THE GENERAL ELECTION. THE CITY CONTEST.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11413, 25 October 1902, Page 7

THE GENERAL ELECTION.

THE CITY CONTEST.

MR W. W. COLLINS AT THE THEATRE BOYAL. Mx W. W. Collins, one o! the candidates for Christohiirch CSty, addressed a meeting of electors at the Theatre Royal last night. Tlhe Mayor of Christcliurcli was in the chair, mad there was a large immbecr of eleciora present.

Mr Qollins, who, on rising, was received with applause, said he was before them that night, not so much as one giving nn account of his stewardship, but as one seeking their suffrages as a candidate at the ensuing election.. (Applause.) In a month's time the people of the colony ■would be asked to decide in whose hands the government of the country should rest for the next lihree years, and this was the most important issue that could be put to. any constituency. In order to assist them in coming to a decision ihe would deal with one or two questions. The Government of to-day was* not e> new Government. Frequently , Governments wore themselves out, and it was quite an unusual thing to see a Government time after tane appeal to the people and obtain each time a favourable response. The present Government had been in power for twelve years. (Loud applause.) The personnel of the Government had changed during that time, and many great names were no longer associated with it. The Government, however, had been a continuous one, and" was still the same Government. On each appeal to the country it was found that the Government had a stronger hold upon tihe people of'tfche colony. (Applause.) Such a Government, which, could stand so long the test of time, "was not an ordinary one, and the liberal Administration of the past twelve 'years had in many (respects been on extraordin&xry Government. It had done an extraordinary amount of work, and had achieved extraordinary iesulte. Was there any reason, then, why at this stage a change should be made, and ■tihe country. should ireveree its decisions of previous elections? He did not pretend tihat the Government was a perfect Government, and he did not pretend that it had not made mistakes, for Governments were only human, >but_it was only right thait in considering the. mistakes they should consider the good work it had i done. (Applause.) A clear and unbiassed 1 judgment must confess that the 'mistakes of the Government were far outweighed by the manner 4a which it had promoted the and prosperity of the colony ias a whole.. (Applause.) He remembered .when, in 1893, mc gave ihds, first political address, it was quite a general thing to draw comparisons between New Zealand , and other colonies, but to-day the comparison was made Ibetween the colony as it is now and as it was when the present Administration came into power. The people had time after time expressed their approval of the policy of the Government. During thfe session just passed a- great deal of really good work had been done. Sir Joseph "Ward hod conducted the affairs of the colony admirably. A great deal of ihe work was, amending work, and dome of consolidating work. The Government Railways Superannuation Act would in time to come, bear excellent results, and) ihe hoped to see tihe system extended foif the benefit of other workers. (Applause.) The edhool teachers were making a demand for a similar soherae, and a Bill had been drafted and circulated dealing with the subject, and ihe hoped that the teachers would examine tihe Bill and give their opinion on it. . Tliero "was no reason, whatever why, in the first session of the next Parliament, the Bill should , not pass. Morally speaking the colony was indebted to the debenture holders of the Midland Railway, and during the last session, a proposal was made to graaut £150,000 to these deWnture holders, and be supported the vote. It was not with him a question of how the matter might affect the next loan, but he looked at it solely from the standpoint of the colony's indebtedness to ihe debenture holders for what they bad done. They had given to tihs colony property worth about £600,000, and he contended the colony had no right to pocket that value without giving some consideration for it. Parliament had, therefore, dtane a wise thing to vote £150,000. (Applause.) The city of Christohurchi had made a large demand upon the attention of Parliament during the last session, and he had the pleasure of piloting the Bills entrusted to 'ban 'by the municipal body. (Applause.) He expressed his indebtedness at the assistance given to him in putting through the Bills by t'he other members for Cfaristcfaurcft. v (Applause.) ' He had always stood as a supporter of *he Liberal Party, claiming, however, the right *° criticise and examine. They had been told many tdmes "wfbat tihe (result of the liberal policy was to be during tihe past ten years. Even tihe .prophets themselves must rejoice that 'their prophecies had not been' fulfilled. (Applanise.) He would' give them plain facts and figures. In 1891. the' imports of tihe colony were valued at £6,603,849, and in 1901 £11,817,915* wihrle the exports had increased from £9,400,094 to £12,690,460. This was suggestive of {the trade and prosperity of the colony, and showed a state of affairs exactly opposite to 'what was prophesied. The railway receipts again had risen froan £1,115,432 in 1891 to £1,874,586 in 1901. The total value of. the. manufacturing output of the colony &ad increased from £8,773,837 in 1891 to £-17,141,149 in 1901* The private wealtih of the colony during itibe same period 'had increased •from £145,780,502 to £229,587,916, equivalent to a per capita increase of £213 to £291, and tihe population had increased as irell. Again, the cumber of savings bank depositors had risen from 126,886 to 245,024, and" the amount to tfoeSx credit from £3,406,947 to £7,268,103. Taking all these together, the 'increased prosperity of the colony '.«• came apparent. The Government ■were not entitled to the credit fox tihe whole of -ttoese ancreasea, but they were eooUbledi to some of the credit. (Applause.) Mr Collins then quoted figures to show the increase in t5» number of hands employed in a variety of ind/ustries during the ten years. With such facto, and with a Government that could point to such, facts and figiires, were they likely to make up their mind% to toy a change? in 1896 the total srevenue of the colony was £4,536,015, while in .1901 it Jhad risen to £6,152i839, an increase of £1,596,824. The expenditure durina the came ten.years, had risen, from £4,509,981 to £5,895,915, an. increase of £1,385,934,./ -During the same, period, .however, tbeP6 jjad been m annual iemission, in Customs duties, railway and postal charges, of about £1,454,000. These remissions (had been gifte to *he people of the colony. (Applauee.) Hβ had sometimes wondered whether it-was wise to make these remissions, and 'whether it would not have been better to keep come of the money, and effect some of the improvements asked for by the people. The public indebtedness of the colony in 1891 was £37,343,308, while in 1902 it waa He viewed this increased indebtedness as a matter requiring the greatest care. The policy of the Liberal Party was on© of land settlement and laud purchase. The people had had that policy which they demanded, but it could not have been carried out without spending foney, and the money ihad been spent, he colony had prospered, and everything hau increased by leaps and bounds. In spite of the increased indebtedness per head of the population, the amount of the Savings Bank deposite had increased, and the population per head were better off. The £14,000,000 had been expended in carrying out the policy demanded of the Government. The sum of £2,772,716 had been spent on the land for settlement policy, £2,740,000 for advances to settler*, £4,585,000 for roads and bridges, £1,419,000 for loans to local bodies, £6,497,000 for purchase of native lands, £500,000 for lands improvement, and £500,000 for iiank of New Zealand preferred shares. This made a total of £13,166,516, and each of the items, except the public worke expenditure, was earning its own interest. (Applause.) He recognised it was quite a dimple matter to use the figure* without explaining the usage

