GREY VALLFY ELECTION.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 13 June 1881, Page 2

GREY VALLFY ELECTION.

Mr. T.|S. Weston at Reefton.

The] largest"; public* audience ever assembled in Reefton gatheredjin Dawson's Hall on Saturday evening"' last, for the purpose of hearing the address of Mr Weston to the electors. Some minutes before ihe bour^ appointed for^commencing, the room was literally packed with people, rendering it difficult for the candidate and his committee to work their way up to the stage. When, however, Mr W§ston advanced to the platform, tbe audience rose and gave him a reception even more enthusiastic thaa that ac« corded to Sir George Grey on the occasion of his visit here, the cheers being bud and continued.

Mr W. H. Jones, proposed that Mr H. F. Budge take the chair, and the motion having beeu seconded by Mr D. O; Preshaw, was put, and carried.

Mr Budge said the meeting was aware that a vacancy had occurred in the House of Representatives by the resigna* tiou of Mr Masters, and at tbe request of a number of (lie electors of Greymouth and Reefton, Mr Weston had; consented to be nominated. The candidate was now before them, and he felt confident 'hat it was quite unnecessary to request for him a fair aud impartial hearing. He would, therefore, introduce Mr Weston to the meeting. Mr Weston, who was greeted with renewed cheers, said : Gentlemen — When I left here about six months ago, I little dreamt that I should meet you on an occasion such as this. That I feel I have been highly honored I need hardly tell you ; but before proceeding with my ad* dress, I must take this, the first opportunity afforded me, of personally thanking you, for the very§!handsome testimonial signed by over 400 inhabitants of the Inangahua, which was presented to me in Christchurch. When I received that testimonial my heart was touched, and I could hardly express in words wbat I felt, and even now can do no more than thank you sincerely for the honor whicii you did mc in making that presentation. I can assure you I appreciate it to the very highest degree, and it will never fail to remind me of the great kindness shown me during my residence on the West Coast. It was then a source of great regret to me when I subsequently received invitations to contest this seat to find that my name was not on the electoral mil, but as I then thought, it it was quite out of my power to comply. Subsequently, however, I was waited upon by some friends to make my application for registration, ?.nd the claim was forwarded at once to Invercargill, when to my great surprise, two or lliree days later, I received a telegram from the liegistralion Officer there stating that my name had been on the roll since 18G4, and upon receipt of that intimation I laid the matter before the gentlemen in Greymouth and Reefton who had forwarded mo the invitation, and their answer was a renewal of the request to come forward, and I am now here to ask to he returned at your hands. (Cheers.) I regret, however, that my stay here will be so short as to render it c| life impossible for

