PARLIAMENTARY.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1694, 23 July 1875, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPQfr I DENT.) THE LEGISLATIVE COTjf'^fj i Important Statement Ti..'' /1 Premier. •— . M Onehnnga and other Railways declared to Too Paying. Waste Lands in Otago. In the Legislative Council, Dr. Menzieg presented a petition signed by 434 settlers fil Mataura praying for an extension of the area 1 1 to be thrown open any year on deferred pay. ments in Otago and the enlargement of the individual area from 200 to 320 acres. Committees. Various sessional committees \. er _ appointed, but the Council, by 12 to 4 ( refused to allow a Waste Lands Committed to confer with a similar committee of the House of Representatives.

The Address in Reply. Mr Johnson on Provincialism

In moving the address in reply the Hon. Mr Johnson, referring to the proposed 9 constitutional changes, said that any measure in the direction of local self, government will have his warmest sup. port, while there might be circumstances justifying the inhabitants of certain parts o! ! the colony in wishing to remain under th 9 present form of Government, his own opinion was it would be more convenient if the changes were carried out at one time through, out the colony. He congratulated the Government on being in a position to bring down such a measure with a fair prospect of bring, ing them into effect. What Captain Baillie Thought of It. Captain Baillie, who seconded, in speaking on the Abolition question, said his opinion was the changes should have taken place four years ago, and if it had been done then, tha--'wuu!d have been a strong Central Go- I vernment now. He thought self-interest, !• and not the interests of the colony as ! whole, guided members'actions. He said go advisedly, because he had witnessed that for many years in various parliaments. He would liive Ministers every support in carrying out their measures. A Plum for Dr. Pollen. The Hon. Mr. Holmes congratulated Dr. Pollen ou the assumption of the Premiership. He felt satisfied the administration of affairs in the colony would be largely benefited by his presence in the cabinet, and the ' vie as of the cabinet had been very much fuoditkd to the advantage of the colony M by his presence. It had been said out of doors that he was merely keeping his predecessor's seat warm. He hoped such wag|| not the case. He condemned the negotiation of the four million loan as unsatisfactory. He said that during the past year the ; mortgages in Canterbury amounted to over a million ; in Otago to £850,000, and if other parts of the colony are taken in proportion the mortgages of the year would amount to - between three and " four millions. The only good feature about the loan was the report that Rothschild's exacted the condition that the colony would not borrow again for two years. If the 1 condition had been seven years he would have been delighted. The interest on the - m loan represented 17_ or 36 in the loan. The total value ot our exports was anything but , satisfactory, unless they stopped bo'rowing they would bring about a crisis which would have a seiious effect upon the future of the colony. He was not an alarmist but could not placidly shut his eyes to the unsatisfactory state of the colonial finances. He , totally opposed the San Francisco service, and on the abolition question said he had always been in favour, of simplifying the form of Government. If that be the effect of the system that was to be adopted he would give it his support, but until i_ was shewn to be a better one ha would be sorry to commit himself. He would, however, assist in promoting the abolition of provinces (or simplifying the form m of Government), of' reducing the number of officials, and lessening the expense of Govern- I ment. He was only prepared to give an opinion on the working of Provincialism in 1 Ocogo and Canterbury, and he was free to , state that the mauner in which public business was conducted there, and the efficiency of the departments, compared favorably with that of the General Government. The Pro- § vincial Governments of these provinces - performed work that could not have been performed except by a government on the soot. He wa3 afraid it would be a matter of great difficulty to carry an Insolvency Bill in the Lower House as now constituted. The present bill rtquired great amendment. He preferred seeing imprisonment for debt abolished, and the Insolvency Act completely swept off the statute book, leaving all debts of honor. Creditors have no proper redress as the law stands now. The Auckland Railways. The Hon. Mr Chamberlain complained of the Onehunga railway not paying. The Hon. Mr Williamson answered that it was hardly to be expected the railways would pay immediately they were constructed. But they were showing great indirect advantages already. For example, on the Mercer and Auckland line freights were reduced from 31 5s per ton to 12s per ton. Dr. Menzies said the continued prosperity ofjthe colony depended on immigration. He totally oposed the Californian service, thinking the Suez one sufficient for our purposes. He complained that the terms of the address re abolition pledged the Council to concur in any measures which might be prepared. He suggested an alteration to include that the Council would consider the measures, and the whole question might be agreed to. He lecommended the registration of electors qualifications.

