MR. MOORHOUSE’S MEETING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4275, 2 December 1874, Page 3

MR. MOORHOUSE’S MEETING.

At the invitation of Mr. Moorh'ousc, a candidate for the Mayoralty, a numerously attended meeting of the ratepayers of the city -was held last evening, at eight o’clock, at the Odd Fellows’ Hall. On the motion of Mr. B. Smith, seconded by Mr. Cl. Tmnoham, Mr. J. O'Shea took the chair. The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, said that any remarks from him in recommendation of the gentleman who was about to address them, might be considered out of place, but for the fact that there were many persons who had come amongst them within a comparatively recent period, to whom the candidate and his public career were not known. He was, therefore, justified in saying that the gentleman who was about to seek their suffrages for the Mayoralty had been four times elected as Superintendent of the Province of Canterbury, and it was to his originality of ideas, to his indomitable energy, and to his prudence, that the people of Canterbury were indebted for the tunnel between Lyttelton and Christchurch, and for the proud position in which the province stood at the present day. He would now introduce Mr. Moorhouse to the meeting. Mr. Moorhouse, who, on coming forward, was received with loud cheers, said: Mr. Chairman and gentlemen electors—lf anybody had told me a short time ago that I was to have the remarkably gratifying- experience of appearing before sueli a meeting as a candidate for the lionor of becoming your Mayor I should at once have negatived the idea as a great and utter impossibility, because as a citizen of Wellington I have dining the last four years confined myself entirely to the management of, or the attempt to manage, my own affairs and that of my clients. I have not even touched public affairs with a long stick. I have never attended a public meeting except one which was held in this hall on the occasion when Messrs. Pearce and Hunter explained their action in the last session of the General Assembly. I may tell you, gentlemen, that it was not an ambition of mine to become Mayor of this city. I never communicated to anybody in this town or elsewhere anything which could lead them to suppose that I had such an aspiration. I did on one or two occasions state that, having pitched my tent here, after a long residence in New Zealand, I should have no objection to a seat in the Municipal Council, because the place, although one of the oldest towns in the colony, was in its merest infancy. Although the institutions of the place reflect the greatest possible credit upon the town and its originators, the public works —which attract my attention before anything else in whatever part of the colony I may happen to be—have not reached that degree of development they should have done. They are certainly advanced compared with what they were when I first saw them some twenty years ago, but I am bound to express the opinion that these public works oiß'ht, if the proper means had been adopted, to have been more advanced than they are now. (Hear.) I do feel very much flattered at what I conceive to be a very general invitation—that is, an invitation from a very large section of the inhabitants of the city—to come forward as a candidate for the Mayoralty. I made no request to be nominated, in fact I experienced some delicacy in accepting the position, but when I looked at the number of influential gentlemen who requested me to stand I could not help regarding them as representing a strong public opinion ; I also felt sure of holding a leading place in the .race, if not of winning it. (Hear, hear, and applause.) I ha ve had considerable experience in electioneering matters. I have many times been a candidate for public honors. I have frequently been a successful candidate, and I have. also been beaten. I may say that I was beaten recently. I know what beating is, and I know also how to take a beating. It is depressing but not killing. (Laughter.) But I very much prefer winning and so I told the gentlemen who resolved themselves into a committee to secure my election. I told them I should not come forward unless they could encourage the hope that I would win, and I have made up my mind to win (cheers) ; that is to say, I repose the utmost possible confidence in the lona fules of those gentlemen who promised to support me ; and I believe, from what I can gather, that there is a strong feeling that an infusion of new blood into the management of our public affairs would be advantageous, (Loud cheers.) You may very well imagine, those of you who are at all acquainted with my previous history, that my election to the Mayoral chair of this city would not, vulgarly speaking, be any great promotion after the many important public services I have had the honor to perform. I have had twenty years’ public experience. I was at first Resident Magistrate in the province of Canterbury ; I was the first man elected to the General Assembly of New Zealand ; I was one of the first members of the Provincial Council of Canterbury ; I was the second Superintendent of that province, and was elected four times to the office of Superintendent. I mention these matters to show that I am in the position of a man animated by a strong public spirit rather than that of a man animated by an inordinate ambition. (Hear, hear.) And I am willing to serve you if my services are likely to be of use to. you. Since I have been called upon to offer myself as a candidate for the office of Mayor I have endeavored to make myself acquainted the constitution of the borough. I confess I was but imperfectly informed before, although when Superintendent of Canterbury I drafted the Act under which the principal institutions were managed in that province. I started those institutions in Canterbury, but it is so long ago that I have forgotten all about it. I find, however, that the Mayor is nothing more than a common councillor in the chair. He is not a man of any great power. The greatest power the Mayor will have will consist in his humble dependence upon the co-operation of his fellow Councillors. His position is parallel to that of the Speaker of the House of Commons, whose function it