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THE BQGtfffQ ELECTION.
mr john fletcher at woolshed.
Mr. J. Fletcher,. J. P., who" is a candi
date for the representation of the B.igbng .
electorate in the State Parliament, opened
his campaign on Monday evening at the
Woolshed State-school. '1 here was a fair
attendance, the iuclemeut "weather pre
venting a large" assemblage. Mr. George
Carnsew, he ld teacher, was voted to the
chair, and briefly introduced the candi
date, with whom most of theifi were
already acquainted in his . public capacity
as a former member of the Beech.worth
Shire Couucil, iu which he had carried
out his duties honestly and efficiently, and
he was sure they would give him a'p itient
hearing.
Mr. FLETCHER said that in coming,
down to the Woolshed that night it had
struck him as a curious coincidence that
the first political meeting he attended
was there, and this was also his own first
political meeting. He hoped the coinci
dence would go further. The caudidate
on that occasion was elected, and he hoped
he would have the same experience.
In commencing he might discuss the
position of the State Parliament. On
the 1st January last" was established
the Commonwealth "of- Australia, in
doing which they hoped to have
founded a nation of British descent.
Although they were a part of that nation,
rhey were also part of a separate Parlia
ment. The Federal Parliament took over
several department, such as the Customs,
Postal and Defence, and with these there
would be three Ministers less in the State
Parliament, and the Cabinet would be
reduced by that number. This would
also reduce the work of the State Parlia
ment -to some extent, and also the income
to a considerable extent. The Common
wealth took over revenues yielding two
millions, and after deducting expenses
the balance would be returned to the
State ; bat the expenditure could not ex
ceed 5s.. in the £, and the State Parlia
ment would have so much less to carry on
with. There was a feeling that there
must be more economy to keep our ex
penditure within our income, and he
would protest very strongly against any
additional taxation, which he considered
was heavy enough already. The first
step would be to reduce the expenses of
Parliament. There were 95 members in
the Lower House and 48 in the Upper
House, or 143 altogether, to manage the
business of one million two hundred
people. He believed fewer would do,
and would advocate a reduction in
uumber. He thought they might re-
luce the Lower House by about 25
members, and this would effect a saving
of about £8000, or, with perquisites,
about £10,000. The ' Council had 48
members returned by 14 provinces, and
lie would apply the same ratio of reduc
tion, reducing the 48 to 36. It was a
peculiarity in the construction of the
Upper House that each member to be
eligible must possess property of a rate
able value oi £100, and must also be 30
years of age. The qualification of electors
was that each must own property of the
rateable value of £10. His idea of reform
was that instead of £100 he would reduce
the qualification to £25, and that of elec
tors from £10 to nothing providing they
were on the roll. (Applause.) How were
they to briDg about these reforms ? It was
a question which must come before Par
liament at an early date. Will we leave
it to Parliameub to bring in a bill, and
ask the Upper House to p iss a bill reduc
ing the qualifications of electors ? Ho
thought not, because self-preservation was
the first law of nature, and they'' could
scarcely be blamed if they thought- they
would be squeezed out. Therefore, he
thought- it best to adopt the idea of a
Convention, because he would sooner
trust the people to appoint a convention
than the Parliament now sitting. (Ap-
p'ause.) They might, perhaps, remember
when Bogong and the Ovens were one
electorate, and represented by two
members, -bub afterwards it was di
vided as now. At first, - the divi
sion 'was by a straight line drawn
near Beechworth, but the sitting mem
bers had" interests which necessitated cut-
tiug out a big corner near the Asylum,
and adding it to the other division. So
in making a redistribution of seats he
advocated they have a convention apart
from political or personal interests. The
Enabling Bill for this purpose should
clearly define the duties of members and
their constituents apart from their own
interests arid in the interests of the elec
tors. A convention elected by the people
would, he believed, act more fairly than if
left by Parliament itself. As to finan
ces, their position was neither very bright
nor very bad, but it would be necessary
to exercise stringent economy. Their
funded debt was 43 millions or about £40
for each man, woman and child. This was a
heavy charge, and they should not carry
more. In addition, there was a floating
debt of 3 millions, so that they should
endeavor to keep the expenditure within
their income because, as they all knew,
the expenses in connection with the
foundation of the Commonwealth would
be considerable. Within the first 10
years the Federal Capital "was to be built,
and they could not tell whether much or
little revenue would be returned, but it
was not likely they would receive more
than 15s. in the £.
Referring to education, 'there had been
considerable interest taken lately in tech
nical education, and he was glad to see by
the remarks of the present Minister of
Education lately at Beechworth that a
bill was being drawn up to deal with the
matter. He believed they should do
away with the result system, and that
there should be more individual than
class teaching. . There, was a great differ
ence in the capacity of children, and the
teacher should have the power to foster
the predilections of any particular child.
