HEATHCOTE ELECTION.

Press, Volume XI, Issue 1408, 14 May 1867, Page 2

HEATHCOTE ELECTION.

The nomination of a candidate for the seat in the Provincial Council for this district, ' vacated by Mr T. W. Maude, took place yes--1 terday at noon. Several electors were present, 1 but it having been generally thought that Mr ' Kennaway was the only candidate, but little 1 excitement was manifested. Somewhat to ' the surprise of the public, however, Mr Ken- ' naway, withdrew iv favor of Mr Travers, | who withdrew his own withdrawal. Dr. Donald, the returning officer, having read the writ, Mr Vincent proposed Mr W. T. L. Travers as a fit and proper person to represent the ! district in the Provincial Council. There hud 1 been some misunderstanding about Mr Travers' 1 candidature, which that gentleman had, how--1 ever, satisfactorily explained. Before that explanation had been given, he felt that Air Travers had scarcely treated them well in withdrawing, since the electors had agreed to take him, knowing that he could not give his fuil time to them, but content to take whatever time he could spare them. All must admit that ho was a very able man, and that he had made very great headway with the people of Canterbury since the time when he had stood for the Superintendency, of which f.ict the invitations he had received from Timaru and Mandeville, and his election for Christchurch in the House of Representatives, uffo-ded ample proof. If, when his services •u-o required, he should consent to give them, h- (the spanker) did not doubt that he would mike tv highly useful member of the Exe;utivo. and he at least was not a bankrupt. Mr Kennawav seconded tho nomination, remarking thnt the fact of his doing so showed that he had withdrawn from the contest. lie felt that some explanation of the circumstances under which ho hud come forward was due. Without his knowledge a requisition to hinnelf had been got up, on the ground that. Mr Travers would be unable to be present during a irreaf. P» rt " f tlie session. As soon as he heard of it lie said that the electors would place him in a difficulty, as the signer of a requisition to another candidate. If they lull asked him to stand merely in opposition to Mr Travers, he would not have consented to clo so; but on hea-ing the ground of the opposition ho felt that lw had no right to ask them to drop it. He had, however, explained to Mr Travers about the requisition, and said that he hail no intention ofrebpondto it. Mr Travers had answered, "If you i wUJ conaeut to Btand, you will relieve mc of a 1

