WAIPA ELECTION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2361, 27 August 1887, Page 2

WAIPA ELECTION.

MAJOR JACKSON AT HAMILTON

Major Jackson, one of the candidates for the representation of Waipa, in the House of Representatives, delivered his first address to the electors in the Public Hall, Hamilton, on Wednesday evening. There were over a hundred electors present. His Worship, the Mayor, occupied the chair, and in a few appropriate remarks introduced the speaker, claiming for him a fair and impartial hearing. Major Jackson on coming forward met with a hearty reception, and said

Mr Chairman and Electors of Waipa, —I am again a candidate for the representation of your district in Parliament, and should you honour me with your confidence and return me as such, it will he my endeavour to serve yon honestly in that capacity. I have no private or personal interests to promote, and, if elected, shall he able to vote on all questions that may arise on their respective merits, not being answerable to any other than yourselves. It is probable that the first important question to bo settled by the new Parliament will be the one of Confidence or No-Confidence in the present Government. If elected, I shall vote with the Opposition, as I do not consider the members of this administration have conducted themselves in such a manner, as to warrant them being retained in office any longer, and if they had hud any self-respect amongst them, they would long ere this, of their own motion, have vacated those seats they so tenaciously cling to. It is notorious that many of tho so who voted to keep them in power did not approve of their policy, and in fact openly said, that whilst voting to keep the Government in would kick their policy out ; and, gentlemen, yon may rest assured that some not inconsiderable concessions were made as a set-oif against such unconstitutional support the Government then received. Another matter of vital importance to the colony is the consideration of its Financial Position, and steps must bo taken to bring expenditure within revenue, and that, if possible, without increased taxation. There are two or three ways open to effect this end, reduced expenditure—increased taxation — or a mixture of both. Now, at any rate, I think you, as country settlers, will agree with me that it is not desirable to throw any additional burdens upon the people, the present taxation being as much as can fairly be endured, and anything further in that direction cannot be thought of, e.xcept as a last resort, and in dire extremity, and before such a course is entertained, the expense of running the colonial coach must be reduced to the lowest possible limit, and it would be better if some of the departments were temporarily undermanned, or done away with altogether rather than continue to pay for their services out of loan. It is no use merely talking about this matter any longer, but prompt action must be taken, and as a commencement I think the

House of Representatives should consider what reductions are possible in connection with itself. The Honorarium can be cut down twenty-five per cent, the number of members in both Houses reduced one fourth, this I am assured would relieve some £13,000 not such a bad beginning. The next department to be attacked is the Governor’s Establishment, but here let me say, [ would be no party to interfere in any way with His Excellency, the present Governor, so as to disturb existing arrangements, and which were in force when he assumed the Governorship of Now Zealand. Still, it must be clearly understood, that his successors whoever they may be will have to run their several establishments at considerable less cost ; and taking into consideration the hardships it entails upon all classes of the community to provide the present revenue, I think the utmost that can be allowed in the future for this service is £SOOO, which must cover everything excepting the actual monies out of pocket when travelling on public service, leaving His Excelleney to regulate bis own affairs, and to entertain or otherwise as he may deem fit.

Then it should be seen what can be done with the

Salaries of Ministers.

There should be room for considerable reduction bore ; from returns I make it out that seven paid Ministers costs the country on an average some £2300 per year each, that is including travelling allowances for themselves and attendants, house allowances, cost of residences, &c., &c. Each Minister should be content with £IOOO a year with some addition for the Premier, who, bearing in mind the financial condition of tlie colony, might perhaps, let that go as a set off against the honour and glory attached to his position, their salaries to cover everything except, as in His Excellency’s case, the actual monies out of pocket for expenses when travelling on public service. The Legislative Expenditure

provides a good field for retrenchment. It is now much more expensive than in 1880. I believe upwards of £IO,OOO, and as a commencement that amount at least should be saved, with a possible further reduction in the future. The Civil Service Departments run into large figures, costing something between £200,000 and £300,000 more per year than they did a few years ago, and an attempt should be made to save at least that amount. It is not possible here to say which particular item must suffer, but it will be sufficient to intimate to heads of departments, that they must each run their several establishments within the proposed reduction, failing which they will have to make way for others who will, and I think that will fetch them. The Defence Expenditure is something considerable, but I am not one of those who find much fault with the Government on this account. Defensive works to be of any use, and not merely traps, must be thoroughly efficient, and consequently expensive; but I do most strenuously object to such sums as were paid Mr Stark, for land not required, being charged to this or any other department. This account being so heavy is probably the outcome of the Russian scare, a possible invasion being believed in, not only by the colonists, but also by the Home Government. In the absence of anything being done to protect our principal ports, and another scare coming along, I expect those who now so loudly complain re this expenditure would be as equally pronounced in condemning whatever Government that would be in office, for neglecting to profit by past warnings.

