ELECTION MEETINGS.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 229, 16 March 1866, Page 3 (Supplement)

ELECTION MEETINGS.

MR. DILLON BELL'S ADDRESS IN THE THEATRE ROYAL. On the motion of Mr. Peter Dalrymple, seconded by Mr. Johnson, Dr. Meuzies took the chair. The house was crowded to excess.

The CKAiEiiAN said — In taking the chair on this occasion it affords me great pleasure to do so at a time when one who for many years represented the County of Wallace (which scarcely is a proper description of the district of Mataura.) with great benefit to the community here, and ■with great credit to himself, now desires to represent the same district. I allude to Mr. Bell, a candidate for the County of Wallace, that portion of the County of Mataiura which he formally represented. I hare more pleasure in proposing him, seeing that the gentlemen who is now to address you, has been conspicuous as a politician in New Zealand, during the whole time that we hare had representative institutions in the country, and is thoroughly familiar with the whole history of the New Zealand Colonies ; that district has received so much attention at his hands, and its requirements are so well known to him that he could advocate its interests with intelligence and with success. (Hear, hear.) lam quite satisfied that upon one important point which at present engages very much attention, the question of Separation, that Mr. Bell will give an intelligent and intelligible account of the whole question, and so for as ho gives opinions, either far or against, he will show cause why. (Cheers.) In the various addresses which have been publicly given in this Province on that question at different times, and at all of which I was present, 1 must confess it appeared to me that those who pretend to give information really wanted it themselves, and professed to explain what they did not understand. I can very confidently say Mr. Bell does understand this question, and it is one of those questions which will be the war cry in the next parliament. That question at least will be thoroughly ventilated this evening, and on every question, .1 have no doubt Mr. Bell's remarks will be received with perfect attention, and with favor. I must ask the meeting to support me as chairman in carrying out the business in an orderly manner, and 1 now introduce Mr. Bell. Mr. Beij. on coming forward was received with prolonged cheers. He said — I desire in the first place, Dr. Menzies, to acknowledge the courteous terms in which you have received me ; terms which are far too flattering for me to deserve, and I desire in the next place to express my thanks to those present for having done me the favor to attend this evening to hear the exposition of the views which I shall submit to them as a candidate for the Mataura district. I have heard it said, and I have seen it stated in the papers here, that it was due to you, as those whose suffrages were being asked by any candidate, that he should appear and state f airly before you the grounds upon which he claimed your suffrages, and on which he desired your support. I cannot pretend to stand before you as a man whose opinions have not been known, and whose part in public affairs has not been conspicuous. That while as your representative and a public man over a considerable number of years, if I had not been even able to attend here to state the views which I entertain on the public questions, I should still have felt in serving you in two parliaments, that during these years the views and speeches which I had given and delivered in my place in Parliament, would have assured you that the opinions which I have honestly entertained, and fearlessly expressed, would have led you to do me the honor to believe would be the opinions expressed by me in my place in the next Assembly. I cannot feel, therefore, that I appear entirely sis a new candidate, called upon to submit perfectly the propositions of an untried person, and that of a person who has not had any experience. It has been with the utmost satisfaction I have been enabled to come here to-night, because I desire no vote of any man under any mistake of what my opinions and feelings ai*e. I desire the free and independent support of those who consider with me in opinion, and shall heartily submit to the judgment and verdict of those if a majority should not consider with me, and should be of opinion that I am no longer a fit person to represent you. In those years when there was for you a battle to be fought — when you were a young community — small^in number, and with little innuence hi the councils of the land, you did me the honor unsolicited by myself — a man personally unknown to you — did me the honor to select me to fight the battle -which bad then to be fought in your cause. That I performed that duty, no one can blame me for taking the credit of having done. I did so fearlessly and truthfully. At a later time you again did me honor to select me as your representative, I believe partly prompted by the kindly feelings you entertained for me for the part taken by me in the past struggle ; and I may venture to say although I have not frequently come down to give an account of my stewardship, although my publicduties