SIR GEORGE GREY IN THE THEATRE ROYAL.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 102, 16 May 1885, Page 6

SIR GEORGE GREY IN THE THEATRE ROYAL.

Address to the Citizens of Auckland. Pursuant to announcement, Sir George Grey on May 11 addressed a public meeting in the Theatre Royal, under the auspices of the Auckland Liberal Association, The large building was packed to its utmost limits fully half-an-hour before the time fixed for commencing the proceedings, the lower portion of the house being filled exclusively by the sterner sex, while in the dress-circle the ladies very largely prepon derated, and even secured representation upon the platform. Among the persons assembled thero we noticed Te Haeata, Patara te Tuhi and Hohana te Maioha (Waikato chiefs), Major Harris, Messrs A. Boardman, J. Stewart, C.E., H. Brown, Councillors Upton, Morrison, Burns, Kevs T. Hamer, Dr. Purchas, and D. Bruce, Messrs J. Reid (President of Chamber of Commerce), W. H. Fenton, H. Brett, W. Tait, \V. J. Speight, T. Thompson, M.H.R., A. Stewart, W. Gorrio, Thos. Peacock, M H.R., P. A. Philips (Town Clerk), W. UcCulIough, \V. C. Wilson, G. Aickin, and J. Lundon. Captain Fayenz, of the Saida, and another officer of the same vessel were also present. At eight o'clock precisely, Sir George Grey made his appearance upon the platform, attended by His Worship the Mayor (Mr W. a. Waddel), Mr P. M. Grant (Secretary of Liberal Association), Mr J. M. Shera, Mr T. B. Hill, and Mr H. W. Darnell (President of Trades and Labour Council), and the speaker of the evening was received with the usual ovation, the audience standing and lustily cheering until he had taken his seat. The Mayor, in opening tho proceedings, said that it was not necessary to detain the audience with any prefatory remarks. To request of the audience good order and patient hearing would only be to make a parrot-like repetition, which on such an occasion might safely be omitted. Therefore, without any ado at all he *ould call upon Sir George Grey to address them. Sir George Grey, on coming forward, was received with enthusiastic and prolonged cheering. He commenced his address by reminding his audience that since they last xii itthere very greate vents 'iad taken plac , and he thought it was only fitting that heshould devote a tew moments to a reference to the war that had taken place in Africa, and the one that was likely to take place in Asia. They would all remember that 2 years ago a great movement was on foot with theobjectof federating the Australasian colonies, and making them more closely united to the Empire. New Zealand, according to that scheme, was to be made a province of Australia. They discussed those proposals ; in that building, and decided that they | were a mistake, and the same conclusion was arrived at in other parts of the colo- ' nies.

Colonial Patriotism. He told them at that time that a new being had sprung into existence, unknown to Europe and the rest of the world. He told them that some other movement would be made by this youth, although he did not know where it would tak« place. Well, a series of events took pUce in Atrica, and England lost many gallant officers and many gallant men, and tailed, after all, to save the hero of the time, General Gordon More disasters than successes overtook our forces. Again this new being to whom he had referred took the lead, and the generous offer of assistance to Britain attracted the attention not only of Great Britain, but of the wholo civilised world. They felt, in fact, that a new Empire had sprung into existence a united Empire. And now they must bear this in mind : No hero could be born into a nation without elevating that nation —giving rise to heroic thoughts, inciting other men to follow his example, and in that w«y doing a great amount of good. The young nation gave an example of that kind. That was far beyond the example of a single hero. That new being in Australia had come forward, and by offers of assistance attracted the attention, not only of England, but of the whole wond. And it was then felt that a new Empire had sprung into existence. Such a movement was one calculated to shape the! future destinies of a whole Empire. Some people would ask what New South Wales owed to Great Britain that she should make such a movement. They would remember that New South Wales was formed as a convict settlement, where the lash was frequently used, and they said themselves that the hearts of men had been taken out of them, and tho hearts of brutes had been put in the place of hearts of human beings. * But they should not forget the circumstances under which people were transported in those times. Two justices had the power to order the transportation of prisoners for offences which would now be punishable by a few days' or weeks' imprisonment. Young girls were transported for the offence of stealing a few flowers, and patriots were banished from a country the people of which in some instances had since raised monuments to perpetuate the memory of those men. It was not surprising, therefore, that many great and good men should have been thus sent to New South Wales. And therefore how much more was it to the credit of tne people of that colony that they had forgotten all this, and had come forward with offers of assistance which had made other nations envious of Great Britain.

