THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11598, 5 December 1899, Page 2

THE GENERAL ELECTION.

ME JAMES BENNET AT TUAPEKA FLAT. Mr James Bennet, who is contesting the Tuapoka election in the Ministerial interest, addressed a large meeting at Tuapeka Flat Schoolhouse on Friday evening. • Mr Robert Ross presided, and briefly introduced the

speaitcr. Mr Bonnet, who was cordially received, said he came before them as the representative of the Liberal party in the electorate.—(Adplause.) They had read, no doubt. Mr Eraser's remarks in the Tiiapeka Time* regarding the Liberal Federation and tho pare played by that organisation in the selection of a LiDcral representative. Well, all he could say was that Mr Fraser knew more about that organisation than lie did. Mr Fraser was there, along with his friends in Lawrence, at its birth, and lie fostered it and coddled it for purposes of his own. It was Mr .Fraser and Mr "traser's frionds ■ that made the organisation in Lawrence, and, as they knew, Lawrence in these matters dominated the district in all matters of politics. Mr Fraser was successful in putting his staunch friend and supporter, Mr David M'lntosh, in the chair as president of-.the federation, and he also put another friend of his—Mr Hugh Cameron—into the position of secretary. No wonder ho said he had the "pull" of the organisation.—(Laughter and applause.) All that time he (Mr -Bonnet) knew nothing personally of the use that was being made o£ the federation. But lie should say, as Mr Fraser had said, he.knew that Mr Fraser and his fuends liad the "pull," Q f the federation, and were using it for their own purposes, ihere was not, a single friend or supporter oi his an active member of the organisation, it was irom the beginning in the, hands of Mr l'raser and his friends, and it was used by him and for him for tho express purpose, no\ ox promoting, the interests of W Liberal party, out of -promoting the personal interests of Mr iraser. The fact was that Mr Eraser had ~een all his life promoting his own interests at the. ospense of. the liberal party, ''a- i i Was no man in the district who liad [ ml.icted suci injury on the party as he had. [ Perhaps he diet not know it, but it was neveri tkelcss a fact, and his conduct at the present time m defying the authority of the organisation to waich ho belonged; and which he had such a big hand in creating, was only in keeping with his whole career.—(Applause?) He (the speaker) had nothing whatever to' do with the federation in Lawrence; he cared .nothing from beginning to end about what it might do or what it intended to do and down to tho last moment ho could assure his audience, and ha spoke with oil the solemnity the occasion demanded, that he had never betrayed ji.sinale iota of his independence to the federation, and that lie liad never communicated with or attempted to influence a single member of that organisation.—(Applause.) .But now they found the man who, with his friends, was instrumental in forming that organisation appealing for .sympathy, and going about the country telling the people he had been badly treated Was that fair; was that manly? No, it wps not; but it was characteristic"of Mr Fraser and those who knew him would agree with what he said.—(Applause.) If. he (the speaker) never went into Parliament he would never degrade himself to the extent of trying l-o make himself a martyr, and appeal to the pity of the electors.—(Applause.) "Mr Fraeer tried to discredit the ballot of the LiberalLabour Federation. He had said the caucu« was not fair. How was it not fair? The vote was taken by ballot,,-arid no man was coerced into voting against his conscience. Then where did the unfairness come in? There were men present, certainly, who liad not heretofore supported the "Liberal Government, but they were going to do so in the future.'—(Applause.) Where was the objection against such men?—(Applause.) Then there were gentlemen present at the meetmvr —representative gentlemen—from all parts of the electorate, who represented hundreds of people, and there were also telegrams and letters pouring in by the-score in support of his (Mr Rennet's) candidature,—(Applause.) : Now, he asked them, could lie have influenced all those hundreds of people? The fact was he did not want to come out from the bs- ■ ginning, and if he was before them it wa<? because Hie Liberal party in the electorate had thought he was the man most likely to win the seat for the popular party.—(Applause.) '.;..'■'■■'..'■

WHY- HE WAS1 BEFORE THEM. Some people might ask why was he a candi date for the representation of the electorate? Well, he would; answer by saying that his candidature was brought about [it the request of a very large number of' influential electors, whose .earnest wish was that this very important and extensive electorate should be represented by a local man, and in wooing their , suffrages, .he. W.OB-aware of the great amount pf responsibility and time which was expected and required from a member of any constituency, aud:iri"t])is.respect he could assure them he was fully prepared for any responsibility, and; furthermore, that any 'time which ho had to spare from parliamentary duties—should they do him: the honour to place their, confidence ivr him and elect him as their rep'rejentative---would be spent .in