SIR WILLIAM EITZHERBERT AT THE UPPER HUTT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 533, 30 April 1878, Page 2

SIR WILLIAM EITZHERBERT AT THE UPPER HUTT.

•Last evening the Hon. Sir William Fitzherbert, the member for the Hntt, addressed a numerously attended meeting of electors [at the Upper Hutt. There were several visitors from various parts of the district.

The Hon. Sir W- Fitz Herbert, who waa received with cheers, said .* Mr. Chairman and electors of the Hutt, it is with very great pleasure that I am hereto meet you.' At the same time I am afraid that a great deal too much has been made of this meeting. I wifi tell you what I mean. Articles have appeared having the effect of making it probable that I; was contemplating heading a party to obtain’ the government of the colony, and not long after the appearance of such articles it is . ; announced in 'large type that I “ am about to address- the electors of the Upper Hutt. Commentaries are made upon that announcement,. to, the - effect that “ we shall now see whether Sir William Fitzherbert is about really to-head the Opposition and oust the present Ministry.” I assure you that in all this ! am no more than anyone of you whom I have - now the honor to address. Let me express to you, to the electors of the Hutt and the. adjoining districts, to the whole of the. electorate, that I am deeply indebted to them for long-continued confidence, for much kind consideration, for much indulgence, without which X may truly say that at times my . heart .would have, failed me when I have had onerous and difficult duties to, perform. Expectations have been raised that I am about to make a political. speech to the electors of the Hutt, r aud to talk ; over their heads to the people of New Zealand —that X am about as it were to make a political manifesto. No such thing ever entered, my head. It is no. doubt something cf a dereliction of duty, of a plain, duty on my part, that I have not asked you - before this to meet me. It is a good and wholesome plan, one which I have very" frequently adopted, one I think ( right, one which is - entirely consistent with the whole of my political views, nainely, that representatives should take opportunities, frequent opportunities, of making the electors acquainted with their views, with the conduct they have pursued, and‘ with the ; reasons for that conduct. I have been trespassing too muchjupou your kind indulgence, and have been somewhat, negligent in not ask- . ing you to meet me. I should be very sorry if therefore a significance should be attached to the present meeting it never had in my mind. In truth you have asked me to meet you rather than I hare asked you to meet me. That is the simple narration of the facts of the case. TTq. vina—*wvworehttfc —cleared “the ground I may say that there are some subjects which, as Speaker, I may, without violating the duties of the high office ■ I hold, refer to, acd that may be of some interest. There may be an absence of that kind of stimulus that would be present if I were simply a member of the Parliament of New Zealand, sitting amongst the other members on the floor of tue Honse. If that were so there is no doubt my tongue would be loosed to say many things to you. X have never hidden my light under a bushel, and I have never been deterred from expressing my : opinions freely, whatever might be. the consequence, but the position I hold necessarily ; precludes me, necessarily puts trammels round me ; and if you cfme to-night, to hear, , and if gentlemen in other parts of New Zealand are on the tiptoe of . expectation to hear by telegraph utterances from me of a sensational character, I am sorry to say that all will be as much . disappointed as anyone would be who went to see the Derby and found that the favorite had to run with hobbles on. (Cheers and laughter), I have full confidence in your indulgence, and believe that you will not misinterpret my reason in speaking with the care-which a man in the position of Speaker must observe, holding as he does the ■ scales equally and fairly, so far as lies in him, between oonteadiog parties, sometimes inflamed to white heat,-—and to do that, is no easy matter.;, I hops I may count upon your indulgence, and that you will not consider it any disrespect to you- if I . keep to myself opinions that I . have; for I believe that you will attribute any such 1 proner and dutiful silence to the cause to which i have referred. But do not think that because a Speaker cannot go to his constituents and make them a spiced speech suitable to the palates of even those whose digestion has become somewhat impaired from over-indulgence in sensational Phillipics,—do not think, , therefore, that a Speaker is necessarily a mere roifain&int, a mere idle person, a useless appendage. He has a great responsibility and a graat influence. Asto whether I-have succeeded in performing the delicate duties of that office so well as I might do is for others to judge,—it is not for me to say. One thing I may assure you, to the very utmost, and to the best of the powers within me, I have endeavored to perform those sometimes very difficult duties. (Cheers.) ; Many eventful political occurrences have taken - place since you did me the honor last to return me as your representative, A groat political change—l will not use the word reform, for conscientiously I do not believe it suitable—a great political change, that which is called by .those who made it—l use their term—a revolution, has occurred. You will remember that when the last general.election took place the position ©f New Zealand waa V this: A Bill had been passed to abolish your local institutions; but it had been passed with this proviso, which had been secured by who opposed the change I was one of them—that this law should npt come into force until “ after the next session of the General Assembly.” Prior to that next session of the General Assembly there .was to be an appeal to the people by way of a dissolution. That dissolution took place. That appeal I may call a partial appeal, because it was an appeal not against a law proposed to be made, but against a law already made, an appeal as it wore against a foregone conclusion, which waa an exceedingly handicapped affair. Nevertheless these were the best terms which could be obtained by those who held the same views as myself. There is no doubt whatever that the result of the appeal to the people of New Zealand was to confirm the action of the Assembly. The people of New Zealand said most unreservedly, “ VVe will have none of such institutions ; we are tired of them; they are done with;-we have grown out of them;” and it was for wls® and prudent statesmen to acquiesce in the verdict of the country. (Hear, hear.) I told the people of this electorate that if the opinion of the people' of New Zealand, through the majority of their representatives, was in favor of the change, I for one should regretfully, but respectfully, - bow and observe their verdict. But a responsibility did lie on those who brought about the revolution. Let us consider for a moment what it consisted in. It consisted in taking from the people of New Zeahmcl the,power of electing their own chief officers, of electing their own representatives, in p\^. small Parliaments, of keeping; that chief officer m check, of having from him year by year a do. tailed account of all the executive action that had taken place during &ho 7 ear * °* examining Mm, of having him up before committees. It is impossible to conceive any other form or adaptation of government over imagined by the

