Nomination of Member of House of Representatives.

Sir George Grey, K.C.B., was proposed by Mr. Alexander Black, and seconded by Mr. W. C. Wilson.

The Returning Officer inquired if any elector desired to propose another candidate.

No response was made to this inquiry.

page 17

The Returning Officer then declared elector Sir George Grey, K.C.B., freeholder, of Kawau, to be duly elected a member for Auckland City West in the House of Representatives.

The announcement was received with loud cheers.

Sir George Grey came forward, and said : Gentlemen, Electors of Auckland City West,—I return you my best and most heartfelt thanks for the honor that you have conferred upon me. Let me lament with you the recent death of your late Representative, Mr. John Williamson, a remarkable man, and a good man, whose death I shall always deplore: a man whom I admired whilst living, and whose memory I shall always reverence. He appeared to me, as he grew in experience of public life, to grow in prudence and wisdom, and I firmly believe, that if I had him to help me in the present crisis, and his counsel to rely upon, I should have had a great support, which I want now in having lost him. I feel that if any points in my conduct require explanation, it should be given to you, and that I should not only give you my thanks, but remark upon anything I have seen said in reference to the views I hold. There is one subject which really seems to require some observations from me. Amongst other things, I observe it is said that I have done wrong in stirring up Provincial jealousies. When I saw this I could not help thinking of the fable of the lamb and the wolf drinking at the same stream, the wolf at the higher part of the stream and the lamb below, and the wolf said to the lamb, "What do you mean by muddying the water, and stirring up the dirt?" and yet the wolf was drinking at the higher part of the stream, the intention of the wolf simply being to quarrel with the lamb. Now, it is the wolf who has stirred up the question of Provincialism. Good Heavens ! They come to us and say, "One set of provinces are going to take away all their representative institutions from the people of Auckland," and I am to keep silence, lest I raise Provincial jealousies. On that subject I presume what they really mean is this : That I explained to the electors of the province the rights they possess under the Constitution Act, with regard to the places where the General Assembly is to be held. These rights are not only their own rights, but were given for all time in New Zealand,—the right which every country possesses in order to preserve freedom of debate—that right being that the head of the country has the power to assemble at such portion of the colony and at such time as he please, the General Legislature : the Constitution Act distinctly says that the General Assembly can make no law to take that right from the inhabitants of New Zealand; and I announced that. What harm did I do in telling people what were their just rights? We ought to protect that liberty. I hold this question of where the Assembly sits to be a mere matter of nonsense. Wellington must be a great city in spite of everything which may be done. It has a magnificent harbour, the only harbour of any extent for a long distance to the east or west of it, and when the railways are completed to Wellington through most fertile districts—one of them, perhaps, one of the most fertile in the whole world, certainly one of the most fertile I have ever visited—Wellington is sure to prosper; and the question whether the Governor is to reside there, and the Assembly to meet there, is a mere matter of nonsense so far as regards the welfare of the place is concerned. It is the same with regard to Auckland. What is it to us with the noble harbour we have here, which must become a great commercial emporium? If the people of Auckland had taken up the suggestion I warmly supported when the Assembly left this place; if Auckland had then separated from the colony, and became a separate colony, and afterwards federated with the rest of New Zealand upon its own terms, it would have had a Government quite equal in importance to any that assembles at Wellington. It nearly approaches the province of Victoria in size, and it possesses this advantage,—there is no portion of the province of Auckland that will not ultimately carry a certain number of sheep upon it, say two or three to the acre; and by sheep-grazing the very worst kinds of land in this province may be improved so as to support large and important flocks. Not only that, but the sheep of the province of Auckland are amongst the very best in the world. It is declared that the wool that comes from this province and part of the province of Taranaki is the best wool in the market at home. In Victoria there are enormous districts of bad land which will carry no English grasses or sustain anything, whereas there is no land in Auckland that is not capable of carrying a population, and an immense one in many cases. This is one of the things which must bo held in view, if the worst conies to the worst; for that fate, which might not be a very bad one, we can certainly obtain for ourselves. We must remember that when the people in Australia chose to be split up into separate colonies, what an uproar New South Wales made; but the people at home did not allow the wishes of the people in Victoria