MR. JOHN REID BEFORE THE ELECTORS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1288, 24 May 1880, Page 2

MR. JOHN REID BEFORE THE ELECTORS.

On Saturday night Mr. John Reid, one of the candidates for the vacant seat in the House of Representatives for this district, addressed a meeting of the electors at the Volunteer hall. There were about 400 persons present, including electors of all shades of political opinion and of all grades, and Mr. Reid, who read his speech, was accorded a patient and very attentive hearing. At times he read his address in a very low tone, and here chiefly occurred the few interruptions that arose during the progress of his reOn the motion of Mr. Henry Connell, Mr. George Sumpter was, in the absence of the Mayor, who was iu Dunedin, voted to the chair. . The Chairman said that in complying with the request of the meeting to take the chair, he in no way committed himself for or against the opiniona the candidate might express. He simply had to preside over the meeting and maintain order, and he felt sure that his duties would be very light. He had no doubt that Mr. John Reid would obtain, as he was fully entitled to expect, a patient and impartial hearing. He then introduced the candidate. " Mr. Reid, on coming forward, was greeted with applause. He said that he felt that, before entering upon an exposition of his political views, an apology and explanation was due to the meeting for his not appearing before them fully prepared to make a Bpeech. On his arrival from Wellington on Tuesday he had met his Committee, who had then informed him that he should have .an opportunity of addressing some of the smaller communities in the district before being thrown into the vortex of Oamaru. (Applause). On the following day he was told that not only must he address Oamaru first, but that he must do so on Saturday night. On Thursday he was engaged on important private business, and on Friday he was engaged at an important meeting of the Harbor Board, so that he had had very little time during which to preprepare his address. He would therefore ask the meeting to pardon him if he found it necessary to in part read his speech, or, at any rate, to make very frequent reference to his notes. He had also to make an explanation of the reason why he had not sooner publicly announced himself as a candidate for their suffrages. That delay had been occasioned by a doubt as to whether his duties as a member of the Railway Commission would admit of his appearing before the electors to explain his political views, his friends deeming it indispensible that he should personally address the electors. On consultation with his brother Commissioners, on his arrival in Wellington on Thursday week, it wa3 decided, as their investigations were nearly completed, and. as all the railway lines upon which there was likely to be much difference of opinion had been inspected, to set him at liberty until the time when the Commissioners would meet to draw up their report. Had he felt that he had committed a I breach of duty to the. country by returning to Oamaru before the work of the ' Commission was completed, he would not have done so ; but would have appealed ■ to the electors on the ground that he was endeavouring to do good work for them iij a distant part of the Colony—work for which he neither accepted fee nor reward ; and he felt sure that his appeal for their votes under those circumstances would hot have been in vain. Mr. Reid then proceeded to read his address, as follows :

FINANCE. At no former period of the history of this Colony has it? financial condition called for a greater exercise of careful management and sound judgment on the part of the representatives of its various districts than at the present time ; nor was there ever a time when more care was necessary on the part of colonists in the election of their representatives. I£ the public works and immigration scheme inagurated by Sir Julius VogelcouM have been carried out without being subjected on every side to the evil effects —£a voice : "Speak up")—of that iniquitous system of political jobbery commonly kuown as "log rolling." If the proceeds of the various loans had been spent only on works which were intended to be of great advantage to the districts in which they were located, or on colonial works which gave a reasonable prospect of being remunerative either directly or indirectly to an extent somewhat commensurate with their cost, our financial condition todav would, I need hardly tell you, have been yery much better than it now is, and the amount required to bp drawn from us by the various forms of taxation very much less than can now be the case. In saving this I do not wish to attach blame to any particular Government, They have doubtless been all more or less deserving of censure —(hear, hear) —for giving way to the pressure referred to 'when in many cases they must have known that the expenditure was quite unwarrantable, and in all probability not likely to be remunerative during the present generation, nor are we, the people, free from blame. We have been too eager to get all those advantages of communication in the space of a few years which it has taken older countries a long

