CITY ELECTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 128, 31 May 1881, Page 2

CITY ELECTION.

MR. LEVfiSTAM'S MEETING. The Provincial Hall was crowded again last night on the occasion of Mr Le vesta m addressing the electors. The Mayor beiog voted to th« chair. Mr Lbvestam laid that at the request of many of his fellow citizens be appeared be fore them as a candidate for the. representation of the City. ' Aa he held the opinion that the mavies were not fairly represented in the House he had readily assented to that request. It would be generally admitted that the class, 'wtiicb, for want of a better designation, he would call the "upper ten," were better represented than any other section" of the community, and this must inevitably, tend to class legislation, but he he'd that all classes should be represented alike, otherwise they were in danger of being ruled by that worst of all forms of Government, an oligarchy. Many candidates had stood on that platform before him claiming to be the friends of the working men, but bod they acted as such ? He would point to the land laws and the incidence of taxation ae a r«ply. He did Hot say that th6y -^deliberately intended to neglect the laboring clasiss, for many of them were 'men of sterling worth who honestly intended to adt up to their prof osiioua, but their interests and traditions iwsre different, and they could not understand the working .men ns • they themselves did. He had no doubt that many of his hearers | fully agreed with him on this point but' 1 whether they would prefer to elect him was i another matter. However, whether elected , or rejected, he should retain a friendly feeling for them all the sane. He had lived .among them many years, and probably would end bis^dajg here.. LHe had .* r .-famify of young children who he tiobedj would be comfortably settled i^i life*aft«r he was gone, jand what higher motive or holier object oould be have to induce him to assist in making such laws as would enable their children to enjoy the resources of the country in the future? And the first thing they should strive for was to obtain for them a liberal education, for without it they mu9t be slaves ; with it they would be in a position to maintain their rights irrespective of the circumstances of birth. In the existing system of education, so far as it was liberal and secular, there was little to complain of, but ifc was extravagant to a degree, and this, he thought, might be chocked to a great extent by sweeping away the Boards and Local Committees, by which means too the teachers would benefit, as they would not be plaeed at the meroy of the Local Committees, which were frequently composed of ignorant men. The teachers, too, would then stand a fair chance of promotion iu proportion to long service, combined of course with the necesB&ry qualifications. As it wai, a teacher had little to expect or for hope out of his own immediate district. It might appear inconsistent on bis part, known, as he was, to be in favor of the old Provincial institutions, to advocate centrttliia,tion, but the inconsistency W as only apparent, for under fnoae iogtUutioDp the oooaitioßS were aifiter?

ent; the revenue for educational purposes was.raised direct from the people, and there was a greater amount of responsibility on the part of the Board. As it was, there was no encouragement for one Board or district to study economy, for they felt that if they did not spend the money some more extravagant Boards would. Take the' Hav en Road schcol as an example of what was dene under the existing regime. Would a Board under the old system have ever thought of selecting such a site, than which there was none more unfit in Nelson? Ib was dug out of a hillj there was a public house close by to corrupt the morals of the children, and a railway and tideway immediately ia front, from which they might expect any number of accidents. He had been frequently asked whether he did not consider the sixth standard too bigh to be taught in tbs State schools, and in. .more-than one instance he had replied by asking the questioner whether he knety what the 9.ixth standard was, and had been told, ffo. But he" had made himself acquainted with it, and was prepared to say that he did not think it was any higher than they-had a right to expect for their children. He had ascertained, too, that very few child: ren remainfed at school long enough to be raißed above the fourth standard, therefore the additional expense wasnot great, especi-. ally as it required no higher qualiflcatiori. thaq might be. reasonably expected from an ordinary teacher who