MR J.C. RICIMOND'S MEETING.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 272, 15 November 1881, Page 3

MR J. C. RICIMOND'S ME ETING.

About flriy eh <».:<■■;•:■ :,.- -tiilkd in the OJ,]. fellows' IW] at i: : ;r:v.'ra !a<: i:i-Lr in resp.-r.iC to ?>lr JiichrnoL-'iV ir.viiation". The chair t^ t^<;-n ty Mr Ihnnc;-: wU-. said : rricn.;s an.l feh-v.- -:crt<;!s , Mr I'k-h---xnond conies before us to-night as a candidate for the representation of the Waimea district in the House of Representatives. I need say nothing of Mr Richmond. He U one of the oldest of Nelson's settler?, and is as well known and as highly respected as any man in New Zealand. You are aware that m - c shall be TC-rv scantily represented in the coming Parliament; it" behoves i; 3, dun-fore, to ha the more careful in onr choice. You will all, I am sure, listen most atreutively therefore to Mr Rich-no- d, a* well as to the other candidates who may successively piv-scnt themselves. We shall then deliberately weigh the respective merits and opinions of the sev.ral candidates and choose the best. Mr ! ichjioxd, v.ho wai received with chepi?, c:mme;.ced his address by giving a rai id ske eh of bi3 e-.rly days io N;w Z a land, of -he ev..nts ifaa* It ad to h : = b. c-ni -g a X 'sin sstrlrr, a r -d t p ll'iu-o of Re[ rtg mair?, in whr h he ha 1 held a seat for 'I jt ir.-, diidrs .1J if v, Luh h< "• w,.s f> member of thp S"&ffj:M aud We!d Administrations. IK thee prcceeded to txj la^n his general political principles. llj would a:-k them no!; to allow anyone *o thro.v dost in thfircyes a talk ribuf Liberalism sni Toryism. He ha 1 wand nd much ahciu t.v country, and had never to his knowledgfmet with a Tory; he miabt have done s^, but wiih wih;ut knowing !t, for tb'y wt-rr' a very silent tribe, and mo3t c r ainly wftg not represented ia the Genera! Assembly. Fi r himself be claioied to be a Liberal of Liberal? ■, aol *te constitutional Acts lately r^sseu he accented wi>h all bis heart. Mr Hill and Sir George Grey bot?i took credit, the me for passing, the o.her for forcing them on, but tha work w..s coGirnetcd lorg ago in the pa9?age of the Maori Representation Aft which gave mere nuiihood sulTrjtje, p.r.d the Miner*' fnncbis?. He did not think, with the very low qaaHSc-iiion th.it hid existed, there was any very urgent call for ni£.nhocd' suffrage, sti 1 it was oa the whole a good thing to invite the ycunsr msu who had not yet swarmed eff from the family hearth to take an interest in thfe politics of the courtry. His Liberalism conceded that it was right that the government of tb.3 country Bbould be carried O" mainly with a view to benefiting the large working cla?s, the hand workers of the colony, ccn=i ericg, as he did. that th^ esskr class were well abb to take care of themselves. Liberalism with him was a faith, but one which steered clear of arrogance on the one side and envy en tha other, and h* jDtested most strongly against tie action of those who emeavored to set class against class. He would open the door to «veryme and draw forth from every class the best services to be obtained for the country. To the other constitutional Acts he wcuM shortly advert as showing the thread of his opinions , and they might thoroughly depend upon bis acting up to thb principles be affirmed. First with regerd to tnenniil Par'.iaffipnts. Snort Parliaments in thrrmselves he did not consider a very irr.porifitu iastitution. If they could bs sure Or getticg trustworthy men they nil better have longer Parliaments and so let their members gather knowledge, but with the experience thay had had v be thought it was better that the representatives should go back to their constituents pretfy frfqueruly. He now Came to the Representation Act. Of all tbe poiats in the charter that, was the incst miserab c. (Here an interruption w«s caused by Mr Knight who was with difficulty repressed by the chairman.) Equal electoral nistricte had been almost abandoned at home by Whiga and Tories alike. It had come to be regarded as a monstrosity of the part. Not bat what population should be taken into calcnUtion. but it should not be nnde the sole basis of representation. The difference between town and country electorates was just a concession, but it wa3 ah-urd to create such a district a3 that