have constantly kept me away from personal intercourse with you, I may say before I ask your votes at this coming election, I stand before you with an innuence acquired in the second, as in the first Parliament, from the fact that I did my duly to you. No man who has lived a public life in the struggles which have taken place in New Zealand can fail to have made many and serious errors. I am not such a fool as to pretend that I have been free from these. In looking back upon my career, I have seen -where I might have taken a clearer view; but upon one point it was impossible I could be mistaken, — when your interests were at stake I never allowed anything to come in your way. If therefore it should be your pleasure to elect me to represent you in the next Parliament, I point to the past service I have done as some earnest, that when your interest are before next Parliament, you wili have a truthlul, feariess advocate in me. Now there are two points upon which I desire espe^ally to occupy your attention for a short time. One is with reference to some paSt transactions, the other with reference to considerations of the future. With respect to the past, I desire to explain one or two points in which I believe there has been some misapprehension, and in which it is essential for the s<ike of our future course that the past should be understood, in order that proper intelligence may be in our minds, and in the minds of those who would represent you, to get them into a course that |will necessarily have to be adopted in the future. In th- first place I would ask your leave to refer to a question about which I know there has been some misapprehension — theoriginal Land Bid Mr. Bell asked leave to refer to the question of the original Land Biil, and the part he was supposed to have taken in getting the price raised to £2 an acre, and explained his course of ! action in regard ttf it. As regards the course that was taken in the lasfc session of parliament with respect to the Land Bill aud PuLlie Debt Act, I know that there is a strong feeling in regard to one section of that Debt Act, and which was referred to by more than one speaker as being a great injustice to Southland, that the power had been reserved to alter if necessary the terms and regulations by which land might be sold. I wish to show to you that you can have no conception of the enormous difficulty which had to be surmounted so as to get any settlement at ail of the question in the General Assembly. Not from the want of willingness to give a fair consideration to the care of Southland and her claims, but from the absolute necessity which there was for the adjustment of the questions then pending. There was not even any backwardness on the part of '"members to give a fair consideration to this question, but in order to make any effectual settlement which should be a real relief from the difficulties impending, it was absolutely necessary that the other provinces should take the liability to pay off the debt in case occasion should arise. The difficulty was to get that done — notwithstanding the desire on the part of members of other provinces to sympathise with Southland in the troubles which had fallen upon her. It was an immensely serious thing to take upon themeeiyea the burden of a debt which amounted to half a million of money. They could not do it \n justice to thsi? ovm constituents without this.

power of selling land — at sometime taking the power iv their own hands to manage the affairs of the Province in case a necessity arose for General Government interference. But there ] never was any intention then, nor ha 3 there ever ' been yet, to exercise that power to the detriment j of the people of this province. I firmly believe that whether the same men are elected, or new men from the other provinces, the exercise of that power will never take place so long as the Southland people shall desire to improve their own condition in a manly way, and work together for the removal of their financial embarasrnent. I desire to take this opportunity of saying that sinslehanded as I was iuthe house, only two members, out of more than fifty, is a very small proportion to fight the battle, but we were helped on all sides by the friendly assistance of men whom I hardly counted on. Mr. Thomas Russell, of Auckland, Mr. Reynolds, and many other members took a very conspicuous part to try and influence the votes, and secured the aid o^the Auckland members to support me. If therefore credit has been given to me, to a greater extent than I deserve, I desire to place it upon the shoulders of those representatives of this Province in the Upper House. Without the aid of Mr. Taylor, and Dr. Menzies, whose constant care in the management of that difficult negotiation was unremitting, I would have felt powerless, and no effectual relief should have been given. (Cheers.) It was never intended that the attempt which we then made should be the only possible settlement, and that is should be the absolutely final one. The desire was upon the part of the members to take upon themselves the immediate liability, and to endeavor to arrive at some plan in the course of the coming time, when the difficulties and embarctssments of the