SATURDAY, AUGUST 5.

Otago Witness, Issue 2059, 10 August 1893, Page 19

SATURDAY, AUGUST 5.

THE NEW MINISTER FOR NATIVE r . . AFFAIRS. ' , ' -. This is a very" interesting topic just now in places whsre politicians most do congregatp, and though there is mdeh difference of opinion among those who usually affect to speak with' authority upon such subjects as to whether Mr . Cadman will be reinstated as Minister for Native Affairs, I have but litt'e doubt that ha will be offered and will accept the portfolio. . It is held in some quarters .that the, warm. . . championship, by Sir Robert Stout cf ;Mr' Cadmau's case has not bettered his prospect of office, but I am indisposed to think the Premier ' could be influenced by so narrow a vie r w r as thisimplies.' The Auckland election is the subject of" adverse comment in the evening papers; and ■ it is pointed out that Mr Cadman in having ; succeeded in obtaining 1883 votes out of 6068,' and by that, number won the', election, -has secured a victory veryjnuoh on a* par with tht|t • ' secured in the Supreme Courb when he obtained- , a verdict and 20d as damages. The Ministerial chanticleer crows lustily over the result of the Rees-Cadman election, and concludes its, article thus:— "For the Government the result' is . especially gratifying, as this ia, the fourth . by-feleotion of the year. Of these .four; in, . widely different localities— lnangahua, Wan-. ganuv_Auckland, and Thames,— three ha'vej_ resulted -in enormous majorities for the 'Govern^ ment, and the fourth has given^them a 6eafc ' without a contest. It is an important quadruple > feign of the trend of public opinion." , "■''_. i THE STOCK BILL. / The Minister for Lands has issued his Stock ' Bill, which is finally revised for Parliament,.find v -J in it there is very little difference f rbavtbe draft which has been considered by both, the northern . and southern pastoral' associations.' The time for dipping sheep is now extended from - February to April 13, though ewes in lamb need , \not be dipped at that period, a provision said Jo • be somewhat unnecessary., The driving clauses^ . to which great objection is taken, remain the- : same, and it is very probable a* meeting <$ „ Auckland members will be held.to. consider, the advisability^ urging that this clause should be made operative only by an' Order-iri-Coutocil' - upon petition in its favour. , I .understand -, southern members are -prepared to accept such a provision with this difference,' that 1 those ,who. - do not want it should petition against it. It is,probable the'initiative of -convening the meeting;' will be taken by members from north of Auck*',, land. The tax on.qajtle, which, was ,Bucli an objection last year,- does not appear, in the'pre- *• sent bill, but the. rate on Bheep-^-vis, 2s for * every hundred or fractional part of. a hundred sheep— remains. It is almost .certahvthat .the ■ bill will be discussed at considerable -length/ in . the House prior to its being sent to the com- ' mittee. ■ ' ~ * '* I NOXIOUS WEEDS BILL, 1 , -V' This bill, I am informed, has been^ntroducea l all over the colony, but the Government are prepared to receive the opinion, of the* House * upon it. Those well informed," think it, is : probable that many of the clauses, such as those , referring to docks, sbrrel, yorkshire,'.fbg, . &0., , will be struck out. At any rate the Government . do not hold firmly to portions of the Bill,-and in ■ no way look upon it as" a crucial question from - a party point of view. _- , : \ THE CADMAN-RBES CASB^ ' The Caiman-Reeß special jury. haye 'issued' •: the following circular' in reply to' portions-of -, the speech made by Mf W..G.;Smith :'-:?' We,,,'; the undersigned .members of -the ■Cadman-Beea . ■- special jury, absolutely deny the.jcharges re«,'i ported to have been made against us by Mr.W. , C. Smith, member for Waipawa, in his speech in the House of Representatives on 12th July .' 1893. (Vide enclosed extracts',, newspaper j txtracts and rough Hansard proof.) Not one,' of the n embers of the jury was present at the Caledonian Society's ball referred to. We were ' not aware of Mr Hee3's connection with" any, bill • ■ discounter, and the statement .that we were - influenced by the motives imputed \to usjs' , utterly devoid of truth. — John^ Griffin, J, ? Younghusband, R. S. Fannin. James P. Thom-son,-J. H. Loughnan, W. Y. Dennett, James : Lyon, T. A. Shirley, J. A. Torr, Herbert ■'. Graves, W. H. Neale^ Thomas Whitelaw (fore- J ; . man)." This was the letter Mr Swan tried in , vain to lay before the House on Friday. . - \ • 1 THE PREMIER AND THE MINER. The Hon. Mr Seddon's admirable report on ' : the mining industry bears trace ia-every line- . not only of his knowledge as a'practioal.miner, ■ but of his strong and natural sympathy with the class who have done so much to projects' . the settlement and prosperity.-, of-^Newi Zealand, and with whom .he has * .been so closely identified and done' so much good work. If the miner has ever been in-,* doubt as to who in this country is his beat and •' strongest friend a perusal of the "concluding portion of the Premier's parliamentary report ; ' will set that doubt at rest, andjt.is written „ with so much directness and sincerity .that I -, quote in full :-r" In , concluding my remarks Jf , on the min'ng industry, I may be permitted tb'L/ state that the gold miner in the past Has been ;'' the pioneer of the colony, and the same may be ' 2 said of him' at -the present time. ' His f avocation leads him to search for golden treasures in', , the back wilds and portions; of the country, where few had, travelled before him. . Full of : hope he trudges, along, pitches his .tent, proa* „' pacts here and there— lonely and oomp»niojilesß, ' supported by hope "and the expectation thai "' borne, day he will find sufficient wealth in the; '

