SIR GEORGE GREY.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 861, 22 December 1877, Page 1 (Supplement)

SIR GEORGE GREY.

THB RECEPTION ON THE WHARP. At 4 o'clock, on Wednesday, the Hinemoa was seen rounding the North Head, and then she came slowly up the harbour, close to the North Shore side, m order to slew round to the end of the Wharf The deck of the ship Famenoth, which lay on the opposite side of the end T, was crowded, chiefly withladies, while the rigging was covered with lads exulting m their place of vantage. A small body of police was present, under Inspector Thomson and SubInspector Pardy, and the constables had full work m keeping back the people. Amongst those present on the Wharf to receive Sir George we observed :— The Auckland repre sentatives m the Assembly, the members of the City Council and Harbour Board : also, Mr. G. M. Mitford, Mr. R. C. Dyer, Major Te Wheoro, Hori Tauroa (of Waiuku), the Rev. W. Barton, Mr. John Smith, Mr. Robert Graham, 'Mr. J. M. Shera, Mr. F. Hull (of Maugapai), Dr. Purchas, Mr. H. Kemp (Civil Commissioner), Mr. T. Cole, and Mr. W. J. Suiter. When the steamer had come near enough to enable those on the "Wharf to recognise Sir George Grey, cheering began. As soon aa the gangway had been made fast, a number of gentlemen, members of the General Assembly and of the Reception Committee, went on board, and congratulated Sir George on his return to Auckland. With Sir George were Mr. and Mrs. Seymour George, * Mr. J. C. Brown, M.H.R., Mr. Blackett, and Mr. Seed. No time was lost on board, and the Premier went on to the Wharf, leading his little grand-niece by the hand. He was received with loud cheering, which he cordially acknowledged. THE MAYOR'S ADDRESS. Arrived at the end of Queen-street, where a platform was erected, Sir George Grey was met by the Mayor and Corporation and an immense crowd, whose cheers were again and again renewed. The parapets of the houses, the windows of the hotels and places of business were crowded. Sir George Grey was conducted by the Mayor and Town Council to the platform where the address was to be read :— The cheering was sustained from the time ' the Mayor and Councillors commenced to escort him until he was face to face with the enthusiastic crowd, when there was a really most impressive demonstration, a perfect mass of people filling the street from the Wharf to Shortland-street. His Worship the Mayor read the address of the Corporation, as follows :— To the Honourable Sir Gkorge Grey, K^0.8., D.C.L , Pr.rnier of Now Ze .land. Sir,— The Mayor, Councillors, and Citiz-ms of Auckland, recognising the great services which you have rendered to the Colony, and especially to the .North Island of New Z.aland, by eff -cling the removal of a grievou-i injustice; m relation to the appropriation of revenues- arising from the Crown Lauds, hare felt that we shoul t be neglectful of our duty if your re.urn from arduous parliamentary labours were unmarked by a public manifestation of the approval with which your policy is regarded m this large aud populous di-tnet of thn colony. We feel assured that m those parts <f Now Zmland which have sufficed under ti.e influence of an inequitable Gov rnment finance — where colonisation us stagnated, or has on y attained prosperity thro lgh an extraordinary vitality superior to all disabilities— thero. must prevail feelings of listing gratitude for the ju«'t measure which you, and the gentlemen acting witb ym, have, achieved m the face of unparalleled difficulties and obs.rut_ti n. During a long and eminent care.r. close y associated w.th all tlit. vicissitudes of iliis prosperous and loyal section of Her M»jcSty'B dominions, yoa have received many mirks of esteem from the p s. p'.e of Auckland, We behove, however, that n .v-.r before was thero a more widely diffused clesi.e a-nong all classes of citizens to unite m lnuouring a coloni.l statesman or high oflicur of the i r w.i. The emblems of rejoicing which will great you on every side m our city, are* the outcome of an earne.-t wish to mark this as x,a important epoch iv th • history of New Zealand, an I to encourage you m future efforts tb lay the foundation 'of an administrative , systenvwhich will insure the welfare and c m ten tinei.t of the people. We trust that you will be long spared to carry out the measures whicli are demanded b the present circumstances of tho colony, aiid that you will reap a reward commensurate with your pairiotic selfsacrifice. Signed on b**hilf of the City Council and citizens of the city of Auckland. H. Brett, Mayor, Y. A. P-iiLiFs, Town Clerk. ■ The reading of the address was followed by renewed cheering. Sir George Grey replied as follows: — Mr. Mayor, gentlemen of the Town Council, and citizens of Auckland,— They say that out of the fullness of the beart the mouth speaketh. My heart is too full to speak to you. I cannot say what I would. I shall simply assure you that I know full well that I stand here simply as the representative of those noble men who fought the good fight with me (cheers), and that the compliment is intended for all who did their duty m the struggle which we have had. (Cheers.) I will not detain you longer now ; I shall have another opportunity of addressing you. I simply assure you on my own part, and on behalf of the friends that have worked with me, that we will do our best to serve your interests, and show our gratitude for this magnificent demonstration, which surpasses all that. I have witnessed during a long life. The conclusion of this short address was greeted with another outburst of cheering. THE MEETING AT NIGHT. At 8 o'clock an immense crowd was packed m the Theatre. The dress-circle was occupied by ladies and gentlemen. The stalls presented a compact mass of people. Even the orchestra and the passages from the entrance were filled. On the platform we observed Messrs. E.. Wood, M.H.R, W. Swanson, M.H.R., P. Dignan, M.H.LI.. H. H. Luak, M.H.R., Dr. Wallis, M.H.R,., G. A. Tole, M.H.U.. TJie oub districts were represented by the cad ing settlers.

