M.H.R. BEFORE HIS CONSTITUENTS.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1393, 7 June 1881, Page 2

M.H.R. BEFORE HIS CONSTITUENTS.

The hbn. the m9mber j fo*»Waipft-B&efc' hiscpmjtituents on Saturday evening, at the „ Court-bouse, Hamilton, for the purpose !>o£ gfving^presiionito^ hia vi^vys on the present political situation of the colony j ! before^roceeding to Wellington. There s was >a good attendance of electors, the Court-house' being comfortably filled, and proceedings were of the most orderly character. On the motion of Mr John Ridler, seconded by Mr James Martin, His Worship the Mayor of Hamilton (Mr John Kuox) was called pn to preside. The Chairman said it was hardly necessary to appeal to a Hamilton audience to give Mr Whitaker a fair and impartial hearing, and he would not therefore urge upon them to do so. but merely ask their member to commence his address to them. Mr "Whitaker, who on coming forward was received < with demonstrations of applause, said it was with much pleasure 1 that be met hia constituents that night. He thought any gentleman who had received such flattering marks of confidence ias had fallen to his lot should always feel a pleasure in meeting those who had extended that confidence towards him. For his part, it was always a source of pleasure and delight to nee old friends and old faces gathered around him, and he felt assured that he would mefct with fair play at their hands while he gave them an exposition of his views on the political situation of this country. Before proceeding with his address he felt called upon to say one or two words of personal explanation : it had come to his knowledge that he had been acoused of doing wrong in calling that meeting at Hamilton, for various reasons, but he would tell them briefly "why he had done bo. In the first place, it was the principal polling place, the headquarters of the Returning Officer, and it was the largest centre of population in the district of Waipa ; further than this it was probably the most centrally situated place, and he did not think any other possessed the same requisite*. Indeed his only alternative would have , been to address a series of small 1 meetings in different parts of the district, and his constituents would, he thought, agree with him that the present aspect of affairs political was not of such importance as to warrant the expenditure of time which that alternative would have involved. 1$ was not a matter of I urgency to place before his constituents his views upon the burning questions of the day, because there was really nothing which demanded that he should ask^ them for a definite expression of opinion to guide his action ; there was nothing in the bituation which differed very much from what it was two years ago. But there -were things looming in the future ; much that would be of greater interest, and these thintrs he would demonstrate so far a 9 he could. On the last occasion he was there he had told them there were two matters of which he had to speak ; first, the promises he made, and secondly the extent to which they had been fulfilled. Of course there were none of the great burning questions before the County, and his speech must therefore be tame, and to a certain extent uninteresting. There were certain things which he had assibted, namely, the Triennial Parliaments Bill, Manhood Suffrage, and the reform in the Electoral Laws. He would explain as regarded the [Redistribution of Seats Bill that it came on at various times, and had not been passed.

Financial Matters. Ho would now proceed to point out the position of affairs. He was not bound to stand up there to make excuses for his actions, as ho had carried out the whole of the programme which he had set himself. (A Voice: Why did'nfc -you support Grey ?) Perhaps Sir George Grey will explain that should he come up here^ (Laughter). He would first explain the position of affairs as they now stood. They would recollect— it had been so repeatedly referred to in the newspapers—that w hen the p üblic accounts were made upin 1879, there was found to ba a deficic of nearly a million. Everybody would admit that that was a formidable array of figures, but they must remember that this deficit was not upon the whole aocQuntsr'-for. there wore two accounts, kept — but upon the annual accounts, or in other words a deficit in the revenue. He did not intend to enter into any argument to prove that' the previous Government were alone responsible for the vast falling off, because it wayS well-known that 'there had < been a large decrease in the receipts from lands, greater than had ever been known to happen before. But the question presented itself : How were they to get rid of this deficit ? It was clearly impossible to pay it out of the revenue of the coming year, and it was at once seen that it would have to be made a permanent charge upon the colony, to accomplish which Treasury bills to the amount were issued. But it also became necessary that care should be taken to prevent any recurrence of a like circumstance in the future. For the purpose of showing them more clearly the position of affairs, he would like to read a portion of a speech delivered by a gentleman who he thought they would admit was, at all events, an impartial observer, Me, Shephard, the member for Waimea, who belonged to