THE ELECTIONS. NEWTON: NOMINATION.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4197, 26 January 1871, Page 3

THE ELECTIONS. NEWTON: NOMINATION.

The nomination of candidates for the representation of the electoral district of Newton in the General Assembly came off yesterday at the Newton Academy, at 12 o'clock. There were nearly 100 electors present. The RETURNiNa Officer read ibe writ and advertisement. Mr. BoYLAy, M.P.C., came forward and proposed Mr. William Swanson as a fit and proper person to represent the electors in the General Assembly. He felt sure that the proposed loaD would be negotiated, and, if ever there was a time when the country required the services of such men as Mr. Swanaon, it was at a time when such a vast amount of money was being expended down South. Mr. Swanson had no private^ interest to serve, but was actuated by a desire to do his duty to the constituents whose suffrages he now nought. Mr. Masefield seconded. Mr. T. B. Hill, M.P.C., proposed Mr. William Eastwood. (A groan.) He was not surprised to hear a groau or two, but that gentleman's merits were not known. He did not think Mr. Eastwood, or anyone else, would stand a chance against Mr. Swauson. He would like to see men far superior to either Mr. Swanson and Mr. Eastwood come forward, but it was impossible to get such men to leave their business. Mr. F. Cherry seconded. Mr. William Edwards proposed Mr. Francis Cherry— a man, he said, who was well known, and who would represent the electors with integrity and ability. He (Mr. Edwards) had no confidence in Mr. Swanson, or in those who proposed him. Mr. Eastwood said one good turn desei'ved. another, and he would second Mr. Chervy's nomination. There being no other candidates nominated, Mr. Swanson proceeded to address the meeting. He believed that in mauy particulars his opponents were better men than himself ; and, if either of them were chosen, the electors would have no cause to be dissatisfied, ihe sole reason that induced him to aspire to the honour of a seat in the General Assembly was his wish to induce the Auckland members to exercise a proper control over the expenditure of the large amount of money which was in process of being raised. There was a possibility of there being an awful squander, and the province should take no more than what it could beneficially employ. He would certainly object to pay for any moi c, and would oppos 3 any wasteful and extravagant expenditure. (Hear. ) He would try in many minor matters to get the A uckland members to agree. There had been n great deal of falling off amongst them, and it was very desirable that there should be a unanimity in their actions at Wellington. He was sure that no Ministry could hold out it all the Auckland members were united against them. He referred to a statement by Mr. A. Clark at the Franklin nomination, to the effect that he (Mr. S\van3on\ an<i Mr. Free* h«ttl he&il going about the city canvassing for Mr. Vogel, and arguing that Mr. Clark was not to be depemleil on with regard to the Civil Service Act. Mr. Clark also stated, in reference to the Civil Service Act, that he (Mr. Swanson) would probably lead the charge, and he would be in the ranks behind him. Now, he cotisideied that rather as a sneer, for, whether he would be in the Assembly or not, it was not at all likely that he would lead the charge ; but he would tell them that, whether or not, if he fought in the ranks, he would prove rather a troublesome opponent. Mr. Clark also informed the electors of Franklin that in 1869 he was the first to move in the matter, but he (Mr. Swacson) could inform them that in 1868 he tabled a motion in the Provincial Council antagonistic ti> the Civil Service Act. (The speaker read the motion referred to. ) That would dispose of tho uuoatiou as to who waa the first to move in the matter, There waa anoVber in connection with Mr. Clark which he felt bound to allude to. Some of them would recollect that there was a Reform League got up which held one or two meetings, at the first of which he (Mr. Swanson) took a prominent part, but at the second he was only an auditor. At the conclusion of the second meeting Mr. Clark asked him if he would join the League, saying that he was just the class of man they required, as he represented the working men. He told Mr. Clark, in reply, that he was surprised at his presiding at the meeting, having been one of the very men who passed the Civil Service Act in the General Assembly, which had been so denounced at the meeting. Mr. Clark, in answer, said he never knew anything about it until he heard him (Mr. Swanaon) talk about it in. the Council, TPe}}, he replied, ii fchabwere the D&se it -was still more to his disgrace than if he had agreed to it — for he should not have allowed a matter of that importance to have passed without knowing it ; and if he did know it and allowed it to pass, he was unfit to represent his constituents. Mr. Clark then promised to take seme active steps towards repealing the Act ; but he (Mr. Swanson) in his place in the Provincial Council had watched in vain for some sign in that direction on the part of Mr. Clark, andit appeared that, as a member of the Council, he had been quite as watchful as Mr. Clark, who was in the Assembly. He believed in a good charge, but a pretty smart sentinel in the camp was not a bad thing. (Cheers.) If two or three members had resisted the passing of that bill, they