THE SUPERINTENDENCY OF NELSON.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 573, 28 October 1869, Page 2

THE SUPERINTENDENCY OF NELSON.

ME. GIBBS AT WESTPOET.

Mr G-ibbs, at the meeting held in the Masonic Hall, on Friday evening last, said that, before recapitulating what ho had said at former meetings, it was necessary that he should refer to a few criticisms which had been made upon his speeches by one of the other candidates. It was the more necessary because he was accused of inaccuracies—of false statements —and there were some other accusations which he would read. Until he had rebutted them he could not expect to receive that amount of credence winch he would otherwise naturally claim. He was first made the subject of a leading article occupying a column and a half of the columns of the kelson Examiner, a paper which he would describe as the organ of the present Superintendent, and, he believed, to a great extent, his property. It was a paper which, at any rate, whatever its other position might be, was entirely devoted to supporting the present Superintendent, and to criticising—or he might use even a stronger word—misrepresenting all his opponents. Particularly it referred to him, and he need scarcely say that he felt complimented by the attention. He accepted it as a recognition of his being their most feared opponent. The article in question went on to say : Mr Gibbs told the meeting very frankly that lie had no special claim for the office of Superintendent beyond "honesty of purpose and a determination to practise economy." Well, these words he did make use of without doubt, and they really represented his intentions, should he be elected. In addition to that they gave him credit for some other qualifications : We will examine a few of Mr Gibbs's statements, and see whether they exhibit the " honesty " he claims for himself; and if dishonesty be considered too hard a word to characterise statements grossly untrue, put forward to damage the character of an opponent, then stupidity and unfitness for the office he aspires to is the mildest language that should be employed against a man who so commits himself. These were strong words, all of them, and it would be necessary to refute them to a great extent. Then came the following quotation from his speech:— Mr Curtis had told them that the land fund was virtually at an end. If this were so, and the accounts proved it, where was the necessity for keeping up such an immense staff as that in the Land Office ?—(Applause.) The land sales for the year ending 30th June last, amounted to £544 12s 5d ; while the expenditure of the department amounted to £-2299. He would read to them a paragraph from Mr Curtia's speech, and they would then see that what was described as untrue was really an endorsement of what had been stated by Mr Curtis, to this effect:—" The land fund was fast falling away; in fact, it might

be said that that source of revenue had failed and was literally gone." These were quotations which he (Mr Gibbs) made in reference to his advocacy of the practice of economy in the different departments of the Government. He had then gone on to show that the land sales amounted' for the year endind the 30th of June, to £sll 12s sd, allocated as follows : Land sales for the quarter to 30th Sept,, 1868 £l3l 10 5 Do. 31st December, 1868 ... 176 5 5 Do. 31st March, 1869 162 2 0 Do. 30th June, 1869 ... ... 74 15 0 The article in question, after quoting the paragraph of his speech, proceeded to ask:—"Where did he get his information p" Now there was a certain paper called the Provincial Government Gazette, and it was from that paper, published under tbe authority of the Superintendent, that he obtained these figures. He did not know if any of this were interesting to the meeting, but he wished merely to set himself right with the electors—to show that the statements made on the other side were grossly incorrect—that they were untruths—and that he cast back the accusations in the teeth of those who contradicted him. There was another quotation made from a speech of his with reference to the increased expenditure within the last eight or ten years; and the paper went on to say that " it could not follow him in all his statements." Now he maintained that it was not fair to criticise him unless they did follow through the figures which he quoted. The figures which he referred to were figures beginning iu 1865 and extending up to ISG9; and he showed that the increase of the expenditure had been from tweniy to forty per cent upon the gross revenue of the Province. These figures he had got from the Appropriation Act. They were consequently both available and reliable, yet the paper had the audacity to say that it could not follow him. It was unfair on the part of a paper which in times past had some credit, and whose articles were reliable, to criticize him without being prepared, to sustain its statements by more than mere inuendoes. The same paper said: " The whole character of Mr Gibbs's speech was an attempt to catch votes, by raising a cry against the necessary expenses of Government." That he denied. He had no intention whatever of misleading his hearers. Before referring to his own proposed course of action he would go a little further in criticising the conduct of the present Superintendent. At the time of his election, the Superintendent had said " If you want things to go on as they have done, don't elect me," but if they wanted an entire change let them elect him. He (Mr Gibbs) repeated those words as applicable to himself and to the present position, for he thought the meeting would agree with him that they did want an entire change.—(Hear, hear.) On the occasion of his addressing the electors at Richmond Mr Curtis commenced his address as he (Mr Gibbs) was now doing by indulging in a series of criticisisuis of the other candidates. " Mr Gibbs," said Mr Curtis, " had stated that he (Mr Curtis) had not attended to the business of the office ; but the fact was that he had entirely neglected his own private business in attending to the duties of the Superintendent. It was said that he did not attend the office sufficiently, but he behoved he was more in the office than any other Superintendent had been." He quite agreed with Mr Curtis in that particular. He believed he had been too much in the office, and too little in the different districts of the Province. Then again he said that he had eutirely neglected his own business. Now in electing a Superintendent he (Mr Gibbs) asked if it would not be desirable to elect one who would not be too serious a loser by attending to the business of the country—whether it would not be better to give to the duties of Superintendent the whole of his time. He thought the interests of the country required that being done ; it was not sufficient that the Superintendent should, be simply a few hours a day in the office, especially when he neglected his own business in attending to theirs. Another statement of Superintendent a statement which he thought would never be uttered by a Superintendent—and which he must consider to be a slip of the tongue—was that " a great part of the duties was done by him in bed." (Laughter.) He thought the electors would much prefer a Superintendent who would keep wide awake to their interests. Employed as he might be in bed, as he said, thinking and reading for the benefit of the Province, there was a possibility of carrying even that to excess, and he believed that they would agree with him that, on the part of the present Superintendent, thinking and dreaming had been indulged in to excess. If he had come more among them, and been less in his office, there might now have been a more satisfactory mutual understanding than there was. Had he been a more frequent visitor to the West Coast, for example, the complaints against him might not have been so numerous or so prominent.—(Hoar, hear.) However, he promised now at anyrate " Only forgive me this once, and for the future I will go out a little more." It was for them to consider, after an experience of his performances, whether his promises were worth very much. He had still to attend to the business which ho had so seriously neglected ; and whether the business would not still crop up and prevent him from coming, he left the

