CADMAN V. REES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 174, 25 July 1893, Page 2

CADMAN V. REES.

THE APPROACHING ELECTION. ADDRESS BY~R CADMAN. "AN ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING. MR CADMAN'S DEFENCE. Last evening Mr A. J. Cadman, late Minister for Native Affairs, and now a candinate for one of the Auckland city seats in the House of Representatives, addressed a public meeting of electors in the City Hall, with reference to the contest between himself and Mr W. L. Ree?, and the purchase of the Umutaoroa block, mere was a crowded audience, every corner of the hall being filled. The dresscircle was filled with ladies and their escorts, while downstairs all available accommodation was fully occupied. Seats on the platform were occupied by a large humber of Mr Cadman's supporters. On the motion of Mr vV. Duncan J.P., seconded by Mr P. E." Cheal, Mr J. J. Holland was voted to the chair. Mr Cadman, on entering, was received with loud and prolonged cheering. . " The chairman rond the advertisement in the Auckland Star convening the meeting, and then said thab the audience were all. well aware of the causes which had" led to Mr Cadman coming before them. .He said that Mr. Cadman had come there to reply to some very grave charges made against him. He had nob come to make wild statements, bub to lay a plain statement before, them. He bespoke for Mr Cadman a fair and impartial hearing. MR, CADMAN'S ADDRESS. -Mr Cadman,-upon rising to address the audience, was received with renewed cheering. He said he had been asked upon more than one occasion why he had invited Mr Reea to rosign his seat to allow him to contost ib wibh him. His (the speaker's) reply had been thab he desired to vindicate his character (applause) from the gross and libellous charges that Mr Rees bad preferred against him (applause), simply to endeavour to lift off the cloud which Mr Roes had ingeniously endeavoured to. throw, over his political character. (Choers.) Mr Rees had considered it, his duty to libel and slander him to the utmost, villifying his character to such an extent that if one tithe of the allegations were true he (the speaker) ought to be in Mount Eden, rather than on that platform. (Applause and cries of " Hear, hoar !") Thoao opposed to the Government all over the colony had also used this matter for the purpose of discrediting the Government of which he wae a member and the Liberal party generally to which he belonged. Had Mr Reea represented any other than an Auckland constituency he (Mr Cadman) would have taken other stops to defend his character. WHY HB CAME TO AUCKLAND. He had been reared in Auckland. (Applause.) His only friends resided in this provincial district).— schoolmates and friends with whom he had worked as a carpenter and friends with vrhom later on he had been connected in business transactions. (Applausa.) Friends whose good opinion he had often received aa he climbed tho political ladder from a carpenter's bench until he became a Minister of the Crown (applause) ; friends whose respect he still hoped to retain until "death severer! the connection. Thoy had only now found out the corrupt scoundrel he had become. (Laughter.) He intended to prove that he had done nothing wrong, nothing discreditable, and nothing thab he need be ashamed of. (Applause.) THE CAUSE 01' THE TROUBLE. So far as he knew, this trouble was the outcome of a^quarrelbebween MrJßee* and Mr Smith, of Waipawa. Ib arose in coneequonce of Mr Smith, ab the request of the late Premier, Mr Ballance, eoing to Napier to disprove some statements made by Mr Roes. Mr Smith did go, and succeeded in turning the meeting against Mr Rees'. After that Mr Rees commonced the hunt of the registers, and and as the outcome of that they had those accusations. Not Batiefied with thab, Mr Rees came to Auckland, called a meeting of his oupporters, and, while the case was sub judice, sailed as clooely as possible to contempt of court, in order to influence the people of Auckland against him. Later/on, at a meeting of his constituents, a resolution was carried which by inference condemned him (the speaker) unheard. (Applause.) So far he had said very little in the matter, but before the contest was over he would say a good deal about it. (Cheers.) THE ACCUSATIONS. First ib was said that ho had manipulated the portfolios for the purpoae of retaining his position aa Minister for Native Affairs. That was rather flattering, as it meant that he could regulate the