MR F. A. WHITAKER AT HAMILTON.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1453, 25 October 1881, Page 2

MR F. A. WHITAKER AT HAMILTON.

In accordance witfc advertisement, Mr Whitaker, M.H.R., addressed a meeting of the Hamilton portion of his constituents on Saturday evening 1 last at the Courthouse. The weather was extremely unfavourable, but, notwithstanding this, the room was packed, and a number of people were unable to gain admittance. His Worship the Mayor of Hamilton was called to the chair. The Chairman, in thanking the meeting for the honor conferred upon him, said he felt it to be altogether unnecessary to ask a Hamilton audience to give their member a fair and impartial hearing 1 . He read the advertisement convening the meetiug, and then called upon Mr Whitaker to deliver his address. Mr Whitaker, who, on rising,, was greeted with demonstrations of applause, said it was not hia intention to occupy much of their time, for one or two reasons, one of which was that he supposed there would be a number of questions, and another was that they were already half-an-hour behind the time for which the meeting Wcis called. He did not purpose keeping them more than on hour at the most, because the number of topics upon which he intended to touch was somewhat limited. He stood in one of the most peculiar positions in wlrch a candidate was ever placed ; he had two opponents in the field, neither of whom had declared himself, neither of whom had told the electors what policy he intended to tako up, what party he designed to follow, and what measures he meant to support. They would admit that he was placed in an awkward position, insomuch as that he did not know whether his opponents intended to question his views, or to pronounce thorn correct and chime in with them. But, in any case, he felt he was not bound to publish his views on 'the future at length until he had hoard what the opposition had to siy why he should cease his connection with the W.upa constituency. (Hear, hear) Supposing he weie to tell them much as to the future he did not know that those who opposed him might not come to them clothed in his garments, slightly alteied, but still embodying the same ideas for the future welfare of New Zealand as he had become imbued with. For this reason then his address would be chiefly a history of the past. It was not the last time he would address them, and as soon as it was clear what sort of opposition he li.yd to fight— as soon as the unreal spectre, for it was nothing but a spectre, which now confionted him became a reality he would come before them to meet the arguments which the opposition might ad\ ance. This was the fourth time he had the honor and the pleasiu-p to address an audience in that place : In 187S he spoke there on the occasion of a hardly fought election in which he was defeated by 42 votes ; in 1879 he came before them again, but this tune he was successful, and had a majority of 109 behind his back ; in 1880 lie came to give them an account of his stewardship, and now he appeared before them in a Hybrid character to give them an account of the past three sessions, and just a biief forecast of the future. Whatever the result might be he had never yet received anything but the greatest courtesy and sympathy at their hands, but this was a point be would again refer to. He would like for a short time to direct their attention to what had been clone during the past three sessions of Parliament. He did not say he was the chief agent, or even a powerful agent in the carrying of these great measures, but he could tell them that he was always at his post, and always voted straight, for those measures. (Applause). In 1579 there wasaelamouring for certain measures said to constitute the great liberal policy. These were manhood suffrage; triennial parliaments; direct taxation ; and representation upon a population basis ; and another intended to restrict the immigration of Chinese. In the short space of tvyo years these important measures, which in older countries it has taken centuries to pass, and in some of which, as regards all these principles have not become law yet, have been placed on the stature book of New Zealand. They had all been passed by the Government which he had the honor to support. (Applause). These measures tended to conserve the liberties of the people, and so long as the people were free they would be happy. Nothing could tend more surely to the preservation of these liberties than by giving tlie people a voice in the management of the affairs of the country. Knowing this he felt sure that they would look back with gratitude to the fruits of the past two years, which were fraught with measures of ■ the greatest importance to the welfare of this country. The speaker then refened to the state of the franchise in 1879, which he described aa being ' decidedly mixed.' In this state of matters many people because they had not property were disfranchised. He had said ho would endeavour to get a vote for every man, with the condition that as an earnest of an intention to settle in the colony, such voter Bhould have resided 12 months in New Zealand, and six months in the district in which he claimed to exercise his franchise. At the time he told them this, his audience cheered, and he knew they endorsed his views on the subject. He could now tell