POLITICAL NEWS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3167, 23 August 1881, Page 3

POLITICAL NEWS.

[by telegbaph.]

(fbom oub own corhesponbent")

Wellington, August 23. MrSheehan leaves to-dayjf or Wanganui in order to attend the Native Land Court.

With reference to the debate on the report of the select committee on the New Plymouth Harbor works, the motion of the Premier was amended by Mr Wright, and reads as follows: —" That this house is of opinion that the G-overnment should at once bring in a bill to appoint a Parliamentary Commission to enquire into and report upon the New Plymouth Harbor scheme —(a) as to its •utility and practicability; (b) as to its financial position and prospects; (c) as to the fairness of rating equally or otherwise all land included -within the present rating distict; the bill to provide for the suspension of all further expenditure until the report of suchi Commission ehall have been considered and decided on by this House, except so far as may be necessary to prevent injury to works already executed or to the material in the possession of the board." This was agreed to by the Premier and Chairman of Committees, and the motion thus amended was agreed to by the House.

In the various land districts the following is the summary of the amounts realised on the sale of land for the year ended 31st December, 1880 : — Auckland, £16,934; Hawke's Bay, £1635; Taranaki, £2704; West Coast (North Island), £32,578 ; Wellington, £2250; Nelson, £1441; Marlborough, £1420 ; Canterbury, £46,535 j Westland, £722; Otago, £63J312; Southland, £15,797. Land taken up during the year on deferred payment, 136,739 acres 5 cash received for the same during the year, £22,170.

It is understood on good anthority that the Government will in all probability appoint Mr Richardson, Mr Mncandrew, and Mr Napier Bell (the engineer of the Lyttelton Harbor Board), Commissioners to report on the Taranaki harbor works.