time to obtain. Hence we have mispent a great deal of our money. (Hear, hear.) As moat of you are doubtless aware, the annual interest and sinking fund op our national debt amounts to one million and a half stearling, which nearly all goes out of the Colony to payour public creditors, This is a terrible incubus to be borne by a population of little more than 400,000 people, and will necessitate considerable self-denial on our part, and the exercise of the very strictest economy in every department of Government to enable the Colony to meet its engagements, and prevent the ruin of its credit. In order to avert such a calamity we shall have to accept the unpleasant fact that wo must endure a very considerable increase of taxation for a time ; but if wise counsels and honest competent Government prevail, it may be possible in a very short time to lighten our burdens. The question naturally arises : By what means shall we be able to meet our engagements and at the same time reduce taxation ? I shall endeavour to show what, in my opinion, are some of the methods which would aid in accomplishing this very desirable end. First, then, I shall speak of our railways, which I consider to be the most important, department affecting the prosperity of the country. These must, if possible, be made to pay not only maintenance, working expenses, and renewals, bu.fc a very considerable portion, if not the whole, of. the interest on the cost of their construction. Such a result can only be attained by a thorough revision of every department ; by the dispensing with the running of all unnecessary trains, by revising the rates charged under the various schedules, and by increasing the charges on certain heavy items which are at present being carried at a considerable loss, by_ cutting down working expenses—" Ten shillings a week." '' Dry up, or I'll chuck you out.") —to the lowest limit consistent with safety and thorough efficiency; and by every other legitimate means which may from time to time be found practicable. It has been stated, and is currently believed, that our railways are paying something like three per cent, towards interest on the average cost of construction, after making due allowance for maintenance and rene-ivals, and the publisncd monthly returns would prubabxy lead to this conclusion, but I fear that it would be found, after making proper provision for all the items of expenditure referred to, the amount towards interest paid by the line to the Colony will not be much more, if fcfcan one per cent, I

giving every encouragement, to bona fide settlers, go occupy crown lands, I think the present system is a good one, but if any amendments should at any time be brought forward, which .would, in my give greater facilities for permanent settlement, I would be prepared to support them. 1 hold that the active occupation of the land by industrious settlers who at once aid in paying the expenses of Government, is of far more real importance to the welfare of the country, than the mere sum of money derived from the sale of the land: - An extensive area I of land fit for settlement," under .thel various systems in operation, should always be kept ready for selection, and full information as to the localities in which the various blocks are situated, the quality of theland, its topographical features, &c., should be obtainable at every land office in the Colony. The present Minister of Lands has issued a very useful handbook giving all the information above referred to, it should be of great assistance to intending settlers.

education. I Our present system, which has now been on its trial for some time, is undoubtedly a thoroughly liberal one, and should be productive of much present and future good to the rising generation. It is much wiser to spend money on the education of the young, and so enable them to grow up useful members of society, than to be compelled to spend it in the maintenance and punishment of criminals, the too frequent result of the neglect of early education. I fear, however, that the cost is swelling up to greater proportions than we can bear in addition to our other heavy burdens, the annual charge being somewhere between L 350,000 and L 400,000. However, so long as we can manage to afford the expenditure, I would be in favor of allowing the free system to continue. (Applause.)

FRANCHISE AND IMMIGRATION. Mr. Reid then referred to the franchise, which he declared to be thoroughly liberal. He would support this liberal franchise or any improvement thereon forthe public, good. - Referring to immigration, he said he would be in favor of limiting Government aid for a time to female domestic servants, adding that the advantages that the Colony possessed, added to the dismal outlook in the Old Country, especially for agriculturists, would no doubt oaqse large numbers to settle in the Colony.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT Mr. Reid continued : If the subsidies to Counties and Road Boards be done away with, as seem 3 highly probable, I would be in favor of their being granted increased borrowing powers, subject to prudent limitations, and of their being moderately endowed with land to assist in paying interest and sinking fund. Both Counties and Road Boards are doing good work by employing labor and opening up the country, and are entitled to receive every consideration at the hands of the Government and the country. THE UNEMPLOYED. 1 shall now say a few words with reference to the unemployed. lam of opinion that by cordial co-operation on the part of the Government and other employers of labor no difficulty whatever should be experienced by those who are able and willing to work in finding employment at a moderate wage during the dullest season of the year. As the colony cannot borrow money for three years, I would be in favor of the Government reserving a very considerable portion of the balance of the public works loan to be spread over those years 3 and to be expended during those dull periods in giving employment on the piece-work system at present in force, or any improvement thereon. By this system the industrious workman earns a fair remuneration, the idler only gets paid what he actually earns, and the country gets fair value for its expenditure. (Applause, laughter, q-nd cries of "How much.") There are some large works, such as bridges, which could not be built in iliio manor j boi l -yrouli U i» fof doing as much of the Government work as possible on this plan, and in conjunction therewith giving the people employed every reasonable facility to enable them to settle on the Crown lapds in the vicinity of their work. If land-owners, occupiers of land, acid any other large employers of labor, would co-operate with the Government in this matter, and reserve for the dull periods all works. which could be postponed without injury to themselves, an immense amount of good might be done, and anything approaching to starvation or actual want entirely done away with.

