MR COX ON SEPARATION. (Concluded from our last issue.)

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 666, 19 September 1876, Page 2

MR COX ON SEPARATION. (Concluded from our last issue.)

A member on tbe Opposition aid* of tbe liouM bu quoted Lord Carnarvon* despatch drawing attention to that p»rt of it whcrehe.«?cpre«sei a hop* that tbe abolition of tb« province! will reaiixa lot" result* anticipate!. Such a result is already realized, for have we not the adioisaton of my honoraole friend the me mix; r for Waikato, who apok* so fully and so fatrly ou the question, tbat abolition wm a aecessity aud is a fact ; and hare we not further the fact of the resolutions ?— for they imply abolition, in asisnch as they ar«» framed ou th* basu of abolition. A* we are i-n tbe »ulj ct of looil government so called, aud h*ve had ••'Wo refer«no« to the h >norableni*in> b*r far Wai It » to' t resolutions, 1 aball say a few word* on th# prop m tiou to mak* th* Lvi 1 Fund colouial or (Jon>olidated Kevunue. VVheu the resoiutons were bt-f<>rs tv« Hotue I d<d not apeak, bat, had I *p -ken, what 1 should hay* waid is th * : tbat part and parocl of tb* AlHjhtion propotal* of last session w»s localisation of the Land fuud. I h*d f»r ions year* of my life, while a resident in 8 >uth Canterbury, fought the fi^bt of oitljing distriots against the Provincial Government. What we from y«»r to year demande* was that we should be substantially endowed with a share of thit revenue, on the grouni ihitisbe* longed not so moon to the province a* to ttie people who in fact oraatw it— thai on no other grounds was it just or politic to make them pay mch a high prioe for thjir land— tbat in payiug £t an acre forjtheir land they were in fact voluntarily tajti ig themselves for certain definite and specified purposes. And why I | ooald not vote for the resolution* of uiy honorab'e fri«nd waa that, in the first place, th«y ' were incomplete, making no provision for the undoubted rights of the land-buyers, and ignoring, as they did, the ditferenoea tbat exist through thi colony in the system of land law*. To ad')|.t the resolutions at any time will involve the oeceeaity of a uniform system of selliog y>ur land*. But one word more on the qu**tion of handio*: over to one portion of tft* oolony the charge o) Native affair*, Have we already %** gott«n whai waa "aid when tbe respuaii* bility of Native affairs waa put upon at 1 -i >r that in the waj to apeak of i . The colony at one time destr»l this ; then they objVct/'d ; and, fiaally, the Duk«of Newcastle wrote out and said, ",It ia no longer a mttter for you to determine ; it has be«n resolved 'h^tyoa take over the charge of Native affairs," in p]»i a Bogliah whether you like it or not ; and thus and then it was given tojie, tbe only reservation being that "the rights and privileges of the Natives seonred to them by tbe Treaty of WaiUngi ahould be respect* I. lam not qaite snre whether the|H<me Grov*raa>«aft woili not l>a c loqamhing to aay to this, it we handed over to the pravjnosa the oontrol and responsibility of Native •ffaira. We have beard a good de)»f of ledeMtion • «nd one thing, and oae alono, to mind ia plain, and that is that .koaorable mesa, bera mean not the saae tbiag* PMapeakn of < federation of piovin^ wothw of States, aaother of colonies. For instance, the honorable member forDuuedio Mr Larnaoh, sprak. of Australia - that, whereas it waa once one.colooy, is Eye. last so ; bnt then they are .bio. lutely independent oae of another™ have . relation ». the Kmpire but le relation to each other. But tbatia nni J>» Con.timtio,, offers toj. W.' 2 told of diff renoea of olitnat* and of soil and of people; that meu With suoh diff«-ent viewa had better be cep< Apart • aud that legialacioQ . wou'd go «n mor< pro.D«ren«ly if we W a Go V rnment for the North, and » OoverooMnt for tbe -oath/ X rah r think, Sir. that these diffVenoes wjll rd»a!» in good to the colony «. a whole - the <U,«us*ioni o*rh*.l -jabf men , qn.,i,'o.a will.be more uom »l,.t#, out* thoreu^h. thait fli.^aaionf oarriefl onby««^7on wly of tbis Houw. Ban- this ConStut-

