THE GENERAL ELECTIONS.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 769, 28 January 1871, Page 2

THE GENERAL ELECTIONS.

MR. O'CONOR'S MEETING AT WESTPORT.

Mr O'Conor addressed the Westport electors on Thursday evening at the old Auction Mart, Molesworth street. At eight o'clock, the hour announced for the opening of the meeting a number had assembled, but some difficulty arose in obtaining a chairman. Mr Sontgen was proposed and seconded but declined. Mr Tardley was then proposed but also declined, saying that it was not impossible that he should be in the field himself. Mr O'Conor stated that circumstance need not prevent Mr Yardley. The latter gentleman thought otherwise, and said that he preferred to candidly state his objection. Mr O'Conor stated that he was prepared to address them as soon as the meeting elected a chairman, Mr Fisher was proposed, but declined. There were repeated calls for Mr Fisher who stated that he positively declined to act as chairman. Mr O'Conor had stated that there were only two persons in Westport fit to occupy the chair at a meeting—Mr Pitt and MrMunro, and Mr O'Conor had said that he would as soon have the devil as Mr Pitt, and because Mr Munro was absent he (Mr Fisher) would not consent to act as a stop-gap. Mr O'Conor replied that Mr Fisher was very much mistaken if he thought he (Mr o*Conor) was afraid of Mr Fisher or Mr Pitt; or any other of his clasd. At this juncture Mr Munro arrived and took the chair, and having apologised for the delay, proceeded to introduce Mr O'Conor to the meeting. He thought it a very proper course for a candidate to explain to the constituents the line of action he proposed to pursue, if returned. He had feared that neither candidate would address them beiore the nomination, and the electors had no redress if, the choice of candidates boinsr limited to two, they " knocked out" and came to an understanding. Mr O'Conor had, however, been the first to come forward and address them, although last in the field, and he trusted he would receive a fair and impartial hearing.

Mr 6'Conou said that before entering upon an explanation of the views upon which he ba ; ed his claim as a candidate, he desired to explain the circumstances under which he had been induced to come before the constituency. He came forward very reluctantly indeed, and it was only after looking round in every quarter, in order to find one who would oppose Mr Donne, and after failing in his object, that he decided himself to contest the election. He had strongly urged Mr Kynnersley to again come forward, and had so acted by the desire of a number of the electors, but there was no possibility of getting Mr Kynnersley or others, and that was'the reason he was before them. He might not be so able as many upon whom their choice might fall, but he had the time and will to advocate the cause he had always advocated. They might not think much of the choice of candidates. (Hear, hear.) He was aware that there were a few persons present who opposed him, not on political grounds, but from mere prejudice and personal motives. Hecouldjoulysay that he held this class in such utter contempt that lie would regard it as a humiliation and disgrace to receive their support. It was the working classes that he desired to represent, and he would cast the other class where tbey should be—in total neglect. He would now address himself to the Financial Scheme of the present Ministry. The Westport Times had made him out to say, at Charleston, that he was opposed to loans, and opposed to protection. He was neither one nor the other. It would have been ridiculous for him to have been opposed to obtaining money by loans, seeing that the revenue was insufficient, and that there were roads and other reproductive works awaiting construction which would greatly increase the prosperity of the colony. But he should object to see the money borrowed and expended as a huge bribe to one class to the prejudice of another class. He regretted that the machinery of Government was not such as they could place confidence, in and he should hesitate to invest the present Ministry with the power to control immense sums of money, as he had no confidence in them, and he believed that the money would be squandered, while upon the mining communities would fall the chief burden of paying off interest and sinking l fund. Neither did he agree with the railway system contained in the public works' scheme of the Government. He would classify the scheme under three heads. The North Island railway, the line from Picton to Dunedin, and lastly the line from Nelson to llokitika. He was altogether opposed to railways in the North Island, firstly, that these were not necessary as the purpose would be much more effectually attained by means of good military roads, and secondly, that the country was of such extent so totally unsettled that the expense of constructing railways would be frightful. The debt would be overwhelming before the slightest benefit could have been gained. And he was equally opposed to a line of railway from Pict< nt) Dunedin. He regarded it as a huge bribe, tendered to the pastoral interests of the country to secure their support for the present Ministry. The railway would run along the sea coast and through property held by private capitalists and squatters in Canterbury and the other Pro-