On the motion of Mr. J. T. Boylan, seconded by Mr. Hamilton, Mr. J. M. Shera was called to the chair. The Chairman, m opening the proceedings, said : Ladies and gentlemen, you are aware that we are met here io-night to welcome Sir George Grey and the members of the House of Representatives who supported him during the last session of Parliament. I think you will agree with me that it is a matter for congratulation to us all that at this critical period of the colony's history Sir George Grey is at the head of public affairs — (cheers) — a gentleman of vast experience, of great ability, of unquestionable disinterestedness, who possesses genius to devise and courage to carry out those great reforms which are so necessary to secure the happiness of this comtminifcy and the prosperity of the whole colony. The address to Sir George Grey has been prepared and awaits your approval. I will read it to you. The Chairman read the address as follows : — To Sir George Grey, X.0.8., D.C.L., Premier of New Zealand. ' Sir,— La3t yen' the people of Auckland, m public meeting assembled, welcomed yju as the wise and steadfast leader of a party struggling to preserve for the psople of New Zealand the rights of self-govern-ment they had so long enjoyed, and to secure for them purity and economy m the administration of public affniis. We spoke then m term, of hop_ and encouragement, and assured you that you possessed the entire cotindenco and had the e irnost praym* of many thousands who wore unable to take part iii ths great public meeting that then received you. This yeur, again, m public meeting assembled, we have the happiness to welcome you and the colleagues who have so nobly aided and supported you, as victoi'3 m the struggle, and to receive you, sir, as the recognised leader of the people of New Zealand. We offer to you m that capacity our hearty and respectful congratulations on the progress made m establishing the great principles you have sb unflinchingly maintained. We feel that vigilance and earnestness are still necessary to secure permanently the fruits of vie ory. We rest m the confident assurance that you will not cease your great and self-denying labours until our new political institutions are so moulded as to secure for the people of New Zealand equal rights, and tho certainty that the control of their own Government shall not pass from their hands into those of any particular class or classes to the exclusion and injury of the rest. This, sir, as we understand it, is the primary object you have m view We appreciate the difficulties yet to be overcome, but havo no doubt whatever of your finil success. We have witnessed with contempt the efforts m ide to dishearten yon by personal attack«, and by impediments of all kindsjfr-mi pursu'ng the noble course you had marked out. We can assure you of our heartiest sympathy, and that yon will receive our faithful and loy.tl support, for we hold it fortunate that at so grave a crisis, the colony has the services of a leader whose disinterestedness whose.love of right, whose ability, and whose wide sympathy with all classes no man can venture to gainsay. We pray that the Almighty may preserve you m health aud strength to complete the work so well •begun, and th it the foundations of th*. liberties and rights of the pc >ple of New Z.aland may be so firmly laid as to enable them to resist the attacks of all enemies i o-v and for ever. The reading of the address was greeted with loud applause. Mr. E. Isaacs said : I come forward .with great pleasure to propose that the address which has been read to you be presented to Sir George Grey. I ask you to support me m this motion. (Cheers.) Mr. J. L. Wilson said : However tempting an occasion of this kind may be to indulge m a little speechmaking, I feel ifc would be presumption on my part if I were to take up any considerable portion of your time with any lengthened observations of my own. I know how anxious most of you nmst be to hear Sir George Grey and the other members who will address this meeting. I will, therefore, content myself with seconding the address which the chairman has just read. (Oheers.) The Chairman put the question of adopting ths address, which was carried unanimously amidst general cheering. Sir George Grey here entered, and was received with waving of hats and handkerchiefs, which lasted for some time. The Chairman read the address, to which The Premier replied as follows : Gentlemen, I tha k you very sincerely for this address just presented to me. The wishes you express for my success iv the duty I am pursuing are most gratifying to me. I thank you for the renewed promises of support which you give me. Rest- assured that m the past I have been always cheered and encouraged by the knowledge that I should have your unfailing support; m all difficulties, and your cordial sympathy iv ail struggles. And still further, be assured that, if health and strength remain to me, I will not cease to labour to attain for New Zealand the objects you have so well set forth'in the address — objects so dear to all of us, and which we shall certainly gain if we are only true to ourselves, and are faithful and earnest m the discharge of that which is our manifest duty. The Chairman : Sir George Grey will now address the meeting. (Cheers.) Sir George Grey rose amid enthusiastic andcontined applause, and said ; Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen,— Having replied to the address which you so kindly presented to me, it now becomes my duty to address you upon public affairs m general. (Uear, and cheers.) It was my honour and good fortune at one time to represent one portion of this great City of Auckland. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to those who returned me to the very honourable office of being their representative. It was a political necessity which compelled my separation from them. I therefore may be said perhaps this night to have no right here as a representative of tlu3 city, but let this be remembered, thab I virtually am now the representative of the entire of New Zealand. (Cheers.) Those of this city which chose me as their representative, m point of fact were those who pushed me to the higher post which I now occupy. I naturally feel grateful to them, and naturally also, having for so many years resided either m the city of Aucklaud or its immediate neighbourhood ; I desire above all things to carry the people of this city forward wibh me upon the course which myself and my colleagues are resolved to follow for the public good. (Loud cheers.

