THE PUBLIC MEETING.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 21, 23 June 1880, Page 2

THE PUBLIC MEETING.

A large and influential public meeting was held at the Town Hall, .Hawera, -tin Saturday evening, there being about 20Q persons present, many of whom came from a distance. The meeting was called in response to a numerously-signed requisition, presented to Mr Moore Hunter, Chairman of the Hawera Road Board, "iorthe purpose of discussing the injustice under which the district labors, in consequence of 25 per cent, of its land fund having to go towards the construction of a harbor at New Plymouth ; and also for the purpose of urging on the Government to push on the surveys with all possible speed, so as to settle the confiscated lands with permanent residents." On the motion of Mr. Livingston, the chair was taken by Mr. Hunter. The Chairman said it was pretty generally considered that the late action of the New Plymouth Board, in altering the original plans of Sir John Coode, was not warranted by the Act. It w;as not to be wondered at that Taranaki tried to push the harbor scheme ahead, because, as Mr. Standish pointed out, the very existence of New Plymouth depended upon making a harbor there. In fact, it was a struggle for dear hie. The late action of the Board was to the effect that they should apply to. the Governor for his sanction for their past conduct," and that they should be allowed, to incur a. further expenditure of - The set--, tiers of this district were quite justified in endeavoring to get rid of such an incubus. Mr. Carrington had said, "Don't go to Parliament." Mr. Carrington was quite right, because he (the speaker) thought he was correct in stating that Parliament had never, in the proper sense of the term, given its sanction to the New Plymouth harbor. He considered that there was not much fear of the Governor giving his sanction to the increased expenditurj when he was made aware of the feelings of aversion to the entire scheme, throughout the colony, and in three-fourths of this provincial district. He did not think the Government, with perhaps one exception, would advise the Governor to give his sanction to what was required. • The settlers w re not trying to take any undue advantage, as the resolutions to be submitted to that meeting, having been published in the Star of that morning, gave people favorable to the New Plymouth harbor scheme an opportunity of opposing them if they thought proper. Mr. Livingston said a resolution had been placed in his hands, for the purpose of giving expression to the discontent of of the settlers with the entire harbor scheme. Tlie New Plymouth Harbor Board had been empowered to borrow £200,000. Although about £50,000 of that amount had been spent in rubble work, yet they had, after spending that amount, decided to change the original plans of Sir J. Coode, and had sent their engineer (Mr. Rees) to England, for. the purpose of purchasing a plant to construct an entirely different plan to that which had been originally sanctioned. There were Acts in fo cc which compelled the plans to be prepared and deposited in the Marine Department for three months. The new plans had not yet been deposited in the Marine Department ; but for all that a new plant had been ordered, and it would probably be here in a short time. •He (the speaker) did. not think, -anybody .,'; objected to the New' Plymouth people. , having a harbor, if they made it out of then* own money ; but the people here should not be heavily taxed and handicapped for the purpose of providing a harbor for the people of New Plymouth. He begged to move the following resolution :—: — V 1. That, this meeting is unanimously of opinion that the Government should refuse to accept the amended plans of Sir John Coode, for Harbor Works at New Plymouth, as an additional expenditure of ,£BO,OOO will thereby have to be incurred, should . Government consent to the proposed alterations. 2. That in view of the present financial depression existing in this colony, and. the heavy taxation under which the mhabitantsr labor, a tax of one shilling in the £ on lands lying between the Taungatawv and Waingongoro rivers, and 25 per cent, of the land revenue of the whole portion of the Patea county within the provincial district of Taranaki, for harbor works at New Plymouth, is a great injustice, not alone to the present and future residents of this district, but to the colony at large ; and that such a course of proceeding is also impolitic, as it will militate against future sales of land in the large area of unoccupied terrritory within the bounda-' ries of the Patea county. 