ABOLITION OF THE NORTH ISLAND PROVINCES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1189, 12 September 1874, Page 17

ABOLITION OF THE NORTH ISLAND PROVINCES.

[By Electric Telegraph.] mr t>. m. lttckie at nelson. Mr D. M. Luckie, one of the representatives of Nelson City in the House of Representatives, addressed his constituents on Wednesday night. About 600 persons were present. Mr Luckie said that the Chairman had referred to his connection with the Premier. As regarded his commercial connection with that gentleman, he could only explain that Mr Vogel and himself were shareholders in the Cross Company, *and, beyond their connection as old friends, and as respecting each other as such, there was nothing else. The contemptible accusations of subservience were not worth a snap of the finger. He knew that in the House and throughout the Colony there had been a very great diversity of opinion respecting the propriety of the abolition of the Provinces of the North Island. For many years, as those who knew him could testify, he had been a strong Provincialist. Shortly after he came here, eleven and a-half years ago, the question of abolishing Provincial institutions came prominently before him, and he, fresh from the old country — knowing only the grand Parliament of England, and City and Borough Councils, and County Commissioners saw the "playing" at Parliament, and was surprised, for it looked to him like a farce. No doubt Provincial institutions had done great service in the work of colonisation. — (Hear.) The peculiarity of the country, its isolation, and the distance existing between various populations, rendered Provincial institutions very valuable, but at the same time, there was a great deal of useless paraphernalia, and as time went on people began to see that the time would speedily come when changes must take place. When he addressed the electors before, the following paragraph occurred in his printed address, which showed he fancied that at that time he had been gradually changing his opinion, seeing the necessity of restricting Provincial institutions. The paragraph ran : " Respecting the Provinces, in the absence of any superior method of local self-government, I am in favour of a modified Provincial system, by which the number of Provinces shall be reduced, the average cost lessened, and their real usefulness increased." It was not expected this year when Parliament met that such an onslaught would be made on Provincial institutions. Wellington had been unquestionably for years the sturdy beggar of New Zealand. Its system of finance had been, "Get money by any means, but get it j" and Mr Fitzherbert, the Superintendent of Wellington, and Mr Bunny, had taken care to get it on every possible occasion. He thought it was generally admitted that the condition of the four Provinces of the North Island would be such as to fully warrant the large majority that greeted the resolutions brought down by the Premier last month. Respecting the Proviuces of Nelson, Marlborough, and Westland, he said they were placed in such poßitionsthat the Booner they were embodied in an Act that would abolish them the better.— (Loud applause.) Although that applauße was not general throughout the room, he took it that it was generally felt not only in that room but throughout the Province. (Ap« plause.) What was the positron of the Superintendent of Nelson at that moment? Mr ' Curtis hjd * n fteßonie faa* he had p«t ;

