THE SUPERINTENDENCY.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 567, 14 October 1869, Page 2

THE SUPERINTENDENCY.

ME. AKERSTEN at WESTPOET

Mr Akorsteu, who is ouo of the candidates for election as Superintendent of Nelson Province, arrived in West-port by the steamer Charles Edward on Tuesday afternoon, and on the same evening he addressed a wellattended meeting of electors and others in the Masonic Hall. Mr Pitt, solicitor, was called upou to take the chair. The Chairman said that, in complying with the request of the meetiug to preside over its proceedings, he desired not to identify himself with the gentleman who was to address them as a candidate for the Superintendency. He had not the pleasure ef any intimate acquaintance with Mr Akersten, and,therefore,neither was he in a position, nor would it be proper, to say anything as to his candidature. His position as Chairman was one entirely neutral. At the same time he gladly occupied the chair, because the present was rather an important period in the history of this community. It was the occasion on which they had an opportunity of making themselves felt in regard to the management of the afFairs of the Province, and it was very desirable that they should seize that opportunity to exhibit what power they nii<dit possess. Prom all that had been published in the Nelson papers, and from the different addresses and speeches made, there was decided evidence furnished that the influence which could be brought to bear by the West Coast was recognised as somewhat important. "Whether they read the speeches of Mr Curtis, whom he did know, or of Mr Gribbs, of whom he knew little, or of Mr Akersten or Mr Horn, there was very decided indication of all of the candidates viewing the West Coast constituency with some degree of interest. They seemed to think that the constituency in Nelson would be so nearly divided that the five or six hundred who, on the West Coast, might vote, and who ought to vote, would make a substantial difference in the result of the election. Therefore it was that he was glad that an opportunity offered itself for the electors to "express their opinions, and therefore it was that he gladly took the chair. He concluded by introducing Mr Akersten to the meeting, and bespeaking for him a respectful and fair hearing. Mr Akersten prefaced his remarks by reading to the meeting his published address, which, he explained, had, in consequence of a mistake, not previously been printed in the local Press. A paragraph in that address relating to Mr Curtis, he was now rather disposed to retract. He had intended to have conducted this election without referring to Mr Curtis, but by him and his party he had been made the subject of frequent attacks. Numerous articles had been written as to hia inability, in many respects, to fill the office of Superintendent. First he was a working man, or had risen I