them this had been done, and every man over the age of 21 could now, subject to the conditions referred to, exercise the privilege of voting for their representatives in Parliament. This was manhood suffarge pure and simple. Tt was a concession which every nation would sooner or later have to make. It was the principle whioh the nihilists of Russia, and the agitators in many other countries were trying to ob-tain, and in the cause of which so muchblood had been spilled; and it was the only true and just principle V>y which mankind can be wisely and equitably governed. If they would recollect he had also advocated direct taxation. Owing to the large expenditure of borrowed money in this country, he found property had greatly benefited. Money had been made out of the general funds of the colony, and it was only right that property which had been so acquired, should be made to bear a fair share of the The property owners should pay something who to a }$?ge extent had made money owing to the expenditure upon ■ public works. He would tell them why he believed in the property tax. The land tax pressed on the country people, but left the townspeople free. To give an instance: A largo mill had recently been erected ia Auckland, at a cots of about £30,000, upon an allotment of land warth from £3000 to £5000. Under the land t*\ the land only would be assessed, but under the property tax the owner would have to pay upon the whole of his capitalised wealth. In the country where'people are not in the habit of putting up expensive buildings, they were called upon to pay according to the value of their land, which constituted the whole of their property. He was sorry to say so, but it was true the towns monopolised the most qjp the wealth of the country, - and they ' must bo made to pay towards that taxatiqn which, their oetytralising tendencies demanded. Therefore he supported the property tax! It was the Ripest "tax which possibly could be levied, with of QOupsQ gerfcajn exemption. ■, He would noi say what febs amount \qi that exemption should be j it might be. #300 or

£300, or any other sum agreed upon, but still it was clear they should not lax a man's first earnings. He had supported this tax, believed in it thoroughly still, and would do all in his power to prevent its repeal. They had heard a good deal about the Piako Swamp he had no doubt. Well he could tell them that whereas under the land ta^r that estate paid £300 in taxes, under the property tax it, contributes no less than £900. (Hear, hear). As a further illustration, Sir George Grey, under the land tax, assisted the revenue of the country to the extent of £3 16s 9d, but the amount which the property tax compelled him to pay was probably not less than £120 It was perfectly clear that those who had the means should pay the taxes, and that those without should not. For his own part he would like to pay as much property tax as possible. (Laughter). But he feared very much that as men accumulated property they grew gradually more averse to paying anything. Poor man as ho was, he believed he would part with a pound with a better grace than some of these rich men would give away a shilling. He would never be one by word or act to set class against class; they all had to live in their different spheres ; but he could tell them that he did not for a moment pity the man who had to pay £100 property tax. They had told him to support the principle of representation upon a population basis, and he had clone so. They had no doubt oeen a great deal about the stonewalling, the action of the Speaker and the Chairman of Committees, aud a good deal besides, which he was not going now to recapitulate, but he would tell them that he stood to the Representation Bill because his constituents told him to do so. It was his business to stick to the opinions of the people who had sent him to the House, and not to listen to, and accept the \iew& of every political 'quack that came along. His constituents and himself were fully agreed upon the subject, and he believed in it because it was the proper system. It was not possible to get good government until they adopted a proper system of representation, fair and just to the whole colony. He quoted statistics to show that while some constituencies, notably on the West Coast of the Middle Island, were notoriously over-represented, other districts, far transcending these in importance and in population wore hardly represented at ull. He had fought on the broad principles of justice and right, and he believed the carrying of tho other great liberal measuies would have lefb the whole policy incomplete had they nob passed the Repi esontation Bill. In IS7O Government were bullied and badgered out of their lives to brins* down this measure, which tho Opposition characterised a<> tho keystone, nothing le^s, of the tjreal Liberal aic.h ; yet when it was brought dow.i these very people opposed it. The Government were engaged in establishing the basis of the constitution of a nation, and not upon mere loc il que-tions. He, and thoss with him weie not unawaro that the time would come when the North Island would bn more thickly peopled than the South, and when that condition of things prevailed they in the North would have, as was their right, the preponderance of representation. To have thwarted the pass.u^e of that bill