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towels "of the earth to repay him for all the labqur and hardship he has undergone, and being as 'it were the forerunner of civilisation, he is entitled to some consideration from the colony by way of assistance in opening up the back lands and developing the mineral wealth, thereby enhancing the value of property belonging to the Crown. " The expenditure of money is nSßrisarily larger in" the construction of roads and tracks .where new country has to be opened out, as generally where gold is most abundant the country is broken and mountainous, requiring. a large expenditure in giving access to new mines which are continually being opened .up.. The local authorities in the mining districts, owing to their being a limited amount of rate, require exceptional consideration. It mutt then fore be borne in mind that although the, expenditure on roadsin goldflelds districts tending to develop mining is considerable, further assistance is still required to , prove the auriferous or metalliferous nature of the ground, thereby providing profitable emploj meat for the labouring classes ; and although a great deal of our rough mountain land miy be at present considered almost valueless, even for .pastoral purposes, the time may come ■when this land will become valuable mining property, affording a good livelihood to numbers of peoplej and places • where ab the present tjme no habi'ation is to be seen may yetbecome stirring populous districts. Every^ encouragement should therefore be given to J further the mining' industry." . THE MAGISTRACY. Mr Rolleston is. disirous, with a tiew of giving people in .country districts a voice in, the selection of their magistrates and of obtaining the fervices of ' best qualified men apwt from political considerations and also with the. view ,«f strengthening the position and influence of the chief officers, of local government, of -seeing the chairmen of councils ex officio justices "of the "peace. The present system of appointing magistrates is an embarrassment to Ministers, has not been conducive to satisfactory results, and has given rise to the .expression that there has been colour, blindness in making the appointments. The Minister for Justice will not admit the colour blindness, but admits the embarrassment. Generally he is inclined to favour Mr Bolleston's views, and says the, Government . -will be Very glad to. consider the advisability of I the suggestion, which would have to be effected by amending the Counties Act or the Justice of the Peace Act. THE GUMFIELDS BILL. The member for Waitemata, in moving the Second reading of the Gum and Gurofields Bill; suggested, in view of the commissioners' report, that ifc should go to the Labour Bills Committee, where the whole matter would be thoroughly threshed out., If it could then be ehown to be a bill not necessary he was willing to drop it. The object of the measure was to conserve New Zealand for the New Zea'anders, but there" were ample safeguards. He condemned what he called the truck system on the Melds, and pointed out the provision by which a storekeeper could not compel a man to sell gum to him only. , The 'system reminded him (Mr Palmer) of the Yankee's engagement with his * fcafman— sodola-weekif the man was to keep honest, 2dol if he could go as he pleased. He (Mr Palmer) would rather see a digger pay a royalty, Be it ever so high, than be under compulsion; Mr Mitchelson said the House would like an expression of opinion from the Governjnenton such an important bill as this. At this appeal the Minister for Lands said he did not think the HoUseshould be called upon to legislate upon the matter at the present time nor nntil the commission's report had been received. He therefore moved that the debate be adjourned till that day fortnight. The report would then be in the hands of members. Mr Bu'ckland rose to speak, but Mr Palmer agreed to the. Minister's suggestion, and the debate was adjourned.'-' NATIVE' LAND LEGISLATION.—DE- . NOUNCED AS CONFISCATION. " There was never a time of greater unrest in 1 the, Native mind than the present." This was the "observation made to me on Saturday by a gentleman than .whom perhaps no European in New Zealand knows -more of Native feeling, and though', there are not wanting signs of this unrest, for.' there are at present in Wellington all the principal Native chiefs of the North and .Middle Islands^, whose object 'in visiting .the Parliament Buildings is to give evidence before the Native Affairs. Committee upon the proposed Native legislation. - In view. of. this I saw two of the Maori representatives most nearly affected — Mr Taipua (the, Western)' and Mr Kipa (the Northern Auckland Native. member). The former first spoke of the West, Coast Reserves Bill, which nffects some 300,000 or 400,000 acres, and with which he 'entirely .disagreed. He paid that in accordance ■ .with the recommendations of a , .Royal Commission, of which Sir W, Fox was a • member, a 'reserve had been set apart for the Natives' at Taranaki. The Natives, had leased - their land there at low rentals to Europeans on short terms, hopirtg to get their land back with improvements at the end of 21 years, instead of which the Government stepped in and gave renewals for very long periods. Mr Taipna then reviewed the broken promises <.f past Governments in rrgard to this land, »nd -said the Native Reservps Administration • jj ct of last year* was supposed to be final and conclusive. Mr Ballapce, he said, bad made ristinct promises that additional areas should be granted. ' In spite of all promises, however, the Public Trustee continued to lease the land in -defiance of • the wishes "of the Natives. , Lands that had been given to loyal tribes to be (heirs and their children's for ever and for ever • had been leased by the Public Trustee in perpetuity. Now came the present extremely dangerous and unfair till, which made the trustee omnipotent, while the t mail areas granted the Natives were, Mr Taipua said, not sufficient in many instances'to live upon. They were quite veiling the land should be dealt with, but they asked it should be admioistered by a committee elected by themselves, though they were willing the Government should be represented by a Certain number of officials, such as the resident magistrate and others. There was, he went <d, a 'strong feeling that the. sacred covenant made with their forefathers was being trampled underfoot. - „ „ As to .the "larger measure the Native Laud 'Purchase and Acquisition' Bill, which will deal every foot of Native land, Mr Taipua said His would place all these lands in the same ~ "i nhappy position as those on the West Coast * With the bad management of these reserves It fore their eyes, how could they be asked to 'agree with' tlje proposals of the Government P As he understood thebill, the Government could lake any.choice' bit , of "Native land they liked srbitra'rily, and wherever a European cast his envious 1 eyes upon such a bit pressure would be brought to bear upon the Government to take it under the act.' It was declared that 25 acres *j er head was sufficient. That, said Mr Taipua,. b ight "be allotted to a young map who might .'uarry and have a large family, and his children Mrou'.d become paupers. Another strong objection was that the Government would take the .land at a low rental, and that there it would lemain for ever, the Native owners getting no benefit from, any Increased value, Asked as to

what he would suggest as an alternative, Mr Taipua again urged his committee if only as an experiment far 10 years. Mr Eapa, the Auckland Native member, devoted himself entirely to the larger measure. Some papers, he said, had the audacity to saythat the proposals of the Government were for, the benefit of the Natives," and that the former had the entire concurrence of the latter. That was entirely untrue. The Native delegates now giving evidence were telling the committees that the Natives would never accept the proposals embodied in the bills now before the House. Under the present law the Government had ample power to proclaim land as under negotiations for purchase, and for years past the Natives had been selling in the readiest manner, without hindrance.' The .only limit to the capabilities of the Government for acquiring land had been the small funds available. It had not been owing to any obstruction on the part of the Natives, but simply a question of money. The Government had no feeling of friendship for the Natives. Sir Robert Stout had put the question to him (Mr Kapa) a few days ago as to whether his tribe would agree to the Government proposals, and he had replied " Never." Mr Kapa went oh to point out that, as a matter of fact, money was ,of very little use to the Native?. The all- important thing to them was to have a piece of good land to grow food on. They were not provident, and when they got money they generally wasted it. Far. better was it for them to depend entirely upon their own hands for the food they required. There was, Mr Kapa admitted, more land than the Natives required, but under the present laws they could make no use of it. They wanted some simple authority to put their land to the best use •Mr Kapa summed up by saying the bill now before the House meant utter confiscation, and would ba disastrous to the Natives • .' WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE: Sir John Hall's bill has been circulated, and is such a remarkable instance of a;little_bill compassing a great issue th"at"l transmit it in full:— "The short title of-this actjs 'The Women's Suffrage Act 1893/ For all 'purposes connected with and having' reference to the right of voting in the election of members.of the House of Representative's, words in acts' providing for the representation of thepeople importing the masculine gender shall include women." - ■ ' JOTTINGS. .. ; The .Goldfields Report and the Mines Report have been for members handsomely bound in cloth and lettered in gold. . They are said 'to be unique in appearance to anything ever seen in the New Zealand Parliament. The Government Licensing Bill has not yet been considered by the Cabinet.' - : A question in the Legislative Council has elicited the fact that the net revenue from advertising on postage stamps and telegraph forms amounts to £525. ■ ■ ,/ In the Legislative Council, on a division of 28 to 8, the Otsgo Harbour Board Empowering Bill was referred to a select committee. The Cheviot .County Bill has been passed through all its stages in the Council.