SIR GEORGE GREY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 87, 14 April 1891, Page 2

SIR GEORGE GREY.

INTERVIEW WITH LABOUR DELEGATES.

Last Thursday evening, afc the Hotel Metropole, Sydney, according to arrangement, the members of the Executive Committee of the Trades and Labour Council interviewed Sir George Grey, of New Zealand, who is at present in Sydney as a delegate to the Federation Convention. Those present were: — Messrs W. H. Sharpe (president), J. Wilson (vice-president), J. Hepher, J. Watson, J. V. Wiley, J. D. Fibzgerald, J. Downey, R. Atkinson, J. Riddell, T. J. Houghton (secretary), and Messrs W. H. Higgs and B. Backhouse. Referring to the presence of the representatives of the press, Sir George Grey notified his intention of introducing a Bill in the Nesv Zealand Parliament to compel editors and leader writers to append their names to their articles, as he believed that a large number of literary men were in entire sympathy with the Liberal and labour parties, but were obliged, in the interests of the proprietors of newspapers, to write articles in opposition to their own convictions. '

Sir George Groy said thab there was one question which he wished particularly to speak to them about, and that was in reference to the present system of plural voting. The English Parjpmenb had been most generous to them ; in point of fact what the English Parliament had said to the delegates to the Federation Convention meant an invitation to them to make exactly what Constitution they liked. But the great difficulty was that the statesmen at Home knew nothing of the real position of these colonies. (Hear, hear.) As an example he would refer them to the great care they had taken to formulate a Constitution for Western Australia, and they had imagined that they had given that colony a most liberal Constitution. And so it would have been but for the introduction of a system of plural voting, and they had granted a system of plural voting of a very extraordinary kind, the colonists of Western Australia haring acquired the right to obtain a vote for every little bit of property owned by them, and a regulation had been made that persons might vote by proxy. This meant that electors could, by sending a list by post, vote in 25 or more electorates in one day. When the English Parliament learned what a power this had placed in the hands of a few landowners, they would see the mistake made by them. The next worse place to Western Australia was Now South Wales; then came Victoria and Queensland, which were in about the same position, but if anything Victoria was the best in havingadopted a system by which all elections took place on the same day. The whole system resulted in this, that in the Lower Houses the capitalists were always in the majority, and capital, therefore, always ruled the House, and they got possession of the Executive Committee. Plural voting made elections rotten from top to bottom, and he was very anxious to get an end pub to it in New Zealand. The Central Legislature of the proposed federation should, above everything elee, be pure. If the House of Representatives was to be elected entirely upon the system of plural voting by the different colonies, then the Senate, which would be elected by the State Legislatures, would be influenced by capital. (Hear, hear.) The moment such a state of things reached the ears of the British Parliament they would be surprised, although they piobably would, to some extent, be led astray by the representations made in the Convention which had been sitting. One member stated in the most positive terms that the constitution of Victoria was in his opinion the most liberal in one world. Thatday some of the delegates made every effort to get the Constitution referred back to the people, as it could not be introduced without their consent, but the suggestion had been thrown out with contempt. There was no getting anything done at the Convention. There was only one vote which was the property of a man, and that was the vote which represented the interests of a family. The question of the single-vote principle had never been so much considered as at the present time. Mr Houghton remarked that the people had just awakened to their senses. Sir George Grey said there was no reason why each person should not have exactly the same privileges, and the system he advocated should be the one that they should especially struggle for. Mr Wilson asked several questions in reference to the land laws. Sir George Grey said that New Zealand was the fir3t colony to place a tax on the unearned increment. It went on for years, and then it was changed into a property tax. Mr Backhouse asked for an opinion as to the best course to pursue to gain the ends proposed. Sir Georpo Grey said that he tn r, '"Tht thafe the only way by which they co ■• rid of the Constitutions of these was by approaching the British Parliament. Thab body had created the Constitutions, and in most cases he had no doubt thie was done a good many yeare

ago, but great advances had been made in public opinion since then. The Convention had the power for all Australasia to make a perfectly liberal Constitution, bub several of the delegates had prevented this being done. The cry was that the State should be protected, and that no change should be made in the form of government made by themselves. Mr J. D. Fitzgerald asked whether ib was the duty of the Trades and Labour Council to take some extreme action in this matter. Sir George, in reply, said that anything that would induce the mass to consider their form of government was one of the besb things that could be done for them. Every efforb should be made to avail oneself of the Federal Council's sittings and of the Federal Constitution to rouse the people's attention to the matter. Lob the people send their petitions to the Parliament at Home. Hβ promised to do anything in his power to assist the Council. This was the greatest epoch in the history of Australia, for ib was the beginning of the great movement of a young nation, and nothing should be neglected to get a perfect; Constitution. Mr W. H. Sharp submitted a copy of the Labour platform ot 16 planks recently adopted by the Council. Mr W. G. Higgs asked if Sir George Grey would take the chair at a meeting called by the Council after his return from Adelaide, in reference to these matters. Sir George Grey stated that he would do so. He thought that the only thing that could be done was that agitations should be made throughout tho colonies by public meetings and petitions to the British Government. He believed that the people would work this Constitution out and make it a great and noble scheme, and ib would do more than anything ©lee bo unite men in one great and noble bond. Let the freetrade, protection, and other questions go, and let them work for federation and a good Constitution. Mr J. D, Fitzgerald called the attention of Sir George' Grey to the holding of the intercolonial Labour Congress, which would discuss the scheme for the federation of all Australian labour, and he hoped that Sir George Grey would be able to attend the sittings. 'Sir George Grey said thab when they gob a thoroughly free Government they would be able to get whab was right comparatively eajy. Never was such an opportunity presented to a young nation. He then suggested what should in his opinion be contained in a petition to the Home Government. Hβ then spoke of tho action of the Government of this colony in making tho study of law more difficult. He referred ab some length to the absurdity of a greab nation having laws in a foreign tongue. Referring to Government contracts, he said that he had endeavoured to pass a Bill to make it compulsory for tenderers for Government contracts to specify the rate of wages to bo paid to the employees. Hβ then touched upon various other questions of interest to the labour party, including State ownership of coalfields, and of the advisability of insurance offices being under the control of the Government.

The delegates thanked Sir George for the interview and withdrew.