POST-SESSIONAL SPEECHES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5347, 17 May 1878, Page 3

POST-SESSIONAL SPEECHES.

THE HON. MR. FOX BEFORE HIS CONSTITUENTS. '

, (From the Wanganui Chronicle.) •. : In pursuance of notice to that effect, the , Hon. Mr. Eox addressed his Wanganui constituents in the Odd Fellows’ Hall last evening. There was a very good attendance, and the meeting was most orderly and sympathetic throughout, the only interruptions being the frequent bursts of applause with which the speaker was greeted. The chair was occupied by hia Worship tho Mayor, whose nomination to the presidency of th» meeting was moved and seconded by Mr. Henry Nathan and Mr. William Reid respectively. The chairman bavin" briefly introduced the hon. member, Mi°Fox, after some introductory remarks, observed that when he was elected a representative of Wanganui, the one great political question of the day was the abolition of provincial institutions. The electors, almost to a man, were in favor of that course, and he had in a previous session committed himself to it by voting for the resolutions which passed the Assembly on the subject. When, last session, the attempt was made to turn out the Ministry which had carried abolition, he considered that it was hia duty to vote so as not to endanger the safety of the abolition cause. The party who turned out the Atkinson Ministry were chiefly those who fought to the bitter end against abolition, and who, after it was carried, had proposed to set provincialism on its legs again, by creating a North Island and South Island province, with the seats of Government of each island at Auckland and Christchurch respectively. He did not consider this party as fit to be trusted with the constitutional question. They had to the very last moment denounced the new institutions, declared them utterly unsuitable and incapable of securing the good government of the colony. Were these man then to be entrusted with the duty of fostering these institutions, of bringing their machinery to perfection, and making them a success ? Was it not more likely that if put in a position to do it, they would endeavor to upset what had been done, and to carry out their own policy of re-establishment of the provincial system? He believed it would be so, aud ho determined, therefore, whether ho agreed or not with the Atkinson Government on other points, to keep them in power, because he believed them to be sound in this. He was satisfied that he was right in this view, and recent events had proved that the Grey; Government was secretly designing to thwart the new institutions, and reintroduce tho old in some modified shape, worse perhaps than the former. It was only ; a few days ago that Sir William Fitzherbert, who had been one of the extremest of the provincial party, had, in his speech at the Hutt, denounced the new institutions as utterly unsuitable, and had bewailed the fall of provincialism as a dire calamity. He had upbraided the people with “having cast into the dirt one of the best democratic forms of government which the world had ever seen.” “ They had,” he said, “ been deprived of their old and noble institutions, and instead of bread had ; been given a stone.’’ He called Sir George Grey the Angel of Democracy, and his speeches a New Gospel. He asserted (that “formerly the people knew something of their government, but that now throughout the length and breadth of the land there was nothing but the mystery of government.” Such were the opinions expressed by Sir William Fitzherbert of old provincialism and our new county system. It is true Sir William is not a member of the /Government, but till elevated to the Speaker’s chair ha was a prominent member of that , party, and it is evident from his late speech that he is still an ardent admirer of Sir George . • Grey, and hia policy. But there were other utterances besides his which could not be disregarded. , A few weeks ago, at a banquet at Dunedin, after dinner, when, according to the old adage, “ when the wine is in the truth will out,”, Mr. Macandrew, a prominent member of the Ministry, publicly expressed a hope that we should see “ provincial institutions restored, not perhaps quite in their original form.” . There were many other indications of the same intent. Changes were being made in the railway and police departments, which seemed to be intended as preparations for a separate administration in each island. The thing would no doubt be cautiously done. There are signs in the.. colony that a preparation is being made to upset the new system and replace the old. He (Mr. Fox) would uow give; them some account of the manner in which the change of Government was brought about. His respected colleague, Mr. Bryce, had attributed the fall of the Atkinson Ministry to their want of principle. When abolition was carried, he said the Atkinson Ministry had no principles left which they were not prepared to sacrifice in order to retain office ; and he gave as an illustration their withdrawal of the Native Lands Court Bill and the Charitable Aid Bill. Now, he differed from Mr. Bryce in hia view of the case. He did not impute to him any want of candor or truthfulness, but Mr. Bryce had unfortunately been absent from the House, owing to ‘ severe illness, during a great part of the session, and he was probably quite ignorant of what was going on. Otherwise, he would not have omitted all reference to the Middle Party and its .action, which really caused the overthrow of the Atkinson Government, and the. access to power of Sir George Grey, He would give them a brief account of the facts Mr. Fox then related the formation of, the Middle Party, consisting of a few members who were not satisfied with either party, and who thought that they could put themselves in a position to dictate to either, and probably so introduce into a new Ministry some of themselves. After a time there were indications of weakness on the part of the Government, and some of their supporters, imitating the rats in a rotten ship, began to follow their instincts and leave it. One of them, Mr, Larnaoh, backed by,the' Middle Party, undertook to move a vole of want of confidence. The Opposition secured the adherence of several more by positive assurances that neither Sir George Grey nor any of his extreme 1 followers should be in the new Ministry. On the strength of this pledge, they assisted to turn Atkinson out; and then in direct breach of their pledge formed the new Ministry with Sir George Grey at its head, and Mr. Macandrew as his principal colleague. Most of the Middle Party, on this, refused to support Sir George’s Ministry; but with the aid of the deserters from Major Atkinson, and a resort to tricks which did them little credit,.' they retained their seats, aud remained in, at the end of the session. There was really no principle at stake, at least openly, but, only a party struggle for power.