The Subsidies to Direct Steamersarc in the opinion of many not now required, the present subsidy is divided equally between two lines, and I understand another one is established, showing the steamers do not now require any grant from the Government to keep them running, and any how, it is scarcely fair to handicap the new lino, by subsidising the other two. If it is considered necessary in the colony’s interest, to have a direct mail service, I would prefer the same being contracted for. I, however, do not care to take away, the subsidy from the Frisco steamers, it is in our interests to keep that line running, which is, 1 believe, almost, if not entirely self supporting. County Councils

should be given something more to do, in which case they could undertake the work of several departments, not only with more economy to the colony, but also to my' mind more efficiently, the members of the council being directly under the e/e of those to whom they are responsible. Hoad boards also might, with advantage, be merged into 'councils, thus saving dual expenditure. County councils might undertake the duties now performed in connection with Scats forests, waste lands, boards of education, licensing matters, hospital and charitable aid boards, etc., etc. This would materially reduce colonial expenditure, and bring into closer connection those who disburse them. The Native Department. The time has come when this department should be swept away altogether, including the Native Minister and his sattelites, whose name is legion. The time has passed when natives require to be treated exceptionally, and as in many instances like spoilt children. The existence of this establishment provides many opportunities, whereby political friends or enemies can be rewarded or punished, as circumstances may require, and if credence is to be given to rumours in circulation, the present head of the department is not altogether immaculate. This work can be done by the several resident native agents

and the Cnlimuil SrcT-t-uv in the .-.illm; way as :my similar work i.dfectiai; Kuri.;.c.«ns is done.

The Native Lands Courts There Is room fur impruwmont here, the Native Department brined «ne away with nr otherwise, these courts should no under the Minister of Justice, the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court undertaking the duties now perfurewd by tin* Chief Judge of these courts ; which have not hitherto been sufficiently indo| emli.-nt of the

Government of tiie day, the result being confusion worst c mfoumJed. Should time permit, I may have sntie thing more to *ay under this head, and will now merely state that it is scarcely safe to think, much less to talk of the injustices that have boon done both races under the shadow of Ihe.-e courts. Railway Management. Croat reduction should be available under this head, the departments moving more :n the direction advocated by Mr Cwynneth, namely, put confidence in its employees, and have a great many los of them, punishing promptlyand severely any breach of trust. There are two departments, one controlling railways under cn-Lructiim the other working railways, they aic independent of each other, ami sometimes do not work cordially together, each putting too much faith in red tape and sealing-wax, these two branches should b? under the one head. Ido not think any one here will contend that the present system is run either in the interest of settlement, the travelling public or the department itself. There must certainly be something radically wrong, when it costs as much ami in some instances more to carry one ton of produce than it does to take two tons the same distance, yet such is or was quite recently the case. Yon can also send a truck of coal from Huntly, past Otalmhu to Auckland and back again to Otalmhu, for less than if the truck was loft at Otalmhu on its way down. This seems to me absurd, and I think it will puzzle even Mr Maxwell to show that it costs more to drop that truck at Otalmhu than it does to take the same on to Auckland, re-book and return to Otalmhu. There are too many rates and classes. It would he bettor to have only two, so much per ton measurement, and so much per ton weight, the department electing under which goods should lie carried. You will have noticed in my published address that I have pledged myself, if elected, to advocate Valle’s Scheme, (which, so far as I understand it, refers principally to passenger traffic) being afforded a fair trial on one or more of the main lines of the colony. But, gentlemen, this will not prevent me insisting on material reductions being made on long distance freights, so that the outlying settlers may be able to send their produce to market at a profit, I take it, railways in a new country like this are in the place of roads, and should be considered as .such: and if goods are carried at prices as will pay cost of haulage, management, fair wear and tear, it is as much as can be expected. Thecostof construction being a colonial liability should not be charged locally, or taken into consideration when freight charges are fixed. The minimum cost of taking goods, say twenty miles, should be ascertained, and that fixed as the charge for the first twenty miles, and each additional twenty miles charged for at a decreasing rate ; It is obvious that terminal charges being debited to the first twenty miles should not be charged for, over and over again. There should be fine uniform rate for parcels, carried bv rail, irrespective of distance, so long as they did not require re-bonking, in which case an additional rate would be collected. The Government profess to be very anxious to encourage industries. There is one, however, the production of honey, which does not receive that fair play from the railway dopaitmcnt, its importance warrants. If honey could be sold at such prices as would pay the producer, a source of income would be open to every country settler in the district, and to show you how unfairly this industry is treated, I had better read you a letter I have received hearing upon this mattter. It appears from this letter that beefarming is most unmercifully handicapped, and principally so because the amount sent by rail is small. Evidently the department, is doing its level best to keep it so. Education.