New Zealand's Indifferenoe. But at the same time how much more grateful should New Zealand be to the country which had sent so many gallant officers and men to risk their lives in the protection of the settlers from the natives, who threatened to sweep the small European population from the country. Under such circumstances, he thought it was a matter for regret that no offer of assistance in what might have I been the hour of need had been made by this colony, which owed so much to the mother country. It would havebeen a graceful act had such an offer been made, and they would agree with him that an excellent opportunity to show gratitude had been lost Was it any wond er, he asked , that some like himself should have thought that New Zealand would have been the first to send a message to Great Britain couched in some such words as these : — We, the people of New Zealand, grateful for past benefits, and now having the opportunity of testifying our gratitude, hasten so to do. Tell us in what way wo can aid you. We make no specific offer, but in New Zealand there are willing hearts and willing hands and open purses. Say what you wish your children here to do, and you shall find that we are no laggards to carry out your wishes " He had been so completely shut out from the world, that he did not know whether it was the case, but he had heard of no such message being sent. He had heard of no expression coming from the people of hew Zealand. Perhaps it was too late to do that now, but ho considered that a

very great opportunity had been lost of setting an example to the future generations of this country, who would have been emulous of doing what their fathers had done by way of testifying their gratitude to England for helping thorn in a great emergency.

An Anglo-Colonial Navy. Now let them look at our position as a colony, and what our probable future must be if wars took place. What ideal were we to hare in New Zealand to set before us as to our future conduct with reference to the exterior world? Firstly, they must see that we are not like a European nation, for there were no enemies touching our frontier. We required, however, a population able to defend the country from any foe who might endeavour to effect a landing, and who might attempt to subju gate the colony to his power. That was absolutely required. We must have a population trained to arms to a certain extent. We must have some kind of permanent force, of no great extent, but large enough to take care of the defences which we might erect, and of the warlike materials which we might collect. That was a necessity. If that were done, could anyone doubt that we should be ablo to defend our country? Tf a few natives had defended their country against a great European power for a considerable time, therefore could we, with our natural advantages, not protect it successfully against the invading force of a foreign power? Butthey would eay," What career is open to our young men ? J n what way can they take part in the great events of the world ?" Well, then, we had thi8 power before us, for if we pleased we could by contribution abao lutely identify ourselves with the navy of Great Britain, and supply part of it, for that was provided by an Act. Our contribution at present would be small, but wo could supply men, and Great Britain would furnish the ships. We should remembor that at the present tim9 wo had at our disposal two vacancies every year in the British navy. When ho was last in office as Governor of the colony, as many as four or five young men from New Zealand fillod those vacancies each year, and were examined and taken on board the ships in our own ports. If we ioinei England, as proposed, then a far larger proportion of vacancies would be open to our young men. If the necessity arose for a great Avar in which Great Britain was involved, would it not bo satisfactory to us to see the names of our young men achieving distinction in the navy of the greatest naval power in the world ? Would it not be a pleaaure,he asked, for parents to see their children coming out here holding important and responsible naval appointments? It was deeds such as these, and great actions in the public service, that gave rise to great actions in public life, because they called into existence noble ambitions, ambitions to do noble actions ; actions which stamped nobility upon the man, and if repeated by large numbers of people, stamped nobility upon theontire race. He therefore asked the people of Auckland co carefully consider whether or not they would boar a part in assisting to defray the cost of the British navy, and thus identify themselves with the British Empire.

