ANNEXATION T OTAGO.

Southland Times, Issue 1190, 9 July 1869, Page 1

ANNEXATION T OTAGO.

Meeting 1 at the BRroaE ton. . A meeting of the residents of the Eastern .District to consider tlie subject of re-union with Otago, was held at the Bridge Lin, on Friday, the 2nd inst. Our reporter did not arrive until the proposer and seconder of the main resolution Bad finished speakhig so that we are inaebteti ta p. gentleman present for the 'outline of the first speech. Mr C J). Irvine was called to the c&air, and merely read the notice of the ineeting calling upon Mr Dalrymple as convener to address those present. %# Mr Dalrymple commenced by adverting to tjhe time o f separation when a clebt o f only £18,000 existed, and he had looked upon ,^^3 t tha& movement as a meana of making thpJProyince one of the most prosperous j "tlraets of country in the southern! Hemisphere j where, anidng his Mends he j jioula make a . nappy home, leaving to abler persons than himself the task of governing or political strife. Three years agd /M discovered they were getting j cleep into debt. .. He then advocated; retrenchment, and stated his belief that One official with two clerks could transact the business of the province. Now the! debt had reached £440,000, or • £60 "per ! head. No immigration was .taking place, j which is telling on the community, andjpeople are leaving the country, that in fact we are" in an iron cagej and unassisted, .there is ho hope for us. The Speaker ihen contrasted the present position of Otago— -theprovinceof a greatpebple— the capital, the Melbourne of New Zealand, theu> debt only £633,214 • population 50,000 or £12 perhead. A healthy state J of immigration, four or five vessels being on the berth at one time. That though ne did not believe in jumping into re-? union without a sound basis to go upon, the arguments in opposition by officials, that in reunion the Otago people would make W" hewers of stone, and drawers of Water,'* was absurd. "Were we not of the same stock} and our interests identical. fie then proposed "that this meeting isi 6f opinion tliat the re-union of Southland and OtagO on equitable terms would jrove advantageous to both jJroyincJeg. " J Mr Kinross in seconding the resolution said :— Everybody was agreed on the qnestion of our present very depressed condition. Property was unsaleable, and stock was depreciating greatly. Nearly all parties confessed that, a change of some sort was not only desirable, but absolutely necessary, if the place was not iJortfe allowed to sink into utter ruin. ITrider these circumstances two courses presented .themselves for our consideration. There was— first, the adoption 'of the county system, or the alternative of re-union to Otago. Regarding the County Board system, he was of opinion, that as under the Consolidation Act, the interest on our debt Had to be paid monthly, little relief could be got ux that way. There was little likelihood of the other provinces agreeing ijo any alteration in that respect, so that so long as we_had to bear that burden it did not matter much whether it was under the name of a province or a county. An alteration of the title would not he thought alter the position. Otago was in a different position from this, for although her debt was half as large again as ours Ker revenue was ten times greater 1 , being something like £300,000 per annum. Otit of this large sum he believed she could ' and would afford us an amount which, while its want would not be felt by her, would do us an infinite deal of good. Ajtt the movers in this matter at present wanted was the appointment of delegates to confer with others appointed by Otago on the subject, to find what terms she Was prepared to offer ; inf Kis opinion Otago would deal with us not only justly but generously. .He thought there would lw no difficulty in getting her to grant money for roads in this district, believing that she would gladly do so to strengthen her position in the Assembly against the Centralists. The construction of roads he considered the firat requisite to ensure a rehirn of prosperity. \ There were no manufactures here to circulate money amongst the producers, 'and the money put into immediate circulation by the making of the roads was thus ahnpst as necessary, and would be as beneficial to the settler, as the roads themselves would be when made. He thought air present this was the ! best course we could adopt, but would not commit himself to it until some definite arrangement suGn as he had alluded to wduld be guaranteed by Otago. The Chairman haying asked whether any gentleman wished to support the resolution. : ; ; ': Mr T. M. Clerke said he had a few re•marks to make on the subject of re-an-nezation^ the opponents of which asserted nothing definite had been broughtforward initsfavorl All must be aware the Government of this Province had been for a long time precarious ; that it was liable ' for. the payment of a monthly sum • for interest! of £2200 :; that the local revenue is very small and entirely dependent on sales of land, which are not very likely to continue, nor can land fee said to be worth £1 per acre, seeing that the contractorg-wilLcome-into the market and make it negotiable at 16s per acre. There were but two choices left to the people, electing to be re-united to Otago, or the County system ; njatters had come.

