GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTION.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1252, 30 March 1883, Page 2

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTION.

Mr Wakbfield at Rekfton. According to announcement Mr Edward Wakefield, one of. the candida|es for the vacancy in the representation of .Inangah ua, met the • "-eleelbrs- of the ; tfceef tort district in the Oddfellow's Batt>oi£Wedi nesday evening last. -.;.. '■/-;,*£ The room was crammed- to the 'Utmost extent, and the greatest interest was manifested in the proceedings by the large and orderly assemblage*. The County Chairman, Mr P. Brennan, occupied the chair, and in introducing the candidate said that he felt quite sure that the courtesy and consideration usually accorded to •public speakers 'in Rtefton would be cordially extended on the present occasion. As they were aware a vacancy had occurred in the representation of the district, : and Mr. Wakefield, who had • taken -time by the _ forelock, was one of the candidates ' in "the field for thir aufferages.". jyith i ihesefew* remarks he would introduce ,Mr , Wakefield to the meeting. ■ : Mr. .Wakefield, who was received. with a strong round-of applause, saidfj^r Chair* man and gentlemen. I stand before you this* eveningaperfocfr 'stranger to m^ personal, relations,- but havinlgCfor many years taken an " active part in tfcte public affairs of the Colony, I do not think that; .hyinide.at all events, I'anS #nolly nnknown to you, (Cheers.) This is the conclusion I formed from the invitation you were good enough to send me, and I should not otherwise have thought of coming here, but having received a requisition signed by a large number of persons in the district who, I have every reason to^eiieve, ' Jrere thoroughly sincere in their invitation, I decided at once to accept it, and have lost Ho. time Jin coming amongst' you. Although for i some time past I have been out of public life I have been told byseveral districts that I could have a seat, but being not too eager to go into harness again, I was content to await events. But when I received the invitation from a distant and important electorate such as this I was struck with the compliment you paid me, and the district : being an entirely new one to meandof whichl had heard a vepy -great deal, I decided to at once accept it, and have followed up the determination by coming here at the earliest possible date in order that by travelling from end to end I may thoroughly learn the duties that would devolve upon me in the event of my being returned (Cheers.) I huve now been here somu days and my reception, I am proud, to say, has everywhere been of the most cordial nature, and from what I

have .. already seen I can plainly descern that you are a community which interests itself Very largely in public affairs, and; possessing • awide knowledge _bf:' the political question of the 5 day. . This I regard as a 'disadvantage to me in some respects, althdugh it is undoubtedly all-important in many others. I realise that I haVb to deal with a v?ry critical audience, and one quite abletopiill me to pieces should I offer occasion' to do bo ; this, however, I am not likely to do; Twill endeavour to lay my views before you-tjlearly and unreservedly, i shall hot seek. to anticipate your views and opinions and then to try to mould my- own in accordance therewith (applause). I may fairly claim to have got beyond that stage in politics. Whatever, my opinious are, they have bsen arrived at slowly and after a good deal of experience an3 stmly, iui&' as such f a'hi prepared to .stand or fall by them (loud cheers); upon 'ffiese opinions andu]stf thet< reputation of my,, past .career lam here at your invitation to ask for your confidence, and if, after hearing me fully, you should think that I. could worthily serve your important interests in the Parliament of country, I, on my part, can only assure you that I_ ,wilL truthfully and honestly servo y.ou*(iood cheers). With those preliminary reniftr^ I will now deal with matters of a more general character. I may explain her^'.that my position in politicals this. * J went into training for public-life, so* to apeak, wjvenijt wa^ 2Q years of age, as private secretary to a Min.ts^r.fpjf; ther'da^. * The position -was one of no lehure^%ut 'feegari v with •. the coming into office of the paitidulifr Ministry and terminited.wi*k4ts<retirement for j power. For fivey^irs, however, •£ forked in th&i eii^ity^ffdeKfiv.eidiflfejen.4sJViiniflters. During this-period_l. was. actively associate jfuifitSfctlyß; ptrbluradßu^is^ration and applied myself closely to its' study, until ;the time ar#ved when.tii came into office whichl,did not like,; or which did not like me, and I' was then offered- a permanent position in.th.6, State. This, however,. Jvrefused to accept, arid dejbermfcied to ei%r 'public life, and two years after^sucqeeded^ dbtafaihg a seat in the House, and for' six years sat for the district of Geraldine, ' an important agricu tural centre in Canterbury. I dare say that during that* time I made, mistakes, as most men might be liable to/do, b.ut I am proud to say -that in< existing "to pass many .Important; measures during : that period J identified my name with the'history of the Colony in" a manriei* T shall never be ash&ned of. (loud cheers.) Last year at t|ie_ general election I was opposcdby a g^fttieriaan' whbiis one qf.the most wealthy iii ;tb.