MR. LUCKIE, M.H.R. AND THE ELECTORS of NELSON CITY.

Colonist, Volume XVI, Issue 1805, 3 September 1874, Page 3

MR. LUCKIE, M.H.R. AND THE ELECTORS of NELSON CITY.

In1 accordance with'previous announcement, Mr D. M. Luckie, M.H.K., addressed the electors of Nelson City last evening in the Provincial Hall. There were between 500 and 600 persons present Mr J. H. Levien occupied the the chair,. The Chairman said : This meeting is called by Mr Luckie for the purpose of giving the electors an account of his proceeding as one of your representatives in the General Assembly. I have the greater satisfaction in being called to the chair as having been his chairman at his election. I may state as my opinion, without endorsing every act of Mr Luckie'3, that, generally' speaking, he has fulfilled his mission faithfully and honestly, as in a trying session, and dealing with such difficult and intricate questions, there must naturally arise differences of opinion, and if a man only acts conscientiously and true it is all that can be expected from him. I beg you to remember that he wa3 elected by an immense majority, to support Mr Yogel and his policy and do all in his power for the good of Nelson. I therefore say if he has done that, he has done his duty to the electors. [Applause.] You must also bear in mind that at his election he was in no way connected with Mr Vogel commercially, but since that period his detractors stigmatise him as Mr Vogel's tool. It is a base inainuation. Mr Yogel is too noble and powerful to need the support of any one member to carry out his policy. It is the universal policy of New Zealand and its people. [Applause] I therefore say unhesitatingly if he has supported him he has discharged hiß duty to you and himself. [Hear, hear.] Mr Luckie's political opponents sometimes speak of him as a foreigner. If he is, he is at least a distinguished foreigner ; but they overlook the fact that as editor of the leading journal in Auckland, he has almost daily under his view all the doings of thi3 Province. His supporters, I have little fear, will receive him with a kindly feeling, as a friend. [Sear, hear.] With these remarks I will call upon Mr Luckie to address you. Mr- Lfckie, who was warmly received, said he should not readily forget the gratification he felt at meeting so many of his old frieuds, and the warm welcome he had received, recalled the happy days he had previously spent in Neleon. The Chairman had chosen to speak of him as a " distinguished foreigner,", but he did not think that among the people he was then addressing, he should be called a foreigner. He had spent ten years of his life in Nelson, and no man could do that and forget the many kindnesses he had received from the residents of that place. Although, as the Chairman "nad said, some might deem him a foreigner, his heart, would always be with those whom he hud passed, perhaps, some of the happiest, as they certainly were some of the busiest, years of his life. [Applause.] The Chairman had referred to his connection with the hon. the Premier; as far as rega ded his commercial connections with that gentleman he could only explain that Mr Vogel and himself were shareholders in the Daily Southern Cross Company, beyond their connection as old friends, and as respecting each other as such; and the contemptible accusations of subservience, were not worth the snap of a finger, Kespecting his history duriug the 10 years he had been in the Province, they would all understand that he had never failed to express his opinion freely, openly, and fearlessly, and he trusted that he always would do so, no matter who stood iv the way. [Applause.] The history of the past session had been an eventful one, more particularly as prior to the meeting of Parliament there had been a general expectation that there would be very little in the shape of political movements in either Housp. When Mr Vogel wag in Auckland, he was entertained at two different banquets, and his expressed opinion was that the session which had just ended would be marked by very little vicissitude and very little law-making, and in fact that there would be positive peace. Towards the close of the session, however, something arose which showed that the Premier was doomed to be disappointed. He (Mr Lackie) 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 in 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 abolisuing Provincial institutions came prominently before him, and he, fresh from the Old Country, knowing only the grand Parliament of England, and the City and Borough Councils, and the County Commissioners, saw the " playing" at Parliament and was surprised, for it looked to him like a farce—something like the character of Vice, of which Pope speaks—

" familiar with its face, We first endure, then pity, tlien embrace."

