MEETINGS-THEATRE ROYAL. MONDAY EVENING, 19th AUGUST.

Southland Times, Issue 712, 21 August 1867, Page 2

MEETINGS-THEATRE ROYAL. MONDAY EVENING, 19th AUGUST.

Pursuant to a request by Messrs W. H. Calder and T. M. Macdonald, a meeting of the Invercargill Electors was ,held on Mond^^veriing, at the Theatre ! Royal. The .house was densely crowded, and throughout ... the evening the utmost ■[ order prevailed. . The; chair was ably occupied by_ . ,' j \.-_., - Henry Rogers, Esq., who — having craved a patient and impartial hearing for. .the. Y.ariou3__ speakers, . and read■the advertisement' calHng- the. meeting, intimating that an arrangement hadJje^eh made- for Mr Armstrong also to address the Electors — proposed that Messrs Armstrong, V Calder, and Macdbnald should each speak in t suceeaaipn, after which any gentleman could put aW; question in connection with the matter before the meeting, to one or all of them. This arrangement was agreed to by ijhe. meeting., : :_■ Mr Armstrong then came forward and, was received with loud cheers. He said he was not a part of the programme, but through the courtesy of Messrs Calder and Macdonald he was permitted the privilege of making an address to the meeting, aud especially to those- gentleman who j>n Saturday had honored him with ai.requisition. With almost the certainty- jof being charged with iridicision of character, he had decided at the last moment jto place his services at their disposal (Hear, hear.) He had not consented till it wjis pointed out clearly to him that it' was desirable that he. should endeavour to strengthen the hands of the party who proposed to take advantage of the General Government's offer of land for railway purposes. Still further to account for his appearance, it was necessary that he should allude to two or three late representatives, and he would do this without one "word of recrimination, the Electors having already had too mucU of that. (Hear hear.) He had been both surprised and pained to hear at a meeting ofj electors recrimination and giving the retort direct, and the audience highly i delighted, testifying approbation by con- j tinued and loud applause, (hear.) What was sport to those parties was fraught with considerable danger to the Province,. He had to speak of Messrs Lumsden, Ross, and DrJNlenzies; in whose integrity he had full confidence, but who" held in his opinion mistaken views. (Hear, hear.) During the last session of Council he had been annoyed that these gentlemen should, after speaking warmly td' a resolution, suddenly turn rounds .oppose and reject it. The cause, of that action was undoubtly a suspicion of the then Executive, of which he (the speaker) was a member. Whether they were justified in this he would leave the meeting tp judge. He believed these gentlemen to be upright but misguided individuals'^ (hear, hear) and therefore though he respected he opposed them. (Applause.) He would take the opportunity long wished for, of referring to his late colleague, Mr Blacklock. It had annoyed him more than he could express-to hear! every vile aspersion cast upon Mr Black-; lock, when he (the speaker) had escaped without a word of censure. He desired and; would take his full share of responsibility for the acts of the late Executive, and in regard to Mrßlacklockhe QMr Armstrong); from the time he had joined he had the. most entire confidence in Mr Blackloek's probity and disinterestedness. If the -assertions were.^true, either he, (Mr -Armstrong,) must have been the most.miserably duped fool,- or- Mr Blacklock the; most consummate actor. He would not; admit the former or give Mr Blacklock 1 creditfor the latter. It was welltoire-! member how easy it was to take awaya: man's character, how easy to raise a false impression, and how difficult to remove! it. A hasty or uncharitable remark passing from hand to hand only was needed, and these unworthy suspicions, besides injuring individuals, lowered the standard of public morality. Business j men knew full well how base coin depre- 1 ciated the currency. The number of self- j elected critics, judges of public men, was very large, and what was worse these men were both judge and jury. (Hear hear.) The best rule was " judge yourself severely, others indulgently." This province, he thought, had been sacrificed j to personal feeling and petty interests, and in this belief he hoped Mr Stafford might be successful in carrying out his " Local G-overnment Bill." He only regretted there was some doubt of his being able to accomplish it. Our legislative powers would be better taken away, a Municipal Council being quite sufficient, (hear hear) providing for local administration, not local legislation. (Hear hear.). Since he had been in the province there had been three councils, he did not know how many Governments. The fact that these jealousies and unworthy imputations existed -was to be deplored; the cause .he believed was to be found in -the depravity of human nature. (Laughter.) The Treasury, appointment was the bone, of contention, and men insensibly '