what now is called the Opposition. This gentleman certainly would not admit more than he could helpj but he thought what he was about* tS read Was sufficiently alarming. If the money necessary at this period had not been s paid' 'in! London, their credit would have been stopped, the monetary institutions would, <have drawn in every penny and the country would have been involved in inextricable ruin. This would certainly have ,follpwed had not ( ( their financial engagements been met. jVTi? Shephard £poke as follows :— "I think it shows the <• perilous' condition that the country,, was in when they proposed to fall'back,upon such a source. There was even a probability, of the Bank of England refusing to assist in floating the loan in fr cbnsequene& of our excessive ' borrow-* ing. The directors 'of the Bank were naturally somewhat chary about entering into a transaction the exact consequences of which they 'could not foresee, and, as stated in the .Agent-General's telegram of | the 2nd December, the Bank, hesitated to act?. "Four days later he 1 telegraphed, 'If ' Bank sof > England refused, most disastrous. ' And most disastrous it would undoubtedly have been, for, we, were within a few weeks, if not a few days, of 'suspension >bf payment." ' That, was the position of , affairs in 1879. In order to ,prsvent anything of the kind happening again, it was found absolutely necessary to retrench to begin with. He thqughtjtho |Oase had been pu.t as lucidly, as clearly andWepjgrammatically as itwa£ possible by s 'Mr' Kepler .Wood, who said there .were only two ways of making the income and the expenditure meet, namely, by, increasing^ ftlie one or, by- reducing j ;tKe. i l btner.,'i^he ( Hours' had |q ,aclQpt Doih these ' courses ; decided to increase tile '' income and reduce th^ } r #w next question was,' how was it to be%ne f In

ttbe first place, he would like to pay thi~. : i<Key^ would' remember that when the question of the taxes which pressed heavily upon the working man — tho->e upon tea and susrar — were undpr consideration Jie aaidhe would not consent t<) thp*s# du'ies, an<J that he prefer) ed so'me-th'ing'like-a fair tux upon property, and although there was a largo number of people on both "sides of the Hoive in favor of re-imposing the tax upon tea and Isugar, the Govern ment Micceecled in carrying a tax upon property. They raised the income first "upon tho beer duty. The amount first proposod when the Bill was brought down was 6d doi gallon, which would hive bioui^ht In br> the Treasury some £80,000, but the House in its wisdom saw fit to reduoe the tax to 3d, which biought in £40,000. He might say at onco that he voted for the retention of the sixpenny tax ; beer was a luxury, there was no doubt about bh.it, and tho^e who indulged in luxuries ought in fairness to pay for them. They would agree with him that it was better to put a tax upon beer than upon su^ar. (Hear, Hear,) More than half of the community were women and children, and they were apt to forget tho women. (Laughter.) These had to live, and it must be remembered that they chiefly drank tea and used sugar, so that the tux upon those articles of consumption piessed upon them. When they mado laws this half of the community should be considered. It might be said that the beertax pressed heavily upon the working man; it might if he could not do without his beer; but it seemed to him (the speaker) that a man could do better without it than the women and children could without their tea and sugar (Hoar). He worked hard to retain the Gd tax, and ho and others were confident that they would be hucoessful in carrying it. They were confident until the doors \ycre locked, but after that cert tin people went over in the other direction, and by that mo mi the reduced amount was eariied. He was, however, in hopes that th°y would get that other 3d some day if they wanted it, The next method resorted to for increasing the income was the Propprty Tax. He hud spoken to them, on the occasion of hi> last addressing them, at length upon this tax. and would not again go into paiticulars. Tho amount proposed tobe raispd was £26o,ooo. He had told them on a previous occasion that he was a strong advocate of this tax. A man in the°e diys must state openly and plainly his convictions if he wishes for any support. Now, he must inform ■them that he wai greatly in favor of this tax, which he regarded as most just a,nd equitable. If touched the pockets of those who could pay, and it was ouly right that those whose property was protected by the institutions of the county should pay something towards their support. If a man required tho protection of tho servants of the law he ought to pay for it. It must be borne in mind that if a man is not able to lealise sufficient to trive him £500 over and above his just debts and liabilities he does not pay, and therefore the tax. only falls upon those who are able to pay. A faiier tax could not possibly be. When he saw people who only paid a few pounds under the land tax pay £ 1 00 or £150 under this he was still more strongly convinced of the coriectncs'of Ms views. Let them take the case of Mr. Tollemache, for instance ; who certainly was not obliged to pay anything. Under the Land Tax ho would only have had to pay €160, but as it was he contributed under the Property Tax £1600 ! A munbei