THE ELECTIONS.

Southland Times, Issue 710, 16 August 1867, Page 2

THE ELECTIONS.

THE PROVINCIAL TREASURER AT THE THEATRE ROYAL. • Mr Clerke (the Provincial Treasurer) met the electors of the Waihopai district, to render an account of his political conduct whilst in the Council. The first part of his explanation was listened to with attention, but considerable disturbance was created towards the close of the meeting. Mr Pratt was voted to the chair. Mr Clevke after making a few introductory remarks referred to statements made at a previous meeting by Mr Blacklock relative to the action of the government of which the latter was the leading member. He. (Mr C.) characterised them as unsatisfactory, and said that the report of the Committee appointed by the Provincial Council had not been controverted — that certain things had been done for which no satisfactory explanation had been given — they remained a mystery to that day. The contract for the finishing of the Bluff Railway was supposed to be let for 25,000 acres of and, to be paid on the completion of the work. There was then a letter which had been much spoken of [the letter in terms of which Messrs Smyth, Hoyt & Co., agreed to forego all claims or compensation on account of delay caused by Dalgety & Co.'s line on No. 2 contract.] Mr Pearson when a member of the Council made great capital of it and insisted its effect would be that no claims for compensation could arise. | But when he quitted the executive another construction was put on it (the letter) and they had been told that — by the advice of a lawyer— it had been set aside as of no value on the ground of no consideration having passed. If it had been really the intention however, from the first to regard the letter as a mere form used for a certain purpose, there should have been one to that effect from the government to Messrs Smyth, Hoyt & Co. As it was, their letter ought to have been filed as a government document -for although it had been said there was no " consideration," he (Mr Clerke) thought a very sufficient one had been given in the concession of progress payments, &c. The contract was let in January 1866 — in June of that year the alterations were made — the contractors were let off the fencing, the Mokomoko branch, &c, in fact they were~let off altogether — (applause) — and received in every way a quid pro quo. Yefc what was the consequence to the province, Mr Btackjock. foofc «rost fc

himself for having "arranged" a claim •of '- £4700 by the payment of £1200. .Now he (Mr C.) would ask if any man held a good enforcible claim for £4700, would he forego it for £1200? (Applause.) He (Mr C.) confessed lie did not understand Mr Blacklock's explanations the other night on that platform any more than in the Council; the only conclusion he could come to was that there had existed an intricate web of contracts made and broken and '.'arrangements" entered into, the precise bearings of which could only be known to those having knowledge of the motive power. (Applause.) He (Mr C.) would tell the meeting the nature of the contract (?) of January 1866. It was a mass of erasures and corrections — it was in fact no contract at all, but a mere memorandum of agreement, and there was no record of its acceptance. What he maintained was that if no tender in accordance j with the advertised conditions had been I received — if the tender could not have i been accepted in its entirety, another competition should have been invited. He. (Mr C.) believed the "contract" never saw a lawyer's office, but was just sent to Mr Marchant's office. As to the Eccles affair, Mr Blacklock had said that it was a "mere assumption" to assert " lliat if it could have been managed by the Executive with the General Government the Council would have heard no more about it." He would read extracts from minutes [proving that the matter of payment to Dr Eccles was under discussion, and that it was only when a certain difficulty presented itself that it was decided to cull a " session extraordinary" of the Council]. He thought that showed that if it could have been avoided the matter would not have come before the Council. (Applause.) Another mistake they made was to throw the whole onus on the Superintendent, for although they did not say so in so many words, they led every man in the Council to believe that the arrangement was entered into by His Honor on his own account. The same with regard , to the salaries [of the Waste Lands Department]. There was then Mr Blacklock's statement, " that when he left office the railway was paying. Singularly enough, when he (Mr Clerke) took office it was not. If the meeting were collectively to go fo the Bluff by railway on a particular day the line might be said to pay [for that day] ; but it is not likely that they would do so often. Well, Mr B. had included the traffic caused by the Governor's visit — one as little likely to recur frequently as for all present at the meeting to agree to take trips together to the Bluff. (Applause.) Mr Blacklock had said that a certain party had broken pledges (hear, hear, with startling abruptness, from Mr Irvine), that they were traitors, &c, in the matter of the railway resolutions. He (Mr B,) had spoken of a meeting at which Dr Hodgkinson was the only one who walked out. At that meeting Mr Blacklock had said, " Oh, we are only talking about the matter," and said nothing about a pledge, or he (Mr C.) would not have stopped, as he did not wish to have his action trammelled. With respect to questions asked Mr Blacklock by an elector — whether if the resolutions had been passed the Superintendent could not have dealt with the 210,000 acres in the matter of contracts as with 1000 acres — he (Mr C.) was distinctly of opinion that the Council would have forfeited all controlling power. From the tenor of a letter by Dr Knight to the Colonial Secretary (letter read) it appeared that he anticipated no difficulty iv obtaining a tender for the completion, of the Oreti line — that he thought the work could proceed without delay. As a matter of fact he (Mr Clerke) might admit that when the resolutions were pending in the Council he was undecided whether to assist in passing them, trusting to the promise of the Blacklock Executive to resign, or not. But when he considered that it was competent for Superintendent to have kept them (the Blaeklock, Executive) in office for a month, during which time they might have bound the province to any extravagant arrangement, he made up his mind and he was since glad he had taken the course he did. He was favorable to railway extension (hear, hear), but without the "arrangements" or any of the (a voice : " Shenanagin ") — Yes, that would express it. He had been long impressed with the belief that the place, as a settlement, could not afford to. await the tardy process of ordinary roadmaking, and really thought that if they could only contrive to get £1000 worth of work for £1000 the province would be benefited by more railways, but not otherwise. Mr Clerke closed his remarks by saying that should he be returned to the Provincial Council his bestj endeavors to forward the railways might be depended on — that ho would exercise due discretion and trusted that next time all conditional tenders would be" placed, before the Council before acceptance. With regard the Superintendency he must decline to. pledge himself — for one thing he would vote for no one opposed to railways (applause) He was now prepared to reply : to questions. The following questions and answers are taken from a number of others that were asked, but which are quite uninportant: — MrlnviNE — Mr Clerke, when you obtained office, did you or did you not object to move the promised resolution for a dissolution of the Council ? Objection being made to the question being put by *a non-elector of the Waihopai District, the Chairman ruled that it was out of order. Mr Osbobne objected to the Chairman's urling, and moved " that any gentleman in the meeting asking a question should be answered," which was seconded and carried. He said it was" in tii| recollection that the Chairman on a former occasion made no obje^jtionifco non-electors speaking. Jjf Mr CiJiKKE — (In replysto'Mr.lrvine'a question). Yes, I did' hesitate, as I thought it wqul<3 be better for (nether ta ■*