Volunteer Capitation Question. They would thus call into existence force of Volunteers that would comp favourably with that of any nation. An should they not give these volunteers some ia\v and proper capitation? (Cheers.) He did not mean some some piece of paper entitling them to grants of land— pieces of paper which they miirht sell to speculators. And then, looking abroad, would they not see that the Ministers did not unduly assist great companies in which they were themselves interested, such as tho New Zealand Agricultural Company, and relieving powerful companies, such as the Waimea Plains Railway Company, by large grants of land ? They should resolve upon making Ministers cease squandering upon themselves and their friends the publis funds, and force them to devoto themselves to the defence of the colony. They had been told in that very theatre, " Be patriotic, and think not of the capitation," but he told them, " Be patriotic, and be careful not to spend upon public companies in which you are interested public money. " (Cheers and laughter. )

New Zealand's Destiny. A great work lay before New Zealand. The broad Pacific was stretched before her, and it should bo her pride and glory to civilise the islands with which it abounded, and to disseminate amongst their people the arts of peace. That would be a blessing to tho Polynesians, but forcible seizure by a great : power meant virtual slavery for them. New Zealand's destiny would beindeed greatif she applied herself to the noble task of calling into existence such an island nation. It was a work which would engage our hands for a century to come. It was a glorious destiny, and he only wished he could have youth again to'assist in it. As that could not bo, he might at least lire with laudable ambition the breasts of the young. j

The Russian Difficulty. Turning their glance now to Europe, and having regard to recent events, he had to tell them that this Russian difficulty was by no means settled yet. They should not allow such a flattering reflection to blind their judgment. His own impression was that it might go on for a century. Looking back down the vista of history, they wo'uld see that for 2,000 years past the rough hordes from the snows of the North had been making repeated incursions upon the fairer fields of the sunny South, The history of Europe was full of their ravages, and these Northern people had always steadily advanced. Then, too, the Turks had surged in from Asia and occupied j one of the most fertile countries of the world. The Russians could not be stemmed back They were numerous, and their needs and the rigours of their climate pressed them on to sunnier olimes. On the eastward they were now met with Britain's command to come no further, but there was always the chance that they would, for a growing population must find an outlet. On the westward they were already shut in by Austria, Germany, Italy, and France, and some opening must be found. England had had to find such an opening for her own surplus population, and the exodus to America, Australia, and New Zealand had been the result. Russians, too, were ripe for an exodus, and if they were eloped in, internal discontent and turmoil would ensue. Great Britain should be therefore ready for any emergency, for though long deferred, it would j surely arrive, sooner or later. What was I called the Eastern Question was by no means a modern thing, as many people imagined. In the days of Imperial Rome it existed, and Marcus Aurelius, one of the greatest of the ancients and a Roman emperor as well, after spending many years upon the Danube waging war upon the inflowing savage hordes of the North, died there broken-hearted.

Our Own Affairs. W hilegiving attention to these momentous events in distant countries, we should not, however, be oblivious to our own concerns. A truly great nation devoted herself energetically to the care and good government of her people and the redress of their grievances unwell as the bettering o£ their

