CITY ELECTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 230, 26 August 1879, Page 2

CITY ELECTION.

MR. ACTON ADAMS' MEETING.

One of the largest meetings ever held in Nelson was addressed by Mr Adams last night in the Provincial Hall, which was crowded to overflowing, a large number of ladies being included in the audience. The chair was taken by His Worship the Mayor, who after a few introductory remarks called upon Mr Adams, who said— Sir George Grey has returned me to you, gentlemen, like a bad penuy to be re-stamped, and it is for you to decide whether I have the true ring in me. It is not long since you elected me as your representative, aDd I have now to ask you whether my conduct in the short interval that has elapsed since then has been such as to justify a renewal of your confidence in me, and it is ray duty to relate the principal events of the session and refer to the part I took in them in order that you may be able to form an opinion as to whether I have or have not exerted myaelf to raise Nelson from the oblivion in which she has so long rested, and to command for her that attention and respect to which I consider she is entitled. In explaining to you why I voted against the Government I must tell you that I did not act hurriedly or without due consideration. Both parties made early overtures to me, the Government, indeed, before I left Nelson After arriving in Wellington I refrained from attending two caucuses of the Opposition, and did not join them until I had read the papers laid on the table of the House, and had by conversation with the membeis from all part3 of the colony become convinced that the maladministration of the Government was so glaring as to render it necessary that they should be turned out. I also took the precaution to ascertain from the leaders of the Opposition that tbey would, in the event of their getting into power, proceed with onr railway. [Mr Adams having referred to a few matters of minor importance, including the enquiry into the Jackson's Bay and Karamea special settlements, which he said were proofs of the hopelessness of attempting to promote settlement without affording means of communication, proceeded to speak on the loan bill. Tbe Government proposed to raise a loan of five millions. Parliament was opened on Tuesday the 15th July, and the next day Sir George proposed to take the address in reply that evening instead of the following-Friday, for which it had been set down, in order tbat the loan might be passed and instructions forwarded to England by tbe mail on Satur day. No reason was given for tbis desperate hurry, we had heard no financial statement, and even the quarterly returns were not before us, and while we were kept in ignorance of the financial condition of the colony we were invited to rush into the London money market with this big loan. We