INTEMPERANCE AND LOCAL OPTION". Mr. Held then referred at sorue length to the evil effects of drunkenness, saying that to this curse must be attributed the greater portion of the crime, misery, and destitution existing in the Colony. He referred to his personal experiences and efforts amongst hjs employes, and to the good that had been done by the formation of a Good Templar lodge at Teaneraki, He was glad to notice on reading the Premier's speech at Leeston that the Government intended to bring in a bill during the ensuing session giving to districts thg power of local option, subject to reasonable compensation being given to those owneps of established hotels whose interests might have to suffer in the eyent of the powers of the Act being put into force. He would give his earnest support to the Bill or any better measure having for its object the mitigation of the great evil of drunkenness.

PERSONAL. Mr. Reid then proceeded : I think it will only be just to myself and fair to the electors that I should say a few words which may tend to remove q, wrong impression which probably exists in the minds of many, viz., that I am not a liberal candidate, but merely the representative of the runholder, the landowner, and the capitalist generally, and that I shall be likely, if elected, to further their interests in Parliament at the expense of the rest of the community. This will not be the case. I hold as liberal views as any prudent man could desire, and would scorn the very idea of helping to_ carry any measure which might inflict injustice upon any class for the purpose of benefiting myself or those whose interests may be of a similar character. (Applause.) Great harm has resulted and much bitterness of feeling has been aroused in the minds of a portion of the working classes against property by the ravings of popularity-hunters, who, in most cases, care nothing for the working man except for how far they can make use of him as a stepping-stone to further their own selfish or ambitious ends.—Applause.) There should be no antagonism amongst the different classes of the community. The runholder, the landowner, the merchant, the capitalist, and the workingman are all mutually dependent upon and necessary to each other, and any effort of the unr scrupulous, or of men with visionary ideas, to set up one class against another, is serving of the strongest disapprobation of all sensible men.—(Applause.) If you do me the honor to return me as your representative I shall go to Parliament as an independent member, unbiassed by any party prejudices, and determined to aid only in carrying out such measures as shall be for the general good, and which shall do even-handed justice to all classes alike. Although not intimately acquainted with many of the present Ministry. I believe that they are honorable men, who have the good of the country at heart, and who will not spare themselves in their efforts to bring the Colony out of its present difficulty. If elected to represent you, and I find that I have not been mistaken in my estimate of. their character and intentions, I shall give them a willing and hearty support, and will aid them in taking a firm stand against all attempts of members to form unprofitable works upon

need hardly say that this state of things should not be allowed to and, I think, the Minister for Public Wbrks has shown a praiseworthy earnestness in making—(A voice .: Cattle yards at Corriedale)—what appears to be a substantial beginning in the way of economy, naving already effected savings to the extent of about L 36,000 per annum, and this without any material inconvenience to the public. There must also be a most determined stand made against the extension of existing, or the construction of new, lines* which do "not show a reasonable probability of being self-supporting.— Hear, hear.)' If this be not not done we shall infallibly sink deeper and deepsr into debt, and; consequently our taxation will increase instead of diminishing. ...

RAILWAY COMMISSION. Mr. Reid then referred to the labors of the Railway Commission, and said that a section of the Press had accused the Government of ruling the country by Royal Commissions, and of appointing these Commissions for the purpose of giving pleasure trips to their friends and supporters, stating further that no practical good would be derived from them. _ No accusation could have been more unjust. Although he did not feel at liberty to speak freely on the subject, he would say that had these Commissions been appointed three years ago, they would have effected a saving to the Colony of many hundreds of thousands of pounds. He denied that the Commissioners were enjoying pleasure trips, and said tha*t they had performed some very hard work. He then referred to the fact of the Railway Commission not having been appointed till the end of February, and to the energy displaced by its members in collecting information to enable them to place their report in the hands of the Government as soon as possible after the opening of Parliament. Although they had only been able to pay flying visits to different centres, and had been named a " flying squadron," they had gathered nearly all the information that could have been obtained had they remained longer in the differeut places. Notwithstanding the adverse remarks that had been made, he was of opinion that tfye report, if approved and fairly supported, would still aid in preventing a considerable waste of public money. (Hear, hear.)

IEASE OR SALE OF LINES. Mr. Reid next referred to the opinion gaining ground that it might be more profitable to sell or lease the railways to public companies than that their working should remain in the hands of the Government. He did not think it would be wise to sell the lines, but thought that the plan of leasing theqi tq substantial companies, if such could be found willing to offer for them, was one deserving of careful consideration. CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.