to a crisis arid it must now be decided yea or iiay • he^ex^resßed- his coincidence With ibe expressions of Mr Dalrymple on railway views j the speaker proceeded to review the action of the past, rgmaVking how singularly easy it had been to get up a railway cry. He spoke of a time when there was no territorial revenue, when the General Government proposed to carry on the Northern line and pay for its completion in land. A dissolution of the Council took place, he ; (the speaker) being? for a short period iri office, but when the Council met things had changed ; there was again a ia^nd revenue, the Government bad cash to deal with, Mr Blacklock Assumed the reins, the eastern line was dropped, and the Oreti line was to be finished for cash. Then came the first move in the wrong direction; There was fifteen to twenty > thousand' p6unds -id the Treasury, and the' 1 Government asked for the mon^y 'id pay for 'the ! Railway plant; He' enquired whertf 1 they would get the money -for the freight and the answer was- — always from land sales. I He acknowledged to having been a Separationi^t because Mr Macandrew made pretense's he never kept, but a great change had come over Otago sinee 1 then; She now had a mixed population arid was prepared to deal' fairly with Southland. The speaker concluded by imploring his hearers to avert Provincial bankruptcy and ruin while a choice Was left thetfl. On the one hand embarassment arid mis -appropriation of J land revenue ; Which irius't inevitably come to a stop; on the other 1 immediate relief with a voice left in the Government. From lack of interest they Had only themselves to blame; liet-them now do something definite to avert the impending | catastrophe. • ; The Hon. DrMenzie3, having previously obtained the ruling of the chairman that it was quite in order his addressing, the meeting, stated he would make spme general remarks on the subject. Although it was only lately he had heard *of the movement, and all the information he had derived was from the press (Composed, of leading;, arTfcicles,cOmniunicationsV iettfirs, and reports), and from what bad now fatien from the speakers— remarks for which he gave them credit^ but in which he coiild not agree. The subject was one demanding the serious^ attention: of all; too wide a field, however, for satisfactory, discussion at a sectionaT meeting, comprising but a small district of the Province. -There were" one or two salient points brought forward on which he would touch. The obvious pressure on the inhabitants had been sej; forth in the debt of Southland, at £60 per head, as compared with that of Otago at £12 to £15, but this was riot the way to put it, and is in itself fallacious. If it meant anything, it meant that, taxation was crushing us— -if true, the taxation of Southland was heavier than that of Otago or any other province— when everyone is aware ; that it is uniform over the whole colony. The way the debt operates in absorption of the revenue is a burden and serious pressure, but the question arises — "Can we meet it?". Advocates pfrerunion say that step will not only relieve us but a portion of the .Otago revenue will be spent on Southland. (Mr i>alrymple— -No, no.) He had heard Mr Eaaross, whom he had not the pleasure of ' knowing, say so, and he could refer to correspondence in the " News," signed by Mr Kinross, and a report of Mr Clerke's speech to bear out this statementr— -that we should have greater expenditure on roads. '.W ho was to answer for the action, of the delegates; he was anxious to be iriformed was the Provincial Council to appoint them, and give therii sole control ? Mr f Clerke stated that the.proposal was that the .delegates should report their actions to the public before Southland was. bound by it. •,.'.... • Dr Menzies was to conclude then th— the delegates were to be appointed by th c Council and submit to that body a repor^ of their proceedings. If he remembered aright ; Otago left the conduct to the Superintendent^ -and action was being taken by him. A corresponding course should be iadopted in Southland; and let constituencies deal afterwards with the question.;' His desire was to see the sub- ! ject properly ventilated.; but; Southland had no right to take for j granted the statements of Mr Kinross arid Mr Clerke (see Bth reason public meeting 'Irivercargill) that more money would be expended on roads. Mr Dalrymple had made allusion to the debt of £4i0,000 and assutried the population to be eight, thousand. Now it must be in the recollection of many present the early steps .< commenced in 1854s and adopted in 1856 regardnig taking up the debt of? New Zealand Company of half a million. In consider-: ation of the land revenue, Mr Macandrew on behalf bf Otago, -offered to assume it and it was ultimately arranged that the Middle Island should do so, but mark how small the population was at that period; in round numbers, Otago 2000; Canterbury 3000, Nelson, 3000, total' 8000. Here the population did a more daring thing, viz, undertook a larger debt by £60,000. Let any one look back and see the groan that arose at the time~-it was highly edifying and yet proved nothing — -though it was said at that time we should be crushed by the debt; the' fact was it was never felt and almost lost

