POLITICAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 439, 22 October 1908, Page 3

POLITICAL.

Mr. Stevens at Foxton.

Mr. John Steivens, liberal and Government candidate, addressed the best attended political meeting yet held during the present campaign, in the Public Hall last night. There was a fair proportion of Indies present. The candidate put up a splendid fighting defence of the present Administration, and there was not a single interruption during the whole course of his speech. Those who expressed the opinion that Mr. Stevens’ affliction would handicap his platform work, were agreeably disappointed and we doubt whether the veteran ever acquitted himself to better advantage. Mr P. Hennessy, President of the local Chamber of Commerce, occupied the chair, and in intro ducing the speaker said th it Mr Stevens has been of immense assistance during the last session of the late Parliament in reference to the Harbour Board Bill. The Bill has passed all its stages, ex cept one, aud from a conversation he had had with Mr Stevens, he was hopeful that difficulty would be overcome after the election. He said he need not ask the audience to give Mr Stevens a fair hearing as he has always got that when he hal spoken previously. He would like to see Mr Stevens re turned again to Pailiamert as he had got the ruu of the Harbour Board Bill, aud the Harbour Bill, as you are aware is no good without the money. The chances are that a new candidate, if elected, would require 2 or 3 years to educate him to the point to which we have already got. He would let Mr Stevens tell them what has taken place aud what we have achieved. He then called on Mr Stevens to address the audience.

Mr. Steveus, who was received with applause, said it is now nearly three years since he had the pleasure of addressing a Foxton audience. On the last occasion it was when the good people of Foxton were kind enough to tender him one of the nicest banquets which he had ever had the privi lege of sitting down to, and on that occasion we had the late lamented Richard John Seddon present (applause). He believed, with one exception, that Foxton was the last public function the right hcnrrable gentleman attended in the Dominion of New Zealand. Since the days ot the Hon. John Billauce, right down to the present time, he bad made up his mind to the effect that what this couutry requires is judicious progress, careful administration, and such legislation as will be beneficial not to any section of the community, but beneficial to the community as a whole (applause). We, for example, have still a Liberal Government, notwithstanding that the late Richard John Seddon has passed away, we have the right honourable gentleman who was his first Teutemut, |and no more capable administration is known anywhere in the colonial possessions of the British Empire (applause). The Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward has taken part in some of the greatest functions that have been instituted in the matter of dealing with, considering, and advising as to what shall be done in the interest, not only of the British nation, but to the combined civilised nations. With respect to our commerce, postal matters, and mail services, Sir Joseph Ward has attended some of these international meetings and was characterised by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, by Mr. Deakin, and by the leading statesmen of Great Britain, as being the ablest of statesmen; and that being the case, is it any wonder that we, who are among his loyal followers, are eulogising the good acts he has done and the good work he has done, and is likely to do. Mr. Stevens then went on to speak of the land question, and stated that a candidate recently said from a Foxton platform that he would do all he could to have a law passed to have the Himatangi Block cut up lor close settlement. That would be a great benefit to Foxton. Let me inform you and the candidate that the law which he was going to institute and biing forth has been in existence for years, and I supported it. There is nothing to prevent the natives from taking their land now and giving it into the hands of the Maori Land' Board, which is empowered by Statute to cut the land up and offer it for lease or sale, and give a good title to native or European purchasers. So it is nonsense to talk of having a law passed. I will tell you what is required—that the law shall not be broken. That land is covered by a lease, I understand to Europeans, and while that lease is in existence no one has a right to interfere with the title of the Europeans to the land, provided of course that they can always buy them out. If confiscation is intended, I would not support it in any way whatever. I say the rights of property must be respected. Immediately the land is freed of the lease in question either by the Government purchasing the goodwill of lease from tfie Europeans, or by the efiiuctibn of the time of the lease, the land can be put on the market. But to say the land should be forced on the market independent of whether the present settler is to be disturbed or not is monstrous (applause). Speaking in reference to the Harbour Board, Mr Stevens said the Chamber of Commerce, presided over by Mr Hennessy, a very worthy citizen of Foxton, desired to have a harbour board formed and approached me on the subject a*few months ago and I indicated the lines on which procedure