would have destroyed the nationality of New Zetland. His object was, and always would dp, to cement all interests and to unite all sections, aud resist, by all moans within his re ich, the di-iiutejrration of the grand little colony in which they had made their homes. (Applause.) He now came to the Chinese Immigration Restriction Bill. It was not at all unusual for a man to say one thing about a measure before his constituents, and another when h9 went into the House. He had told them he would suppoit a measure to restrict the immigration of Chinese into this country, and he had earned out his promise An opportunity had been afforded him for doing so, and ho had embraced that opportunity, and he woul 1 road from Hansard the remarks he had made upon this question. Sir William Pox had raised the question of treaties, and he ( VJr TVhitaker) had replied, soing on to say afterwards — " Ido not ■anticipate any serious objection on that score. Anothor argument is that Chinese immigration is necessary in order to have cheap labour for the creation of capital. I dissent entirely from this view, and do so upou one grand, broad principle. I differ as to what the wealth of a nation is. It is probable that those gentlemen belong to school of political economy which considers that wealth must be judged in proportion to the accumulation of specie in the country. They consider that the accumulation of money and specie is the revenue of a nation. That is one school of political economy. I belong to the other school, whioh believes that the wealth of a nation oonsists in having the greatest number of its inhabitants enjoying the largest amount of prosperity. lam not prepared to introduce a number of foreigners, with the manners, habits and customs of the Chinese, for the purpose of making a few men rich, who will drive away from the country ifcs reai bone and sinew. I know that some persons may Bay this is claptrap, but I say it is * great principle which has been discussed of late years, and which is gradually coming more before the public, that the wealth of a State does not consist in the accumulation of its specie, but of the greatest amount of happiness of thfc greatest number of its inhabitants. Jf we come to this question of wealth in jespecf to a.ceurnulation of money alone, what more do we want than the wealth Great Britain has accumulated ? There are many millions of wealth there made by the energy, the bone aud sinew of the Anglo-Saxon race, and not by the introduction of the Chinese or any other foreign race. The returns show that we are already progressing very materially in Mje direction of accumulated wealth in this country, entirely by our own efforts. I think we are progressing quite fast enough without attempting to hurry it by means of of this objectionable form of immigration. Any person who has attempted to follow the history of Chinese'immigration into San Francisco and Melbourne must b§ patisfted that there is some sound argument, and not clap - trap, in saying that the I Chinese do introduce unknown moral and and social diseases amongst us." His sentiments were one with what he believed to be those of his constituents upon this questian, and he voted for the bill to redeem hia prqmise, These sentiments he had seen no reason to depauf; from The mere piling up of wealth would never make a nation prosperous and powerful : They must first build up a population strong in heart and limb, and rich in intellect to defend and elevate the status of their adopted land. CApplauso.) Last year he had the pleasure of informing them that there was a party growing up fy the House to which he gave the title of the Ormond party, and that the educational system of the colony was likely to be attacked. He also read certain extracts from a speech delivered by Mr Ormond, in which that gentleman propounded a scheme for the sale of thecrqwn la^nds of the colony and the railways. When Parliament last met, however, it was found that the finances of the colony were much sounder than they had been before — that the cguntry was financially reinvigorated—^nd the consequence t was that Ormond, though, still intent upon attacking the Government, shifted' his ground. And %n attack was made. That attack otime 09 upon the local gorarjunent

proposals of the Government, when Mr Ormond moved an amendment to the effect that the proposals wero not satisfactory. He considered that the proposals were satisfactory. The Crown and Native Lands Kating Bill would have answered well all over the North Island. There were large areas of native land in this country, tho rates upon which would have, gone to swell the funds of the local bodies, and which rates would not have been paid by the natives, but by the first purchasar. No one knew what Ormond intended to do tdl that honorable gentleman rose without warning and moved his amendment, which was tantamount to a vote of no confidence. It was a most embarrassing moment to the Government, and had not the party been exceedingly strong it would no doubt have been shattered, and the whole scheme of the finances of this country would have been broken up. He (the speaker) explained this in the House, he said :—": — " After careful inquiry, and with considerable acquaintance with the feeling of the people in various parts of the country, I unhesitatingly tell the honorable gentlemen