Local Intelligence. ELECTION OF SUPERINTENDENT.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XVI, Issue XVI, 12 September 1857, Page 2

Local Intelligence. ELECTION OF SUPERINTENDENT.

On Monday last, the day appointed for the nomination of candidates for the office of Superintendent of the Province of Nelson, a considerable concourse of persons assembled in front of the Court House, where hustings had been erected. The Returning Officer, having read the writ, called on those who had candidates to propose to step forward. Mr, SaundebS, in rising to propose Mr. Robinson, said that he was sorry that the duty which devolved upon him rendered it necessary that he should make the first speech to be delivered from that hustings Ho would mush rather have been called upon for the last speech, as he always found it much easier to find fault with other persons' ideas than to originate anything from his own brain. He felt himself in a very different position now to that which he occupied at the last nomination day : he had then only to propose as a candidate Mr. Robinson the turner; he had now to propose) no less a personage than his honour the Superintendent. And although he did not think much more highly of Mr. Eobinson now, or feel much more overawed by his presence than he had done when Mr. Eobinson was only a turner, yet he felt that it would always be much more simple and easy to give a satisfactory account of the past conduct of a turner than it would ever be of the past conduct of a Superintendent. It was not, however, his intention to enter into any particulars of Mr. Robinson's official conduct — they were there to ask questions for themselves, and Mr. Robinson was there to answer them, and would, he knew, do so with the pleasure and with the frankness which must be the natural result of a conviction that he had at least honestly discharged the duties which they had committed to his care. Hs was convinced that, however much Mr. Eobinson had disappointed his opponents, he had not disappointed Ms friends ; he had not disappointed those who knew him by something more than report, and therefore looked upon him as likely to make an honest, able, impartial, and extremely prudent Superintendent ; although he had of coui'so greatly disappointed those who spoke of liim, and perhaps in some cases really believed him to be a physical-force chartist, a red republican, a man who would treat wealth as a crime, poverty as a merit j in fact, as the man who had turned the world upsidedown, and had come hither also. It is rather remarkable, after hearing such a character as this of Mr. Eobinson before his election, that the very first crime that was afterwards attributed to him by his arch opponent was, that he had not even turned his executive council upsidedown, but had retained in it a gentleman with such an ample waistcoat and such well-lined pockets as the gentleman who presided on the present occasion. And if he considered it necessary to offer any proof that Mr. Eobinson's conduct as Superintendent had been of the most irreproachable character, he would point them to the letters and speeches of his enemies ; he would point to the pitiable attempts that had been made to find fault with him by his numerous, vigilant, well-informed, and even talented opponents, both in the Provincial Council and out of it. Most of them would remember the great onslaught which was made upon Mr. Robinson on the first or second day that the Council met 5 and what was the great crime attributed to Mr. Eobinson in that highly- wrought speech of Dr. Monro ? Why, that either he (Mr. Saunders) or some one else, who had been Mr. Robinson's supporter, had said some mad-brained thing at a public dinner in "Waimea South. Another gentleman, who was certainly Mr. Robinson's most industrious enemy, went all the way from town to a large public meeting in Richmond for the purpose of informing the public that Mr. Robinson had been guilty of a gross act of neglect or contempt for the Provincial Council in not having paid any attention to a report of a select committee of that Council. But, although this was a meeting of country bumpkins, there were several persons in it who could tell this town gentleman that it was he himself who had been guilty of the gross neglect in not having correctly informed himself what that report really was j and the consequence was, that this very clever gentleman had to go all the way back to town with the rather unpleasant conviction that he had only shown his teetli without being able to bite, or even to scratch the Superintendent in the least. And then they had seen the grand attempt that was lately made in Waimea West to villify the Superintendent and to convince that constituency that Dr. Monro was not only the " village Hampden " of Waimea West, but also the Joseph Hume of our Provincial Council. That was such an awfully long speech, that he should frighten them if he were only to give them the least idea that he was going to comment upon the whole of it 5 but, by way of assuring them that he was not going to do that, he would begin very near the end of it. Towards the end of that speech Dr. Monro very truly says, " a man who says things to the electors which he does not believe to be entirely true gives the strongest proof of his contempt for them ;" and yet Dr. Monro, in that very speech, had given a strong proof of his contempt for the electors, by saying several things which he did not believe to be entirely true. After trying to throw censure upon the Superintendent for having taken the earliest possible opportunity to put an end to that shameful and extravagant expenditure upon an emigration agent in London, Dr. Monro says, " there are thousands of pounds available for immigration." No person knew better than Dr. Monro that the immigration commissioners are in debt ; that they owe £2,000 to the very Trust Board of which Dr. Monro is chairman ; and if he did not know, he might very easily have known, that when the last immigrant ship, the John Masterman, arrived, they had scarcely funds enough in hand to pay the Captain. But if Dr. Monro really thought that we had so many thousand pounds available for this or any other purpose, why did he, with all his great desire for economy, vote in favour of a bill for borrowing £29,000 at an interest of ten per cent, to help us through present emergencies ? In his anxiety to conceal the fact that, by getting Mr. Domett to do Dr. Muller's work in addition to his own, a saving of £300 had been effected, and that it was not the Superintendent's fault that it did not save £75 more, Dr. Monro says, " the salary of the Commissioner of Crown Lands was to be £300 j but, according to the statement of the Provincial Treasurer, it was arranged that if he would do the duty of secretary as well, he should have £400." This statement was, from beginning to end, incorrect : the Provincial Treasurer was present, and he would say in his presence, without fear of contradiction, that the Provincial Treasurer did not say anything of the sort ; on the contrary, the Land Commissioner's salary had previously been £400 a-year, and in the estimates sent down to the Council by the Superintendent it was proposed to combine the duties of the two offices with a salary of £325 pounds a-year; and he thought Dr. Monro must remember that Mr. Kelling remarked at the time that it was very strange to propose to give a man more work and less pay. The continuing this salary at £400 was entirely the act of the Provincial Council, although no one offered any objection to it, nor could they very consistently do so after the Superintendent's own salary had been raised to £150 more than he had himself proposed. Other evident attempts to misrepresent the Superintendent in that speech consist in the suppression of facts which ought, in common fairness, to have been stated. For instance, Dr. Monro says, that, " notwithstanding all professions and undertakings to reduce expenditure, he found Mr. Robinson's estimates for the present year only about £450 less than Mr. Stafford's had been for the previous year ;" but he did not tell his constituents that, in making these estimates, Mr. Robinson had to deal with salaries most of which had been increased during the previous year by the Provincial Council. And he, of course, takes great care not to say that any Superintendent who, with an increasing and wider-spread-ing population, had only gone so far as to put an entire stop to the great increase of expenditure which had taken place every other year, must have made a very decided stand on the side of economy. But even Dr. Monro' s very figures were incorrect ; and as Dr. Monro, as a member of the Council, had the printed estimates that were sent down to the Council by the Superintendent in his possession, he saw no excuse for their being so.