was worthy of the name. But he did object to the public moneys being voted for such institutions aa the Wellington'College, aDd the High Schools at Auckland and CHristchnrch. The nexV subject on which he would touch was the ■mode of dealing with the land. This was an inheritance which should not ibe squandered, for he.fully believed in the axiom, "The land for the people, and the people for the .land." A'sjt wasj rautib of tbe public estate passed Into the hands of. speculators who looked to making Iheir profit by re-selling it to 'ihe people, but they would never be able to; carry out their designs if they were not asssisted by those in power. It was therefore for the peopte to see that such men did not get into power, and then . they would have no more gridironiogand Piako Swamps. What -was done how was this i The Governset aside large blocks, which they offered for a small price 'per acre, but the aggregate was so large that none but those who had considerable means at their disposal could, purchase it. But these purchasers had no idea of tilling or living upon it, but merely looked to selliug again at an enormous profit [A Voice : After it was improved at tbe public expense/] The leasing laws, too, were most pernicious, as, under these, large tracts of land were let at low rentals, to the detriment of the people. In 1877 a Laud; Act was passed, which provided that no larger area should be lettsed in one block than would carry SoOO sheep or 1000 head of great cattle. Now, in Orago there were n! large number of such leases about to fall in very shortly, and there was evi that owing to a clause Inserted in the Act, the Land Board would he abie to over ride those provisions, and large blocks —in one there were 364^000 acres—he re-let for a' term of years. The system of sale on deferred payments, from which great things had been expected, had not worked well, aqd, as a rule, those who availed themselves of it had been losers. There wag plenty of land 1 in the country and there were plenty of people anxious to get on to it, but the obstacles in the way were too great. The fact was we were too considerate about posterity. We made railways and improved ther land with a view to posterity reaping the advantages of our foresight and frugality. He thought, however, that we should care more about the present generation, and it would be better to give the land away if by so doing we could induce people to go upon it and make it productive, for to be prosperous the country must be productive. Now, with reference to taxation. They all admitted that taxation was necessary, but it ought to be so adjusted that every man jshould pay in proportion to what he was able to afford Was that the case now ? Certainly not. The property tax was specially inteuded to favor the rich man. For example : A small farmer had, by years of labor, acquired and put into excellent condition a property of 100 acres, and still had to work hard in order to make two ends

imefc but he was prevented from doing so by (hie extra taxation. He had paid perhaps £1 per acre, but by bis industry he hai increop.ed the value and made it wor'h £1000. A tflnri sbsrh;, or th« otber >i-uid, had pureb&'el aft h»H , a crown an eorf\ ami what were their relstive positions ? Why (ha farmer had to pay-on Ms hundred ncivs jua» the same as th* speculator 6o 8000 acres, Then took at the nalnrfe^ trrr-n such as Ministers of State and 'Jsider^s of the Supreme Court with their £1500 a year They p<uJ .eg tax becauso i eir £1300 vtaa inoome. But the man who by a life of labor and foil had esVfd £150.0, and perhaps put it out to interest at 8 per cent, being entirely dependent on «he. inoonae thus received, whioh would be £120 a year, had to pay the tax on £1500 annually. To BBy that if a man spent (ha whole of hie income he paid a large share of Cusiom duties or if he saved from bis income was taxed on his savings was the merest folly. Wna it a hsrdship it he lived ud to his £1500 a year that he shouU pay on luxuries ? He did Dot feel that, but the man with only £120 a year had to forego many luxuries in order to pay the tax: Then with regard to the savings being taxed, suppose the ealaried official sent his savings to Australia or elsewhere for investmenf, bow were they going to resch him ? When Sir '(Ju'Hu.^V/pgel, iu 1873, proposed to raise ihe ad valorem duties there was a howl agaiiist-i', but not from the work ing 'classes. 