PRE-SESSIONAL ADDRESS.

Western Star, Issue 350, 19 May 1880, Page 3

PRE-SESSIONAL ADDRESS.

i fs'iv,vt‘ ii;e(Fr6ih;the— Southland 1 News.”) ' 'ibn : Moiiday evening the". Parham iptary ,rettesentatife ‘of-the'HivertprT jMvJP. K. M'Caughan, addressed a’mee'ting of 'the* electors: iu the TOddfellovvs’- Ha’ll Wintoh.'- On bis arrival from Invercargill;; there was quite a crowd waiting on the platform, .and- Mr M'Caughan received an enthusiastic welcome, a feature in the proceedings feeing the playing of a musical instrument peculiar to “Caledonia- stern’ and wild,” whose manipulator acquitted'himself then and later in the evening in a manner worthy of his Highland patronymic. At eight o’clock, when the meecing commenced, the hall was crowded, many of those present having come in from a considerable distance. Mr D. M'Lebd, Mayor of the "Borough, was voted to the chair, and briefly introduced , Mr M'Caughan, who said that when ho last addressed iliem it was as a candidate for their suffrages. Since then a session of Parliament had ,taken place, and he was there that evening for the purpose of giving them what was usually looked for from a representative—an account of his stewardship. They had all probably read his printed address, the publication of which he regarded as a new idea, but it was sometimes well to step out of the beaten path, and taka up a line for one’s self. Jn that address he had boldly stated his views and opinions ; every paper in the colony had commented on it, either for or against, and he had hot come before thrm in a hole and corner way, and endeavored to take the electors by surprise. He had to confess to a feeling of disappointment and surprise at some portions of the press having asserted that he had not written it—that it was the production of the editor of the paper in which it first appeared, or if not that, then a combined pboic duction. At the same time this was rather flattering, for personally lie did not regard it as an extraordinary production, and, if more of a similar character were wanted, bo could satisfy them. —(Applause.) Then again it had been stated by a speaker in-the North Island that the address was “inspired” by the Government or Conservative party. He 1 could assure them that the idea originated with himself. Throughout the session, during which ho had acted honestly and consistently, and had kept the promises ho had made, he felt that he had been sadly misrepresented by B portion of the press, but know at the same .time that it was only necessary to lay a full and clear statement before the electors m order to obtain their approbation. (Applause.) Hence his printed address, which, he would again assure them, no one had inspired him with, and which no one ever saw till it was ready for the printer. (Applause.) There was no inspiration in the matter. Mr M'Caughan then enumerated the reasons which led him to withdraw his support from Sir George Grey, the primary one being the state in which he found the finances of the , o iony. From the time Mr Enhance ceased to be Treasurer Sir George Grey had paid v«rv littlo regard to this important matter, and affairs got eo bad that the Bank of New

