The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1866. MR. OSWALD CURTIS AT THE PROVINCIAL HALL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 202, 27 October 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1866. MR. OSWALD CURTIS AT THE PROVINCIAL HALL.

Last evening Mr. Oswald Curtis, M.H.R., met the electors in the Provincial Hall. The room -was not filled, but a good number of Mr. Cuvtis's supporters were present. On the motion of the Sheriff, Mr. N. Edwards was called to the chair. The chairman said he was glad and proud to meet Mr. Curtis on that occasion. For the last four months he had devoted his time, energy, and talents in the General Assembly, to his duties as a representative, and he was certain of his ability to give a fair and satisfactory explanation of Ids conduct in the House. As chairman he would be happy to find the meeting support him in keeping order and giving Mr. Curtis that fair hearing which was due to him as a member and to those present as his constituents. He would call on Mr. Curtis to address the meeting.

Mr. Curtis ivas "".veil received on rising to address the audience. He said he had availed himself of the earliest opportunity that had presented itself since the close of the Assembly to address his constituents. It was desirable they should be informed of his conduct as their member, and especially as the reports given in the newspapers at Wellington, were of the most meagre kind, and frequently incorrect, so much so that the people here could form but a vague idea of what actually occurred. The question of reporting the debates was one of the first things the Assembly attended to. A committee was appointed to negotiate with the proprietors of the YVellington papers, for the production of a report of the proceedings, not a verbatim report, but one that; would b« fair and full, The committee suggested the newspapers should be subsidised for this purpose to the extent of £1,500, for which sum they agreed to give a full report of the proceedings and send slips and extra copies to the other papers. This proposal did not find favor on the ground that it was too large a sum to be spent for the purpose, and to feed the vanity of a class of members who liked to see themselves in print. He considered it important to the members and the country that a full report should be given, as only then could the electors be informed of the reasons assigned by members for supporting or opposing various measures; a thing as necessary for them to know as the division list that followed'the debate. Such information would have tended to remove many misunderstandings that occurred, and do away with the dissatisfaction which arose from imperfect knowledge. He thought money for such a purpose was well expended, and voted for the motion (cheers). Another suggestion was for the Government to employ a reporting staff', but Avant of time and expense Avere urged as objections to it, and it was resolved to make no change for the preseut. It Avas desirable to glance at the position of affairs Avhen the Assembly met. There were 25 or 30 new members in the House, and as a consequence there was no organization or cohesion except Avith the members of Auckland province, and partially with those of Otago. The 15 Auckland members expressed their determination to vote for separation, and separation of some kind Avas advocated by half the members of Otago, and some from the other provinces. Independently of this there Avas no organised party in the House. The Weld party Avere waiting to see the course of events, and the Ministry seemed disposed to introduce no new important measure. They confined themselves to laying on the table a mass of documents and long bills of no particular interest, including reports from Magistrates, the Civil Service Commission, despatches from the Home to the Colonial Government, &c. The chief thing done Aras appointing committees Avhich the Ministry moved for they being anxious apparently to avoid the responsibility of any important measure. It Avas clear that nothing Avould be done by them till the financial statement was made, and it Avas seen how Mr Stafford had redeemed his pledge, as to saving a large sum on the Weld estimates, by which the latter Avas defeated and the former raised to office. The House was in doubt lnnr to act till this important fact was ascertained. It Avas Auckland that showed the first fight, Mr Wliittaker moving his resolution in favor of separation from the rest of the colony, and the establishment of an Assembly and the appointment of a Lieutenant-Governor of its oavii. This was the first battle, the debate extending over six or seven days; being conducted with great ability and spirit, and resulting in the total defeat of the Auckland party. Tavo amendments Avere moved, the one by Mr Dick, to extend to the rest of the colony what was claimed by Auckland, each province to have its Assembly and Lieutenant Governor, and make its own laAvswith the exception of Customs duties, postal arrangements, appointments of judges and other officers. The other amendment Avas by Mr C. Ward, someAvhat resembling the first, allowing the North Island to have its oavii Assembly and leaving the South Island to do as it liked, most likely with the idea that the South Island would become one province, with the scat" ot Government at Canterbury. Both the amendments were negatived and the original resolution defeated by a majority of two to one. vThe member said he opposed the motions, and assigned various reasons for so doing. He said having explained his vicavs • on general politics at

