THE SUPERINTENDENCY.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume II, Issue 101, 1 November 1873, Page 2

THE SUPERINTENDENCY.

NOMINATION of candidates. (Condensed from the Auckland Week ly Neics.) Mr. H. H. Lusk, who ou on stepping forward, was received with howls, hisses, catcalls, and cheers, said : I stand here to-day for the purpose of stating what my views are with regard to the present position and future prospects of this province. The question which you are called upon now to decide is one which is of very great importance to every man in the province— not less important now than it has been any time this last 20 years. It is more important now that you should be represented by a man who not only talks loudly but also acts well—■ a man who not only refers to the past, but thinks of the future—( A voice: The poll tax. ) Yes, the poll tax. But first of all I will tell you why I consider this the most important election you have ever been called upon to make. It. is because upon what you do now will depend not only the future Provincial Governments, but the future of this part of New Zealand, long after Provincial Governments have passed away. And, I tell you now, and I am not afraid to say it, that I believe Provincial Governments will pass away before long. Not because they have not done good things,—because Provincial Governments have done more good work than any other form of government in this country, but because the time has nearly come when there will no longer be any means of supporting Provincial Governments. So long as there was a chance of filling the Provincial chest, again ; so long we might look forward to Provincial institutions becoming stronger and not weaker as time went on. But, there is no such hope now. You are all aware that the consolidated revenue is swallowed up. That the goldfield revenue must bo expended upon the goldfields themselves, and, that there is no chance of a large revenue arising from land. Therefore it is only a question of time until Provincial institutions come to an end. You may get money here and there, but you will not be able, and it is not desirable, to keep provincial institutions lingering on in a sort of living death, which must begin in doing irreparable injury to the colonists. I am prepared to admit that Provincial institutions are cherished things with many of you. I admit that they have been for years cherished institutions with me. But the time is coming when you must face the fact that so soon as their means of usefulness is gone, so soon they must be given up. I am prepared, if elected, to do my utmost to provide for the wants of the country districts when the Provincial institutions are done away with. The wants of the town are supplied. You have your Mayor and Corporation, and do not require another Government to help them. You have your harbor Board. Townships on the goldfields will very soon have their Municipal Institutions as well as Auckland. It is the country districts that require to be looked to. And if elected Superintendent, I am prepared to bring in such measures as will nave the effect of providing for the future of country districts, when Provincial Governments

have to pass away owing to the want of funds to keep them going. ( A voice: “ That will do.” ) Now, gentlemen, with regard to the future. The next Superintendent must be a man who is prepared with a policy in respect to education, he must be a man prepared with a policy in respect to gold-fields. I believe there are candidates for the Superintendency, who are afraid to face these things, and who would say to you, “ no, gentlemen, I am against all taxation.” ( Roars of laughter. ) I wonder which of us is in favor of taxation. Which of us likes it? I am not in favor of taxation, but I am in favor of education ( hisses, ) and if it is necessary for your education that you shall be taxed, then 1 am in favor of taxation. ( Hear. ) 1 have heard a great deal said with reference to this Education Act. 1 am prepared to stand upon this Education Act, and I. am prepared to fall by it, and if it should come pass, that the electors of this province say that they reject me because I brought in the Education Act, then I say I shall be more proud to be rejected than I should have been to have been elected otherwise. I do not stand here under the necessity of defending myself against the charge of knowing nothing about provincial matters, for if there is anyone here who knows anything of these matters it ought to be myself. I have heard it stated that the mismanagement of this province during the last three or four years has had the effect of making us poor and throwing us back. I say that the management of the affairs of this province for the last three years has been quite as honest for the public good as any administration of provincial matters has ever been in the province of Auckland. 1 don’t wish to take credit to myself, because all that I have had to do was to assist, but what I have done has had the approbation of right-thinking and farseeing men in most parts of the province. ( Hear, hear. ) 1 am not come before you with lavish promises, and promise every man a road to his door: but if I did ‘so I should be attempting to impose on men who I do not think are so easily imposed upon. If I could stand here at the end of the next four years, and say v> hat your present Superintendent could say did he stand here to-day, then I should sav that I had at all events acquitted myself well and deserved your thanks. Before concluding, 1 wish to state with respect to the Education Act, that I have taken it up altogether with the exception of this, that I should have preferred to see it rather differently arranged as to the kind of taxation. But whether or not, I greatly prefer it to no Act at all. I claim at the hands of the people of this province, that they will let me stand or fall on the Education Act, because I undertook to bring in that which other men have not been game to bring in. I uVidertook to tax the people of the province in order that their children might be educated ; and I would do it again to-morrow. If I should be elected, I am willing to undertake to submit to the Council a proposal that they should alter the incidence of this taxation. ( Hisses. ) In the country the schools were shut up, and the children running wild and uneducated; and I shall be proud to think, that come what mav of this election, that will never happen again. There have been statements made with regard to the principle of secular education. I believe entirely in that principle, because without it there is no chance of working an Education Act in this province; without it we can never keep the schools going. I will never willingly give up that principle of education by the State which gives leave to religious persons to educate their children, if need be, but which does not allow the religious education to be made part of the school system in the State. I have been always a supporter of the principle of the Permissive Bill. And whether as Superintendent or a member of the general legislature, I shall be prepared to give my aid towards perfecting the Permissive Bill in such a form as to give to a reasonable majority of people in each district the right to put down, theHiquor traffic. In saying this I am not bidding for votes. I am not now taking up this because the election is near but this is an old opinion of mine, expressed many times, and therefore I sav it on the hustings. If I lose your favor and do not command your confidence, then I trust you will without fear, favor, or affection, go to the poll and stand out for those principles which I am supposed to represent, and which I can honestlv state I have held long and