I have left this subject until last, because I would not economise in this direction, until all other sources hnd been exhausted. The educational system of New Zealand, is no doubt very efficient, but also very expensive; the primary schools alone, costing the colony £441,000 annually, and may be affected by the retrenchment, the country is determined upon, I hope, should this become necessary, I shall be able to show that great savings can be affected without in any way interfering with the system, or impairing its efficiency as an Educational Institution. I find there are lO'i.oL'S school children, with an average daily attendance 83,405, of these 21.024 are under seven years of age,—30,5115 are 7 and under 10—32,702 are 10 and under 13,10,812 13 and under 15—and only 2100,15 and over, much the greatest numbers being between 7 and 10, and 10 and 13. The number attending school over 13, is under 11,000, presumably children of parents who can well afford to pay for any additional education, they may wish to give.their sons and daughters who are over that age. Statistics show that 1)1,1105, that is all children over seven years of" age, are taught geography; 41,770, more than half the daily attendance are taught history ; 25,053, more than one third, are taught elementary science; whilst 00,407

and 83,773 are respectively taught drawing and .singing—in each case more than the average daily attendance. Out of the whole number 1011,338 on the rolls, 93-21)11 are under 13 (this does not include those who are 13), or nearly 10,000 more than the average daily attendance. Now, as a large proportion of these 03,2911 children leave, school before they reach 13, the number being over 80,000, do you not think it would be belter to pay less attention to cramming this large number of young children with history, drawing, singing, and the sciences, with the view of their being more soundly grounded in the three RV' so that when they leave school they could work out any ordinary arithmetical problem promptly, with the knowledge that it would be absolutely correct, and write llueutly in a good hand from dictation without mis takes. Any child thus educated could, if it had the inclination, gradually improve itself so as to be fitted for any position or calling he or she might aspire to. Now, gentlemen, I think I have shown that a very small proportion of scholars, attending the primary schools, remain after they are thirteen years of age, and those that do so remain are, as I have already said, probably the children of parents who can well afford to pay for any further education they may wish to give them. Taking into consideration our financial position, do you not think the Slate would be doing all that can reasonably be expected of it by providing free education in the primary schools np to, say, the fourth or filth standard, after which fees should be charged, exception being made in the case of clever children, who by competitive examination might show themselves much in advance of their fellows, and who should be afforded facilities to advance from primary to secondary schools, thence to Universities free of cost, so that New Zealand-born children, rich and poor alike, may be qualified to fill the highest position in the .State or her services. When these positions are held by those who are born and reared amongst yourselves, then yon may surely hope to have the affairs Of your country truly and economically administered. Secondary Schools and Universities should be self-supporting, and should not receive any aid from the State other than from endowments, the revenues from which should be funded and fairly divided amongst all the institutions throughout the colony providing higher education. The first charge upon such revenue to be the cost of educating and maintaining those who, possessing exceptional talents, have earned the privilege of receiving the highest education, as before explained. The High Schools

have an attendance of 2,358, dating about -•'0,000 annually. About £35,000 is paid in fees, £22,100 proceeds of endowments, the balance, some £3,700, being derived from Parliamentary grants. The Training Schools

are very expensive, and can well be dispensed with. The headmasters of the different schools should train their respective pupil teachers, and be made responsible for their efficiency. Board of Education.

There are fourteen Boards of Education whose officials receive £20,000 annually in salaries, in addition, in some instances, to travelling expenses, ranging from ten shillings to twenty shillings per day. This

>ln»uid b.; much reduced, if not .iii.-g.-tiier, I the p-ifonnanco of <i o'.h-nv;—providi-.! ,\s I have >*:tlod, to- *"tal I.: tli*: primarv sci i.- '.vtr I'HO.ijft), i,; ill,!.!, is paid to teacher,. Were the‘>ch.«; age raised to seven years ~nd limited to thirteen years, at !.m,'i ei>i-i.o.jij w -w!d bsavedand that, after putting ioO.OOj to sp-elally Mil,., .;... e , lUJl _' tiy sell--!-, which vv. .1.1, thf.-igl, cnt.i]ment ■.f ace, lie brought the required attendance ; Uni- providing ..gain-l the .deeds i M sp.is-ioy p ,;sK.t--d di'tre-ts being dosed. lint genii-m ,n ] J, ; . v .. beoire stated, 1 pief-r n u t • iu .my wov curtail free education m the primary s’cho. except under exltenie ni-ces-itv, In winch case 1 would ade., c , lt . ; ..penning in tilt uiraelmn ] tM.e imiic.it'd. Borrowing. It will Hal lie wise m possible, to cease borrowing all at once. 1: the break j. up. phed suddenly, and with thim a hand, there will he danger of somethin,,. . ,j„ ■ wrung. Money must he obtained tocomplete necessary and Useful work-, and fierilet me stale, it has he - ‘n iiidustrimis]y circulated that 111 a speech I had made and which was ill print, J had advocated all public work being suddenly stopped heat least four yeais. Ibis is a libel, and must he patent to all, since this is the first speech 1 naxe made iu this campaign. This false charge against me has been put about evidently with the object of iiaiii-i«. mg my candidature. All J have to say to lids is, tiiat I can state without fear of contradiction that, it was due to my action in the House in IS7G that tins trunk line took this direction. This work has been authorised and approved of by .succeeding Parliaments and the money voted. It woaidtlieiefore he folly to stop the work in its present unfinished state, and to that curse J would be no party.

