SEPARATION OF WESTLAND NORTH-FROM NELSON.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 476, 11 March 1869, Page 2

SEPARATION OF WESTLAND NORTH-FROM NELSON.

PUBLIC MEETING.

One of the largest meetings ever held in Westport took place on Tuesday evening. The place of meeting was the new Masonic Hall, and it was crowded. The meeting had been called in the name of the Progress Committee, by the Chairman of that body, and was for the purpose of" considering the advisability of petitioning the General Assembly to constitute Westland North a County, and endow the same with a Local Government." Mr B. C. Beid was called upon to take the chair.

Letters of apology for non-attend-ance at the meeting were received from Mr Gallagher, M.H.R., Mr Donne, M.P.C., and Mr Neill, Charleston. Their business engagements and the shortness of notice prevented them from attending. Mr Hennelly had also been communicated with, but that gentlenan had left for the north a few days previously. to ..-. The Chaiemak, after reading the notice in accordance with which the meeting had been called, said that the object which the Progress Committee had in calling such a meeting was, no doubt, to assure themselves that the step initiated by the Committee met with the approval, or otherwise, of the general public. He considered this step of calling the meeting a wisely considered one on the part of the Committee, as it would afford the best opportunity of judging whether the public wholly or only partly coincided with their views on the question of Separation. He did not desire in any introductory remarks to take precedence of the other speakers who were prepared to propose the various resolutions, but he believed there was one point of unanimity in the minds of the community on the Nelson goldfields, and that was, that the present system of government, and especially the administration of such government, was not only acting as a barrier to the development of the goldfields, but, from the disproportionate and unjust expenditure of the revenue of the province, which revenue .was chiefly derived from the goldfields, was alike a hindrance to the advancement of every private and public enterprise. —(Applause.) It was for the purpose of attempting to remedy that injustice that this meeting had been convened. He was not aware of the exact terms of the resolutions about to be laid before the meeting, but he anticipated that certain facts and figures would be brought forward to assist them in drawing their conclusions as to the expediency of striving to obtain for this portion of the province an endowment of local government. He begged, in the event of any gentlemen desiring to express opinions antagonistic to the general feeling on the question of Separation, that the meeting would accord them equal indulgence, and a hearing as impartial as that given to those who might speak in favor of it. The result of the meeting, which was entirely in the hands of the public, might or might not be the foundation of a better future for the welfare and prosperity of the towns and districts of the southern portion of the Province. With a more just administration of the large and increasing revenue, there was little doubt that there would arise prosperous districts, and many benefits would follow to the communities residing in those districts.—(Applause).

Mr E. K. Tyler said that the Chairman had, in his opening remarks, rightly stated that the meeting had been called by the Progress Committee with the view of obtaining an expression of public opinion with regard to the desirability, or otherwise, of petitioning the General Assembly for the separation of this district from the Province of Nelson, and for the establishment of some form of local self-government. Those present were probably aware, from the local Press, and other sources of information, that he had originated the movement in the Progress Committee, and that, afterwards, for certain reasons which he then gave, he said that he would retire from taking any prominent part in the matter. Prom certain circumstances, he had determined to so far alter his resolution as to take what might appear to be a prominent part on this occasion. In doing so, he most certainly did not wish to pander to his own self-conceit, or to take any part in the matter than might be taken by any individual member of the community. He did so, because he felt it to be his duty, having been asked to do so by the Progress Committee. In discussing the matter in that Committee, it was determined to ascertain the opinion of the public, and for that purpose the present meeting had been called. Moreover, when the meeting was decided upon, it was also determined that he should make arrangements as to the hour and place of meeting, and as to the preliminaries generally. In carrying out that desire of the Progress Committee, he had prepared two resolutions which, he thought, would fully answer all the purposes. And, in doing, so, he had sought to select persons who, he thought, would be suitable as proposers and seconders of the motions, and who would be outside the membership of the Progress Committee, the object being to obtain an expression of opinion, not from the Progress Committee, but from the public. The Progress Committee had already expressed their opinion on the matter,