PRINCIPLES OF SIR GEORGE GREY’S GOVERNMENT. But as it has been alleged that the Atkinson Government was turned out for its want of principle, it was desirable to .learn what were the principles of the new one. In his opening speech as a Minister, Colonel Whitmore declared that “the Government would be conservative ; there would be no changes.” Now that Sir George Grey has been taking the colony into his confidence aud expounding his faith, we are told it is not of a conservative character, but the “Gospel of Democracy.” Mr. Fox had endeavored to ascertain from Sir George’s speeches what his principles were) but had much difficulty in understanding them. He reminded him (to use a happy illustration of a late writer) of that young man in one of Longfellow’s ’ poems, who climbed a lofty mountain with a flag in his hand inscribed with, the word “Excelsior,” but the young man had only the vaguest idea of the road he was going, and not . tho remotest notion of what he was going to do when he should get to the top. Tho three principal features of Sir George’s policy, however, appeared to be manhood suffrage, a land tax, and payment of members. But strange to say, while Sir George Grey declared that ho meant to fight these principles to “ the bitter end,” a large number of his followers had declared they would not support him upon them, and that his colleagues would have to compel him to modify them. So here we have the Atkinson Government put out of office because it had no principles, and the Grey Government put into office by men who declared they would not suffer him to carry his principles out.

HOW FAE ME, FOX APPKOVED OF THEIR PRINCIPLES. Ist As regarded manhood suffrage, ho was prepared to go a long way. They were not far from it already. If all the people were decently educated so as to be removed from some of the baser influences which too often guided their votes,'he would bo prepared to give every man, and every woman, too (if do au independent position), a vote. But unfortunately itwas not so. And, besides this, in a new country there was some reason for requiring actual residence fora time to insure the immigrant intending to remain, and to learn a little about the politics of the colony before he was allowed to vote. They would remember the story of the Irishman who, on landing in ; America, was besot by the' agents of thO two great parties, the Democrats and Bepublicans, each anxious to, secure his vote! ( “ I don’t know anything (about your parties,”