Mr. Reid continued : There are many other departments beside our railways on which Government expenditure should be very much reduced. (Hear, hear.) The Civil Service has now grown to very large proportions, which the altered circumstances of the Colony demand should be very much reduced, and it is to be hoped that the report of the Civil Service Commission will aid the Government in carrying 'out extensive reforms. The Native Lands Purchase Department instead of being the means of acquiring valuable lands for the Colony is, I ain informed, so inefficiently conducted that it is a source of loss and expense, and should be done away with altogether. (Applause.) The greater part of the lands acquired through this department are said to be the very refuse of the Worth Island, consisting qhiefly of sand hills, swamps, and mountain tops, quite unfit- for settlement, and not to be worth even so much as the Colony has paid for them. The natives are apparently well able to take care to themselves in such transactions ; the Government agents find it a very different matter to get them to disposg of any considerable quantity of really good land fit for iCuropean gsettlers. The JNative Office, also a source of great expense, is a scandal anc a disgrace to the Colony, and ought as soon as possible to be cut to very narrow limits, and in a short time abolished entirely. (Hear, hear.) Another very great drain on the resources, but one which seems likely soon to bp yery much reduced, is the necessity of keeping up such a large armed force in the North Island 5 let us hope that the Native difficulty will soon be a thing of the past. Under the several heads referred to very great retrenchment is possible, and it should be the constant aim of all our representatives who have the well-fare of their constituents and the Colony at heart, to assist in furthering such as'shall have for tbpir object the remedying of such evils as those referred to. 0 TAXATION.

I shall now venture a few remarks on that most unpleasant topic, taxation. It ig impossible to shut our eyes to the that, in the present circumstances of the Colony, an increase of taxation is an absolute necessity. What with the decrease in our Customs revenue, the almost total suspension of land sales, and the falling off in our railway receipts on the one hand, and on the other the great increase of interest payable on our public debt, there are no honorable means, so far as I can see. of avoiding a very _ considerable increase in the amount which we shall have to contribute. The question, then, for consideration ia, By what means should it be raised so that the burden may fall equitably on all classes ? The various modes proposed from time to time are as follow :—A land tax, a property fax, an income tax, and an increase in Customs duties. A I object to, not because I am a landowner, but beoause I am of opinion that every form, of class legislation is bad, and a land tax pure and simple is of that nature. The cry raised by popularity hunters that the value of landed properties have been raised enormously by the expenditure oh railways is to some extent true, but the landowners are not the only class who have benefited by the public works scheme, and therefore should not be the only kind of property taxed. An income tax in which reasonable exemptions are made is a fair tax, but it hag the objection of being inquisitorial in its character, and also of causing honest men to pay more than share, in consequence of some with more elastic consciences sending in false returns.—(Applause.) A property tax in which liabilities are deducted from gross valuation is fair in principle, but mosb objectionable in its derails. —(Loud ap? plau3e.) It embraces an imprtant principle in political economy, namely, that every man should contribute towards the expenses of Government in proportion to the value of property for which he recives protection from the State. The property tax as it now stands is, I consider, very objectionable on aecpunt of the excessively inquisitorial nature of its requirements.—(Applause.) I would strongly advocate its careful reconsideration with a view to stripping it as much as possible of its objectionable clauses. If an increase in customs duties has to be resorted to, I would be in favor of adding to the amounts already levied on what may reasonably be described as articles of luxury (Oh, oh, and laughter), so that the burden would only fall on those who made use of such articles, and whose circumstances might fairly be presumed to be such that they would not feel the increased cost of the articles. If any further addition was necessary, I would be in favor of re-rim-posing the duty on and sugar, which, T believe, was never felt to be a burden by the consumer ; in fact, as a rule, in the country districts those duties are generally paid by the employers of labor, who generally provide thejr men with food. I npw come to the laws, which I think should be thoroughly liberal, and I would advocate the advisability of

the country. In conclusion, let me add the hope that, with honest and competent legislation and administration, with a careful expenditure of the means available, the- almost certain steady influx of population which will find its way to our shores from the older countries of the world, drawn thither by our beautiful climate and rich natural resources, we may expect in a very few years to enjoy a greater and more lasting state of prosperity than any we have as yet enjoyed. Mr. Reid resumed his seat amidst applause. The Chairman then said Mr. Reid would be happy to, answer any questions the meeting might put to him. After vainly endeavoring several times to ask a question, Mr. Calderwood, amidst great confusion, mounted- the platform and asked whether, in the event of the candidate being elected? he would support a bill, if one were brought into the House, to give an equal amount of support to Catholics intheeducation of their children. Mr. Reid said that, not having ciently studied the question, he did not care to give a definite answer upon it at once' He thought the Act gave equal justice to Roman Catholics and every other denomination, he did not think Catholics had much to complain of. The system of education was purely secular, and Catholics might perhaps have some objection to send their children to secular schools. It might be open for consideration whether or not Catholics were entitled to any special aid. He would endeavor to do what was just and right.