and it was for the community to say whether they agreed or disagreed with that opinion. [_£. Voice : We lagreej of coarse/}.. \Se watery much gratified hy the one fact that 90 large a meeting . had ; assembled. It had been asserted that there was riot in Westport sufficient public spirit to secure an attendance at any public meeting that might be called. The attendance at this meeting, however, convinced him that when there arose any question of local interest and of real importance, the inhabitants would readily attend a meeting," and unite for the promotion of its object. He only hoped that, if the resolutions to be proposed were carried, those present would not allow their interest in the matter to cease, but that they would continue to exercise their influence with the object of carrying out some more suitable form of Government than that which was at "present provided in this district by the Provincial Government of Nelson. The resolution which he had to propose Was one which, he had not the slightest doubt, would be readily or at once approved of, ; without any observations being made by him. But, inasmuch as it was desirable to obtain the assistance, of persons who might not be there present, and of persons who resided; in other parts of the Province, and who had not the same facilities of information, it was necessary that some reasons should be given for the resolution which he proposed. He would, therefore, as briefly as possible, quote, in support of the resolution, a fewfaetsand figures illustrative of the manner in which the district had been "managed under the Nelson Provincial Government. The motion which he begged to propose was as follows: That the present connection of the Nelson South-west Goldfields with the Province of Nelson heing both unsatisfactory and burdensome, and calculated to retard the future development and prosperity of the said district, this meeting is of opinion that it is desirable to petition the General Assembly forthwith, praying it to abolish Provincial Government so far as regards the said district, and establish in- lieu thereof some form of local self-government more suited to its requirements.

(Loud applause, and a voice: "Annexation.") He heard some one exclaim " Annexation." He did not, know what that person might mean, but he thought they should as far as possible govern themselves. They had, up to the present time heen annexed to the Provincial Government of Nelson, and he thought that the connection had not been satisfactory, or in the slightest degree calculated to develop the resources of the district, or to establish its prosperity.—(Hear, hear.) The meeting would perceive that the resolution was somewhat vague in the concluding sentence, inasmuch as it left to the decision of the General Government the form of local self-govern-ment which should be established. The resolution had been put in this shape purposely. The meeting was aware that the South-west Goldfields comprised a large district, extending as far south as the river Grey. In the Grey district, in this Province, there was a numerous population raising a large revenue, and very closely connected with Greymouth. Belying upon the support of that population, the inhabitants of Greymouth were disposed to advocate the formation of a county extending from the Teremakau to the Razor-back. He believed that they were that very evening holding a meeting for the purpose. The meeting would agree with him that, in undertaking such a movement as that in which they were now engaged, it was politic to excite no opposition whatever. The more unanimous they could be, the better it would be for their chances of success. It was for that reason, and having in view the petition that might be forwarded from Greymouth, that he suggested that a committee should petition for the alternative. When he said " the alternative" he meant the conversion into a county of that part of the Province extending from the river Grey to Collingwood, or, in the event of a second county being established, a county from the Razor-back to the boundaries of the Collingwood goldfields. If it were petitioned for in that form, they would not meet the opposition of the inhabitants of the Greymouth district, supposing they were inclined to make such opposition. The General Assembly would, no doubt, look upon a petition from Greymouth in this light:—They would ask, Is it desirable to divide the colony into a large number of small counties, or is it preferable to establish counties of the size of the present County of Westland. Whatever view they took, the proposed petition would meet either case, and he had no doubt it would. be received. There was a variety of reasons for their advocating a system of government different from that whicti existed. He was not prepared to refer to them all, or at such length as he should like ; moreover, he had been engaged in Court all day, and was disposed to give his tongue a little holiday; but the few arguments he would adduce would, he thought, be sufficient to satisfy them that some change was required. The first reason for desiring a chance was the unfairness of representation in the Nelson Provincial Council.—(Hear, hear.) To that matter he had previously referred, and it had also been alluded to, more than once, by the Press. There were twenty-six members in the Provincial Council. Of those twenty-six five only were allotted to the South-west Goldfields. If they considered the population, they would at once see how disproportionate was the representation on such a basis. According

