GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 745, 28 July 1876, Page 3

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

(Condensed from Dunedin dailies.) July 18th. Shortly after the meeting of the House to-day, the following important notices of motion were given:— Mr Whitaker to move, when in Committee on the Provincial Abolition Financial Arrangements Bill—“ That clauses 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, bo omitted, and in lieu thereof that the following clauses, to come into operation on the 29th September next, be inserted, ‘ All revenues arising from the waste lands of the Crown are part of Her Majesty’s consolidated revenue of the Colony. All sums of money and expenditure heretofore charged on revenue arising from the waste lands of the Crown are hereby charged on pul made payable out of Her Majesty’s conrevenue ; all assets and liabilities of the several Provinces are assets and liabilities of the Colony, provided that the cash in hand on the 29th day of September, 1875, received from the waste lands of the Crown shall be expended in the Provinces in which it has been received on such public avorks (not otherwise provided for) as the General Assembly shall determine.”

Mr Wakefield to move, on the motion for going into Committee of Supply—“ That this House do resolve itself into a Committee, of the whole, to consider the following resolutions :—The gross proceeds of all land sales or leases either for pastoral or mineral purposes (except with respect to goldfields) to bo chargeable with expenses of land and survey department. After such deduction, one half net revenue from these sources to be colonial revenue, other half to be paid to local governing bodies of districts within which such revenue is raised. The coat and expenses of the following services to be defrayed from colonial revenue, viz. (1) all existing legislative and executive departments of Government, including civil lists ; (2) interest and sinking fund of all loans, whether Colonial or Provincial; (3) primary education ; (4) Her Majesty’s Gaols throughout Colony; (5) Police; (6) Lunatic Asylums ; (7) all public railways, whether constructed by Colony or Provinces ; (8) arterial roads and bridges; (9) subsidies to road districts and municipalities in proportion of LI to LI raised by rates or tolls, all annual surplus of colonial revenue over appropriation to be applied to reducing any unfunded debt of Colony, or it there bo no such debt, then towards extinction of funded debt, the cost and expenses of the following services to bo defrayed by the local governing bodies, viz.:—(l) Roads, bridges, and other local public works other than arterial; (2) hospitals and charitable institutions; (3) penitentiaries and reformatories, not being public gaols ; (4) the ordinary revenue from goldfields, including the export duty, to bo paid to local governing bodies of the districts within which such revenue arises, and to bo expended on local public works therein. Harbours to be ad"

ministered by local boards, who shall receive and expend all moneys applied on account of or appropriated to the purposes of such harbors.”

July 10th. Before going on with the orders of the day, The Premier made the following statement of the intentions of the Government with respect to the resolutions given notice of by the members for Waikato and Geraldine (Whitaker and Wakefield). He did not desire to argue the question, or to raise a discussion with respect to the resolution of the member for Geraldine. If carried, it would not give the consolidated revenue so large an amount as would be received under the Government proposals, so that the resolution of the hon. member had not even expediency to recommend it. With respect to the resolution of the member for Waikato the same objections could not bo urged, because it proposed that everything should be taken. With respect to both resolutions, the conclusion Government arrived at was that they would offer unqualified opposition to them, inasmuch as they traversed the proposals of Government. They would, however, try to give to each honorable mem her the fullest facilities for taking discussion on their resolutions. He hoped that the tables and papers required would be on the table early next week. Although it would be quite consistent for the Government, with these resolutions hanging over them, to decline to go on with any business until these resolutions were disposed of, they won Id study the convenience of mem hers, and would proceed as far as possible with ordinary business in the meanwhile.

The Honorable Mr Richardson moved—- “ That a Select Committee of 15 members bo appointed to consider the proposed boundaries of counties for the Middle Island, and to make recommendations thereon, six to he a quorum. The Committee to consist of Messrs Barff, Bastings, Curtis, Harper, Henry, Manders, Stafford, W. Wood, Woolcock, and the mover.’’

MrMacandrew, Mr D. Reid, Mr De Lautour, and others objected, saying that the motion was premature, as the principles of the Bill were not agreed to, and the Government had no right to take it for granted that the House would accept their Bill at all, Mr Pyke was at a loss to understand the opposition to the resolution. There were only two ways to decide the matter. Either the House had to decide as a whole how their boundaries should be laid out, or else they had to refer the matter to a Select Committee. It appeared to him that there were two principles to be taken in account in deciding a question of this kind—first, that persons resident in the county should have a community of interest; and second, that as far as possible, boundaries should he limited by water shed. On the motion of Mr Macandrew,

The debate was adjourned till after the second reading of the Counties Bill, the Government offering no objection. July 20th.

The Local Option Bill passed its second reading to-day by a majority of ten, the numbers being 38 to 28. This has surprised many persons, but it is largely due to the feeling created by the licensed victuallers themselves in protesting so violently.

It is understood that the Auckland and Otago Committees have arrived at some common basis on which to arrange financial separation, on terms likely to be agreeable to Canterbury members on the whole.

In a clause of the Eating Bill, in which the Premier proposed to introduce an amendment providing for the rating of mining property where it is already so rated as at the Thames, Mr Gibbs again raised the question of miners not paying 'local rates having the power to vote ; whereupon the Premier took occasion to refer to some of the objects of the Counties Bill. He explained that it was no imperative design of the counties that they should levy rates, and a great deal was given to counties—the export duty on gold, miners’ rights, surplus land revenue, irrespective of rating. Holders of miners’ rights could not have, under any circumstances, more than 1 vote ; and there was a further provision that they should he registered. If they had property they would only have the vote as ratepayers.

Mr Whitaker intimated his intention of framing a clause that would satisfy all parlies. They should either rate the gold that was in the mine, and not rate the gold that was on the surface, or they should retain the gold duty and hand it over to the local bodies as taxation, which was the easier mode. He did not see why coal mines should be exempt, because the royalty they paid meant the rental payable to the Government.

Ultimately Sir J. Vogel said he would postpone the whole clause. As to the gold duty, his opinion was that if it was merely regarded as subsidy to rates the present duty of 2s was excessive ; but if it was a substitute for a royalty there was a logical reason for continuing it. July 22. To-day there were more meetings of district members as to the course to be taken on the Government policy, and the propositions of Whitaker and Wakefield. The Nelson and Westland members met, and are understood to have agreed to support the Government on the Abolition policy. The other meetings had for their end a conference of Provincial representatives. The Auckland members also had a caucus to-day, and considered further terms for separation which, as now sketched, will leave that Province LIOO,OOO to spend on reproductive works, after paying its share of the North Island loan charges and contributions to the Federal Government. The Canterbury members command the situation and if they throw in their support with Auckland and Otago the coalition must triumph. They reckon on the support of twenty Otago members, but seventeen is all they can fairly expect, as Messrs Pyke, Reynolds, Taiaroa, and Manders are sure to support the Government.

The annual report on goldfields laid upon the table shows the value of gold exported during 1875 was L 1,407,770, and during the quartet ending March, 1876, L 330.623. The total revenue derived from the goldfields of the Colony in 1875 was L88,51C, and during the quarter ending March, 1876, L 20,164. There has been a decrease in the gold returns for 1875 as compared with the two years, yet the returns show an increase in revenue of L 4,473 as compared with 1874, and of L 930 for the quarter ending March last upon that collected during the same period last year. The increase has not been uniform upon all sources of revenue —there has been a decrease upon business licenses, gold duty, etc., while gold mining leases, miners’ rights, depasturing leases, etc., have considerably increased.