MASTERTON ELECTION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2695, 8 September 1887, Page 2

MASTERTON ELECTION.

ME G. : BEETHAM AT UPPER""' "■■ Althottgh the. weather was most ' (inclement last evening (Wednesday) between-twenty and thirty electors ' attended'the Upper Plain Sohbolhouee ' at the request of. Mr G. Beetham toV! hear his: views on the political ques- ■' tionsoftheday. MrR. I>/Dagg whs ' voted to the chair, and in'introducing c the speaker, Raid he was the'first c candidate for Parliamentary honors l who had visited their district;for the; . v purpode of addressing tliero. As [ Chairman of the School Committee he took, the opportunity to publicly thank i Mr Beetham, on behalf of the parents J and scholars, for th.e great interest he ' had always displayed in advancing " their school, as ..it was mainly through his iuflusaca as a aicwliei of (he £du- "

, cation Board that the .Fernridge school ■ occupied the proud position it did, I Mr Beetham, who was received with ' applause, said that although it was the lirnt meeting held in that district, it was nof owing to any slight to the -, electors, but he was always under the ( impression that they would prefer to ' . attend the larger meetings at faster- , j ton. -He teid He always •fe i he; \ 5 was putting the electors it,-outeide ; \ districts >tq'great incWemence'-iii;. attcnding.^hese' meetingg, especially, at. j : the present season''of the,.yew,' ,an,d>' r regarded it ask - great-, wtapliraeat -to ; i* see ao_triany i ous evening. He his;. : B . duty aa j a member; j " furthering the' educational\i*nte|eat ; . ■'.' of the-district, - 'ajid, * during ' Kia^.. j: term of membership he had always • • found the Upper Plain school commit- '■; tee aio3taelf- reliant, and asking for no more than .they absolutely required.. \ Alludihgto the division of the die* j. triofc he said he preforred.to see. larger y, j electorates, and, consequently 9. redue< j tion in the number of members. , He 1 regretted the Wairarapa division, as f it severed him from many friends in J the Bnsh districts, and Gladstone, but 1 if returned again, to the House; he., should always regard them as,aporv . B tion of his conStitoehcy. He regarded . j economy- as an absolute necessity,.and v ..thought itrßtrange'that : the' p.resent 1 Ministry had only found-out the ' necessity for it'just as an.election was ° staring them in the face.v'-llluding - J to'Mr JBallanoe's alleged saving of £46 8 in the Survey Department, he .said he t could not agree with the reduction in 1 the staff, as it stopped the opening up of Crown Lands, except for-special , settlements, the members of which 1 had their own surveying to attend to. . While he did condemn that plan,"he ut thought that the alleged saving of Mr 3 Balance's would be ; 'considerably , t reduced if the low' prioes of the *: special settlement lands were taken b into consideration with the surveyed 5 Grown lands of the colony. < He would support free education as long as lie had any voice in the affairs.of;the • State, but thought that retrenchment ** was necessary in the secondary ' schools. He advocated throwing all - j the educational reserves into one 3 common fund, and considered the pre- , sent system of standard work' pressed • too heavily on the children. ; Would' ' not lower the. salaries of 'teachers, ' but was of opinion. that. by. -altering I' the system, the number.of teachers could be reduced without ' impairj- ing the efficiency of. the-: depart- ", : ,nieat;.He thought;;-that a .Coriir mission ' should;-be appointed- to- '. feb : r ;int9 whole, question. '&r [. fiiwkini, sneaking at ifenui bad said, |> ithat memberiifthe House should not '; kku a'seat 'ou'.the Bo'afd, but "thai was wi'Oligoa more points ' • than one,' and especially v as regarded' 1- ecqnomyy a), Representatives did pot: ; attending ■" ith'e, meetings, •-an :item,., that \m i naualiy a Urge; one'on>;>committees of ~ that kind. He would think it hardif < ;;; •memberswere'debased from serving ' : the people who had elected them. He ! was proud to nay that he had- alwayi ' been placed inan honorable position by ! 1 the School Committees of; the »Vai- • rarapa, and had been abliv in conee-