position. He would ask them, therefore, to look for a few moments at their own affairs and fee what had been done here. They had heard that they were all free men, and they were continually informed that Sir George Grey told them they were serfs. (A voice: "No fear.") In ridicule of this it was said, " Can you not eat and drink what you like, and hare you not got good wages?" Let them look closer at the question, however, and aee if they were free. Firstly, his idea of freedom was this : That each man within the limits of the law could do what he liked, and the people of such a free nation made its lawe. He called a nation whose people made its laws free, but a nation whose laws were made by a few people was a nation of slaves. (Applause.) One of the characteristics of slavery was this : 1 hat the master maintained his slaves, and if he was kind to them he gave them a piece of provision ground where they might grow food for themselves | in the evening after work (laughter), and the produce they might sell to buy themselves a tew luxuries with. Then the slaves said, " Massa is so good to us." But they did^ not see that the greatest slave- < owner might in this way claim credit for the utmost benevolence, and that it was but a mistaken kindness— a poor exchange for absolute freedom. He had heard a great deal of similar talk lately. He had seen an advertisement setting out in big letters, "So and so, the friend of the working man " (a voice "Garrard," and laughter). The friend of tho working man said — " Let us give him i another half-holiday in tho year," and the working: man immediately replied, •' God bless massa, how good he its." They really did not eeem to know whether they had the powerof taking care of themselves or not, and yet they might have published a book and asked, " Did he get any more wages: for you?" or "Did he get your trains mado any cheaper." Every effort had been mado to stint the power which the people should possess. They had had a great lecture on politics here, and ho confessed it confounded him. They were told that it was their duty to bamboozle their fellow men in the Assembly, and play upon their selfish cupidity in order to get those people to help them. Now, if they were to take such a measure and study it, they would see that it would have produced either a depressing or elevating effect upon the entire population. He asked them to follow him upon what he might call an excursion into the past history of the colony. He would point out to thorn what might have happened, and ask them if it had happened would it not have ended in reducing two-thirds of the people to absolute slavery. He wished them to follow him from scene to scene, where several people were talking together. The first scene ho wished to take them to was this.

Land Hypothecation. j There was a Lord Lyttelton, the father of the present Lord Lyttelton. He was an excellent man, although he persecuted him (the speaker). But they became great j friends in the end, because Lord Lyttolton recognised at last that he (Sir George) was right. Lord Lyttelton was Chairman of the Canterbury Association, and in that capacity he came to this colony for the purpose of securing two-thirds of the land for the founding of bishoprics. Upon his return to the old country. Lord Lyttelton delivered a lecture upon his experiences in the colony. [Sir George then proceeded to quote from a report cf Lord Lyttelton's lecturo, in which that gentleman spoke of a vast estate of 50,000 acres, held by a Mr Harper. The lecturer said that settlers had a nominal power to buy that land But Sir George pointed out that was only a nominal power Reading further from the lecture, he showed that the squatters had a pre-emptive right to buy certain portions of their runs at an upset price of £2 10s per acre. By taking up sections in this manner they rendered the immediate land valueless, and then actually held vast I tracts, although they could only lay claim to a sinall portion of it. This system, the speaker said, would have led to groat poverty amongst the poor of Canterbury if followed out.]

Cause of Depression in Canterbury. The second scene was this : — The Minister of Lands was in Christchurch, and a reporter was with him. And ho believed that tbo reporter had made one of the best reports he had over read. When the reportor asked Mr Ballance what was the cause of the stagnation and depression in Christchurch, the Minister of Lands said — "I believe the reason of it is the way that your land system has been carried out." The Minister of Lands further said that their big men had taken up all their land in the back ground, and the result was that it was impossible to get land for the poor people. And yet Mr Ballance and his colleagues were trying to give a million of acres of land to a foreign company in order to get the West Coast railway made. They would remember that when he (the speaker) was in office he made arrangements by which this railway should be constructed without an acre of land being given. He therefore contended that an unnecessary bribe was thus sought to bo given to secure the support of a section of the Canterbury members. [Sir George continued to quote fiom that portion of the report whereid Mr Ballance expressed surprise atmen not jumping at work offered at 4s 6d per day, or 27s per week. Allowing that two days per week wore lost, and deducting ordinary expenses, Sir George Grey asked what was left for the support of that nian, his wife and family of perhaps six.] Not more than 10s remained for the maintenance of the whole family, or an average of twopence per day for the support of each child. Therefore, he asked them, Were those men truly slaves or were they not?

