Mr Graham at Ormond.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 40, 13 September 1887, Page 2

Mr Graham at Ormond.

Mb Graham made his first address to the Ormond electors on Saturday night, th. hall being crowded. Mr Skillicorn took the chair, and asked for an attentive hearing for the candidate, and this iVas accorded throughout. Mr Graham's speech was much the same as bid previous addresses. He denounced the present Act with regard to native lands as the worst that we have ever had—tile native land laws were a disgrace to the country, AU sorts of things had been said about those who had bought native lands, but it was nonsense to say that people should not have bought native lands when it was remembered that then was no other land to buy, and even when this land was honestly paid for the sale was liable to be repudiated at any time. The pre-emp-tion system might be the best if properly carried out, but experience had shown that Governments had always made a mess of it. The money spent on village settlement might nearly all have been thrown into the sea. We must have local management of public lands, and increased powers must be given to the local bodies. The present Government had failed in everything, and must be replaced by better men. Referring to the Harbor Board question, the speaker said he believed it would yet be acknowledged that he had done good service on the Board. (Applause and dissent.) He then referred to the other candidates—he had always liked Mr McDonald personally, but could not fall in with his political principles. Mr Gannon’s talking powers would not be of much avail in the House. He himself was content to be judged by his past actions. He would yield to no one in his desire for real Liberal measures, but he did not believe in pretended Liberal measures which had for their object the setting of class against class. At the conclusion of the address, a large number of questions were put to the candidate, and satisfactorily answered. A vote of thanks and confidence was proposed as an amendment to a motion for thanks only, the former being declared carried.