3. That a committee be appointed by this meeting to draw up a petition for presentation to the Government (and also to' the members of both Houses of the Legislature) asking that the whole scheme of harbor works at New Plymouth should be re-considered; and that the co-operation of the various local bodies in the Patea county be requested, in furtherance of the petition to be drawn up. . . Mr. F. H. Brett seconded the resolution. Mr. Parrington spoke in favor of theresolution, and said that the people of - Hawera should rise as one man, and protest against the injustice which was being • done to this county. Twelve months" ago' the people here had taken an independent . stand, which he trusted to see maintained, for if it were not done, they would have Taranaki tugging away at them, and sucking their life-blood. Mr. King regretted very much that the mover and seconder, of the resolution- had not entered more" fully into the matter, and given them some reasons for the action which they asked that meeting to take. Any person reading the resolution • would think that the 25 per cent., if taken away from Taranaki, would go intotheir own pockets, but^gpot one penny of the money would go into the hands of the Patea County Council : it would go into the Consolidated Fund. Had not the General Government already appropriated' 15 per cent, for making a branch railway to Opunake ? It was our business to look*, after our own interests, but these would * not be served by trying to injure New Plymouth, which would be one of our chief markets. Did they find an outlet for their produce in either Patea or Wanganui, or even in Wellington? It appeared to him that the chief markets for this district would be New Plymouth in the first place, and Auckland in the ■ second place. (A Voice — :" What about ' Opunake?") The district about New .Plymouth was poverty-stricken, and they had to import potatoes," bacon, cheese, cattle, and other things from Canterbury and other parts of .New Zealand to supply i

their necessities. If the meeting passed the resolution, they would be acting like the dog in the manger. They might say that a harbor could not be got at New Plymouth, but he (the speaker) thought those who said so should remain silent, in the face of the opinions expressed by such men as Sir J. Coode, Mr. Carruthers, and Mr. Blackett. He thought they would do themselves no good, and might do New Plymouth hnrm, by taking tne action proposed, and he therefore hoped that the resolution would not be passed by the meeting. Mr. Bate, who st ted that he had only just come back from New Plymouth, spoke in favor of the resolution, and said that there were many men in New Plymouth who freely admitted the injustice tinder which the settlers in this district labored, through 25 per cent, of their land revenue being taken away. If a poll were taken in New Plymouth, he believed a majority would vote against the injustice done to the people of this county. Mr. McLean said that, looking at the matter in a farming light, and as a producer himself, he would like to know it the people of New Plymouth could not produce any farm produce themselves, as Mr. King had admitted, where was the money to come from to buy the produce of the settlers here ? The Chan-man said that Mr. King had talked of New Plymouth being a place for their produce , but even if that were the case, the harbor would be no advantage, because in another twelve months or so he (the chairman) hoped they would have railway communication with New Plymouth. Then they would be within about sixteen hours of Auckland, going by the Waitara, which was the nearest port to Auckland. Mr. Davidson said Mr. King had advised them not to pass the resolution, but there was no reason why they should follow his advice. Mr. King had said that the taking away of the 25 per cent, did not affect them ; but if he had followed the signs of the tunes he wou.d have known very different to that. In the late Financial Statement the Treasurer had promised that the proceeds of the land sales were to be devoted to road making in the districts from whence the revenue was derived. But even if such were not the case, he (the speaker) thought it would be far better that the 25 per cent, should go back to the consolidated revenue, than have it thrown into the sea at New Plymouth. They might get some of the money if it went into the consolidated revenue, but it would be utterly lost to this district, and to the whole colony, if spent in the manner proposed by the New Plymouth people, The settlers here had plenty of outlets. They had Patea and the Waitara, and they had Auckland within easy reach of them. Mr. King pointed out that the " iniquitous measure," which Messrs. Davidson n.n<l Sa.ta so etvongly conileznxiecl t\ia.t own member, Major Atkinson, "whom they bad always so strongly supported. Mr. Isaac Bayly said they were told that night if the new plans were approved of, the New Plymouth harbor would cost .£280,000. The Board had already muddled away .