'Nelson was the first place that took actioa to support the proposal, other" plac. 8 followed suit, and the rfeult was that those opposed to it had to give way. But lately the thin end of the wedge had been introduced iu the shape of specific duties, the result of which wos th«t the working men on his four 'shilling pair of boots ttnei the rich man ou bis twenty sbiliiog pair, had to pay the same duty, one shilling. That was the tfleet of tbe specific duties introduced by Mr Ballsnce. One objection raised against tbe ad valorem duties was that it encouraged defraud ing the revenue. They all knew the old couplet— He that steals tohat isn't hls'n, When he's cotched must; go to prison. Now, if they were to treat the rich merchant who passed false entries the same bb the common thief and sent him to prison with bard labor, they would soon putVstop to false entries. Of the Beer Tax, he would eoy that when it was fir^tfipropbJiedl he-th'obght it very fair, bat now be had altered bis opinion, and considered it to be a class tax that fta's Very uneven in its operation, for the;man who hrewed beer for sale bad to pay the tax, but the farmer who brewed for his own uae and for his ■ervants escaped it. His next eutjeel was Local Industries. A Commission had been ; appointed to enquire into them, and the result of the report was that ahe Government hed offered bonuses, which would only benefit those who entered into the industries named with a considerable amount oi CBflila).. For iDaiance, -tbey cil^red e hocus for so many thousand pounds of jacD, A gentleman was going to start that, particular industry in Nelson, for which purpose he proposed introducing thelateßt improvements in machinery He might receive the bonus, &nd ibis would; repay him for his outlay. But here was an industrious man in.: Motaeka carrying on the. same business in a emu 11 way, and; he could not possibly reep any benefit from tbe tonue. r- Tbe proper way to, eocourege •■ such industries wae to place a email protective duty on tbe imported 'article; not.such asto enable meii £r companies to make large foitbqee, but just sufficient to enable them: to compete wiih the imported article Had a duty been placed on imported coal years ago, our coal fields would have'been developed long eince. With refpect to Yolutiteeripg, he thought Ibat the Volunteers might at seme future date be useful and necessary, »ot «b much egaicet a* foreign foe as to qiieJl internal disturbances. He thought too that drill and discipline were good for all young noer>,Bnd therefore be would be prepared to support the c&pitation allowßnce and tbe payment of drill instructor*, bnt be would be opposed to eny lavish expenditure. On the eubje'pt "of '-Local v Government, he might esy'-'toat 1 he' corrsitfered' the present eystem both insufficient and inefficient.. He would preler scmethiug in the ebape of Prpvincial .Councils, b,ut without legislative powers, in fact, mere; distributing bodies of funds to be: pro--vided by, the, General Government x>n some equitable basis. He would cb& Bay something with regard to Friendly Scoifrtiee. •. These were established for pbilantbropic purposes, having as their motto, r"To.aid the weak," and therefore they relieved the Government of large responsibilities. The Oddfellows and Foresters in Nelson had after a deal of trouble succeeded in getting regis^ leredjli.But "; they -complaibed bf the' jnterfereficQ 1 o'f: the :;r Government as too^lreai and unneceßsarily yexatioui. Th^-Te^irtVrejj.^be-'Sp'pieUeiEJ.Brid'"then put them to the espe&Sß of obtaining va.luajipns after, they .had accepted them Itreallv j|femeaii though" the Friendly Sjicie'Uep wire .regarded ae being on t-Bi'diß.-Meiipßle' ol.lhe.law, for; whilst a public individual if be robbed another could be pjPoßjcu!ied,:she > y.Se6ret;ary or Tfeftßurer; who .robbed a jjFriep'diy Society'Wat ablehim defy the law. Why should not the one 1 be as amenable to •the law as the other ? ; He would sow explain himself more clearly end dis tinctly with regard to the leaders of the two parties which might be called tne Liberals and Conservatives, the Liberal being that of whioh Sir George Grey was the head. They had introdoce'd Ttnieftsareß fwhich had . Bince become ;hiw, 'and were a great boon W lft^jpe LOßfe/ T; arid Sir George Grey deserved, -their: (hanks for the stand which: he took in the matter for be was the man : who first boldly enunicated them in an adverse House, and persevered with them until the Parliament was*forced to take them up. But as on,administrator he must speuk of Sir G§qrg§sin very different terms, for in hiß.c_ejpacity..6S- Premier he had been guilty of ecta that were both wicked and unconstitutional. His attempt to etr.ucule tbe Caoterbyry teaeing I ■'■■ :/ "j"™....''•■■ !' ■• ■■':'' '-J!J , * .-•-..