from the position of a working man, and stood low, perhaps, in the middle class. Second, he was not competent to fill the duties of the office. And, thirdly, he was altogether an-unfit man for the situation. Notwithstanding these opinions, he proposed informing the meeting what he himself considered to be his claims to the office, and he hoped they would not consider him egotistical. It was due to them to do so because he was there among them as a stranger, and it was right that they should know his antecedents. For a number of years he had been connected with New Zealand, his first visit having been made in 18 iO. He had gone through a course of business instruction in London with Willis and Co. for five or six years, during which he was more or less connected with New Zealand matters. He had been a shipmaster and ship's-husband, and in such capacity had he paid his first visit to Nelson. The management of the affairs of a vessel which had put into that port in distress had been entrusted to him by Mr James Henty ; their management was satisfactorily conducted ; and a bonus was given to him on its completion—circumstances which he only mentioned to show that he was, at least, capable of managing some matters. Having thus visited the country, he liked it, and settled in it. Since that time, and while a resident of the Province, he had been selected to fill offices of trust and of honor. He had been twice elected member of the Nelson Board of Works—on the last occasion at the head of the poll. He had been in the Provincial Council for three sessions ; and, as a surveyor of shipping, he had had, for a number of years, an extensive practice. He thought he had said enough to show that, if he was right in other respects, he might fill the office with, at least, as much advantage and as creditably as Mr Curtis had done. Reference had been made in Nelson to his ability in correspondence, but to judgo by two letters which had been seat Home by Mr Curtis—one on the railway and another on the coalfields—that gentleman was himself not so immaculate, and should not reflect on his incompetency without any knowledge of the facts. With rei'erence to the railway, he might state that the whole scheme had colhpsed. In the course of his address at the nomination, he sold -he hoped there had been no letters suppressed he said that, at all events, no letters had been produced. It had occurred to him that, had there been favorable letters received, they would have been produced on that day. The mail had arrived, and the Government letters had been delivered two hours before the nomination ; but, as no letters had been produced, he concluded at once that unfavorable news had been received. The manner of Mr Curtis, when the matter was referred to at the nomination, was somewhat confused, and he made his mind up to ferret out the truth. Whether he had doue so or not, at any rate the effect of his inquiries was the printing in the next norniug's Examiner of a letter containing the news that the railway scheme could not be floated. His object in stating this was to show that it was Mr Curtis's duty to lay before the nomination meeting fullv and fairly what were the expectations with reference to the railway.— (A Voice : There's no doubt of it.) —He had been found great fault with by Mr Curtis when he stated that he would give to the West Coast a full nett share of the revenue contributed by it. Mr Curtis wanted to make it appear that he had laid that down as a policy—that every district should have the same. He neither said nor meant anything of the kind. He thonght the West Coast had special claims upon the Government, as containing, if he might use the term, the hive of working bees. In fact they were the true money-givers of the Province. It was from this part that they were getting nearly all its money, and it had strong claims on their favorable consideration. Another important reason was that there was here a large extent of country yet unopened.—(Hear, hear.) On that account, tho money could nowhere be better expended in the formation of tracks. The reason was obvious. They might expect fresh discoveries to be made when they are formed through an auriferous region. On the Nelsou side, on the other hand, new tracks would not lead to gold. Their expectations here were greater, and the money would be better spent here, as more likely to lead to an increased revenue by an increased amount of gold being got. He should, if elected, endeavor to co-operate with the people here in establishing Road Boards and Boards of Works in the various places. He thought there was no better way of expending the public money than to let the people spend it themselves by such means. The money could be better spent by Road Boards than it could be by a Provincial Council. The greater part of the supervision was gratuitous, and the contracts, being of smaller amount, were better divided among the poorerclasses. People with large expectations did not get heavy pulls, but the money was better and more fairly spread. There was no difficulty in the way. The district had simply to be proclaimed, aud the people themselves carried out the rest. They would have to rate themselves slightly, but the Government should supplement any rate which they made; and, in fact, he would be in favor of letting; Road Boards spend all the money voted by the Provincial Council, even for the building of bridges. He thought the

Provincial Engineering Department might almost be superseded by that meanß, and the people be better satisfied. He thought a large reduction might generally be made in the expense of Departments. At this end of the Province, he did not altogether know what might be wanted in that direction, but he would make it his business to inquire. At the other end, while the revenue had been £16,000, the expenditure had been £22,000 There appeared to be clerks there who had nothing to do for two or three days together. This was a state of things which required some remedy. In fact it should not exist. In the report of his nomination address, as it appeared in the Examiner, he had been somewhat misrepresented as to what he had said on the subject of the Miners' Representation Bill. It made him say that a minor (should have a vote after two years' residence on a goldfield. He said nothing of the kind. What he said was that a miner should have a vote if remaining within the Province for two years —not on any goldfield, but on any part of the Goldfields. He meant, that if a miner could produce two miners' rights he should be entitled to vote. Another thing, he thought, concerned the electors. The Executive now in office had been too long there. He had told them, in their presence, that if the electors returned him, he should dispense with all their services, and have an entirely new lot. —(Hear, hear ; laughter; and " Would you do it all yourself?") He considered the action of the present Executive to have been exceedingly unfair toward the Council. The Council had met and voted sums of money, and, though they met again and again, and voted the same sums, the money still remained unspent. It had been the practice to ignore all the proceedings of the Council, and the Executive did exactly as they liked. They did what they liked, and left undone what they liked. What was intended by the Council to be done first, was often left to the last, and often not done at all. To remedy this state of things, he had suggested in the Council, and would carry it out if elected, that works should bo executed in a certain order, and that the Executive should have no alternative but to do so. By that means the wishes of the people would be respected and regarded. He should certainly not consider himself master of the Council. lie should rather consider himself the servant of the Council.—(A Voice : Right you are! Axotheb Voice: Uriah Heap!)—lt had been the habit of the present Superintendent aud Executive to treat the Council as nobodies So far was this carried that ihey were directly insulted at the close of the last session, and every member of the Council, he believed", took it as an insult. Another matter he should endeavor to introduce. He should expect tho officers under him to be at their work from 9 to 5 in the summer, and from 9 to 4 in the winter, and when they were there to be there and do their duty.—(Laughter.)— At. present, in niuc cases out of ten, nobody was to he found at the offices at mid-day, and one had to wait a good hour or hour-and-a-half before they made their appearance.—(A Voice": Short hours and plenty of pay ! I believe in that.) —As to the matter of the Nelson dock, some time'ago, when they thought that they were well off, he was in favor of a stone dock if they could get it; for any wooden structure would be worse than useless. But, through a mistake made by the General Government, the project had to be abandoned. Though he said the General Government, ho had still his doubts as to whether the Provincial Government should not have known what they were getting ; and he thought that, if they did not know when they were getting too much, they would not know when they were getting too little.—(Hear, hear.) —The result was that a scheme which would have done a great deal of good to the place was upset. It upset two schemes the clock and the patent slip ; and other Provinces were cutting the legs from under them. However, with the fine climate which Nelson possesses, he thought they could still compete with other Provinces. The large number of fine working days, the freedom from high winds, and the groat rise and fall of tide, placed Nelson far above other places as a shiprepairing port. If the Government were to supplement an outlay of ,£3OOO by an equal sum, they might still have a slip sufficient for all requirements, and in that way they would not be taking funds from other parts of the Province in times of depression. If elected, he should endeavor to become thoroughly acquainted with the population of this district and their requirements. It should be one of his first duties to ascertain their wants, and, if possible, to pay immediate attention to them. He thought that one of the great reasons why this district was so opposed to the present Superintendent was the fact that he had not visited it sufficiently. He had not, however, more amply visited any other parts of the Province. Indeed he did not know where, except in his office, the Superintendent was to be found. He believed that for years he had not visited the Moutere, and that was not more than four hours' ride from Nelson, with a good road all the way. He (Mr Akersten) should feel it his duty to be among them—the people »f this district at least once every three months. (Hear, hear, and ," Good on you, old chap.")—He would thus ascertain by personal inspection

