THE HON. R. STOUT AT INVERCARGILL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5598, 3 February 1879, Page 6

THE HON. R. STOUT AT INVERCARGILL.

[Bt Temgba^h.] [TIMES' SPECIAL WIRE-] Invercargill, ; The Hons. Messrs St n J ; ”‘ thia arrivoS by the ex P re ®\ ° saem bled on the afternoon. Acrcwd tlle train, platform previous to the arr cd ; nEe . gutthere were ho demonstrative hi 3 The visitors were welcome Worship the May°r, J accompanied General addresse” a g j g in Baf t Hall. Tbero blli i^ n g the gallery, the lower part of the gif £ bq * ■which was j with Mr Stout on the “> «»

Hob. B. Stout said he had readily to address a meeting at Invercay Sbeoausehe thought that those connected mth politics should address the people as often as possible. He thought they moidd glance at the past as well as at the future. He then referred to the struggle between Abolitionists and Brovinciahsts, and said that after this question was disposed of it was felt that there should he two distinct political parties. Shese parties were in existence everywhere* the necessity of the owe demanded it. Ho two men looked at anything from the same pomt of ‘ view Men were differently constituted. When the Abolition question was dispoaedof, it was felt reform was necessary. Whatjhd ' they come to the Colony for ? They had come hoping there would be a better social ' life in this country than in the one they had left, better government, and better laws. There were many who thought some reform . Droeratnme should he sketched out, and one had been sketched ont by the Grey Govern- ’ ment. That Government thought, in the first place, people should he properly represented, and they had conceived the scheme of - electoral reform. They had brought in a Bill . that would bring about reforms m this • matter. Last session the Government at- ; ; tempted to get two Electoral Bills earned, which would have bettered the condition of the people. They lost them, and he would ; tell them why the Government lost the Elec- , toral BilL They were aware that in this Colony there were various systems of franchise. In their Bill they extended the franchise in two important respects. One of these was manhood franchise. It was nght . . thers should be universal suffrage, _They should not re-organise leaseholders or householders in preference to_ others. In addition to this the Bill gave ladies who had property a right to vote. They thought women were entitled to have a vote in the election of !. members of Parliament. These were the xnain points cf tho Bill. ■ Then tnerO iras the registration of qualified electors. The Government did not see men should not be able to register at any time. The point tbat led to the ' dropping of the Bill was the Maori franchise. The Natives at present had an equal right with Europeans. In addition to the special right enjoyed by them, they were justified in having a special privilege. The Natives ,thought tbat they could get disputes adjusted i through Parliament, and not by the sword, i Somehad proposed that Maoris should have the right to elect members of Parliament and have all other rights swept away. The Go~ernment, however, had found it was imposribleto introduce a (Ee-distribution of Seats • ten, and therefore they proposed that Maoris ’ should have the freehold qualification. In i patting that in the Bill they took away some of their rights, so that Maoris were shorn of ‘ .severs! privileges they had enjoyed in the past. Various faults were found with the ■ , Maoris in the Legislative Council, and the i ■■ Council, many of whom disliked the Bill, struck .out same of its points entirely, and when it was returned to the House, Govern- i ment said they could not accept it. Government then proposed a Conference, and he •would tell them what took place at that Conference. He held in his hand the original documents that were submitted to the Conference. It had been said they wished to swamp some of the Horthern constituencies. This was not true. The hoh gentleman then referred in detail to the matters brought up at the Conference, and argued that Government had done their best. Ho declared the Council were stubborn ■ on the matter. He put it to them, what was the position of Native affairs ? Maoris had now come into union with them, had allowed men to go over their country and get land. TTad they adopted the Electoral Bill they would have deprived the Natives of the right which they were fully entitled to. He then spoke as to the treatment of the Natives by the AtHnson Government. Electoral reform he-considered was only a means to an end ; it had an object in view. He did not place I Electoral reform in the first rank, but thought it was the stepping-stone to higher measures. He hoped next session Government would be - able to accomplish something in Electoral re- • form, and also that they would carry a ■ Bribery BilL This Bill proposed to make it an offence if there were any of the cabbing - and- drinking expenses attendant upon an election, as at present. There was the Redistribution of Seats Bill, too, and he hoped this would meet with favour in the House next Session. He would now allude to other reforms they considered necessary. The system of Public Works had greatly enhanced ' the value of land, and he considered the land should bear its proportion in the expense of the Colony. He then referred at length to the question of “ unearned increment.” The Government thought the land owners should contribute to the revenue, and they proposed a land tax to bring this about. They did not wish to tax improvements. What they ■ wanted to get at was the land. It was better that the improvements should go untaxed. The exemption clauses of the Bill were much fought against. The Government found that the system was carried out in other countries, • and he argued that it would work equally • - well here. Conservatives wished to have im- ; "provemehts taxed, but that was unfair, yet ■- - the' Government were denounced strongly for '■' what- was called an “ unequitable system of "taxation.” Some Conservatives urged they • should have an income tax, but submitted i -that this would not answer. The Govem- ■ ment had had to some extent to defer to the • cry for taxation all round, and they emi- bodied the Joint Stock Companies BUI, be- ' cause-these companies had certain advantages ; over private individuals and private enter- • prise.- In reference to this question theii opponents said they were putting a tax on industries, and a tax that had met with much disfavour was that proposed by the ' beer ’ duty BilL After referring to that . ' My: Stout ; said that two questions had always been coming up—the Land question and the Education question. Luckily ■ they had not Statcnpligion. The State should not teach should like to know ■ what religion they wet-e to teach. The State •' should .have nothing to do with religion, and • should net interfere withthe religions beliefs iff the people, but should confine its endea- . vonra to giving a realty sound secular ednea- • tion. Touching the land question, he said’ ■ that-in;-time gone j hy, if a man had died in - ■, New, Zealand having -a few thousand pounds’ worth of > property ft would go to the eldest . son j'p moßt iniquitous principle, ; Now, the i Government argued that this - money should • . be equally divided.; ; He thought the aim of all ;;Kewi i Zealanders • should he to settle the. --country with small holdings. No ileanntrjP would progress satisfactorily tmi r less cmls -was done. He believed this - ywOTitvy* /would 1 ineter he really prosperous i ufatir gfr"™ Tflframs' Were made in this direa-JUbn.;-nGther iefortnS, too, were necessary, .fsrawm'flmymttti ‘hiv# Seine alteration in the ] ; ; actmstito<»n«f the-Logißlative Conned. They r-rv&re awasre members 1 of : that Council were . to life, but thfr was-a gvtem, he B- thought,"ihat 3 Bot'bS, tofrrate.d. JH? r AUifcthafc- there’shonld be an elective he would;lik6 to knowwhy V not .samcnc-Ln "i; r **- l s '\:: ‘ J ■' ,‘ : V_ 1 6'-'.'--“ z '-- { ''<2■ ■, ’ ’.-i: i 3-iIC-il C .• ■ •• • ■ ■