The remarks which Dr. Monro and one or two others continue to make about Mr. Robinson's ignorance wore too ridiculous to require any notice. It is a great mistake to suppose that such assertions are at all calculated to make the public believe that the 1 persons who make them are either very learned or very gentlemanly ; such accusations would never have been made by Sir Isaac Newton, and they would cert ainly never have been made by Lord Chesterfield. When Mr. Robinson was less known, it was natural that illiberal and narrow-minded men should take it for granted that a turner must be an ignorant man ; but to continue such remarks after Mr. Robinson had become so well known as he now is, reflected as little credit upon their heads as it always had done upon their hearts.? | Throughout the whole of his long speech, Dr. Monro appears to have presumed that his audience would swallow anything he said to them, and in it he had shown as much contempt for the electors of this province as he lately showed for their representatives in the Council, when he told them that a greater number of persons were in the habit of crossing the Wairau river than any other river in this province. This speech, as well as several which Dr. Monro made in the Council last session, betrayed the most ungenerous anxiety to find some fault with Mr. Robinson, and prove the very remarkable absence of even the slightest blunder that he could by any possibility detect upon which to found some overwhelming attack. They would agree with him that there must be a very great 'dearth of anything to find fault with when clever men are driven to make such miserable attempts as these. When doctors and lawyers, after displaying the greatest possible desire to annihilate a a poor turner, can say nothing more than this against liis administration, the only conclusion they could come to was that that turner must be a very remarkable and a very faultless man. He had told them perhaps somewhat too briefly, at the first nomination of Mr. Robinson, that one principal reason why he preferred Mr. Robinson for Superintendent to any other person was, that Mr. Robinson was one of the very few men of education and ability in this province who was entirely unconnected with a certain party which had hitherto monopolized all power, privilege, and patronage in this place, and which, as might be expected under such circumstances, had sometimes used the power, which they believed themselves to hold so firmly, to the benefit of themselves at the expense of the community as a whole. In attempting, to illustrate this position, he happened to mention wine, dancing, and songs, and Dr. Monro afterwards very adroitly tried to make them believe that he spoke against Dr. Monro and this party because they had not debarred themselves from these indulgences. They would, therefore, perhaps excuse him i£ he entered a little more at length into this question, and endeavoured to express his opinions upon it in such a way that they should not be quite so easily misrepresented. He need not, of course, trouble them with the origin and history of the party he had spoken of — that would, indeed, be a very long affair. In its early formation, it was principally, though not entirely,, confined to original land purchasers ; it was formed without design, and was indeed the natural result of the association of persons of kindred ideas, of similar education, of mutual interests, and perhaps more than all, of a certain uniformity of opinion as to the great importance of drawing a very distinct line of demarcation between those who had held a pen and those who had held a plough, between those who had lived upon a pension and those who had earned their own living, between those who professed to trace their pedigree at least as far as the Norman conquest and those whodid not know who their great-grandfather may have been. This distinction soon became much more necessary, because after we had been here a few years we all became all alike poor. They all knew how hard it was to be poor and to look poor, and would therefore readily understand how much the poverty of those who were so fortunate as to be connected with thisassociation was alleviated by a perfect understanding which they came to that they would always call each other gentlemen. From this circumstance the association soon became au object of the utmost attraction, and, m fact, those who belonged to it were relieved from more than half the sting of poverty. It was, of course, very easy to put up with such trifling inconveniences as having to wear sack trowsers and to live upon a short allowance of potatoes, so long as every one wrote "Hon." or "Esqr." before or after their name. The great desire that wa3 now exhibited to belong to this association, and, as a consequence, to> come in for a share of these honours, gave to the majority of this society a very laughable, but still a very formidable power. Few persons had the moral courage to do what they believed to be right, if by so doing they would incur the displeasure of this combination, and by many this threat of excommunication was as much dreaded as was ever the excommunication of the Pope himself. By the unity of action which they could thus command, they soon became omnipotent upon all political questions; they sent whoever they pleased to advise our Governor 5 they chose whoever they pleased for the Nominee Council ; the Justices of the Peace were all nominated by them, and this was a power that they greatly abused, to the lasting injury and disgrace of this province, some persons having been appointed whose intellects would have disgraced a lunatic asylum, and others whose conduct, both before and after their appointment, had often disgraced a pot-house. Beardless boys, who had not cut their wisdom-teeth, and who would hardly be trusted as umpires at a donkey race, have too frequently been allowed to sit on a bench of justice, and to degrade a position which Englishmen should be taught to look up to with respect. The power of this party has been but very slightly checked by the operation of the Constitution Act, for although they had not had everything quite their own way in the election of a Superintendent, they had sent a very large majority to the Provincial Council, and in the House of Representatives they had been altogether unopposed, at least so far as the Nelson members are concerned. But in speaking then of what he called the Nelson supper-party, he hoped he should not be misunderstood, although of course he expected to be misrepresented, and knew very well he should be talked of presently as if bis only desire was to set the working classes against the gentlemen. This party was no doubt the natural and almost inevitable consequence in so small a community as tins of the common false idea of respectability, and the universal desire which everywhere exists to be ranked amongst the great folks. Socially he had very little objection to it, but in a political sense he looked upon it as a dangerous obstacle to real representation, and one that should be very carefully watched. If any small party is to be allowed to nominate representatives for the whole community, the interest of that party, and that party only, will be cared for, to the neglect of all other portions of the community. This would not be the mere probable, but the natural and the inevitable result ; and then the only good to be obtained by the cumbersome and exponsive machinery of representative institutions, and the great object of every good government— the greatest good of the greatest number— would be altogether defeated. Nothing could bo further from his intention than to hold up the members of this party to censure as wrongheaded and wrong-hearted individuals ; on the contrary, he knew it to contain many of the best heads and best hearts too that we have amongst us j and indeed he felt himself under considerable obligation to them for the very good-tempered manner in which they had so often allowed him to find fault with them. But with so many runholdevs present, he would not be expected to sit down without saying something about them and their runs. Dr. Monro had lately told them that this was a subject which he (Mr. Saunders) always approached very cautiously, and always attacked at a very convenient and respecttul distance. But the fact was, that any subject that Dr. Monro took up so warmly as he did that one, and which was so sure to call down the whole force of his long guns upon the assailants, required to be attacked with extreme caution by any of those who only earned popguns, and had no wish to be altogether annihilated. When a London sharper has been detected and is being pursued, he always cnes out stop thief" louder than any of his pursuers, for the purpose of deceiving those who might otherwise assist to arrest his progress- and these runholders m the Wairau, after having very nicely feath*^d their own nests, and had their own way about evwy land regulation that was ever framed, and every fkrthing spent in the Wairau that they ever had the conscience to ask for, have lately published ill their own paper, the Examiner,