me to visit Black's Pom!; and Boatman's, but I trust that this inability on my part will not be interpreted by the electors of those places as a mark of discourtesy. The Electorate is a very large one, and owing to the near approach of the poll it is really impossible for me to do more than visit the larger centres. I have al ready been announced for several days to spe-ak at Nelson Creek'on Mondaygnight, Maori Gully and Brunnerton on Tuesday, and the Seventeen-Mile Beach on Wednesday night, and thus the whole of the tine is fully taken up, and fo visit Boatman's would be »o make it impossible to speak at any of the places named. Coming to the many questions which have to beftouchedgupon.'l shalli-have'to tax your patience to some extent, hut I feel sure that you [quite] realise "the position, and will follow me. That I shall not be able toj please everybody/I am aware ; there can be no such thing as'ens tire accord in mattprs of this kind, but should you agree|]with the tenor*of*my nddress, then I may fairly ask you to say whether 1 8m worthy to represent you. (Cheers.) Now the foremost question I have to touch upon is*that"of*Education. T grieve to say it is a vexed question, nnd it is a matter of the deepest regret that a subject, in -which everybody is so deeply interested presents so little chance of being settle! to the satisfaction of all parties, and therefore! it must be settled upon the broadest principle, and must respect the will of the majority. From this there seems no reasonable hope of escape, and unfortunate as it is, there seems nothing or it but to ask those who are unhappily inj* disagreement to sink their own"differences, and join in with the system already established. Now the importance of the question is admitted on all sides. When we realise the important influence which Education must have upon the future of tbe Colony ; when we see under the present system that al! children of all "classes and placed upon a footing of equality in the means of acquiring instruction ; when we see these children meeting daily upon a common platform.Jand growing up side by side to the destruction of all narrow prejudices and the "spirit of pride, I say we cannot but arrive at the conclusion that we have very far succeeded in the grave and important duty which we owe to those who a- c to come after us. (Cheers ), Tbe obligation to do all this is the greater in this young country when we see that there is no position in tbe State from tbat of Premier and Chief Justice downwards which is not open alike to the sons of the poorest and humblest as well as the most wealthy ard mfluential. (Cheers) One duty of tbe State is to ensure the education of its chiidren, snd there could be no question that it would be difficult to devise any scheme better calculated to do this than the system we are now blessed with. 1 need hardly say after this that I am a Secularist in the true sense of the word, and should like to see the children of all ages compelled to attend school. It is a duty which parents imperatively owe to their offspring no les9 than to the S ; alc, for without Education we must have crime and intemperance and everything that is bad. I bave had some experience of the present school system on these goldflelds, and a member of the committee of one of the largest Eduea fionol districts in the Colony, and bave sons in the college in Christchurch, and having carefully watched the working of each, I can candidly say that the children on t lnese goldflelds have as good an onpor' unity of gaining a first*»class English Education as the more favoured sons and daughters of the wealthy, and I say that a system which offers such a boon to all classes alike must have a deal to re» commend it. But to say that the system, with all 'its recommendations, is univers sally accepted would be to say what we know not to be the case. For myself, I strongly sympathise with the Roman Catholics in the view which they take of the question, and haye never attempted to conceal the feeling, but at Greymouth the other day Mi Marlin Kennedy said tbat when I spoke friendly of their exer» tions I did so in a Pecksnifian spirit. No greater injustice cou'd' be done my feel* ings than this. I can fairly claim to be a liberal minded man, and if there is one question more than another upon which I feel- tbat we should be liberal to each other it is in regard to religion. We are all seeking the same Haven, and can therefore well afford lo merge all minor differences, hut seeing that the Catholics do what they do for their schools and children, I say, as I have always said and will continue to do, that they deserve the respect of every respectable man. (Cheers.) But while they command and have my sympathy and admiration, I cannot depart from the rock on which I stand (Cheers.) When I talk like this, however, I say that the present system in order to be preserved must be economised, for, if not, it will be borne down by its own weight. It has been said that in advocating economy I am desirous of myself breaking down the system, but such an assertion carries its own reflation, for unless we keep ths system within the means of the Colony, it is not difficult to see what the end must he, and regarding the system as one of the greatest blessings which the Colony possesses he was too jealous of it to see it even endangered, (Cheers.) With these remarks I will leave the Education ques» ti^n in yi ur hands. It hns been said that the corning session will be an unimpor**