is to keep internal order, supported by the voice and feeling of the House ; externally his relation is to the world as the pronouncer of the will of the House. So the Mayor is invested with authority from the tacit or expressed support of the Council of which ho is a member. If you elect me as your Mayor I hope I shafl have no difficulty with my fellow-members of the Council. I hope they will give me that solid moral support which is strength, and I hope I shall have strength of mind to resent any transgression of decorum by any member of that body. In the language of Shakespeare, who had the greatest grasp of human nature of any man that ever lived, it is necessary that a popular officer should “steal courtesy from heaven, and dross himself in all humility.” That is the strength of the Mayor. Immediately the Mayor of a corporation begins to spread his feathers in the sun, and struts and gads about like a turkey, assuming airs with which ho is not clothed by law, he becomes obnoxious to his friends and ridiculous in the eyes of the public. Fortunately such a spectacle has not been seen in New Zealand. I have never raised my voice beyond a whisper upon public affairs iu this town ; I have never obtruded my views upon this community. I have been a quiet observer of facts which have come under my notice, and I have noticed through the public papers the little difficulties that have occurred in our local parliament—our civic parliament. The newspapers make the most of these things. If I were a newspaper proprietor I should be tempted to paint the Mayor a lighter blue, and to give the beadle a little more gilt than ho usually displays, just by way of selling my commodity. X should endeavor to improve my trade. It is a venial offence, perhaps ; yet I deprecate it very ranch. It is not for mo to lecture the Press, to which I, like all other men who aspire to public positions, am very much indebted, and upon which wo are in fact dependent ; but I do state very deliberately that upon the Press lies a very great responsibility, which ought' not to be forgotten upon any occasion whatever when the Press talks of public men or

public affairs. We all understand the value of the censorship of the public Press ; I acknowledge it most fully. It is not for me to apologise for coming forward upon this occasion. It is quite true that I have been resident amongst you only four years, but I know Wellington. I knew it twenty years ago, and I know enougli of the place to encourage me to think that l consult my own interests better by remaining in Wellington, than by living in any other part of the colony. (Cheers.) That is the most flattering compliment I can pay to this city. But now as to my position this evening. I say that it is my right to come forward. It is your right ; every ratepayer has the right. Before the law we are all equal. Motives of delicacy might restrain some men from coming forward; and when the proposal was made to me to stand for Mayor I questioned myself on that score. I said “ Is it right for me to thwart the wishes of Mr. Dransfield ? Is it right for me to_ come forward, notwithstanding the ardent wishes of so distinguished a citizen who has rendered such good service to the town V ’There is nothiug more revolting to me than a breach of good taste,butamauwho is really a public man should consult nothing but his own idea of what is due to the public, when tiie public interests demand that he should come forward. I have arrived at the conclusion —I hope a conscientious conclusion—that if I received the support of the town I might be of very considerable use iu helping our city into that front place among the cities of the colony which its situation, natural resources, and wealth entitle it to. (Cheers). I am quite sure that whatever gentleman among all the very fit men who might be found iu this city to stand up to contest this election with me may come f orward,_not one will be ungenerous enough to raiseany objection to me as an opposition candidate. It may be said with justice that I am a comparative stranger here, and it is quite true that I have taken no pains to ingratiate myself with the public. It is quite true I have been very quiet. Places of popular amusement have not seen much of me ; and I may remark that,. as an old sportsman, it is somewhat strange that I have not been to the races here, although a strong supporter of that kind of sport in Canterbury. But the truth is that after the turmoil of public affairs, in which I was so many years engaged, the quiet sereue air of Wellington had such charms for me, that my privacy was the greatest consideration with me. Therefore, if you elect me as Mayor, I hope you will have mercy upon me, and allow me such privacy as is consistent with the performance of my public duties. I do not rvish you to make any comparisons between my exceEent friends Mr. Borlase and Mr. Dransfield and myself, or any other man who aspires to fill a public office ; but I -will illustrate our candidature in this w T ay. We will say that Mr. Dransfield and myself are boys in the same school. We sit upon the same form. We are about level in the same class, and we each desire to go in for a prize. We each determine to vault over the same pole till we cannot top it. We have each the right to contest, and there is no breach of friendship ; Mr. Dransfield has the right to vault, and so have I. We are excellent friends in proportion as each admires the other, and each is pleased with the worthiness of his competitor and the opportunity of beating a good man. All this is perhaps egotistical; at any rate, it is a very long explanation of the inducement I had to come forward. The next question that arises is, what is to be done when we do come forward ? Well, I can see a great quantity of water here, and I can see the means of usefully filling up that water and extending the area upon which to build a great city. Of course, the time and the means must be well chosen. These are matters which require a great deal of thought. Every contingency, must be taken into account. Every aUowance must be made for disturbing causes, and there are so many elements to be considered in public matters of this sort that it is utterly impossible to go into the modus