The Expenditure on Public Works will require to be gradually reduced, and kept well in baud, and when tlie ordinary revenue happily covers our annual expi-ndiline, tiien other works of colonial iiiipoitancc may be undertaken. In older that such sums as the coleny requiremay be obtained on the 111 .st advantageous terms, and Now Zealand presented to home capitali.-ts as eligible fur piivate investments, it will b- necessarv to have removed the impressions now exisiing in England, namely that New Zealand is* not a very desirable field for the employment of capital. The disturbance of Native Land Court titles may have strengthened that impression. Anyone dealing for lands under crmvn grant naturally thinks his position se-cui**, but, at least in one well-known instance, the.Supreme Court recently decided otherwise, io m ike titles absolutely safe it will perhaps be necessary to pass a quieting of titles bill, not to prevent anyone feeling himself aggriev ed from taking action for redress, but causing him to proceed only for damages, and not to attack the title. When this is done it is probable more English capital will be forthcoming for investment, and there will consequently lie more demand for labour. But under anv circumstances, grants issued by the crown, and on which fees have been paid, should, when attacked, be defended by the crown, and not by and at the expense of those who hold them. The doubts east upon the stability of onr lard titles has had no little to do with the withdrawing of capital from the country. A large amount of capital, English and colonial, is at prescr.i locked up in native lands, that is, where it was quite legal to do so. Interests were acquired, hut ere titles Could be completed, legislation stopped ail dealings, and tile capital now invested is unproductive, those who invested being unable to complete the transaction or recover their advances. To remedy ! .... one of two courses arc open—namely, < tov- rnment should, if it is determined to .is-ne pre-emptive right, take over such interests as have been legally acquired, or allow those who have been dealing in good faith to complete their titles. Tiiis would set free for other uses capital that is now locked up. Representation.

1 have already .stated that hj r purposes of retrenchment, the number of members could be reduced. Von must, however, bear in mind that the colony cannot receive any relief forsome time to come, not, indeed, before another representation bill is passed, fallowed by an election, which, if it occurred before tins expiration of tlie ensuing Parliament uoiiai moan another election, costing much more than would be saved. There is, however, another view of the question to be taken. Mow will the numbers .if members being reduced affect country districts ? At present the centres of populati.ili have verv much the most say in Parliament, and to curtail tins number of members, and have them elected on the present basis would very much aggravate the evil. I'ne number now representing town constituencies Would ma be reduced, but merely pushed further hit. the country, whilst in many instances two or more country electoral distiiets would be amalg minted, and among other evils your choice of representatives would be curtailed, the increased expense of canvassing the enlarged districts would be .-o much as probably to deter some from contesting for seats. Jf the number of members is reduced, the relative proportions allotted to town and country districts should be so arranged as to put b >th on a more equal footing than at present exists. Natives should not have a dual vote, and rolls should be compiled for each of the four Maori districts, and every native who wished to exercise the privilege of voting should be enrolled on one or other of them, care being taken to prevent personation. SeparationThere is not much talk now about separation, but in times past this used to be a prominent subject, and what has been may again be. I will now merely state that should this question again arise, I will not favour the dismemberment of the colony, the commencement of which might lead no one can tell where. Kvyry county council, if not road board mhdit clamour forthe same privilege. Protection.