of othei instances similar to that convinced him that the Property Tax touched the right class, therefore it showed that the payment fell upon people who had accumulated property, and who ought to pay for the protection which that propeity required. He felt that upon this subject he could make a few congratulatory lemarks. He did not think that at the present time there was more than £5000 of the tax remaining unpaid. A very large proportion was paid the moment it was due. It was a remaikablc occurrence that so punctually was the money paid that the offices were not large enough to accommodate tho.se who came to pay it. He could issure them that was a fact, and it showed that the vitality of this country was something enormous. It was the first tune direct taxation had been lesorted to, and as lie had shown it had proved to be an immense success. He recollected very well, when this tax was first mentioned, that many gicat and good men sa*d the tax would nevei be collected ; that the people would use c» niasic to resist such an iniquitous tax: He had said so then and he said so now that this opinion was a gieat mistake, because the people^ as distinct horn tlio moneyed classes, would not be touched by it. It was c rtainly predicted that it would not be paid, but it had been paid within £5000, of the .estimate and it remained a great success. These were the two principal means employed to augment the income. The next thing done was to reduce the expenditure, that was what was now popularly known as the retrenchment policy. Before dealing with this question he would liketo say a woid or two in favor of the Government. Eveiy man knows that wherever there is government by party it isanessentialmgredient that the people who are in power should'value it, and that those who are out should want to get in, in order that they may be able to value it. He did not know of anything more unpopular than to pursue a policy of retrenchment. They might be certain that if they went round the country reducing this man's salary and taking away that man's, they would raise up a host of enemies who would certainly try to hurl them from their position. It was on this account that he claimed credit for the Ministry in power. They personally knew the danger ; they were aware of tho probable result of thenpolicy, but they chose to run the risk and do the right thing to make both ends meet. A great many people would not care to incur the odium consequent upon the adoption of a policy of retrenchment, but the Government had set about it and had succeeded in cutting down the annual expenditure by over a quarter of a million, He recollected very well the history of this country ; he recollected such men as Stafford, Pox and Grey being in power and talking about a retrenchment policy, but it was never carried into effect until it was done by the present Government. It was a great achievement, and would reflect great credit upon these men in after years. The saving effected meant that a large sum of money would be carried over to the next year, that their bonds in London would be met, and a period of prosperity had begun to dawn on them again. These gentlemen took the bull by the horns, and they were now going to live in the hope that they would not spend more than they could get. He congratulated them upon these facts, and felt certain they would appreciate the efforts that had been made in this direction, and that they would vouchsafe a continuance of their support to these principles. He would still continue, for his part, to support the Government in this respect so long as they continued to do as they had done, (Applause.)

The Government Policy. So rhuoh then for the finances of the country. He had no doubfc many of them had observed that the Premier of the colony, Mr Hall, had delivered an address ostensibly to his constituents at Leeston, but it \^as intended to be a speech to the whole of the colony., , A .xn^mfyer was, of course bound fa give hia speech "in tbVdistriot which

did him blie honor to return him, but the whole country through the newspaper* were made acquainted with his views. But Mr Hall was somethiug more than a meie member : the speech indicated the,,poliey which the Government intended to adopt for the future, audit was well woith Conning by one who, like the sneaker, considered it to be eminently practical and btatesmanhke. He was pretty coi tain that theie were those who would diftor from him in tins regard, but they would havo to agieo to differ without qiruTdlmg, for the reason that it took two to mike a quurel, and he was not jromg tj be one He hopod there would Ijp no misunderstanding upon that point. Mr Uull touched upon a great many things with which they had nothing to do. Theie was one question connected with the Patea Haibor, wtiioh he would lcavo to Grey and Atkinson to fiurht. One .s ad one thing aud one s lid another. He would only deal with the general subjects in tho speech. In the first placo he wished to diaw their special attention to one paragraph in the speech — that where Mr tLill .states that they would not allow tho Home G;veinmeut t) interfere in the native policy. He quite agreed with this. They would lomomber that when Mr Weld wan in power he adopted whit was known as the "self reliant policy," that \v«i<, that tho colony took upon itself the whole burden of protecting the .settlers a^tiiubt the natives, aud to have the right of conducting rill their relations with]that peoph'. Tiiiifc policy was cordially endorsed both by the colonists aud the Home Government, who allowed the people of New Zealand to take tho wholo lesponsibihty of native affairs, and he did not ni3 that they had any right now to interfere in the conduct of our deahnir with the Mioris, seeing that t.iey did not find a man or a shilling, or in any other way ail us in carrying out that policy. He objected for another 10 ison. He wished to see at some f uturo date* — possibly it would uotbe in his time — h )ino Kind of federation of the whole of !