THE WAITAKI ELECTION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1301, 8 June 1880, Page 2

THE WAITAKI ELECTION.

THE NOMINATION.

The nomination of candidates for election to the vacant seat in the House of Representatives to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. T. W. Hislop, took place to-day, at the Resident Magistrate's Court, and was attended by nearly 800 persons of all classes. The proceedings were throughout of a very orderly nature, though a little banter i*nd good humored chaff was indulged. The proceedings were opened inside the building by the Returning Officer (Mr. T. W. Parker) reading the writ commanding him, under the authority of "Victoria, by the grace of God, Queen," to proceed wjth the election of one duly qualified person to represent the electoral district of Waitaki in the House of Representar tives. An adjournment was then made to the outside of the building, the candidates being nominated from the stt-ps in front of the porch Some little delay occurred, there being an evident desire-on the part of the proposers of the candidates not to bring their man to the front first. At last Mr. Andrew M'Kerrow came forward and said he had much pleasure in proposing Mr. John Reid as a fit and proper person to represent the district in the House of Representatives, Jt was not necessary for him to make a speech, as Mr, Reid was well known to all of them..

Mr, J, W, Humphrey seconded the nomination.

Mr. William Falconer had rough plea=sure in proposing a candidate for the.Beat; in the House of Representatives rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr. Hislop, This gentleman was a stranger to the

settlers in the diatnet. He (Mr. Falconer) as a citizen of Oamaru and a settler in'the district had taken only a moderate interest in election contests.. At, those elections there had always been -great questions at stake. At the present election there was a great question at stake, and that .question he took to be the incidence of taxation. The basis of all taxation was that everyone should contribute towards the support of the State according to his means. The Government had introduced a most oppressive tax, not merely for the sake, of raising the means of government, but for the purpose of carrying on public works and constructing railways. The principle was that every man should pay according to his means, but in the present case they had not all participated in the benefits derivable from the large expenditure upon the public. In former times the man with a small holding tilled the ground and brought his produce into town; when the man with 15,000, 20,000, and 30,000 acres had only a few sheep running over his large estate, the land let from 15s to to 35s an acre. He did not grudge land owners their large estates, but he thought they were entitled to pay taxes in proportion to the benefits they had derived from the public works. If the small settler's property had been raised in value three fold that of the large landed proprietor had been raised tenfold. The land tax was a tax under which both large and small landowners contributed fairly. He was a small landowner and he was glad when the land tax was repealed; but when the property tax was introduced he found that if under the land tax he was beaten with a whip, under the property tax he was beaten with a scorpion. The property tax. did not bear fairly upon the settlers of JTew Zealand, as they had not all participated in the benefits of the expenditure on public works to the same extent. The gentleman whom he had to propose, and whose opinions were in accord with his (the speaker's), had advocated an income tax. An income tax would not fall upon the working classes; neither would it fall upon the farmers, for unfortunately they had no incomes. They had also indirect taxation, but he was in favor of necessaries not being heavily taxed. The land laws of the Colony required amendment. They should have land for the people and people for the land. The Government should not continue to sill large blocks of land. A great deal had been said about the honorarium. He thought it should be continued. He might say a good deal more on the subject, but "perhaps he was unduly taking up their time, and perhaps not making himself understood. Until he had heard Mr. Roberts speak he was a stranger, but he felt that he was speaking in an honest, straightforward manner. He had great pleasure in proposing Mr. William Henry Sherwood Roberts as a fit and proper person to represent the district. M*. John Carney seconded the nomination.

Mr. James Wansbrough said he had areafc pleasure in proposing Mr. George Jones as a fit and proper person to represent the district.

Mr. John Dryburgh Mitchell seconded the nomination.

