gives him great power aiid influence with the Marries, and lie is entrusted with the defence of the country—for nnhappily if at present we have no foreign foes to defend ourselves against, wo have a large disaffected native race in the North Island, who, as long as they live in sufficient numbers to combine, will prove a thorn in our side. Mr. M'Lean only speaks when he has occasion'to move' any of his r defence matters, and preserves a fine equanimity of temper when 'the defence estimates are passing through committee, and parries we.l the severe blows levelled at the various items. He simply smiles when he is taunted with pursuing the sugar and . blanket policy -with the Maories, and points to the results, which are " peace in jpur time."His motto evidently is, "the end justifies the means." Mr. Main then thanked.the electors not only for patient hearing they had given him that evening' but for the .unvarying kindness he had experienced'at their hfinds durintr the four years he had - had tlie honor of' serving them in the Provincial Council. He was hap° pv to say that the material progress of the District in general, and of Naseby in particular, had gone on increasing, and had increased steadily since the time he first became politically connected with them." The Hogburn, he ventured to say, was the most populous, most prosperous, and produced more gold, than any other field in"the Province.', It was pleasant to reflect- then, that, notwithstanding the neglect which our district had received at the hands of the Government, it continued to . prosper. He hoped, if they should again honor him with their, confidence, that the importance of the place would dawn upon the obtuse faculties of the Provincial Ministers, and this much depended upon themselves. They had now the power of sending two members to the Council, and one. to the General Assembly. He urged upon them to send representative men who had a stake in the, .country, and if possible ah interest in the District-r—men who would be looked upon as the reflex of the character of the people they represented, and who, •vyould do Honor to themselves and to the Dis-

trict. Mr. Main then invited questions-—the great privilege of electors on these occasions^— and resumed-his seat. ■; Mr. Grace wished to -;know if Mr. ; Main would guarantee the road avoiding the Houndburn Hill ? .

Mr. Main said, of course he could not guarantee anything. All he could.do was .to advo- - cate and work for the object sought to be obi twined. He promised exert himself in this direction, but was sorry to say: the road had a strong opponent in Mr. Oliver the road engineer. - • \

Mr. Richards What about Mr. Vincent. Pyke's report? Mr. Main again explained the purport of it, and promised to get a copy it. Mr. Thomson.inquired whether he did not think'it dishonest ori the part of any Government to put money on tlie Estimates and expend only a tithe of it-?... . . . Mr. Main said, of course if the Government had not got the money, although it wasvote'd, they they could not spend it; but he could not characterise it as quite dishonest. He thought, however, that some action should be taken next session to prevent the necessity of continually " nagging " at the Government to spend money voted befoi'e they would ever think of money in the matter.

Several other questions were asked by Messrs. Inder, Millar, and Thomson regarding-the sludge channel, the district road through this town, commonage, and other matters ofimportan< e to the District.

Mr. Thomson then proposed, and Mr. Lewis seconded, a vote of thanks to Mr. Main, for the very lucid manner in which he described his parliamentary career. Carried unanimously. After a vote of thanks to the chairman, the meeting broke up.