what works wererequired,not leavingit entirely to the Engineer, no matter how good he might be, as was the case now. He had been spoken to that evening about the money devotee 1 to Education, and it had been represented to him that it was hardly fairly divided. He should take every pains to consider the subject, and should lake care that this portion of the Province should have its fair share in that as in all other matters connected with it. He regretted very much to see the banks of the river washed away as they were. He believed that £2OOO or £3OOO spent at the time would have prevented a great deal of the damage, and he considered it was the duty of these officers to have spent that amount—to have borrowed it if they had it not. He believed that, in that matter as in others, personal inspection would Luve duiio uiore than volumes of correspondence. In conclusion, Mr Akersten said he labored under the disadvantage of not being used to public speaking. Therefore he did not go to the point as they might wish, or as he otherwise should do. But if he kept his promise that he would endeavor to make himself a working representative he would be glad; he had no wish to fill people's ears with speeches which he did not intend to carry out. He thought they had suffered so much from speechmaking that they would now rather see something done.—(Hear, hear.) So much had this become the case at Nelson that, at any meeting where " flowery language " was introduced it was hissed, but when matters of business were dealt with they were received by the audience. (Hear, hear ; and a Voice : An appreciative public!)—He should be prepared to sink a large amount of " self," and attend to the duties of the office. As to the salary, he did not aim at that. He had a business which was quite sufficient for his wants. The honor he did not court at all ; he was not an ambitious man. This country he had adopted as his own, and he should like to see it get on, and not be the laggard and the by-word of the rest of the Provinces, as it was. He believed the duties of the Superintendent were magnified to a great extent. At the time he was in the Couucil ho concluded that the duties were not half so arduous as they were made out to be. In his opinion they were of a non-political character, and the Superintendent should rather be a practical overseer or foreman, if he might so term it, over the Council. Plain spoken, and rather at a loss to express himself as he was, he hoped that they would not attribute that to want of zeal, but simply to his want of practice. If he had omitted anything, ho should endeavor to answer any question on subjects which might suggest themselves to those present as subjects upon which it was desirable bis views should be known. Mr Akersten resumed his seat amidst applause. He subsequently replied to a number of questions, some of which were of the order " incoherent," aud others of which were put by persons of the genus '' unknown." Such questions our reporter puts as emanating from " A Voice," occasionally thick. A Voice : Whaboubanksybulla ? [Probable translation: What about the banks of the Buller ?] Mr Akersten : The banks of the Buller, I think, should be protected. As I said, I would endeavor to get Road Boards aud Boards of Works constituted, and I should take care that sums of money should be handed over to them —sufficient, in this instance, to protect the river banks. A Voice : In what way would you endeavor to develop the Mount Kochfort coal-mine—the only substantial and permanent thiug about the Buller ? Mr Akersten : I should be prepared at once to grant a lease to any company who should undertake to bring the coals down. I should reliquish the royalty altogether. It would bo my wish to grant it to the people iu the place, rather than outside the place, and I should only be too glad if some company would come forward and work it. The Waste Lands Board would, of course, have to be consulted in the matter. lam merely speaking as to how far my will leads me. Mr K. Whtte : In connection with the dry dock at Nelson, a certain interest has been guaranteed. Would would you be as willing that interest should be guaranteed on the enterprise of bringing down this coal ? Mr Akerstest : I should give the preference to the coal-mine. I distinctly object to interest on £25,000 for the dock. Bather than see that interest paid I would be inclined to advance £3OOO to have it done at once. I do not believe any capitalist in England would come forward and take it up. I would give the preference to the working of the coal-mine over either a dock or slip. I think it would be even of more benefit to Nelson, distant as the City of Nelson is. I believe the Mount Kochfort coal to be better than the Grey coal. When samples were sent to England I packed them and tested them, and I believe the Mount Kochfort coal to be far the best. A Voice : Are you in favor of a great railroad to go through to Cobden ? Mr Akersten : I should like to see it carried through, if it can be done by British capital, but I should very much object our money being spent on it.— (Laughter.)