Province might be more effectually relieved than by simply passing an act. The affairs of this Province must be administered and controlled for sometime in the General Assembly. I know that whoever may be your representatives they will meet with the most earnest desire on the part of other members to assist this Province, and get you out of your troubles. (Great cheering.) Mr. Bell next gave a graphic account of the origin of the native war, and the situation in which Auckland was at that time placed, and the imperative necessity the people were undiir, of defending at all hazards, and at whatever cost, their lives and properties. He then proceeded to say — When it is remembered that tue cause of the great outcry for political separation has been the expense into which we have been dragged, we must not forget that there was the highest necessity for our assisting each ' other, and that the expense, extravagent as it has been — even wasteful as all war expense must be — has saved us a repetition of those tragedies — the violation of women, and the murder of both women and children. A repetition of "those tragedies that made the North Island a place hardly possible to live in, and has resulted at last in our being able to have the prospect of securing peace in the Island, and of allowing our resources again to be developed. So much for the feeling which prompted the original cry for separation. It was a money question. Tiiere remains a very strong feeling on the part of a large number of people in favor of what they call separation. Now let U3 see what it is that the persons who are now advocating it intend — if they do intend anything. There is a certain section of the people of this colony who have a perfectly clear idea of separation, namely, the people of Auckland, and they are the only people wiio have clearly rstated it, and have never hesitated to express it, since the time of the removal of the Government to Wellington, and iv seeking a fuifihnent of that idea. That idea is the separation, nob of the North from the Middle Island, but the separation of Aucklaud from the Southern Provinces iv the North, ana its erection into a separate colony. It is a perfectly plain idea. Ido not in the least find fault witii. them in their desire for the most complete independence in the management of their own affairs. There never was made any mistake greater than such a mistake as I saw made last night in one of the speeches addressed to the meeting — that the North Island wants to separate. Auckland wants to separate ; but Wellington, Taranaki, and the southern piw inces in the North Island are, to d, man, against it. When you, therefore, ask for the separation of the Islands, what is it you propose to yourselves as regards the North island ? You propose to force Taranaki, Hawk's Bay and Wellington, to a measure they hate, and which, to a man, they are against. Is that the course which you intend to take ? To subject those three Provinces to the dominion of Auckland, instead of leaving them to remain as they are. The proposal which has been made by Auckland has been resisted by the three other Provinces of the North, and the three Northern Provinces of the Middle Island. The Otago proposal was equally rejected by the other Provinces of the Middle, and by the three Southern Provinces of the North Island. You cannot persuade either parts to change. When therefore we talk of a political separation, we talk in the face of a perfect impossibility. It has been attempted over and over again, aud the attempt has ended in failure. Exactly the same tiling must occur over and over again. What Auckland wants to do is to be rescued from what she c -iis the dominion of the South. What the Southern Provinces of the .North Island are saying is, we are not going to submit to the demand of Auckland. As respects the North Island, the representatives of those three Southern Provinces have always said, we won't submit to the change — we shall light against it. So far as regards the North Island, the colonists of Auckland have a perfectly clear aim. The colonists of the Southern Provinces have an equally clear aim, and these aims are antagonistic. So far as regards the Provinces of the Middle Island, a number of politicians propounded a plan for separation. The moment they propounded it, Canterbury said, we don't intend to have anything of that sort — we won't separate. The Otago politicians changed their tautics, and reverted to another plan antagonistic to separation. A plan to give an enormously increased power to Provincial Governments. It is simply a fight for B power. We are the people tht.taro interested. — we are the people whose position is most nearly touched, it is not the large, the powerful Provinces — it is the small ones, that have got a small number of representatives. Hitherto the small provinces have always held a large balance of power ; and that power has been given to control the action of the more powerful Provinces. If there were political separation, the effect would be to swallow up the influence and power of the smaller Provinces. Would that be a benefit;, to destroy the innuence Avhieh is at present exercised in the Parliament by the representatives of the sinalier Provinces 'i There wus another plan proposed, which I tliink has a gieat foundation of wisdom in it. The proposal, namely, to have a political separation of tiie two Islands, and sweep away ail ' Provincial Governments. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) That is a plan which has got a great number of arguments in its favor, and frequently when I have been, called upon, I have not hesitated to express my opinion. I have stilted very strongly iv favor of that proposal in theory, but there is one cardinal difficulty iv the way. You cannot get people to take an interest m things in districts, and wants and local requirements of districts which are situated iar ironi the centre of population and legislative power. The danger is, that if you had a new Government for the Middle Island, and irjvmcial Governments swept away, you would have a similar expenditure of public money round a centre for the benefit of that centre, exactly the samo resuit which caused the separation of Southland from Otago — the taking away of the Land I<"und of the outlying districts for the sake of the land around the capital of the. country. I do not know how you are to avoid this, unless you make human nature very different from what it is. The temptation to make the expenditure near the capital is so great, and the power of metropolitan members is always so great, that unless jou can instil a greater amount of public spirit in this country — where piiblic spirit abounds — (a laugh) — you cannot get the benedt you would seek. In my place iv Parliament I have ever been an unswerving advocate of the rights of the outlying districts j in company with Mr, Weld, Mr. Jollie, Mr, Stafford, and

I many others, we formed ourselves into a combination for the maintenance of the rights of these outlying districts. We have never been able to succeed m inducing the Governments of the large Provinces to see there was any justice in our advocacy ; at Oatnaru, the Otago Government spent more than £100,00 J. Oamaru says she never had a fraction. At Timaru, in the Canterbury Province, they also spent £180,000. _ They have not seen a fraction of it. A miserable dole, handed out to them as sops to Cerberus, whenever the Councils of the day saw there was a cry got up for the maintenance of the rights of the outlying districts. This is thing a that is constantly spoken of in the House of Representatives. How is this state of matters to be redressed ? The land revenue should be absolutely localized by law. The fund subscribed by the purfhase of land by any one particular district should, subject to fair deduction for the expenses of government, be absolutely devoted to the requirements of that particular district. Yet we never could get this distinct right of the outlaying districts settled, denned, and admitted. Those who have gone hi favor of separation will be met by the absolute refusal to be separated by six provinces out of the nine, j And there is the danger that even if you had the separation of the islands at the present moment, and a government of that kind substituted, the powerful action there would be at the centre of government would entirely destroy the right of the less powerful districts — would prevent them having the use of their revenues. The main cause of the strong feeling in favor of separation is the expense of the war — the three million loan and other imposts in which the resources of the colony have been engaged and wasted to a gveat extent. But there is somebody quite outside of us who has got to say something in this. There is an outside creditor for about four million sterling, and who is to pay the bill ? The Imperial Government don't mean to pay it. They will tell you, one minister after another. My good friend ; it is very hard ? We know you have had all sorts of 'troubles to contend with, but you have got a fine territory and you will have to pay the debt yourself. VVe have to consider the outside creditor's views, ani who is to pay before the equitable adjustment can be made. When we went up last session, the Auckland equitable adjustment of the Three Million Loan was this, that Auckland should pay £186,000 towards it. We said that is a ridiculously small sum. They said it has been wasted ; wo never had it. The whole of us resisted this allocation. At the same time, when it came to be enquired into, the Auckland people had a great show of justice on their side, and we said, you have got a general and twenty thousand men regiments which have displayed upon then- colors the lustre of the British arms, you have the 57th, 70th, 58th, and 65th, the crack regiments, you had the crack regiments of the war. Aye, but what did they do ? We never were safe, we are not safe now ? You have not done any of those things you promised. Everybody taid it is the government's fault, but most people were disposed to scratch their heads, and say it could nut be helped. We did'nt exactly know what to do. When this war was commenced a man that had served his country with honor, as brave as a lion — a Christian gentleman and a soldier, I remember his saying 'to me, let me have one hundred men, and the Maories will never face the bayonet. Not very long after that General Cameron said he had never