MASSACRE BAY ELECTION.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XX, Issue 14, 13 February 1861, Page 3

MASSACRE BAY ELECTION.

The nomination of candidates for this district took place at Collingwood, on January 31st. James Mackay, jun., Esq., Returning Officer, having read the writ, Mr. W. Gibbs came forward to propose W. T. L. Travers, Esq., as a fit and proper person to represent the district. He regretted that Mr. Travers had been obliged to go to Canterbury, and lie would therefore read Mr. Travers's address, which had been sent overland to him, explaining the cause of his absence, and stating his opinion on public affairs. He considered it to be a clear and lucid statement, and not to be misunderstood by any one. He agreed with the whole of it, and particularly that portion referring to the court of miues. He regretted the land was locked up, and so prevented an available source of revenue, and haviug himself proposed that some land should not be sold, he was sorry now he had done so, as he now saw his error. Mr. Travers was known to be a clearheaded man, and no doubt would serve them well.

Seconded by Mr. W. Schatee. Dr. A. Matthews had great pleasure in proposing William Long Wrey, Esq., of Nelson.as a fit and proper pei'son to represent the disUiet. Mr. Wrcy was a mineral surveyor, and, as such, would be able to understand the requirements of such a district. Seconded by Mr. J. W. Miles, who said that he knew Mr. Wrey was an old man, but he was long-headed. James Maceay, sen., Esq., had great pleasure in proposing Andrew J. Richmond, Esq., as a fit and proper person to represent the district, and, of the three persons contesting the honour, Mr. Richmond was the only one who was present to meet the electors. One gentleman could not come, as stated in his address, because he had to go to Canterbury oh special business [A Voice : Yes, to pick up a ten-pound fee.] ; the other was announced to bo on his way to the nomination, but had not arrived ; while Mr. Richmond had ridden overland to be present, and here he was to give any explanation of Ins views that might be required of him. He was sure the electors could not select a better representative than Mr. Richmond, and therefore he had come so great a distance, and at harvest time, too, to propose him to them. Mr. W. Lightband said lie had great pleasure in seconding Mr. Richmond, and, in doing so, begged to say that he considered the opinions held by Mr. Richmond to be such as would meet the views of all the diggers. He was sure Mr. Richmond would, if elected, represent them well and faithfully.

Mr. Richmond said: Gentlemen, I stand before you here to-day in accordance with a numerously signed requisition, requesting that I would allow myself to be nominated as a candidate to represent yo*i in the new parliament. lam deeply sensible of the honour conferred upon me, by the request that I should become the first representative which this district has sent to the House of Representatives ; , and must assure you tliat, if elected, no effort on my part shall be spared to develop the resources and advance the prosperity of your district. I feel, gentlemen, that a great responsibility is attached to the representation of this important district, which no man ought lightly to take upon himself, or without learning well what your requirements are: I have, with this object in view, gone over a great part of the gold-fields, and conversed with a large majority of the miners, and can now judge pretty accurately what policy ought to be pursued to place these gold-fields in that position which they ought long ere this to have attained, particularly when we consider that the export of gold from here is as great, if not greater, in proportion to the actual digging population, than that from any other gold-field hi the world. They therefore, gentlemen, only require a wise and a good government to advance their prosperity and to increase their population. One step towards gaining this end is to make tho regulations relative to holders of miners' rights as easy and as simple as possible, and that the taking out of the right should not be compulsory : by not making it so, you would give a greater facility to prospecting, to which the Government ought to assist by offering bonuses, either in money or additional claims. The power to amend these regulations and to make new ones as the necessity arises, and in order to avoid the delay of a reference to Auckland, lias been delegated by the Governor to your resident Commissioner ; and I feel confident, gentlemen, that as long as you retain your present Commissioner, Mr. Mackoy, you will bo fairly and justly dealt by, for I am sure he is ever willing and ready to hear from you any suggestions as to tho practical working of those regulations, and to amend them from time to time as the wants and requirements of the district and people have need. With reference, gentlemen, to the leases, I conceive no one is yet in a position to form a just opinion aa to how they will work, for until the leases are issued of course the leaseholders are not bound to fulfil the conditions/ I should, however, like so see everything done by the Government to encourage the introduction of enterprise, skill, and capital, but at the same time takiug every possible precaution aguuitsl

