POLITICAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1207, 22 July 1884, Page 2

POLITICAL.

For the Southern Maori District, the following votes were recorded with Mr Wills, Keturning Officer, yesterday : Tare Wetere te Kahu, 21 ; Hare Kerei Tniaroa, 5. The Hon. Mr Bryce addressed a meetafc Avomoho last Saturday night. He defended hiinself against the aUacks of his opponents, and. upheld the action of the Government. He asserted that a coalition between Sir George Grey and Major Atkinson could not at present be contemplated. He received" a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence. Mr Franks addressed a large meeting of electors at Woodbury, on Saturday evenin w. The schoolroom was full. Mr Noble was voted to the chair, and the greatest order and good feeling prevailed. At the close of the address, several questions were put to the candidate and answered by him, notably one by Mr Flatman with, regard to the TemukaOxfoid line. The candidate said he would not on any account increase the burdens of the people, but if he succeeded, and a, tax were imposed on the large landed estates, this work should be one of the first to be considered, as it would open up the rich resources of the Kakahu district. A vote of thanks was proposed by Mr Hammond and seconded by Mr Davey. As an amendment a vote of. thanks and confidence was proposed by Mr Fifield and seconded by Mr Webb. The amendment was carried almost unanimousl}\ Mr Franks addressed a meeting; of the electors at Waitohi on Friday evening last. Mr R. Orton was voted to the elixir. At the close ot the address, in answer to questions, the candidate said he would encourage colonial industries by relieving them of taxation, by a slight iucreoso of import duty upon such articles as could be manufactured in the colony, and by carrying- colonial produce an.i colonial manufactures at half rates. He would settle the people upon tin 1 incl, giving them freeholds on deferred payments, with conditions of in)pro .'eineuts, in preference to leaseholds, the price of land should be fixed instead of lining submitted to auction. At the cone usion, a vote of thanks and confidence was proposed by Mr Scott, and as an aniend-nent a vote of thanks only was proposed by Mr Taibot. On the amendment being put, 7 hauls were held up for it, and for the origimd motion, double Ihe number. The Chairman therefore declared the vot.-; of confidence carried, and a vote of thanks to the chair terminated the meeting.

THE HON. W. EOLLESTON' AT TJSWUKA.

On Saturday evv-uinsj last the Hon. W. Houston addressed a meeting of the electr.rs of Geraldine in . the Volunteer Hall, Temuka. There was a large attendence. Mr K. b\ Gray occupied she cliaii*. and in introducing: the speaker, said that the reasons for calling the a«*conu meeting was to enable Mr Rolleston to speak on matters which he omitted to

