THE HON. ATTORNEY-GENERAL AT DUNEDIN.

Southland Times, Issue 3295, 11 January 1879, Page 2

THE HON. ATTORNEY-GENERAL AT DUNEDIN.

I + (per association's special wire.) DUNEDIN, Friday. Iv response to the invitation " to the electors and non-electors of Dunedin" a large audience assembled al the Queen's Theatre to-night to hear an address by the Hon. Mr R. Stout, Attorney-General. It had been arranged that the whole of the dress circle should be reserved for ladies, and gentlemen with ladies, and a considerable time before the meeting commenced nearly all the seats were occupied. The pit also was crowded. On the motion of Mr Stout the Mayor of Dunedin, H. J. Walter,- took the chair, and on the. platform were Messrs R. Rutherford, B. Isaac, J. 0. Eva, R. H. L'eary, Professor Macgregor, T. Burb, J. Armstrong, and others. The Chairman said it was not necessary to claim their attention for the speaker, and at the close of his address anyone might question him. It was possible Mr Stout, at the close of his address, might impart more ministerial information - than they would desire to hear. Mr Stout, who was received with applause, apologised for the absence of his colleague, Mr Macandrew, who, in travelling over the North Island, had knocked himself up, and was now, as it were, in dock. He was glad, however, to say he had received a letter stating that he was much better. (Applause.) For some time past he (the speaker) had .been subjected to a good .deal of abuse, but in speaking to them that night he felt sure that he had their sympathy, and he would let the "abuse go.- It had been said that the Government desired to advance the interest of Otago at tie expense of the rest of the colony, but a good answer to this was that there were people in Otago who opposed the Government.' He liked "to 'meat those who attacked him face to face, but he had no time to devote to answering all the newspaper charges that had been levelled against; him. If he did he would have no time for passing laws. There were one or two specific charges, however, that he would deal with, and ~~first- of -these was that the Tapanui railway was a job. He defied anyone to show that any member of the Ministry had any private interest in the Tapanui district. This railway was proposed in 1864, and in 1865 a resolution was passed to set aside land for its construction. The Government believed the proper way to construct railways was- to select land that was likely to be benefited by railway construction, and sell it at its enhanced value for the benefit of the country, instead of allowing it to fall into the hands of speculators. As the work had been authorised,- the Government thought this was a fair opportunity to put -this system to a test, particularly as in 1877 Parliament had pledged itself to the survey of the line. A memorial was sent in praying for a change of route. This was referred to the Manager, who advised that, by taking it nearer Tapanui township, it would betaken away from the settlement, would be on a worse gradient, and a mile and a-half longer. If this had been done then;'the Government might have been accused of making a political railway. No money had been voted for the line, and when tenders were called they were advertised for a month. It was known that the contractors . would not receive a penny until the work was done. The statement that the work was let before the time for sending in tenders had expired was utterly untrue, and he might say that there were a large number of tenders for the work. The Government followed a rule that should always be carried out and accepted the lowest tender, which was £2000 below the engineer's estimate. The Government had to do many things without the complete sanction of parliament, and he might mention the Brogden contract, and the San Francisco Mail contract. Would the House have confirmed the action of the Government, if there had been anything in the nature of a job about it 1 (Applause.) He had been subjected to a good deal of abuse over the introduction of the Otago University ..Bill, but if he lived until next year, he would introduce the Bill again. (Applause.) It was determined a year ago by an Act of Parliament that a third of the land held by the Presbyterian Church should be set apart for the endowment of a literary chair in the Otago University. The University Council could riot take the money unless it had sole power of appointment and removal of the professor, and the church could not give the money under the ordinance unless it had power to appoint and remove the professor. The Synod had been wrangling over this matter for two years, and two of its most conservative members had wished it to divest itself of the power of and dismissal and hand the funds and power over to the University. It had been said that tie did not consult the church; but as a politician he had nothing to do with the church : all he wanted to see was that the grant; should be properly arranged under the Act of 1866. He did not find one opponent in! this matter among the Otago members' until a petition was sent to Wellington, and then some said, " Oh, it will not do to go against the Church." Some blame had been attached to. him. with regard to the Savings' Bank Bill, which proposed that certain accumulated funds should be handed over to the Benevolent Institution, and the Hon. W. H. Rey-_ noldsgaveit his hearty support. He would Jnow come to matters affecting the whole colony. They were told by newspaper writers, speakers, and others who who had nothing else to say against the Government, that , the late session had been a barren one, but it had only been barren to the Opposition. Let them look at 'the social' : legislation first, which in his opinion was of the utmost importance to the advancement of a people. 