DOMINATION FOR AUCKLAND CITY WEST.—UNOPPOSED RETURN OF MR. GEORGE STAINES.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3400, 9 June 1868, Page 3

DOMINATION FOR AUCKLAND CITY WEST.—UNOPPOSED RETURN OF MR. GEORGE STAINES.

The nomination of a duly qualified candidate to represent the district of A uckland City "West in the Provincial Council took place yesterday at noon, at the Old Supreme Court-house, .Queen-street. A considerable number of electors and others attended the nomination, but very little interest uw displayed in the proceedings. j The Returning Officer, H.C Balne avis, Esq., read the writ issued by his Honor the Superintendent ; alio the electoral notice as published in the Daily Southern Cross ; after which he cal'ed upon jany elector of City West, whohadacandidatetoprobose, to come forward and do so. Mr. Benjamin Evans Turner said he came before them that day to propose a gentleman whom he hoped they would approre of, aa the representative of City West in the Auckland Provincial Council, and his (Mr. Turner's) reason for coining forward was that he thought a strange alteration was wanted in this province. We had had too many of what the papers called the leading gentlemen and the leading merchants of this proriuce te'ruleusforthelastejigut years : in fac^J we had been ruled by about 20 people, and we now wanted an alteration. We wanted some of the poor man's friends and the working man's friends to represent us ; and the sooner we get quit of these leading men, and put better men in their place, the better. He might ask what had become of those who were the so-called leading gentlemen two years ago. They were all "gone to smash," and " gone to the dogs." (Laughter.) We d d not want so many governments as we have, but he hoped the present attempts to upset the Provincial Council would not succeed, and that we should not be in duced to part with it until we got something better. We did not want the City Board, for one thing ; it was too expensive. The Board said, however, " If you do not keep us you must have a Corporation." He would ask them what they wanted with a City Board or a Corporation, now when they were almost beggars. Why not let the Provincial Government do the work of the City Board? Here they (the electors) had a man whom he (Mr. Turner) called a snake in the grass, going round and trying to induce the people to do away with the Provincial Government, and hand the province over bound hand and foot to Wellington. He would ask them what benefits they would derive from abolishing the Provincial Council. He would ask. them, if they handed themselves over to the Wellington Government, with their harbour endowments and their provincial revenues, would they get anything better , in exchange ? Let them not put themselves into such a position as to be bound down by the Wellington Government. Here was a man going round about the oountry condemning the Provincial Government, but did he do so some years ago when he was getting a salary from it ? Did he not then lead the Provincial Council by the nose, — lead the Superintendent (Mr. Robert Graham) by the nose, and induce him to waste from £130,000 to £140,000? And yet here he was going round about at the present moment trying to persuade the people to do away with the Provincial Council. He (Mr. Turner) hoped they would not listen to such advice, that they would keep a tight hold of the province, and never give it up to Wellington, for if they once got under the Wellington Government the province would be totally ruined. It would be better, indeed, to get " shoot" of Wellington altogether. He hoped, whoever the member might be that was elected, he would do his best to keep down expenses. They could do very well without the City Board. They did not want the City Board at all. They had no money now to supportaCity Board — (hear, hear) — though be would say if they had plenty of money by all means let them carry it on. As it was, however, they could do very well without it or a Corporation either. There were a number of men walking about the streets doing nothing, and yet compelled to pay money for keeping this City Board up. The Provincial Council ought to do away with this City Board, but let the electors hold on to the Provincial Council and not be led by a snake in the grass— a man who had no stake in the country, who did not own a single acre of land in this province except a little bit that had been given him by his relations to enable him tocbtain a seat in the Council. What was he (the snake in the grass) doing but endeavouring to get a Government " billet ?" And if he was dowD at Wellington to-morrow he would take a " billet " if .he could get one. He (Mr. Turner) was sorry to see that our members were led by the nose last session by the same person, and they passed an Act enabling Mr. Busby to take every bit of available land in the province. The same man had got land for a