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I'll F HA N( iLL I
111! Forr, a w nt, 11.1111,. I last
nig'bl at tlm (
lm I'o y\ II < '..niliii.'ii.
not wit h -
,'iI. ; I,u 1 ,; m i,a,,. | m
;• 11.,11g' , oii.il
shape of " AI ril ana,' s attended by
about bo L'.'iii leiiiau repi'es..111 ing" ail the
vari.d in l. r> -is ..f t In- I »i-' ri'l . I n r.-j d T te
the t,,.a-t ,.f hi- lie di h
Tim I'm.Ml ia:. yy ho ,.- re",-!', , d will, lo ud
a p PI a u - . -aid : AI i . Al.ay ..r and ;', nl Inii.n.
I ti the I irst pia, e | ma-! I hank Voii Air.
-Mayor and people <,f < b raldhm. ' for t h<*
,1', 11 a I ma n I ie ' i in whicii you bay received
i < • on this in v second visit h, till- part of the
t"a time | have iiecll at the
head of lie pr. -' lit I .,.'•. rnnmiit. I think I
should feel \ e;y gratified for the cordial
and kind rei-epFm given me here to-dav,
because as you all know tin- is an important
period in the hi'h.ry of tlm colony we all
have a genuine atiedioii for. 1 I. would be
idle tor nm not to t<Ti vou that mv visit, to
I his town and oistrid and iliat district to
which I am about to proceed has a political
significance, and therefore I fee! the more
your cordial and kind reception which vou
and flic peop!<- geiiei a11 \ gave me her,' today,
and I thinly I may take it that my reception
here IO-II igi, I indicates that I should
speak to you in regard to some public qumsti,
ns which are interest ing- to all ,,f us. and
that I shou.d speak with no line rtain sound.
And 1 should like in the few word- I shall
address to y,,u to speak fir.-t with regard to
lh,- position and prospects ,,f this enhuiv in
which we all are so much intere-ted. It is
nearly t wo year- sine 1 was in ;leraldh,n,
and I well remember the kind and cordial
reception accorded to me at lhat time, and I
nm glad to lmd thai whatever differences
,,t opinion may exist in regard to political
matters the friendship has been in no way
diminished during- that period. AVe all
know there have been several adverse circum-Maiices
connected with the progress of
the colony but not witlmt a nding a 11 tlie difficulties
and all these troubles | am very glad
to be able t, , say- that tlm colony is in a
thoroughly sound financial position hear,
lmar.,i I luring the three years and a half
W" have been in otlice I think I mav sav that
notwithstanding tli'- diflicult i,- I have refet'i'i
d to tlm colony I,as bc-n growing the
Whole time. W hell we took otlice ihc
revenue of the colony wa* id 1 !.•'>!•';. and the
revenue at present is L'b 1 <b1 7. showing
that during the period w,- have ben in oflicc
llm revenue has increased by in, less a sum
than ll 1 '.Mi.tin I. I think that must he
eminently satisfactory to all of us when
w<- consider ail the circumstances and all that
has occurred during- tin tiiii" ref.'ired to.
I lllllst t ake exc ] ,1 inn to t hose j M'l-Holis Ho m o
persons of prominence and others not so
prominent —who so persistently insist upon
endeavouring to mislead flic public in regard
to the indebtedness ,,f the colony. 1 really
cannot understand b<e.v any person can make
out as some lia'e en,i"a\..ui'ed tn make out)
that l he el my is in a w,,rse position than
it really is It seems nm that this i.s a
scandalous and a disgraceful thing an unpatriotic
thing, and unworthy ,.f any man
who is really desirous of identifying himself
a itii tiii-< great colony. Hut. gent leindi. ton
may take it f;om me thn llm -tatenuiiits of
tiles,, people are not I a .• I s. Tlm indebtedness
of t la - colony at llm pros nl time is I'J.ijU 1.7 LS
ol' about ]., r head of the population. In
order to explain tin. figures which these
people who so i oimi-tdit lv misrepresent the
linaiicial cotidit ion of I lm colony when they
tell tlm public that our ind, T,! oilnrss is from
~ up h, J.'iiu p,,i- head they include
th; -nm of !_'.", -tu, OIMI which we hope to
borrow y cry soon, but which we have
Hot borrowed y, t Tlmy also include
'-''"".'" 11 1 guar.anle d by the Government
"!' tiiis ( '.Toiiv I,, ibe .Midland Railway Company.