, , „ - - i- ~- - ■ -i n -*■ Bill out of the Bills presented to the Govern, r for his signature was disgraceful. "Whatever the merits of that measure, it expressed the wish of the House, and he, as Premier, was there to carry nut that will. Then thero was ibe GrahatEßtown railway business, when be spent a lirge sum without the sanction of the Hous, and was a party to the falsification of the maps, merely to curry favor with his constituents, and for his own self glorification. Then ah apublic meeting at Wellington he s ron»ly protested against free immigration when he had just before telegraphed for six thousand more paupers. [Mr Rowell: Well, they're better than Chinese ] He was obliged to Mr Koweli for reminding him of this matter, and he might here say that be would support any measure to restri t Chinese immigration. Now about the present holders of office. They claimed to be an economical, liberal, and honest Q-overnment. They claimed to be Liberal because they had carried Liberal measures into effect. But of all Liberal measures that which was most deserving ot the name was the Ballot, and that had been opposed by Mr Hall. |_ Mr Rowell: He's an arch gridiron ] The Liberal measures they bad carried were those introduced by Sir Gleorge Grey. They themselves had made no move in that direction when they were at the helm of the State, but only took them up when the people forced them to. He would not rob them of the credit of being gopcTadroinistrators, for they certainly had administered remarkably well. As for economy, they deserved no credit for that. They tried to satisfy the House with savings of £50,000, and it was only because they were obliged to do so that they increased it to £250,000, bufc then they took it in hand and showed that they were able to do it. Now what about their honesty? When they took their seats parlies wera very evenly balanced, and every vote was of value, and they then promised our members the railway, and they carried out the deception even to the point of getting tenders, and retaining the deposit for a time, and then they did what they knew all along they were going to do. It would have been far more honest to have said from the first that they cou'd not carry out the work, and our members would have voted for them all the same. They talked too with holy horror of repudiation, but did they not repudiate their solemn promises to the Provinces to pay subsidies to the extent of pound for pound*? But. the crowning point of their dishonor was the District Railways Bill. The Public Works Statement, was put off to the latest moment possible on account of this ; they then refused the information asked for on the subject, and when they found the feeling of the House was against them, they, two dayg before the prorogation, got the Governor to send down a message asking the House to guarantee 75 per eentj and then insisted upon regarding a refusal as a vote of want of confidence, thus placing members, who at that late period were.desirous of getting away, in a regular fix. For this they were strongly denounced by Mr De Lautour (an extract from whose speech Mr Levestam read.) The only excuse he had ever heard for this was the pressure that was brought to bear, but )f they had spoken out honestly and gone to the country and given them the names of those who used this pressure the public would have said to them, the Parliament shall know you no more. In conclusion he wished to say that although he would be very proud if they returned him he could not but feel regret that a vacancy had occurred through the illness of their late member, who had been twice elected by them 1 . He had scrupulously refrained from alluding in any way to Mr Richmond's address, but had contented himself with freely and candidly telling them his opinions. He hoped they would question him on any subject on which they required information. [A voice : What about the redistribu-r tion of seats ?] He would oppose that on a population basis. He understood that Mr Richmond had engaged the Pall for the night before the election, he was right if he had anything further to say. For his own part he noped that they would now put to him any question that occurred to them. Mr Levestam resumed his seat amid much applause. ; Mr PickaßD : When public houses J^ail to supply the accommodation required by the Licensing Act, would you be in faver of causing them to be rebuilt or closed ? ; Mr. Levestam : I would not be yilling to close public houses in existence. If they were unfit for the purposes for which they were erected, the probability is that the trade would fall Off and the landlords be compelled to close them. ' In reply to another question from Mr Pickard, Mr Levestam said he would have no objection to the town being cfivided into wards, and a majority, of tjwo-thirds deciding whether they would clUowany new licenses to be granted^ : . J Mb Pickard : Would you -be in favor of closing public houses on Sundays ? • JMr Levestam: J profess tp. ; be a Liberal, and I think it would Man i liberal measure to close them ■ altogether/ They are only allowed .to be cperi" for a very short time, and it would tea great inconvenience if people were prevented from getting their* dinner- 6t ] siupper beer. I don't see why you : or.

