MR. BARTON’S ADDRESS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5301, 22 March 1878, Page 3

MR. BARTON’S ADDRESS.

Mr. G. E. Barton addressed a crowded meeting of elector. 1 ! at the Theatre Royal last evening. Mr. Beauchamp presided, and on the platform we noticed Messrs. Marks, Fitzherbert, Wallace, Duncan, Peters, Gilligan, and Mr. Barton, jun. The Chairman having bespoke a fair hearing for the speaker. Mr. Barton, who was received with loud and prolonged applause, premised his remarks by statingthat he intended no slight to the constituency when he declined the offer of a triumphant procession from gaol. There was no man in the country who would have felt such an honor more than himself. He had refused it because he was determined that his enemies should not have the chance of saying that he used mob influence, or allowed it to effect the great public question which existed between 1 himself, his clients, and certain parties. (Applause.) He wished to congratulate the constituency upon the great victory which they had obtained. When the Philistines of old were oppressing a certain favored race, a champion arose and slew those Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. They had done a greater feat than that, for they had accomplished a victory, while the jawbone was locked up until the contest was over. (Laughter.) They had showed that the most conservative part of New Zealand was as democratic as any of the Australian colonies had yet proved themselves to be. They hid taught the rest of the constituents of this colony that their opponents were like Chinese soldiers, holding out painted shields with gorgeous heads behind them, with no arms of precision. They had released him for ever from the longest, sorest, and most painful transgression that ever a man had suffered. It had gone for ever, and he had to thank the citizens of this town for entirely destroying it. After detailing the subjects upon which he intended to touch, he said, with regard to the franchise for the Lower House, it had been stated by Mr. Moss, the newly-returned member for Parnell, that there were 88,000 male adults in New Zealand and 52,000 electors on the roll, there thus being 36,000 non-electors, and Mr. Moss considered the voters sufficiently numerous. He did not regard the proportion ns a fair one. He found that the population of Wellington was reported to be 21,000. There were 5000 adult males in Wellington, and only 2027 on the roll of electors, which he did not think was right. With regard to the late election, Mr. Pearce’s supporters were polled to a man, the only ones who did not vote being those who were absent from Wellington ; yet out of a possible 2027 voters only 1233 voted, leaving 791 who did

not vote. Where were those 794 electors ? He would explain. ■ The hours for polling were from nine in the, morning until ‘four • in.- the afternoon,'and the working man’s hours .were from eight o'clock until, five, consequently he was at work during the polling hours. (Hear, hearj)' They might say that the working man could vote ■ during’ his -dinner .hour, but there were only two polling. ■ placer, which were ■widely' < apart, arid consequently .many of them had not the time, to register their vote. His son had been told by the working men not to send a cab for then; and that would account for many others not voting. During the late election he had no committeerooms but his own office, as people who had convenient places had refused to let him have tlie use of them, ,and the Odd Fellows Hall was the only place his sou could got in which to hold a meeting. Again, there was wellgrounded reason to believe that : the ballot was not secret. He did not wish to cast any imputations on the returning officer, but there was no concealing the fact that there was a person who knew, and there were deputies of that person who knew, every man that had voted. That was riot a right thing to exist in the system of ballot. Having explained the present system, he said that each of - the papers were numbered, so that the voter was known, and this was intended to intimidate the voter. He commended the system prevalent in France and Italy of voting, by dropping a colored marble iu a box;aud accordingly the greatest secresy was observed. In the late election there was a deal of duplicate voting; but he could inforni them that it was almost, confined to those voting for his opporients, and some of them were highly respectable men. The newspapers tried to hide the matter by stating that it had been done in mistake.' When iu Victoria, practising as a barrister, he had prosecuted some men, amongst them a member of Parliament, for personating voters. Tbeygot their several years of imprisonment. He would see there was no thing of that sort done in Wellington, for if he discovered any personators he would prosecute them, even if they were the most respectable men in the place—members of the Club. (Applause.) Half of the population was disfranchised one way or the other, and Sir George Grey had told them that manhood _ suffrage was_ a remedy for this—an opinion in which he heartily shared. He held that every man who could read ought to have a vote, and every man who could intelligently follow public movements, although he could not read or write, should be entitled to a vote. The aristocracy had said that this man had no interest in the country ; but the poor man, he held, was equally liable to be called upon iu the service of his country. Although a man might be unable to read or write, if he had sufficient intelligence to acquire property, that man was able to follow public move meats, and had equal interest in the country. If Sir George Grey went in for manhood suffrage pure and simple, he would have his vote. Another great reform was required iu the matter of registration for electors, which was now confined to the mouths of January,l ebruary, and March. Why should not registration be effected all the year round. He thought the hours of polling should be altered so that a workingman could record his vote>if he so pleased, an hour before he went to work or an hour after he went to work. He also complained of there not being sufficient and proper polling booths in the town, which was a great inconvenience to working men. Wellington had 22,000 inhabitants, and .he certainly considered it was entitled to more than two members. There was a time when probably Wellington did not desire to have two members. :A Voice ; We had three.

