MAJOR ATKINSON AT HAWERA.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume II, Issue 169, 7 November 1881, Page 1 (Supplement)

MAJOR ATKINSON AT HAWERA.

The Hon. Major Atkinson met the electors at the Town Hall, on Friday evening. There was a large attendance, about 300 persons being present. Mr. W. J. Furlong, chairman of the Town Board, presided. The Chairman having formally introduced the candidate, Major Atkinson came forward, and was received with cheers. He said the Government had been compelled, after having used every endeavor to Avoid the necessity, to call upon the volunteers, not only in this district, but in other parts of the colony, to assist in enforcing law aud order on this coast. That call had been most nobly responded to, and as this was the Rvat occasion on wn\ch he had met the electors in this portion of the district since the volunteers were called out, some reference to the matter would, no doubt, be expected of him. The occasion was one upon which the most phlegmatic, the least enthusiastic man must feel both proud and grateful — proud that we belong to a country whose sons have bo cheerfully and earnestly answered to the call of duty — grateful that our fellow colonists laying aside all personal and selfish considerations, had given us readily and willingly their assistance in the maintenance of the Queen's authority ; and he was quite sure his hearers would think him neglectful of his duty as their representative if he did not take that opportunity of tendering in their name thanks to the volunteers of the colony for their patriotic conduct (cheers). Indeed he would go further, and on behalf of the colony thank the volunteers for the assistance they were giving the Government (cheers). He •was now before the electors to give an account of his stewardship, and to ask for a continuance of the trust which had been reposed in him. It seemed to him that he could best give an account of what he had done by replying to the three principal charges made against him by his opponent, Mr. Hutchison, and he would say at once that if any one of those charges were true to the smallest extent, he was not worthy to represent the constituency. Further, he would request any man who believed the charges to lift true not to vote for aim (cheers) » In the first place, ne had been charged with forwarding the New Plymouth Harbor scheme to the detriment of the Egmont district, but there was a great deal of misapprehension on this subject. This harbor endowment was a trust created by Parliament Beven years ago, it was endorsed by an Act of the Provincial Council of Taranaki in the following year, and subsequently by another special Act of Parliament, and confirmed by clauses in several Financial Arrangements Acts and Appropriation Acts. When such a trust as that was created, of necessity interests grew up around it, and no one would be justified in abrogating such a trust unless for strong and sufficient reasons. In America such a trust could not be set aside except by the courts, not even by an Act ot Congress. Now he dared to say that a large number of people had read the report of the select committee appointed to deal with the harbor question last session, and the speech he had made with reference to that report. "What he ' contended was that that report did not atate facts accurately, that the axbbmii of &c endowment was not unreasonable, and that as the land • fund was colonial revenue it could not be maintained that this district suffered the loss of the 25 per cent., for it came out of the general Government purse. If the report of the committee had been adopted, neither the colony nor the district would have benefitted for the next nine years, because the whole of the money now in hand and the whole of the land hind which would accrue for bhenexb nine years would have to be set apart for the purpose of extinguishing the loan already raised. That was an important consideration. Then at the end of that time, the colony would have had to find in addition to setting apart all the money now in • hand, and the land fund which would accrue in the interval, £17,000, to ?ay off the debt to the bondholders, t might be said that although no advantage would arise in that way, the district would have avoided liability to a heavy rate. But lie waa of opinion bhab no rate would be levied — in any case not for 25 years, and if that were so, we need not make ourselves very unhappy about it. (Hear, hear.) Suppose there was nothing received from the harbor in the shape of dues, or from the harbor reserves in the shape of rents, for eight or nine years, according ' even to the committee, there would 1 ' not be any rate required. And what would then be. the position ? At the end of that time there would be still in the hands ( of the Government 460,000 acres of bush land for sale. . It was a moderate estimate to say that the rents from reserves and dues from hturhor would amount to £0,000