to be trampled upon by a more powerful rival, and the same could be done here at any time if necessity should arise. Another objection taken to what I have done is this : They say, "We very much regret"—or "Do not think Sir George Grey is right in having raised the questions he has done." Now, what have I done in that respect? I have raised no questions whatever. page 18 In June, 1852, a Constitution Act was passed conferring certain rights and privileges upon the people of New Zealand, and since that time no one has explained to the people what those privileges were. Reflect for a moment. We do not hold those privileges for ourselves alone. You and I hold them for future generations. That is our position, and if I come forward into public life as one of your representatives, it is my duty to tell you about rights you have not had explained to you for more than twenty-three years. It is the old argument of the governing classes. I recollect, and many of you must also, the old cry, "Do not educate the people at all, or we shall have no end of trouble." Well, am I not to educate the people now? Am I not to say to you,—In 1852 the Queen, Lords and Commons of Great Britain, in providing for the future of New Zealand, placed in your hands certain powers as trustees, to be exercised for your own benefit, but not for that alone, but for those who follow you? I will not keep silence upon such a subject for anybody. (Loud applause.) And what is more, I hope none of you will be silent, and that you will see that the men you return as your representatives will be like me, and not hold their tongues either. (Cheers.) That you will see that the men whom now you send as your representatives to the Assembly will neither be afraid of those in office nor be anxious to obtain office for themselves. Stick to these points and we shall get our rights. I see nothing myself so very admirable in the present system of those who govern us under the plan which they have introduced. To them it may be a delightful thing to see a sort of procession march down to the House of Assembly, and the mock imitation of what goes on in Great Britain produced there, which Dickens said when he went out to Nova Scotia put him in mind of sitting at home watching the proceedings of Parliament looking through the wrong end of a telescope. To me there is nothing in that worth our paying such enormous sums and forfeiting our rights to obtain. That was his account. I have seen some great sights in New Zealand—as great as were ever seen by any man. Shall I tell you what I have seen? I have seen a body of Volunteers, composed of men who were your own fellow-colonists, who were going away upon a very dangerous service. I saw the young officers, one after another, come up to shake hands with myself, as I wished them success, some of them with tears starting up in their young eyes, as they pressed my hand, with a pressure which spoke great promises, and which I shall never forget,—not tears of apprehension for themselves, bat for those whom they left behind, and of gladness that they were enabled to do dangerous duty, and that such a duty was given them to perform for the colony. (Cheers.) Now, that is what I call a great sight. These were the young men who served their country j without great rewards. They had no rewards to expect, and their friends 110 compensation for the sacrifice of their lives. I Sights like these are what great histories are made of. (Cheers.) I have heard it remarked by clever men that, "After all, Auckland is a petty place; you cannot compare it with Melbourne or any place of that kind; it has no great public library, no magnificent buildings, no memories and no associations that attach people to it." Well, perhaps it is not like Melbourne in this respect. But I say that it has memories which all would do well to ponder over and cherish—it has associations which recall the honor of sacrifices made, and of valiant service rendered, memories which future historians will tenderly ponder over, and record as examples to stimulate other times to great deeds. When I came here what did I see? A few men, women, and children were here. They had set themselves in the midst of barbarous tribes—such tribes were to the cast, to the west, to the north, to the south—they were constantly in peril of being destroyed, but neither man, nor woman and child quailed in the position. Is not that an association attaching to this place of which we ought to be proud? Are not the disasters these people have undergone at various times, and the constancy with which they have stood the struggle against all impediments, associations of this place, should not it and its people now reap the reward of their energy and sacrifices? I will give you one instance of what the people in this respect did. When I came here first, it must be in the memory of many of you, arms and ammunition were being sold to our foes, and it was said, if this practice of selling arms and ammunition were stopped friendly tribes would rise against us. I had determined to put an end to it, and people applied to me and asked whether I was going to give my assent to a bill which, for the future, would prohibit arms and ammunition being supplied to the natives, as it would raise those who were friendly to us against us. A letter was laid on the table before me, warning me not to assent to the Act, because it was said many of the tribes—and