PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 2059, 10 December 1869, Page 2

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Vj'.STiJHIIAV. Amidst laughter—especially from the occupants of the Treasury Benches Mr J urnbull gave notice of his intention to ask the Secretary for Land and Woiks to-morrow, “ Whether the motion, of which he has given not'eo relative to the Otago Hundreds Act, contains the views of the whole of the Executive and indicates the Government policy on the subject, or merely represents his individual opinion. At the (suggestion of the Sccrctaiy for Land and Works, Mr Burns’s motion auent education was put off until -Monday. Mr M‘lndoc then moved that an address should he presented to the Superintendent, requesting that copies of all documents connected with or relating to the sale of the Island Block, be laid on the table. The Secretary for hand and Works, with a degree of affability that was really surprising, seconded the resolution, and laid the desired documents on the table. A printing committee having been appointed, the Treasurer moved that the House adjourn, in order that the House Committee might meet. At ’.hat hour there would be important measures introduced—in fact, a wapt of confidence motion had to be considered, and the debate ought to be reported. Mr Driver immediately retorted by observing that he thought the adjournment was wanted to enable the Treasurer to enjoy his dinner—a course to which Mr Driver had no objection. The idea of his motion being a want of conliilcnce appeared to be quite new to Ml - Driver, who pmnt the length of saying that the anxiety displayed by the Government led him to believe that the Government might possibly have done something which might induce the House to come to the opinion that they were not worthy of its confidence. The Treasurer, determined that Mr Driver should not have the last word, retort , d by saying thatitwas confidentially intimated by thehon. member for Caversham that Mr Driver’s motion was to be accepted as a want of confidence motion. Mr Driver must perforce reiterate his statement that, in bringing forward hjs motion, he had no intention that it should be taken as a want of confidence, and coupled his statement with the assurance that Mr MTadoe was not in his confidence at all. The Treasurer cut the matter short by informing the House that, to save misunderstanding, the Government could accept the motion in no other way than as a want of confidence. The adjournment was then agreed to. When the House mot at seven o’clock, Mr

