The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1868. MR SHEPHARD'S MEETING.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume III, Issue 297, 16 December 1868, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1868. MR SHEPHARD'S MEETING.

In compliance "with an invitation issued by Mr Shephard, one of the candidates for the vacant seat for Nelson in the House of Representatives, a considerable number of the electors met that gentleman last night at the Provincial Hall, for the purpose of listening to an exposition of -his political seutimeuts. The meeting was respectably and numerously attended, but the proceedings did not appear to elicit any decided manifestation of public feeling. On the motion of Mr M. Lightband, seconded by Mr J. G. Miles, Dr Irvine, M.P.C., took the chair, and after reading the invitation convening the meetiog, and a few preliminary- remarks, introduced Mr Shepbard to the meeting. Mr Shephard, who was received with much cheering, reminded his audience that the last occasion when he had addressed them was at the meeting held to express an opinion on the financial policy of the Government, and the resolutions passed on that occasion, almost unanimously, had, in fact, occasioned the vacancy, which euabled him to appear before them as a candidate* for their suffrages. He then paid a high tribute to the talents and ability of Mr Stafford, his predecessor, which made it a formidable task for any man, however gifted, to fill -his place, and staled that it was the diffidence in his own powers produced by this feeling, his unwillingness to inconvenience the electors, and also the fact that he had already given expression in the public prints to his views on finance, that had led him to present himself not too hastily and with hesitation, as a candidate at the present election. It had however been thought better that he should call a meeting of the electors, and he would therefore attempt to put before them as clearly and concisely as possible his opinion on the various political topics of the day. Mr Shephard then proceeded to insist on the imperative necessity of economy in the administration of ti»e State, especially nt a time like the present; when depression in trade, as regards our wool and gold production, together with the expenditure necessitated by a native war, were stariug us in the face, a state of things which could only be met by a dispensing with all luxuries and a reduction of establishments. It was undoubtedly the duty of every representative to watch strictly the Estimates of the colony, and they could thus exercise a pressure by which economy would be enforced, and an economical Ministry would be supported. He attributed the late inaccuracies in the public accounts to the faulty manner in which they had been kept, and considered the present system far too complicated, and as permitting sinecufbs to remain undetected. The speaker then turned to the serious difficulties presented by the present position of affairs in the North Island, the atrocities enacted at Poverty Bay recalling the horrors of Nana Sahib at Cawnpore, and declared that though it had been the boast of New Zealand that no Venomous reptiles existed upon her soil, yet creatures had been discovered there worse than any cobra, who must be crushed and stamped out (loud cheers). One of our officers bad lately been blamed for imprisoning two messengers, but he only blamed the officer alluded to for not hanging them at once on the nearest tree as the emissaries of a felon. The question presented itself, how was

tins state of things to be met ? His own opinion -was. that they should depend on their own exertions to pat an end at once to the war. There was no time to send elsewhere for aid. He criticised unfavorably Sir D. Monro's proposal to ask for an Imperial Commissioner with an army to back him, which would simply amount to a military dictatorship, such as they had already 6een in the "colony, and to which they were indebted for the enormous debt of three millions which hung like a millstone round their necks (cheers). They might reasonably look for aid from England eveutuallyj for it would be an evil day for her when she refused to send help to colonists in such dire distress. The truest economy in such a case was to spend freely, for the more we saved now . in attempting to put down the war, the more we should have to spend hereafter. It was not improbable that a dissolution might take place even before the candidate chosen by the electors for their representative could take his seat, but he thought that the Assembly might well be called together for a short and early session to deliberate on the present position of affairs. If the British Parliament was called together to sanction the Abyssinian war, they ought surely to meet and deliberate upon the war which was so close to them. The only way to secure the prosperity of the colony was to preserve its unity and the uniformity of its laws and taxation. Mr Shephard then expressed himself as being favorable to the perpetuation of Provincial institutions, as having- hitherto worked fairly enough, quoting Professor Goldwin Smith in support of his views, and instanced the management of the waste lands of the colony and of the goldfields as cases in which Provincial Government had succeeded, where it was obvious that the General Government would not have ' been sufficiently flexible to deal with them j in a satisfactory manner. Mr Shephard, whilst promising to devote especial attention to the interests of Nelson, referred to the fact that the vacancy which he aspired to fill had been created through an alleged want of attention on the part of their then representative to these interests, and he expressed his opinion that, had the fiuancial scheme proposed by the Government been carried out, the' Education Grant could not have' been continued. The proposal made by his Honor the Superintendent for the settlement of the accounts between the Provincial and Geueral Governments he considered the most feasible, and the only one under which provincial governments could be continued on a cheap and efficient scale. Mr Shephard disclaimed any political bias, and would support measures, not men, not regarding either leader of the political parties which existed iv Parliament as a political Pope, nor surrendering to either the right of private judgment. He then referred to several changes which he deemed to be desirable in our political organisation, recommending a change in .the duration of Parliaments, and also declared himself opposed to the present system of taking votes to which he considered the Ballot far preferable. He was favorable to direct taxation to a certain extent, and also to the imposition of an income and property tax, which both residents and absentees would be compelled to pay, remarking that the sous of resident settlers should not; be asked to fight the battle for absentees who contributed nothing to the revenue of the colony. After announcing his readiness to reply to any questions which might be put to him, and declaring the disinterested nature of his views in coming forward as* a candidate on the present occasion, Mr Shephard sat down amidst much cheering. In reply to questions by Dr Irvinej Messrs Luckie, Miles, Levestam, M. Lightband, Clements, and Crate, Mr Shephard stated that he considered that the colony ought to rely on its own resources in the present emergency, though the gratuitous services of the Imperial troops in garrisoning towns, &c, might be accepted ; that money mustfbe borrowed, if required, for this purpose, which could be done without much difficulty, as the colony had always dealt honeßtly with its creditors ; that after a short session, the people should decide whether the present Ministry were entitled to confidence ; that he would support the honorarium to mem-, bers, as being indispensable in the present state of the colony j that, if elected, he would remain, allowing for contingencies, to the end of the session ; that he would inquire into and endeavor to relieve the present system of, conveyancing costs.; would be in favor of a redistribution of

seats, and of a reduction ia the number of members ; and that, although he should have opposed the introduction of the four Maori Representatives, he saw ho other means of getting rid of them ndw than — as Mr Fitzgerald had recommended before — placing them in the Upper House with the aristocracy (laughter). Mr J. G. Miles then moved and Mr J. W. Young- seconded that Mr Sbephard is a fit and proper person to represent the city in. the General Assembly. To this an amendment wos moved by Mr B. Jackson, seconded by Mr Crate, merely recording the thanks of the meetiug to Mr Shephard for the exposition of his views that evenings The amendment was put to the meeting and lost, the original motion being carried, and after a vote of thanks to the chairman the meeting separated. The proceedings during the whoie evening were decidedly wanting in the animation which usually characterises such meetings, and were only enlivened by & slight skirmish between the caudidate and Mr Luckie, who charged him with inconsistency in his opinions, an accusation which was speedily disposed of by Mr Shephard.