a memorial which they intend to send to their own Prime Minister, Mr. Stafford, in which they state that they, poor things, have been very hardly used ; that they have no voice in our Provincial Government ; and, in short, that they are not represented at all. Ho was sure that any of them who had read that memorial must have felt very great compassion for the memorialists, especially when they recollected that about one-half of the members of our Provincial Council arc actual runholders — that the other half consists largely of runholdew' brothers and run-holders' agents, who always voted with them— that tho only paper? that criticises, and prompts, and reports that Council's proceedings just as it pleases, is the property of a run-holder ; that until very lately the Superintendent was a run-holder ; that tho prime minister who allows or disallows their acts is a run-holder ; and if they would add to this the fact that both in tho House of Representatives and the Legislative Assembly run-holders can command any majority that they please, they would soon sec what great cause these run-holders had to complain of the very shameful manner in which they have been unrepresented. But, lest Dr. Monro should still think that ho was attacking this subject at too great a distance, or speaking of it in too general terms, he would gratify the Doctor by entering somewhat minutely into the conduct of these run-holders and their assistants in the Provincial Council in connection with the most important bill that was passed during the last session. As these run-holders hold their runs at present upon terms which are as wholly unobjectionable to them as they are wholly unprofitable to the public, they are determined that any new land regulations shall be just what thoy think proper to dictate, or else, by getting every bill either thrown out or disallowed, tlwy will retain secure and undisturbed possession of the land upon the present terms ; and therefore, when Mr. Robinson sends a land bill down to the Council which would have obliged these gentlemen to have paid a little something for their runs towards the interest of the money that we have to pay for them, it was of course vilified and opposed by them. On the second reading, Mr. Elliott made a long speech against it, in which he said that it would be the height of imprudence to sell land so low as half-a-crown an acre, when the General Government would bo very likely to require us to pay over to them a larger sum than that for every acre that we sold. But when the bill came into committeo, Mr. Elliott changed his tack, and said half-a-crown was far too high for a mininum price ; and, as an illustration, he said that a great part of his j own run would be very dear indeed at one shilling an acre, although for some particular reason, which he did not very satisfactorily explain, he intimated that he would bo willing to give a shilling an acre for it, provided he could be allowed eighteen years to pay for it. He (Mr. Saunders) supposed that this was not tho same run which Mr. Elliott was now advertising as being «o well grassed, and for keeping mares on, for which he is going to charge five shillings per head per week. Only three mares kept on it at this rate for eighteen yeara 7 woulcl pay ot * ° run of fourteen thousand ncr-es. , Bui when Dr. Monro came back ftom. his visit to Otago, where his own acute intellect had certainly lost nothing, although it was scarcely possible for it to gain much even by coming in contact with the Scotch run-holders of that settlement, the Doctor instantly caw a much less transparent scheme for reducing the minimum price of the runs. He brought in a long string of resolutions, in which, after descanting very eloquently upon " justice," " a regard for the interests 1 of the province- generally," "local self government," and so on, he rather abruptly proposed " that onehalf at least of the gross proceeds of" all land to be ' hereafter sold should be spent in the district in which ' that land was sold ; or, in other words, that one-half at least of the mere nominal sum which these gentlemen were likely to pay for their runs should be returned to them in the shape of roads, bridges, and other improvements upon their runs. They would not understand the richness of this proposition unless they paid particular attention to the word "gro33;" it was not any particular share of the net proceeds of the land sales that was to be spent in this way — that might be something and it might be nothing, and therefore Dr. Monro proposed that we should pay the New Zealand Company's debt how we could ; that a large portion of the heavy expenses of Surveyors, of Land Commissioner, of clerks, offices, and General Government deductions should be paid out of our pockets, so that these poor unrepresented run-holders in the Wairau should have at least half their one shilling or two shillings and sixpence an acre returned to them in the shape of improvements upon their own land. But there was one thing that puzzled these run-holders in tho Council very much 5 indeed it was the greatost difficulty they had ever met with, and it was one that must be got over, or elae the lowest possible minimum price would do them no good. In the land regulations which these run-holders had themselves dictated only last year, they had given the power of assessing the land to the Superintendent, never dreaming but that the Superintendent would always be a run-holder, or at least a member of the Nelson supper party. But as the electors had now thrust a Superintendent upon them who was neither tho one or the other, the case was sadly altered, and therefore the manner of assessing the land must be altered too. In the absence of Dr. Monro, Dr. Rcnwick got the Speaker added to the Superintendent and Land Commissioner aB a Waste Land Board, but when Dr. Monro came back, he soon saw that this still left far too much power in the hands of this " mere mechanic " of a Superintendent, and without mincing the matter in the least, he boldly proposed that the run-holders themselves should value any land they thought proper to purchase; i.e., he proposed that the runs should be valued by three persons ; one of them to be appointed by the run-holders as a body ; another to be appointed by tho Provincial Council, which " wa3 the run-holders over again, undor another name ; and then the third poor nine pin was to be appointed by the Superintendent. This would have been much the same tiling, 83 if he were to walk into one of their stores, and to say, " I want a bag of sugar, but I won't pay what you aßk for it, we will have it valued by three persons, I will appoint two of them, and you one, and then let the price be decided by a majority." But whilst this proposition was on the notice paper, a sudden change came over the dream ; all notices of motion were dropped; those who had been all anxiety suddenly became all indifference; the Government were told to do what they liked with the bill, and that tho runholders would take no further notice of it. At first, whilst this bill was passing through the Council, the runholders considered it of so much importance that they regularly invited all their supporters to meet them at the Trafalgar Hotel, where they gave them good advice, and sent them down to the Council so thoroughly instructed that it was not the least use to oppose in that cold hall anything that had been agreed upon in the warm apartments of that very comfortable establishment. But all at once those of us who had not been behind the curtains were very much surprised at seeing Mr. Elliott get up in what looked like a ministerial capacity, and announce to the Council, on behalf of the Trafalgar Hotel meetings, that they would give the Government leave to annul all their amendments, and to return tho bill to any shape they pleased, and that the great We would offer no further Opposition. This happened on the evening after a slight shock of an earthquake had disturbed them in their deliberations at the Trafalgar Hotel, and, being quite unable to assign any other reason, ho had been simple enough to suppose that tho earthquake had aroused some of their slumbering consciences, and induced them to withdraw propositions which could only have originated with those whose consciences had been very sound asleep. But circumstances which had since come to light had led him to tliink that this was very likely done in consequence of the runholders having been assured by their very powerful friends in Auckland, that unless tho Waste Lands Bill waa everything that a runholder's heart could desire, it should never be permitted to become law. It was usual for the proposer of one candidate to bo in a position to express an opinion upon other candidates that were to be brought forward in opposition, but as no public announcement had been made of any other candidate, and as no one but Mr. Robinson was even now on the hustings avowedly in that capacity, he could of course say nothing about any one else ; and as he had already trespassed so very Jong upon their patience, it was perhaps as well that he should be disappointed of what to him was often the longest and always the oasicst part of a hustings' speech.