>roat Einpne of Gieat Biitaiu, and nothing would ho much tend to pievent this as any attempt on the part of tho mother country to interfere with the i iternal arrangements of her colonies It was bound to have a bad effect in the long iuu. They might take the case of the Ameiicau Continent ; it might have been a fedeiated poition of the British Empire to this day, had it not been foi the unwise interference with the internal affurs of the Aineucan colonie3. Ho did hope that no English statesman would ever attempt to cfis.connect these colonies by any such interference. They were quite able to manage affairs for themselves. It one set of men did not dv nsrht they could easily turn them out, but if on the contrary they did light, then, as a matter ot course, they' would be kept in. People in this country were better able to manage their own business than anybody in Dowmng-street, aud farrnoie fit to biiug affairs to a just and legitimate conclusion. He Would like to show them what Mr Hall &aid about the (Opposition platfoim. Ho said : — "The planks ot tho Opposition platform seem to be — 1-t, abolition of the Legislative Council aud substitution of a single Chamber ; 2nd, removal of the Queen - appointed Governor and substitution of an elected Governor; 3id, taxation of the English bondholder to supply the necessities of the New Zealand Tieasury ; 4th, dismissal of civil servants who were not political suppoiteis ot the Government of the day. To this platform Mr Macandrew proposed to add two planLs, namely — (I) Unlimited expendituie on public works; (2) tho issue ot Government paper money. The Government of Russia had been described as a despotism tempered by assassination. The platform of tho so-called Liberal party, with the two added planks, might fairly be desoiibed as a despotism tempered by bankruptcy." He entuely agreed with tho«o remarks, and believed that it would be exceedingly wiong to tax tin English bondholders. When they raised this money they did not inform the lenders that it was their intention to tax thorn. Ho quite agieed that such a step was only another form of lopudiation, to which ho would never bo a party. Ho would never consent to anything which savoied of repudiation. What he would .say was this : Let them pay their debts honorably. The fouith plank of tho so-called Liberal party's programme was the dismissal of the < ml servants who were not political suppoiter& ot the Government of tho day. He did not caie to offer any opinion upon this he thought it probable that Mr Hall had put the case a little too stiongly. No doubt .such a pr ictice had been followed in Atneiica, but tho present President had dopaited fio'ii the rule, aud they would see how it worked, lie now earne to a portion of the speech with which he could not acqmesc". He did not agree with his proposals for changing the constitution of tho Legislative Council, nor did ho believe tbac an elective Governor would woik well in this colony. If they ever bename a Republic they would of course have a, Piesident, but long as they remained as at piesent it was better to have a Governor from Homo who would be more manajyablo than one who was elected ; who would hare some.specialendsof hisown to seive, and who from his standing as a lepiescntativo of the people would arrogate too much power to himself. Ho would hko to refer a litHe moie fully to the question of the reforms pioposed in the upper Chambei. One scheme proposed was to limit the number of Legislative Coun illois to one half the number of members of the lower House, and that members — ho presumed this related to fufciue inembeis— should be elected from the latter body, and in any division of opinion the Houses should sit as one, the mijoiity to docido the question. He thought the>se proposals were based on a complete falLiry. JJe did not think that, in questions of great importance the upper House even in the proportion of one to two of the lower House should have that power. In his opinion it was not fair that they should sit together, they should bo kept separate and distinct. Then, again he objected to the elective character proposed for the Upper House. It would never do. It had been tried in Victoria, and it was found very difficult to make the Upper Chamber give way so long as it was of an elective character. The members said, "We represent certain people, and we are not going to give way ;" but he maintained that the Upper Chamber should give way, and it would only do this so long as it was nominated. Therefore, he was not in favor ot this proposal. These were the portions of the speech with which he did not agree ; with the rest he entirely conciured.