* The Hon. J. M'Kenzie said section 5 of the Mining Act Amendment Bill affected the rights of many people who held land under lease from the Crown, and who, after having spent thousands,of pounds upon their properties, would probably come upon the^ Government for compensation if their claims were jumped. The' Government had been informed that a steamer had actually been chartered to convey a number' of people who intended to jump claims in this way. There is a strong feeling, -among members against the House sitting on Mondays so early in the session. Many representations have already been made to Ministers by Government supporters that they will not vote for the proposal. , ' Sir R. Stout says that true, electoral reform wou'd confer a universal system of electoral ■ right to every individual without registration; every elector to carry a ticket' as he would a pound note. s *Mr R Thompson moved that absence from an electorate, for three months, should incur forfeiture of the electoral right. " That would disqualify Minister! 1 ," interjected the Minister for Labour. The House was convinced. Au independent member said the Government do not favour Arbor 'Day because they feel they are too shady already. , ". : Ministers do not .see any (difficulty in instructing all postmasters to hold for distribution'to applicants the different electoral forms required for registration and transfers, .and to forward all such forms when properly! filled in and signed to the proper quarter free of charge. The Postmaster- general,. however, will have to consider it, and he is away. ■ The Labour department has over 200 Labour Bureau stations, 196 of which 'are outside the largo cities. The Minister, for Labour says he will be happy to take into consideration the appointment of agents in places where they are' thought to be required. ,■• - The Minister for Defence thinks it would be waste of time . to discuss the question of disbanding any volunteer corps until Colonel Fox's reporb comes up. This 1 will be as soon as possible. The Hon. Mr Reeves has informed MrDuthie that positive engagements were not in all cases made for the 2578 persons, reported as sent by the Labour Bureau during the year to private employment. The Premier intends considering the question of giving powers to local .bodies to make bylaws to regulate the use of bicycles, and indicate the responsibility of bicycle riders on hilly' roads. -- , •' The tariff will not at present be altered in the direction of removing the duty on timber dressing or planing machinery ,' though it cannotbe made in the colony. The Government say the matter will be considered when the tariff is under revision. * '. , . - A petition to the House signed by about 200 small Wellington shopkeepers against the compulsory clause of the Shop Hours Bill waspresented to the Minister for Labour by a deputation of shopkeepers. - . The Endowed School Bill. provides that all schools supported by endowments of public land shall give free education to ofie pupil for every £50 of annual income derived from such endowments. >( ' .■ ■ ~, The petition of the Natives for a Maori Parliament is being considered, by a special committee of the Legislative Council, and some interesting historic facts subject to the Treaty of Waitangi are among other things being elicited. ' ' . . x. Sir Robert Stout considers the penalising* of a defeated candidate by a money forfeiture is a' custom unworthy of the Legislature. ' He is perhaps not aware that in Sydney recently the system was abolished, by the influence of. the Conservative patty, in the 'hope of (inducing injurious competition amongst , labour ■ candidates. , ' ■ "'" ' " - Six o'clock has been fixed' as the' hour, of closing polls on eleotion days,, the Government being defeated on tfce point;"', " • The Labour, members on Friday had under, consideration the Hon. Mr .Steward's bill for theproper accommodation of shearers, and for giving owners of tbreshjpg.machines*prefer-

ential lien over grain threshed. The measures were approved, and the Government will be asked to adopt them. . . ' Mr Scobie Mackenzie showed in the. course of the debate on the Electoral Bill that 200 cooperative workmen had their names put on the roll for the Waihemo district, but he did not mind, as he knew he could convert them, politically, in half an hour. Mr Backland says that there are no cooperative,works in distriots where the Ministry know they are secure, but where they are weak works have been started with the object of strengthening their position. Mr Meredith intends to aßk the Minister for Education to provide prizes for boys attending the State schools for efficiency in elementary military drill. The Conservative journal refers to Mr Earnshaw as thebad boy of the Ministerial party, whose growing distaste for cant and humbug causes him to act with a' candour- which is distressing to his Ministerial friends and their unquestioning followers. T Mr Earnshaw's latest revolt arose out of the rejection on Friday evening of the shearers' vote, which has given great umbrage to the Labour party.