tant one, that the Education question will not be touchod upon, but who can tell wbat is in the womb of time. Certain it is that there will be at least a grasping for power, and efforts will be made to oppose party to party, as those, whoever they may be. who hold the reins at the close of the present session will go to tbe country with a much better prospect of return than those who are out in the cold. At present there are three parties. The Hall party, tbe Grey party, and the Ormond parly, and each would no doubt make a desperato effort to lurn the other out, and who in tbe presence of such possibili'ies could say tbat there was no chance of change ? When we see Mr Johnston's introduction to the Cabinet— an announced champion of the Donominationalists—ani wben|we see Mr Rolleston, who was a firm secular, handing over hisaportfolio£as Minister of Educa* tion, to Mr Dick, a pronounced Denomin* tionalist, who can divine what is in contemplation. At any rate these are facts which Jthe electors will weigh for themselves, and possibly lead them to be careful in their choice to relurn^someone whose knowledge of their 'wants and wishes will secure tbem the fullest measure of representation. (Cheers.) Whether I am that man is not for me to say but. for you, but should I be returned I hold myself free to" take a*] perfectly independent course, and shall be ready to extend theglargesljlmeasure of support to that partyj alone Jwhich I\ think will be prepared to do the best for this portion of the Colony, and the country at large. (Cheers.) lam not rich, hut I trust I am an independent man, and in enter* ing that bouse, shou'd I be so fortunate, I will go"toVb.e Prem'er.'and say •' I have been'.ireturnedrfor'^one of the not least important constituencies in the Colony,'and;i shall be to give you my! , Bupport_*'so'long as you give me reasonable assurances£and proof thatjyou will do^justice^to myrconstituents, but directly I find you will not do so. I shall look out for another leader." (Great cheering.)f |That is tbe£]course I shall pursue, and to which I stand committed, Now baying touched upon these questions, I will refer to other matters which concern you more immedietely. First in importance in this connection stands the question of railway communication be« tween Christchurch, Reefton, and Greymouth. I have no doubt you have all followed intently the 1 progress already made with the scheme. You have in Christchurch a man who is one in five thousand, » giant of zeal and activity in this work — I need hardly say I refer to Mr E. Wickes. (Great cheers.) It was he who took the initiative in the matter, and first invited attention to it, and with a few friends decided that Messrs Thornton and Browne should plot a line, After tbat I arrived in Christchurch, and was asked to join in the movement. I told them that I naturally felt a great interest in tbeTWest Coast, and tbat if I could be of any service in helping on the project both my time and money were at their disposal. (Cheers.) We then took tbe matter in hand with renewel hope, and asked the aid of the people, but I was mortified to find thqt the support was not so readily forthcoming as we could haye desired, and left a few of us to work tbe thing on as best we could. We subsequently interviewed the Premier, aud laid our plans before him, and begged him to guarantee tbe costs of survey, and to lay off land along the route, but whilst we were received with every courtesy, Mr Hall would promise nothing. We next convened a public meeting at which 1500 were present, and the Bym« pathy of the meeting was quite with us. We next invoked the valuable Bid of Mr Loughnan, the editor of the Ly Helton Times, and that gentleman, with his sub«editors, rendered us the most valuable aid, for be kept the matter prominently before the public, and so carried tbe agitation over the most critical stage of its existence, and by and bye the people began to come over with us. and give us that which tbey before withheld, and when we again interviewed tbe Premier, such was the altered view which was taken of the pro* ject that our reception was very much more encouraging, and I notice that in the course of his recent Leeston address the Premier stated his intention of submitted proposals to the House for authorising the concessions desired by the company. (Cheers.) I have now given you a history of the undertaking, and should the Bill pass, and I confess that I should like to assist in getting it through, we can go to. the London market and raise the required capital, and at no distant date you will asssuredly see the " iron horse " running through from Christchurch to Greymouth (Cheers) As to the advantages of such a means of communication, the Colony was now beginning to see them in their proper light. On one side of the Island they had a superabundance of cheap wheat, whicii they were compelled in the absence of an outlet, to export, whilst here there was room for a very considerable consumption. The same argument applies to live stock, and in fact all kinds of Colonial produce. There they have surplus population who want employment and room to settle. We see land at the Maruia which is capable of supporting a large population in various pursuits. We see the immense mineral resources of the Inangahua aud Grey Vallies. the pio-