The Education Question. He would now proceed to give them a resume of his views upon two important points with whicli they were somewhat imperfectly acquainted. The first was in relation to the education question, and the second was the consi- | deration of a question of importance concerning what has begun to. be known as the Middle, or Ormand's, Party in the House, Ifc was his duty to let them know hia thoughts upon what was likely to occur. Unless he did so, he w«as only fulfilling a small portion of his duty. It was possible his views might be wrong, and that it would be found that the thing to which he referred mighi not be accomplished. Sttfl, he held his views very strongly. If he was right, they w-qhM remember that they had got the first note of warning from their member, If he had before not dealt much with tho question of educatipn it v&& be.ca.HBQ hk

had never before seen any danger to the - present system, of which he was a warm supporter. The education system of this colony was the greatest boon the people could have. He considered that a nation could never develope its resources and become truly great unless the intelligence of that nation be developed. They might take America as an example. He held in his hand a very valuable report written by Mr O'Snllivan, Inspector of Schools for tlie" Auckland JMuoation'Distnct, in which it is stated there were^ 14,939 children" receiving e'd^alionTiii this provincial district. TJiis iWjw one of the greatest blessings ' wliictf cduld be enjoyed by a free people. It was his duty when he saw this system assailed to support it. One of the first things he .stated to the Premier was that unless he received a distinct; jpledge'. th.it the Education system, would not bp interfered with, he could not promise them his snpport. Others,, did the siime, and they received assurances from Mr Hall th.it it would not be meddled with* The Hanger was not imminent, but be would show them that things \were' workia^itp to it. In tb.B first place Me Hall had always been a strong dononunation,aUst, ljut he was a man of honqurl , They would from Major Atkinson's late speech, learn that that gentleman was in favor of im« po-ting school fees. Then there was Mr Walter Johnson who was a risings and he believed a good man,- and who joined the ministry as a strong: denominationalist. He could remember years ago, in 1871, having heard an eloquent speech delivered by that gentleman on the subject of education, and he heard enough to convince him that Mr Johnson was a denominations- ' list pure and simple. The hbii'.' Mb'Diok, ' was a bible-in-schools man. These were the two main parties likely to oppose the present system, and there remained only two members of the Government who were supporters of the present system. So long as the Ministry remained iit^tewet on the backs of their present suppprters^ he did not think anything would, fo.tlonfe,; to disturb the system, but he could see < that during the forthcoming struggle etForts would be made to modify it,* and that would be only the first step towards its abolition. Last session the member for Riverton, Mr McCaughan, had moved the reduction of the Education vote by £150,000, and many who voted against it were of opinion that some change was necessary because the expense Was i beyond all bearing. He thought, himself, that the question would resolve itself into this: that they would probably have to reduce the standard of education, and also to raise the age of children' eligible for admission into the schools from sto 6. If it was proved that the expense was so great that the system would break down by its own weight; there could be no harm in raising the age and reducing the standards if by that means it could be maintained, and the ' demands of its opponents thereby answered. • Speaking of secondary education, the hop. gentleman went on to say he thought there was very little good in training children up to a certain limit if they had not some means of rising to a higher standard, provided they discovered intellectual capacity sufficient to enable them to attain to such higher standard. It might be said that the formation of secondary schools would involve extra expense, but' he did nob think so. There were reserves amply sufficient for this purpose. If put into one fund they would found scholarships requisite for the number of children on whose behalf secondary education was required. In connection with this he would like to give them his opinion on the question of these receives. He held that the whole of these reserves should be administered, for the benefit of the whole colony. By reserves he meant not only those Bet apart for educational purposes but all ecclesiastical endowment as well. By that he meant that he would mate them available for a system of primary education as well and put them into a common fund for the whole colony. The High Schools Reserves Bill introduced last session proposed to deal with the question of these reserves in a manner calculated to confer benefits upon certain localities to the detriment of the rest of the colony, but he hoped the Bill would not be pressed. He might tell them that he intended to move for a complete return of these reserves, and to see what had been done with them since last session. He also intended to insist that they should be made national and not local property, and their proceeds paid into one common fund to be used for a thorough system of secondary education. (Applause.) That was all he had to say about education, except a word upon the question of school fees The moment that fees were imposed the character of the system was destroyed, and invidious distinctions were raised up between the children of the rich and the poor. He could apeak with. some authority upon this point from his recollections of his school days at Westminister, where the boys of those who could afford to pay looked down with contempt upou those who were obliged to take advantage of the foundation. The former had a popular rhyme which ran as follows :—: — A piece of bread and a lump of fat, Are quite enough for <i chanty brat. They would see when he came to speak of the Middle Party why some people were so anxious to relieve the country, they said — their pockets, he said — by imposing school fees.

