THE SUPERINTENDENCY.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1938, 20 March 1875, Page 2

THE SUPERINTENDENCY.

SIB GEOEGE GEBY^S ADDBESS,

Pursuant to announcement Sir George Grey delivered an address to a public meeting in the Theatre Royal last bight. The attendance was very large,; as^ something more than ordinary was expected of Sir George. Mr E. Macdonald Scott proposed that Mr William Rowetake the chair. * • *• -* Mr Cook proposed that the Mayor take the chair. . ,The~ amendment was putjrad carried, and the Mayor took the presidential seat.. , In opening tha proceedings;, thej,Cbiirman said he had" great pleasure in introducingjßir, George G*ey.;, Ifc'iwould be quite unnecessary for him to say muct as regards the peculiar worth,of the gentleman who was ab>nt-tb Wdress them. He had known Sir George, as a statesman, for the last twenty years, and during that time he had been remarkable for an honesty of purpose, and an endeavor' to forward the interests, of the^eople*, that could not but recommendhirn to all He then introduced' Sir George. ! . INTEODUCTOET. . i ' Sir George commenced bj saying" he addressed the meeting wnder circumstances of considerable difficulty that ni*ht Ordinarily, a candidate /desirous of Obtaining the office of Superintendent came to them on the eve of, election occurring under ordinary- circumstances. He--5w & WW*'» Partyrto.find taUlt with all that his opponent hacl'done .^. fore» and with ,that sort of triumphant faith'which contest created in the hearts pf P .men--generally.,. For himself, he *p. peared before them in consequence of a vacancy, made, under, most; melancholy circumstances —by the death of Mr „Wjitliamson, whom he- had regarded as: a true friend, and whose conduct in presid* ing over the Province he* could not find fault with. He could not promise, to. do anything more than Bad: the litfeSuperr mtendent.^He could' onlyjr?fer'ttf him as an 'hontlst and true man who n^dlbved the Colony of "New i^ealatfd, arid who fo| upwards of thirty years, had striven^ to ;do/his'duty towards the inhabitants-of 4ne? country. (Applause.) "He came there not to attack anyone, but to strive to gain all as' friends. Besidei, after alii' he might not be elected to the office of Superintendent; and, if. elected, -=th 4 Gpvernorpossegsed the power to set that I aside: if he did not exercise that privilege! h/fc.CSir George) was perfectly unconscious whether any powers would be de^e'^ated to him with reference to the goljdfield; therefore he'would make no pledge?, bul simply came there to ask them to eleci hiih. Let them consider what; "was bests to promote their happiness and prosperity; they should see that whoever was elected! Superintendent' shpuldtrbe" compelled td[ carry out such aline of policy, which was* obviously- good. That was what they! wanted to come at, and that was what he would, ask them to join himi in doingi "Vyhat they, dissented from, they, shoulcjj dissent from. ' Let him knWif/it'^d-.nbq meet their wishes; questioriihiiri about 1 what they did not understand^lookuponj it that one^stqod^befpr'e "them whose sole? desire was^to^do them good. He would/ if he «ould, shrink from the of the! office, and would^support ViD^tfier ;fiaari fm! carrying them bu'tj if sttch wriijtheir'wish. ne- •ntered'iritb-'the- 1 consideration j of policy, he ,wo.iild "come,,to one.other point. * l f ■•">' ■ ■ ?/";*■ *' ■ 'r ~ -■ "'•, THE,,PEOBIiE HE WiS ADPfiESSIXGK^ I " Sir Gebrge" then went on to corisTder,; as the preliminary, pointiftiis discourse,* " Whom he .wasiaddressiDg.'".' Thesemeni were 'men who hacf dprie^great tniri'gs ]] who had madc^the ' present generation ageneration which w*6uld, live" "iqi" memory j for all time •« men "who had created a new s empire ; an-army o| who 'had! conferred a* Blessing' on * mankind; ,and; who had developed' arid erirfchecT the; country to which they Jia<i i cpnie. Such were the men whom, he was accessing, and whom he now asked to show them-' selves not unworthy of what they hads .hitherto, done. (Cheers.),, vWithUhat army he (Sir George) could at least claim kindred. Wherever it had been shown to; him that his help, was ,nee.ded, he, hadj been there";''wherever they required,'com-' fort and assistance, he had beeritnere fc>' render it. In his younger days he Jiad 1 been in the-front of the" army, and now,! at the decline of life, he did not hesitate, to leap to the van. (Cheers.) He T would' ask.them;to consult with him as became'