electors of the Coast to consider and decide. Among other qualifications which the Superintendent or his organ had given him credit for in addition to what he promised himself—honesty of purpose and a determination to practise economy—was the possession of abundant energy. Now with reference to the latter—his determination to practise economy —he must remind them of the fact that there was at present a falling revenue, and if they were to have any money to aid the development of their auriferous or agricultural resources, they must practise very great economy. They must try to get as much as possible for the money they had at command. As to his energy or such abilities as he might possess, they were at their service ; he could say no more than make them that promise. It was for them to decide whether his protestations to serve them faithfully were worthy of credit. He would not simply come to solicit their suffrages, and leave the next visit to the next election. He would not leave it till then, but he would pay them—he would not say visits every three or four weeks, but frequent visits at very short dates apart, and as urgent affairs might require. At anyrate a very greatportion of his time he would devote to going through the Province. There was a great deal of valuable information to be derived from those with whom the Superintendent would, in that way, be brought in contact. The Superintendent, in one of his speeches lately, referred to his very great ability and his high connections, as affecting beneficially the great railway scheme ; and, in relation to the same matters, he disputed the figure—£4ooo or £oooo—which he (Mr Gibbs) had quoted as the preliminary cost of the scheme to the Province —an amount which, by the way, had been debited to the West Coast—an incident in which the meeting was, no doubt, very much interested.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr Gibbs) did not say t'.iat the figure quoted had been specially paid for work in connection with the railway, but he meant to say that, the attention of a large proportion of the engineering staff being employed at various times in connection with this railway scheme, brought its cost up to the amount be stated. It was there where the money had gone—not in any special sums directly paid. The Superintendent showed also, by his reading of the events, that if they did not re-elect him dire ruin would fall upon the Province. Instead of agreeing with him he (Mr Gibbs) ventured to take strong objection to that flattering conception of the Superintendent's own importance. He thought that a change was most desirable. Whether they would succeed in accomplishing it or not, he thought they would all agree with him that they sadly wanted a change.— (Hear, hear). On his own behalf, in coming forward as a candidate, he (the speaker) thought he might lay claim to some consideration on the part of the electors of the West Coast. As a rule, as a member of the Provincial Council, he had, in his votes, stood by the members of the West Coast in anything proposed by them.—(Hear, hear.) By a reference to the documents they would find that, with scarcely any exceptions—for they were very few—he supported the interests of the West Coast by upholding any proposition which he thought was for its good. He had either himself proposed, or had voted on the suggestion of some member, for the proposition that there should be a member of the Executive belonging to the West Coast. There was auother matter on which he claimed a little consideration, for through it he had lost some little ground on his own side of the Province. He referred to Mr Curtis's remarks on the course he (Mr Gibbs) had taken relative to the resolutions on the subject of Separation. Now, he was not an advocate for Separation. He did not think it would be a change for the better; but ho strongly objected to the course adopted by the Superintendent in reference to the Separation petition.—(Hear, hear.) Englishmen always claimed the privilege of grumbling when they felt aggrieved, and he saw no reason why they should not continue to do so. It was entertaining this feeling that he objected to Government money being spent in sending a paid emissary to get up a counter petition to the petition for Separation, and to other steps taken in the same matter; but he was no advocate of Separation. Another matter upon which he had voted was the reduction of the number of members of the Provincial Council. These matters he mentioned to show that, generally, he had supported in the Council the interests of the West Coast. There was, perhaps, one other matter in which they felt interested. Next to the goldfields, there could be nothing more locally important than the development of the coal-mines. They would, of course, be aware that use had been made of them to 'bolster up the railway scheme. He had moved in the Council" That this Council regrets that the Superintendent has not thought it expedient to frame the conditions of lease so as to induce some company to undertake the development ot valuable property." That was the best he could do. It was not then carried, but it was afterwards, and the Brunner coal mine, which was under consideration, was withdrawn from the conditions under which it was proposed to place it. He did not think there would be any harm in handing it over to any company, hut he should prefer seeing it, if possible, in the hands of a local company. This

