MR. WAKEFIELD AND THE WORKING MEN OF WELLINGTON.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4808, 19 August 1876, Page 2

MR. WAKEFIELD AND THE WORKING MEN OF WELLINGTON.

Last evening a very large meeting of working men was held at the Princess Hotel, to take into consideration the conduct of Mr. Edward Wakefield. The convener of the meeting did not appear. Mr. George Taylor was voted to the chair, and he read a report of Mr. Wakefield's remarks. Mr. South, who had acted as secretary of the reception committee, then entered into an explanation of how the demonstration had been got up, and said not only had the Government or any of its people not contributed, but they had not even paid for their _ tickets to the dinner. The reception which Sir Julius Vogel had met with in Wellington was a reception which would have been given him no matter at what city he had landed, and was a reception of which he had been worthy. The reception had a good effect, too, for after the aspersions which had been cast upon his character ,it proved that the people did not approve of the accusations made, and it had strengthened him in meeting Parliament. Mr. South then moved the following resolution : " That this meeting most emphatically denies the accusations made by Mr. Edward Wakefield, member for Geraldine, in the House of Representatives, that the reception committee ef Sir Julius Vogel and the working men of Wellington %vere loafers." This was seconded; and Mr. John Olarkson then read some correspondence between himself and Mr. Wakefield. It seems that having been in the gallery he had heard the speech, and next morning wrote a letter remonstrating with Mr. Wakefield on his conduct. To that a reply had been received by him, which he read. The following is the reply:— "Wellington, ISth August, 1876.—Sir,—I have to thank you for your letter of yesterday's date, respecting certain words used by me in the course of my speech on Sir George Grey's resolutions on YVednesday. I may say that at the time of the reception demonstration, to which I referred, I was absent from Wellington, and could therefore only draw my information concerning it from what I read in the public prints, or heard privately from friends of my own. From these sources I certainly acquired an impression that, although a great many worthy people took part in the demonstration from motives which no one can respect more than I do, there yet were a great many of that idle class who are always to be found in every large town ready to join in any sensational agitation which may be suggested to them by those who have their own purposes to serve. In> making the remarks which I made, nothing, I assure you, was farther from my intention than to cast any reflection on those who, gaining an honest living by honest labor fulfil the highest destiny of civilised society—[Voices : Loafers] —and help to build up the fabric of a nation. [Oh, oh ! bosh ! soft Boap !] I confess, however, that I have a strong antipathy from the term 'working men,' as used to designate a social caste. In a young and progressive country like this, I regard every settler who gains his living either with head or hands as a, working man ; and so rapid and various are the changes in respect of social position amongst us, that the use of that phrase in a special sense cannot but be invidious. Having a very long acquaintance with this colony, and especially with Wellington, I am aware that many of our leading colonists began their career in the pursuit of daily labor ; and I am convinced that in the future similar results will attend the exercise of the same industry and enterprise which they displayed. Why, then, should we distinguish 'working men' from any other men or endeavor to place in a class those to whom all classes are open. I very much regret if any words of mine could have been construed to mean that I considered people such as these ' loafers.' What I really meant to convey was that certain interested persons, with the aid of an idle element, had led a highly respectable section of the community into a false position. I subjoin a paragraph, published in the Evening Post at the time, from which, to some extent, my ideas of the affair were drawn. —I am, &c, Edward Wakefield, M.H.R. for Geraldine." The paragraph alluded to, and which had been written in deprecation of beer barrels being placed at the corners of streets, was also read. Several persons present uttered fervent prayers for Mr. Wakefield's good health, but one gentleman, of a very practical turn of mind, said he did not see any necessity for further talk, and charitably suggested that " Wakefield should be hung." The meeting generally did not fall in with this benevolent idea, and Mr. Sutherland, who said he had come all the way from the Upper Hutt to be present at the meeting for the purpose of defending the character of Mr. Black, chairman of the reception committee, at present out of the colony, at some length gave his opinion on the conduct of the man who had so " scandalously and abominably" libelled the working men of Wellington.— Mr. Andrew Young next addressed the meeting to the affect that Mr. Wakefield would not have dared to speak in a public meeting as he had done under the sheltering privilege of Parliament.—Mr. W. H. Quick pointed out that in seriously discussing Mr. AVakefield's conduct they were but doing the hon. member a very great service; were bringing into notoriety a man who would not otherwise be heard of, and whose slanders would leave no more impression upon au intelligent mind than would the vagaries of a madman. . This sensible idea was pooh-poohed, and the motion was then put and carried. The next resolution, proposed by Mr. Anderson and seconded by Mr. Edwards, was to the following effect: — " That this meeting considers Mr. Wakefield has cast a most disgraceful and undeserved slur upon the people of Wellington, and that he should be called on to make a public apology to those whom he has insulted."—Mr. Marshall then made a speech exonerating Mr. Wakefield from blame, because his information had been derived from a Wellington paper, the Post; but the resolution was carried. Some other persons then spoke, and amongst the matters touched upon was the conduct of some of Mr. Wakefield's relatives. The meeting having disposed of Mr. Wakefield, a motion was then tabled in respect of the conduct of one of the evening papers. Both papers were represented; but the editor of one paper hadbeen clever enough to enlist the sympathies of a few leading spirits, who brought forward this motion, censuring the other evening paper for its line of conduct in respect to the demonstration. The editor of the offending journal stood up and made a vigorous defence of his writings and the policy of the paper. He met with considerable opposition, and as he was hissed, his strategic friend smiled the smile of a Mephistopheles, and rubbed his hauds gleefully as he saw the Post's editor foundering and floundering in the tub of hot water so nicely prepared. The victim of the little plot becoming riled, at last attacked the author personally, and said had he been guilty of the same conduct as one gentleman in the room—a man who for two and a half years in the Post had vilified and defamed Sir Julius Vogel, who was now the idol of his idolatory—he would have wellearned the sobriquet of double-dyed scoundrel. The allusion to this well-known expression drew all eyes upon an individual connected with the Wellington Press ; and as a peroration the now very irate speaker wound up by remarking that if that gentleman wanted personal satisfaction he could have it at any tune he was pleased to appoint. Thft meeting closed shortly after, having first emphatically set its face against the attempt of one newspaper editor to take advantage of a temporary popular|crytogetan expression of .public opinion against an opposition journal, adjourned, it being understood that the resolutions passed shoxild be forwarded to Mr. Wakefield.