wisest and most consideratehead iQwhich bro'id democratic principles were laid down with greater generosity and with a fnlier confidence in the inhabitants of the country than in the constitution-which the people of this country have, after an appeal to them, condemned, A terrible and grave responsibility rested on those who proposed such a revolution, upon those who so wrought on the public mind as to induce tiro people to deliver up ns if it were an unholy thing a privilege so great that I scarcely know any country in ancient or modern history that had a form of government laid down more liberal than that which you deliberately renounced. It the description I hive given be true, what a grave responsibility vested on those who destroyed that edifice, what a great responsibility to build up something that should . be better, more suitable to the people, and more in consonance with those liberal views which Englishmen, thank God, have up to tho present time, in every part of the world, labored, and toiled for, and aspired to. Have those reasonable hopes been realised ? Have those who so cruelly, as I think, deprived the people of this great colony, given us anything tetter in exchange? "What have they given in exchange ? I toll yoti plainly, that from the experience I have had, and I have been a watchful observer of what was placed in lieu of those institutions, —I declare to you I know of no illustration more fit than to say for bread they have given you a stone, Will anyone pretend to say that tho system which has been the only thing preferred to this country in lieu of that which the people have lost, is capable of performing all that , jr<vs performed by the system it replaced? mt I require more than that. The people of , < ij'country have a right when a revolution takes place—-God forbid that should be one who has so read history as to : say. that revolutions had not done good in the world, - for if there had been no revolutions we should not have been so progressive as we are. (Hear, hear.) Don’t think, therefore, that I am an enemy of revolutions if they are needed, and that is the true crucial test. The people have n right to require at the hands of those who have effected and compassed a revolntie u, that what is to replace that which has been destroyed shall be better than the thing which has been cast out. Am I not right 1 Is that not plain sound reasoning ? The answer can bo only in one direction. Certainly a better thing we have a right ‘to have. I will only ask you if yon have got a better thing ? :

