PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7567, 2 June 1890, Page 5

PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION.

MB A, K. G. RkOD_JS AT fcEMUKA Mr A, E. G. BhodesT M.H.K. for Glad atone, addressed a representative meetiuu of hia constituents in the Volunteer HalT. Te njuka, on Friday evening. Mr James wlytn, Chairman of the Temuka Towu Board, presided, and in a few words iuti-o-duced the speaker, who he said, from t\u Interest he had always displayed iv tin local gathering, was no stranger to them. He claimed for him a patlentheaelng. for la all respects he had deserved well ol them, Mr Rhodes, who was most heartily received, aaid—Mr Chairman and gentlemen,—Aa we are on the eve of another session I have asked you to meet mc thia « v f. n »ng to give a short review of the political events tbat have happened during the last year. Before proceeding to give a history of the work of last session I would like to make a few remarks on the financial results of the year 18S8-©U Wheu speaking here last year I said the Government claimed to have a surplus of about -270,000. As a matter of fact they took credit iv their Finaucla* ■statement for a surplus of £7? ,769, bm' this included the primage duty, amount* ing to £40,132, which you will remembei , was put ou for tha purpose of paying ofl the balance of deficiency which wns not funded. The Government paid off £50,001 of this deficiency and were able to show i small surplus, notwithstanding the fact that they have provided £a_,ooo for put poses previously charged to loan* Tin Financial State—leutiwas brought down a a very early stage in the session, and then seemed every appearance of a profitabb working session until a series of stone walling was started. The principal fight was over TH-V REPRESENTATION BILL. The Government, early In the session, introduced a Bill providing for election of members on the Hare system. The colony was to be divided lato foui districts Northern, Central, Midland, and Southern. As au illustration, I will taks the one in which the Gladstone electorate would have been situated, namely, th« Midland. This would have comprised thi Nelson, Marlborough, Westland, and Canterbury Provincial Districts, aad would have returned twenty-one members. The debate on this Bill was a very lifeless affair, as there was no chance of ita being carried. I myself would have voted against the introduction of such large electorates, as it would be almost impossible for a candidate or member to have a thorough knowledge of these four pro- , vinccs. I would like to see the Hart system tried on smaller constituencies, such as the four new city electorates, which will in future return threo member, each. One fatal objection to this Bill is, that a largo proportion of the populatlob do not understand tbe Hare system and in any case such a radlca change should not be introduced until the country has some opportunity of ex pressing an opinion on it. The Representation Bill was withdrawn, and a second Representation BUI introduced. This was for the purpose of readjusting the quota. There always, haa ; been an allowance in New Zealand, is ■ country districts, in the number of population in constituencies, and I believe in England they are allowed a much smtdldi ' proportion of members in London than ' m the other districts. Previous to 1881 there was no fixed allowance. In thai year the constituencies were arranged bj Parliament, with an allowance ot about 33*j per cent. In 1887 Sir Robert Stout got this reduced to 18 per cant., making use of the North Island members wbc" were entitled to more representation, aud could only get it on this condition. But this was only a temporary compromise, and it was always understood that the question would * have to be fought out later on. The Bill introduced by the Government deducted 25 pel , cent, from the population of the four principal city electorates. All ofchoi towns, such as Napier, Nelson, Timaru, : &c. were counted as country district**. Although a 26 per cent, deduction from cities was really the same as a 83$ addition to the country districts, this Bill was ol no real benefif£to a purely country electorate like this. Tho only people who got the benefit were those living in, tho smaller boroughs—those containing n . population of over 2000. After a long and , bitter struggle between the town and , country members, during which all sorts 'of proposals were made, it waa finally , decided to add 28 per cent, to the popula- ; tion not living in any city, borough :or town district of over 2000. inhabitants. The practical result is that purely city . electorates will contain .about 9711, and purely country electorates! 7588.! 