sight of. if c fe& iioV it wafs, necessary to " allude to imtnigration. Mr' Kinrots placed our wants in the orq*er of roads first, immigration, next; He, however, reversed their position," and would impress ■ on his Hearer's the' fact that the cpuntry is not ours, hut open to' GFreat.Britain-r---open to all. A good deal had bi'en sftid of the liberality of Otago. Judging from antecedents he must deny the assumption. It was all very 'well to say Otago was in a position to subsidise, hut she would not subsidise, without we had revenue. The reasons which led to Separation, apparent in iB6O, td nja%; and. culminated in 1861, were that o^o' derf^d revenue from districts where little was expended, £ri 1859, Mr Maeandrew maide out the expenditure on the district, to be £32,000. How ? By unfair charges on the district. , Mr Macan- ; dre^w couldpromise-— he did promised—that a vessel should come- to the Bluff, but the ship was looked for in vain. In 1858, ne believed, Capt. Cargili laid considerable stress on the encouraging prospects of the district, and urged a larger expenditure dn it, which, was never carried out. To take a ltfok ai the outlying districts of Utagd, no 5 satisfae'tion' is there depicted. Speaking from memory, he saw a statement iriade at a public meeting last winter, at Oamaru, to the effect tKat £336,000 had been derived from that district, and only £60,000 had been expended. "Waikouaiti made .similar complaints. He would also allude to the district on the other side of the Mataura. : Meetings and. correspondence took place last winter, showing howlittle was expended on bridges, &c, out of a revenue of .£20,000, : derived from the district. Of course Mv Macandrew, replied in a most characteristic manned, He,said the memorialists were misinformed ij and the statements incorrect,- that the j government only received £16,000, and' 6,000 acres were still under survey, but the . money had not. been paid. The speaker also alluded to the unfairness of some charges in 1859, consisting of £3000 on the road between Popotuna and the Mataura, £4000 for two bridges over the Mataura, and £6000 on surveys. The cost of surveys was extravagant.. In Southland they only mourlted to about Is Id per, acre* butthe change to the Mataiira district was 4s6dper ac;re. In condlu^ion the speaker, at considerable length, reviewed the Otago' land regulations^ high assessments on pastoral rents, and on stock in hundreds; pointing out how ib--surd it was to "expect Otago to give a portion of her Land Kevenue, to Southland to' make roads,.; that instead of going under Otago riiles and ordinances it was competent for Southland to get proper attention paid to her roads and works, and that while equally desirous to see the subject- ventilated, he thought it necessary to caution his hearers against the belief 6{ mere- assertion. Mr Pearson said that his constituentcy having invited him to meet them for the purpose of discussing the important change in their form of (3-overnmenfc, proposedtb be effected by re-union to Otago, he had waited on them, not to express any opinion on the subject, but to explain the advantages and disadvantages of such a step as they apppeared to him, shewing them both sides of the shield, leaving them to decide for themselves: First, as to the advantages. The ' important 6ne of obtaining fresh settlers— new blood was of great consequence to the well-being of all in the province. As a province we were unable to undertake any compre-" hensive scheme of immigration, and unless the G-eneral Government initiated some such colonial Bcheme as he (Mr Pearson) had brought forward in the Provincial ' Council, he did not see how well our 1 population could be materially increased, without which prosperity could nofc be attained. Besides,' it was necessary for a- Government to be in a position to -give employment on public- works to newly arrived immigrants of 'the laboring class at a minimum rate of wages until they could be gradually absorbed 'by the : settlers, who would thus be enabled to pick' out such labor as ! was required by them at a' price which would remunerate its employment. Now, the Q-overnment were not in a position to do this, and unfortunately did' not seem probable they ever would be. By reunion to Otago it was very probable that a fair share of the immigration to that province would fall to our lot, as it would certainly be the interest of Otago to ' develop to the utmost this province ' when a* portion of herself. Again, he thought that re-unibn would induce' many good and monied settlers to migrate southwards ; at present the feeling of jealousy which existed, operated unfavorably against such settlement, a feeling which was fostered by the G-overnment and its employe's. Many an intended settler was deterred i from coming to the province by the ac I counts he heard in the (Land Oflß.ce, as j well as' every other place ' he made enquiries ; re-union would remedy this. The opinions expressed in the G-dvern i merit offices of Otago would be wonderfully modified as to the climatie -and capabilities of Southland were she an integral part of Otago, the rapid settlement of which would then be an object to be desired. Another evil of our present position arose from the fact that at least one half of our customs revenue was -credited to Olago, and thus instead of being able to meet the interest and sinking fund out of that source our Jand fund was trenched on^ leaving

