PUBLIC MEETING.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 80, 21 August 1869, Page 3

PUBLIC MEETING.

THE "OTAGO HUNDREDS AMEND-

MENT ACT."

A crowded and influential meeting, comprising the principal settlers and most influential representatives of mining interests, was held in the Assembly Room on Wednesday evening, for the purpose of considering the Act recently passed by both Houses of Parliament for the regulation of Humdreds. The meeting was convened by two of the goldfields representatives on the Council, and the member for the Wakatip district. Mr. Bastings was called on to occupy the chair. The chairman personally regretted that there should be any occasion for convening such a meeting. It was the duty of the Government to concede to the people their demands without requiring any coercion. Further, the report of the

Waste Lands Commissioners, proved conclusively that land was urgently required for settlement. There was no desire, lie believed, to deprive the runholders of an equitable compensation, but the Act under consideration could certainly not be termed equitable. Mr Bastings humourously remarked that complaints had reached him of his exhausting subjects in his capacity of chairman before ; any one else had an opportunity to speak, but he would avoid that error upon this occasion. With the single remark that from the division list, it appeared Dunedin members were labouring under the delusion that Dunedin and Otago were synonymous terms ; he would call on Mr Keen to move the first resolution.

Mr Keen said it was generally acknowledged Otago was languishing for want of facilities for settlement. No one more strongly regretted this and condemned the policy that caused it, more warmly than did Mr Macandrew when he entered on his term of office. Many present would recollect a public meeting in that very room, when he (the speaker) had warmly supported Mr Macandrew's candidature. He did so, because he was aware that gentleman possessed great abilities ; but he was sorry to say these had not been exercised for the benefit of the people. He was now thoroughly ashamed of his candidate. — (Cheers.) He had believed himmuchinjuredbuthonourableman,who would go in hot and strong to remove the incubus ; he need hardly tell them how miserably he was disappointed. He spoke strongly, but not half so strongly as he would if Mr Macandrew himself were present. Mr Keen reviewed some of the provisions of the Bill, especially condemning those clauses which restricted the acreage of new Hundreds to 15,000 acres, and compelled half of that to be agricultural land. He asserted without fear of contradiction, that without a large commonage, agriculture cannot be made to pay, and that unless that was given, Otago, instead of possessing settlers galore, would become a barren sheepwalk. He called on the people to remember at the next election hn\v their representatives voted. Mr Yogel was on the wrong side, as he usually was. Mr O'Neill waa also recusant, in short only Messrs. Bradshaw and Mervyn of the Otagan representatives proved true to the interests of their constituents, and he trusted that fact would be gratefully remembered. Mr Keen then moved the following resolution: — "That the Otago Hundreds regulation Act is not framed in accordance with the Report of the Commissioners on Waste Lands ; is directly opposed to the views of the Provincial Council of Otago, as expressed at its last session ; and will operate as a bar to the future settlement of the Province."

Mr. Darton seconded. He compared the contest to a game at chess, where iheir opponents practised moves in secret against the fair and abeve-board play of the people. The whole was a system of mine and countermine ; thus, when the leasing system was introduced, the squatters played compensation against it ; when that Bystem was extended, it was nullified by the limitation to two blocks of 5000 acres on each run. He denounced the whole as a gigantic swindle (cheers), and called on all to come forward boldly, as became honest men, and oust these tricksters from office. (Cheers).