The Middle Party. He would now proceed to deal with the formation of this new Middle Party. He was not a nervous man naturally, bat he. must confess that in common with niany others ho received a great shock on hearing Mr Ormond unexpectedly propound, last session, the policy of what would now be called the Middle Party. In his opinion he was put forward in the interests of the propertied class. Tii». holders of properties had to pay a large amount of the tax. It was alluded to as grinding taxation. Now the tea and sugar dutie3 had never been spoken oi as such, therefore they cam* to no other conclusion than that the " grinding ■ taxation " of which Mr Ormond complained was the Property Tax. He believed that these men had combined to escape payment of that tax, and to revert to the old incidence of taxation by the re-imposition, of the duties upon tea and sugar. From what he could gather from Mr. Ormond's speech which was of such an able character that it seemed almost to enthrall the House, that was what he had meant. He would read them a short extract of the speech from Hansard. " I know that what I am about td' saywill not be agreed with by many members of this House ; but I would ask the House to remember that remark in the Colonial Treasurer's Statement that we have about thirteen million pounds' worth of Crown lands in this colony, and I would ask honourable members, many of whom ara well acquainted with the country, i what is the character of these Crown lands which are estimated to be worth this sum ?" And that leads me to this : Is it to the* interest of the colony to conserve, those lands, or those portions of the land* which are npfc fit for small settlers.? Undoubtedly there is a proportion of! this, land which is fit for such purposes, and i advocate in the strongest way the rejen^ tion of that land for purposes of settlement. But what about the major proportion of the acreage to which Z,have referred? It is purely .pastoral 'lanrf,' 6? no intrinsic value at all to the 'colony,

and of no value at all in the direction of farm settlement, nor will it be in our lifetime, or in the lifetime of our immediate descendants. It is that portion of the public estate to which I wish to refdt*. 'Is it Mot possible —now that taxation' ifc jiriSposed to be imposed which must, if adapted, largely depopulate the country — to fall back upon that portion of our saleable estate which is of no value to the^ nopulation that requires settlement P "iRSa-'it not bo made to largely assist in bearing the present burdens of the chantry ? What is the advantage of our holding purely, pastoral land in different parts 3f" the country — land situated at high elevations, and known to be absolutely valueless from a settlement point of view ?" The hon. gentleman said the pastoral land was of no value, but if these lands which he proposed to sell were of no value how could he expect to make any reduction in the debt of the colony by tho sale of them ? If on the contrary their sale would make a reduction then they must of necessity be valuable, and if so, it was better to hold them. Mr Ormond then went on to say — " What is the use of holding this property, which is saleable, while people are being starved out by a grinding taxation ? To me the thing seems to be a great political mistake, and I believe that, when the people of the country understand what is the position, they will insist upon such sales being made as will lead to the reduction of the burdens imposed by taxation. Surely it is better that that should be done than that taxation should be imposed winch will stop improvements m the country, and which will land us in a state of poverty. The honorable member for Waitemata said, 'If your Land Regulations do not enable the land to be sold, alter them ?' And I say the same. How is this land held ? Is it held under a tenure which will lead to improvements ? Certainly not. It is held on a tenure terminable at short notice. It is not bearing any share of the public taxation. Then why not realise upon that poition of the public estate ? Thu affairs of this country can then bo greatly eased — our taxation can then be reduced ; and to carry out such a policy is legitimate and right, and, I believe, in the interests of the country. Before many years our position will have altered. The increased population will put the country in a different position. All we ha\c to do is to tide over the present difficulty, and, ■while such a remedy as that which I have referred to is within the giasp of the House it should be applied. I hope I shall not be misunderstood as advocating the alienation of any portion of the pubheestate which is or may be required for settlement. " What did this about starving the people by "grinding taxation " moan ? It could not mean the tea and sugar duties, and it must therefore ha\e been the taxation which ground him and men of his class which was in his mind all the