of the money, and s o alarm the people » to the inereuiio of debt! He did not speak as an alarmist,* and while the 'present prosl>erity continued there could be no anxiety as to the public debt. He recognised that there was n. necessity for care. Witi a prolonged period of prosperity fcbxrfe was c, tendency to increase the expenditure beyond Hie strictly judicial line. If th% constituencies themselves would exercise a Httie caution in their demands, the Govfcrnmeo* would also be cautious in their borrowings. He found Opposition members of tie House condemning the Government for ttieir expenditure, yet they all voted against the reduction of the amount of £1,750,000 included in last session's Loan BilL These men represented country constituencies, end they vrere simply bssieged by tiheir constituents to obtain money for roada and bridges. So long as the people made these demands, so long would l the Government have to comply with them. Was there anyone who would, stand up and Bey that the time had come when the Government sihould hold their hand oa regaida their land settlement policy? That vr«a a policy which must continue. When oao saw what had happened! in America, and on the Continent lately, one could not look over the New Zealand labour legislaitawn, of the past twelve years without feeling that much good ihad been accomplished by it. (Applause.) Good results bad also been aohaevted' by • the social legislation during the same period, especially that connected with the Old Age Pension schema. Ho hod never hesitated to express his admiration of our national system of education. He did! not regard it as something superhuman, but as a system •which should be jealously guarded and carefully watched. He ihad many times suggested improvements, especially in tine direction of the development of technical education. He had always maintained that tho only .system ot education whach could be national and compulsory, was one wherein there could be no difference of class or creed. When the children could take their seats without the least possibility of their childish harmony being interfered with by the introduction of any disturbing element. (Applause.) The framers of the system saw i there could only be compulsion when there ! was perfect freedom from any contentious ■ subject). The introduction of a sub- ! ject into the schools which was sure !to create dissension, amd which would tend to break up the system would •render the system unsuitable ac a national system. The colony had every reason to be proud of the system so far as its educational features were concerned. The last census Showed tihafc 82 per cent. of tlhe population could read and write, ibut of those -whose ogea ranged from 10 to 15 years 99.24 per cent, could read and write. It had been said that the'children, as a iresult of the system of education, ■were lacking in. moral .discipline. At the lost census 67 per cent of the population was New Zealand born, and New Zealand born supplied only 28 per cent, of the crime of tibe population. (Applause.) We in New Zealand Ihad the most moral and best behaved population of any of the other Australasian colonies. Ho thought it too bad of people to malign the present system of education and tfce young people of the colony. During the last thiee years he had helped to promote that legislation wihicb. had assisted in achieving some of the results ihe had mentioned. He was anxious to see t'he country developed on sound lines, and to see tihe people » Kberiy-loving people, and £he colony retain its present proud position. {Applause.) En reply to questions, Mr Collins said that he was in favour of maintaining intact tihe present -System of free, compulsory and secular education. He could not imagine any iegielfttion being u»» tro&oced to deal witi* tihe inspection of convents. The fixing of the efcatafcoxy half, holiday shook! be decided by tihe vrhci« of tihe workers ofia particular dietrici. ■Hβ would like to see a uniform Saturday halfholiday adopted. He should nob vote for ihe abolition of the totalizator. He was not in favour of prohibiting -women from being employed in bars, as he would not vote for rtlheee -women, being turned out of their employment. Hβ tboagbtj preference should be given to udontate when tihe Union embraced tlhe larger numiber of men employed in a trade. He considered the present ikensing laws ffoould oomtduae as they (were. He would not vote for a proposal ttlh&fc. mures fihoold be ' fixed by SParMameas*. A vote of thanks and confidence was ecoorded to Mr CoHins.

TfiE AVON ELECTOBATE.

MR W. W. TANNER'S ADDRESS.