nic yvhinh we have not yet had topnv,
mid let ine -ay tlmr.' is ,,.. lik'e'iil of our
'"'big called upon lo pay for many a day l<»
'•••III.', if w.' ,A have ;,, pa v at all. And
ev. n if we haw- to pay thai guarantee let me
-,.y thai I -ho;,id m.'t regiet ihe day. In-,
cause yy e gel l li, whole railway as an asset

The whole of I hat railway would
contingency, l,ccomc entirely the
'he ( e i nriienl. A nil I thin
"igrec with me that it' we ate calle,
pay t.he guarantee of X ,>iin, inn i
in ret,urn tor it very g-,»>d value
money. 1 cannot agree with l
Up.HI h
*><>*• I hit it is neither
fair
j'l^l nor in accord with truth. In
state that, this guarantee should • inc! inl.'d
in the present indebtedness of th •olnnv. It
has dsn hren ataled t hat in our est incite i
Un-
ldehtelness of tile colony a .sii in o|'1'I ,S| I
000, represent ing 'IVeasnrv ' hoi
Hot
Uvn taken into account.' Hut I nose
say this overlook the fact that o n (lie .th,'
hand there is a sum of £:: | t ,7; vvhic
not yet hcen spent, out of our 1.
.au of
which 1 think is a .siitlieieiit and satisi
net-otE (Hear, hear.) It seems t
Kontlcinrn, that, many of those who t
posed to my (iovei nnient
I SI' I
lory
me.
drous of
making the colony out, to 1,
id a p, isi -
tiou as they possibly eau a
on rs which is
decidedly mi pat riot ic
liser,
those who resort to it
If ll.es, iT't ICS W,
be content, to alms,,
the Gov •CP III,'lit.
leave our country aim
', or if tlwhat
i; true ,
•y refer t
at all would' say
eerniug it and repn
nt its po tiou to he
what, it. really is, ra
•r t han wl t it in not
as they it iv
O tOIHl 1' doing" al present
it would h(
more their' credit Hut
Mr. Mayor and gentlemen, i
far a ; 1 am
concerned and as far as mv (
llient.
concern,', d, 1 have said before many times a and n, 1
I am glad to say again to-m dit take my
.stand on what 1 ha ye done —-wr ar
to be judged by our works, ill
We ask the people of the colony t,
by that, alone by results and by n
We want, them {.,, judge whether
been faithful to the responsibility:
us. Whether we have tried ,,u
we have
•.1st upon
best and
dnrin
whether we have been successful
three and a, half years we have been in
My own rep! \ to these questions is :
pare the position of the colony three
halt" years ago with its position t,
prep; in •,!
r, hear."
11 id 14', 1 u s
1111 s o111 y .
otlice,
< \mini,
I a
'-day.
Some will say perhaps dia.t that criteri
not. afii.il- one. They will say adveiu
circumstances haw hem in our favordevelopments
have been such that we could
not help doing as well as we hav e done. Hut
is it not failhike
advantag very favourable ciivum-
the t iovoriiment should
stance, for had the llllista nees of |he
colony been unfavorable e ]iublic would not,

excuse us on that account.. No th"\ look
to results. 1 don't, care how good a (Joveriiinentmay
be, if thereaultsof its adininist ra tiou
are unfavorable they will not,, i am sure be
accorded much credit. I repeat, then, let, us
compare the position of atfair* three years
and a half ago with the position to-dav
Compare it in any way yon lil
lolifioahv,
ffmuieially, ,,r industrially,
'olitically,
what, have we r We have'al t
e present
time mahood suffrage Some pe,
ile say we
have not, but the fact remains
•very man
-who has been in this colony foi
ir twelve
months, and is of the age of '2 i' year
irs, has :t
right to a vote for ,i nimiher in 'the 1
Legisl.nproperM
tivc Assembly. Again, every man
Colour, w hether he be a man of
—financially a man of straw,
a member,if Parliament, no property qualilication
being required whatever. "l)id anv
one anticipate such changes as these.' Did
anyone expect, to tin, 1 such « great reform
measure a* this brought about in so short a
time: I don't think there is a mac
in this room who so much as dreamt, that, in
the «}iort, space of three and a half years vv,
Hhould have manhood sullrage and 'no property
quatitieation. This political act was
due to myself and the Covcrunient I represent,.