men. who.had .done suph things , HIS EAELY VISIT : TO, THE,THANES. Sir .George next reviewed his early, career, especially referring to what he had 1 done towards the advancement of their. Province. , years ago-,- liehad, attended by one or two Europeans, come here in a small boat from Auckland,' and proceeded up the river, having ascer-i tamed that the country contained gold. He then occupied himself in. exploring .the country for the 1 best pass from .this! 'fclace to the Waikato, and discovered' such a pass through the Waikato Valley.; Not satisfied with that' he passed on; to Rotorua and formed the idea of connecting] it with Tauranga and this country. " Sir; George went on to say that he had in thisj journey the experience of rough travelling,! oftentimes having to carry his own pro-j ■ visions, etc., in the prosecution of his enquiries, from which however, he did? not shrink. In 1867 Mr Williamson! •came to him and said that to relieve, Auckland from the condition of distress' into, which it, had fallen, all depended! on the Thames being opened/ as a, goldfield. "He (Sir George) came to the; Thames, and used all the influence which) he had with the -Natives to acquire this | district; and he succeeded in doing thatj which, up to that time, no one had been' able to accomplish. Such had been thej origin of the gold on the Thames; and! he thought he might say that lie bad been:

in the van of those who had pressed on to make this distri t useful to mankind. SETTLEMENT OF MINEES.

Having brought his hearers to wjttre th^y were nt present, ho would go^^to consider the bet means which conldjbe taken to render the condition of the jjt&pulation more prosperous, once more to galvanize this settlement, and to give new life to it. (Cheers ) Sir George then proceeded to advocate tho. holding out ofmdu cement^ farms, and pointed out the advantage of such a pt|]b^i|>le^|riijß..in^i7j»ej[aj^fcould rest in peaceful security knowing that their fcmnligg wereproviaearfor, and thmr 'heY in" £1 H«tfprUjioiftioli io»Tpiibs^ec^ipe country, an&:#(* xta]rel advantage off *ny new o]>emafrir&ihe,tsKsaingi world which migHjaft^t^l^h^^^^g^jffg an ltinerantjexistence by which their own, advWSS&t mNF&> -ilJuriaP-aWthe prospects of the couhtry destroyed. All of wK6h m*i%oimeftWfflheßffi& IMMI««ATION. / &■ M^cloielyJailiecribTttSi^iiSiKon last treated of, Sir George spoke-next of the desirability pf inhabiting /she country. He denounced the present system of foreign populatibnPawas-Lintroduced ilito j fjfclie? cpun|.?y, as vicious, ctw^f Id I society already iliere,!Mtd^t» jm*s&i*tfar ; ihe• ? intr^uotipft : .ofvfr.fi[W| al]ior»tho eitect of which could only be damaging to lai'l^riinfiwdeirs* Irho required cheap IaHoF, but tie population shoj|ldgno; vbe^arejan, order that'ftHose gentlemen might grow holders in SouthJAji^tralia, wlio, when ne ■ (^i^iG-ftorgje^was gQyernor ? .jiid;noitpQ|Be to him,«n4;a]^ bjijnHlo^n<i^']K^l^snji|io because he would not have entecltifettd such a^i4ple;;(bfa*t#^^h»lw^litFlheni out sowiftennn&liMbqiNui right, and many who r tia^ dbtte tMf UAd increased the valneof tbeipMn<l^Wtt^erably. He advocated: a scheme for bringing out deserving riienJ'tnd^enablMg them to x secmsmnMfm&*aMmy so ex^ :f m*& Government ten* fold that which had been expended in the course now pursnedr ~— ——