You don’t know what you have got, or whether , it is as well adapted to carry on the administration of the country as that which’ you have lost. The utmost has, I believe, been done throughout New Zealand to carry out that administration effectively. 1 1 do not complain. of that, but I say that the lines of the vessel have not been so laid that she could sail in the manner of her predecessor. Throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand there is not a man who, if he tells you the truth, will say there is anything that has replaced our provincial institutions. The new system is hut a stranger among you ; it is not appropriated, it is, not assimilated, it is not a part of yourselves, and it cannot be. What was the grievous fault of provincialism ? What was the horrid thing that had to be cast out 1 It ' was because the people of ; this' country, those who la another country would be called' the unwashed, - had the power of electing their representatives, of criticising and questioning them, and-of examining and knowing the bottom of everything that went on. What have you now 3- You have got nothing throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand but a mystery. I ask yon to consult your own consciences and your own experiences ; I appeal to the people of the whole of New Zealand to say whether they know what takes place in New Zealand at present. Formerly they : did know something. God forbid that I should profess to you that what you lost was perfect. It ought to have been reformed, but it ought : not to have been abolished. Nothing took place in yonr own representative assembly which you had not an opportunity of criticising day by day. What takes place now ? Do you know anything about it? Little articles are put in the papers, and sub-leaders, but all information is bottled up, and you know nothing about it. (Cheers and laughter). I am how freer to speak upon this subject than I was formerly. When a man speaks in favor of anything from which he draws his daily bread, his sustenance, his luxuries, it is but human nature to make certain reductions and discount on what he says. We all do it, and it is a proper thing to <l..—Wi.or. nj nupcrltirfsHl -irb n man draws £BOO a-year, has a great innnx authority, is capable of appointing here and dismissing there, and of doing a variety of things, of a surety men would say, and very properly, that man is speaking for his bread. “ Speaking for hia bread, friend, speaking for his bread.” I recollect coming suddenly upon two men conversing. One was dancing about; I will say, like the inhabitants of that island so admirably described by Disraeli, —(“It looks down upon the melancholy sea”)—like a man dancing on College Green and trailing his coat behind him, and he was saying, “If I had £BOO a year would’nt X fight ! fight ! fight! would’nt I fight to the death for it." There is no doubt that on this occasion I stumbled upon a conversation referring more particularly to the unworthy gentleman who is now addressing yon. That is the kind of way that great subjects are often distorted and held up in a malignant and odious fashion. I am now free from that, for it does not affect me personally, and my opinions do not affect my position. . They are free from the suspicion of being in any way biassed in a certain direction and from the suspicion' that my daily bread is ’dependant upon them. (Cheers.) So far from altering my opinion, I now say that one of the most grievous, wrongs that was ever perpetrated was. committed by that act to which I have referred, —I give yon that as my deliberate opinion, free from any possible misinterpretation, and free from any suspicion of bias. That being my deliberate opinion, I would bo very wrong as yonr representative if I did; not give it you. What an extraordinary thing has lately occurred in New Zealand ! For some months - attention has been arrested in various parts of New Zealand ’-—I {may: say in every chief centre, and in; many subordinate centres: .of population—by elaborate and powerful speeches. I . have not hid an opportunity, of hearing any of them, but eo far as I gather from the unani-: mens assent of the public press they have been powerful/appeals made by a most powerful orator—a man who is identified with New Zealand by many ■ a year of toil in early: , days and in. later days. The country in all its centres of population has been appealed to, bat in what general direction ? - In the general direction of democracy. Do not let us blind ourselves by using long words /without meaning. What I intend to convey is this : the people have been directly appealed to on the principle that the people are powerful; that they are the masters ; that they ought to have full control and sway ; that they have not had enough; that they have been comparatively, j speaking down-trodden, and that this new i’-angel, this new Gospel of democracy, is to ■ , ’"■<# them to a proper sense of self-respect, and ty cause them to assert their political rights. I do not thiuk that is an inapt- or incorrect description : of what has taken place in New Zealand. for the last six or seven , months.X believe it is quite, correct. If tbis bo true, what are we to comprehend . when we are now told to assert our rights as British freemen? I cannot understand a doctrine which is an insult to the people of New Zealand, that is to say, that the gospel of democracy should bo preached to a people who a few years ago threw in the dirt the most democratic principle ever given to any people in the world. It is not only men that hare suffered in the cause of freedom. Women have been martyrs as well as men, and amongst those martyred stands one who lived in France and might well hold a high place. In her last momenta of agony she exclaimed, “ Ob, liberty, liberty, what horrors have been committed in thy name,” I say that to utter words from your lips which mean one thing, and to do another thing, is to be guilty of hypocrisy. I detest sham and hypocrisy. I ask you in this case whether you have not given up the substance and got the shadow ? whether -you have not given up the real power and taken things which are showered upon your head in the shape of blessings? What is the good . of, raising a pretty vision of something ; that you have nothing to do with. The people themselves have done away with their freedom, and it is simply ridiculous to preach the gospel of democracy - and freedom. I have already told yon that great changes have taken place since we last met. You must not think that these words . of mine tend to any inclination on my part to bring back that which is lost, the provincial form of' government. That is like a river , that has passed' on : : it has gone. What is taking place in Europe now is not a bad illustration. I think wo have heard a great deal' about the Bulgarian atrocities, and our Christian feelings have been horrified at these things] but do you think that if you gave those :.-'people-a constitution such as yours to-morrow fbey would keep it ? No; they would lose it; ’ j£ not tomorrow, at any rate shortly; because

