MR MACANDREW AT WETHERSTONES.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 158, 16 February 1871, Page 5

MR MACANDREW AT WETHERSTONES.

On Tuesday evening Mr Macandrew addressed a large meeting in the Schoolroom at Wethersto"ios. Air !>owos occupied the chair. His address was a recapitulation of the various matters touched upon at his Lawrence meeting. He thought in some portions of the province rail.vavs could be made far £1500 a mile. During the delivery of his address, there was a strong expression of opinion b}' n considerable number of those present, and he brought his address to an abrupt termination, as he thought the meeting would prefer to interrogate him upon fcho many questions of public interest.

A host of questions were put to the candidate.

]Mr Dr. -.in ,s askVi Mr }!ac:ru I rcw if he !•.-)• iistii .cr&d, in 15"7, Vuen tho 1 amoral leases were y ran ted Ilixt reservations were made in certain runs by the Dick Government. He would like to know if the Government had acted in any instance upon the-e reservations, lie found that on Treweek's run 15,000 acres were reserved for sale and 5000 acres for lease. He found that the 15,000 acres had been struck out, and wished to know if Mr Macandrew could give any explanation of the cause of such a sfep.

Mr Macmdrew, by his answer, acknowledged that he knew li ; tl(-> a^out the matter, and referred Mr Bastings to Mr Mouat, who could, no doubt, give him more information about it than he could. Mr M'Swiney asked ssveral questions with regard to the cost of railways In reply to other questions, Mr Macandrew s^id he thought the miners' rights and business licenses should entitle the holder to vote for the Superintendency. He telegraphed to Wellington to get advice in the matter, but th^ attorney-general would not give an opinion. If the Returning Officer said " No," that must be taken as decisive. It was their own fault if their names were not on the roll. When he said £2300 a mile for the construction of railways, he included rolling stock, engines, &c. If the Hundreds Act, 1870, were repealed, he believed the province would be in almost as good a position as before. At the time he was returned, he believed the whole of the squatters had surrendered their licenses, and taken advantage of their leases. In reply to a question asked by Mr Ferguson, he said as he appeared to know the answer, what was the good of asking the question.

Mr Ferguson said that he wished to show the meeting that he (Mr Macandrew) had the power of settling men and women upon the country, instead of sheep, and did not use that power.

Mr Mears asked if there was not a run situated at Tuturau, the license of which was not surrendered in the time prescribed by the Act.

Mr Macandrew : I know there was some one run, with regard to which a

question was pending A Voice : What question ; name it,

Mr Sutherland : Was there not a clause inserted in the Hundreds Act of 1870, which gave Mr Driver an opportunity of taking up a lease of a run of his at the Tutnrau, for which the license had not been surrendered within the time specified by the Act.

Mr Macandrew wished to enter into an explanation, but the meeting would not have it ; he must give a direct answer. " Well," he said, "if I must say yes or no, I say in reply to the question, ' No.' "

In reply to Mr M'Kimmie, Mr Macandrew said it was true that the General Government had sanctioned the survey of nearly 400 miles of railways in the North Island."

Mr. M'Kimmie : Could you inform this meeting how much that survey will cost ? — No answer. A Voice : £20,000. Mr M'Kimmie : Is it also true that only 200 miles have been sanctioned in the South Island I—Yes.1 — Yes.

Mr. M'Kimmie : Do you not think that the sanctioning of ihe surveys is a fore-

shadowing of tho intention of the Government ? — Hie railways would not be constructed unless the provinces in which they were to be constructed were able to pay for them.

Mr. Ferguson : Do you consider that a colonising scheme. Supposing several of the provinces were bankrupt, do you mean to say that they would not get railways ? — There are none of them bankrupt. A Voice . What is Wellington ?

iWr M'Kimmie: Do yo think it fair and reasonable that 400 miles of railway should be surveyed as against 200 in this island, while our revenue is larger than that of the North. ? — Yes.

A lirge number of other questions were put, wh«n Mr Oarr moved a vote of confidence in Mr Macandrew. The motion was seconded.