operandi on an occasion like the present, even if you are very well informed. But I confess I am not very well informed. I have not gone to the CouncE offices, and I shall not go there till you- elect me, as I fully expect you will. (Continued cheering.) With the most profound civihty I shall enquire of the gentlemen who have the care of the records of your borough as to the position of the affairs of this city, and you may depend upon it that I shall, though not in any obstreperous manner, but calmly and determinedly, ascertain every fact which ought properly to come within my knowledge. Then, with the approbation of the Council, I shall take sufficiently strong action to secure the economical working of the city affairs, and similar action with the view of extending your estate. (Cheers.) That is all I can say. As to Mr. Dransfield —the gentleman with whom I have to accept a contest—l can speak only in his praise. He is an old public servant here, and I am an eye-witness to the great advantages he has conferred upon the town. I utterly discredit the unhandsome insinuations which have from time to time been thrown out against him. Frequent allusions have been made to sales of cement. I shall say nothing about that ; because I imagine that in an intelligent population like thii corrupt practices of the sort referred to could not go on without being discovered, and detection, q)roof, and punishment would follow. Suspicions vented against public men are very injurious. They degrade our governors and councillors, and degrade the reputation of the town. Do not let us say a word against our public servants untE we are prepared to prosecute and punish them. (Hear, hear.) It is quite possible that in anything I say this evening I shall be anticipating Mr. Dransfield. Mr. Dransfield has claims of a character almost akin to those which the chairman said might be made for me. But he has not served in other parts of the colony as I have. His claim to be considered a leader of public affairs is based upon his services in this town. 'The fact of my being iu this position at this moment reminds me of a little story which I shall never forget. It was written by Mr. Oosbie Ward, the greatest humorist the colony ever saw, and was about one Superintendent wrangling with his successor. There was no peace. Those two Superintendents, without any material advantage to the public, kept the whole place aboil, and so he wrote a short epigram, in which ho suggested a remedy, to this effect “ Therefore, let the late Superintendent be tied securely in a strong bag, and with the most solemn respect, and accompanied by the leading citizens of the province, let it be taken down to the bridge on the Avon, and there committed to the water.” That was a recommendation almost parallel to that of the ancient Greeks, who ostracised a citizen because he became so strong, so confirmed in his personal superiority to the vulgar, that he became obnoxious to the people. Without having' committed any crime against the State, the leading citizens impeached him. That individual accepted the ostracism, and was expatriated. I might, therefore, say to Mr. Dransfield, “My dear sir, be comforted. The public want a change; they want new blood. 'They don’t despise you, Sir, but you are too strong for them. You stand on one side, and let them take a man more easily moulded to their will—a man who will serve them more willingly than you. Your ideas are so strong, and yourpersonal surroundings are so invincible, that the public find that you are no longer a loader. You are a compeller of the public, and therefore they wish for a change.” That is my solution of the present state of affairs, and I think that personally nothing could be more flattering to Mr. Dransfield. It is possible I may be charged by-and-byo, by Mr. Dransfield or his adherents, with being a little premature in becoming a candidate at all ; or, at any rate, that there was no hurry, as Mr. Dransfield had not yet declared. Very likely he is waiting modestly, like a sensible good man, to see whether the public are so ardent in their admiration of him as his friends have led him-to believe. The public do admire him, but they are afraid of his preponderating power. It is Dransfield against Wellington. That is about the size of it. (Cheers.) I have not much more to say. Of course I should like to see the town governed in a quiet and godly way. Of course the ratepayers wish to pay as few rates as possible, but if they elect me upon the idea that I can effect any material reduction of the rates I must say I can make no promise of the kind. We have the good fortune to live in the centre of the colony; we have the

good fortune to be citizens of what must be in a very short time the leading city—commercially as well as otherwise—in the colony. It is already the Seat of Government; it is called the Empire City, and it ought to have the greatest influence. All the business of the colony ought to radiate from the centre, and if it does not it will be your own fault. We must be prepared to pay rates liberally, but we should also see that all the city officials keep the traces tight. Many reforms are required in the Council, and it is undoubted that you do require new blood. I am prepared to serve you, though I confess 1 am not now so young iu years; but all the energy I have is at your service. The Council, in its wisdom, has voted a salary of £2OO a-year to the Mayor, which is a very paltry sum indeed. It is not sufficient inducement to take the office, and I feel very strongly disinclined to take anything whatever ; in fact, I shall advise the Council to keep that £2OO ayear in its pocket; and I will serve the city faithfully without any pay whatever. Your Mayor ought to be chosen for his virtues, his good sense, bis strength of mind, and for his courage—not for bis riches ; but he should be allowed to enjoy as much privacy as is consistent with his responsibility to the city. Several questions were asked and satisfactorily answered, when Mr. Worth moved—“ That in the opinion of this meeting Mr. Moorhouse is a fit and proper person to fill the office of Mayor of this city.” The motion was seconded by Mr. George Allen, and carried unanimously. The meeting then broke up.