seen any thing more splendid than the devotion of the warriors of the native race. VVe found they were not the miserable savages we had taken them to be. They were skilful engineers. A great deal better than we were able to produce. They made their pahs so skilfully, that with all our skill we could not take them. Yet notwithstanding this result I know that the animal courage of the British soldier is more than a match for them. It was proved however that we had miserably miscalculated — excepting perhaps a few who had been for many years in constant conimunicatiou with them and knew , their power and their resources. Except these few the vast majority had miserably miscalculated. Therefore when we used the argument that so small a sum should be charged against Auckland, the province had a just right to eay — it is very true you have spent the money, but in what way ? Why should we have our homes rooted up under our eyes, merely for thasake of cou tractors who were sinking the money in the streets ? No doubt a vast amount of this money did get into the hands of those contractors and did no sort of "good to the country, but the settlers, the countrysettlers, did suffer aud tuey would be the people that would have to pay. The others had filled their pockets, and, (in the anguage of a gentleman yesterday at the hustings, liaa skedaddled. (Laughter.) When instances of this kind are put in the Assembly, I should like to know from those who use the word separation as a great watch cry what would they say about paying the bill. It is the greatest difficulty that there is. Ac the present moment there is no diiHcuity, ■ because we pay in proportion to the wealth and population and revenue, iiach province knows that it cannot be changed now. You know what your share is in a time of prosperity ii' you pay largely ; in a time 01 adversity, such as has overtaken you, you pay less, if Auckland gets her Customs Ksveuue increased she pays more, and so on. Every man knows when he represents a place in Parliament exactly what is its liability whenever the question is raised. I am thus trying to allow you what the difficulties are in the way of Separation. Even were you to get over these difficulties there is still a little outside question remains to be settled before it is lor us to say — " 1 will have Separation" — have more money to spend here, &c. ; but Separation is ui 'likely. if we had political Separation §the present moment the chances or rather the certainty is, that instead of having a ■pro rala liability, we shouid have a permanent charge upon the Middle Island for half or the whole, and the North Island would go scot free. We are all of us responsib.-e, and I have no wish to shirk my responsibility. When we imposed this heavy liability it was with the distinct promise, statement, and understanding that a certain large proportion ol" the territory wnieh the rebels had, should be confiscated and be used for the expenditure which we incurred. I told them that England would not get the money. They could not sell the land, and then- scheme of territory was a humbug from beginning to end. But at the same time it was a distinct understanding and settlement in the face of the people and representatives. It was distinctly engaged in by Mr. Whi taker, by Reader Wood, Treasurer, and by Mr. If ox, Minister for Native Affairs. They, one alter another, distinctly promised that this land chould be held to pay the loan and liability which we knew we were iixmg upon the people of the Islands. That promise has gone to tho winds. Last Session 1 tried in vain to get a hearing on the claim to get the confiscated lands sold, to take £i an acre, 10s, ss, take anything that could be got. The people iv the North Island said — if yoiT take our lands what is left ? If you sell the lands we have not got auy thing to bring out people. The end of it was that it was agreed that the confiscated lands should De given to the provinces if they paid half-a-crown an acre for it. But now we find that since Parliament has met the con fiscated lands have been handed over to the ProvinciarGovernment of Auckland without t:ie payment oi 2s 6d, and they have had a great deal of money given them to colonise it. A promise to colonise these very lands which should have been sold for repaying these enormous burdens upon the country. When, therefore, you come, supposing you were to get a political Separation of cue two Islands, and attempt to make an equitable adjustment, consider that these lands are gone, and according to the land regulations, they give it away to incoming people. At Wellington they have parted with the greater part of their territory. The burden would Lave to be taken upon the Middle Island. Mr. Macandrew proposed to take the whole burden upon the "Middle island. The Middle Island members said, we would rather do anythiug thanhaVJ that constant debt hanging over us. (Hear, hear.) 1 do see, however, notwithstanding ail the difficulties which have occured in the past, it is possible to let the Provinces of Auoklanaaud Wellington come to an agreement to let them have the future management of their Native affairs tfiemselveß, and at