vinces. There was one gentleman, Mr liobinsou of Amuri, and be believed the proposed railway would pass for twenty miles through bis property, and yet, although that would so greatly increase its value, ho was not asked to contribute in any way to the cost of the line. That burden was cast upon them ; it was the miner who had to pay for all. He was in favor of short lines of railway where really required, and he thought that land should be reserved for such a purpose. As for the line from Nelson to Hokitika, he simply considered the idea absurd, and as they bad already held meetings relating to the subject, when public opinion had been always unanimously recorded against it, he did not believe it was necessary for him to say anything upon the matter. AH they required was a road to drive a few cattle and sheep along, and for that no railway was required. They had nothing to get from Nelson, as the people there were not able to feed themselves. With respect to the increased customs tariff, which it was proposed to introduce, be regarded with the utmost indignation the attempt to increase the burdens of the working classes, while at the same time concussions were being made to the agricultural and pastoral interests by releasing fencing wire, sheep farms, &c, from duty, and levying it upon bacon, oats, flour, &c. Such an attempt would have produced a revolution in another country. He could support no protective policy that had for its object the raising of the prices of bread; he would be in favor of free trade in breadstuff's. He was in favor of protecting native industries, so long as'they could be encouraged to secure the benefit of ail, and without injuring any other interests. Mr Sheahak" : Let the speaker mention the industry that he would propose to protect. Mr O'Coxoit stated that be held the man who put that question in such contempt, that he would not reply to that question or any other that he might put. He proceeded to state that he thoroughly endorsed the scheme for supplying water to the goldfields. That was an absolute necessity At Charleston, Brighton, and Addison's, immense benefits could be secured by obtaining for these goldfields a permanent water supply. It would pay any private company very handsomely to divert the waters of the Nile river to the Pakihis around Charleston, and the Totara river to the Pakihis at Waite's and Addison's. It would be a fortune to anyone, but ouly large capitalists could engage in such a work. He did not believe that in the whole of JN'ew Zealand, there were districts more greatly requiring the aid of the Government to develop them into unexampled richness. But while he approved of the scheme as a good and proper one, he feared that their share of the money would be very small indeed. Mr Kynnersley had informed them that already £IOO,OOO had been promised to the province of Auckland, and such an outrageous subversion of a valuable vote brought him to the subject of representation. It -was impossible for the goldfields to obtain that consideration they merited, so long as the remaining districts of the Colony returned a member to the Assembly for every five or six hundred persons, while the goldfields returned but one member to represent as many thousands. He was in favor of manhood suffrage, and a redistribution of the seats in the Assembly. It was monstrousthat the pioneers and the producers of the country should be virtually ignored, and he hoped that when the struggle did come they -would assist their representative by associaing themselves and enforcing their rights. They possessed the power, but they had not the will. He hoped, however, before any great change took place the tottering fabric of Provincialism would have fallen. A second system of Government was utterly useless, and unnecessarily costly in its present form, while so many legislative bodies wereenactinglaws that they continually clashed with one another. Of all the provinces, he thought Nelson possessed the worst government. They were actuated by a selfish, grasping policy. Those in favor of provincial institutions cited Otago and Canterbury as instances of communities that had flourished under the institution of Provincialism, but so far as the Nelson Province was concerned, and more especially its goldfields, Provincialism had not in any way benefited the community, but had greatly retarded their progress. He was in favor of a reduction in the fee for a miner's right, and the total abolition of the gold duty. The miners were overtaxed, while other people pain nothing to the expenses of government. There were landed proprietors in England who hold immense estates, and who paid nothing while the miner contributed to the Colony at the rate of £BO a head. With respect to the Maori policy, he would like to see the Government act stringently, but justly ; the settlers must be protected, at the same time the natives must also be protected. If the latter perpetrated any further outrages he hoped that the Government would be sufficiently strong to suppress them. He thought the Government in gran ting ammunition and stores.thus adopting a sugar policy, had hit upon the wrong policy. They should show them they had the upper hand, and were masters of the situation. That could be best accomplished by immigration, but to get immigration they must have better land laws. So long as the land was ' let in large blocks to capitalists, the