time. He would ask them to mark the utter selfishness of this scheme. He came now to another matter connected with this Middle party. They must know that the country had expended millions of money upon public works — that was for the creation of a national plant for carrying on the business of the country, and vow just as they were beginning to reap some benefit from this laige expenditure, they were to put up those railways for sale, m order that Mr Orinoud and his paity might be relieved from taxation ! He would never be a party to such gross selfishness, and he trusted he would be hacked up by his constituents. (AppJau&e. ) He had remaikcd how eloquently Mi Ormond had spoken, and how he had charmed the House He would read them another extract from the same speech m which the lion, gentleman dealt with the railway question : — "Then I come to another subject, upon which I at once say I have no fixed opinions; but it is an important matter, which ma\ well be brought up tor the consideration of the country. Are our railways paying? Certainly not. We hoar, in fact a\ c know, that thcie is a large annual difference between the amount of leceipts and tho cost of management and mtciest on conduction. Our lailuays and the money spent ou them in the meantime represent a portion of our public debt— a portion of the sum on which we have to raise money to pay nitciest at the present time. What is to be done ? It is a matter I have often thought about, and 1 have come to the conclusion that, as a Government concern, we aie not likely to make our railways pay. No doubt we are not likely to make them pay in the same sense as any non-politic.il company would be likely to do it. The question then arises — and I only raise it at present because of our difficulties, difficulties on the proper solution of which hangs the balance v, hetliei* this country is to progress or go bick — whether it is for the good of tlip country that we should continue to hold the railways as Government property, or whether wo should do wrong by takingauother course." They would see by this ex-tract what a perfect master of fence Mr Ormond was. They would note how delicately he put the matter. — "I have thought of tins," had not almost everybody thought about about it ? The hon. gentleman does, not state that he would sell the railways, but that was the only inference to be drawn from his wouls. It is remarkable how facts had given the he to these statements of Mr Ormond's. In less than ten months the railway receipts had been raised fiom 2\ to 3 V per cent, an increase of 1 per cent, and yet, in the face of that theii railway plant was to be sacrificed to the first speculator they chanced on, and for ■what purpose ? Why merely because by selling the public estate Mr Ormond and others like him would be relieved of the burdens of taxation ! He would never consent to sell the railways on other grounds. By so doing they would be establishing huge institutions in their midst "which would not only exercise a commercial but a political influence. He would ,oppoio such a measure to the last. If his views did not meet those of his constituents he would resign his seat, but he was determined never to consent to tho sacrifice of the public lands, or the sale of the railways. He had thus briefly given them the views of the Middle party. "Very little was known or heard about them, and that only by people on the spot, and it was probable that they would have known nothing of the party until the mischief was done. Ihe party would, he thought, be organised in time for the election, and their policy would then be brought forward. In a speech the other day Mr Ormond had denied that he had made this statement about selling the Crown lands and railways, but he would ask them what other construction could be put upon the remarks he had just quoted from Hansard, and which had been corrected by Mr Ormond himself ? This poZioy, with the addition of the proposal. for the imposition of school fees, would draw to the party most of those adullamites who had no decided views, and Should they get into power it would be found that tho tea and sugar duties would be re-imposed. He could tell them that he knew many good men who were in favor of resorting to this course, but he could promise them that for his part he could never agree to it. (Hear, hear.) He was assured that the present Ministry would not attempt to re-impose these duties, and he knew that considerable pressure had been brought to bear upon them, because they knew that their supporters were determined to make sip the deficiency by direct taxation ; but it tha Ormond party got iv, he felt certain they would put

them on again. He had sketched for them what he conceived to be the prospects of a party which he felt would grow in favor, unless some accident killed it in its childhood ; but if it did grow, it would be in spite of all the resistance which he could offer. (Applause.)