of the Waimea stretching as it did from Duryille'a Island to tbe Top House. The d Eca'-y of one portion of the district; communicating v.ith another was insuperable, and it was p.lmosf lmpossi^e for a member to fully represent iVcn the msj;rity. Another thine was that in such constituencies it was difficult to fiad men who would give up the tim?, a3 most of them required to be i.t work on their land, and so half of the ru:al constituencies would he represented by town men, and lhu3 in the event of a collision arising between town and country much eVil would arise from the fact that tbe majority would have their sympathies with the town interests. Provincial entities should have been considered much as ia the United State*, where tbe little Rh >de Island and the big States of Xew York, Illinois, and California all sent thsir representatives. But in the 1 gislati.-.n of last session we had gone pm the firteat Dfmocratic Republic. No rJoabt cur representatives had done their best to 9top it, but they were perhaps taken by surprise and bad not gone the right way tt> work, for the House was bound to carry the measure, and a milder mode of procedure tnight possibly have saved soms of the loss, but he thought that now it was not too late to recor^r some of the lost representation if Iht-'ir members went to work delicately, as Asag did to Sampson, and tried to get backby perseasion what they had failed to obtain by force. He would now refer to the difficult subjet of local government, which was last H^n'Aoa made tbe stalking horsa for a party fiV'ht, and was bound to come up again In the debate which took place he found "very little in the way of prcciicai suggestions, for no two men geemed. to tbiuk elike. There were Sir George Grey's proposals for multiplied institution?, and Mr OrEncnd's for banding over the* property tax, railways, and a number of other important matters to local administration, but of local eHminhtration he failed to give any clear dtfinitirn. Oce looking on from outside tbe fray could see what those who took part in it £ a ii'<l to recoguise, namely, the enormous difference in the condition of things in differi'ai parta of tbe country. In the more inaccessible parts of Otago and Canterbury there were Counties only, and no Road Boards; in other districts the Counties were quiescent; others again had urban centres, but in the great majority of tbe local divisions there were no important centres, and dj occasion to provide for gaols, hospital, or a police force. The &übjact should be an open question, and bs dealt with apart from all party considerations. There was no good in hurrying it forward, but it should be considered by a S-'lect Committee, or even by a Royal Commission appointed for the purpose, by which means a law might be framed sufficiently elastic to meet the requirements of every part of the country. {Continued on Fourth Pjge.)

tc make avrcingomenls, the licenses will, in icrms of the Lands Ads, bo sold by public i unction, at the Land Oliice, Dunedin, in the latter end of February, 1-SS2, twelve months j before possession is to bn given. One years I rcjif, v.iil he. payable hi advance on the license :it tho time of sale. The pa- l oral defc-iTcd-payments sections will be offered for sule by public auction i probably fu November or December, 1882 ; possession on Ist March, 188.".. Terms : A deposit of one-thirtieth of the price of the Innd on purchase, the balance iv half-yearly payments extending over fifteen years. Residence within twelve months is compulsory, and must continue for five years. I'alance of instalments may be paid at end of ten years, in which case Crown grant issues. The country has been occupied for upwards of twenty years. It is well grassed, weil wa'ered, sound, and heathy, Distauee irom port by good roads, and railways part of the way, from 30 to 150 miles. Maps and further particulars will be obtainable i.t the Land Offices of New Zealand early in December next, and at places in the Australian Colonies to be named in future advertisements. .Suitable blocks of land will also be surveyed irrui'Odistt- ly in the Provincial District of Cauterbury, for sale on pastoral deferred" payment, and will be offered for sale about March, 1882. Wm, Eoixestox, 4444-a Minister of Lands.