I am not a believer in protection, and will not vote for any unnecessary taxation tor purely revenue purposes. Though protection may appear on the face of it to benefit a country, still, under any circumstances, it is a dangerous course to follow, and any country that is fairly committed in that direction cannot retrace its step-, even should it know it was its interest to do so. Ceasing to foster industries that have been established under protective duties would shut up factories and throw a great number of persons out of employment. Now, is it vyise to drift into such a position, which I will compare to the captain of a vessel, who, on the approach of heavy weather, neglecting to lay to Ids ship, shortly finds himself unable to do so, and must continue running before the gale. With plenty of sea-room he may be all right, but getting on a lee shore he iall wrong, and in any case he rails a risk of straining his ship. With good times and money plentiful a protected country mav apparently flourish, but when bal times come on a depression will lie intensified. New Zealand, as you all know, is in a very bad way financially. Now, can ue improve our position by im|>o-ing more taxation? .Should we not rather take in all the sail we can and wait until the depression is pa—ed when our position could be rec m-i,!,uv 1 ? If I was a protectionist, you, as a countrv constituency, would not’be studying y.mr own interests in returning me as such. However much protection might Ivenefit centres of p filiation, it could not p .--ddy assist you. It would cause you to purchase in the dearest and sell iu the cheats—t markets. Taxation. It is quite probable that the country generally Joe.- not know the extent of our deficiencies, which may, notwithstanding all possible retrenchment, necessitate additional taxation. The general depreciation of property throughout the colony will no doubt materially’ reduce the amount of revenue raised under the property tax, which wil; have to be made up some other way. It is thought by some thi- tax tendto keep capital away, there bemsr no security that the rate may not at any time be materially increased. If it were possible for one Parliament to bind its successors, which it is not, and fix a maximum rate, it would perhaps not so much matter, and it is the possibility of capita! being unduly burdened that does the mischief. Perhaps it would be better rather than increase, the property-fax to rate all incomes derived from sources not taxed. Import duties for revenue purposes should be on articles of general consumption, and on luxuries, but until the finances are put in order, it will be bettor to let any alteration in the incidence of taxation stand over, so that the attention of Parliament may not be diverted from what we all admit is of paramount importance, namely, to bring expenditure within income. Waste Land Boards. As I have already stated county councils

J. the work under tliii* h«*d. < : •wn I*:.L ;.i<- tile pn*|<ttrty of th“ |** <>j Je t v. Jj.. .-;i- iri n I*..- t » *• »v in d'f?-

»t jt :*!. th • w-:n**-r* -*f a iir«L belli* no nmaiwi by iii'tnd .-l-xl-d iiy y .ur-‘ Tin* j*ro--♦■lit iaiidr h-urd di-tric*- *t*- :it j*r:.«r to » and if the diih.-reut r nntv e*«utic)K had the man lament of ti ‘.r o.vii 1 «nd', y* u r«- jnirem'Mits w "iM j»f *h.djiVlk bettor mol, lh*j councill'T* being d;r. cliy re-] To ail ,J wh-> •if * Jik**.v t » know tin* p-irtic«il*r want* ••I ;i di'tnct a*, who reside therein. ?

Crown Lands. Tnese should b**oid accmding if* there-‘inn.-jii nt> < f th** and in Ar&i

ns w-ihd -nit nU ' *t*< a«.d condi* t! of ni*‘n. The smaller the l*»t the letter the land 'h*.idd h>*. A large i»ri-jjorti'»n of the v>h •!** l>-;ng n»»t tirst-cU'S. tro«*d land .'iio-.iid be >o]d <*n jy in -m.ill Jot* .*■* a« in r-nconr.»ge >Htl**m*ut. An iiniu-trirms

s tth-r c aild git a living og fen acres of go ,il sod. hj it vv-.. dd starve on any quantity of inferior land. Lind Settlement SchemesIt is pr-.liihl- tii- Hon. Mr Hallnice con-sid-rs the placing of settlers on the lands ills sp-i-ial d uty and prerogative and that be is the only Minister who has honestly endeavour—l to place the p— iple on the land, and if the public were 1 j nits' sure tiiat his village settlement schemes were wholly intended for settlement parpi't-s, and not in any way to a-n't, p-lip;cal friends, it might give him more cr. Dl l than it now does. Anyhow 1 have n 1 great faith in forced settlements. No doubt there wi'l be an apparent success, so long as they are fostered with < hivi-rnment money, lint if we are to judge from pa»t ex]»-rience, I am afraid that when supplies are sT-pi-ed and s-tllers are required to pay interest on their advances, success u ii] not be so pronounced. I sh-oild like, settlers to hf.c an opiMirtunity of a -quiring the freehold should they be so inclined, and on that account favour land bung given under the Homestead Act. The only thing necessary to make settlement th-reimder a succ-ss is that the land Ive, really lir-l class, and that the residential clauses )>e somewhat relaxed at any rate during the first few years, so that, subject to the stipulated improvements being in ide, settlers may lie allowed to leave the land from time to time to enable them to earn money t> purchase necessaries, fee. l*f the two settlement schemes advocated by Sir lleorgellrey and the Hon. Mrliallance, i pilfer the former and principally because f understand it provides that the fie-hold may be acquired, nr what is perhaps better, a li-Tiinnently fixed rent to the Crown, subject to which any settler may ills;sis- of his farm by sale or otherwise as readily as if the title were frech ild. I am, however, of opinion that whatever scheme may be ultimately decided 11pm, Colonists with their families should be allowed a selection of land in any district set aside for that purpose, with similar privileges that arc given others. What Xew Zealand now most requires is population and capital, and it is to be hoped the attempt, that is now lieing made 1- 1 induce discharged Indian oificers and soldiers with pensions to come here and settle, and known as Captain Id.iveuey s scheme, may eventuate. 1 have little d-u'ot about the success, if the settlers are placed on good laud near to a railway or water communication. Native Department. I h.ivc jviM I think this department shmiM I rt dmo u'vay with. Thera ».-eJ to be a Lind Purch.ise Department which has been nbdi-hei. The UnderS -cfctary f-*r X.itiv.j Alf.iir* undertaking the. dutm* «*n account <>f which bin salary h.ishvmi incroist d, wjjich is nut his h:riiK-r .-ii.ny no d.mht l>ein£ deemed f.:r ;my he murht hi billed npm t» render. If he had lime at his di-p i-al t*> d-» the addit *n:d duly without interfering wilh the w<»rk «<f hj s '’iii.dn.il app »jntm-'nt, then his - d.»:y sh m) J iwt have been incr-'.t'cd. On lhe niher hj ind it hi' time was fr.liy ticcuphid it was ii.»t rijilit 1 1 charge him witli other dntios, the evident re-ult beinj; that the pnhhc inlcre-t imM s*:lf-*r. Since this additional wmk has been thrown uj«»n the L : ndcr->ecrct:ity we hud he has repeatedly and far weeks been away from his ‘•lHcc travelling frum place to place pnrchu'inj'native land, taking the work out of the hands of those who were socially ipp jiated and paid for tiiat service, and tajjeraiiy |?i vinj; a higher price than the