There being no other nominations, the candidates briefly addressed the electors. Mr. Johnßeid saidhebelievedit was customary on. such occasions for candidates to say a few words, but he would not detain them with a long speech. Mr. Falconer had taken a dig at his 15,000 acres, and he had a few words to say upon that subject. He would be glad if the land tax were re-imposed and the property tax done away with, because under the land tax he would only have to pay L3OO, while under the property tax "he would have to pay LIOOO. He still held that the property tax was the fairer. It had been said that the property tax removed the burden from the shoulders of the rich to the shoulders of the poor. That this was not true was proved by the fact that the man who only owned LSOO worth of property was exempt from the tax. He had been accused of desiring to put a stop to all public works, but this was not true. He was desirous of continuing public works according to their means. They had only a small amount, and it was necessary that should be expended wisely. There only remained L 2,000,000 of money for expenditure o'i public works, while an expenditure of L 9,000,000 had- been authorised. He advocated the principle of picking out the best works, and the expenditure of money upon works that would be remunerative. It hadbeen said that he was a Conservative, and that he was prejudiced in favor of the moneyed o'lass. This he denied. He had no more regan! for the rich man than for the poorest, amongst them. If elected he thought they would find that he was equally as mindful of the interest of the poor man as of the rich, Mr. W. H. S. Roberts said that having so lately addressed them he did not think it necessary for him to speak at any Ir-ngrh. He had nothing to contradict; everything he had said he meant and still maintained. He thought he had explained ■,iniaeif pretty clearly. There were one or two points upon which he desired to say a few words, He thought they should form a Liberal Association, and he strongly advised them to form siich an Association. Had there been a Liberal Association they would have been saved from the sight of two Liberals contesting the election. He thought they should have more public meetings for the expression of their opinions. Look afc the railway station, courthouse, and other public buildings. They should have held meetings . and given expression to their opinions upon these matters, and obtained for r heir opinions the importance that they should receive. He was sorry to see a cry raised in the papers of "No Irish need apply." He thought it most disgraceful to raise such a cry at present. Be held that the Irish were as mugh a part of the nation as the English or Scotch. They were all sailing under the Union Jack. No person had any right to raise such a cry any more than it would be done by the Queen. The cry that he was a stranger had been raised against him. They could not say he was a stranger now. He had gone through the district and addressed the §lectors, What he had said he meant. They had eleoted him nine months ago to represent them in the Municipal Council, and he had done his duty faithfully. If they elected him to represent them in Parliament, he would also strive to serve them faithfully. Mr. Jones said that he felt proud because of the position in which... the electors had placed him. He di 4 not profess that he was there beoause he was bursting with patriotism, nor did he think that he was the only man fit to represent them in Parliament. He was there because he had an ambition to represent them in Parliament,-and because he thought it was the privilege of every man to aspire to a Parliamentary position if he fejt this he could occupy such a position with hoijor to himself and advantage to his distrigt an 4 the Colony. He was surprised at the amount of good feeling that was shown towards him after what had been said about him in the papers and by certain persons. They evidently were of his opinion, that a man should be judged by his actions, and not by what people said of him. He believed it to be unnecessary to state that he was a Liberal. Everybody knew that. Yet it had been attempted to damage his cause ; by. the fact that he had, after his IJiihtrQon meeting, supped with the Hon. Robert Gajnpbell at Otekftilfe. A person signing himself Beware" had, for politipal purposes, published this fact in the North Otago Times, and had ex? pressed surprise in a second letter in the same paper that he (Mr. Jones) 4id not reply to the charge, go tool; twt oppor*

{unity of replying to the charge. He did sup with the Hon. Robert Campbell, and why not ? He saw no reason why a man should not get a good supper when he could. But the circumstance that he had accepted this hospitality had been used for the purpose of endeavoring to show that he had been bought over by the squattocracy. Was it likely that J ones would sell himself to the squatters ? He thought they would give him credit for having a mind of his own. He had controlled the columns of the Mail for three years and a half. Everybody knew what his political views were, and they would perhaps know better on Saturday night, when he would deliver his address to the Oamaru electors, all being well. He would not, therefore, promulgate to his political opinions on the hustings. He asked permission to refer to a few personal matters. Mr. Roberts at his meeting at the Volunteer Hall had made an explanation, in which he professed to set forth the relations which existed between the two Liberal candidates. Mr. Roberts had proved himself an adept in the art of romancing. He would make a fortune for Messrs. Ward, Locke, and Tyler, the publishers of nursery books. What was Mr. Roberts' explanation ? It was something like this: " Says he to me—says I to him." Mr. Roberts virtually wished the public to believe that he (Mr. Jones) had said, " Roberts, you're a splendid fellow." and to this Mr. Roberts appeared to have added, "Just so." Mr. Roberts did not tell the truth at the Volunteer Hall. A writer in the North | Otago Times was laboring to show that he (the speaker) was an enemy to the working man. The people knew whether there was any truth in the aspersion. If he had written an article, or a line, or even a word in the" Mail damaging to the interests of the working man, he would at once retire from the field. Other people had gone about the town whispering all sorts of shocking things about him. They said that if people only knew what a hideous man Jones was at heart they would spurn him. He would ask these whisperers why they did not speak 'out. These whispers were only an electioneering dodge to transfer votes from him to the other candidates. He challenged any man who had any thing to lay to his charge to step to where he was standing and speak out that all might hear. He would only add that, if elected, he should feel glad to go to Wellington and work with all his heart, might, and soul for the district. The Returning Officer then called for a show of hands for each candidate, the result being as follows : —Mr. Reid, 6 ; Mr. Roberts, 5; and Mr. Jones, about 200.

Mr. Roberts demanded a poll, and the Returning Officer announced that this would be held on Wednesday, the 16th instant, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. A vote of thanks having on the motion of Mr" Jones seconded by Mr. Roberts, been accorded to the Returning Officer, the proceedings terminated.