Whab I desire to do is really to represent the inberesbs of the communiby ab large. What we long for is that we should have the confidence of the community at large, and what we hope is that with their confidence and with the power which they have, placed m our hands, we may succeed m achieving very much indeed for the public good. (Cheers.) Firstly, then let us all -remember that the great object we originally contemplated was a fair representation of the entire population of New Zealand. (Hear and cheers.) So fair a representation that every section of the community might make their voices heard, and exercise a due influence upon public affairs — so fair a representation that every citizen of this country might be trained m the knowledge of political life — might be trained m a knowledge of what the public good required — might by practice, by consideration, by thoroughly undersbanding what the public necessities, were, gladly sacrifice his own apparent selfinberesb m order to obtain the general and. common good. (Cheers.) Well, now we have not yeb obtained anything like a fair representation ; that is a thing yet to be accomplished, and until thab is gained, nothiug is done ; because auy good that can be obbained for you must be of a transient character, unless you have the power to secure ib for yourselves, and to prevent it from being taken from you. (Hear, and cheers.) Now, follow what I* mean for a moment by saying that, at present, there is no fair representation. First of all, the country is hot divided mbo fair electoral districts. Representation is m no degree apportioned to population. There are some places with, perhaps, twice, -. or even three times, the number of members that they ought to have m proporbion to their population ; and these are the very places m which one particular party m this counbry have exercised so great an influence thab they have been enabled to secure the return of all the members for these constituencies. Now, that alone prevents fairness of representation. Then again, the franchise is not what it ought to be. Let me bry and give you au illustration of this. A great parb of the public expenditure is henceforth to be conducbed by the Counties. I should wish you, if possible, to follow me m this argument and m this reasoning. The Counties, first of all, have large powers of local taxation ; m the second place they have large subsidies of publio money given to I them. Now, bear m mind thab the subsidies of public money so given, and whab will undoubbedly be very considerably raised- raised from bhe entire population, and raised m this manner, that each man, woman, and child pays so much per head of that taxation- -I say clearly that taxabion so raised oughb to be spent m the same manner,— that is, every person ought to have an equal voice m determining how money so raised from his own pocket is to be spent for the public good. (Hear, and cheers.) Well now, what has occurred m the instance I am speaking of, the Counbies ? Why, they are broken up into ridings. There may be niue ridings m a County, and the law as it at present stands enacts this : That m a County there are a large number of persons who may have no vote — men who may have been resident but one, two, or thre^ years, wibh perhaps a family of many children — these men may have no vote at all. A great mass of voters m the country have only one vote each, but by the system of pluraliby of voting which has been created— of individuals being allowed, m proporbion to their properby, to have five votes to one, ib is possible that a single mau m a county may have for byfive votes a. his comnaaud : that is, fortyfive votes given from his own proper person, while the majority of the County have only onevote; a largo number of them have no vote ab all. Aud ib is iv bhab manner that the taxes, as raised from the couinminity afc large, are to be m a great measure spent. Well then, just follow this out for a moment further. How does this m part take place ? It is said that property is to be represented, and thab property is to have this great power. Hut how ha 3 that property to a greab extent been accumulabed m the hands of a few people ? lb took place m this way that large tracts of land were acquired by single individuals even unjustly, even by a twisting of the law, even by an influence which oughb nob to have been possessed — an influence over the nabive race perhaps — an m uence exercised by a Nabive Deparbmenb paid by the whole communibj-. And the property so acquired, those large bracts of laud were then made m some instances of enormoas value, by railroads and 'p ub lic works constructed through ifc. Now, who gave that value to them ? Why, these railroads and pnblic works are to be paid for from the common taxatiou of the country ; thab is, every individual m New Zealand is confctibubing his equal porb'ton, so much per head to provide the funds lor creabing those railroad., those greab trunk roads and those great public works. (Cheers.) Having therefore given this great value to properby belonging toothers, you are henceforth to leb one man have 45 votes m re-.; gard '•' to the expendibure of . taxation' raised'from yourselves, other men only one vote, and obher men no vobe ab all. Now, is thabnghb? [Cries of "No," and "Every man should have a vobe."] I do nob kuow if I have made that point clear to you ; bub I just take that single point m reference to the present representation of the country, and of the present mode m which the taxation raised from all is to be expended. And, my friends, myself and my colleagues are determined, if possible, to remedy this system, (cheers) to take care that the voting power amongst the whole population of New Zealand is fair. (Cheers.) In fact, we consider thab any man resident m New Zealand — resident for twelve months m any electoral district, has v he same righb to vote— and

especially if he has the stake of a wife and children, that a man of property has. We say that human life is something j that the man having a right to vote for the protection of his own life, for the protection bf the life of his wife and his children, is a right which he ought to feel and which he ought to have. (Cheers. ) It is said that land is not all, that nioney is "not- all, but* tnat human affection is much, that the love of family is much, and that all those sympathies of the human heart ought to be developed, and ought to be represented m this colony of New Zealand. (Loud cheers. ) Well now, what we think is this : That if that great primary object can be gained, that you all have a fair share m returning, your representatives, if the representation throughout New Zealand is proportioned justly to the population—for elections are so contrived that they can take place without disorder and without tuaimlfe, so easily that an election may pass almost unknown, and yet every man exercising the franchise and doing bis duty to the State— in taking care ithat he does that — we think we have secured an advantage for you that hereafter you will be able to talte care that no wrong laws are made, and that hereafter, if we can secure further advantages for you, you will be enabled to see that no one take's these advantages out of your hands; ( Loud cheers.) Well, if that point can be achieved thenjW^e Say that taxation can m our belief be made fair. We believe that taxation may b,e so arranged that every man shall pay to the State exactly according to the advantage be derives from it. We believe that taxation can be so managed that a man shall not accumulate an enormous property m New Zealand, and then retire to the niother couutry, and draw year by year from this colony a great fortune, and contribute nothing whatever to its expenses. (Hear-; and cheers.) We believe that when the people of England carefully enact, for their own protection, that no British subject, enjoying a fortune of any kind, money invested from laud, Or whatever ib may be, can come "out to New Zealand, and yet not pay his fair proportion to the taxation of Great Britain, — we believe that you, following that example, will see that no man shall quit New Zealand, drawing a fortune from this country, without equally contributing his fair share