the last election, he would not go further into them now. The next interesting. feature in the House was the recognised -weakness of the Stafford Ministry and the discovering of the fact that Mr Stafford was in fact the Government. This was apparent on questions being asked in reference to matters of the merest detail in connection with the departments, such as the appointment of a, tidewaiter in one province or the dismissal of a subordinate clerk in another, the nonpayment of the salary of a third. Mr Stafford was always ready with an answer, and in fact knew the history of every officer (laughter). This acquaintance with details showed the house that Mr Stafford was the Government, and must be at the head of any Government that might be formed. Anxiety was felt when Mr Jollie came to make his financial statement, to what extent Mr Stafford had saved the promised £240,000 on the Weld estimates. What was 'disclosed on this subject? Nothing ; the house was left absolutely in the dark; not a word was spoken respecting it. There was no reference to the pledge of saving expenditure or any statement that a saving had been effected, and to this day he (Mr C.) did not know. The accounts were kept in such a peculiar manner that he could never distinguish one set of accounts from another. He saw that the Government wanted just as much money to spend as heretofore, and that there was the same necessity of obtaining a revenue to meet the expenditure as ever, but as to the saving of £240,000 there was nothing to show it; and if there was any saving it was on a small scale in the departments, such as cutting down the salaries of subordinate clerks, sometimes in a judicious, but frequently in an injudicious manner. The alterations proposed by Mr Jollie in the customs tariff were not of a material kind, but the duties on stamps, bondod warehouses, and postal matters were all in the direction of additional taxation. It was evident that the failure to pay the provinces their three-eighths of customs would provoke a conflict, it being no sooner announced than all the Superintendents of provinces in the House and ths officials connected with them manifested their opposition at once ; the threatened imposition of taxation with no allusion to the £240,000 was sure to provoke discontent. Mr Fitzgerald moved a series of amendments, the first of which regretted the saving had not been made, which was superseded -by that of Mr Moorhouse, that the House had no confidence in the Ministry, whom it was determined to eject on a vote of want of confidence. He (Mr Curtis) regretted that the debate was not allowed to go. on on Mr Fitzgerald's resolutions, that the fact of the saving* of £240,000 might be discussed and the House and country informed iiow the matter stood, as well as the decision of the House be expressed by a resolution. The House expressed its opinion 47 to 14, showing by a majority of So, that it had no confidence in the Stafford Ministry, ami intimating to Mr Stafford that he should form another Ministry with himself at the head. Mr Moorhouse, although sent for was obliged to defer to Mr Stafford, who proceeded to construct a Ministry from his own and the Weld party, having overcome the difficulties arising from difference of opinion and annoyance at losing their scats in the Weld Ministry. It was clear no Ministry could be formed without a combination of the two parties. It was accordingly formed and included Mr Stafford, as Premier, Messrs Eichardson, Richmond, and Fitzherbert, of the Weld party, Mr Hall and two of Mr Stafford's former associates, Colonel Haul tain and Mr Johnstone.

Mr Curtis said, during the late sitting of the Assembly 19 bills were thrown out, and 82 passed, lie had not a list of them, but he would no dee some of the features of the most important of them. The Partnership Law Amendment; Act permitted persons to advance money and receive remuneration from the profits without being responsible for the acts of the partnership. The Indictable Offences Amendment Act originated in the Maungatapu murders. Tlie Government wanted to remove the prisoners to Wellington, but found a legal difficulty in, doing so. Por this purpose they brought in a bill, but at the request of the Nelson members reconsidered their decision, and under the peculiar circumstances decided to try the prisoners

Mr Curtis went on to observe that the financial statement of Mr Fitzherbcrt was nearly the same as the first as to additional taxation. It differed in reference to the three-eighths to the provinces, and proposed to raise the money by cutting down the defence estimates £70,000, and raising .£150,000 by treasury bills to defray the cost of the war to the extent that the balance of the £3,000,000 loan was found insufficient to meet the expenditure. He (Mr C.) would have preferred to see a diminution of the three-eighths to the imposition of fresh taxation. The Ministry made the stamp duties a leading feature in^ their policy, whilst he and a great_ number _ of members were opposed to fresh taxation, thinking it better that the provinces should be deprived of a small sum, and that as the Gereral Government was pinched, the provinces should suffer a little inconvenience also. However, the Government resolved to stand by their measure, and he and many others voted for it, although they did not approve of it. In reference to stamp duties themselves, if taxation was necessary to meet the current expenditure, he thought them as good as any other tax. They were easy of collection, did not press heavy on the community, were small in amount and were not more inconvenient than other taxes. The Ministry took their stand on the measure, not only on the ground that it was desirable to pay the provinces in full, but because it was desirable to blend direct with indirect taxation, as was the case in England. On this point he agreed with them, though averse to an increase of taxation at the present "time. The measure was carried by a majority, as well as the tariff, tax on bonded warehouses, letters and newspapers, all of which would soon be in operation.