a year — he believed it would be £10,000— in which case, £8000 a-year would have to be provided from some other source, the amount of interest and sinking fund payable annually being £14,000. So that if the Government sold bush land to the value of £32,000, a year, not an extravagant estimate, they would receive the necessary £8000. He had no doubt a larger sum would come in and was sure that no person who knew the district could believe otherwise. That carried them onto the twenty-sixth year of the loan, and in the thirtieth year, the loan would be repaid, owing to the operation of the sinking fund. By the time the twenty-sixth year had been reached, the area to be rated would be 1,200,0,000 acres, and a 3d. rate would be sufficient. Therefore, what he had bo choose between was this : the possibility of the imposition of a rate of 3d. in the a& twenty-six years hence on the one hand ; and on the other, the stoppage of works commenced by authority of an Act of Parliament, throwing large numbers of men out of work, ruining people who had invested on the strength of an Act of Parliament, and going against the wishes of a thousand of his constituents. Those were the alternatives. "What would any reasonable man have done under the circumstances, that he (the Major) did not do. (Cheers.) He believed that he had done right, especially as the stoppage of the works must have indirectly injured this end of the district by directly injuring the other part. He should always object to the House of Eepresentatives interfering with local trusts of this kind. Parliament having once set up such trusts, nothing but edicts of the courts should abrogate them. Before leaving this point, he must ask his hearers to remember this fact, that the total amount of land fund voted to the New Plymouth Harbor Board up to the present time had been £57,600. The second charge was that he had generally neglected the district — that he had not seen that the district obtained its full share of public works expenditure. Well, he took blame to himself for that impression gaining ground. (A Voice — Hear, hear.) The gentleman who said " hear, hear" would see what he meant directly, and would not then say "hear, hear" in the same sense. He baa not in the past blown Ws own trumpet. He had thought settlers would, have seen that there was a large expenditure going on, and that it was not necessary to tell them what he was doing. He had thought it was better to work quietly than to rush ; but to-night he should adopt a different course. He should tell them exactly what he had done, produce the figures, and offer to show them to anyone after the meeting, if they were not challenged before. If any gentleman could show that the figures were WTong, he should expect no more support ; but if, on the other hand, he was right in his facts, he was sure that as honest men the electors would not allow him to suffer because his opponents had spread incorrect reports. (Cheers.) The total amount spent in Egmont on roads and bridges since the commencement of the public works scheme had been £106,600. He agreed that it was not wise to distribute expenditure according to the extent of population, but when a district demanded anything of Parliament as a right, Parliament at once enquired into the rights o$ tne district, and had he adopted this course, as the representative of Egmont, he would have been told that £15,000 was the extent of his rights ; therefore, he had not adopted that course. (Hear, hear.) The other ground upon which a member could claim expenditure was the broad colonial ground, but he was told that one of his faults was that he was a statesman, and did not look after local wants. However, he would point out this, that Parliament was led bj its statesmen, and therefore he had, from his position, been able to advocate the claims of the district on broad colonial grounds. Parliament, everyone must admit, had done well in spending the money, because by doing so it had opened up a large and valuable district. The expenditure, though large, had been wise. When first returned to Parliament to represent the district, he was returned by 135 votes ; and that was not a large following on which to claim expenditure. If every member had got a proportionate amount, the total expenditure in the colony on similar works would have been £13,600,000, but as a matter of fact it was very much less. In regard to expenditure in Taranaki, it must be remembered that Taranaki had two members, and had double the population of Egmont, but the total expenditure there had been £46,000, against £106,000 in Egmont. Egmont must have had a faithful friend somewhere to get that if, as alleged, he was all the time " looking after Taranaki at the expense of Egmont." (Cheers.) Including the money paid to the Harbor Board, the Taranaki