ductiveness of which could be increased a thousand-fold with ordinary facilities for intercommunication, Again we see the enormous sources of wealth at present locked up in the forests of the West Coast, and with all these things we should leave no stone unturned to endea7or to accomplish thnt one undertaking which will assuredly do so much for this part and the Colony generally. (Cheers.) What is the present condition of the West Coast ? It is one of utter isolation, and'eoming from Christchurch as I have just done, it seems the greater. There is no sympathy between this and any other part of the Colony. The West Coast was looded upon as out of the world, and there is no desire to foster its industries. The only remedy and the only hope for this condition of things is the railway: (Cheers.) Tbe accomplish ment of tbat work would open industries, give immense va'ue to our coal re» sources of Brunner, and create a prosperity such as the West Coast had not seen for years. There can be no doubt of the profits of the company. 52.000 tons of coal was consumed in Christchurch 1 ist year. This was the quantity used in that one plaoe, but large as it is, it is nothing to what the requirement of tbat city will be in five years hence. Most of that coal came from Newcastle, and cost 32s per ton by ship-board and duty, and 6s per ton from Lyttelton to Christchurch. The company will be able to land the coal in Christchurch at 2ts per ton, namely 14s for out-put and 10s for freight. In addition to this 20,000,000 ft of timber is required annually, and the transport of 8,000 bales of wool. 50 head of cattle, 600 sheep, and 400 passengers per week ; % tons freight per head for a population of 20,000, besides posts, rails, and shingles. These together would bring in a revenue of £176.000 per year. Deducting from that 61 per ce>t for Ihe weeks' expenses, we should upon a capital of one million have a fair return for tbo outlay. (Cheers.) But we appre hend tbat in addition to this, trade along tbe line would be created, and the work of settlement on the land along the line would he pushed on. Now this brings me to the question of the so called compet'tive routes. The one most favorably referred to in the Government engineer's report is that known as tbe Arthur's Pass route, and it is also known as Foy's line. The line is said to possess tbe merit of being shorter than our one, but upon the score of cost the drawback to it is urquestionahle. For a mile and a half it presents a grade of 1 in 7, in addition to which there is three and a«half miles of tunnelling to he done, wh'ch would be a work of enormous cost, StaMonary engines wi uld be required on the line, and is was well known that coal would not bear much handling, but freights must be cheap and large. Ido not wish to find fault with Mr O'Connor, but in our opinion the merits of the two routes must be decided by the qualify and area of th* land to be opened up for occupation and settlement, and by this test the Maruia route is incomparably the most superior one. The Ada line offered a minimum grade of I in 50; which is quite steep enough for coal traffic. However, our engineers have replied exhaustively, and upon such facts a* must carry conviction to the opponents of the scheme. Now, all I can add is. that in the event of my return I will do my best to push on the work, as 1 have done throughout with tbe cooperation of my Christchurch friends, I will, of course, only have one voice in the matter, but if it is any recommendation that my heart is thoroughly in the work, I can safely pledge you that as far as it is in my power I will do my very best to see (he names of Wicks, myself and others immortalise over the work, (prolonged cheers.) With respect to the question of Redistribution of Representation, I followed the Premier in his recent speech with great interest But I see that it is proposed to ba«e the representation upon population. This is all very well for the hrge centres of population, but it would be the dutyo r you" representative to see that the exceptional circumstances of these goldflelds are not overlooked. The Grey Yallev electorate as at present constituted is one which few men could canvass and do justice to. We should endeavor to see that the districts are small snd that population alone is not made the basis of the new system. Yout representation has been small in the past, and it is therefore imperative that whatever tbe bases bp, it shall be to the advantage of this constituency, for unless a determined effort is made to keep the claims of the goldfields before the Government their concerns will receive small consideration, and the districts will eventually die out. There is no doubt whatever that the management of the goldflelds s distasteful to everyone outside ot them. We can see how little has been done in the past, and had it not been for tbe goodness of Sir George Grey there is no doubt tbat many of the roads and bridges you now possess would never have been made. When we look back and see the enormous sums which these goldflelds have contributed to the Colony, it is only then that we oan at all realise how lit-* tie has been done in return, and the sooner a Commission sits to investigate the whole subject of goldfields* affairs the better it will be for the goldlields districts and the Colony at large. (Cheers.) The goldflelds were the lifeblood of the Colony, and on Colonial as well as on local grounds it is impera.-i tive that there should be a chmge. (Cheers.) What would Melbourne have been but for the goldflelds nnd the enterprise and industry of the miner? The same with Otago, aud have we not to look to the goldflelds lo pay off our debt? Yet there was not an article that the miner consumer, or uses, even to his picks and shovels that is not taxed, whilst the wool-grower gets his fene ing wire free. Then again what aid had been extended to prospecting ? Could it be supposed that the Coast was exhausted ?