Hut. notwithstanding this 1 am described
and my (lovcriiment, is described bv
some people lealltheni wolves in sheep''.-,
clothing — self- designated friends of the
working man, but, whom- real mot ive in my
judgment, i.s not friendship for the working
llian, but cheap notoriety for themselves.
However, 1 am represented by these people
as an enemy of polif ical freedom. [would
ask what have these men done for the woi
ing man't and 1 would reply t.hev have done k - .
nothing for him and they have done nothing
for anyone else either I say that these „» i,
are wolves and impostors 'who have never
said or d, ne anything worth saying or doing
and a,s a rule' belong to a class "who ties cr
will do much good for anybody. They have
the effrontery, I can call it nothing els,-, to
speak for the working men and to sav that
the working men will show me what they
think of me with the very vote which
I and my (iovernnient have secured
to thrill. Well now, 1 don't believe
one word of it. [ believe every man
ill this eoiony' has sufficient sense to look
after his own affairs and to distinguish his
best friends. I am at, any rate prepared to
put my faith in him and am quite willing to
abide the result of his verdict. Novv"i\Ir.
Mayor and gentlemen you have been kind
enough to invite me here to-night and tin
give me a most cordial welcome, and perhaps
yon will think I have been speaking
very .strongly. (No, no.) Jhit my e.x'-
cuse is that thr time has come ' when
I must speak out fearlessly and boldly
and say just what 1 think. (Loud eheers.1
I would ask you to compare your position
here in this district with what it, was thrcuand-a-half
years ago. Are not things altogether
different r are not, things now on
the up grade ? Then the railway to .M iiUevva
was hardly thought of seriously, now the i
work is nearly completed. Then the Midland
Railway was—well they hardly knew a
i
where it was but now it was in a fair way of H
t
a
a
m
o
t
t
r
o
c
g
r
t
t
d
o
p
g

becoming ;i fact accomplished and when you
will have communication to all
the
southern
parts of the
colony.
Look
again
at.
your
public,
works
which
are further evidence of
advancement and progress.
Your
jetty
for
instance
which
is a. splendid structure.
1.1
does not
go
out
far
enough
but that is a
matter for the future, and the by
no
means
distant future.
The railway has been taken
out of your main street. These works, L may
say. were
undertaken without much pressure
from the people and simply and only
because
the
Government,
felt
it
to be their dut v to
give the facilities your position
and
importance
required.
Geraldt.ou
is
a
tlu'iving
and
important
centre
and
the Government,
recognised
this.
Who was it who successfully
fought
against
the
attempt
which
was
made to divert the trade of the Murehison to
Perthj via Minginew V
You all know it was
the
Government,
who,
although
they only
succeeded
in
rejecting
the
proposal "which
was
made
for
a
survey
from Mingincw to
Mullewa instead of from Geraldtou
to Mill -
lewa by one vote, that, one vote was sufficient
to
turn
the
tables
in
your
favor.
In
a
few
months
we
will
have
twelve
hundred
miles
of
railway
open
for traffic.
The great colony of South Australia has >mly
a length of 1700 miles, the a verage price
of
which has
been
£7.000,
while the
railways
we have built during the
last, three
and 'a
half years have not cost £l',500 a mile, it was
easy to abuse and to impute, motives, but
I
challenge
anyone
to
point, out
where
mv
Governnent have not been careful.
Probably
in some little things
more
economy
might
have been displayed, but taking our expenditure
on public works generally
I claim
that
this has been made with the strictest, regard
for economy.
We
have strive,1 to open
up
the country by
providing
cheap
and
rapid
transit.
But much more we are free to
admit
requires
to be done
in
this
direction.
Our boast was that our first loan would
not
necessitate further
taxation,
neither
indeed
has it.
It is said the new
tariff
has
placed
increased
burden*
upon
the
people.
That,
may be so, but it has yet, to be shown.
At
any rate that revised tariff was thrust
upon
us so to speak, and we were quite
prepared
to go on under t.he old taritl.
