PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2195, 20 May 1870, Page 2

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

At this afternoon’s sitting Mr Mo=oly brought up the report of the Cnnuuitteo on the Bepresentation Bill, as folhnvs : —■ “ Your Committee have devoted many hours to the consideration of this Bill, and could have Avished that further time had been alhiAVcd by the Council for bringing up this report, as your Committee feel the subject remitted to them to be one of vast importance to the Province, requiting much piore opportunity to develop in all its details n cquqiic>e scheme of subdivision and providing a more perfect representation of the different interests in each electoral district than tho limited time at the the disposal of tho Committee has enabled them to'’devote to the subject:. Your Committee are, however, of opinion that the gcljemc of representation proposed in the Bill, as amended by your Committee, Avill have the effect of providing a much fairer representation of the various interests in the Province than exists under tho Ordinance now in force. Your Committee adopted as the basis for the redistribution of scats the provisions of the Bill introduced by the Government in session twenty-live, always keeping in vioAV the

order of the Council that the number members should not be reduced below the present number. Your Comnlittee have taken care in every case where they have subdivided the proposed General Assembly electoral districts into two or more Provincial electoral districts, to confine the Provincial c’ectoral districts constituted by such sub-division within the boundaries cf the proposed General Assembly electoral districts, and have in no single instance constituted a Provincial electoral district which includes a portion of more than one such (t enoral Assembly district.” A copy of the hill was appended to the report.—Mr M'lndoc’s motion, for the appointment of a select committee to report upon the management of the Dunedin Hospital, was carried.—On the motion of Mr Haughton, it was ordered that Government business take precedence on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.—Mr M'Dcrmid’s motion, that the Government should take steps to dredge the inner hank of the Harbor to 20 feet, led to a discussion, but was ultimately carried.