EXTRACTS FROM 'HANSARD.'

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 242, 24 October 1873, Page 4

EXTRACTS FROM 'HANSARD.'

, MINERS' EIGHTS EXTENSION'BILIiV - MV.Batligate's remarks. when the Mi-' ners' Jitglits Extension Bill was- before; the-iJFloiise are of ; interest- as showing the r actual view...the. Groy.ernraent took of the uow-defuncfc Goldiields' Bill. ; \i : He said:— The principle involved in the Bill was one of some importance. The same principle was' contained in a Bill which had already been before the House this session, but which did} not get the length of the thirdireadhig..:.* ThiP Goldfields Bill was thrown- but upon the distinct understanding that the whoJe question therein involved should be considered during the recess: that the Government should cir--culate the draft of the Bill, so: that, when the House met next session, : those chiefly interested, might be fully informed_of due-con-tents of that measure.. Seeing that the House'had postponed the whole question, he did not think that members would agree that there was any reason to legislate piecemeal upon those principles which formed a part of the larger measure. He thought it was unadvisable to proceed ih'that direction, and to take bit by bit the principle contained in the large.-measure which was. to be brought before Parliament next session. If they passed the present Bill, it would be included next year in the schedule repealing all the' various l . Acts affecting the Goldiields; .' For that reason he. would-strongly recommend the honorable tnembir for Wakaiipu to withdnw his; B,il!. In the -preparation of the Goldiields Bill i-ho Government -would take up this very important poiut, and deal with it in a proper.manner■.n's-xt:session..; '.-J., : : ' It will be remembered the Miners' Bights Extension Bill was thrown out by a; majority of. nine,r;in;;,ji :; thiivnHouse---eleve'n for, and twenty against. - - . , ■ . . -'-'■ ■ ■ minxes' franchise -'-'extension bill;. 'V ; Is .the ..miner .a, settler? Speaking on tiioMihers' Franchise -Ex--tension Bill/Sir"J.. -'* He did not deny that every .adult had a right to a vote, but it must he a- particular kind of man under oar-law. He mast be a man who built himself a house, worth £5 a year, and: had registered his qualification. If miners wauled votes, why did- they not dothese "things ?" It was very easy for them to. do both; but because the Assembly had very' foolishly made an exceptional law to suit the miners, they did not' care about buildinghouses for themselves, or 'registering themselves .. as. electors. If manhood suffrage were introduced, what did the Government intend doing about the Maoris? Under manhood suffrage, every Maori would have a right to vote ; and bur whole electoral sys-: tern would be altered. The first mistake i wa3 -granting a ! 'special qualification to mi-! ners ; arid the. argument;; of the honorable membar for Hokitika was'that, having put one foot in-the mud;some yeara'ago and made .a mistake, they must now put. the other foot" in als6i ' There were not aliner'claas of men than the miners,. but .the Legislature: made exceptional laws'for the miners, and ii they had not done so, the miuero would have put themselves on the eleetoralroaiunder the -or--dinary-qualineatidir'' ' .'• Mr. T. L. ; Shepherd would not'have.said;awordAaddt not been for the remarks ;«f they honorable .member for.He.athc.ote,. \yho,seein^d ; to be under the' impression that miners "did" not register themselves under the existing law. A very large indfeed in-Otago He. jiedi©7ejl.jth«t, nearly on the Otago" Goldfields was registered, and he. was glad of it, because' the Gtago miners had never, had.greater, poli% ticaFl^f^a^^ ekerciseu afverylarporiant election, of Superintendent fortnalProvince,

J as.no-doubt th^.Thtonorai^nseimber for PortChalmers couicttgstify.:" Thehonorable mem- ■■ ucr ror- ideatheote (Sir J. G. Wilson) 1 talked; of tue .; timers as a class "vfao were not settledj--but Ms belief- was-tliat" tlier- were jrist as - settled as any class in the country, and more settled than many merchants who were mak--' nrg fortiines, who, when they had done so,hut tne. country;, while minsr-s, with, theirwives and'families, seldom possessed sufneient means to leave .tho country, and conse- - quently bad to remain-in-,it for :Mxq-. '. Al t»^ " men had been mining in the Colony for ten years, it v/asidle'to speak : of- ; them as a class that were not permanent. There"was pc---more permanent class in the Colony than miners, or more likely to .remain under wiselyadministered laws : . - ;.■';•■.- /..<;■■ ' ; ' -Mr. Esid said - . '-;■ ■; ■■ -. Wj; .: Most of the arguments /which had urged infavor of thisJßill had led himlaheV lieve there-was no necessity fbr' : ife. : TheV honorable member for ally, asserted that persons were all settled in the Colony/ had their wives and fa- , milies here, and had a much 1 better right to the franchise than inercliants. If thab were • so, what was to prevent them exercising the'franchise- as: any other person hi the country ' did ? He believed many of them had. been and were so exercising it, and tha.nuinber of persons who would'be aaeeted this Bill 1 would be very small:— The Rouse oughtnob ■ ;to go any further in.the diroction-of infcerfer- - mgwitb the modein whioh Supsrinteudente ; : and membars of .the. Provincial Councils and , of that House^were,elected. ..There was no ■ necessity for such a took an interest in the were on the roll; and, for those who were not, it would be well to have some stimulus in order to induce them to fix themselves lirml 7 in thecountry. The honorable member,ior Culler said-that- manjrr- of these - men: were "-men ■ of' large capital.: and had large minnr' plants, but would prefer to live at hotels, Jkj. could, not; qualify themselves, under/ the but the- same applied to other herson?, siieh for example as those employed "in .saw-mills; and if : such-persons-were to>be>admiiitedtothe;franchise, it:.would sbe ■.- better" to- go toManhood,suffrage at once.;; Eorhis ownparb, ■ he thought, the, existing, law relative to these ■ miners' rights was very wrong.; ;dh his district, which-was Essentially an//agricultural district, there-was one small GoSneld, called- ■ a "poor man's diggings," onlwhich-there were sometimes about thirty or-forbv men,," and sometimes a hundred, who all went and " voted at the elections. Such a power as that might very easily be -abused, and therefore, he 'would be no party to extending this privi-. lege any further. . ... ' ./-„ ' " ; "- As our raiders arc aware, the- Bill finally was- thrown out.'