NAPIER.

Thames Star, Volume IX, Issue 3018, 17 October 1878, Page 2

NAPIER.

This day.

After the termination of a performance last night at 9.15, Mr Bees addressed a large audience in the Theatre .Royal, which was crowded in every part. He warmly defended the Government, and particularly ;- ir George Grey, in respect of the Maori franchise, and argued at considerable length to show that the opposition to the Maori franchise was fostered by persons who were inimical to settlements between natives and Europeans now existing ; inimical to the extension of the European franchise, and to the land tax. To prove the verity of his assertion respecting the land tax, he read a telegram he had received from.Wellington, stating that on Tuesday night Sir Dillon Bell had said in the Council, speaking on the Maori franchise clause, that" In voting for the imposition of a land tax in the Lower House, the four Ma&ri members voted for it. Without them the bill would have been lost. It was their (the Council's) duty to take care that does not occur again." Mr Bees went on to say that that showed why the franchise was struck out. He dwelt strongly upon the point thai; the Maori franchise was no new thing., They had had it for years. He ; defended what was termed here repudiation i and gave a history of some of the transactions of persons against whom those proceedings were being taken which were termed repudiation. Much of what he said was received with applause, but; his defeupe of the Maori franchise was not acceptable to the bulk of his auditors. After he concluded—

Mr Cornford (solicitor) spoke ib refutation of some of Mr Bees' statements, and read a telegram from Sir Dillon 'Bell as follows: —" It is not trae that I said the dual vote was excised because the native vote in the House carried the Land Tax Bill." Thei'e was tremendous applause at this. Some wanied the name of the author of the telegram to Mr Eees, but he refused to give it. No resolution was put to the meeting. . ... . Wednesday. Mr Eees was to have addressed the electors in the Proiasimt Hall to-night on Maori franchise aid Hawke's Bay matters but at the time appointed it was announced that he had agreed to postpone delivering the address until after the performances at the theatre for the benefit of the ladies of Clinton's company. It was agreed to bring the performance to a conclusion at 9. LO, so that Mr Eees may have time to make his speech.