There ia no doubt whatever that up to 1871 Provincial institutions had dona great service in the work of colonisation. [Hear, bear.] The peculiarity of the country, its isolation, and the distance which existed between the various centres of population, rendered Provincial institutions without question very valuable, but, at the same time, there there was a great d?al of useless paraphernalia, and as time went on the people as a rule began to see that the time would speedily come when changes must take place. When he addressed the electors here in 1872, when he was soliciting the honor of being elected to to the position he now held, the the following paragraph occurred in his printed address which would show he fancied that at that time he had been gradually changing his opinion,! and seeing the necessity of restricting Provincial institutions. The paragraph ran thus, " Eespecting the Provinces, in the absence of any superior method of local self government, I am in favor of a modified Provincial system by which the number of Provinces shall be reduced, the average cost lessened, and their real usefulness increased." He reminded them that this had been printed two and a-half years ago, and now what did they find? It was not expected this year when Parliament met that such a victorious onslaught would be made on Provincial institutions. He would refer to a few of the Provinces. Wellington had been unquestionably for years the sturdy beggar of New Zsaland. Its system of finance had been "get money by any means but get it," and the Hon Mr Fitzherbert, the Superintendent of Wellington, and his indefatigable Secretary, Mr Bunny, had taken care to get it on every possible occasion. What had been the result ? The secret was not yet out, but it would come bye-and-bye. The Premier, probably somewhat angry, had said in the House something to the following effect:—" The Provincial Auditor had just sent in a report which showed such extraordinary finance, and such extraordinary driving of a, coach and four through the Audit Acts, that if the General Government had the power of removing the Superintendent of Wellington, they would have been warranted in making such removal." It must have been something extremely strong that would warrant the Premier in making such a statement with regard to the Superintendent of Wellington. Mr. Luckie then referred to the award of the Judges of the Appeal Court with respect to the question of Provincial finance. He then went on to speak of Auckland, which he said had suffered greatly from the Maori war; property had deteriorated, and the Province had been deprived of her Customs revenue, and prevented from gaining Land revenue equally with Canterbury and Otago. As far as Taranaki went, he did not think it would ever be much ; and respecting the Province of Hawke's Bay, he said that was the offspring of the mistake of the JSfew Provinces Act, of 1858, which ought never to have been passed. He thought, then, it would be generally admitted that the condition of the four Provinces of the North Island would be sugli as fully warranted the large majority that greeted the resor lutions brought down by the Premier last month, Respecting the Provinces of Nelson, Marlborougb, and Westland, he fsaid they were placed in such positions that the sooner they were embodied in an Act that would abolish them the better. [Loud applause.] Although that applause was perhaps not general throughout the room, he took it that it was generally felt not only in that room but throughout that Province. [Applause.] What was the position of the Superintendent of Nelson at that moment?

