PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Cromwell Argus, Volume VI, Issue 291, 9 June 1875, Page 6

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Monday, May 313t. The Hon. the Speaker took the chair at 2 p.m. GOVERNMENT BUSINESS. Mr Bastings said he wished to inform the Council that it was the intention of the Government during the present session to bring down' an Ordinance giving them power to vest in trustees the educational reserves already Crown-granted and enabling them to "borrow £30,000 on the security of those reserves. This would relieve the Estimates of the stun of £25,000, put upon them this year for building purposes. He hoped honorable members would take this matter into serious consideration, as he knew there were great differences of opinion on the point; some contending that those reserves were not made for the present, but for the benefit of posterity. But as he remarked on a previous occasion, whatever they might consider due to posterity, they had reason to consider the present generation ; and viewing the very large amount that had been done for posterity in this new country, he thought they would be quite justified in borrowing some money for this year. Resolutions would also be brought down at once with reference to an extension of the deferred payment system, and to the raising of a loan for the construction of branch railways. The Government had placed a sum of £SOOO on the Estimates as a refund in connection with the gold export duty. That would be equal to one-half the duty for the year, which would be as much as the Government would be justified in refunding, if they were to expend the sums placed on the" Estimates for public works. The Estimates would be placed in the hands of hon, members in a few minutes, an I he hoped hon. members would be able to go throught them and go into Committee of Supply without delay. PTJRCfIASR OF PRIVATE BRIDGES.

Mr Manders asked the Provincial Secretary whether the Government have considered that portion of Report of the Select Committee on Goldfields, which says : " That this Committee recommend the" purchase of this (Bannockburn) and other private bridges erected under 'Government conditions, out of any loan or advance obtained from the Colonial Government, and the reduction of tolls on such bridges to a limit that shall provide funds sufficient for interest for a sinkin? fund and for maintenance of these bridges?"Mr Bastings replied that the Government could not do anything in the matter until the Council, as a body took some action in connection with the report of the Select Committee. ... THE RABBIT NUISANCE.. Mr Mandbrs moved—" That a Select Committee be appointed to enquire as to the best steps that can be taken to suppress the the evil known as the rabbit nuisance ; such Committee to .consist of Messrs Reid, Daniel, Tolmie, Rogers, Shand, Hon. Or Menzies, and the Mover, with power to take evidence and call for papers. To report within ten days." Agreed to. FINANCIAL STATEMENT. Mr Moody, Treasurer, then entered into a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure for the current year. As the principal amendments have previously been summarised in our telegraphic columns, it is unnecessary to go over the Treasurer's figures. Mr Moody concluded by moving " That the Committee report progress on the item ' Loans,' and that the remainder of the late Estimates be discharged." In the discussion which ensued on the motion, Mr Reid said that the Treasurer eould not mix up matter for two motions, but should simply move that progress be reported. The Government had not given sufficient reason yet why the late Estimates should be discharged. He had not had time to look through the new Estimates, but from what he heard last week, and from what he had heard from the Treasurer just now, he thought that they were not very reliable. He really thought, seriously, that seeing the farce had gone so far, they should report progress in order to look into the matter. Mr Manders pointed out that in the amended Estimates i'2ooo had been taken ofF the sum for Goldfields roads and bridges, and £3OO added to the Southland expenditure. Southland members might be smiling and satisfied, but Goldfields members were not. It was eventually agreed "to report progress and ask leave to sit again,"" and the House adjourned till 2 o'clock next day. Tr/ESDAY, JtTNE 1. The Hon. the Speaker took the chair at 2 p.m. PETITIONS. Mr Hazlett presented a petition from 87 settlers in the Dnnstan district, praying that certain agricultural land might be thrown open for settlement on Run 221. REPORT. The following report from the Select Committee on Goldfields was submitted by Mr De Lautour :- In it petition o/133 miners and others of Bannockburn and Carrick Range.—The petitioners prav that a block of land may be set apart as commonage on south side of Kawarau River. Yonr Committee having given this petition dui consideration, is of "opinion that it cannot See its way to make a distinct recommendation in the matter, but would suggest that, if any arrangement cannot be arrived at w'/h the runholders, to tolerate the unavoidable trespass of the necessary cattle and horsei, belonging to residents in the I djtfmrt, a bfe §efc apart ia-