could have prevented its becoming law. A good deal had been said lately about Provincial Governments and the General Government. If they wished to burst up provincial institutions, he told them candidly not to send him to Wellington. He told them that candidly, and if he should have cause to change his mind he would make it his business to call them together, and tell them so, and tender his resignation. His experience of the General Government was that it was most fraudulent — he said fraudulent, for Provincial Government accounts were falsified, a fact which he was in a position to prove by a speech of the Prime Minister of the colony ; and there was a system of swindling and roguery going on, and of over-voting. The unauthorised expenditure stated list session was more than the whole of the provincial revenue. With regard to the effectiveness and efficiency of ita departments he might mention that, about fifteen months ago he purchased property to the extent of between one and two thousand pounds, and as there was necessarily a deed in the transaction he put it in the Stamp Office to be registered at the cost of one shilling. That could not be done in Auckland, and the document ha 1 to bo sent to head-quarters at Wellington, where, in spite of frequent correspondence, it remained for 14 or 15 months, and when it was returned it was not of the slightest use, for he had in the meantime been compelled to make other arrangements, and had to pay £100 in consequence. He might also menbion, while on the same subject, the delay which had taken place -with regard to the provincial weights and measures. The Provincial Government had I ecu. iv correspondence with the General Government for months 00. *ke subject, and it was impossible W say when the matter •would be fmatty and satisfactorily sebtled. There ■were two o* three things which he w-oaM like to see got rid of. The first was the Civil Service Act. The last time he went into a, calculation, there were on pay, »ot Grinding pensioners, 2,000 officials as Dear as possible, and there were more since I that time. The Civil Service Act wf"» one of the most vicious laws ever pa»«6diu the colony, and under its provisions it was possible to place one m*> n over the head of another without reg^'d to merit or seniority, and to pension. "X an officer and afterwards place bii» in another situation with the »dtiitional salary and bis pension, tie effect, and he might almost say the intention, of the Act was to burst up the provinces. He would also draw their attention to the anomaly whioh existed in the ! provincial services of officers being taken into consideration, in the fixing of the

mention an instance— Oaplain Symondi, of Unehunga. That officer hud retired on » pension, and Mr. Naughton had succeeded him. He did not say Mr. Naughton ought not to hare had the appointment, but he objected to the provincial service being counted towards the pension. (Hear, hear.) The Provincial Governments had always set their faces against allowing pensions. Provision should be made out of the officers' pay; and should not come from the pockets of the people. (Hear, hear.) He would like to do away with the Insolvent Act. Ho did not see that anybody had gained anything except the fire insuranc© companie*. Since the bill had been in operation there had not been so many fires. (Laughter.) But in sweeping away the bill, he would put something in its place. He would also like to do away with imprisonment for debt. He did not see why the country should provide machinery for imprisoning a man until he paid his creditor. If the creditors trusted anybody, they should take their chance of being paid, and let there be no Insolvent Court. (Hear, hear.) Let a man be always liable, and if he subsequently came into the possession of property let Mm be made to pay. The next question he would refer to would be the Native Office. He had always had an objection to that department. He believed it was the root of all the native quarrels and grievances. If the laud transactions were allowed to go alone peaceably and quietly with the Maoris, there would not be the slightest difficulty. (Hear.) He thought his Honor th© Superintendent started a very good idea when he proposed in the General Assembly that no member of the Assembly should accept office under the General Government until he had been two years out of the Assembly. If that principle were carried out, it would prevent any one from going into the Assembly as a stepping.stone to a position in the Civil Service. They had some very marked instances that that sort of thing had been done, and that men had done a certain tiling in consideration of getting a certain other thing. There was another matter which would very likely come before the General Assembly, and which required to be touched with some delicacy, and that was the endowments which had been given to the clergy for educational purposes. The Presbyterians he did not think had any, but the Episcopalians, the Methodists, and the Catholics had large endowments given to them. They appeared to have been entirely mismanaged, and to have been given to men whose duty it was not to deal with them. In fact there had been a malversation of the trusts, and he would like to see the whole put into the hands of one person, to be administered for the good of the children of the colony. With regard to our relations with the Maoris he believed that so long as the Native Lands Act wa3 in existence the people would never be able to treat fairly and easily with the natives. There were too many restrictions on the transactions between the two races. The Government should encourage carpenters and such artisans to settle amongst the Maoris rather than pursue the present system, which was to obtain large blocks of landfrom the owners, whowereunwillingfrom ancestral associations to part with it, and placemen on tfne iand -wlaov?