Mir W. W. Tamer, who represented the district of Avon in t&e last Parliament, and is again a candidate, addressed the eleotora in the Pfcillipsfcown school last night. There was a large attendance, and the Mayor of Unwood (Mr H. teams) presided. Mr Tanner was received with applause, end opened his addresee with a brief sketch of the features of tihe work done by the last Parliament. Of the Acting-Piemier he eaid he ibad- won golden opinions from every member of the House, and if a vacancy occurred in the Premiership if wee a foregone conclusion who xrwld toke the position. It might be thought that he was making dWraging remarks regarding Mr fceddon; he had no sudh intention; bub there lad been a marked contrast in fche manner in which the business of the House had been carried <m during last eearion. mere tad been no great outstanding feature in connection with the session rase oJosed, as it hod been spent chiefly in emending previous enactments. One of the meet striking of thfe measures passed we* toe Sectoral Act, which consolidated the law on the subject, and a, member of Parliament would not now have to consult sixteen different Acte bearing more or less on n» personal character. . He dealt witfi the alterations made in the law, and said that the dander,, frequmtiy need at election times to damage the ohancee of any par, tscular man at tlhe last possible moment when he had nd opportunity to reply, hadE been made an offence, a*id rightly 80 . M to the Government's proposal regarding a better system to ensure that the will of <&c electors should be given effect to in choosing their representatives, tawuria nothing of it. Goncenuag . the result of the Representation Commissioners' labours, he eaid they had used an undoe amount of latitude in fixing tf» boundaries £ J* "SSfil *** had mad* some of the dfetnete so large that it.wes almost impossible for candidates to meet one-half of t&e people that they Bought to represent He dealt with the Railway Superananation A«, and eaid that it woe to'be regretted that a supeaeiamatioa had not been established many yeare ago. that be with others, (had net before bimeeH the Meal of exempting from the computaanapphcanfs property the amount of the -vahie of the home in which the apMrtended to return to tie charge until he secured it. (Applause.) He bod been instrumental in getting an amend* meat introduced into the amendfe.* BrH under whack the amount reoedved V an appUjant in «he form of sick pay from a fneodiy society or trade union, was mot uxihided xo the income aeoedved by the applMjant during the twelve months preceding the date of application. Hβ referred to the attempt which had bwov made to onterfere with tfia Hatarday halfiolidav for factory ihande, whicfh had ariaen out of a petetdon frona Waimate, asfem* that the Borough Coundla ehbuM have the power to fix the same fcajf-iolddar for factonea ac was obeerved ia eihwpe. An ameadanemt ibad been carried in the Facton«3 Act giving the power reenested, but Ifjj 7" popped, owing to ihe strong B-taod tefcen by X large cumber in , ,He "P° te Of ** £«>POB*I contained an tie Public Health Act Amendment Act, wherein ifc ,waa provided to give local authoratws power to rate lor sanitary purposes up to 2d in the £ on the capital value. Had it been passed, it would have made ifc possible to impose docal (taxation amounting to £200,000. The Legislative Council lad refused to pass the Bill with 4ke xutdng clause in it, though the limit of the wie bad been reduced *«

jd in ike £on the capital value. The original limit , liad been a copyist's error. Concerning the Chrwt church. Tramway District Bill, he referred to the proposal to rato property in the tramway district on the outskirts of the cjty and suburbs, and said that, -with Mr Russell, he had been instrumental is getting the boundaries altered, which made tlw tramway district almost tihe some as the drainage and health district, and exoladcd over a mrllic, pounds' worth of property from rating Speaking of tihe Waimakariri scheme, hv eaid the tiianks "of the people of Christchurch wore due to Air T. E. Taylor for the xoKumer in which ho had interviewed Colonel Turretini, and -had put matters in train for has visit to report, on the scheme. Concerning the Midland Railway Company, he said he had always "held thf opinion that the Company -*a* unequal i>. the task it 'bad undertaken. A.hough tihe shareholders had had his srmpathy, fle Lad never attempted to defend the Company, Ihxxluso it had never attempted to tunnei the Southern Alps. The Company liad appealed to the law, which had gone against the Company on every occasion, and he had not been prepared to give- the Company any consideration. However, the colony had got possession of a railway greater )ii value as compared with the expense to ■which ite colony had been put. They d:d not wish io acquire property improperly, and there had «>een no doubt that come of the debenture-holders had exercised an inliuence unfavourable to New Zoalind, and the last loan, which could r.o s ba regarded the success as compared with previous loans, liad been an example of tih-i vtfect. of that influence. On these considerations he liad voted for the u.n ?>y which the debeiiture-ho'dem were given £150,000. Speaking of trust*, he pomted oist that these weio likt-ly to be more active in the colony than "in the past, and would have t« be provided for. .Referring to the State lire iusuranoe scheme, lie said that the report of the committee which cou-adt-red the iSill last would form the groin. J wi,-:k of future legislation. It appeared that the (iovenimont uould gUp in uud form a Slate fire insurance depcirtnsenfc on similar lijies to that of the Life lusurarice Department. Referring to educational matters, he said the time had arrived for the system being put on a better footing. The present system, from th«s priumrj- schools to tho crillegex, was disjointed. He agreed with Sir Robert Ktout tliat ail education should be free, from the alphabet to the professorship. One of the first steps toward* putting the education system on a sound footing was to debar any child in the cwlony from entering any high achool until he or che- had passed something like the fourth standard. (Aj>plause.) At present the money of the colony was being wasttxl in teaching ittle tpts in ly.gh schools. Regarding tihe introduction of the Bible into tlie public schools, he had always favoured free, secular, and cconpulfiory education. But this was a dsniocratic country, and he endorsed the principlo of consulting the people. The proposaj for the introduction of the referendum Waa_ in thia ddreotioti, and there was no constitutional reason why the question the Biblo in schools should not be submitted to a referendum. Regarding tbo importation of rolling stock, he said that the last Parliament, and the previous one, had been responsible for it, as no attention liad been paid to the warnings given by Mr Ctbdiman when Minister for Railways. The land settlement system required amplifying, and mare vigour was wanted in the maaagemjsjit of tihe Lands Department. He pointed .out that since the Lands for Settlement policy had been .introduced, there had been &. profit, of £90.000 on the various traraarttam. -Begarding the exodus of Soutii nlaodieni in order to seU'.e in the North Wand, he said thai settlement could be more cheaply effeoted if land vera provided in tie South Island. ConcJradLnjr, he referred to the great strides made by the colony in every department time the present Government took office, aboub eleven yeans ago. The increase of the colony's indebtedness was, he eaid, looked upon with alarm by come. The gross ' . debt had increased 36 par cent, since the ;■■ Government took office, but the valuatim of ti» colony.' had increased from

jfllll.'OOO.OOO to Duriufi the '. period tbore. bad alw» besn an enormous in- '• ' crease in , the national wealth, and it veraed to be 'more widely diffnewl tlban ten or ;■; ■ ■ eleven years ago. Partly owing to land V. -. eetUement, and partly owing to an enter- *' l • priatog; system- of Government, there had * = :; oome about am almost unexampled tide of ',"; jirospertty, and tike slump of which some ir epoke did not even appear to be visible ■'•'. on <tJbe horizon. (Appiauee.) k . In response to the lurual request thnt 'jj , questions should be asked, a gentleman in ': T the audience began a. lengthy address on ' , "■- tbe question of tie introduction of the Bible ','■■. ■ into the. schools, and wished the condif date to give an assurance "that he would »v do All in hie power to force a referendum "■•V. '' on the question on the people," (Crke of ■^:.." "N0. ,, ) fr, ; Mr Tanner add he thought he had made \g'' * 'it clear that Doing a democrat bo supported ;,V the eobmiflßiob of the question to a referen. X- ' dum. f, In answer to question* the candidate *.;. said he wm in favour of the abolition of ii,. , the tot&lkator. He was not aware thftt ir r Soman Catholic* were given .the preference 5\.,' for, Oovernment employment. He would ;, ' not be in favour of a preference to Unionfeta clttoee in all Arbitration Court awards, as ff *ome Unions contained only a minority of ■' those employed in an t industry. He would '•S-. rapport iegulation ' preventing more girl* 4' taking op' employmept si barmaids. He r, •" '. was not aware that, #wing to the importa- , ticms of rolling etock from \{,/ men were being discharged from the Ad- >'■;■ dfagton Worluhopej on the contrary, he ' h d heard that the town was' being ?}". «enrcb«d for a certain, claes of workmen g; ; lor the, worlte. He , did" not think. that Z- mc übers of Parliament on Boyal Commis;>'r ' tioQH should not- get extra remuneration; '. \ they got, however, was their travelling ; . expenses. He was not in favour of the :'■ Siate buying all the breweries and public- '% houees, or of State distilleries. He had | : , voted* against the addition of £40 to memIk- bers* lionorarlun). • ' p« Mr W. WiUiams proposed—"That a vote ( i.,. »; thanla be accorded Mr Tonne* for his ''- addreex, and 'that this meeting '. "■ the satisfaction with the manner in which I Mr Tanner had discharged his legislative t> L duties, and 1U confidence in him as their j future representative." , Mr J. W. Hunter jteconded the motion, which was declared carried unanimously. In returning thanks Mr Tanner said a friend bod toW him that one or two erf the candidates intended retiring, and ne had awured his friend that he would see that they all retired on the day of the election. (Applause.)

THE OOURTENAY SEAT.

j!;,M» JOm BARRETTS ADDRESa

Mr Join Barrett, one of the candidates for Hhs OourKsKiy eeat, addreeeed the electors at Darfield on Tbureday night. Mr J.,Moff*t, CaiaJrman of the School Cfemmi«*e, presided, and there were about tixty adults preaent,

Mr Barrett aakl the elector* should be careful before giving their votes. The . name <rf Selwyn bid ben mwly mentioned in tut Parliament, end, 6© tue v be biew, the representative of tihe. tleetomte only made one speech, and that w» in disparagement of the Premier. He noped that the same mistake would not t« made by the electors of the new district. The epeaker then dealt with the Premier's "»«rtt to England on the occasion of the Jubilee, hie action in sending ContJwjenta to South Africa, sod his recent visit Home to witness tbe Coronation, and pointed out that the result of the Premiere efforte had wea to bring the colony prominentiy befc» the world. Tbe candidate, who was . *w»«dmg for Courtenay in the Conservative Joterwt, wanted to show that Mr Seddon **» not worthy to be Premier, and though au , L»WH/vras in private an amiable genween. yet, if ihree-foorths of the district TWre Liberals, and supporter* of the Gov- *"*"!«*» it would be a terrible disgrace if a Conservative were returned. (Ap Vl*am.) He referred at some length to \Z k ca^': ' r w member for ChristC aa<, tliat the qualification for member, when Mr Lewis iraa WWt*d» wae poHtiaal and personal enmity

