NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 74, 18 November 1864, Page 4

NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES.

The nomination of candidates for the represent - tation of the district - of- Invercargill in the -Pro- ; Vincial Council took place yeiterday at the Court- • house; in presence of a; Very numerous assemblage > of electors' and the inhabitants.- The greatest interest was displayed during the entire proceed- . ings,' which, "were most ; ordorly throughout.- - -" ■ . At twelve o'clock,'- the RExrairiira- Oiyioim r stepped on to the hustings, ; followed" by tho can* .'■ 'didates with their supporters and^frierids. = ' : . -; • > .■-■■■■ Having briefly opened the business, v |; : ; Mr. W. H. Calder was proposed,' arid seconded, by Me3ssrs, Gr. S. W: Dalbxmple arid Wood. : ' • Mr. H: E.- Osbokstb was next -proposed, and i seconded by Messrs. C. S. Btttton and R. MILiEB. .' - : "'. ■■ ' ■'.'■'■ '■■'.■ ■'-' ' ■',■• ■-■'•? Mr. "W". H\ Tarlton -was ; -than proposed, and.^ 1 seconded by Messrs. J. "W.. MITCHBiL and ■■'■'• LtFMSDEN. .'- ' ■ ' : ' I.' : ',';'" ■" ■ : ' ■■::■' 'i-yr-i ui'll Mr. Nathaniel Chalmers was proposed- by Mr; - THbiTi.3 Tayiob, arid seconded- by -Mr. - Louis fi. : • ; GrILLES. • •:■■■ ■ '- <-iit ■...•: v -■ ■■'- ■' Mr. H. B. Monkman was then proposed by Captain MfCALiuii, and »econded by Mr. ? Kbk- • KETH AI'IVOB. ■;•■'• : - - ■ ' ■' '-iUi-. ;;;;!.;;.• Mr. T. M. Macdonald was next proposed, and seconded by Messrs. PsATTand GteisO'W .^ : : -<- Dr. Menzies was proposed ; by Mr. Johhv EliNasiiAirD, and seconded by Mr. John BO3S, ■•: and, ' '' ' ■ ''.''''' '''■•':■ ■ o .;:.;■; > Mr. J. E. DaVies was proposed aad> seconded hj Messrs. Johm" Mtjnko arid Albx Satebs..- -• .' . . There being no other candidates proposed,"' '' . Mr. Caldbb was the fir«fc to «ddre"Bs the electors. It was the second time,' lie said, that he had stood before the electors of Southland. '<■ He would not promise any great- things if he wereagain placed in ; the- Council, and , at the present time, he, feared the Council would hare very little power" to r extricate the '•; province from its financial embarrassments. • He . thought the best men for the -Council :.at:the- present juncture would be those who had the greatest influence at head quarters, so much, being dependent on the action taken there. He never had had a meeting to explain -liis past conduct in the Provincial Council, and he wished to apolo«iie to his constituents . for this neglect. He then begged to correct a report which he had found was being circulated with regard to his feelings towards the present Superintendent. He wished distinctly to say that 'it- was entirely false and erroneous. He had opposed the conduct of the present. Superintendent from the first, '.-but he had never meant any discourtesy whatever to that gentleman, for whom, otherwise -he had a high respect. He confessed himself, however, in iavor of a radical change, having been, opposed -from the beginning to the management of the affairs of the Province during his government. Alluding to the annual- value-to-let clause/ in the Roads Ordinance, he contended .that a public expression of opinion should ever receive the- highest respect from the Government of any Province. Then in regard to the Escort question, he condemned the action of the Government, and deplored the heavy i loss entailed upon the Province by- the noni adoption, of a eche-me which, he ■■ submitted, would " have resulted in great prosperity to Southland genflra'ly. At the same time lie admired the very iinc feelings which had been displayed in not wishing to interfere in the matter without the neighboring Province being consulted. With regard to the raising of the price of land, he would have hesitated to consent to the passing of the Biil before being discussed by the> people, and he would have withdrawn it for that purpose. : It was a shortsighted Act, and had very materially contributed to render the " Province ridiculous in the eyes of our neighbors. As £o freeing the Province from its financial difficulties he suggested the disposal of the Waste Lands, although he was aware of the difficulty in doing it in consequence of tho recent rise in price. Another course --vraa to obtain a loan on a colonial guarantee,- and he gave the credit of this scheme to the present Superintendent, from whom it emanated, although; it was laid before the Council at its- last session by; Mr. Tarlton, the Provincial Treasurer. He believed a general loan for the colony was the ;best: plan which could be adopted. ; The electors riwould be aware too that