1 believe the quota has been fairly ■ adjusted. It seems to mc right; that sparsely peopled country districts should have more proportionate representation than cities. The electors in cities can combine to promote their views, a netthe cttiesA control most of the iniiuential papers. This principle is recognised in most parts of the world. The only othei > amendment In the Representation Act Io that voting in more than one electorate at the same election Is made an offenc-* punishable with a fine not exceMlng £60. The principle of one man one vote, is now thoroughly established in New Zealand* . There was a large majority of the House s in favor of this amendment. Personally - I think if a man has a largo etaku la. a district he should be entitled to a vote, but it will make very little difference in the result of elections. = Aa , a matter of fact he believed t-atacancU date's, bringing a lot of absentee votew ' was rather prejudicial to him than otaer* ■ wise. In connection with this: Bm J* - should liko to make another protest against the systematic stonewalling , which characterised the oppoaltloa ■•■. %a this. Bill and others during the, pa»C '. session. It is absolutely that ■ the cloture In some form or other should be i introduced if the business of the country N •to be proceeded with without undue waste ~ of time. I am very sorry that the mem* [ bers of the Opposition refused during the ' early stages of this Parliament to allow any proposals for reform in this direction to be discussed, but I hope if someatefil are not taken next session, that the jQaeijttion will be raised at the general elections : and that tbe country will Insist on a-OBM radical reforms in piocedure which wm put an end to such obstructions as have occurred during recent sessions. Besides the waste of time and money, a stonewall Incapacitates a largo proportion of. the members giving proper attention to work for sometime alter the stonewall is ende& Although some amendment ot the pre*sgt , .system of . . HOSPITAL AND CHABITAB-B A&B ', MANAGBMENT is required, I could.not see my way to support the Bill Introduced by the Government. The Bill had, in my opinion, two very grave defects. First it gave certain local bodies (called controlling Couhc{ts) the power of spending funds contributed hy several local bodies. For example, the ' Tioiaru Hospital aud Charitable Aid district would constat of Timaru borough, Geraldine county and Mackenzie county. These three local bodies would contribute In proportion to the rateable value of theii? laad, and the Timaru borough would have the spending of the money. Such a system of taxation without representation would not answer in this colony. Tha othei grave defect in the Bill was that the pre* fjsed hew districts were to be too small, or . example, Canterbury was to.. be divided into five districts, North Canterbury, Akaroa, AshbiirtoiL Timaru and Waimate instead of into two as at present, t Btrongly object to theaa small districts, If we are to have them we had better let Boroughs and Counties manage their own charitable aid and l*t Hospitals go back to the control of tne Government and be wholly paid for out' «-f ordinary revenue. I can see no reason why Geraldine and Mackenzie Count!***-* should contribute towards the charitable relief in Timaru if Waimate does no*. We had as usual another flg_£ over tf»* OTAGO G_KTJiAI> RAX-WAY. A Bill to provide for the construction ofthts Iroe to Eweburn was introduced by tie Government, but X am glad to say It was not passed, It was anticipated that this lino would bo completed as far as 'Mtddleniarch before 1890. The cost pf the Une from Chain hlli- to Middlemarch, a distance of forty mile-*, Will bei about £520,GC0, t always the advocates for this line to claim that Mddlemarch would be a paying point. But here, as in the case ol all New Zealand Hallways, as the' work advanced the payment appears to- recede. The -fallowing report made by the Railway Commissioners asserted that the expenditure (_«520,000) of constructing a railway to Middlemarcli would be of no use to the colony unless the line was extended another thirty-eight miles to Ewebura, at a cost of but even then, although it might pay working expenses over the whole Mne. it would not pay interest- on the £320,006 already spent, and they wonld not especfc 11; to piiy much interest oh tiie coat of e*i©z*a_itt, pnetlaaUy tha *«-

"wrt amounted to this, .that the effect *£ constructing the line toßwebum would >c that by Che further expenditure of £-00,000, yon could pay working expenses W- the whole line. This did not seem to ob a sufficient inducement to vote for the immediate extension of this line, especially 'as most of the other untarnished railways would show as good a result for immediate extension W- this. My main reason for opposing the Government Bill was chat the money was to be principally supplied by fresh borrowing, and that of an especially objectionable form, namely, from the trust Fund. Some £15,000 was to be appropriated from unallotted portions of the lsst loan, and the balance could be lent out of any moneys available for investment belonging to any department af the Government. The re-payment of this waa to be provided for by taking £15,000 a year from the pastoral rents in the neighborhood of the railway. I believe the desire of the country is still against borrowing money, no matter where from, for railway extension, and I am glad to see tiie leader of the Opposition nas now come to the same opinion. Although Mr Ballance, last season at Napier, was in favor of borrowing to bring the unfinished lines to the paying points, he seems to have altered hia •pinion by his Wanganui speech, and I tf-rtainly object to tampering with the Trust Funds for railway construction. NORTH ISLAND TRUNK LINE. lam afraid the recent visit of Ministers and members of the House of Representatives to the proposed North Island Central Railway route points to the liselihood of a determined attempt to push on the construction of the North Island Trunk line. Although I believe it will eventually be {troficaole to construct this line, I shall strongly oppose it being vigorously pushed an with at present. There seems 1 ttle chance of proceeding with this line