THE GENERAL ELECTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4418, 11 January 1876, Page 3

THE GENERAL ELECTIONS.

WAITEMATA.—NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES.

The nomination for this district took place in the Devonport Hall, North Shore. Th»r« w«re four candidates : Dr. Walter Lee, J. S. Macfarlane, Thomas Henderson, William John Hurst, Esqs.

At noon precisely the Returning- Officer (Colonel Balaeavis) read the writ authorising the election to be holden at that place and Mr. Walter McCaul proposed the gentleman whom he considered the best of the four candidates, Dr. Lee. (Cheers.) He believed Dr. Lee to bo the most outspoken and independent man among the electors. Dr. Lee did not lag behind to see how the "cat jumped." That gentleman did not hold with the hound and run with the hare. Dr. Lee was one of the first to come forward; he did not wait to see whether the cat jumped this way or that, but came straight forward to the electors. Mr. Brasses seconded the nomination of Dr. Lee. Whatever men were sent down should be men bound to unity. Dr. Lee was one of those who induced Sir George Grey to come back to political life. Dr. Lee had been a member of the Assembly once before. He (Mr. Brassey) was sorry to mention a circumstance which ought to be explained. He found that three of the candidates had chartered a ferry steamer to leave the Queenstreet Wharf at 11.30 to the exclusion of Dr. Lee's supporters. (Shame.) Mr. John Lamb proposed Mr. J. S. Macfarlane. Ho (Mr. Lamb) had no desire to say anything against the other three candidates. (Hear.) Whoever went down to Wellington ho belived would do his duty. The electors wanted men to go there to be at their post to see that Auckland got her fair share of the public works. He believed that the interest of Auckland had been neglected, forgotten, oven lost in this matter. They had been left without a representative a considerable time by ono gentleman they had elected. They wanted men to go to Wellington to sustain and advance the interests of Auckland. Take the case of the Kaipara railway; they would tell people there that they won't take goods unless they like, or until they like. They must have members also that will be united. Let them have am- n that will speak his mind; that will noi abandon his colours, or that will turn round ; but they ought to have, aud must have true representatives. They would have such an one in Mr. Macfarlane. —A voice : Is he no contractor!

Mr. Lamb : He is not. He is not a man that will turn his face round, and run away. Mr. Henderson : Hear, hear. Mr. Lame : I have to propose the nomination of Mr. J. S. Macfarlane.

Mr. James Holmes seconded the nomination of Mr. Macfarlane.

Mr. James Weigley proposed Mr. Thomas Henderson. There was no man better known in the district, and no man had done more for it or the province of Auckland. What Mr. Henderson had done would everywhere epeak for itself. (Cheers.) Mr. G. S. Graham seconded the nomination of Mr. Henderson. It was not true of Mr. Henderson that he waited to see how others would act or speak. Mr. Henderson was one of those who objected in the House of Representatives to the so-called compact. There were only three, and he was one of the three, that originally voted against it. Mr. Henderson would go to "Wellington, it elected, in unison with Sir George Grey, for he was one that had always shewn his interest in Auckland, promoting its industrial prosperity, and outspoken of his views of those measures which would make its prosperity permanent. (Cheers.) Mr. Allen O'Neill proposed William John Hurst as a fit and proper person to represent the district. Mr. Hurst, he said, had been one of Mr. Gillies' Executive. Mr. Hurst spent a great deal of money in the district.

A Voice : He thought 4s a day sufficient for any working man.

Mr. A. O'Neill : He took an important part in getting the Kaipara Railway begun, and he would do the best he could to have that work completed.

Mr. B. Levy seconded the nomination of Mr. Hurst. He (Mr. Levy) would like to see that man their reprepresentaiive who would go down to preserve the rights they had, and prevent those things being given away to the South which the North had as good a right to. A thing that belonged to the community at large had been given away to the South. It was said the poor would starve here. The electors wanted the property of the public to be preserved to the public. He believed Mr. Hurst could represent the views of the district. He had much pleasure in seconding the nomination of Mr. Hurst.

Dr. Lee came forward to address the electors. As they would have the right to interrogate him, he 'would not detain them long with the expression of his views of politics. There were two policies before the country. One was " Centralism," the view of thosewhodesiredan united colony; the second was "Separation, with a Federal Government." He would first deal with " Centralism." The Abolition of Provinces Bill, passed last session, must be taken as the title deed of those gentlemen who advocated Separation. That bill certainly destroyed the power of the Superintendent, and committed a political felony in robbing the electors of the province of Auckland of her representatives. At the same time that bill had left untouched the laws by which the people were governed, and the geograjmical districts contained within the province. But the proposal was that the Superintendent of the province should be superseded, not by a man of the people's choice, but by a person to bo nominated by the Governor; for wherever in the bill the Crown or the Governor was mentioned, that simply meant the '' Ministry of the day." All the powers and duties devolving on the Superintendent and his Executive, were to devolve on the persons so nominated by the Governor ; or, strictly speaking, by the Ministry of the day. It appeared to him that whoever drafted that bill must have been for some portion of his life in Turkey, and to have imbibed the notion of pntting up a great *'bashaw" above the people. No man that had any interest Jin New Zealand would go in for that. They should have to consult the gentlemen at the South before anything could be' got. Was it likely those gentlemen would return the lands let out for pastoral purposes ? What were the facts ? They found in the province of Auckland 73,390 acres let for £60 a-year. In Hawke's Bay they had 181,754 acres leased for £183 14s 2d; in Nelson there were 667,516 acres let for £2460 3s Id. (Let the electors remark the minute detail of the calculation, which included the pence and the two pence.) In Marlborough there were 1,035,559 acres let at £4700; Canterbury, 4,839,463 acres let at £10,096; Westland, 355,000 acres let at £415 llsSd; Otago, exclusive of Southland, 6,464,21S acres let for £63,692 lis Sd; Southland, 1,847,823 acres let for £6543 2s sd. Here, then, was animmense estate for the Southern Island, while the North was starving not only for want of land, but for people and public works. Was there any possibility in such a .state of things that any amelioration of the present condition of affairs could be hoped for from the present Ministry. They would have, then, creatures to aid them, and little was to he hoped for outside the charmed circle in which they moved. No benefit was therefore to be expected by agitating _for Centralism. They must perceive that the very meaning of the phrase precluded any such expectations ■ for it meant ■all for the-Ministry and their supporters, and nothing for, anybody else. As to the other Question, he would not detain them very long. In 1855-6 the question was then agitated as to the seat of Government. He (Dr. Lee) then saw the feeling displayed by Southern men, since they had outnumbered the Northern men. It was in view of the probable issue then presented to his mind that he tabled the following reso-

