MR. VOGEL'S RESOLUTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XI, Issue 3987, 22 August 1874, Page 3

MR. VOGEL'S RESOLUTIONS.

PAPAKURA MEETISC:. The public meeting of electors of Franklyn called by Mr. W. Goodfellow for Monday last, and adjourned till Wednesday afternoon, was resumed on that day. The sale had been a long one, and the showery weather made it an object with those whose homes were at a distance to take advantage of every bit of sunshine and daylight that remained at the conclusion of the sale, consequently the majority of the country settlers did not stop for the meeting. There was a fair attendance of the settlers of the district.

Mr. W. Kerb, of Springfield, being called to the chair, said : Fellow citizens, we are met this afternoon in obedience to a very natural request on the part of Mr. Joseph May, to consider and express our opinions on a very important question, and the ultimate consequences of which it was difficult to foresee. About the year lSf>G, some £ISO,OOO or £200,000 were voted by the Colonial Parliament to extinguish the native title over the land in the North Island, — the native title at that time being pretty nearly extinct over the Southern Island. In this same year it was also agreed that each province was to have the money arising from the sale of its laud at its own disposal, free from colonial charges aud free from colonial burdens. The £200,000 had been all spont, and little or nothing, so far as Auckland was concerned, had been done in the way of extinguishing the native title — millions of acres of land being still in the hands of the natives. In consequence of this, the South had an immense land revenue, Canterbury having in one year its coffers so full that it did not know what to do with the money, and the North had little or nothing of a land revenue, Auckland notably so. The Legislature, when freeing the lauds in ISSG from colonial burdens and colonial control, did not contemplate that the colony would undertake such heavy responsibilities and incur such heavy debts as it has since done, and consequently made no provision for that contingency. In ISSG the Customs revenue not only was sufficient to bear all colonial burdens and the interest and sinking fund of the half million loan, but left a surplus of from three to live-eighths of the gross amount, which surplus was divided amongst the provinces. But in process of time the burdens of the colony were increased, and the amount of surplus revenue diminished, until at the end of the year many provinces—-though the Colonial Government had received every penny of the money raised in them —yet they were in debt. Those provinces which had a land fund were able to make roads, railways, aud other works for the settlement of the people— notably Canterbury and Otago,—while those which had no land fund could do nothing towards opening up the country, and in the province of Auckland there were hundreds of good settlers living in the back country who had not even a track cut to their doors to enable them to get out from their holdings. For myself, I have long been in favour of the entire abolition of the provincial system throughout the colony, and the resumption by the colony of the whole of the waste lands as security for and means to pay the debts of the colony. But I cannot say lam in favour of the present proposal of the Premier. There is to my mind something more in it than appears on the surface, and it behoves us to watch lest we should be again outwitted as were our members in ISOO.

Mr. W. Hay, M.P.C., said the question had come upon them so suddenly, and they had had so little information supplied to them as to the intention of the Government if the resolutions were carried—in fact the resolutions were said to have originated in a fit of temper,—that he for one felt himself in a position of some difficulty, and he should most certainly hesitate before consenting to vote for the abolition of the province of Auckland. Auckland had been called a pauper province. Thathedenied. Herresourceswereimmense, but they were undeveloped, and there was a time when Auckland contributed three-fourths of the revenue of the whole colony. Even now she was the second largest contributor to the Customs, and wouM have been the first, but at the expense of u he whole colony population was being poured into the Southern provinces, and with the increase of population came an increase in the consumption of dutiable goods, and an increase of Customs revenue. The principal drawback to Auckland had been the native difficulty. The natives very early left th» South Island and settled in the North, and thanks to the Native Office and its hosts of officials difficulties arose, which if the natives had been left to deal with the settlers without the interference of the Native Office, would never have arisen. But for the Native Office we would never have had a tight with the natives, and would never have incurred a war debt, but the natives would have been peaceably cultivating their lands aud feeding us instead of our being compelled to light and feed them. It was folly to suppose that the General Government could or would look after the interests of this province better than they could do themselves, or that any saving in expense of Government, or reduction of taxation would ensue if the province were abolished. Had there been time it would be easy to shew by (igiires that the adoption of Mr. Vogcl's scheme would increase and not lessen the taxation of the people. While borrowed money Vas driving .ahead the Southern Island, aud the Premier was in a difficulty, it was certainly not the time for the province of Auckland to give up its all to the Government. If it did, judging from the past treatment it had received from the Colonial Government, it would, when the time came to pay back the borrowed money, be called upon to pay more than its share, and have less means of paying it. He would submit thefollowingresolution, as embodying his views on this matter: —"That the time has now come when provincial institutions should cease in both islands, and the whole of the land revenue should be appropriated to pay the interest of money borrowed by the colony ; but that until the whole of the provinces be abolished together we retain our present provincial system in the North Island."

Mr. James Bell, of Wairoa, seconded the motion in a brief speech. Mr. John McLejxan', of Kirikiri, said lie was not in the habit of addressing a public meeting, but would give his idea on the question before them. He thought that Mr. Vogel's idea of abolishing the provinces in the North Island was a good one, the idea of doing away with all the provinces a still better one, and he would support Mr. Vogel in doing that which was practical. It was practical to do away with the provinces in the North Island at once, but it was not so to do away with the provinces in the South Island. While agreeingwithMr. Hay inall he saidaboutthe native diltieulty, and the effect which it had had upon the prosperity of this province, ho was not blind to the fact that Auckland was emphatically a pauper province, dependent for existence upon a pittance which was got from the colony for it—a pittance which was doled out to it, and even that pittance could not be got until an account was given of what was done with the last, and what was proposed to be done with the fresh loan. Auckland had been literally starving, being supported for six months at a time by borrowing, and it was time that an end should be put to such a state of things. Mr. Hay and those who were with him were hardly ingenuous in this matter—they were in reality in favour of the existence of provincial institutions, while they were pretending to go in for their abolition. They knew, as well as he did, that to expect Canterbury and Otago to give up their .provincial institutions was absurd. These places had the means of supporting them, and the people did not want them abolished. JS T ot so with Auckland. What spectacle more pitiful than to see a number of men occupied for two or three months over a measure, and on its being sent to Wellington to be disallowed. After speaking in terms of the highest praise of the Education Act, 1572, lie said that in order to have the direct issue before the meeting he would move as an amendment, "That in the opinion of tin's meeting the provinces on the North Island should be done away with." Mr. D. Lindsay seconded the amendment.

A conversational and animated discussion then took place, as many as half-a-do/.eii persons being on their legs at once ; after which the amendment was put to the meeting and negatived, the original motion being also put and negatived, but as there seemed to have been some misunderstanding on the matter the questions were again put, and Mr. Hay's motion declared to be carried. Mr. J. B. Hay then moved, "That this meeting respectfully request the Government to open the Auckland and Waikato railway as far as Papakura when completed to that point, and that the secretary be requested to forward this resolution to the proper quarter." Seconded by Mr. Bkt.l, of Wairoa, and carried unanimously. On the motion of Mr. Bell it was resolved to re-form the I'apakura Agricultural Association, and many names of intending members were taken. Another meeting will be held in a month to form rules, &c. After a vote of thanks to the chairman the meeting broke up.