I should" be so arbitrary as to say, Be, cause we don't want beer, you) shall not Lave any. (Cheers.) I don't think there can be any great amount of debauchery going on during the short time they are open on Sundays. Mr Picicard : I consider Clubs are a great injustice to the publican. Would you be in favor of licensing them and. placing- them under the supervision o f: the police ? " ' Mr LevestAM : Yes. It 5s said that Clubs are only private liouses where individuals congregate for social : enjoyment. It may be so ; but I see ; no reason why the State should not ;i treat them as Companies, and aak'j: them pay licenses the same as public houses. They ought to do so, and "be; under the supervision of the police. 1 1 Chare is as much gambling in Clubs as; in public houses. j Mr Fred Atkinsost •- Do you approve of pensions ? . Mr Levestam : The system of granting pensions was abolished twelve years ago. Of course where ofucjals had entered the service upon the understanding that they were to receive a pension, it would be most unfair and illiberal to deprive them of it. Mr Fred Atkinson : ""Would you : oppose the Agent General's , establish^ i ment with all its elaborate sliaff, whiclh ; swallows up the funds that would rgo > far to developing vast resources where ; there are now nothing but mountains ? If you will go against that, .I'll i guarantee you'll get in. (Loud laughi ter.) Would you be willing to do away with the Armed Constabulary ? Mr Levestam : I think to a grea J £ ; extent we might do without them, and if the confiscated land had been given to the people to settle on, it would have tended to peace much sooner. Mr F. Atkinson : I hope you'll fight tooth and snail for our share of the plunder. If you do you'll he a real pleasure and will be handed down to posterity. (Cheers and laughter.) Mr Wilkinson ; Grand jurors are paid at criminal sittings. Would you ; be in favor of coroner's jurors also being •paid? > Mr Levestam : I would abolish: , coroner's juries altogether. • They jare one of the most" antiquated Tarcos known to us, and moreover serve ; no gosd; purpose whatever. .A jury sojttSetim'es. ! finds a verdict of died frona „natuo:ai ! causes,, but the pqlicQ are. ,not satisfied I and' go in for a iofmuMerl ! Mr A. Robertson iMr <Pi£t JhftU i mated that he;would beJnt (aviop io.fi rtcy* |ing r to get the railway. , extended by giving land as an ecfuivajieritL' ' Wtfulcjj 1 you work wjth, him ? " ' '. " '' " ' ,'' '■" ' , 1 Mr • Levestam : Cerifcainly.,, for I j should be only doing.W^t'l. J^dicatetj 'in my address, iiam%,. getting 'thd la'nd ; settled. > ' . Mr Robertson : Are you in favor of a uniform license- throughout; the colony ? , Mr Levestam : Yes. : Mr Robertson : What is your : opinion of the Fire Brigades Bill ? Mr Levestam : I am in favor of it. It gives Municipal Councils the power to levy a special rate, and as the ratepayers elect their Councillors they could decide whether they would have it or not. . Mr Robertson ; Don't you think the immigration system was started by the landocracy for the.purpose off keep* ing down wages, and. Jhat it is unfair to take the working man's money to pay:, for people coming out to compete 1 with him in the labor' market ? ■. ■ '■ I )&r Leve st am r : I ; dqn' fr think , that iwas Sir Julius YogeTs intention, for. his idea was to settle them in Ihe-doun-jtry, but, as it turned out* itr resulted in; jtheir being turned loose in-^he- centres |of population to compete with the.labor4 jing^man. . There is. one. thing, ?more j| wani't© say. 1 I have^prettyWoimdly abused the leaders on both sides of. th_e_ (House.' If elected I "should support igood measures and opposa^had. ones^ from'Whicheyer^idest^eyfimii^^f 01^^-; tyt -il.ApUoyi[ pfopasejl g V«te f p|S thanks to MfXevestauTibr Tiis" address^ He did so the .more, readjte- because r jthere had been no^attemptlatilarousing•class feeling, so far, in the election, and jhe hoped that it would continue to be* kept out of it." Any statesman, who at-^ tempted toi set clasi against <cUas. must-, be at'bad [citizen; . i i All claßsesi were rebresentedvfrom -jths. Nelson- djsfxjctf ej:-f fcept_,ihe ' mas^e^.' , The " squatting ih- v jterests w6re represented by the member jfor the r Suburbs: |I]the?cocflkat4diiy i^el member, for. CoUi»g,Wooa j us\s fawners by the member; fprHotoeka ; the press \)y the -member? % Waimea^ran^^er professions^ by" Mr If ijfct, and a.bWv'they' had a candidate p|fet|ng' to represent the masses in^■theyersjoli^^ bf 'MFLevestajp^ _ Mr W. - HABtET-^secondedime-inbtidD- 1 which ; was' carried) . wlthlgreat applause. A vote of. thanks iio'Jthe chairman brought the meeting t$ a jplf f ?►; -■ / : • a I The^fbllowmg^ruleUßbuld- prove useful to : tholseV^rJipy have'/aA fapjoyf^rj measur.emenL-TrTTJbie. , ., animal, ; { should fctand' square. Take ibis , cirpu.aiference just behind the shoulder-blade— this is the girth. Then measure from the bone of the tail, which plumbs the, Kne with the hjn'ier>>jpi^^ and direct the string along^thejback_ to^ j;he i fore part of the snoul3eS.blade"f |;hiswillbe the length. .. Theu^.pqrk^ the figures thus :-^^ipjpli^e'!!'ih£| (^kth^ pf bullock 6 feet 4 inches, length? o feet 8 incW^c^ make" 33 square superficial feet j and

these multiplied by 23— the number oflbs. allowed for each superficijil foot of cattle < measuring less than 7 and more than 5 feet in girth— makes 759, lbs. When the animal measures less: than 9 and more than 7 feet in the girth, 31 is the number of lbs, to be estimated for each superficial foot. And'; suppose asmall animal to measure 2 feet m girth and 2 feet in length, these added together make 4 feet, whicly nvultiplied by 1 I—the number of lbs. allowed for each square foot when 'cattle measures less than three feet in, , § irta — Make 44 lbs. Again, suppose a calf or Bheep, &c, to measure. 4 feet 6 inches in girth, and 3 feet 9 inches in length, these multiplied together make I<s square feet,' ancl these multiplied by 16,. make the number of ; lbs. allowed for cattle measuring less '■ than 5 and more than 3 feet in girth, make 256 l lbs. The dimensions of cattle, sheep, calves, and hogs, taken this way, will give the weight of the four quarters of the animal, sinking 1 the offal. A deduction must be made ; for animals half fat, of one pound in I twenty from those that are, fat ; and ; for a cow that has had calves one lb. j must be allowed, in addition to the one j for not being fat, upon every twenty. ; ! Mr Carlyle's severest critic, and a critic of j his own schooj, says the "St. James' j Gazette,'' was the old parish, roadman at j Eoclefechan. . f 1 Bepn a long-time; 'n:tfce j neighborhood ?" asked an American traveller, j on the, outlook foi|.a sight of ; the sag?. , ' c .Been here a' fme days,, sir." "Tien y'gufll i kuovr the Carlyles ?'' ," Weel. (that ! A ken ' t&e whole 6' them. There wa°, let me aie," he said j leaniug on his shovel, and pondering, " there was Jock, he was a kind<o'. throughithel 1 sort o* chap, a' doctor, liut- not- a bad fellow Jock — he's taon." " And there was Thomas," said 4>he enquirer eagerly. " Oh, ay,, of course, here's. «- Tam, a useless, munestr'uck chap, that writes books and talks havers. ■ Tana stays maistly up in London. There's naethiog in Tam ;• but, mon, there's Jamie, owrfe in the Newlanda — there's a chap for ye ; he's the mon 0' that family, Jamie takes mail' jswine into Ecclefeehan maikefc than ony ither fairmer in the parish."