furthering' their interests and the. electorate generally. He thbright! .it.was the duty ,of any representative to .keep himself more m touch with the requirements of an electorate than, was at. present; done, as very little good accrued from what was called "flying visits," with a hurry to got back to some place far away from ah electorate where business commanded the 'attention- of a<-repre;<mtaltre Re sincerely Wished it to beunderstood that in contesting. this"- seat; he intended to carry out his electioneering..tour free from any bitter personal recriminations between contestants, which,: uiifortunV.tely. have crept into politics of late- years. Abuse "was no argument, : and he sincerely trusted that- the electors would -carefully, judiciously.' and thoughtfully, weigh the opinions ■of the various candidates in the scales o£ justice, and that .their ■ opinions, -which ho trusted would be formed without prejudice or bias, would be recorded in a bold and telling man ncr on election day. " ','. . . . PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL ADMINISTRATION. ' It is now nine y^ars since the electors of New Zealand' rose en masse and took the guidance of this colony's welfare and future destiny, from the hnnds pf the followers of the Opposition, and for that period New Zealand had steadily but surely risen from the deplorable state which she was then in to the present, -which stood unique in the amials of New Zealand's h'.story. The bold and stirring policy founded by that most respected politician^ the Hon. John IJallancc, awoke in tho people .of New Zealand a sense of duty and responsibility., which at that lime was lying dormant, bti.t since then the electors had time after time endorsed their previous opinions by re-electing them to serve the beet interests of the colony generally< and he felt fully confident that as> his speech progressed j their verdict would be most favourable -to the Government.—(Applause.) To give an adequatp expression of opinion as 'to the merits or demerits :of the present Government, they would- have to institute • their comparisons and formulate their opinions as to the state of affairs before the progressive Liberals came into office some nine years ago and the present time; and the list of statesmen whom he mentioned as being largely responsible for the proud position our colony holds today were gentlemen who have proved to the outside world tliat Now Zealand can' supply a galaxy of political ability second to none in the British dominions—namely, the late Hon. J. Ballancs, the Right Hon. ■R, J. Seddori, Hons.'J. G: Ward-. Perceval, ;W. 1;. Heaves, Cadman, and last, but not least. New Zealand's grand land nationalisev —the tho Hon. John".M'jte'nzie. They grappled with our land laws most successfully; remedied the defects in our; labour laws ; fmnncrid tho colony'.s interests 'to the highest advantage ; assisted the mining industry to the utmost of their power"without fear or favour. and have persistently and consistently furthered the interests of the public of Now Zealand with most excellent and bcnofipial results. Commencing with the population of tho colony for five years preceding the advent of the Liberal Government, according to (lie Official Year' Book, 'the net increase in population from 1886 to 1091 was 58.888 persons; but the increases' from 18S2 to IS9B was 80,104 persons, or an increase of 21,216 persons in tho colony over-the former period. A PROSPEROUS' PERIOD. The increase -for the year 1897-98 and 1899 was a steady and satisfactory one. Tho great cause oE the margin of the increase from 1892 to 18S6 over the period 1886 to 1891 was owing to the fact that thousands of people were driven from the colony by the policy of the Conservative Government. After the return to power of the present Government they returned, and since then tho population has been swelling, and with the yiopulation the productive powers of the colony, 'i'he total value of exports for. 1897-98-99 was £29,005,001, and yet with a -productive earning'power like that they wero told that the country was mismanaged and in anything but a. prosperous condition; but the colony itself proudly and flatly contradicted those vapid utterances by the valuable returns 'she showed. He might still say that every department of vital interest from year to year still showed a wonderful increase. . LAND POLIUV. H<.» warmly endorsed the efforts of the Hon. John M'Kenzie on behalf of the colony in his Land for Settlements Act, and the great benefits derived from it wero patent to every person who has had a wish to settlo on the lands of'the colony. They all knew the ■biti.er opposition which Use land policy of tho Government received from tlse Opposition at its inception, but yet, wilhal, it lisv. proved mo?t beneficial. Largo eslatc-s a[ tho finest and most suitable land have beon purchased and wore blili being bought for thy settlement of those

