EGMONT ELECTION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1698, 10 August 1887, Page 3

EGMONT ELECTION.

MR. McGUIRE AT OTAKEHO.

About 80 electors met at Otakeho oo Wednesday ti'ight, -when Mr. McG-nlre addressed them.

Mr. D, Carroll was voted to the chair, and briefly introduced the candidate. Mr. McGuire began by a Drief reference to the recent taxation imposed upon the rrtepayers in the district by the New Plymouth Harbor Board. He dealt with the matter as at previous meetings, and said that he believed that when the children of those present grew up, they would live to corse the name of the man who had imposed sueb unjust; taxation upon them. Speaking on retrenchment, he said be said he should call on an auctioneer to sell the ministerial residences, including the coßtly furniture, without delay, and thereby get rid of luxuries which were a scandal to the colony, and at tire same time make a very considerable saving. Speaking on education, he referred at some length to the inordinate expense attached to the establishment of universities in New Zealand. He cited instances of professors applied in Auckland to a unniversity there, some of whom had only two pupils attending their lectures. lie said they cost the colony some £800 a year ; which under the circumstances was a great waste of public money. He advocated the placing of secondary schools in £rivate hands. He believed in the big ouse in Wellington there were lots of drones who could be got rid of, and he was satisfied that there were many other officers in the Civil Service who were in receipt of very large salaries, and who could well afford to do the work for much less money. He referred in strong terms to the cost of the second session, which he said he believed was brought about in the interests of Major Atkinson and his supporters, in order that they might oust the present Ministry. He believed it was for this and for this alone, that Major Atkinson had brought this second session about ; it was a direct breach of the promises made to the electors by Major Atkinson just before the session, in his speech delivered in Hawera last April. Referring to the statement made by Major Atkinson, that he (Mr. McGuire) had voted for the Taranaki Harbor Ordinance, he denounced it as a concoction of publications. He had voted against the first and the second-reading of the Harbor Loan Ordinance, and was the only member of the Provincial Council who had signed Ms vaxato against it at tne tMrd reading. He congratulated himself that on that occasion at least he had had more foresight than Major Atkinson had, because lie (Mr. McGuire) foresaw the trouble and injustice which would arise by the passing of that measure. Eeferring to the dark picture drawn by Major Atkinson in 1880 of the finances of the colony, he said that Major Atkinson had by that dark and dismal picture of the finances of the colony driven at least 10,000 valuable settlers out of New Zealand. In support of that statement, he cited a speech made by Sir H. Parkes in Sydney, who had said that he had been .saved the cost of the immigration vote in that year because New South Wales was that year receiving large numbers oi the most valuable class of immigrants front "New Zealand. That was the way Major Atkinson had injured New Zealand by his gloomy forebodings. In speaking of his long continued opposition to the harbor rate and the possibility that the Government would yet take it over, Mr. McGuire said that he noticed that other candidates were new beginning to talk of the taking over of that harbor by the colony as he (Mr. McGruire) had long advocated. He | noticed that Mr. Samuel and Mr. Elliott "both, spoke oi the necessity of the colony taking over this harbor. Colonel Trimble feared lest a dangerous combination should be formed to force the Government to take over all the harbors of the colony. Major Atkinson had said that that might some day have to be done, which showed that Major Atkinson was not so sure about it as he was about the moon business. (A laugh.) Then if they turned to Hansard they would find that Mr. Rolleston and Mr. Buckland had both said the colony must take over the Taranaki harbor. All of which things led him to believe that they bad only to work together like men and the whole thing would be done away with. (Applause.) Speaking of the Stratford railway, he believed that Major Atkinson wanted to be known as the great man who never asked for anything for his own district ; and that the district wants had been neglected in consequence. Eeferring to Auckland cattle market, he said his friend Mr. W. S. Young knew that Auckland was full of " rings ;" one ring inside another, so much io that it was very difficult ior anyone to avoid being fleeced. He knew from his experience while living in Auckland that the graziers in this district were completely fleeced. He knew that one or two shippers of fat stock to Auckland, who had started with plenty of capital at their command, had been so fleeced that they had lost their money,