Gillies asked for an adjournment for half-au-hour, to enable the Printing Committee to complete its business, and the request was granted. On the House reassembling, he brought up the interim repott of the Committee, which was to the effect that two communications had been received on the subject of fully' reporting the discussion on the Hundreds Regulation Act, and the Glntha and Port Chalmers Railways ; but that the Committee had decided to refer them to the Council for their decision, for the purpose of then determining whether the only available offer should bo accepted. In reply to the Committee’s question as to the terms on which 300 copies of the debate could be printed, the manager of the Of u/o Dai!;/ Times wrote that to print 15 to 20 columns of the debates each evening would be LIT, or Lll2 per week, or 17s per column —a rather strangeca'culation, because 20 columns at 17s would only be Ll7 per day ; and as the Council only sits five days in the week, the weekly cost would only be 1.85. Hou. members, however, were saved the necessity' of working out this problem, for subsequently the manager of the Doll;/ Times wrote that their staff was not sufficiently numerous to unde take the task of publishing verbatim rejiorts each day'. The editor of the Evtmin;/ Star replied that if the necessary' time, and despatch of “proof” could be afforded, he would perform the work on the following terms :—Reporter, attending to take notes of the debates each day, L2 2s ; transcription of shorthand notes, one shilling per folio of 72 words. Printing, 15s per column, length of the Dai!;/ Times ; or 10s 2d per page of the Xeiu Zealand Hansard, the above to include presswork ; alterations and additions to the reports at 3s per hour, d’lie paper and cost of stitching, &c., to be paid for by' the Provincial Council. Mr Hutcheson at once moved that the offer of the Erenin;/ Star be accepted, and the motion was seconded by Mr Gillies. Mr Burns, though not intending to offer any opposition, pointed out that the report, although useful perhaps, would be very expensive, and urged the House to consider both sides of the question before coining to a decision. Mr MTndoe made the very pert.ncnt inquiry if the Committee could give an approximate estimate of the cost of the whole report. He excited the risible facult;es of hou. members by' gravely informing them that he had I con told by one member of the Government that another member of the Government intended to speak for ten hours. He remarked wisely that if such was to bo the case, when the bill of costs came in, that in effect the Council would find that they' “ had paid too dear for their whistle.” He concluded by stating that he himself would only speak to the questions referred to for ha’f an hour—a promise which wc sincerely hope, for the benefit of his constituents and country, he will rigi dy keep. Mr Tayler, who speaks seldom —but, when he docs, to the point—informed the House that he had no hesitation in stating the report would cost between L4OO and LSOO, and that, in his opinion, the only benefit to bn derived from the publication of it would be gained by those members who were fond of reading their speeches. The amount of money proposed to be expended on this publication would go far towards making roads in the Province which are very necessary'. The motion ■was then put, and on a division being called for, there voted Ayes, 18 ; Noes, 13. The Treasurer not having quite forgotten his'passage at arms with the member for Waikari, determined to have another hit at that gentleman. He accordingly moved that Motion No. 11, standing in Mr Driver’s name— “ That no further action be taken by the Government in the negotiations for the construction of either the Southern Trunk Railway or Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway', until this Council had had an opportunity of considering the mode of constructing both works” —take precedence over all the other notices of motion on the Order Papers ; and the House having in view the prospect of sonic fun, readily assented to the proposition ; but they were disappointed, for Mr Driver did not lose much time in informing them of his intention to withdraw the motion, remarking that he had no doubt that the course taken by the Government would revert on their own heads. He was not allowed to finish the sentence. Mr Speaker ruled that he was out of order. Mr Driver, however, took occasion to remark that he thought the House would agree with him ; that the Government had taken a wrong course, and one not justified by the circumstances. He then allowed the matter to drop. Several motions were adopted. Amongst others, it was resolved to address the Superintendent,- that certain land at Papakaio be set apart for railway purposes; that certain laud at Palmerston be set apart for purposes of public recreation ; that 600 acres, more or less, round the township of Queenstown be set apart as commonage for the use of the inhabitants of that town ; that 4 acres of land at Waikaia be set apart for a site for a hospital; that 109,000 acres of land at Preservation Inlet he set apart for purposes of settlement and colonisation, in terms of the “Otago Settlements Act, 1869 and that 9 acres of land adjoining the southern boundary of the Blucskin village be sot apart for a cattle market. there was a slight discussion in reference to the commonage for the Queenstown people, Mr Hughes disagreeing with the idea of commonage being given to any particular few residing in a town, instead of to districts, and contending that Queenstown had 300,000 acres, which was cpiite sufficient. Mr Gillies satisfied the House that what was wanted was not additional commonage, but an i abstraction from the general commonage, to give the municipality a piece of laud for purposes of public utility. The motion was then carried. The Educational Reserves and University Ordinances were read a first time. Mr Burns then moved that in view of the growing magnitude and importance of the educational institutions of the Province, and the necessity for placing them beyond the reach of any political influence, and also the propriety' of securing for them a sufficient permanent and inalienable endowment, an ordinance shall be introduced during the present session if possible for the purpose of repealing clause 4 of the Education Ordinance, 1864, and conferring power on the Superintendent to constitute an education board, consisting of gentlemen wholly unconnected with the Provincial or Colonial Government; that the Superintendent should have power to set apart one-thirtieth part of all unsold Crown lands of the Piovincc as an educational endowment and that such reserves shall be administered by such education board for the behalf of the schools within the province. _ In doing so he said lie wished strongly to point out the necessity of placing these reserves beyond the power of any government to take away. They were voting large sums of money year

