THE ELECTIONS.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 345, 8 February 1861, Page 2

THE ELECTIONS.

GOLDFIELDS

We are indebted to the kindness of a friend for the following account of the proceedings on the nomination of candidates for the Gold Fields District:— The nomination of candidates took place here on 3lst January, at noon, precisely. James Mackay, Jun., Esq., Returning Officer, read the writ, and called upon the electors present to come forward and nominate a fit and proper pers6n to represent them in the House of Representatives, and asked those assembled {who by the bye were very few, only some 14 persons,) to give each a fair hearing. Mr. Wm. Gibbß came forward to propose W. T. L» Travers as a fit and proper person to represent their district. He rearetted Mr. Travers had been obliged to go to Canterbury. He would read Mr. Travers' address which had been sent overland to him He considered it to be a clear and lucid statement, and not to he misunderstood by any one; he agreed with the whole of it, particularly that referring to the Court of mines; he regretted the land was locked up and so prevented it being available for revenue; he had himself proposed that some land should be withdrawn from sale, and he was sorry, he had done so; ho saw his error. They all knew Mr. Travers was clear-headed, and had no doubt he would serve them, while some opponents would doubtless expatiate on hi* political delinquincies—that he will sell our interests for his own purposes; they will tell you he is a place hunter and has gone to Canterbury to endeavor to be elected there, not being certain here, He (Mr. Gibbs) was sure Mr. Travers would do all he could for them if elected; he knew the district better than either of his opponents, and therefore was the best to represent them.

Mr. W. Schapbr seconded

Dr A. Mathews begged to propose Mr. William L^ng Wrey as a fit and proper person to represent the district. He was a mineral surveyor, and as such should be able to understand such a district. As soon as the Gazette was published that this district was to be represented, he had come forward and offered himself; therefore I think he is calculated to suit us in every way. Seconded by Mr. Jacob William Miles.—He knew Mr. Wrey was an old man, but he was long headed. Mr. James Maokay Junr., had great pleasure in appearing before the electors of Collin<jwood, at this their first election for a member for the House of Representives, and to recommend to their notice his friend Andrew G. Richmond as a fit and proper person to represent them in Auckland. Out of three gentlemen contesting the honor, Mr. Richmond was the only one who dare meet the electors. Unecouldnotcome,asstated in his address he hf.d gone to Canterbury on special business—(a voice—Yes, to pick up a£L 0 fee); the other was rumoured to be somewhere on the road. At any rate. they, were neither of thetn present.. Mr. Richmond had riden overland to be here, and here he was to give any explanation of his views that might be required. Mr. Richmond was acquainted with Government details, having been seven years secretary to two of the Governors. Mr. Mackay alluded to the desire of the Government to foster and assist the new district. Look at the inland iostal service, the Wardens' Courts, a Compensation Act, all which are great boons to the public generally. He regreted the omission of a polling place at Slate River he could not help thinking it was an oversight; but their was no remedy for it now, the distance was too great to obtain an answer to any application; he was sure the electors could not elect a better man than his friend, and therefore he had come so great a distance, and at harvest time too, to propose Mr. Andrew G. Richmond. Mr. William Lightband, of Lightbandjs Gully, had great pleasure in seconding the proposition made by Mr. Mackay, and in doing so begged to say from an expressed statement of the views held by Mr. Richmond, they were identically the same as his own, and were in his opinion such as would meet the views of all the diggers; he was sure Mr. Richmond would serve them well. The! Returning Officer asked if there was any other candidate. There being no response, Mr. A J. Richmond came forward and addressed the electors as follows: Gentlemen, I stand before you to-day in accordance with a numerously signed requisition, requesting that 1 should allow myself to be nominated as a candidate to represent you in the new Parliament. I am deeply sensible of the honor conferred upon me by the request that I should become the first representative which this district has seat to the House of Representatives; and I mu9t assure you that if elected, no effort on my part shall be spared to develope the resources and advance the prosperity of your district. I feel, Gentlemen,.that a great responsibility is attached to the representation of this import#nt district, which no m«iq ought lightly to Ukq