he is considerably mistaken if he thinks a large body of the people will follow him in any proposals he miy make. I have never had a doubt, from the time he got on his legs last se&bion and made his memorable speech, that this would be the ultimate result of his machinations. When I come to point out what I think lie really means, I will make clear what I consider to bo the true moaning of this amendment. I shall show that the honorable gentleman does not want any paiticular form of local self-government, but that when he started with attacks upon this Government and his own party he only wanted relief for himself and his friends fiora what he terms grinding tixation. This is to say, he considers that the great euemy to tho good of the country is not the want of local government, but the property-tax, which falls heavily on hib particular class. I was unable in the whole of 1113 speech to ascertain that ho attempted to address himself to what i*> admitted on all sides to be tho main issue in the question of local government — namely, the question of finance. When the honorable member for Cheviot addre-scd the House, he gave us to understand distinctly an 1 positively that if he had his way he would double the property-tax; and hand over a large portion of tho funds to the local bodies. We therefore clearly understand how that honorable member meaus to provide local bodies with funds to carry on their woik. But the honorable member for Chve gives us to underbuild nothing. He did not inform us 111 any way how he proposed to get money for these locil bodies to enable them to carry on their work. I have no doubt that the division on this question will bo an exceedingly curious one. On the one hind we have the honorable member for Cheviot, who s >ys distinctly he cannot follow the uTmi&try 111 their proposition-, and who proposes to double the property-tax: ; and on the other we have the honorable member for Olive, who thinks the property tax; is a grinding tay and ought to be abohshod. And yet we shall have tho->e two honorable gentlemen walking into the same lobby. It might, perhaps, bo as well that I should remind the honorable gentleman, the member for Clue, of what he li is sud on the subject, and then a-.ked him how, having u>cd such words, he can follow the honorable member tor Cheviot into the lobby. He is repoited in la>t yeu-'s Hansard to have said, — ' What, then, remains of this tax [tho propeity-tax]? It will be an oppressive land -tax and little else, and a land- tax devoid of the only redeeming feature in the land tax which was repealed la>t year. Tho tax was a class-tax, but it, had a redeeming feature, because it recognized the exemption of improvements, and encouraged the settlement of the country. I submit that this tax will do nothing of that kind. I know that it is even now op I 'rating very largely in a'l parts of tho country in a variety of ways In the first place, il is driving capital out of tho country ; in the second place, it is making men who have been engaged' in tho improvement of land stay their hand And what is the WMilt ? That the labouring-classes are suffering : and that will continue to be a certain result if the tax is persisted in. It appears to me, Sir, that the-.e are very strong 1 reasons agaiust the continuance of this propertytax.' And yet the honorable gentleman after using these words is just about — if my judgement tells me right — to walk into the lobby alongside of the honorable member for Cheviot, who proposei to double the property -tar. The honorible member for Olive had a totally different piojrarame last year when he had the honor of proposing atrictuies on his party. It was .a rather startling one, and it was particularly suited for that particular occasion 5 but we hear nothing whatever of it now, the reason being that th« economical and judicious administration of the honorable gentlemen oi those benches has rendered it unnecessaiy to repeat it. Bat what did he say ? Sir, if tarn in order in saying so, I say that a more selfish speech, politically spe iking, has never been delivered in thib IJouse than that which was delivered by the houora.ble member for Clive last year." That was what lie had said in the House, and it was what he would say to anyone who came out on OrmoncVs lines. He would trouble them no further on this subject, but he. felt constrained to read what he had said in reference to Ormond and his cry of "grinding taxation." He would only detain then] tor a minute upon the question of finance. In 1379 they would remember the country was a million of money t6 the bad upon the ordinary revenue — not upon loans, which were separate. For a colony of half-a-million of people this was alarming. Of course this deficit was provided for by Treasury bonds, but it was clear that this was a state of things which could not be allowed to cqntiijue, and something bad to be done to bring the expenditure of the following year within the revenue. This was done, and the revenue and expenditure had not only been equalised, but they found themselves in a position to take off the tax upon articles of wearing apparel worn by the working classes. (Applause). U the railways continued to improve as they had done under the preseut management, the Government would be in a position to make still further reductions next year in the taxes which