particularly one loyal chief was named—would be arrayed against us if I did so. Should I run this risk? Should I subject the people of Auckland, their wives and children, to the dangers which, they said, would beset us? I said that we should not be slaves; that no longer should arms be sold to destroy our countrymen in other parts, and that I would run the risk, for I believed the people of Auckland would stand by me if danger arose. They came forward magnificently; and I knew that they were anxious, above all page 19 things, to do their duty. I say, then, that the Auckland people have memorable associations. Great memories cling all about them. I ask them now, that they shall not, in the forthcoming struggle, in any respect fall behind those who preceded them. (Cheers.) Let those memories and associations cling round them still. Let the prediction which has been made that Auckland should be trampled out as a province never be realized. But let us understand and let others know that through such associations as these, Auckland rose to be the province whence those measures came which secured the liberty of all New Zealand for the future. (Cheers) Let us not only say that, but act it out. See that your representatives are kept up to this point. (Cheers.) And if I do not do my duty, elect somebody else. There is one other subject to which I would allude, and only for one moment, because I do not intend to keep you long. Since I have been in office have been able to look into the financial condition of this province, and I will tell you what I have found—that a large sum of money has been most unjustly withheld from us. (Hear.) If we had our rights we are fairly and justly entitled to that money. With it we would have the means to go on prosperously towards the future, carrying on public works and improvements for the welfare and prosperity of the people. (Cheers.) I say it is wrong that a distant authority should withhold from us that which we are entitled to, and expend themselves by means of irresponsible agents what we would be entitled to spend for our own benefit. A sum of £60,000 was voted to be expended to the north of the Waitemata, which has been spent by distant and irresponsible authority. I ask you, is it right that a Minister, a Premier of the Colony, abandoning his duty here, should take a person elected by no constituency, with responsibility to no single individual in the colony of New Zealand, and through him expend the money to which the people of this province are entitled? I am now unanimously returned by a constituency of nearly 14,000 people, and if I should not be thought worthy to spend the sums that are voted by Parliament, is it right that a single individual, who is unknown to us, who is no representative of the colony or province, or of anybody, may at his own caprice do as he pleases with those moneys and give us no account of them? (Loud cheers.) That is one of the things that I say must be altered. My firm belief is that if the Governor of this country does his duty he will allow the General Assembly forthwith to meet that the province of Auckland may obtain justice—to get those funds to which it is entitled, for by no other means can we get them at present. The Government apparently can do nothing without Mr. Vogel. That is a plausible reason put forward for delay. But must we be dependent on people at a distance who are incapable of conducting the business of the country until Mr. Vogel comes back? Will the Governor subject us to this risk? Are we to wait with anything like reasonable hope for funds which are put under the control of individuals of that kind? (Cheers.) Must all our interests be sacrificed because we cannot meet the Assembly? And this, cannot be done, because they cannot manage and conduct the business; for that is the answer which is given. Now, let the Assembly meet; let the funds due to Auckland be instantly given to her. If that is done, then, in two or three months I guarantee that Auckland will be in full career towards a high prosperity, exercising that influence over the councils and on the destiny of the colony which, by its population, by its suffering, and, I will say, by its intellect, it ought to exercise. These are things that I wish to see attended to first. I have not shrunk from making a full explanation of them to you. And you will find this, that I never shall shrink from my duty in this respect. Nor shall I ever shrink from hearing your advice. (Cheers.) I will not say, however, that I will always take it. (Cheers and laughter.) But I will say that if any great number of I the electors conceive that I am at any time acting adversely to their interests then I shall have no wish to hold the office you have this day conferred upon me a day longer, or even an hour longer than I shall be able to render service.

Sir George sat down amid loud cheering.

Sir George Grey, in proposing a vote of thanks to the Returning Officer, said that the gentleman who filled that office for a great number of years had never been impeached upon account of impartiality. Colonel Balneavis had fulfilled the duties to the satisfaction of all parties and all opinions, and was entitled to an unanimous vote of thanks from the electors.

The motion was put and carried unanimously.

The Returning Officer acknowledged the kindness of the electors and the handsome manner in which the vote of thanks had been proposed.