applied equally to the Mount Rochfort coalfield ; ancl, if elected, he would do his best, after consulting with the Council, to endeavor to develope that mine—to assist any company by removing any restrictions to its being worked; and he thought it would be also wise if the not too well-employed Survey Staff were to do something towards the survey of the proposed railway line. But, in such a matter, too much must not be expected of a Superintendent. It was to the members of the Council that they should especially look, and he hoped they would do so—that after electing a Superintendent, they would elect members who would support him; for, unless there was unanimity there was very little good likely to result from the exertions of either of them. There was one more matter to which he might refer the protection of the Buller banks. He had voted for £3OOO being spent on that work. He had hoped the Provincial revenue would admit of that amount being spent, and he thought the expense need not be so excessive as the Engineer had calculated. He would not say he would propose an expenditure of £15,000 or £20,000; he did not think that such an expenditure would be desirable in the present state of the Province; but, if the money could be got together, ho thought the lesser stun might be well spent. He concluded by suggesting that the preferable way for the meeting to elicit his views would be to put questions to him as freely as they chose, and by expressing his readiness to answer them at least frankly and fully, if ho could not do so altogether to their satisfaction. Mr Wiitte asked the candidate what were his prospects of election in the Nelson part of the Province. Mr Gibbs : By such a question you place me in a very delicate position. It is just asking me to pit my truthfulness against that of a candidate who has lately seen and addressed you; and there is no use disguisiug the tact that that gentleman told you that he had a very large amount of support—that I had none at all scarcely.—(Cries of " No," " Yes," and " Order.") In the country districts I may say that I have the support of, at least, two-thirds of the electors, and I am not speaking only from my own knowledge, but from the knowledge obtained by my friends. In Nelson I presume there is very little doubt that your present Superintendent will have a majority. The remainder, I believe, will be about equally divided between Mr Akersten and myself. If anyone knows the districts, I will enumerate them, but it is hardly necessary, I think. A Voice : Will you pledge yourself not to resign in favor of Mr Curtis ? Mr Gibbs : I will not resign in favor of Mr Curtis. Most decidedly I will not.—(" Hear, hear," and " Good on you, old Flick.") Mr Wiitte : la Mr Gibbs willing to resign in favor of Mr Akersten's claims? Mr Gibbs : No, Sir. But I must not be so curt. My reason for saying so is that, after the very large promise of support of which I have just told you, I would not be doing justice to my supporters if I were to resign in favor of either candidate. (Hear, hear.) Mr Alcorn : I should like to ask what proportion the country districts bear to Nelson. Mr Gibbs : Without an electoral roll I am scarcely in a position to answer correctly. I thiuk thero are about 700 or SOO in the city, and the total electoral roll, exclusive of the West Coast, is 2UOO. The city of Nelson will bear about the proportion of a third to the other districts. I state that from recollection. The Chairman (Mr Pitt) asked if any more questions suggested themselves to the meeting. Mr Gibbs : I hope wo havo not exhausted the subject. There is a matter which I notice I have omitted, and it is a question of considerable importance to the Province generally. Tho present Superintendent, and he is not singular in his opinion, thinks it preferable that the Superintendent should have a seat in the General Assembly. I am one of those who doubt the value of that. I am one of those who think that three months spent out of the Province is a loss rather than a gain. I think they would be better spent at home in the service of the Province. There is just this question to cousider. The Superintendents of other Provinces are in the Assembly. Therefore this Province would be placed at some disadvantage if it were not also represented. The present Superintendent has said that, if the Superintendent were not returned, it would militate against the Province, but for the present it is simply a question of one session, and should I be Superintendent, I should endeavor to give way to the wishes of the people, if they were desirous of letting the Superintendent be three months away. Of course he would be in the way of gaining information, and would be recognised by the Ministry, but a special trip or an interview would be better than taking tho part which ourjpresent Superintendent does. A Voice : What about surveys ? Mr Gibbs : What about what surveys? The Voice : Any survey in the Province.—(Laughter.) Mr Gibbs : I think you must put your question in a more distinct shape. I am obtuse, I am afraid. Another Voice : What about shandy-gaff ? Mr Gibbs : Ah, there I can answer