urea* difficulty." He ; ,U v <i-- 1,,,! , | \rr-iv„v..r.. ,:,.,,„ ,t..,, ,„„-.• 1)> 1 :: f ; i , , ™ C d |sup..riu:,-,de 1 i,.. 1 -,n; „■>* ,; I(U ;, ; ./.""'ho ; would oe a givaf. ;-■ •■ j ui-i 'ir>. ( -~ .l, ,;' '" , rn,..pr.,«onr.i.,,„ei! ,„„i 111r „,.,.; ;,„;■;«. ')! :-.• iii.lepeu.ieii -c |!..-ui Conner ,„„ ', '*! ! lea ling M.-mh.'eoi'tiie cMiniiiu-ii-v |~,. ' , ■}■ ! he..rirg eail.-l (',■ ,„..,„!,..,.„ ;. f ." «'J ;t. ouue.i ,>ui,. .is, h:i! I;ll < .(Aiuneil i ]:ic] _" ; t!l.'iii>elv>-s I.) be anvNiin.; hut. jnipp-... ,> '"' ! l j Dr Do.iald hay »sked « hcth.-r Vuv ,». Uw.orwi.W.l to Jlll>ili ,,., a ~,,d,J,, ot i« j having paused in vain f.ra ronly, dec!,«e,| r Travor Sl :,:, l vol,oo n d-dy ( .kctVd m«„.b,,Z the lleaiheote district. '** Mr Travers said that he felt »omewh>»f barrassed by the circumstances of his Dr l;„ m ' withdrawal. When Mr Keunawuy &£"*?> ■ to him he had thought that instead of m« privately ho had been speaking officii" representmg the views and enforcing tho quests of tho electors of tho district w" knew that ho would necessarily be »b and thought therefore that it would h„''^,, t, fair that ho should withdraw. Ho at ft thought that the Council would have net • April, then that it would have met on th* l-,? of May, in either of which cases J °J'\ have been absent, but he had *ineo found , * 'it would not meet till J u „ 0 7 p rof , . Ulat duties might indeed engage him'in ulo'nuS of June for two or three days • ,| iat Wl „ ,a ™ uncertain. But he could pledge hinnelf t - give his whole time to tho duties of thesesi«„° except so far as it might clash with his dnT m the General Assembly; and no worse intM venience would arisefromHmemberofthoCo oil being absent than from thoSuperincendrt" himself a member of the General Assomblv being absent during tho session. H 0 WIH „ posed to the present state of affairs in nrovin" cial politics. He thought that considerable modifications were necessary. Ho was not favor of either the Superintendent or Council being abolished, but he thought that their functions ought to bo curtailed ; that their legislative powers should bo diminished and that they should bo reduced to simply admin istrating tho affiiirs of the proving. \U thought that Ministerial responsibility in pro vincial maters was a farce, and h 0 would" gladly see it done away with, and tho S Uper intendent made personally responsible to the constituency which had elected him. H 9 thought the Provincial Secretary ought to be a permanent officer who knew'his work, and that all other officers of tho Government should bo permanent under official control. As for the present Superintendent, he should givo way to some one else. It was desirable that the Superintendent should bo elected annually and then he could be removed. Tho elected head of the people ought alone to be responsible for finance and all other matters. Strongwilled men, liko the present Superintendent cannot holp working on their Executives as mere puppets. It is tho duty of tho Superintendent to obey the will of the people, and not to force his will on thorn through tho medium of a weak Executive. [,V Voico : "Bankrupts."] He would rather say nothing about , that, but, still it was an unfortunate thing that men should bo dependent for their bread on continuing in otlico, as so thoy might moro easily be inclined to serve arother man's will. • Ho would now give them an instance of a possibly serious wrong to tho province by the strong will of the Superintendent forcing his own plans on the country. This instance had escaped the notice of tho " Pross " nows--1 paper, vigilant as that paper usually was in all that concerned the prcsont Executive. He had seen in a paragraph of the "Lyttelton Times Summary " a statement that the Government wore in troaty for Peiicock's wharf, tho sum named being £22,000. A commission had been appointed four years ago to inquiro into tho accommodation fir goods when the railway opened, which commission had boon composed of Messrs Dobson, Bray, and others. Mr Balfour hud also been consulted, and those men condemned Peacock's wharf as useless. Notwithstanding this, the Superintendent wjis endeavoring to force this job on the people, without even having brought the matter before tho Council at all. As soon as the Council met he supposed the Government would come down to the House and ask for tho vote, saying that negotiations had already b»en entered into for the purchase, and threatening to resign if the amount were not voted forthwith j and bo perhaps the Council, influenced by a desire to avoid upsetting the whole machinery of Government delaying public business, might bo induced to throw the £22,000 where so ' much money had been Bunk already, namely, into the bottom of Lyttelton harbor. Nor ' ought the Superintendent to go to the West Coast ordering tramways and bush-tracks, and other works in all directions, with no regard to cost, merely treating tho matter as a joke, with such speeches as, " I run the risk of having my head cut off." The Council ought now to watch the Government most carefully. The revenues were diminishing, tho expenses increasing, and taxation, the resources of the people, must be husbanded to meet their wants. They must tell the Superintendent only to bring forward Buch schemes as their means can meet. Eastland ought to be chiefly considered. The agricultural and postal interests, and tho manufactures of the future, ought to be considered before a population of mercurial character; nor ought the money of Eastland to be spent to bolster up a failing goldfield. Australia had felt that the diggers ought to. pay a tax on gold to moot their own necessi- ' ties. This tax waß fixed at half-a-crown per ounce. The same scale had been adopted here without any inquiry, whereas it would take a duly of five shillings per ounce to pay the expenses of Westland. Why should not the Westland miners meet their own expenses? Money ought not to be wrung from this aids to be spent on a population yielding no return for it. He would look into all these questions, and would be a determined opponent of all jobs ; whilst, on the other hand, he would give hearty support to any measures calculated to promote the welfare of the province. Ho wished it to be understood that he should not be what is commonly called an independent member, but should enter the Councd as an opponent of the not a factious opponent indeed, but as one predisposed to consider them not at present working for the advantage of tho province. He was embarrassed by having, as it were, changed sides with Mr Kennaway, but felt it a public duty to bring all his energy to bear for the good o the province. An elector reminded Mr Travers of tho land scheme propounded by him when a candidate for the Superintendency, and asked whether he would bring forward the same scheme 08 a member of the Council. Mr Travers said, most undoubtedly not. The scheme ought to bo propounded by the head of the Government, and not by a private ma Tiber. If the public had chosen to elect him Superintendent ho would have brought it forward ; and as it was, he expected so eco either that scheme or some modification of it in use within three years time. A vote of thanks was proposed to the Returning Officer, and three cheers having been given for him, and three more for Mr Travers, the meeting dispersed.