lation : —'.' That a respectful address be presented to his Excellency the Governor requesting that he would be pleased to communicate with Her Majesty s Government, recommending and setting forth the desirability of some action by which the Imperial Government Bhould constitute the Province of Auckland a separate colony, with a separate Constitution and Legislative Assembly, to provide for the Government of the colony, and for a Governor in a manner compatible with the dignity of such office. On the 10th of December following Mr. Secretary Labouehere forwarded a despatch, in which he alluded to such a contingency as the removal of the seat of Government from Auckland, in which reference was also made to the appointment of a Lieutenant-Governor, as in such a contingency " some further measure would be required to ensure a properly constituted local government in the North Island." Mr. Labouchere told the Governor of that day to be prepared for some such a contingency, and to secure the best advice and information against the probability of it coming to pass. Auckland was always regarded as a large and important place. It possessed seventeen million acres of territory, and its interests were so conflicting with those of the South, owing to a concatenation of circumstances, that even then the contingency of a separate Government was looked to with interest, and the authorities were instructed to be prepared for it when it came. (Cheers.) Auckland could scarcely hope to share the prosperity of the South, and the South could scarcely bring itself to accept the difficulties of the North. If it came to a question of insular Separation, then out of the revenues o£ the North Island there would be sufficient not only to pay its portion of the debt, but the whole country comprised within its area would grow into a state of influence and prosperity. As matters were at present there was not £1 spent profitably in the North for the £20 wasted in the South and Northjtoo. Look at the Kaipara railway. Was there ever a more miserable abortion. Its ballast was simple clay, while there were magnificient sandhills all around : it was 28 feet from the water, and it was necessary to use a windlass to get up every cwt. of goods. It would be necessary to carry the work on to Auckland before it would be of much use. He would not detain the electors further, but would answer any questions that might be put to hhn. Questions —(In reply to Mr. Lamb) : I believe that every man, if he is registered, has a right to the suffrage. (To Mr. Staines) : I think no policeman should be allowed to behave brutally. The fault was in the system. I think there should be a "night justice," whose duty it wonld be to send home those who ought to be sent home; and if they were not fit to be sent home, they ought to be taken care of. There was a delided advantage in having the police under local control. [Mr. Thomas Henderson, jun., asked if Dr. Lee would aecept the office.] (To Mr. Lamb): I will go in for education to the fullest extent—free secular education. I draw a distinction between education and religious instruction. Give education, and religious instruction would surely follow.

Mr. J. S. Macfarlane next addressed the electors. He wished first to refer to what had been said about the ferry-boat. Mr. Holmes came to him, and asked him if he would share in the ferry-boat. He said he would pay his share, and that was all he had to do with it. He wished to tell the electors why he was before them a candidate. He could not have done so on the last occasion without attacking an absent man. It was rather an unpleasant matter to go over at any time. When Mr. Henderson was representing Waitemata he (Air. Macfarlane) went to Wellington to get an important public bill passed. The Southern people did not know much about it; but he was sorry to say that instead of finding Mr. Henderson with him, in favour of a measure which greatly concerned the North, Mr. Henderson was against him. It was in consequence of Mr. Henderson's conduct at Wellington, and in reference to this bill, that ho was induced to come before the public as a candidate. He was also dissatisfied with Mr. Henderson's conduct in regard to the Merchant Seaman's Bill. There was a proposition made for an officer to examine masters and mates at the various ports. An officer was appointed at Wellington, but instead of an officer being appointed, masters and mates had to go to Wellington, vessels were kept for weeks without being able to go to sea. But the Government told them that when there were twelve applications an examining officer would come up. When he (Mr. Macfarlane) complained to the Government of this state of things, their reply was, " If your members will not look after these things, do not blame us ; that was an important matter, and why did not your members look to it." It was not quite so bad as Mr. Henderson's conduct in respect of the Timber Flotage Bill, but it was pretty near it. Ho only heard Mr. Henderson once referring to old rotten vessels, which he said were first-class Al vessels. There was another thing last session. A great many claims to compensation were brought up. There were two cases that were rather hardly dealt with. One of these was the case of Mrs. Forbes, of Onehunga; and the other was the case of the Meurant family, but Mr. Henderson got £SOO and 5000 acres of land for a claim of his that was settled thirty years ago, and then fairly settled. It looked very much as if he got that compensation for following the Government. As to the Kaipara railway, he never knew Mr. Henderson to take any trouble about it. While other members were fighting for railways in their districts, he never saw or heard anything of Mr. Henderson fighting for them in Auckland. Mr. Henderson generally managed to be with the Government. While Mr. Gillies, Mr. Buckland, and others were fighting for their province, they once said to him (Mr. Macfarlane) what is the use if we are left thus in a minority, what can we do ? Then there was that abominable Native Land Bill. Mr. Henderson might have joined his colleagues against that bill. As to Separation, unless it could be obtained pure and simple—one Government for each island—it would not be worth having. If it could be got in that way it would be worth having, but some time must elapse first. They wonld have to go to the Imperial Government. But greater difficulties than that had been surmounted, so that there was no reason to despair on that account. He would support the separation of the two islands, each with a separate Government; but he disapproved of these Governments, as would be the case with a Federal Government at Wellington. There would be no very great difficulty in arranging the adjustment of the burthen of the debt, if Separation could be had. He (Mr. Macfarlane) had been called a Government man, and at one time he had a good opinion of them; he had a good opinion of some of them even yet. He believed they had been very extravagant. But the truth was the Government would be glad to keep him. He had had quarrels with them upon so many public matters that they could expect little support from him. He had told them how foolishly extravagantly the Immigration Office in London was managed or mismanaged : he -complained to them bitterly of the way in which ships laden with combustibles were despatched. He had also represented to them that theimmigration "which would be suited to the South was not at all suited to the North. There they wanted labour: in the North farmers were r wanted with some capital to take up and settle upon the land. He recommended that land should be given to settlers upon a principle of payments deferred until seven or ten years for the last instalment. A most unfortunate class of people had been sent out, some of them wholly unfit for the work required of them'! in a colony. Manyofthem had upon them incipient illness when they started, and ■very shortly after' their arrival in the colony came to grief. He would like to hear Government say to all—"Here is land open for (selection to settlers, and tha paymennt for it may extend over a period of time." Under the present state of things promissory notes were taken, and when they were due the unfortunate people were handed over to a parcel of

! lawyers. (Laughter and cheers.) Then as to the postal service. . He told the Government that paying £45,000 a-year for their letters was simply monstrous. A sum of £10,000 was ample. If they would. be satisfied with boats of 1000 tons it could be done. But they must have boats of 3200 tons. Why the thing was as about as sensible as put'ing the Hero on as ferry boat from Auckland to the North Shore. Then as to the honorarium: it was certainly wrong having it for both Houses. But if people could not be got to represent them without the honorarium it were better they should stay at home. A Voice : What about the Luna ? Mr. Macfajslane : The Luna might have been useful during the war; she was of no such use now and could be done without. They saw the members of the Assembly last session fighting like tigers over the Abolition of Provinces Bill. He thought if they gave some time to checking the estimates, they would have done more good for the country. As to the honorarium, it was growing. It had grown from one sum to another until he would not be surprised to see it raised to £500 a-year, i£ the people would only allow it. Mr. Henderson must have had £2000 of honorarium in his time. He (Mr. Macfarlane) also disapproved of the exorbitant pensions that were given "while men were yet in the prime of life and able to continue the efficient discharge of their duties. Aud some of them were obliged to leave their office, and in that case the pension was a loss to the country.