hold still, and I trust will always hold. ( Cheers and hisses.) Mr. Dargaville was received with loud cheers. He said: Mr. Returning Officer, I have been so interested in listening to the dying efforts of Mr. Lusk that I will only offer very few remarks. We have enormous resources within ourselves —having large tracts of magnificent country —immense wealth in gold, coal, iron, petroleum, undeveloped through mismanagement and misgovernment —instead of taking the lead, or, at all events, holding that position amongst the provinces of New Zealand, which our population and our resources entitle us to, we are lagging behind the provinces of New Zealand. I ask you whether you will consent that this state of things should continue; that the most important matters have to be provided for by a most obnoxious, and unjust form of taxation. The fact of our having been compelled to resort to the present form of taxation to provide education shows that we have been misgoverned. When we had hundreds of thousands of pounds as our annual income, that was the time to provide for education, and I say that the reason why such provision was put of to the very last moment, is simply because there were found more agreeable ways of spending the money by perpetrating jobs, giving contracts and appointments to friends and supporters. I will briefly indicate what my policy is as compared with the other candidates. lamto be followed by Mr. Williamson, and I tell you candidly that I have nothing to say against that gentleman except that he has passed his prime. With reference to his

honesty of purpose I have nothing to object. And if he were as young a man as I am I doubt very much whether you would find me in opposition to him on this occasion. But the province is now in such a position that the greatest energy and watchfulness should be exercised by your Superintendent. Whatever else I may be, I am entirely independently of the Wyndham-street clique; they are the persons who have been chiefly instrumental in bringing this province into the miserable plight in which it at present stands. They have had control over the politics of the province, and I may say over the whole colony, for the last fifteen years. We must shake them off. It is time that you electors of the province should make your power felt, and elect as Superintendent a man who w ill inaugurate a new state of things, and who is perfectly independent of the influences which those gentlemen I have alluded to can bring to bear. If our Immigration and Public Works scheme were carefully and consistently carried out, the Government would possess itself of tracts of valuable land, and place upon them immigrants, and would develope their resources. As the scheme has hitherto been conducted people have been placed upon the most barren portions of country. I will go in for an entirely different policy, and introduce bona fide farmers and settlers to the country. I believe in special colonisation, and the importation of settlers, who will form small communities of their own. W e have many districts in the North, on the East Coast, and in the Waikato, where settlers can be located, and where they can earn good livings. Under the 40 acre system immigrants have been induced to settle upon land which was hardly capable of supporting a few 7 grasshoppers. I look upon the present Education Tax as most unjust. If I had been Mr. Lusk I would rather have sacrificed my position as Provincial Secretary than have voted for the Education Tax in its present form. That gentleman has omitted to explain why he did vote for this obnoxious tax, which it is evident he did, notwithstanding his statement to the contrary. I have very little more to say except that I shall go in for retrenchment in our present provincial departments. There is as much money spent on the Provincial Government in excess of wdiat is actually required as the Education Tax is likely to -return. Although I have made you many promises with reference to what I should do in the way of depriving men of their billets, I never made a promise that I would give a man a billet at the public expense. I will go in vigorously for reducing the present expenditure, in order that the taxation may rest with less hardship upon the community than it does at present. An elector asks me: What about the Education Tax ? Let the capitalists of the province pay in proportion to their means, and the poor only in proportion to theirs. (Loud cheers.) Education is a national undertaking, and in a genera-

tion or two hence any present neglect of education will be felt by the propertyholders, because we shall have more criminals and loafers in the community than we have now. With reference to the Slaughter House the Provincial Government have received £l,OOO a year from that Slaughter House, while the expenditure is about £l5O. If you knew 7 the abon : nable and filthy manner in which beef and mutton has been slaughtered for your consumption, you would protest against the rottenness of the system which allows such a state of things to exist. Our Hospital is a disgrace to the community, and the first duty of a Superintendent should be to obtain a suitable hospital for the requirements of our sick and destitute. On the subject of water, I may, perhaps, allude to the question of the supply for the city. I have no desire to take advantage of the occurrence of recent fires in the town, but within the last year conflagrations have occurred in the city costing the community upwards of £150,1)00, which would have been sufficient to provide an abundant supply of water for the next 20 or 30 years. Those who oppose expenditure on a water supply on account of the taxation it would involve, cannot see that the permanent supply of water produces a large reduction in insurance. I am asked a question —“ If the Roman Catholics provide their own schools would you be willing that they should be exempt from payment of the Education Rate ?” I am in favor of a national system of secular education, and I should insist upon members of every denomination paying their fair proportion. lam next asked— Whether I am in favor of limiting the number of public-houses in the city ? I answer that I am, and publicans themselves, if they know 7 their own interests, will agree with me -that there should be a limited number of w 7 ell-conducted houses in the city, than that there should be an unlimited number of drinking bars throughout the city, and other places. Another question—“ Did you not promise that you wmuld pay the Education Rate out of savings in salaries ?” I did not promise that, but I said that I would undertake to reduce the provincial expenditure to such an extent as to save as large a sum out of salaries and expenses as would amount to the Education Rate. That rate is likely to produce between £6,000 and £7,000. lam asked whether or not I am in favour of a Permissive Bill. I am in favor of giving a large majority —such as the Permissive Bill provides—the privilege of deciding whether or not licenses shall be granted in their district. I may say that, if elected, I will endeavor to repeal the present Education Rate. I will use my utmost exertions as Superintendent, and as a member of the General Assembly, w 7 hich I hope to be, to obtain some scheme whereby the education of the children of this province shall be permanently provided for without the necessity for having recourse to such an objectionable form of taxation as is at present adopted.