Mr. J. J. O'Nash : How is it you are only paying your men 10s a week ? Mr. Reid : The answer is, I am giving more than lQs a week to those of my men who are worthy of it, but unfortunately there are many of them like you—and you have been in my employ, I believe—who are not worth more than their food. (Applause.) Mr. John Grant : Are you in favor of the present political position of the country? (Loud laughter.) After a pause Mr. Clydesdale, junior, asked Mr. Reid if he was in favor of the Local Option Bill. Mr. Reid replied that if the elector had paid attention to his address he would have learned that he had stated that he would vote for the bill or any improvement upon it that might be introduced into the House.

Mr. Duncan Sutherland said that as the candidate had expressed himself so strongly in favor of retrenchment, he would like to ask whether Mr. Reid would show his sincerity, by beginning at home. Would he vote for the reduction of the honorarium from L2OO to LIOO, or do away with it altogether. He (Mr. Sutherland) believed that LIOO would meet all the expenses of a member. He had been given to understand that some members paid very little to their washerwomen. (Laughter.)

Mr. Reid said the honorarium was a matter of very small consideration in his mind, and he would be willing to vote for its reduction. (Applause and cries of " Oh !") Mr. Sutherland asked if the candidate would vote for doing away with the honorarium altogether. Mr. Reid replied that most certainly and, he might add, most willingly would he vote for the abolition of the honorarinm. He believed that if the honorarium was done away with altogether they would have a much better class of men in the House. (Hear, hear.) Mr. John Hardy : I presume when Mr. Reid gave his last reply he knew that if the honorarium were abolished it would be impossible for any poor man to sit in the House.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. Reid ; In answer to the question or remark of Mr. Hardy, for it is scarcely a question, I at once admit that those who cannot afford to enter the House without the honorarium ought not to be there. — (Uproar and maaks of disapprobation.) Mr. Wm. Patterson : Why should a man be prevented from speaking in Parliament Vmcause he is poor ? Mr - Reid : I think men are placed in a false position who go into Parliament without means. A vote is sometimes a very valuable thing, and the temptation of a good billet is a very strong one, — (Renewed uproar.) Mr. Hislop said' that the candidate had stated in his address that he would go in for opposing political railways, He wished to ask if, supposing pressure were brought to bear upon the present Government to induoe them to place sums on the estim?tes for the construction of certain political lines, would he join in opposing the Ministry. Mr. Reid said most certainly he would with all his heart, Mr. Hislop said that last session the Government had placed an open vote of L 65,000 on the estimates for the North Island, part of the consideration for support of four Auckland members, and L 50,000 for such 3 place as Taranaki. If the attempted to. do, such a thing next session, wo.uld he oppose them,

Mr, Reid replied that he would oppose any Ministry that attempted to perpetrate such jobs. In reply to a question from an unknown elector, Mr. Reid said that if the present Ministry were the earnest he believed them tq ba, he would give them his hearty support, Mr. N. Lane asked if the candidate was in favor of the Government taking over district railways. (Laughter and applause.) Mr. Reid replied that, had he not been a member of the Railway Commission, he would have answered the question at once ; but, being a member of the Commission, his tongue was tied, and he oould not gire an answer. When the report of the Commission came out, as it would do in a few weeks, the question would be fully, and, he believed, satisfactorily answered. In reply to a question, Mr. Reid said that if $ increase of taxation was necessary, he would be in favor of putting a tax on beer. (" Oh, Oh !") He did not think the poor man's glass of beer would cost him any more if there was a tax upon it. • After a long pause and some confusion, Mr. J. W. Humphrey said that having heard the able address of Mr. Reid, he had much pleasure in proposing a vote of confidence in Mr. Reid as a fit and proper person to represent the'district. Mr. John Mainland seconded the motion.

Mr. Jjugene McCarthy proposed as an amendment that the meeting had no confidence in Mr. Reid. Mr. John Grant seconded the amendment.

On being put to the meeting, the amendment was lost, and the motion the majority of those in the hall not voting on either side. Mr. Reid thanked the meeting for its vote of confidence, and for the patient manner in which it had listened to his address. He felt sure that if they elected him as their representative they would have no occasion to regret their choice.

A vote of thanks having by acclamation been accorded to the Chairman, the meeting terminated.