Mr. J. Carter seconded the nomination of Mr. Robinson. Mi*. Ki. Burn said that he had a gentleman to nominate who was well known to all the electors — that gentleman was John Waring Saxton, Esq. — a gentleman whose character was so well known that it needed no comment. He (Mr. Burn) would only inform the electors, in confidence, that he had ascertained that Mr. Saxton would stand if nominated. Mr. Chin& seconded the nomination of Mr. Saxton. Mr. J. P. Robinson, who on rising was received with loud cheers, said he had the honour of again appearing before them at the request of a largo number of his brother electors as a candidate for the superin tendency. When he appeared in the same capacity in October last, ho stated it was no feeling of vanity or ambition that prompted him to aspire to that important office. What he stated then he could repeat on the present occasion with equal sincerity. Had it not been for the requisition which appeared in the Examine)' of last Saturdny, he should not have been there on the present occasion ; the absence of it would have led him to believe that the electors of this province had succeeded in finding one from amongst their number better able to serve them than he was, and equally willing honestly and fearlessly to do so. Ho did not receive the requisition until Thursday last, and was informed the reason why it did not reach him earlier arose from the desire of some of his friends that the excuse made on a late occasion, when a similar requisition was presented, to him, containing many more signatures, he believed, than were ever previously attached to any political requisition within this province, that it wag not to be taken as evidence that he would receive the support of a majority of the electors. He differed in opinion from those who expressed that view of the subject, for few persons knew the character of the men of Nelson better than he did, and he was satisfied that if those men had determined to use their b(ftt endeavours to procure his election he should be elected. The result proved that he was not mistaken. Some of his more immediate friends appeared to have made up their minds that there should be less doubt on the present occasion ; therefore they had obtained well on towards three times the number, and lie felt assured that if the present requisitionists were equally sincere and determined as the previous ones, and he had no reason to doubt them, the result of the picscnt contest would be quite as favourable, if not more so, than the last. He considered the last election formed an epoch in our political history. The men who strove hard and contributed much towards the erection of our political temple, if he might be permitted to use a simile, were quite content to let it receive the finish to its beauty and support from columns of the Corinthian order only ; but when, in the course of events, the first column was removed, and an attempt made to replace it by another of the same order, which was believed to have but little sympathy with those who had contributed so largely towards its erection, the people had an objection to Hie proposed column } b)jef iiaii % in fact % a susjji- < cion that it was like many other columns of the present clay, made for ornament rather than use, being built hollow and not of solid masonry, and although well plastered and made beautiful to the eyo, they were not inclined to trust their edifice to so uncertain a support. Not being able to procui*e a pillar of the Corinthian order, after much consideration, they had thought fit to choose from another to fill the vacancy ; in fact, to descend from the ideal to the reality, they had selected himself, although he scarcely knew under what order of architecture ho should be designated, yet, as he had received a considerable amount of support from his friend Mr. Saunders, who was sometimes known under the cognomen of " Molarius," he might perhaps be considered as belonging to the Tuscan (Tuskan) order [laughter]. The Constitution Act was framed, not for the benefit of any class in particular, but for the benefit of all ; yet no sooner did its legitimate results exhibit themselves in the people claiming to exercise their undoubted right, than a furious outcry was raised from north to soutli ; and he was at one time apprehensive that attempts would be made to deprive them of their political privileges. But that fear had now passed away : the giant knew his strength, he had burst the green withes by which he was bound, and no poh'tical Delilah would be permitted to shave his locks, and deprive him of his strength to do battle in the cause of freedom ; nor would the soft cajolery of Whigs, the coarse dragooning of Tories, or the hollow and deceitful promises of Pseudo-radicals, avail against the determined wishes of the people [hear, hear]. It had been made a charge against himself and others that they were opposed to education ; but he denied such a charge. No person had a higher regard for intellectual attainments than he had ; but education was a somewhat vague term, and consisted of something more than mere book learning ; and it was not because, as an old friend of his, now no more, had said, a man had two names for a wheelbarrow — one that everybody understood, and the other that scarcely anybody but himself understood — that he was to be looked upon as a man of education. But to the man of intellectual acquirements, who exercised his talents in promoting the welfare of Ms fellow-creatures, he ever had and always should entertain the highest respect [hear, hear]. It had lately been asserted that he had on a former occasion made a charge against two gentleman of the present Executive with attempting to introduce immigrants for the sole purpose of reducing the rate of wages. The truth of such an assertion he most emphatically denied ; and if the gentleman who had made the assertion had reflected for one moment, he would have been aware of the utter absurdity of making such a charge, inasmuch as the two gentlemen of the Executive were merely the instruments of carrying into effect such laws and regulations as might be passed by the Provincial Council. If there was any blame in the matter, it would rather apply to the members of the I'rovincial Council who had voted money for such a purpose. But ho had found fault, when a member of the Council, with the scheme for conducting immigration, which he considered to be far too expensive in proportion to the means at our disposal. Had he been disposed, however, he could have named one, who, judging from hi 3 antecedents, might fairly be accused of supporting the introduction of immigrants for such a purpose ; one who in former times, on the cessation of the New Zealand Company's works, had objected to a portion of the starving people being assisted to leave this settlement for places where their labour was in demand [hear, hear]. Another charge had been brought against him by the same gentleman, to the effect that ho had dismissed the Immigration Agent, and permitted him to walk about the streets of London for six months with his hands in his pockets, at the expense of the goodnatured people of Nelson. It was true that he had dismissed the Agent, as he had found, on assuming office, that there wore no funds in existence for promoting immigration, and he had therefore taken the precaution of at once stopping all unnecessary expenditure. It was no fault of 1m tha f , the Agent was allowed to go about with his hands in hit, pockets, inasmuch as an agreement had been entered into by the former Government and the Agent that ho should have six months' notice previous to dismissal. He (Mr. Robinson) was at a loss to know how the gentleman to whom he had previously referred could assert that there were thousands of pounds available for immigration at the time the Agent had received notice of dismissal, for the province was then, and now is, indebted to the Trust Funds Board to the amount of £2,000 ; and the assertion made by Mr. Saunders that, at the time of the arrival of the last body of immigrants by the John Masterman, there were scarcely funds sufficient to pay for the passages of those immigrants, was quite correct. He remembered how the gentleman to whom he had referred had held up to the scorn and contempt of the settlers of Nelson the gentleman who had just been proposed to them as a candidate, for making a statement with reference to the appointment of a person to object to unqualified claimants on the Trust Funds Electoral Roll, which he supposed was not strictly correct ; how he was surprised and humiliated at Mr. Saxton's statement. What, he would ask, were the gentleman's feelings when he made that statement to the electors of Waimea West, which was notoriously bo devoid of truth ? And, still more, what must have beenhis feelings when he coolly sat down and committed to paper, for publication, the same statement [hear, hear] ? Another charge brought against him (Mr. Robinson) was, that he had been instrumental in inflicting a great injury on this province, by the course

