MR EARNSHAW AT THE CITY HALL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10636, 30 October 1896, Page 3

MR EARNSHAW AT THE CITY HALL.

Mr William Esrashai?, M.H.8., addressed , A meeting of his constituents, as one of the i members for Dnnedin, ju the City: Hall last i Bvening. Tho building'ffiaa crowded to excess. ! The meeting, which w*s a noisy oae through- ( out, was towards its clo3e very rowdy, ths : speaker being frequently interrupted for several minutes at » tims, «nd the appeals for order ■; whoiiv disrt'gMrutd. lib R. N. Adams pre- : siilst^ and Mf ssrs J. Joliy, Robctt Ra,e, W. H, ■ Warren, J. Watkins, A. 0. Broad, the Bey. W. Heady, sevsral other gentlemen, and a number. ' of ladies occupied seat? ou the plitform. ; Mr Eaenshatt, who was received ■' with ] spplause, said that sis years ago he h&d entered npDn- apolitical apprenticeabip.—(A Voice :" Yes, and we have had enough of you.") Before he had done they would have a little more oE him.—(Applsuse.) When he entered Parliament it was under somß disadvantages, aud he had found he had a great deal to learo and something to unlearn; but ha claimed to have prcved himself, worthy of the trust reposed . in him, and believed tbat trust would be continued.—(Applause ) The- Liberal party had come, into power on the self-reliant, noaborrowing policy- enunciated by the late Mr Ballance, and he (ths speaker) as a worker had been returned to take part in the new programme of experimental legislation foreshadowed at that .time. He claimed to have earned and to have enjoyed the respect and confidence of his first political chief, tbe Hon. Mr Ballance. Ha desired to contrast the two mastera under whom b.3 had served his political apprenticeship—Mr Baliauee and Mr Seddon,— ' and to show how the policy of the one was a policy in the best interests of the working man, and how the policy ef the other was a policy of disaster to the labourers of" the colony.— (Hear, hear; applanse ar.d dissent.) The policy advocated by Mr BiUmce—a policy of selfreliance and economy—had been approved of by all ths labour organisations of the colony; but that policy had been departed from since Mr Ward became Colonial Treasurer and Messrs geddon and Ward had gone in for plunging, borrowing, and (squandering. As a member ef ParJiani«]!i ho nad, he' claimed, been true to his pledge 3in supporting the Balisnco ,Admini*tr»ticrj f and equally true to them in opposing ths policy of plunge adopted by the Seddon Adminisireticn. Before the last elections both the Premier and the Colonial Treasurer repeatedly declared themselves in favour of self-reliance sad non-borrowing, but they had increased t-axatica through the customs by from £70,000 to £100,000 per annum and had borrowed a million on money, besides getting money under v*riou» heads, having, for example, to manipulated thoir fiuance as last .year to oeize £80,003 belonging to the locnl bodies' sinking Eutid. Money had been squandered, trad inftfewl of a redaction there had been a large wcreKj in the duties on the necessaries of life. Vid the working man of New Zasland think thiA the piling up of a Dational debt w»s goiug to give them increased ■wages, more employmiinfc, or a better social status ?—(lnterruption.) Ho hud opposed the borrowing policy as ths rspresentatdve of the working man, becauss he wax convinced that if wages - were to be malntnined and education provided New Zealand revwt bo in the van of the whole of the AuKMiraan colohiea with regard to its finance. Kew South Wales had entered npou a Fr*etrj:rio policy, and if New Zealand was to l<<ad cs axuanufaciuring country and to command the J.si.ind trade, its finance mu^t bo put on a seundur footing than even the finance o£ that colony.—(lnterruption.) He asked if these interruptions were fair or manly —they should give him a fair chance and.he would fight it cub with them. —(Applause.) It was impossible to keep- on talking at t!jo top of ha voice. If it was beer that was howling ac could understand it; certainly it was not intelligence that vu expressed in that way. ll' milking men wanted a policy- that would fca tit real aMistr.nco tv them thoy should to a maa advocate a reduction of the do ties upt.n.iinj necessaries of life and go in for direct ti.Xfeiiou, for the moment Ihey understood how much thay had to pay they irould insist upon knowing the why and wherefore-of lavish (.