a monopoly of large tracts of country to the exclusion of the individual digger ; and I trust ere long to see numbers of these companies working hero, for, with their money, skill, and other appliances, they will doubtless work over much ground which at present would scarcely remunerate small parties of miners. Q-entlemcn, the next subject to which I wish to turn your attention is one 1 concehe to be of \ast importance to every class of your community, that is, the sale of agricultural lands. The only way in which this desirable object is to be at taincd is by introducing into Parliament an act to authorize the sale of waste lands in this district, which arc not auriferous. Now we all know that there is a vast amount of good agricultural laud scattered in blocks over the gold-fields, which contain no gold, or, if any, in such small quantities ns not to pay for working ; therefore, if these lands, instead of being shut up and perfectly useless ns they are at present, could be sold to the bomi fide settler only, at a price not exceeding ten shillings an acre, so as to place it within the reach of everyone, and after every precaution hud been taken by the Government to prove that it is not auriferous, what a boon it would be to the district, and what an advantage it would be to the digger who wished to settle down on a comfortable homestead, and, by growing his own articles of consumption, reduce greatly tho expense of living, and instead of having a roving population, here to-day and away to-morrow, without any permanent interest in the country, you would have a steady and a sure one. I think, gentlemen, that if a measure could be passed through the Legislature with this object in view, it would tend materially to advance your prosperity, and to increase your population, upon a sure and permanent foundation. I believe I have now gone into most of the subjects in which your are interested, and must ask you, gentlemen, to consider well, whether by your votes in this election, you show approval or disapproval in the administration of the General Government, who have the management of your affairs, and, in order to bring you to v just conclusion, you must bear in mind the condition the gold-fields were in when the General Government took them into their own hands : there were no law or order in the district, excepting what tho good sense and judgment of the diggers made for themselves. There were no miners' rights issued, no protection with respect to each others claims, no roads formed, no leases issued, on the contrary discouraged. In fact, there was nothing whatever done, excepting what you did amongst yourselves. On the other hand, I think few will deny that the General Government have done something to improve the neglected slate of things they found in existence when they took over the goldfields, and have established order and good government; they have issued miners' rights, and given protection to the holders ; they are about to issue leases and encourage the introduction of enterprise, skill, and capital ; they have made roads as far as their means allowed them, expending in twelve months upwards of £3,000 ; they have given every man, of the age of twenty-one, who has held a miner's right for three months previous to this election, a vote, in order that they may have a voice in the election of their own representative ; and they have in-

troduced other measures which tend to the further development and good government of these goldfields, and have recently established a weekly overland postal service between here and Nelson. You will,

therefore, gentlemen, have to consider well whether you would wish to see this Government, who liave done so much for you, and who are spending the whole of its surplus revenue raised in the district upon public works, displaced by the Wellington party, par-

ticularly when we are engaged in quelling this unfortunate native insurrection, which will take the utmost energy of tho Government to conduct to a successful issue, and who ought undoubtedly to be supported during this trying and critical time, in order that they may teach the natives a lesson wliich they will not easily forget, and put au end to these strifes for the future. I cannot think that any of you would vote for a man who intends to support a party in opposition to the present Government, whose policy is to patch up a hasty and hollow peace that cannot be lasting, and which would make us contemptible before the whole of the native race. It is my intention, if you return me as your representative, to support the present Government, for I approve of their general policy ; so that by recording your votc3 for me, you will not only strengthen their hands, but also mark your approval of their administration. I deeply regret that neither of my opponents in this election lias thought it expedient to come among you, so that by stating their policy, and replying to your questions, they might have given you that opportunity which you had every right to expect of judging which man you thought best suited to fulfil the duties of