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upon himself, or without, learning well what your requirements are. I have, with this o!>j';ct in view, gone over a great part of the gold-fields and conversed ■with a large majority of the miners, and can now judge pretty accurately what policy ought to be pursued to place these gold-fields in that position which they ought long ere this to have attained, particularly when we consider that the export of gold from here is as great, if not greater, in proportion to the actual digging population than any other gold-fields in the world. They, therefore, gentlemen, only require a wise and a good government to advance their prosperity and to increase their population. One step towards gaining this end is to make the regulation relative to holders of miners' rights as easy and as simple as possible, and that the taking out of the right Bhould not be compulsory :— by not making it so you would give a greater facility to prospecting which government ought to assist by offering bonuses either in money or additional claims. The power to amend these regulations and to make new ones as the necessity arises, and in order to avoid a delay of a reference toAucklund, lias been delegated by the Governor to your Resident Magistrate, and I fee! confident, gentlemen, that as long as you retain your present commissioner. Mr. Maekav, you will be fairly and justly dealt by, for I am sure lie is ever willing and ready to hear from you any suggestions as to the practical working of these regulations, and to amend them from time to time as the wants and requirements of the district and people have need. With reference, gentlemen, to the leases, I conceive no one is in a position yet to form a just opinion as to 'now they will work; for, until the leases are issued of course the leaseholders are not bound to fulfil the conditions. I should, however, like to see everything done by the Government to encourage the introduction of enterprise, skill, and capital, but at the same time taking every precaution against a monopoly of large trncts of country to the exclusion of the individual digger; and I trust ere long to see numbers of their companies working here, for with their money, skill, and other appliances, they will doubtless work over much ground which at present would scarcely remunerate small parties of miners. Gentlemen, the next subject to which I wish to call your attention is one I conceive to be of vastimportance to every class of your community, that is,_ the sale of agricultural lands. The only way in which this desirable object can be obtained is by introducing into Parliament an act to authorise the sale of waste lands in this district which are not auriferous. Now, gentlemen, you all know there is a vast amount of good agricultural land scattered in blocks over the gold-fields, which contain no gold, or, if any, in such small quantities as not to pay for working; therefore, if these lands instead of being locked up and perfectly useless as they are at present, could be sold to the bona fide settler, only at a price not exceeding 103. per acre, so as to place it within the reach of every one, and after every precaution had been taken by the Government to prove that it is not; auriferous, what a boo a it would be to the district, and what an advantage to the digger who wished to settle down on a comfortable homestead, and by growing his own articles of consumption reduce greatly the expense of living, and instead of having a moving population, here to-day, and away tomorrow, without any permanent interest in the country, you would have a steady and a sure one. I think, gentlemen, that if a measure could be passed through the legislature with thi* object in view, it would tend materially to advance your prosperity and to increase your population upon a sure and permanent foundation. I believe 1 have now gone into most of the subjects in which you are interested, and must ask you, gentlemen, to consider well, whether by your votes in this election, you show approval or disapproval in the administration of the General Government, who have the management of your affairs ; and in :>rder to bring you to & just conclusion, you must beat in mind the condition the gold-fields were in when the General Government took them into their own hands: there was no law or order in the district, excepting what the good sense and judgment of the diggers made for themselves: there were no miner's rights issued, no protection with respect to each other's claims, no roads formed, no le.