MR ROCHE AND PATETERE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 2855, 30 October 1890, Page 3

MR ROCHE AND PATETERE.

TO THK EDITOR. Sin,—Mr Roche has written condemning Mr Bryce for beinu a member of the Ministry, which handed over 250,000 acres of land to the Patetero Company. I think it would have been a good thing for the country if the same Ministry had handed over double the quantity to the same said Comliany, Whether it would have been pood for the Company it is not necessary tor me to discuss. That i">0,000 acres is now paving property lax, and is employing labour, and is sending wool home which brings money back to New Zealand, the same money coming to us in a legitimate manner, and free from the horrible evils which borrowed money brings—the same 250,000 acres if it had notboen granted to the Company, would now be idle, and would be neither paying property tax nor paying wagea nor feeding sheep. Mr Editor, there is no mistake about the good of the grant, but the evil which is said to How from the granting of the land is all a mistake. What are the evils? It is held that tlio giving of large tracts of laud to individuals or Companies is robbing the people of the hind. This is very well as a political cry, but we ought by this time be able to dissect and discern what political crira are worth, surely it is now time for us to be r.ble to know what is humbug. It if all humbug to say that the granting of these large tracts of land has robbed the people of the land for the truth, and the truth which cannot be gainsaid, is (.hat at this present moment there is more land lying and open for any to take up than there is psi'ple to t..ke'it. It limy be said th»t we nre nit tu look lit. the present, but to look to posterity. L say that bv the; time posterity wants the land, tho land will not be in hr>;e estates hnlii by individuals or companies. There being no law of entail here, it is an impossibility that these large estates can be handed down by father to son. If it w;is closely looked into, it would be found that tho quantity "t iarge tracts of land to individuals has at this prjietit time been tliu means of largely increasing tho number of owners of laud. Without the granting of land nnd leases to the squatters there would not now be one owner of land where there are now many owner.*, or in other words, there would not, bo one for four that now is. Sir George Grey, when Governor, and before we had representative Government, by the stroke of his pen passed » law which enabled many nf our large l:!nd-nnlder:i to acquire their larg« estates. I never blamed Sir George for creating these large landOwners, it was a good thing for the country that he created them, but what I do tind fault with him is the political cry ho β-jtt up and has haransu-vl the tailor* and shoemakers (,f Auckland for years upon. The large land-ownera bought their land legally and according to la.v of his own making, and he now denounces these said land-owners as robbers, deluding these i>o,.r shoemakers and tiiilora with the belief that he is their friend, and their fiiond by denouncing what he represents as bad, all the tinin he being the creator uf the badness. This may in a politiral point of view, as far as he is personally concerned, b« cute and cunning. S'>sre" people who mistake what the word '' si.-.ver'' represents may say it is great cleverness. I say it is great dishonour, ami 1 say that any one who has so misrepresented the facts as Sir George has done is perfectly mid completely void of honour. Mr K.iitor. Mr Bryce is on his trial; Mr Roche is the prosecutor; the electors of tlio Wiiikatn aro the jury. 1 am for the defence, the verdict is guilty or not guilt.y: the sentence to be election or niinelection. Gentlemen of the jury, it is with feelings of great regret that I have to defend my client; not feeling of regret for my client for out of this temporary darkness which fur tho moment overshadows him, ho will out of it arise in a light which will be dazzling and illuminating to al, eyes. Gentlemen, I see in you what makes me sure of the verdict. I see in you the intelligence which tho sons of the country have, and I also see honour and patriotism beaming in your eyes. Gentlemen, it is a lamentable and much-to-be-deplored truth that in our large towns political honour and political truth are not to bo found. It is the tillers of the soil that we have to look to to stop tho country in its downward course to political dishonour, and it is to you who breathe the pure air and enjoy the grand nights of innocent nature that f look for a verdict in my client's favour. Gentlemen, you cannot look ut grand old Pirongia, without looking heavenwards, and in lifting your eyes from earth to hoavnn, so do your thoughts become less earthly and more heavenly. Alas! alas ! gentlemen, I wish f could say the same of the population of the tawns. When they look upwards they only see a horizon of •moke, as the ckar blue sky it- dimmed tr, them, so nre their thoughts dim, and they cannjt see clearly what is false from what s real. They mistake demagogues for patriots, and they also mistake and do not know a true patriot, when we are so tortunate as to have such a one as my client is. I need not remind you that it is your duty to pay no attention to false yarns which you may hear out ot Court. It is superfluous me having done so, thu thought that you would do s;> is an insulting thought in me doing so to men of such intelligence, and I humbly crave your pardon. Gentlemen, mv client's case is as clear as daylight. He is arrainged for being one of a Ministry which gave 250,000 acres to tho Patetere Company. I have only to point out to you that it is my client that is on trial, and not tho Ministry. You will therefore have to confine yourself to my client's actions, and not the actions of the Ministry. The action of the Ministry must be dismissed from the case altogether. What were the actions of my client —te show you what they were, I will need to go back to what were the actions of his predecessors, and also to what were tho actions of his successors. Gentlemen, when the prosecutor prosecutes the Ministry (the Hall Ministry), I will defend it, nnd show that that Ministry had to bring order out of Chaos, but, as I have already said, it is my clieut who is on trial and not the Ministry. My client was Dtsfenco Minister in the Hall Ministry. Ho was selected by his chief for this portfolio from the fact that what was wanted to fill this post was one who had a speciality for the duties. There wore special duties to be performed, and his chief in his great intelligence discerned that my client was the right man in tho right place. Not only did the tiller of the post require ability und integrity, but it also required determination and great fortitude. Ability, integrity, determination and great fortitude my client, fortunately for tlw destinies of tliu country, he had and hu.s. When wo look at tho maladministration, corruption and rottenness of the Defence Ottice when he took possessini of it. you will nee that it required a man of great fortitude to suppress nil such. My client did suppress the evils of his prndcces.sors. That he did so were at tin.-, lime household words. The prosecutor depends upon distance of time. lie thinks you who aro to try him will also have forgotten. Vain delusion ! The prosecutor iusultn you when ho thinks so. Gentlemen, you will show the. prosecutor that you "re not the ungrateful ijjbu ho l.ifcas fM I" be. T' lu Ptu»o-