(Continued from Third Page, Then there were the double ratine powers which hung over them like the sword of "Damocles, although there •were very few districts in which the sword had fallen Both rating powers should be sxercfoed by one body at the request of the other, the Road Boards making recommendations to be carried Tfc A Cff f C ! by the Count y Councils. -I he Act. however, should be repaired with very great deliberation. M-mv peop c too regarded the question not fi oneof W ay S and menns W as a school m polities where men could learn on the lower forms what they could perlect when they arrived at the 2 V V Z^' T . he PCol>le Were oppressed no doubt, but it was by themselves. It was their own langonr and want of interest m their own affairs of which they had to complain. In the matter ot Education he had not heard of late tue cry for reducing the rate. This, if it meant reducing the efficiency of the system, should be deprecated by oil classes. It was said that the amount raised by the property tai -yas just about equal to the sum roted for Education, and consequently that some ten thousand people were paying for the educate of the country. Even if this were so, if the property tax were strictly dedicated to education, he thought that it could not be devoted to a better purpose. He hoped no one would wish to see the freedom of the schools cut down by even one single grade. It would be bad for the teachers and bad for the country to strike out the upper Form which was bringing out the best men and leading them up to be the leaders of the future generation. Whatever the result of the election might be, he hoped that the words he had «aid on this subject would remain in their memories. On the question of the Crown lands and the land laws there was not much stirring just at the present moment, but a constant talk was raised about it, especially in the Island. The question of breaking up the estates of the large monopolists cropped up every now and then, but for his part he did not think there was much to be feared from this cause or that these gigantic estates would hold together long. The law of primogeniture in the case of intestacy had been done away with, and Mr Hall had promised to limit the law of entiol which would tend to break them up. Ihese measures and the property tax would do much towards breaking UP . ri, lai £° estates tllat wer e not usefully held. No one who had travelled on the Continent, as he had oi late, could disparage the idea of small holdings. For himself he had the true colonist's craving f or land, and held that every man who had his ten acres and the will and energy to work it could always provide for himself, T.bese small ho'dings too, together with the diggings, tended to keep up wa^es to a standard which no one who wished well for the country would care to see reduced. Whatever reserves of pastoral lands remained should be retained for endowments for hospitals and charitable relief, and as the Otago runs fell in, these no doubt would be leased for higher rents and so a largo addition would be obtained to the revenue. Public works could not be extensively proceeded with yet, as up to the end of the present financial period we were not entitled to borrow more, but the Treasurer had said that the colony would be justified in going into the money market again at an early date. He had himself examined into the finances and he took a less sanguine view than the Treasurer, still he was bound to cojfess that he did not consider it would be a reckless proceeding to borrow again soon. One of his reasons against it was that the revival of the colony was not yet sufficiently marked. It was pleasing but not brilliant, and many industries were still hanging fire. Great caution wes necessary, and a whole session ought to be devoted to discussing the matter and deciding how the borrowed money was to be Bpent, and the allocation of it he would have tacked on to the Loan Bill, bo that there could be no diverting the money after it was raised. We" had more than once sailed very close to the wind, and bad fallen into the hands of ft spentbrift lot of men, not to say gambler?, and we should take care to protect ourselves against such for the future. The railway tariff required revision. We should not throw our■elves too entirely into the hands of experts, but should experiment a little more ;in these matters. He had not had macb to do with the goods traffic, . but he did object to paying twopence a mile for travelling in a carnage infinitely inferior to what he paid a penny a mile for in England. Trains, he thought, should be run more frequently, and more after the system of the tramways in Chrisfcehurch and Wellington. On immigration a yery large sum had been spent since 1870 in bringing out about 80,000, who had cost something like £30 a head, and their contribution to taxation did not probably average more than 35a per head. On the most favorable calculation the immigration business had proved but a poor speculation, aad a Government should be very careful indeed of taking the responsibility of introducing a number of people. It should not be resumed except in the perfectly unobjectionable form of nominal ed immigration, which to a great extent afforded a guarantee that those who were imported would prove good colonißts and men who were likely to be satisfied with their lot. There was one happy feature in the finance, viz., that the Post Office was actually providing revenue, and he thought that the Government;- wight now gee tbeir way popular reduction in the postage-rates, and that we migbfc be allowed to send letters at the nominal price of a penny. He was much obliged to the meeting for listening so patiently to tis prosy talk — £>r prosy it was— but after all it wa« business, and he would , now apeak about finance. He was Very happy to see by the last Customs retnrns that the Treasurer's estimate VBB likely to be exceeded by nearly £100,000. This gave rise to the question, what taxes should be taken off? He did net desire tG ccc the proper) y tax lowered, but would aueh preier in the interests of all claeges that some of the strained items in the tariff should fee iedß[csd._ It was a etartliog fact

