MEETING AT BRIGHTWATER.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 248, 18 October 1881, Page 3

MEETING AT BRIGHTWATER.

of the country, ahd to send to the fiouae men of sound cGoimoa sense and practical knowledge Of highly educated men we had had enough; pome of them were too clever by half, and used their opportunities for their own Eelflih ends, for lining their own pockets, aud feathering their owu nests at the cost of the colonists, aud their children. Mr Lightbind .ben {referred to the sy&lf-m cf working I the railways, saying that too big ideas altogether prevailed, and suggesting that the -kelson line should he wcrked as au ordinary tramway, by which means it might be made to yield a good dividend. He concluded by oiovicg the following resolnticn, wbich waa seconded by Mr M'Coombes:— "That this meeting, considering tho mat_y defects tbat characterise the Goverrment of New Zealand, and viewing with great alarm the increase of taxation from year to year, arising from wasteful expenditure of the public revenues of the colony, and the enormous drain created by the hrge Bums that have been borrowed, amounting to nearly thirty millions of money, hereby resolves to form an Association, to be called the Political Re form Association, for the purpose of bringing about reform in refurencs to these subjects and many others that call for the attention and grave considtration of the people."

A Meeting in connection with the movement in the direction of forming apili'ical reform association was held iv the Brightwater schoolroom on Saturday night, when aboat forty were present. Th? cbair was taken by Mr Coleman. Mr Grove read a letter from Mr J. G. Harkntss expressing rf gret at being unable to be present, sympathy with the object of the meeting, and a hope that others cf a similar kind wouid be cabled iv ihe district. Mr LiGUTfIAND, being called upon to move the first recr. ut'on, referred, in terms similar to t*iose used in a former speech wnich we reported some days ago, to the object of tbe meeting, and weM on to say that he feared the people of New Zeilani did not turn to the beat accr.nnt the large privileges they possessed. U^iiy wes strength, nnd if they wished to bring pressure to bear upon the Government tbey must act in unison. large powers were vested in every elector but tb-.y Were not used to thß greatest advantage either to tbe benefit of tbe individual or of the commurity. There was far too much apathy with regard to public matters as was shown by tbe thin attendance that evening. Thi*?, he thought, was traceable to various causes, one of them being the gross ignorance tbat prevailed only too extensively on political subjects. Aa one instance of this he might quote the case of a young man, some 26 years of age, who, on being asked why he did not register, replied that that he didn't see what zood it was, as there was nothinp to be got for bis vote. Evidently he regarded It as useless uoiess he could turn it into money. On another occasion the subject of taxation was bring dis.u : sed by two men, one of whom said he did not see the good of bothering about taxes as the storekeepers paid them all. One important question they should ask themselves wa?, what was the Government of the country ? They should remember that if- rested with the ncr pie to form th 9 Government. They sect their representatives to Parliament, and they should take care to support them, to suggest to them wha . tbey required, and to keep them well sunplied with information on all matters that affected their interests. It was not enough to complain of taxation. They should endeavor to remedy tbe evil, and remember that the old adage " God helps those who help themselves *' was as applicable to com- j mnnities as to individuals. He often asked himself why religions bodies should stand aloof from taking part in politics. There j was on*** notable exception amorg tbem — Bishop Suter— who, though he did not mix himself up with the electors, took an active interest in public matters and all that pertained to the general good, and therein set a good example to others. Bot there were many of the leading men of the religious bodies who seemed to think themselves superior to their fellow men, and far too good to mix with the affairs of this world. If this were so, the Footer they took to themselves wing 3 and flitted away to another aphere the better. There were many reasons why political reform should be brought about, for abuses of various kinds were gradually creeping in. Especially should they be on their guard against political adventurers, men who speculated on the benefits to be derived from borrowing, refcßrdles3 cf the consequences, and who having made what they could cleared out and left the p°rmanent residents to pay the debts. (A Voice: Yogel for instance.) A great waste of public expenditure was to be seen on all sides, especially in the matter of railways, which were undertaken without due consideration of the results, or were left inc-mplete and consequently entailing a loss. He need only point to the miserable failure of our line in consequence of it* not being carried out as originally intended into tbe raining districts. If the colonists did not speedily bestir themselves in the direction of political reform, those wbo followed us would heap censure upon us for our neglect, and in times to come would wonder at the apathy we had displayed. To bring about a change, organisation was wanted, not of necessity antagonistic to the Government, but d'termined to brini? about a more economical admlci.tration. We had too much law-making and too many representatives. If other districts had been deprived of representatives to tbe same extent as Nelson it would have been better for tho colony. (A Voice: Right you are.) The Representation Bill was decidedly a Liberal measure if it bad been properly and honestly carried out, whereas it simply became a struggle for power en tbe pair, of the South. They already had t*"*o much, bu' they wanted more. (A Voice: Yes, and they got it too.) Compare our little railway here with what they had in Otago, aod see how we had been robbed, while we were still called npon to pay our share of the debt. There were many abases to be dealt witb, inclnding the land monopoly and other wasteful expenditure, and if these were not checked we should sink lower and lower un'il we reached a ■tate of serfdom, onr liberties would be destroyed a'together, and we fchonld become an oppressed people. One of tbe objects of the association should he to study the interests