-i^-enditure, and reform would follow. Could riiey not see that if Uiey went on piling indebtedness on the country they would themselves have to bear the burden of that indebtedness? At the present- time ou money borrowed for E&riuns.l and local purposes they were sending away £2,000,000 per annum as interest. That burden must fall on the shoulders of the producers. Did they realise that just in proportion us they increased tbe burdens of th« country the wages of the working classes must come dov/n ? •It was a fact all the world over, i and as the national dobt of the colony had gone up the wages of tbe peoples had gone down. Another question of serious import was tha violation uf tho law the Government was continually committing. There was a gross breach oE the Saw of contract in regard to the coDperalwa works on the Otago Central railway. The men had been paid 3s 6d per yard leas for work than they bad contracted to do it £or. Oa that question he had fought tho Premier but hod got no satisfaction, for the Premier had been ably supported by his "barrfceker" of Caversham. )f a Democracy was to stand it must bs by the observance of the l*w. If the low w&a wrong it must be altered, but if auy (internment—Tory, Liberal, or Radical —broke tbo law, and was permitted I to brenk itj then the downfall of democracy j began.—(Applause.) ,He maintained .that an- j other gross breach of contract had t&ken place i in connection with the Horowhenua Block, i because .the Government had sought to set eside, by. act of Parliament the Crown lands title which had been fsrsntod to Major Kemp. Thea the Government had/ sought to break the contract entered into with the manager of the Bank of New Zealand. The manager had been

pointed for a period oE 10 years, and by an If] t of P&rliament the Government had sought she dotermi'ie that contract without compeußa- coi m.—(AVoicu: " Qnitiii right.") Ho said it wh is quits- wrong. —(A Voice: "It's qaifce ref jht," and interruption.) Hehad no sympathy pri th tho gentleman T/ho had been appointed, tht ;t he did pay that it was a very serious thing | nol aeii tho Government «ougat to sefc'&sidfl a lon ntraet thoy had made in the manner that had i tb< en done. Those were only three illustrations j coi many that might be given, and the mtttcc ■ tci is one of oorious ; moment to the decaoorßC)', [bu cau?o if one Government by its overwhelming wl sjority defied the law or altered the law to Ino it tbemßelves a precedent would bo estab- j re) ihed the results of which must prove disastrous, j re! r Earnshaw then traced the history of the I tel inking legislation, and adversely criticised the jha induct of the Government.respiting it, during jpu hich criticism he was frequently interrupted. ;ne ontinuing, he said they had now a State bank, ;th id that State bank a State burden which he iin slieved would sooner or later involve tha j mntry in a loss of at leasb five million pounds jm< ' money. They had entered into commercial jan inking, and that was a matter which, in )ove all others, should bo kept entirely fa jarb from political influence. He did oo jt say that that Government h&d ho sen corrupt vrith regard to bauking. He w3 jlieved that Richard Seddon had done the co ;sb he could in the interests of the colony— t!i 'Hear, hsar," and applause),—and that he ii.?.d . or. iffered very seriously physically because of the ; .t'a irain he hud undergone in dealing with this jw. aeation. At the same time he asserted ths.t > fis io Premier had deliberately' stonewalled the |re ianlriDg Committee froia the beginning; to end ;af i order to shield his hte colleague Mr J. G. ; t'u Pard.—(Crieaof "Yes" and "No," and inter- | 0 iption.) Befbre dealing with other questions !in c wanted to say a few words in connection ■ m ■ith the labour organisations and the intriguers .d> nd billet-hunters in thoie- organisations.— Dissent.) As a working man, he said ha hud :to aenunfairly dealt with in regard to the selection jin y the "Workers' Political Committee.—(" No," jei cd "Hear, hear.") H-they would listen to him j 8.1 bey would agree with him. Why had his name jtl :0b been submitted as a candidate to tboija |tl rgenisations ?—(♦' Because 70U turned round." jca ' Because we have a baiter man." " But," and :(i atcrrupUon.) He said he had been faithful to j he Labour party—nono mora so.—("Yes," v ,nd "No, no," and interruption.) Did they t! all themselves men; all ha wanted wa3 a fair h ight. He had advocated labour measures ?hen other members had Bab in their •, k eats like dumb dogs. Who had Btoo:i ! he brunt of opposition iv 1891, 1892. j nd 1893 with regard to labour measures 'i \ laneard would give them proof that j n tho House and in Committee he had j ought more for labour measures than all j t he other local labour members put to- I*' [ether.—(Applause.) They all knew that }. <i le had not gofc on vury well with the Ixte |jj Ilinister for Labour, fcfcs Hon, W. f. Beevw, ! p iat that gentleman—and a very able Ministe>: j - or Labour he had been—had admitted that he i a Mr E*rnsha\r) had consistently supported j j abour measures. Tho fact, he maintained, wad ! ;hat -whether supporting or opposing the i government he had fought the battle of labau? ( n the House. Take the case of the Typo- | jraphieal Society. Hs ttad done more for ik« j nembersof that society than all the other labour j f nembera pub together.