OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1690, 19 July 1875, Page 2

OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

His Excellency's Spee&V- ■[' ASTEB. I :;;|! [By our Clairvoyant Rep, _ __ t. •; "WELLINGTON. f Tuesday. " ■ His Excellency the Marquess of Normanby opened the fifth session of the fifth Parlia- I ment of New Zealand in person at two | o'clock to-day. Nearly all the members were " 1 present. His Excellency said :— HbNdRABIEG'F!NILEME.&',— MEMBEE3':bp'-TBriji 1 LEGISLATIVE CoEKCTX, "AND GeNTLITJSkI'' - oe she House of Representatives. v . \ The short time I havebcen in the oolofiy has-li-prevented me from seeing all those sublime ■ features of this great country which my - I esteemed and gushing friend, Sir George, Bowen, so fondly dilates upon, but my brief'" tour through the. colony has sufficed to. >i convince me that no three hundred thousand".; people in the world have drawn more largely;; on their expectations than have the colonists"'" whom her Most Gracious Majesty has placed under my governorship. Ineedhaidlysaythat the cordial reception' accorded me has been " exceedingly gratifying, although it is. somewhat to be regretted that the Chr.ist'church'"-'' people are now quarrelling in public over , the little bill of costs. In having recourse to your advice and assistance on the present occasion, it is a >'j matter of regret to me, and still more to my | advisers, that the honorable _ gentleman-; ; | who so long guided the destinies of this." t country in its onward progress towardsnaV tionality, is absent from his usual place,; I am sure that many members of this Assembly have pood cause to remember his princely beneficence with tearful regret. It will,however, comfort you to know —as we do ; know on the authority of an ancient and beautiful ode—that "'Absence makes ; the, heart grow fonder," and it will stimulate;-;. - you in your tedious duties to think thatfX whether sacrificing health for. the good of the :■ colony in the smoky precincts of London or recruiting his enfeebled frame on the Spa, the thoughts of Sir Julius will: still turn with fondness to this colony, for which he has.;.; sacrificed so "much and received so little in. ; ;, return. I am sure that there is not onei colonist who will begrudge him the rest andf-> leisure necessary to restorers health, broken' in the service of the colony. All must have '; marked with feelings of profound gratitude the assiduity which has characterised his ',; , attention to the administration of the Govern- , I ment of the colony during the recurring.re-; 1! cesses of Parliament; and the toiling labourer .. • with a large family to keep on his six shillings per day will have felt thankful thpthis own lines have been cast in pleasant places, when he reflects that such an amount of;.' : toil has not been exacted from him as?to undermine his constitution. Theserrefle- t tions will I trust reconcile bim to the punc-";."; tual payment of the education rate and such other taxes as this Parliament may from time to time impose upon him. It affords me pleasure to inform you that.:, the peaceful relations with the native; m-if- 'Inhabitants of this colony remain undisturbed, g. During tbe recess my adviser in native-^ matters, prudently recognising the fact'that' if the Maori King . would not come to ', him he must'go to his Majesty, met the King in his own dominions across the con-,,, fiscated boundary. His Majesty received the Native Minister with the utmost grapiousv.' ness, and the gratifying intelligence on being communicated to Great Britain by cable : ; created a profound sensation :at a time"-;-; which proved exceedingly opportune, inasmuch as, with singular unreasonableness, the London Stock Exchange was then viewing with some distrust the negotiation of an-x ■.■';■{ other four millions of your undoubted debentures. This feeling, lam happy to say, was n at once removed by tbe publication by Sir \- Julius Vogel of the particulars of the reconci-^ ; liation between tbe two races inhabiting theses islands It will please you to know that; his Majesty h?.s given me » cordial in«: * vitation to spend a week at his palace at Te Kuiti, but the journey is./such as a .j£\ gentleman at my time of life could hardly Vv ; be expected to undertake, and the accommo-,. dation is said to be indifferent. I should be most happy to meet bis Majesty at Kawhia, |g but as he declines to come there or allow me in, tbe intended meeting is indefinitely posfc-^ .;. poned. The spontaneous petition by a large "' i and influential section of natives in the North, praying for the retention of Sir j Donald McLean as permanent Native >i Minister is one which should, in view of the' ■-"* uncertain tenure of the present Ministry, re-i v^ ceive early consideration. . I . :i1 The railway and public works policy, wnioh^-'..' you have inaugurated, is being steadily developed, and the railways completed are — working with the utmost- satisfaction :to;j the people and a- large profit to* they colony. A gratifying proof of the wis- '.