MR. SHEPHARD AT WAKEFIELD.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue XVI, 4 November 1881, Page 2

MR. SHEPHARD AT WAKEFIELD.

Mr Shephard addrassed a well attended meeting at the Choral Hall laat night, when the Jchair was taken by Mr Honeywill who

said that the convener of tfae meeting required no introduction in a district where he was bo well known. There wero two things upon which the electors of the district had to congratulate thftnßelves, first, on having so able a man in their midst, and secondly on seeing him back safe and Bound after tb° events of hot aeasioa. Therfe waa & g rea"t cry just now about Volnntesrs goin^ to the front but he thought Mr Sbephard and the other Nelson members bad go U3 thoroughly to the front snd carried on an unequal contest ynth great credit to themselves. Mh SitEfHAftD, who was Jteceivod with caeera, after a few introductory remarks proceeded to touch upon some of the mea^ureß passed in the late session, alludini? first to tne ßegulation of Electicaa Act, the most im portant feature.in which was miking the poliirg day in p, general eteotioa the easne throughout tLe Colony, a change which was advocated by those who wore dosirous of checking persons possessing property in several districts sprscding themsehe3 over the colony, and exercising their influence in opposition to lha wi»hes of the resident electors. It was not consistent with ju6lic9 vbat these who voted for men who they thought would best repreGebt them shotjld be overpowered fciy tt&3S coming from a distance. The low property qualifloation had induced gome to acquire small proper. ies siojply for the purpose cf giving them a vote, srid he knew of one instance in Auckland where one man voted in 1(3 districts. The Corrupt Pracuoes Prevention Act wna for the purpose of suppressirg, as far as human ingenuity could do so, bribery, treating, and lavish expenditure at an election, which were quite inconsistent with true representation. He referred to the disclosures that had been made in England of wholesale bribery and corruption, and said there wrta reason to fear that as wealth increased something similar might occur here, and so prevent mtn ia She lower walks of life, however able they might be, from becoming representatives; and, what was vorse, the pecplo from choosing such men as they thought %ould bsEi zepre sent them. Tbe Act would tend to promote pari-.y of election and to prevent tbose ucenes of debauchery whfch often occurred in some parts of tne'colony. The Licensing Act provided for uniform fees and regulations ihroHghout the colony, and, though not perfect, was a groat improvement upon tho old sjaletn ts creating one law instead of many, *nd its defect3 could bo more easily ramedi6d from time to time. One of the principal changes was that the Act would be adminisiered by elscted Committaea, tnd, however lotne people might object to this on the ground that it would hot work, be thought it would do so, &9 in a matter so directly coming home to themselves the inhabitants would taka care to make it answer. The people wars qmto capable of rniinsgiag thair own affairs And would do this weli.^ Ou the question of local option the contest was whether to apply it to old licenses or to confine it to new ones. Many of tbe most ardent supporters of temperance views said that to insist upon the former would be to imperil the Bill, as It would inrolva large sums being jpaid *s compensation, and, therefore, they wiiely did not press it. A Bill for restricting Chinese labor was introduced by the Government which provided that a poll tax of £10 should be placed en Chinamen entering the colony, to be repaid to them if they left it within a stated period. It wa« felt that this would notanswar as the people wo«ld be brought over by rich merchants who 'could well nfford to lend the money, so the clause providing for the return of It was struck oat. He felt strongljr on this matter as he considered tbat laborers settled hero had a right to be !proteoted against such unequal 'competition. Tha Chinaman who had none but himself to look after could afford to work for far less than tha European laborer who perhaps had half a dozen mouths to feed. A largo immigration of Chinese would be the means of creating a servile class hero which of all things was to be. avoided. If anything was entitled to protectioa, labor was. It was the only true sourco of wealth in a couutry and the reward of it should be not only sure but liberal. The Bill w S 9 reserved for the Queen's assent which might be refussd, but if so tho battle woold have to be fought again year after year until tha labor of tho colony was protected from tha importation of a servile Asiatic element. A Fencing Bill had been paiaod, but in order to get it through it was nec*gaary to agree to a compromise to the effoot that local bodies in those places objecting to it could vote their district outside of its provi»ioEß. He did not approvo of permissive legislation, but under the ciroum»tancei he. considered thi* clause, if not desirable, at least expedient. The Dogs Regiitration Act l«ft to the various Councils to decide what rate of fa6s should b« fixed, which ho con»idered unwise, as the scala ought to ba tha game nil over tha colony instead of