The.
revenue
of the colony for 1S!'I was COlll,UI7, as compared
with
4-f'J for the preceding
year.
The revenue
for
last
month
was
.£'.)7,02">,
which wrts equal to the revenue of the
whole
colony in 1870.
I have been told by persons
who should know better that we have
spent

V
than
hav.
'uncut
•line.
I I
iv tin
\Y! i
itli.
at
tic
end
of
'.' I.), lilMI
whili'
on
tl
•h 1.
was ^ 7 I,<»-"•>. |
Wlier,
of
our
e \ I rn vagance.
We
wav, pa
lid the interest
air
new
ODD, and have
i.al: nee
to . •edit
of
-CN, I'. 1
lllol
th;
Mil with
and for
t hi' mi nicy \y t
c I.avals,
o
show
llecessarv Dill
buildings on ;
lull.
bridg, N plihlic
unheard of, and
have
1 >t" n
I hie
niunicit.ra
1
lilies
in
a
vva
hope
for
uniler
()ur
,T"Mli< Ids
promise
us t'< >rm
I he
< 'olouv .
Thev
will
ni l n v tin
All the ell III''e will I,
I, as'y
wish
nerEips,
hill
he
C lie
•rcom, •
.il.
Mo
of
th,
people
coining
here
are
our
i v men.
They
have
(he
same
traditi
" lo the
sa me
na t i ,n .
They
,ple.
We
vv elci 'in, • them
m
lea rt i ly .
W,
not want t lie alien, a g,
•llollg'll
fellow 111
I his way, but h
•i y i 1 i/a t io i> not ,airs.
We
want
to I uild
up
I hit a i n and I for
one will not, ruiu t i
luti
of this
country
fore any mere temporary
adv
which a,
b'w
id
us
inn v
reap bv , encouraging
the
a lien.
( 'umin;;
now
I o
on 1 r
gold
export,
In
1 S!>()
at
"the
ci d
of
which
year
we
took
otlice
the
va III
if
this
\port,
was
I'Sh.OIH).
In
IS',)
it
had
increased
to
1'1'L'i;,1)1)1).
In
IS'.':;
il
reached
f I J I ,ns."i,
while for the tiost thr iv" months of this
rear
it was .c I :;.i.:;!)S, and I shall not
be surprised
if for the VN hoi, \ ear il should t urn out, to be
over half a
oil ol ' even a million pounds.
' bond chce
Von will not
Ill"
to-
night to sp.
»f th policy
th
• ! o v crn -
incut, excop
most
go rcncal
terms.
1
am
on
a
i nspect ion ioi
to
knowledge
,f
voiir re, pi i I monl.s, III y
heing til try and meet your wishc
practicable 'These arc moving I i
wish to defer (,, the last, |
decisil 111 of I he ( !ov ernnien
quest,ions so as the bettor
We can only deal with
present, all looks bright and hope;
cloud darkens the horizon if Ol ir pr.
Our [•cvetnie is expandii
is favorable and I can
oil I V IV III
more sanguine than
and no
desirous of progress,
lie morn ;
extend our railways
f,i promo!
ticineni and cultivation
'cot
v,, r
,1 I
issible moment, the
on many imp, irt a nt
to deal 'vvit h them.
I he present and at
No
fit v.
11 i11 !••
o

th,.
'I'll-re is one thing besides our roads and
hridg-s policy and that is to t rv and increase
the produce of t.lie country by every means
we have in our power. I intend to try te
make I his land, which i.s capable of growing
all we require, 1 intend to try. bv all means
in our
e every opp, irl un i t y we
can to encouraee t he product ion from t lie .soil
that, is Olio of the best things that could happen
to the country
the land should he made
Ol
produce
food
for
the
colony.
Now
of
course all our ideas and wishes are limited by
means
and
I may say that the present (,'ovcniment,
were
bolder
than
anyone
rbe
in
altitude
iu
respect
to
t his quest iou.
Kvell
my
friends had
misgivings a I unit the policy
of
the
(Inv-eminent.
We
u ere holder than
anyone and I should not, be surprised
if
we
the
boldest
V't.
Then-
is
not. one left
now of those
who
,pp,
1 t he I lm eminent
bo.ui Bill of J J i u o o
; not
one
who
now
thinks we were wrong.