-} dom of that policy, which had as its object cheap and speedy traffic into the;interior,1 is-'^ furnished by the fact which has come to- the^ knowledge of the Government, that, in several.--instances, carriers' carts have been run off; | and it is confidently "believed that" in a few;. ; -j.. years, as Mr Passmore's railway policy be- . , comes developed, still;.more "marked and ■$& startling results"will be exhibited. -.-'; '.' v:i It will please you :to know that that great work the Kaipara railway, taken over by the Government ;pnly half-finished wheni ■' the' Public Works Policy was initiated, is - now nearly completed, and that in a few years* it will be thrown open to public traffic. "| y-.••>: The attention .of the Government has been ly directed during the recess towards tbe promotion of the welfare of those parts of the colony which, although contributing a full proportion-to tbe colonial revetme,- havefrom the absence of land fund beenunable to carry : ,r. on the work of Government vigorously. The liberal policy which has been pursued*iifcirela*'.ration to the province of Auckland particularly 5. will doubtless meet your approval. Gentlemen' op -the'.Housei of BfpresentUO tatives.— Your assistance and guidance will be sought in considering estimates which will be laid before you to provide for thesalaries ' of the worthy officers who devote their attention to the public service. I have to; *; congratulate you on the satisfactory state of the revenue. The judicious change Irommeasurement to ad Valorem duties has continued to work most beneficially, and I trust that by adhering to those sterling fundamental principles hitherto followed by the Government of saddling local revenues • with the duty of making provision for education; • gaols, asylums, police, management of wasted i lands, construction of roads; de velopement of goldfields and other mineral resources, eJo., the General Government will be in a position,.,, to still administer to the necessities of that' ' ; large and deserving class of the community ! whose welfare and prosperity have sb'long been promoted by it. . . . - ..■ -,: Honorable Legislative Councillobs and - Gentlemen of the House of Representa--tives.— I regret that the Government have V looked in vain for a *i barrister of colonial reputation ".willing to,accent a roving-iom- -. mission with the view of consulting the Chairman, of country highway boards relative to their yiews of what a colonial ,cpnsti- ; tution ought to be. This is much to be regretted as it was expected that a class so universally intelligent would have far- •'.'"■ nished the Government with the ideas 'v they stood so much in need o|. Nevertheless, feeling that those institutions; thatvhave hitherto prevented the Government from absorbingallthe colonial revenues ihnsthb Icihger continue, the Government have framed a |j measure. In so important a question ttfey do not desire to fetter Parliment but bay V*^'1 ample room for embodying such sug^sa "*?"•'- "' as will.enable honorable gentlem/deorge /: effect to those broad views whicH r -Kw«ffTOtf them the confidence of their-codrSntuents, or of the Ministry of the day. Measures will; '•" be submitted for recognising; by*a gran*o* £20,000, the able services] rendered to

T^SimV by Sir Julius Vogel; and the the ratification of the mail and Ku contracts completed. It is^ not, r the intention of my advisers hor c ffthen the session by the introduction *° vii They feel that the necessities of the of lr V md their own capacity demand wise Titration rather than biilliant legislation especially so on the eve of a general ♦• n • and as soon as the estimates are Ved the House will be prorogued. P*J? course will be as advantageous 1 honorable members as to the Lernment, the honorarium being now « pA by the session instead of by the day. M advisers trust that Providence will f Jnur their measures, and that your deviations will tend further to promote the general welfare of the colony.