1 (Applause.) They passed several -Bills that would confer great benefit on them socially ; in fact some people' might consider them revolutionary. He would first allude to the Trades Union Bill. Before this a meeting of workmen to try to get an advance in their wages w^s 1 illegal, but this had been done away with, and the- workers could now. unite for natural ;■: profection. . -Then: there ; v^as the Amending • Friendly. -- Societies % Bill, and the important alteration in the Juries 8i11,., providing.; that a person to be tried.by- a special jury should not know the names of his jurors until.he stepped into court. Then there was an important Licensing Bill dealing with the natives. It had been reported by the officers that the natives were being killed off by drink, and now the natives had power to say whether drink should t>e sold in certain districts or not. There had been a great deal of law amendment, which i went a long way to make our complicated laws known to all. - So far as law reform was concerned, the session could not be called a barren one. The Administration, Act, which was passed last session, was a most important one. The old law of primogeniture was .most iniquitious, but under the new Act the land of a deceased man, like his money, 'was equally divided among the whole of' his children. Land would also be applied to the payment of a deceased-man's debts, as well as money. If an illegitimate man or woman, died under the old law, his, or her- property went to the Government,and hard cases di this kind had come under his notice in this colony. This Bdministration Act had not yet received the assent of Her Majesty, but when it did so he had no doubt it would do away with great injustice. He had now shown that the session was not a barren one so far as social legislation was concerned, and he would now 1 deal with political legislation of the session. The Land Tax Act was one of the most important measures,- and infringing in this the Government looked upon land as different from any other kind of property. The State ought, in theory, never to part with the : fee simple of the land, for it was entitled to the unearned increment ; all civilised countries admitted that land was different from other kinds of property. There was the tenant right law for Ireland, while the Prussian Government compelled the large land holders to break up tUw estates, to enable the, people

to settle. Then again landholders' were also constantly getting subsidised from the consolidated fund to any extent that no one else enjoyed, and yet some said that land was not to be taxed; ; Some of "this money was obtained. from the sale of the land, but still the people were taxed to improve the value of the landholder's land. Land, as a special kind of property, was escaping taxation altogether, until it was time: to make a change in the incidence of taxation, ai;d*fco make.it bear cits; fair share of the buri ■ then of taxation.: It was therefore determined to impose a tax of , one; half -penny per acre on the; value to sell; all improvements. (Applatise:). 'But the Opposition pitched into them, and they were attacked in the House and Council,-': and out": (of it, for ; proposing^ jto let improvements go free. . .He .might warn them, that if they, did not take care there would be an attempt to .tax improvements next; year. Then again, the exemptions up to to £500 in value met with great opposition, and the Government was accused of endeavoring to create a class, who would attack the rich. ; The Opposition. ;had proposed a ;tsc on realised property, but such atbing would be a curse to the colony, and would; oppress and crush all industry. He would, refer io another phase of this .in,connectioii with the; Companies Act. A.. tax ; ! on mortgage was: proposed, but he thought 'this would; be a most suicidal policy; for the with di-awaLof English capital would produce i starvation here. . :It was then proposed, by the to tax companies, and he did not think anything could : be more fair. Then ii there .was the ; Customs Duties Bill. The Government did not believe in a tax on food, or that a protective duty was needed on grain. There must be Customs duties of course, and it was the duty of the Government to impose | them in such a way that -the industries and manufactures of the colony would be encouraged. Such a course as this Would, he was sure, .meet with, the support of the