Mr William Wbite Baid he was prevented attending the former meeting and would like to know from the promoters of this trovennec't what constituted the position of tbe Association. He said he hoped they had a bill of fare to lay before the meeting tbat would cause every ono preseut to join the Association. The Chairmen explained that tbeir object wes to promote reform in the management of the country by getting tbe matter t&kea up throughout New Zealand. Mr Lightband said their object was a national one, and he most distinctly disclaimed all idea of party politics or electioneering matters beiog introduced into their deliberation. Mr Grove said ha understood the aim ol tho Association to be to do that for the prople that separately end individually they could not do fcr tbemselve?. He asked wbit would be thought of the Brightwater people taking it into their beads tbat the boot end sloe makers were charging too much for their goods, and then goiog round to the boot an. shoe makers for contributions to a fund to bring other boot aud shoe makers who would word cheaper an_ to reduce their prices. 'I be thing teemed too absurd to mention and yet ihia was what the Government did io Hiking the labouring classes of New Z .aland contribute towards tbe intereat ou the loans borrowe! for immigration purposes. The only diff-rrnee in tbs two cases w.s that the Government did not ask people to subscribe, but through their representatives mfide ihem do it. An Association of the industrial classes could resist this. It eoull also demand just taxation in tbe eh pc ot au income tux and a tnx on wcol. Mr Whiie ol jected fo Mr Grove', remarks rs being o l jictionablfi on the ground of set.i.fj ci.-__ againet class. Mr Grove rose to reply, but was ruled out of order by the chairman. Mr Painton said he bad a few remarks to make. He said that he wbs chairmen of the preliminary meeting held st Wakefield, and he most distinctly stated that unless they couid be assisted by kindred movements in other parts their efforts would be futile. If, as one of tbeir members had termed ir, the property tax was odious to the propertied cleEser, how much more odious must tbe customs' duties be to the working man. He thought the particalars be was about to bring before their notice would show very distinctly how heavily Iheir dutiee bore on tbe industries of the coiony. He had taken for example the weekly wants of a working man witb a wife and family of siz children, and calculated tbe duty on them, wbich was ac follows : —Tea 3J, sugar 3d, matches •|_, salad and castor oil candles l£d, soap soda starch &c. Id, vinegar |d, rice Id, currants 21, plums acd peel 1, pepper spices &c. -£d, boots 6 1, drapery Is 7d, nails and hardware id ; total 3j 4d. Tobacco, i-lb, 10_ ; total 4s 2-_ '. These figures showed that such an one pays 3s 4? per week in the shape of Saxation. supposing he did not Bmoke or taste beer or spirits, and 4? 2Jd per week if he smoked, Now a laboring man all tbe year round did Det average more than five d&ya work s week, an . at 63 a day this amounted to only 30s per week, and he thought that 3j to 4< a week out of this for governing the eouDtry was a very o'ious thing indeed. Instead of tsking £60.000 off tbe properly tsx, tbe Government ought to have taken it cfi tbe customs* duties. As an association they would have to agitate for an iccome tax and a lax od wool, snd as to the bnd laws tbey must have free selection, the same as the people of Austrnlia had wrenched from the Government of that colo&y, and then tbey could start their youngsters with two or tbree he.d ct cattle to mske homes for themeelves. Mr Jeffries, in an elcquent appeal to the meeting duriDg wbich he waa repeatedly and loudly applauded, said the borrowing ol such large sums of money by New Zealand had demoralised all of us from the highest to the lowest, and he could ccc plainly enough that the political adventurers, who were mining us ss a people, were pottiDg and Bchemicg to go in for still more borrowing. Hethoughtitwasßcandalous that the public at large should be bur dened with the cost of making railways to benefit private individuals. If they wanted such railways let them make them at tbeir own cost. He thought it would be the duty cf the .Association to bring pressure on tbe Government, and on their members to reduce the Dumber of Representatives and the cost of government. We had too much representation altogether, too much talent and ability, and too little honesty and integrity. In fact we were afflicted with talent, we had too many clever politicians amongst us who made politics a most thriving and profitable business for themselves under the name of representing the people He hoped the association would be established on a firm footing, and tbat tbe people would see it to be their interest to support it with their time and their money also, for such things could not be carried on without funds for printing and advertising. Proposed by Mr Lightband, seconded by Mr Painton, and resolved : —That to further the object of this meeting a committee be appointed with power to add to their number. The following gentlemen were then selected to act as the Committee — Messrs W. White, Jeffries, Lightband, Hunter, Andrews, Coleman, and Grove. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings. The Committee determined to meet at Martin's hotel, Spring Grove, on Friday next.