THE SHOTOVER PETITION.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 11, 2 December 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE SHOTOVER PETITION.

MEETING AT ARTHUR'S POINT. (Abridged from the Wakatip Hail.) A meeting, Called by advertisement, was held in the Criterion Hotdl, Arthur's Point, on the evening of Monday last. The large room was densely cibwded, and numbers were unable to obtain admittance. It was numerically the largest meeting that has ever been held up the country in O'.asro. Mr Merfin, the Chairman, having introduced the business. Mr Hyde said — The petition which I now hold in my hand is .not one characterised as having the merit of brevity. It purports to be an exposition of the feelings of the miners of this district. It is no such exposition, and I know many parties signed who now regret having done so, and many signed it for the purpose of getting rid of an energetic canvasser. (Hissing, and a voice — " false.'') Perhaps ihe best thing for me is to read the petition. Mr Hyde then proceeded to read the petition, and as he went on repeated cheers were given in approbation of the sentiments it contained, and afterwards he proceeded as follows : — And now out of this imnrense mass of verbiage which part shall we select as being miners' views. It is stated that two-thirds of the r&venue is derived from the gold fields. This is false ; the report of Mr Pyke will prove ft. The portion contributed by the gildfields amounted only to L96,0U0. (Cries of "By direct taxation.") The great complaint is want of roads. I admit the want, but I refer to any old Victorian if we were not much worse off there than we have ever been here. Contrast tire nature of the .'wo countries. We have had a good deal dons for us, (A. voice, " very little." Another voice, " Show us how.") We will very likely have a great deal more done, and T refer you to the conclusion of Mr Pyk^'s deport. I believe that we might have an improvement so far as regards the franchise, but we cannot get all at once, and the New Zealand Gcvernment could not, possibly, give mote than they have done. And now we come to the violent attack on the Gold Fields Secretary. I think that gentleman admirably qualified (hear, hear, and hisses and groans). I judge him from his public acts, and only givrhim credit for them. I know nothing of Mr Pyke personally. (A voice, 11 Do you want a billet yourself I" Great laughter.) And now, gentlemen, comes the crowning act ol folly to the Petition. Who will ever dream that our present difficulty of communication with Dunedin will be improved when we have to go to Auckland I Shall it be s-,ud that this petition shall be taken as an exposition of our views ? (Cries of v Yes, yes.") Who framed that petition ? It did not emanate from miners I (Cries ot " It did, and hardworking ones too," and great uproar. He moved a resolution condemnatory of the petition. Mr Thackeray-^—l am sorry to say that I have just come from the Upper Sliotover, and I never heard anything of what is contained in the Petition, and I never heard of the Petition up there; therefore Ihaie much pleasure in seconding the resolution. Mr Gittespie — Mr Chairman, I rise to put an amendment. I think it is needless for us to say a word in defence of that petition. (Great cheering, joined in by the crowd outside.) It is an insult to the miners to say that that petition was signed under false pretences. 1 was a canvasser for signatures myself, and can testify to the willingness with which the miners came forward — nay, more, the anxietydisplayed by them to forward it in every way. (A voire, "Three cheers for CJillespie," which were heartily given.) And as for the Upper Sliotover, what folly it is for any man to say that the petition has not been heard of there, when the petition at this moment in my hand contains 700 names, signed between Maori Point ami Skipper's. The reign of presumption its not over when we sec a fag-end only of the community come forward to oppose a true expression of our wants and wishes in the way that has been done to-night, when we see one or two individuals trying to lead us past the evidence of our senses. Will you be so misled 2 (>^t>, no.} What have the Provincial Council done for the miners? They have been very active in taking our money and spending it in Dunedin. We have heard a comparison made with Victoria. Such a comparison is ridiculous. We have here all the experience acquired in Victoria, and when age and experience combined do not conduce to the making men wiser, then they must be given up as hopeless. I beg to move the following amendment : — That this meeting regards the petition referred to as a proper document, embodying a true expression of the wants and feelings of tbe minors of the district, and consider that it is an insult to the under tanding of the miners generally to attribute to them the ignorance attempted to in the motion. Mr Harris seconded the amendment. He said— M rGillespie has taken away all necessity for my speaking He has s=n"d all that is npcessary. As one of the canvassers, however, I may mention that I read this Petition in public to upwards of 80 diggers on the Big Beach. They signed it to a man. After it was iead, the Petition was laid on the drum of an old Californian pump, and man after man stepped forward in turn, and put "'down their names deliberately, and thinking of the consequences (cheers). It is an insult to tell us that the Petition was not got up by miners. Wfc got it up. The thing has been done truthfully, and no unfair means have been taken to procure signatures. We have