a: g. lw v . TOW 1* %M i rr f w* ld hk £ & see » policy wWr would form small villages, anlopeinjp the country beyond,"!^ wfcieVaiiffiftHis class of 4cserVin^peopl«a^oild be benede%ii T)f y^bi. ifcft^ He sWt3«ld ask wb^sß®6!d-'*% be taxed to ~nuLk&jatih!3X!U& JLdistancjgjiidch. should increase the value of the Meiisn. So-anct-f so's gpoperiy. Those,,^rho bad t& pay for ithem' should reap-the tienefiV whicn. w*j conferre4. f r^ milUon^wjiMet aside^for the prosecntion of public werki, and out of to pay for railroad^ another part of the country. They should have a fair proportion of the ""borrowed money. INEQUALITY OF-BIPEEBBNTATIbK. .aiSjtr.Qeprjjff^heijjyeffrw^gl^^ quate representation of the Tbamej in the General Assembly. Why were 12,000 pe.ople^tp^ hare only one member, while another and much smaller part of the colony, hadrt^re^fl The representation should be "jn proportion to the population. Ife^few'fhft clause himself,'anc^ w the majority by which other parts roted away money was an illegal majority." Sir Geor g e7<?^y;j^iifheaß^»W!»Houße of Assemblyhewouldnotmake any motion on the subject, because there were good men and true who had been fighting that qiiestion'fofyoars/land thsy. NlouJLd Win it. He would do all he could to bNp them. But,whileHh* Thames people were almost unrepresented in the Assem- . oBly: itbeyj :mm& well TOpresehtftibiii^e ProTincial Council, where they had fire •m^nibertrf^He^ wbuld^ ti£tfa^ltoifaf"tostick to those five members. . TAXATION.

»" Jle"had < a ver^i strong foelmfjwtMs subject, and objected very much indeed Nft a'cdnsiderabls <p drtiotf of<tug *taxation which they were subjected to. ItcoulAx; innot "f/erKaps be Immediately 1 done Hrkfj with, but advances might be madejn "tfiat direction. He asked why was 1 the mining population taxed to a greater extent than another. There conl'd "be no doubt that a mining population T was,V£ry orderly,.and tbe.constant and jarailaicin.tercourse between the miners, jjnduped^a mildness "oF demeanourj »na I propriety^ i» the population^ which'"would hardly vte found in .any: otheß-.'popttUtion in the world; therefore^ he* cdhtenTded that a mining population was,nogr^tfr^M^^oe pf wxiepj ioitlieiQprbnm^t >jttn a|y other. He asked thea.wfeyJii&QSfegiejr bo specially taxed, and made to pay a duty upon their gold,. .-^l% a man .with 50,000 acrer did not spay a~penny on his wool ? And why put a license on every placto that! -is)' put; : up ;Iwhen: \I iheepsheds might cover the country without paying anythingri^b^all:P-;r gFbfjonljr means by which they would gain a system of more equitable taxMion^a 4 aQlw f |beJaf? properly represented. Tte would do'ais utmost to bring tibis-a^ont (?

MATTJEBS OF-LOCAL-INTBBKBT' r'-LSir .George? Grey laid thefeMift»C|oa^ matters of ♦ loc.il Jhterest 1 of^wliieh vie ought to speak, and which be^a^ltrtfl formed subjects of discussionherer^With. regard to the; forpshqreiherth^gkt the .whole of, itj andJaHrantages ftfiaiog thiejefrom" ought to be ih^tfee poweetrlrf?f-*lie people ; and he had only to say that if the Eo^er of settlingithai,jjupstaojKWitei in is handa, be; would' come ;here?and Isre such a settlement .as -,woul<i io»uro;taibe Thames- the«-entire control and oiaiM#iment of - the funds arising ffOffi^^Wic