The Premier's Statement

The Hon. Dr. Pollen remarked that some minds still doubted the results of the Immigration and Public Works policy. Mr Holmes' statements, even were they accurate should not be allowed to derogate from the general accuracy of the statement. It should be a source of congratulation that in the circumstances inside and outside the colony, the laitsr was brought about by persons who gave themselves the mission of depreciating the colony, and mu3t be held a fortunate circumstance that the negotiations were com* pleted at the time and in the manner they were. Great difficulty was experienced in England by those in charge of negociations from the depreciation of the credit of tha resources of the colony from the calumnies of a person who appeared to have no other purpose than the publication of » scandalous statement respecting the colony, in order that the public works might not be eleveloped into a colonial and financial success. In answering Mr. Chamberlain, he said returns would shortly be laid on the table which would prove incontrovertably that the Onehunga line so far from paving was, taking the circumstances of its construction into consideration, a remarkable financial success In that respect it was not singular, for he knew of no exception among the linea already completed where the expectations of the most sanguine , of the promoters of the policy bad not been agreeably sustained. The prophets who declared that railways would be an entire failure, would find themselves agreeably disappointed As to the four mil" lion loan, he said regarding statements to depreciate the public value of our securities and injure her credit and prevent her obtain- m ing the means of getting her public works prosecuted, that in the colony there w? re||? men, occupying responsible positions, givingfe opinions on the future of the colony, which, m though unconsciously and perhaps unmean-

„ B lv done, tended to nearly complete the ork of damaging the colony's credit begun w others. Referring to Holmes' reference _f the Premiership, he said his position was wind to an accident, which he giezlly ■j plored, and declined to accept Mr. ? •;-_-^?t-on)pliments at the expense of his / \ ..league. He again alluded to the ? / these terms:—"l regret that I '' lice one particular observation Mr i ~_ade in respect to the loan, in .he hon. gentleman said he did not f„ow ibe conditions under which the loan was negeciated except that Rothschilds tinulated that no more money should be borrowed for two years. I take this ortunily 0 f a t once stating that Rothsbilds niade no such condition. It is to be hoped that with pradence, economy aud moderation in our expectations as to our ro_ress w ith works we shall not be under tbeVcessity imposed on us of going into the money market for another loan either this or next year ; that will depend not so much on the Government as on the moderation and ecad sense of the people, who ought to be content to await the gradual and steady (je.elopemnt of the policy in future. There has been a natural desire to have a great msny things to do at once in consequence of the woik beiiig carried on with much greater rapidity than was originally contemplated, and it "had been found that the expenditure w as more rapidly increased than it otherwould with prudence. In future the Government will he able to complete works already authorised with the means already provided, and have no need except for such new works as were found necessary to apply for further loans for two years." DuriDg the last thirty years he bad teen so accustomed to hear alarming prospects spoken of that he declined to hear Mr Holmes' warnings on that head.

A Retort

The Hon. Mr. Johnson considered Dr. Pollen's remarks, referring to persons in the colony, were intended to apply to Messrs Waterhou_e and Sewell, and were uncalled for. The real cause of the colony getting such a low price for the loan was the manner in which it was negotiated, and the frequency of the colony's appeal to the market. Tho alteration in the manner of negotiating was most unfortunate for the colony.

Address Adopted. The address was then adopted, and the Council adjourned.

The Row a"bout the Loan

The greater portion of the voluminous paper on the loan, which occupies thirtythree pages, is made up of the most extraordinary wrangling between Mr Vogel and his three co-agents : Messrs Julyan, Featherston, and Sergeant. Dr Featherston identifies himself with the two others in opposition, and Mr Vogel charges him with insubordination to the head of the Government. They say that application to financial contractors is only made in the case of embarrassed Btates, and Mr Vogel ret oits on the agents for their mismanagement of former loans. They retort on the extraordinary arrangements in this one, and report separately to the acting Colonial Treasurer, which Mr. Vogel resents as an impertinence, the real Treasurer being in London. The quarrel is a, pretty one, and not to edification ; in warmth it exceeds the bounds of couitesy.

Mistake by the Opposition. It is generally fetS to be a mistake of the Opposition in raising a great debate on the address instead of waiting till a distinct issue is placed before them, and Messrs. Macandrew and Keid are present with their skill in Parliamentary tactics. There is no doubt of the result of the debate on the address, and it is feared it will prejudice the question when the great struggle comes on the bill. Representation BillI believe 1 was correct yesterday as to the features of the Representation Bill*

Lighthouses fox* tho Auckland Coast-

I am in a position to state that the lighthouses at Cape Brett and Cuvier Island are recommended and will be granted. Frstclass lights for Cape Maria and Mohikinan (Whangarei,) are already ordered.

Position of Mr- Stafford

In an able leader on the political position, the Post referring to Mr Stafford's extraordinary declaration of allegiance, says :— "The clue to yesterday's speech is, we fancy, to he found in the rumors which have been freely circulated, but of course officially contradicted last session, to the effect that Sir Julius Vogel and Mr Stafford had arrived at a perfect understanding, and that the latter hadacceptedareversion of the Agent-General-ship. We have already been officially informed this session that before Sir Julius Vogel left for England, he had arranged for Major Atkinson and Mr Bowen joining the Government. • Both appointments have been freely ascribed, and we believe correctly so, to Mr. Stafford's influence, Major Atkinson being an old political friend andcolleague, and Mr. Bowen being a personal friend of Mr. Stafford's. We have very little doubt that both appointments were made in order to pave the way for Mr Stafford's own accession to the Premiership. The programme of last session is no doubt to be carried out. Dr. Featherston will be pensioned and removed from office, Sir Julius Vogel will become A gent- General, and then, there being a vacancy in the legal number of Ministers, the Ministry will be reconstituted under the Premiership of Hon. E. W. Stafford.