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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 67

Introductory

Introductory.

Upon rising to address the audience, Mr. Connell was greeted with renewed outbursts of cheering. He said : Ladies and gentlemen,—I am happy to be able to say this evening that I can see in all your eyes the intention to give me a fair hearing. (Cheers.) Now, this evening I have to speak to you on the subject of Democratic and Representative Institutions. I am sorry that I will not be able to speak to you as loudly as I could wish, because in going to Waiwera I caught a cold; but at any rate I will speak as loud as I can. My object in calling this meeting, as you are aware, is particularly to meet the young colonials of New Zealand, and my reason for doing that is that I recognise the fact page 4 that we have in the young colonials of New Zealand a very large force, and, as I have told you already, I profess to be a tactician. (Loud laughter.) I told you also that a tactician always looks about him for a big force, and, therefore, I have invited the young colonials of New Zealand to meet me to night, because I recognise in them by far the largest force in the country. (Applause.) Now, gentlemen, it is my purpose to-night to endeavour to impress on each of your minds that which is impressed on my own mind, viz., that every young colonial in New Zealand is a very important person. (Laughter.) Most of you are aware that I am not a man who hesitates to tell big men and great men the truth to their faces, and in the face of the colony, and I say also at the same time that I am not a man to hesitate to say good things of any men if they deserve them, and I think the young colonials of New Zealand deserve some very excellent things to be said about them, and it is because they are true that I intend to say them. Now, there are a large number of persons who are only capable of taking a superficial view of things. People of this stamp—I speak as a politician—when they look over the face of society and see a large amount of what is called "larrikinism," and juvenile crime, say, "Ah, what is to become of New Zealand when these youngsters grow up, become electors and have the Government in their hands?" To these persons I reply, "If you take nothing more than a pessimistic view of things, you are not able to see very far through a grindstone. You are only looking at the skin and surface of things." The larrikin element is chiefly to be met with in our large towns, and I think I am correct in saying that it is in proportion to the rest of the population probably not 1 per cent. With regard to the remaining 99 per cent.—with regard to the great mass of the young population of the colony, I think so highly of them that it is my distinct purpose that they shall be an example, not only to the Australian colonies, but also to England and America. I believe that in the young men of this colony we have material not to be surpassed in the whole world. (Loud applause.) Now, when we come to look at democracy it will be found that a large number of people are afraid of democracy because they think it an institution that is bound to end in revolution and ruin. Now I tell you emphatically that I am a democrat to the backbone. (Applause.) I firmly believe in democracy. I believe it to be the grandest and most magnificent type of government the world has ever seen, because it is the government of the people by the people and for the people themselves. There have been other good forms of government [unclear: i] world, but there has been no [unclear: fo] government, in my opinion, which is [unclear: upon] democracy. But unless you [unclear: ha] individual units of a democratic [unclear: na] good material there is no [unclear: possi] having a grand and great [unclear: democra] you have them debased and corrupted you cannot expect to find a pure [unclear: fo] democratic government.