Mr Ballance's Small Settlement Scheme The plan proposed by Mr Ballance for their relief was to take small blocks as conveniently situated as might be to marketB. He was going to let tnese on leases at present market rate, the land to bo valued every twenty-one years, and the rent raised if necessary. These people were to be compelled to live there, and labour amongst the great freeholders surrounding them. The blocks were to be small, because these people were not intended to be farmers. Mr Ballance said be did not intend that tho blocks should be large enough to enable the settlers to maintain themselves upon them. These blocks were therefore intended to supplement their other earnings, and stress was put upon them to make them work outside their own holdings. No man could take up two blocks, because if he did he might earn a living off them. Therefore, he asked what rights were they to have. They could not earn their own livings on their leaseholds, but must work for the big land-owners surrounding them in order to maintain themselves and their families. Lord Lyttelton said he could not get enough land in Canterbury, but in other provinces he was making provision for the future Their maps were therefdre dotted all over with sections, and they were told j that married men would be offered special , inducements to settle upon them. In Auckland we had the power of taking up homestead freeholds, and of taking up land in many other ways aa well. What

right had a man in his will to say that j certain lands should not be Bold, and the map be thus dotted over with lines of olosed-up land in consequence? Surely they would stand no such alienation and closing-up of the land. (Applause.) It was not fair either to move up poor people from the towns to small blocks in the country whence they could not escape. '

The Premier Criticised. He asked them to accompany him to a scene in that theatre— a very extraordinary scene, and yet they had passed it over as of no account. The Premier had told them they had many millions of acres loft, but he did not toll them whether this land was good. It might be acres of rocky mountain or snowy waste. The Premier said that there was no question more practical th n that as to what should be done with the land, and then he went on to say that the lands which had passed from us and had been sold were out of the range of practical politics. He himself did not think so. The highest idea of politics was to get land for the settlement of the people. Mr Stout said further that no colony could enter upon a course of repudiation, as that would shake public credit and injustice in the end never succeeded. This was followed by their cheers, so that it was evident that they had been carried away by the fineness of the sentiment, although one man did try to say "No." (Laughter.) Then the Premier also remarked, and this time they had again cheered him, that no generation had a right to partition the lands of the colony, ! or to say to the next generation, "We have decided for you how the earth's surface is to be occupied." He (the speaker) asked them if, when the Premier told them this, they reflected whether in the past the Government had acted upon that principle or not. Had the Government not lent itself to the work of partition ? What explanation could it give to the starving children in Canterbury of the partition of the heritage of the people in that; province amongst the rich and wealthy' (Applause.) He (8ir George) did not tell them the past was irretrievable. He believed in the English law that for every wrong there ! was a remedy and it did not become the } man who might be our next Chief Justice to publicly state that a wrong had been \ done the people for which the law provided no remedy. (Applause.)

Proposed Agrarian Legislation. Now he had a remedy to propose. He had thought it out in solitude, and he had no doubt that it would earn for him opprobium, and beget hatred of him in certain quarters, but he cared not for that. What he had to advise the people was to provide that no man should obtain a tract of land unless he meant to live upon it like other settlers. If the people of Auckland left him in the position he was now in, he would bring in a bill to Parliament providing this : That for every thousand acres a man took up, he should support upon it ono farm labourer for a whole,year. (Cheers.) Thus an estate of 200,000 acres would support 200 families, so that all would not be left for sheep, but something for men on God's green earth. (Cheers.) There would be some measure of justice to the children of those who had been deprivedof their fairshare of the land. In this way a home would be provided them, while fair wages might be earned with which to buy land for themsolves, instead of being left to perish for want of work, while all the land lay waste for the maintenance of sheep alone. That wa< where justice came in. But he had still another idea. Let the Government, instead of sending people out of the colony in this way, buy the land back from the persons who have it, at its fair value, with interest given upon the money, and so that every man earning money upon the land should see that he is safe and that his interests would be protected. Every man who had bought land which had been Crown granted should be protected, but inquiries should be made into all property for which grants had been taken out by members of provincial councils, General Assembly, or by men who, while in office, made the laws whereby the people hud been wronged by tricks of the Land Office ; and every such man who had used his position to acquire land wrongly or atari inadequate value should be made to pay for his ill-gotten gains. Those who had bought subsequently deserved protection, but the original wrong-doer should bo sought out and made to pay for what he had wrongly taken. This would prevent him I rioting in his wrongly-acquired wealth while those children of whom he had spoken 1 were dragging out a precarious existence upon such a wretched pittance as twopence per day. In this way they would assist to place the colony in a far more healthy state. All such regulations as Mr Ballance had drawn up were good and just in their way, but it land had been taken wrongly we had a right to see that the wrong-doer did not walk off with, say, a quarter of a million in his pocket. Mr Ballance's regulations showed that the poor had been injured, and the poor could not be injured without the rich being affected too.