such a way as to injure the run as little as possible. CROMWELL. Mr Bastings moved—"That an address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent, recommending that section 12, block 111., Cromwell, be set apart as a site for a public hospital."—Carried. WANT OP CONFIDENCE. When the Order of the Day for the House to resolve itself into Committee of Supply was about to be called on, Mr Bastings said that, as a notice of motion had been tabled by the hon. member (Mr Reid), "That the House has no confidence in the present Government," he wished to say that it was not the intention of the Government to proceed with any more business until that motion had been disposed of. He therefore moved, "That the House adjourn until 2 p.m. next day."*' Of course, he had no wish to delay the business, and therefore if, by the rules of the House, it could be arranged that the matter could be proceeded with that evening at 7 o'clock, he should have no objection. Perhaps, however, it would be only fair to the hon. member for the Taieri that he should have an opportunity of calling a few caucus meetings. As fighting seemed to be the order of the day, it "would be only fair to give the hon. member time. (Hear, hear).

Aft«r some discussion, Mr Bastings then said he would move that the House adjourn until 7 o'clock. If there were then twothirds of the members present, it could be moved that the Standing Orders be suspended, and the difficulty would by that means be got over.

On the House resuming at 7 p.m., Mr Bastings moved that the Standing Orders be suspended, to enable Mr Reid to move his motion.—The motion was carried. Mr Reid said that, in rising to move the motion of which he had given notice,"" That this Council has no confidence in the present Executive," it would be his duty, while asking the support of the Council, to show the reasons which were given 1 against the late Government retaining their seats, and that the promises made by the present Government had not been realised. He would first refer to the charges that were made against the members of the late Executive. °They were these : That the Provincial Secretary had too much to do, and that public works were being delayed : also, that the revenue was estimated too high. The other reasons were, that justness had not been meted' out to Southland. Well, he (Mr Reid) thought the first charge, that the late Provincial Secretary had had too much to do, and that consequently works were delayed, had been fully answered. He thought he had already showed conclusively that, as compared with previous years, works had been pressed forward with more than usual despatch ; and the objection raised, that the late Provincial Secretary had too much to do was answered by the fact that the present head of the Government had taken upon himself duties which, in his (Mr Reid's) opinion, entailed its great a demand on his time as did the 'duties of those offices which were held by the late Provincial Secretary. Regarding the objection that the revenue had been estimated too high, he would ask hon. members to consider the Estimates that were regarded as too high with those brought before the Council by the present Executive. They had there not one single item of reduction, whilst they had as against the rents from educational endowments and against school fees an increase of £ISOO, and in respect to lands an increased estimate of £50,000. They found in regard to the Southland votes—notwithstanding o the great injustice that was being perpetrated on Southland—notwithstanding that all business must come to a standstill until the present Government had remoddeled the Estimates ; they found he said an increase for votes in Southland of £4680 ; and when they bore in mind that it was very probable the sums voted might be short of the expenditure, it looked as if they had been playing a very palpable and transparent farce. The Treasurer, in his statement, made the following remarks:-"To explain the apparent ano° maly of decreasing the expenditure and spending a greater amount on necessary works than was on the last Estimates, I must draw the attention of hon. members to the fact that £25,000 for school buildings has been omitted." He (Mr Reid) inferred from these observations that school buildings were not looked upon as necessary works. He, on the contrary, looked upon the erection of school buildings as the most important and urgent work they could undertake. In nearlv every district in the province demands were being made in regard to school buildings, and he failed to see how those demands were to be met by the proposal to raise £30,000 on the system of terminable annni ties, bearing interest not to exceed 7 per cent., including sinking fund. Were our school buildings to remain at a standstill while they were looking for the money, or had they the assurance that the money would be forthcoming, The proposal to leave the school buildings to such a chance wa3 one the Council could hardly agree to. It had been his (Mr Reid's) good fortune to command a large share of the confidence of the Council —perhaps undeservedly—but when the hon. member said he had attempted to hold office for the sake of offico, and that he altered his opinions for the sake of holding office, he said that which every member of the Council knew was not correct. (Hear, hear.) It might be news for the hon. member to tell him that he had just had as many colleagues in office up to the present time as he (Mr Reid) had had—if he excepted the year 1867, when he only held office for a few hours. lUe lioni laietnber had had 13 colleagues, and