the Debentures-alreadyisiued'were unsaleable. It would be competent for the holders after the time expired, to. sell these Debentures for whatever they would fetch,; and ,if. so the matter was one to which the Council ■would require to give its serious attention.' Ho then Tbriefly referred to a few of the Ordinances 'hi 'operation, and said they were too complex. : The^Education Ordinancehadtoomany clauses, andit was unworkable. The cost of raising assessments under it w»» hi some cases enormous. He was informed that in one district the expensein raising £60 was £30. The Eoads Ordinance he characterised as totally inapplicable to the present condition of the Province. On the subject of railways he said he had been opposed to their introduction from the outset. He gave his consent to the Bluff line as' far as the quarries at Mokomoko. Stones for v the roads in tho interior could then hare 'been brought up at a trifling cost. He was not present when the extension to the Bluff was proposed, but it yas probable" that he would, not have opposed it. As to the Oreti Line, he ' waa absent when it was resolved upon. He considered, it fat too expensive, and would have preferred a" light tramway. Inasmuch, however, as iron rails could be laid on top of the wooden rails, he "apprehended tho loss," after all, would not' prove io serious aa some anticipated. In ' oondusion ha was in favor of exchange of adminwtratio'n,* and would support any measure tending to 1 unite all parties, that tho affairs of the Province might be so conducted as to relieve ifc from its present* em« barrassod position. At present the 'opposition was so strong as to neutralise all efforts, xaade in this direotion, In reply to questions put, .Mr. Oaldw wm i\ok pledged to vote .for any one as Superintendent, although he was in favor of a change. He ihoiUd prefer -Sfr. Thompson to Dr, 3fcvxi««, H« believed, ' there were < wanv jaor* &i th|n !D|« ¥«H*iof -^Although, inftrio? in oalibrt Ipwq^^f^

that experience "in"^^^hjisineia^ niatteM -rrhich ; was neceasaryf ! ''He would 'hot: yote for any man in preference' to Dr; r Menzies. v He. (Mr. Calder) ■woiild^not himself, accept the office, as : his business engagements did. not permit of it, and he thought the Superintendent should -idevote his. whole attention to -the- duties- of the office. He was in : Australia- for the -benefit of his health when the Bluff-Railway; scheme was passed. He. preferred j Miisteft immigration.to free, but if without assistance,; s'onmch ; the better. Was in fayor of an efficient pilot ■' staff, and the;, completion of the Bluff line.'' He considered the settlement of the relative powers of Superintendent and Council ■was a "subject* of much more' importance than that of the individual who was tofill.the post, of Superintendent.'He looked' upon the Superintendent as a/chief magistrate, and liable M be governed by '<■ a-: majority -,-: of the p Executive -in all . matters not having reference . to the delegated powers. He mentioned -the following ; instances in which it '■ was alleged the Superintendent had not 'consulted the Executive— the appointment of Mr. Dundas, and the disallowance of the Execu-tive-Council and Representation Ordinances. He would grant i that the Council failed .in its duty with regard to Mr. Dundas' : appointment., He condemned both Superintendent and Council— the-one for voting, and the other for confirming it. ** ;'•-■ -■.: •.•■■.- --' ■ . ;- ■ ■-. . . -^'-v^; Mr. H.E.OsBOBNB now, addressed : the electors. He confined; his remarks chiefly to the question of the Superintendency, and_ would, if elected,' Tote for . Dr. Menzies. He could say something both for and against him. He thought he did too much clerical work, and would prefer teeing him riding oftener into tho country. Con-sidered-the Superintendent and Executive, equally to blame in regard to the Mokomoko Jetty contract. He -would abolish the Education Ordinance. Was in favor of immigration of men with capital. ■• Did not consider it politic to lower the prioe of land now that it has been raised, as he thought it would lower the value of the security. He would finish north and east roads, and place tolls on them. He would employ prison labor for the improvement of tho streets in town. Mr. W. P. Tahmox now stepped forward and addressed the electors. He apologised for the error he had made in falsely accusing Mr. Chalmers of having accepted the tender for the MokoMoko jetty, but thought that as a member of the then Executive he was partly to blame. He disclaimed against being considered the sole cause of the present financial depression