one dog collar on one side of a boundary coatiug oDe price and another, on th« other sido a different on?. Dogs used for live atock were exempt, as they ihould be, for they were the tools' of the trad«, s,nd the matt engaged among itor-k could no more work without them than a carpenter without bis tools. Among tho Bills which did not paog was tha Counties Saspansion Bill, which he regretted, es he thought that thoße districts which, after trying ir, did not approve of the County system ought to be able to got rid of it. Mr Bryce, who as Chairman of Committees was so hard upon tha Nelson members in the contest on tbe Representation Bill, dsclarod^ that he would atop the paiaage of the Bill by adopting a course very similar to stonewalling, and the Government gave in and did not press it. He must new say a few words upon genem! taxation. The Property Assessment Act was a serious injustice as it originally stood, as by it the capitalist who lived in the country was made -to- pay, while he who took his interest ontsida of it escaped. Public attention was strongly drawn to this matter some nine months ago by the action of Mr ITollemache, which no doubs had some influence in persnading the Government to make the alteration by which an additional aum of eleven millions woald b« brought under tbe operation of the Act. It wae quite fair, however, to ask why thia wa« not done before. He could sea no reason for it, the leu so because the matter was pointed out to Ministers when the Bill wag originally brought down. The alteration would produce £45,000 and at & time when they bad to economise. so severely thare wxs no justification for leaving out so large a mm. Od« class of property he bad sueceeiad in getting relieved, namaly, the Building Sociaties. These were new exempt, subject, of oourae, to the shareholders adding

their amounts lhns invested Jo thfir own retcrns. The property tax itself was unequal end unfair in i's eperation and the money might have hern raised in a less oppressive fashion. However, the tax was there and had this recommendation that it was the only one that made means pny as well as wants. Cn3tom« and excise duties made- a min pay aroor^ing to his cor?£umr>tion, so that the large family man who could Jeast afford it was called upon t'o pay the most. The property tax existed and would continue to eio bo sstii they got n Treasurer who hE<l different vfews aa to the manner in which revenue should lie rai?ed. Tho tax at a penny brought in £."(".000 hut it was pioposed to" reduce thin by *:77 v OOO while only £I;".flfiO *■& in bo tnken off the Custom $ duties. Fe contended t?:r;t when the large increase? mr.de. in the Custom? duties two year-- a^o failed to bring in cm additional shiliiri.fr. it showed ilii.it the great mas? of the people were already overburdened with taxation and that nothing more could be ground out of them. The Treasurer was not sufficiently skilled in finance to foresee this, but ho ought to have taken the les?on to heart when he naw it. and have made larger reductions in the rfritie*. which wr-re pru'd in proportion to the spending power of tho people, and it was f]"nite clear that if the duties were increased people must go without articles of consumption to which they had become accustomed. Not merely had the duty itself, to be paid, but if a dealer paid £100 cash as duty, ho had as much right to charffo a profit on'that a* on the orirriur.l cost, so that the consumer paid in a double way. In the face of so painful a lesson having been forced on the Colony, he could not conceive how anyone striving to r!o justice to the people could think of relieving the wealthy to the tune of £77.000 nnd only takinir £1.">.C,Q0 off articles of ordinary consumption. I There was nothing just or sound in such finance : it was not looking to the future but only legislating for the benefit of an exceeuinciy narrow class of the community. The alterations in the Customs and excise duties wore not very important : the proposals were brought flown in the dying hours of the session, and when dipcusrion was impossible, for members would not stay, and all chance of making improvements passed aVv ay. He wru'd row refer to tbe Crown and Native Linds Rating Bill whsc\i was brought down in the session of 1880, bat the Government did not then press it. It was introduced nsain last se^ion together with the Roada Construction Bill. It was Baid that these Bills would supply all that wan necessary for loral government, but he did rot think bo. He had looked into the mat tsr aDd found that, compared with the ten sh lling* subsidy granted by the GoTernment. the County of Waimea would not have fared nearly ss well under these Billp, while the electoral district of Waimea would not have got a quarter as much as there were no wastelands within its boundaries. Mr Ormond moved an Bmrndment condemnatory of the Government measures as being unsatisfactory, and »1Hioneh he agreed to some extent with Mr Ormond in this still he thought thc-v might havp been made workable. But, however good they might bave been, he would have voted with Mr Ormond for th6 distinct reason that a week prior to hia mcvir-e his amendment it wan known that the Government in tlmr new Representation BiH propospd to take three