he had taken in reference to the New Zealand Company's Land Claimants Act. It was necessary that he should explain a little in detail what ho really did do on that occasion. At a meeting called in the Court House about six or seven years ago, by a portion of the resident land purchasers, he happened to be present some time after the proceedings had commenced, and finding that an attempt was being made to induce the men of Nelson to become instrumental in doing what he considered to be an act of positive injustice to the absentee land owners, he advised the people not to be a party to such a proceeding. It was known to most of those present, that the Now Zealand Company had, in forming this settlement, sold land both to intending residents and absentees ; but the number of the former was so insignificant, that the whole of the proceeds of the land sold to them would have been scarcely sufficient to have defrayed the expenses of the first expedition ship, and of making the road along the beach. Therefore, had it not been for funds procured from the absentee land purchasers, it is very questionable whether the settlement of Nelson would have been formed to this day. The resident land owners having claimed compensation in consequence of the New Zealand Company not having fulfilled its engagements with them, it was after some time awarded to them to a much larger extent than many of them expected, or than many of them deserved. But they never invited the people of Nelson to give an opinion as to the justness of their claim. Yet, having obtained a large amount of compensation themselves, no sooner did Sir G. Grey pass an act to give equal justice to the absentees, than they called a meeting of the public of Nelson to condemn such a measure. He did advise the people at that meeting not to be a party to so gross an act of injustice to those who were not present to defend themselves ; and if the people acted on his advice find rejected the propositions which were submitted to them on that occasion, they had clone that which reflected credit on them, and saved the province from disgrace [hear, hear], no believed he had given offence to some at the meeting who were fond of attaching the name of land-sharks to the purchasers of land in another province, when ho told them he had seen sharks in Tasman's Gulf with quite as large stomachs as any he had seen in the Gulf of Shouraki [hear, hear]. He would not trouble his hearers with any lengthy remarks upon the Waste Lands Bill : if it had been made law, he believed that it would have been highly beneficial to the province, and the land revenue might have been increased thereby to the amount of £18,000 or £20,000 a year, which would have made it quite unnecessary to have borrowed money. No private gentleman would go to the expense of borrowing money when he had plenty of property on which to raise funds. The reasons given by tho General Government for dissallowing the bill were not at all satisfactory. He was at a loss to understand how a measure, which in all probability would raise the territorial revenue to above three times the present amount, could injuriously affect the security to be offered by the General Government ; and as lie nncUivstQQd tMd CllQ (jOTCraOimG Of Weilington were making free grants of land to immigrants who paid their passage to that province, a course which he considered to be very prudent and calculated to promote its prosperity, it would be a question for their representatives in the General Assembly to inquire how the General Government can give their sanction to a law making free grants of land in one province, while the sale of land on credit was not permitted in another. In Auckland, also, he believed, laud still continued to be sold on credit : and in Australia the question was now occupying the public attention, not only in reference to a reduction in price, but also, whether land should not be sold there on credit. And he bolioved that those colonies would make the greatest progress, that offered the greatest facilities to tho acquisition of land by the bona fide settler [hear, hear]. Another reason urged by the General Government why the Waste Lands Bill should not become law, was, that there was no provision in it to prevent speculators from buying the whole of our gold fields ; whereas, so far from such being the case, a clause had been specially introduced for the purpose of meeting the case, and empowering the Government to withdraw from sale at any time all such land as that alluded to. In conclusion, he could assure them that all he had done was with the view to advance the general interest of the province, without having respect to any particular class or party ; that, if again elected, he should pursue the same course, without being influenced by the smiles or frowns of any one. He had always looked upon the Constitution Act as intended to benefit the whole community, and not merely a section of it. He should ever feel sincerely grateful to them for the unsolicited honour they had already conferred upon him in having promoted him to his present high position, without putting him to one farthing expense, and what was equally pleasing to him, was to know that the last election was conducted without the slightest attempt on the part of his friends, either to bribe or coerce a single elector. His supporters had shown a spirit of independence and purity, seldom met with in the annals of electioneering ; let them pursue the same honourable course on the present occasion, and they would become patterns for the world. He trusted if any one attempted to influence their honest intentions by the offer of a single glass of ale, they would scorn the offer, and throw it under their feet [cheorsj. Dr. Moneo, who was received with cheering, said — Gentlemen, I am afraid that you are pretty well tired by this time. The previous speakers have occupied your attention at considerable length, and have not been so brilliant as on former occasions. For my part, I had no intention of addressing you ; but I have been so pointedly referred to, and indeed attacked, by Mr. Saunders and Mr. Robinson, that, standing before a body of Englishmen, I think it quite unnecessary for me to ask your permission to say a few words in self-defence [cheers]. There has been great mention of my name to-day, gentlemen, upon these hustings. I dare say you have been quite sick of hearing it. But, really, had it not been for the texts which I have furnished to Mr. Robinson and his backer, I do not know what they would have found to say. For during all this time that they have been talking to you, instead of telling you what Mr. Robinson had done for the benefit of us all, or what he intended to do if again elected, they have been firing off their great guns and their pop-guns at me, with a view to extinguishing me altogether [laughter]. In this respect, gentlemen, I consider that I have been of some service to you. I have supplied your orators with a theme to discourse upon; I have furnished them with tho pegs whereon to hang their periods ; and I have succeeded in stirring xip the surface of that treacherous and delusive calm which has lately glassed over the outer surface of our provincial politics. I have made certain gentlemen very angry, and have called forth from them indignant and strong words, and what I say now will excite feelings of opposition and contest among those who hear me. But, in ventilation and free discussion, even to certain gentlemen in strife, is the living principle of free constitutions, and better, ten thousand times better, a noisy public meeting, with its conflict of opinions maintained on one side and stoutly denied on the other, and the irritation arising out of them, than the deathlike stillness of that level, motionless, and lifeless dead sea towards which we appeared to be lapsing [cheers]. Now, in any observations that I have to make upon Mr. Robinson, I wish this to be distinctly understood, that of Mr. Robinson's private character it is not my intention to speak. lam willing to concede to that gentleman the possession of many estimable private qualities. But as Mr. Robinson is now something more than a private individual, as he has filled, and aspires again to fill, the highest and most honoured office in our province, I claim the right to speak of his public conduct, and it is my duty as an elector to examine it openly and fearlessly, more particularly at the present juncture. In doing this, I am sorry to say I have received very little assistance from Mr. Robinson himself, or from Mr. Saunders. I did expect to hear from these gentlemen of the great benefits which the province had derived from Mr. Robinson's administration during the last nine months ; but, as they have not told us what these are, I suppose like myself they have had great difficulty in discovering them [laughter]. It appears, however, that we must take it for granted that important services have been rendered ; for Mr. Robinson, in his speech, has with great modesty compared himself to one of the "pillars of the Constitution" [laughter]. And although Mr. Robinson seemed to have some doubts a<> to the style of architecture to