allowed themselves to be influenced- by the temptation. ; ;(Jiaughter.) It was well to liave the temptation removed, -as it .was like hanging up a beefsteak: before a hungry, man's nose, and telling him not to touch, it. (Renewed laughter.) " -He believed a very grave error.^was cbmmitted.;by tHe- formation of the "New Provinces Aet^when the choice of Superintendent was made to devolve upon the Council. (Hear, hear and cheers.) The first question that occupied the attention of each new Council was the choice of a Superintendent, and the. T . antagonism displayed qn_ those loccasions. .never -died - out. -Moreover, the electors invariably choose "thbirrepresentativea rather with regard to their views- on this question, than on others of vital importance to the Province. It would be well if this clause in the Act could be altered, and he would, if elected, make it his duty to get a petition sent to the General Assembly to have it amended. (Cheers.) He would now say a few words on public opinion. True, public opinion is desirable, when clearly and properly expressed; but it was well known, and generally acknowledged, that in these mdderntimes there is but little fear t of Governments doing anything very dishonest, and this, for fear of public opinion, the danger to be dreaded being rather "that they will fear to" do what they consider right, "because public opinion may be adverse. But "how is it to be ascertained what true public opinion is ? Was it, to be acertamed at public" meetings, or from the man in the streets ? He thought not. (Hear, hear.) This true public opinion was to be sought for in oar .daily journals... I (Cheers and suppressed mirth.) The power wielded by the -Editor .of a newspaper . was -very great ; and his responsibility was in proportion— and the result of that power being abused, . or _ that responsibility shirked, was most disastrous. (Applause.) In regard to the railway question. He thought" ' that his news were pretty well known ; they were unchanged. If returned to the Council, he would do his b.est to get the General .Government's offer accepted. (Hear, hear.) And whatever was done he trusted would not be, done hastily, but after such full discussion as such an important question deserved. A continuous cry had been kept up that railways had. been the ruin of the Province, immense sums had been squandered, contracts broken, the Northern line left unfinished and useless, &c. 'Now the abuse of a system was no argument against; its legitimate use. (Hear, hear.) Whatever there was of surplus revenue, should be devoted to the construction of portions of the main roads from time to time, and whatever was done" shoTlldrbe done thoroughly, ancl be permanent. Better to see £8000 to £10,000 spent on the lines, than in .bedding pur bottomless withfacines and bad gravel. (Hear, hear, and applause.)^ In regard to education— our children were growing up little Goths and Vandals.; fine specimens of humanity, but unless their mental training were attended to, they would not bear close, inspection. He did not approve' of the "Provincial Education Ordinance;" he objected to a direct tax for education, but approved of voluntary rates. Government extending such aid as can be given to stimulate, not to supercede local effort. .Parents objected to ,send children to G-overnment schools^ alleging them to be charily 'schools. This was, a -case in which Government should aid oruy, and the .expenditure would be reproductive. Mr Armstrbng-Jt'esumed his seat- -amid loud applau.se. [A motion was here made by Mr Osborne to question the Speaker, bui the Chairman referred, to the order of proceedings; "as abreaay laid down and ruled, the meeting concurring, that questions be reserved.];-' Mr Cai/deb, on rising, was received with pheers. - He said it was now nearly two years since he had the honor of representing Invercargill in the Provincial Council. During the three or four previous years, he had that honor, so that he had been in the Council from the rise of the Province till the passing of the " Land Act," under which the Waste Lands of the Province were now administered. He mentioned this because it had- been stated that when the Province came to its great strait he' had deserted it. Now the fact was quite the contrary! He had entered the Council in '62, and till the year '65 acted with "a small minority; during this whole period "the Province labored under difficulties 'During the stoppage of the works, and when evils ac- ■ cumulated on the head, of this unfortunate Province, he had retained his seat in the Council with the good will of the electors, and when the new "Land Act" was passed he retii'ed, thinking" that we had got an Act which, if properly worked, would bear fruits thair would lead to a solution to a great extent of the : difficulties under which the Province labored; Before proceeding to the main questions, he would ask the inclul-, gence of the meeting while he attend tied to one or two personal matters which it pained ' him even to refer to