who desire a home in New Zealand. Eo was exceedingly-pleased to note the success which was being achieved by the Cheviot and oilier estates purchased by the Government, in spite of the unreasonable, and he might also state, uncalled-for, adverse criticism passed on them- by the Opposition writers and speakers, who apparently seem to be imbued with the hope of seeing tlieni turn out failures to further their criticism against the. Government than prove a, success. Such tactics were grossly unfair, and it seemed that those gentry were ready to seize " any stick to beat & dog with." Land ircm settlement. The audience had no doubt heard, from time to time, that the purchases mado by the Government were experimental, and failures, and so on. They had been told that Cheviot was a failure; but since- "that ~est ate had too fiiily" proved its value, those carping critics have turned their attention to Pomahaka. Well,hi; was pleased to say that Poinahaka was a success from a financial point of view, and will still become more valuable. At any rate, if Pomabaka was an utter failure, what a small, ■liisignificanfc handle it was to take hold of and to ;ry and ridicule this great and. successful branch of legislation. The' area of Pomahaka v.-as only 74-78 acres 2 roods 2 perches, and what was this compared to.the success of the remaining 269.351 acres which had bean purchased, and he thought they would agree with the ■ claim that tlie Laaid Purchase Board- and the Government, had done their duty conscientiously and. faithfully to the colony, in spite of the miserable abuse and unsympathetic ar-sistanco they had received at the hands of the Opposition. There seemed to be a feeling abroad that these selections were made solely by i\linisters, but such was not the case. The price was assessed by..the Land Purchase Board, who submitted them to the Government for its coiwidsralion-, and the board was composed aa follows:—--The-Chair-man of the .Board and Land Purchase Inspector (Mr James M'Eerrow).—(Applause.) Tho board consisted of the land purchase inspector as chairman, the Surveyor-general, and the Commissioner of Taxes (these for the whole colony), with a- member' of the Land Board in each land dislviit, who are members only for the business arising within their re- i spective districts. They would thus ccc that th'ess purchases were made by a number of gentlemen whose experience was indisputable and whoso, integrity.was-, unquestionable, and he thought—indeed, ho-fell certain — that the colouy fully appreciates the efforts and success of this excellent body of gentlemen. Bsfore leaving this subject, he would ask them to seriously consider one of "the many issues to be- decided at tlijs-elecLion, and he would ask the question from them : Should the people of New Zealand be afforded every assistance and convenience to' settle on suitable and reproductive land in the future? Ho would await their answer, and put the question to them again seriously. .The issue lay in the hands of the electors of the'colony to decide upon, for the pimple reason that the limit of the appropriation fixed by Statute —ramely. £2,000.000— expires on the 31st March, 1900, biit which time had been extended until after next passion, after which no new business could br- entered-on. The Opposition staled that they, would not -repeal any of our important m-Ktsurei, but would they accept aud carry out ;his most important branch of the colony's necessities as the present Government had done? He said most' emphatically no. ' Experience makes wise men. ami women, and it was to be hoped that in that case the colony would in IES9 do as it did' in 1893—suable the. Government to still further benefit the colony in that respect by sending theni back again, with the'same solid majority as a reward for their unselfish and noble efforts for the success and welfare of the colony. He would like to have seen their land boards placsd on a'different footing and be made elective, and he thought that if the power of election were granted in their county councillors, whb would be responsible to settlers and others, more satisfaction would be given, and by that means gentlemen who knew the requirements of the various districts better than what he conrddered was at piesent known, and who could be elected, say, every three year?. He considered that the representation sh.o'uld be a rolling one. THE I'HEF.nOLT) TENURE. ; ■ This phrase had cropped up latterly, aud he thoi:glit that farmers and others should not be hasty in jumping at conclusions, as.he felt : certain-the colony would derive much mor-2 satisfaction from the State as a, landlord than if ifc were in the hands of large financial loan cempanies' and agencies.' "' Capitalise the land "is a, 'nice-sounding title, but he- felt certain that- "settle the land" is better, more secure, infinitely more satisfactory, and the system now in vogue'lias'iyell qualified itself to sea\'e wcl' alone. . Capitalising land has not been a decided success-, as many hundreds of settlers whose experience at the bands of. ■ those large companies has proved to their, bitter cost.. ..That was a catch-cry, by. the Op-, position,,whose interests, wore centred in the, ' moneyed. classes, from whose hold .the land h«s been taken; and-is; at prespntibeing freed; and lie sincerely trusted. that New Zealand woufd never again see the times nor experience the same hardships it did before the ad-; vent of the ■ present land policy, which he pledged himself to stand by- and further its interests to the utmost in its power. 