—("Yes" and '.'No.") 1 [n 1891 ha had proposs'J, and had got carried, a j c -csolubion authorizing bhs manufacture of sebunl jc, Dooks and requisites witbin the colony. As a ; j 3onneqncnee they hsda School Reader man n- j tactured in tha colony, and if the Minister for 1 , Bduß»tion and Labour had been alive a Dn the subject all school requisites might . , bave been produced wifciun the colony. Then j . aa to the Bootmakera' Union. He was not t speaking agaicst uniocists or workers outside ; unions, bub only making a charge against tha J coterie who dominated the unions, and who |, were a greater danger in the unions than all the > f capitalists wera. Ha dittoed that during the r discussion of the tariff his h*d striven to proteot > ' the interests of the workers, while a member ! ( who hod been f elected by the unions had not | A opened his mouth on the question except to j , cipliin what iwera "usaids' sizes" in bootj. | £ He could a!3O ask the workers on Or*go j Csnfcral if he hadnot f oojiht for them, and remind ( the railway workmen 6h»t he hud accepted the 1 position of president of their sooiety wiiea j. requested to do so. So far as labour measures ; 1 were concerned ho had fwjght both Government J . and Opposition, and he had a right to expect | ', the sympathy of tha engineers »»^_ ot th« j ( members of the railway union. On the quos- j| tion of the recent elassiSeation ho had fou^hlf ■ in the interests of the railway workers until 5 ! ; o'clock in the morning ayainst proposals which j j meant reducing the wajes of the workmen.— j ("No, no.") It would bg found thst the propos»U would reduoa the wagea oE workmon and j incresee the salaries of Jiie permanent officiate. Agaiosb this ha^ad pretested and voted, but the other Labour rasusbers had voted for the big salaries. For th9> railway men he had also fought ths siieat sydtem and mads tho j workshops fit for men to be omployedin, aud he really believed he dejerred better treatment j from this ''society th»o he hiid received.— ; ; (Applause.)' •'Ha had slso voted for the i : Shipping and SestusnV BUI quits as much as ; Mr Millar bimßcif ha.;? aone, and he had » j ; right to expeofc better traatraeub from thsvo. j He would not, however, submit to the dictate? j of a small numbsr of the»a workers, and • appealed with co'nSdbnse to tho general bo:ly I against the intrigaerj. tba wire-pullers, and trn« j billet-huntsis. — (Cries of "Oh !oh ! " and j interruption.) Yes, ha called them, billet-i. houtars adrfseSly; s.\;& if they had any con-I ception .of tf.9 ccrrM^endance .which took !, place between 't'eese fail.Vt-hunters and the { Governmeht tb«7 woii'<? soon open their eynw, • He appealed frotn the resolution of tbewe j organisaiiaus and the wci?king meaof Daiieo-::. ! and said that io their ictoegts he had vntw?. "| and had a right to rsceive recogoitiou tad j bslieved he would recaivo it at their hands. — (Applause.) The complaint against him was ' really nob that he hsd nob supported Liber*! j measures, bub that he had not supported ths j one-man: Government of Richard Seddon, j That this w&s so was apparent from tha j printed programme put forward by the \V«S- ( liDgton Electoril League of which the Premior j was tt« head. It was 6j;4ted that the object of the league was to aasiji; in maintaining the liberal policy of the prenant Administration by returning three members of Parliament for the City of Wellington, pledged to sapporii ■ the administration of the Hon. Richard.Seddon.— 1 (A Voice: ■■■•'Quito rijsJ'/.") It was easy to J gay " Quite right," but what was the roso- j lution of the Workers' Political Committee j prior to the seieotioa of candidates at the last general elacsioa. It wm that mem-j bers should be returned pledged to support | measures, not men.—(Applause.) He had been ; tru9 to that, for he had always supported ! mexaures, not men. He had bosn told that a | subscription was being gob up to publiah bis i romdßods, and he had offered to, subscriba far j tbe purpose himself. If Each a compilation had been made he hoped it would be produced, and that ha would be ciisjisnged with it. Ha cloimed that he had i'olfilled everyone oE hb | pled^ss to tha Workera' Political Commitbße ! and to every othor association. If any one j thought he did nob do so, he challenged j. then to get up in a quiet, proper, and straight- ; forward manner and show in what he had | failed.—(Applause ) -.'l'he' mcuiurea ha had { opposed : were me'asuras which would disih- j tegrate and demoraline the labour market. Ths ' BSanter and Apivcoatic* Bill as introduced was impracticable,. and wousd bo injarioua in its fiffecta. Ho bslievod tiiere was no ncceuil>;..