Charges of insinuation had "been riiade _against .him in connexion with the bontraet lately finished on the Bluff Railway, and he would therefore give a history of the connexion with that transaction, :and ■with no fear whatever that the meeting would condemn him. (Loud Cheers.) la March, 1866, when the new Land 'Act came into operation, and when runs were to be thrown open for free selection, .some gentlemen, (runholders) for whom he was acting as agent, wished to buy upon their runs certain land. He had acted for them previously — for one of them for 7 or 8 years— and there was nothing more natural than that they should, come to him, when they wished to buy land, and enquire whether he would undertake the matter. He was requested to buy land or greenbacks, but. immediately the General Government aL. lowed those greenbacks to be taken in payment of land, the price rose to within a trifle of par — a great boon to the community. During the existence of the Railway contract he bought a part of each— 17,000 acres being bought by him from the contractor, for clients, for oneespecially, for whom he had acted for a long period. It thus became to him a matter of very considerable interest that no complication or hitch should arise between the Government and the contractor, and he was thus brought in contact, not only with the Government, but with the contractor. That was. the first time he had known the contractor, even by sight. Things went on and the certificates were issued in due form, until a dispute arose between the contractor and the Government. At this time he (Mr Calder) had got nearly the whole of the land for the runholders for whom he was acting, only a small portion remained insecured, and he was anxious not to have any further trouble with it, when this complication arose with the Provincial Government. He had known, from being a member of the Government that succeeded Dr Menzie's administration, what it was to have disputes with contractors. He had read masses of _ documents to ascertain the real position of the railway question, day after day and night after night himself and colleagues had pored over these papers, and when this new complication cropped up, he saw that these evils had better be put a stop to at once. The contractor was making a claim for £4700 against the Government, whenever he knew that the claim was made he immediately saw the danger there was, that the works would be stopped, and that the province would incur the scoff and contempt of all the other provinces in New Zealand. To prevent such a calamity he was called upon not only by the members of the Government, but by private gentlemen in Invercargill, having no connexion with the Government, and urged to assist in securing a' settlement, if any means of doing so could, be discovered. In doing this he was assured he would be doing a most im- . portant service to the Province. With this view he had been called upon by the Government to be present at one consultation between them and the contractor > there being then no hope of an agreement. The contractor left, and he (Mr Calder) had a consultation with the Government and Mr Paterson in the Treasury, and ascertained what the Government were willing to give. He then proposed a plan of settling the amount involved in which was nearly identical with the amount which the Government were willing to give, could the thing be settled. He said would it not be far better to settle in this way ? The reply; was " yes, if you can get the contractor to agree to that you will do the province a great service indeed." He went from; the room, and brought back an unconditional assent, to deal .with the Government upon the point, and he dealt with the Government. (Cheers.) "And gentlemen" continued Mr Calder, "although that negotiation occupied one week, I solemnly declare to you that not one penny from the Government, or contractor for any service rendered in that negotiation, ever soiled my fingers." (Loud and continued cheering.) Yet he (Mr Calder) has been blamed for enriching himself. He undertook the work on this occasion for no other end than to prevent the province from again assuming an unenviable notriety. He was Ashamed to bring such matters before the meeting, and challenged the writer of the the insinuations in question to put a finger upon a single spot in his conduct in the matter, and if he could, he would stand condemned before the meeting. (Hear hear and loud cheers.) In regard to the railway question he held moderate views. Remembering the past he was not by any means disposed to rush into railways at all hazards. (Hear, hear.) The desirability of completing the Northern line was he presumed conceded by every one, but the formation of the Eastern line was fairly open to objection. Its course did not run through a country of unsold land, leading thereby to land sales upon the line of route. Reasons for its construction were to be sought for on other grounds. He happened unfortuately to "b® away when the question was discussed

in Council, and he had not leisure since- to -get -informed on-the tirgumjents then aduced. He .understood however that the company were most anxious for, a road to. their property, that, they had some intention of opening up several newindustries, ;malting, distilling. -&c., ; butwithout a road better ...than ; the present road they could not enter upon, a large expenditure of capital in this direction. Those companies who had already expended so much capital' were entitled to some consideration,; on the other hand if they wished a Railway, they should at least" make some concession. They were in duty bound to meet the Province in a fair and equitable spirit, not in the spirit of a contractor ■who seeks to mate, the most he can oiat of a contract. : Were it decided by , the Provincial Council and G-eneral Government that a Railway, should^ be made, it would become a question upon what terms it