to the Premier, but now this qualification wai worn out. The 'Conservative element was "played out," and he reminded hi* hearers that the party, of which Mr Jy.'wis was a remnant, was responsible for the establishment of coup kitchen and dhelter sheds for the unemployed. He did not thrnk that the electors of Oourtenay would eh-c-t. or support a lineal descendant of that paity. (Applause.) Speaking of the iefc-rer.chim, he said that be believed in living tie people as much liberty aa possible, but he did not think that tie referendum would have been found of practical use ii! deciding such an important matter as the assistance given by the Governmeci ut the Bank of New Zealand. The legislation in ccroiection with the bank liad been or.o of the grandest pieces of legislation ever poesed in the country. Yet the Conseavativts added the amount lent by the Government to t-be bank to tie public debt, ;utiiough the assets were sufficient to repay the loan. Referring to the land question, he said that if he his way he would not 'have an acre of frt*hold land in New Zealand, because he thought that tbu freehold wae about the worst tenure under which a man could hold land. He explained that the children of a freeholder, ariK/nyst whom the land had been divided, mijltt be less careful tlAn their parents, and in a few year* the land would be in the hands of the Jews or moneylenders. If the demands of the Conservatives were granted with regard to giving Crown tenants the option of the freehold, the estates purchased by the Government for settlement purposes would reveit to their old state. Hβ tit-fended the present Minister lor Lands, and said thai Mr Duncan was one of those cautious men who had not tin; courage yet to attempt euch large *[*iulaiions as Sir John M'Kenzie had gone in for. They would nod jn a very abort tini.3 that Mr Duncan would come out all right, abd they would change their opinion of him. Referring to financial matters, he said that the war had not changed the English money market, and he thought that the rate of interest would not be increased, and consequently the Government would still ba able to purchase land and lend money cheaply to farmers The public works cf the colony were progressing as favourably could be expected. Toe co-operative system had been much maligned by the Concervaiives, but it hud been proved that the pub.ic works had been dona cheaper than they would have been done under the contracting system. The co-operative system and the Government's land policy had been responsible for doing away with swaggers. He considered that the railways had been managed with great tact ,by Sir Joseph Ward, and added that ha understood it the Minister's intention to make further •e----ductioßs in fares and freights. Concerning education, he said he was in favour of religion being taught in schools, because a man wae not thoroughly educate! unless he had bun instructed in the 'jiuistjan religion. It had been a blunder 'vat the teaching of reJjgion had not been included in our system. How was reugion to be taught in our schools? By taking the Bible in our schools? Why, the daughters of Jerusalem were not allowed to read the Bible until they wem thirtyfive yeara of age. It was a foolish idea to bring forward that the Bib.c should be token into the. eohoots, as if it were'a itady reckoner, and placed in the hands of a master who might be a freethinker. If religion were to be taught in school?, let it be taught by special teachers. (AppJame ,' He pointed out that fchege were hia vitws, and that as the Government did pot permit private members to interfere with thtii pclicy, the people, if. they wanted religion taught in the actoolu, should send a inoiuier petition to Parliament, which #o>bi'refer it to a special committee. If it was fonnd that tiie majority K>f the people wanted the alteration, then they would get redraw He eypported the Government's labour ticm v and speaking of tihp old age pen&kn, said that xnccy men in receipt of the rensfcn were able to add to it by doing a lfttfe work, but when a man got f>6 eld to d> work, h; considered that Hie amount of the .pissioii ohonld be rnoreni>il v. jtS* per week. Aβ to'technical education he wufc Uwut' m-ora attention ahou-d certiihiy Oβ paid to'title matter. Ha was v faVtur of State fire ineuranoo, but he iraa aofc In favour of - the. second ballot. If ac could not be returned straight out to Pariia•ment, and if tihe second ballot -would weult in returning him, he would not tak* advantoge of it. Referring to the other Liberal, candidate, Mr Rennie, he said that three jea,nt ayo, when he (Mr Reonie) etood, he had, in his address to lie electors at Dunsaodel, etat«d that if Mr Waeon had been vtandfog, be would not oppose hui.. They aU knew that the Government had had no "stronger opponent -than Mr W*con. He atao referred to what he termed other inconaifltenciea in Mr - Bennie'e present opinions as compared with those \he had expressed at the previoue general election. Mr Rennie wae now, he said, in f wroar of everything and anything they asked him about. There was no change in his (Mr Barrett's) policy since he lest addressed them, and there would be no alteration. He pointed oat that be was the only candidate who. resided in the district, and whose interests were bound up in it. If elected he would keep the district weß to tine front, and get for It ac much aa possible frotn the Government. " He wae pretty well known amongst all the leading members of the House, amd bad known tha Premier for over thirty years. He urged the electors to rally round tfos etanda-rd of Liberalism, and to return a fit and proper person, and one who was most likely to further their interests. He thoroughly supported the present Government, and chalkaged any CJonserrative, or any Conservative organ, to-stand up and show wherein the Government wae not worthy of support. In answer to questions, Mr Barrett eaid that the licensing law was good enough for the present, .and was the most stringent in existence,. ,He did not think the Government had any right to inspect such institutions ac convents. He was in favour of the abolition of ail gambling machines, but'was certainly not in favour of the abolition of horse-raoing, although there were for too many race meetings- He thought they would be richer if they did not work such long hqurs as they did'in the country, but it was. not possible to give all labourers a weekly'half-holiday. ' Mr E. Faland proposed, and Mr P. McHogh seconded, a vote of thanks and confidence, ib Mr Barrett This was carried without dissent. j

THE ASHBUKTON SEAT.

MR J. STUDHOLME'S ADDRESS.

Mr J. Stodhoime, jun., addressed the elector* at Ashburton last night. In «pite of 4he'stormy weather, there ■was a large attendance of electors, and the candidate was given a Very attentive, hearing, j The Mayor occupied tie chair. | Mr Studholme said he had leld bade from offering himself until the last possible moment, hoping- that some other local farmer with more political experience would have come forward to fight for the views that he (the speaker) held, and whdeh ho believed it would be found that the ma-! S' rity of tie electors of tire district held, espite his deficiencies, he thought he could fairly claim to possess several of the qualifications mest essential for the representation of a district like Ashburton. He was, in the first place, a former, standing in tbe fanners' interests. He was also a local man, and all his interests were centred in the district, and. would, so far as he wa» concerned, continue to be centred there. Though until recently he had been unable to give as much time to politics as h* sliould have liked, it wa* a subject in whieff Lβ had always toktn the keenest interest. One cif ths leading facts m connection with New Zea'ocd which should influence our legislation was that the colony is a produc:ii". and not a manufacturing, country. Whilst the colony possessed natural advantages over most other countries in tbo production of wool, nnut, and dairy produce, tie ccEriiticns were unsuitable for tfo? development of mosA khxis of manufactares. In 1900 our <xports of colonial produce and manufacture? amoont?d, in value, to £13,055.269. and of this amount the exports of produce were valued at £12,505,907. Tlu va'.ce of colonial manufactures exported was thus onJv of which flax and agricultural implements , , both I'nprotrcted indwtrks. rcprtsected in vp.'.ne £346.182. having cely £203.160 as ths total value of our experts of protected manufacture. As cur exports had to , meet world-wide competition, and as tht