— —■——«■«—— —I — —^»«— — ■■ I 111 II *. We at least keO.vthit su -h is no' th* ei9\ Kumara, the 17-Mile and many oMit pla'.-s of great wealth discovered in recent times owed their existence entirely t * the uu nYle 1 enterprise of tho miners. If, however, the? Government were truo to the interest of tho goldflelds they would not leave matters of this kind without help and encouragement of some substantial kind, and thus give facilities and make room for those who an? now flocking away to Sydney. Many of those who are now turning their backs o-i New Z'aland have cost a large sum to thi? Colony as immigrants, and now we see th-.? neighboring colonies deriving tho boncGY, anrl this should open the eyes of tiie people. You may safely rely that should I be returned these matters shall receive my earnest and unremitting attention. (Cheers.) It would be quite as reasonable to tax a mai who breeds cattle and sheep as to tax tho man who produces gold. I know that ther > is a difficulty in the way of removing tho tax on gold, as in the first instance it is a sourc? of local revenue, but let the Government take over tho arterial lines of mad], or ade« quately subsidise tho local bodies so ns to enable tbem to carry on without that impost As to the difficulty about the bank. there would be two courses open to the Government ; either to establish a Mint, or fix a standard value for tha gold, and if necessary purchase it at that value with the funds lying in the Savings Banks of the Colony, and jbus provide a remedy for the difficulty which is on ail occasions raised up whenever it is ! proposed to relieve the burden of the miner. (Cheers.) When I refer to the great neglect. which has been shown to this portion of tb-» Coiouy during the past six years, 1 do not epeak "specially against the pr4&mt Gv?*vw?ment. and give the Grey Government credit for making roads and bridges, nnd by thus cheapening freights consumers have been benefitted. Now, should you return me, I will do my best to see that you benefit still further in this respect, for knowing thoroughly what your wants aro, I will strive to make them known. Ido not now say this for tha first time. I did it while on the Bench, ml whenever a member of the Govrnnment visited you I never failed to point out tbo claims of the West Coast to a greater share of consideration than they had yet received. (Cheers.) It cannot then be said that I come forward snd make these promises for purely electioneering purposes. Whatever I have done, has been done with the ono object of lending a helping band to the West Coast. (Cheers) There is another matter which shall receive my warmest attention, and I hope to have an opportunttv of helping to remeky. While I was on the Bench I had frequenely to reject cares which could not come before me, because I had no equity jurisdiction, and in turning thoso cases away I knew that it meant shutting oat justice. I feel strongly uion this question, for I saw so much to cenvince me of the hardship which it entailed, for in a large class of cases suitors had either to suffer the injury or to go to the Supreme Crurt and sufler greater* Now if returned. I should be pledged to use my very best exertions to remedy this great evil. (Cheers.) The candidate proceeded to refer to a number of other matters, but we are compelled to draw our raport ta a close. He concluded by saying that he was opposed t--> Chinese immigration, large landed ertaten, and would support liberal and progressive tneasvr's. On the motion of Mr W. K. Jones, sec onded by Mr H. G. Hankin ii was moved •• The Mr Weston is a fit and proper person to represent this constituency in Parliament." Tlic motion wis then put to the meeting and carried unanimously, amidst enthusietic applause, and Mr Weston having replied, he proposed a vote of thanks to tho Chair, and the proceedings terminated.