A Voice : But then it gives an appoint ment to Ministers.

Mr. Macfaklaxe : That was a very great blot. He did not think there should be any pensioned office. Some of these offices were very highly paid. If instead of the fighting last session the members had occupied their time in cheeking the estimates, he was satisfied that £100,000 could have been saved to the colony. That saving could have been effected easily. As the postal contract had been broken at home, a saving could have been effected under that head. Then there was the Stamp Bill, a bill of 240 clauses, which would take anybody' almost a month to understand all its effect, if members would have occupied some of their time with studying how that bill aud bills of the kind affected trade and commerce, they would be rendering a public service. He believed they could effectually have eased the burthen of taxation. If elected he would employ his be"*t efforts in this direction, so as to reduce and prevent taxation by checking enormous estimates whenever they were brought down.

Questions.—(To Mr. Staines): I resigned the Commisbion of the Peace because I was indignant at some things done in the Magistrate's Court. When a Magistrate became insolvent, his own sense ought to tell him that he should resign. If a policeman acted brutally he ought to he punished. (To Mr. Lamb : I think the American system of settling people on land is an admirable one. I admire it very much, and would do a 1! I could to promote something like it. A Voice : Bid you not get 180 bogus votes put on the roll, and a great many struck out at the purging ?

Mr. Macfarlane : I am glad the question has been asked. I did get a great many names put on the roll, but it was done fairly. I gave a number of men allotments. I told every man I could get at to register his vote. I told the people I gave the allotments to get registered for them, if they were of sufficient value. But the question of value was not gone into. The allotment speaks for itself. Nothing was done unfairly— nothing but what I had a right to do, and the law allowed me to do. It was an unsuccessful business, but Mr. Brookfield was to blame for that. He represented Mr. Brookfield's miscorduct to the Government. When he was appointed E.M. he i_.ade representations of his misconduct, and that appointment was cancelled.

Mr. Thomas Henderson, jun. : Did you say you would make it right for the next time?

Mr. Macfarlane : Of course I did; but I was doing nothing that was improper.

Mr. TnoMAS Henderson next addressed the electors. He said it was a good manyyears ago since ho had the honor of appearing before the electors of the district in the position which he then occupied. Five years ago he had to return them thanks for the greatest honor -which any constituency could bestow, namely, that of having elected him during his absence. He held a book in his hand, of which he might say, " Oh ! that mine enemy should write a book." It was stated in that book that Mohi and his accomplices had taken possession of other people's property, and reference was made to the " Timber Flotage Bill." Extracts from the evidence he gave before the committee were inserted. But in that evidence he (Mr. Henderson) referred not to "floating," but rather to "driving" timber down creeks, which were two different things. It was strange that such a bill was never required in his days. Ho had three rivers passing through his property. He never prevented Swanson or Canty or Kelly, who were above him, driving their timber down. He had to purchase property to secure that right. But his evidence before the committee was, that if there was no right, the subject was one for legislation, and a right might be given with conditions. He (Mr. Henderson) had nothing to do with preventing the bill being passed. He gave evidence, but the committee made the recommendations upon which the House probably acted. Ho regretted this had become a personal matter with Mr. Macfarlane; but he could not help that. When Mr. Macfarlane told them he would not have appeared before them but for Mr. Henderson's action, that was paying a very sorry compliment to the constituency. He would give a concise history of this matter of compensation referred to by Mr. Macfarlane. He (Mr. Henderson) was never in the habit of blowing his own trumpet, and the electors must pardon him if he could not help but blow it a little now. The land referred to was bought by himself at the instigation of the then Governor of New Zealand, to keep the natives quiet. He (Mr. Henderson) did not want the land. The Government had not a shilling to buy land with at that time. They were afraid to waive their right of pre-emption. The natives were clamorous, and there was imminent danger of an uprising even with the Orakei aud Kaipara natives. Governor Ktzroy assured him that justice would be done him, and upon that assurance he gave up the property. The Governor gave him a memorandum to that effect. It was not from the Government of the day he received this award of compensation, hut from a committee who had investigated the claim. It was not for any service he had rendered to the Government it was made, but in accordance with the demand of a just and righteous claim for property which he had given up to prevent trouble. They considered him legally entitled to £950 (not £SOO, as stated by Mr. Macfarlane) for money expended in extinguishing the native title over these lands and the costs of surveys. The Government had sold portions of this land for £3000 or £4000, for which he had received this miserable £950. He did not want this 5000 acres of land now, if they would only give him half what they got for the land they sold. At the time of Heki's war he kept back between 300 and 400 fighting men (Maoris) who would not join him while Mr. Henderson purchased gum from them. Heki could not get these men, try all he could to get them. He had helped the industry of Auckland in some ways, although he was now called an obstruction.' He' never obstructed trading. TVhen he found there was no market here, he went and sought markets elsewhere. -He found those' -.These were", markets for Auckland produce. ' He was the first'"to starts saw-mills successfully in the colony. And he had assisted other men to start. other mills. He had to borrow money at 20 and 25 per cent, to carry out his projects, but he knew the enterprise would come right in the end, and it did come right. He brought the pheasant here from China, and thaf'Svas something not only pretty to look at, but good to put in the pot. He had made.Targe sums of money legitimately, and

he had spent large sums legitimately in Auckland. He would not employ a Victorian shoemaker to make a pair of boots for him, but must have them made in Auckland. He would not have spoken to the electors in this strain had he not been personally attacked. Was it nothing to have had a share in founding such institutions as the Bank of New Zealand, . the .New Zealand Insurance Office, the Gas , Company, the building and navigating a class of sailing vessels which carried the produce of Auckland to various parts of the world, and brought their produce here. Were these obstructive doings ? I think they contributed in some degree to the benefit and advancement of Auckland. Is it blameable to feel some pride at being the pioneer, in a humble way perhaps, or bringing some share of commerce, and trade, and prosperity to this place. Mr. Macfarlaue might have put other evidence iu as well as mine. If elected, his health being now greatly i;i proved, ho could serve the constituency more effectually, when formerly in the Assembly, he could scrcely get rid of the "shop." The young people could now look after the "shop" as well as he could. He would therefore be rid of "shop" and could give his full and undivided attention to matters that would be for the benefit of the electors. They might rely on him doing his duty to the best of his abiHty, and he was better able now to do it than before. (Cheers). I

[n reply to questions, Mr. HrofDEKSON said, the Police must be restrained if they acted brutally. Having seen the educational system of America, he would go in for the fullest free education. Every man of good repute should have the right to vote.