eutor thinks that the maladministration of my client's predecessors are forgotten ; poor fool that ho is to think so. I need not remind vou of the corruption of tho Defence Oflice during the Grey Ministry. I will not tell you yarns ; I will tell you what I saw with my own eyes, and what I tell you is truth. Sir George Groy, or his Defence Minister held a meeting with the natives at Alexandra. lam almost sure that both Sir George and his Defence Minister were at the meeting. Well, after the meeting, I saw a Greyite storekeeper's store rushed by the Maoris. Of co.irse they had authority to do so, and they camo running out some with blankets some with coats, all had something. Now there was no time for the storekeeper, no matter how honest he might have been, to taku count or mark down what the natives got. Can you concieve that it was possible for such as this to happen without corruption ; such goings on as this was fine and glorious for the natives and storekeepers and many others; but, gentlemen of the jury, it was nnd is ym who have to pay the piper. Well it required a strong-minded man, and lino who could stand sour looks to stop this corruption ,iiud so save your pockets. My client did so, he alone without heip and against sour looks brought the expenses of the Defence Office to almost nothing. He reduced the force of the officers of the Armed Constabulary and, would you believe it, his successor in the office reinstated these officers, preferring co have their pleasant looks at your expense, as you have to pay for that reinstating. Gfvntlemen, it has been said outside of this covert that Mr Bryca has grpat ability and integrity, but that being so is a danger to the country, as having ability he has more power to do harm. This is both foolish and contradictory, ae I will show you. What does ability stand for ? It stands for being able, it stands for having power. And what does integrity stand for ? It stauds for goodness Hrw can a man being good do harm. Of course, be might unawares do harm ; but then the ability gives him the power to soe whit is evil from good. Tho saying he would be more able is humbug, hie integrity would keep him from being able to do harm and his ability would save his integrity from being misapplied. Gentlemen I have done. Give a verdict in favour of my client, and you will prove yourselves bright and shining lights, and the nnborn millions will hold y.m in grateful remembrance for your wisdom and courage. Future ages will speak of this Waikato election as having been the turning point of our career.—l am, etc., Habahw.

P.S.—When I say the quantity of large tracts increased thn number of owners, it was the wnetes earned from their owners ihat enabled small men to become owners.