touch upon at his last meeting, to allow the electors an opportunity of asking any questions on iny subjects in which they were in doubt as to his views, and to enable nim to make a few personal explanations. The audience was, on tha whole, orderly, but on one or two occasions when an individual tried to make an interruption, there were ciee of " Shut up," "Turn him out." etc. Mr Rolleston, on coming forward, was greeted with rounds of applause. He said that since he had last addressed them at the beginning of his electioneering campaign he had travelled round the district, and had thus had the" opportunity of learning their wants and opinions, and lie thought it would be a good thing if he addressed them before the election, to enable them to ask any questions they might wish, and to enable him to explain some matters more fully than he had done at his last meeting. He also wished to take a little good-humored notice of what his political opponent had been saying about him. He might say that on the whole he ■• had had a very good time at this election. Mr Cox had said that he (Mr Rollcston) had said that he had come forward mainly at the request of Mr Postlethwaite. He had not said so, and he would have been wrong if he had stated that' he was brought forward by Mr Postlethwaite. What had happened was this—He (Mr Eolleston) heard that Mr Postlethwaite was not again coming forward for this district, and he aßked that gentleman if such was the case. Mr Postlethwaite replied that he was not, and, he (Mr Eolleston) told him that he had made up his mind to come forward for the district. Mr Postlethwaite wrote advising him not to come forward. He did not take that advice. He had came forward, had fought the election up to the present time, and meant to fight it to the end. (Applause.) One word as to Mr Postlethwaite. It was not usual for the public to attack a man when he had retired from the political arena. As long as he was before the public he was free to be shot at. He (Mr Eolleston) was before them and was therefore free to be shot at. He was not going to turn his back on his friends. Be hoped he would be judged on his own merits. He differed very widely from Mr Postlethwaite on many questions, notably on the education question, yet Mr Postlethwaite was supporting him in the present election, atd he hoped the majority of the electors were doing so too, and he thought they were quite right. (Cheers.) Mr Cox had said in that hall that it was usual for a candidate to show what sort of a character he received from his hist constituency, and he (Mr Cox), naturally, had then read a resolution passed by his la';e constituency in iha North Island, expressing confidence in hinv—and had said that Mr Eolleston was not in a position to do the same. Mr Cox had a right to speak, but he thought if Mr Cox had to speak again he would do so differently. He had stated on the hustings that it was not unusual when a constituency had any difference with their representative for them to give a man a good character and pass him on toanorher electorate. Curiously enough he had found since then that there was, more in what he had said than he then suspected. (Cheers and great laughter.) He.telegraphed to Auckland to see whether, a vote, of no-confidence had ever been passed in Mr Cox? The answer .vas "Yes." (Great applause.) Mr Cox had-shown by a letter in a paper published that day that his vote of no-eonfidence was a very good character indeed, and he thought Mr Cox might have have done him the justice of saying the same thing. His case was similar to that of Mr Cox's. Tim gentleman's constituents wanted separation and he did not agree with them. His (Mi Rolleston's) constituents differed with him on the West Coast railway scheme and also on the rising of the grain tariff, and Mr Cox had made a good deal of that. Mr Cox had said he was not in a position to show his character. He could state that he was in a position to give them his character, and he could tell.them, that the reason of his disagreement with the Avon constituency was because he had chosen to consider the interests of the whole colony rather than agree to a system of grab. They might ask what claims 'he had upon them that he came forward. He would say that he had done as much for this district as for any other district with which he had been connected. When he became Superintendent, the people in this part." of Canterbury were crying out that their wants were neglected. He coma down here, met their representative, and found that things were as had as they were sun" to bo. 'He had done his best to rectify this. Through Ins efforts a part of the land fund was secured to this district, and had been paid from that day to this. Then there was the Timaru Harbor Works. People had said he was not favorable to that. As a matter of fact the Government, of which he was the head, had put away £IOO,OOO of the land fund for that work. He did not take all the credit fop that, but still it was done by a Government of which he was head. Mr Cox had made capital out of his difference with hi* constituents on the West Coast Railway question. That gentleman when asked whether he approved of the West Coast Railway, said, "No, I don't." Why then should Mr Cox join with the Avon electors in their abuse of him on that question. Wei', his (Mr Rolleston's) sins were preferring the interests of the whole colony, to going in for a general scramble. Mr Eolleston then spoke of a circular he had received " addresspd to all candidates for parliamentary honors in Ca terbnry." The circular invited the c-ncidate's to join issue with Auckland and other places, and so accomplish the West Coast Eailway. He railed this very had log-rolling, and, as one of themselves, he strongly objected to it. To got the money for this work we are to pledge ourselves to another expenditure of £4,000,000 or £5,000,000. Sir. Julius Vogel was "in favor of the work being carried out by a syndicate under the Rail»v;.y&Uu:.struc:tion but if it could not be done in that way he was in favor of it being c .rried out hy the colony at once." If that were dore the 'interest would fall on the whole colony. He wouM like them to knowhow the work could be carried out by a syndicate under the Railways Construe; lion Act. The Act was framed on the same lines as the American Act. Under ■the American Act every alternate section becomes the property of the synd.cate, ihe theory being that the increased value of the land pays for the construction of the railway. Under the New Zealand

Aet the promoters are entitled to 30 per cent, of the total cost per mile, (if it does

not exceed £SOOO per mile) in land. If the land cannot be got on the alternate section principle it must be within fifteen miles. Those who know the proposed line think that a good portion of the land is not fit for settlement. The promoters say it will not do to give land up to the value of. 30 per cent, but up to the whole cost, that is, perhaps £9OOO per mile. Mr Rolleston then went on to say that it had not been determined by the promoteTS where this railway was to end, there being 200 miles of coast line. Reefton had been mentioned. If they went to Greymouth he did not think they could compete with the water carriage. Another thing was the land along the line was auriferoup, .and he did not think it should be alienated. After a few more remarks Mr Rolleston said he was not prepared to borraw £2,000,000 to construct that line. He then referred to the borrowing