pressed heavily upon the poorer people of the colony. (A voice: " How about protection ?") He was coming to that presently. (Applause). Qqe qf the most important measures which had been passed was that which made the whole of the land fund colonial. ' la 1879 there still remained 20 per cent. ' which was diverted to the use of local bodies in the South. He had said he would never rest until that 20 per cent, was colonialised with the rest, and he was glad to tell them that this aim had been accomplished, (Applause), People had said it was impossible to pass such a measure, but it was done. It was carried first only on the casting vote of the Speaker, but it was afterwards brought up and carried by eight. Thus was swept away the last of tyrhat qnce kno/vpn as the compact of 1856— a compact which he Relieved had not been founded upon justice, and should never have been made. (Hear, hear). The whole of the land fund was now colonial revenue, and in connection with tb,is revenue the Government, of New Zealaijc} had h,een the first; to deal with in a' p'rqger man'qec. It vps the practice Qf otb,er QQloniei, and, k«4 been

that of New Zealand, whether the amount of the land fund for the year was £1000 or a million to class the sum as ordinary current revenue. Now it need not be pointed out that such a system of finance could never be firm. In 1878 the revenue from land was considerably over a million, while a year ,^ later it had fallen to under £300,000. \J It would bo hard indeed to keep books straight with such a system as this. They had no doubt often seen returns of Australian finances, and might have noticed that the revenue was occasionally larger than at other times. This simply meant., in many instances, that a little more laud had been sold, and that tho country was living upon its capital instead of upon the interest. New Zealand has been the first to separa+G these two sources of revenue, and that arising from land would henceforth be devoted to roads, bridges, &c, and the ordinary expenditure would be governed by the amount of revenue raised. Thus the finances of the colony had been placed on a sound and firm basis, and if the present icgbnc continued New Zealand would soon prove one of the soundest countries south of the lino. There could uot be a diubt about the value and extent of their resource", and with such a capital at their back they were bound to advance. But they must live within their means, and must insist upon the Government making tho income and the expenditure meet. If the Ministry spent more than it got, if it lavished money in any way it should be remembered that it has got to come out of the pockets of the people. It was precisely with a Government as with a private individual, who, if he is not careful, will soon find a big balance against him when ho lease kaows where ho is to get the money to pay it. Such was the case in New Zealand" in 1879, but they h.id reason to be thankful that it wa9 so no longer. But they must still act with circumspection. It was possible, by the judicious amalgamation of offices, and by placing ii check upon nepotism, to effect still further having*, and consequently to still fuither reduce the taxation upon the ma^s of the population of this colony. If returned again to represent them he would vote and work in this direction. He would always vote in the direction of maintaining «• proper equilibrium of the tuxes between all clas-es. And now touching protection. If tho gentleman who had interjected a remark on the subject had looked into his notes he would have seen that it was carefully jotted down, He had, he thought, shown them that ho had cariied out what they had sent him to Parliament to achieve for them, and he would now give them some little inkling of what he was likely to do in the future. First of all there was the question of protection. This was a question which had oecapied the minda of the greatest thinkers for the last 50 years. It was quite impossible to give a lecture upon the subject that ni>rht, but he hoped at no distanb-ddte to have the time to do so. lhe policy of this country for the future would be protection. When free trade was first foiced upon England he believed the titrht course was taken, but he did not bcliove such a course would be the right one for New Zealand, and he would tell them why. In England the protective tariff tendt-d to inoren->e the cost of Jiving to the masses, for tho reason that the population had outgiown the food producing powers of the country, and it had become a commercial nation. They possessed coal and iron, aud every requisite for great industries, and they could sell their manufactured goods, and with the pioceerla buy food. England did not arrow nearly enough corn for her wants; when he was at homo, one thiid of tho qu intifcv consumed had to be imported, ami it might now be s lid to be one half. It would never do to put a protective duty upon com there, became the poorer classes would have to pay through the nose for the necessaries of life. Lbt the po-ition be reveised. In New Zealand, with a soil singularly fertile and capable of growing immense quantities of everything they required, there wis a small population of a little ovir half a million. It was perfectly obvious that this population could only consume a very fctuali pioportion of the produce, and" wheat and