move it. I felt some reluctance to move in the matter. (Laughter.) Mr C. H. Reynolds — Did you not attend a meeting at the Treasury, previous to the railway resolutions being brought before the Council, and approve of them ? Mr Clerke — Yes : — I did not object to them then, but upon after consideration I saw that they were premature. They were being hurried through in one night, when they should have had a week's conBideration. Mr Reynolds — Are you aware of the existence of a letter from the Colonial Secretary, Mr Stafford, under date 3rd August, stating that he could not set aside the land in terms of the amendment ? Mr Clerke— No, I am not. Mr. Reynolds — Did you not see a letter from the Colonial Secretary to the Provincial Q-overnment under that date, and speak to me upon the subject this morning ? Mr. Clerke — In reference to the letter Mr. Reynolds alludes to I thought he had it from the Electoral Association. It appears that the gentlemen of the " Times," obtain information in advance of tho G-overnment. A voice — And quite right too. (Applause.) Mr Reynolds — I obtained the information from the Electoral Association. (Applause.) Mr. A. J. Smyth now came upon the platform, amidst • cheering and interruption. He said — As Mr. Clerke had said much with reference to the contract between the Grovernment and Messrs Smyth, Hoyt and Co., he would wish to ask Mr. Clerke a few questions. Ist. — In the original contract did you not see any clause with reference to progress payments ? Ans. — No ; it was only an agreement drawn up in the railway station, Mr. Marchant's office, and was not a regular contract. Mr. Smyth, in explanation, stated that in January 1866, the Grovernment called for tenders for the completion of the Blufl Harbor and Invercargill Railway — that Smyth, Hoyt and Co.'s tender was accepted. A few. days afterwards the contract was signed. He had signed thirty-four plans, and an agreement of forty-four folios which he produced, and from it read the progress payment clause. Pour months was the stipulated time for the completion of the works and we were prepared to carry it out, but the Grovernment could not give possession of the line. "When I commenced the work I had the Grovernment in my own hands ; but knowing the cause of the difficulty that prevented them handing over that portion of the line (contract 2) we consented to the second agreement, which was the same as the first, with the exception that it excluded Messrs. Smyth, Hoyt and Co. for claiming special compensation for delay and breach of agreement that was caused. Mr. Clerke had stated that the line was not finished, and we now would ask that gentleman if he could point out what part of the line was not finished ? Mr. Clerke — No ; I cannot, but there are no certificates of completion. Mr. SiixxH, in explanation, stated that there were certificates of completion, but that theportionthatwasalluded to was part of contract No. 2, where it was thought advisable to depart from the original specification, with the intention of ultimately erecting a stone storm- wall instead of the timber one agreed for; and for this Smyth, Hoyt and Co. allowed £1,200 to be retained. The £1,700 claim was for actual cest of cartage, lighterage, &c, arising from the Government not being able to give possession of that portion of the line to which he had alluded. A voice — How many teams had you in use. Mr. Smyth — Some three, with three horses to each. A voce — Did the Government keep time against you. Mr. Smyth — No, it is not necessary. He then resumed his seat amidst much cheering. A voice — What course would Mr Clerke pursue to secure the offer of the 210,000 acres. No answer. Mr Reese asked Mr Clerke — Did you not undertake to carry out the survey ot the lines ? A — yes. Will you explain the reason that it has not been done. A — The Executiye .and the Superintendent were not of one mind. We suggested, that the j Railway Engineer, Mr Simpson, should be entrusted with the work. His Honor objected. We than mentioned Mr Paterson, to whom no objection was made, and we communicated with that gentleman, but through illness, Mr Paterson had not been able to come down. In answer to the question had an agreement been made with Mr Paterson, Mr Clerke said no definite agreement had been made ; it was left over until he came down. Mr Reynolds — Are you not aware that the Colonial Secretary objected to advance any more money for surveying the north line on the ground that two surveys had already been made ? Mr Clerke — Yes. In answer to a question, Mr Clerke stated that a claim had been made for £7 per day for professional services by a gentleman connected with the railways, but as the account was still unsettled he did not think he should mention the' name. (Cries of name, name ; was it Dundas.) If I must answer — yes it was. Mr T. Sloan— Will Mr Clerke tell uwhat the Government, of which he is th head, done since they have been in office (.Loud laughter.) Ans. — He could notreply to so indefinite a question. (Hisses and groans.) This question was asked three&mes, and elicited no reply. Mr Reynolds asked, if Mr Clerke would now Sjtate who he would vote for as Superintendent. Ans. — I say I will not jaieUge myself to answer any question at to the election of a. Superintendent, further thao, that I will support no one