members frotn Nel»oa, and on this ground be would have voted to furn them oot of office and so to prevent their passing bo Sniqnitous a measure. Aa it was. Mr Oraiond'p nmendment wat lost by only fenr votes. What would bare been the consequence of ita being carried ? A disaolotion would bave followed and a new Parliament been elected on the old basia, and, however much people might talk about a Redistribution of Pruts Bill Ving brought down in the new Parliament, he would aak wa« it likely that the newly eleeted members would have supported it and so commuter! $olitical snicide immediately after th<«ir election? No, the old bapia of representation wonld have continued for at leeHt three years, and in that time Nelson tnieht have made such progress as to be entitled to s fair share of members even on the population basis. It was v*ry easy to Far that, this wss the opinion cf one man and be an opponent of the Government, bnt Mr Wakefielr?, one of their principal supporters, in addressing his constituents the other day, said, "If Mr Ortnond's amendment had been carried it would have compelled the Government to resign and no Representation Bill would bave been carried." 'Mr Gibbs, too. had f xr>resi>ed his regret that in order to kr ep the Government in power bo bad voted for their Bills. Any comae would bave be en justifiable to get rid of a Government who could pr-rnfitrate so cruel an Act. And what, did their supporters get by their votes? Nothing, for the Bins were shortly aft«r withdrawn, and those who in a weak moment bad been induced to support them lost a golden epportunity. The Railways Construction and Land Act was another of the most important rr.easnreß of the session. This suitr-d Weilington and Canterbury admirably. Wellington wanted to get the whole of tho trade of the Weat Coast of the North Island, and be did not blame her for doir.g bo, bat she had no right lo get it at the cost of the who'e colory. Canterbury too had l^ngr cast sn envioua eye unon the trade wi'h the Weil C<~ast of the Middle Inland, a large portion cf which was at present secured to No'son by the Anchor Line of steamers. When first the attempt was made to get tho Bill introduced they had the impudence to try to get the Gorprnment to etmante© the interest, but thm of course was refused. Then they wanted Mr Ha'l to give the land, but f hi3 too he declined to do, 'saying that it was just the same as giving moner, and the Government might as well undertake the work themselTes. B*"it tbpn pressure was brought to bear, and ultimately the Government consented to grant land not exceeding 9600 acret per mile of railway, it being stipulated that the land was riot to exceed in value one-third of the cost of the line. The land.'however, bod to be taken at it? present valne, and they all knew that if forest land, for instance, was worth five shillings per acre when out of the reach of any road it would eo up to at least £1 when a railwav was made through it. §o that as a matter of fact the Railway Company would not merely get land worth one-third cf the cost of the line but tctually one-third more than the capital, in addition to having the railway aa their own property If it were true, pb some people Batf , that there wa^ to be no more borrowing, thiy might go thi3 way to work, but when they wer« told by botk the Premisr an-i the Colonial Treasurer that ss soon a? the pariod of restriciion on borrowing wag over, a* it would be next Tear, tbey were to go on the market again, then it was surely better to make the railways ourselves and !e' the profits frotn the land go towards ralieving our burdens If Canterbury aM Wellington got theee lines and retained the land for themselves it would be one of tbs most thriftless transactions erer entered into. If the lines paid the Companies would kesp them, if not, such pressure would bp brought to bear upon the Gorernment that th^j would be compelled to take them over on the ground that the main highway?, which the railwajs certainly were, should b« th? property of the State. When the Bills were firs'; introduced there wai nothing in them about Nelson, but by way of conciliating Nelson — although he did not see bow it did so — Bellgrove to Nel?on Cre^k was included in the schedule of lin^s that might be constructed under ths Act. As it was nothing could be done until the n<-xt Parliament, and so it was useless for the preßenf, but we still had a fair claim to have main lines made thoH2h the colony, not. by the sacrifice of the lan'l, but aa a part of the great public works policy. But Wellington might mis* the mosey and get tho land, and Canterbury ditto, and if Canterbury did Buccee.l ell our West Coafit trade would be gone, and we had no right to be called upon to make anv such Facrificefort he purpose of aggrandising (hose who bad done their best to pat us down end had succEededindoinpr eg to a very large extent Then the Canterbury and Coist line would and 9600 acres per mile would be taken from the pass through a large tract of auriferous land^ miners from whom the prospectors could exact what terms they pleaded in return for allowing them to dig for gold, thus creating one of the most crtshiog monopolies conceivable. He had (ndsavored to remedy this in Committee by proposing thut so long as the land .remained the property of the