and had to give up the business. But had the Stratford railway been made they

would have been able to defeat such tactics by sending chilled meat 4>o Anck> land by rail. The Hawera Stae in 1882 liad blamed Major Atkinson tor not poshing on with the Stratford railway then. He thought that Major Atkinson did not try to push it on. A surveyor was sent up to do the work who knew nothing of the district. He did not know whether that surveyor was told to lose himself or not, but he did so. Yet at that time they bad Mr Hurstbouse and Mr Skeet, jr., both active competent men well acquainted with much of the country. But they were passed over in favor of a man who lost himself. (Applause.) He believed the Stiftttoid route had been abandoned in favor of the Marton ronte because the Wellington merchants had worked the matter so as to secure the line which

suited them and Major Atkinson saw that bis party would desert him if be did not 'WSmS^m touob with these great centres of population. They had suffered because they "had a representative who from his . prorid M positipn,w»s unable to take the iteps neeeiiary foFtbewelfare of the digtriot to, secure the Stratford railway. " In fact Major AUdoson would never have

climbed to the top of the political tree, if he had doae his dntyasa representative of the district. Thus* Major Atkinson bad told him when he (Mr. McGuire) went to Wellington, on public business, with Mr. Lysaght, that if they wanted what they came about they would ruin their cause if they mentioned Major Atkinson's name to Sir George Grey. Thus they had been disfranchised by having a prominent party man to represent them. If elected Mr. McGuire said he saw three years of hard work before him — enough to occupy him nearly every day of the year if his health would bear the strain. He could see work for 300 days in the year ; but Major Atkinson had not given 48 hours in the year to local matters. (Applause.) Mr. A. Young thought the whole address had been a long tirade against Major Atkinson and Ms misdeeds of the past. He wouU like to know Mr. Mc-G-uire's policy as to the future ? Mr. McGuire said that his future policy would be to repair the grievous wrongs which had been done in the district by a long-continued neglect of local matters. That would occupy him very fully. In reply to further questions from Mr. Young, Mr. McGuire said he believed that the Customs revenue in New Zealand amounted to about If millions in the year. "What the property tax amounted to he could not remember at the moment. — He held that Customs were in. the main paid by the poorer classes.— He was not sure that property contributed its fair share, though they were complaining of the pressure of taxes on them. He would endeavor to make the Customs duties press on luxuries rather than on necessaries. — He regarded the reductions by Mr. Bryce of a number of police inspectors to a lower grade as a most coldblooded proceeding. These men had worked themselves up in the force by many years of faithful service. They only asked to retain their rank, but would accept reduced pay. Tlieir request was refused, most unjustly, as Mr. McGuire thought, and most cruelly.— Of course they were reinstated by the present Government. — The present Government could not have forced the colony to accept the extravagant defence expenditure at large centres of population except with the assistance of the Opposition, of Major Atpinson and his party, who approved of such expenditure. — He saw no objection to the Government giving £5000 to two purchasers of native land on behalf of the Government, if the contract was to pay say so much per acre for all land secured from tlie natives.— He approved of what Mr. Young styled the present godless sj r stem of education, because he believed no other system was possible in country districts ; in the large towns it was dtfferent. If other people were so conscientious that they could not bring themselves to send thenchildren to the State schools, he respected them for their scruples, though he did not share them. He thought the parents were the proper persons to look after their children. — Did not think the capitation system was a better one. He had seen it tried in New Zealand, and it proved a perfect failure. M.r. "Young said )ie Lad nob promised support to either candidate, but trould be glad to hear whether it was true that the Stout- Vogel party had established a fund to pay the expenses of candidates coming forward in the Government interest.