-ises issued ;on the contrary discouraged, in fact there was nothingdone, excepting what you did among yourselves. On the other hand, I think few will deny but that the General Government have done something to improve the neglected state of things they found in existence when they took over the gold-fields, and have established order and good government. They have ifsued miner's rights, and have given protection to the holders; they are about to issue leases and encourage the introduction of skill, enterprise, and capital ; they have made roads as far as their means allowed them, spending jn twelve months upwards of £3000; they have given every man at the age of twenty-one years, who has held a miner's right three months previous to this election, a vote, in order that they may have a voice in the election of their own representative, and they have introduced other measures which tend to the further developement anil good government of the gold-fieids, and have recently established a weekly overland postal service between here and Nelson. You will, therefore, <r«ntleinen, have to consider well whether you would wish to see the Government, who have done so much for you, and who are spending the whole of the surplus revenue raised in the district upon public works, displaced by the Wellington party, particularly when we are engaged in quelling this unforennate native insurrection, which will take the utmost energy of the Government to conduct it to a successful issue, and u-ho ought undoubtedly to be supported during tnis trying and ciitical time, in order that they may teach the natives a lesson which they will not easily forget, and put an end to these strifes for the future. 1 cannot think, gentlemen, that any of you would vote for a man who intends to support a party in opposition to the present Government, whose policy is to patch up a hasty peace, that .cannot be lasting, and which would make us contemptible before the whole of the native race. It is my intention, if you return me as your representative, to support the present Government, for I approve of their general policy; so that by recording your votes for me, you will not only strengthen their hands, but also mark your approval of their administration. I deeply regret, gentlemen, that neither of my opponents in this election have thought it expedient to come among you. so that by stating their policy _ and replying to your questions, they might have given you that opportunity which you had every right to expect, of judging which man you thought best suited to fulfil the duties of your representative. 1 do not like, gentlemen, to take any unfair advantage of the absence of my opponents; and will, therefore, say as little as I can about either of them, but I cannot allow an address which I perceive has been largely circulated among you by Mr. Travers to pass without some comment—containing, as it does, statements which have been so mis-repre Bented and colored as to have the tendency to mislead many of you. He stales in his first paragraph that business of importance compels him to go to Canterbury, and that therefore he is unable to be present here on the day of nomination. I have no doubt, gentlemen, that many of you remember Mr. Travers haa on previous occasions neglected to attend at elections, when he offered himself for election a3 a member of the Provincial Council for Massacre Bay. If he cannot fulfil his engagements with the electors, how will he be likely to attend to their interests after his election ? He may have important business about a brevery at Canterbury, or any other tiling there or elsewhere at the time when he ought to be attending to the interests ot his constituents in the House of Representatives in Auckland. I also believe he absented himself for a whole session when he was formei'.y a member of that house for the Waimea district, and would not resign when the majority of the electors demanded that he should do so, or attend to his duties in the Assembly. In the second paragraph he alludes to the efforts he has made to assist the progress of your district, and therefore entitled to your confidence and support. 1 would ask, gentlemen," What are the great efforts Mr. Travers has made for this district? Can any one tell me ? I imagine it must have been principally in endeavoring to find out the sections near Pakawau which had the most mineral in them, and working land to sell the same to the best advantage. Mr. Travers disapproves in the fourth paragraph, of the withdrawal of your district from the control of the Provincial Government, which has left you without any claim upon the piov ncial funds for public works of necessity, while no other fund had been provided to meet your wants in this respect, therefore no such works are being carried out, and your pittance of revenue is but barely sufficient to maintain a stall" of officials, whose sole duty appears to be to collect the means of paying their salaries. As to Mr. Trawrs disapproving of the management of this district being withdrawn from the Provincial Government, it is the first I have heard of his disapproval, and it is generally believed that no person ever abused that. Government more than himself at the time they had the management of the district. As to thiß district being «ut off from a share of provincial funds, in two or three years time the provincial revenue at Nelson will be Terj email, as there will be no land there to cell,