that Whveen IS7G and ISBI while the population had been increased 20 per cent, and an effort, had been made to tax the people 20 per cent more, tbe j revenue actually fell, Tin's clearly I snowed that the point hnd been reached 1 &t which tbe tarpayer would no longer «nswer to the whip. So a« a aatter"of finance his opinion nad that the property tas should Remain at tbe same figure end the Customs duties be lowered unless, indeed, tho surplus was bucli as to warrant the reduction of both. Another subject to which he must; fefor was the late operations oh ibe "West Coast. He very much regretted that anyone should have used disparaging expressions with regard to tbe conduct of those who had gone to the front Rank stupidity alone could induce per sons to Bpeak of toe proceedings there as " masquerading." (Loud cheers) Ihere had been fc 0 bloodshed fortunately, but without doubt thereb s d been much risk, for any one Bingle man who was not under tho influence of Te Whiti might have precipitated a collision, jb which, no doubt the natives would have been frightfully worsted, but still there was a distinct danger to those Who had j;one there. But it w E f? &ot; omy that, but t! c \ olunteera bad given an exceedingly good.exhibition of the excellent spirit of the young men of the country He thought the whole affair had been conducted with great judgment-, and reHeeted the highest credit on Mr Bryco and Mr Kolleston-, A new era had now been opeced up in native affairs and there were hopes of seeing that beautiful country speedily settled, lheyhad.it was tvue, been chafed with the sin cf Ahab, but he thought all would agree in expressing the highest satisfaction that the men who had been trained into what was an ex cellent imitation of Christian submission had been subdued without bein«' slaughtered like bea Bts.8 ts. H a d this occured it would have been ablot on ouracnals, and he, for on&> would have felt it untvousH. He c.ulJ not ccnclud* wuhoot faying v f fcW worJa re g rjrd}nu , his rt!a ions to iha j>rr3eni GovernmPD'. He could scarcely refrain from lav i . in£ when he heirJ the "family '"' queruon raised, but |.q foun i it neoesairy to refer to it, and so he woul I Jake th. bull by the horns tit once. If, fi3 W ns s iJ, he belonged lo the "governing family" he nted not be arh*med of it" ior tha Government were eelecfad by 'he fiea choice o» the people, BD J if they kept in office it shotted thbt they bhd uot betrayed their trust. But so far from there being a lazily gathering in the Ministry, there hai c ny once been two of them ia the Colonial legislature, a=cl ho felt quite cure that if Major Atkinson hid beea io the House at the liaoe of ibe no confidence raotiou lathe Safford Ministry, of which he (Mr R.) was a member h-io* moved, be would hay* vo'e i fcr i\ The question for them to oocsider as business men tva?, rot wheth-r members of o cer:*injami:y hdu otlic>, bu, h;,v7 they used ii? There rcaa not a ?nan in the country w ho dored io say th;t he or any member of bia family had given or a-ked a^yih'wg on family K oun. J a. Hid he ccthing ttat weired more heavily on his conscience than hie tiealia^- with pablic irusts he would b- p. heppy mac iodte?. He was quite- a 8 f reß if the necessity oniee to vcie against (he preseLt Ministry aa (or them. H e would have teen very K !ad if Mr Piti bad c ffered hiccself lor the Wbiruea, but as it wns, the contest was likely to lie between hiraei-U end Mr Sbcphard Thoas v?hj vote! for ei'.her or' tbe oiher of thfm would cot <io bo because they considered thai he possessed every quelifi catioD that was desirable in a can idiie r^ut because be wa3 the best maD offering himself. Members of tbe House voticg for one Mioislry or another «ere precisely in tba aarxie posi;io3. Then they should consider what was ilia alternative. The only possible Ministry i D the event of the present one being defeated must incluie Sir George Grey, Mr Macandrew, perhaps Mr Sheehsc, atd possibly Mr Shepherd. These, or tbe tmjor part of them, bad by their cartless expenditure and reckleia extravagance brought the country into a slough of deapond, to tbe very verge of bankruptcy. They had dawdled over the native claims until they hed brought about tbe present crhis. They would include a Treasurer who bad said *' Give ma a printing press and plenly of watered paper and New Zealand Bba'.l not want for money." Was it their wish that their representatives should vote to exchange the present Government for such men os those ? He hoped the cocatitueccy of Waimea would not throw itself into the bands of patnblirjg gpaculators. They would be ihe first to feel the effectp, for taxa«icn pressed hardest on the woikiug man. It was the weakest who went to ihe wall; the poorest who felt tbe pnesure most. He esked them firat of all to demaiid sober and safe finance, j and lo demand that their Government should consist of thoroughly retpectable men, not men who were a shGraa acd a disgrace to ibe country, and wbo were with positively indecent in their relations the natives. If returned, he should go to the House aa a thoroughly independent member. He had studied the finance of the colony with the deepest ictereet; ihtro were cone of tbe large