to the census, in, ', December, 1867, the population of the; Province, outside of the. South-west jGoldfields, was 13,203. ,In thesame month the population of the Goldfields was 10,611. There were thus 10,611 persons returning five members only, against 13,203 returning twenty-one. If that was not of itself a circumstance which should cause them to reflect, and to seek for a proper share of .representation, he did not know what would do so, The matter was a \very serious one —more serious than at first sight might appear. There were certain circumstances, in legislative bodies, under which a small number might exercise considerable power. They might remember that in the Provincial Council of Canterbury, Westland had five or six members; Canterbury, of course, having a considerably larger number. But in the Province of Canterbury there was a .strong pc-liticalfieeling—great partizanship—and parties were pretty equally divided. The Westland . members exercised considerable power because not only the Ministry, but the Opposition, were anxious to secure their votes. There, was political feeling, and the consequence was that their votes were sought, and to secure their votes promises mere made as to the expenditure of revenue in the district. They exercised a very Wge amount of influence for the very reason that they could put in or out any Ministry. But did they ever hear of any political feeling in Nelson?— (Laughter and applause.) Could their minds conceive anything in Nelson, such as a Ministry going out of office, and another coming in ? There being no political feeling there, no partizanship, no determined or opposing parties, the five members for the Goldfields had no extraordinary influence, if they could be said to have any influence at all. The meeting might guess what their influence was when they saw, as he would presently show to them, how the revenue was disposed of. This disproportionate representationheconsideredtobeavery serious grievance, and if they were to continue under the Provincial form of government, there should be an effort made to have the population of this part of the Province much more fully represented than it was at present. —(Hear, hear.) Increased representation might be justifiably demanded on the basis of population. But if it were based on the revenue derived from the district, they certainly ought to have a larger proportion of representation than Nelson. The revenue of this district largely exceeded that of Nelson proper. On that basis they were entitled to more than half the number of members now returned. And, if they looked to the intelligence of a community as a consideration affecting the extent of its representation, he did not see that here they were deficient in that respect. He thought that they could at least compare satisfactorily with Nelson, which did not produce politicians or statesmen of a very high order of ability or intelligence. In fact, he had no hesitation in saying—and he did not say it ironically—that one of the members for the West Coast, Mr Donne, compared favorably with any man in the Nelson Provincial —(laughter) ; and another member, Mr Home, far excelled the majority of them in intellect and . legislative ability. Thus on the basis of either population, taxation, or intelligence, this district was distinctly entitled to a much larger share of representation than it had at present.—(Applause.) They could not expect to have their interests properly attended to, if they had not the men to enforce them. The Provincial Council, as it was at present constituted, would not voluntarily give what the district was entitled to. It must be forced from them. But they.had not the men to do it. This was. the first reason for the present desire for Separation. It might be said that this was a grievance which might be redressed. The Council, however, had not shown the slightest desire to redress it, and it must be patent to them all that it was a grievance.—(Hear, hear.) They did not introduce any measure to increase the representation. Theyhad,some time ago, added three members to the two who originally represented the district, when it could scarcely be said to be populated, but there was not now the slightest expression, on the part of the Government or the Council, of a desire to increase the representation to anything like the extent that was required; The second reason he had to give for the desire to be separated from Nelson was the fact that the interests and requirements of the district were treated with the utmost unconcern andinattention.—(Hear, hear.) This must be within the knowledge of all present, and he needed scarcely to allude to the subject. He might, however, refer to a few things as illustrations of his assertion, and Of the general opinion. They might remember the number of months during which the Caledonian track continued in a most fearful condition.— (Hear, hear.) Agitation after agitation had been got up with the view of inducing the Government to make that track, but it was not done until months had passed away. The Charleston people had also endeavoured to impress upon the Government the propriety of purchasing the Nile bridge, and it was certainly the duty of the Government to make the country accessible, but they had not done so. As another example, they had but to look at the Buller river. (Hear, hear.) Some months ago the Provincial Sec-