his name to public documents from which he disagreed, as being, in his opinion, not only not beneficial but detrimental to the Provinces.—(Applause.) Had he (Mr Luckie) been in the Superintendent's position, he would have adopted an entirely different courae— (applause)— before he would have sacrificed his opinion, especially when he believed llis opinion to be right, and when to acquiesce in the opinion of his Executive would have been detrimental to the Province. He would have said, "Gentlemen, you may go j" that would have been the true way, and he would have been willing to have sacrificed his position rather than sacrifice the Province.— (Loud applause.) That was a sound principle of Constitutional Government, and he would tell them at once that, as far as he was concerned, if his constituents were not satisfied with him, they had only to say so, and he would retire from his position. Although his friend the chairman had termed him a distinguished foreigner, he believed he had served them as honestly as any man could, and he did nob believe he had done anything to forfeit their good opinion. — (A Voice: "No;" and applause.) For some timo past, he was sorry to say, the progress of Nelson had been backward, and there did not seem to be very much vitality in the Province at that time. He must confess that a great drawback was the want of hack country, similar to that which made Otago and Canterbury. With respect to Westland, he could only say that it was a crying injustice that that Province should occupy the position she did. It was only a part and parcel of Canterbury a few years ago, and was now loaded with debt which Canterbury ought to have borne. It was now poor, and, like Nelson, requiring additional aid from Government. Canterbury was rolling in riches, and her exchequer was overflowing. It was said that, during the current year, she would expend £1,230,000, whilst Westland was starving. Was it right that the land which she held as the property of the people of the Province should be applied to the benefit of the Colony ? Canterbury might howl, and Otago might call out, but the day was coming when their revenues should be made Colonial revenues. If the land were preserved to the Colony at large, the great Public Works scheme, of which Mr Vogel was the projector, would be the means of doing a great amount of good to the country. It seemed to him that, considering the large amount of immigration which was now going on in the Colony, that the diversity of the land laws, where capital was seeking investment, was one of the worst things a country like New Zealand could labour under. He believed his colleague, Mr Curtis, had said the other day that it would be impossible to make one land law for the whole Colony, but he believed it wss quite possible. They wanted also a proper Gaol Act, proper inspection of Lunatic Asylums, and a general Police Law which should run through the whole Colony. These he considered could never succeed or be iully carried out except by the abolition of the Provinces. It was remarkable that out of the 16 members who voted against the resolution of the Premier for the abolition of the Provinces of the North Island, there were few totally disinterested. There were Messrs Gillies, May, and Williamson, all Auckland men, and every one of them strong Auti-Provincial-ists. He believed they voted againßt the resolutions because they did not consider they went far enough. He had had the honour of being burned in effigy at Auckland because ho voted for the resolutions. The Premier and Messrs Wood, Creighton, and Buckland, were also burned at the same time for the same reasons. It struck him he was rather lucky in being 500 miles away, but he had no doubt the day would come when the people of Auckland would acknowledge that burning their effigies, rubbish as it was, was an injustice. He had no doubt that theae men whom he had previously named would have voted for the resolutions had they been for the abolition of the whole Provinces. Of the thirteen members that remained, no fewer than eleven were Superintendents and Provincial Secretaries, or members of Provincial Executives, and were drawing considerable salaries. One was Speaker of the Provincial Council of Ofcago, One Nelson member (Mr O'Conor) was a marked exception among members of the Provincial Executives. He voted in favour of the abolition of Provinces, knowing it was the deathknell of the Provinces in this island. He would also give credit to Mr O'Rorke for sacrificing his position for a principle in which he believsd. With respect to the Forests Conversion Bill, he (Mr Luckie) said it was of the very greatest importance to a Colony like this, and he believed it would be the forerunner of the conservation of timber, for which future generations would thank the Government of the present day. Were they to allow their land fund to be squandered to the detriment of their ability to meet the interest and debt of the future ? So long as that was allowed, so long would i the Immigration and Public Works Policy be precarious in its ultimate results, and he knew very well that the Provinces of the South Island, knowing that next year that the North Island would go, knew also, that they must gather their mantles around them and die with what dignity they could assume. It was known by moßt members who voted with the majority, that the time would soon come when all the Provinces would be abolished. The policy of 1870 necessitated the substitution of complete Colonial interests for those which were hitherto Provincial. The Public Works and Immigration Policy of the Colony had practically superseded, by one grand system of colonisation, the diversified methods previously pursued by different Provinces. That policy necessarily led to the absorption of the Provinces, and he should be glad to hear that that large and influential meeting expressed views similar to his.— (Applause.) As he happened to be the first member who had addressed hio constituents since the great question had arisen, he trusted that liib action would be concurred with by the meeting, and he asked for evidence of that concurrence.— (Loud applause.) He condemned the vast amount of Provincial legislation, which, with the General Assembly Acts (which last session numbered 119 new Acts), made New Zealand W»§ nwjtf Act of Parliament ridden Qolw?

on the face of the earth. He alluded to the Eoad Boards and their encceßs, and they could be made to supersede all the paraphernalia of Provkcial Councils. Some of these undoubtedly required remodelling, and he instanced the condition of the Waimate Road Board in Otago, and which, "Without collecting any rates from the wealthy proprietors -within its bounds, possessed a bank balance of £90,000, while other Boards and Provinces were starving for lack of means. Refening to the Immigration Policy, its success he thought had been very remarkable, and the best instance of that success was the pleasing disappointment which the denizens of bo- called sleepy Nelson experienced, when the first arrivals of some 450, for whom there ivas so much fear that work would not be found, had been so quickly absorbed.— (Applause.) Instances of .this kind had occurred South and North. With respect to additions to the members' honorarium, for which he voted, and about which some people professed to make an outcry, he said he had voted for it. on principle, payment of members being a wise proceeding in a democratic couutrj . He knew the vote would be carried without his vote, but he preferred recording his vote frankly according to his belief, to voting against it for the sake of making political capital anio»'g his constituents as one who voted against it, wishing all the while th it their side would lose.— (Laughter.) He contended that but for such payment the government and legislature of the country would go into the hands of merely vi eait- y men, who would make laws, and especially lana laws, to suit their own ends ami interests, as had been done many a time before. Mr Luckie con. eluded by referring to various Acts passed during the session, and sat down amidst loud and prolonged cheers. A unanimous vote of confidence in Mr Luckie was passed.