county. ; He would now; having dealt with political legislation sufficiently to show that the session hadnbt been a barren ohe 3 come to some -of the measures that had been lost. First of; all was the Electoral Bill. Some new provisions of the greatest importance were earned, but the ostensible reason why the Bills were lost was in connection with the Maori franchise. ' /It would, do no good' to any country ito trample on the weak, or to set iip asort of slave caste, and; this would be done", unless the Maoris were given equal rights with Europeans. He : therefore; proposed in. introducing, this _Bill that the Maori ; shpuld only retain the ratepayers 1 franchise, but that when the Redistribution of Seats Bill' was passed, the y. should .return more members than at /the present time. After a. reference "to the hard .work' Ministers-had to 'get' through in "Wellington during the session, the hon. gentleman said he found; it impossible to get the. Redistribution of Seats; 1 Bill passed, and -he then thought ilii would, be; .unfair to take away from the franchise the Maoris possessed and' i at the same time to add to that .of the Europeans. He did what.he considered jtst," and he would always maintain that he had been right. :Mr Waterhbuse and Mr Holmes both voted against the second reading of the Bill, and were appointed on a conference between the two Houses over the Bill.. Wlien the Bill came down from the Upper House they could not possibly accept it, for it deprived the Maoris of nearly all their lights, giving them only the ratepayers' qualification. The Government asked /that thing i "might even be left as they were, but this' was riot agreed to. He determined to hear all the objections that were taken to the Bill placed on record. The Government were .so anxious to have the franchise increased to Europeans that they were prepared. to restrict the Maoris. a little, but they would never consent that the race should be unfairly dealt with. The Maoris had been sullen and isolated, and would not trade with them, but he hoped they were on the eve of a better state of things ; but could they have gone to the Maori with the whole of their, franchise destroyed? The Opposition knew this, and in this way made them drop the bill. He would never be a party to deprive the Maoris of the rights they, had possessed for years, and the rights they had not abused. But there was something else he would tell them. Since the present Government came into office, there were no native lands to be acquired oy private speculators treating directly with the Maoris. (Applause.) No wonder the Government was abused by these people. The Government said these people should not be allowed to buy the land, but that justice would be done and the prosperity of the colony secured by the Government acquiring the land and disposing of it in small blocks under deferred payments to small settlers. (Applause.) No. wonder the members of these disappointed land rings said that Sir George Grey was an awful man. He. had dealt with land and native affairs, and. he would now come to the Beer Duty Bill', (Applause.) In all these matters he desired to lay before them his reasons for .his conduct and; to tell them that he was prepared to stand by all that he had done. Beer was a legitimate object for taxation, and in support of this he might call their attention to the customs' duty on English beer. The Government said, with three-half pence per gallon, there was a good margin, and he might remind those who were so anxious, that" the working men should have. cheap: beer that here beer : was just.double the price it was in Nelson. - Soon after the beer tax was proposed there was a great agitation in Wellington ; one gentleman objected that; it was taring a colonial industry and that it would be binding the Government up more closely with the drink traffic. Would they ' think that the gentleman he referred to was his friend, and he hoped their friend,, the Hon. W. Fox. If Mr Fox believed ;that beer was a necessity to the working man, how was. he going to get his Local Option Bill through ? Mr Fox simply came forward for the purpose of opposing, the Government in their endeavor to impose I a legitimate fair tax that would have helped to lighten the burthen of the people. - (Hear, hear.) He would now come tojjfche future. He thought it is duty, as a politician, not to j cloak or disguise his opinion, and he, for one, j would always support secular education, j (Loud applause.) It would be a great ca- J lamity to the colony if bur schools were not kept clear of sectarian strife. (Applause). He was sorry to see it, but there had been a movement set on foot for the introduction of denominational schools, but the State could not afford it, and it would not be done. (Applause.) In no British colony had it been a: success. ;It had been tried in Auckland and in Victoria, and in both places had been declared a failure. Then there was ' a proposition that there should be Bible-reading in schools, but then there must be a restriction of teachers; would they like to see a Jew teaching the New Testament or a free-thinker the Old Testament? If that system, were adopted, steps would have to be taken to see that every teacher was ." sound in the faith." Then what version of the .Bible was to be . read ? Some . people might like half an hour of Darwinism in; schools iv the afternoon. Whenever they State tried to interfere in these matters, it made a mess of it. ,He very much regretted: that the Presbytery of Dimedin had;passed a series of "Whereases" (laughter) and it was a pity that some of those, (whereases) were wrong. Our system of Education was referred to as godless, but wasthere|anythinggodless in it? Was there anything godless in teaching grammar? (A voice: " There is.") (Roars of laughter.) 