Mr Curtis had stated in the House that he had put his name to public documents from which he disagreed as being in his opinion, not only not beneficial, but absolutely detrimentral to the Province. [Applause.] Had he (Mr Luckie) been in the Superintendent's position he would have adopted an entirely different course,—-[applause] —before he would have sacrificed his opinion, especially when he believed his opinion was 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." That would have been the true way, and he (M Luckie) would have been willing to sacrifice his own position rather than sacrifice the Province. [Loud applause.} That was the 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 Bay 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 they conld get, and he did not believe he had done anything to forfeit their good opinion [A Yoioe : No; and applause.] For some time past he was sorry to say the progress of Nelson had been backward, and there did not seem to be very muoh vitality in the Province at that time. They must confess that their great drawback was a want of back country similar to that which had 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 it was now loaded with a debt which Canterbury ought to have borne, and was then as poor as a pauper, and like Nelson, was requiriug additional aid from the Government. Canterbury was rolling in riches, and her exchequer was overflowing. It was said that during the current year she would expend £1,250,000, and this 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 ba made Colonial revenues. [Applause, and A "Voice : Who has eaten the cake ?] An elector asks me who has eaten the cake? One of my "Lords," Mr Eobinaon, got 140,000 acres of the very best land in Nelson, worth £2 per acre, for something like 7s. 6d. This is what they had to guard against. 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. If the land were allowed to go for a song, or allowed to be occupied in immensely large blocks, he said the great policy of the oountry had better never had been born, [Applause.] During the last session Otago brought in two Waste Lands Acts and Auckland brought in one, but they were all different. It seemed to him, considering the large amount of Immigration which was now going on in the Colony, that the diversity of Land Laws where capital was seeking for investment, was one of the worst things a Colony like New Zealand could labor under. He believed his colleague, Mr Curtis, had said the other day that it would be impossible to make one Land Law for the Colony, but he believed it was quite possible. Lands could be classed as agricultural, suburban, urban, and so forth. 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 be successfully carried out except by the abolition of the Provinces. It was remarkable thatout of thel6 members whovoted against the resolution of the Premier on the abolition of the Provinces in the North Island, there were very few who were totally disinterested. There were Messrs. Gillies, May, and Williamson, all Auckland men, and every one of them hot and .strong anti Provinci^ts. He believed they voted against them because t' Q®y did not consider that the resolutions went far fjnough. He (Mr Luckie) had had the honor of bo lug burned in effigy in Auckland because he voted for the resolutions. The Premier, and Messr3 Wood, Creighton, aad Buckland were also burned at the same time, for the same reason. It struck him that he was rather lucky in being 300 miles away, but he had no doubt the day would come when the people of Ancklani would acknowledge that the burning them in effigy, rubbish as it was, was an injustice. He had no doubt that the three men whom he had previously named would have voted for the resolutions had they been for the whole of the Provinces. Out of the thirteen that remained, no fewer than eleven were either Superintendents, Provincial Secretaries, or members of Provincial Executives, and drawing considerable salaries, and one was Speaker of the Provincial Council of Otago. One of the Nelson members (M.v O'Conor) was a very marked exception among Provincial Executive men ; he voted in favor of the aboiition of tha Provinces, knowing that it was the death knoll of the Provinces in this Island. He would alao give credit to Mr O'Eorke for sacrificing his position for a principle in which he believed. With n pect to the Forests Conservation Bill, Mr Luckie t\d that that was one of the very greatest iruportav") to a Colony like this, and anyone who had trt' 'led along the coast of New Zealand, would a I TTwledge that the planting of forest was most JloshrtKble, The Premier had only asked from ue Provinces three per cent, of Hie land o carry out the principle of conservation. With one accord the Provinces refused to give any. thu-cr, and the Premier had to strike that condition out of his Bill. The Bill passed, however, though considerably mutilated, and he believed it would be the forerunubr of the conservation of timber, for which future generations would thank the Government of the present day. [Applause.] He would point to that refusal of three per cent as an instance of the antagonism of the Provinces to the Colonial welfare. Whenever anything seemed to interfere in the slightest degree with what Canterbury and Otago considered their vested rights, they opposed ic. He thought one of the greatest