your representative. LAo nob like to take any unfair advantage of the absence of my opponents, and will therefore say as little as I can about cither of them ; but I cannot allow an address, which I perceive has been largely circulated among you by Mr. Travers, to pass without some comment, containing as it does statements wliich have been so misrepresented and coloured as to have the tendency of misleading many of you. He states in his first paragraph that business of importance compels him to go to Canterbury, and that therefore he is unable to be present here on the day of nomination. I have no doubt that many of you remember that Mr. Travers has on previous occasions neglected to attend at elections when he offered liimself as a candidate. If he cannot fuliil his engagement with the electors now, will he bo

likely to attend to their interests after his election ? He may have important business about a brewery at Canterbury, or any other thing there or elsewhere, at the time when he ought to be attending to the interests of his constituents in the House of Representatives at Auckland. I believe he absented himself one session when he was formerly a member of that House for the Waimea district, and would not resign when the majority of the electors demanded that he should do so, or attend to his duties in the Assembly. In the second paragraph Mr. Travers alludes to the efforts he has made to assist the progress of your district, and therefore is entitled to your confidence and support. I would ask, gentlemen, what are tho

great efforts Mr Travers has made for this district. Can anyone tell me ? I imagine it must have been principally in endeavouring to find out the sections near Pakawau which had tlie mineral in them, and working hard to sell the same to tlie best advantage. Mr. Travers disapproves, in the fourth paragraph, of

the withdrawal of your district from the control of the Provincial Government, which has left you without any claim upou tho provincial funds for public works of necessity, whilst no other fund has been provided to meet your wants in this respect, therefore no such works aro being carried out, and your pittance of revenue is but barely sufficient to maintain a staff of officials whose sole duty appears to be to collect the means for paying their salaries. As to Mr. Travers disapproving of tho management of this district being withdrawn from the Provincial Government, it is the first I have heard of his disapproval, and it is generally believed that no person ever abused that Government more than himself, at the time they had the management of this district. As to this district being cut off from a share of provincial funds, in two or three years' time the provincial revenue at Nelson will be very small, as there will be no land for the Government to sell there ; and if there was, would the Provincial Government give you any share, as they had, previous to the General Government taking charge of the gold-fields, refused to place any more money on the estimates for public works in the district, saying it yielded them no revenue ; and if it had not been for tho guarantee of the General Government to repay the expenditure under that head, no money would have boon voted by tho Provincial Council of Nelson in its last session for public works in this district. Consequently, that expenditure is clearly owing to the General and not to tho Provincial Government. With respect to the salaries of

officials which are paid from the gold-fields revenue, your Resident Magistrate is not paid out of it, and I •believe tho police force are the only persons paid from that source; and one-half of their pay would bo i fairly chargeable to the Provincial Government, especially as I havo been informed that one-half of tho work done by them is for the Provincial Government. If, however, it can be proved that the police force is too large for the requirements of the district, it should certainly be reduced ; but you must consider that in the present disturbed state of tho native mind it would not be prudent that tho town should be left