after year, ami he was afraid the very mag* nitude of their educational operations would prove their ruin. If however a trust were appointed, and know that there was no more patrimony, they would cut their coats according to their cloth, and prevent the present drag on the treasury. After a well deserved compliment to the secretary to the Education Board, he expressed his intention not to press that the ordinance should be introduced that session, but thought that at least one step should be taken with regard to the matter. _ The Provincial vSolicitor, while sympathising with the hou. member for the Taieri in ms desire to cause the education reserves to be placed beyond the reach of political influence or change, did not see how the three provisions in the motion could carry out the objects of the preamble. What the hon. member wished to prevent was an act of spoliation, by the General Government taking their education reserves, and making them into one common fund. But if the General Government would commit such an act of spoliation on the Superintendent and Executive, be could not see why they would not on trustees appointed by the Superintendent and Executive. With regard to the second clause, the power it proposed to give was illegal. The Secretary for Land and Works quite agreed with the object in view, but thought the discussion ought to resolve itself rather to the alteration in the constitution of the Education Board, than to the question of endowment, which was settled last session, unless indeed, as he should like to see, it proposed to let the endowments be in the form of a certain acreage instead of money value. If it were intended to alter the constitution of the Education Board, he thought that the clear and definite opinion of the House should be given for the guidance of the Government. He should recommend rotation in the election of the Board in order to popularise it. As it appeared from what had been stated that the motion was u ’tra vires, and of little use if passed, he should move, as an amendment, that all the words in the first provision after the words 1861 should be omitted, and the following words inserted in their place, “and making provision for the appointment of an Education Board, different y constituted, either by election or otherwise.” The amendment was carried ; and after some further discussion, during which Mr Hutcheson recommended compulsory education, the motion was withdrawn. The House then adjourned.

This Day.

On tlie House meeting, Capt. Mackenzie enquired of the Speaker for am explanation of liia ruling last night with regard to the question as to whether the motion adopted in reference to reporting the debates was not irregular, it having been brought up without notice. The Speaker repeated that his ruling was correct. Mr Burns, as a question of privilege, called attention to an error in a report of his speech on the education question last night in the Daily Times. He was made to use the words “General Government ” instead of “ General Assembly ” in a particular sentence —a very important difference. Mr Gillies presented a petition from Mr James Reed, West Taieri, which was received. In reply to Mr Shand’s question as to what instructions had been given to the Engineer on laying off the Clutha line of railway through the Taieri district, the Provincial Secretary stated that no special instructions had been given. Mr Turnbull asked if the papers laid on the table of the House relative to the Southern Trunk Railway, embraced all the correspondence. The Provincial Treasurer replied to the effect that the Government were desirous of placing the whole of the documents before the Council. Mr M-Dermid asked the Government whether they had agreed with an individual or a company for the construction of the Port Chalmcr’s Railway, if with an individual on what authority they have acted. The Provincial Secretary replied that negotiations had been entered into and certain terms agreed upon between the Government and the contractor alluded to, and if those t rim were carried out the Government would submit them for the Council’s approval. In reply to Mr Turnbull’s question as to whether the motion of the Secretary for Land and Works, with reference to the Otago Hundreds Regulation Act, indicated the Government policy on the laud question, or only represented his individual opinion ? Mr Reid pointed out that from the documents before the House it was self-evident that a difference did exist upon this question in the Executive. In reply to Capt. Mackenzie as to land having been taken under the provisions of the covenants entered into with the pastoral tenants as reserves for educational purposes, the Provincial Secretary stated that some land had been selected by the Government under the authority of the Council given last session. It was intended to introduce a Bill authorising the leasing of these rein reply to Mr M‘lndoe as to whether the West Taieri and Traquair Hundreds have been legally declared, the Provincial Secretary stated he believed they had been legally declared, but as questions had been raised, which were under consideration, ho should be prepared in a few days to give a more distinct answer to the question than he was then.

Mr Ashcroft asked what was the intention of the Government as to carrying out the suggestions of his Honor the Superintendent with respect to conitnunications between the head of Lake Wakatip and Kakapo Lake. The Provincial Secretary said he was not prepared to give a definite answer, nor did he think it a proper question to be put at the present time. The Government acknowledged the importance of the work, and would do all they could to ensure its being carried out. He, however, could not but think hon. members were acting unfairly in bringing forward such questions at the present time. , , The Secretary for Land and Works motion with reference to the Otago Hundreds Regulation Act was made an Order of the Day for Monday next. Leave of absence was granted to the Chairman of Committees for the remaindei of the session, a private petitions committee appointed, and leave granted for the introduction of a Cattle Trespass Bill. Mr Hay wished to bring in a Bill to amend the Cattle Trespass Ordinance. This was opposed by Mr Prance and Mr M Indoe, on the ground that but a short time would elapse before the next meeting of Council. The mover replied, and permission was given. The Bill was then read a first time and or-