Mr. Barton : Well, there was a time when you had three too many, but the place has Droved itself worthy to be the capital of the colony. Referring to the choice of representatives, he asked what was the use of having a good electoral law, and even manhood suffrage,if they could not get good membersof Parliament? It was different in the time of Provincial Councils, when every little place had its Provincial Council, and members, who had to go but a short distance from their homes, only sat for a couple of months in the year. The late session of Parliament lasted six months, and the next would probably last six months, if not more. He asked how it was possible for the constituents of this colony to be represented by members who could stay away six months from their business. No lawyer, doctor, small farmer, merchant, or storekeeper could do it. The runholders and speculators alone could do it. It had paid them handsomely to go into Parliament. He illustrated his argument by an American story, in 1 which a smart boy took a situation as farm servant, saying he did not care for wages, as there was always “something to be picked up.” Those who got into Parliament for nothing were always looking for. something that paid them. All his life he had been a warm advocate for the payment of members of Parliament. He had seen a wealthy squatter give ostentatiously to a: benevolent asylum. That man had £50,000 a year derived from land, and he could well afford to do it. He held strong opinions on this question. No man could say he wanted payment as a member, because he could make more outside of it. The land question was creating a deal of attention. The land was being kept from the people. The raising of the price of land to £2 per acre prevented the poor man competing against the rich man. Oh this question Sir George Grey had proved himself to be a true man, and had tried his best to prevent the Land Act passed last session from becoming law. The taxation of this country was most unfair and unequal. On gold there was a tax of 2s per ounce, and there was also, the miner’s right of £1 a year, whereas he could not find that there was tax on wool, but he thought wool'should be taxed equally with gold. He also referred to the stamp dues, which pressed unevenly on the poor man, and other items of taxation. He advocated the establishment of a trades hall, and considered that the Government should grant a piece of laud for the site. The education question was one of considerable importance. He found that the Tablet, a Catholic organ, had mentioned in its last number that it was perhaps a mistake to return him as a member of Parliament because he was an Orangeman, the sou of an Orangeman, the nephew of an archdeacon, and the cousin of a dean, but if he proved true to his jjledges he might not turn out so bad. He knew that at the late election he had the votes of his Catholic fellow-countrymen, for which he was grateful ; but ho had not made them any pledges to secure his own return. He was not an Orangeman, although the son of one. He was a Protestant holding liberal views. He did not believe that there had ever been an election in Wellington, except ‘ the one at which he was returned, when the Eechabites had voted with the publicans. He believed in purely secular education, as they had no right to question the feelings of a man who, from conscientious motives, refused to send Ids children to a denominational school. Regarding the Local Option Bill, he thought it should be left to the public, and not to the police, to say whether more hotels were requiredornot. Policelawwasabadlaw. Unless the police and publicans were downright angels,'.corruption must ensue from a law which makes a policeman arbiter of what should be or should not be. He would not say that Inspector Atoheson did not do his duty as well as any man, but he knew that some houses found it very easy to get a, license, and some very difficult. The law ought to enforce penalties for selling adulterated liquors. He believed in the increase of rational amusement for the people, such as recreation grounds, museums, .libraries, theatres, and lectures, all of which tended to diminish drunkenness. He now came to the grand subject he wanted to instil into the minds of the people. . There was in this colony an Augean stable. He believed that the uncleansed stables of the Augeans must have been Courts of law, and that Hercules was some lawyer or other, who turned in a flood of public opinion and light upon these Courts. It was a very good thing to have a first-class Parliament, with firstclass legislation and laws of a liberal kind; but what was the good of them if the Court that administered them was not right ? Englishmen were so accustomed to an almost perfect