icg ihir aiith -n—l agent ; were allowed to give. Tins in itself is very wrong, causing natives to look with suspicion on the ‘ f oernment agents, and to iosi-t on deal-

lag only with the head <if the department, who may | > r;i in' think him-eif flittered thereby, and tint lie is tl-.iisir something for hi- addition il screw. This action nrio inevitably result in th.c ] r;all round mi l for native land bung con-iderably raised, and i' probably the reason why the rumoured high price- have r-cently been pail for inferior land, and no doubt the li.iiniso.,lo allowances he receives when travelling is no mean addition to his income. This officer leaving his ..liice for so lone a lime must necessitate the work lieing done by junior clerks, who, if capable of dome the work for a month or two at a tine-, are capable of dome it .altogether, in which case the I nder-Secretary is Hot required at all. The more I think about it the more I am convinced of the desirability of doing away with this department altogether. It was under this establishment, that an opportunity wis given one individual to earn in six months £2,700, and ]»erhaps you will think it a strange coincidence that this gentleman is about contesting a seat in the next I'arliament and as a Government supporter. Native Lands Court. Mr Ujihmcc’s liill re acquisition of native lands is anything but a success. Natives will not operate under it, and aav it is an injustice to them that they should not be allowed to sell their surplus lands in mi open market, and look njsm the Government or any other body being sole purchasers with suspicion, and that being the principal parties they should have more to say re the disp.sal of their The great trouble, in the purchase of native lands in the past, was the commencement of negotiation;. prior to the ownership being ascertained. The evil being, that the natives who had the least interest in the land, were generally the most anxious and ready to take money, and when the land came before the court heaven and earth were moved to have the land vested in the hands of these money taking natives, to the exclusion of the rightful owners whose only sin was, they did not want to sell. To my mind the projier course is to have the titles ascertained and individualised to all native lands in the country, rights of miners being protected, ample reserves being made for all their po-sible new requirements. Natives failing or refusing to have their land titles individualised through the Land Court should be ennsiwered to take action after due and ample notice by advertising, gazetting, placarding the particular block, kz-, sothit all land might be under Crown title. After natives have received a title to their lands they should in re-jiectofsach lands be treated as Europeans, enjoying the same privileges, and subject to similar liabilities. There is no disguising the fact that the Native Lands Courts as at present managed have not given satisfaction to either natives or Kuro|ieaiis. Natives feel, it isnotright, thattheGovcmmcntoftheday which iscver changing.-h iuld beinaposition to hasten or stay proceedings, which may i»a done for political reason, only, and are much agrieved that when disati-ned with a judgment of the Land Court, Uiere • hoiild be no appeal, except to the chu f judge of that Court, who may him-elf have given the decision complained u {. V,, u v .ml no doubt have heard that the native- recently objected to the Land Court at utorohonga doing any business. The Court u.et and adjourned several times hoping eventually to get to work but nothing was done, and Anally adjourned for several months. The natives say that their objections to the court proceeding is that they consider a great injustice has been done them through the action of the court at Taupo, which was the fir.-t to -Jjudicate upon lands within Kobe IVdai, generally known as the King Country. A- ■ u toiuu.g that they had been robbed of their land at that Court they applied for a re-hearing, aud it was consequent on their application uot being complied with or refused tint they objected to pnceed with putting their lands through tbeconrt, fearing further spoliation, aad what grieves them most is hcaringtfaatG ovemment agents have been purcha-ing some of the lind in dispute. Natives further state that considering the original judgment given at Tauj<o —an illegal one—they asked the chief judge to cause a case to be stated for the -Supreme Court, so that the doubt might be removed, it being of no use'proceeding further on a title that might eventually be ruled bad. Not receiving any answer to this, their last application they have become exceedingly suspicious, it bein|