refused, and this was the first check the Ministry received. If the Bothschilds or any of the great money lenders had witnessed that scene, Sir George asking us without the slightest consideration to impose an additional annual burden of a quarter of a million on the colony, I don't thiuk we should ever have got the money. MINISTERIAL MALADMINISTRATION'. Under this heading Mr Adams referred at some length to the Tapanui and Thames railway jobs, the particulars bf which are Weil known to oiir readers, and with reference to the latter he quoted largely from the report of the Select Committee, and the evidence upon which it was based, a large portion of which has Already appeared in our columns. THE NELSON RAILWAY. In reference to thi3 Mr Adams said : Last year £60,000 was placed on the estimates for this work, and Mr Macandrew assured the Nelson members that it was to be no bogus vote. That was what he said in 1878, but in his statement made in the last session he said that this railway was no part of the original proposal, and that it had been placed on the schedule without sufficient knowledge or reliable data, though how he could make such an assertion as this with Mr Rochfort's report giving detailed and accurate information I fail to see. Up to the present time not a sod has been turned and even the survey is hot completed, and this, together with his statement in the House, shows that what he said in 1878 about its not beiug a bogus vote was entirely untrue. Then we have Mr Blair's report, which I say without hesitation was framed with a view to extinguishing this railway. That report is a very wonderful composition, and having devoted some time and attention to tbe study of it, I say that I can see in it the outcome of two minds, the one professional, the other political. The latter displays itself in several parts, but more especially in the concluding portion, in which Mr Blair makes recommendations upon a matter on which he was not asked to report at all. Mr Blair in one part says that portions of the West Coast are lying dormant for want of communication. Why, that is what I have been arguing for years. (Cheers.) Then he says that if the good lands on the route were still in the hands of the Crown he would bave recommended the line, as the land would pay for its construction as it was proceeded with. As a matter of fact, the lands are in the hands of the Crown, and there is scarcely any freehold from Motueka Valley to Greymouth, so that on his own recommendation I contend that we have fair grounds for asking for the railway. Then we come to the concluding recommendation, which is to the effect that the railway should be abandoned in favor of harbor works at Greymouth, to cost £600,000. What business, in a report on railway communication, had Mr Blair to talk about a harbor at Greymouth, and even if be was justified in doing so what knowledge had be of the proposed harbor works ? He could know nothing of them, for he was only there a couple of days and then he made no inquiries into tbe matter, for the very excelleut reason that he knew he had nothing at all todo with it. I say that that recommendation was made at the instigation of Mr Macandrew who, knowing that if we got our railway Otago would have to go short, influenced Mr Blair in making his report. It was simply to put us off. There is not the slightest intention of spending £600,000 upon so speculative a work as harbor improvements at Greymouth, which, even if carried out, could never prove so advantageous as a railway intersecting the country. Mr Howell : Some one must have shouted for Blair down at Greymouth. Mr Adams : At all events it is pretty clear tbat I did not. I have now alluded tc some acts of mal-administration, which are quite sufficient to justify a want of confidence in a Government of which Mr Macandrew is a member. After referring to the administration of native affairs and tbe mess tbe Government had made of them, the result of which was very nearly to plunge the country into war, Mr Adams went on to speak of THE PREMIER'S INSINCERITY. This was shown in the absence of any efforts to carry out his declared policy. He got iuto power in 1577 and he might have carried almost auy measure be pleased last year had he been honest aud true iu his conviction that they were required. He had clearly shown that he was not to be trusted. In 1877 the Land Bill was passed by both Houses and it only remained for Sir George to present it to the Governor for his assent. But what did he do ? He shufiled it out of sight like a card from a pack, and it was not until the Governor insisted upon it that it was produced. It was his clear duty to present the Bill, but he prefered to set up his owu individual will against the will of both Houses of Parliament. He raises a great cry about land for the people, and to the extent of not allowing a monopoly of large tracts of land wbich can be occupied by small farmers, I iigree with him, but what we complain of is not the want of land or of the method of acquiring it, but of the want of means to get on to it and in this respect what does Sir George Grey do ? He is actually endeavoring to frighten away the capital to which we look to afford means for the settlement of the country. (Cheers.) This very boon to the working mea be is striving to keep out of the country. Give them facilities for earning money on railway works with which they can purchase the lands opened up by those railways, aud the settlement of the country will soon progress. (Loud cheers.) If Sir George was so thoroughly impressed with tbe objectionable character of the Bill which he endeavored to smuggle away, that he felt himself justified in resorting to such unconstitutional means to prevent it becoming law why did he not last year introduce such a Bill as he thought was required? He had a decided majority of from twelve to fifteen in the House, and he used to boast that there was no organised Opposition. What was to prevent his passing such a Bill aB he approved of under such circumstances? Then there was the Electoral Bill, which was passed by both Houses in the form in which it was originally introduced, but after being brought forward a clause was added giving the Maoris what was known as the dual vote. This passed the Lower House by a majority of one, but was rejected by the Upper House. The Lower House would willingly have accepted it as amended, it would have been passed, and those "65,000 down trodden serfs" of whom we bave beard so much would to-day have possessed tbe franchise. But Sir George preferred to withdraw the Bill, and decided that because his Maori pets were not to be allowed a double voting power, the sturdy Saxon laborers were to remain disfranchised. Let me give you a little sum in common proportion. Sir George said that he valued the life of the poorest working man's child equally wilh that of a sick Marchioness. Mr Rowell: And quite right too. Mr Adams: Stop a bit, I have not done yet. What proportion does his love for his Maori pets bear to his care for the children of the white men, to whom he thus refused to give the voting power for which he now clamors so loudly? (Loud cheers, and cries of " Had you there Rowell.") lam thoroughly in favor of that Bill and of the rating and residential clauses, for 1 believe that every man who has been here long enough to know something of the country and I its politics ought to have a vote. lam not afraid of roy fellow men, who by the education we place at their disposal are enabled to un-