policy of the future. Times are very hard. r s Sir Julius Voge! had come upon the scene and people seemed to follow him like a flock of sheep. Mr Cox says he is a strong man, but'he must be kept down. Sir Julius Vogel was a man of very great ability but he was put forth by men who waited to have another flutter and make money. That might not be Sir Julius Vogel's idea but it was the truth,and if it was the popular cry he must obey. Mr Cox says Sir Julius Vogel is a very strong man and we dare not ignore him. This he did not agree with. It was a perfect nonsense to say they dare not ignore any man. (Hear, hear.) It waa for them to say whether they would elect a man who would be a part of Sir Julius Vogel's mil, or one who would keep him in his place. He might be wrong, but he was never afraid to speak out honestly ; and when Sir Julius Vogel made himself Agent-General and went Home, he (Mr Rolleston) said it was very wroDg for him to do so. He did not think it would be possible to do without further borrowing. He would if he could. The good effects of the railways and public works carried out were not yet all fell—some of the laud that railways ran through being scarcely scratched. He was now going to touch upon the raising of the grain tariff. He would not shurk it. He wished to correct a misapprehension as to what he said on that question at big lust meeting. What he had then said was quite correct. He quoted Major Atkinson's figures, and Major Atkinson took his figures from the Public accounts. They found the railways were only returning 2\ per cent instead of 3 per cent, and they then raised the tariff. If they had not done so there would have been a deficiency of £62,000 or £63,000. Mr Richardson had said they wrongly- calculated the returns, the same being calculated on the unfinished as well as the finished railways. This wns done in accordance with the wishes of Parliament, and he thought it was quite right. It had been said that the Government ha-5 lowered the tariff to catch votes and had raised it for the same purpose. This was not right. The Government only wished to do justice to the whole colony. Mr Rolleston then spoke of putting the railways under non-political Boards, which he thought would be done shortly. If elected he would do his best to see that they did their work properly. Mr Rolleston then referred to the land question. His object had been to keep the land still in the hands of the colony out of the bands of the speculators. That was the reason the residential clause had been put in, and if it had not acted well he was sorry for it. The reason the land was cut up into such small lots in this district was because there w*s only a very little of it to cut up. He was not in favor of taking land from present owners without compensation. They welcomed the buyers in the first instance, took their money, and it would not be fair to impose conditions not included in the bargain. Mr Rollestoa spoke very fully on this question. Education.—ln regard to the edcation question, Mr Rol-, leston said it was exciting great interest at the present time. He thought there could be no medium between a national and denominational system. He gave credit to those who were opposed to the national system on conscientious principles, and he hoped they would give him credit for acting up to his convictions. When the State took up the question, it did so because it was held that it could educate the children better than it could be done sectionally, and when it did that it must be secular and free. He did not think a man could be pioperly educated without having his religious instincts quickened. Such a man would be in a very unhappy t on lit ion. It was, however, impossible to introduce religion, into schools without treading upon religious liberty. Speaking as x member of the Church of England, he was not prepared to have his children taught to read the Bible by one who might teach them to scorn and mock it. At the present time there was a.cprtain amount allowed to educate each child. As"-a mattor of fact the children cost more to educate in the country than in the town, and the Boards have to adjust this. It woald be impossible to educate children denominationally without increasing the cost. With reference to the high schools, he said he had no sympathy with the humbug that said the primary schools were for the poor and the high schools for the rich. The high schools were largely taken advantage of by the poor. He was not one of those who .wished to see this country behind other countries in regard to education, and the cry for the abolition of high schools was simply a piece of humbug, and an appeal to class feeling. (Cheers). With regard to immigration, the only immigrants now coming to tho colonv were single women, and he did ' not think they interfered with the labormarket. The next Parliament would have to deal with the native l.nda ; it would 1 -live to decide whether monopolists and money institutions wer.i to monopolise the remainder of the laud, and retail it ou! thereby making good bargains. They had got to say whether they would have Sir Julius Vogel, and indirect taxation that meant that while borrowing was going on they would not feel the pres-sure-or the property tax which brought them face to face with taxation. Upon the question of a property t<.x or a land tax depended the future of New Zealand; a property tax brought them face to face with paying. The moneyed class wished io keep up a fictitious value by further bo< rowing. They must understand that further borrowing meant