the same time to fee ourselves from any further liabilities. There is a plan which can be proposed, and after that can be -, effected it will requre not merely the most careful consideration and calculation of their respective rights, but above all things that the interests of the smaller provinces should be watched and protected. If, gentlemen, the affairs of Soutliland had been in that condition when the General Government no longer interfered with them, I should not myself venture again to ask for your suffrages. My earnest desire would be to retire from, public life after twenty -five years service, and to devote myself to those pursuits which in one sense are still as interesting and much more profitable to me. But there are these questions which require the experience and the knowledge and the influence, may I use the word influence ? (cheers) which is gained by a man who has served his country for a number of years. These are questions to which a public man is bound to give attention. I point out these difficulties, and i state the plan which could be pursued mainly because I urged these facts in favor of my own claim to be quite independent . of any past service which it may have been my good fortune to give. I urge it as your interest for the discussion and management of these questions that men should be able to take an intelligible part. Therefore I want you to understand this, that if you should do me the honor to return me to serve in the next Parliament, I should, in the future as in the past, still refuse to be a party to any plan by which the consciences and the will of a large number of the Provinces of New Zealand should be forced int o a government of which they disapprove of. I should desire to propose a plan by which an adjustment could be made without the political severance of the Islands, and the undoing of the work ©f the last twenty-five year 3. (Loud cheers.) Allow me to dwell for one moment still further. The mair. point in the consideration of political separation has been this : We live under a constitution which has been granted to us by the Imperial Government, and in which the colony has been enabled to maintain its institutions, and we know that men who come over from England or Australia give us honor and credit for the use of the power placed in our hands. The united colony does its postal, commercial, and legislation. Willany one who is an advocate of political separation inform me how that work is to be done if the Legislation is separate. I am perfectly well aware of the truth stated by Mr. Wood in reference to Victoria and Queensland. It has been found possible to carry on these arrangements with perfect advautage to themselves ; but we have already seen what the hostile South Australia and New South Wale 3 have dene upon the Murray when they came to clash with each other. It would be perfectly absurd for the inter-provincial steamers to be obliged to have fresh duties at the ports of the North Island. .For some purposes or another some confederation of power would have to be maintained. Then you would have all the expense of another government without the advantage which you get under the present system. We have come,to that time that the expenses are growing at so enormous a rate that instead of trying to increase them we should endeavor to decrease them. in what position were the States of America before the declaration of Indepedence ? With a population of three millions, their governmental expenses did not exceed £100,000 a year. The expenses of our Government is — I am afraid tosay how much. Unless you kuock all the Provincial Governments on the head at the same time, you would find that the political separation of the Island would be only adding a double General Government instead of a single one. When public opinion is ripe for that great change — and the time will coma — for the extinctiou of the Provincial Governments, then you will be able to have two Governments. .But before that you will require' to have electric telegraphs, railways, increased cultivation, and interchange of sentiment, which hardly exist at present. But it will not do while public opinion is not settled ; whde you cannot get the rights of the outlying districts admitted. It will not do to precipitate too hastily the course of affairs in tiiat direction. These are the views which I entertaiu on the question of separation. I trust i have been able to make them sufficiently clear. (Load cheers.) With regard to the financial difficulties of this province, it was not intended last session that the arrangement that was made should be an absolutely tinal one. Wiieu Mr. Weld's Government went out, we were in this predicament, Mr. Stafford threatened to dissolve the parliament without making any settlement. We had to do most of it in a great hurry. The creditors must be secured, and this because, if the honor of Southland were tarnished, the whole of our fair name in England and elsewhere is involved ; unless with the General Government fairly doing it and in the way that is most benericial. There will therefore be a great deal of work in the next session in fair settlement of the liability which the General Government has taken upon itself. I shall if returned do my best to assist in giving a settlement to the banks. Tho