of the taxation of every part of the colony. (Hear, and cheers.) And further, we believe that you will say this : that if •• man, possessing vast wealth m New Zealand, requires a large police force to protect thab property, requires judges well paid, as they ought to be, to administer justice m the Courts, and enable him to defend his property against those who by law would take if from him ; — we believe that you, the people of this partof New Zealand, will feel that, if we determine that property shall bear its fair burdens aud pay for those advantages, thab ib shall justly contribute to the State m proportion to the benefits that it derives from it, and that all shall pay m that fair and equal way — those who derive least advantage least, those deriving greatest paying most, —we believe that if we struggle oh to attain that end, we shall also m that respect have your full and entire support. (Loud cheers.) Then again I turn vto one other point : — Myself and my colleagues think, and We believe we think justly, that of late years there has been no fair administration of the public lands of the country. (Hear, and cheers.) We believe that it is possible to carry out a land system by which every man may easily be able to obtain a knowledge of what lands are open for sale, what lands are open for settlement under any other condition; and tli£\b eyeryUndividual m New Zealand may be able, if r he pleases, to obtain a home on which to settle With his family and with all lie loves and cares for m this world. (Cheers.) We think, therefore, that struggling for anobject of that kind we shall carry the sympathies of the people of Auckland wibh .us. (Loud and continued cheers.) Now, 'just consider what has recently taken place: You* are all aware that for a number of years past not only have the publio lands of the colony been unfairly dealt with, m mauy instances as I have already mentioned, but that there have been large provinces m New Zealand which were allowed to dispose of the lands within their limits entirely for their own advantage, so that this extraordinary spectacle preseuted itself, that there were parts of New Zealand, large portions of it, m which the people, m as far as public works were concerned, were sunk I may say m absolute penury — not a road by which they could convey their produce to market, hardly a school to which their children could be sent ; nob a wharf upon which their goods might be landed ; and there were other provinces m New Zealand with such vast funds at their command that they did not know how to dispose of them, and afber roads have been made m almost every direction, the Boards had £50,000 or £60,000 to their credit ab the bank. You all know thab that sysbem .prevailed ; you all know that ib was said that it could never be set aside, that a solemn compact had been -entered into; ■ that the man who tried to set ib aside would be a dishonest man, thab *no one wonld supporb him, that he would be stamped with opprobrium. Well now, what took place lately? A dumber of us determined to put au end to a system which we believed amounted almost to a system of slavery. Having made that abbempb even at the beginning of the last session of Parliament — my friend Mi*. Wood (cheers) — I don't know whether he is here to-night or not ( " He is") — brought forward a motion to that effect, and it was treated with scorn. I think fifteen was the number of votes obbained for it. I believe I am right m saying that fifteen out of eighty, six were all that "Was found to vote for it. The proposal was treated with absolute contempt, Bub when it was found that the

people of the country were determined to assist m obtaining the establishment of kn opposite system, what took" place? Why, there was a majority m favour of doing away with that system. As I stood' at the gangway of the lobby and saw them troop by me I could not believe it. ( Laughter and cheera. ) Individual after individual who that very session had spoken againsb the thing, who had voted againsb ib,-— they passed by me one afber the other. I thought I saw some blushes upon some faces as they passed by me. (Laughter.) Bab the fact was achieved ; it is now an accomplished fact, as you all know. (Loud cheers.) And I tell you this : that I am satisfied m ten years from the present time those people beginning to write on the state of New Zsalaud' will say that it was incredible to think that for so lengthened a period of time, that for so many years so large a portion of the population of this country should have submitted to such a manifest injustice. (Hear, 'and cheers.) Just aa we now, looking back at the system of slavery which prevailod m 'my own youth, believe it impossible tint such a system could have existed, ami cadrio't cpuceive how men submitted to it, so I say within ten years from the present time 'it will appear incredible that with such dumb patience; hardly complaining, the people of this great province submitted to what I must alway3 feel to be a most monstrous wrong. (Loud -cheers.) Y6u will understand what I mean by fair representation when you reflect upon the change which occurred m the sentiments of members of the Assembly m this last session. At the beginning they scolfed the thing to scorn ; Only fifteen members could be found to vote for it, yet within six weeks or two months from that time there were to be found 3 1 who were m favour of it. Now the meaning of this change was that a dissolution of Parliament was m the mind of some of these gentlemen whose sentiments changed so suddenly. They k'aew that the people of - Neiv ZjaLind were determined that justice should be douo. Ib was felt that like servants out of pi ice tluiy would have to go' back to their masters who had sent them there. (Laughter 1 . ) { A voice: They wanted a character.] I'aey wine aware that if they weut back with a bad character, they would not be admitted to their occupation again. (Cheers and laughter.) They must have formed' this opinion, that their masters were not sucli fools as those gentlemen took them for. (Hear, hear.) Bub they must also have expected that having acted m this way, once under compulsion, they had a fair chance of being turned away. They must have reflected that it would be recollected how often they had discharged the duty they owed to their constituents, and they must have remembered ho«v may wrong things they had done, and that it would nob be so easy fco make peace with their constituencies, and that a few votes made at the end of the session formed a very bad contrast indeed to what they should have done from the beginning. (Hear, hear.) I have mentioned a few points of what I may call common practical statesmanship, co which I should have drawn your attention. But there are some higher points of what is called statecraft, to which I should like to allude. You all know what secrets are said to attach to the holding of office. What I want to point out, and impress upon your minds tonight is, that we ought to do away with that sort of thing m New Zealand. lam m favour of everything being open and above board. (Loud cheers.) Let everything be known, and let the people judge. (Hear.) When I say let the people judge, I do riot by any meana say that every man is capable of judging of high and important questions. But 1 believe this, that m great communities where the suffrage is almost universal, if any great question is brought forward, it is discussed m a hundred ways, fifty or sixty thousand intellects are brought to bear upon it— ib is discussed m the Press by various individuals j even by crotchetby individuals who may take odd views, ib is discussed by men who take sensible views, by men who may take selfish views, perhaps ; bub I think the end of all such discussion is, that sound opinions are formed and oub of ib all comes ab last, that the statesman has the courage to do what is right, to poiufc out the views that' ar« selfish and wrong, and will not advise to act upon them, , but that he will be power, ful enough to recommend without fear what is sensible and just, and will be m the end successful m carrying out what is best for the whole people. (Cheers.) Now, the points I am about to discuss with you seem tome to be such