unprotected at night. The police force should be no larger than absolutely necessary for the protection of life anil property, and thereby leave as largo a proportion as possible of the revenue arising from tlie gold-fields available for works of public utility within tho district . In the fifth paragraph, Mr. Travers thinks il due to you, if the goldfields are restored to the Provincial Government, to have some guarantee that the district would for the future be trented with thai degree of consideration which its importance deserves. Gentlemen, if tho management of the district was again vested in the Provincial Government, tlie electors would have no guarantee that anything would be done for its improvement. And with reference to the expenditure of moneys sanctioned by the Governor or Provincial Council, there can be no doubt but that this could be most profitably and economically done by the electors themselves, by appointing a local road board for the gold-fields. With respect to the sixth paragraph, Mr. Travel's is of opinion that your Resident Magis • trate has too great power vested in him, and that it is desirable that a Court of Miners should be at once established, so that the miners might have an opportunity of appeal from the very arbitrary authority which, under the existing law, may now be exercised over them. As to the powers held by the present Resident, Magistrate, and under which he issues rules and regulations, I understand Mr. Travers to mean that you should have a mining board, to make these rules and regulations yourselves : if elected, I shall be happy to back up any petition, asking for the cstab- ' lishmcnt of a raining board. I believe, however, it would not affect leasing of Crown Lands for gold mining purposes, tlie Governor having all to do with that. As to a Court of Miners, the Gold Fields Act docs not make any provision for the constitution of any such court. I, however, understand that a Wardens' Court has been proclaimed and appointed here, and that the Resident Magistrate is the judge of that court. And he will now have power to act with juries or assessors, which power he did not possess before as a Resident Magistrate only. It is to be expected that with juries formed of practical miners, material aid will be afforded to him, in deciding tho more intricate casc3 of dispute relative to gold mining. If there is any part of the goldfields law which appears too stringent or arbitrary. I trust you will bring it under my notice, if elected, so that I shall be able to do nry utmost to get it remedied. And if the officer in charge of the gold-fields has too great power, or abuses it, representation of this should be at once made, and steps taken to remedy the evil. I would, however, point out that if the officer in charge of the golcl-field3 had not a considerable amount of discretionary power, he would have to be constantly referring to whatever Government, either General or Provincial, had chargo of the "gold-fields." And it is doubtful whether those Governments would not be more likely to make mistakes than an officer, who, by observation and long residence in the district, should be now pretty well j acquainted with the ordinary gold mining operations, and with the requirements of the district. In tlie seventh paragraph, Mr. Travers thinks it desirable that encouragement should be given to the introduction of capital, and also thinks it necessary to place the strongest check upon any undue attempts at monopoly. I think, gentlemen, that every encouragement should be given to prospecting and exploring new gold fields, and to the introduction of capital to work those already discovered. No monopoly shoidd bo allowed, unless the Government received a corresponding advantage, and in all cases the terms and conditions under which a monopoly was granted should be most strictly enforced and adhered to. lamat a loss, however, to understand why Mr. Travers, in speaking about monopoly, is reported to be desirous of getting a monopoly of water, and a right to lead the same over a certain number of square miles of country, which favoured spot is to be free to all diggers, provided that they use no water other than that supplied by the water monopoly company. No monopoly here gentlemen, nothing arbitrary in this. If there is a natural stream inside the block, you must not imagine that you could share its waters ; the company alone are to have the right to lead water within their block, for tlie good of the digger. With reference to the eighth paragraph, Mr. Travel's holds with tho Government upon the war question, and hopes that no peace will be concluded until the natives have received such a lesson as will deter them from future rebellion. I must say that with this statement of Mr. Travers' s I entirely agree, and I would go farther, and suggest that when the war is terminated^ the Government should take stcp3 to bring every native under the English law, and not have, as at present, one law for the native and another for the Europwm. Until this is done, and strictly carried out, in my opinion we shall never be safe from the repetition of such conflicts as arc afc present talcing place at Tarauaki. Mr. Travers, in the ninth paragraph, approves generally of the proceedings (policy being too high a town) of the present Government, and would be prepared to support them. I cannot, gentlemen, understand Mr. Travers saying that lie approves of the proceedings of the Government, meaning, of course, their acts, and yet blaming them for taking the management of the gold-fields into their own hands. It is curious that although he does not consider their proceedings or acts worthy of so high a name as policy, he says he is preparod to support them. In conclusion, Mr. Travers states that, whether you elect him or not, he will not feel a whit the less interested in your district, and will still do his best to further the development of its resources. Now, gentlemen, you will perceive that the electors have everything to gain by electing any other person than Mr. Travers, as he promises to do all that he can for your district, whether elected or not ; so that if you return any other man, who will do something for you also, you will have two friends at court, as it is most probable that Mr. Travers' s object in going to Canterbury, instead of coming over to meet you here, U to endeavour to get elected for one of their vacant seats. Gentlemen, I think I have now almost tired you out, and therefore will conclude with many thanks for the patient and attentive heaving you have given me, and assure you, whether I am elected or not, I shall always feel gratified for the kindness 1 have received since I first came among you.