without undertaking railway extension in other parts of the colony. But my main Objection to proceeding with this line is that tbe route is principally through land which has not been acquired by the Crown, and is not taxable. I think most jf the Native land along the line should be bought before constructing the line, Ifae North Island Main Trunk Railway- Loan Application Act Amendment Act allocated a further sum of £120,255 for the purchase of Native lands along the route of this line, and I think the money would be far better spent in acquiring the land pT-H then making the line out of the proceeds of the sale of the land, than by pushing on the construction at present. MR. EDWARDS* APPOINTMENT. ■ One measure passed last session which I think will do a great deal of good in the North Island was the power of appointment of a Commission to investigate and put right the defective titles of the land bought from theNatives. The Government have appointed Mr Edwards of Wellington to tne post of Chief Commissioner, and I believe they could not have made a much better selection. They have also appointed Mm a Supreme Court Judge. I certainly think it desirable that the Chief Commissioner should have the status of a Supreme Court Judge, considering the enormous interests at stake. Moreover, Ido not suppose any man with Che necessary legal qualifications would take a temporary appointment like that unless he was permanently provided for. Still J: think it is a pity that the appointment to the Supreme Court Judgeship was not deferred until Parliament passed an Act providing for a salary for an additional Judgeship. It is certainly undesirable that r. Supreme Court Judge should foe dependent on an annual vote for hia salary. An important Bill, namely, the

V selectors lands revaluation act, was passed, under which certain deferred payment and perpetual leaseholders can apply to the Land "Board before January, iSvi, to have a revaluation made of allotments in their occupation, and the basis of such revaluation is the value of the allotment, exclusive of improvements, at the time of revaluation. This measure has enabled the Land Boards to give-relief to certain. Crown tenants, to whom it is both fust and expedient to give some form of relief. It was unnecessary to bring these matters before the Judicial Court, as proposed In the Fair Rent Bill, as the Land Boards can deal with the case. There have been very few applications in Canterburyfor revaluation under this Act. As both the

OCEAN _____ SKHVICES flrcre expiring at the end of 1889 a long debate took place on tbe question of subsidles, and tbe House finally decided to • renew them for another year on what are Certainly more advantageous terms to the colony. Last election I strongly advo- > cated that tbe San Francisco mail service Should be abolished, but as it seems impossible to get the House to agree to subsidise only one mail service, I voted for Mr Saunders* resolution— M That the Post-master-General, or any officer deputed by him, may at his discretion place mails on any ocean going steamer, and pay for the I • same, not exceeding 3s per lb for letters, 6d per lb for books, and 3d per lb for newspapers." As we have only temporary mail services at present the question must come before the House again xtext session. I intend to go fully Into the question this evening, especially _a the -proposal submitted by the British •Government to the Australian colonies to •lower the postage rate to 2_d, gives the Suestion a special interest at present, -though the telegraphic reports from Wellington state that the results from the ••{San Francisco service were from £-000 to £8000 better than last year, not havingfull details of the amount of mail carried, I

have taken my figures from tbe last Post Office returns. The advocates of the San • Francisco service lay great stress on the ~ fact that in 1888 the service only eostthe colony the sum of £23 8s 7d, and the direct service £6680 Ss 4d; that is, • after taking credit for postages, contributions from England, &c. But looking at the question differently, we find that the aUbsidy, &c,to the San Francisco service O- £25,990 was equal to a -payment oy -weight of 18s 9d for letters, Is Id for books, and 4d for newspapers per lb; so as a matter of fact we were paying the San Francisco service -£2100 per ton for carrying our letters, enabling them to damage our wheat market in Australia at the Same time. The Post Office return 'gives the actual cost of conveyance of letters by the direct service during 1888 as £1 5s Id per lb, and this means that we are paying £2809 per ton i by this route. Oar arrangement this year ; Is more advantageous, and we are only saying 12a per lb for letters, Is fid for book-, and 6d for newspapers; but I think the steamers are more than well paid at £13__ a ton for letters. 