£50,000, and that was not much guarantee that the remaining £280,000 would be property ,spent. , Sir John' "Codde J he befieyed to be a Very eminent'engineer, but those who read the Taranaki papers could easily see that the Board had another engineer, whom they believed to be superior to Sir J. Coode, because the Board were backing up Mr. Rees in his opposition to that eminent engineer. It appeared to him that there was a party in New Plymouth which did not care whether the money did any good or not, co long as it was spent there, but the settlers would have to pay for it in the long run. Mr. Barleyman agreed with what had fallen from Mr. Bayly. If the funds in the hands of the Board were likely to make a harbor, no person would be justified in interfering with it ; but few, if any, beh'eved that the amount borrowed would be sufficient to construct a harbor at New Plymouth. Mr. Wells, the late chairman of the Board, stated that an expenditure of £280,000 would not enable such boats as the Taiaroa to land there. He (the speaker) did not entirely agree with the resolution, because he thought it would be wiser to have the money spent in improving ocean communication hi the district. Dr. Hector had told him, some years ago, if he remembered rightly, that a jetty, to answer all purposes required, could be made at New Plymouth for £25,000 or £80,000 ; and if such were the case he (Mr. Barleyman) thought they would be wise in -improving the facilities which they had for ocean communication. The expenditure of a comparatively small sum had done very great things for Carlyle, and every stone which had been placed there appeared to have done some service. At the present time vessels of over 100 tons entered the Waitara river, find he thought that, instead of abandoning the money to the consolidated fund, it would he better to have it spent in imE roving communication with the district, ecause, if' they had the railway completed to Hawera they could land their stock', and produce hi' Auckland in about sixteen hours. Then they had Opunake, which could be made a" very serviceable port by the outlay of a small sum. It seemed to him that the New Plymouth Harbor Board had come to a standstill. (A 1 Voice — "The best thing they could do.") In 1877 had Act had been passed, upon certain plans and estimates having heen prepared, and approved of by the Governor in Council, empowering the Harbor Board to borrow £200,000. He recollected Messrs., Carruthers and Blackett coming to New Plymouth and taking soundings' there, and afterwards Sir John Coode came and drew up the plan of the 'rubble mole, which was assented to by. the Governor in Council. The Harbor Board found that they could not produce- the blocks from Paritutu required to carry out Sir John Coode's plans; yet they went on making roads and tramways, until at length they came to the conclusion that Sir John Coode's plans could not be carried out. Accordingly they sent their engineer home, and the plans wire altered, and the old ones which had been approved of by the Governor in Council were abandoned. A general Harbor Board Act had been passed in November, 1878, -which provided that no harbor could be constructed without the consent of the General Assembly. He could not help coming to the conclusion that the proceedings of the New Plymouth Harbor Board, since the end of

last year, were unconstitutional. He, therefore, regretted that the resolution did not make provision for expending the money" in improving ocean communication in the district, by constructing a jetty at New Plymouth, by improving the Wait-ira River, the Patea River, and the Opunake Harbor. Mr. King then moved the following amendment — " That this meeting would recommend that the Harbor Boards of Patea and Waitara receive a fair proportion of the land revenue of the provincial district of Taranaki, and that the right of the Taranaki Harbor Board to tax lands in the Patea County be annulled." Mr. Smythe seconded the amendment. Mr. Thomson thought there was some wrong opinion about the resolution, which only asked the Government not to spend the money in New Plymouth. They should not dictate too much to the Government. They should leave it to them to act fairly, and nothing would prevent the money being afterwards spent in either Opunake, Waitara, or Carlyle. The amendment having been put to the meeting, only three hands were held up in favor of it, and the resolution was carried "by an overwhelming majority. Captain Wilson said he had been asked to propose a resolution. There was a large area of unoccupied country in this district, and lie did not think the surveys were being pushed on as speedily as they should be. As the resolution would speak for itself, he would not take up the time of the meeting, but would read it : — 1. That in the opinion of this meeting the most effectual means for lessening taxation, ending the native difficulty, and finding employment for the working classes, will be to open up and populate the large area of Government waste lands, now lying in an unproductive state ; and that that portion of the Waimate Plains which has been already surveyed, should be thrown open for settlement without delay. The eager desire recently manifested to obtain land in the Ngaire district, and the number of applications in excess of land offered, clearly demonstrates the necessity of more activity in the survey and administration of the waste lands. 2. That, with a view to this, the meeting would respectfully urge on the Government the necessity of increasing the present survey staff, and the prosecution of the surveys of the waste lands in this county with more energy and despatch than has been hitherto practised. 