The Westport Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1874.

Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1223, 27 October 1874, Page 2

The Westport Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1874.

Telegrams received from Nelson intimating that a meeting had been convened to discuss the working of the Executive Act has aroused much attention on the Coast. • Nelson files now furnish particulars, which for the benefit of our readers are here sum* marised. A petition signed by 217 persons was presented to the Superintendent, asking him to convene a public meeting to consider the advisability of calling together the Provincial Council to discuss this working of the Executive Act. It read thus: —"We the undersigned, inhabitants of the province of Nelson, being dissatisfied with the present administration of the affairs of the province, respectfully request that your Honor will summon a special meeting of the Provincial Council, to consider the working of the existing Executive Government Act." Exception was taken to the precise bearing of this request, and the Kelson Radical Reform League, the outcome of an Election Committee formed during the late Huperintendency contest, passed resolutions at a crowded meeting, "That in the opinion of this meeting there is not the slightest necessity at the present time to incnr the expense of calling the Provincial Council together." * * * * * "That this meeting is of opinion that the most satisfactory course to the public would be to request the Superintendent to call a public meeting, and that the members of the Executive be invited to attend, when they will in all probability do or say something that may dispel the dissatisfaction spoken of in the petition now going round the town and country." From this resulted a counter memorial to the Superintendent, of which the fol.owing is the text: —"We, the undersigned inhabitants of the city of Nelson, respectfully request your Honor to convene a public meeting immediately to consider the proposed calling together of the Provincial Council, and further, invite the members of the Executive to attend so that the meeting may have an opportunity of learning from them the true state of the working of the Executive Act " To this his Honor made reply, "The Provincial IT sill shall be at the disposal of the inhabitants for the discussion of that or any other public matter, but I must decline to take any parr, in convening a meeling for the purpose of considering the expediency of summoning the Provincial Council to explain or defend their action, for which they are responsible to the Provincial Council, by whom, practically, they are appointed in the present state of the law, and by whose confidence they hold office." The meeting was held, out the Superintendent did not attend, and resolutions were carried against calling the Provincial Council together, a* d also expressing confidence in the Executive. Opinions as to how that Special meeting was "engineered" are conflicting. At the meeting a Mr .Richmond took the chiir, and expressed satisfaction that the " responsible advisers" of the Superintendent were present. Mr Levistam, in moving a resolution, " That in the opinion of this meeting it is undesirable to urge upon the Superintendent, either by memorial or otherwise, the necessity of convening a special meeting of the Provincial Council." said lie thought that tho Superintendent, who sho dd be best acquainted with the proceedings of tho J xecutive, might sale!}' be lelt to summon the Council if he considered it necessary. Some peopleheld the opinion, which \lr Curas seemed to foster, that the Superintendent was thoroughly irresponsible, and that he occupied a position analagous to that of the Governor, but this was absurd, as the former was elected by the people to watch their interests, while !

the latter was appointed by the Queen. Mr Thos. Harloy, avowing himself as one of the promoters of the Reform Legue foreswore his allegiance thereto, and also to the Provincial Treasurer and Secretory of whom erstwhile he had been one of the stauuehest supporters. He proposed a resolution " That the actions of the Executive Government are condemnatory for the public good, and it is tho duty of the citizens who hold any stake in the country to protest against their proceedings, aa no public man is safe while they are in office." There was customary noise and confusion and the amendment was not seconded. Mr A. Pitt as representative of the town of Nelson next said ho did not admit tho right of an} r one constituency in the Province to question the actions of tho Executive and notwithstanding charges made he could prove that never had the Provincial Government been carried on more efficiently than under the present regime. " Tt had been assorted that Mr O'Conor was the ruling spirit cf the Executive, and that the others had nothing to say in the management of affairs, but he would wish to frtate that quite the contrary was the case, that in all matters of moment, Mr O'Conor took the advice of his colleagues, and that he (Mr Pitt) had on more than one occasion had cause to complain that he was consulted too much. No reasons whatever were given for the desire to summon the Council, hut it must have arisen from recent events. On one of these matters judicial proceedings were still pending, while as to the statement that the proposed removal of the clerk to the Superintendent was connected with the evidence given by him in Court, he would simply say that it was absolutely untrue." Mr Rout corroborated ali that Mr Pitt averred. Mr O'Conor spoke at length and expressed mauy familiar sentiments. He had been slandered by the Press. In the course of his life he had been much abused, but never so much as of late. " Some papers in the province were utterly unscrupulous, and did not hesitate to make use of ' scintillations ' of information that reached them "which they had no business to know." The reform that the Executive had taken in hand was sure to create dissatisfaction, but it was absolutely requisite, and evidence was daily accumulating which showed the necessity for the change that had taken place." Reforms and reductions in expenditure were progressing in spite of adverse influence, lie was opposed to calling the Council together, as it was unnecessary and expensive, and would for two or three mouths prevent the Executive from doing their proper work. It was only just that the new order of things should be allowed a fair trial before condemning it. He denied as as " a gross insult to the intelligence of the community" that Mr Hodgson's purposed removal from the Superintendent's office had any connection with the evidence ho had given in the case Knyvett v. O'Conor." "It had been said that all the money was to bo spent on the other side of the ranges because he was a AVest Coast member, but such was not the case, and the Executive had agreed to look upon the Province as a whole, and not to favor one portion at the expense of another. He was convinced that the state of things that existed six months ago would never return, unpeople did not go back now-a-days, and when everything came out, as it would, in the next Council, there would be a sense of reliof that a change had been brought about." Referring to the Butler road he stated that arrangements had been made which would result in its being carried through both to Wcstport and Greymouth. Another work of great importance was to bo undertaken, namely, the location of immigrants, and the Government intended to establish a settlement on the Coast between Nelson and the Buller. The first resolution was carried. A Mr JohnGrafiam then proposed, "That the hearty thanks of this meeting be given to tho members of the Executive Council who have addressed us this evening, for the exceedingly satisfactory way in which they have explained their action in the Executive, which this meeting recognises as an act of courtesy on their part ; and further, that this meeting has entire confidence in them." Mr Gibson seconded the motion, which was carried. Mr T. Ilarlcy moved an amendment, " That if is expedient the Council should be called together to take into consideration the action of the Provincial Government; the'present Executive, in the opinion of this meeting, being no better than they should be." Mr Atkinson seconded tho amendment. Mr Levien would like to move a further amendment "That the mover and seconder be the two first inmates of the new Lunatic Asylum." Mr Atkinson summed up the situation briefly. •' It appeared to him" he said, " that whenever there was a decided majority at a Nelson meeting the minority invariably went away with their tails between their legs. He did not believe in that at all. He had never taken any very active part in Nelson politics, but he would say, if a man had an opinion let him stick to it, and not be afraid of expressing it or his reasons for holding it. Mr Graham's resolution would he carried almost unanimously, although he felt sure if a ballot were taken there would at least be found to be a very large minority. Ho would recommend them to hold up their hands on v> hichover side they voted without fear.

Ho was delighted to find that tho Executive were so happy a family, and as unanimous as Jonah and tho whale, aud had been very glad to hear tho reasons they had given for not having done anything yet, and for what they were going to do in tho future. He was not sure after all that it would not bo the wisest plan to unite with their friends in serving out to them plenty of rope, as it would be perhaps the means of saving trouble." The meeting appears to have closed abruptly.