&.,distript. A man of .large landed „progei#y. and great social weight, and. alttiough *I 'was: at th'e'iime offered uuoppo^ea* Beats; my connection with the distwc| v ftom.lohg association was such that I preMjed '&" icast in my lot with my. yk' c^fituen|B, .and _ brave the risks of a contend" e^flionihergj ratMfer than step in quietly for a strange district. It was a rash/ determination on my part but I did not shrink' tfom it, and fought a hard battle. But, unfortunately, that bane of colonial elections--a third man. appeared in the field, and although he only obtained 60 votes, I was" defeated, by 30 votes and went into retirement. The release, -however was not whoHy unwelcome. I was worn out, an'dgla^- of a respite in order that in njy leisure "I might apply myself still more" closely i6 the Btudy df politics in quiet. Buring : the latter part of my career I was *a supporter of "thV Hall Administration, on ,a policy, pf 'steadiness a,nd e<spnbmy in . ',- At" that f^mQ t fas yfiu jate^^^re, "the^/ajtfaSry.ef the colony had dpJ^ted into' great confusion] and it was nepessarj that somebody should get into office able and determined to sef things, to rights. Any Ministry going inib!; office this object in view deserved; my support, and knowing the members- 61 the. Ministry intimately, and that they^ ■ iriitended y to work the desired reforms, I.Sgreed tf^give them my ardent support. • However, after some time the ,healtb|f^f' B&_ Hall broke down an4..^* i ;'p^y/,^a>::ih!^ joined by Mr Whitakfe;aJ|^pnJo^, the latter being a new, meinijer .'but . one possessing good qualities ancl a' desirable aquisition. With 'this afterfd Ministry; aslufeh, I hava had no political ■-relations; many of theft* a*'e-old' J friends ~6& 'inSjer'ari'd l was prepaf6^ : t<^^ar6?4hehf as'^beh • • During the last' session ""^w%v&, : l m^iy'" tKing3 occurred to 'dra* " lite Minißj6ry away from me,' Tarije'r ibai for on many p^ttfi^iSbre^lTqirfilliein, and iij none more thlU 'ftp their Public Works Adminia^fjj,M6rf, : . ~%t the'flme Sir John Hall "retired, the; Colony was self -'■supportf iiig7 and* the colonists had been freed fK>m the rep\r6ach"of living upon British'capital. iwasoneof those who thought irfa'rtvisable fco defer fresh borrowing, jjuntil at all events, the productiveness of many of the worksa^eady undertaken had been proved •to the world,, I. thought if .the Government put their foot down firmly jmd economised the funds at ■ theip disposal, as f^ey. would hav« been aW? to do. we could very well have>don.e without iriord Do'rrriwing. Tn saying this, however, I/ilesire- to add this "muchv^ . that while 1 1. in principle was opposed to further borrpyring,. I saw that many public works in the country were capable; of*. beiUg y cpirfinued on with, very threat advantage, .to the Colony, the only requisite being thai the money should be applied, -ta: the-yroper /works, and ones which offered aome reasonable prospect of them ultimate reu)uneratiyeness(cheerß). I thpjught it was high time that we should put a stop to further expenditure upon political railways and long lines through dreary sheep walks, which were practically useless to the State and for the purposes of extending settbmant and reaching the important resources of the country, (bud cheor3). I wasvesolutely opposed to further borrowing fur works of that kind, and when 1 saw tho Ministry making

their public works policy a- scramble for votesj I felt they were departing from the sound lines laid down originally, and entering 'upon a most dangerous course. I felt sorry when I saw the schedule of new lines brought u[», and the old lines neglected, and you in this part of the Colony have experienced some of the evils of that departure. As I came here I saw some of these neglected railways. Since my arrival on the West Coast I have seen some of these monuments of neglected promises. I saw huge embankments and asked what they were; arid was told that they were railway lines which were started years ago but never completed. Whether it was right or not that some of these lines should, ever have been started, I cannot say, but there they are, like scores of others to be met with in all partSj of the Colony, a shame and a disgrace tcfthe administration I ' under which .they were started, (loud cheers). I subsequently caine upon another heavy embankment and cuttings with bridges rotting in the humid climate of the West Coast and stopping butt against a hill and this, I was informed was a portion of the Brunnerton and Keefton railway, the money for which had been voted over and over again, but never expended. Now these are strong evidences of the vices of the administration, (cheers) and yet in the face of these arid -numberless > other .in-, stances of the kind, we saw ><lsist session several new line3 proposed. I say that no hew liniss shonld have been started until trafiic" 'was running ou the old ones* and. had this policy been adhered to the position of the Colony would have been very different from what it is, (dheers). Again coming to larger works, last session .. we saw the Government projecting a big railway undertaking a&ng"th» East Coast, j 1. happen to know" something of the .'character of thfe country ; thi-oi%h y iwhich it^ was 'proposed to-: take ; . that line,. and I know tkat it is,nothirig but a vastjsheepwaik, and that.the line would for the most' part vtra verse land acquired under the most vicious land system ever devised-, (cheers) and in, no commensurate manner benefit the public. One gentlemen on the projected line owns ah entire Connty and he is naturally very desirous of seeing the railway through his property, and I should be in favor of allowing him to.Jiaveit — at his own expense (laughtor),, But when ■these men asked th'e people of the' Colony to contribute-to such a work I did what I could both with my pen and tongue to raise the feeling of the people against such a job— for that is the only fit term to apply to it, 'and the cry was rebounded throughout the Colony and public opinion was • srouVed J;p its importance. The Government favored the line .