of the Province, •lthough he owned he had to bear his share of the blame with others. Eeferring to the Education Ordinance, he advocated the re-modeling of the Act, and gave a sketch of his scheme, (which has already appeared in our columns). He was opposed to the Roads Ordinance, but thought the clause empowering the trustees of any district io borrow money for the making of roads more faulty than the*much-talked-of annual-value-to-let clause. He then entered into the subject of railways, reiterating statements similar to those which have already been published by him, and defending his .conduct in the matter. In reply to questions put, Mr. Tarlton said, in reference to the dismissal of Mr. Hatoly, the - Sheep Inspector, for not making a proper account of head-money to the Treasury, that that gentleman had told him that he had received authority from Mr. Chalmer3, when Deputy-Superintendent, - to appropriate such head money to the outlay incurred for sheep yards, and hi 3 personal expenses, tec. In repl/ to the query as-to whethcT Mr. Davies had ever departed from received authority in the construction of the Oreti railway, he said h« " could not answer a question so casuistical as that." Could not say he was to blame, as he was not fully aware of what communication may have passed betwixt him and Mr. Anybodyelse. Mr. Davies told him he did as he had been told with reference to using New Zealand woods. Mr. Chalmers was the next speaker, and he was glad to come after Mr. Tarlton as he bad felt sure - he would have to defend himself against his accusations. First, he would allude to Mr. Calder's Statement 'regarding the railway to the Mokomoko, and would ask if the people o£ Southland ever could have been so wild as to have ' thought of making a railway to a quarry at a cost of something like £100,000 for the mere purpose of carrying stones to the roads ? Mokomoko harbor at that time wa3 much more in favor than ■' -it now is, but it was afterwards decided to extend the line to the Bluff. This was at a time when they were going a-head rerv fa3t. Ho was in favor of the line being finished. With regard to the pilot staff, he had done all he could for its efficiency ; but in the face ol all, a steam-tug, which, "was ordered for the harbor, had since been ordered to be sold, and meanwhile we have had several wrecks for want of it. Our harbors have fallen in favor, and the rates of insurance to our ports largely increased. In reference to the Provincial Councils Ordinance, he would say that he never contended that the Superintendent was legally bound to consult with bis Executive in matters relating to his delegated powers ; but, if not legally, he was certainly morally, bound, to do so. If so, his action was timuar to that of a despot or an autocrat. He contended that in all other things he should give effect to the decisions of the majority of his Executive. He would have both Eoad3 and Education Ordinances modified — not repealed. He recommended the immigration of a mixed population. In reference to the Price-of-Land question, the Council, he said, did all they could to obtain Her Majesty' b disallowance of the Bill, or at least that it should be held in abeyance for a time. Then, in reference to the railways, he attacked severely Mr. Tarlton' s accusation as to his acceptance of the tender for the Mokomoko contract, and also his apology for the false statement. He considered the attack had two bearings — the one a personal one ; the other an official one. As to Mr. Tarlton's taking credit for altering the guage of the Oreti line to that of the Bluff line, he said he (Mr. Tarlton) had had no more to do with it than he had. The suggestion had emanated from the Engineers' Commission, and Mr. Tarlton brought it before the Council. He had ■upported the wooden railway, but it never was contemplated at first to make it such an expensive affair as it is. He advocated a line similar to that used by Mr. Davies at the Mokomoko. He was in favor of the repeal of the Roads and Education Ordinances. Again, in reference to Mr. Tarlton's assertion that he had had an interest in the contract for the Northern line, he entered into particulars (as given by him at the meeting in the Theatre Royal), exonerating himself from the in- - einuations cast upon him. As to the case of Mr. Eately, he did not know where Mr. Tarlton could have got it that he (Mr. Chalmers) ever granted to that gentleman the authority to appropriate fees as alleged. With reference to a question put to Dr. Menzies, at the Theatre Royal, as to its being customary for vouchers being signed by • heads of