dered to be printed. The second reading was appointed for Monday. The Provincial Solicitor laid on the table the Dunedin Reserves Management Ordinance 1869, which was read a first time, and the second reading fixed for Monday. Mr Shand, after lamely apologising for his inability to undertake the task, brought up the following reply to his Honor’s address, which was seconded by Mr Green ; “We regret that there are differences of opinion between your Honor and your responsible advisers upon the question of Hundreds, and in regard to the construction of the Southern Trunk Railway. “We are pleased to hear that there is a prospect of the Port Chalmers Railway being commenced within two, and completed within eighteen, months. ‘ ‘ We learn with pleasure that the report of the Commissioners is favorable to the reunion of the Provinces of Otago and Southland, and will be prepared to give it our most earnest consideration. “ We are glad that an Act has beenpassed which enables the Province to dipose of land on the West Coast on terms which are likely to attract settlement of a suitable kind. “ The question of the appointment of an Agent to proceed to Europe, to the emigration to this Province of and capital will receive our best attention. “We hail with pleasure the discovery of numerous gold-bearing quartz reefs in the Province, and agree with your Honor that the importance of this discovery upon the future of our goldfields cannot he overestimated. “ We shall gladly consider any scheme for piocuring a cheap supply of water for our goldfields. ‘ ‘ Recognising the importance of the various measures which will be introduced, we are prepared to give them our early attention." Mr Hughes moved that the debate be adjourned until after motion No. 9 was considered. In the course of the discussion that ensued, Mr Ashcroft dropped the hint that hon. members were already getting tired of work, and would like to grace the entertainment to be given to-night by the Hi-h School boys with their presence. As there was to be a debate by the boys, he thought hon. members could gain some valuable information, and at the same time they might improve their style from the example that would be shown them by the lads. The Secretary for F and and Works told the House clearly that they could do what they pleased, but the Government was prepared to go on with the special business on-which the Council had been convened. On the motion of Mr MTndoe, Mr Millar’s report on the Port Chalmers Railway was ordered to be printed. The petition of John Howell was referred to the Private Petitions Committee, 'i he motion of Mr Mount that an address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent, recommending that certain land at Lawrence be set apart for Municipal purposes, was sanctioned. On Mr Driver’s motion it was resolved that an address be presented to the Superintendent, requesting that all copies of papers, &c. relating to the conditions upon which a portion of the land comprised in the pastoral leases, held by the Hon. F. D. Bell, has been withdrawn and offered for sale; also a return showing the acreage offered for sale ; acreage sold, -with names of purchasers. The debate on the reply to the address was resumed by Mr Ashcroft, who alluded to the want of mention by the Government of their int ntion to open up communication with the West Coast. It was a very important question, and he was in a position to know that it could be carried out for a small expenditure. Mr Thomson complained of the lameness of the reply. He thought that on the re union question, the Council ought not to entertain it at the present time. The constituents should be afforded an opportunity of expressing their sentiments on the question. If a liberal system of Hundreds were adopted, he was inclined to favor a liberal system of immigration. Mr Driver moved as an amendment to paragraph 2, “We hope that the negotiations pending for the construction of the Port Chalmers Railway will lead to the completion of this work on terms which will be advantageous to the Province," and that in the third paragraph the words “we learn with pleasure that” be struck out. The Treasurer in av ry labored speech endeavored to explain the position of matters in regard to the Port Chalmers railway, but did not succeed in doing so. His explanation amounted to this —A company had been formed to carry out the work ; that the terms agreed by the Government were consdcred unreasonable, and refused to comply with them ; and that subsequently a contracting linn had offered" to take up the matter on more advantageous terms. Mr M'Dennid mov d as a further amendment that the Government should submit any agreement entered into to the Council before its rise, which Mr Driver agreed to substitute for his, but which the House refused to accept. The Secretary for Lind and Works in a long explanation, said the offer now under consideration by the Government was more advantageous than that of the Provisional Committee. The former stipulated to run twelve trains daily, whereas the committee thought that to ask that more than four should ruu a day was unreasonable. [Left sitting.]