factors which regulate their price were altogether beyond our control, the co.«ny could not aifcid to iaise the cost of living by the importation of protective tariffs for tie sake of a few manufactures. Lcless our local manufactures could compete Issally against the imported article, handicapped as it was by rreighfr charges and the revenue tariff, they had no chance of developing an export trade, and he believed that m many instances it woitd pay the coxaiy better to pension off all workers engaged m them rather than continue to pay for their support by forced cont<ributions through the Customs. Nothing would have a better effect on t'be prosperity <4 tie colony than the development and close settlement of the land, and our land laws should! aim at attracting the largest, possible number of sett.ers. He was heartily in favour of the Lands for Settlement Act, and the voluntary acquisition of lange estates. The result of the village homestead system had been very encouraging, and be hoped would indiuce the Government to further extend' the system by purchasing small blocks of good land and cutting them up to provide homes for farm labourers. He wouH a.so advocate the Government giving assistance in the direction of providing homes for married farm labourers on farms and sheep stations, by advancing loans to farmers who were prepared to build cottages for their labourers. He was strongly in favour of the leasehold tenure, as the easiest way of starting people on the land, but as soon as the settler had' macfe the' required improvements, he should undoubtedly be given tike option of acquiring the freehold. That option would give him a savings bank in hie farm, and would call out his energies in the natural ambition to get a piece of land he could really call his own. The objection that by giving the option of the freehold would lead to-the ie-aggregation into large blocks was altogether groundless, and could, by restrictions in the title, be easily guarded against. The lease in perpetuity gave a poor return to the State, and the leaseholders had no security against the bad faith of any Government and the compulsory revaluation of their interests. The present holders under the "system should have tlieir rights strictly respected, but he thought no more land should be parted with undo? this tenure. Referring to education, he said he w.oulidi like to see the boards obtain greater latitude in the choice of subjects taught, so that there could be awakened in the child's mind an. intereist in those occupations most suited to the ddstiriot in which it lived. He considered that the question of the introduction of the Bible into tiba State schools was one which would bast be .decided by submission to a referendum. He favoured an elective Upper House, the members to be elected by the Hare system for a term of six years, half the members to retire every three years. Thsre was no need.for a standing army after tire good work done ,by "tine volunteers in South Africa, but' volunteer corps and rifle cluba slM>u|d be encouraged by a liberal capitation grant, not dependent on exacting requirements. He was in favour of the referendum, but twelve months' notice should bs given the people before submitting a definite issue in order that the matter might first receive thorough discussion' and ventilation. Hβ was in favour of the great balk of the labour legislation of the Government, but pointed out that to the Opposition was due a great denJ of credit for the form in -which tliese Acts had been placed on the Statute book. Bills .were often so altered in Committee as to be hardly recognisable as the same. * The School Teachers' Bill of 1900, for example, had aH. its original provisions struck out except the title, after which the House proceeded, to reconstruct it afresh. Fkonce and administration were at present tba\moe!i important questians. . Our debt and taxation were steadily increasing, and th-j ordinary expenditure was. growing at a much greater rate than our revenue. In 1891 our indebtedness was £59 lls per head, in 1901 It was £62 16s iOd, and on March 31st las* it had made a further increase in one year of £2 16s 6d per head. Tan* jbion in 1895-96 stood at £3 7s' Id pet head, last year it was witMn 4d of £4 per head. * The ordinary expenditure !faad lEcreased.by £1,0C0,000 in the four years succeeding 1896-97, and the total estimated expenditure for ihieyear, in which there ■were no unusual items, was riix millions, or a rui€her increase of hMf-a-milMon pounds since Maroh 31st, 1901; whilst, if Sk , J. G. Ward'e estimate proved correct, the revenue in the same two years will only have increased by £177,000. The large increase in the ordinary expenditure had not decreased the amour* of money which was required to be borrowed for public works. A ddeqiiietiag feature in this large increase was that it. occurred whilst we were enjoying exoeptionall advantages. During tihe war the Imperial Government had spent over £2,000,000 in the colony, and the price of our products had been greatly helped .by the drought in Australia and other -causes. Sorely the last two yeaiß should hove been the very time to have reduced our borrowing, and to have put our finances in order/deferring bbrrowlftg to a tame of depression. IS we put off 'tihe day of reckoning triH the EngUsh capitalist- refused ue further loans, except at a considerable increase of interest, our credit would be greatly injured, wjjdeh would have a disastrous effect in raieing the rate of interest on all private debts. The method of our expenditure was the worst feature of the whole position, and he had! little hope of any improvement unJesrf tihe present system were .dome away tyith, of allocating horrowM money, not on the will of Parliament as a whole, but eolely on that of the Ministry. This system degradied' the whole work of ParrIftiment. The fact that the PubHc Works estimates are usually brought down towards the close of the session, the allocation of the money depended on the goodwill of the Government, could not but have a eoreddertfble, though poasibly unconscious influeoce in determining the attitude of members towards Government measures.

The evil effect* of this made themselves felt throughout tßie colony, and pressure was brought to bear on members to obtain to toflge allocatione as possible for their diebricte* The outcome wae that expenditare wa3 in dribblets and. doles on a few , miles to numberless little branch rail-ways, instead of tie completion of important main trunk lines. What would be thought of a fanner who subdivided has farm by yearly adding a few chains to a number of incomplete fences in. various parts of hie farm, instead of fencing off one paddock at a time? Canterbury had more cause to bo dissatisfied with, tie system of public works expenditure than any other district, because whilst we -were one of the largest we were tie smallest particdpators in the general scramble. To alter the system he the setting up of a .permanent Railway Committee, composed of an even number? of North and South Island nrcmbsrs, to enquire into the various lines under construction, and ascertain what interest on the cost- oi construction the different lines,would pay. Parliament should then devote the Vhote of the available money' towards tihe completion of the line most favourably reported on, and when it was completed go on with the construction of tbe next line likely to be payable. AW Knee which showed no prospects of paying their way in the immediate future riiould be propped. The Public Works Fund shoutd cease to have any control or jurisdiction in the matter of making roads and bridges, and • Parliament! after ascertaining trhat ti« country could afford, s-bonld vote to all County Councils and Road Boards a uniform subsidy in the £ on local rates collected, such subsidies to be expended by the local,bodiea much in the same way as subsidies were granted and expended" s£ present, thus adopting the principle of "local expenditure, local controL" Additional money for local public works could be rais«d under the Loans to Local Bodies Act. If these reforms were carried out, he felt confident'that there would be a considerable reduction in the amount expended, and a large increase in value for what was spent. At the same time an en. deavour should be made to economise in our ordinary expenditure, and members might lead thi» way fty reducing their honorarium to £200. As "to administration, ths point mat 'necessary to reform was tiie mode of appointing our civil servants and Government employees. At present if a man wanted Government •employment, his ■ surest way to obtain it was to* ingratiate himself * with the member for his district. and they sometimes heard members in their addresses to their fay special