nothing for pt±t>tfef Works. Ec-union effected fl^ould* bfc '& a -tßdtkaf of little ; trf the Diinedfri mere'k&ats, a£ wh^ch jfori &>©^ custom's dtuties Were j levied', arid.tfe WojrtlsiTtisi get the" credit of our just dues', "Tfliero^th the" interest on. our' debt could be met. Me (Mr Pearson) thought that re-union would jKav'e th'e' further, and not inconsiderable advantage df introducing fresh capital and energy into tHe province. There was a very large capital pre's^ntly; i,n Otago waiting investment, and whether from 'the feeling of jealousy, to which Ke had previously referred, or want of coafideace in the capacity of our G-overninent, (securities in Southland were not enter- | taMiied, while those of probably inferior i value ia'-<ttago> met with ready acce'ptji^iee. -■■■ ■Thiß'wasttf tefiow matter, for the ■introduction of capital toxstintfttate and develdp the i various industries of the prbviflpe Iwas^a paramount necessity. Placed under i one Gbvernment confidence would be 'restored, and with the introduction of capital fresh energy would re-invigorate the prostrate system, "We would then have a better chance of developing our goldflelds, for that we have such, he (Mr Pearson) felt assured. Sooner or later, ; vfheri therle was capital and energy ■to itfduce' the experiment of • deep 1 sinking, we Would find we" possessed the richest and ttfcfef permanent goldfields in New Z'edi&nS. At present, to get up a company in Otago 1 to' defvelofp anything, in Southland was an 1 impossibility. By re-union our interest and sinking fund would be absorbed into the debt of Otagb, and though we could riot expect to be entirely ' relieved from the burden,' that burden Would be very considerably lightened by our being credited with that portion of our Customs Bevenue which! iett present is diverted fri»m its legitimate chatiriet," Another important consideration wag iJducJatioiL The system presently in 'operation in Otago seemed to have worked admirably, ! t6 ; have given universal satisfaction, white in this province the opposite has been the rpsult of all bur endeavours to establish public education, the want of which most ! materially affected the settlement of the •country. He knew of numerous instances -where many old Taieri settlers, men possessing capital, energy, and above allhard colonial dxperienca, just the : men we Want, had been detered front settling here by Want of schools for their children, although ackriowledgutg that ; the land and its capabilities Was all that was desirable.. Another advantage waia that reunion would reicibve in a great nieasure political excitement, which in all small places Was injurious in every respect, morally, socially, and commercially. Arid though at first sight this might appear a small matter it was of more consequence I to the well being of a place than j was generally conceded As to diaadvant- j ages, the following appeared to be the mo3t prominent— the difiiculty of getting properly represented. If at present we could scarcely find competent men to fill seat 3 "in the Council, when the sessions were held at bur own doors, the difficulty would be largely increased were the seat of Government removed to Bunedin. It 5 ! was very doubtful whethier we could get the best men fcb leave their business or other avocations to ; stop two months in Duaediri ; it would be as great a tax on ijiieir time^ and resources as going tip to the General Assembly. The removal of .the seat of Government meant that a ; amount of local consumption Would oe diverted from Ihvefcargill to Duriedin. Whatever! expense the Council might be to the Province, the money was spent in the place, re-amion meant it would be spent in Dunedin. Nor would there be any diminution in the official expenditure. If re-uuibnwere accomplished there would still have to be local Land, Survey, aad Registrar's Oftices. It Would be absurd for a man who wanted to purchase 20 acres to have to go some 200 miles to do so ; it was the Want of a Land Office in the old days before separation which was. felt to be so severe a grievance. In Otago at present there were district survey offices all over the province. To have a local Registrar's office', was an absolute necessity. If it was moved, a man wanting to borrow £100, would spend some fifty in searching records in Dunedin, in lawyer's letters, &c. Such a course would be moist injurious to every interest in the province. It might be said, that by reuuion We Would save the political expenditure, such as the : salary of a Superin^ terident;&c., ! but would this really be the base? Is it likely that Otago would govern us without chiarging us something for it? The probaoility Was that our contribution tbWards the political 1 expenditure of Otago, which according to the * Daily Times ' amounts to some £12,000 a year, would be largely in excess of what We pay now, with this disadvantage, the money contributed to pay Otago expenditure would all be spent in Dunedin, while ,at present it reverts to the pockets of the people in some shape or other. Then as to expenditure on public works. It is said that at present we have no money to expend, and that there is not much prospect of getting any. Of this he was not sb sure ; we had* received ft large sum from land sales during the last six months, and though it was all more than absorbed by the railway charges, yet we may calculate on overcoming the difficulty in time. Bnt, granting we shall have no . money for this purpose, would re-union remedy this? Is it human nature to believe that two-thirds of tta