department j. he explained to the electors to what it referred, but denied that any irregularity had been observed. He also said, in reply to Mr. Cozens," that the books of the Uoadß Department had been very badly kept. : Mr. Monkmak now said a few words to the electors.: He woxild not detain them with a speech bri the occasion, and would only state that Kb interests were identical with, theirs, and, if elected, would do his utmost to promote those of the Province generally. [With reference to a report of Bis /speech, in this journal, at the Waihopai election, Mr: .Monkman was made to say that he weforrod Dr. Menaies to Air. .Thonwoifc' as Super&teM<lont It should have been that he profarrod Mr. Thomson to Dr. Menzieij, but that being -*; sarrant or paid agent of the former gentle» nUn, he should not vote for him were he npihin'atod.] ;; - y; -" ;;? -■"-■..■ :w .• • /' ' : .... • • Mri T: Mr Maodokaij) next addressed the electors;' He agreed that thoae :■ who were returned to feho Council should be men possessing" : faith in th« ultimate prosperity; of tho Province. ! : He then altuilad to' the relative powers of the Superm&n<l*nt and ' Provincial < Council, and took :; Ope«WJ'jn i to remark that < he {entertained different :*'iniimlan£- 7 He would not agree*>to the' election of '|iiy onii' who ■ Jwoulrjl rjp't govern opnßtitiufcionally t ; '|«rt y by': f%'< (3pu9titufc|pn ;A <# conjonifid tthft

decisions .-of a majority of ..his Executive. If the Superintendent was a sort of Upper House they would hare the anomaly of a mart, elected by a 1 Body . of' men, ' Orer-ruling their authority. Ho thought it was. the duty of the Superintendent to act in accordance with his Executive Council in all matters relating to the. province j and he went further ; tho Superintendent was bound morally to act according to their advice in matters beyond it., He (Mr. Macdoriald) gave various reasons why this should be. He would make it a tine qua non that candidates should only be returned who would support these views. The railways he considered should he completed. There /were two or three means whereby our difficulties n'thp money. way could be got over, but hewai not in a position to positively say what should be done. Thought that all departmental expenses should be kept within the Customs revenue. As to immigration, he considered the best system of bringing population was to give free grants of land to those who .paid their own passage money. After answering objections which hadbeen made to thi3 course, he concluded by offering to answer any questions. In reply to those put, he said he was in favor of separation from the North Island. Was not the one to decide on a successor to Dr. Menzies. Would require first to know.the views of any other candidate. Would not say that Mr. Heale should take the wheel; would ascertain first what his views were on the subject of Superintendent. Knew nothing of the political opinions of Dr. Hodgkinson. Dr. Menzies then addressed the meeting. He replied to the opinions expressed by Mr. Macdonald. He (the speaker) had assented to the principle that in all matters where the Superintendent had to deal with affairs of the Province, it was his duty to consult with, his Executive, and also to consult it in matters that was beyond the control of the Provincial Council. He thought Mr. Chalmers fell into a slight mistake as to the wooden railway. It was on the report of a Commission of Engineers that the Government decided on bringing bafore the Council the plan of a wooden railway. In further remarks, ho defended tho course the Q-overnment had taken in the subject. After some further remarks, he concluded by stating hie willingness to answer any questions. None were put. Mr. John M/ui*bo, on behalf of Mr. J. E. Davies, apologised for that gentlemen's nonappearance. As he (Mr. Manro) had already stated, Mr. Davies was obliged to go to Dunedin on pressing business — in fact to get money. His address had been before the public for a considerable time, and by that the candidate stood or fell. The Hetur>~in(J Officer then called for a show of hands on behalf of the candidates. The following was the result : — Calder, 34 ; Osborne, 17 ; Tarlfcon, 38 ; Chalmers, 33 ; Monkman, 47 ,• Maodonald 70 >, Menzies, 120 ; and Davies, 66. The Returning- Officer accordingly declared in favor of Messrs, Menzies, Macdonald, Davies, and Monkman. A poll was demanded on behalf of the other candidates, which will take place to-day, commencing at ton o'clock, and closing at four p.m., in the Court-housfc. A vote of thanks to the Eeturning Officer closed the proceedings.