other breadstuffs would therefore always be cheap. No lea than £3,000,000 wmth of wool and lhe same value in vvheit was exported from the colony annually. Here therefore, it wag clear that they had an abundance of man's two first requisites, bread and clothing, and that being the case a protective tariff would not press upon the wages-earning class. They were all getting older, and many of them were getting families round about them— (laughter)— and the question as to what they were going to do with their children was forcing itselt upon their attention.' They would have to educate the using generation to a knowledge of manufactures, ami to that end they must establish industries amongst them, and see that the vaot internal resources of this country must be utilised. They were making a gieat mistake in sending the wool winch they grew (which was required for clothing), to the commission agent, who takes his commission out of it, paying the freight to England, paying another mail to auction it, paying the freight back, the customs duties, the wholesale merchant's and the retailer's profits, paying no less than six or seven profits upon the manufactured article. If they establiahed manufactures in this country, he did not care whether it was by the aid of a protective tariff or by the system of bonuses— the latter system might be the beat, but that was a question to be considorpd—if they afforded encouragement to looal industries, they would get their goods just as cheaply, and the wealth of the country would be diffused through it, instead of being diverted in great part to pay the enormous profits of the middle men outside the colony. He would not commit himself to say that for all time a protection policy would be the best one. He did not think it would suit England j but it did suit Amerioa, where a great nation had been built up under its wing. Protection meant the raising up of a closer interest as between employer and employed— the laborer would get better wages and the employer larger profits. In England it was well known that American manufactured goods wore being sold, aftej freight had been paid, at a cheaper rate than the same articles could be made there. In reference to the introduction of a protection policy, it would also be necessary to make some change in the law as affecting patents. Mr Bate, a, gentleman who had superintended the alteration of Messrs Knox and Ridler's flour mills, spoke very sensibly on the subject at the opening ceremony of that establishment, The American laws on this subject were of such a nature that it was well-known <", that nearly all the best inventions in machinery &c, originated in that country, where the product of a man's brain received the fullest protection. The ingenuity of the people had been called forth, and America was in consequence making enormous progress in the manufacturing industry. If these were fairly tried he made bold to say they would soon see as wide a prosperity in New Zealand as, in America. (Applause,) This h,e repeated wa.3 goin< to be the policy of the future if the new Parlia' ment contained anything like the same class of thought as the last. It was his intention to have touched at some length upon the quoatiqn of co-operation, but he would qajg , to defer it. T^hen he next; met th,em tj§ woulq eqde^vqar to lay before tkeifl %

system which to his mind provided a panacea for the ills arising out of the great difference between immence wealth on one hand and abject poverty on the other, and to put all classes again upon a better footing. He would explain this at greated length when his opponents had spoken fend given some reason why the Wai pa electerate should kick him out and substitute one of these gentleman in his stead. So far then, he would go upon general subjects. A word now about what had been done in the constituency itself. He would much rather rest his claim upon tho general sympathy of this constituency tor the man who had done his best to support those questions of the day which tend to improve the condition of the country. But he must refer to one or two local matters. He had been two short years in Parliament and during that period a considerable clrtn^e had been effected in the whole of the Waikato country. They were all aware of what had been done in Waipa; the river had been bridged, and it was now possible to drive from Hamilton to Raglan in five hours. (Hear, hear.) ' They knew alsu what had been done in Waikato, all of which was of the utmost importance to pooplo in this constituency. He only referred to these things to refrenh their memories that so far as tho .local interests were concerned he hdd endeavomed to discharge his duty to them. He could tell them that the road to Rotor u a— a most important work — would be completed this summer. It would benefit tho Waikato in a high degree, because it was almost certain that travellers who went to see the wonders of the Lake country would go tia Waikato in preference to encounteiing tho disromfoits inseparable from voyaging in a small stenmer. And all those who took the inland route could not fail to be impressed with the fertility and the adaptability to settlement of the splendid country though which they would pass. From what he had henid, the Hot Springs were growing rapidly iv tho favour of people of other countiies, and would toon attract