fhn head of the Colony. He demedi6• b tn pleefc the Governor woufiVeayourof Hialovaltv to the Queen. He lewkedupon the JuSn from its educational advantages.nnd believed that wero the Governor made eleo^ tire it would greatly help the-political education of the people/ He then referred to the Bocial and other reforms the Government had endeavoured to set before the people, and referred in eulogistic terms to the bold proposal made by his colleague, the Minister for Public Works. The works it was proposed to execute v.ould he of immense advantage, and he considered a gross blunder had been committed in not allowing the Government to borrow the £4,000,C00. He then touched upon the forms of our local government. His opinion was that the Counties should unite to execute large works themselves The method of dealing with Native lands should be altered. Speculators had raised the cry of “Free trade ” in connection with Native lands, but this would not answer. It meant that amg block of land would be secured, and the country would at that rate never be settled. The Government should, he thought, have the power to buy up the land, or else the man with small capital should have an equal chance with speculators. He then referred to what he thought the, people of the Colony should do in regard to politics. He thought. everyone should have the courage of his opinions, ana shoma not be bound down to vote according to the dictation of anyone. The bon member, in concluding, appealed to the people of New Zealand to loos to the future, and not be contented with the wrong they had peon subjected to in the past, so that this Colony would be free from the abuses of other lands. ; , Mr Stout sat down amidst loud and prollr Kinross then moved—“ That this meetbg thanks Mr Stout for tis address, hud considers it the duty of every Colonist to. support Sir Q. Grey’s policy.” , _ . The motion was carried amidst much applause, and Mr Stout having returned thanks, the proceedings terminated.