ion, to secure looal provide! that Otago and Canterbury should meet at Cbristoberob to carry on their legislation. And what should thsy then »e<- ? AS gh» at the rerr eotset for precedent b.U Ma those tiro wealthy and important provinces. What did we hw only the other sight in debftM opon this) queetioß ! Tbe honorable mhms-.r for the Taieri, speaking with prid., Mid pardoneb'e pride, of bit province— that hs loved it with a frit lore, th.t it wu to him d«»rer than .11 others pat to* gether, and that in ,hor- it was the premier provisos of New Zetland. And then we had one of the mem Here for Obristchurob declaring as ferrent'y that to him Canterbury waa more than any othar province in S.w Z«alaod, ami that he wu proud to belong to the premier proT.no. of th« colony. Ie not this • fair illustration of what woald likaly happen at the vary, feet meeting of this little ; AMMblr hi Chrwtchureh t Canterbury and- Qtsgo, throned their represeatatsves, bad better eoaae to a Lcfislaterc where they will for* with other* a nnited "happy family," contaellrsl br a pewer outside of th ir»elv«e, aadfctogi her*aha?iaain>theworkof the ec#oojr k1 *»T*Hi,Sir,i»r»f«re«oeto . - reawkt U thte.'lunkorabla .qMaber.fetf -. Timejpr »"te*bi»>e«anaotiM with -the)' <oonatitw vofntyßmu^, Hssaitthathe < reprtaea ad ;tbemi» eh. else* ** ha iad of tc* #*gr*«ed i» *«<pee« +> looat gotm^eat ; l»k he. Migbt.J|ave adtaA .eqm.thmg that would ta.. Ue« |»»* K 4 to the purpoK, and whioh w<»ld ha«« 'wi 11 '* prfntt action. I daim to be an authority in giripg »vjd«<io« npo* thie pmot, aa Iwm one of - thre* or fo9t«f 09t « who, m tba first- iuatanae,' arnt him a requisition to atand for thu.duiriot; but the retain we gar* for ashipg hh* to rejrfei.nt tbe diatrict. were, that, while holdiDg to tbe neeeuity of procuring * non i political form of local voe-nment. be h^ld atr ngly th^ ri.w that the .pity of the colony »hould be^preeerTed. And I wouH add for mjr^lf, . n d fchoae otb'era that had he held other ri.wi ia re2rf?a the n ,ity of the colony, he would nfe at tb.ii 4«y be repte*eut>ng theimpoT tant con«t)tueocy of Timaru. And tbeaa rcaolutiona nxpresa the naae thine :httk the " aaity" t« « noT elty, and tbe foclh of local goTemnwnt" u ctrtaioly, J» . Weihogton, Taranaki, Bawke'« B»y,aa>> the outlyihg parte of the ProT&oeJ^ Auckland a eham. And now, ilr, anally, I do desire to refer to certain telegrami reoeired from my conititoeoU in Waikato; Ido >o the m 9 re readily becauae th-y are opposed to the tiow» that I have Azpresaed to-night on the general qtmtfon. a«nerally, theee tele* grami state that they are in favour of Sir George Grey'e S«peration r.aolutioni ; and the local p. par elates alw> that separation, on the terms act oat in the resolutions, is in their opinion in the in'crcst of the North, and the writer hopes I ahall sec my way to aanport them. I will not say that I am who«r surprised %t tbe line thus taken, but I may with all tr«th say tbi« ; that in a prolonged election contest, whioh inrolr«d a peraonal nsit to each csntre of population throughout the district, this q lection of separation was diecmssed, or, rather, 1 should say re/orsd to and not discussed inasmuch ac men from all sides of the country were of one mind in reepeot to it. That, and the question of abolition, the elector* of. Waikato were of ou« mind upon : and my op»j>onent who, on personal grounds, well.ntfh beat me in the contact, had no other view unon those questions than those I have givea ezpre son to. A story might perhaps be told how eon. stttnincies are manipulated in these tnlegraphio times ; bntl will not trespass upon the time of the House to go into the particulars (f such proceedings. I will only say that man occupying a«a& in thi* Houae lnght be lwt>r employed than endi-avouriug to pat snob pressure on their fe!low*represcatative«. It in a coarse form of tyranny, and I think ia only a few mstanc a will auccead. Sir, the relation I stand in towards my conatitneots >s this : I realize, or desire to realize. th*t I|am their representative, by whioh 1 und«rttand that it i» my duty to them to atate tbair views before this Hou«e, whether agreeing J» ith th mor not, and my du»y to myaelf te azercise my own judgment upon all qu.-etione that come before as. If lam in accord with tkem, 1 am pleased : if oppoaed to them on such an important qatstiotk as the prc»enr, I oaaoot h<-lp t. The views that 1 hold on thia guff ion are no new ones. I held them ten 'years ago ; ant) 1 1 e!d aid expres«et th*m not manymonthe » ago at mf e'ection. How it •' happens that my friaods in so short • space of time shoal d have adopted the* opposite view, it in not for sne to say. They hare appartat'y by instinct arrived at a oooc'oson whioh they in this Hones have only s*en their way to after two or tbr«e weeks' discussion. Tnat there can be no difference of opinion as to what has got hold of the publio mind u to the exact meaning of this long-debatod word " separation :" we have only to rrfor to the nowsp«p»r telegrams all ov«r New Zealand, to ••Hansard," and to the resolatioee passed at pnblio meatioge ia and around the city of Auckland, They Mian, " separation" full and oomplete. llany men in tbis House now voting for Mia resolutions mean the same thing. I, Bi»£r mean to vote against them. Sir, I baa " the honor, in days gone by, to represent a southern constituency : I am equally' proud no* of representing a district in tbe Noith, and I shall be r*>ady to ftv» proof of the eitHwricy of say attachment, if a proper opportunity i« affurdad m« ; but I want to hear the ca«e of Auokland stated a little more definitely than nnde* the heading of the wrongs of Auckland:' and the rights of humanity. Let my honorable friend froaj Waikafco pr or* to me that Auckland has ' been treated ezceptionally ill, or that, wben in extremity, a hard bargin has been driven with ner,*nd it will be seen quickly and unmtatekabty that I am sufficiently alive to my own material interests te join with A Oakland men in demaniint Aackland'a due.