whole of the portfolios in the Cabinet. The second charge was that he had delayed native legislation in order to obtain native lands for himself. The third charge was that he had passed a Native Bill—the Tahoraite Bill —through Parliament, having first made secret arrangements with the natives to aell him certain areas of land. The fourth charge waa thab he had appointed an assessor to value the land, in spite of all objection, in order to get land in which ho was interested valuod at a low rate. PURCHASE OF THE UMUTAOROA. Mr Cadman then went on to refer to the manner in which the Umutaoroa block had been acquired. He had been engaged with the member for Waipawa for about seton years in trading in timber, under the stylo of the " Tamaki Timber Company. The Uraubaoroa block, which adjoined the Tamaki, waa a block of dense forest land, sear the town of Danevirko. Their leaso of this block had about.four years to run. There waa no railway within aboub twenty miles of the block ab that time. A few months prior to the proeent Government taking office, there ' was an agitation in the district in the direction of getting these lands opened up for settlement, but it was encumbered by the state of the leases. It was suggested that the Tamaki Company ehould'purohaae tho land in order to throw 1 open a portion of ib for settlement as it was , denuded of timber. Before the present • Government came into office ho and Mr Smith h«d acquired two shares in the Umutaoroa block, at which one and a-haU wore bis (Mr Cadman's), and half a diaie was Mr Smith's. His (the speakers) ■hare had been purchased before he took office under the present Government, but owinrr to some misunderstanding partly in connexion with a native will, a judge of tho Supreme Court decided thab the signature to his deed was nob the one which should bo there, and that it was the wrong one. Owing to various .delays, it was months before that judge decided that a new deod was necessary A now deed wns prepared before he came into office as Native Minister, and it was filed alongside of the original deed of purchase. Yeb Mr Rees stated thab be (Mr Cadman) had acquired lands *«»*■« nabives after he (the epeaker) had taken office as Native Minister, while at the same time he (Mr Rees) knew all about tniß(deed and the difficulties which had delayed ib for so long. Mr Rees knew thab bhe deed had only been registered after the speaker came into office, on account of the diffioaUie. of which ho had already told them. (Cheers.) THE NATIVE PORTFOLIO. The present Government took office, and Mr Ballance offered him (Mr Madman) ™* portfolio of native affairs. He (Mr Ladraon frd hot cafe very much whether he took ib

question an Auckland matter, aWec tive of party. As the result of tha h° o ?h Ulr fcioa °f fche Au^land members both Government supporters and Od ponbon.it was decided unanimously that He told them thab if they did not consider him the proper man for the position, he would be perfectly filling to retire in favour of any other man whom the members might support. However, the Auckland the portfolio Having accepted office, he conferred with Mr Smith on the subject of their joint interests in the Umutaoroa K°? k u lL c to 1? Mr Smith ab fchat "me thab he did not intend to purchase any more native land. (Cheers.) Ab the time it was thought tbab the existing Government would only remain in power for bwo or throe months until they men Parliament. When he was .appointed to the Ministry the shares which he and .Mr" Smith held in the block were what were known as undefined interests—that was, that none of the owners' interests in the block were exactly defined. They all knew the difficulties which arose in dealing with undefined interests in native lands. Suppose thab one bad acquired fifteen out of twenty native shares in a block, before the rest could be acquired the native owners might be able to show thab they really owned the larger portion, and the purchaser of the 15 shares might therefore find himself only able to gob the smaller portion of the bio., forhia money. He was at thab time in this ')O3ition thab three-twentieths of the shan^i in the block were his, and that Mr Smith was unable to go on with the purchase without his assistance. Mr Smith desired to try and fulfil hia promise thab they would acquire bhe land and throw ib open for settlement. Ib was agreed that Mr Smith Bhould have the use of their joint banking account to complete the purchase of the land. The bank also