retary and Provincial Engineer-had been here, and to tbeat the dangei' to property must have bsen apparent,-hut what had bfcen done ? They; actmitted ; that £SOOO would make the riyer banks safe and secure, but the had not spent a sixpence on ih& worki except a trifling amount in aid of what had been done by the inhabitants. In fact they had done nothing, and had no intention of doing anything until the Council met. The Council might not meet for some months. Meantime the street was disappearing, and possibly some of the houses would be washed away. A variety of other matters, in the shape of absolute requirements of which no notice was taken, might be quoted ; the usual excuse being that the Government had no funds available. Another matter had',lately occurred, showing how little they . thought or cared about the interests of the district. He alluded to the appointment of Mr Lowe as Eesident Magistrate and Warden at Cobden.-—(Hear, hear.) He might say that, personally, he had not the slightest antipathy to Mr Lowe. He believed that as an engineer and surveyor, he was a most efficient officer and thoroughly qualified. But, with all respect to Mr Lowe, he did not believe that he was at the present time qualified to become a "Eesident Magistrate, with jurisdiction to the extent of £IOO, and a Warden with jurisdiction unlimited. The appointment was, in fact, nothing more than a gross piece of jobbery.—(Hear, hear.) There.had been, to his knowledge, no less than three applicants who were better qualified for the office, and one of whom was particularly entitled to receive Harris.—(Applause.) Mr Harris had been connected with the South-west Groldfields from the first, as Warden's Clerk, Eesident Magistrate's Clerk, and Accountant. In these capacities he had been, as it were, trained for the duties, and, from his length of service, attention to his duty, and the general satisfaction he had given, he was most certainly, entitled to the appointment, if he applied for it.—(Hear, hear.) Supposing they were to pass over Mr Harriß, for any reason which they might have, Mr Whiteford, or Mr Kenrick, at Greymouth, might have been selected. But what was the appointment made for? Not because Mr Lowe sought it, but in order to make room for a Nelson gentleman whom the Government did not know how to dispose of.—(Hear, hear.) Mr Dobson might be all very well—an efficient surveyor and engineer—but he questioned if he was more efficient than Mr Lowe, or even as efficient, because the latter had held his present appointment for some time, had a thorough knowledge of the district, and had got his department into thorough working order. Mr Lowe might in time fit himself for the duties, but in the meantime the interests of the miners and merchants of the Grey district might suffer considerably.. The appointment, at anyrate, illustrated that Nelson gave no consideration to the interests of the district; they palmed off anybody with Nelson connections, simply to give them, employment; and so long as it was tacitly permitted, they would continue te do so. It was a part of the unconcern, inattention, and jobbery which characterised the Government treatment of the goldfields, and which constituted, as he had said, the second reason for their seeking Separation. Next came the question in which, probably, the meeting took more interest than any other—the question of revenue and expenditure.—(Hear, hear.) It was the impression of a few that the expenditure on the goldfields had been quite equal to the revenue, but he thought he would be able to convince the meeting that it was very far otherwise. For a short time, during the latter part of Mr Saunders's term of office as Superintendent, and when Mr Kynnersley was Commissioner, there was no doubt that it was so. Mr Kynnersley had large powers delegated to him, and these powers he had exercised with a wise discretion, adopting the principle that the expenditure on the West Coast should be equal to the revenue derived from it. That policy, however, did not meet the views of the Provincial Government generally, and of his Honor the Superintendent, Mr Oswald Curtis, in particular. To show to the meeting that the revenue derived from the district had not been expended upon it, he had collected certain statistics and had arrived at certain results. They were all based on returns made by the Provincial Treasurer for the information of the Council. Of course, he could not pretend to say that they were absolutely correct, but he had .conscientiously endeavored to arrive at the truth, and had not strained the figures in any way. In doing so, he had only taken the Nelson Government's own reports, so that it was out of their own mouths that they would be convicted. He found that, on March 31st, 1866, there was a credit in favor of the South-west Goldfields of £11,038 6s Id. From another report some time after, it appeared that on November 30th in the same year there was an additional balance of £12,854 3s 3d,making a total 0f£23,892 9s 4d. In the month of December, in the same year, there appeared a balance of revenue as against expenditure, of £4OOO. In 1867 there was received from the SouthWest goldfields in the shape of revenue miners' rights, business licenses, and such revenue as is obtainable under the Goldfields Act, with gold duty and a proportion of the