expenditure "was only £103,000, and if to the Egmont expenditure there was added the £6000 spent on the Patea harbor, it was £10,000 more than was spent in Taranaki. That showed he had done his duty. As to railways, he found he was not now blamed for not getting votes for the district, but for letting the votes lapse, and not pushing on worts with sufficient rapidity. Now the expenditure on railways in Egmont, proportionately would represent a total expenditure in the colony of £13,000,000, though under £10,000,000 had been spent. He explained the mode of taking votes. Up to June, 1875, permanent appropriations were taken, and this line was then called the Wanganui-Wai-tara line, because it was intended to take it round the coast, and all the money voted on that line was looked after by the two Wanganui members and the three Taranaki members — he was only one in five. Up to 1875, £160,000 was voted on account of that line. Before that time the Government had not been able to do much, on account of the native difficulty ; but, nevertheless, of that sum, £56,000 had been expended, and there was a liability incurred to the extent of £68,000. Of the £160,000, £124,000 had been expended or made responsible for liabilities.. During the first six years of the Public "Works policy, for every £100 voted for colonial works generally, £ss l4s. had been spent, whereas of the monies voted to be spent in Egmont district, £57 Bs. per £100 had been spent. Latterly annual appropriations had been taken, and the line had become the "Waitara-Patea line, instead of the Waitara- Wanganui line. There had been voted for the Patea- Waitara £371,000, and there had been expended up to 31st March last, 36213,000. Since then, £70,000 had been, spent on the line. Comparing votes with expenditure for the last four years, he found that for every £100 voted for railways throughout the colony, there had only been spent £47 10s,, while for every £100 voted, on account of the railway in Egmont, there had been spent £57 10s., or a difference in favor of Egmont of 10 per cent. He thought it must be admitted, therefore, that he had not been remiss. (Cheers.) If the last year was taken, £82,000 was voted, and there was expended £71,000, and there was a liability for £21,000, so that the authority had been rather exceeded. (Cheers.) As to the Native question, events since Mr. Hutchison had spoken, obviated the necessity for replying to the statement that he had been treacherous to Mr. Bryce. Treachery was a sin not easily forgiven. Mr. Bryce would not have spoken well of him after leaving the Ministry, nor would he have rejoined the Government had he been treated as was alleged. It might be said of Mm, " Oh, you should have resigned too, if you agreed with Mr. Bryce." "Well, suppose he had agreed with all that Mr. Bryce had proposed, and that because Mr. Bryce's views were not given effect to he had resigned, one of two things would have happened : either the Government would have broken up, and power would have passed into the hands of their opponents, or some one else must have taken his place. Now, he conceived that his constituents had reposed a trust in him, viz., the duty of getting this Native difficulty settled, and therefore he was not prepared where no principle vras involved to make make way for another man to have a finger in the pie of settling that difficulty. (Cheer 3.) It appeared to him that his duty to his constituents was to continue at his post doing all he could to see the matter brought to a successful issue. He had done so, and he had not the least doubt that events would justify both his opinions and the course of action which he had taken. (Cheers.) With regard to his supporting a bad Native policy, as had been alleged, all Governments had for years past endeavored to bring within the pale of English law the natives without treating t them harshly, remembering that we were dealing with a proud, weak, and decaying race. The Assembly and Government had in pursuance of that policy, treated the Natives with great forbearance. As to his own share in the work, he would point out that when he took office first, everything was in confusion, and in fact, but for the determination and pluck of the settlers, the whole coast would have been abandoned. There were disputes about confiscation south of the Waingongora, as north of it, but by 1877 all the disputes southwards of the river were disposed of, and the Government was just preparing to survey the Plains.' Had. they remained in office three weeks longer, surveyors would have been on the Plains, but they went out of office, and all knew what occurred then : the surveys were begun, but the surveyors were turned off and the Natives left in undisputed possession, then came the ploughing, apprehensions, and general cozt&utiion. Thab brought him to the

time, when he last sought re-election, and his acceptance of office in the new Government. And he would ask, whether, when he last addressed them as a candidate, he had said that within two years a road would be metalled from "Waingongora to Stouey Siver, a road would be cut from Stratford to Opunake, that a road woUld be made from jSTormanby to Manaia, and from Mauaia to Stratford, that the whole of the Plains should be sold, that the Parihaka Block would be sold, that the progress now seen would take place — had he told them these things would occur, would he have been believed, would they not have thought he was talking nonsense, or predicting that which was not likely to take place ? The very success which had attended the efforts made, had blinded people's eyes to the great step forward which had been taken. (Cheers.) Never in the history of the colony had so much been done, within so limited a time. (Cheers.) He confessed at once that he had thought that in doing this, they would have settled the Native difficulty. He had thought that Te "Whiti was a greater man than he is, and that he would have seen the necessity of coming to terms with the Government. In that matter he (Major Atkinson) had been mistaken, as every other man having a knowledg of Native affairs had been mistaken. However, the Government had gone steadily on, and they were now in a position, as he believed, and as most people believed, to command absolute success, whatever the Natives chose to do upon the present occasion. (Cheers.) The Government had made every effort to bring the Natives to terms, and had taken such pains to do so, as to be accused of weakness, and a want of vigor, and forgetf ulness of what was due to the Europeans ; hub where there was a danger of bloodshed, we were bound as the stronger and civilised race, to endeavor by every means to induce the Natives to accept peaceably the awards of the Eoyal Commission. And the great advantage of forbearance was seeii now. The Government had now the colony unanimously at its back in making the final effort to restore peace and confidence in the district, and the responsibility for whatever occurred rested entirely on Te Whiti and the misguided men who had led him into .this terrible difficulty (cheers). Whatever might be the consequences, although the Government still hoped and believed that the difficulty might be settled peaceably, they were determined it should be settled once and for all (prolonged cheering). With regard to public works, the Government held that the trunk lines of railway must be made as soon as possible. A railway to Auckland would be of great advantage to this district, to Auckland, and the whole colony, and he should use his utmost efforts, as he had been doing for years, to get that work through (hear, hear). There were difficulties in the way, owing to the Maoris, and the Maoris could not be hurried. Therefore, if there was not much talk, he hoped they would believe it was being urged on as fast as possible. It was no use attempting to hurry the Maoris, but he had no greater ambition than to see that line started. As to free trade aud protection, it was not a very practical question now, because they had to raise a lai'ge revenue from Customs, but it would become a, practical question before long, and with it there would be raised the issue as to whether the eight hours' system was to be maintained. That question had fnot been referred to by other candidates, but it could not be avoided, for there was a very intimate connection between the two". He did not propose to go into it now, beyond saying that he thought the eight-hour system was thoroughly sound and good, not only for employe, but for employer also, and must be main, tamed; but thei*e was the question to be considered how could the producers in a colony where the eight-hour system was in vogue compete with those in countries where men worked 9, 10, and 11 hours a day? However, meantime, these questions had not arisen, but the House and the Government were doing, and would continue to do, all that could be done to relieve local industries from burdens, recognising that without manufactures the colony could not progress. With regard to local government, there had been a great deal of talk on the subject in the House, but scarcely any member expressed a definite idea of what he wanted, or what the people required. He believed the colony would not submit to a return to Provincial Government. Hawera people would not agree to be tacked on to Wanganui or to Taranaki (hear, hear), and Taranaki people did not desii'e to be tacked on to Hawera or Patea (a laugh). He thought that the whole of the difficulties and complaints against counties and road boards had arisen from the fact that we have been, outrunning the eoKsiablo- We had been so