at Nelson, and appointed a commission to do so at once. By the Act persons indicted for a criminal offence might he now removed to other provinces for trial. The Criminal Law Procedure Act introduced some new regulations in reference to witnesses, enabling grand juries to swear them instead of their being sworn in open Court as at present. The Districts Courts Jurisdiction Extension Act, extended the powers of Courts from £] 00 to £200. He was not certain that the extension was a henefit. The Military Pensions Act, providedfor disabled colonial soldiers who had been wounded in battle. It did not apply to the regular troops. It also made provision for the wives and children of those killed, on a small scale of payment. The Building and Land Societies Act was a good one. It consolidated existing Acts. He was the means of introducing a new clause altering the quorum of the committee from two-thirds to one-half, as well as other improvements. The Trade Marks Act regulated the marks on goods like the brands on cattle, and punished the fraudulent use of marks. The Act for preventing the adulteration of food was of a questionable kind. As most of the food was imported from England, it was not possible to know what was and what was not adulterated. He thought the arrangement for analysing the food was not good, as it would not be possible to find competent analysts in every province. It would have been better to have one analyst to whom samples could be sent, and he should reside at the seat of Government. The Vagrant Act was an important one, and originated with the recent occurrences in Nelson province. It permitted the apprehension of buspected criminals; persons without visible means of support, whom it subjected to three months imprisonment; imprisoned habitual drunkards; arrested persons out late at night without a reason; and punished persons using deleterious drugs and assuming disguises. The bill was warmly and ably opposed, on account of its alleged oppressive nature. It was contended that it might be unlawfully used, and be made an instrument of tyranny. He supported it, thinking it better to rely on the discretion of constables and magistrates, and that a few persons should suffer the inconvenience of unlawful apprehension rather than the lives of any should be sacrificed for want of due precaution (cheers). The Protection of Certain Animals Bill was of a suspicious kind. Persons were not allowed to shoot imported game without taking out a five-pound license, the funds to go to the Acclimatisation Societies for the importation of more animals. He thought the old Act preferable, which allowed persons to shoot under the sanction of the provincial authorities. An Act like this might in time turn to game laws, which, it was well known, were a nursery for crime in the old country (diners). The Gold-fields Act Consolidation Act he knew little about. It was the work of a Committee of all the gold-fields members, _in whose hands it was left. ¥ew knew much about it, and he knew but little. The Privileges Act originated in the peculiar circumstances of the Speaker, .Sir David Momo, being summoned to attend the court of Picton for 10s 6d, which he disputed. The house considered it an incovenience and an affront that its members should be taken away while it was sitting, and appointed a committee to bring in a bill which provided that no member should be summoned during the sitting of the Assembly. He thought the bill went too "far. as in England, although members of Parliament were free from arrest, they were liable to civil actions and their property could be seized. He (Mr Curtis) suggested that power should be given to change the venue in such a case, to the place where the Assembly was sitting. The Lunatics Act Amendment Act, and the Debtors and Creditors Act Amendment Act, were useful ones. A motion to repeal the Acts of 1862-1865 was carried by a majority of one. The new bill was technically different and he and liis friend drew some clauses, one transferred the powers to the Judges of the District Courts, and Resident Magistrates _ when there was no resident judge, on proper application being made. This would be a remedy for the delays which occur when a Judge of Supreme Court visits a, s>lace only once in six months. Another clause did away with trustees, unless the creditors wished them, and gave power to the inspector to administer the estate. In estates of not more than £500, the creditors to be empowered to authorise the inspector to wind it up. The Nelson, Cobden, and Westport Eailway Act, they all took an interest in (cheers). He thought the Government would introduce a measure and as they did not he did. The clauses as drawn by the AttorneyGeneral proved inoperative, he suggested alterations, and the measure was referred to twenty of the Waste Lands Committee, who on investigation would not recommend the house to pass it. The Nelson members communicated with all the members of influence, went on, and determined to go to a secondjreading, notwithstanding the opposition of the Committee. The bill at last passed both housed There was a strong prejudice against it on account of the assumed value of the land. The Canterbury and Otago members fell into the error of thinking 10,000 acres per mile of land as rich and valuable as theirs were to be exchanged for railway purposes. The Nelson members explained to all these members, who then withdrew their opposition and the measure passed. The railwar had only advanced one step however. It had enabled the Provincial Government to negotiate with any contractors who might be willing to take the land. Great difficulties lay before us, but none, he thought, that perseverance and determination would not eventually overcome (applause). The Distillatioh Prohibition Ordinance Amendment Act allowed colonial distilleries to work at Bs. per gallon as against 12s. per gallon on imported spirits. "Mr. Curtis went on to comment on the rejected bills. The remainder of our report must be postponed till Monday. He spoke an hour and a half, and received the thanks of the meeting for the explanation lie gave oi his conduct in the House.