There had been too much levelling
about teaching, which left no oppor
tunity for any child to surpass in
.any particular. They had good men
as teachers, but who had no opportun
ity to train children properly, as
they were bound by hard and fast rules
to teach collectively. There should be a
way by which children could improve and
pass on to higher schools. He believed
in technical schools, such as for agricul
ture, mining, chemistry, fruit preserva
tion, &c. He saw by a. report of the
labor bureau in America that such lessons
were given there. In addition to the
ordinary State-schools, he would advo
cate higher schools, in which children
who showed a disposition to learn should
be educated, and the poor man's child
should have the same opportunities as the
rich man's. (Applause.) He believed the
money thus expended would be returned
a hundredfold in other wayB. Sime said
knowledge was power, and some said the
same of wealth, but he believed if know
ledge were encouraged they would be the
equal of any other nation in competition.
He strongly advocated higher schools, so
that any parent who wished his child to
improve should find the door open to if.
The State stood in the same relation to
the child as a parent. They did not ex
pect to get back the value iu money, but
in character and intelligence of the chil
dren, the same as did the parents. (Ap
plause.) As to -mining, there was one as
pect he wished to speak upon, and that
was what might be called company-
mongering. If they looked over the
hare list in the " Argus" they would see
various fluctuations, but could not tell
why. The mines were simply made a
convenience for metawho lived- by buying
and selling scrip. This did not tend to
develop mining, but the contrary, be
cause, if a mine showed good returns,
people would take shares, but there was
no guarantee against dishonest manipula
tion. He saw by a paper published in
Canada that every month a mining com
pany had to publish a statement of the
total number of tons produced and the
money expended, so that the public could
see if it were paying or not:- He had-
been told by a gentleman that a mine
in West Australg - had tetruck a
t lode, which increased its value by
thotmncU pouudsfAtod he, wished to
obtain shares,, but the -London directors
"beared " the shares, involving him in
great loss. This was simply gambling,
and he would, like to see the Canadian
system adopted s-i that the public would
know whether to invest their money or
not, and' uot be lett to me. mercy oi men
who floated . companies" for the sake
what they could make oat of the public -
Managers of mines,": especially in deep
inine3, should <be men of technical educa
tion,, as there was a necessity for some
guarantee that" he thoroughly realised his
responsibility, and would be careful to see
that everything was safe, and it should be
the same with mine inspectors. In mining
leases a good plan bad lately . been,
Introduced. Those which were held
over for years were referred to 'the Min
ing Board which he thought was a step in
the right direction. Mining must be one
of their principal industries for many
yeaistocome, and he thought it necess
ary that a School of Mines should be
established iu so important a district as
this where young - map could learn
assaying and everything in connection
with mining. (Applause.) The timber
question had caused great irritation in
this district. He;advocated a school
of forestry,' as the men who had the
control of the timber reserves, though
no doubt good men, should know
something of forestry. At present
there was no attempt at proper conser
vation. In Scotland if one tree were
cut down three had to be planted, so
that one or two of them might be likely
to grow. The forester at intervals took
one which perhaps was only good for fire
wood, but the next might be good for
props, and he felt sure that by a similar
system we would get far more timber
from our reserves, so that it would pay
the Government handsomely to establish
a school and teach young men to take the,
position of conservator of forests and de
velop their resources.
The real element of wealth was the
produce of the soil. The Government
had been going in for closer settlement,
buying up largo estates and subdividing
them f or sale. He was thoroughly in
' J tkib Knh thatr all Irimw t-.hav
d'jcuru wiiii i/iiio, uuv imvJ . w
could produce more wheat, oats and grain
of all kinds, and the Government should
endeavor to establish markets where
the produce could be disposed'of at fair
prices. Thus in this district he was
sure there were thousands of tons of fruit
wasted, bub if there were a market the
grower could get a fair profit instead of
making a loss. He believed every en
couragement should be given to grow the
right kind of grain and fruit, and the Go
vernment should become responsible for
all exports, and thus establish a market.
At one time iu Scotland cheese was im
ported from America, but after a while it
deteriorated, and was supplanted by cheese
from Canada, which was superintended by
experts, and now American cheese had to
come through Canada, and ba branded
there to get a market, There was another
matter in connection with the tobacco in
dustry.- Th'ey all knew this district coul .
produce leaf of a good quali y,
and inconsiderable quantity, but unfor
tunately they; could not get a marke",
except in Melbourne, where it was con
trolled by three firms; who gave the.
grower anything they liked.-- At one time
the license was £10, which was suddenly
raised to £50, which wiped out the indus
try at Wangaratta and Wodonga and
threw it into the hands of three firms in
Melbourne. He strongly advocated the
reduction of the. license " to something
reasonable, so that factories could be
established here, and not centralised in
Melbourne. He thought.it should be not
more than £10, so as to encourage local
producers. "(Applause.) As to old- age
pensions, he thoroughly agreed with the
theory, but could not admire it iu
practice. It was curious that a
man who carried a sword or gun for
twenty years should take a pension, but
.to give it to a manwho used a pick
and' ! shovel would be called a charity.