The polling took place on Moudiiy, the 7th instant, and its result was declared by tho Returning Officer to be as follows :— Richmond. Travers. Wrey. Collingwood . . . 60 . 33 . 3 Takaka . . • . 42 . 19 . 0 Motupipi . . 4 0.7 106 52 10 Fatal Accident. — We observe with regret in the Canterbury papers an account of an accident, through the capsizing of a boat, by which five lives were lost, on tlie coast between the Kaikora peninsula and the mouth of the Clarence river. The boat in question had been built for the Marlborough Govornment at Mr. Fyffe's station, for the purpose of being used as a ferry-boat near tho mouth of the Clarence, required for the overland mail to Canterbury, and was being taken from tho peninsula to the rher by Cuptain Kempthorne, of tlie schooner Randolph, assisted by Mr. llarwood, John Thompson, Joshua Miller (two men of colour), and John Roy, when tho accident occurred. Some natives who were on the coast, and were watching the boat, state, that when the boat had reached Mungamana, a point of land about half way, a disturbance appeared to take place in her, when all at once they lost sight of the men, but could see the boat. Being convinced that some accident must have occurred, they kept watch for the men, with a view to render what assistance they could. Miller's body i soon came on shore, and was quito Avarin when they j got him, and they did the best they could to restore animation, but without effect. Three other bodies were picked up by the Maoris the same evening, and , one, John Thonipson, tho following morning. The bodies were identified and interred by C. R. Jvcenc, Esq., abreast of the place where they were picked up. Captain Kcmpthomc has left a wife and three children to mourn his loas. Taizanatci Ikon Sand. — The Lyttellon Tones says : — " A private letter from England by last mail I convoys authentic intelligence of the value of tlie , Taranaki iron sand, in a commercial point of view. > ' It is found to make almost Iho best steel to bo got in

England. About ten tons of it had lately got into the himcU of a Sheffield firm, who had worked it up into all sorts of fine cutlery. The same firm expressed their willingness or rather their anxiety to have considerable quantities of the ore, and arrangements were being made by Captain Moreshead, vho took the first parcel home, to establish a smelting place at New Plymouth. There is life iv prospect for Taranaki, even after the war shall have done its worst."

Regulu'ions tor Rifle Practice.— At the request of Colonel Richmond, we publish tho following regimental order :--" Previous to the issue of the baU ammunition for private practice, tho LieutenantColonel Commanding is desirous of cautioning the Volunteers upon the necessity of guarding against uccidents. For the present, therefore, no private practice is to take place without a sergeant being present, whose duty it will be to see that the firing is conducted with regularity, and that the spectators are prevented from going to places where they may be exposed to danger. Too much caution cannot be observed while the men are inexperienced in the use of the rifle ; and in order more effectually to guard against accidents, the practice will be restricted to where the two targets are placed, viz., on the practice ground at the Matai, and on the Boulder bank." — M. Richmond, Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding."

Additional Tiioor-3 pob the Colony. — Information has been received at Auckland that the 64th Regiment, at Bombay, has been warned to hold itself in readiness for New Zealand ; and that the GovernorGeneral of India has received authority from the Horse Guards to send hither whatever force may be found requisite. This authority will be rendered much more practicable by the conclusion of the China war.

Motley. — An advertisement, to be found in our columns, announces that an entertainment called " Motley," wliich has for some time been exhibited in Canterbury, will shortly bo given in Nelson. To give our readers an idea of the nature of the entertainment in question, we copy the following notice of it from the Canterbury Standard: — "This entertainment, repeated last Thursday evening, seems to gain in popularity. Messrs. Hall and Martin display great versatility of talent, and their performances certainly seem to fascinate the public. It is something extraordinary in this capricious age, that two young men can, by their unaided exertions, succeed iv amusing for a continuous three hours large and fastidious audiences. Mr. Hall in his imitations of the characteristics of dramatic celebrities, evinced mimic power of high order. He will excuse us however for giving him this hint, \ha.k public men alone are public property. Mr. Martin may be said to have had tho direction of the musical and poetical department of the entertainment, and in both he acquitted himself admirably. His local song, "Diogenes," was witty without being offensive, and was sung with great effect, receiving the much merited applause of a well attended house." The entertainment is spoken equally well of by the Lyttelton Times.