desired to have more security, and he allowed them to have security over his undefined shares. This waa the arrangement between them, and ib waa lefb optional with him if the Government went out bo join Smith again and go ■on with tho business. (Applause and laughter.) The Government were nob turned out, and there the matter had stood ever since. Mr Smith completed the purchase of the other interests in the block, and had registered them in his own name, lie (Mr Smith) had still to pay the bank. If Mr Smith died to-morrow he (Mr Cadman) would have no more interest in the land acquired than anyone in that room would have. (Applause.) At the samo time he had no wish to shirk any responsibility in the matter. That, to a certain extent, made him interested in the purchase, and to that extent alone and no more was he interested. Then, what was all Mr Rees' talk of secrecy based upon ? If they had desired to keep things secret, were there nob many ways of doing go ? He and Mr Smibh had explained exactly the position of affairs voluntarily in the witnessbox, and they HAD KEPT BACK NOTHING. If thoy had desired to do anything underhand were there not twenty ways of doing it ? They could have covered their dealings up in every way if they had so chosen. Mr Smith stated in the witness-box that every interest he acquired in the. block was duly notified in the district papers, accompanied by a statement that the land was getting much nearer settlement. Some future day his share in tho whole transactions and subsequent proceedings would stand to his credit, when public opinion would look ab bhings calmly after this excitement was over. (Applause). Mr Cadman, coming to tha alleged manipulation of portfolios, said that more than one Ministry had gone into office plodged to abolish the native office, bub it was reserved for him to bring ib about. In doing bo the colony was savod from £800 to £1,000 per annum in salaries alone. (Applause.')i The origin of breaking up the Native Department ley with himself. He had suggested '.to the Government that the Native Office ehould be abolished, and the duties pertaining to it bo merged in tho Lands and Justice Departments, the Minister of Justice to also take tho title of Minister for Native Affairs. By thir, he said in his memo, to bhe Cabinet, that he felt sure. a saving of from £800 to £1,000 a-year could be shown on the Estimates. Hia suggestion was considered by Cabinet on the 28th of Fobruary, 1892, and marked " approved." Did ib look like manipulating the portfalios to keep himself in ntfice? (A voice : "No.") He had a letter to read, but as it was a personal matter he would ask the chairman to kindly Mr Holland then read a letter sent by Mr Cadmao to the late Premier, Mr Ballanco, in 1892. in which be stated that ho feared his wile's illness would detain him in Auckland, and he thought that public business might suffer. He suggested that 10 might be advisable for him to resign, and urged tbab the question bhould bo coneidered upon public grounds. Ine letter further stated that Mr Cadman made the offer to retire, nob from a personal desire to leave tho Cabinet, or from any other motive than that mentioned. He placed himself entirely in his colleagues hands The reply of Mr Ballatice, dated April 13th 1892, was then read. It wae-to tho effect thab Mr Cadman was to take whatever time he thought proper before returning. The late Premier and his wife expressed deep sympathy with Mr. Cadman in hw bereavement, and. conveyed to him bhe desire of himself and his colleagues that ho should remain in office. (Applause ) Mr Cadman said thab did nob look as if he was manipulating portfolios in order to retain ha portion a>. Native Minister, (ApplapwO Ho said ib was afterwards decided thab Mr Reeves-the Minister for Jufltice-ahould take tho portfolio for native affairs. Thab, however, called forth great opposition from the Auckland end. Mr Reeves had given evidence upon thab point upon commission. MR BEEVES' STATEMENT. Mr Cadman then read Mr Reeves' evidence in tho recent libel suit It appeared thab Mr Reeves, when asked to tako over he portfoHo of native affairs, ■«»«««[*£•, greatest objection, pointing out.that be was entirely ignorant of nabivo aftdwa and by himself (Mr Reeves), or by Mr Smtb Labour Mr Cadman did nob r.ppear to the position with unwillingness. He (Mr atd SveTS and had held them ever Binco. (Applause.) DID NOT PREVENT SATXVB LEGISLATION. '« J? "fffS"'..*,.E "to" £ Commission Mr J" B*^ , Comrahsior.