He believed one was as much entitled to
a 'pension as the other. (Applause.) He
thought Sir George Turner had simply
thrown over the act to Mr. Peacock,
and then walked out. The act required
remodelling. In' Germany a certain
percentage \y is -. kept, off wages, so
that at 60 or 65 years of age the work
man was entitled to an annuity, with
out a suspicion of charity, and yet
all that was kept back was only about
a penny a day. This would never be
missed, and if paid for twenty years it
was astonishing how the amount accumu
lated, and a sufficient sum would be
realised without any suspicion of charity.
At the same time he would advocate
the continuance of pensions to deserving
cases while, they had sufficient funds
to meet the outlay. It had been suggested
that the Government should monopolise
the tobicco industry to provide funds, but
he thought they should not interfere with
private enterprise. The Government should
economise firmly and do the tight thing at
the right time This was only one of
many States, and though small was second
in population only to New South Wales,
and he believed., by a good, firm, liberal
Government much could be done
for educating children, and it should be
the aim of every Minister and member
of Parliament and every mem.bcr of the
community to encourage it all they can.
It depended upon how they laid the foun
dation of the Commonwealth as to how
tho superstructure would stand. They
wanted to build on sound liberal princi
ples, and they should enquire as to this
from any man who spoke on public
affairs. Other States had immense re
sources, but they were now part aud
parcel of the Commonwealth. In two
years all border duties would be
swept away, and they would exchange
one with another, which would give,
a wonderful impetus, to our products.
But we must keep pace with the other
States— in fact, in colloquial phrise, we
must keep up our end of the stick. It.
had been said the State would have to
take a back seat and be overshadowed by
the Commonwealth, but the State would
have as much to do with the advancement
of the country as before Federation,
and if they realised this they would
say that they wanted men who could
also realise it, and then he wassure they
would be able to found an empire which
would last as long as any other had
lasted. The British Empire was estab
fished on a sound basis of justice, and if
we founded our Commonwealth on justice
and saw it carried out it .could never fail.
mere was tne angio-saxon race, the Celts,
and others, all possessed of. courage and
perseverance, and as long as these were
founded on justice the Commonwealth
would never fail. (Applause.) He had
omitted to mention vaccination which
was a question exercising people
all over the world, some English members
of Parliament having even lost their seats
through it. He believed in the efficacy
of vaccination as a preventative of small
pox, not from arm to arm, but by lymph
only, and then only from a proved healthy
animal as is done in Germany, so as to
guard Qur children from contamination by
any disease. (Applause.) He had heard
of some lamentable cases arising , from
arm to arm vaccination, and would
. — ui die compulsory
clause untilserfhe such system was
adopted. - ( Applause). He thanked them
very much for their kindness and patience
m listening to his address.
In answer to questions, the candidate
said woman suffrage must come, and a
woman who brought up a family decently
and well was as much entitled to a vote
m a man. He believed the Federal Par-"
liament would take the matter in hand
and make female suffragegeneral through
out Australia. - , .
_ He was not in favor of introducing
Bible reading in State schools, as itwas
likely to cause dissension.
, As to preferential voting, lie thought
the Hare system very; good, and the
fairest to all candidates. In a democracy
the majority was supposed to rule, but by
the present system a man might be elected
who did not represent the majority. In
th® Fench sy«tem the two lowest on the
P®Jl ">8 firat day were struck out and an-
Qtflw oll ttkeu-for (be reat/say
on a .second day but he. preferred , the
Hare system.
He was in favor of a feduction m the
number of members of PwlwiiBqt, but
not in salaries. He '-thought the
metropolitan «onstbuencie8. He was no
in favor- of -Sunday trading. : !
He was in favenr of every man in'chage
of an .engine being certificatedas quail
especially where - hamam -liftt "3 cd9r
CeThe daily j-sWended't
kind: of work.iaaaome required'knoWieage
and some-strength; but- he thought £il ?,
a week fair atabd«d.:- '
Every ratepayer,, in- fact every pwaon,.
should- ha v« a vote fori the Upper Hpns?.
but as therei was noiprospect'of'jthiSi'qe
would bring down the property qualific >-
tiom- for-. members to £25/ "Every m ;n
should have: aivote at-20;years old;- biiB-it
was impossible to- discriminate as-to capa
bility. . . : CI rJ
" As to compulsory resumption oi wpo.
we "had not . come -to- that, but it -tne wn-
vernment resumed- land by purchase 'they,
should not sell but - lease it; In Scotland
a man could build a cottage and take upa
quarter of an acre any whereby paying a
small, rent to the landlord;' and- his trae
was -as good as a Grown grants ' Hp
thought the Government -here should' let
land on a long lease, but never part with
it again. . "
He was not inclined to advocate any.
land tax, but favored a tax on unim
proved lands, as those who -profited by
their neighbors' improyements should pay
something for it.
He would- not advocate subsidising
manufactures, but would rather give asr
sis'ance in some other way.
In reducing members of the Upper
House, they mast naturally also reduce
the provinces and' make them single elec
torates, so as to make canvassing not so
expensive as at present
A vote of thanks- to she chairman was
carried by acclamation, which -Mr. Cam-
saw suitably acknowledged; and the meet
ing terminated.
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