which he belonged, I believe the present audience will have little difficulty in recognising him as a fine and graceful specimen of the Rustic Order [laughter]. There is another celebrated pillar of which Mr. Robinson reminds me. I dare say there are some Scotchmen among my audience who may have seen the celebrated "Prentice Pillar" of Roslin Chapel.! What do you say, gentlemen, if we style Mr. Robinson in future the " Prentice Pillar" of the New Zealand Constitution [great laughter] ? But though Mr. Robinson considers himself so much in the light of a prop to our institutions, and although he talks so much about his impartiality, his absence of class feeling, and his desire to do even-handed justice, I believe he is entirely unfitted to be entrusted with the principal share in the conduct of public business ; and I do moreover believe that he is deeply penetrated with a class feeling which unfits him for a position which ought to be exempt from all such paltry influences. In support of this, I will only ask you to observe Mr. Robinson's language on the hustings to-day. You hear him speak, and lie speaks of one party which he terms " the people," meaning thereby I know not what, unless it be those who are possessed of the minimum of property and education. As for the others, as to those who have been long enough in the country, and industrious and intelligent enough to at. quire some property, or who have brought property with them, or have had tho advantage of superior education, they are evidently, in Mr. Robinson's estimation, something else — they are not of the people. Now, gentlemen, is this not gro93 nonsense ? Is it not something much worse ? Is it not most mischievous ? Is not the man who talks to you in this way sowing dissensions in our community, and introducing class differences and feelings of an injurious and contemptible character, for which there is no real foundation ? For what are the real facts of the case ? You know, as well as I can tell you, that in this country there is one law for all ; that there are no privileges and no distinctions ; that there is a clear field and no favour for every one ; and that the road to independence and even political distinction is open to every man who has industry, intelligence, good information, and public spirit. But to hear Mr. Robinson speak, you could only infer that no sooner would a man rise in the world, and acquire an independence than he would cease to be one of the "people," and would pass into an order of mon to bo regarded with suspicion, if not aversion, by all who were not so well off. The man who holds such sentiments as these is not the man to place in the highest office. Opinions such as these, if generally diffused and acted upon, would destroy tho comfort, the harmony, even the material prosperity of any country. They would render it weak and divided at home, contemptible abroad. We want for Superintendent a man free from those prejudices: a man who will know no distinctions ; who will consider us all to be, what in fact we are, " the people " of this province, and strive to promote our common prosperity, and unite tiro effovts of all fov the common good [cheers]. I will now address myself to one of the charges which Mr. Robinson has made against me, that of putting words into his mouth which he did not use, namely, when I charged him with saying on the hustings last year that the Immigration Commissioners conducted immigration solely with a view to the reduction of wages. Mr. Robinson has denied to-day upon the hustings that he said so. I say here, in the face of you all, and in the face of Mr. Robinson, that he did say so ; and I appeal, with tho most entire confidence, to every one who was present lust year for the complete accuracy of my assertion, Mr. Robinson's words last year, and I have a pretty distinct recollection of them, were to the following effect. He asked the electors present, "if they were stupid enough to believe that the immigration to this province had been conducted with any view to its real welfare or the welfare of the immigrants themselves. No ; immigration had been conducted solely with a view to the reduction of wages " [hear, hear]. It looks rather suspicious that thi3 statement of mine, if untrue, should not have been contradicted before. I have made it twice already publicly : the first time about ten months ago in the newspaper, and again in the Provincial Council, and now, for the first time, it is denied [hear, hear]. As to tho other charge which has been brought against me, that I said that there were thousands of pounds available for immigration, and that this is not correct. All I have to say about it is this : that, living in the country, I have not the same access to documents which people living in the town have, nor the same opportunity of verifying my figures. The statement which I made was founded upon my recollection of a return presented to the Provincial Council last session, by which it appeared, so far as my memory serves me, that between £3,000 and £1,000 were due for the passage money of immigrants, and some of it overdue. I may perhaps have unwittingly overstated the amount at the disposal of the Provincial Government, and, if so, I shall have no hesitation in admitting myself to be in the wrong in that respect. That there is, or ought to be, money at the disposal of the Provincial Government for immigration, that is, if they have taken any steps to collect it, I believe to be an undoubted fact, and I shall feel it my duty to ascertain what the precise amount is. But, a3 to the plea that immigration was to be stopped because the province had borrowed £2,000 from the Trust Funds, why, it is quite childish. There is the province most anxious to get into debt ; wants to borrow something like £30,000 ; and is the meaning of this, that when the province is in debt we are to shut up shop, and have neither Superintendent nor Provincial Council [laughter]? Why, if every one who is in debt in it was to shut up shop, we might leave the country at once. There is the Steam Association— that is in debt to the Trust Funds. They had better stop running their steamer. There is hardly a public body in the country that's not in debt ; and yet they go on. And as to poor old England, with its 800 millions, by this rule sho ought to have been, like the Auckland Provincial Council, in a state of " dead-lock " for the last 200 years [hear, hear]. Mr. Robinson has also upon the present occasion raked up the question of the 3crip and compensation to absentees, a question which, if he had any wisdom, he would have abstained from touching ; for the remarks which he has just delivered himself of clearly prove that even to the present day he does not in the least understand its true nature. The resident land purchasers never denied the right of the absentees to compensation ; on the contrary, they provided a scheme by which all were entitled to compensation, whether resident or absentee. But when that scheme had been agreed to by all the parties interested (and it has been declared by the lawyers of the Crown in England to bo a binding contract), they did dispute the justice and the legality of the proceedings of the Legislative Council of New Zealand in setting that contract aside. The result of that act of the Legislative Council has been, that there has been issued in this province about £70,000 worth of scrip, with which the best land of the province has been in many instances specuMively absorbed. If Mr. Robinson had had less class feeling, or less temerity, or less zeal in his pursuit of " cheap land," this would not have happened [hear, hear]. But Mr. Robinson rushed in, and persuaded the working men that with this scrip they would all get cheap land. It was no use asserting the contrary. No one who pointed out the clearly foreseen results was listened to. Mr. Robinson triumphed, and what has been the result ? The working man discovered, when it was too late, that the promised boon was a delusion, that the scrip increased immensely the advantage to the capitalist, that the land rapidly disappeared, that the province lost its real estate, and received in exchange for it shin-plasters. That much abused body, the resident land purchasers, did what they could to prevent this, but in vain ; and the consequence has been, that the province has lost between £70,000 ahd £80,000 by a man meddling with a subject which he did not then understand, and of which he is to the present day all but profoundly ignorant [hear, hear, and cheers]. I shall now, gentlemen, say a few words about Mr. Saunders. That gentleman, if lie will allow me to call him such, prides lumself, I believe, upon his consistency, and upon an uncompromising and occasionally very unpleasant honesty of speech and purpose. These, at all events, are the characteristics by which it seems that he wishes to be distinguished. But how does Mr. Saunders reconcile it with anything like consistency, that lie is on the hustings to-day to nominate Mr. Robinson ? I will read to you, gentlemen, what Mr. Saunders said upon the last occa-