The re is not
a
man
who
i-oiild
stand
forward
; ind
take up his
platform
to
the
elfect
that
we had acted
wrongly iu this matter.
Why the very
persons
wlni most opposed us in i •gard
to
that
Bill
are
now
the
most eager for annt her of
t lie same kind.
In
fact
1 think it will take
a great deal more than the last, to carry
out
the wishes of these persons who opposed the
first.
Tl iat
is
the
best indication we could
hare
that
v
w err
•t .
^ oil
wil
forgive
me
f 1
lay
that
the
head ofth,
( !, ivernmciit
i h r11 IL in
these
bills
ami
plae, > these ,
at ions
colony takes
rcat
ri
potisihilit y on
liiius,-lf.
' 11 rest.-
upon th
'remier, and he run-
I relieve
himself
.f it
, insibl,
for
every I h
St.-
ith
him
to
se,
hat this colony should be renil
pected al
abroad, and
to keep
his e. y,
•rv ear,
fully ,i |
the
i • \ j
lil.oe
. -.I-,,, v,
nd upon t he finances
of
t h
,
and I
ay nay that
I should
never
frn-u
mysel I
I wnild rather resign t
inori'i
and
go
ut of otlice. out of
publi,
life
altogether -
than
that
I
should
hav,
the discredit,
of
bringing this colony to ru a.
Private
busi -
ness and public business i> ill the same.
We
know how we have to wat h our own
banking
ace, unit
ry's a ceou
trouble to n
hat" look af
esign and
bscurity if
11 is t he s
My pub
(han mv p r l v a11
cr itself. But I <
'tire into private 1
I should bv neglect
th,
one ;
ould
int,
ifhei
' ill,
or any
fault bring discredit on the rcputa
olony. Mr. Mayor and gentlemen, in reard
to works ol magnitude in the future
which 1 believe the people of the colon v will
equire should lie considered, I mav sav
hat the (biverniiienf will carry out
hese works if I have anything to
o with il — in the ordinary way.
I mean by this that I hope the days of what
I may call the syndicate of capitalists ;uv
ver in regard to our railways. Our exeriences
of these gentry has not, been so
ood as to make us desire any more of them.
My inline for this class of individual is the
mpecunious and adventurous promoter, that
s my name for him. He i.s willing to build
railway to the moon if he cui'id get. thure.
e is willing to place guarantees of all sorts,

but my advice is if these people can do if, we
also can
do it,
and a good deal better too.
(Loud
applause.)
Why
the
occupation
of
I lies,• people has gone iu
the other
colonies,
tlicy
can
get
no
hearing
there,
but
they
make this their happy hunting grounds,
and
if the 'ioverumeiit shut them
otf
well
they
will write to the newspapers
and
say
they
will see what the country will ,lo at the next
elections.
I have had quite enough
experience
of these capitalists, and I don't wish
to
enlarge my knowledge of them.
(Applause.;
Now I am sure that
would
disappoint,
some
gentlemen here if 1 did not, say a word
about
one or two matters which have engaged your
attention and in which 1 atu
sorry
that
the
Government
have
not
been
able
to
meet
your
wishes.
In
regard
to
the
telegraph
line
we
could
not
do
as
you
wished.
There
were two
contractors
who
had to
be
reckoned
with, and
they
wanted
a
considerable amount.
1 know
they
said they would put the line up very
quieklv
indeed,
thev were,
ill
fact, going to have it
up in a mouth or two; but before
I left,
unfriend,
the
Commissioner of
Public, Works,
told me, strange to say, that he had just
received
an application
from
these
very contractors
for
an
extension of
time
for
two
months.
[t
was reported
thai
they
were
able to build
it
several
mouths earlier-
but
now they actually want two months
but 1 can assure you they wont get, it
xtra,:
There is anot her important matter iu respect,
to which 1 would like to be perfectly
frank and open with the people of this district.
That is the main object, of mv
visit to the tields. - 1 am going
up to your (bildtields as much
as anything else, to see them ia order that I
may judge if I shall be justified in dealing
with the important project, of extending the
railway from Aiullewa right on. I will promise
you that. 1 will carefully look into the
matter and if the colony is justified iu doing
ibis I will take the responsibility of carrying
it, out. The reason I desire to go to this part
of the eolonv is that 1 have a political object
and, I do not wish to conceal this in any way.
