POST-SESSIONAL SPEECHES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4209, 16 September 1874, Page 3

POST-SESSIONAL SPEECHES.

THE PREMIER AT AUCKLAND. (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) Auckland, Tuesday, 10 p.m. Mr. Vogel addressed liis constituents in the Choral Hall this evening. Mr. Russell took the chair. The hall was crammed, there being barely standing room. The CHAiiufAK, in introducing the Premier, said this was the most difficult Colony in the Empire to govern.. Mr. Vogel explained that his addressing the constituency at such short notice, was in consequence o£ his leaving the Colony that night, for some months. He had expected to have remained in Auckland for some days longer, but the arrival of the steamer had cut his visit short, and rendered it impossible for him to speak at the length he had intended to do. He had always done what he could for local matters ; but he had experienced considerable difficulty in ascertaining the feelings of his constituents. He asked them to go back with him to the year 1869, when he took office. The North Island was then in a most depressed state; it was impossible to penetrate the interior without risk of life. It was the general belief that war was inevitable and the question was, would the South Island consent to the expenditure that would be necessary ? He asked them to compare the present with the past, and give him some credit for the part he had taken in bringing about the results that had been achieved. Roads and telegraphs 6ow penetrated the whole island, and settlement was extending everywhere; large landed estates were being purchased, which would be available for settlement and for revenue. He had no doubt that this would be the result in the future. He believed that the prosperity of the North Island would not be surpassed by that of any other island of the same size. If he was asked, what difference there was between the policy of the last five years and that of the preceding five years, he would say that the present Government endeavored to make a peaceful conquest of the island, and to show that industrial arts would provide the excitement which was supposed to be inseparable with the management of the Natives of the North Island. The policy of the Government had been‘a progressive one. Had the expenditure earned on during the last five years been proposed in 1869, it would have received very little support. It would have been very easy for the Government to have introduced such a policy if it had only been intended for the Middle Island. ■ The General Assembly had voted £700,000 for the purchase of a landed estate in the North Island, and it was unfair for speakers at recent meetings to have kept back that fact, when urging the seizure of the Southern lands. Although the North made a bad bargain in 1806, it might now make a worse one if it secured the laud fund as Colonial revenue. The lands of the North Island would ultimately support a larger population, and therefore they would be more valuable. Mr. "Vogel next alluded to the State Forests Bill, and to the importance of conserving the forests of the Colony. When this was made a political question, he was naturally asked how much longer would Provincial Governments interfere with great State questions, and it was concluded that, if Provincial Governments were obstructive in this way, they must yield. The Government would suffer many difficulties rather than make constitutional changes, but this was thought a favorable time for making those changes. The Constitution of the Colony rendered it extremely difficult for any Colonial policy to be carried out. The Provincial Governments, combined, could make any Government very weak. But this was not the real cause of the proposed change. : Estimates had been made of the total Government expenditure of the North Island, which showed most startling results. During five years ending 1871, no less than £3,389,000 had been expended by the Colonial Government, while only £480,000 had been expended by the Provincial Governments. The Colonial Government had then thought that it was useless to continue cumbersome machinery to do so little work. The institutions of the North Island were not satisfactory. The Government found that, while they were paying £BB,OOO of capitation money for gaols, hospitals, &c., in the Provinces, only £51,000 was being' expended. The revenue from licenses and the goldfields’ revenue, he thought, should he expended within the districts where they were collected. While he recognised that the land revenue should be preserved for particular purposes, yet it was a fact that the Consolidated Ptevenue had been charged with things improperly. The Government had been compelled to refrain from charging to the land fund expenditure which properly belonged to it. Referring to the Abolition Resolutions, he said that the reason for combining the three resolutions brought down by him was that when the Government announced their intention to abolish the Northern Provinces, the Superintendents assumed a most hostile attitude. One said "That means loss of our land revenue,” and another said, " It means the removal of the seat of government to Christchurch.” As the Government could not be constantly contradicting misstatements, they deemed it necessary to state clearly what they meant. There was no probability of the seat of Government being brought back to Auckland, and it was idle for any one to believe otherwise. At a meeting held in his own house, at which forty-five members were present, it was suggested that a vote for the new Government buildings would determine the .question of the Beat of Government, without forcing the supporters of the resolutions into a direct expression of opinion. That was the general feeling of the meeting. With regard to the land fund, he did not think that Mr. Wood’s version of the caucus was correct. When the Government proposed the third resolution affirming the compact of 1856, they meant that it was not possible to alter that compact or that it should over bo reversed. It was held that, even if no such compact existed, it would not be desirable to mix the land revenue with the Colonial revenue. He* believed a change in the constitution of the North Island would soon be regarded by the South Island ■ with envy, and the time was not distant when the Middle Island would say, "That is what we want.” Apart from the agreement of 1856, it would still have been a statesmanlike policy for the Government to propose to secure the expenditure of revenue from land upon works within defined areas. With reference to Mr. O’Rorke, ho re-asserted that the Government