Mr. Eoe said he knew o£ £2000 being demanded by proprietors of the lower lands for the right to float timber down.—Do you not'think that such a bill is required ?

Mr. Handeesox : No ; all I can say is, that such people are not good colonists. He told the committee " you might legislate for the future and make it conditional." When there was an agreement, there was no difficulty.

Mr. Staikes : How about the education tax aud Separation ?

Mr. Henderson : Every man should pay his lair share of taxation, and every man should use his best efforts to keep taxation down as much as possible. As to Separation, the natural Separation was that of the two islands. I believed iu that 21 years ago. I feel still inclined to advocate it if it could be brought about. He believed the difficulty about the public credit was a bug-bear. The public creditor might be induced to take his share of the securities we had left, for ho would know we would be bettor able and ready to pay the interest on the debt because we would be a more prosperous and contented and happy people. Mr. Hurst came forward to address the electors. He would not detain them long after the speeches they had heai-d. He might say that he was not in Auckland that day, and so had no share in the exclusion, if there were exclusions, of Dr. Lee's supporters from the use of the ferry. He did not think that this part of the colony was ever iu such serious difficulty as at present. He would address himself entirely to the great practical and political questions which now agitated the public mind. Three years ago, when in Mr. Gillies's Government, and ■when the prospect of the province falling to pieces the question ai-ose with Mr. Gillies, Mr. Sheshan, and himself as to who was the man that above all others could stand at the head of public opinion, aud they agreed that that man was Sir George Grey. (Gheei'3.) He was pleased to find, when Sir George Grey was called again to public life, Sir George Grey nobly responded to the call. Sir George Grey uttered words that were almost prophetic, when he said, at his election for City West, " Eemember, I am but one ; and if I am to do any service the electors must assist by placing men in the representation who will assist me." Sir George Grey came forward with all but unanimous approval of the public. His motives could not bo questioned ; his ability could not be doubted. Sir George Grey had done a great work in uniting popular feeling. He had created an Opposition in the House of Representatives to secure the followiug objects : —First, to inquire strictly into the financial condition of the colony; and secondly, to oppose the Abolition of the Provinces Bill until the people had an opportunity of expressing their opinions with regard to it. He (Mr. Hurst) would remind the electors of what was said by Mr. Gillies, in his address to the electors of City West. He told them that there was a cessation of political activity the like of which he had not seen for thirteen years that he was iu Parliament, this had grown into complete apathy iu regard to all matters connected with the colony. If there had been a recognist-.d under recognised leaders, more good would have been done. This was what Sir George Grey had brought about, and the people owed to him a debt of gratitude for having placed himself at the head of a well-defined Opposition. They must now have faith in their leader. (Mr. Hurst read copious extracts from speeches by Sir George Grey, Major Atkiuson, and Mr. Gillies.) The province had been brought to a .condition that their Superintendent was almost at the mercy of the clerks of Government departments. Thai was an untenable position. This state of tilings had been brought about by the encroachment of the General Government. They talked about their wish to decentralise. A good instance of what they intended was to be found in the way they behaved in respect to Gazette notices. Certain newspapers were formerly named "by the Judges of the Supreme Court, in which such notices should appear. The Government had deprived the judges of this power, and took it for themselves, by causing this to be done by the Governor, who of course acted by advice of the Ministers. They took it to themselves, and gave these notices to their own newspapers. Step by step, and bit by bit, the rights and privileges of Auckland had been taken away, and given to the South. Another example of how the Government were prepared to act was given in the expenditure for immigration, &c. £2,500,000 went to Otago, £2,000,0C0 to Canterbury, Wellington had £1,500,000, and Auckland £950,000. And Auckland, who had received only £950,000, would be required to pay interest upon those millions, that were expended in and for the South. Another example of what the Government were prepared to do was referred to by Mr. Macandrew in a recent speech, where he pointed out that an officer was actually appointed to receive the sixpences under a Harbour Act, and he (Mr. Hurst) believed there was a clause in the Auckland Harbour Act under which, they could do the like. As to the Kaipara Bail way, he was a member of Mr-. Gillies' Executive, who recommended that work, and that £20,000 should be voted to commence it. Under that, Executive plans were prepared. Some one was to blame for its present condition. He would do all in his power to get it extended to Auckland. There was a necessity for good roads through the district, and he would use his best endeavours to bring this extension of road accommodation about. He (Mr. Hurst) would not say a word to prejudice the claims of the other candidates. As to education, he favoured a free secular education. If the people of the South called the Auckland people paupers, they should not call them ignorant paupers, if he could help it. He was glad the Government had made this a colonial question. The only course open to save the iSorth from the excess of voting power which had gone to the >Sputh,was Separation, lie would support Sir George Grey to the best of his ability. Sir James Fergusson, and Governor du Cane, who was a short time ago in the colony, said the North would yet be more prosperous than the South, through the development of its greater resources. He believed there were good men in the North who would be successful in developing these resources, lie would, in conclusion, say to the electors, that if he were choseu to represent them, he would give hiß whole energies to their service.

Questions.—He irould not encourage the police in any act of brutality; the law relating to the poor and unfortunate might be

amended, so as to be less harsh in its operation in some instances. He had not attended tho early meetings towards bringing Sir George Grey out, uecausb he had not been invited. The Retceuing Officer called for a show of hands, with tho following result: — Dr. Lea .. 19 J. S. Macfarlano .. .. .. •• 13 VT.J. Hurst .. 10 T. 8 A poll was demanded by Mr. Lamb for Mr. J. S. Macfarlaue ; and by Mr. Von der Heyde for -Mr. Henderson. The poll will take place on the 10th of January. Mr. HURST moved a vote of thanks to the Tleturning Officer, which was carried, and the proceedings terminated. » FRANKLIN.—THE NOMINATION. The nomination for tho election of two members to represent the district of Franklin in the House of Representatives, ■ was held at the Public Hall, Otahuhu, at noon yesterday. About sixty electors were presont. The Returning Oj?i\reEß (R. C. Barstow, Esq.) having read the advertisement and writ of the nomination, said:—Gentlemen, before calling upon the electors to nominato candidates for the House of Representatives, I have one or two words I wish to say to you. I see the great majority of those now present were here at the iast nomination for the election of a member for Franklin, and 1 dare say they mny remember how protracted our proceedings were then. I have been a Returning OlScer in New Zealand for some seventeen years, and I have always allowed the greatest liberty to every elector present to say what he had to say, and to as 1 ; any questions he might wish to ask. On the last occasion the asking of questions was so protracted that the audience became tired and exhausted with hearing long strings of questions read from sheets of foolscap, and betrayed their impatience audibly : in fact the meeting, which was vciy much larger than the present one, was rapidly becoming disorderly, owing to the inipatieuce of those present. Looking to the Act under which we hold this meeting, the Regulation of Elections Act I flail not one word about the right of any elector to ask questions. There is a right of any elector to nominate any duly-qualified person as a candidate, and, if the Returning Officer chooses to allow any person the privilege of addressing tho meeting, he has every right to do so under the law. I shall, after the nomination and the seconding of candidates; of course, as has become almost a custom everywhere, allow the candidates to addrdos the meeting, but, in pursuance of a rule that I mean, as long as I preside over any elections, to enforce, I shall not allow any questions to be put before asking for a show of hands. If any of the candidates, after the show of hands has been taken, like to submit themselves to the ordeal, well and good, I shall no longer object, for I am no longer bound to remain here, and no longer bound to maintain order. I have heard peoi>le say something of constitutional right being infringed. I can only say that in all probability the present Parliament in England will do away altogether with husfring nominations, and that nominations will henceforth be taken by an officer sitting in his office, and that the nomination will be put in writing, accompanied by a sum of money, partly for the expenses of the election, and partly as a. guarantee of ' good faith. As we became wiser by the march of intellect, the rowdyism which used to accompany elections is being done away, and elections are not now looked upon as au occasion for drunkenness and all kinds of saturnalia, but as a business matter to return certain people whom we think best qualified to represent us, to make laws on our behalf, not to choose the man who will shout the most beer. I think now, having explained my views on the subject fully, candidates will understand that no questions will be put to them, and that if they wish to say anything in answer to questions that might possibly be put to them, they will have a chance of doing so in their addresses. If now any elector wishes to propose any duly qualified person to represent this district of Franklin in the House of Representatives, I shall be ready to receive the nominations.

