MR. CURTIS' MEETING.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 277, 21 November 1872, Page 2

MR. CURTIS' MEETING.

, There -was a full_attendance at the Provincial Hall last night" Mr. A. Sclanders having tak.n' the chair, -^i-tvus^k iri'l Mr. Crams, who throughout his address was u .freqwently^ohqeie^say-jttiati m jxndertaking to furnish* a^short s^e^fi'or the late sesfion, he could not expect to do more than give the barest out"ro^panied^oy suchrbrief .conanientß^as 'hfe [might deem hecesflarjjjiut before refering to the actual proceedings he .would allude tothe state ofjpublic Meeting r,of.. anae# and distroßti aiid-a Xsuspiclon; thatfaffairs were not proceeaiSg) r edioothJy and satisfaytorily.

The progress of public j^rk^'as not so rapid as we hifjlp right to\expec,tf; immigration was notssucc^ful i^the mope "jajyulministration was nbt^Btabhshed/or! anypsje^batis, and there was a||brifusibn- of "public o||cera)and their functions. W %ajOTßCtioii at the numerous-appointments tliafrinad been made, and a feeling that the expenselko£ jir ,the country were gradually increasing .without a sufficient value for the money thus fxpended being received. The Jarger provinces which had hitherto undertaken immigration on their own account felt that their wants' were not being supplied by the General Government so satisfactorily as by their rgw^. local,., roanagement. It,waß;also felt that contracts listd 1 been ''entered' into 'at excessive rates, and altogether there was a general feeling of uneasiness,* and a presentiment that disastrous results were likely to accrue from the manner in , which the ,aff<iirs"of the .colony, were ad-, ministered. ■" Ii; was. not' long before these views found expression irfthe : House, a-od eventually they culminated in Mr.: Stafford moving a resolution expressive of a want of confidence in the Government, and the defeat of the Fox-Vogel Ministry. But prior, to this there were measures before Parliament especially the interesrs of this province, 'there was the separation of the.Soutb-westGoldfields in order to annex them to the almost bankrupt County of Westland, and the proposal to cut off the .Amuri district, and hand it ,< over to Canterbury. These, prospects .fwere rendered, more threatening by a kind of "understood "union of 'interests and proceedin?s between the separatipnists in Ihe two districts. Bis own opinion oil this subject was, and always had 1 been, that it was* not desirable to further subdivide the colony, unless upon some general scheme, and no sooner had the Fox Government announced , their intention of bringing in a Bill for the 'separation of the Goldfiel'Js than he tabled a notice to that effect. That motion was brought before the , House .and carried by a majority of eight, and it was not until then that his fears •were abated, but on his resolution being sgreed to be : felt : that for that session' at lea*t the danger was practically at an end.. The next subject to which' he would refer was- the resolution known Tasthe Superintendents' resolution,' which was the u*esult!6f their experience of the manner in which, the Public Works, scheme was being carried out, and it was felt desirable that as the members of the Provincial Governments had better opportunities of knowing .what was goiha; on in their own districts than 1 members of the Colonial GovernJnent, it should be left to the former to arrange for making contractsand generally carry ing out the public works in their districts, Avhile the General Gover,nment"vyere to maintain, the responsibilities "of deciding what works' were to "be ientered upon, and to retain the full control over the funds. ' To this all the Superintendents, on' both aides of the House, agreed, and the resolution met with a large amount of support, but it was thought by some that it went a little too far, and subsequently it was withdrawn.. .It had the effect, however, of breaking the, ground for Mr Stafford's resolution, which was shortly afterwards brought forward; and, as they all knew, carried by a majority of three. He wished to show to what extent the substance of that resolution was borne out in the debate that took place upon it. With regard to immigration there was a universal feeling that it had proved an utter failure. No one spoke in favor of it. Nothing had been done, and while the healthy stream of immigration that had taken place under the Provincial Governments was put a' stop to, nothing had been substituted for it. The 'charge of excessive contracts', especially to Mr Brogden, was he thought fully proved. For instance, one railway in • Otago for which the •■ Government ' engineer's estimate was £63,000 : had. been. let to him for £86,000. It was

stated by the Government thnt the estimate wns too low, but this otheriiiaeargued that this was not^the case r -with :any- '■•of his other estimates, eottietbf wjiiclij .indeed,! exceeded the amount at wh'ielv the con'trscte Vere taken by 10 per cent. Heiwould^iy,e%he\lnst6r^,-i ! 'of one of these contracts, about ! Hvluch there could be no doubt or difference of opinion. A supply was required of a quantity of rolling, stock, ironwork, &c, to For continuatioi of news see fourth paqe.