few pounds, for which he was now receiving hundreds and thousands of pounds. Here this man was going about telling the people what a good job it would be to do away with this Provincial Council and to hand themselves over to Wellington. Here this man went to the Bay of Islands, which he (Mr. Turner) might call his own home almost, and went down to the Thames, trying as it were to divide the children from their own parent. Why he wondered how people could listen to such a man or even look at him, — Hughey Carleton, — for that was the "snake in the grass" he, had been alluding to. He (Mr. Turner) bad been in New Zealand nearly 40 years, and he had never seen the country in a* much worse condition than at present. He hoped they would not be led by such men as he had alluded to, and if Mr. Buckland succeeded in getting into the Council for the Thames he (Mr. Turner) hoped that gentleman would not be nose-led by such men. He (Mr. Turner) was sorry to see that many of our members were nose-led last session. Here, Mr. Robert Graham, when he was Superintendent, spent £30,000 or £40,000 for. that bridge in Mechanics' Bay, which was just stuck there to be looked at— nothing else. The gentleman he was about to propose held the same views as he (Mr. Turner) did. He had held a talk with that gentleman, and. he had promised to answer any questions that might be put to him today j he also promised to do hit best for the electors of City West, and if they Bhould be at any time dissatisfied with him and should ask him to resign his seat he would do so. He (Mr. Turner) would guarantee that the gentleman he was about to propose would do his duty faithfully and honestly, and if he did not they could call upon him to go out of the Council. He begged to propose Mr. George Stained as a fit and proper percon to represent the interests of City West in the Provincial Council. Mr. Patrick Brahany sjconded the nomination of Mr. George Staines as a fit and proper person to represent the district. He (Mr. Brahany) was sure, after the very able speech they bad just listened to, that it would be superfluous for him to trouble them with any further remarks. The Returning Officer : Does any other eleotor wish to propose a candidate ? ' No one coming forward, The Returning Officer said: Mr. Benjamin Evans Turner has proposed, and Mr. Patrick Brahany has seconded, the nomination of George Staines, of Wellesley-street, leaseholder; and there being no other candidate, I now declare George Staines, Esq., Wellesley-street, leaseholder, to be the duly elected member for the Provincial Council for City of Auckland West. (Cheers.) Mr. Gkorge Stainhs said he returned his fellow electors the sincereat thanks of bis heart for the honour they had done him this day. ' He had not the slightest idea a fortnight ago of having been placsd I in this proud position— (cheers)— that they had done him the honour to place him in this day. Although he had never come before them so prominently as to-day, he had been in Auckland something like six years, and he had lived in the ward within a very few yards of where they were now standing. He had traded among them, and had been their neighbour. He had mingled with them in the way of trading, and he had, as they knew he had, done a little in politics in connection with the Northern Separation and Reform League, — (cheers) — so that they all knew what Bort , of a man be was, and what he was made of. (Cheers.) He would be a supporter of Provincial Go»ernmeni until Auckland was restored as the seat of Government. No doubt there were a great many things to be done, but it would be nonsense on his part to tell them of it. But they might depend on him as an honest, upright candidate, willing to do his best to further their iuterests. He would be at all times willing to receive suggestions from the electors of City West or any other district as to his conduct while in the Council. He did not promise th»t he was going to do more for the electors of West Ward than for any other ward, but he would endeavour to do his best for the whole of the place. But should his conduct not be suitable, should they consider be had not done his duty when the session was over, let them come forward and tell him so, and he would resign bis post. He should be very sorry to act like another gentleman who, when he did not act up to the interests of his constituent', was a*ked to resign his seat, but still retained it. When a man acted against the interests of his constituency, and was asked to resign, he ought to do it. He begged to thank them for the honour they had done him in electing him to be their representative, and he hoped they would never have cause to regret jt (cheers). Whilst he was on his legs, there was another duty he had to perform, namely, to propose a vote of ithanks to tbeir worthy Sheriff. (Cheers.) The Returning Offiobb briefly returned th'tfnks, and the meeting terminated.