administration of the law that they could not credit the existence of (its. defects in .this colony, i .Unfortunately ( there were many defects' in the administration of the law which; he; wanted to. show;' them.:; Successive Governments .had j vied throughout the colony iu destroying the efficacy of .-Courts:,as far as they could. • In:order to prevent the best lawyers; reaching: the) best road, to the bench, the Legislature made a permanent: Attorney-General. ,He .would endeavor to prove to them that the law Courts of Wellington were worse than inefficient from examples drawn from their, own city. They must not think he was entering on a personal matter. He was’ speaking on the question in; a broad light. When he commenced practice in Wellington, whilst conducting an application before the Licensing Bench, his. remarks were frequently interrupted by a constable.standing behind, who made observations on his remarks; other lawyers seemed to take this, as a matter of course, but Ho (Mr, Barton) soon put a stop to it, very quickly. He referred to a member of the force who had great influence in the Court, who carried on a sort of trading on his own account. He referred to a man who had been brutally ill-used when handcuffed at the lock-up. Regarding the civil side of the Court, he alluded to certain lawyers being favored by the, officers of the Court by their paying a commission. He knew a case in which a bailiff had been in receipt of Bs. per week to prevent him'putting in an execution. That money was paid personally to an officer of the Court. After some allusions to imprisonment for debt, he said he would come to the Supreme Court, which he regarded as the great Augean stables. He referred to Woodgate’s case, which might have been a judicial murder. This was a matter of life and death. There were only two Judges on the' bench ou this occasion. Cases were decided here iu such a manner that counsel were quite unable to say what judgments the_ .Court might give. He also referred at length to the jury system, and stated that the Judges tried to make it as onerous and miserable as possible iu every shape and form, so as to have it abolished. He remembered a case of a juryman being fined because he could not attend and swear that he was ill. The special jury list had only ninety-one names upon it. (Shame.) It was monstrous. He intended to take objection to the whole jury panel, and make them prepare a new list. Counsel were degraded by having to sit on wooden chairs whilst the judges sat on cushioned seats. He alluded to the case of Peters v. Joseph, and also to the: circumstances which led to his committal for contempt of Court, adding that the moment he came out of gaol he went to the Bar of New Zealand, and asked if the question was one demanding a Parliamentary inquiry, and the opinion of the Bar was that his was a case calling for inquiry. He asked the meeting, to pass a resolution affirming the desirability of an inquiry being held concerning the manner in which the Judges at Wellington had conducted the business of the Supreme Court, aud to ascertain whether the clients in Mr. Barton’s hands had been treated with injustice or not. (Applause.) He had suffered for doing what was right, and he demanded an inquiry. He asked them to pass the resolution by acclamation. (Cheers.) If lie was wrong, let him be driven from the country, as he would deserve to be ; but if he were in the right, his clients had been wronged. He did not care so much for himself, but he demanded an inquiry in the interests of justice. If the Government was, as it professed to be, an honest and democratic one, it would not shirk its duty, and he did not think they, would refuse him an inquiry if he were-supported by public opinion. It was well known that he had been carrying on a good business, but they would be surprised to hear that he was a poorer man by £2OOO than when he landed in Wellington. He never got costs from the Courts where they could be refused, .and he bad paid a large amount of costs, out of his own pocket. After he had been in gaol eight or nine days - he sent down to ascertain whether it was on the recort of the Court what his alleged contempt had been, and there was no record of it. In conclusion, he thanked them for the patient hearing they had given him, and for their passing the resolution submitted to them. He expressed his willingness to answer any questions that might be put to him; but none were put. Mr. Barton resumed his seat amid loud cheering. Mr. J. H. Wallace, in proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Barton for the expression of his political views as a supporter of the present Government, said he had nothing to do with the Utter part of his speech, which was a matter for Parliamentary inquiry. He hoped, however, that he would bear in mind that the South had had the lion’s share of the Public Works policy in the construction of railways, and that his place in Parliament Mr. Barton would consider what was due to the North Island, and support the action of his predecessor (Mr. Travers) in pushing on the proposed railway from the Upper Hutt to the West Coast, and also the speedy completion of the Wairarapa railway. ' ' Mr. Peters seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to the' chairman brought the proceedings to a close. '