Mr. McGuire said some one must have been stuffing Mr. Young's head. He assured them that he had not received any such support. He had had plenty of people hanging on. to his skirts to pull him back, but uo offers of assistance to pull him through the contest. Mr, Young wanted to know then if Mr. McGuire paid his advance agcuts Messrs. Major ana Max. D. King, and his special pleader Mr. Barton, out of his own purse. Mr. McGuire was willing to answer any fair questions, but not any impertinent ones.

To Mr. Rothery — He favored a progressive tax on large landed properties, especially ou those unocupied or unimproved. — He did not think that a Board of works to control all public works should be elected by property holders. But he held that lands near railways constructed out of loan should have been rated, and it might even yet be wise to put on a rate. — He did not know where the money was to come from to support a branch railway from ttris district to connect with New PWmovAth HatboT, but if thete vjete & chance of any money being eot for such a purpose those who knew him best would know that he would spare no effort to secure a vote for the purpose. — He believed that the chief object of a railway was to promote settlement rather than to earn a revenue or profit. In that respect a railway resembled a road.

Mr. Young said be held his question was a very pertinent one, and the answer to it would either raise or lower Mr. Mr. McGnire iv the eyes of the electors

[Mr. Young made another remark or two about Messrs. Barton, King, and Major, which we are not prepared to take the responsibility of publishing.] Mr. McGuire thought that Mr. Young must be measuring other men in his own way. He might presume what he liked about the matter. (Cries of Chair ! chair !)

To Mr. A. Young. — He did not knew very much about the present tariff on railways though be believed it was excessive. — He regarded a freight of 60s 8d on one ton of potatoes from Hawera to Wellington as altogether excessive. But the railway authorities Beemed to be at their wit's end and did not kDow bow to lessen the loss on New Zealand railways, the true remedy would be to increase population and encourage the introduction of capital. It might have been better never to have built the railways, and never to have borrowed the money, but they had to make the best of things as they were.

To Mr. Ogden — He favored a poll tax on Cbinamen immigrants, but believed they already paid heavrtj. — He favored considerable amendments in the Bankruptcy Act, which was not giving satisfaction. — It might be possible to do away with the Bankruptcy Act, if protection was afforded for a time to those who had become embarrassed simply by misfortune. He thought all fiensions to civil servants, whether high or ow paid, should be abolished. There were other means open now for making provision for families or for old age. Mr. Rothery asked, supposing Mr. McG-uire had taken the duty off tea and had had ib put on iron, and that the manufacture of New Zealand iron had been encouraged so as to keep out the imports of iron, how would Mr. McGuiro replace the revenue lost on tea and on iron?

Mr. McGruire said at first sight it seemed logical to ask such a question, but he maintained that the extra population would return more revenue through other sources than was lost by the exclusion of iron, and the loss of all duty on tea, (Applause.) To Mr. Young— He had referred to Victoria's prosperity under Protection, bathe was not aware that Mr. Young was correct in asserting that Victoria's protective duties were, at the present time, less than New Zealand's protective duties. He believed that whereas a few years ago Victoria's manufactures were insignificant, • now they were valued at some twenty seven millions sterling yearly.^rHeiiiad not made a study olbVictorU's./. finance.— -He did not think that it wai, as Mr. Young asserted,

Victoria's public works policy which had brought about her prosperity. It was not the freights charged on railways, but the large population within a small area, the large number of small farmers with home or local markets at their doors, bo which he ablr'ihatecl their prosperity. and which he desired to introduce id N.Z. — The indebtedness per head of population in Victoria was, he believed, only £21 ; the total indebtedness of Victoria was less than half that of New Zealand. — He did not know what Victoria had spent on railways. — He believed the profits were very large from Victorian railways. Mr. A. Young did not think Mr. McGuire knew much about the state of Victoria, or what her prosperity was really due to. Mr. A. Milne moved a vote of thanks to Mr. McG-uire, and that this meeting pledges itself to use every endeavor to nave Mr. McG-uire returned to Parliament as the member for ~Egmonk. Mr. W. Blennerhassetl seconded.

About thirty roted for the resolution, none against it, and it was declared carried unanimouslj-. The meeting concluded with the ususfl rote of thanks to the chair.