2 a Post Office officials seem to *r# a great horror of cheap post- '«_*% aud we have been favored with ■various telegrams in the newspapers showing the great loss which will be interred if we adopt Mr Goschen's proposals <Jf a 2_d rate to England. They put the loss down at £31,244 per annum on the English mails. I even see cable messages from England stating that the more letters you carry at 2_d the greater the loss. These calculations are based entirely pa the assumption that we keep up our present extravagant subsidies. ' "Whether we keep them up or not, I feel certain that England, after the lata proposals, will decline to pay 'Iter present heavy contribution to tbe service, Hie reason they would make a loss at 2_d is that they at present carry the whole of our San Francisco mail from San Francisco to England and back, and pay 4d and 5d each for their own letters via San Francisco and direct. The contribution lastyear amounted to £20,000. It was, I believe, only continued after .great pressure from the Post Office here, and we must reckon to lose this in future. We heard a good deal last session of it 'being a retrograde step to do without a •regular mail service, but my opinion is that although the steamship companies ' might give a little trouble at first, they - would have to keep up rapid and regular ' communication with England, whether subsidised or not. The frozen meat trade atone will ensure this, end I certainly see ' no necessity to pay £2000 a ton for carrying letters to shorten the passage a day or two. It is not nearly so important a matter vow to shorten the contract time for dell verLoe letters as it used to be, since m__t important business is done by cable. i think we should certainly be justified in .spending some money to gee cheap cable -ummu-XcatioQ, especially 2 we saved it un the mail service; 2_d per letter me___ £745 a ton, and we could afford to pay a fnlr freight and still make a profit instead •C a Joss out of the English malls. I believe we are only paying the direct ui-.-übsidised steamers a penny for letters, aud nothing for books or newspapers. This seems very stingy after our royal system of payment to the other lines, but really this amounts to £298 per ton, a •fairly profitable cargo. Cheap postal rates will not only be an advantage in advertising the colony, but will be of a great advantage to many to whom the present rates are almost prohibitive. .It is certainly time these colonies joined the Postal Union. Nearly all civilised countries now belong to it, and th»y not only get the benefit of -u-uilLi.. ii.--. mail matter through any

country, or by any sejvk&. bdbngihg to members of the Postal Union at a fixed tariff, but that the country from which the letter originates has to pay all the cost of transit. By this we could force America to pay the cost of their letters to this colony, and we could make better arrangements for the distribution of our own matter. Take for instance South America. We opened up communication with Brazil to distribute our South American mail, which goes by direct steamer to Rio. They refuse to distribute Southern letters under 7d apiece, so that the cost of postage is fixed at ls to Buenos Ayres, and after pay- | ing direct steamer we lose by it. If we ! were members of the Postal Union we could compel most of the South American States to distribute them at a cost of prob- j ably under 2d. j THS RAILWAYS. There is still a widespread dissatisfac-1 tion among the farming community at the manner in which the railways (the grain traffic especially) have been worked this year. If possible, there-has been a greater deficiency of trucks than ever. We hear the same cry yea- after year, and it seems monstrous that the Department cannot, either by building more trucks or running extra trains, make , provision for the grain and stock trade. The amcunt of loss in wasted time alone, such as waiting for trucks, must be great. The dissatisfaction is so great that I am convinced that unless some improvement is at once made by the Commissioners the country will, at the next election,: demand tbat the. Government take the control of the railways back into their own hands. I am certain that it would be very unwise to sell our rail-ways to a private syndicate. This has been urged in several parts of New Zealand as a means of abolishing the property tax. Personally, I shall be sorry to see the property tax abolished if it can only be done by handing over our railways to a foreign Syndicate for them to screw the extra revenue out of the producers who use the railways. I do not believe a Syndicate would give for onr railways anything like as much as they have cost, as English speculators would require a great deal more than 3 per cent, when investing in Colonial railways. Our carrying trade is already in too few hands. Our coastal service is a monopoly. There seems every chance of the direct service combining for practical purposes, and it would be ridiculous to hand over railways to private monopolsts. The Commissioners will be able to show a good increase in the earnings of the railways. I believe they have made a clear profit of over 3 per cent. This no doubt is a strong recommendation but this profit may be too dearly bought if it is at the loss of the farmer and inconvenience of the public The Railway Department should not only aim at making a profit, butatcarryinjr the greatest amount of produce and passengers for that profit, thereby adding to the wealth and convenience of the taxpayers. The excuse for the block of grain at Lyttelton and Timaru is probably correct, but from the evidence we had before the Public Accounts Committee, the department have for a long time been trying to get a monopoly of the Lyttelton storage into their own hands, and after that there can be no excuse in their urging that there is not sufficient storage in Lyttelton. federation. Another subject that we have heard a good deal of lately is the question of federation, and as you are aware at the Conference recently held in Melbourne. New Zealand was represented by Sir John Hall and