and if there was would the Provincial Government give you any share ? as they had, previous to the General Government taking charge of the gold-fields, refused to place any more money on the Estimates for public works in this district, saying it yielded them no revenue ; and if it had not been for the guarantee of the General Government to repay the expenditure under that head, no money would have been vofed by the Provincial Council of Nelson in its last session for public works in the district, consequently that expenditure is clearly owing to the General and not to the Provincial Government. With respect to the salaries of officials which are paid from the gold-field revenue your Resident Magistrate is not paid out of it, and I believe the police force are the only persons paid from that source; and one half of their pay would be fairly chargeable to the Provincial Government, especially as I have been informed that one half of the work done by them is for the Provincial Government; if, however, it can be proved that the police force is too large for the requirements of the district, it should certainly bo reduced, but you must consider in the present disturbed state of the native mind, it would not be prudent that the town should be left unprotected at night. The police force should be no larger than absolutely necessary for the protection of life and property, and thereby leaving as large a proportion as possible of the revenue arising from the gold-fields available for works of public utility within the district. In the fifth paragraph Mr. Travers thinks it due to you if the gold-fields are restored back to the Provincial Government, to have some guarantee that the district would for the future be treated with that degree of consideration which its importance deserves. Gentlemen—if the management of the district was again vested in the Provincial Government, the electors would have no guarantee that anything would be done for its improvement, and with reference to the expenditure of money sanctioned by the Governor or Provincial Council, there can be' no doubt but that this could be done by the electors themselves by appointing a local road board for the gold-fields With respect to the sixth paragraph Mr. Travers is of opinion that your Resident Magistrate has too great p wer vested in him, and it is desirable a Court of Mines should beat once established, so that the miners should have a right of appeal from the very arbitrary authority which, under the existing law, may now be exercised on them ; as to the powers held by the present Resident M agistrate, and under which he issues rules and regulations, I understand Mr. Travers to mean that you should have a Mining Board to make those rules and regulations. If elected I will be happy to back up any petition as being for the establishment of a Mining Board ; I believe, however, it would not affect leasing of Crown Lands for gold mining purposes, the Governor having all to do with that. As to the Court of Miners the Gold-Fields Act does not make any provision for the constitution of any such want. I however understand that a Warden's Court has been proclaimed and appointed here, and that the Resident Magistrate is the judge of that Court, and he will now have power to act with juries or assessors, which power he did not possess before as a Resident Magistrate only. It is to be expected that with juries formed of practical miners material aid will be afforded to him in deciding the more intricate cases of dispute relative to gold mining. If there is any part of the Gold Fields Law which api pears too stringent or arbitrary, I trust you will bring it under my notice, if elected, so that I may do my utmost to get it remedied ; and if theoffiier'in charge of the gold-fields has too great power, or abuses it, representation of this should be at once made, and steps taken to remedy the evil. I would, however, point out that if the officer in charge of the gold-fields had not a considerable amount of discretionary power, he would have to be constantly 1 eferring to whatever Government, either General or Provincial, had charge of the gold-fields; and it is doubtful whether these Governments would not be more likely to make mistakes than an officer, who, by observation and long residence in the district, should'be now pretty well acquainted with the ordinary gold mining operations, and with the requirements of the district. In the seventh paragraph Mr. Travers thinks it desirabh that en:ouragement should be given to the introduction of capital, and also thinks it necessary to place the strongest check upon any undue attempts at monopoly. I think, gentlemen, that every encouragement should be given to prospecting and exploring new gold-fields, and to the introduction of capital to work those already discovered. No monopoly should be allowed unless the Government received a corresponding advantage; and in all cases the terms and conditions under which a monopoly was granted should be most strictly enforced and adhered to. lamat a loss to understand, however, why Mr. Travers speaking about monopoly, is reputed to be desirous of getting a mo.iopo'y.of water, and a right fc;i lead the same over a certain number of square mlies of country, which favored spot is to be free to all diggers, provided that they use no water other than that supplied by the Water Monopoly Company. No monopoly here, gentlemen. Nothing arbitrary in this. If there is a natural stream inside the block, you must not imagine that you could share with its'waters. The company alone are to have the right to lead water within their block for the good of the diggers. With reference to the eighth paragraph, Mr. Travers holds with the Government upon the war question, and hopes no peace will be concluded until the natives have received such a lesson as will deter them from future rebellions. I must say that with this statement of Mr. Travers I entire! y agree, and would go further, and suggest that when the war is terminated the Government should take steps to bring every native under the English law, and not have, us at present, a law for the native and another for the European. Until this is done and strictly carried out, in mv opinion we shall never be safe from the repetition of such conflicts as are at present talcing place at Taranaki. Mr. Travers, in the ninth paragraph, approves generally of the proceedings (policy being 110 high a term) of the present Government, and would be prepared to support them. I cannot, gentlemen, understand Mr. Travers saying that he approves of tli3 proceedings of the Government meaning of course their acts—and yet blaming them for taking the management of the gold-fields into their own hands. It is curious that although he does not consider their proceedings or acts worthy of so high a name as policy, he says he is prepared to support them. In conclusion, Mr. Travers states that whether you elect him or not, he will not feel a whit the less interested in your district, and wi'l still do his best to further the developement of its resources. Now, gentlemen, you wiil perceive that the electors have everything t> gain by electing any other person than Mr. Travers, as he promises to do all that he can for your district, whether elected or not; so that if you return any other man who will do something for you also, you will have two friends at Court, as it is most probable that Mr. Travers' object in going to Canterbury, instead of cooling over here to meet you, is to endeavor to get elected for one of their vacant seats. Gentlemen, I think I have now almost tired you out, and therefore will conclude with many thanks for the patient and attentive hearing you have given me, and assure you, whether elected or not, I "shall I always feel grateful for the kindness I have received since I first came among you.