resources. He.-said -this, not to secure! their votes v but because'Jje^was convinced that it was rights Cheers.) ■JjjL /; EDUCATION., ~.'\. '-:-lXtfould wish to see a good system* of education, and the taxation more equitably adjusted. Absentees who were enjoying; enormous revenues were as much in-: teresjted in such,a scheme as they were ;| as alto . were the people to whom! they -would - have to pay;. interest! on iilfer. enormous loans. 'If tbey| were>all t6 ; - turiir savages in New! Zealand, where would ..the interest! .on theiri6an*be>:3^garding the ques||on| <rfD«noiniflation»l or S t elcularedueatidn]Sir] mejx& *U& U .,th^Ubit:in^rppeKlto; iito-rnVfo^ofreligious instruction»Out: of the hands of parj)ntj,_ He honored andj reverenced persons who gave religious! educali6#sb-tlieir cl&iar^butf /the state j shonldsi jolely/ fticemce f riat'jititelf i with t the xjMas.@t;tQ^aslc'ed SiirWorge whetherhe i 3.B^i^etfin^rp l ei pul»Ucinspc«iid. auctioneers' licenses.".-. -. • r | Sir George infavorj ofrgwpg -BwMWjifhßta greafedealmprf c tlran j thfw^ e^»r&ther i^ f tfogs j MWlSmk. ft^uld^t 'fttf. ?, i tiai^rwhiah had been placed in his hands, j M|||^!j^|^er :Ifft^S:lScg:intpst, \ WitKregardttOftiie Eumping»AssoCl^°n, | \imim?ffl^\L^V^toW j ment ihatjJiadr \fm j^%£s?£ glTe to i the Thkm^l^quafih^olthe money; t»'th« sWaifcato Railwaysifr/fwould rated t hjEifei'&ii^^^^^i^'p^ I ayeMliAtgrdunainarailwaycaTriagevWhicli; recreation ground for "the Thames. .He ■ th^pt^tt pMsblf'thmgjfchalß »^Hce; like this, shmtrift Jbyifhillf^ithere was not one^Kflis isurpris,e hadv,,bees ,gr { eat f to» matfe^the^anttness^ of the .town and ti(^|^«K^^n:^^^*he i wMdioo^friutniMloJcb^ck jup^at^ad i been done, and if possible to advance them stilLfefej. He.^d not say thi S | to obtai#lh!eiPsu¥i%esj.afl^se to him ] it-'wOuldnbea'TJle.asure iteee;the ufEhitnies; wafd#^hato*ndiiu Aiiother^question..w?as { tOjtprojßpjeefeweiiqpun w» : iuc4*.fte wft% g?§at s faith in the country,he would use-aevery,; effort to afford meani by :,-. which pros- j

*-t r ,>; GEEERAL POINTS. o- .'■ '. Sir .George said' He would now refer to general points, and. proceeded, to remove "one smudge that had been put upon, him." , The Southern papers had called him' a red-hot Provincialist." -He hacl';tpl<T- them (bis hearers) what .they were • and what they had done ;< and, having achieved what they had, he did not wish because a money-bag was shaken before them, to see them run after it like donkeys thistles. After referring at some' length to the constitution of the present form of General Government, amHhe abuses which existed, he ridiculed theprinciple upon- which coloniaLhonors were conferred, and condemned the introduction of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Adverting again to provin cial institutions, he said that Parliament laicl' down theTrnfe that if they createcTa legislative body, they could not take its powersjtffay without theirconsent. They dared not talce away representative institution^*witjioutrti^e>consent of the r people. Such .z tiling" was never Heard of. He f ullyideterjtnined-, if elected, to intisjbon all constitutional usages being carried out to -the r letter. before -the,-provinces-, were abolished. (Sir George was loudly applauded on resuming his seat). <■ ■ „ Mr Speight then moved the following resolution: —" That this meeting thanks Sir George Grey for his address, and expresses confidence in his fitness and ability todischarge theduties of Superintendent." «In moving the -resolution, Mr* Speight said Sir George had. satisfactorily, shown 'by his past career'that he was the correct man for the position of Superintendent ajb the present timei when siicli important constitutional charges were in contemplation.- -It would be improper to-send a tinker to do a tradesman's work. There should be a clear statement before these changes took place, as to who would have ti*6 control of the land ;fund; xf the country.' "It might prove to have' good results, and it might not, but at least let .them have, a r - clear - statement of the" clear water'that"was to take the place of the dirty. Sir George came down to them with a greater knowledge of the question-than any other man in the island;' therefore lie was the right man for the place.. He believed that the power of Sir" George Grey would be materially strengthened by being Superinc|endentfasihis/influence would be^nifold 'greater than that of any other man. Mr Bagnall seconded the motion, which was carried by acclamation. The Mayor said (to Sir George) it afr fbrdedJiim lihegreatest plpasure to qpnvey tphimtlie thanksof the meeting for having come amongst them to express his views. Sir George? Sreturned1 thanks, and assured them that if he was elected he would do his utmost to perform the duties pertaining to his-office-to the best of his ability. „ , , ; ■..,,., „