'AGfiICOLTURE. ' " ~ Very little demonstration-has been made.of ■the Government's valuable efforts on behalf of the farming community |of the colony, but*he' could ass.ure them that the Department. of Agriculture was rapidly growing to be one of the most important, branches of legislation, and it was generally admitted that there was- no part of the British dominions where agriculture,, in its widest sense, * couid be carried on with such, 'certain and excellent results as in New Zealand. J This department, which 'V in charge of the Minister for Lands, and supervised by Mr John D. Ritchie, wa3 most valuable and indispensable to farmers and settlers, as any conceivable information concerning agriculture could be obtained gratuitously from the.department. There were attached to this department seven veterinary surgeons, one biologist, one dairy expert, seven dairy instructors and graders, a pro-, duce commissioner in London, three pomolor gists, and a poultry expert,'all of whom were gentlemen of the highest ability; so that if farmers wish to-ascertain'any disease in their stock, orchards, or cereals, or have soils tested, etc.. the most scientific-advice could be obtninecl by farmers and others by sending in their names to the department. They can also have leaflets containing various experiments, advice, etc., forwarded to them regularly free of charge. The Government experimental stations at Wyndham, Momohaki, and Waiho Downs were an unqualified success. I'.AILWATS. He was pleased to be able to congratulate the Government on the excellent management of their railways, which, lie asserted, and would prove.to them, wore in. as flourishing a- stale—if not more so —as the majority of their sister colonies, and, considering the start- that some of these have had over us, New Zeabnd had done exceedingly-well, and the Minister for Railways (the Hon. A. if. Cadman) was deserving of the hearty thanks of the colony. The length of Government railways opc-n for trafFjc on the 31st March, 1099, was 2090 miles, the total cost thereof having- been 316,401,076 (besides £786,891 spent on unopened lines), and the average cost per mile £7848. ' The cosh rp.venue for the year 1693-99 amounted to £1,469,665, and the total expenditure to £939,737, the net cash revenue (£539,928) was equal to a rate of £5 5s lOd per cent, on the capital cost, the percentage of expenditure i.6 revenue was 63.26. The earnings .on. some of the lines ranged as high as £5 11s, and even £13 3s 6d per cent. The percentage of revenue to capital cost has been steadily on the increase, ranging from £2 15s Qd for the year 1891-92 to £3 5s lOd per cent, for-the year 1898-99. Let us, he said, look to the future with cheerful and hopeful hearts, and ho was certain better things were in store for us. He might also state that "lie was strongly in favour of the Government carrying on the uncompleted lines of the edony with the utmost despatch, as ho was certain that the more land was opened up by the railways the more profitable did it become, and in this respect he warmly endorsed the efforts made" to bring about tho most immediate furtherance of the Otago Central railway and other railways, which would, if he had-the honour of being elected, receive his hearty and undivided support— (Applause.)

: MIKING INDUSTRY. ! It was a source of gratification to every person to notice'the wonderful impetus the mining industry had received from'the progress of dredging. T!ie yield of gold by the colony \vas, like other branches, steadily increasing, and the year ending 31st March, 1899, showed a most substantial and satisfactory increase over last year ending the same date. The total value of gold entered for exportation '"r, fc year-ending 31st March, 1893, was £976193, and this year the amount totted up to tne total of £1.163.930, or an increase of £193,732.' He would like to see the alluvial mining industry receive every assistance from the Government, and every possible chance of opening up new country should not be allowed to pass unnoticed, seeing that dredging has taken mmmc; up in rivers and banks where the alluvial miner had to cease operalions. He would bo strongly in' favour of liic mining industry bom"- encouraged by a.ids £' If 08? 601'"?:- and ho ascertained that New Zealand s resources were a long way from being developed. He thought that a.•substantial sinn should be set apart in that direction, as lie did not know of any other branch which had a more just claim on the' Government of tho country than the mining; industry, and to snhstintiato his'assertion, he begged to submit that Ihe amount of wold won in New Zealand nnco 1853 to 31st December. 1893. readied Uio enormous total of £54,453,325. Alluvial mining should not be lost sis*t "f