Mr. Mouat, in supporting the resolution, congratulated the meeting on the large attendance in spite of the inclemency of the weather. He regretted the necessity for convening such a meeting ; but they were compelled to defend their absolute rights, which had been attacked and invaded. He warned them that their opponents were bold and unscrupulous men, who had been working for years. Thus, he said, it was within the recollection of many of those present that some years ago the pastoral tenants of the Crown were tenants at will, and held their runs by a tenure resembling the miners' right. At that time no doubt about the right of the Government to provide land for settlement existed. In 1858 the Goldfields in Nelson were discovered, and thi3 led to the passing of the Goldfields Act, 1858, which contained thn first aggressive movement of the runholders, by giving them a legal right to compensation. This did not act as a serious bar to settlement in Otago, until two-thirds of that province had been proclaimed a goldfield, and then the runholders made another push. By the Act of 1865, it was provided that only a limited portion of land should be taken for settlement — that limitation to be ten acres for each individual. In this Act privileges to the runholders were conceded to which they had no claim previous to that time, and these quasi rights were confirmed by the Waste Lands and Goldfields Acts of 1866. For it was urged why should the sunliolders within goldfields receive compensation and those without receive none ; and thus the privilege was acquired for those both without and within. The Representatives in the Council had watched with anxiety the various steps thus taken to grasp the whole waste lands of the Province ; and one of them (Mr. Donald Reid, Secretary for Lands and Works) (cheers) moved for a Commission of enquiry. That Commission had just been made use of as a stalk-ing-horse by the runholdera. Ifc had taken a large mass of valuable evidence, which had not been made public, although a distinct promise had been given that it would be published. The report contained a recommendation — not very distinctly worded, perhaps, but still quite intelligible— that the two runs adjoining this district should be proclaimed into hundreds ; yet there was no mention of this in a Bill avowedly founded on that report. Further, the report suggests the extension of the territoi-y embraced in an agricultural lease to 250 acres ; but no provision of this kind ia to be found in the Bill — indeed, the reform was left to a private member, Mr. Mervyn, who had introduced a bill to that effect In short, the report had been made a stalking-horse for the furtherance of the interests of one class. Everyone knew how dangerous it was to give the runholders any handle to work on in in the Assembly, and the Provincial Council had refused to offer any such opportunity. In this case, although the report recommended that only onethird of the land in new Hundreds should necessarily be agricultural, the Bill raised the amount to one-half. But these were not the worst features of the measure, for it virtually left the whole matter to be settled by the present Go-

vernment, who are manifestly opposed to settlement. — (Cheers.) Before concluding he desired to make one remark on the covenants, which were supposed to imply ah agreement with the runholders for the conservation of their runs. He could state most distinctly that no such condition was ever dreamt of when the covenants were entered into. The whole amount of it was this : the runholders were given the alternative, either give up this much now, or give up all at the expiry of your licenses. No tiling else had been done by authority, otherwise he could assure them he was the last person to have had anything to do with the matter. — (Applause.) In one sense he was not sorry at what had happened, for it was truly Baid it is the last straw that breaks the camel's back, and this would stir up the people to energetic action. He urged them to watch the next elections, and now they had begun to fight, not only draw the sword, but also throw away the scabbard. — (Loud cheers.) The motion was then put and carried by acclamatiou. Mr J. C. Brown moved " That Messrs Howorth, Bradshaw, Mervyn, and Haughton, be requested to take all possible means to prevent the Bill from becoming law, and to wait upon His Excellency the Governor, if they should deem it advisable so to do, and represent to him the views of their constituents regarding the Bill." He reviewed the proceedings o£ ike last session of the Provincial Council, when the House was literally flooded with petitions. A committee deliberated on the Hundreds question, and after examining about thirty witnesses, recommended that seven new Hunreds should be proclaimed, this showed that in the opinions of those who were best qualified to judge there was urgent need for land. He ridiculed the half-agricultural clause because the purchasers were, in his opinion, the best judges in that matter. He also pointed out that 15,000-acre Hundreds would be quite insufficient to satisfy the necessities of the varions districts, as might be seen from the returns of land sold during the past year. The Bill, according to Mr Brown, was founded on the petitions sent to Wellington by runholders ; and as an instance of how signatures were obtained, he brought forward the case of a person residing in the district whose name had be»n purchased by a team of bullocks. Mr Brown pointed out the defects of the runholding system. He said some of the promoters of the Bill were pecuniarily interested in it, and therefore had no business to vote on it. Thus one of the proposed new Hundreds was on a run belonging to Mr Dillon Bell ; and they all knew how deeply Mr Driver was interested in voting on his own side. Mr Mouat seconded. He had in his former remarks omitted to comment on a most objectionable feature of tlw Bill, namely that while compensation for the land was limited to 2s 6d per acre, compensation for improvements was virtually unlimited. The motion was carried unanimously. Mr Ferguson moved the adoption of the following address :—": — " To Julius Yogel, Esq., M.H.R. Sir, - We, the undersigned electors represented by you, having met and considered your political conduct during the time you have sat for the Otago GToldfields, have unanimously resolved that you have forfeited our confidence, and we consequently request you to resign your seat, in order that we may. endeavour to secure the services of some gentleman who will vote and act in accor1 dance with the interests of his constituents. We have the honour, <fee." Mr Docherty seconded. Mr Donovan was surprised at gentlemen dealing with this matter in so trifling and partial a manner. If they were to analyse the conduct of their public men, let it be done after due notice, and in a wholesale manner. He moved as an amendment " That the motion be postponed." The amendment not finding a seconder, the original motion was carried by acclamotion [A telegram was forwarded to Messrs Haughton and Bradshaw yesterday, requesting those gentlemen to use their influence to get the Governor to disallow the Bill.— Ed. " T.T."]