large crowds of vwtois fiorn all parts of the woild. In nil these matters he had assisted, and h,id been assisted by his colleigue, Mr J. B. Whyte, who had ever worked actively and intelligently in aame diiection as himself. The Rotonui road was a gieat work, but it was not the only one. .During Ins term ol oflice, a, practicable road had been nearly completed fiom Belgian on the west coast to the Thames, and Taurang.i on the east coast, and he had the pleasure of informing them that a sum of £'330 had been voted for completing the much needed road to Tnhikaraniea. Tenders would soon be invited for tins road, and whether he was returned or not this work would be carried out. (Applause.) Whether lie went back to fie ''louse or not he would be able to look back upon what had been accomplished a? ptoof.s of his fidelity to those who sent him to Wellington. Ho would say, "Si Jfo,itt>iiri,tu>n Cncnn bfice,' } "If you want my monument look around you " He would dismiss this subject with the hope that when then eyes rested upon these works they would leniembcr his candidature (Loud applause.) Ho had run two elections for this constituency, and he had never said a word against his oppponents, and he did not intend to begin now. He would be sorry to say one word against the gentlemen who opposed him ; but lie was entitled to say a woid 01 two aboub the opposition itself. He was placed in the position of hiivpiw nothing to fight but shadows. He did not know what icnsons they had to adduce why he should be relegated to the limbo of unsuccessful candidate 1 - ; but Ik- did not think the Waipa constituency were going to throw away an old and tned seiwint simply because, another man came foiwaid and said lie wanted to go into the House. (Applause and laughtci). If they weic satisfied they were going to do better, well and good, but he wanted to know what paiticular chaiges weie to be bi ought against him which would entitle them to feny, "Go away, we will get somebody else." Why should tins be said ' If there were, any giounds for it let them be stated fully and freely, let the indictment be laid and then he could plead, but at piesent there was no indictment and he could not plead. That was the question which would be asked. He hid nothing whatever to say against the men who weie opposing him, but he came to those people who sent him down to Wellington and said, " Will you find out for me the reasons why I am to be supplanted, and if they <ne not to be found will you ask those wiio oppose me why they do so ? '' (Applause). He did not choose to wear his heait upon his sleeve for every d.iw to peck at — for every Tom Dick and Harry to see what his political heart was like — for the present. Bnt he would not come before them again this year in tbo character ot their member. Tho next time he addressed them it would bo as a enndidatp for their suffrages. He was hero to-night to explain his action and to lay bate what he had done for the constituency generally and locally, and he now laid down the charge they had placed in him untarnished and unblemished. (Loud and prolonged cheering.) No one being desirous of asking any

questions, Mr Richard Gwynno rose and paid after heaiingr their member lay befoie them an account of his action in Parliament, ho ielt constrained, although ho had not intended taking any part in the meeting 1 , to move a vote of thanks to and confidenc in their member. MrWhitaker had earned both by supporting the Ministry which had brought the country into its present satisfactory condition. (Applause.) Mr Gaudin rose to second the motion. He paid he could bestow no higher praise upon their member than to say he had

done hin duty. (Loud applause.) The Chairman asked if there was any amendment ; and their being no response, he called for a show of handn, when nearly every hand in the room wa9heldup for the motion, and the Mayor after calling for a show on the other Bide, to which there was no re9ponße,declared it carried, amidst the greatest enthusiasm and cheering-. Mr Wbitaker, who on rising was again received with rounds of applause, said it afforded him great satisfaction to see that he had not lost the confidence of his constituents. When the ballot was opened, he felt confident they would be found upon the pame side. Before sitting down be begged to movo a vote of thanks to His Worship the Mayor, who had filled the chair so efficiently. The motion having been duly seconded, was put and- darned by acclamation, and the meeting then broke up.

Mr J. S. Buckland will sell at the National Hotel, Camkridge, on Saturday next, the 29th inst , 55 horses from Napier, comprising g-ood hacks and light draught colts and fillies. Charles Cecil Rookes, bankrupt, intends applying for his discharge at the next sitting: of the District Court at Hamilton, on tbe

14th proximo. A meeting of the Ha «ilton Troop, Waikato Cavalry, will be held at Gwynne's Hotel, on Saturday next, at 7.30 p.m. Business

of importance. Mr Hope, on reririnor from the public service, owing totalling health, has been induced to dispose of his valuable horse, buggy and harness, on the art union system, to be drawn at Gwynne's Lotel on Friday evening next, 28th inst. Aa the property is put up at a low value, WO hope ©very ticket will be taken up. Messra Chvynno, Edgeoumbo, and Hill have agreed to f uperinteod tno drawing,