Customs duties—£76,Bßs 15b 6d. la this there was included the small revenue derived from the Collingwood goldfield, but as a set-off he had not taken into consideration the sales of land, from which considerable amounts had at that time been received. In 1868 the returns were somewhat incomplete, from the fact that at the end of 1867 a new plan of apportioning the public revenues had been adopted, and in consequence of the bungling of accounts winch had led to an amount being deducted from Nelson until an amount previously received had been repaid.. Notwithstanding the defectiveness of accounts, so far as was exhibited by the Provincial Treasurer's returns, he found that in that year £57,084 14s 4d had been received from the South-West goldfields. Taking all these sums together, he found that the Provincial Government had received out of these goldfields £161,867-19s, 2d. Of course he did not pretend to say that this was absolutely correct, but it was so, as far as " his light went." What was the expenditure during that time? In 1867, during which the rush took place to Fox's, Charleston, and Westport, when therewasheavyexpenditure on the formation of tracks, there was alargeamountexpended—no. less a sum than £83,564 4s sd. But of that amount £IO,OOO was expended on the road leading from Nelson to the Lyell. A portion of that road was certainly on the West Coast, but he would ask, had the slightest benefit been derived from it ? He had omitted that £IO,OOO because it was not a proper charge against the district. It had been decided to make the road years before the goldfields were discovered. The idea was then promulgated because the land revenue was greatly decreasing, and it was found necessary to open up the country so as to make agricultural and pastoral areas available. Some £27,000 or £30,000 was thus spent before the gold-fields were discovered, or before population had settled on the West Coast, and it was evident that it was not to benefit the inhabitants that the work was undertaken. He therefore objected, and so had Mr Kynnersley and the Provincial Accountant objected, to th;s sum being included as a charge against the district. Leaving out this £IO,OOO he found that in that year there had been expended £73,564 4s sd, and in 1868 ■ there was an expenditure of £40,886 8s 7d, making a total of £114,450 13s up to the 31st of December last. ; Deducting that from £161,867 19s 2d, , the amount of revenue derived from i the goldfields, there was left to the credit a balance of £47,412 6s 2d.— i (Hear, hear.) They would thus see that those who thought that all the revenue derived from the goldfields, • and even more, had ueen expended, i were under a wrong impression. Taking . the Nelson Government's own showing of the facts, there remained this large sum to the credit of the South- . West Goldfields. There was a , further sum of £12,089 which the district ought to be credited with, and that amount he had discovered from a return by the General Government for 1868. By these returns he found , that the revenue from the district for . last year was £69,173 16s 3d—£12,080 i Is lid more than was shown by the returns of the Provincial Treasurer. . This brought the amount up to . £59,501 8s Id, to the credit of the South-west goldfields, and which, in ; his opinion, should have been expended on these goldfields.—(Hear, hear.) . They could not be taken by surprise . in finding that this money had not i been expended, because it was determined at the outset that it should i not be expended. The Provincial Council decided that it should not be spent, and the Superintendent, when : he came into office, most distinctly . affirmed the principle that revenue i should not be expended in the locali- ; ties from which it was derived. To ! show that the Nelson Government acted deliberately on that principle, and that there was no reason for surprise, he would read a motion proposed in the Nelson Council by Mr i Oliver, to whom, he would say, all ; honor was due. In the year 1865, Mr i Oliver moved:—

That this Council, taking into considers" tion the large amount of provincial revenue contributed by the gold-miners from direct taxation, is of opinion, that such rereime should be expended in improving the com' munications from the port with the several auriferous districts, and in public works calculated to facilitate the operations, and generally to promote the convenience of the mining population ; also, that the apportionment of all such expenditure should be made, as far as practicable, relatively to the amount of gold duty produced within such several auriferous districts.

