MR. VINCENT PYKE, M.H.R.. AT CLYDE.

Dunstan Times, Issue 766, 22 December 1876, Page 3

MR. VINCENT PYKE, M.H.R.. AT CLYDE.

Vincent Pyke, Esq., Member of the House of Representatives, addressed a wellattended meeting of his constituents in the Town Hall, Clyde, on Wednesday evening last, the 20th inst. About 100 persons ■were present ; and Benjamin Naylor, Esq., Mayor, occupied the chair. Mr Pyke, who was well received on rising, said : Mr Chairman and gentlemen, it affords me peculiar satisfaction to meet so well attended a meeting of my constituents here tb-uight, not so much that the most of you are my old friends and neighbors, but because I shall have the opportunity of wiping off some of the mud that has been heaped upon me by a portion of the Otago press—by the Otago '■ptfess I mean thn Dunedin morning papers, who, not satisfied with misconstruing me in what I had done, but heaped abuse on me and stimatized me traitor because I did not support Provincialism, or in other words, Dunediuisrh. I entirely acquit any of toy constituents for the adverse opinions 'they may {have formed, because they bad ’no other "Opportunity of judging whether my advocacy of their interests was right than from what they read in the Dunedin papers. Mr Pyke then gave a resume of the discussions during the session on the Separation resolutions as brought down by Sir George Grey, and tho Lan d resolutions brought down by Mr Whittaker; and the action of the three parties in the House over these resolutions—these parties were the Centralists, tho Provincialists, and what he would style the Self-rule, to wlmse exertions alone is due tho only liberal measures passed during the session, the least not being the Counties Act, which was now engrossing the attention of the whole country. The charge of traitor was hurled at me on account of my opposition to the Separation resolutions, against Which I spoke, because they were a sham and a delusion, and a most insidious design to rob us of our lanii fund, and v hlch I trllst I shall succeed in convincing you of. Mr Pyke fcad extracts from the speeches of the Session on those resolutions ; also, from the speech Of Hr Reid delivered at Mosgiol, drawing deductions that the so-called Separation resolutions Were nothing more than an attempt to rob Canterbury and Otago of their land fund for the benefit of those Provinces, who had recklessly and wantonly got rid of their land for comparatively nothing, and concluding with asking if the phrase traitor was due tofehy, it was to those who attempted, but fortunately were ’ foiled in their attempt to plnco such resolutions on the Statute book. Continuing, Mr Pyke referred to tho obstructive policy of the Provincial party who persisted in talking against time for days and days together in favor of their principle, Which they knew was dead. It has been said that the work of tho scssicti has been nothing, this was not so, as, despite the obstructions and talking against time, a great number of most valuable and useful measures had become law : measures of consolidation, by Which a man, whether a resident Of whatever county or province, ho would be familiar with tho laws. There was now one law, instead of nine as formerly. It was useless to tell him thoro was nothing done ; a great deal had been dour, and ho hoped diiring the next Session there would be more ; their solo aim and object must bo to preserve local self rule and tbo land, but he expected over that would be

the fight of hcxt ami perhaps of many sessions. A great deal had been said about errors in some of the Acts—they were nothing. The House agreed to reduce the Gold Export Dfity hy Cd per ounce, tire Legislative Council, however, threw it out; the House, however, to make up for this, resolved that mining property Should not be taxed under the Counties Act, ho therefore did not know but that the miners had gained more than they had lost. My platform was to put the miner in the same position as anybody else, and to tax him according to 'what he holds—the same opinion wafe hold by all the Goldfields’ members, and he thought the miners owed them a debt of gratitude as they worked together for the benefit of their constituents. Ho had heard the question asked, what was the benefit of the County System ;ho was surprised at such a question, as the benefit was, in the power of spending the money they paid in direct taxation, together with the Government subsidy on the same, and that amount hj« thought would not bo short of 1.13,'000 per annum, an amountfar greater than has been spent or mi-sspent in the County for years. The County system will do good, as it raises a recognized body—tho system is one aimed at by the advanced thinkers of the age, and every effort must be made to retain, it. Tho Council must bo represented by all classes, and it will be deplored if that any one interest is unrepresented, Mr Pyke. concluded by saying he bad done nothing wilfully against the interest of his constituents. A representative is not an automaton, and cannot be worked by machinery—he must have a mind, what he had done, if placed in the same position he would do again, hut he hoped by taking tho course he had, he had not forfeited their confidence, if he had he hoped they would tell him, and if he retained it, he expected them to he equally plain with him. He would refer to the meeting held ina remote part of his histrict, which had asked him to resign, as he did not consider the meeting represented the voioe of the whole of his constituents, he declined to accede to the request, and ho had told them so. Mr Pyke concluded with saying that he [would be prepared to answer any questions the meeting might think proper to put to him. Loud and prolonged cheering. Mr J. D. Feraud proposed a vote of thanks for the address, and a vote of confidence in Mr Pyke as the'representativo of the Dun stan 'District. Mr T. Sims, after explaining the action he took at the meeting referred to, and expressing his regret that he should so hastily have come to a conclusion, begged to second the 'proposition, which was carried by acclamation. Mr Pyke, in returning thanks, said the expression of opinion of this meeting, also of the meeting he had held at the Bannockburn, showed that he had not mistaken their views. He then proposed a vote of thanks to the Chair and the meeting tor minated.