Zealand, which had always conducted the business of the colony, cleclinedto continue (o q retain the account. The Native Policy of th Grev Government, and Sir George Grey’s action respecting the Thames railway, and the ordering of 4000 or 5000 immigrants at a time wlum there were many unemployed men in Wellington clamouring for food or work, were next adverted to, the speaker explaining that the omission of a figure in his published address had made the number of men appear hundreds of men instead of thousands. Every immigrant brought to the colony presumably cost £ll< per head, and yet, in the face of the wailings of the unfortunate unemployed in the colony, Sir George Grey actually'brought 4000 or 5000 more to share t..eir unhapnv fate. Mr M'Oaughnn next detailed his actions up to the time when the defection of the four Auckland members placed the present Government ir. power, and said that although he had opposed them at an earlier stage) in acrordance with the pledges he had given, yet lie could not but regard it as a Govcrnment--composed of thoroughly respectable, honest, and practical men, without a single undesirable man amongst them. He could not see that he was warranted in opposing measures that ho thoronphly approved of, and he thcrcf.re accorded"” the Government his support. The Bills passed during the session, and which had received his support, having been mentioned, Mr APCauglian proceeded to speak of the Ei-trict Railways Bill, the provisions of which were explained, together with Ins action in connection therewii.li. Coming to local matters, he referred to his efforts in respect to the Forest Hill tramway, the construction of which should, in justice, have been undertaken 'many years before. He had placed the matter before the Minister of Public Works, with the result that rails enough for ten-miles had been granted, and £SOOO placed on the Estimates for the construction ot the tramway. With reward to the tramway in the direction of Wrey’s Bush he had not been so successful, but it was within the bounds of possibility that ho would yet bo in a position to report favorably; - —(Applause). ■ * t * Air MUaughun next defflfc with the subject of taxation. His enemies bud said that he had been inspired, but the truth with ,regard to this particular portion of his address, was that he had been reflecting a little, and, as ho ; had been for. a long time accustomed to the ledger, applying his banking experience to the ledgers of the Government. Financially, the colony was in a most critical Condition,, and he would like some of the great financiers and papers tkat wrote so much, and took up his suggestions and tore them to pieces to propound a,remedy. After briefly sketching the present financial'position of the colony, Air AP.Cinigban 'said t hat the simplest way out of the difficulty would be to begin with, to suspend the education vote for two or three years. He wished to bo clearly understood on this point. He was us groat an advocate of education as anyone among them, realised its value to' the fullest extent, and would be the last to dream of suspending this vote did not the necessities of the case demand it. He would say,-let those people who were in a position to do so pay for die education of their children,,and those who were unable to do so could make a declaration to that effect to their clergyman, a magistrate, or a school committee, and he held that the State should pay the fees for the education of their children.—(Hear, hear.) In making these suggestions he was laying before them his own individual opinion. He feared that the Aliuistry were not bold enough or strong euouglrto eoine forward with such an item in their policy—there was too much of what he might term cringing for office fur that. Then a considerable uilWliiit of revenue nffght be derived fur educational purposes by stilling tao educational endowments. In the Waikaja. riding, for example, there were TOO,QUO' acres of fine agricultural land set apart as endowments for educational purposes, ami lie .might mention incidentally that the Waimea i*iains railway passed Within four miles of the blocks to which he ref cried. If ■ulfttdWay was made to Switzers, and this land j ( ». io -uaU ill) it would tiring in a revenue of £ju,UJU a ye ir, instead oi being, as at present, n't t'h'e'htVDT# oi nq .alt ers at 2d or fid per acre, and-if 'tlie reserves were pro; erly dealt with they would .hear u great dea. less of the ex- • pcnsß!v-oi ■euucatiou, ana relieve the direct -vote-on ilro’'Ginsdittut d fund. The discontinuance of:tali subsidies ;o Road Boards and C’oumy Councils, tue imposition of the beer tax, and the’ re-iuipos lion of the tea amt sugar ’ Uuuls: wore next suggested by Mr M-Gaughaii; who, after showing the effect which woul.i follow ihe carrying out of hia proposiiHiW/ssfif that he was not aware that? there was a single uiemuer of the Assembly who held the same views as those to which he baa giireil' and’ 'he knew that the Government did not, so that so fur as his address was concerned- it was thoroughly original. He did not know that the present or any other Govornme. t were likely to adopt them, but personally he wished tney would) because: he believed that if put in force i hey would go a long way towards solving the ■ difficulties in which the colony was placed. If they were unable to meet their engagements as a colony,, he did not know what the result would be—that he would leave to be stated by those who had criticised him. Speaking of the.imeans by which retrenchment might be affected, Mr. M'Caughan pointed out that the -railways could be much better managed) and that-the .Civil; Service was capable of being considerably reduced, wiihout impairing its efficiency. In support of this, he mentioned that at Wellington what had been deswibed as the largest wooden bnilding in the world was filled with civil servants —in fact there were regiments of them, some receiving salaries quite out of proportion to the work they performed for the means of the colony. He did not contemplate going in for office—be was not an office seeker—and the first thing ho would do on reaching Wellington would be to ass. for a committee of men who had never been in office, and who never intended to be, to deal with this plague —the Civil Service. In short, he would seek to obtain a committee of free, independent and fearless members of the House, and have the salary of every official from Auckland to Stewart Island brought under consideration. In conclusion, Air AlfCaughan expressed his willingness to answer any question that might be put. ~W Air T. Daniel (Riverton) asked if Air APCaughan did not consider the Government had acted injudiciously in stopping distillation in the colony—in oilier words, would it not be better to consume their own products than to import from Home, and send the money out of the. colony ? Air APCaughan said that he held very strong protectionist views, and considered that the manufacture of all raw material produced in the colony should be protected. Air T. Paterson said that to abolish the education vote would be to do a great injustice to the poorer classes, bu‘ at the same . -tHiie, why not abolish the provision made for ‘ higher education ? He tailed to see winfarmers and working men should pay a tax to elucate children sufficiently to fit them for ministers, lawyers, or professional men. He was quite in favor of children receiving a common education free, but the country should certainly not be taxed to make them professional men. Air M'Caughan said that the State, w hilst abolishing the vole, would continue to pay for children whoso parents were unable to do so. Mr Paterson agreed with that, but what about the higher classes of education ? Air APCaughan : The abolition of that vote would deal with the higher classes. No one appearing to have any further questions to put, ! Mr Paterson moved, and Air D. APEae seconded, a vote of thanks to Air APCaughan for his address, and of unbated confidence in . him as the representative of the Riverton , District. l The motion was carried with ncclamai tion. i Mr APCaughan having acknowledged the I rote, the usual compliment® was’accorded to I the Chairman, and the meeting then closed, , the audience in leaving g’ving three hearty r 1 cheers for “ Our Member.”