3. That this meeting is of opinion that every encouragement should be offered to the public to take up and occupy the large area of forest lands in the Patea county ; and that this can be best effected by classifying, putting a moderately fixed price upon the lands, and disposing of them on a liberal deferred payment system. Mr. Gideon Inkster seconded the resolution. Mr. Livingston thought it very necessary that the resolution should be forwarded to the Government, seeing the large number of applications for the land lately thrown open in tlie Njyaire district. ' 2?e thoiifsii It was of the utmost import-" ance to have the land occupied, because it would tend to lessen taxation, and increased population meant increased security. Some of the land had been surveyed twelve months ago, and he saw no reason why it should not be thrown into the market, because the reserves recommended by the Commission did not interfere with the land already surveyed; The Chairman, in putting the resolution, said lie thought with Mr. Livingston that it was very important ; but he considered the action taken in passing the previous resolution would help to get purchasers for the land, because it was impossible to tell at the present time to what extent the land on the other side of the Waingongoro river could be taxed. The resolution was carried unanimously, nearly every hand in the room being held up in its favor. Mr. Quiu said he had the third resolution placed in his hands since the meeting commenced. Therefore, he could hardly be expected to make a long speech, and begged, leave to move the resolution :—: — 1. That the Patea county labors under great disadvantages, through having the lands of this county administered by land boards, the members of which, with one exception, are residents of other counties ; and that consequently the boards are composed of persons who have, generally speaking, no interest in, or knowledge of, the requirements of this county. 2. That this meeting strongly protests against the injustice of having the land within the Patea county administered by the Taranaki and Wellington Land Boards; and this meeting would therefore respectfully point out to the Government, and the members of both Houses of the Legislature, that the injustice complained of could be remedied by placing the lands within this county under the control of the Patea County Council, or some other local body, or that a separate land board should be constituted to look after and administer the large area of land within this county. He had a good deal to do with taking up land here and in Southland, and he could state that much greater facilities were given to selectors in the South than were given up this way. Here they had to go long distances to see the maps, and the pegs were not so well put down as they were in Southland. They could not get a linkage map in New Plymouth, but had to pay for a draft at a shilling per link ; whilst in Southland a person could make a copy of the map, if he wished to do so. If the plans were here or in Carlyle, it would be a great convenience to selectors, and would be the means of saving expenses. Mr. Sanders said there would be many at the meeting who would remember the question having been asked of Major Atkinson at the last election, and he was not favorable, as he said too large a staff would be required. Mr. Stevenson supported the resolution. If they wished to tender for a railway contract, they had to go to Wanganui or New Plymouth. A short time ago he had to undergo a considerable expense in tendering for a large railway contract. Mr. McLean said the more the New Plymouth Land Board dragged from the settlers, the more they had fpr the Taranaki Harbor Board. It was a most iniquitous thing to tax them without giving them a voice in the expenditure of the money. Mr.v King seconded -the resolution, although he did not thihk the Government would accede to it. By a previous agitation they had got a member from here on the Land Board, and the .consequence was that a large quantity of land had been thrown open for sale on deferred payment. The Taranaki Land Board had got into an old-fashioned way of doing

things, and what Mr. Quin had stated would probably wake them up a little. The Chairman, inputting the resolution to the meeting, said the proportion of waste lands this side of Mount Egmont, as compared with the other side, was as one to five, and the Government might therefore consider it wise to r move the Land Board to this side altogether. The resolution was carried unanimously. Mr. Gibson moved the fourth resolution, as follows : — 1. That the chairman of this meeting attach his signature to the foregoing resolutions, and send the same to the Government, and that printed copies be forwarded to the members of both Houses of Parliament. 2. That the following committee be appointed to draw up petitions in accordance with the foregoing resolutions, and to obtain the signatures of residents throughout the county ; and that the same be forwarded to the Hon. Major Atkinson for presentation to the House of [Representative : — Messrs. Moore Hunter, James Livingston, P. Galvin, George McLean, J. Barleyman, H. R. Parrington, F. H. Brett, C. E. Gibson, Isaac Bayly, J. R. Lysaght. Mr. McLean seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the business.