hinted the Government may move Tallin Incut to give a title to the land it hawrongfully purchased. Had the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court heeu at the head of Urn Land (Joint, it is scarcely passible this position could have been arrived at. Depression. Unfortunately a dark cloud has hern and is still over New Zealand, the of which ary aggravated through capitalists not only ceasing to invest in the colony, Imt also, ns opportunity” offers, withdrawing such capital as they had in the colony. The low price onr last loan was floated at, shows that onr credit in London is, or was, on the wane. We had to pay a fc am of £37,500 when that loan was n. red. A few days prior to its being placed on the money market, onr lannis were at or above par, si.ice which they rapidly fell to at which price, onr loan was negotiated, and since which f hear they hti e, been down to Ul. Now them must have been some cause for this .sudden fall in value of onr securities, and it is said that tin; manner in which the debentures covering Ihe sinking fund were disposed of may have been primarily the cause. Had the amount of accrued sinking fund been on deposit in some .substantial bank instead of being invested in onr own bonds, it would have been comparatively easy to have got the money without the matter being much talked about. Hut to handle the cash it was necessary to re-sell the securities covering this Sinking Knud. To have sold them in an open market bytender in accordance with the then law, might have interfered with the Heating of the million and a half loan the (iiivorninent determined upon. Consequently the Now Zealand Parliament passed an Act authorising inscription privately {inscription is merely a nickname for selling). Accordingly, aPout half the debentures were distributed amongst the brokers on ’change on such terms as were no doubt fair and reasonable. When this first instalment had been disposed of the balance was handed over to Hie brokers with an assurance that no New Zealand loan should ho placed on the English money market for at least 12 months, and although this promise might not bo legally binding still it was an engagement of honour and was looked upon as such by the brokers and investing public, and wliich the (lovcrnincnt should not have given unless it intended to keep. Not many days elapsed before the last loan was placed upon the market, bringing the two sets of debentures into competition. That, together with the opposition from the brokers, who considered (and justly so) they had been imposed upon, caused the sudden fall in New Zealand stocks, resulting in our Joan of one and a half millions realising only 071, entailing a loss, as I before stated, of £37,500, sufficient to make a good section of railway. The actual cost of raising this loan was Lai,ooo, including discount, commission, &c. Since the above case of smart practice, financiers say they do not care to touch New Zealand securities, at any rate until there is a change of Government, and I do not blame them. The recent rise in our stocks is, I am assured, entirely due to the defeat the present Government sustained last session of Parliament. It is well known that wo are dependent upon London purchasing onr debentures, in order that wo may nave money available for public works. Our securities however arc not likely to bo enquired after until conlidencc is again established, and the promises of onr public men can be again relied upon ; and to hasten this happy time 1 shall, if elected, bo lound voting with the Opposition. General Matters-