The Voice : If the land goes, won't that be money ? Mr Akerstbn : The land won't be taken away. It will be there still.— (Hear, hear.) The land at present is of no use to any-one. If the capitalists can settle a population on the land, by all means let them do it. It will do us good, and, perhaps, them too.— (Hear, hear, and laughter.) One of " The Voices " made several protracted but unsuccessful attempts to frame a sentence in categorical form, but ultimately relinquished the exertion, notwithstanding such encouraging expressions as " Take your time," " Spit it out," and "Steady on the brake." Mr Whyte : Are you of opinion that the present Nelson Land Regulations apply satisfactorily to the West Coast ? Mr Akersten : To what portion do you refer, Sir ? Mr Whyte : To what might be considered agricultural or pastoral land. Mr Akersten : It is a point that I have not sufficiently studied to give you such an answer as you require, but if the regulations are not such as are necessary for the West Coast, I would take care to make them so.— (Hear, hear, and laughter ) Mr Alcorn : You seem to be in favor of the railway scheme. Would you be in favor of giving the Mount Kochfort coalfield to the capitalists undertaking it ? Mr Akersten : I would give it to such capitalists if no local company would take it up, but I would certainly give a preference to a local company if they were the first claimants. It would be better to be worked by foreign capital than not to be worked at all. The coal-mine at present is of no good to any-one. Mr Whtte : Would you be of opinion that we should have a guarantee of so many acres by way of inducement to any company? This has been done in connection with the proposed railway, which, it is certain, will not be carried out. Mr Akersten : As I see no present prospect of the railway, I should be inclined to abandon the project altogether. I should endeavor to aid any body of people coming forward to work the Mount Kochfort mine in any way possible. As to grants of land, I should have to consider whether it interfered with vested rights or auriferous ground, but I would be in no way a bar to the working of the mine. A Voice : There ish one mosh 'senshial suing for Wesh Coash. That ish Another Voice : Beer. (Loud laughter.) The Voice : Man 'at shaid 'at ought t'shout. —(Great applause.) The Chairman requested that " The Voice " would direct itself to the chair or the candidate. Mr Beauchaatp: Would you have tracks cut every two miles right back into the country —every two miles with a longitudinal view?--(Laughter.) Mr Akersten : If there was sufficient to warrant it I would cut them twenty times two miles. A Voice : Would you give two miles of land on each side of a railway brought iu from Mount Kochfort? Another Voice: Why, mosht o' groundsh 'riferis. Mr Akersten : I could not say what width without knowing the interests that might be affected, or the nature of the country. I believe the railway will never be made. Therefore, I would find no difficulty in dealing with the mine, I am sure. Mr Whyte said that, from the statement made by Mr Akersten,his ideas appeared to be more liberal than anything they had heard from Mr Curtis; and, although the electors were not exactly iu a position to pledge themselves, he thought they would be perfectly safe in coming to the conclusion " That Mr Akei .-ten is a more fit person to occupy the position of Superintendent than Mr Curtis." He proposed a motion to that effect. Mr Beauchamp seconded the motion, which was received with applause. Mr R. C. Reid proposed, as an addition to the motion, " That in the opiuion of this meeting it is advisable that either Mr Akersten or Mr Gibbs should retire from the present contest, whereby the chances of success of one opposing candidate to Mr Curtis would be enhanced by the unanimity of the West Coast electors." Mr J. Hcghes seconded the amendment. Mr Akersten asked to be allowed to confirm what the Chairman had said. In fact the election was entirely in the hands of the electors of this district, as it depended on their unanimity who went in. Any division on the West Coast would most certainly put Mr Curtis in. Of that he waa persuaded. Without wishing to prejudice the claims of Mr Gibbs, ho might state that uniting to support him would also have the effect of putting Mr Curtis iu. He (Mr Akersten) could poll, and would poll, equal with Mr Curtis in Nelson, and throughout the country a much larger number than Mr Gibbs. Were he (Mr Akersten) to resign to-morrow, Mr Curtis would still get in. Everyone knew that the contest rested only between Mr Curtis and himself. Mr Alcorn thought that what Mr Akersten himself said demonstrated the impropriety of the electors pledging themselves, and the propriety of holding themselves in readiness to support Mr Gibbs. If the three candidates stood, and if Nelson were divided between Mr Akersten and Mr Curtis,

