THE COUNCIL ELECTIONS.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 56, 8 October 1864, Page 3

THE COUNCIL ELECTIONS.

MR.ITAIILTDN AT THE THEATRE ROYAL. Mr. W. F. Tarlton met the electors and ndnelecters of Invercargill- at a crowded meeting in the Theatre Royal, last night. .... .Mr. G. W. Binxey,' who was voted to the chair, craved a patient hearing for Mr. Tarlton' as a candidate for a seat in Council at the forthcoming elections. _..: Mr. Tabltok then rose and addressed the meeting, . y.y ' J " He said it was - "rather ah unusual position for - him to occupy, but he did not at present intend • to offer any remarks oh the past history of the "*• Province, nor did he purpose dwelling on its present 'condition, or predicting its probable future. He came to the' meeting as one r on whdm the town of Invercargill had imposod a great trust and responsibility, and he hoped he niight say he had ■ fulfilled" that trust faithfully during the three years he had held office. During that time, doubtJess there may have occurred some things, at which the inhabitarits Slight not have been pleased, but he hoped also that there had decurred things which had gained their approbation. All he • wanted to do at present was briefly to run - through the address hehadpublished in the newspapers, and afterwards to answer any questions which might he", put to him by those present. Those who tried to perform the duties cast upon them never attempted to disguise their words, or conceal tlieir meaning ; and this was necessary, the more so as he had found some people writing to the public prints, and making statements of a personal nature, reflecting on his character. It would have, lie said," reflected greater credit on them if the had appended their names. He 7 would mention one thing with wliich his name had been. associated, and which he had denied at the last Session of the Provincial Council. He referred to the Education Ordinance. He had distinctly to state that he had nothing whatever to do with' that Ordinance; but that Mr. Pearson and Mr. Chalmers were its promoters. He ' waa neither the father of the Ordinance, nor its godfather, grandfather, or stepfather. (Laughter.) The Education Ordinance never appeared to him to be founded on a proper baßis. He thought it may have good points in it, but it had many bad ones. Its provisions are not only too expensive, but they are too complicated for the present state of society in the province. He had lately drawn up a list of amendments or modifications he would propose on the Ordinance. He was an advocate for an efficient system of education — some had said he was an advocate for state aid for education. Now the amendments he proposed in the Ordinance were the following ; — That the entire management and direction of'the education of Government schools in the Aovince be under the Education Committee. That the committee fix the fees, time of attendance, course of . education, standard of acquirements, which each child must accomplish every year, mode of inspection, &c. That all schools and masters' houses be built out of money voted by the Provincial Council for that purpose. That the incidental expenses be borne by the School Committee of the district. That, if, on inspection, two-thirds of the children have in their education attained the amount of skill required by the Education Committee standard, the sum of two pounds per head be paid to each teacher in country schools for each child educated, and one pound per head in Invercargill and Riverton, as a contribution from the Treasury towards the teacher's salary. He considered that what the country was called upon to pay it had a right to insist that the work done was properly paid for, and the present Education Ordinance stipulated for nothing beyond the salaries of the teacher. It contains no mention of the attainment to be made by the scholars, or, in fact, any other provision whatever. He argued" that the effect of his suggesfcjd amendments to the Ordinance woidd be important to teachers, inasmuch as it would provide that the more work they performed the more pay woidd be forthcoming. His proposal, moreover, would be but a very limited assistance from •Government; according to the present position of the Province he did not think it would be more thad 6d. per head of the population ; and bearing in mind that the land revenues of the Province have been pawned to the General Government for advances made by it, he thought that no man would grudge so small a sum, especially after all the heartburning and dissatisfaction occasioned by the operations of the present Ordinance. He would not further refer t» that question. As regards the Roads Ordinance, he had nothing to say beyond opposing it. He considered it very imperfect. It was, he might say, a still-born child, for it only lived a very short time, and after a fretful and struggling existence, disappeared in the Otarewa district. (A laugh.) He was opposed to the system of appointing trustees for the making of roads. If this were the case, he was prepared to find two or three men borrowing money, making roads to suit themselves, or their particular districts, and saddling the districts with a heavy and -permanent debt. On the whole, he would pronounce the Roads Ordinance a most iniquitous measure. He regarded these two lastmentioned Ordinances as the most difficult which any Province could take up or legislate upon. He (Mr. Tarlton) then went on to say that it was •scarcely necessary for him to say that the present aondition ofthe Province superlatively demanded that something should be done to place it in a sound financial condition. If not done on account of what has already transpired, he thought that it ought to be done on account of what may transpire. When he saw men coming to the Province without any means on which to subsist till they had made for themselves a home amongst vs — men who had come hither to live and die. (A Voice— Not yet !) WeU, no ; not yet. I hope they may live a hundred years if that were possible —(a laugh) — when he saw these men coming without money, and finding on their arrival a province with an empty treasury chest, and