Company miners should be allowed to go on it subject to miner's rights on the same terma as those now paid to the Crown. This was concurred in by mauy members, but Mr Hall refosrd to adopt it, and when the lines were made this monopoly with Regard to minerals r.ouid he established. And now he | came to the Representation Bill, one of the i I most oppressive Acts ever inUodu.-ed. Mr Hal! said it was rendered -neCeswry by the uneven growth of population, but bo^ was this uneven gjroMh cf population brought auont except by tho uneven distribution of public moccy ? Nelson woul.i bave prosree;ed as rapidly as the rest of the colony had the had her fair share cf expenditure, but for eleven years she bad been denied a jus; pirficipation in the loans, to tha interest r-f trbicL ebe was called upoD to contribute. Btcauae one wrong had been done to as we wr-rc to submit to shotber. Instead of a joa:ificF.t?oD, this V?as tLe worn aggravation of the evil, end he could not see how any man with right feelicgs could support a measure based on eucb n grounds. It was attempted to show that Nolson bad had her fair share cf the public money, but the calculation wos based on the present population ejected us that bad been by the expenditure, and not on the population in 1870 when the public works policy was introduced. The basi3 of expenditure should bave been tbe population at that time, according to which Nelson bad not had half of what she wa9 eniitlfd to. Having been deprived b* half what was due t ) her in that direction, the Government increased the wrong by taking away half her members. The money bad been obtained in the other places by sheer voting power, and successive Govf rncaents bad had to purchase support in this manner, and where the millions were spent the population as a matter of course followed. What assistance bad we had towards developing our minea and forests, which were useless without means of communication 9 Had the same amount been f pent here as in the agricultural districts of the south we shou'd not now be comp'ainingof losing half our representatives on account cf the comparative smallness of our population. But on a broader ground it was easy to show that the redistribution of seats was not only wrong but foolish. Tbe two southern province^ with the assistance of one or two votes from elsewhere which could always be easily obtained, could do just as tbey liked, and the rest of the colony would find that tfei* unreasonable, improper, and foo'.ish disturbance of the balance of power would soon bring about separation. If the Nelson members had been snect jsful in their opposition to the Bill, »3 they would hvae been had not the Standing Orders been overruled, another Parliament would have been elected on tha prestnt basis, and if the northern constituencies bed bad it freely and fully pat before them that the whole political power was going to tht South they would not hare returned a single member unpledged to defeat the Bill. Mr Shephard then proceeded to give a history of the stonewalling up to tbe time when the Chairman of Committees found & new idea and ruled that if thing! want further than he though* proper he had tht power to put a stop to discussion and debate. He said he had consulted no oee about this but wonderful to iay it was known all over Wellington five hours previously whafc was going to be doae. It was greatly to tbe credit of all J who took part in the opposition to the Bill throughout thosa long: weary hours, ihat it j was admitted by eiery one that during the whole time eo improper expression was used and no temper waa shown by the members of that small band who were fighting against tremendous odd«. Ultimately, however, tbey were beaten by Mr Seymour tearing up the Standing Orders and deciding that be migat do as he pleased. What might be the upshot of the rulirjg of the Speaker and the Chairman «n that eventful night he would leave any dispassionate person to judge. He would now say that he intended to be a candidate at the forthcoming election and hoped to represent them in Parliament xgain. (Loud cheers.) Ho would bave liked 'o say a few words on mnny subjects but there was no time then. They wanted a cheaper and better form of government ; a complete revision of the land laws, mainly in the direction of placing small purchasers on the same footirg as wealthy men ; a new system of dealing with native landi so that there should be no more Patereres and Piako3 ; they must bave such a change as would enable men of moderate means to acquire native lands without their passing through the hands of speculators. True reform was wanted in the direction of improving the condition of every perßon in the colony, and much migbfc be done by acting diicreetly and patiently and taking *dvani tfige of all wise cosnuela that were available. A new Government must be put in office ; new, because the present one had bo cruelly wronged thii portion of the colony that they had no right to expect a single vote from here. The whole district, if it had a spirit of manliness in it, would determine to put the wrong doers out. There muat be no neutrality, no half measures. They must be turned out and replaced by better and honester men. Mr Shephard resumed his seat amid loud cheering, after stating that he would be glad to reply to any questions. Mr. Robertson : Absut the bridge over the Wai-iti to Pigeon Valley ; it is rumored that you put the set on it. Mr. Shephard .