small farmer had no chance to compete for the land, and the settlements were consequently few and far between. In touching upon railways he had omitted to state that he thought it very desirable that the coal deposits < f the Colony should be connected by railway with the nearest port, and that the Government could not lay out their money in a more beneficial direction. The effect of cheap coal in abundance would be to do away with sailing craft; freight would bo reduced; and oats, chaff', bacon, and general produce could be brought from the agricultural districts so cheaply as to enable that industry to compete favorably with the growers in Australia. It would also lessen the necessity for railway communication in the Middle Island. He believed steam freightswere already reduced to 15s per ton from Christchurehu>l)unedin,and passenger rates were proportionately low. If coal were cheaper these rates might be further reduced, and he was quite sure that no railway could compete advantageously with easy and sufficient water communication. Mr O'Conor I devoted the remaining two-thirds of his" speech to proclaiming the inde pen'dence of his political career as a member of the Provincial Council, and the obsequious subserviency of nearly every other member of the Council, and more especially Mr Donne. He also stated that he had been misrepresented on every occasion by the Westpbrt Times, both in the Council and out of it; and even in the report of what transpired at Charleston. He did not there abuse Mr Donne. It was the reverse, Mr Donne malignantly assailed him, and although he did not think the account of the proceedings at Charleston, as given by the local paper, did him justice, he would refer to it for au account of what took place. Mr O'Conor read the report and concluded by stating his willingness to answer any questions, but intimated that he would not be questioned by people of improper character, and he asked the meeting to protect him from the assaults of such contemptible assailants. Mr Dknnisto:,-: The privilege of the. electors should bo conceded.

The GHAIBMAsr.: I suppose Mr O'Conor menus that he objects to drunken people putting questions. I hope that any questions that may be put will be asked as soon as convenient, as there appears a decided tendency on the part of some gentlemen to address the meeting, and I am sure the meeting wants to be saved the infliction of any further speeches. (Laughter).

Mr Sheahan : Is Mr O'Conor a member of the society of Freemasons ?

Mr O'Cojroit.- I am a member of a society which holds prostitution in detestation.

Mr Sueauan : Is it not a fact that Mr O'Conor has attended the services of the Protestant Church in "Westport?

Mr O'Conor : I worship the Creator when and where I choose, and I would not debar others from worshipping Him as they choose. A question was ther: put to which the Chairman objected. In his position, he said, he was perfectly neutral and impartial, but he objected to any question which only tended to enlighten the meeting as to Mr O'Conor's domestic arrangements. Mr Sheahan : Did not Mr O'Conor during the last session of the Nelson Council advocate retrenchment ; did he not, after that, vote for an addition to the [[salary of Mr Inspector Shallcrass of £SO per annum ; and is it not a fact that Mr Shallcrass exercises some control over the general management of the Provincial Orphanage at Motueka ?

Mr O'Conor: I cannot but refer to the sly, slanderous way resorted to to injure a man's character, but what can you expect from a pig but a grunt, or but filth from dirt. I supported the increase in the salary of Mr Inspector Shallcrass because he was one of the bees, not one of the drones, connected with the provincial service. Mr Shallcrass has not the care of the Orphanage at Motueka. I can provide for my own family, but unfortunately I have no children. The Chairman : I must beg of gentlemen to avoid personalities. Mr Brown desired to know whether Mr O'Conor entertained the same hostility towards Mr Sheahan when ha served him with cordials, &c. ? Another question was put, which the Chairman moved out of order, and after some delay,

Mr O'Conor moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman, in whom he had every confidence, and to whose impartiality it afforded him much pleasure to bear testimony. The meeting adjourned without ex - pressing any opinion with respect to the candidature of Mr O'Conor.