the Hon. Captain Russell. The outcome of the Conference was the passing of a unanimous resolution recommending federation of the. Australian (mainland) colonies. It was also settled that power should be given to the more distant colonies, such as New Zealand, to join at a later date. I am- glad that our representatives did not commit themselves to any proposal to include New Zealand in this federation, Personally I believe the time is far.distant when it would suit New Zealand to place itself in any way under the control of the Australian Federal Council. The only possible benefit to us from any form of federation would be if it were accompanied by Intercolonial freetrade, so as to give us a wider free market for our produce. But judging from the speeches of prominent Australians; this is not likely to result from any scheme of federation likely to be adopted; and even then, I am not sure that this privilege would not be too dearly purchased at the price of the surrender of our true local self-govern-ment. NEW* ACTS AFFECTING SOUTH CANTERBURY. In accordance with a promise made when addressing you last year, I introduced at the very commencement of last session an amendment of-the Town Districts Act, providing that every elector in a town district who is duly qualified to vote «*hould be qualified to be elected as a. Commissioner. I was asked to allow several other amendments to be tacked on to my bill, but I thought it safer to refuse any amendments and make certain of my Bill, and I am glad to say it was passed through all its stages. I cannot understand why Town Districts were put on a different footing to County Councils, Road Boards and Boroughs. You know bow the law worked in Arowhenua. The old anomaly is done away with and you, now have a wider choice of Commissioners. Although there were a number of local Bills passed during the session relating to South Canterbury none of them were of any particular interest to Temuka. There was some useful legislation with regard to Chattle Securities, which the Government introduced at my request, and the Land Transfer Act. I hope the House will deal with the Bankruptcy Act at next session. HARBOR BOARDS wanting fresh legislation, have had a great difficulty in getting fresh rating or borrowing powers, and I think our Harbor Board has to be congratulated on having won their case against Shaw, Savill and Albion Company in England, as if the case had gone the other way it would have been a very serious matter for this district, as the money could only have been raised by a heavy rate. For some tims it has been known that the New Plymouth Harbor Board would be unable to pay their way, and now the crisis has come, and they have made default inpayment of their interest. I hope the Government will stand firm, and refuse to admit.the possibility of any liability on the part of the colony. The claim that the land laws have been altered would not justify the colony helping the Harbor Board. The great difficulty in the case of New Plymouth is that the expenditure has been absolutely thrown away.' I quite agree with the Hon. Mr Fergus that as local loans fall due and new ones are authorised it is not only our duty but a.states-man-like policy, to devise means by which local bodies should obtain the accommodation required at more reasonable rates than in the past. But as for talking of immediately saving some £98,000 per annum by consolidating all local loans, it seems to mc ridiculous, because the majority are borrowed for long periods, and it must be a much worse default for the local body to have the power to compel bondholders to take a Government guarantee at 3$ per cent, instead of 6 per cent, without. Some of the 6 per cents, stand as high as over 120, and the bondholders certainly would not agree to consolidation unless they received an increased amount of stock. Practically we must wait until the loans fall due. I do not believe Government stocks will permanently fall because one or two local bodies default. As a matter of fact, the members of the London Stock Exchange must have known that New Plymouth would probably make default. REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. During last election we heard a good deal about our imports being excessively high as compared with our exports. I remember being asked a good many questions on this subject. The balance of trade is a most difficult subject, and 1 have not time to go into it this evening, but I think our export trade must be increasing fast enough to satisfy the most exacting. Our exports last year have again increased by a million and a half over the previous year, or about three millions in two years, and amounted, to £9,714,513. Our imports during the same year only increased by a quarter of a million. I never lost faith in New Zealand, and believe that our trade will increase considerably during the next few years, and no doubt with fresh capital coming in for investment, as it is bound to do when we once re-establish ou credit, our imports -will increase. Turning to the revenue and expenditure of the financial year that has just closed we find that the revenue -actually raised during the year was £1,209,247 8s 3d, or i £-1,447 8s 3d more than the estimate. The ! total expenditure was £4,121,841 lis Bd_ or £28,861 8s 4d less than the estimate, a total saving of £87.405 18s 7d. This, with a balance of £-7,768 3s Sd, with which the year began, gives a net surplus of £115,174, and I must heartily congratulate the Government on the result. Strictly speaking this surplus should perhaps be reduced by the sum of £35,000, which was derived _rom the primage duty. This duty, you