That was the principle with which their wishes accorded.—(Hear, hear.) The policy of the Provincial Council should be based upon that principle, but what did they find had been done with this proposition ? The question was " put and negatived." The Provincial Council, in fact, affirmed the principle that, taking into consideration the large amount of Provincial revenue contributed by the gold-miners from direct taxation, such revenue should not be expended in improving the communications from the port with the several auriferous districts, not in public works calculated to facilitate their operations, and generally to promote the convenience of the mining population, and that the apportionment of such expenditure should not be made relatively to the amount of gold duty produced. That principle and that policy they had diligently carried out, up to the present day.— (Hear, hear.) Coming en to 1867,

they found that, immediately after r the, Superintendent was elected, his' Honor gave to such sentiments as these: —

While recognising to the fullest extent the value of the gold-producing districts, not only to this province, but also to the colony as a whole, which I firmly believe they have rescued from impending financial difficulties of no ordinary character ; I cannot concur in the view which is commonly expressed on the fart of the mining community, that the whole of the gross revenue derived, either directly or indirectly, from their industrial occupation of the waste lands of the Crown, is necessarily and as a matter of right to be expended in the particular portion of the province whence that revenue is derived —and that the remaining districts of the province are to take upon 'themselves the expense of thstt Government, to which the population of the goldproducing districts are indebted for protection in their industry, and for the means of pursuing their avboatioHs.

Here they found the Superintendent carrying out the principle which had been adopted in ,1865 ; that was, not to expend cm this-portion of the Province therevenuederivedfromit, whereas in his (Mr Tyler's) opinion, to do so was precisely the policy which should be adopted. For what purpose were taxes raised, but first of all to •btain a ¥vmd for protecting a country against aggression by others—to protect the lives and properties of its inhabitants ? That was the only legitimate purpose for which taxes could be enforced. If there Was any surplus, it must be returned in some sbape or another, and the only way to do that was to distribute it to the different districts from which the revemie' had been derived. Greater authorities than he or the Superintendent of Nelson were of that opinion, for he found by the Constitution Act that the Imperial Legislature had adopted the principle. That was their opinion, and he took it for granted that ihere were some men of intelligence and statemanship in the British Parliament. The 66th section of the Constitution A.ct was to this effect:—

After and subject to the payments to be made under the provisions hereinbefore contained, all the- revenue arising from taxes, rates, and imposts levied in virtue of any Act of the General Assembly, and from the dis posal of waste lands of the Crown under any such Act made in pursuance of the authority herein contained, shall be subject to be appropriated to such specific purposes as by any Act of the said General Assembly shall be prescribed in that behalf ; and the surplus of such revenue which shall not be appropriated as aforesaid, shall be divided among the several provinces for the time being- established in New Zealand under or by virtue of this Act, in the like proportions as the gross proceeds of the said revenue shall have arisen therein respectively, and shall be paid over to the respective treasuries of such Provinces for the public uses thereof, and shall be subject to the appropriation of the respective Provincial Councils of such Provinces.