united ProyinOTfe^ouncil, supposing we get representation to the extent of a third, would-be willing to part with their own property to make roads for Southland 9 Would Oamaru, Waikouaiti, the Molyneux, and other districts, say, " although this money has been derived from ifef,- although we want it for the 1 improvetdent of oiir own districts, we will generously gtve*jSfc to Southland " ? Is this •likely ? Would you dtf it yourselves if placed in a similar position? If you think it improbable, the question resolves itecrtf into this :— lf we have any surplus of reVerfttfe' for publjo worko, -wo can spend it ourselves without re-union ; if we have mot, by re-union we' cannot get foreign revenue spent for us. .Another most serious disadvantage which wotfld result 'from re-union is, that we would cease' to have a direct interest in the Colonial Postal or Steam serviced, .Asa province, we" can demand and obtain a recognition |of the* Bhiff aa a port of call for the: Steam \ Mail" Service ; incorpowted with jOtago we should* lose* this position. It is not probable thai; , Otago could demand from the General GFoverament r [two, ports of call; if Omaru is not <me J now, why should the Bluff be one then. It would come then to be a choice be-, tween Port Chalmers and the Bluff; which would be chosen may easily be conceived. If we lqstthe Steam service, and our English mails were delivered in, ifuriedin, the consequences to the mercau&le 1 community would be fatal, while tltef loss of the steamers calling at Campbelttowfi would retard materially any attempt to start new industries, such as meat-preservblg, bioiling-down, exportation of agricultural produce, Ac. j this ought to be a matter for »erfdus consideration. ,By re-union, we should loSe any colonial standing or importance which we presently possessed, and it was of greater moment to possess such at the present time than might be supposed. There was a general feeling throughout the colony ithafc. the days of Provincialism were numbered, its destiny accomplished ; was it not a question worth considering, whether it would not be better to wait on and take our chance of the future ? We have a voice now in the Assembly ; we are a power to a • certain merged in Otago, we would lose this position. "Mr Pearson went on to explain there were certain, more points which might be considered. The Itoad; and Education systems of Otago were undoubtedly good, and had worked beneficially, but why ? because the people had consented to tax themselves. Could we not do W here, without re-union ? It may be said Otago \ gives two pounds for one raised by the settlers ; well, if we had a revenne; we could edoc do the same ; if we had not, and were re-united, would the present districts of Otago rob themselves to give us what we did not produce? Then, as to the interest and sioking fund, would we be in a better position with Otago to pay it for us, if we were unable to pay it ourselves, than as at present with the General Government ? As far as he could see, he was of opinion that the time was rapidly approaching when there would be no Provincial debt, all would be merged in one colonial liability (as indeed it was now) j to be paid, out of a common fund., Sooner or later, it must come to Mr Hall's proposition, to. take the whole custom's revenue of the Middle Island, and apportion it to each province or section, in accordince with the population*. This principle carried justice and equity on the face of it. The population produced the revanue, it was only fair to return its proportion for the cost of governing it. Dunedin: being the commercial emporium of New Zealand, presently obtained the gT^ater part of Southland's custom revenue, as well as -a large share of Canterbury, l^elsoh, and Wellington; Mr ball's plan wo iild remedy this. Let Dunedin by all have the commercial advantages her energy has secured; but the pufclic revenue of a state, from which a state liability is to be liquidated, cannot jtigtly be claimed by a section of the commanity: Such a system adopted, Southland could easily pay her liabilities. He (Mr Pearson); Was inclined to think that if the Council would only pondeßcend to take a sensible vieW of its pdsition ? resolve that for the future it would attend to purelyi municipal matters, and exercise those functions for which in reality it Was created, we j could pull through with the best of the I provinces in New Zealand. Let the Council be reduced to seven, the Superintendent acting as chairman, being bis own Executive, acting With the advice and consent of the Provincial Council in reality, and that body waiving its present; pretentious position, its "pomp and circumstance," be content to act as a Municipal Corporation for the towns, a Eoad Board for the country; and we would have a. cheap and effective Government. At present, we were depressed, like every other province in the Colony, and sought a change. If a. goldneld suddenly broke out, and 10,000 men were added to our population, would we desire re-union. Yet Buch a circumstance was not improbable. If re-union takes place, we would have a Mayor and Corporation in each town, to be paid by local taxation. [Road Boards in each district to be similarly sustained ; as we were, by the geographical configuration of the Province ,; one Provincial Council could effectually and cheaply undertake all these matters, oneßtaff fulfil the requisite duties. After