£3,000 to £4,000 per annum in salaries besides other expenses, he objected to the suggestion, and it was decided to iuaerb clausoa to that effect in a Bill in order that) members of Parliament might express their opinion upon it. On the suggestion of Mr Rees it was sent to a Committee of both Houses, and fchafa committee recommended that the matter' should be posponed until next session. The only members upon thab committee who voted against the postponement were Messrs Cadman, Smith and Kelly. MrRees voted for postponement until the followingl session. I Applause.) Then there came a great outcry from Gisborne, as they wanted legislation relative to pasb transactions with the natives. A small committee was Bet up to bring in a Bill to deal with the Gisborne matter. lOn that committee Mr Roes sat That Bill was rejected by two to one, one of the strongesb opponents being Sir George Grey. (Applause.) During recess it was decided to take in hand a lob of native matters held in abeyance for several years, and he prepared something like fifteen Bills. During the session of 1892, sixteen native Bills were introduced by the Government, and of that number fourteen were passed. One Bill was the Consolidation Bill, which was intended to repeal eleven other native Bills. Had it been passed it would have simplified Native Lands Court matters, and would have made a great saving to the country in tho expense attached to Court proceedings. The greatest opponent to that Bill was Mr Roes. (Applause and laughter.) The result of that session was that fourteen of these Bills became law, and yet he was cold that ho had prevented native legislation in order that he might acquire native land. (Applause.) Any Minister who took such a number of Bills in hand had his.hands full for. tho eossion. He had also several Bills from the Justice Department, besides which he was sick for a fortnight, and was away lor ten days owing to a death in his family. He considered he had, under such circumstances, done lairly well in respect to native legislation. (Applause.) Yet, after passing 14 Bills, he had been accused of delaying native legislation in order to obtain native lands. (Applause.) THE TAHORAITI BILL. The third charge was that ha had passed the Tahoraiti Validation Bill from corrupt; motives, having arranged beforehand to gos land from the natives secretly. Ho would tell them the hietory of that Bill. A block of land called the Tahoraiti block had been before the Native Lands Court. It was divided into Tuhoraiti No. 1, and Tahoraiti No. 2, but by a clerical error the ownor3 of No. 1 were pub down as owning No. 2, and vice versa. The names had boon transposed. The error was nob discovered for some time, and, meanwhile, natives in each blopk had disposed of portions of what they believed to be their land. The Bill was intended to rectify tbab mistake. This, when it came to be inquired into, was found to bo itnposßible, and the matter was roferred to the Chief, Judge of vho Land Court. He Benb the case to the SolicitorGeneral, wbo reported that special logia^a-1 tion would ba needed to rectify tho error | Accordingly, at his (Mr Cad man's) suggpa-1 tion a Bill was drafted to deal with the matter. Mr Rees attacked the Bill as baing really a private Bill, but he (Mr Cadman) did nob see why they should nob bring the Bill in as a public one, as the wholo thing was really the fault of the iS Tative Lands Court, and it was not fair to put the natives to the expense of a private Biil, which would be about £100. (Applauno.) The floueo decided by 2 to 1 that tho measure was a public Bill, and it was passed. That was the history of the Bill. jMr Cadman then read correspondence which had passed between himself and ihe Hon. R. J. Seddon. With reference to a statement which Mr Seddon hac" made to Sir Georgo Grey in regard to Mr ''adman's connection with bho Tahoraiti Bill, Mr Seddon now stated thab -when the Tahoraiti Bill woe before Parliament, it had been insinuated thab Messrs Smith and Cadman had been irterented in the measure, that he spoko on the subject to Mr Cadman, and that Mr Cadman asserted that hb was ;neither directly a1". Indirectly interested in | the Bill. Mr Seddon denied (he assertion i made by Mr llees that he (Mr Seddon) had j ever stated to Sir George Grey that Mr Cadman had nothing to do with native lands. Mr Seddon stated further that he could nob have made the latter statement, because he knew that Mr Cadmau had for nearly the whole of his lifetime been dealing with timber on native lande. In other respects, Mr Seddon's communication supported Mr Cadman's contention in regard to his indisposition to retain tho native portfolio. He had made perfectly clear to Mr Seddon and Mio Premier his connection at that time with the Umutaoroa block. | (Applause.) . ! VALDATION OF THE BLOCK. Mr Cadman proceeded to refer to the question of tho valuation of the block, and to the appointment of assessors to value the Umutaoroa. There has been no secrecy at all in oiiy shape or form with respect to tho appointment of assessors. Out of 200 recommendations for the positions of assessors, . the appointments made limb with no opposition whatever. Whore then was the truth in Mr Rees' I statement that Mr Cadman and Mr Smith had virtually appointed