you. A very good thing in its way.— (A Voice: "Have a bee-aw." Laughter.) A Voice : Do you tbink it would be better to bring the Mount Rochfort coal to this port or to the port of Nelson ? Mr Gibbs : There can be no question about it. I think the probability of bringing the coal to Nelson by rail is verj remote; and it is possible bycareful search and survey that the coal deposits will be found to exist still nearer Westport than is at present ascertained. Mr Fraser, amid some interruptions, put a number of questions about the Brunner coalmine, which were answered by the candidate. Mr Alcorn moved " That Mr G-ibbs is, in the opinion of the meeting, a fit and proper person to be Superintendent." Mr H/CMPIIREY. seconded the motion, and it was unanimously carried. Mr Gibbs thanked the meeting, and the meeting thanked the Chairman.

PUBLIC MEETING. A public meeting was held at the Empire Hotel on Monday evening, convened by Mr Munro, mover of the adjournment at the public meeting held on the 20th instant. The business of the meeting, as announced by placard, was " to decide if concerted action was desirable, and to ascertain which of the candidates should receive the undivided support of the electors in the district." Mr Muheo proposed that Mr William Pitt take the chair. It was only fair to say that Mr Pitt took a neutral part, so far as the object of the meeting was concerned. But as Mr Pitt had conducted the two former meetings he thought it would bo better if Mr Pitt took the chair now. This being carried, Mr Pitt took the chair. He said that, as had been observed, he was reluctant to take the chair. First of all, he was not disposed to favor either of tho candidates who had addressed them He might not agree in all things with Mr Curtis, but he said openly that he did not approve of either of his opponents. He said this in order to set himself right with the meeting, and because he wished not to sail under false colors. A programme had been prepared and certain resolutions would be proposed. The meeting, no doubt, would be divided, but it was hardly necessary to ask that the various speakers should receive an impartial and patient hearing. Mr Pitt then called upon Mr Munro to propose the first resolution. Mr Munro, in moving the first resolution, commented at some length on the reasons why the West Coast should go in with heart and will to oust Mr Curtis. He contended thai no part of any province in New Zealaai had beeu so much neglected as the doufh-West Goklfields had been by the late Superintendent and his Executive. The necessity for some change was becoming daily more apparent, and it was truly humiliating to see deputations waiting on the District Engineer respecting the outlay of £SO or £IOO for some work, and receiving the usual reply—"that their application would be recommended," and probably a reply would be received in November. He could see no good work done, or any judicious expenditure of money on the Coast for several years past, and he brought forward arguments to show bow injurious and objectionable to the Coast had been the the policy of the present Government. He did not doubt the uuanimitv of the meeting on the first point, which was, that Mr Curtis was the common foe, and it was the duty of the electors, in deciding upon which of the opponents they should elect, to sacrifice all preference and feeling in the matter, and vote in a body for the one opponent who, in the opinion of the majority of the electors, had most chance of success in Nelson and the country districts. He moved " That it is the opinion of this meeting, that concerted action be adopted by the electors in the Nelson South- West Goldficlds at the approaching election for Superintendent, in order that the present Superintendent, Mr Oswald Curtis, be not re-elected to that office." Mr HuiipitßET seconded the resolution, which was unanimously carried. Mr Neale, from Charleston, stated that tho electors having now heard the two candidates, Messrs Akersten and Gibbs, it was the desire of the Charleston electors to go hand in hand with the Westport electors in the matter, and with the view of attaining that object, he had been deputed to attend the meeting on the part of Charleston and to proceed to Nelson with any other gentleman whom tho Westport electors might appoint, in order to ascertain the feeling there, and to learn more satisfactorily which of the two candidates had the best chance of success. Mr Sunley desired to know how such a deputation would be any wiser—whose information they would receive and believe ; and what better the electors would be by such a course being adopted ? Mr Neale : They could lend their ear to every man. Mr Stjnlet : A very unsatisfactory way, I'm afraid. Mr Alcorn thought there was scarcely sufficient time for such being properly carried out. He believed that Mr Akersten had no chance of gaining the present election, even if every vote on the Coast were to be recorded for him. He then read telegrams and letters on the subject. He