mistakes Mr Vogel ever made was in 1873, when he believed that the very best part in his Financial Statement was ruthle»?ly obliterated at the iron application of Mr Macandrew, and some of the Southern magnates. It wa3 the year 1873 in which Mr Vogel used words to the following effect: " Not another yard of railway should be made unless we get security from the land of the Province where that railway is to be made." He (Mr Luckie) thought that was the soundest proposition he made in the Statement. Were they to allow their land fund to be squandered to the detriment of their ability to meet the interest and the debt of the future P So long as that was allowed, so long would 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 the North Island would go, knew also that they ruußt gather their mantles around them and die with what dignity they could assume. It was known by most of the 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. By the Public Works and Immigration policy tha Colony practically superseded by one grand system of colonisation the diversified methods previously pursued by' the different Provinces, That policy necessarily led to the absorption of the Provinces, and he should be glad to hear that, large and influential meeting express views similar to his owa. (Applause.) As he happened to be the first member who had addressed his constituents since this great question had arwen, he trusted that his action would be concurred with by the meeting, and he asked for evidence of that concurrence. [Loud applause.] Mr. Luckie then referred to the mismanagement which had been apparent in the construction of Nelson gas and waterworks, and the great cost and loss which these mistakes had occasioned. For a long time these were inefficient, and now, when the City proposed to take over the works, h» was told that the Provincial Executive said they would sell the gasworks to the City, but that they themselves would retain the waterworks, the fact being that the latter were now a source of profit, while the former were the cause of i

considerable loss. But the Mayor was too much of a man of business to accept such a one-sided proposal. [Applause.] These works, and their extravagant cost, were Borne among the many instances of Provincial mismanagement, which was not at all confined to this Province. He condemned the vast amount of Provincial legislation which, with the General Assembly acts (which last session numbered 119 new acts), made New Zealand the most Act-of-Parlia-ment-ridden Colony on the face of the earth. He alluded to Eoad Boards and their success, and that they could be made to'supersede all the paraphernalia of Provincial Councils. Some of these undoubtedly required remodelling, and he instanced the condition of the Waimate Eoad board, in Otago Province, and which, without collecting any rates from the wealthy proprietors within its bounds, possessed a bank balance of not less than £90,000. This while other Boards and other Provinces were starving for lack of means. Eeferring to the Immigration polioy, its success, he thought, had been very remarkable, and the best instance of that success was the pleasing disappointment whioh the denizens of the so-called sleepy Nelson had experienced when the first arrivals of some 350, for whom there was so much fear that work would not be found, had been so rapidly absorbed. [Applause.] Instances of this kind had occurred to the South and North. In Auckland, Otago, and Canterbury so many as two or three shiploads of immigrants had arrived in one day, and found occupation within ten days. He held these to be proofs of the value of the Colonial policy, and of the, elasticity of the country. He hoped the system of building cottages in certain distriots for immigrants would 1)6 managed with prudence, as there was a tendency by their means to create a class of " loafers." Within eleven months no fewer than 22,600 immigrants reached our shores, and more were still arriving. But now care must be exercised in further drafts, lest too many should arrive within a period too limited to enable their absorption. He next referred to the Upper House having refused to pass the Waterworks Bill for the City because they thought it was simply adding to the debt of the Province, for the City proposed to borrow the money and pay it to the Province, which would treat it as ordinary revenue, and not pay off any of the original waterworks debt. The same feeling animates the " Lords " with regard to the Bills for providing money to buy certain Otago and Canterbury railways, for there is a strong feeling in that House against anything like men borrowing among the Provinces, and this railway purchasing was deemed equivalent to adding ultimately another million and a half to the loan, and the project was rejected accordingly. Touching the Fox Hill extension he referred to the meetings of the Nelson members with the Government, and the great cost which ie was shown would be caused by the line as surveyed by Mr Rochfort from Fox Hill to Brunnerton. But another survey of this line had been ordered, with a view of finding a better and easier line to Brunnerton. He opposed the Tarndale scheme as impracticable, and through a country whioh would require snow-sheds for nearly four months in tbe year, and he deprecated Mr. N. Edwards' apparent preference to the route by the snowy region of