The District Railways Question. Let them consider, now, the state our Parliament was in. It had before it last session the question of the Waimea Plains railway, and the Government was prepared to purchase it, as well as all other district railways. When he went down to Wellington the Atkinson Government had prepared a bill for that purpose but it was defeated, and had no the opportunity of introducing it. His fear was that the companies were so powerful that they would gain their object, and that the country would bo forced to buy the railways. He knew that the Parliament was a nevv one, and that the members knew very little of one another. His idea was that the Atkinson Government being in power, the House should have met, and the members should have had an opportunity of hearing the views of the various leaders, so that they might have had some idea of their calibre, and decided whom they should follow. But this was not done.

Ministerial Cat>inet»making. On the evening after his arrival at Wellington he went to the library of the House for the purpose of reading, and while he was there Messrs Stout and Montgomery came and made proposals as to his supporting a Government on certain terms. He thought he saw the Waimea Plains railway under all this, and he replied : " It appears to be decided who the Government shall be." Mr Stout said t "Oh yes, 1 am to be Prime Minister, and Sir Julius Vogel Treasurer." He thought this was wrong, and saw that it was possible for audacious people, Oliver Cromwell like, to seize upon the Government of the countrv. He declined to have anything to do [with the scheme. Sir George briefly ! detailed the events that followed, and then I proceeded. The Stout- Vogel Government came into office, and six days afterwards they brought down a bill to secure the Waimea an< * other railways. So that it would appear to have been all arranged. But he should tell them that the bill had been brought down by the Atkinson Government, but no fault was found by them. Then it was feared thai the bill was likely to be thrown out by the Legislative Council, one gentleman who took a stand against it

being the Hon. Mr Olliver, formerly Minister of Public Works. He drew attention to the fact that hints had been thrown out that unless the particular b?ll in question were passed,other bi'ls which the Councillors desired to see passed would be dropped. Hon. Mr Millar, a Government supporter, rose at this stage and said he would save the hon. gentleman who had been speaking the trouble of asking further questions by corroborating what he had said.