| now to apprentice boyj, aad thodght thtt thsj. ratio of boy to adult lab'puc »honld be'deoidr.d • by tbe Conoiliatipn and Arbitration Courb. j He h»d himself always favourad the establish- j ment of old ago pensions, but the measure ! introduced by tbe Government was simply a j caw form of charitable aid that would demoralise labour and pauperise the recipients. The provision for old age pensions must always come out of productioa—that wag ont of the labour of the colony; and if people thought j they could take 10$ or. 12s a week out of tha consolidated rnvenue' for an old age pension without firat putting it there thsy were'very much mistaken.' Thapecple ought to contribute ta old age peusions and to claim them as; a matter of right, not receive j them as a churity in relif;f of iudigenoe. Bat j as a matter of fact, it could not have been intended that-tbe. measure introduced by the Government should bwsotne law, for tie Government hud made absolutely no provision for thefinauce.andhadDct evondataon which to base the proposals, 'i'he first bill, had been withdrawn alinoßtimmediUely it was laid on the table of the House ; but fortunately he had got hold of it, and he found that subsequently tbe Government, for election purpoees, had struck I out the sourcsa from which the revenue was to come, and had substituted more specious oue3 lin order to gull the working man. As was 1 I known, he had bis own views regarding the I regulation of the liquor traffic, and had made j Ino secret of them, but as between the two parties, ] i the one demanding the sale of liquor as thoy liked and the other the suppression of the traffic, it was needful to t&ke a aide, and he had no hesitation in taking tho side of temperance reform. The gieatett instrument the employer 1 had to keep down laboor wan this curse of j i driak. — (Interruption.) AH the Liberal measures they could put on the Statute Book would be comparatively worthless to j the working man as loog as the publican stood at the street corner to appropriate his wages nt each week's end. It was because',ha believed it to be in the iuterests of tbe working man that'- the drink traffic should cease that he had taken this stand, and j ! although when he went to Parliament he wss ! not strictly an abstainer, he had, in order to i practice what he preached, become au abstainer. Ho claimed that he had for : cix years faitiifcilly represented hia conI stituents in Parliament, and had supported all Liberal measures and kept all J hia pledges. He could say that he waa cow a | poorer man than when ha was a journeyman, and that if he returned to the ranks of labour j he could stand up in his boot 3 as a-man who 1 had done nothingto be ashamed of.—(Applause,} I

returned —as he bolieved ho should be—he juld still support measures, not mou. There lid be 110 greater nonsense than for people io favoured an elective Executive and the ■erandum to talk of placing p«fcy bsfore inciplea or measures. Ho thanked them for air patient hearing.—(Laughter.) _He did fc mind the row, only he had felt tha strain his throat. In conclusion, he reminded am that ho was » poor, man,, and aid not have paid committees or exasive political organisation in his favour; t ho should, ho said, address the constituents lerever he contd.—(lnterruption.) He had , doubt he was going to Wellington. Whether turned or not he should preserve his seltspect, for he felt there was no manwho could [1 him that either ia or out of Parliament he id betrayed or degraded the trust they had it in him. He thankod them for the kmdiss they manifested to him, and hoped that if ey believed in him they would fight for him the coining campaign, A number of questions were put amidst ore or leas continued infcsrruptiou, and were lswered In reply to some of the more iportant questions, ho said that ho did not ,your tha election of a Governor within the ilony, but thought that the colony should we a voice in tha selection of the Governor ho was sent here. This right had bsen meecisd in the owe of Queensland. He lousht that the Governors who had bson jpointed had done good servico for ■a colony, and wers to ba preferred to any ho would bo elected as the resoUi of a party rhf wi&in the colony. Ho did not favour syncing the Humbw of members by one-halt, -, ffiio ouly safety of a demoerasy was in having ill representation. He W3-- opposed to any hicrae coming to the colon?, and was strongly i favour of the pres*nS system of cdncstion, ad would opaosß any aitempb to brer.lt s a "llrW WAUnnoP moysd a vote of thanks . and of confidence in Mr Earnshaw. At itervals during thieprotesotcsJ disturbance which asuedhe gave expression to the opinion that i'hou'-h Mr Eirnshaw had b«an thrust oub of Government rankl), and almost forced into ac Oooosition, hswas a friend of the working ■an, and worthy of sympathy end support.— Applause end dissent.) Th- Ckaibman, wao could not be heard tor p-oa-, put the question, and a smail portion of tie audience voted, there being about 100 hands eld up for and very few against tha motion. _ A vote of thanks was proposed to tbe chairman and the proceedings terminated.