'He thought some member of the Presbytery had come there by mistake. There was nothing godless about the teaching of arithmetic, sewing, or grammar ; it- was simply a misuse of words. A great deal of ignorance and misapprehension existed with regard to "Mr Curtis' Bill, for Mr Curtis himself said he did i hot want to j return to a system of denominational educa- i tion. Under this Bill just the same number j of school hours as at present were set apart for purely secular, education. Those who supported this Bill admitted that- religion need not- be mixed up with secular education. Under Mr Curtis' Bill however the profession of the teacher was degraded ; he would soon degenerate into a sort of assistant to the clergymen, and if he was not '.'sound in the faith" he would soon be let Know that he was not wanted. He had never changed his views on the education ( question, and he - never would.' Dealing wi£hthe workto bedonein the future he would draw their attention'td the ■ Triennial Parliament Bill, .which was one that should be passed. He believed . such a Bill was necessary, so that the people; could be frequently , consulted ; on important . matters 'affecting their interests. There must also be an Electoral Reform Bill, based on " manhood "suffrage. „ Ano- [ ther- ' matter of the greatest importance j was the redistribution of seats. After every census, the numbers „ should be allocated on the basis of population alone. He would not dwell further .on the subject of land reform, .but "would now come to the Chinese. He thought -we should- get passed some lawsimilar to that in force' in Queensland, restricting their . coming here, otherwise civilisation might be interfered with . Speaking of- the land question, he might say that since the present Government had been in Office more land, ha.d^ been, thrown., open for

settlement and taken '-'up on deferred payments than before. Surveys were behindhand, and he had to send to Australia for surveyors, but when this work was done he would see that the interests of Otago should not suffer. When he once proposed to meet the just requirements of settlement in Otago, the squattersahd other powerful men, such as bank managers and others, sent up a manifesto asking whether there were no men to be found to oppose so cruel and disastrous a course. His reply was that he -would open up all the land he thought suitable, and that>Avas required for settlement, and that he^did not care for either bank managers .or squatters. • Had we not come to this colony with some aspiration to frame our laws so as to avoid I some of the social evils of the - old country.? No country could ever be prosperous where the bulk of, the land fell into the hands of a few people. They must take care that property and.money were somewhat equally distributed, throughout the people. This could be done either by -the French system -.of the of the land or by theuimposition of a progressive land. tax, which would fall heavily on those who- acquired vast areas of land. -■-.'. With regard to the Legislative Council 'he thought the Government should have the, power of creating new peers, : but in this colony there was the fact that^ the Liberal Government had a deadweight to deal with in a majority of Conservatives in the Legislative ~ Council; and the only remedy for the present state of things was to declare that the tenure of officers or members of the Cbuncil should only/befdr seven or ten yeare arid not for life. The present system of election for life--^---was out of "keeping with the whole of our "^T . political institutions. ,In his opinion the ; time had come when we should begin to think of electing our own Governor. (No, no, arid applause.) He had sketched out them a few liberal measures, and: he might tell them that he went into politics with a desire to see some, of his hobbies carried out. So long, as he remained in politics he should speak out the 'opinion he held and believed in, and he could assure them that nothing should pre- - -vent him carrying these ppinio'ns into L effeciv If -they thought that the present Government were working hard for the, advancement of the good of the colony,, he asked thern^o give' it their support. (Applause.)- ; * -?*f^ ■ Oh the motion of J. P. Armstrong, seconded by W. D. Sutherland, .a resolution thanking Mr. fcitout for his address , and expressing confidence in him. was carriecV unanimously^.