Tarndale, although he did not say that that honorable gentleman allowed any sheeprun interest in that locality to dominate a just opinion, [Hear, hear, and laughter.] Now, with respect to the addition to members' honorarium, for which he voted, and about which some would-be-good people professed to make an outcry, he said he had voted for it on the principle of payment of members as being a wise proceeding in a democratic country. He knew the vote would be carried without his vote, but he prefen-ed recording his vote frankly, according to his belief to voting against it for the sake of making some political capital among his constituents, as some who voted against it did, wishing all the while that their side would lose. [Laughter.] This increase was an approach to the payment of members. He contended that but for such payment the government and the legislature of the country would go into the hands of merely wealthy men, who would mak9 the laws, and especially the land laws, to suit tluir. own ends and interests as had been done many a time before now. [Applause.] It would be interesting to know how many of those patriotic persons who took the other viow and voted accordingly, would either refuse the addition or hand it over to some charitable institution. [Laughter.] He should watch carefully, and would give full publicity to any instances of such seifi'oi'getting generosity. [Hear, hear.] Mr. Luekie then mentioned some of the principal Acts of the session, and explained their meaning and objects. Among them was the Electric Telegraph Act, to provide penalties for divulging the contents of telegrams and tracing such breach of faith to its source ; the Excise Bill, which ought never to have been necessary if the Government of 1868 had only seen the absurdity of encouraging the manufacture of bad whisky at a loss to the Colonial revenue —[hear, hear] —the Inspections of Machinery Act, to prevent accidents; the Licensing Act, and its restriction of barmaids' hours of labor, the preservation of the p*rmissive provison ; the Advances to Provinces Act, which gave £50,000 to Nelson for public works, which would do great service to the Province. The Nelson Loan Bill for £250,000 was a great sham. Nobody, not even its promoter and mover, ever believed that it would be successful. He hated such shams, and they did harm to honest legislation, and were mere attempts to deceive the people. [Hear, hear.] Among the lost bills was the Post-ofSce Savings' Bank Amendments Bill by which it was proposed to increase the limit of deposits in any account from £500 to £1000. As this could not be termed inculcating saving and prudent habits in poor people, but would tend to interfere with tha legitimate banking concerns of the Colony and by so much interfering with the trade of the country, by limiting tho available capital, he thought it was as well that the bill was thrown out. After referring to the Qualifications of Electors Bill, which was dropped suddenly, he noticed the breakdown of the Californian mail service, which he hoped would be resuscitated. He alluded with enthusiasm to the grand scheme for promoting trade with the rich islands of the South Pacific, and pointed to the great future which judicious enterprise and rapid steam communication would undoubtedly provide for tbese islands, and for New Zoaland in connection therewith. [Applause.] Mr Luckie concluded by thanking the meeting for the patient hearing that had been given him, and said that although his friend t!io Ghtiiruiaa had called him a foreigner, still his heart would always be in Nelson, for he had gained a great many friends here whose faces he would not forget, and whoso assistance in gaining the battles they had fought t&gether for the public welfare, would never be erased from his memory. [Loud and prolonged applause.] Mr Akebsten : la it likely that the General Government will help to develop the hidden wealth of this Province ?

Mr Luckie : From what I have seen of the magnificent samples of gold-bearing stone which came years ago from the Colling wood diatriot I firmly believe that if such had been found near Auckland it would have caused the shares to go up a 9 high as the Caledonian shares did at the Thames. With regard to Para Pa^a I think the Government would be disposed to give assistance. lam led to believe that a gentleman of means in this Province has agread to take up the whole of the shares that are not disposed of, but if I pan be of any service in getting the Government to give aid in that direction you may trust to me to do my best, Mr Leyistam spoke in highly complimentary terms of Mr Luckie, and said, that that gentleman had served the Provinoe very faithfully, and had done nothing to forfeit the confidence of the electors. He trußl:ed Bthat the meeting wouldagree with him in this. Mr Attgabde Baid that Borne might think it would be better if the electors had a local representative, but for his own part he would admit that Mr Luckie's full, complete, logical, and frank statement assured him that their talented representative had done his best for the constituency, and the electors were fully justified in reposing confidence in him. A vole of confidence, on the motion of Mr Levestam, was carried unanimously with, the exception of one hand being held up on s the other side. The usual compliment to the chairman, ter - minated the proceedings