Bank of New Zealand, Otago, &c, should be presently seeded, do that you might be free of being indebted to your bankers. This is a thing that can only be done by a careful calculation of rights aud duties, but I wish to say that if it would be necessary to supplement the legislation of last session by any fresh legislation which should be necessary to more effectually secure the public creditor I shall assist in a course that should be satisfactory to yourselves. There is a very strong feeling throughout the Islands, that in some shape or form we must, restore Southland to the prosperity which she had and ought to have. We were unable last session to do this effectually. In concert with the members of the other Provinces, 1 do not think there will be any difficulty in taking such measures to restore her credit. I know that there is nothing which can possibly be more galiing to men than that sense of having had to go before the General Assembly and ask them to assist you out of a condition of next door to ruin. The strongest argument I used, and which they could not answer, was that the main blame, was the actual cost, which though allowed, the j General Government waa at least equally to blame in the hard measure they had dealt to the Provinces ; you must bear this in mind, and if you go to the House of Representatives on the one hand with the cry that you are going to separate the Island, and then going to force Wellington, Taranaki Hawke's Bay, &c, into an unwilling alliance, while on the other hand you are asking the whole colonists to take charge of your debt, it will not succeed. Either be willing and able to rely entirely upon your own resources aud ta,ke a clear position ; or if you find, a3 you have found, that from some cause it was absolutely necessary that you should appeal to the whole colony to restore you to the prosperity which must come to this part of the colony, you must not consider it fair when you go to the I whole colony to say, we are going to join this section for a particular political purpose, to force the consciences of others. One reason why they have listened to my statements in the house is that they have been well aware that; I never have been willing to sacrifice the whole colony to the particular service of a friend or party. My reputation is dear to me, dearer to me than any particular measure. It is by securing the services of men who will devote themselves to public affairs, and who are able by independedee of liieans and education, and are willing to take part in the discussion of those questions that we can best fulfil the requirements of the representative institutions weenjoy. (Loud cheers.) Last evening Mr. Wood was repeating a newspaper reporc of what had taken place in the Provincial Council of Otago with reference to annexation. He expressed his surprise that nobody had got up and^contradicted, a statement made to the etiect, that if a proposal were made to re-aunex, it would receive the unanimous support of every man, woman, and child here. I have not been very remiss generally when Southland affairs were concerned. I did not say a word upon that occasion, because a number of members had got particular views.. They made up their minds that they would carry a particular plan instead of Separation. A new form of Government, by which the small Provinces were to be swallowed vp s and large powers given to the larger ones.

They appointed a committee from which they carefully excluded me, and also Major Richardson — we wera known to hold opposite opinions. Not one, but at least a dozen members got up and said they would like to hear what Mr. Bell and the" Major had got to say to that. I said you can't draw two old grey badgers like us. You packed that committee, and would not give us a chance. We won't open our mouths. You may have all the schemes that you like. We will just hold our tongues — and we did. We shalPtake the voice of the people in this matter — they are the best judges. If I were returned I should resist any plan for annexation, except on the demand of the people themselves. Andnow, gentlemen, I have done. I express my readiness to answer any questions which may be put. If there is any point which I have not made clear, I shall be most happy to make it as- clear as I can, Should you not consider me a proper person to represent you I shall retire willingly and shall entertain the most kindly feeling towards you. If, on the other hand, you should send me to take my place in Parliament as your representative, I c*n make no promise out this, that as in previous sessions, so in this, I shall do my utmost to promote your interests. Mr. Bell, who had been listened to throughout with the most marked attention and frequently applauded, resumed his seat amidst loud applause. The Chairman" then requested that any gentlemen who had any questions to ask would do so. No fresh questions being asked, Mr. Peter Dalyrymple proposed Mr. Dillon Bell as a fit and proper person to represent the Mataura district in the ensuing session of the General Assembly. The motion was seconded by Mr. John Hare, and carried with acclamation. A vote of" thanks having been tendered to Dr. Menzies for his conduct in the chair, the meeting terminated. '