he'“said, “but have -you a Government?” “ Yes.” “ Then I'm agin that,” he replied. , Now, a little experience would have been good ' in that ease. He was not aware of anyone asking for an extension of the franchise In New Zealand, and he believed it was quite as extensive as prudence would dictate. LAND TAX. Mr. Fox had no objection to a land tax if it was an equitable and fair one, aud laid on all lands. He would contend also for a tax on other property, when it could be laid without driving property away. He quite agreed with the sensible remarks of Mr. Bryee on this subject, when he entered a vigorous protest against vindictive legislation. He objected entirely to legislation having for its object the bursting up of the big estates. That would bo secured fast enough by the operation of the general taxation of the country without its being necessary to make it a special point: to be secured. He objected to the proposal to tax all lands above a certain acreage. If such a tax were imposed, it should be on all lands, large aud small; and every man should contribute proportionately to the revenue of the country. This was a mere matter of justice ; but there were other reasons why the proposal to .vhich he had referred was a most objectionable one. It would be : certain .to create class feelings and prejudices. Happily the colony had hitherto been free from anything of that sort ; but if a line were drawn between the large aud small holders the former would soon begin to look down on the latter. He anticipated that a land tax would soon become a necessity, but he did not quite see why the tax should bo confined to land. He thought banks, insurance companies, and all institutions of a similar nature should bear their share of taxation. For himself he thought an income aud property tax; was the fairest of all, but there was of course the difficulty of collection. PAYMENT OP MEMBERS. He decidedly objected to this. He would pay bare expenses, but nothing more. Payment of members elsewhere had. been found to create a class of trading politicians, who got elected for the sake of pay, or for some other plunder for which they hoped to barter their vote. As far as he could learn; it had resulted in other countries in placing in the Legislature a large number of men without either intelligence or a stake in the country, and had been the means of keeping out many of the best and most able men in the’country. SIR GEORGE GREY’S ANTECEDENTS IN RELATION TO HIS PRESENT OPINIONS. - When he contrasted Sir George Grey’s present utterances with his past career, he (Mr. Fox) was much puzzled to understand him, and on his reading his Gospel of Democracy, as Sir’William Fitzherbert called it, a sort of qualm came over him. He had himself all his life' been an advocate of what were called liberal opinions, of equal rights for all men, so far as consistent with public safety, and an equal share of the public burdens in proportion to the share of protection which each man received from the law. The .first part of Sir George Grey’s career was in the army, a training not generally conducive to very liberal opinions. For many of the ■ subsequent years of his life he was a servant of the Colonial Office, at that time, he might say, a department the most arbitrary and opposed to the extension of political liberty. In that capacity, as he-records himself, he had to obey the behests of his master,. the Minister of the day, whether he . agreed with him or not, and even to conceal .from the colonists that he was acting under such instructions as antagonism to their rights aud wishes. Aud now, when Sir George Grey came forward as the Angel of Democracy, he .could not help calling to mind a long course of years during which himself aud all his fellow colonists in every part of New Zealand combined in constitutional associations, and led by such men as Featherston, Fitzherbert, Godly, Clifford, and Weld, were engaged in a death straggle with Sir George Grey, because he stood between'them and representative institutions. It seemed strange now to read his Gospel of Democracy, and remember the Governor of New Zealand of 1846 to 1850. He could not help remarking, also, on the strange hallucinations of Sir George Grey’s present mind. He was laboring under impressions that the people of New Zealand were divided into two great classes—a mushroom aristocracy and down-trodden serfs, and that hia mission was to liberate the latter from the heel of the former, which now pressed upon them. -He could only account for these strange delusions by the fact that Sir George had never besn a colonist. Most of our public men, and all our previous Prime Ministers, had; been colonists. They had come here to fight the battle of life, to throw in their lot with the other founders of the colony, and work out their destiny on the same conditions as all the rest. Mr. Stafford had worked his way to the position he now held. Sir Julius Vogel did the same. Major Atkinson had been twitted by one of the most foul-mouthed of Sir George’s followers with having driven bullocks. Mr. Domett, Dr. Pollen, .and he himself, had all undergone the experiences of colonists, and stood on an equal footing with their fellow men. But Sir George had never done anything of this sort, and he never understood or felt by experience what the life of a struggling colonist was. And now ho had got some recollection of the condition of society in Ireland and in the rural districts of England fifty ye.ira ago, with mushroom aristocracy, and downtrodden serfs, and he was going about trying to set class against class, to persuade the working man of New Zealand that he was a poor, oppressed creature, deprived of the rights of humanity, aud suffering the greatest conceivable hardships. He (Mr Fox) was not sur- ■ prised that with such vain dreams fermenting in his brain his colleagues did not allow him to travel alone, but always one or more accompanied him on his tours. He was the only Prime Minister he remembered who had not % been allowed to go about without a keeper. Mr Stafford used to go at large. Sir Julius Vogel did the same, and he himself had never been under surveillance, nor any other Ministers he remembered.;■ But when he remembered Sir George’s speeches he was not surprised that he was ; not allowed to go alone. His colleagues were evidently prudent men. It greatly raised them, in his estimation, and he hoped it was an indication that Mi-. Bryce’s hope would be fulfilled, and that his colleagues would be able to make him modify his opinions. After thanking the meeting for their patient attention, Mr. Fox sat down amidst loud and long protracted cheers. , ' ■ . A question was asked by Mr. Peat in , Reference to the Permissive Bill, and answered by Mr. Fox. ;

Mr. Phabazyn then said that it had been stated that the Atkinson Government intended to make the terminus of the West Coast railway about the middle of. the Waitotara, and that its extension was the work of the present Government. Was it so ? >

Mr. Fox thought there was some, misunderstanding. He had often talked to; Major Atkinson about the railway and other roads on this coast, and always understood that he was desirous of pushing the railroad through to Taranaki as fast, as possible, consistently with the possession of tho necessary funds. Mr. Pharazyn then moved a vote of; com ■fidence and thanks to Mr. Fox, which was seconded by Mr. Fleetwood, and on being put by the Chairman, was carried unanimously, with loud cheers, nearly every hand in tho room apparently being hold up in the affirmative, and not one in the negative.