that is not an advocate of the railways' (Hisses.) Mr Blaoklock — Are you aware that plans and specifications for the completion of the Northern Line with iron rails have been made. Ans. — No, but I believe the Provincial Engineer capable for the work, with the outlay of a couple of hundreds tor overtime. Mr Bla-CKLock said Mr Patterson's opinion was the reverse of that, and stated that with the leave of the meeting he would read & letter from the Colonial Secretary, with reference to an assertion made by Mr Clerke, which would prove its incorrectness. [Here a scene occurred that almost baffles description. Mr Lumsden, a member of the Executive, jumped up, and in a most excitable manner protested against- Mr Blacklock addressing the meeting at all. Immediately afterwards, owing to the calls of the audience for his presence on the platform, he commenced crawling over the heads of the audience in a most extraordinary and ludicrous manner, known as " all fours ;" his hat fell off, his hair bristled wildly about his face/which was of ghost-like paleness ; he gesticulated in a violent manner at Mr Blacklock, and the meeting commenced hissing him to such an extent that reminded one as if a legion of rattlesnakes were let loose. Mr Blacklock now, in answer to the calls of the audience, went on the platform ; on advancing to the table to speak he was loudly cheered. Mr Lumsden again became excited. Here the uproar became furious, in the midst of which Messrs Kingsland and Perkins appeared on the platform, the first urging the right of Mr Blacklock to speak, the latter looking nervously desirous of saying something, but couldn't; while Mr Lumsden in a faint state from over exertion, got possession of a chair, and acting on the urgent advice of his friends, sat down, and became somewhat calmer. After silence was restored, the Chairman ruled that if anyone was to be heard in making a statement it was Mr Blacklock, but that gentleman had consented, owing to his (the Chairman's) suggestion, to defer it until the questions had all been put.] Mr Gtilmoub — In the event of your being returned to the Council, are you prepared to accept the office you now hold, should it be offered to you. Mr Clerke — Yes, certainly. Mr Gtlmour — When you first accepted office, you and your colleagues expressed a doubt of your own ability to | manage the affairs of the Province, and ' urged that as a reason for a dissolution ; has your short experience of official duties led you to alter your opinion. Mr Clebke — Yes, I don't find the duties very heavy, and the office is comfortable and nice. Mr G-iLiroTJR — I am an elector of the Woihopai District, and am anxious that we should return able men to the Council. One of the local papers says we do not think for ourselves, I think that statement falsified by the fact that the two leading men in last Council, the Speaker and yourself, were returned by that district. 1 wish to maintain our prestige and return capable men. In the event of Mr Blacklock regaining office, would you again bring forward a want of confidence motion. Mr Clerke — That depends on how he behaves himself. (Laughter.) Mr Gtilmour — But you have already expressed an opinion regarding Mr Blacklock's fitness for office, would you not, for consistency's sake, feel bound to oppose him the moment he assumed office. Mr Clerke repeated his previous answer, which being objected to, the Chairman ruled it was sufficient. Mr Osborkte asked Mr Clerke — Are you aware that Dr Knight recommended that land payments should be made in 2000 blocks ; which would you prefer. Ans. — I certainly should prefer larger blocks than 2000, as by that system " spotting " would be encouraged. Ques. — "Would you reject the railway scheme if the 2000 acre blocks were insisted upon. Ans. — I have a great objection to the small blocks, but would take that rather than not have the railways. Q.ues. — Are you in favor of vote by ballot, and if elected, would you take action to obtain it. Ans. — Yes, as far as possible I should. A few other unimportant questions having been put. Mr W. Perkins proposed, Mr Fredric seconded — " That in the opinion of this meeting, Mr T. M. Clerke is a fit and proper person to represent the Waihopai District m the Council." Carried. Mr Blacklock now attempted to address the meeting, but the Chairman quickly left the chair, after a vote of thanks had been tendered, and the proceedings abruptly terminated.