should be constructed. The difficult point was the negotiations that would have to follow upon the decision of the Council. It was. not. to be supposed for one minute that because the Council and G-eneral Government-deter-mined to make a Railway and give their consent, therefore the Railway was to be immediately entered upon. ♦ It would then be for the Provincial authorities ;to see that it was constructed upon the most profitable design ; not with his (the speaker's) consent, would 'it be of a heaw cumbrous nature. He was altogether opposed to those heavy Railways; When the Bluff one was first projected; he had opposed it on the ground that there should first be a light Railway into the interior of the country, the New | River meantime being sufficient to bring goods to Invercargill. The line could afterwards, when found necessary, be formed to the Port of Bluff. He believed that the chief reason why this Eastern line was supported by the General Government was — that it would be a portion of the main trunk line of the colony. That view had some weight, especially with those who deplored with himself the continued existence of provincial institutions. Hebelievedthe time had now arrived when these Provincial institutions should give way to a Government from a greater centre. (Hear, hear.) The Provincial Governments of New Zealand were now exhausting, by their excessive competition, the best resources of the colony— that jealousies were engendered from such small centres, one Province constructing a road to take away the trade from another, &c. The formation of a Railway was one of those practical steps which in time would lead- to the construction of a strong central Government and the doing away with, as legislative centres, of Provincial Governments. (Applause.) This opinion was now very generally held. When the question arose of Separation between the two Islands, and when it was argued pro and con, the advocates of a united colony, pointed to the Telegraph saying, no need of Separation with such means of communication. How much stronger the argu T meut (continued Mr Calder) had we one line of Railway to Nelson ; each Province being formed into municipal dis4 tricts would then be ready to work out its local mission. He was persuaded that: independent of the great saving in Go-; vernment, we should avoid a great deal of the personal feeling which was now ram-, pant in almost every Province. (Ad-i plause.) With regard to the Railway, it a matter of deep regret to him that it was: had assumed the- shape it had done' in respect to - its payment. When the question was first mooted that Railways should be constructed by pay-! ment in land, he represented to those! in the highest quarters he could reach, that the system was faulty because it! wa3 impossible if Railways were construe- j ted upon land payments, that that landj would bring its absolute value, A plan he (Mr Caldeb) . proposed was ; that the same amount of land should be set aside, and that a guaran- ; tee should be given to any company that would construct the railways, and that the land should be allowed to attain its enhanced value with the railway system in operation. We should then have the benefit of the railway, and prevent our land from being sacrificed. (Cheers.) However a judicious system of internal communication should not be rejected because the best plan has not been adopted. It was within the bounds of possibility that such a plan might still be adopted, and certainly if there was the least ground for that, and the electors do him the honor of placing him where his voice could be heard, he would urge that view. Much better to guarantee a ceri tain rate of interest, , and allow the lands £o rise in price as it is supposed: they would. (Cheers.) He had no ; faith in the proposition of Dr Menzies as regards the consolidation of loans, if that was .to' take place he had no, hope whatever of Southland getting sufficient to pay for railways. .(Hear hear.) It , was no question of justice but the strong getting the most, and the weak going to the wall. Hopes built upon such* V' foundation would be grievously disappointed. He had seen the opera-

tion of these -loans before, i The three million loan, of which the Provinces were>- to get a share, when it came to,, be ....expended? .where, did it go?' Not' a tythe. of ; it went^ in ; the i direction that was at first proposed. The I Maori question arose, and' the three million loan ; wa3. swept into the- sink -jintp-" which has Bince been swept so much" ■m6re: .' The 1 preseitt land, "regulation's -' which are in forces had" he' thought worked: very well." He was one of those who top ; ka prominent parfctin; framing tnose regulations— -in , fact one ,of o those who suffered a good deal .from tjiose who- were; opposed to any "change. At the time those new regulations ' came into force we were selling land at £2 ;per acre,' or offering it for sale, and' we j did not sell much. During the "whole' year when, these £2 regulations wer¥ in operation; we only sold 3GO : acresV'and yet jthe . opponents of any. change -held" but for (the £2. All this time the debt was^accumulating, and no prospect held out of sales of land... The first six months* during which the present ; Land Acts, came into "operatioii, no fewer, than 130,000. acres were sold. : (Cheers.) To ' sbinV extent, this was lio matter of congratulation, the feeling in their minds being against what is called " spotting." It is not an unmixed good, but what did the sales; of these six months do for us? We were looked upon as the most miserable of ;all the provinces in New Zealand. „ The name could not be mentioned but with a sneer. But during those six months our- credit rose as if by magic. It was at once seen that we were not [so bad as .was represented. Some one had confidence in our land, and the sales during those six months completely reestablished confidence in the minds >of thej&eneraljGi:o.vern.ment-as..to.SputhlaE(d. If there was an evil in free ■ selection it. was counterbalanced" a ' hundred fold by the complete change of position it gave us. During -the discussion of these land regulations it must not be supposed that the Government of that day* of vvhieh he (the Speaker) was a member, onjy sought the regulations now in forcje. They took every means to carry what they considered the best, and one that could pass the General Assembly. In regard to education, it would be useless to introduce a cumbrous system, such as had been in operation. His plan would be that the Government-' or Council should vote £50 or £60 yearly to each' district having a schoDl, as an assistance. (Cheers.) Mr Caldee then stated that hie had never held a place of emolument under any Government. He woul&not have ap- ; peared before the electors. Jmd he not been urgently solicited by, friends, and even old political enemies. .He could sep no way of escape, therefore he had .placed his services in the. hands of the electors. Should he be elected, he would exert himself to his utmost ability. (Loud and continued Cheers.) [ Mr Macdonald was received with cheers. He said his present position was not one of his own seeking,/ and had he consulted his own interest and his health he should have declined acceding to the request of the electors. He appeared with reluctance in answer to a strong call from a large number of electors, and which call he thought it impossible to refuse. He was not a new candidate, and it might be expected he would refer to past!occurrences during the time he was a representative. At the first session of the Council just now expired he had been called upon to take part in the ad-i ministration, a position at that time not; an enviable one. The Province was; deeply embarrassed— public works stopped. - — large claims unsettled— and the land, locked up. New Zealand Provinces had! the power of getting into debt, and yet; without res oui'ces within themselves of; extrication without reference to a higher I power — the General Government. The! land at £2 per acre was unsaleable. Ne- ; gotiations were opened with the General ! G-overnment, and the price was reduced ' to £1 per acre, and free selection. The Runholders opposed — their rights were considered, and a compensation arrangement agreed upon. Negotiations were then opened with the Q-eneral Q-overn-ment in regard to paying the debts of the Province. The result was the Southland Debt Act, and the taking of " greenbacks" in payment of land purchased. Mr Macdonald passed a tribute of praise to the conduct of Mr Taylor the Superintendent for the share he took in the negotiations." Another duty which fell upon the Government, was to settle the outstanding claims of the contractors, and set on foot public works, then at a stand, and fast decaying. The circumstance connected with the Davies claim j and compensation were then explained at length by Mr Macdonald. He referred to some insinuations which had been made against him^ to the effect that he was solicitor to the contractor, and hadused his influence in his favor. He most emphatically denied thatAthere was any truth in theseinsinuations, orin others that had been made to his prejudice, and Ihe had received no pecuniary; .benefit in ! consequence of what hie did on behalf of the Gtoverameiifc £ B& had%)t -giro*

professional ad vice to^ Mr Davies. j The llßxt'matter 'referred ! to .was the compensation td Mr Marchant, 1 the history of which j and. hisT connection with it' Mr Macdonald explained at length, j and characterised' the insinuations thrown upon the then (government in; regard r to"this case as vile and '.10w... Mr Macdonald then referred to! the railway question. He was in iavpr of railways, and the only question wais in regard to how they were to be conducted. ' The: opinion was general that the Oreti line should be completed as soon as possible. He would vote for ; its" completion. The Eastern line 'was of the utmost importance to this Province, and it would tap the province of. Ofcago,andbringagreatincreaseto Customs revenue and business to the settlers. ; It r was a mistake, he thought, for the Pro-, vincial Council to, pass the amendment in reference to the Railways, j „ .' . [We regret that . our space will only permit of our giving a very condensed report of Mr Macdonald's speech, and are likewise obliged to omit the questions. "We may possibly give a full ; report in a future issue.] i Mr Reynolds proposed, and Mr JLingswell seconded a resolution, that Messrs Calder, Macdonald, and Armstrong were fit and proper persons to represent the town of Invercargill in the Provincial Council. ; A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings.