THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 148, 25 June 1887, Page 2

THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.

ADDRESS BY SIRG. GREY

Sir Geo. Greyvif ttidilf opened the'poWtical campaign last night by deliyefing' aW address in the City Hall nominally designed for his constituents of City East,; But really intended for the electors at large. 'The meeting, like all such gatherings of the people to hear "bhe old man eloquent," ! assumed the form of an ovation. As usual, i too, the hall was crowded. At twenty ' minutes past seven the doors were thrown open, and in a very short space-of time thereafter the whole of the stall seats were occupied. The dress circle seats also filled ! up rapidly, bhe ladies availing themselves to the full of bheir customary privilege ot seats reserved for themselves and male escorbs. Fully two-thirds of the dress circle audience were of the fair sex. The arrivals. of the other sex who turned up after IAo had perforce to file into the pit, which in due time became rather more than half full. Amongst those present upon the platform were Messrs W. F. Buckland, W. P. Moat,, B. Monk, Thos. Peacock, and T. Thompson, ,M.H.R.'s;' Rev's. J. S. Hill, C. M. Nelson, anclD. Bruce; Professors Posnett, Brown, and Thomas ; Drs. Teiinenf and Leger Erson ; Inspector Thompson ; Majors Dane 'and Jackson; and Messrs S.. Vaile, J. Lundon, Tait, W. J. Speight, J.'Buchanan, J. Pye, A. McArthtir, T. W. Leys, . J. W. Can-, D. Goldie, J. J; Holland, R, J. !■ Dtmcan, E. W. Morrison; Mftfbelli, E. B, \ Parsons, J. King, H.'Worthington, J. T. Campbell (U. S. Consul), J. H. Upton,.D B. McDonald, S. McCoski-ie, J. L. HolI land, A. Bell, J. Winks, W. Johnston. W. Gbrrie, J. Mason, H. Hamilton, J. [ W. James, Jas. Macky, G. Bi Lilly, J. M. Brigham, J. B. Graham, J. Lamb, Seymour T. George (accompanied by Mrs', Miss, and Master George, who were re- ; ceived with a round of applause), J. iO'Meagher, O. M. Creagh, T. B. Hill,' J. i M: Shera, S. Nathan, W. R. Waddel, D. ! Hean, J. Endean, J. Grey, J. Coates^ T. JGee, H. Keesing, 'J. Cameron, J. Kirkjwood;D. J. McLeod, J. M. McLachlan, I P. H. MeKenzie, C. E. Bourne,. W. ! Miller, T. Mason, W. J. Napier, and Gover. I .Precisely at 8 o'clock Sir George Grey (•arrived-incompany with Mr Geoi-geEraser, ? and was received witn loud applause,, the I Vast audience standing until the former > gentleman hacj taken his seat. On the motion of Mr John Mason, seconded by'Mr Thos.*Cole, Mr Geo. Fraser (President of the Industrial Association) was called to the chair.' _ { The Chairman opened the proceedings by ! . briefly reminding the electors that they had been, called together to hear from * their *' old and. esteemed friend " Sir George his Views upon the political situation, and he had -no' doubt-that the address would be full of valuable .suggestions. The Chairman theri read the advertisement convening the meeting,: and concluded by calling lipon--the- speaker of the. evening for his speech. . ; :'. .:,. ' Ijatrofluctory. i Sir George Grey, on rising to address the 'audience, was'received with prolonged and enthusiastic ' applause. HJe said, he felt thab evening if^he were a general re- ;» viewing an : army—(applause-)-;—about to go into warfare",""and warfare for the rights j' 'and honour.,, of. their .couutry. : (Hear, hear.).. As . he looked "round him, he "Eaw*how- 'numerous, that army was, | fand,his.heart.was gladdened, and he.looked j^ fto see who they •were," and'all around liiin [lie saw faces he had known for many years. j With Such forces to aid one, even in these I rtimes of disti-ess and trouble, .they should [fight a battle'that would drag New Zealand joutof her difficulties, and plant her again ' fupon a path of prosperity. First, let him jcall their attention to this—that in [ Sail nations great, changes take place, ['. that they lived for a time upon a certain set'of principles and accepted them as'suff 1 cienb for all emergencies, bub at last the; became played out, and something- fresh and new had to be done. . They had seen the British Parliament quite unable to Contend against the masses of legislation it had to meet; and British statesmen standing aghast because they knew not whati to tlb, except that they must make some change.' • The changes in an old, country \vere,npb necessarily so rapid dr so complete hs the changes in a new country, and ib was the latter that mainly concerned us. They would see, therefore, that in these respects .there was no strict analogy between an old country and a new,-and'he spoke that night i o the inhabitants of d new country; They xaust set aside all prejudices from their xainds., ■" '. • '. ■ ;:;i' , ■ ' " '^ A Review. ''' Let him first-refer to the history of New Zealand in its colonisation and expenditure. ■ A; shorb time agp^New Zealand was almost Without a European population; and not only this, but there was also a large native k population, partlyhpstileandpartly friendly, r Those who were friendly were led by chiefs of thesutmost nobility of character. | JEt had been'fou'nd advisable to do as CaJsar i ,had done in and Gaul in order, to overcome the hostile tribes, and we,;like t .him, were aided . by the friendly native f. rtribes, who rendered us most valuable assistance. The country • being , restored : !to peacejgfor a long period of time, f !the pedpe , no: doubt enjoyed that peace, and the Government was able to turn its attention to colonisation and public i works; In Great Britain extraordinary I . theories prevailed oh the subject of coloni- : cation.' The idea was this—that British f Bocietiesweretobe planted in a new country, [ and that the land regulations would be such that capitalists could obtain the waste lapds of bhe colony, and bhat' such a price should be placed on the land bhat the artisans and labourers would be enabled to rise from the positions they held iriv Great Britain. That was called colonisation.. ,The jninds of men were animated -with.' the { desire to get vast tracts of Jand, and those | Who held this desire were supported by great influences in England, and by ■ considerable influence here," and : all who recollected those days would bear, him out when he stated ■ that his . life, was one continual ■ toil and'anxiety in resisting them. One man actually claimed nearly ' the whole of I the Middle Island (laughter), aud. he was | made a baron on account of .'his great 1 claims. (L'augMer.) He referred'to sb^e- \ body who was sometimes here 'and some'; \ 'times away, and who belonged to a foreigTi : There were many others too who fought for that .to which : they were-hot entitled..: Then land was sold in' large * quantities, and the money was applied: in bringing out immi- ! grants'and carrying; pn -public works; and gradually, 'as, the population increased,' money .became more plenbi- ', fulj and a desire was created in men's j minds to spend large sums of money in their j, bwndistricts. Thatlasted fdracertainperiod I of time, and then it was 'found'impossible I to raise funds from .that source. I This. would be within the recollection of ;; snany who were on the platform. Now, t * the fact of the matter was «that I they owed the New Zealand Company I no part of that money, and if all the corresj pondenpe between himself and tile Goveyni ment were'placed before them' they would | be satisfied that this was so;; Wh'en lie' (Sir, George Grey) was called upon to'hand IJbver the money' on the, authoriby of an Act of [ Parliament giving the Company a' right to [ the money, he refused to do it'(applause) | because he did not 'think' if was tight/ to I do' so. (Rehewed- applause.), .■• This,s;^ I course,<lbreated' a cbnsiderable disturbance^ I bub almost immediately afterwards it-,was j determined that he was right in principle, i iftnd that'no portion of that-debb,shQuld I have been charged to rest upon' us, so/

that^ Virtually'the. pebble gave, up their birthright. Thus there came a time, ■when large sumSjOf,. public money,were expended he.re and there, arid'everyone looked to the public purse, to make good..almost everything that they required. The natural, end of this was that the land funds soon became exhausted and disappeared, until; afc the present moment, he believed the land fund was hardly sufficient to pay fcbe expenses of the Surveying Department and the charges, made upon.it,; by the Land Department generally. Then how was. this to be satisfied? No. Ministry could hold office unless they could satisfy this demand. The next birbtirighfc , they sold was that of having a legislature for theniselves, by consenting to give up their provinces. (Hear,-hear, j And what was, the bribe held out ? It.was this. Ministers said, " Give your provinces up and we will substantial substitutes that will last for ever," and they were believed, although he (Sir George Grey) had pointed out that, the people would be impoverished by rates and taxes. Notwithstanding this, they sank from the bright position they had occupied. Abolition of the Provinces, ,; Next money was required-to satisfy the craving for gold that every little local body, had, and there was accumulated a vast debt .that now oppressed them, and people at Home,' because of its magnitude. They !had cut away this squrce of acquiring ■money, and their supposed security had vanished into thin air. Any' man that said they "Were still there was only using electioneeringterms meant to gain an end.. He recalled a curious incident bearing'on thafc subject. They probably knew that if a member ,bf Parliament said Something, ofionsiva to another member a motion was made that the words be taken down. .They were taken down and read to the member by the Speaker, who asked if these were the words he used*. If the member said they were, he was called upon to withdraw them, and if he refused he was compelled to retire from the House for a time until it was decided what should be done with him. He had spoken as he said now in the House. He stated that bribes had been given to do away with the provinces. (Applause.) Up jumped the Minister, and moved that the words be taken down, and he was marched out of the House. (Laughter.) Great confusion prevailed, and nearly two hours were occupied with the House in determining what should be done with him (renewed laughter); and then he was: called in, and asked what he. had to say in explanation o.f the:terms used. He was asked if he had stated' that bribes had been offered to procure the abolition of the provinces- He replied: " Yes, sir ; but you did not allow me to finish the sentence. (Laughter).i I was going to say by the promises of subsidies to local bodies." (Laughter.) In that there is nothing unparliamentary, and they were good enough to say that he had made that up whilst he was 'outside." (Laughter.) He did not originaljy mean it, but he said, " Look at the context," and when that was done it was found that he was right. Well, he did not know what could have put such a thought into the, Minister's head, but the Minister certainly did believe that he (Sir George) meant it in another sense. Reduction of Members. Well, now, the Government had brought the colony into its present position in some degree through trying" to satisfy local bodies. And Tie asked .them, to bear this in mind, because *it would' be seen to be an important pomt1 in''^reference to what he should say afterwards : that we had a larger pf members inNew Zealand proportionately to inhabitants/ than any other colony.7(Hear,. hear, and applause.) He forgot the precise proportion, but he believed that it would be so large that some colonies had not half the same number of members in proportion to population. " If England had"the same proportion she would have nearly 60,000 members instead of 600. (Applause.) Well.now.letthem weigh this point for a "moment,' and'-they would see the jnore members they had the smaller would be the districts. Each member would thus be answerable to a small constituency, who would be naturally influenced by merely local views. (Hear, hear.) And nearly all those members would devote their energies to the furthers ance of small works. Consequently the safety of the whole community might be famed or lost by -the •expenditure- of 10,000 or £20,000 in every district. . Jfatrarally ~".' their", own local views and sentiinenls'would lead members of such districts astray upon such subjects. Therefore, the greater number of members there were, the greater the number of claims to be satisfied by Ministers-hoping to keep a majority-in the House. '(Applause.) Now, they would be told as an to what ho said, "This small House is an admirable thing in itself. It is more difficult to purchase the votes of a large Hous,e than the votes of a small House." When he said " purchase," he,,did not mean money paid down or anything of that sort. But a member would say> " I oannot face my constituency again unless such a v thing.is done. 1 6hall have no chance with -them, >? and Ministers of course were naturally anxious to conciliate such' members. They did so by putting votes on ~ the estimates for expenditure in those members' districts. They should.not.blanietJie meinber,fQr very likely he believed that unless his constir tuentsigot what the*y wapted *he! world would fall to pieces. Therefore the Government in office had an immense number of applicants to gratify. But supposing there Avere only one member for every two or three of the present constituencies it was patent that no Ministry could do three jobs for the one man (laughter,) and lie believed thab not -half the present votes would-be required if we had only 50 members. Consequently he asked them nob to let their minds be, biassed by the belief that the more members they had the more'difficultit was to put influence on the House by means oi.publip .works. On. the, contrary, he believed that the more members they bad, so much the more money was spent upon public works that were little wanted. The Present Crisis. Now he had told them that what we, had come to in the present crisis of the colony was this : We all had appetites so whetted by the constant receipt of public moneys by public' bodies that we had" come to think that money could flow in upon us almost like water — upon application. The™ money had to be pbtained from distant sources, and now these sources were beginning to dry up, for he was informed both by persons in the old country, and! by residents in the colony who received letters from friends in England that we had nearly reached the limit of our tether, and that we could not go much, further. In the meantime we were pressed down by a monstrous debt and.a taxation which nope of us, could" stand. (Loud applause.) He did nob believe that there was a single person; among that audience ; wh.o;did nob feel that the present taxation was more than he could justly bear. Well now, what were we to do?; ; ; : .;: : \.\> ': ' . r, An Absolute Change Needed. ■. Welhadcome to one of those, crises in our history: when another change must be made—an absolute charige. TApplause.) And hor was it to bo maae ? We had at theipresont moment one of the most i magnificent platforms or foundations con-' structed upon which a great nation could be built up. No people, had had a greater opportunity before them pfj at. once .commencing or continuing "' the work of -building • up. this.- young —- nation pon foundations of ,the firmest kin,d —£ucli 'as 1 none, ue in the bid days had to build upon. 'We had only to do this well and wisely, and ere many months were passed—certainly before -two or three years were overW?few 'Zealand \v6uld!'be again^One of'tljraosf pVospWous countries i iui: tnowpefld (applause), and with a

-prosperity before it which could never again hV thought be assailed by depression, discomfiture, distress, such as we had to encounter now. Just think for one moment. He had told them thab in "all countries there were circumstances, which, rendered, a great change-difficult of accomplishment. Now, one of the great factors in our early :.qoloni* sation was this, and for part of it he Was responsible, What we had to deal with was that we had fc^o.islands surrounded by ma&njficent harbpurs-more, he believed, than any other country in the world. Great tracts of land attached to each of these harboursY tti thepne island iye had a lai'ge native population who were then continually inter" 1 fering with the occupation of the country by settlers.and who would part on no terms with their vast lands for the settlers to go upon. Theyhada perfect right to pursue that line of, conduct. They were following their instincts for what they thought to be their best interests. ' In the South, at the same time, we had the Middle Island fri'fcb. the native' title extinguished over nearly the whole of •. it—a magnificent jountry, open to,the .uninterrupted sottlenent of a European, populasion. He (bh c beaker) thought in those days that some portion of the. etreanl of . dolonisafcion should beidirected, to the Middle Island, for he helipved thab if we in the North Island ever got into difficulties, it was desirable to have close at hand a population more rapidly advancing than ourselves, because working upon uninterrupted lines of settlement.' Ahd he believed too' that if .the. North Island were .filled up too speedily,' native wars would be imminent, iuid the progress .of everybody and everybody WO.Uld be interrupted. Consequent v, those great settlements in the Middle I sland were founded, and attained a decree of prosperity of which we all know. Very well. Loqkab.bho North Island: for p, moment, and her great, cities. Here we have. Auokland and Wellington, with ■Napier also springing up into great importance, and other places rising. In the South Island we had Christchuroh, Timaru.Oamaru, Dunedin, and Invercargill. There'thoy were with a mass of population capable of manufacturing everything that man re-, quires, and great stores—shops of the finest kindfr-establighed such as we saw in Auckland. And yet we found there was nob sufficient trade for anyone to do—not sufficient goods to fill our own stores — not sufficient customers for our shops. And yet all these might have advantageous customers if we could bub fill the country properly. Ho asked them to reflect upon that. Then we had great railroads penetrating the country in .all directions, abundance of .great roads, and the finest coastal lines of steamers bo be met with anywhere. (Loud applause.) And yeb who had wo to travol on. onr railroads ? What population to .cultivate bhe country with ? What people thronging into these fertile islands bo enjoy their great advantages? Between the great cities of the South Island mighb bo found vast plains wandered over by a few sheep. No peoplo the,re,pnJy a, few shepherds distant from one another, and scattered over a largo area, serving masters who in England-were spending large sums of money drawn from the country. No small homesteads in every direction—railways thirsting, so to speak, to be made valuable for the uses they Bhould pubjserve - roads in every direction, and the finest school system in the world, as it was now admitted to be. (Load-applause). That was our case. He had lately received a letter from England from one of Mr Gladstone's, Ministry who .had been investigating' educational systems, and he thought that of New Zealand was the beat he had ever, seen (Renewed applause.) ■ All these appliances had been provided for a great popple to utilise. A vast foundation had been made to receive the noblest palaces—if he were permitted to resort to imagery—and it was our d uty to go on building upon those foundations. Thab was what he wanted that night to rouse them up ~to .do. ■ Bub bhey would say ''How is bins to be done?" How was it to be done ! Why, there were a hundred minds near him that night who could do It. They would find' some difficulty, of jcour.se/, becauee things were, different now to what they were in the old times. In the early days of colonisation, when.these diifi-, cultieS arose, the population was small, and depended greatly upon Great Britain, and every single man~who was sent oub to fpvernua would dp it all uninterruptedly, howing that he was riot to be thwarted by' any one man or "by any three or four men saying, r '* Your plans shall nob go on until you .make & change in themj" and tjjen getting, them so altered that* what 'Was done turned out to be weak and confused. And the larger' our Parliament was the greater would our difficulty be. (Applause.)..-; Tha he was sure of. Well, now thab was bhe .machinery we had to work with. That was now the machinery of responsiblo. governmerit. It was literally a Committee chosen byour-Parliamentand it was with this machinery we had to work, and he believed, as he would presently show, that a reduction of .the'number, of oui l members Was one' of the first and principaly'steps we should, take. Let them firstbriefly glance ab bhe plan he wanted to get at. There was the rediietion of expenditure; ■ They were all agreed that bhab was desirable. There Was reduction of -taxation consequent on the reduction of expenditure, r , and that he would take as the main thingj after that the settleriient~bf ~the~people on'"the" lands' of the colony. . . .;'■' A Might}' Skeleton. ! .He. had, sh,own them a mighty skeleton, ;arid not a skeleton of bones alone. They had tha lands, bhe: railways, bhe jfiverS, bhe lakes, and the -fertile • plains — all: that was wanted in a great, 'grand,, and gigantic skeleton. Then, they had the pulses; in the cities, and the arteries and veins to conduct the blood in this great ;B-keleboh. :i Now, bhey wanted the1 flesh jand blood to vivify this body which they wished tocall into existence, and in order to: attain, this result they must put the brains, arid the intellect upon the land.. ' , ' Land Acquisition Bill. ! For three years-he had laid before Parliament a bill dealing with the settlement of land,, and he had implored the House to let lit, come forward, for discussion. Three : years had the bill been before the House, and three years had he been prevented from getting ; it - ■ considered. This year the very day the bill was to be brought''upV in the House, the contest with bhe Government commenced, and away ■ they ; fl,ew.- Last year, he had his papers before him, and wibh his hearb bhrPbbing.with anxiety, he was all ready to. go on <■ with the . bill. And bhen, up rose l bhe Premier, "who said the Governor was giving a great ball, and many were anxious to go ; and .he moved the :adjournment of the House. The motion wascarried by the force of the Government, and the. bill was thrown to,the'four winds, and he tyas heart-broken. (Cries of " Shame"). Th,en. bhe Premier said he was querulous, and promised if he would name.a day, he would put bhe bill on bh© orAar paper for bhat day, so that it -w-ould come on. -He was anxious aboub his bill, and consenbing, pointed oub Wednesday. Bub on the day arevious to this, up rose bhe Premier again, and said thab bhey were so anxious about the Government business that they had to take thafc day, and so the bill wenb to the winds again;' And the firsti session bhe same thing happened.: . ''~', . ~ ■;!:■■ rffiV/ oWe o tß oftnoßm, v r I • Now, whab was bhe. purport of thabibilj,? It -wenbitQ the extent of buying back the lands of settlers. That should be done'j and if these* people Would npt ultimately sell,' the lan/1 might. be taken frdin, them fi^d., they could be paid in gash ■pi'jii'bprids.' It was, proper that v^hen" an estate was fpuvchased, ib should, be di-

,vided into small forms suited for valuta accMdirig;fcq habure of soil, and nearness, of .market. Ana ibhelsum total should be the sum Wl^ for [the; putchase-of the ™>™Wl Wed thjitany man, if eligible M ° f capital or resources-that was, bhabbeing capable 6f Wofk/orbeidg oldj if hecouldenvployv a man to-work for him-then be should,get hiafarnv : A'il that was for purchase Pioney ® BRPS3??u' ,lu^f C 7t interest' be paid on. the Vftltie 6f the Arm. There was' no increasmg of rent lender that system, and nothing bub ..five-per cent, for ever. Jb was a freehold to alUhtenbsand purposes, .buc with certain aid vantages. Farmer* Irom England. ■ And under that system, he could have gone to England for bhi'ee or four months if they could have spared hie services (a voice: We can'b),. and could have gob hundreds and thousands of farmers to take up land. (A voice: Where istheJanoV? That was a general-outline, and he SUM believed that this could be done, and that, if allowed, the principle could be applied to native as well as private land. The natives were willing to take the rents in this way. If what he had sketched oub were done, three or four thousand of English farmers might soon be .placed on the" land with capital in their pockets with which to work it. Now, we look round bo raise money with which to build some great post-office that would be sutnoienbfor our requirements fifty orelxty years Hence, and which of good m small degree. But' if wo had the settlers with the mofieyin their ppckets, bo work the land, for they would haye nothing fco pay for it beyond tlie interest, these sums would make up what was required for works, YVllllO DDO settlors would at the same time be fertilising every part of the connbry. This would all give work to the mechanics and artisans amongst us, and would lead to the employment of labourers. • It would interfere with none, and would promote the interesbs and prosperity of all. That; was what he thought of the settlement of the .land, and lie hoped that he had made it-clear to them. He believed that if he had been: allowed to have brought that measure forward, three years ago it would have been carried, and it was the fear of this that had caused bhem to prevent him from getting it forward. Village Settlements. He would ask them to turn to that equally important point in the great question of the settlement of the land. The Government had devised a plan, and he warned the people riot to. be.deceived by it. Aβ far as ho knew, not one of the Auckland members had ever made any objection to the general question of the settlement.of bhe land. All were desirous that this should be carried out, and were prepared to assist in any good plan if alterations for the benefit of the people were made. Without exception, all wcro striving to get the settlement of bhe people on tho land. Bub what they objected bo was bhe wrong done in dealing wibh the land, and settling tho people on ib. In order to grasp his meaning, it would be necessary to take an extended view of the subject. They should dismiss Auckland and the district north of Auckland from their minds altogether, and look at the good of the colony as a whole. Now, what had been done by this Government ? They had given 1 to capitalists in London: and some residents in Christchnrch no less than two million and a-half acres of land in freehold, and the conditions providcdbliat hereafter bhey were; to be paid tho price they demanded foif these lands whentho country had become prosperous,, or those English landlords were to let that land to tenants who might be rack-rented by their agents as they pleased. He struggled against tins great concession, and go also did others, who fought with him side by side. . He told them that the bill brought in by the Minister of Lands was to preserve labourers for these holders of large areas of land, and kqep labourers for ever, and thab plan disappeared. Bub he felt that the' plan for village settlements was lawful and injurious to our common interests and to the settlers there, injurious to the present generation and hurtful bo all gonerabions to come, and as men they ought nofc to submit to it. He inferred from the reticence of some members bhab they' would prefer to leave their c6nstituentfi in the dark as to thetrubh rabher than incur bhe unpleasantness of facing tho position and telling them of it. Bub ib was for him resolutely to tell them what it meant. He 68W iit : abated in one of our- evening papers that night bhab the Governmenb had ordered the cessation of village setblemenbs, and thab bhey had done that in deference to the feeling of Parliament. Now, not one of the Auckland members had sought anything of the, kind, and he believed'it was an electioneering . trick against , good ,and honest men who, did,, their duty fearlessly and honestly' (cries, of "JName," abd "No," and enthusiastic cheers). If they followed/out, whab had taken place,, they would see bebter whab this meant and would understand better what were the facts. Some L 70,000 or LBO.OOO of the pyibUp money was, taken to complete what had been done in reference to these Ib rausb be borne in mind thab they were nob told about this in the Financial \ Statement. If there was a debt of thab kind impending over bheiri, should not the Miniebry'stabe that such was the case, and before any vpte of wanb of confidence was proposed, tell them arid ask how it was- to be met ? They did not do so, and he for one did not know of it. (The speaker turned and addressing Mr Peacock said, "Did you?" Mr Peacock replied in the negative.) It was elicited ab lasb by a question at the close of the session. They could npb make provision, and hence bhe necessiby. The merabors were not' to blame , , 1 bub rather the Ministry ' Who """had spent the money '.without authority. Let them:look ab the Financial. Stabemenb and seeifiib was truthful.'Was ib righb'vyheh they found that such things were hidden from the people of New Zealand ? (Applaiise.) Those were points for their consideration. (Applause.) : He; asked them if they had ever had a chance. When their cities were crowded wibh poor unemployed, advantage was taken of their condition to force upon them terms that nothing but theiv dire poverty would have; made them accepb. And then , thab very action < • was used as an election cry. He would illustrate' what he meant by an I old proverb — "A man with a full purse had many friends.'V (Laughter.) And when a ,■ Minister had LBO,OOO to spend he would also have friends. " If ib was the Minister's own money, well and good. (Applause.) Bub the money passed from their pocket, and, let them remember, that it had passed without their being let know anything about it. And would they be bribed that way ab au elecbion time? (Cries of " Yes" and " No.") Would they forgeb bheir duties as. men ? (Applause.) Never! He, for one, would nob. (Applause.) - ;: >" ..'..•'• Stock Jobbers. V Well, how were poor people breated ? He could explain to them now rich 6tock jobbers lived in splendour in Londpn— mon who had- made f6rtunes by selling colonial bonds to poor governesses and others who had saved a feyv pounds and wished to,invent, their money in sjqme safe security. Were they toraise'a race of labourera merely to keep these stock jobbers in their positions V Mind, he did nob say bhab .every unemployed man was.an iionesb one. He could nob help knowing bhat there were amongst the' uiieiin ployed maiiy who .were idle, isany who had. given ,>vay to, drink. But he'also knew-, that, there :others %yho, were deserving men. ;i And were to be subjected to suph conditions as were laid down under the YUlage. Settlements sysbem? .These conditions were !s}mpiy

.monstrous. Let them consider the rejrula- , Was it fair to say that these "men .should be compelled to stay upon their ■actions all their hfetime no matter how ..much tkey wished to leave? (Gri^ Z ■■•Waf-No.") WelUfit.vSjjg Swished they would allow him to brin* in -ft bill, and force those great Stoek-iob'Bers '■to come out to the colony and live upon their properties. (Loud laughter and applause^ If they would -not do so, that , W 8 his resource. Why should some ■citizens who had gone upon land and jn , their age required perhaps m'edieal -aid, religious solace, or the care of their children in their old age, why should Hhey be compelled to stay upon their land ? Was that light? (Applause.) Were they to raise children to work merely for these absentee landlords? Would they, as men" submit to that? (No.) Well, he would not. '•'-■■• Settlers for Life. •■-The next object was that the settlers could not sub-let their land, which meant '-that they were never to get away unless they could sub-let their sections* to some • person who was prepared to fulfil the conditions. In the paper only that evening 'he had read a note asking why should fault be found with this system, because Jb forced settlers to remain upon the Hand, and their children after them. ; But it said no such thing, for a man could 'sub-divide his section so that all the other children must be turned out beggars. That was a most monstrous system. Poor ■wretches, they did not themselves understand the conditions. He did not wonder • at that, for the conditions were all subject "to some other Act which the settlers did not gee, and if they did, would not understand, r in fact he could not understand it himself, (laughter.) The Land Act. -He must now refer to the Land Act which ..•was passed in ISSS. Other members and himself had done their best to get altera- .■ tions made, and succeeded to some extent. This Act stated that it should .be- lawful to allow Special-Settlements ;'.to,be. established in New Zealand. That was the beginning. Then were laid r-down certain regulations and power was given to the Government to form settlements in conformity with the terms of that Act, jbut let them mind that there was no provi«ionallbwing anything to be done that was . against the provisions of that Act. The ■ Act then went on to say that Village Settlements might be formed. Then ; followecT certain regulations for the Village Settlements. It also i stated that the Government might make regula- . ifcions for village settlements in accordance with this Act. Then Parliament said in its that 5 per cent, should be paid /trpon the value of the land so settled. '^That was "a' fair thing. It was as ■ goocl as .freehold. in . that respect, for the reni* ' could never be raised.' They then made1 certain regulations ior special settlements and then made regulations for special village settlements putting the word "special " oxitside *' village,".in brackets, a tiling which they had no power to do. .And they failed themselves to see thab necessitated the rent being the same for ever. What the Government wanted was that the rent should be raised at the end of .thir'tyibhree years, and after thab every twenty-one years. That he considered •was most unjust and tyrannical, for , Parliament . had made arrangements for protecting settlers, tinder the Land Acfc from having their rents raised. It was simply to be five per cent, upon the value. He ,liad consulted some of the highest legal authorities upon that matter, and they all agreed \with him that-- in accordance with the provision of the Act the increase of rent should not ]be demanded. (Applause.) He had also consulted with the . Premier, who said lie thought they could demand the increase.. He asked the"Premier if lie would allow a case to be tried as*a test. The Premier consented.- He then- asked if the Government would defray the cost. But the Premier Baid that he would: >re- ,. quire to:defray the cost of such case him- .' ; Eelf. (Laughter.) , He had spoken with' hi^h legal, authorities upon that matter . .also, and they had considered thab the matter being a public one; the. Government should have consented :to have defrayed the cost ot the.proceedings. ■ '.til' A,- --< Unauthorised Expenditure. There was also another very strange point connected with this thing. They Wild see that at the present moment the people would have" to pay between L 70,000 andLßo,ooo for the Tillage Settlement Scheme. (A voice: t( Money lent.) Money lent? Yes ! How mucii of it will be refunded? (Laughter). What business had any man to lend his or their money ■without, permission? (Applause). ,j. Let them further consider it. , Supposing" a Cffisar reigned in England, and wanted to gain absolute power in the country for electioneering or other purposes. According to the population, he would have at the same rate L 2,500,000 at his disposal to appoint his own-officers to select persons ' to put upon • 50 acres of land,, ■ Supposing that he did that and increased the expends ture to L 10.000.000 or Ll2 000,000, "in, that, • way would not he be able •to convulse and subvert the whole, nation ? It vrac the most monstrous thing. Yet look at the position in which they were pjacedin the matter. What must be the "feeling of those village sebblers when.they heard that he and others were trying to put a stop to their money. Would they not feel thab they must support the Government that promised the money? Another question was, why shouldon y unemployed get the, land ? Were there not ™ artisans in that town that could 'scarcely provide food ,for themselves and tTieir P families? Why not throw open the. land to ..all? ,( APP£ u?g Why should absolute destitution be the ionl/xneans to get that land Why sWd men, either have or pretend to beunem ■Dlovdto enjoy these favours? Iso! it Sd be JoLopento , He for one wouldnot be cowed bytheseieel inss They all knew how many men would unemployed. A.l yet Jw^f *£S ©SUSIES .And then they were told*™^ could nob mortgage their lands, an . not make away wibh^themab all. ? ■they agreed upon that, M them. X he.™ a despoM^w^ be inclined to abolish all means o^^ye . ing, debts :by processes f'Jf^^ -go •euch thingsto one's sense * honour^ B^btoth!;W^^SSl&s = effigy (laughter), but^ tower o ders ', would be required, and fewei. ga «_d policemen.' Bu<> then * ' All noP^ lleeJ c. d e v was the should tr^ted ru ahke^ 1^ ; ignoring of this • . ""? days incurring Aglish; clergy "V^popUarity ; but . -great hatred and unpu^ the L would favour Je sale o : ia J^ . •Goyer M nenfc ; .to f tt^rs ren , aL rwould practically. be 7g pc £ m c ■■■'■ '-enhanced value. , : , . . • - :v -.-■■... ;- Tn e Civil Service. ........:

many, civil Servants.' (Applause.) "!feut they were only public servants in the satne sense as' the servants of banks and institutions. They were all employed for: Mie public convenience;!and it was through - the public that they were paid. But i in our -Government Civil Service therewere .too many servants for the w.ork to ,-be _ done.; ..(Applause.) Under the provincial system we had a Civil Service under our own eyes and in sympathy with our wants: and requirements, courteous in, speech andresponsive.to public uvf Bub ' the Prov»ncial.: system jwafe abolished.our Civil Service,wasdispersed,and now we liad strangers at W.ellino'ton to serve us. What did a Civil.servant in Wellington know or care.about us? Sir George went on to relate a grievance endured for many years by a Dr. Pine, of Invercargill, and which he himself had to get redressed. !ln England the Civil Service Avas constructed :on far , .different lines. It was kept in touch with , .public feeling, through each department being controlled by an Under Secretary of State, duly elected to_ the House. It was a popular institution, and was careful not to excite public indignation by the manner in which its duties were carried out. If he were in office again what would our Civil Service care whether he were knocked out or not next day. They said, "What matters^ it to us who is in power ; we are responsible to nobody, and as for Ministers we have no concern in connection with them." He believed that there should be an Under Secretary of. State taken from the House of_ Representatives, next the number of ministers was too large (applause) and he had positive proof of thab. Here they hadtaken an Attorney-General to be Premier—upon whom the whole burden of administration fell. If he (Sir George Grey) was Premier there was nothing to' prevent him, when •standing there, marking out somebody who had red hair in the audience, and putting him into office. (Laughter.) And yet they left it to the Attorney - General to plead in : every ■ Court in «the colony, and a great part of his timje was employed in private business. He (Sir George Grey) brought in a bill to pre-, vent, such practices as these in the future, and,he expected that it would be carried. If the Premier could spend so : much time in his- private practice, it was evident ..that , the services of at least one Minister could be dispensed with. Four Ministers were all that were required, and he would split the Civil Service into four branches. The cost would be, less, and the- work would be'better performed. (Applause.) Why, he could create a Civil Service at Kawau if he chose. There ware twentypeople, and he could find employment for all of them in managing the affairs of the island. He divided it into departinents'ih this way. The gardener wants a spade, and he t signs an order for the spade and sends' the gardener to the" public works department. , They say that' they have not a spade, and report to another department, to know whether they will order a spade, (laughter), and that Department, unfortunately, can only get to Auckland by steamer, and must Write to the Minister of Marine to know whether he will give authority. .(Laughter,) It would thereTore' be seen that he could easily establish ten or eleven departments, as in Wellington, (some ' said fourteen or fifteen) that would all have to correspond ■; with one another, something after the fashion described. Now, this was what he meant, that by reducing the number of these heads of departments, and consolidating the public service into four branches, a great saving could be. effected. They should have a good gliief clerk, anian of business who would be iivtouoh with the people, and thus avoid vexatious delays of office. The country would go on infinitely more happily, TOugh less injustice would be done, and a large expenditure would be saved. (Applause.); Now, without going into all the questions, of every kind of expenditure he should tell them then that he had heard from persons who had. .examined carefully the system of education in tliis country thab it had been proved to be thebest in existence, but he was certain that a very considerable reduction could be made in its cost without injury to its efficiency. He could assure them that he had paid a large amount of attention to this subject; i and had good authority for this conclusion,, and he wa3 perfectly satisfied, that this was one point to which their attention should be directed. In the opinion of ah eminent judges we had the best system of education in the world, He was struck by one , thing. .' In comparing the colonies and. the cli country respecting orphan and destitute children he found tbafc'■ here '■■' they were largely boarded out, and that $he system had proved eminently siTCGessful, He said another very curious, thing, namely, the. successful management was mainly due to the attention paid V the la4ieS who visifc these chadwn, They were more successful than in Great gritain,and this arose from the manner in .whiah the.ladies dis ; charffpd their, duties. Then he was ijaMi nozzled to account for the different ...results obtained by fcheJadies working, m this cause in Great Brfeiß, for they, hkethe ladies here, : gave up < fm _tnmds and hearts to the subject, full consideration he found «ut -that the case was thls./^ln England, th| different between rank and .manner and habit of addressing one anothei-is not near to the familiaTity/Gom^aratively speaking, that exists between ;differfenfc pjonehere, amonpsb whom n6' respect or affection was absent' Whab that gentleman said wasthis, that, in -hi» Ppinion^ our system was the best that he had' m», Now he would b- sorry to see its usefulness jntgtof} with T3ut he believed th^oQnsidmWmductions might be made wibhoubimpairing' ifcseffictoy. ecti&tt 6f Ittftß6trlfes .

And now he would refer to a thing in, which they alltook agre^at interest, and thab was the question of protection. (Cheers.), He wanted to tell MM that; this question had been quite suddenly^ m3gd If this was to have been the, platform oi the^ Qg vernment why was it not put forward at the beginning of the sessidn ?•: Why was ib nob prSy discussed, and why was ib used only as y an election cry? gyj^^jg used as chessmen, and played aboub ji&fl Sed hither and thitfier as politicians chose " He wished his' hearers to understand the kind of protection that was proposed by the Government arid the- results that would accrue from it. It had been said that extreme protection was necessary. Bow, he waSnWour of all fair and properencouraiment of local.industries, ; .In the past, hfhad known people, in the colony Avho i Li omnlnved a large number of men, for yefrs aPnd whenSy closed, on Saturday it wS with difficulty they found the wages for their workmen. Bub ; they .fought on, and id their duty^ to their employees. To SoseSen was d/e in a large^easure.Jhe progress and prosperity of Auckland and he would nevei-forget them for ,^hat they S done But it was not. extreme, protecThen the workmen weretold that.bhe piocec Hon of industries meant more constant em-Sovmentfor^epeople-notmorewagesnor towns of %£■, Wttey turned to other

rwould? find ' that the: -suffering was,----if r( possible, greater. In Germany, quite recently, such was the poverty thab a return made a few months ago shdwedthat from 36,000 bo 37,000 destibube :German labourers had arrived in London, and had.pulled down the wages. Then a meeting was /held in Westminster HalL and was presided over by 'Lord Brabazoh', who favoured State aid to emigration. He told them he was working.- ; so that many of them might go to countries where they would make a better living, but thab would be difficult if people, for instance, were poured in here. Then thosS people were itoldithat the exodus would create a vacuum and that the result, would be that those who were left would receive higher wages. Then a working man rose and told the speaker that he believed he meant' to do what was gopd for them, bxit he either did not know what he was talking about or, if he •did, he was deceiving them, because the place 3of those who left would be filled up by a rush of labourers from the Continent, and more would come in than go out, and their position would be worse than before. And that was really the case. Now, he had told them some things that required courage to speak out, and at the same time things that he had made a.rule to follow through life. As long as they pracbicaljy had unfettered trade—by that 'he meant trade unfettered •by the law, for they did not appeal to the Government to give absolute protection, bub asked them to put certain duties upon certain 'manufactures, in order thab trade might be encouraged—then, he thought, all would be well. He considered that it would be perfectly justifiable to impose duties with a view to protecting the local industries. John Stuart Mill stated thab the only time that protection was justifiable, was in new countries where^young industries required fostering. (Applause). Professor Fawcett, whose death they had lately lamented (applause), had laid down the same principle, | bub Professor Fawcett had also given his opinion .that he did not think it desirable to do so, because when once established it could never be abolished. Well, he considered that the first statement was true, but .not so the second, because England had abolished protection as soon as they wanted to do so. (Applause.) Therefore it was quite safe to foster their industries. Distribution of Wealth. Bub if by so doing gigantic fortunes were to be made, by the manufacturers, where would be the gain to the community at large f. Who created these fortunes ? Was it simply by starvation wages being paid to those who worked to make these fortunes ?, Were the artisans not to receive any of-the residue? "Was he clear upon that point?. (Applause.) - Look at their greab cities. They must necessarily work upon bhe co.operative $ystem. Ib i was the people who congregated in the cities that increased the value of the property. If they wanted him to make protective laws, he would do so upon the. condition that the workmen also came in for a fair share of the profits. It required capital, intellect and labour to build up successful industries, and from all these causes, did there not resulb an unearned increment just the same as in the .case of the land near the cities? Then he said let them pass laws which would secure for all a fair share of the gain, and let the labourers and their families, ■ who had toiled to build up these industries, oomo in an,d get, the residue that would otherwise go to make up these gigantic fortunes. He would .only' agree to protective laws upon! these terms—that the labouring poor should also get their fair share of the gain from protection. It ; was all well fpr these matters to come up at election times as a catch to the people. ' Don't let them be used as counter, or \ ■.chessmen for -the political gamblers to use as best suited their purposes, Let them see that a fair revenue was raised, 'that a just tariff was laid on, so that industries should be fostered, but let other wider matters be put aside for three years or more, so that they could be carefully considered, and at that time they could come forward with a definite course of acbion laid . downj and make beneficent laws that would do good to all, He had now been balking for nearly two hours, bad kept "them a long time (ones' of '* Go on "), but he would like to say a few words more. He had kept them a long bime, bub he had asked them bo do nothing bub whab would redound bo bheir own honour and the;r own good. It was with joy that hehad read of the great Jubilee proceedings in London. Much of what had been done might be ascribed toi&v wish to do honour to the Queen, but there was also a still greater evidence of pritfe pf the British nation in these grand proceedings; When they thought of four European ■ Kings ■" in attendance upon Her; Majesty, when they thought of numbers of future king's around her person, then it was that they .should remoirfbgr thfd; it was such a scene as had nevfer before" been witnessed \n bhe world." They heard of briumphs in Rome, but nothing even then or in the times of Charles y, had equalled this ; for never before had all "Sur.qpe CQmb,ines tp dp JiQnQur to. a jnonaVch. It wag a great and marvellous thing, &n4 iftey should remember that they in New Zealand were also a portion of this nation, and leb them do their duty as subjects of that great empire, so that in the future they might feel fhat they; had d.Qne nothing Uo;' damage }W rep,t(bation and I 'greatness.. :

■Upon Sir George Grey resuming his seat, tj]§ audienqe , heartily and _ spontaneously gave thrpe lusty cheers for him. The Chairman ' invited questions, but none were forthcomihgi ">•' Mr Thomas Gee then proposed "That Auckland East elecbors beg to thank .Sir George Gi'eyfor his able address just'delivered, that they desire also to record their unabated confidence in him as their member j and sincerely trust that he may long continue to represent them in .theijongg of Representatives." (Loud cheers.) He felt sure that the Confidence of the electors in Sir George Grey was firm and unshaken. He was ever true to his principles—always Sir George Grey, and never twisted into some other mani (Laughter and applause;) That, was' more than°could be said of some other of our city members, who had acted very inconsistently. For instance, one member had, as Chairman of: the Local Industries Committeei. gent up forms to . the, local manufacburers for them to fill', up. He wished Mr Dargaviile was present. (Laughter, and groans for Mr Dargaviile). 0»e manufacturer told him he did not like to send the forms to Mr Dargaville, as he might keep some of them back just to suit his own purposes. | That incident 'merely illiistrated the popular distrust of Mr Dargaville. (Applause); Mr Hehry Refesing, in seconding the resolubion, said he remembered Sir George Grey's first arrival in: New Zealand.. The colony then was in great distress,1 and Sir George Grey landed like an angel from heaven. (A voice : " Draw it mild, old man.") The metaphor might seem farfetchfidj ;bub the, people ab the time were ■in daily and nightly ; terror' pf q, native raid and knew, , nob J where to,. look for aid. Sir , George ■ reanimated , their courage, restored confidence; -.and won peace. From the date of Sir. George, Grey's landingtill, the present, every, act of his public life had been a blessing, to the community, lie trusted Sir George would live for many years, arid long have sufficient good health (spirit he always had) to serve them as he had inthejrast. ' v The Chairman concurred in these sentiments^ and asked far a hearty' respdnse 'to the resolution.

- Tliescene that followed Was one of wild, enthusiasm, the audience' rising to their

feet, cheering and waving hats and hand kerchiefs.

Mr J. KB Sherp, then moved, "That this meeting desires to express its confidence in Sir George Grey as the real Liberal leader of this people." He believed they .would join with him in wishing Sir George many years of good health to continue the trusted leader of the people. MrR. J. Duncan seconded the resolution, and, trusted that Auckland would send forth to other parts of New Zealand no uncertain sound on ; this subject. He hoped Sir Robert Stout would never be Premier again (cheers), and he believed that both he and Mr Ballance were illiberal Ministers. The resolution was put, and the voices were unanimous in its favour. Sir George Grey, whose reappearance was again the signal for enthusiastic cheering, said the remainder of his life would be devoted to their interests. The meeting broke up with cheers for Sir George and the Chairman. Warner's "Safe"Pills.-With atioi " Warner's Safe Remedies " use enough of " Warner's Safe Pills " to ensure one or bwo bowel movements daily, otherwise bub partial results will bo obtained. They are purely vegetable, do not gripe, and are gentle and effective in action. They are compounded on the formula of a successful British army physician in India/ and are the Best-and".Safest Pills in the market. No other ji»#s can be safely substituted for (hem. _______ •'Non-Secret" Substitutes. —As you value your health shun all vile so-called " nbii-seereb " preparations. They are nob made by your local chemist, although his name may be on the wrapper, but are furnished him ready-made and wrapped from America. The chemist dare not say he knows their contents. He only handles; them because he can make a greater profit than on legitimate goods. These goods are " played out," to use an Americanism, where best known. An attempt is now being made to foisfc them on a confiding public in the colonies. Wo warn you in all sincerity to have nothing whatever to do with them. Be Not Deceived-—Unscrupulous dealers when asked for Warner's Safe Remedies, if they happen to have none on hand, will endeavour to palm off something of their own or somd other medicene On their customer^ which they will say Js just as good. Have nothing to do with such men. They make more-on their own preparations is the reason they offer them in place of Warner' Safe Remedies, whidli have been proved and are known to do exactly as represented. If the chemists' preparations are jußt as good, why have they not long ago cured Bright's Diseasfe, Diabetes, and many other diseases considered incurable by the schools ? Be hdt deceived, insist on having what you ask for. If your chemist will nob trouble himself to get it for you, visit some other sho)), and transfer your' trade to a gentleman, and one who respects your wishes and opinions. ■ • • ■ ■ Diabetes can be Cured with Wa&nf.r'sSafe Biabktes Cure (another preparation from Warner's Safe Cur.).' Diabetes is .a most alarming disease, and unless, taken promptly in hand thore is no cure. Do nob triflo. with untried medicines, but at onqe procure Warner's Safe Diabetes Cure. It has permanently cured when all1 the schools and their medicines have failed. If there is no sediment in your urine, if it is ja pale straw colour, if you are inordinately thirsty, if you make more than 3 pints of water in 24 hours, you have the symptoms of Diabetes. Be wise in time. -Do not neglect this terrible disease. ,