should go and that procedure was followed. He warned the Chamber of Commerce and every other person concerned of the strong objection the Government had to handing over the wharf dues. Those they claimed belonged to the Railway Department, because the wharf belonged to the Railway Department. There is some truth in that, excepting that after (he cost of construction of the wharl had teen re-imbursed the remainder of the money should have been expended for the purpose of improving the Harbour instead of going to swell the profits of the Railways of the Dominion (continued applause). That is the point of distinction between the Chamber of Commerce, himseil, and the Government. What he did he believed to be in the best interests ot the whole district. After the bill was placed in his hands he arrived at the conclusion that although we could not obtain the wharfage dues at once, having all we could get, the pilotage, harbour dues and landed endowments, we would be in a better position to obtain the wharfage dues or an equivalent. He wrote several letters to the Government which have been pub lished through the kindness ul Mr Horn blow in the Manawatu Hkracd for the in'ormation ot the people here. I'ue last leltei lh it he wrote the R‘. lion, the Minister of Finance wa; one asking th.il he might be good enough to reconsider the matter of properly endowing the Harbour Boaid with sufficient funds to enable the Harbour Board to properlv cany out its functions. He wrote that letter just immediately before he moved the second reading of the Bill in the House and he was glad to say that he had received the reply, which, though short, does imply something of value to the project inasmuch as he says in his letter that he will on my representations be pleased to further consider the matter of providing finances for a Harbour Board when brought into existence (applause). So what we have now to do is to bide our time for awhile until the turmoil of the election subsides and then send a deputation of all those concerned in this great and important question on this coast from Bulls, Marton, Rongotea, Palmerston, Shannon, Levin, and Foxtou, to the Premier, We must have a united lorce of all the localities to lay the question before the Minister so that he may fully cousi.ier the matter and when such s done I believe, with proper representation, we shall ultimately achieve that much desire 1 obje.t, namely, the establishment of our Harbour Board with sufficient funds, or with a large amount of the funds necessary and so improve the harbour as to give us and our friends the same rate as they have in Wanganui or any similar kind of harbour, and so increase the prosperity of the localities to which I have referred, and, (I have no desire to eulogise my own action), I simply say I had a stupendous task to get the Bill brought to its present position and I hope, should I be placed in the position of doing so, that the culmination will be of the fullest satisfaction to those who have interested themselves in this great question. (Applause). Mr Stevens then spoke on other subjects outlined in his previous speeches. In reply to the question as to whether he was in favour ot giving every Chinaman ,£2OO to leave the country, Mr Stevens said: “I have to go back to 1881, and in that year Sir Win. P'ox eulogised the Chinese, and regarded them as being a very fine people, also proclaiming their civilisation to be of far greater antiquity Ilian ours, and was in favour of encouraging them to come to New Zealand. On that point I fought as hard as a political colt could, and it was on that point that the election was determined. I would not give the Chinese ,£2OO to go out of the country, but I ! d give them two pumpkins to take away with them and send every one out of the country (laughter) !” The Chairman paid a tribute to Mr Stevens, in connection with the Harbour Board Bill, after which Mr C. A, W. Hunt proposed, and Mr T. Bowe seconded, a vote of thanks and renewed confidence in Mr Stevens, which was carried unanimously and with acclamation. Mr Stevens suitably replied, and the usual vote to the chair terminated the meeting.

Mr Gardner, Independent candidate, will address the electors in the Masonic Hall, on Saturday evening next.

Mr John Stevens advertises dates of his addresses at Rongotea, Sandou, Oroua Bridge, and Tikorea.

Mr Byron Brown, candidate for Otaki, addressed a meeting at Moutoa last night, the full report of which will appear in our next issue.