That was the principle clearly laid down by the Imperial Parliament, and they usually proceeded on a wise principle. In fact, he would prefer taking their opinion as to the proper course to be pursued than the opinion of either the ISelson Provincial Council or even His Honor the Superintendent. —(Laughter). He had now given three reasons why the meeting should support such a motion as that which he proposed. So far he had touched on certain grievances which they had in their connection with the Provincial Government. Not that he thought it was necessary that they should show any grievances. He denied the proposition that, in order to justify a demand for a new form of government, they should show grievances and acts of mis-government. It did not follow that because they were under a good form of government, they should not adopt a better. The question was, was a local form of government not better than the present form of government. That principle had already been asserted by the Legislature of the country. If it was not affirmed in so many words by the Legislature, the voice of the country was, at least, in favor of the abolition of Provincial Councils. So far as the general question was concerned, the country was thus with the feeling in this particular district. But there were local and special, as well as general, reasons for this demand. They found that £69,000 had been expended on Nelson Province proper, which had been derivedfrom the South-west Goldfields, which should be spent on them, and which, had it been spent, would have left.them in a more flourishing condition than they now were. If, twelve months ago, they had had a good dray road up to the Lyell, what would the population of. that district now have been ? They all knew that it was a splendid distict—that there was any quantity of gold there; but it was, under existing circumstances, impossible to get at. On the other end of the road, the Government had spent £50,000 for the purpose of bringing, revenue to Nelson, and of draining some of its wealth into their own pockets. Had a fourth of that sum been spent on the natural outlet from the Lyell, on the banks of the Buller, the district would be in a condition very different from what it now is. To show of what value the "West Coast had been to the Province, he would quote the revenue for a series of years. Not taking into account the revenue from land sales, the revenue from other sources had been—about £II,OOO in 1861, £12,000 in 1862, £14,000 in 1863, £17,000 in 1864, including £2OOO of gold-duty, £17,000 in 1865, £22,000 in 1866, £24,000 in 1867, £35,000 in 1868, and £37,000 (estimated) in 1869. This steady and large increase was not due to any genera] increase of the population, but was chiefly the result of the increase of population on. the South-West Goldfields. It was from that source, in feet, that the greater

portion of the revenue was derived, the revenue derivable from land having gradually decreased. From, these figures it must be apparent that the Sxmth-west Goldflelds and their population bad exercised a considerable influence on the revenue of the Province. The population of Nelson proper had not increased so as to explain the large increase of revenue, the popula;tion in 1864 having been about 11,000, and in 1867 only 13,000. The benefit which they derived from the goldflelds themselves was at the rate of £90,000 or £IOO,OOO a year. There were abundant reasons for the district being made distinct from Nelson, and they were certainly not asking too much when they asked from the General Government leave to expend the money produced by the district as they thought proper, and more to their advantage.—(Hear, hear.) For these reasons he had proposed the resolution which he had read at the outset. He had not in the slightest degree touched upon,the advantages of .a . change in the form of local government; he had left that part of the subject to those who would follow, and it would be for the. meeting to express an opinion whether it considered that any advantage would be gained,by a change. Mr M'Dowell, M.P.C., seconded fhe motion. He. thought it must be evident to all present that the partnership which. had hitherto existed between this district and Nelson had been throughout a one-sided arrangement.—(Hear, hear). The benefit had been, altogether on the Nelson 3ide, and latterly, since Mr Kynnersley had ceased to hold the office of Commissioner on the West Coast, and no one had succeeded him with delegated powers, the circumstances were still less favourable to the interests of this district. There was no one to directly administer its affairs; all the care of the Government seemed to be to collect as much revenue as they could, and to carry it to Nelson.—(Applause.) There were on the West Coast many instances of the Provincial Government's neglect, but Mr Tyler, inhis|exhaustive speech, had sufficiently alluded to them to render any further remarks unnecessary. One work which was most urgent was the formation of a track to Giles and Bochfort terraces, but for eight or nine months nothing whatever had been expended except charges which were purely departmental and absolutely unavoidable.