instead of their making it themselves it would bo made for then>. Have you the same affection for a child you havo_ adopted as for one which was born to you in tho natural way . No. Do not misinterpret what I say. Tlicre was a conspiracy wrought out in the province of Canterbury to destroy- that which I have referred to, but the people who entered into the conspiracy had not the courage to put their hands into their pockets and take out that which was their own. I refer to the Land. Revenue of this colony. It was that which brought about the revolution I have referred to; and those who brought it about had but little idea of what would be tho result. What wai it that chiefly brought about a change in the Administration last session ? Why, simply that land revenue question; but it is a singular fact that those who were most opposed to that measure last session aro now tho wannest supporters of it. They said, “If we are to be a great nation we must have one common purse;” and although it was done in a kind of faltering way, they took 80 per cent, and they might just as well have taken 100 per cent. It lias been considered, and with some degree of justice, that the South Island was the milch cow that supplied all the land revenue, and that none but unscrupulous politicians in tho North wished to get hold of this enormous revenue and appropriate it to their own purpose. Well, lot us see how this greedy North Island stands in respect of land revenue. I I have a map in my hand, and you will observe that the prevailing color is brown ; all that land which is painted brown is native laud. ' The only island in New! Zealand that has anything like an interior is clearly the North Island. It has a breadth that you find nowhere else, and you sea that the brown tint goes over nearly the whole of it. The consequence is that we m'e almost entirely hemmed in. One of the great things wanted in the Hutt, and pirticubuly in the Upper Hutt, is an outlet—not a jnere ad dt sac, but an outlet to the West Coast of this. Island. (Applause.) Do you suppose that'if the provincial institutions had continued in existence that would have been the state'of things to-day ? I say no. I say that tho land between Manawatu and Waikanae was bought by me while I was Superintendent, but the matter was pigeon-holed. I can, however, toll yon that if provincial institutions had. continued to exist there would now have been at least ten thousand people settled between the Hutt and the Manawatu, and there would have been a railway running. between the two .places.,- The fact is that Ministers do -not know anything about the country. Isay that if you go, to'the Minister,.for Native, Affairs or Public Works on any subject relating to this part of the country, his, mind is a blank. The valley of the Waikanae consists of as, fine land as there is.to.be found in any part of the world. Between Waikanae and - Egmont there is nothing to stop; you but the rivers ; but excepting a few ferries, the means of communication are not in any way imnroved. Was this a thing to boast of ? In the Upper Hutt there is rich and beautiful land and a splendid climate ; but it is absolutely as; great a waste as it was when the first .settler came to it. - When I became Superintendent I looked about in. order to see what would be useful to develop the resources of the province. I knew that the acquisition of land was the great desideratum, and I set myself heartily to work to acquire it. -On my own application I was appointed a Commissioner for the Purchase of Native Lands, and I met the chiefs who owned the land between here and Waikanae and purchased it. I went to the Government, the Prime Minister then being Mr. Waterhouse, and told them I would require £30,000. Theyoffered to give me£lo,ooo, but I would not accept that amount. I went to the Bank of New South Wales,.with which I had kept an account for a long time, and on the personal security of myself and, Messrs. Hunter and Bunny obtained an advance of £30,000. But when I was going to purchase the land I was told by the Government that Superintendents were not allowed to do these things, and that is why the Upper Hutt is hemmed in as it is., Do you know what the scheme is? It is to connect you with the Manawatu, that is to. say, you are to go by way of the Manawatu Gorge, and so: on to Foxton, and then to communicate with the Manawata. , 1 went to the previous Minister, for Public Works, Mr. Ormond, about this line, and he met',me in a very, fair, way ; but of course he knew nothing about the line itself; but I do not complain of the men, I complain of the system. Mr. Travers, tho member for Wellington, - also brought -np—the —subject ln._,the JLlqusc. He.

