Pre-sessional Address.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4788, 14 May 1884, Page 2

Pre-sessional Address.

MR A, J. CADMAN, 'M.H;H,, AT

THAMES.

About two hundred electors of the Coromandel district attended at the Kauaeranga Boys' school last night, to hear Mr CadmanY impressions on the work done last session,- and bis forecast of the coming one. Mr W. S. Greenville was voted to the Chair.

Mr Cadman said to the, effect that he had hoped to hare met the Thames electors sooner, but County duties in Coromangel delayed him, Now that he had come he would be glad to go into matters requiring attention. He would like to go out of office, if the electors decided be should do so, with a clean sheet for his successor to work •' upon. During the session just closed no less than 165 bills were presented to Parliament, and of those only 80 had become law. Parliamentary work waa somewhat farcial, and if the retrenchment so often preached took a practical form, it should be directed against.the present system of legislation. Each session cost from £40,000 to £50,000, and its machinery waß cumbersome, expensive, and unworkala. The number of members in the I owe* House was in excess of that required, and the Upper Chamber could be entirely dispensed w.ith.. The amendments made to the Mining Companies' laws provided that a genuine system of transfer should be adopted, whereby transfers should not be signed in blank, as is very often the custom, and as a result making tbe last transferee responsible for all lability \o

connection with them. Unscrupulous directors would be prevented from disposing, of unallotted shares (by privately disposing of them in cases where they were in possession of information by which they might benefit), as he had been informed had freqaently been done here. In connection with the Counties Act, he had written to the Premier suggesting certain alterations in the Act, providing that the several amendments should be consolidated, and more particularly in the direction of amending the provision that an elector should produce a receipt for rates paid by him ; this wa3 an impracticable proviso, as an elector might possibly not have his receipt for rates paid with him when desiring to record his vote; There were several provisions in the Act, one of which was now being ta|en advantage of by Ohinemuri in its endeavour to obtain separation from the Thames County. In response to his communication, Major Atkinson admitted the necessity of the amendments suggested, and ,j promised attention to them in the prepara- ! tion of a consolidated bill,now contemplated. He thought the County Chairman should be elected by the ratepayers, and had tried to cause that to be done, but without success; he would make another effort in this direction next session. In relation to the placing of names not on the Property Tax assessment list on the County rolls, ho had communicated with the Commissioner of the Property Tax department, and that officer had replied that he could only make triennial valuations, but the committees had full power under the tenth clause of the Act to make the necessary additions and alterations. As far as he could see this clause provided that land already rated, and which might be cut up and sub-divided, came under this section, and the owners should be enrolled. Under the Roadß and Bridges Construction Act Amendment Act, ■£100,000 was put ons one side last session, aud applications for the expenditure of over £100,0CK) were received. ?; A select committee were appointed to enquire into the matter of roads; Government sup* ported their supporters, the onus of carrying out the provisions of the measure being thrown on the Committee ; they quarrelled about the definition of a main road, which was afterwards settled. The Com* mittee afterwards decided that no application under the Act be granted for more than £5000. With regard to the Upper House reform, he thought that its number could be cut down by half, and half of that number be elected quinquennially. The Government had been very lavish in distributing colonial lands amongst its friends, as was instanced in the Russell Exchange Bill, which gave Mr Russell and his friends about 10,000 acres of land because he withdrew from an illegal negotiation for land at Te! Aroha. Mr Sheehan had strongly opposed the measure granting the .Russell party the land, and the bill did not pass. In referring to Federation, the speaker said the recent trip of the New Zealand delegates had cost the colony £1000. Annexation would only suit the colony in the way of annexing islands contiguous, and of commercial benefit to it. The Goldfields Committee, of which he was a member, recommended that the same pegging out privileges should be allowed in the matter of silver, copper, and coalmining as were granted in relation to gold. The Minister of Mines should.in his opinion, deliver a sessional statement, as do the Treasurer and Minister for Public Works. Members should have an opportunity of qualifying themselves for portfolios by being given the positions of Under Secretaries. Payment of members was necessary to enable the working classes' to; be represented, and the present honorarium was ample for that purpose ; he had opposed an increase of it. The Education Act should be upheld as far as free, secular, and compulsory education went, but Boards should be made responsible^ for expenditure. Triennial Parliaments were desirable. A number of members were in favor of a five years' tenure, but those principally consisted of members who were afraid of losing their seats.

In replying to questions, Mr Cad man stated that he would support any land tax that would break up the large estates held in the colony. He was in favor of per petual leasing.—Want of money was the the only thing which would prevent the proposal for resumption of the preemptive right over native lands. He would rather not say how the Block 27 matter was proceeding, preferring not to make the information public property at present. Immigration and borrowing should together, and if the latter were not to continue the former should cease.*—He hoped to introduce a clause providing for the election by the people of County Chairman next session. —The law provided for the placing of all duly-qualified persons' names on the County Bolls, and any evasion of it was punishable. On the motion of Mr W. Wood, seconded by Mr Scott, it was unanimously resolved "That this -meeting having heard the able address of Mr Cadman reviewing the late session of Parliament desires to thank him for the same, and to inform him that they have every confidence in him as their representative." Mr Cadman returned thanks, and, advised all electors to see that their names were on the roll, as a general election might occur shortly after the opsning of the session,