I was informed last night by a gentleman just returned from Auckland, that one of the Mr Tolu’s told him in the morning it was tbo intention of the Minister for Justice to contest the scat for Waipa, I did not pay much heed at thu lime, other than to mention I was glad to hear it, because such being the case was to my mind evidence that the strength of the Government party in Auckland was declining. 15ut from a letter appearing in a local paper, most probably written by or at the instance of the proprietor, the Government candidate for Waikato, and of which I shall not take any notice other than to remark that putting two and two together it is possible there may bo some truth in the rumoured probability of Mr Tolo or some other Government candidate being brought out for Waipa. That no doubt from that point of view, it is very desirable that Mr Lake and myself should both bo in the field. I may, however, state that admitting 1 do not care for Sir Julius Vogel, as a Minister, I care less for Sir U. Stout, and least of all for Mr Itallaneo, whom I know to have prostituted his ottice for p ditioal purposes. I am not a believer in the present Government, nor have I ever (icon, although at one time I Imped Mr Stout might have kept his colleagues straight, perhaps lie tried, tf so, in some eases, lie most miserably failed. 1 shall never forget Mr ilallaiioe's first visit to the King Country natives, in this and other districts. Ho promised anything and everything, so much so, that one of the shrewdest natives in the country said to another in my hearing, “Ask him for Government House, and ho will say yes.” It is said, ins principal object in making that tour was to secure the native vote, and in this he succeeded. It is not considered possible that the Government could for a single day have kept office on the merits of either themselves or their policy. Their retaining ollicc so long as they did may be duo to the way the public funds were expended, and probably it will now bo known what it has cost the country to keep them in office. Conclusion. Gentlemen, nothing is to bo gained by our discussing as to who should bo charged with the causes of onr present hard times. They arc not due to either Atkinson, Stout, Grey, or any other of our public men, being common all over the world, the wave of de. prossion overshadowing ns; being something liku “Topsy,” I speeds it grmved. This Government, no more than any other, can be held solely responsible, but I do think it may fairly be credited with rubbing the depression in. As I have said before, the first question the next Parliament will have to decide, tor which indeed it is being elected is “ Has the country confidence or imconfidonce in the present Government ?” Every candidate should be required to state distinctly bow, if elected, be would vole when the division is taken. Any candidate who is not able to make up his mind on this matter must bo deficient of common average intelligence, and on the other hand, if ho has made up his mind and will not give tho electors his confidence, then the electors should have nothing to do with him. It is idle for a candidate to say, he wants to know who is going to take the place of the present Government before ho would vote to remove it. A new Parliament has boon rendered necessary, primarily to determine whether those who now occupy the Ministerial benches are to continue to do so or not, and it is obviously necessary that they must be turned out of office before they can bo succeeded by others. Therefore, let your first question to all candidates be, as to how they will vote on tho motion of confidence or want of confidence, which must inevitably arise when tho new Parliament meets. I understand tho Government claim they have made great reductions. I very much doubt it. I see they asked Parliament to provide lor the year 1887-8 a sum of tL*7B,7 ; >o more than the actual revenue of 18815-7. If this is retrenchment, then, I think, we are better without it. Whatever Government may say about their being anxious to encourage the establishment of industries, it was not for that purpose it proposed the additional taxation, but purely to provide revenue. I have no doubt it thought the public would swallow the pill, all tlio more readily, if it was thus gilded. The Waikato and Waipa electorates are in reality one district returning two members, and since it was divided, the two have generally been on the same side of tho House, and gentlemen, I hope the same will be the result of this election. If otherwise, then the Waikato and Waipa members had better send in their “ pairs,” and remain at home and save the colony tho cost of their Imimnaria. If I am humoured by being returned as your representative, then f hope one of two things will happen. Either that -Mr Whyte will be returned for Waikato, or that Mr Russell will ceasu to support the present Government. If tho two districts pull together, bettor results will be obtained for both, than if they are represented by members who arc on different sides of the 1 fouse. As I before said Waikato and Waipa wore originally one electorate, and if the number of members is reduced, will most probably again become so, and electors of eaclislunild try and return for their member such as arc in accord with each other. To refer again to the depression, I may remind you that we have seen equally as bad times as these, and lived long enough to forget them ; 1 have no doubt wo shall soon see the depression pass away, but, gentlemen, yon must in tho meantime live quietly, gud be economical, not only as rc-

1'.m1.-i ymr private aif.drs, lr.it, alsu in nf v-mr public hip s. it is no use with, nil mm haml, insisting nil dra-tic ret.n’11c 1111hmt, anil on tlm otlnT hand expectmg all kinds of assistance. in He- sh:qi-“f public works, Vc., from I’.irliaimmt. I d-e ri"t wish to detain yon any Inngnr, and liavo to thank you for Hie patinnt and attenlivo hearing ymi have accorded mo, and will only say that if you think nm wm thy of lining your member, and plum lai 1 as such, I hope 1 shall never giro you cause to regret it.

The Chairman then invited questions from the audience, Ur Knox: Von have stated that you prefer Sir George drey’s land scheme (o Mr Hallanco's. I f elected, will you assi-t Sir George drey in Ins endeavours to have this scheme adopted 'i Major .lackson; Certainly, considering that Sir George Grey is working entirely in the interests of tin; country, I will honestly assist him in this or in any other direction consistently with what 1 have said tonight. Mr l>. Salmon ; Would you work cordially with the member for Waikato'; Major Jackson ; Certainly. I think I have already anticipated that question. Even if, unfortunately, the Govi rnmeni supporter should be returned for Waikato, it will be my duty to do so in all matters affecting the two constituencies, whose interests are the same.

No further questions were asked. Mr S. Davis then moved a vote of thanks and confidence in Major Jackson. This was seconded by Mr 11. M. Salmon, and on being put by the Chairman was carried without dissent.

The Major, in thanking them for their expression of confidence, said he should probably meet them again before the polling day, as there were some questions of inlerest ho would have to refer to again. Major Jackson then thanked the Mayor for presiding, and the customary compliment to the chair terminated the meeting.