believed Mr G-ibbs would have twothirds of the country votes. Mr O'Conob: Might I ask Mr Alcorn if he is giving us prophecy or what ? Mr Aicobn said that part of his information he received from Mr O'Conor. He (Mr Alcorn) believed that over GOO votes would have to be recorded before they could oust Mr Curtis. Ho saw no chance of Mr Akersten getting that number, but there was a chance of Mr Gibbs receiving nearly that number without the West Coast. He also referred to Mr M'Dowell's letter to him, which had been written from persoual knowledge. He had drawn attention to the fact that all Mr Abersten's telegrams pointed out that any division on the Coast would be fatal, whereas Mr Gibbs's friends were of opinion that anything like a majority on the Coast for Mr Gibbs made it a matter of certainty. On the Caledonian and other terraces several electors were already pledged to Mr Gibbs. The resolution he, therefore, had to propose was, il That in order to effect the object contemplated by the foregoing resolution, the electors on the South-West Goldfields be recommended to support the candidature of Mr Gibbs." Mr Whtte, in seconding this motion, said that Mr Akersten appeared to him as having come to the Coast with "no visible means of support." He (Mr Akersten) had said he was independent of the salary, and did not covet the honor. What, then, did he seek ? He (Mr Whyte) did not believe in such disclaiming of honor and pay. The electors did not expect it of any candidate. In reference to Mr Gibbs, it might be said he did not, like his opponent, promise everything. There was an amount of caution to be admired in Mr Gibbs's replies and promises. He had the reputation of being a hard-working and honest member of the Provincial Council for years, and from the arguments adduced by Mr Alcorn, it would be a great injustice to themselves if the electors on the Coast were to vote otherwise than for Mr G-ibbs. Mi'Mukho moved an amendment, " That the name of Mr Akersten be substituted in place of that of Mr Gibbs." He might be allowed to state that he rose in no spirit of opposition. —(Cries of " Oh ! oh!") It had been industriously circulated that there were two parties on the Coast, in the matter of the present election. He could see no reason for any division of opinion or feeling on the subject. For his part, ho was willing to abide by the voice of the meeting as to which way he should act. He was, however, disposed to question the weight of the proof attempted to be shown by Mr Alcorn in favor of Mr Gibbs. Mr Luckie, it t was known, had perseveringly circuited his private reports in that Mr Gibbs's chance of the election was much greater than that of Mr Akersten's, but the paper of which that gentleman was editor had in no way declared itself in favor of either. It was a remarkable thing to him to see private telegrams from that quarter when the Colonist was perfectly silent on the matter. Mr M'Dowell again had sent a host of circulars introducing Mr Gibbs. It must be remembered that Mr M'Dowell left Westport on the 17th of the month, and the circulars were dated the ISth, not leaving much time for that gentleman to have formed his conclusions, as had been stated, from personal enquiry and knowledge. Mr Rowlands received a letter from Mr Wilkie, who, he believed, was the Chairman of Mr Gibbs's Committee, but such letters and telegrams should be viewed very guardedly if not suspiciously. He had also a few telegrams on the subject. i Mr Patterson : Are they any beter than the others ? ! Mr Muneo could not say whether they are better or worse. They were from respectable citizens of Nelson. Mr Levien says, " The return of Mr Akersten certain." Mr Wright—(A voice: "Eowlauds's friend") —says the same thing. He (Mr Munro) contended that neither of the candidates were very desirable, but one or other should have all the West Coast votes. Mr Simpson seconded the amendment. Mr O'Conoe spoke against both resolution and amendment. He considered neither of the speakers had given sufficient tangible proofs, but had merely read the guesses of partizans. Charleston had adopted to, his mind, the right course. It would be a pitiable thiug to see the Coast, through the present diversity of opinion, he the means of returning Mr Curtis to office. He thought a committee should be appointed to co-ope-rate with Charleston. He regretted his proposition was not in accordance with the programme of which the Chairman spoke. He, however, moved " That an election committee be appointed to glean information, and act with the Charleston Committee for the guidance of the electors, such committee to consist of Messrs Alcorn, Whyte, Munro, Simpson, Powell, R. C. Beid, Shealian, Field, and the mover ; and that such committee meet at once." Mr A. Brown seconded the proposition, which was carried.