Mr. H. S. Ajjdrkws proposed Mr. William Goodfellow, seconded by Mr. McAnulty. Mr. James Robertson proposed Mr. Joseph May, seconded by Mr. J. Crawford. Mr. B. Harris proposed Mr. Ebenezer Hamlin, seconded by Mr. S. Luke.

Mr. Albion Mautix proposed Mr. "William Woodward, seconded by Mr. I). Lyxch.

Mr. Keleher proposed Mr. Hugh Hart Lusk, seconded by Mr. J. Gordon.

Mr. E. McLeax proposed • and Captain 'Walmslev seconded the nomination of Mr. William Tliorne Bucldand.

'the proposers and seconders of tho several candidates addressed tho meeting, many of them at considerable length ; but tho space at our disposal will not permit even an outlino of their speeches. These being the whole of the nominations, the Returning Oiiicer called upon the candidates to address the meeting in thß order in which they had been proposed.

Mr. \Yai. Goodfellow said that be was shill in. favour of a. united colony, and had hoard nothing as yet to convince him that Separation, or a separate Government of any kind, would be of the slightest advantage to them. A great many complaints wero made that the people of the North Island were treated with great injustice. If this was so, he considered it had arisen altogether out of the land revenue questions, and the land question itself arose out of theProvincial system of Government. The Provincial Government, of necessity, required separate accounts to be kept for each province, and again would involve the necessity of having an equal number o£ representatives for each island. It was imX'ossible, in his opinion, to obtain this equal number of members, and on the basis of population each island was now fairly represented. The South have 50 members and the JSforth Si, and according to population these are the right numbers ; in fact, if they went closely into it, they would find the .North was slightly over-re-pioeeu ted according to numbers. The question of equality of members, however, in the event of one Government becoming really of no consequence whatever. In Scotland, for instance, there were fifty members of Parliament, while in England there were at least five hundred ; yet they never heard of Scotland being unjustly treated in consequence. If they had one Government, Canterbury would not be more likely to take advantage of them than England was likely to take advantage or Scotland. (A Voice: They have done it.) That, as he lii-d already explained, had arisen, entirely out o£ the Provincial system of government* which ought never to have existed. If they had had one central system of "government these difficulties would never have cropped up. There was no doubt but that they had arisen out of the Provincial system of government. The proposed unity of tho Government must be real, and no sham. There must be, as Mr. May .expressed it, one purse, and the Provincial Governments and Provincial districts must be swept away, and the land revenue made the revenue of the colony. (Hear, hear.) There, however, would be great difficulty in effecting this, and it was probable it would not be f ffected thU next session ; but in time there -.vas very little doubt that the exigencies uf the Government would compel them to take the land fund, and that in a very brief period. Meanwhile the Government would be obliged to lind the ways and means of governing Auckland. If the Abolition Bill was repealed, the effect would be that the Provincial Governments would be again established as before, aud they all know that if that w.-3 so =be Provincial Government of Auckland would not be carried on at all. The repeal of the Act would provide no additional funds to the Provincial Treasury, nor. would it advance one step towardß making the land revenue tho revenue of the coltmr. Thus far he did not know whether he was a supporter of Sir George Grey or not. He was inclined to tkiulc that Sir George Grey j would go in for all these changes. He hoped so, but really could not say

(it or coniitfMUion of new set Sv^pkmmt.)