Tfuture depression. Mr Rolleston tlv-n thanked them for the fair Hearing they had given him. After a few more remarks he sat down amidst applause. A number of questions were then put to Mr -Rolleston. The most important ones were : . „ , tl „ In the case of Campbell v. witnesses' expenses were appropriated by the lawyer. Would Mr Rolleston the Act amended so that this might not occur «—Mr Rolleston did not know any of the facts of the case to give an opinion on the matter, but if returned he would give it his attention. Mr Badham: Have you stated at a previous meeting that Mr Cox would support the same Government as yourself —Mr Rolleston : No. Mr Badham : Can you tell us_ the gain to the colony by raising the grain tarirK— Mr Bolleston : No. The returns have not vet bet-n made up. Mr Badham then said that all the grain from Seadown had b-en Wri into Tiraaru this year by th ' f >nnei>. It the the railways were propeity, dicl not the colony lose *-Mr Rolleston : Yes, of course the colony loses. Mr Badham : Can-you tell us why the \ grain tariff has been recently lowered oa parcels of 100 tons from Timaru to Lyttelton ?-Mr Rolleston : No. I have not been in communication with the Government, and am not aware of thev reasons Mr Badham : If you are elected, which God forbid—[Here the audience refused to hear Mr Badham further. Whenever he attempted to speak hisses and other voices drowned his voice. At last Mr Rolleston suggested that he should put his question in writing.] After some further attempts to asttne question, Mr Badham put it in writing. It was • If vou are elected will you follow Major Atkinson if he forms a coalition Government with Sir Geo. Grey %- Mr Rolleston said he did not think there was any probability of * coalition. Major Atkinson was pledged to the properly tax, while Sir Geo. Grey held to a land tax When a coalition t ook place he would consider what course to adopt. Why" was the tariff raised after the wool was carried down?—Mr Rolleston: The Governmont held out till the last in the hope that there would no be occasion to raise the tariff at all. The charges on wool were not proportionately lowered at the same time that grain was lowered. It cost 23s 4d to carry a ton of wool a distance of 50 miles, while it cott only 10s 2d to carry a ton of grain tho same distance. Wool could not bear a higher rate. Mr Lee : Was it a fact that a number of married men were discharged from the Addington Workshops because they would not go up country for 4s 6d a day 1 -Mr Eolleston said he was not aware of it. Mr Lee *sked if Mr Kolleston would saate the emoluments of a Minister. Whether he did not get his salary, a free house, honorarium and travelling expneses \— Mr Rolleston said a Minister got his salary of £250, a house in Wellington, and travelling expenses, two guineas a day, when on Government business. Mi-uilisrs do not get any honorarium. (Applaud.; Mr Lee : Should retrenchment begin with the nun that gets 4s 6d per day or with the other %— Mr Rolleston considered the question of retrenchment a very large one. He considered that fair work .should gat fair pay. Mr Rolleston never heard that Mr Wright and Mr Rolleston waited upon the Government in 1882 and said that if the Government did not lower the tariff the Canterbury members would not support them. Mr then got up and asked a number of questions, some of which had been asked by Messrs Lee and Badham. Mr Quinn : Notwithstanding that the Catholics of New Zealand provide excellent education for their children, they are compelled to contribute towards the support of the State schools. Is not this injustice, tyranny, and plunder I— Mr Rolleston made a long explanation of this matter, expressing the same opinions as he had in his speech. He concluded by saying : If the schools established by Government dealt with religion, and forced upon Catholics a system to which they were conscientiously opposed, it would be. It did not, so he did'not think it was tyranny and plunder. If it were he would not support it. Will Mr Rolleston take into favorable consideration Mr Twomey'sbank scheme 1 (A laugh).—Mr Rolleston said he did not think it was a thing to laugh at, but did not think it practicable in its present form. He would, however, favorably consider it.

A resolution was handed up, but the Chairman said he did not think it right to put it as Mr Rolleston had said he did not wish any vote to be passed, either of confidence or no confidence. The meeting was only called to enable them to hear Mr Rolleston's views and allow them to question him. After a few more remarks Mr Rolleston proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman, which was carried by acclamation, and the meeting terminated at 10.30. Mr'Quinn : Is it true that the Government expended £2500 at the lnangahua election in securing the return of Mr Shaw ?—Mr Rolleston : No,