in a partial state of bankruptcy, he thought it was the duty of the electors to look around them and select upright and conscientious, and, if possible, wise men, as their representatives in the Provincial Council. Never mind what, position in life they may occupy— whether rich or poor — let the best men be selected. There" : is "one matter which he ■aid had led to some uneasiness in the public mind and to which he would refer. Thia was the land Bill. He did net think he ever expressed any other opinion on this measure than that he opposed it. He had- given; expression to 4 the very sentiments he was impressed with now when he was six years ago sent as a member to tbe Council of Otago. He looked upon, the existence of aland law providing the obtaining of land at a cheap rate, as one of the greatest inducements which could be offered to. intending settlers in the Province.' Ajj land . formß the fixed capita! of the Province, he thought it should be treated as eapital, or as an ordinary articlo of merchandise. It ought to be 'looked at in different aspects, instsmxxcli as' one imcL of loud may be worth, more thananother, andto sacrifice it forthe samepricewaa what ha was alwayß opposed to. The "proposition he had sub»itteA to the Counbil was, that the waste lands ahowld ,T»e seld at the.rateof 10s. per acre ; but, as bush lahd ; and other lands in.better. situations were more. Valuable, an 'additional sum- of 20s. per acre was to be put on such lands,-— 3os." per acre remaining as the price. of the land . afterall the blocis'were; surveyed. It .was to prevent the best of the lands being "sold at less than their value that thiß' proposition waß .. made. On ; -the subject of immigration, Mr. Tarlton; <hd;not think it desirable to send money outof the Pro, vince, to bring hither people who, -.unless immediately meeting with employment, , J jmhst c remain a burden oh* the Province. Some people say that population ii the great wealth, of a proving. pHa maintained that yr esltl^when-J combined with population,, was the true source^of prosperity. If at the time we Imve population we have employment for 4 them, then, eveiy additional .**- man is a source of additional ' wealthTf hut he thought, it wrong, in^our ; presient position, to spend money on --prpmotingjiiimmigrfttion.*--^ --We" »hould rather .;, diffuse ~ r the y.ylssxywleAge yivii Great Britain-thai a. '.KoineA Js to ; be made here, mt tbi*, tot 4^JJa&y-dfa> j&m: to .writ,

the land of Southland |was capable of richly rewarding the labor expended upon it. He (Mr. Tarlton) next touched upon the question of th* Superintendency, and said' that, inasmuch as the financial condition of the Province required much attention at the present time, it was well that they should attach special importance to this subject. He considered a change in the Superintendency advisable ; but he wished not to be misunderstood. He had not voted for Dr. Menzies at liis election ; but he was the only man who stood by him when the other members of Executive resigned their seats. He was, however, as he had stated in his address, of opinion that no man should be returiied, as ' Superintendent ; unless willing to hold a seat ih the Council ; and he believed that a change in the Superintendency woulcl be for the permanent benefit of the ProvinceWhoever were returned as members of CouncU, there was one thing which should specially deserve attention, and that was the railways. There can be no doubt, he said, that any manj thoughtfully remembering that the very life blood of the province was ebbing away, could not on looking on our railways but come away deeply impressed with the flight of them. (Loud cheering and hissing.) He did not think any gentleman had any necessity for hissing. Let him say what he meant. fWhen these im- i portant works were first discussed, he advocated a 1 light iron rail or tramway, and he submitted to j the Council the plans of Adams and Fitzgibbons j on such works. It was considered that the least expensive method of providing suitable roads j through the province was by laying down alongside the ordinary roads a light iron rail or tramway, wliich would have served every purpose, and was more adapted for tlie nature of the country which had not always sunshine, (a laugh) but the roads frequently as if they had came through a puddling machine. When the Bluff Railway was first proposed, the estimated cost was £120,000, but after a reconsideration of the subject, £140,000 was voted by the Council, i But even this was found to be a very made- j quate sum ; another £100,000 has been spent and the railway is not finished yet. Itwasnotthe mere amount of money however, which he ob- \ jected to, but without in the least desiring to make invidious attacks on the reputation of anyone, he thought no one coidd look at the works on the Bluff line and not regret to behold such a waste of the public funds in the embankments, cuttings, and other earthworks, undertaken there. With regard to the north line, he wished to say that he had found Mr. Davies to be in all respects an upright and honest man. Before he undertook the work he had shownhim a model of the railway, and a plan of the mode of construction. From what he had shown himhe (Mr. Tarlton) was convinced that liis plan woidd not be suitable, and he accordingly moved a resolution in the Provincial Council to the effect that the rails should be of the same guage as those of the Bluff line, and also that they should be so constructed that iron rails could be laid on top of them. He believed that his opinion as then formed had been borne out by what had since transpired. After his election to oifice, he was deeply surprised to see materials of a perishable nature employed in the construction of the hue, and he immediately set about making j enquiries in tbe matter. He had a strong suspicion of one who was a member of that Provincial Council that he was in 'some way J interested in the matter (uproar) and at a private meeting at which Messrs. Stuart. Chalmers, Beaven, andmyselfwere present, asked a question.and afterwards heard the whole statement of the particulars. He believed it was utterly impossible for