' whether "he Would; J or/.not. He -woold]! next notice a thing in Auckland calleaj a "Central of} vnjctetmdertodkito;;diotata to" tkejdectors. ] TJufeiori of: thing-was, in fiia>opinion;?subVerayaio their interests, anctrvrpuld strike atweSwt'of representative In England a great effort ; was.being'ioa|e ; tp-Be-enre'tne representation oinunoritieaSithat is, every shadebtopiniop.sKbuld. fee represented in proportion to their JnumJ bersV.l This c'oinnritteeV desired,-to trample down "every such right and principled -. Who, were the Central Committee that they should treat theelectors as slaves 1 -Their were"peffectly,monstrous, and the electors; were not free men if they allowed themselves! to be orderedand dictated to in this style. Mr. Joseph May first congratulated Jh&, electors upon the increased .interest wnicnj wa3 being taken in political matters. As lie had previously represented them, he sain was to a certain extent placed upon hisj defence, and he meant to defend himseU before them, for anything that he had done> in the Assembly he was not ashamed of He, • had done what he believed to be his duty to his constituents, and did not believe yet that! .he had erred, notwithstanding what had; been said to the contrary. The Abolition, Bill had been spoken of as, his offence. In 1574, an Abolition Bdl wast ■ brou«ht down, and the principle of that bill he had opposed. Then the ■ .meeting.- in! Auckland agreed that the time had come for the abolition of the provinces, but dei sired the abolition of them as a whole, and not in part. That was the unanimons; opinion, and resolution after resolution was ' carried to that effect, and_ if the feeling of the electors had changed since then, his feeling 3 .had not.; ,/Mrj * Header Wood had charged him with inconsistency, but those who lived in glass bouses should not throw stones. If. there • was any"inconstaut man in the Assembly ,ic was Mr. Reader. Wood. Mr. Wood had desired that Abolition should be left over to both Houses in tbe next Parliament,'-but the opposite party wanted • it placed on the statute book, and it had been placed there: Then Mr. Wood said that the Abolition Bill re-instated the provinces by providing for provincial districts, but Mr... Wood knew that this was necessary in order to avoid other confusions until some other provision was made. The localization of the land revenue had been alluded to, but in his opinion the' Abolition Bill (lid not alter that at all, excepting in regard to distribution. That is, it would be'paid to Board Boards and Corporations instead of to the Provincial Government. A great many inferences had been made to the compact of ISSG, as if the law rested on that. This was not so. . The law was made in 185S, and this was long before the Abolition Bill was passed, and if the bill was repealed to-morrow, the land revenue would still be Provincial revenue. The estimated land fund was £700,000' per year, and this was first charged with interest and sinking funds of the provincisl loans and the railways.- These would take £150,000. Then it was to be charged with the surveys and administration of the land fund,- and this might be put down at £50,000. There were also payments to Road Boards, which would take another £50,000, and thus one half of the revenue would go. There was no doubt the land fund should be colonial revenue. None disagreed on that point—at least none in the North Island. If Sir George Grey's party would only state their policy, ho could say whether he could agree with it, but lie ] would not follow any individual without first knowing his policy. For his part he wanted the land fund for colonial revenue, but if he could not get that, his object was to get as much as possible, and' that was why ho had voted for the Abolition Bill. The speaker again explained, as ho had previously done, how it was that the promised £2 had not been given by the Government. It was, he said, because the Provincial Government still remained in existence, and the Government had to hand the money over to the province, and dare not retain it except for debts and liabilities. The rates paid in Auckland province were about £15,000, and if they had not sufficient land fund to meet tho grant, it would be done by Treasury bills ; and if there wa3 no land fund to meet these, as Major* ; Atkinson had said, they would have to be paid out of consolidated revenue. Tho people of Auckland only contributed about onethird of this revenue, and yet Sir George Grey had told them at the Thames that it would come from the taxes they paid on tea and sugar, and on their children s lollipops. Why, they were getting £40,000 by the bill, and that was his reason for voting for it. Though he could not get all he wanted, ■ his endeavour had been to get all ho could for them. ilr. Wood had said he was advocating one purse and voting for ten. He (Mr. May) was advocating one. purse, aud any resolution or measure to secure that would have his support: but if he could not get that he would get all he could. Air. Wood was a diffierent man iu 1574 to what he was in 1575, and his principles had entirely changed during- that time. In IS7-4, the Abolition Bill proposed to abolish the provinces of the North Island only, to create Wellington the seat of Government, and to continue tho land funds as Provincial revenue. That was the bill Mr. Wood had voted for, and for which he (the speaker) had voted against. Mr. May then read from Mr. Wood's speech in favour -of the Abolition Bill of 1874, which, he said. was a most excellent speech, and one with which he entirely concurred. He had been charged with supporting the Government j through tliick-and-thin, but he had never [ told him. that his vision was affected i by pecuniary considerations, but some of I the members of the House had told Mr. I Wood so; no one had called him a political i weather-cock, but Mr. Wood had been so [ called; and no one had told him that he had sold himself for £500, but Mr. Wood had been told so. He considered they had nothing to complain of in the matter of representation, but rather in the distribution of representation in the North Island. The Thames was entitled to another man, but Onehunga was entitled to half a member.—[A Voice: What do you think of Taranaki."]—Mr. May: That is over-represented—the same as Unehuuga is. Mr. May referred to an Act passed by Sir George Grey, which stated that the Crown grants in New Ulster should be valid This, he said, whitewashed the whole lot and was the principle adopted by Sir George Grey. There was no doubt, he said, that the Piako Swamp was advertised for five • years before it was taken up, and that it was really a great,, public advantage, from a sanatory point of..view, to have the swamp drained. The Local Government Bill wUI be. an important measure to be considered next' ; - session. ■■ Education, he thought, should-be provided by tho General Government, and that it should be a good sound education. . There would be no difficulty about this, for

even the Catholics had come round to this view.—[A voice : Never ! never !]-J----'Even Jlr. Tole, the member for Ecleii,. who was. as good a .Catholic as any of them, had said that he was preparedto support ii general system of secular education. He was opposed to Separation as being impracticable, but was in favour of retrenchment in some branches. In the Native De-

■ - partmentand in the nnmber of Constabulary p.ie. thought retrenchment might be made. j Vvith regard to. a strong phalanx being.sen't ; down to support Sir George Grey, he would say, thatit was not usual for any province fi> I" 8 Justed on'ari£ great;questidn, and quoted tua division.list in support of nis statement , tte answered several of the charges made against him personally, which He said were very trifling, indeed. He concluded by re- ,. marking upon what he termed the incori- .., sistencyof Mr. Gordon in advising them tb vote.for measures and;not ,fnen, and .their proposing a candidate on the ground that lie support Sir George Grey. ~ | "V« ■ 'E-'HAJtmi said that ha had come :„D«pre themat the request of a large mai<s- - nty'of the electors of' Franklin. ; He' - had neen the.representative of ; the old'Ea^lah

district for four y&u&.'and had at all times) r«ceived-Totes-<rf-confidetice-fronr-hisycon-j rtitnents.i«JHia J experiencein :*he iProvuiciaU Council would, he thought, prov* valuable toj him in the Assembly, as-:he was well ac-J quainted with ParUamentary- practice. Ho( was in favour of making. the sLsgislative, Coun'c'jl'of New Zealandah/etective body,,as it-was u'seie'ss'to'talk' Goyernment or free, institutions if the Legislature have their hands'tied by.nominee getitlemen. The gentlemen bf/rth'e'TJpper House"should, he thought," come face to face with con-| stHue'nts,' and should be elected'for terms on seven or eight years,, and'if Kb .sat in, their House, the would '. endeavour to geti.'this done.' The • Civil Service Pension List, he, thought, would require careful .and was strongly opposed to the,granting of ■pensions. He believed that as the natives contributed to .'the taxation; they ought toj have a little money expended upon ; them. He was quite, willing to see.native schools! established,:but he objected to lump sums ofj money being handed over to one individual,! and never accounted for.. .If it; was neces-j sary to keep up this department, a. statement; should bo ; laid before the Parliament of; itsexpenditure. / They should know whether it was; expended fhpon the friends,'of the Government, or-upon the natives, for he was afraid a very large portion of the amount was' paid, in. salaries.; ..'.[The native land: purchase! had been pretty well handled both elsewhere.- .He ■ disapproved wholly of the system which had been in vogue,' but which' wa3- ; now-' stopped.' . He - be-j lieved that independent. men should he ei> ployed in the purehase. of land, and carq should be. taken that the best land was s hjcted for friends and the inferior land only purchased:for the .Government. .He .had always supported secular education, which! lie believed the only system suited to the colony at large!. ; An alteration should per--tainly be made in the management of the' railwayi and if it was intended that it should ' pay, working expenses,-a very great differenpe| would have to be made in the charges, which at present drove traffic away altogether. -,"B.e\ was in favour of connecting the different station's with.the country east'and west of the line, and yet, although they prof essed.to to further settlements; they had settler merits, to the right.arid left of the line whicli had.nothing done to them, arid, when,'a'per tition ' was sent ■to • the •■ Government respecting 'these; matters, "it was simply received, arid, ackriowledged.,- , There were many settlers with farms . for which they had' paid not' 2s 6d,-but one pound l an acre, and these had 'nothing whatever done for. them. The pioneers had been sentinto a forest, and after ihey had improved the land,' the adjoining' portions .were ' sold for one half the price the. first settlers had paid. He considered'that the Homestead Act was wrong in : a very important- particular. It provided that a house must be built within three months, and it would ■ take twelve months to clear the ground, ■ S9 that a : house might be built with'safety.'; Ii considering, he said; that in all probability he should address them before the poll, and, would then go into matters more exten sively.