The Chairman asked if any gentleman present desired to speak either to or against the motion. There were loud cries of " O'Conor," " Bailie," &c, and, after the Chairman had intimated that it seemed to be the wish of the meeting that Mr O'Conor should address them, that gentleman came forward. There were cries of " Platform," " Platform," (but he " declined the honor," and spoke from the floor in front of the stage. Mr O'Conor said that, in deference to the clamorous demand which the meeting had apparently made for him to present himself, he came forward, and would very briefly state his views on the subject of the motion which had been proposed. He certainly advocated the cause of Separation from Nelson. The reasons which Mr Tyler had given for such a step, they must admit, were both numerous and strong, and, in his opinion, they were also incontrovertible.—(Hear, hear.) But there were other grounds on which they had a right to demand an improved system of government. That was the common right which, as British colonists, they all should enjoy—the right to require that what they contributed to revenue should be expended in a manner of which they approved.—(Applause.) He asked them, was it just or reasonable that the, large amount which they contributed should be devoted to the sole purpose of fattening the half-farming, half-mercantile, legislating dignitaries of Nelson? (Laughter.) Most certainly it was not. There was no sympathy between them and the Nelson community. Their necessities and interests were essentially different.—(Hear, hear.) Let the people of Nelson enjoy the peace of their quiet valley, and let the inhabitants here endeavor to manage to their own satisfaction the rough country which they occupied. There could be no sympathy between Mr Curtis and the residents of this coast. There was nothing on his easy ride along those smooth roads with which he has surrounded Nelson, save astray stone which the careless road-keeper might leave on his track, to disturb the " even tenor of his way," or to recal the rugged path along which the digger risks his life and limbs in pursuit of that gold of which he and his friends absorbed so large a share. No; he cared neither for the diggers nor for the locality in which they toil. His object was to realise from the fruits of their labor the means of embellishing, aggrandising, and advancing his parish, himself, and his st ceteras. But between the community here and the miners, there was inevitably the strongest sympathy. They could see the necessity that there was for aiding the miner in his progress in discovering and developing the resources of the district, and they also saw—when it was, however, too late—how much the energies of a great portion of the population of the West Coast had been crippled by the neglect of the Nelson Government.—(Hear,hear.) He had not come forward to make a speech; in fact bis lungs were not at the moment in the very best order for the purpose; but as he was there, before them, he would take the liberty of correcting a statement which had

been made by Mr Tyler. They bad heard from Mr Tyler an elaborate and interesting statement of the reasons for Separation, and it was a pity any fault should be found. But he felt bound to correct him when he took to himself the credit of having initiated the movement. The fact was that, very shortly after the Progress Committee had been formed, and eie Mr Tyler was a member of it, they found, by the unsatisfactory replies received to their various applications to the Government at Nelson, that their only hope lay in Separation; and shortly after Mr Tyler was elected, he was appointed one of a Committee to obtain statistics and to frame a -statement in support of their claims, and he felt pleasure in bearing testimony to the satisfactory manner in which he had, that evening, discharged his duty. He (Mr O'Conor) hoped that every one present would now give their attention and energies to the advancement of the movement. They would not only have to. do so with their Voices, but with their purses also. They must. take care that they should have no "split" among themselves, and the subject would require to be brought still more promirielitly under the notice of those resident in Charleston, Brighton, and up the valley of the Grey. There had been a proposition made as to the amalgamation of the Grey district with the county of Westland, but he thought it was a question whether the miners up the Grey would consent to share the burden of taxation which had to be maintained by that County. It would be better for them to unite with this district than to join Westland with its heavy load of debt, or to continue with Nelson and suffer from its neglect.— (Applause.) The Chairman, having put the motion to the meeting, said: There is one hand held up "on the contrary." —(Laughter, and a voice "He has just come overland from Nelsen for the purpose.") I may therefore say that, with that single exception, the resolution has been carried unanimously. Mr W. Pitt proposed the next resolution : That a committee be appointed to prepare the petition mentioned in the last resolution, to canvass the district for signatures thereto, and to take such other steps as they maydeem necessary to ensure its presentation to the General Assembly; such commitee to consist of Messrs Gallagher, M.H.E., M'Dowell, M.P.C., E. C. Reid, J.P., Braithwaite, R. Macfarlane, Humphrey, O'Conor, Bullen, Milne, Southern, Pirie, Sheahan, Powell, Munro, A. Reid, E. Tyler, and the mover, with power to add to their number. Mr John Muneo seconded the motion, and it was unanimously adopted. The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the Chairman. The length to which our report has already extended compels us to hold over, until next publication, reports of the speeches of Mr Pitt and Mr Munro.