a right to petition. It is the only constitutional method of obtaining redress, and we have a right to speak out when we consider ourselves wronged. An attempt has been made to throw aspersions on the character of the man who drew that Petition. They have failed. The man who drew that Petition I have known for years, and I know that he is disinterested and is entitled to your gratitude ; and I call upon you to give three cheers for him. (Three deafening cheers.) The Chairman then put the amendment, and with the exception of one or two, every hand went up amid the wildest cheering. Mr Anderson — It is well known that the Provincial Government are untried. They have, in the course of two years, made several grievous failures. How much more likely is it that the people of Auckland will do the same. Did you not read that the Government have had a quarrel with the Banks, and that they have not got any money ? How can they give us roads then, and how can they help us in any way if we take away the goldfields from them. I beg, therefore, to move the following resolution : — That this meeting, while being aware that the "Wakatip district has not yet had expended on it a commensurate share of the large revenue it yields, takes into consideration the transition state of the colony from a purely pastoral and agricultural settlement to that of a great gold-producing country, and consequent extraordinary tax on the resources of its Executive, in extenuation of any

lack of immediate attention to the requirements Of this important district, and hereby expresses its continued' confidence in the ability of the Provincial Government to administer effectively the affairs of the goldilclds of Otago. The resolution was received with hisses and groans. Mr Connor seconded the resolution. He believed that removing the management of the goldfields to Auckland will not do any good, and we may go further [ and fare worses. Mr Harris — I moye the following as an i amendment : — j That this meeting Ins not the slightest confidence in tho acts of the Provincial Council, and considers that as the Now Zo.ilun.l Gold Fields were opened some two years ago, they have had plenty of time to mako proper laws for our guidance. The amendment was received with cheers. Mr Steel seconded the amendment, and it was carried by acclimation. Mr Allan said — When on my way up the river I heard of this meeting:, and I am not sent here, but only rpeak for myself. Arthur's Point seems to be the favorite. We were never asked to ti^n the Petition. We have been left like black sheep, and I be? to move the following resolution ; — That as the miners oa Uie Sliofcover arc not adeq lately represented at this meeting, partly in consequence of the smallnoss of the room and partly because the Upper Shotover mineTs have notreeeivGcl notice, that the meeting adjourn to a future day. Mr Thackeray seconded the resolution. The Chairman put it to the vote, and it was lost. Mr Gillespie then rose and was received with cheers, and proposed the following resolution : — That tbis meeting is of opinion that the present Mining Rules are quife inadequate to the wants of the district ; that the whole machinery requires adjustment, and that, too much care caunot l»e exereiard in the appointment of officers to see that the Mining laws are justly and efficiently carried out. He said — You are all aware that gross injustice has heon perpetrated on the ShotOver through the want of Courts of Appeal. The whole machinery of the government requires re-adjustment. When you haveto get a dispute settled it is aggravating enough of itself, without knowing that you lose it through ignorance. Mr Edwards seconded the motion. The' Chairman put it to the meeting. It was carried with chee.s. Mr Harris — I have another resolution to I propose. It is as follows : — That the language used by (ho Dunedin press relating to the Petition is quite uncalled for, and we regard tho language used by them as an insult to the understanding of the Petitioners, showing such an amount of presumption and ignorance in connection with the merits of the case as to cuf' for an expression of indignation from this meeting. Mr George Knight seconded the resolution. It was cai % ried unanimously. Mr James Milne moved — That this meeting considers that the Wakatip Mail is deserving of the thanks of tho mining community in Otago for the steady and unflinching manner in wliicli it has advocated their best interests since its advent. He said — Every one of us have felt the benefit of that paper; it lias done a great deal for the miners, and has been for us a good advocate. (A voice, " Three cheers for tho Mail.) Mr Harvey seconded the resolution, j which was put, and carried unanimously. Mr Edwards — [ hope you will express your dissatisfaction with the Dunedin press by giving them three groans. (This was done with vigor.) Mr Harris— Now then, boys, listen to me. You know how ready the people in Dunedin are to misrepresent us. They don't stick at untruths. They will call us radicals and everything else, but we will give a practical lie to any such assertion ; we will show oar loyalty in the only way we can. Never yet have those old rocks echoed to a cheer for the Queen. I call upon you therefore to jjive three cheers for the Q,\ieen and Royal Family. (It was done in the most stentorian manner ) The Chairman Men quitted the chair. After the meeting upwards of 60 miners signed the Petition, which now present* an appearance something gigantic, being upwards of 40 feet in length, with three columns of signatures, comprising about 2000 names.