Mr/Woodward said that as no questions ■were to be asked, ho felt that there were a great many subjects he must necessarily touch upon, and he would therefore be very" brief. There was an old proverb which said, "What everybody says must be true." Now, in this province at this moment they would find people universally: dissatisfied with the present political position. To start with, there wa3 the question, of. the land fund. They said there were the provinces of Otago and Canterbury getting something like £SOO,OOO a-year from the land fund, and the province of' Auckland for the last quarter got £17. He would say that these complaints were based upon reason—that was to say, if they did not complain of this stato of things they would he the greatest cravens that ever trod upon the earth. Last year, Canterbury voted £115,000 for Eoad Boards, and for that body not to tax themselyesw the extent' of one farthing, whilst, we taxed ourselves heavily, and still plodded on in the mud. The contrast between our province and the provinces of Otago and Canterbury was very much to our disadvantage. These places have something like the same relationship to Auckland as Yorkshire did to Lancashire. "We paid the same taxes, and were subject to the same rule. Now, if they were to give to Lancashire £600,000 a-year, and £17 to Yorkshire, how long would the people of Merry England submit to such treatment ? Not for one single day. Our chance for a remedy was to array poverty against wealth in the House of Representatives, and try if they could not break down this robbery to which they had been subjected. During the next Assembly the divisions and combinations might render it possible to get in a vote of that kind, because they must bear in mind there were seven poor provinces and two rich ones ; and if they managed rightly, the land fund might he ours again. But suppose we could not do this, what was to be done ? Were they to settle down under a Government, the greatest force of which represented the Southern Island, a Government composed of persons who were daily robbing us ? He would say that a greater injustice was never perpetrated upou mankind than was being perpetrated here ; and should they consent to sit under a Government composed of their enemies ? He liked Mr. May's idea of one Government and one purse; but if they were to have one Government and two purses, they should split from the South, for the only benefit they would obtain from them would, be to be taxed by the South and governed by the South, and the sooner they split the better. (Cheers). They should by all means avoid the misfortune that had been the boon of the province for years, and should send down something like a united body of members, unless they wished their weight in the political scale to be the weight of a feather. During the last session Mr. Von der Heyde, the member for Waitemata, had very humbly asked when it would be convenient for the Government to prosecute the line from Eiverhead to Auckland. The reply from the Minister of Public Works to him was, "Oh ! labour is too dear." A short time afterwards a geutleman from Canterbury asked when certain works there would be forwarded, and the answer was that they would be executed with the least possible delay. In Canterbury and Otago, they had a provincial policy, and nine tenths of the members go pledged to support it, and unless we have something of the same kind, we shall never do any good at Wellington. Some gentlemen had got their backs tip against Sir George Grey, and his impression was that he (Sir George Grey) must have hindered these gentlemen from doing some good things for themselves in times gone by, or had checkmated them in some land jobbery. He. believed the objection . to Sir George Grey was personal, and not apolitical sore. He accepted Sir George Grey for what he was. I He let bygones be bygones",Tupon the principle that he would be very sorry, to be judged to-day by what he was 20 years ago. He accepted Sir George Grey as the friend of the province at this moment; as one who was able and willing to serve us. ■ His greatest enemies could not charoe him with any thing improper. He had no selfish end at heart when he came forward to serve them—nothing but the knowledge that they had been frequently robbed at Wellington— and they should all join with Tijtti (s; r George Grey) to put an end to this robbery. He would ask them whether they would say to Sir, George, "We have no need of your services,- go i back to. the Kawau," or whether they would say to him, " Vfe will gather round you, and help you to serve us." The question was, whether they would accept of. Sir ; Gebrge Grey's services. ,:(Hear,';hear.) Of course they would accept his services. • Ninety-nine menont of every hundred, as had' : beeii shewn by 'the recent elections," .desired to do so'.' ;He (Sfc 'Woodward) had' a little spark;of' Home.Kulejii. him,' and 'did not .-care'about being: governed -from the

South, arid'would ; Separation!' if~they uuuld~not -get-the-land~rtmd; Mr.|, 'yV : oodjyard\Teferr,ed 'of th9~railWayio»ncl.i..t6)arnumber of other! matters, 3 smdV declared; jHmselJE, to be a thoroughly;honest r juppoirter of ,Sirj.Georgd Grey, George; Grey, aa one likely, to, be ; of great assistance, to him-if.' returned'to* the- House of Repre-j Bentatlves^j''.';.^v%•'?;"'.I 1 .. •'"' , : 'j'.!! '.''■■'■'■• ! >'-Mr.' H.-H. LUSK next addressedithe meet-j ing. "■" ?:: He" said : 'that' he ■ "was '■: present-'as a, candidate" at the invitation' of'a large and influential body of .th7e~eleetors, and becausej he was given to understand that. by, doing soj he-would- be of'service to ithe"parfcy : 'with! which- he-was bound np'in politics—a party; the leader of which was Sir George Grey.'. If this" were not so he would at once retire, but he thought he could.be of advantage:to the party, arid sb';coristnted ; 'to'stand. He had no, personal .'ambition in the matter,, .but stood simply as the representative o£ certain opinions.' and- parties.' ,• He - had heard v a number of speeches' wonderfully-alike. Most of the speeches " just delivered .'he. .had heard before. It had been said again that Sir' George' Grey had"- no "policy: He imagined'" he'"' could see pretty "wellthe-policy, and he was an ardent sup : •porter + pf that policy—the .policy .of-,the.go-vernment bf'tne people by the people. -;The imte'rest's 'divided";and dissimilar in almost- every respect,;and no country could•' be;Udequateljr'iand;--fairly except by'the ; .'two' 'parts'j of .the icouutry: being-.-.equally, .represented. ; 'That was the ; only way-in which- the people.of this-'lslahd could' be' fairly : gQVerned;;and this was not the. case now.. lii''speaking of the provinces, he said that everyone knew .the (Provincial system.' became ,'distasteful because it-was poor,'.aridjt;was poor'b'e'ca/use it was robbed ;—so poor i was it, that^a poll-tax .had to, be introduced in order to ' maintain education/'-'Mr. '-.Lusk spoke at;, length on.'-i the. and his remarks' were very.; well received. He was willing to accept the whole blame whicrChad been cast up'ori J him'in consequence of .the Actj' but, repeated : that'; the .rating,clause was* not.his proposal^ : but .that he'preferred to see that, and- to suffer-un-popularity in:, consequence, '; rathe>' r than; to have seen the" bill withdrawn,' and no provision whatever made for education. He be} ,liev.ed,;.the people of the South-would .insist npon'.having the land made local revenue ; ;and he felt certain the concessions the North I would require wouldnot.be granted, because the Southern people bad the power and would keep it. Sir George Grey-had < distinctly 'said that his'policy was the policy'of separation; i and .this'was b'oth.possible and feasible. Other constituencies had returned many members favourable to the policy of separation;' >and he thought there wasnothing more simple than, tq^separate, if;a majority were agreed upon that policy. The provincial loans could remain as ihey are charged ; "the:public ..works loan should be .charged .according, -~to. its -expenditure; anil' the war loan—for ,had ,been. dragged .."into... the, war by,'the South should equitably divided; accord.ing to the. ratio of population. . Mr.: Lusk spoke ;iipon a nuriiber' of other matters, but want "of, space precludes our, following his remarks'more fully than we -have • done. In concluding, he stated that he would take an,othier.opportunity of explaining .his views to therai