aa are worthy the attention of a large city like this. It may be that they shall nob be thoroughly understood by all, they are such as, when carefully weighed arid considered, will contribute something to political education, and will teach the general mind how these questions are raised, and how they should be dealt with. I throw them out, tru^Ting that I may ndt weary you— (no, ho) —but they are m., the highest degree worthy of your earnest regards. A great change is taking place m these colonies m one respect — this is, that among the governors of the several colonies an idea is springing up that the Grown must be supported, and that for this support the Crown must look to a nominated Upper House — that.fche Crown must lean upon this Upper House, as m the mother country it leans on the House of Peers. There is no Established Church m this ountry, or Bench of Bishops, and the Crown must lean, m this country upon the squatters. (Laughter and cheers.) Then they say you must make a great landed aristocracy m this new oountry. They do not want any small tenures; but that it is upon a large landed aristocracy the Crown must lean for support. Let us follow this argument oub for a moment and see where it will land us. [A Voice : Into the Piako Swamp.] (Laughter and cheering, which

lasted for some seconds.) Let us trace out the leading features of the argument. . It is a most interesting question. Consider the case at home. There you have, say, forty millions of people shut up m the British Isles, of whom, perhaps, eighteen or « a JWißnsy,. i^jsiillions.,. are m a state of v poverty of the most dire and distressing kind. The Crown resides m England. I mean our present most graoious Sovereign .^.resides. there. (Cheers.) "Sou will see that m a country of that kind great disturbances ) 'might take place. Consider also the state of " portions of the old countries of Europe. All of them have immense populations; .All of them from time to time quarrel about boundaries, about which they enter, upon ,great wars. In none of them exist the hopes .. of founding a new nation, such as exist m New Zealand; none of them can aspire to the making a new heritage to be handed down to future generations; none of them are ' . called upon to make laws suited to ane ;v state . of society. They rested upon the old feudal system. None of them had before them the great objects to be accomplished, which the people of New Zealand have constantly before them. There, a public question might resolve itself into a struggle against masses. Even m those countries 1 should not think it wise for the Crown to lean upon a great landed aristocracy, or a State Church, or a hereditary aristocracy least of aIL But I can fancy that the elements of seething discontent may exist there, and I can imagine a statesman m such circumstances fearing to tread out new tracks or to enter upon any new line of policy. But here m New Zealand we have nothing of that kind. What is the interest of the Crown m a country like this? Its interest is clearly to preserve a loyalty on the part of the people that is unsurpassed m any other portion of the British dominions, to have here a prosperous and contented community ; it is its interest not to ally itself with any class against another ; it is its interest that all classes should continue attached to its beneficent sway, and to know that the people ' would not, for the whole world, be separated ; from it. That, I say, is the interest of the orown m ETew Zealand. (Cheers.) If, then; the' plan proposed is to ally the Crown with a nominated, Upper House; to ally it with the, squatters ; with an attempt to establish a landed aristocracy ; to ally the Crown with a small number of its subjects against a large number of its subjects. If, I say, the Crown should be induced to ally itself with one portion of the community, to lean for support upon that portion, and to endeavour to obtain advantages for it which are hateful to the Queen's subjects as a whole, then I say the. inevitable result will be that such institutions as may grow up under such, a state of things, will be upset, and the people will establish huch a form of Goyerment as. they may choose, should they be forced to do so m. opposition to the Crown. I say that those who place the Crown m this position are the enemies of the Crown and the enemies of the people alike. (Loud cheers.) I say that to aim at such objects as I have referred to is not to aim. at the unity of the Empire; it is rather to take steps to bring about a separation of the Empire, bring the Crown of Great Britain into dislike— the Crown which m the person of our present Sovereign is truly reverenced and loved. (Loud cheers.) The only way to prevent such a system being pursued is, that a really responsible form of Government should exist m New Zealand— that a . Governor should be compelled to take the advice of his responsible advisers - (cheers) that those who advise him are to be the real rulers of the country. . Men whom you can get at—men who can be turned out of office at once if they do wrong—men who, m tendering advice, knowing that will be followed , at the same time that they are responsible for it, will be careful to. do nothing which should draw upon them the odium of their fellow-countrymen. (Loud cheers.) Let me give you a practical illustration of what I mean. Think of what must have been the feelings of myself and those who aided me at seeing the magnifioent demonstration of to-day. Do you think that I or they would dare to take any step .'which would forfeit the confidence of the people, or to procsed m" any direction that would be hostile to their interests without first taking good care that we were acting . right, having first ascertained with due thought, deliberation, and patience what was right? Do you think we would throw away the love you have conferred us this day ? No, I would rather die first. (Prolonged cheers.)' Bat still, if there was a necessity for action, and I believed conscientiously I was acting right, and that you would support me m that which I did, then I would dare all things to 'do that which I thought right. (Cheers. ) , 1 say that the same feeling wiil always acfcjiate your statesmen m this country, and it 19 right that men whom you can bring iuch influences to bear upon should, now tjhat the colony has reached this state, be the real rulers of the country, and tKat the Governor should really be like the Queen at home; with no power whatever but to take the advice which his responsible Ministers give to him. (Hear, hear, and loud q heer«. ) Those responsible Ministers are the men upon whom you can heap rewards such as you gave myself and my friends this day —upon whom you can heap punishment if they do wrong. (Cheers.) You can either ew^rd them as you have done me now, or a m.a.n may walk through your town almost $nV outcast, people caring not to. look at htm, no love, no affection, and snbjected |q punishment of the direst kind. Now jet! us proceed on still further m discussing titis point, and see still what we come to. How, one great, advantage of what I speak o| would be this : That if you are really ruled by your own statesmen they must convince you, — they must be able to go apiongst you to speak to you, to reason yith you, and lead you on the path which tjiey wish you to tread. We think nothing qan be done m secret. (Cheers.) No good, which can be obtained for you can lie j)U^en. Nothing can pass without your being fully informed regarding it, and I Bjiy that that is essentially for your interest, not only that you may form a judgment upon the subject, but it is really a.rsra,injng for you m political knowledge — a £ia,injing for you m a knowledge of your duty ta&aur fellow-men and of what each citizen should for each other and for the state at large. Therefore it is of the utmost import-