the "West Coast and the country districts voting together would put in Mr Gribbs; and, with all respect to Mr Akersten, it might be right for them to be ready to do so. Mr Akersten did not refer to Mr Curtis in Nelson only, and he spoke on the authority of those who were in a position to be well-informed. He himself would have retired ; he offered to do so in favor of either Mr Barnicoat or Mr Edwards, for he had been solicited to stand months ago; he offered to Btand out of the way of any man likely to oust Mr Curtis; but without prejudicing his candidature, he felt sure that Mr Gribbs would not succeed in doing so. Mr J. Munro objected to the compromising, uncomplimentary, and equivocal character of both the motion and the amendment. He thought the more honorable, courteous, and usual course would be to say either that Mr Akersten was a fit and proper person for the Superintendency, or that he was not. Even that by no means pledged them to support him on the polling day. Merely to test the feeling of the meeting, he would propose " That Mr Akersten is a fit and proper person to be Superintendent of this Province." Mr Humphrey seconded the amendment.

Mr Whyte, in reply to Mr Munro's remarks, argued that in these matters, and especially at the present juncture, it was necessary to exercise the greatest caution. One of the principal causes of misgovernment was the manner in which electors acted in electing Councillors and Superintendents. If more caution were exercised public business would be carried on more satisfactorily to the community generally. They were at present in a peculiar position, and it was unjust to themselves and to a candidate to give even the semblance of pledging themselves in any way. Mr Kerb considered Mr Munro's motion a substantive resolution, which could not be put as an amendment. The Chairman was of the same opinion; and, Mr Munro having agreed to its being so considered, the Chairman said he would put it as a substantive motion.

The Chairman then put the amendment proposed by Mr Beid, and it was negatived. The motion proposed by Mr Munro was then put (apparently as a fresh amendment to the original motion) and was declared to be carried unanimously. Mr Akersten thanked the meeting for the decision at which it had arrived. As he was to make Westport his last place of call, he would probably meet Mr Gribbs here, and he would be glad to stand by his side. They would End Mr Gibbs equally fit with himself, or even a much better, man, but he must repeat what he had said as to the result, if one of their objects was to prevent the return of the present holder of office.

On the motion of Mr Hughes, seconded by Mr John Harris, the Chairman was thanked, and the meeting separated. Yesterday morning Mr Akersten proceeded to Charleston and Brighton, where he will also meet the electors.

ME. OIBBS'S CANDID ATUEE. We notice that Mr Gibbs's engagements in the Nelson part of the Province terminate on the 20th, and we are informed that he will start by the first boat leaving for the Coast after that date, for the purpose of meeting the electors throughout this district.