Mr Bastings stepped forward and said, that in rising to move an amendment to the motion before the chair, 1 will not, in my remarks, descend to anything personal. > y obje^ tions to the policy pursued bj T Mr. Macandrew, rest on broader grounds than those of some gentlemen who have asked questions this t. vening— such as whether some particular bull should be allowed to run limong the cows ; or whether this or that cm vert has been made or not made, according to promise. Matters of that description, 1 think, should be left to our members of Council, they were beneath the attention of a gentlem m holding the position of Superintendent. iUy reason for goin^ against Mx\ \iacandrew, is because 1 believe that gentleman does not represent what I conceive to be the interests of the body politic of this colony. I voted for Mr Dick at the last elec ion, because I had been with him in the Provincial Council, andalways found hi nto be a good and honest man ; but. although I supported Mr Dick, and he was unsuccessful, I thought at the time Ihar, it was really no dcteat — so far as the intsrests of tho province were concerned- for a gentleman had been el >cted in his place, of li'ieral and progressive, views, and one who would send the province a-head. lie was elected too on the s edders of the people —the bone and sin»w of ihc country. I carefully watched the oarse of events, and soon, I am sorry to say, had reason to duubt the geißiuio'.ievs of Mr Macmdrew's promises. lie was but a few months in office wh/ n he identified himself with Mr Vogel — a man who, by the most scurrilous writing in the " Daily Times," did everything he could to prevent \!r .Macandrew being elected No person has a greater content >t thin I have for the base and uivnauly atteinpls m*ide by Mr Yogel, to \ilit'y Air MacandreAv ; but what do we find a few m >nl'is after the ejection ; why, .Vr Macasjclrcw has taken this man, this political juggl t, to his bosom ; this man, who, backed by the Victorian Association, opposed the liberal iiiemli:rs in Viivoria, who were then lighting ihe same battla as we aro now. When I saw that this was tho case, and saw .Mr JJacauch'ew in every action identifying himself with a cla'-s who c interests were diametrically opposfd to the so.tlemfiit or the country, 1 could not but be sarisfi «1 the.*" lie had forsa'cen his i"^ 1 es. Mr \hivM i.ilv" I '!!.'^ 1 .! r.ilicio r :^\, ftiriiinoiiis, iu.ii.r t\oald'i lu'nneK' c n^o 1 ! me, for I jud^e a man by his actions f have spent days and days for yews past in trying to get the Bellamy vua thr.nvn open for the beuetifc of this district, and yet the Government hive done nothing. The people here can't even gab a bit uf grass for their caUle without having them impounded. I have no more desire than Mr Macandrew has to set class against class in this country. I have always advocated the caucellation of tho whole of that run, believing it to lie necessary for the wants of the people of the district, and to give the lessee a fair valuation for the same. I believe ttie Government would be justiiiod in the outlay, as it would prove very reproductive. Mr has said that he doe 3 not remember that a r iy reservation was made on Trowcok's run. This I consider very strange. 1 have been in public life eight or niue years, and I think there are very few actions of mine, of such importance as this, of which I would not have some recollection. Immediately before Mr Dick left office, amongst several other runs he made a reservation on Treweek's of 15.000 acres for sale, and 5000 for lease. While Mr Mouat was in office, he adhered to that reservation, and would have resigned his seat in the lOxecutive rather than allow it to be tampered with ; but as soon as Mr Mouat 's out of office that reservation is struck out. 1 know for certain that it was Mr Dick's wish that the reservations should be adhered to by tho Government ; aud I say this, that if Mr Macdiidrew did not know it, he ought to have known it. Now, that reservation was struck out, and we have not got even yet the 5000 for lease. I don't blame him for not making a road here and a culvert there ; but i do blame him for the entire neglect he has shown in not affording facilities for settling people upon the land. I see men in this room who fought hard for him at the last election. W hy, I a-*k, are they against him now ? He need not tell us that he has done this aud that for us, when all his actions have so palpably been dead against the province. I should only have been too glad had I been able to support Mr Macandrew; but I wish to see the country progress. He may tell you the same ; but 1 say judge him by his actions, and the company he keeps. T believe he has been guilty of political apostacy, and i 3 now on his trial before the people of this province ; and if they do their duty, and if you do your duty to yourselves, to your wives, and your children, and to your adopted country, you will, on Monday next, return against him a verdict of Guilty. The amendment I have to propose is as follows — " That the electors of this district, having heard the two candidates express themselves upon the political questions of the day, are of opinion that the policy advocated by Mr Reid is best calculated to advance the interests of the people of this Province, and therefore accord that gentleman their support."

Mr Bastings' speech had a most thrilling effect, and was received with repeated bursts of applause. After his amendment was seconded,

Mr David Herd wished to move another amendment, but the meeting would not listen to him. He said the meeting was packed, and one half of those present were Lawrence people. This statement

was loudly contradicted y cries of '' X->, no," fvoai the AVoLhersron.' 1 ; people. While fie collision was -if i's hi h -si-, Vr Macandrew loit the platform, and '•'!■ Bastings stoi d np and put tho ainca !- ment to tin* meeting, which was carru 1 I by acclamation, and three ch'jeiM for Vr Reid.