Apart from the pleasure that it gives mo to
come here there is no denying the fact that
I wish to see the peeple face to face, and !
wish to place before the people wherever !
go, anil I hope to go to many other parts of
(he colony besides this, in an honorable am!
straightforward way the position of public
affairs. And I want them to judge for
themselves whether the present Government
is worthy of support, or not. 1 want if I «nu

t,e ml t hem in a posit ion I judge for themut
lo explain th,
es i n t his ma 111 r. 1 w
(ion of tin colony as it. is al present to
pro ,c I o I hem t at We are not bankrupt but
llou rislimg, ami if care lo question me
I' fos •ly I shall l.c .;• d to loll them exactly
the posit ion w I ,'! ' in and I he prospects of
the colony, 1 will Ol hesitate to point out
to I ICIII th,' diller, e between our | <it i, >ii
llliw and what was when vv took
ollic •, Then I also want to
fl in
re and from th
>f the Murel sou what t hey want
us to do. What t • works arc that they
re, pi ire in order I ha 1 may carefully weigh
I hem and judge vvh ! her w r <-an carry them
out . I wish to hear their c complaints (for of
course we cannot do ad 1 thin, gs right) to know
whet her we ha ve done any t i that, they
consider wi'i ,i i g or unjust,
wish lo hear I'rem the peopl.
themselves, and
so la I can I w ish to giv • an explanation
to th in regard to tics • maters. Al.
thou: there is a certain iinount of halo
ie posit.ion of I he he; d ,.f t he < lovernnewhat
iiu-atis-
nieiit, still he .stand - iu a sm
factory position. It is v, ry easy for the
Opposition to say unpleasan things. It, is
more pleasant indeed to the general run of
peopl, to oppose those ill [lower. Somehow
to he in opposition is more natural. There
is somothiiig about a Briton which makes
him dislike authority. Ile likes t,o see people
found fault with to some extent.. Now I
say here in tli i.s dist inguished company th.il
there ai e men m our Legislature who sink
their own individuality and have not shown
up simply because they have .supported the
( Mivernmeiit. I f they had not been our supporters
they would have been prominent
legislators. Any man who opp >ses the (h.yerninent.
attains to a prominent, position even
if he is incapable, anil if his opposition
is spiced with a little personal abuse
and he traduces those in authority, why.
he becomes most prominent, ami indeed
is a, v ery clever man, and is considered a very !
independent fellow who is not afraid to speak !
out, although in r-ality he niav be a, very '
insignificant t'-llmv hcleed. There is another !
class of man who is most contemptible, whose j
whole stock-in-tradr is misrepresentation and
personalities ; but I ask I he people of ( iei-iild - ;
ton io judge between the (lovcriiment and|
their opponents of this class and say whether |
the ( eivcrninciit have carried out their duties
properly or not. There are two kinds of
ion, one which you can respect, though

it opposes you successfully, and one which
thinks you should respect il rvfii though it
imputes improper motives to your efforts.
Although some people may think that 1 am
indulging in too much political talk I wish.
now that I have the opportunity to speak
here in eraldton, to lay before you mv
views o l some important questions of tinday.
I , II assure you of my desire hi do all
I fairly can i lor ! di»t fi• i . 1 may sa v that,
it is i.'idcod a gri
meet old friends,
sadness. W, ••
t pica un- lo be here and |
tnd yef there is a tinge of :
not here our old friends, 1
, Ti.o-. l'i; I'i'-"-. ,1. S.
have icfi us an eiampli
one I hope we shall d,
('has. (Vow tin
I'avis -men wh
to follow, and
our best to ]', iiow. <; raldton will not, hi
ic (leraldton it is now. New
i! around but 1 an honestly
(lope th
Id friends , mine still
ma i ni m.
e a fair sh; c of the promislude
by assuring
perit y, and 1 ma v en
ind lib, that while i otlice I shall
to do justice to this art and to evcry
ed pi
then
HI I'iv
other
not I'o
peopl,
>art of the ('olou v , and 1 hope I shall
get the kindness and generosity of th,
of this glowing town of (leraldton

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