he (Mr Reid) had had the same number. (Applause.) He (Mr Reid) entered the Council in 1862, and had been in it continuously since that time; but the hon. member did not enter the Council until 1871. Therefore, he thought he could say he had been as free from mixing himself up with strangers as had the hon. member—(hear, hear);—but before many hours had passed, he thought it was probable he should have an opportunity of having a few more colleagues, and the hon. member could add them to the number. (Hear, hear.) Having referred to the colleagues the hon. member (Mr Bastings) had had at different times, and the proposals he had made, he (Mr Reid) referred to the hon. member's observations on the land policy. Said that hon. member, "As to the land policy, that was settled. They were now carrying out the Land Act of 1806, and the best thing they could do was to administer the law as they had it, for the benefit of the country, in a fair and impartial spirit." Well, that, he (Mr Reid) presumed, was what every Government aimed at. But, notwithstanding the cries of the hon. member against the sale of large blocks of land, he might remind the hon member that he was a member of the Government who sold a large block to Mr Logan when there was little occasion for it. There was also the case of Captain Henderson. He (Mr Reid) did not think that that was administering the. Act in a fair and impartial spirit. The policy of the late Government was in the Superintendent's opening address, which the hon. member did not dare to move a motion upon. The result of the Treasurer's endeavors was a total increase on roads and works in the province of £4OBO, and a decrease of £25,000 in school buildings. After addressing the House for a few minutes longer, Mr Reid left his motion in the hands of the House, with the greatest conßdence, and said that, whatever might be the decision of the Council, it would be to the best interests of the province that the matter should be settled in a more definite way than it stood at the present time. Mr Bastings said that the hon. member for the Taieri had indulged in personal remarks concerning him, and had endeavored, as far as possible, to lower him in the estimation of the House. He thought that it war due to his position in that House, and also to his position as a public man, that he should make some explanations regarding the official positions which he had held in connection with the province and the House. The hon. member for the Taieri had endeavored to show both the House and the country that he had always been actuated by a spirit of patriotism in the positions which he had held in this province. He (Mr Bastings) contended that the patriotism of the hon. member consisted in seeking position and influence for himself, and that, in order to obtain these, he had thrown the interests of the country, and of the men who had worked with him to the winds. (Hear, hear.) It was the action of the hon. member that first called him (Mr Bastings) into political life, as he was actively engaged at his own private affairs when he was induced by the hon. member for the Peninsula and the hon. member for Dunedin, Mr Turnbull, to leave that business and to come to town for the purpose [Air Bastings then entered into a history of his political career, which our space forbids publishing.] Members on both sides having addressed the House, the division was taken, with the following result: —

Ayes—24. Noes—l 9. Allan Bastings Armstrong Brown, J. C. Clark Browne, G. F. C. Davie Daniel Hagijitt Da Lautour Hallenstein Driver Henderson Fish Ireland Green Lumsden Hazlett Manders Kinross Menziea Moody Mills M'Glashan Mollison M'Kenzie MacKellar Rogers M'Dermid Shand M'Lean Sumpter M'Neil Tnrton Beeves Wilson Beid Wood Beynolds Stout Steward Tolmie Turnbull

Wednesday, June 2. Mr MacKellar presented a petition from 180 inhabitants of Cromwell, praying for the establishment of a District Court, etc. RESIGNATION OF THE EXECUTIVE. Mr Bastings informed the House that in consequence of the decision arrived at at last sitting, the Executive had tendered their resignations, and he had advised his Honor to send for the honorable member for the Taieri. In order to enable that gentleman to make arrangements' he would move "that the House do adjourn till two o'clock tomorrow." Mr Reid, in seconding the motion, said the Superintendent had done him the honor of sending for him, and he had undertaken the duty of forming an Executive. Of course, he could not say that anything had yet been done, but it was quite possible that when the Flouse met again, he would be in a position to report some progress. Thursday, June 3. the new executive. Mr Reto said that he wished to make an explanation as to the formation of the new