quence to do good to thosd whom 'be represented. Referring to denomini. fciqual educabiqa he said be' could'-.not ■;. airport it. ; He considered tbe. colony ;, would be making a retrograde step 'in '.•: granting-.aßsißtanoe'to' any .seat, 'and £ hoped that the; question • would'not ' cpme before thq House. He considered ■'. that such /assistance voujditupair thV j.' present system'and 'iuoreasß..the &•' e penses of the department. {&' >e- " v ferred to the reports circulated tbrougboul'the district that he bad purchased' i the' Catholic vote, and. said he : I .hud only acted iu the same, way as a he would have done under ordinary, i oircurastamcesin assisting toies'tablish I the Catholic School. Speaking on the i Lund question, he deprecated the \ action of Mr Ballance iu striking out j the clause in the Waste Land Bill l which detarred the Land Board from ; selling any land under £1 an acre, i as there was a deal of crown lands : in this district, especially that ou the Tararua and Kuahine Ganges, which was uot worth more than 10s an acre. Village Settlements, if established oil : good lands and the areas increased, might be fairly successful. He did ? uot think Mr Ballance's Land: 1 Acquisition Bill', was necessary, as long : hs the Colony had about 13,000,000 acres of waste lands to operate upon/ and was only calculated to drive capital away from the Colony. He dwelt at considerable length upon the. question of Freetrade and Protection; • and said he was glad to see the people ' of this district altering their opinion, and favoring Freetrade, and were ;.. finding out that Protection waßnot calculated to confer, such ble'ssihgaupou, I them a? waa : claimed' for'.' iL Even '

yiototxa was beginning to find but th*t it was, necessary ■■ .to'.' 100k,,f0i 1 -outside support to increase her, revenue. He B'aid he couldjDot underhand why some people w;n fco impose npou themselves extratexation in/the ;Bbape.of-;'i': protective: tariff *jieu it tends'toincreaseeveryarticld that jb without a corresponding- increase in the wages. Taxa-. tjoni^jstriotßailway-purchasing bill,i :and''other loading-topics were dealt with, the .being strongly condemned by the epeaber.... : Tq dealing with personal : matteni,'hewd he had always letMf .Hawkus alone In his speeches,afid considered it illjudged on the part' of that gentleman to drag,.bis (Mr Bjjethham's)' friends names oh the publio: platform. #0 doubt a-"great many-woulii blarae-hira (the' for the-Freethonghji'bnßiness that-had cropped up/but say' be bd<j nothing whatever to* do with it. If; as'Mr Hawkins eaid ibihis apeeoh, "he (Mr Hawkins) had sunkto the depthsof : materialism and sufered in couWquenoe," and,had sinoe seen the error of his ways and become a good Christian, he; would be the last man in the world fo caßt a stone at him. Even if Mr Hawkins had promised'. to become Prepident of a' Freetbbnght Association, be (Mr could see nothing derogatory ifr that. In conclusion, Mr Beethamsaiiibe had never allowed local feeling to Influence' his parliamentary career, and if elected would endeavor to serve them to. the

j best of his ability, as in the past. He j then resumed his seat amid prolonged applause, / Mr Stempa, referring to the reports circulated that Mr beetham had purchased the Catholic vote, ;■'said they were untrue, and that Mriftetham was asked, for the .money towards; the erecti6n:of.the; i iiad' ; ; oth'ei&hurch if ; te^^ : io:;:>Jla''iefftf3i fitthf :ypte3.,^e^d. Mr ■Beethali was.'guilty ,of tbatj- seeing, that ;^^t^t'them v ](Xaoghter3 ' .... j :; ' : ..'Mr ■ James McGregor;: in"*a-'capital I speech; itf%ot. ..thaaks to Mr- BeethM, *p|^*:eit,;st ; ' some :leh'g& on' jit-whioli the. ■Beetham .family had assisted-in the the district. -.They Ihttd'bceiiV'ahd were..still,, .the beet friends of the working classes; (Cheers) Mr £. Chamberlain seconded the vote' of tfaanku,. which ms' carried unanimously.. ' ', ~-: Mr 'Beetham in., ret'urniug thanks said ; that the remarks. < against' hie family werehiide by tho-new corners to the district, persons who had rot known them when they were working jimen. --"He' did not think that himself and 'lris brotbirej after having worked !themselves, were likely, to forget their fellow workmen. (Cheers). ..-A voteof thanks',.to the Chairman concluded the; raeetiugi