%Tfc w»&vjvv2»\Bta!&. with, the Maori language and diatoms, and with whom a perpetual stake of irritation was kept up. The natives were kept isolated, and he believed purposely, so as to maintain the worst possible set of men in office. (Cheers. ) With regard to the criminal law of the colony, he would like to see it altered and assimilated to that of Scotland, where there was a public prosecutor, and where every criminal prosecution was carried on at the expense of the Crown. He was of opinion that a majority of the jury should give the verdict. He deprecated a practice which existed of paying men working in the bush by orders on town, and said there ought to be some law making such a practice penal. With regard to the expenditure on defence, he thought it should be made a tax on property. He was in favour of the removal of the seat of Government to Auckland, and ■tte/igWo it pa%SQSS%4L 3t,&.x«Kttagss. Qyec any other place which could not be denied. In reference to the proposed loan, he thought the money would be got, and the question to discuss was how to dispose of it to the best advantage. He thought a portion of it should be spent in water communication. As to water - ways, the province had no equal in the world in proportion to its size. The Bpeaker then referred to his action in the Provincial Council in endeavouring to open communication between the Waikato and the Manukau. With regard to immigration, he was opposed to the introduction of single women, unless they had relatives and friends in the place, with whom they could live on arrival. An indiscriminate introduction of young women would not benefit the province or the immigrants. On the|subject of education, he fk& rathac peculiar view 3. He belUv^d fchfi system should be similar to that adopted by the Church, and that the country should be divided into parishes with proper endowments fixed. A comfortable house «hould be provided for the schoolmaster, and he should have a fixed revenue according to the locality in which he was located. There should be one or two committees over the head of all. Under that system it would be possible for the schools to act as post-offices, and to be made useful in the preparation of statistics. If he were elected to the General Assembly, he would vote against the payment to members. The vote he had given in the Provincial Council in favour of such a measure was the only vote he had ever been sorry for. He believed that both the Provincial Government and the General Government had been commenced twenty years too soon. They should have been carried on by young men born in the colony, and not by adventurers. Such men as FitzGerald, Weld, and others had only been burdens on the country. There was nothing that would reduce taxation so soon as direct taxation ; but it should be on income, and the absentees should pay their share in proportion to the income which they took away from the colony. A large source of income was the stamps, but _it was a tax upon poverty. In a transaction of £6,000 the Government got a penny. A poor man who gave a bill had to pay one pound on every thousand. With regard to the tax on breadstuff's, his cure for that was to do away with the Fencing Act, and let the farmer grow his wheat on his own ground, and his -meat also. But people would not do that. If they bought a farm of 100 acres, and fenced it off, they would literally be robbing the people of their runs. But if 40 acres were not enough, give a man 80, and keep him from troubling his neighbours. He would be shy about putting a tax on breadstuffs, until he saw many of the present restrictions on farmers done away with. Relieve the farmer by giving some protection to his produce. The speaker then read over the existing tariff, and said he would do all he could i to obtain a reduction of the- tax on necessaries. If a tax were necessary on breadstuffs to protect the farmer, let it be fixed at tke. staaUsai poaaikla rafei^ «ad la aaoh. & -w«y as to be easily modified or altered if necessary. In conclusion, he referred to his attendance at the Provincial Council and the City Board, and said they might depend i upon it that, if elected, he -would i»<>* be asleep and allow bills to paw without knowing it. (Cheers.) Mr. Staines : Don't you think, that pensioners who are able to work should be made to do so ? . i- ' Mr, Swanson replied in the affirmative. An Elector : Willyon go in i^protecting local industries ? ) Mr. Svtansoit : I will he varygtad to do everything I can to encourage aid promote the industries of the place. ' Mr. Eastwood addressed the meeting in a long speech. i Mr. F. Cherry explained jus riewa at great length. '. ' , , The RETUBNiNaOmoER calltd for a show of hands, which resulted in favour of Mr. Swanson by a largo majority. Both Mr. Eastwood and Mr. Cherry declined to demand * poll, and tht Returning Officer declared Mr. Swanson duly elected. Mr. Swxnson returned, twwkii, and th« wetting disposed, !