Corruption In High Places. This made Mr Stout very angry, and in a speech in the Lower House ne accused Mr Oliver of dishonesty in his public capacity in connection with the same matter. He held that if the Premier had thought that such was the case, he should have called for a committee of inquiry into the matter. Counter onargea of dishonesty having been made, he considered it was the duty of the country to see that the Waimea Plains railway did not pass until the present Government was out of office. Then Mr Rolleston made a speech, which evoked the charge that jobbery had been practised in connection with the guarantee of interest on these bonds from the funds of the Insurance Department. Further proof was thus afforded of the necessity for a committee of inquiry. Mr Seddon then accused Mr Iioileston of assuming virtuous indignation, when for three years he had been associated witfi a Cabinet which had been paying large sums of money in connection with those bonds with the object of purchasing votes. Then Sir Julius Vbgel charged the previous Government with jobbery in connection with railway contracts. And in spite of all this, the Railways Bill was carried by cheering majorities, notwithstanding the opposition of a section of the House, and he should say that one gentleman who had fought most ably against the passage of that bill was Mr F. J. Moss. (Cheers.) All this showed the necessity for a change in the constitution which would prevent the occurrence of such things as these. They should strive for the abolition of plural voting in their endeavours to secure that change, and then they would not have a government appointing a dozen new members to the Legislative Council in order to force its own measures through that Chamber. What he wanted to see was this: That when an Act was twice passed by one Chamber, and the other Chamber rejected it, that an appeal should be made to the people. He knew that what he had said had given offence to many, but when he read the fact of those families living upon toopence a day a head, in a land of plenty and a soil of the utmost fertility, and knew that that soil had been in great part wrongfully taken from those who ought all to be in wealth, when he knew the children wero growing up in poverty, and that the grandchildren after them would be in worse poverty, he felt a duty rested on him, which no personal consideration whatever could induce him to abandon. Mr Stout said it was better to go floating about from side to side and looking in every direction, taking care not to be swept away altogether by the tide, although Mr Stout had told them he knew what he ! believed to be his duty, what he believed to be right, and nothing should ever move! him from sticking to those questions which ! he had so long fought out, so long as Providence permitted him. (Loud cheers. ) Mr F bnell, in rising to move a vote of thanks, said he had added to it something to show that thoy were resolved to remain true to the grand Liberal statesman who had been true to them from the first. (Cheers.) They had lately heard a lecture from the Premier on " Palitical Ideals," and he wished them to show the Premier and all others interested that they had found their political ideal personified in Sir George Grey. (Cheers.) j Now in putting this resolution he reminded j them that prior to last session Sir Geo. I Grey, in answer to a singular question, said at his last public meeting that he would only take office if he found it necessary for the purpose of passing his measures. If he could do that he would be willing to retire afterwards. What Sir Geo. Grey doubtless meant, however, was that he would bo content to remain out of office until surrounded by members ready to »• upport him in legislating for the people. This opportunity they should try to afford him. He begged to move, "That this meeting tenders its hearty thanks to Sir Geo. Grey for his address, that it places the utmost confidence in him as the leader of the Liberal party in New Zealand, and that it al.^o expresses its opinion that such a leader should be supported by every man in tho colony who wishes for the welfare of his fellowcolonists." (Loud cheers,) Mr T. B. Hill, in seconding the resolution, re-echoed Sir George Grey's wish that he were a young man, so that he might long continue to lead them on to victory. As, however, a return to his youth was out of the question, the people might at least, during the next elections, place him in power with such a strong and able body of men at his back as would enable him to successfully carry through Parliament the great measures which, in the interests of the people at large, ho Mas fighting for. (Cheers.) The motion was put amid cheers, and passed with enthusiastic acclamation. Sir Geo. Grey's rising to acknowledge the compliment was the signal for renewed cheering. He thanked the people sincerely for the confidence they reposed in him, and he asked them to honour with a vote of thanks His Worship the Mayor for his conduct in the chair. He knew that Mr Waddel, in his exertions for the good of the city, had not been surpassed by any Mayor who had occupied the civic chair before him. (Cheers. ) The vote of thanks was duly passed, and after three cheers had been given for Sir George Grey, the large audience dispersed in a quiet and very orderly manner.

This year, for the first time, it is said, the Zulus have had the entire Bible translated for them into their own language There is hope for people of short stature yet. A committee of rtho British Association has discovered that man grows up to his fiftieth year. Petroleum deposits underlie no Jess than 14,000 square miles in Russia, The production of some of the wells ia remarkaole, one yielding at the rate of 1,125,000 gallons per twenty-four hours whenever opened. The sale of the State railways is advocated by a French Ministerial organ, upon the ground that the Government cannot go on borrowing for the purpose of retaining them. It thinks that these railways might ' be sold for 900,000,000 of francs, plus a guaranty of interest at 2 per cent to the pur- j chasers. A sum of 900,000,000 in hard cash j would go a long way towards filling up the deficit in the French Budget ; but there is so much valuable patronage connected with these railways that it may be doubted whether the Government would give them up at the present moment. Of course, if the great railway companies purchase the State railways, it would be an object to work them on economical principles, which means tho discharge of an army of supernumerary employees. Under the present management, it is • said, there are many instances of station-masters without stations, so that in a number of cases the office of station-master is a more sinecure.