before the Council proceeded with the business on the Order Paper. Honorable members were aware that, on the previous day, he undertook the task of form* ing a new Executive. As soon as he did so, he placed himself in communication with hi* late colleague,, Mr Turnbull, with the intention of inducing him to resume, his former position in the Executive,-—a position which he thought that gentleman had filled with great credit to himself and advantage to the country.—(Hear.) But he regretted to say that that honorable member did not see his way to accept a position in the Government, owing entirely, he believed, to private reasons. He then placed himself in communication with the honorable member for the city, Mr Davie, who, he was glad to say, had consented to become Provincial Treasurer. His late colleague, Mr MacKellar, had consented to act again in the capacity of Goldfields Secretary ; and his late colleague, Mr Lumsden, representing the Southland district, had also again consented to join the Government as a non-official member. After considering the resolution come to a short time ago by that House, he came to the conclusion that it would be exceedingly desirable to obtain the services of some gentleman who would take care of the office which had hitherto been held by himself ; and he was glad to say that he had succeeded in obtaining the assistance of the honorable member for North Harbour.—(Hear, hear, and loud laughter.) He meant the honorable member for Blueskin, who would hold the office of Secretary for Works.—(Hear.) He also succeeded in securing the services of Mr Steward, who would act as unofficial member. . The Government did not think there was any great necessity for reprinting the Estimates, and in regard to the small sum of £13,000 for new works which the late Executive proposed to add to those Estimates, the present Government proposed to brinr down that sum on the Supplementary Esttmates In regard to the pro-

posed Education Bill originally brought before the House, the Government intended to proceed with it, but if it came to be a question whether there should be a general rate or no rate at all, he would agree to a general rate rather than that districts should be without the power of improving their school-buildings unless they used their school fees. But he believed a general rate would be found inoperative, and would aggravate the evil which it was said would be occasioned by the passing of this Bill. At the same time, this was entirely an open question ; and he believed some members of the Executive would be found voting against the Bill. And here he might remark that it was intended to make as few Government questions as possible.—(Laughter.) . If the House was with the Government, the proper course was to table a want-of-confi-dence motion. When Government questions arose, the fact would be plainly stated, and he thought they should b» as few and far between as possible.—(Renewed laughter.) He would not detain the House further, but in order to give an opportunity to those members who desired to speak, he would move, pro forma, the adjournment of the House. The Government were prepared to take up the business on the Order Paper, and proceed with the work at once. Mr Bastings said it was his intention, on the present ocsasion, to follow the example of the present head of the Government, a few weeks ago, when he stated that he intended to offer no factious opposition. It was his intention to assist as far as he could in pushing on the business. At the same time he thought an Opposition was always necessary to keep the Government up to the mark, and he trusted that the members of that party which voted for him on the last occasion Avould be true to their colours as representatives in that respect, and see that the Government carried out what they promised. Mr Fish echoed much that had fallen from Mr Bastings. It was quite evident that the late Executive had been ejected from officet mainly upon personal grounds. Of the new Provincial Treasurer, against whom he had no personal feeling, he could only say that he preferred the late Treasurer (Mr Turnhull) to the diluted stuff in his place. To the Goldfields Secretary he had no personal objection, but he objected to the way that honorable member had been pitched into office. No doubt the honorable gentleman would make an efficient Goldfields Secretary. He (Mr Fish) would watch their actions closely, and if they tripped he would not fail to punish thetn. He congratulated the Government and the country on the constitution of the Executive, and trusted that the business would be rapidly proceeded with. Mr MacKellar explained that he would not have taken notice of Mr Fish's reference to his first taking office with the honorable member for the Taieri, had it not been repeated on several occasions. Fhere was nothing sneaking or dishonourable about his taking office. When his private reasons had been removed he took office. There was nothing to conceal and nothing to be ashamed of, and he trusted the honorable member would be satisfied with the explanation. COMMITTEE OP SUPPLY. In Committee of Supply in the evening, a recriminatory discussion, extending over 3 hours, took place on the item " Secretary for Goldfields, £400." It was first proposed, as an amendment, ft> reduce it by £275. This was lost by 21 votes against 15. During the discussion, Mr Reid said that if the amendment were carried, he would regard it as reflecting on the constitution of the Government. It was subsequently proposed that the item be struck out. This was also negatived. It eventually passed by a majority of eight— 2lvotiog fwyirai Iff iymak fc