CITY WEST ELECTORATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6255, 3 December 1881, Page 5

CITY WEST ELECTORATE.

DR. WALLIS AT ST. JAMBS' HALL. Dr. Wallis addressed the electors of "City West at St. James' Hall, Wellington-street, last niuht. Thero was only a moderate attendance of about 50 people, including half a dozen ladies. On the motion of the candidate, Mr. Ryan was called to the chair. Dr. Wallis said he had taken the liberty of asking them to meet him to express soma ideas which were omitted on the last occasion. \esterday they had the nomination, and their proceedings here were more characterised by friendship than in other districts. There was no discourtesy here and_ they, no doubt, had listened with profit. Mr. Fleming claimed to have risen from the bench. Mr. Laing, as a working man's candidate, and said he made a mistake, but Lung was better fitted to address saints in the Church than electors from a platform. Mr. Dargaville complained that after representing this electorate he (Dr. Wallis) had nothing to show. Was any man better known ? Look at the seventeen volnii.es of Hansard during that time, and it would show. They knew Dargaville would have something to show—he had an axe to grind. He was a director of the East Coast Land Scheme, and in tho great forest scheme. They knew he would promise anything to get into the position where he could work the oracle. He did not come there to speak disrespectfully, but he had to speak the truth. On the last occasion when he addressed them he placed before them the principles of his political platform, and would not recapitulate. He had expected Mr. Hall, Sir George Grey, and Mr. Ormond, would have refrred to the burning, vital questions, but so far as he heard none of the leaders had said anything of our native lands, oar debt, or insular separation. He would come to the practical question instead of occupying them with the twaddle of politics. He would say o- few words on the native lands question. He referred to the treatment of the aborigines of other places. Here they dealt in the humane spirit of the 19th century with humanity. The natives had a vast acreage of land, and the question was how it was to be dealt with. He dealt with the question of native lauds, detailing its history—the treaty of Wiitangi, and the pre-emptive right of purchase by the Government, the operation of the Native Lands Court, and the Public Work s policy of Vogel, which was to purchase £1,000,000 worth of land as an estate for the North Island— but where was it? They owed certain duties to the natives, the owners of fifteen million acres of land. This land had been enormously increased in value, and they were virtually untaxed. These lands should be surveyed as soon as possible; then a certain per-centage of the purchase money belonged to the Government, and the rest to the natives, and that would be just to all. The natives were not fit to manage the lands ; and the Government should set apart a portion as unalienable, another leaseable, and the Government bring the rest into the market, and that policy he would support, if returned. He then referi • to the finance of the colony. They were burdened with a heavy debt, and were the most heavily taxed on the face of the earth. He referred at some length to this question, accusing the financial jugglers, like the Coloni.'l Treasurer, of being able to make a deficit C'-r burplus as he liked. He dealt with the Imperial guarantee debentures, and how they were dealt with. He then gave an explanation of the sinking fund for the loans, £20,000,000 which had no existence except on paper, and the budgets of the Treasurer. Their debt at present was 30 millions, and the interest a million and ahalf. Ten millions had been devoted to reproductive works—railways, but they did not pay 5 per cent., but 3, thus increasing the debt, making the debt 24 millions. They had other debts besides the colonial debt. They had first their private debts, then the debts of their local bodies, and last, the national debt. The private debts he estimated at nine millions to people outside the colony, and this did not include bank advances, about 15 millions, and they could not tell how much went Home, but probably eight millions. Then they had absentees and companies at Home, as the Mercantile Agency, and he guessed a quarter of a million must go to them. Our private indebtedness therefore amounts to £20,000,000, and that at 5 per cent, would amount to a million a-year. The next part was the indebtedness of the local bodies who had borrowed from two to three millions, and added to tho twenty-four millions of national debt, had to send interest away out of the country. How was he to recognise this with the present prosperity ? They had lived in clover for the last eleven years on the gigantic borrowing scheme, but were getting deeper into debt, and how was it to end. They were year after year paying £5 a-head to the foreigner— more than the taxation for the French war indemnity. He urged that they should stop the borrowing, and develop the inexhaustible resources of this great colony. If borrowing was to continue, and the North get cheated, then they must insist on separation, and he would go in for the North Island beino; a colony by itself, and Auckland its capital. That was to be the burning question. He then proceeded to deal with the arguments against and for separation. If New Zealand was to be a great nation of itself it would be ruinous to separate, but, if to be a part of a great Australian confederation, then separation was required, they would then bocome two constituent parts of that great confederation. He referred to the wrongs suffered by the North Island in respect to railways, to immigration, and to education as arguments in favour of separation. On tho question_ of development of our resources, and fostering native interests, he was in favour of them, but a few mechanical trades do not constitute all. There were the pastoral, agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and others, which ought to be encouraged and fostered. He did not think the time had come for fostering cotton and woollen industries ; but the great staple industries should be fostered, and if he was returned he would try to encourage all, as they needed encouragement. To show that he had something to show for his five years in the House, he referred to the Bills he had introduced, the speeches he had made, etc., as shown in the 17 volumes of Hansard. The private members had do other work to do than to criticise and speak. The real work was done by the Ministry. City West had now four woores, and she had to decide next Friday whom she would select for three years. He hoped she would not forsake him now, after he had represented them faithfully for five years. (Cheers.) He sang a verse from the song, Jemmy Fowler, appropriate to the occasion, and then briefly referred to the main points referred to in his speech, and thanked them for their attention. He did not wish them to-night to pasa a vote of confidence. He had already received that. He had received two questions from temperance societies, but he believed they were traps. They were Mr. Newman and Mr. Carr. He answered in way, he agreed with Hhe first question, and disagreed with the last, and if they wanted more he would give it to them. He would not be in favour of reducing the number of school holidays. He referred to his advocacy of the right ot franchise, and had given a good deal of attention to free trade and protection, and if the people wished to hear him on these, he had engaged the hall for next Thursday, he would, if they informed him they desired it, address them. He moved a hearty vote of thanks to the chairman. This was carried by acclamation, and the meeting terminated.