derstand our laws. lam strongly averse to any class feeling, and am sorry to see the attempt made to raise it in the colony. I believe in that old Latin maxim " Laborare est orare " (to labor is to pray) and consider the sentiment it expresses a most euuobling one. I will give one more instance of the insincerity of the Grey Government, for I cannot but remember that I am explaining my action last session, ahd if you think I was right I shall ask you to return me again, if grong, you will reject me. f refer tb tlio Bill for establishing triennial Parliaments : this was introduced by Dr. AVallis, in IS7B, but the Government did not take it up. They did not introduce any such Bill themselves, ahd When brought "forward by a private member they did not give it that support which would have ensured its passing. If Sir George had but held up bis finger that Bill would uow have been law, but he did not. I think I have now shown very good reasons for the charge of iusiucerity which I make against Sir George and bis Government. incidence of taxation. I cannot say that I think the Government showed any great capacity in their measures for shifting the burden of taxation. Of ihese there were four material ones, the Beer Tax, the Companies Tax, the Land Tax, and the alteration in the tariff. The two first were so badly designed that they had to be dropped. The Land Tax Bill was not in itself so bad, but.'the administration of it has been wretched, and small holders have been put to endless worry and trouble in making returns for properties that Were not to be taxed. The Government appear to have utterly failed to see that one of the principles in imposing taxes is not to annoy people more than necessary while taking their money. Then with regard to the tariff Mr RowELr. : I say let us have free trade, or else you just give one party power to rob another. Mr Adams : There is one thing Ido like about Mr Rowell. He sticks to his convictions most manfully, and while admiring this feature in him, I must also claim it for myself, and therefore I say it was a mistake to remove the duties on timber and grain. Hops, too, I think ought not to be imported at a lower duty than tbat charged iu Australia. There the duty is sixpence, here only threepence, the consequence being that from Tasmania ahd from California where there are cultivated by hordes of Chinese they are poured in upon us to the great detriment of the grower as well as of those who are employed iu their cultivation (hear, hear). We are in quite a different position here to wbat they are in England, and we must nurse our industries until they are in a position to stand by themselves. We can grow hops here, and we have plenty of both coal and timber, and we must check the importation of these articles from elsewhere uuless we are prepared to send to foreigu places the money that might be more profitably spent in extracting them from our own soil. I now come to the question of the honorarium. (Cheers and groans). I want vour attention to this subject which I ani not at all inclined to shirk now any more than when I was in the House where I did not refuse to vote, nor did I, like some of the other members, wait until I saw how the division was going, and then go into the lobbv an i vote against it. (Mr Rowell : Ah, there's lots of sneaks in the House, no doubt). If you have not prejudged the case, I ask you to listen to me for a few minutes. I was sitting with a lot of Otago and Canterbury country members when the question, of which we had no previous notice, was brought on. Wc were asked to vote a sum of £_ ...,000, and sonic member then asked if that included the honorarium. I then asked those round mr- what they were going to do, and they said they should vote for the whole sum which had been fixed by a Joint Committee of both Houses, Mr Vincent Pyke adding that if he did not get the £210 he could not afford to go to Wellington, as he devoted his attention to politics and could not got permanent employment if he was to leave for the session every year, and that if ho were not paid his constituents would have to look elsewhere for a representative instead of the ono they wanted, namely himself. 1 asked what the allowance was for a second session under those circumstances, and was told £\ pelsitting day. You may blame me if you like, but remember that 1 was only a new member, that I was asked to support a resolution arrived at after full consideration had been given to the matter by a Committee of both Houses, and that I was following into the lobby the leading men on both sides. I say that I had very good reasons for acting as 1 did, and that compared with questions of general policy this is a very small matter indeed. Ifl had voted in the wrong direction on such questions as the Electoral Bill and Triennial Parliaments, you would have had a perfect right to turn "me out, but do you value my vote on those subjects equally with that on this wretched honorarium.' Thecry is not raised in other parts of the colony, and I want to know why I, I Acton Adams', should be picked out for special blame. Nowhere else are they so foolish as to make such a fuss about such a matter, but their care is to get able men to fight their battles well and successfully. If you want to make Nelson supremely ridiculous you should turn Mr Curtis and myself out on this ground, and let the people in other parts know why you have done it. If you do, they will simply say, those Nelson people appear to think a great deal more about the honorarium "than they do about their railway. I feel acutely the remarks that have been addressed to me by some people on this subject. I can only say that my expenditure in connection with polities is much greater than the amount of honorarium I received. It seems small to talk in this way, but wheu people make small charges.! must reply accordingly. I pub-