-not because ! they thought it was' either a necessary or desirable one, but simply from the exi- | gencies of the Yiom; and to keep in office. \ (Cheers) that was. the reasim&nd they should have said "no turn us out* rather than that w^should commit th'e Colouy to suchi a work. " There waa a want of backbone in the course taken by the Government. !< My opinion is, that when; a Mtinstry'firicla that it cannot hold office without offering baits for support,, they should go ou£, and a ministry which did go out rather than sacrifice principle, wou d return to power sooner or .later with redoubled strength (cheers). However, the Government did commit themselves and thtj people opposed and as the result a Commission was appointed to report upon the two routes. The Commission have kept their verdict a great secret, but like all great state secrets it has leaked- out, and it unconditionally condemns both routes. I had too much respect for the intelligence and- impartiality of the ge"ntlemett., -forming the Commission to think that their finding Won d be otherwise. Now;' there was another 'fine 'which was mentioned, but' which received no support last session, I mean that to connect the East and West Coasts. This is essentially one of those works to which I referred earlier in the evening as worthy of consideration, because its. construotionwould add -to the work of colonisation, and bind the great., industries of Colotiy ; cio3er together,. (cheera), and had I been consulted there is not, a Hue in /the .colony' that jL should, place, befyro 7 it «n the schedule., The question*- of" routes seems -to'be yet involved in some uncertainty, •but as to the character of rthe work. itself and' the prospect of it proving payable, , there cin be no -difference of opinion, (cheers) I believe the opening of sach a means of communication between the East and West Coast' wijuld give <jhe colony'an immense "impulsev 'and that 'ill tiniafely the railway would be directly reproductive; In'tß7B a proposal waVtnacle by Mr Mac r aridrtiw to connect 'tliti two Coasts l>y : fail, and I then gave him my 'warmest- support. Indeed, I generally supported that gentleman because he was not for fiddling away the money of the State on small works. He went into schemes which encompassed the great industries of. the co ony, but in ; the depression which ' followed the matter was lost Bight of. Of late years, however, the importance of the gold mining industry ha3 been foroa^ unmistakenhly upon the attention of :ihe colony, a farge share of attention has b^&n bestowed upon the Weat Coast railway, and having myself seen this part of tlis colony, and learnt something of the magnitude of the industries and the interest involved, I am-con-vincedthat there is no public work"in the colony which has a stronger chum than the one just referred to, (loud cheers). It ib impossible to- realise the effect which such a work would have upon this part of the colony. In the first place, an extensive market would be opened up to the great producing districts of Canterbury, and to the consumer this would mean a great reduction in the cost of most of the chief necessaries of life. An immanso impulse would be given to the mineral wealth of tJia Country, ;ind in a hundrod ways the colony as a whole would benefit by such an undertaking. One of the principal, indeed t'uo one great obstacle to tho

growth of this part of the colony appears fco me to bo its almost perfect isolation i fro.m the rest of the colony. Many people i>n the other side of the range have not the slisjhtesf; conception of the kind of place the West Coast is, or the riches it produces. The inhabitants here are regarded by many as a tribe of people, originally of British extraction, but now quite different — as different as the French and English (load laughter). I can assure you there are many people in.Canterbury and otherparts of the colony who have not the faintest idea of the kind of place the West Coast is, or of its institutions. All this would be at once broken up by railway communication and capital mid population would flow in to extend existing industries and plant new ones. Here on the West Coast coal is an industry which is capable of enormous developehient, *ind this can never be accomplished ._. without cheapened freights, and encouragements ,- to, investment by opening up- the country. #Lrny industries, could also be started in {Canterbury were coal available at a moderate price. In Otago they have coal, though of poor quailty, but it answers many manufacturing purposes, but Canterbury has none, and this -operates as a serious drawback^) the growEK of focal industries particularly of ..that class which cannot be started, without cheap '.coal (cheers). . . Havr.ig said. this m-ucti.t need hardly add that I rti\l!sc-t;j,Jihe«voi i y; fullest the, immense advautges tu.