stress on the amount" of money they had got for their districts, and the number of appointments they had b?en able to secure for their constituents. A member should have no say in the appointment of even an office boy in the Government service. It behoved them to keep their legislators out of the way of temptation, and thie could be done by placing the entire control of all appointments in .the Government service under a Civil Service Board, to a seat on which members of Parliament should be ineligible. He advocated the holding of ,a Royal Commission of Enquiry into the working of the co-operative system. In concluding, he eaid the aim of the Government appeared to be to concentrate all power and all patronage into their own hands. This ehould be resisted by all true Liberals. A case in point was the PubMc Revenues Act Amendment Act, 1900, a most dangerous measure, which should be repealed with the least possible delay. In passing it, Parliament had parted with almost all its control over t»e allocation of public moneys, had largely increased the legalised amount of unauthorised expenditure, and had almost nullified the controlling pow:r of the Auditor-General. As to his party position, he said that had legislation alone been in question, he could have cheerfully supported the Government. The questions pf the day were, -however, those of finance and administration. He found himself co completely at variance with tjhe Government methods in these two important directions, that he felt compelled to give them not only healthy criticism, but to declare himself an Opposition candidate. He believed in the progress based on good adjministration and eound finance. He could not yet pledge himself to support any party, but if they gave him their confidence he would do his utmost to further the best interest of the district, and the views and reforms he had tried to explain. Mr Studholme was heartily applauded on resuming his seat. Several questions were asked and answered, and a vote of thanks .passed.

THE GERALDINE CONSTITUENCY.

MR FLATMAN*S CANDIDATURE.

Mr F. R. Flatman, tihe sitting member for Geraldine, addressed a well attended meeting of electors in fche GeraJdine Volunteer Hall on Thursday night, when the chair was occupied by Dr. Hialop (a member of the Town Board).

Mr Flatmaaa spoke strongly in favour of party Government, and quoted high authorities, each as Lowell and) Ddsraeli, on the subject. He then announced flnmself an a supporter of the Liberal party, whether in office or in the Opposition, but reserved for himself the right to vote as he thought proper on questions which did not endanger the life, of the party. Hβ would certainly not vote'against them on any crucial question without first appealing to the electors. He advocated further reforms, such as State fire insurance, tenant® , rights, prison reform, prodncte export, local Government, housing of the people in large centres, and educational reform, to allow poor but clever children to take advantage of secondary education; ajeo the referendum, with limited operations to start with, to ccc how it worked. He opposed the Elective Upper House, because tine higher Chamber should be independent. The Opposition were profuse in congratulating Sir Joseph Ward for bis able management 01 the House during last session, simply because they wished to belittle the Premier, and the cry was taken up 'by Liberal Tndepandients, who were led by. the nose by the Opposition, as much as the "dumb diogs'". were ever led by Mir Seddon. Mr Seddon had done excellent work for the colony, and no one could deny. it. It was absurd of Mr Mafilin io say that the Upper House threw out the Referendum Bill in,----1901 ait Mr Seddon's bidding. There were upwards of 20 life members in the Upper House .at the present time, and none oi them were* under tih© Premier's thumb. In dealing with Mr Maslin and tJue Advances to Settlers Bill, Mr Flatman quoted Mr Maslin's remarks in 1895 to show that he was then against 4Sio Bill, though he •was now for it. H© also combatted Mr Maslin's statements with regard to the amount of money advanced by the Department. Speaking on the Industrial Conciliation and Arbifcratioin Act, Mr Flatman compared New Zealand under the Act with America without the Apt. He also dealt with the Workers? Comjpensatian for Ao (ademie Act and Old Age Pensions, and referred with pleasure to the success of the Government's administratian. ■of the railways, saying tins* the permanent way and the rolling stock were 50 per cenfc. better to-day t&an when taken orfer from tie Commissioners. Hie trusted that some of the money voted out of the large loan would be spent in obtaining the latest improved machinery for our • Government wxM-kehops, co that all the roUiag rtock required might be made in the colony. Dealing with the co-operative works question, he said it. was a'fact that under the old contract system it cost the country over £690 a mile more to construct railways than under the present eystetn. He voted for the increased honorarium for the sake of others, and not for himself. He thought all classes should be represented in Parliament, but if it was thought necessary to reduce the honorarium again to £240, he would vote to do bo. It did not matter to him personally one way or the other whether he got the increase or not. Still; tiiere was plenty of" work for members to do for the money, and he held that they earned it all. The two Wellington members who refused the increase of pay mdght well do so. In fact, Wellington members, with only one home to keep,, and having their business in the niece ought to Jive at half the cost of the other members. It was significant tihat out of all who roted againet the increase <»"y two refused to take the money Dealing with finance, Mr Fiatmau _ voted figures to show that although the public debt had increased to £14,136,097, nearly ten maiions of that was spent on reproductive works, and. was therefore not « burden on the taxpayers. He also quoted from Mr Maslin's speech in the House in 1895 "Hansard." 88, Vol. 76, to chow that he then branded the Opposition with making unfcrueiful statemente with regard to the finance of the colony, while to-day he ,(Mr Mashn) was en<ft>rsing their actions, Snob, conduct, he said, was , not easily explained and how any person could throw a somersault like that without breaking his neck puzzled him. In conclusion, Mr Flatman compared the state of things which existed when the Atkinson Government were in power and were borrowing at the rate of a milhon a year with the state of things to-day, and asked whether the labour Market was not better and the country more prosperous now. /

_Mr Flatman was not ask&f any questions He was accorded a vote of thanks.