were unaware of his intention to resign, although they knew that he did not sympathise with the resolutions. Still, he did not wish anything he said to bo taken as reflecting on Mr. O’Rorke for the course he had pursued. The members who had voted against the resolutions were an extraordinary combination. One of them (Mr. Gillies) opposed them merely because he (Mr, Vogel) proposed them. Mr. Gillies saw so little to support in anything lie (Mr. Vogel) proposed, that if he brought down a motion stating that Mr, Gillies was a most excellent estimable member, and an amendment was proposed, he believed Mr. Gillies would vote for the amendment. It was quite certain, that either Mi*. Gillies was right and Mr. Vogel was wrong, or he (Mr. Vogel) was right. Either the whole public works, immigration, and peace policy was a mistake ; or Mr. Gillies was wrong. Mr. Gillies had repeatedly made attacks upon him, and he did not wish to make any retaliation there. It had been announced by telegraph that a caucus at which twentyeight were present, and opposed to the resolutions, was held, after passing resolutions, yet in reality only eighteen members were there, and ten persons were picked up out of the streets in order to make the number appear large. No matter what was the opinion of that meeting, the country had endorsed the resolutions by an enormous majority. That meeting, he assumed from the demonstration made by it, was favorable to the abolition of all the Pro" vinces. It was a mere matter of prejudice to object to receive a good, because only one part of the Colony required such legislation. In passing those resolutions the Government contemplated giving the North the excellent institutions .of the South. No one could fail to admire the institutions and educational system of Otago, and it was to give the North excellent institutions, in place of its present disgraceful institutions, that the Government desired the abolition of the Provinces. Outdistricts would never be prosperous until real local government was substituted for present sham. It was not desirable to define all the views of the Government. He thought the land fund should he set apart for the interest and sinking fund of Provincial loans, for educational purposes, for subsidising Road Boards, and to be voted by Parliament for special district works. This would include harbors and branch railways. The capitation fund would support public institutions. He would be very much disappointed, if licenses and goldfields revenue were not made local revenue. The Government were determined to make the measure satisfactory, and had employed a barrister of Colonial reputation, who was instructed to visit every highway district in the Colony, and to confer with the chairman before framing the Bill. He referred at length to the South Sea scheme, and its importance to the whole Colony, but especially Auckland. He considered that this was what Auckland must mainly look to, and he believed there was a great future before it. He desired to make some statement of the reasons why he was now proceeding to England. He would be absent six or seven months. His first object was to arrange as to the cable with Australia, which he believed would soon be undertaken. His next object was with reference to immigration. Although in exceptional cases it might have been that there had been hardship to immigrants, yet all must have noticed the extraordinary absorption of the immigrants who had arrived, which was mainly due to distributing them over the country. The conductof the Immigration Department was now satisfactory, but circumstances at Home rendered it necessary for the Minister to confer with the Agent-General in order to obviate the irrigating correspondence of the past. The Government had resolved to bring the Home Department more into harmony with the views entertained in the Colony. The third object was financial matters, which could not well he dealt with by correspondence. He did not appear before them that night to sue for a renewal of their confidence ; perhaps they might find a representative more in accordance with their views, and he might find a constituency who would take his part better in his absence than they had done. Circumstances had arisen which might perhaps render it undesirable that he should again represent an Auckland constituency. He had been asked to stand'for nearly every city in the" Colony, but was yet undecided. In New Zealand and out of it there was a growing impression that the Colony was rising from its depressed condition of 1869 to be the foremost Colony of Australasia, and they might yet see it take the chief position. He desired to see Auckland equally as prosperous as other parts of the Colony, and that hope kept him at work when he might desire rest from arduous labors. The Province had, however, been contending against many drawbacks, but when a railroad was made throughout Waikato, possibly connecting it with the rich lands of Taranaki, and was opened up by the operation of the public works policy, it would yet have a great future. He concluded by stating, that he did not come there to commence a discussion with popular orators, but would ’ answer any reasonable question. The speech during its delivery was frequently interrupted by demonstrations of disapprobation, which prevented the speaker from proceeding, and sometimes by applause. At tho close there were loud cries of “Rees, Bees.” After waiting for some time tho Chairman said as no elector came forward he declared the meeting at an end. Mr. Rees, barrister, here jumped on tho platform, and said that he intended to speak The Chairman said he was not an ..elector. Mr. Rees, with an electoral roll in his hand, said he was. Great tumult ensued, the Chairman and’ Mr. Vogel, on essaying to speak, being stamped down. Ultimately Mr. Vogel obtained a hearing. He said he had called a meeting of the City East electors to explain his views, not to hear Mr. Kees speak. He wished the meeting “good night.” The Chairman then ’vacated the chair, and with Mr. Vogel and others retired from the platform. Mr. Kees then commenced to speak, and the meeting was about to elect a new chairman when some one extinguished one chandelier. This caused confusion. Rees proceeded to speak, after which tho meeting gradually dispersed. Nearly two thousand persons were packed in the building, and many wont away unable to obtain admittance. Mr. Vogel and Mr. Russell proceeded to Sydney in the s.s. Macgregor at midnight.