- It is not often that one meets with a specimen of tho lie pure and simple, but this is one. I used every effort in my favor to get that bridge and shall do so again if I have the opportunity, but, I fear it is hopeless until we get men in power who are willing to admit that there are works to be attended to outside the f-acred district of Canterbury. It would strengthen the hands of your member in the matter if a memorial on the subject was presented. The last one was too lengthy. Mr Wkatt : Can you tell ns why Mr Bryce resigned his seat in the Ministry 1 It is said that the Government have done Nelson an honor in accepting the services of our Volunteers but I don't think much of the honor. I would say a word for those who did not go for I think they are quite as brave as those who did. Mr SriEPHAUD here quoted at length from a Parliamentary pr.per to show that the letj ter sent to Te Whiti by the Governor in December last by his private secretary Capt. Knollys was written by Ministers and only signed by the Governor upon their advice ; that a certain time was to be given to Te Whiti to think over the proposals contained therein, but that Mr Bryce wanted to march on Parihaka without any delay, and upon his tendering his resignation because his collogues would not consent to this, they were bound to accept it. Mr. MACPnEitsoN : Would yon be in favor of applying local option to old licenses ? Mr. Shephard :" I should like to. but the question of compensation comes in. I should like to buy out some houses, and think it would be cheap to do so. Mr. BonniNTrTON- : Don't you think that more could havo been got for Nelson if all the members had voted together ? Mr. SyiEPiiARD : The Nelson men never did all vote together, and I think it just as well that they do not, for I don't believe in putting all your eggs in one basket. Mr. Ladlev : Are you a thorough-going free-trader? Mr. RhepiiapJ): As a matter of opinion, yes. But oven John Stuart Mill admitted that there were cn=es in which a small duty on importations was advisable until tbe industry was developed. There is no doubt that tho tendency of the colony just now is in the direction of protection." 'But if you protect one class of industry, you must in justice protect all, Everyone must agree with the doctrine of free trade, but when you come to apply it. you fail at every turn. You cannot carry it out in its entirety. Mr. Lad ley: Do you approve of the bonus system ? Mr. Shephard : It is less repugnant to the most rigid supporters of free trade, and for the establishment of industries it is more practicable. Mr. Paekes : Are you in favor of borrowing large sums of money ? Mr Shephard : I don't think it wonld be proper for a Nelson member to support borrowing, as Ave certainly should get none of the money ? Mr Boddixgton, jun : We have a number of Local Boards now. Do you want more for local government ? Mr Shephard : No. But to give those we have increased powers. I believe in the

people, and that they are quite competent to manage their own affairs. Mr Paintox: You are opposed to The Railways Construction Bill, and to further ; borrowing ; tbeti what are we to get at all ? i don't understand, Mr Shephakd : Mr Painton is not wanting in intelligence, and he doesn't understand simply because he won't try to. The Premier and Treasurer said long before the Railways Construction Bill was brought down, that there would "bo ihb*e barmin^ and you can't stop it. even if you send tu Parliament men of Mr Painton's influence and mighty intellect. No one can stop it, because the Government has given such overpowering strength to the South. Mr Wratt then moved a vote of thanks to, and confidence in, Mr Shephard. _ Mr TiioursoN seconded the motion. Mr Shepherd had often, addressed them, tput never better than that night. lie trusiea that all would roll up on polling day, and help to elect him. He was an able man, and the district had a right to be proud of him. ] He had shown that he was consistent. He went up as an opponent of the Government and had stuck to it. He had done all they wanted him to iind noH- they o^ght to do what he wanted, namely, send him back to Parliament. Mr Paixtox moved a vote of thanka only, as he knew there were many in the district who had not confidence in Mr Shephard. Mr Boddingt.ox se.con.ded the amendment. Mr Ladle y thought those who wished to see Mr Shephard elected should remain in the room after the meeting and form a Committee. They should try to prevent Taranaki getting another vote, raid the Government another supporter. The amendment was then put and lost by 18 to 4, and the resolution w r as carried. Mr Shephard had great pleasure in seeing one of their newest settlers coming to take part In their affairs. ,The old identity spirit, he believed, was dying out in Nelson, and he for one was always glad to welcome men of intelligence and good conduct from all parts of the world. He would move a vote of thanks to the Chairman. This was carried by acclamation, and the meeting broke up.