Local Works. These were all the subjects of importance which were now before the country, but he would like before sitting down to say a word or two in relation to local works which were required in this district. In the first place they were all aware that the Thames- Waikato line had been ordered to be extended to the Piako, and that the bridge to cross the river at Hamilton was on its way to the colony, and that in a short time the connection between Hamilton and Mornn&ville would be an accomplished fact. He was in hopes that there would be sufficient funds to extend the line to the Waihou, though he entertained some doubt of its immediate completion to the Thames itself. He would have liked to see this accomplished because he was anxious to secure that the bond of unity between the Waikato and that district should be firmly cemented. But it must not be forgotten that he was only one out of the 44 supporters of the Government. So far as he could he would gladly and eagerly assist. The next question was that of freeing the Hamilton Bridge, and in this he would, he knew, get the assistance of his friend, the member for Waikato. He would not go back to the origin of this question. When he thought of it he felt inclined to say with /Eneas " Infandnm regina jubes renovare dolorem." Ho felt that on that occasion they had not done half enough, but he would toll them what he would do in the future. One of the main leasons which ho would urge was that the bridge lay on the Great main load through New Zealand. Every person travelling from Auckland to the Lakes, to Napier, or to Wellington overl-ind, had to pass over this bridge, and considering at what a rate the traffic was inci easing-, he thought the Government would not hesitate to remove the burden from the shoulders of the section of the people which most largely supported it They might rely upon it that ho would leave no stun? unturned to obtain justice in this piuticul.ir. There was very little to be said about the Cambridge T Railway. He was confident of two things, namely, that the line would be a payable one, and that it was much lequired. The member for W.ukdto, Mr Whyte, would always get his Wiiimeit symnathyiindassistan.ee in this matter, which more properly came within the piovinceof that gentleman to urge forwaid.rind be thought consideiing the comparatively trifling nature of the cost, only some £20,000 or £30,000, that the Bill to construct it would be carried in the House. In addition to being a cheaply made line, the Commissioners had reported strongly in its favor, and he himself had very little doubt that it would bp sanctioned. Then theie was the Cambridge aod the Rotorua road as it was called, or the " Waikato and Rotor ua road," as he would designate it, because it was a work in which not Cambridge alone but the whole of the Waikato was deeply interested in. It would reive to bring money and people into the countiy and interested them all. He was noriy to see thatithad not been completed ; something still requited to bo dove before it could be made available for all the purposes needed, but he thought they might f<iii ly look to the Government to make a fuither grant in aid of this work. He felt how necessary it was that nothing should bo left undone which would tend to facilitate the traffic through the district to the interior, and ho would do all that lay in hi& power in that direction. Ho also intended to make an application for a sum of £500 to complete the new road to Tuhikaiamea. He would not refer to other woiks which might be necessary because as ho had told them once before ho only asked them to judge him by what he promised. lie asked thorn to cast their memories back and see what he had done and having done .so he was quite content to lea\e his oa<-c in their hands. (Appl iu-*e ) If lie had been somewhat tedious it was because theie was very little of impoitiincc to speak about. Theie "was not much excitement, and no occasion for any stming appeal on Ins pai I. He had had nothing more to do than to give them a fair and leasonablc idea of what had been done and what remained to do. If he had not succeeded it was Ins fault in not being able to con \ey to them the information which, lie could say without boasting he did possess, for he had not been absent tioin the House half-an-hour any time dining the session, not excepting even dining the Vincent Fyke episode. There might ha\e been mistakes, omissions and neglect, but if so he could do nothing mere than promise to bo a better boy for the; futiue. What he wished them to do was this. Lot them ca&t their eyes over the past; let them faiily consider all he had done and all he had left undone ; let them sum tins up, and let them strike a balance either in his favour or against him. The lion, gentleman sat down amidst applause. Tne Chan man invited the electors to put any questions to their member, but there was no i espouse. Mr Maunders then rose and moved a vote of thankb and confidence, which was seconded by Mr Davis, and carried without a dessentient voice, and amid loud applause. Mr Whitaker said he thanked them sincerely for the vote which they had been pleaded to accord him. His hesitation did not proceed from want of words, but —he might as well say it — the vote was the more pleasing to him inasmuch as he had heard it was the intention of some people to bring 1 forward a vote of want of confidence in him. (No, no.) On looking around, however, he was convinced that had anyone brought forwaid a motion of that kind it would not have been carred, (Applause.) He was going away, it might be for four months, and the next time they met times would be more stirring. The Redistribution of Seats Bill would have been carried, and nothing would remain to be done nxcept to make up the rolls. No doubt all over the country the contests would be fought with that good humour which is a characteristic of the British people, and also with that keenness which he was happy to say was another characteristic of the same people. He had been asked if he intended to stand again at the next election, and he might as well state at once and publicly that it was his intention to be a candidate. He had heard that he would not be returned ; if any of the 260 who voted against him last election, some of whom would not he thought do so • again, he would tell them that he knew how to fight his own battles, but if one of the 375 who voted for him, came to him and told him "you have lost my confidence, " it would move him more than all the other side could say. So iong as he did not lose any of ln's friends he would have very little concern. (Applause). A vote of thanks having on the motion of Mr Whitaker been accorded to His Worship the Mayor for presiding the meeting terminated.

The thousands of negroes who went to Indiana a year or two ago from North Carolina and Virginia, havo been absorbed and are distributed all over the State. The resident negroes supplied them with clothing 1 , furnished them temporarily with food, and found homes for them in the farming districts.