strongly advocated the making of the Hutt - Waikanae Eailway. There was a - general scramble for land wherewith to make railways. We had to do something of the same sort, and we went in for about 400,000 acres for the purpose of making this Hutt line. I may claim to be the father of this line, for I always advocated it. Mr. Barton and my son at last picked out a route. We have on this side a leading valley, and on the other side a leading valley. I have been two or three times to the present Minister for Public Works/Mr. Macandrew, who is a man of life and progress, aud he seems to be in favor of the line. Some years ago it was not ah easy thing to come to the Upper Hutt, although it is an easy matter to-day. That would not have been the case if provincial institutions had continued in existence. Why should we be compelled to go back to the beginning ? After you have got, say, as far as practice-in arithmetic, is it not sickening ,to have to go back to addition ? The question of administration at present is thorough trying up, the problem being access from the East to the West Coast.' All the work has to be done over again. They are to day actually trying up Kaiwarra. The whole thing is so supremely ridiculous that if I did. not solemnly assure you ‘of it you might think I was chaffing you. They have been trying up Ngahauranga, and now they are trying up Belmont. Of course that is absurd, but nevertheless these are the facts of the case, I have recommended Mr. Macandrew to employ a gentleman, Mr. Charles O’Neill, to survey the projected line of railway, so that, he might have an estimate of the cost, and have plans before him previous to the next session of Parliament. Mr. O’Neill is here to-night, and I think ho has done well to come hero. (Applause.) Some few years ago I; employed Mr. O’Neill to make a survey of this line; but the Government said they could not. approve of the route proposed by him, because they were bound in the interests of the public to go round' by -Ngahauranga and other places, in order that they might ascertain which was the best line to be made in the interest of the country. In this district we can only go by railway as far as .Kaltoke, while in the South Island they can go from Christchurch right through to Dunedin. Some years ago I requested Mr. O’Neill to come down from Auckland and make a survey of the proposed Hue over the Eimutaka, and he did so. His estimate of the cost of a lino by that route was £90,000. X presented his report to the Government, and they sent up some bigwigs, who gave it as their opinion that the whole tiling as proposed by Mr. O’Neill was an impracticable route. But? I say that by-and-bye the route proposed by them will be abandoned, and that of Mr. O’Neill will be adopted. These bigwigs proposed that the line should have a gradient o£ : lin 15, Ido not think that ' such a line will ever do, ■ X hope, that before this week is over Mr. O’Neill will bo able to form these lines and surveys, and that the Minister for Public Works will have these plans in his hand, so as to be prepared to ask; for a vote of money for the purpose of making the line ; and I would ask all of you to render him any aid you can. , You want to have' your arms extended to the West Coast. , The Upper Hutt has a great future before it; you have a more magnificent country before you than you are aware of, and I believe It will yield minerals as well as timber. _ I believe that the present Minister for Public Works, as I have said, is a man of progress,: -and will consider this matter in the righlj light, and cause a vote to be put on the Estimates next session- for the making of the Hutt-Waikanae railway. Otago and Canterbury, which form hut a small portion of the country, last year pro: ducod 3,743,018 bushels of wheat, 4,414,188 bushels of oats,6B9,OOObushelsof barley,or altogether upwardsof cightrnilfion bushels of grain ; but these provinces have been fully opened pp by railway. Our own mother country has actually to come out to this country for her grain; and yet thirty-five years ago New Zealand was peopled with aboriginals. We in this district cannot take part in producing this grain, because wo are hemmed in.- Sir William 1 Fitzherbert then thanked his audience for having listened to him so patiently, and sat down amidst great applause. In reply to Mr, J. Kush, ah elector, Bir William Fitziierbert said,ho was in favor of manhood suffrage so long as worthy ' men only were to he given votes,' but he altogether objected to tile extension of tho.frauchise to “loafers.” ' 1 ■ ■ -p

In reply to the same elector,: Sir William said that though ho admired Sir George Grey as a he wduld not promise to support him or any other man. Ho would always vote as his conscience directed. ■' -’' i

A vote of confidence, proposed by Mr. J. D. OruickshAnk, and seconded, by Mr..; James Brown, was carried unanimously. . Mr.. Rusk endeavored to make, a speech, but. the Chairman ruled him out of order. ‘