SIR ROBERT STOUT. Dunedin, July 2.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 210, 9 July 1887, Page 4

SIR ROBERT STOUT. Dunedin, July 2.

The Premier addressed a mass meeting, of the eleotors of Dunedin in the Princess Theatre this evening. The building was crowded. The Mayor of Dunedin (Mr Leary) presided. Before tho proceeding commenced a number of those in front amused themselves by singing s-ri'ches of Salvation Army ditties, and when the curtain was raised some hearty cheei iujx was indulged in. There was some intern: ption at the back of the hall, caused by musical instruments. A large proportion of those in the dress circle were ladies. Sir Robert, who received a mixed leccption, said that he was exceedingly pained and sorry to see from an announcement in the evening papers that Mr Montgomery was not to be a candidate for le-clcctlon. (A voice : "A good job, too.") He did not think it was a good job. Although they had not always voted on the same -wle, and had political differences, they voie personal friends, and he said tho o-lony could ill afford to lose such a public man as Mr Montgomery — a tiiod, able, and honest man. (Cheei.-.) Bo then proceeded to revert 10 -^no of the criticism^ made by the local >.i.c--s on his Monday's address. Coming to the sketch of the colony's political history for the past seventeen years, he explainrd that his desire was to show that his-\ic\\-> h.id not changed, though lie had i**\ entedly been charged u ith inconsistcne} . When the public works policy was then introduced, and it was explained that £10,000,000 of money would be required to be raided fur railway works, and when Sir Juliu.-. Vog'jl propounded his policy in an open-air meeting, he (.Sir Robert) and others opponui it, because he saw it would inevitably destroy our provincial system, v»ould injuio our democracy, and would piodm-c a deal of log-rolling. Mr Donald Reid and others joined him in the tight, for land settlement even before railway-, but tho.se who now condemned the p'lbluj w orks policy were in those days the mo 4 eloquent in its favour. (Cheers.) From that timi: up to the present he had fought for land settlement. From 1879 to 1884, duiiu- the regime of the Continuous Mini- try, there was no attempt at retrenchment, f- i-c a 10 per cent, all round reduction, whiJi was forced on the Government after their dofeat. In ISB4 he stood as a candidate foi Dunedin East, and it was amu.-ing to notice that those who were now denouncing the Colonial Treasurer, and aecu- Ing him of all soi ts of crimes and misdemeanours, had then buttered him up a-> the -laloMiian who was to deliver the colony.

The Land Settlement Question. After explaining the steps that leu to the formation of the Stout- Vogel Arinnm->tia-tion, he said that this hi ought; him fco the most \ital question that any counhy hud to deal with, and that was the land qut j ->iion. In his opinion, the two que-f"iun:> that every democracy had to face v>e.u the land question and education. His dovfLiinient had recognised that land belonging to the Crown, they should retain iU hold and grip over the land. If thi^ system of tenure had been adopted from the first in Kew Zealand, this colony would have been in a far better position. Theie would not have been the amount of taxation we have, there would ha\e been no necessity for that excessive borrowing we had had in the past, and farmei.- Mould not have had to pay grinding interest to moitgagees. In the Land Bill of iHSo, which the Government .shove to force on an unwilling House — and, he wa& afiaid, an unwilling country — the perpetual lea.se system was introduced, and the chief opposition to this sj'stem came trom those large companies who wished to obtain large areas of land. (Cheers.) Coming to the village settlement question, Sir Robe it &aid that hundreds of families had been placed on the land under that scheme, and they blessed the day which enabled them to get out of the towns and into lioufc- and homes, of their own. If the 'wants of the unemployed were to be provided for in the iutui c, this village settlement scheme would have to be continued, whoever might be in oHice. This village settlement scheme was the only way by which the poor could be helped, and homes provided for those men who had been thrown out of employ. He contended that if two-thirds of the settlers who had been planted on these village settlements lemained theie and made homes for their families, the Minister for Lands would deserve the thanks of the •whole of the colony. (Cheers.) Figures were next quoted to show that more people had been placed on the land during the past twelve months than in any thiee years before. No Ministry that had been in office had been so successful in reference to the settlement of the land, and he only hoped that, whoever might be in office, they would carry out that system.

Public Works and Borrowing. Closely allied to land settlement came the ' question of public works. How were they to get on M'ith the public works ? (A voice : "Stop them.") Some people said stop them. He was, and had been all his life, as much opposed to borrowing as anyone in this meeting. (Groans.) He repeated that he was anxious to see borrowing cease, and he hoped it would cease in a few years. He had stated ai Invercargill what he said now —we mu&t begin to cut down borrowing. To suddenly stop road -making, the erection of public buildings and school buildings, and the completion of railways would be disastrous. The policy of the Government with respect to public buildings, roads, and other things outside railways, was to limit the expenditure as much as possible, and to toll the people in the country the Government could not afford to spend as much money as they had done in the past. It was proposed to allow loans to local bodies for 25 years, repayable by yearly payments, and in that way the colonial indebtedness would not be increased. As to railways, he proposed that, in order to complete the main lines of railway now in hand, two millions of money should be borrowed, extending over 7 or 8 years, and that borrowing should then cease, This would only mean an extra cost to the colony of £40,000 a year. He did not advocate the construction of those lines at once, but that An act should be passed saying that the two millions should be spread over seven or eight years, that the English money-lender should know this, and that two per cent, would bo returned from the outlay. It was most cruel that people should be expected to take up land in the interior without being afforded an opportunity of bringing their produce into the towns and to the seaboard by means of railways. As to the depression, that was more intense in some parts of the world than here. "We must not be downhearted and go about with long faces. Doing so would only intensify matters and matte- things worse than they Avere. With courage, hope, and thrift the colony would come through its trying times, and the future would be brighter than the past had been.

The Education Question. With respect to education, he hoped tho time would come when Parliament would insist that no child should lear* school^ if it

had the intellectual capacity, till it nad passed tjie' sixth standard.; The worst enemies of our education system were the men who were well off. * The recently-formed political association in Canterbury, which consisted of wealthy men, objected to the property tax, and were prepared to sacrifice the education vote. He predicted that, if the people listened to the dictation of these people, the education system would be degraded, the future of the children wou'd be blighted, class distinctions raised, and an attempt made to keep the people the hewoi s of wood and -the drawers of water. In conclusion, he warned the electors^ in this political contest to care for nothing personal, but to think of principles mci ely, and the future, and to realise that each one's ballot might have an influence for good or evil to this colony. The Premier resumed his seat amid great cheering. The Mayor announced that Sir Robert would ar>ain address the electors on Monday and Wednesday next, but that he would not answer questions to-night. The latter announcement mas the signal for widely-cxprc-^scd dissent. It was proposed " That this meeting desires to accord a hearty vote of thanks to Sir Robert Stout for his address this evening, and to oppress its thorough confidence m him a.s Premier of the colony, and it considers that his return to the new House ot Representatives an member for Dunedin Ea-t i.s of the utmost public necessity, and of vital importance to the Liberal cause.'' Owing to the continued hubbub and persistent demands for answers to question,, the ) evolution Cwukl not be heard in the body of die theatic, but the eheeiing, which was r-tarkd on the platform, was t:ikui up by the audiencc\ and the motion was declined to be carried.