will remember, was pledged to pay the deficit of £128,000, and it only runs for a short time longer.; and as not more than £43,000 can be expected from this duty, I am glad that the Government will be able to pay out of their surplus the balance of thi- deficit. It is very satisfactory that we have a fair surplus this year, notwithstanding the fact that the Customs revenue ia £-_J,126 under the estimate. Our public finances have been greatly improved. In October of last year the Government floated the conversion loan of 4*2,700,000 at 3_ per cent, at au average cost' of £95 leal. This will be a considerable present saving to the revenue and a much greater saving in future, and I trust that the Hon. Mr Fergus* proposals re provisions for maintenance of school buildings will be given effect to, especially in the South island, where such is much needed. Unfortunately, the cloud hanging over the BANS OF HKW ZEALAND lately has acted very prejudicially against a revival of trade. Not only has that institution been forced to restrict advances so as u> prevent legitimate speculation, but it has reacted un other financial institutions, which have had to proceed with great caution in order to strengthen their position and be prepared for any financial disaster. As a proof of this, since 188- the total Bank advances in New Zealand have decreased by a million, while their deposits have increased by three millions, showing a total lessened indebtedness by the public to the -tanks of four millions. Mr Hean's report on the Bank of New Zealand is now before us, and will no doubt clear the financial atmosphere. In these cases it is always best to Know the worse, The .London .Directors declined to take control until they got the report of their own nominee, and as they take the assets over on Mr Hean's valuation, I have no doubt his instructions were to give a reliable report,,no matter how unfavorable, and that we now know the extent, jo the Bank's losses, we cannot tell what will be -the precise .steps taken, to reorganise the Bank; but whatever they may be I hope that in future the Bank will confine itself to purely, banking, business, and will ta_e prompt action to dispose of its many properties. A policy of this kind will not only benefit the shareholders of the Bank, but be of enormous benefit to the colony. BUSINESS OUTLOOK. I hope the colony will not adopt the policy suggested by the Hon. Mr Fergus of buy- i ing up the properties of involved financial j houses at their own prices, even although it is with land bonds, which in my opinion would be a very expensive means of borrowing. Judging from recent land sales here, I am convinced that all good properties could be sold if financial houses write them down to their fair value, and I should certainly oppose the Government giving more than that. With, the public credit established now, and our financial institutions on a sound footing again, I think a revival in trade is sure to follow. The pastoral industry is certainly na very much improved footing, and as trade in J_ngla_d aud all over the world seems to be undoubtedly improving, I think we have every reason to look for fair prices for bur produce in the immediate future, LABOR QUESTION. However much we may deplore the waste, suffering and loss of capital entailed in a strike, I do hot believe they can be permanently successful unless they are justifiable. The recent strikes in most, of the trades in England have been as a rule successful, and were the outcome of a general trade revival, and have resulted in a general rise in wages, and therefore an increase in the spending power of the great mass of the population, which cannot fail to benefit us here, as it must mean I a greater demand for all our produce. ALTERATION OF THE DISTRICT. As you are aware, one result of the reduction of the number of representatives Is that the Gladstone electorate is cut out. The Commissioners had a difficult duty to perform, as judging from the debates the House appeared to think that it was more important that the new constituencies should vary as little as possible from the quota than that the community of interest or means of communication should be observed. I think ita pity the Mackenzie country should be put into Waimate, as their community of interest certainly lies more with Timaru and Geraldine county than with Waimate. I shall probably not have the pleasure of addressing you in this hall again as the member for "Gladstone electorate. I shall, if my friends wish it, offer myself at the next election as a candidate for your suffrages for the Geraldine electorate. In conclusion, I have to heartily thank you for your attention this evening, and I shall be happy to answer any questions you may put to mc to the best of my ability. (Loud applause.) Mr Rhodes having replied to a number of questions, Mr John Talbot, Chairman of the Temuka Road ' Board, in a eulogistic speech, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Rhodes for his address and confidence in him as their representative. The motion was seconded by Mr J. B. Waring and carried. Mr Bhodes expressed his thanks to the Chairman, regretting that his old friend Mr Gray had left the district. His place, however, had been ably filled by Mr Blyth. The meeting then terminated.