lavish in our expenditure, and were such a go-ahead people that we were not content with doing a year's Work in twelve months. Of course, that was expensive, and want of money caused discontent. Every man wanted a, macadamised road to his door. He had been serzoiisly told by electors that he had erred in his duty because he had not put a bridge across a particular gully at a particular place, and others had blamed him because a particular piece of road had not been macadamised. It was nothing that main roads and many branch roads had been made throughout the district, a particular piece of road had not been made, and therefore the unfortunate member is not to have a vote that had on previous occasions been cast in his favor. There was no doubt the whole difficult3 r of local government was want of money. The machinery was already ample : what was wanted was more money, and a greater freedom to choose between counties and road boards, which should be left entirely to the ratepayers themselves. He referred to the scheme presented to Parliament by the Government, which had been virtually thrown out owing to Mr. Ormond's motion, not because it would not have provided funds, not because it would not have suited road boards and counties, but because, according to Mr. Ormond, it would have " stereotyped " counties and road boards, and rendered it utterly impossible to change them into some larger organisation, a kind of bastard provincialism. He believed that was a very valuable bill, and still hoped to see it become law (applause). He had touched on general politics somewhat cursorily, because he did not want to weary his audience, because his views on most subjects were pretty well known, and also because it was more convenient that the general policy of the Government should be formulated by the Premier, who was to speak shortly.' ' Before sitting down, however, he must, as member for the district, who through mauy anxious years had been charged with grave responsibility, and as ministers of the Crown, in the name of the colony, thank the people in this district for the patient forbearance they had for many years exercised under very trying circumstances towards their Maori neighbors, and for the indomitable energy and perseverance with which they had pursued the work of colonisation. Without, the assistance of the settlers it would have been impossible for the Government to have accomplished as much as they had done within the time. It would have been impossible for them to have got into the strong moral position in which they now stood, and by the aid of which he believed they would be able to settle the native difficulty once and for all. (Cheers.) He firmly believed that this terrible nightmare which had been sebbl.iag upon bhe district for many years was about to be dispelled, and that there had dawned upon this coast a period of prosperity and peace, which he sincerely hoped would be participated in by Europeans and natives alike. (Prolonged cheering.) Mr. Max. D. King asked if it was true that the railway line was to proceed direct from Manutahi to Norman by ? Major Atkinson — No ; it is to go from here. (Cheers.) After a considerable pause, to allow of questions being asked, Mi\ James MeCutchan rose, aud said he begged to move a vote of thanks and confidence for the clear, able, and untarnished address of Major Atkinson. He did so with pride, that they should have representing the district — which they believed would be the finest district in New Zealand — a gentleman of the weight and influence of Major Atkinson. (Applause.) Mr. Partridge enquired if Major Atkinson would support an endowment in aid of. the Waitara haruor. Major Atkinson replied that he was strongly in favor of supporting endowments for all harbors. He thought the prosperity of the colony depended upon improved means of communication by land and sea ; and he was therefore not one of those who believed that when a railway had been constructed no money should bo spent upon harbors and rivers. (Hear, hear.) He should supportajl works of the sort referred to. '* Mr. Cunningham seconded the resolution, which was carried amid enthusiastic cheers. Major Atkinson returned thanks, and on his motion, A vote of thanks was tendered to the chairman.

A medical journal has found that there are from 100,000 to 200,000 hairs in a woman's head. The number of hairs in a mau's depends consider ably on the time he has been married. A brother arose in a weekly prayer meeting and said : " Brethren, when I consider the shortness of life, I feel as if I might be taken away suddenly, like a. tnief in tb.6 night."