a man to out with his right hand a contract and accept with is left hand a portion of tlie responsibility. Accordingly, he met him the next day, he stated that he (iir. Tarlton) could not remain in ofiice with such a state of things going on, when Mr. Chalmers told him that he had entered into an arrangement to supply material for the line. I said I was prepared to take office if he gave up that contract, and on going into oflice I made enquiries into the , nature of the timber to be employed iv the construction ofthe railway. The contract stipulated that blue gum, totara, and black pine should be used, and from what he knew from Mr. Davies, that gentleman had intended to use nothing except blue gum. However, on looking at the timber used, it was found chiefly to consist of white pine. (Cries of no ! no !) He heard some crying no ! but they need not, as he had been told by one contractor who had eight miles of a contract, that white pine was the timber he used. He felt it his duty to do all he could in the matter, and from enquiries he made he found the contractor had not on his own responsibility used this timber, but that he had received the authority of Mr. Chalmers, who was then acting as Deputy Superintendent. He (Mr. Tarlton) then finished this part of his address by saying, " Let no man suppose me blameable since I have been in office." There was one subject more which he ought, he thought, to notice, and that was the large bodies of immigrants who have lately arrived in this province. A gentleman had asked him how he had brought so many people here at the present time, but he had replied that they were all ordered out from home before he went into office. He then concluded by saying that if elected he would do his duty faithfully to the electors and to the best interests of the province. He entreated them to seek out men of upright and honest purpose. Be they rich or poor, send these men to the Council. After again iterating that his chief aim was the furthering of the interests of the Province, he stated he was prepared to reply to any questions that might be put to him. An Elector. — What is the largest block of land which can at present be sold to one man ? Mr. Tabxton replied that he believed there was no limit to the amount of land one man may purchase. But this is not a matter on which the Provincial Council could legislate. They could only make suggestions to the General Government on the subject. His belief was that if one man wished to purchase 100,000 acres, and meant to cultivate it by say the labor of 1000 men the sale of that land would benefit the Province. Mr. A. W. Giixbs asked the candidate if, as he proposed lowering the price of land to benefit the poor man, he would point out any place where the poor settlers had ever been in a prosperous condition. He (Mr. Gilles) would not even exempt South Australia, which he considered the most prosperous agricultural district in these Colonies. They (the Bmall Bettlerß) have rarely been able to pay their way (hisses). If settlers are wanted, give them the lands for nothing. Look, said he, at Tasmania, where not one out of one hundred of these men are solvent, and he did not think that more than ten out of every hundred were so, even in Victoria. The Chairman — Mr Gilles, I think you are not only asking but you are answering the question you put. Mr. Tabiton briefly referred to his former statement, and insisted that the farming class of Southland might soon become a happy and prosperous community.' ~MV_ OsBOESE xlo-w appeared 03a t"h.e . stage, which was the signal for great uproar, andrepeated cries of " Put him out," " Turn him out," '", Shut up," kc. '-. Peace being Mr. Osboeub put his question of "Are you in favor of Government contractors having a seat in the Council ?" Mr. Tabl/TON said, if a Government contractor got; a seat '■ in the Council, it woidd be the first Council in the world where such had been the :case. He instanced : the case of Baron Rothschild, in 1855,. being refused, a seat in the House of Commons, when he took hp : a ; Government loan of sixteen millions ; and also the case of the; partner of Mr." Lindsay, taking - a contract for •the transport/of 'to' the - Crimea,through which. Mr. Lindsay received a pecuniary benefit. He (Mt.. Tarlton) was decidedly opposed to Government: contractors sitting in the Council. ; In reply to another, question. Mr. Tablton said he did, not think 7 . tKe election of Mr. Davies would have any effect at all oh the sale df the debentures in the London market. ••-----; . ..■.-■*-..•■ 1 In answer tp7-"ahothe>r question as to whether "he was in &vor of the Town Board being trowed ithe prison labojr |br tijpir \vork»> Mx. T-AK&tok said h.9 would la&y&erery •** mm'- eent'tb- ttte%ior'"(lpud Ww-'citKol'lTo! dtfp-ricfttmgtj^ be nxadttto tiro

his bread, but not in public, as tending to demoralise the community. Mr. Taklton could not. in reply to a question, say how much was paid for the private property purchased for railway purposes up to the Makarewa. The price was fixed by arbitration. Mr. Taelton further stated ih reply to another question, that the Superintendent and he had conceived the idea of the shin-plasters, but that he had not sanctioned the form, or the printing of the documents. Mr. Richaedson asked Mr. Tarlton, seeing that he had previously denied having received £100 per acre for some of his land sold to the railway, whether £65 per acre for section 3, block 15, was not the price he got, and he replied that it was. Mr. Reese.— Do you think any person should be elected as Superintendent who does not hold a seat in the Council ? Mr, Tarlton.— That is a matter settled by law. The Council at present can either elect one out of or hi the Council. For liimself, he thought it highly desirable that the Superintendent should have a seat in Council. (Cheers.) After a variety of other minor questions, Mrl Reese moved that. Mr. Tarlton was a fit and proper person to represent the town of Invercargill in the Provincial Council. Mr. Kingsland seconded the motion/which was carried unanimousl.y The proceedings terminated with a vote, of thanks to the chairman for presiding.