lished a pamphlet advocating- the railway which cost me monev, and I spent rh.ee weeks in riding over tbe ground and making tnyself acquainted with it, and in interesting ihe Reefton people in lbe matter, and addressing meetings there, which prodnced good results. And T say further thnt it does not do for your members to go to Wellington and live in a garret, Thev should take un such a position ns to make people believe that they represent somebody, instead of nobodv worth considering. Tn the heathen rnvthologv we rend of (he Court of Rhadamnnthns beld m Hades, where the custom was first to condemn tbe accused, tben to take evidence, and then to compel him to confess. Tt seems fn me that T have been condemned and am now on my trial, so that T nm driven fo make n little confession. At one time I thought it better not to say anything on tbe matter. b-iit I bnd quite made up mv mind to be liberal with my honorarium. I have already given two or three subscriptions, and have told the ministers of religion and others that lam prepared fo give when required. lam prepared tn devote the money in that direction, but lam not preparcdto allow anv individual or bodv to come to me and sav, you must pav £100 to this that or the other, or we won't elect you. T don't want fo flaunt my generosity in the papers, and to give, not for the sake of charity but merely with the view of getting into Parliament. No man gives more towards public subscriptions than I do, and I am always ready to assist in a ease that is deserving of help. T hope that T have now said enough to satisfy jou all od this subject. (Cheers.) THE RAILWAY ROUTE. Another accusation brought against me i 5 that I want tb.e railway taken via tbe Top House because T bave property at Tarndale. In reply io tbis it will be enough to say that all T have invested in the Tarndale run is £20ft0, for which sum with interest I bave been wanting to sell out for some time, which I certainly should not do if I thought tbe property wa« going to be benefitted by a railway, and further that T have never advocated any other route than by the Motupiko junction, and that I shall never change that advocacy. (Cheers.) conclusion. Tn conclusion I must refer to what was said by Mr Curtis to the effect that lawyers did not make good politicians. In defence of myself and Mr Pitt I would simply remark that all law reformers have been lawyers, and none others have dared to tackle such a task. As to tbeir not making good politicians 1 wculd, in refutation of this, mention the names of Lord Brougham, of Mr Roebuck, of Mr Robert Lowe, who was a barrister practising 'his profession in Australia, and who afterwards rose to a position of eminence in the British Parliament, and of M. Thiers, who with such remarkable ability conducted the affairs of France. lam surprised that Mr Curtis, himself an eminent politician, should have made these remarks, rather too hastily as I think, and if you return bim I trust you -w ill give him as a colleagne a lawyer who, though he has not had 15 years experience in politics, is quite capable of taking his part in the Committee business of the House and in the great Parliamentary debates, and is willing to fight for the rights of Nelson with an amount of zeal and force equal, I hope, even to that displayed by so old a politician as Mr Curtis. Mr Adams havingannounced his willingness to reply to any questions that might be put sat down amidst loud and long continued cheering. Mr McGayin: Are you in favor of the Local Option Bill? Mr Adams: I don't think this Bill is generally understood. The one before Parliament does not propose to interfere witb existing public houses, hut merely stipulates that a

vote shall be taken before a new house can be licensed. Under these circumstances I shall vote yes. Mr McGavix: Would you be prepared to ask the Government for a sum of money as a bonus for the first hundred cases of jams manufactured in the colony? Mr Adams: The principle of giving bonuses for the encouragement of local industries has been recognized by various Governments, and they have been offered for paper, for steel, and even for whiskey, so I don't see why fliey should nor be extended to jams. Mr Mc Gavin : Are you in favor of compensating publicans ? Mr Adams: That is not in the Bill. lam quite of opinion that houses of good repute in which a large amount of capital is invested should not be done away with without compensation to tbe owners. And here I may add that I should like to see a new Licensing Bill brought in for fixing the licenses on a fairer scale, and making useful reforms, such as placing a check on the adulteration of liquor, which has been productive of more misery and madness than the amount drunk (hear, hear), In reply to Mr J. A. Harley, Mr Adams said he was in favor of a uniform Licensing Act for the colony. Mr Harley: How many Acts are there in force in the colony ? Mr Adams : I don't know exactly, but I should think twenty or thirty. Mr Hari.kt .- Will you endeavor to get tbe fees reduced here so as to make them the same as in Otago ? Mr Adams : Most certainly I will, for I can see no reason why such a difference should exist. Mr J. Harley : Tn Mr Stout's Act one clause provides for licenses being uniform. The absurdity of this is seen by all who know anything of the working of publichouses. In country districts the fees should be smaller ; then there is the accommodation house license ; and thirdly, the houses in the towns for the convenience of settlers. Would you endeavor to get them classified as I have stated ? Mr Adams : So far as I can ; but T warn Mr Harley that it is a difficult matter for a private member to procure such large amendments. Mr Harley : Are you in favor of local commissioners ? Mr Adams : I think the districts are not sufficiently large. In Motueka, for instance, the public-houses are entirely under the control of three or four local Justices. I should like to see the whole of the shores of Blind Bay made one district, with one Board of Commissioners who should visit, the various localities for licensing purposes. Mr Harley : Have vou heard of any unfairness in this respect ? Mr Adams : I have been told that there have been improprieties. I should like to see the control taken from local people, so that there should be no suspicion of wrong. Mr Harley: Are you in favor of licensing Clubs, and placing them under public supervision, the same as public-houses ? Mr Adams : I should have no objection to licensing Clubs, for I think they can afford to pay a license; but I think it would be difficult to make them pay under the existing laws, as it is a system of partnership. Mr Harley : Suppose Sir George Grey and others came here, and were invited to the Club, could they be supplied with liquor? Mr Adams : They could not purchase it unless they were members. Mr Harlet .- I thank you for your replies, which are perfectly satisfactory. Mr Wimsett : Will you vote against free immigration ? Mr Adams : Yes ; hut I approve of assisting nominated immigrants. Mr Rowell : Do you think Sir George Grey was right in refusing the Hinemoa to the Marquis of Normanby ?