sion, when I stood on these hustings a candidate for your suffrages. "Another objection which lie had to Dr. Monro was the position he would occupy with reference to our only paper : the Editor of that paper having brought him forward, would be sure to defend him (as he did his last man) through thick and thin, whether he was right or wrong. He meant no insult to Mr. Elliott : his position as the Editor of an only paper was one of peculiar difficulty j and he (Mr. Saunders) was bound to say that he believed that fciv person 3 would conduct an only paper with greater fairness upon the whole than Mr. Elliott conducted his." I may observe here, in passing, that with all ', Mr. Saunders' apparent roughness, lie is a great master of soft soap [loud laughter]. There are few persons who, when he has a mind to do it, can introduce a little "sawder" more cleverly than Mr. Saunders ; it contrasts so well with the general current of roughness. But, for my part, I had ten times rather any day be bullied by Mr. Saunders ou these hustings, than I'd be softsoaped by him [loud laughter]. To go on, however, with Mr. Saunders' last year's speech. " But having said that Dr. Monro was the best man, he will always be anxious to prove that he was right, and will certainly not put himself out of the way to show us his faults ; whereas if Mr. Robinson is elected, he would pounce down upon the slightest error he may commit with the eye of a vulture, and show it up in its very worst light long before ho had half a chance to commit another. This would be a wholesome check upon Mr. Robinson, or any other person who maybe Superintendent, and is one of the most important duties of an Editor, although it is one which the Editor of the Nelson Examiner has of late very much neglected." Now, gentlemen, I ask you, such being Mr. Saunders' recorded opinions, how can he consistently support Mr. Robinson ? For what are the facts of the case ? Why, is it not notorious that the Examiner is at present edited by* Mr. Robinson's Provincial Secretary [hear, hear] ? Nobody, gentlemen, can admire more than I do the style of many of the leading articles in cur paper, nor more entirely concur in the views there advocated. They are a credit to our province. But still, gentlemen, our newspaper is not what it ought to be. It is not political enough. It does not tell us what is going on. It does not maintain that vigilant watchfulness over the conduct of public business, which is one of the chief duties and responsibilities of the press. Nor, can it ever be expected to do this, while its leading articles are written by a member of the Executive [hear, hear]. The " wholesome check " in fact to which Mr. Saunders attached so much importance, when it was to bring another man to his bearings, is wanting in the present instance, and yet Mr. Saunders can reconcile it to his conscience to propose for Superintendent a man who will pursue an un watched career. At the present moment, gentlemen, there are things going on in this province, which, not one elector in 500 knows anything about. Is my audience, for instance, aware, that in consequence of some bungling on the part of the Executive, it has been found necessnry to charter a vessel specially to take up to Auckland for the Governor's assent, the Bills of the last session of the Provincial Council, and that if, through some accident, these should not be assented to before the 20th of this month, three-fourths of the legislation of the Provincial Council will fall to the ground, and the province have been put to a very great expense without any return ? Is my audience aware that the public accounts of the province have not been audited ? Is my audience aware that no steps are taken to collect the Education rate, and that the Central Board has in consequence to beg for subsidies from the Ordinary Revenue, upon the continuance of which no reliance can be placed ? There may be other matters of equal importance to the public interests, with regard to which we know nothing. But there are three at all events of which we have heard nothing in the columns of the Examiner [hear, hear]. As to Mr. Saunders' other inconsistencies and fallacies, really they are so gratuitous, so numerous, and frequently so absurd, that I will not attempt to follow him into them. But, before ending, I will address a few words to the working men. In the first place, then : I say it is an injury to the province, to elect a working man to the office of Superintendent [uproar and cries of no no, and yes, yes]. You may make as much noise as you please, but clamour won't alter the truth, and I will explain to you what I mean by-and-by. But if, for special purposes, the working men of the province find, it absolutely necessary for the protection of what they may consider their peculiar interests to elect a working man as Superintendent, they should take care to stipulate that they are to have an Executive Council, also composed of working men. Otherwise, it is an inconsistency, almost an absurdity. The general interests suffer, and yet the particular object is not accomplished. Now, the course of events after Mr. Robinson was elected has really been most extraordinary. For, seeing the feeling which governed his election and the condemnation of everything that had been done before, and of everybody concerned in it, we might certainly have expected to have seen a very different Executive. Thus, for instance, we might have expected to have seen an Executive of something of the following composition ; say, Mr. Isacc Hill, Prime Minister [laughter] ; and — whom shall we say for Treasurer — perhaps, Mr. Rankin [great laughter]. As to the Provincial Solicitor, there might have been a puzzle, because it is not quite so easy to make a lawyer, as it is a politician, or a Superintendent ; but what would have been done under the circumstances, would have been to select the lawyer who had the least of the characteristics of that despicable animal — a gentleman — about him. Had this been done, there would have been consistency at all events ; and something like unity of purpose. But what an absurdity it is for a working man Superintendent to call to liis councils such a man as Mr. Poynter, for instance, who has filled heaven knows how many offices, and is ready to fill heaven knows how many more ; or Mr. Adams, the Provincial Solicitor, by whose advice and assistance tho province was brought to the verge of a crisis ; or, lastly, Mr. Domett, the right hand man of a despotic Governor, the man whom the Constitutional Associaciation of Wellington assailed with all their energy, as the great opponent of the introduction of free institutions. Is there any sense in such a combination as this? Why, if an old woman wanted to sweeten her tea, she might as well put in first a nob of sugar, and then a spoonful of vinegar ; if a farmer wanted a good crop of hay, he might just as well sow three bushels of dock seed, and one of rye-grass ; or if a earner wanted to take a heavy load to market over bad roads, he might just as well yoke up to his wagon four horses, one of them a bolter and three of them jibbers [great laughter]. I say, gentlemen, let's have no shams of that sort. Let us have one tiling or the other, and something like system and principle [hear, hear]. I said before, gentlemen, that it was a loss to the province to have a workingman for Superintendent. If you had a workingraan's Executive also, there might be some sense in it, because you might attain your object ; but when you have an Executive of " aristocrats," you are paying a high price for the empty and merely nominal honour, that is, honour in your estimation, of having a workingman in the highest seat. Now, I will tell you what that loss is. In the first place, people elsewhere do not understand placing the management of the most important affairs of a society in the hands of uneducated and inexperienced men. So that, in the second place, the society which does so, sinks in estimation, and is regarded with great suspicion. And then come 3, in the third place, a loss of public credit [hear, hear]. To show you that lam not dealing in unsupported assertion, I will read you an extract from a letter I have recently received. The writer is a gentleman well known hero and connected with one of the largest moneyed corporations in thispart of the world, and has been already concerned innegotiating loans for New Zcalai.di lam not at liberty to give his name, as the letter is a private one ; but if desired, I have no objection to show the letter to the Editor of the paper, who can vouch for its authenticity. Some time ago, when the Provincial Council was considering its Debenture Bill, I wrote to this gentleman to know what chance there was of the province obtaining money. The reply I received was as follows : — " Nelson really wants to borrow ; I dare say you may get what you want, but your Superintendent will require to go about it in a proper way. It will not be so easily got as it has been by either Auckland or Wellington. Both tl>e bank and the people at home arc becoming puzzled with these loans : they really cannot understand these divided provinces, and I think they will boggle with such a man as you have