their own valuers, in ppite of all opposition. The valuation of the block made by the. Survey Departmenb in 1885 was £19,619, and in 1892 it was valued by Mr Rose, who was appointod valuer, ab £6,316. There was a marked j discrepancy between these valuations, and the statement that the land around this, nob bo valuable, was valued ab £8 an acre gave rise to a good deal of comment. Bub these lands, it waa subsequently discovered, were valued with houses and all | other improvements, and aa a matter of I fact there wa3 not a single objection to this high valuation. In 1888 the property j was valued for property tax at £5,000, and in 1891 tho value was increased to £6,316. In 1892 the valuation of the block was j only £1 5s 6d an acre. He would tell them how these valuations were made. Tho District Land Registrar, in his evidence ab, Napier, said that the valuations were often only guess work when made by the Chief Surveyor for tho purpose of asVoss- j ing tho Jd in the £ duty payable to the | assurance fund, He had no doubbthatj the firsb valuation made was decidedly an over-valuation. The Property Tax Department appointed two fresh valuers, and they estimated one value of the block at £1,989. He could only account for the over-valuation by saying thab in his first valuation tho Chief Surveyor had included the whole block of 17,000 acies (including two special settlements), and had assessed. tho value on the whole of Mi.*» \ when the assessment was made in ]885, I (Some persons at the bapk here created an uproar, and ab length the chairman obtained order. He said he did nob think they were doing Mr Cadman justice. He asked them to giro a fair and impartial hearing.) Mr Cadman, resuming, said that the Gljjef Surveyor in valuing the land at £19,600 in ' 885, evidently made a mistake. In his report to the Government he assessed the Waipawa special settlement of 3,100 acres at £3,200, and . the Danevirke (settlement of 2,000 acres at £3,000, and that was after the Government bad expended about 10s per acre on the land for roads, surveys, etc. In 1888 another assossor valued the Umutaoroa block at £5,000. Then Mr Roso was appointed, and he valued ib at £,6,316, which increased the valuation of Umutaoroa by 274 P6r cent- and ne increased the valuation over the whole district by over £100,000, and yet he was said to have been corruptly appointed in order to undervalue that block. (Applause.) Then they were told that land was valued in the district at £8 per acre, while his

block was valued at 25a 6d, bub it was founds those were... small \ sectiona with houses upon them and other improvements, hence the discrepancy in the valuations. When Mr Rose was giving evidence, it waa insinuated by Mr Rees that a leaf had been cub oub of the property tax book to screen him (Mr Cadman), but thab was soon -settled when the judge examined the book. (Applause.) Those were the principal allegations made againsb him, and he thought he had explained bis position pretty well- (Applause.) •,;. MB BEES1 CIRCULAR. ' When Mr Rees' circular was first issued, it was a private communication to the Premier, He would have answered it at once, and then both documents would havo been placed on the table when bhe House met. When Mr Rees printed those circulars and circulated them broadcast, the only course open to him was to take legal proceedings. (Applause.) Mr Rees then endeavoured to plead privilege, to burk the case, and asked for a postponement, and said he wanted the evidence of 15 members of the House. He was told he might geb thab evidence by commission, bub Mr Rees did nob do so. From first to lasb he (Mr Cadman) had to force the matter before the Court. (Applause.) They knew the result. Notwithstanding the verdict having been given in his favour the accusations had been reiterated again and again. He had to take the only way he could to explain his side of the case. (Applause.) (A voice :" What did you do with :ho money ?") MR RLES1 TRUTHFULNfiS S. iHo would text give them some instances of Mr Rees' truthfulness. (Great laughter, and a voice, "We know him.") At the meeting the other night, Mr Rees stabed thati the Umutaoroa block was an inalienable reserve for tho natives; thab tho ten natives who claimed to be owners were only . trustees for the tribe. As that was newa to him, he had telegraphed to the Minister for Lands upon the subject, as follows :— " When the Government purchased large tracts of land in thg neighbourhood of Uanovirke, were there any conditions made respecting inalienable reserves, one of which was Umutaoroa block oi 5,000 acres? (Signed) A. J. Cabman." The reply he received was as follows : — " There was no condition whatever as to inalienability of reserves in lands known as Hawke's bay end of Seventy-Mile Bush. The natives concerned »t that time had a great deal more land than they could possibly utilise, and they are sbill, I understand, more or less in that condition.