ance to you that you should be ruled by men whom you rule. It come 3to that— bleu who can do all things m this country 1 with your free assent, but nothing against your will. (Cheers.) I tried lately, within the last two days, since I have been at home, to Work out some instances to show the people of Auckland exactly what I mean upon this subject, of all things being made open — cf all things being made known. I tried to get illustrations which should convince you that if formerly you had known all things relating to what was proposed for your welfare your position would have been very different to what it is now, and I have just taken two points which I think will, fully illustrate my meaning to you. I think' I shall be 'able to convince you that if m past years you had .been allowed to have that knowledge great advantages would have been obtained^ for New Zealand— advantages which probably now you never can get. From 1849 to 1853 I made this great effort. I believed that Auckland was by Nature meant to be the Queen of commerce for these seas. (Hear, hear.) Passages to the various islands from here can be made more rapidly than from any other port. Various circumstances combined satisfied me that a thing of that kind might be obtained. Well now, what took place? I was at that time by my commission, Governor of New Caledonia and of the Loyalty Islands, and by the aid of friends who worked for me, I obtained an offer from the chiefs of Fiji to cede those islands to the British Crown, and to make them g*,pari; of the territories of New Zealand. I received a similar offer from the chiefs of the Tonga Islands or the Friendly Islands, and I received at the same time communications from the Samoans and several other islands of considerable importance, also offering to form a part of this territory. Well, I ' was perfectly certain that ultimately those islands must fall into the hands of I some European Power, and I believed that -pefore that took place almost a slave trade .would spring up m the islands ; that great internal disturbances would|ake place, and that they would become utterly and entirely jost to New Zealand. It seemed under „s,uch circumstances no wild vision but ,ajj plain thought that here a great federal nation might be set. up of federated islands.' Truly, a federated nation upon a great Continent, such as the United States, would hare presented advantages which a federation of the kind I speak of hardly offered ; but still it was possible to have formed a great federated nation of islands of the Pacific Ocean ; it was possible to have brought nil these islands under the Government s of this country — under a system whish the provincial system was intended to meet, each of them with their own Government administered by themselves, and consenting perhaps to the General Assembly of New Zealand. By that 'means, I concluded that a great field would have been opened for the young men of this country. We should have sent out our own Lieutenant-Governors, our own judges, our own officers, to every one of these islands ; we should have had one common system of Customs duties . prevailing throughout the whole of those great possessions. And as you all who live here know, we naturally are training up a race of sailors m this part of New Zealand. There is no man I can get along the coast to work as a labourer who is not a perfect boatman or seaman, and I believe we could have raised a race of seamen equal to any sjeaineu the world had ever seen, and thab the commerce of the Islands of the Pacific would have been poured m here to be exchanged for the products of temperate clinlates. The first thing that occurred, was ■ this : the Crimean War was about co break out m 1853, and it was necessary to please the Emperor Napoleon. He was allowed to cede New Caledonia, and to ; take it as a French possession. All any remonstrances" were m vain ; Great Britain gave up that portion of her territories and allowed him to enter into them without remonstrance at all. The same thing was done with the Loyalty Islands. Then with regard to the Fiji Islands, I was scolded for proposing that. England should;; t&ke the. Fiji Islands. Well, that correspondence has been published— at least the part that has been found has been printed, and you will find that everything I <• foretold has taken place. The .slave-trade has sprung up; England has 'been obliged to take all the islands, she can underm ost 'disadvantageous .circumstances, and the opportunity of consolidating them into one great people,' and making this the centre of an enormous commerce, has probably been lost to us for ever. And, I say, if m these days you had been ruled by your own people — which you sould not have been then, because England paid all your expenses, which was fche excuse for the contrary system,— but, I say, if you had been ruled by people chosen from yourselves, the whole of these facts would have been known, and the pressure of public opinion here would have been so strong, that I am satisfied the views 1 advocated would have been carried out, and the position of Auckland at this date would have been entirely different from what it is at the present moment. (Cheers.) Well, now let me give you another instance. I hold letters m my hand, which have not yet been published. What I am about to allude to will, give you an idea of precisely what I mean regarding the necessity for all that transpires being made public. In the year 1858, when the : mutiny broke out 1 m.■ India, a numbed of native- chiefs m New. Zealand-rrspecially the chiefs of Taranaki — offered to raise a thousand men to serve m India, and assist-in the suppression of the rebellion there. I was at the Cape, of Good Hope. Not only did they write, to me, but they subsequently wrote to your then Governor, Colonel Gore Browne. He forwarded the letter home. Mr. Charles Brown, of Taranaki, did the same thing. It is quite clear that the number of men could have been raised. Those chiefs, however, made ' one unfortunate proposal. In order, 1 suppose, that they should have some guarantee that their interests would be attended to, they required that I should be named the colouel of the regiment. (Cheers.) You.muat know that there are two kinds of colonels. There is one, the lieubeuant-colonel, who commands, and the other the colonel who looks after the interest of the regiment at horne — who

selects the officers, who was allowed to clothe the men, and if he could do it for Jess money than the regulation allowances, might put the difference m his pocket. (Laughter.) But that is all gone now ; there is nothing of that kind at present. I wrote a letter home as to what was taking place m New Zealand. I told them m effect, "You have a large native population there to whom no employment is open but agriculture. You cannoi make every man a farmer. Some men wanb to fight, some to go to sea ; some want to preach, others to be lawyers ; you cauuot make the whole race stick to the one pursuit : if they want to fight they will fight. There is a choice of evils : If you won't let them fight abroad you will have to fighij them m New Zealand. You- may rely on it it is much better to let a spirit of that kind go out of the country, and. that you will have to let them go as they ask, or you will hereafter have to pay for the military defense of New Zealand." I told them that they might bring terrible evils upon that couutry, from which they could have saved it. But for this I gave offence to the people ab the War Offioe. The commencement of it was my objection to their getting fonr millions of acres of land m Canterbury to found Bishoprics. That was equivalent to a pound an acre, which was estimated to be the value of the land.