THE TAURANGA SEAT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 810, 9 September 1887, Page 32

THE TAURANGA SEAT.

(united press association.) Taupo, September 7. Mr Gill, one of the candidates for the Tauvanga seat, addressed tbo electors last ni"ht, and in an able and exhaustive speech gave his views of the political situation generally. He advocated rigid retrenchment in the Civil Service, beginning at the fountain heart—the Governorship, Ministers’ salaries, and Opper and Lower Houses’ honorariumdown to the heads of departments and higher paid officials ; the Colonial Office to be notified that the next Governor’s salary to be only £SOOO, including allowances ; and that in future the Premiers aad Ministers receive only £ISOO and £IOOO per annum respectively ; that the number of Minis, tiers bo reduced to five ; the Native Office to be abolished, and many other departments amalgamated, thus effecting a very large saving in heads of departments and other salaries. The education expenditure he would retrench largely, by limiting the free State system to the fourth or fifth standard, and merging the functions of School Boards in the local bodies. He advocated Freetrade in Native lands • but if Parliament determined on maintaining the Crown preemptive right of purchase, then that vigorous measures be adopted to extinguish the Native title all over the North Island, with as little delay as possible, and that he would even advocate the raising of a special loan for this purpose rather than see a continuance of the present suicidal delay in opening the interior of the country to European settlement and progress. He condemned the Thermal Springs Act, and advocated its repealormodification. He reviewed the progress and showed the great importance of the mineral resources of the North Island, and advocated liberal measures in fostering prospecting and otherwise assisting the development of the goldfields, which he felt convinced would ere found extending from Hauraki to the Jii&st Cape and some of the leading raDges in the interior. He would support the completion cf railways and roads in progress ; and he paid a neat "tribute of praise to Mr L. M. Grace, the late member for Tauranga, for his energetic and successful services in opening up the inland districts, so long lying almost a terra incognita through Native troubles by bringing these extensive territories under the adjudication of the Native Land Court. He promised, if elected, to leud his aid in bringing the work to a satisfactory completion. The speech was listened to with marked attention throughout, and at its close, after a few questions on local matters had been answered satisfactorily, a vote of confidence was carried with acclamation.