— (Signed) John McKknzie." Mr Rees had said also, that the Eangitana bribo claimed in 1889 bo be beneficiaries as well as the ten natives who were practically only brustees, bub the Court decided thab bhey had no claim to ihe land. Mr Rees also said thab in 189). the natives again applied to have thoir rights to a share in the land, and that Mr Smith and himselt employed counsel to oppose their claim. As a matter of fact, Mr Cadman said, they employed a solicitor to watch thoir interests: bub bofore bhe case came before bhe Courb, the natives' j own solicitor advised them that they had no ' claim, and he withdrew the matter on their | behalf.. (Applause.) Mr Rees had further stated that the land had been held in trust for other natives, bub in 1870 a certificate of title was given by Judge Kogan in the Native Lands Court to the ton natives; also, that Crown grants should be given to the grantees. Mr Reos further said that restrictions were pub upon the land, so thab ib should nob be sold, but tho same Judgo stated that it was nob proper that restrictions should be put upon that block. That was his reply to the statement that the land was' an inalienable reserve. (Applause.) Mr Rees had also said that he (Mr Cadman) had made £1,000 per annum in royalty -off the land for timber. Well, he might state thab'nboub any man in business, but ib could nob be ascertained unless access waa had'to his books, and Mr Reos really -knew nothing aboub that matter, nob having Been the books. (Applause.) He could tell thorn that his share of the profits averaged about £60 a year for the pasb seven or eight years. Another statement was that during tho I ! last three years only one measure dealing j ; with native lands had been passed, but he | j had already explained that 13 or 14 such { Bills had paase'i tho Houho. (Applause.) I This was asampic of the statements made by | Mr Reos—incorrect from tho beginning, untruthful in every direction, and as j far as he (Mr Cadman) could see i it was likely he would continue in thatl v-.y until the end. (Loud applause and j laughter.) PERSONAL. Tho spoakor dealt at some length with the attacks made upon himself in the matter of his seeking election by an Auck- ! land constituency, and said it had been asked, why did he come to Auckland, when he resigned his seat, and why did he not go back to the Thames ? Mr Cadman went on to say that he had been asked where he should go to place the matter beforo the people. (A voice, "To the Thames.") •"Is it likely,*' ho asked, "thab I would have gone to Christchurch or Dunedin to vindicate myaolf? (A voice, 'Go where you were born.') " I ask any of you yountr fellows within cue room," continued Mr Cadman, ." supposo you had been slandered as I have been, whero would you have gone? (A voice, 'Auckland,' and applause.) Would you nob attempt to come ;back to tho place where you were best known? (Applause.) That is jußt whab I have done. I have attempted to vindicate myself in the place where I have beenreared. My private and public characters havo been before tho public all my life. (Applause.) Mr Rees'public and priva'e characters have also been before you, and it will bo for you to judge between j ua—it is for you to say which you will boi iiev9, my statement ortfcatof M> Roes." (Applause and cries r.f " Yours," with > counter-cries of' Hiß.") j Concluding, Mr Cadman .'aid ; ''I can I only say this in isonclivion. I have |no wish to shirk any responsibility in respect) of my position, and in reapect of the purchaso ot native lands. I have stated the position t ww <:., invJ have explained that I could do nothing else thnn I did. I say now mosb unhesitatingly that since I ! have been a member of the Ministry, I ! have had nothing to do with the purchase of | native lands on my own behalf or on iiahalf of anyone eleo." (Loud and prolonged cheering.) ■ ■ QUESTION^. Mr Cadman then answered a number of questions put by, members of the audience with reference to the purchase of the Umut&oroa Block. In answer to queries, be stated that Mr Smith was still endeavouring to throw open the lands lor eettiemenb purposes as fasb aa ib Liocame denuded of the timber, in accordance . with bis promise to his constituents. Since he bad been Nati'6 Minister be had had nothing to do with the purchase of native km la. (Loud applause.) Tho whole of iheir busiueas was conducted by Mr Smith personally, and every cheque drawn on she account had been drawn by Mr Smith, who signed them all with the usual signature of the firm, " Cadman and Smith.' He (Mr Cadman) never saw one of them. (Loud applause.) With reference to a question as to the suggested public inquiry, Mr Cadman said thab anyone who know whab Parliamentary inquiries were, knew bhab bhe question of "party " invari* ably cropped up immediately, and they knew how such inquiries usually resulted. Both property and land taxes had been puid on the block from the first. Most of the questions asked bad already been answered by Mr Cadman in the course of his speech. . VOTE OF THANKS. ~ When the questions had been answered

by> Mr. Cadman, Mr J. T. Julian moved and Mr Leightbn seconded "Thab the candidate, Mr A. J. Cadman, be accorded a hearty vote of thanks for the address just delivered." \ ' The motion was carried almost unanimously, only a few persona holding up their hands against ib. Mr Cadman, in returning thanks for the resolution, said that he would ask them to show their confidence in him on polling day. — Mr Cadman was then given three hearty cheers by tho audience, and a vote of thanks having been given'to'the chairman, the gathering dispersed.