|at the head of affairs. Really, I don't think it will do. Ido not fancy such a loan myself, and scarcely I feel inclined to recommend it. But, go in yourself I and try ; I will willingly lend a hand. It is really becoming quite a farce, this system of borrowing. It would be much better to authorize the General Government to borrow for all, if it could be done, and secure over the lands and revenue of New Zealand." Such, gentlemen, are the views unreservedly expressed of one of tho shrewdest men of business in this part of the world, and well acquainted with New Zealand and this province. The present election, gentlemen, is an important event, and calculated to exercise a considerable influence over our position and pro3pect3 for the next four yeara. For, looking to the great sources of wealth which have baen recently discovered, we are warranted in anticipating a remarkable increase in our material progress, a very large addition to our population, and a corresponding responsibility upon the shoulders of those who have to frame and mould our laws so as to suit rapidly growing and changing conditions. There are two candidates now nominated, Mr. Robinson and Mr. Saxton, The latter I consider the preferable man of the two. I believe him to be a man of greater information; of more knowledge of public matters; wider and more catholic in his views ; calculated to deal more justly with the varied interests of our society ; but, above all, free from the influence of a small political clique who at present pull the strings, and wield indirectly a political power justified neither by education nor position [hear, hear]. Mr. Saxton is a man who, in various capacities, has done gratuitous service to the peeple of this province ; he is kind in disposition, conciliatory in his manners, and has an important and permanent stake in the prosperity of the province I turn to Mr. Robinson's requisition, and what do I find there ? The names undoubtedly of many earnest, worthy, and well-meaning men. But I slioidd rather say, what names do I not find there ? Ido not find in the whole list a single magistrate ; I see the name of only one professional man ; I do not see the name of 0110 of our principal merchants, and find the names of very few persons of property or education. What will be the effect, I ask you electors of Nelson, of choosing a man to be your Superintendent upon such a requisition as that ? You will exhibit yourselves to the world in the light of a community distracted and divided — one class of society arrayed against the other, upon the grounds of paltry jealousy and imaginary distinction. And you will be regarded with contempt and suspicion, because it will be seen that everything that men elsewhore delight to honour — and honour themselves in honouring — character, learning, station, moderation, and devotion to the public service, are to be borno down and overwhelmed by the mere force of numbers, and appeals to some of the least noble desires and sentiments of our nature. Ido not believe that you will do thi3, for not- only would you thus defeat tho object we have all in view, but you will really by such a course imperil tixo very- e^cisfcenee of our institution 3 [hear, heat I ]. I have spoken earnestly to you, gentlemen, as the importance of the occasion appeared to demand. I have now only to thank you for the courtesy with which you have heard me, and to say, finally, reflect well upon what you are doing, and be true to the good cause [cheering]. Mr. Mackay asked Mr. Robin3on: Will you remain at your duties in the province, and not leavo them for a seat in the General Assembly ? Mr. Robinson replied that he had no reason to alter his former pledge, that if elected to the Superintendency he would not leave the province, or undertake any other duties that did not properly belong to the office. Mr. Saundeks suggested tliat Mr. Burn, as the proposer of Mr. Saxton, should reply to Mr. Mackay' s questions [laughter]. Mr. Bttbn declined that honour. Mr. Mackay : Have you arranged with the Land Commissioner, who is now also Provincial Secretary, to remain at his post, and consequently resign his seat in tho House of Representatives. Mr. Robinson replied that he had made no such arrangement. ' Mr. Mackay: The Waste Lands Bill of last session having been disallowed, do you purpose submitting another land bill to the Provincial Council. Mr. Robinson replied that, if elected, he did intend to do so. Mr. Mackay ; Do you consider that, under the Deputy Superintendents Act of 1856, it would be necessary or prudent that the new Provincial Council should meet immediately after the elections, in order to elect a Speaker, so that in case of any calamity happening to the Superintendent (which God forbid) the province should not be without some legal head of affairs? Mr. Robinson replied in the affirmative. Mr. Babnett here stood up, and after reminding Mr. Mackay that it was " heavy weather," inquired after that gentleman's umbrella [laughter]. Mr. Mackay asked Mr. JRobinson: Have you established a register of attendance of the office staff, including heads of departments, having a book for that purpose to be signed by them at the hour they come to their duties ? Mr, Robinson : No. Mr. Mackay : Do you intend doing so ? Mr. Robinson saw no necessity for such a .course; at present, Mr. Mackay : Have you any objection to state the reason of Dr. Muller's throwing up his appointment of Provincial Secretary some time ago ? Mr. Robinson replied that he had no objection to* do so. It would be remembered by most persons present at the last nomination, that he had been then asked if he would allow the public servants to have holidays. He had stated, in reply, that he had tto objection to them having holidays, provided they did not interfere with the performance of their duties j but that, if they did take holidays, the value of the time so taken should be deducted from their salaries . He considered that a pledge was given lc the public ; and on the occasion referred to, Mr. Muller ha-ving been absent from his duties for his own pleasure and convenience, he had considered it his duty to refuse to pay for time so spent j and in consequence Mr. Muller resigned his appointment [hear, hear]. Mr. Mackay : From your ten months' experience in office, do you not think that it would be better that the Executive Officers Bill was repealed, and tho whole responsibility of action thrown on the Superintendent ? Mr. Robinson was not prepared at so short a notice to give an answer to such a question. Mr. Mackay : I 3 there not some inconvenience to the public service, by the offices of Land Commissioner and Provincial Secretary being held by the same person ? Mr. Robinson was not aware that any public inconvenience had resulted from such an arrangement. Mr. Mackay : Has not Mr. Greenfield been sent down to the Aniuri to value the land purchased of the Government by Mr. William Robinson j and will you state upon whose recommendation he was sent j and where he gained a knowledge of the value of such a variety of country as Mr. Robinson hae a right of choice over ? Mr. Robinson thought that such a question was going too far into detail to be answered on the present occasion. Mr. Mackay: Having spared Mr. Greenfield so long away from the Provincial Secretary's department, could he not be spared altogether ? Mr. Silcock here remarked that it looked very much like a dodge to try and bind one party by these questions, while the other candidate was absent [cheers]. An uproar ensued, in the midst of which Mr. Mackay attempted to repeat his question, but waa received with groans and cries of "shut up;" so thut that gentleman was obliged to abandon the remainder of his catechism, which, we believe, consisted in all of 34 questions. A show of hands was taken, and declared to be in favour of Mr. Robinson, and the announcement was received with loud cheer 3. Messrs. Travors, Moore, Aitken, Ching, Monro, and Burn demanded a poll in favour of Mr. Saxton. A vote of thanks to the Returning Officer, and a suitable reply by that gentleman, concluded the proceedings.