nil, allowing Otago consented to;, oar terms for reunion, and honestly meant to* fulfil her prbrmiijes,- how do we know twelve i.month's hecree whether she will haye 1 the power? Where may Oiago herself bethen ? The Government of Xew Zealand* was of so complex a charefcfer that there; was no stablity ia its form. Canterbury' <was desirous of dismembering fcerself at once ; what certainty was theW thafc Otago would be a Province, shortly, arod 1 then what would become of her promises , and our stipulations? The, subject oC our present position was one for grave consideration ; there could be uo harm in appointing delegates, but great care should be exercised, in their choice, they' ought to be shrewd, sharp, good business men. But before deciding on a question iof such importance as a radical change in iotir form : -- j of .'" (jQvernntent/ [ lie (We PearsoaV agreed with Dr Menxies, tfcai the various constituencies should be apIpealeclto. The present Council .might appoint delegates, bat a fresh body ought to receive and decide on their report. It was a matter which most Materially affected the people; let' them be appealed ito/anddecidfefortfeemselveß;' - ; Mr Dawson remarked that the last speaker had endeavored to paint the disadvantages in stronger colours than the advantages, and that it was not correct that the settlers did not suffer taxation. They were heavily itaxed before their grain reached the town in the state of the roads, ; and men being longer on .those roads than necessary, and their wages going on all the time when 1 they could be more profitably employed; ; • Mf Boss said Mr Pearson had laid stress on education, immigration, ' : and roads, we had none of these essentials. In eight years tbere wag not eight miles of macadamized road made, and a lot of money had been wasted on a railway which would never remdnerate the province. He would> appeal to Mr M'N"ab whether it was not true that -when he asked for money for road-makiog, the Government had no* replied that the people never asked for money. •?•• : * , Mr M'Nab said that when he represented the district in the Otago Provincial Council and kicked up a row about money for roads,' money was promised, arid the expenditure of twenty pounds was at last authorised, and that • was about all they might ever expect to get out of Otago if they were. Tool* 'enough to unite. (Laughter and ap~ plause). . .Mr Kinross, m reply, pointed, out that no argument had been definitely brought against re-union, and that all the land that was now sold, was nothing more than dribs and drabs. There was nothing at present to encourage a discovery of goidfields. That roads; were of the greatest importance to the Province—a cessation of these operations : were being • severel y felt by the settlers, as in the slack season they turned out to work. He would assure the meeting that Otago i money would not go out of the country, and he justified the cost of bridges being borne by the country, as being a public good, ; illustrating the stupendous work over the Molyneux, -and stated! his conviction that Southland could be properly represented and receive a proper share of ; revenue, v : While admitting that Mr Pearson had fairly put forth his ideas of advantages and vantages, for re-union, he advocated payment of members, and there would be no difficulty in getting 1 capable representatives on easy terms, who would devote a certain tiirie in the year to the sittings of ' the Council in Dunedini He did not see how the outlying district* could complain of neglect, if ? aJ su<n like £20,000 were experiaed' on Southland, f 1 . The Chairman then put the resolution to the meeting with the following Torolt for 13, against 5, a good many present not voting at all, and a voice declaring outside « there are some here against." Mr Dawson. requested, to know whether the four members of the Pro- , ivincial Council, present— Messrs €lerke, Kiritoss, Dateymplei and Pearson, would : pledge themselves to vote foe a dissolution of the Council after the appointment of the delegates, to confer with those of Otago, regarding re-uuion. Mr Pearson stated that as it appeared to be the desire of his constitutents, he would certainly do so. . The other members also pledgedthemaels^to^o^^-" The following resolution ; was then briefly proposedby Mr Dawsoni : seconded by Mr Dalrymple, and carried-^ That this meeting respectfully; requests the Provincial Council of 'Southland to appoint three memberii to meet ■ three members appointed by the Provincial Council of Otago, to arrange terms of re-union." v.vi ■■■'■: .'.:.::• :.•.'> r. •■}■.: -. The meeting, which wm throughout most orderly and temperate, then i broke up, after recording the usual vote of thanks to the Chairman. 1 , ■■■