-. I beat them upon that : they got one million acres, but they could not geb the other three millions. Instead of the people at the War Office thanking me for the representations I had made, they were angry with me. A very angry letter was written to me. The point they took was that the recommendation to employ barbarians iv war was a most shocking thing. I am perfectly certain m ray own mind that the natives of New Zealand, properly trained and properly disciplined under good officers, would be as little barbarous as the soldiers of any other nation that could be had. But the curious part of the matter is this : — They were pressed for troops m Oeylon and the West Indies, and, forgetting all they said to me about New Zealand, they wrote to me to get them Kaffirs. These might be very well, but I did not; quite approve of the Kaffirs unless mixed with Europeans. I could not depend upon them ; so I recommended that they should be employed only fifteen to a company. To fix them with Europeans made the authorities more angry with me than ever. Well, what I say upon these two points is this: that if a system of responsible govornmeut had prevailed at that time iv New Zealand, seeing that athousaud natives wauted to go and fight iv India, and that if they were not allowed to fight out of New Zealand they would assuredly fight m it, if public opinion could have made itself heard, all the facts being perfectly known, that which was a wise and proper measure would have been carried instead of being lau=hed to scorn. If what I proposed had taken place, Auckland would be m a very different position this day from what we see her. Therefore, I say again, let everything be plain and above board. (Cheers.) I am against the system of secret councils to Governors ; to any snch system I am opposed absolutely. (Cheers.) Let it be understood that what is dove by Miuisters shall be done openly, and defended openly, and let there be no secret whatever. (Loud cheers.) I would most earnestly direct your consideration to that poiut. I will give you a further, instance of what I mean. It would be hopeless for me to try to get a dissolution now, for the Governor, as you have seen, is of opinion that the power of dissolving the Parliament of the colony is given as a weapon to the Crown to defend itself. What that means is that ths Crown is to use it to keep one party m power. (Hear, hear.) It is presumed that Nqw Zealand statesmen are not so important as statesmen at home, and, therefore, they require looking after. Now, I say, that statesmen of New Zealand are equally important and equally great. (Hear.) They are men well versed m public affairs. I do not know that they are so well acquainted with Turkish affairs — higgling or haggling with each other — or what is called the *' Eastern Question," as statesmen m England, but they are men thoroughly capable of thinking and acting, and know what is necessary for. the public good better than any statesman at home. (Cheers. ) Conceive for a minute what takes place if a Minister gets a Parliament elected with all the power he possesses, for any Minister has powers m this respect. I would have greater power to get members returned now than I had before I attained my present position. There would be m the Minister various powers to get members elected. What it has come to is this. At present m the choice of Ministers you are limited m this way : Under what is called " provincial districts," we cannot have more than two men from Auckland, or two men from Otago. Some members are not qualified ; some are men whose private affairs will not allow them to join a Ministry. Thus, if you are not allowed a dissolution you are further limited m your choice. If I were not limited by provincial districts F would choose from the whole of the members of the present House of Representatives. It is only those who see this m operation that can fully understand it. But I say thafc the question of dissolution is one of all others upon which the Governor is bound or should be bound to take the advice of his responsible Ministers. (Cheers.) It is admitted that' the Crown does that m Great Britain— it is admitted that that : is the right of English statesmen, and it is said that it is their right because they nev.er abuse it. But let ns have the right and see whether we abuse it or not. Do not say we shall not have it for fear we abuse ..t. I say if any Ministry did abuse that right the people of New Zealand would make an end of him ; he would not be able to do it again ; and I believe no Minister would follow his example. Let me invoke one generous sentiment m all your minds. You will find this an absolute truth : Lay great responsibility upon any man and. upon any two or three men — 1 do not say upon twenty or thirty where they can shirk it, one from the other— but lay responsibility upon auy small body of men, and you will alter the character of those men. Men who were thoughtless before will be thoughtless no longer, men

who .were careless before will I much less oarele3S afterwards. TJie sense < responsibility ia such that it nerves men i greater actions than they could other wit have undertaken ; ib does theni goo m every possible way, and I coi tend that to say that the sfcateame of this country, upon whom such vast r< spousibilities rests as moulding a youn nation, cannot be trusted with power such a is given to English statesmen, is to maintai that which no man m his senses ought t hold to be the truth. Now, I have cleare my' mind of one great poiub to-nigh to you. Itisthis: that the main thing I thin! you must aim at is this— to insist upon publi openness, perfect openness upon the part o every one of your public men. Have you representatives before you. If they ar worthy to be your representatives, they ar capable of giving you information and of ex plaining their conduct j m fact, they OUgh to be capable of instructing you. If the^ are afraid to come before you they ar" not worthy of your confidence, (Cheers. It can do no harm to your representative however great or exalted he may be, to conn and speak to his fellow-nieu, — to tell then the thoughts that are uppermost iii his mine — to persuade them to take up a new line o conduct that he may deem necessary for th< public benefit, I fc seems to me that m an 3 useful remarks which he might ad dress he does a further g"dod by set ting an example of bringing oul patiently, and m the strongest light, th< necessities of the time, and doing thafc whicl is noble and right as the result of delibera tion. He is not to be decerred by a fea coarse expressions of sentiment, or of ap parent insult, for he works to the public good m all he does. He knows that m the longjruu he will achieve his objects, if theb end is the welfare of his country. I say il is the bounden duty of the representatives to appear before, you, and it is yours duty to require that they do 30. (Cheers.It is the duty of the Premier t( visit every part of. New Zealand and tc be Premier no longer than he carries th< great majority with him. Although I art no longer a representative of any part oi your city, I have spoken to you as the re. presentative of the whole of New Zealand, I have spoken to you m the first place as ac old friend and m the next place as one who owes you great and weighty obligations) and would fain, m his old age, repaj them if he could. (Loud cheers.) li what I have said will bear fruit, then I shall be happy, indeed. If what 1 have said will convince you that, whenever you apply to me to work you a benefit that is m my power, I will dc my best to serve you, I will be happiei still, because I shall know this— that you feel .1 have your welfare at heart as truly aa I have it. The prolonged applause with which Sir George Grey was honoured on resuming his seat, having somewhat subsided, The Chairman- rose and said that they had met that night not only to do honour to Sir George Grey, but also to those of the ! Auckland members who had supported him m his measures, and without whose support he would not have proved successful. (Cheers.) He held m his hands a list of those gentlemen's names, and he would now proceed to read them. They were— Mr. Header Gilson Wood, Mr. William Lee Rees, the Rev. Dr. Wallis, Mr. George Maurice O'ftorke, Mr. Hugh Hart Lusk, Mr. Patrick Diguan, Mr. William S wauson, Mr. Joseph Augustus Tole, Mr. John Sangster Macfarlaue, Mr. Ebenezer Hainliu, and the hou. the Native and Defence Minister— Mr. John Sheehau. (Loud cheers.) In response to loud and repeated calls, Mr. J. C. Brown came f rward and addressed the meeting. He was sure he would be studying their wishes and their convenience if he refrained from unduly occupying their time and attention, and confined himself to as few remarks as possible. His forte Jay not m speech but m action, and if he had been iustaimental m conducing to the success of Sir George Grey and his party, he had had his reward m witnessing the satisfaction of the people, and m receiving a share of the honour with which the Premier had been welcomed wherever he went. (Prolonged applause. ) In response to a call from the Chairman, Mr. Reader Wood next addressed the assemblage. He said that on two previous occasions the public of Auckland had honoured them, the supporters of Sir George Grey, with most enthusiastic receptions, even though on both those occasions they returned from Wellington defeated and unsuccessful. He had been therefore greatly pleased to witness the demonstration of that day, the more so as it signalised their triumph at last. He was one of those who firmly believed that there was nothing so successful as success, and he thought they partly deserved the welcome which had been accorded them that afternoon. (Applause.) They had succeeded m obtaining two things, —m placing Sir George Grey m the position of Premier of the colony (cheers), and m making fairer and more equitable financial arrangements for all parts of the colony. He was convinced that the enthusiastic feeling which had been shown towards Sir George Grey at Auckland and at other places he had visited was not restricted to one district or to one province, but was general throughout the colony, and would manifest itself at the next elections, by the return of members pledged to support him m the measures which he intended to bring forward. He thanked them for the flattering reception they had given him, and, m conclusion, assured them that m the future as m the past it would be a pleasure to- him to be permitted to assist Sir George Grey m carrying out the liberal views which he had enunciated that night. (Cheers.) : Mr. Rees was received with unm is fcakeabk marks of approbation. He referred to the meeting which had been held m that theatre on the relurn of Sir Geoige Grey and party at the close of the preceding session, and expressed the opiuion that the feeling of intense enthusiastic support which was then evoked, and which assured them of the approval and satisfaction of the people with, their efforts, had, more than anything else, perhaps, tended to the achievement of the victory which Sir George Grey had at last gained. Conscious of the support and sympathy of the people, Sir George Grey had

(b strictly adhered to his line of policy, had been If . enabled to withstand and defy majorities, had 6 effected the overthrow of his opponeuts — c the late Ministerial party — and now came ct before the country as its Premier. (Oheors:) i- After instituting a parallel between Sir tt George Grey and party and a ship labouring !• . m a stormy aud troubled sea, the gentleman % went on to eulogise the services which Sir s George Grey had rendered the colonies, and 1 especially the colony of New Zealand. H 3 concluded an able address by painting m I glowing language the effect of the Premier's t schemes and the veneration m which his c memory would be held when those schemes j had been put m operation and attained to f their full fruition. r Dr. Wallis said he had been really taken j by surprise at being called upon by the 3 respected chairman to deliver an address - that evening. He had been sitting so comi forfcably and., listening so attentively, that r he had anticipat.ed nothing of the kind, and > now felt somewhat nervous m the presence ) of that great and, — (bowing to the ladies)— beautiful assemblage. He was reluctant on s many ac'coitntft to address thorn. Since his i return from Wellington he had attended two [„m eetings. From the first some evil conse- : quences had followed, and from the other — a i meeting of a semi ecclesiastical nature — still worse -consequences had followed. 1b had, m fact, been a fatality with him. He could not open his mouth, it seemed, m public, i without putting his foot into it. (Laughter i and applause.) Therefore, as he had . said before, he was reluctant to 9peak. At any rate, after the eloquent utterances of the Premier, he wouLl be brief. What he had to say would be confined to what the parsons called a few practical remarks — (laughter). — directed, firstly,-: to the Ministers aud the Premier ; secondly, to the members of the House; and, thirdly, to the electors. With regard . to the. Ministers he heartily coincided with the : -statements, made by the Premier. The utterances of Sir George that evening had shown their humble servant (himself) toibe somewhat of a prophet. When Sir George Grey first came before the people of Auckland be (the 'speaker) had said he would become Premier, and had added— a little irreverently he admitted— " if that should- be so,. Heaven help the Governor." (Laughter and cheers.) He (the speaker) wa3 now m the attitude of confessing his sins, and, therefore, he would say he was sorry for his irreverence as to the Ministers. ' They had striven to fine him for some remarks he had made the other day, and he would therefore say nothing on that occasion about rogue 3 or about trimmers either. But, as illustrating how he might express his views without committing himself, he would tell them a story. A certain young man of Edinburgh, very fond of punning, while walking one day with his father — x grave and austere gentleman — caiao upon^a poor fellow with his legs m the stocks. The desire to crack a joke at the prisoner's expense was strong within him, but he greatly feared that by doing so he would offend his father. So, as a last resort, he whistled the air of a popular song entitled "Through the Woods, Laddie." So as he (the doctor) would not utter his sentiments he would whistle them. H<j felt assured the ladies guessed what he was whistling. It was a familiar Scotch tnue, " Oh, wasna he a Koguey — the piper o' Dundee." (Laughter aud applause.) He would now give his opinion from a medical point of view. The House of Kepresentatives was a patient, and supposing he was the doator called m to see it, he would feel its wrist, aud express the conviction that it was rather feverish. Then he would say, " Open yqurinp.uth, Mr. House— you can do that" — and next, "Show your tongue" — when he would 'remark, " What a very foul tongue you have got — (laughter) -but •if me and my friends return, we will give ,you a drastic purgative." (Laughter. Having disposed of the House, it only remained for him to speak to the electors ; but as he would have an opportunity of meeting them very soon, he would reserve what he had to say for that occasion. The rev. and hon. gentleman concluded with a eulogy on Sir George Grey, whom he compared to Moses, Mr. G. M. O'fto-RKE was the next speaker. He sraved the indulgence of the meeting to allow him to confine himself to a simple expression of thanks to the people for the great honor they had done to th'e party to which he belonged, and therefore to himself also. A few years ago they were but a forlorn hope, but the unflinching courage of their leader,' his judicious guidance, and his unswerviug honesty of. purpose had gained for them the victory at last. He trusted that the Premier would retain the good opinion of the people and of his followers, amongst whom there was not one more devotedly attached to him than their humble servant (the speaker). Mr. Lusk, Mr. Dignan, Mr. Swanson, and Mr. Tole successively addressed the meeting, and made excellent speeches ; but, m consequence of the protracted length to which our report has already extended, we are precluded from attempting even a rough outline of them. At the conclusion of Mr. Tole's remarks the Chairman intimated that he had received from Mr. A. K. Taylor a note apologising fpr his absence. Mr. S vANsqK then came forward and said they had owed; a' gre/at deal of their success to the Otago 'members, and as one of them was present that evening he would call upon them for three cheers for Mr. J. 0. Brown and the Otago members. ! In response to the invitation, the audience rose as one man and gave inosb lustily the | requisite number of cheers. These were folipwed by three cheers for Sir George Grey. Sir George Grey then proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman, and m doing so, referred m eulogistic terms to the assistance which that gentleman had at all times rendered the party of which he (the speaker) was the leader. The vote was passed with acclamation, and Mr. Sheba suitably replied. He then called for tnree cheers for Her Majesty the Queen, which was heartily responded to.