THE ENROLMENT OF TROOPERS.

jJ?^ m L ™ tea ;statin « thafc a good €SlSte K « a^in S the position for electoral- purposes, aad asks it to be made quite dear what term of residence fe ««■«* and tW the district makes a year's residence mthe district necesary in cases where troopers have not previously befen on the roll ■ ln * aD^ rer these enquiries is contained m 2 of section 26 of the Ekctoral Act, 1902, Tinder th* heading "OuS fication of Electors." sub-action reads as toliows: —

For ai the parposes of this Act a person shall be deemed to have reside within the.thstect wherein be has his nsu& place of abocfe notwithstanding his occasional absence from such district, and notwithstanding jus absence for any period while serving ius Majesty as a member of any naval or maetary force, or in any earner in connection with such force while on active service."

According to Mr L. C. Williams the Registrar of Elestors for Christchureh, under this snb-section the period a trooper has been absent in South Africa counts a* if hi had sever left the colony or the district in which is his usual abode. Further, that a trooper, wio has never been on tkfi roll, is entitled, on application, to bo «srolled provided ha has resided in the colony for a period of twelve months, such period of twelve! months t- inciu.de, of coarse, the .time he has been absent in

South Africa on active service. A trooper arriving in the distrscV'wherein. he has his usual place of abode," say, the dajfr before the roll is closed, is entitled, on application, to be enrolled if the period be'ho*, resided in the district prior to kawng for South. Africa, and the period he has spent in South Africa on active service amounts to twelve months.

LOCAL NOTES.

At c meeting held at the Knigihtstown 'Library iast evening, Mr George J. Smith addressed a large number of bis supporters and friends. A committee was appointed. At a meeting of iMr A. Loughrey's friends and supporters, held in the LinWiood Hall last evening-, over 60 electors were present. Mr A. Beresford was voted to the chair. Mr Loughrey" gave a short address, after which, a committee was formed.

Mr George Witty addressed a meeting last night in tihe schoolroom at Papanui. There were over 300 present. After the address a number 6i questions were asked and answered, and the speaker, on the, motion of Mr Joseph Richard, seconded Iby Mr D. Kruse, was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. A committee was subsequently appointed.

There was a large attendance of the sup. pc-rters of Mr T. H. Davey's candidature at the Foresters' Hall, Richmond, last night, including several ladies. Mr H. B. Sorensen occupied the chair, and after Mr Davey had shortly explained his political opinions, it was resolved—"That.Mr Davey. is a fit and proper person to represent the Christehurch constituency." A committee waa then appointed. Mr Davey addresses the electors on Wednesday. '... A meeting of Mr T. E. Taylor's friends and supporters was held last night in the Foresters' Hall, Vogel street, Richmond. Mr J. Martin was voted to the chair. Mr Taylor, in a brief address, indicated the lines upon which he would speak at a subsequent date. The resolved itselt into a Committee. Mr Joseph Martin was elected chairman', and Mr T. M. Potter secretary.

Mr C. A. C. Hardy, a candidate for the Selwyn seat, has been having large meetings in the Oxford district during the present week. On Monday he addressed a meeting at View Hill, and on Tuesday at Woodside. At both places Mr Hardy received votes of thanks. On Thursday night the candidate spoke at Sheffield, and last night at Waddington., To-night Mr Hardy speaks at Springfield.

Mr B. R. Macdonald, of Geraldine, is said to have decided to contest the Geraldine seat in the Opposition interest. Mr Ivess addressed about eighty electors at the Methven schoolhouse on "Thursday night. On the motion of 'Mr Mathison, a vote of thanks and confidence was passed. Mr H. G. Ell met his frrands and supporters last night,. at the Druids' Hall, Sydenham. There was a good attendance, and those present formed themselves into a committee, pf which Sir Shelly was elected chairman.

The following candidates wil speak tonight:—Mr Wilson, at Hororata; Mr Lewis, at Weedons; Mr Forbes, at Hawarden ; Mr Barrett, at RoUeston; Mr Rutherford, at Springfield ; Mr Meredith, at Hanmer; Mr Rennie, at Addington school; Mr Charles Taylor, in Cathedral square. Mr J. R. Brunt announces himself as a candidate for the Avon seat as an Independent Liberal. '

Mr Fred. Overton announces himself as a candidate for the EUesmere seat, as a supporter of the present Government.

WELLINGTON CITY.

(press association telegbam.^ WELLINGTON, October 24*

Mr A. R. Atkinson, one. of tlhe; sitting members for the Gtty, addressed the electors to-nd(ght. His speech was one of uncompromising opposition to, the Government's administration. He favoured the Bible reading in schools question going to a referendum. A vote of confidence was passed;

OTAGO NOTES. (PBESS ASSOCIATION TELEGEAM.)

DUNEDIN, O*?t»ber 24i Mr James Bennet, M.H.R., who ie.seeking treielectdon- for Tuapeka, addressed xhe electors at Alexandra, and received a vote 'of thanks and confidence;

Mr T. K. Sidey, member for Cavereham, addxessed a laa?gely attended meeting «t South Diunedin, and xeoeived a vote! of thanks and confidence. . :