. Mr.' BuciOiAXD said' he must tender his thanks to the, gentlemen who had proposed .and seconded him. After the way in which his character had been spoken, of in some of the : Auckland papers and by the central committee, it seemed almost strange. ,that any two gentlemen would havo the assurto propose and second him. ." had .been accused of all kinds of; misdemeanours, and of selling thimself to the Government. Seeing these.gentlemen did eome forward to pi'opose and second him, he'supposedall.these accusations could not be true.-. He fell; proud that they and others who were ready to support him did not believe.those charges. He | had served the constituency for twenty consecutive years, and had, during the whole of that time, done his best to promote their interests without ever thinking of his .own. He would give them some particulars of the" case to which some allusion had been made by Messrs. Lusk and Woodward. It was simply this : That some eight years ago, a native chief in the middle of the Island came to him and said he was in great trouble and difficulty. Upon enquiry, the statement of the native was found to bo correct. That native had a run of 30,000 acres in the neighbourhood of Taupo, which he had let to Captain Oake. The land had • been surveyed and a lease made. Captain Oake sold the lease to a gentleman residing in London. That gentleman sent out an agent to take possession b£ the laud. The rental of the run was something about £300 a-year. The native, being assured of this, went to Napier and hypothecated the amount for nearly two years in the purchase of goods. When the time arrived for rent, there was nothing forthcoming. Tradesmen found the parties gone, and induced the natives to give a mortgage over the run. A period of twelve. months passed, and they were about fore-, closing on the estate. He (Mr. Buckland) told them to offer the land to the Government. The General Government could not at that time buy land without the consent of the Superintendent of the province. The matter was referred to Mr. Gillies, who was unwilling to purchase any that could not be immediately available for settlement. He would not give more than Is an acre. The land must be sold by the mortgagee. He (Mr. Buckland) bought a small portion, and leased another portion. In 1873 there was an alteration made in the mode of acquiring land by purchase irrespective of the consent of the Superintendent. He (Mr. Buckland) went to Sir Donald McLean, and said the Government might have the land as it was cheaper than they could buy from the natives. He asked 2s an acre, and. Sir Donald McLean at once made the : bargain. To acquire this land he (Mr. Buckland) had travelled more than 2000 miles; he had to pay an interpreter and a native agent. - He told the Government he did not want the land; if they would give him £50 they might have the lease. Thus he gave up his whole time and energy for three months for £50. For • this he was accused of plotting against the liberty of the conntry, and selling himself to the Government. Who was the party that deceived the natives?- Who leased the land from -the natives 1 It was the same, party that had been maligning George Grey-him-self. Sir George Grey, the idol of the day, was the man who had broken faith with the natives. Sir George Grey knew that he had always behaved honorably to the natives. He (Mr. 1, Buckland) owed this explanation, tohimself : to the gentlemen who had "proposed and seconded him, and to the electors who had given him their confidence for twenty years. When he made that offer he had just spoken of, he was opposed to the Government. During the session of 1573,' hie voted against them." In the session of 1874, he was opposed to'them. In 1875,"he voted with them. They had altered their ground. [Mr. Buckland explained the position of parties in the House.] Mr. Stafford had been steadily undermining the provinces, and was ousted by -Mr. Pox.and Mr. "Vogel. Mr. Stafford had proposed .to borrow two millions. Fox and Vogel proposed to borrow .ten-millions. -When - Mr.'.:'. Pox , : came into power he- found it impossible to carry on the Provincial system. Mr. _Pox. _retired,_ and the Ministers changed their.. front. It. was then t .they; obtained his support. He believed the Provincial system, in the first instance, was an error, because it necessitated the: localisation bt" : land 'revenue. ' Messrs." Pox and . Peatherston,.said we are ,one colony";_let,us Make J the - land'fund, jiolbnial' 'revenue,! anjd let ] 2s_ 6d.of.the price of, each acre sold, be : contributed.;,'... towards '[',■ jthe' r!', ißainteriance oftitthe nGeneraL Government; ; ' r Mf.'iWiit-' aker, for the l -" "people Jli of < J '^Auckland, , said, t •'-We-want tke'-ilocalisation of our

revenue ; our credit,]' -and—yon—want-to-fake away thafc^ —The.' answer, we have to pay for your Act and the release from the New Zealand] Company's claim. The whole thing was aj had and foohsh_bargain, and one that ought niVer to have r been made. '-He- (Mr. Bupk-j land) r thV South had lfid- a' very good innings. It was now time the North should come..in.for her share.! But when people talkedabout robbery and, spoliation, there was nothing of the kind. It was the late Mr. Williamson, Mr. Whitaker,! | /arid Sir George -Grey himself, -who assisted the arrangement. Mr. Buckland referred to several other matters, and in conclusion an-j nounced that he'retired from the contest. j The KETORsrs'G Officer called for a show; of hands, which'resulted as follows ■•— | H. H. Lusk .... ,r>. ..,-... ~..24 ! O. Hamlin .. .. « I yr. Woodward ~-...- ...-■■, ■„•■ .: ••■ ■•}» i TY. Goodfellow - ■'-.-.' ' .'. ""••' ' ••" 12 J.May.. ... : .... ... t ■-..: •■ 10 j The two first were declared 'to'have the show of hands, and. a; poll was. demanded oU behalf of the other candidates! j A vote of thanks to the Returning Officer was given, and the proceedings closed at 4.45 P-m. ' : --•'•"' '-■ "■ : '~ ''."' '■ ■' ; I