questions to which be had not devoted much thought; be might not be one of the greatest of statesmen, but be was from hie long experience fully entitled to his opinion and to believe that they would weigh with others. He would fay, don't let tbe vendetta influence you; don't cut off yoor nose to epito your face. True, the Ministry bad passed a ooe-eyed narrow minded Bill in which they had flouted us, but possibly we might not Buffer much by it, for our three members might do as much for us af'be sis Ind dene before. If the colony had not been mapnarirnouß to Nelson, lei Neiaon show that she was magnanimous. He would ask sbein cot to act as members of a Little Pediilington but of o great nation. Mr Richmond concluded by thanking them very sincerely for listening to him bo pstientiy end assured them that even if he were beaten t>y t*o ?o onf, the satisfaction i.c had expeiienced in having a ia!k with them that evening would be a pleasure for ever. He said be would be very

sifid io reply (o ar.y ques.'ioDS and resumed his seat ocaid much cheerib?. Mr Fittall: Chd it b 3 good policy 'or a Nelson constituency Jo return a snppcrtf r of (he Govff hmeot which has :at en 'j? ? i Mr Richmond: I think go, cot only because ibe prerent ia i{;a best Miuuiry just now nvsileble, but because the others were equally apaiuft up. Sir George Gr?y at Auckland pointed specifically to Nelson as being over represented; and neither Mr Macandrew nor Mr Orraond said a word in her favor. Mr Fittall : Is it true that if not elected you era likely to be called to tbe Upppr Hor&e ? Mr Richmond : I don't know whether I am likely to be called, tut I am quite certain I won't fo. Mr Fittall : Don't you think Taranski has ra .do a very good thing out of the Native difficulty ? Mr Richmond : That is a very difficult question to gnawer, but I 'hick not-. New Plymouth certainly ha 3 not proprse8 o (i as much aa Nelson. Mr Fittall : Dj you consider the Bide to be a divinely inspired revelation ? Mr Knight: Caa you do a double shuffle ? Mr Richmond : Mr Fittali'a 13 a questioa no oaa has any right' Jo ask me, and I think the meeting will prtt3Ct me against bain^ called upon to answer it. The Chairman : I think the question an utiiir one. Mr Fittall : Then I will not press it. Mr Smythe : Will you use your beet endeavors in i\vor of the district, und try to get a good road from the Port to Richmond ? Mr Richmond : To the first quistion I cay yea. To the luttar, that I oannot pledge myself to it at the request of an iutjiviijual elector. Mr Fittall : At the lira* of th;> 00Q?olidatiou 0! the debts, Mr Stafford considered that an injustice had boon done to Ndlson, anii offered a lump 'urn to equ.lue maters. Would you do your beat to recover that sum ? Mr Richmond : Most certainly. I do not remember ihe matter just now, but whether elected or not I will inquire into it. Mr Lightbind : Are you in favor of au income ux ? [A. voice : Ob, get an incooie first, aua talk about a tax after] Mr Richmond : I am not in favor of any tax at all, I hate tbe vtry name The f;g end of a meeting is scarcely the time toopeu up that subject, but I will; refer to it fet one of my other meeting and take care shat my views are re-? ported. \ Mr Lightband : Would you eupporj the extension ot the present railway ? Mr Richmond : My iJea would be for the whole railway scheme to be considered from a colonial pciat of view, ani I have no doubt that Nalson would come into that scherm and be con*nec'.eJ wilh the rest of the colony. Ma. Harkness : Are you in favor of keeping the present edu2a;ioa system; intact ? Mr. Richmond: la i !S cadn fea^ torse, yes ; but I tLi k the (Machinery might be workeJ so as t) astist parents out of school hours iv givia^ religioua educition, but not to ba left to tht teacheip, who are of all ehudeo of opiatoD. Our very reverence for the Bible ought to prevent thit taking piece. Mf. Haekness : Are yon in favrr of Bub3idisiog «'B3ominatton3l schools ? Mr. Richmond : I em, and I cannot coLC^ive of any liberal man objecting to extending the old Nelson plan to the whole Colony. Mr. Knight here proceeded to give his viewa on religious education, but they did cot Bppear to oarry mucb weight. Mr. Lightband : Do you think Nelstn has received fair treatment with regard to the revenue, and would you Jo your bast to place her on aa (qial footing with the rcßs of the colony ? Ma. Richmond : I am scarcely prepared to ftaswer the question in full just now. Mb, Knight : What do you consider would be the effect of Chinese immigration upon the price of pork ?•' Tbe question remained unanswered. Mr Smtthe: Are you in favor of the Upper House being paid at the same rate us the working members of tbe Lower House ? Mr. Richmond : I em in favor of entirely retro lellicg the Upper House, in which case it would not cocsist of only wea'thy men, and tberefora the me:>)berß ou^ht to be paid. la the hsfit of debate and the flood of (alk in the Lower Houte, many measures are passed that require tbe revision of another body. Mr. Canning moved a vote of (haEka to Mr Richmond for the able manner in which be had expressed his views. To rcove a vcte of confidence would not be in accordance with the secrecy of the ballot, b. sides there might be other Richmooris in tbe field. Mr Barknsss had much pleasure in cecondiog tbe motion, and considered fiat in maoy respects Mr Richmond's addr?Bß was very satisfactory, plhoogjb he did not agree with him on all points, and did cot consider himself wanting in liberality because he was opposed to subsidising denominational schools. Tbe vote was carried by acclamation, as well as a vote of thanks to the chairman, of whom Mr Richmond •poke as the Nelson ohsirman par excellence.