Sir Wm. Fitsherbert before his Constituents.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2872, 30 April 1878, Page 2

Sir Wm. Fitsherbert before his Constituents.

(Peb Pbess Agency.)

Utfxa, Huit, Monday.

Sir Wm. Fitzherbert (the Speaker) addressed a meeting of the electors at the Oddfellows' Hall this evening. There was a good attendance. The Speaker said a great deal too much had been made of that meeting, articles had appeared representing that he was likely to lead a new party in order to displace the present Government, soon after this meeting was called; but he assured them that there was nothing in it. Neither did he meet them for the purpose of making a political manifesto. He merely met them in accordance with the good old custom of a representative periodically meeting; his constituents. Still, there were subjects he might speak of to them without violating the high duties of Speaker. If people were on the tiptoe of expectation to hear him delirer himself of something sensational they would be disappointed, as much as it they went to see the Derby and saw the favorites run in hobbles. Since he last addressed his constituents a great political change had occmred, a i evolution he might say, and also conscientiously, that it was not suitable: There certainly was an appeal to the people, but it was a handicapped affair, and there was no doubt the action of the Assembly was confirmed by the people, most unwisely, lie thought, because it took from the people the privilege of electing their chief officers. In no form of Government were broader democratic principles laid down than in the constitution that the people deliberately renounced. Had the anticipations or representations of those who to cruelly deprived the people of their old and able institutions been realised P ■ No ; they expected bread and received.a atone. He was not one who deprecated revolutions. Without revolutions'they would not have been so far as they were; but what they now wanted was something superior to replace that destroyed. That they did not possess. They should get something of an improvement, on the thing destroyed. At one time the people of New Zealand knew something of the Government of the col .my, but now, throughout the length and breadth of the colony, there was nothing but myatery of government. When he was Superintend dent it might be said that his utterances were directed by self-interest. That' was not the case. He was above that charge in his pretent position, and he could say that now he was of the same opinion an then. He would ask them in what direction was the tendency of those great and eloquent speeches which had been moving the hearts of all the people all over the colony lately, and he would answer that it was a new angel of democracy, which meant that the people were the fountain of all power. But here came the anomaly. How was it that the gospel of democracy should be preached to a people who so recently threw in the dirt one of the best of democratic forms of government which ever

existed ? It reminded him of Madame Eoland'a exclamation, "Oh, democracy, what horrors bare been perpetrated in thy name!" He feared the people had given up the substance for the shadow. Government now was something for people to gaze at, not to touch. Let the form of government be administered by the best possible persona, yet the people were more distant from it than under the despised form they cast from them. He hoped they would reflect seriously upon these things, although they must not think he had any desire, if he bad the power, to bring back that which was lost. They heard a great deal of Bulgarian atrocities, but if that people wire gifeh a new constitution to-morrow they could not understand it, and would soon lose it. Constitutions must grow up with people. It was in Canterbury the conspiracy was formed that robbed them of their constitutional privileges, though after doing so they hesitated to accept the natural con* sequence of that resolution. He referred to the land fund. They took 80 per cent, only, but they" might as well have taken all. (The hon. gentleman here exhibited a colored map of the North Island to show the enormous area of the .natives nnalienated as compared with the whole area of the island.) He regrettrd to see so many brown lines (native land) coming down between the Manawatu and the Upper Hutt. All the knd had been bought by him, and if provincial institution* existed now, there would have been a railway through it, and 10,000 people settled upon it. He meant no reflection upon any Government, either past' or present, for it would ba the same, he feared, with any Ministry, simply because the whole thing was a dead-letter to them. All the work done in the past, in those matters had to be done over again, and all purchases had to be made over again. -He had done . his utmost to secure these lands for the province—but, after 37 years of settlement, the road between Manawatu and Waikane was as bad as. the first day they came to the island. But he did not complain of the men—it was only of the system. What did a M mister from one of the provinces know of the requirements of another ? Nothing. Their minds were blank to all outside their own district. After recounting all that had been done by himself in the direction of the HutNWaikane l;ne, he said he hoped Cbas. O'Neill would be soon appointed and enabled to submit plans and estimates of preliminary survey by next session. They had been unduly kept back ; while they could travel by rail nearly from one end of the South Island to the other, in the North the people of Wellington could only go as far as Kaitoke. The thing was absurd. Beferring to the work of Mr O'Neill in pointing out what he considered the best route for the Wairarapa line,, he said he predicted that the day would come when the present line would bo abandoned and O'Neill's would be adopt.d. It was impossible for any amount of traffic to go over a gradient of one in fifteen. The hon. gentleman quoted from a Gazette to show that last year Canterbury and Otago alone raised over eight millions (P) of grain. To look at that and their own position now it was simply appalling, how. much, in spite of all their efforts, they were kept in the background. \ . ;..-;■ In reply to a question, he said while he believed in manhood suffrage* he did not believe in loaferhood suffrage. It must also be remembered that not always those who cried out most for manhood suffrage were most liberal. The most horrid tyranny was sometimes perpetrated under these catchpenny cries of liberalism.. To a man who was a man in the proper sease of the term he would allow iiim a vote even if only 18. But he objected to promiscuous manhood suffrage. He failed to tee why women should not have votes. They were more entitled to one than the men who, after voting, went home and kicked their wives.

In reply to a question as to whether he would support Sir G. Grey, he said, while the question was most improper to one in his position, he might speak hypothetical!y as if be was a private member for the moment, and would say he would not bind himself to follow any man. It was a vicious principle to get candidates to pledge themselves to anybody. Circumstances changed, and men change with them.

A motion of confidence in Sir William was carried unanimously. He spoke for about two hours.