-both sides of. the island of. this communication and tli at ■ viewing the work as one which would enormously push on the work of colonisation, v it shouldat all times command my wavrnest and most active support, (loud cheers.) At this stage I desire to say that I am not one of those who can. rashly ."make promises. There are tjKp classes who d*«> make lavish electioneering ..promises, namely, those , who have no.idea'tvhatlejyerf.if ,the difficulty there is in fulfilling them,, ami those who inalcet.piTJfniscs aud [ have^ npt • sufficient principle to try aud keep them.' ' I fcayo had too much experience of public life to m.ikw lavish promises, because when I once make a promise I have sniliuient sense of the obligation to induce me to make every offnrt to keep ifr. : (Cli'dcAJ) Thia, . than, you ntay thoroughly rtuy upon, that should yon hon<wrij9B with rout confidence I will do evei-y things thct lick, in my power to bring about the construction' ;pf the overland railway at the eM#e3t possible date. (Loud clietrs ) Speaking o f railways brings me to the question of the tunure'of land. Of late years 1 we have had forced upon us in a variety of ways the terrible evils which Tiave 'grow:r up under the old system of land . tennre; and it behoves us in this yonug country to establish sucii bnd laws as will guard us iii the present, as well as our children in the future, from the tprribb evils which have arisen in older countries. It is a subject which is worthy of the deepestwcoiisideretion from all rpflee Live minds, and aught to occupy a larje share of attention from all those in public life. (Cheers.) As you are aware, the Colony has already made a move in this direction in the leasing proposal?, of last session. Although 'those proposals were not received with general favor, it struck me that there vas more in them than was at first supposed, and I was prepared to give Mr Eolleston's plans a trial; bat if the people will not have them, there is an end of it. As you are aware, Mr Rolleston proposed, instead of selling the land out smd out, to grant leases for 21 years, with the right of renewal... which virtually amounted' to a' perpetual fceuure, the only. .condition; being that at each renewal the rent should be fixed at the market rate, to be ascertained by auction, and in the event of the last tenant declining to renew, thc.land to go to -the .highest bidder, the Government, thus gaining, the- benefit of the increase on th^ryalue.of thejand. In many ".cafie5 r 'thiSi would varaount' to a perpetual' 'tenure, fov so-long as the p'-o-gress.pf,tlie Colorfy ju&ineQ it ■fpnriuts would go on payincf'the ancreased rent at every, renewal, and <jf they did not chose to do so it .was only ritffit tliat the public should reap the Benefit of the, increase. (Chee,rs,). If returned ,to j?ar.liament I will .give .my assistance to enable the -Minister to, carry out whatfjl- contan^ the germs of good. ' (CJ^e;-s.), u In the past we have had' laws- which enabled persons to occupy land at a merely nominal sum, and under the -system in Canterbury we' had a larger number of holders in proportion to population than any country in the world." France is usually held up aa the typical country, in this direction. At the olos« of the -last century a great oonvulsioh oecui-red' in thatcountry, .when the aud was redistributed and the system adopted that when a parent died his and shou d bedivided equa y among his children. The result is the peasant proprietpry of to-day, .and the advantages are seen in the thrifty habits of the people, who work their fiugers to the bone in order to keep the and. What more astonishiug instance of the advantages of such a system coiild be afforded, than in the case of the payment of the tremendous indemnity which was laid upon France at the close of the late war, when from ovevy Louse in the country came some sm:Ul saving. Never w:i,s such 'a thing beard of before, but in Canterbury, uiifortuunttly, a break i was ma-ilo. in tlic ? v -- 1 ; : n , aud ti:o 1

capitalist could go and buy right up to tlie very door of the leaseholder. The land was otfared at 5s an acre, and they swoopqd down like eagles upon their prey, it,ud have never since beeir dislodged, and thus we see, poverty and distress side by side with these vast possessions. What theu is to be done with the large holders? I should get rid of them by taking' their land just as other land is taken under the Public Works Act You are aware 1 that under that Act the Minister can resume possession of any land He may, if he thinks proper ran a railway through your house : ithasTjeen done, he paying a fair valuation for the land so taken. I would be for doing something of the same kind with the large landed proprietor. Many years ago Sir William Stafford, who had been in Ireland, and seon something of the evils which have since ripened in that' country, proposed tliat the state should regain possession of the land, and sell it in small blocks for settlement. His proposal was to resume possession of all lands, returning to holders their original purchase money, with 10 per cent added. Had some such scheme as this been adopted then, the colony would now Lav.? been in a position- to; [pay. off if.;-! eiifiire deßt, and the cqtjfifiry instead b£ being locked up in, vast pas.- . toral estates 'would liave. carried athriving and' happy population-, (cfaears)