by any means, and he thought it would re pay the colony if a substantial sum were setapart for the development of the interior of the back country, which was practically untried. He thought the miners of New* Zealand had a-j.ust claim in that respect when one more especially considered the valuable assistance they had 'rendered to New Zealand in the very early days, as well as now, 'toward the opening up of good roads, etc., instead of bridle tracks and-sheep walk?, ay well as the construction of bridges, etc., in any cases, their hard-earned gold produced. The removal of the gold duty was a welldeserved concession owing to its being » special poll tax on miners, and he would l<kto see the Government goa little further and do away .with altogether the price of miners' fipjhts and to charge a nominal sum as a privilege or registration fee. He should like the Government to exert themselves more in the way of the conservation of water and the construction find purchase of water-races, whien would, ho was certain, be not alone profitable, but of great- assistance to' many miners throughout- New Zc-land, who have to pay in some .eases -exorbitant water rents. He was not of the opinion that unless huge profits were to be made out of certain Governmental undertakings they should be allowed to 50 unnoticed. On the other band, if tiie assistance required is reasonable and beneficial to any considerable section of the colony, 1». raid it was the bounden duty of any Government to render such assistance where necessary and possible. If h e had the honour to be able to exercise his energies on their behalf in Parliament he could assure them that- he would use them unsparingly 111 that direction. He would like to tee every facility given to dredrin" .by good workable mining laws, which would not alone prosper the promoters and dred^e- - owner? as •.well as employees, but the district generally. He thought there was a great deal oi careful revision required in the laws affecting mining ss far as dredging was concerned find a great deal, had to be done yet, not alone in the interests of the dredge-owners, but th'-ir dreagemen as Well, such as accident prevention by proper protection of machinery et-~ the regulation of a reasonable wage, as' well as some adequate recognition of overtime for extra-work. This would come sooner• dr later and -.be though it would be most desirable and satisfactory-to-all concerned if the Government- were to appoint"a.:.commissioner, to inquire : into and frame a series- 01 laws and amendments of existing unworkable and unsatisfactory regulations -and sections in-the act and regulations, as questions1 more directly connected with dredging could thus be more satisfactorily discussed. This commission should be fdrrned from local and practical men, not theorists and book',men, bin those who have to experience the workiijj* of the mining, laws—namely, the men and the owners themselves—arid he thought if- the dredge-owners in the Tuajieka, Miller's Flat Koxburgh,.Alexandra,' Cromwell, and Bannockburn. and the upner portion of the Shotover,districts were allowed to nominate one mm for each district and the employees from each of these districts had a similar representation, presided over by one c*ood -sensible judge or magistrate, who has had some minius expsi-ience. that a.' mutual advantage would result to all parties concerned, and he' feltcertain the Government.-would"-only, too readily accept such'-a. proposal, seeing that such an important industry is being done justice to. The present unsatisfactory: working .of the. Mining .Act'and" regulations is not by sny means diie to the. Government, who weie omy too eager to further and promote the dredging and the fining industry generally, and he deemed it/a duty which devolved oh him as the Government candidate to state that the Mining Bill .was drawn up by thft draughtsman:'arid carefully considered by a conference of warden?, who made suggestions which were, for the most part, adopted. The bill was then introduced' into Parliament; and by it referred-to the Goldfields 'Committee. This committee then went through the bill carefully, clause ;by. clause, and spent either a month or over a, month on it. The committee made various amendments, which were all embodied hi the bill. As a matter of facit, in preparing the Mining Bill, the Government took 'extraordinary care to get the benefit of outside, 'special' knowledge and, experience, as.the,bill was printed and circulated broadcast in mining communities before" it W33 introduced into Parliament, and comments arid opinions were invited froih all sides. These :\vere the facts concerning the Mining Bill*and regulations. The/pegging out requirements were so ludicrous 7 that even their children" must have,smiled at*the cartload of timber required; he was so surprised that he made inquiries as to the whole legislation of j the Mining^'Bill arid regulations, with the result he haa just now. given them. He was prepared to Vouch-for the truth oi these statements, so much so that if they are ■not correct herwpuld stake his seat in this election, arid if elected resign it.' He thought that .this.was a fair challenge to the misrepresentation, which had been given- out and sent abroad by enemies of the Government, arid he;> emphatically asserted that I the Government, by th? vast amount of care-and trouble it went to iv this respect, had1 proved itself again what it had. always been—the miner's friend. He therefore asked the elety tors of the Tuapeka district to make their choice—to say which' ■ would they have, a; mall who revolted from an association formed .by hiniself or ; a man wl.o was called tatfifi Liberal, cause by tils' voice of the' Liberal people. He wpuld say no more, but he would rely-upon their, own good sense and upon ihe Liberal Government to carry the,people to prosperity as they had been doing for the last nine yearsV— (Applause.) ' • ..--.•

After Mr Beimefc had answered several questions a vote of thanks and confidencßi proposed by Mr P. Duffy and seconded by Mr A. M'Leod; was carried unanimously. ■ ■