PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2611, 30 June 1871, Page 2

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Yesterday. On the motion to resolve the House in*o Committee of Supply, the Hon Mr M’Lean expressed bis reluctance to accede to the re* duction o° salaries of the officers necessary to the working of the departments. He also considered that parents having their children educated ought not to object to pay a suffi* cient sum Mr E. B. Cargill shewed thatit was not likely that any great reduction could be made in most of the departments. He was not of opinion that as a eulo the staff of the Government was too highly paid, and to cut them down would be In effect to drive efficient men from the service. With regard to education it would be found necessary to check (he establishment of fullgrown district schools, with their attendant expenses, nor should schools be founded in country districts too close to each other. But the changes should not be hastily made ;-hht he blamed the late Rei 1 Government that the difficulties should not have been considered a year ago, and it should not have been left to the interim Government, of which be was a member, to deal with. Instead of that, nothing that could be discovered by himself, his colleagues, or any officers of the departments, had been done or proposed. He did not think any great advantage would be ga ned by delaying going into Committee, as the items would be best dealt, with iLthey came before the Committee. Both motion and amendment being negatived, Mr Seaton moved a further amen iment to the effect that whilst it is not expedient to reduce materially the salaries of the officers in the public departments, it is still possible to effect considerable reduction by the amalgamation of offices, and the consideration of the estimates be postponed to give the Go. vernment an opportunity of considering the matte”. At the earliest opportunity Mr Due* can defended the Government, of which he had been Treasurer, from the charge of having resisted retrenchment, and showed that during the time he had held office, the departmental expenditure had reduced from L 13,134 to L 9,697. The Provincial Secretary followed, pointing out the impolicy of coming down with a scheme of retrenchment on the eve of a general election. After some further discussion, the amendment was negatived by 20 to 17. Mr Blacklock, having pressed for an indication of what the Government intended to do in the way of reductions, the Provincial Secretary admitted having expressed an opinion that the estimates as brought down could he reduced by about L 600 0; but he had not anticipated that he would be suddenly called upon to intimate in what direction these reductions should be made. If there had been any seeming want of courtesy towards the Council, he asked hou. members to believe it was u i intentional When they went into supply, the proposed reductions would be explained; but those could not be proposed before the Government consulted heads of departments. Mr Haughton then raised a nice point of order, which led to some discussion, and a lepture from the Hon. Dr Meuzies, as to the position of the Speaker. When the House went into Committee, Mr Reynolds and Mr Haughton gave notice that they would oppose every item until the Government gave explanations of the manner in which it was proposed to fill up the Government. This Mr Reid refused to do. Before the Council was prorogued, the G)vernment would name those who were to be in the Executive. In pursuance of his threats, Mr Reynolds, on e/ery possible occasion, moved that progress be reported. Division after division was taken on motions to report progress, but the invariable result was that the item remained in its original state. Messrs Duncan and Reid were very bitter in their condemnations of the course of conduct pursued by what Mr Bathgate termed a small and factious minority. There were pleasant sparring matches, and no end of bandying of compliments during the evening. After two o’clock this morning Mr Reynolds succeeded in carrying one of his motions, which was to reduce an item by LI, and the object in view—.delay—was gained. At a quarter to three a. m. the House adjourned, the progress made in the estimates having been infinitesimally small.

This Day.

Mr Haughton, moved on a variety of grounds that the case of William Fox, who claimed to be the discoverer of the Arrow Goldfields, should be referred to a select committee. The ground principally taken was that the matter had been reported upon by the Committee on Private Petitions on insufficient evidence. This brought up Mr Shepnord and other members of the Private Petitions Committee, who resisted the proposition, and who were supported by Mr Bathgate, the Provincial Secretary, and Mr Cutten. Mr Haughton, in reply, stated that the chairman was perfectly aware of his reasons for asking the appointment of a committee, and it was because no evidence had been taken on the subject at all excepting that of Mr Pyke, and on the petition beir.g referred back to the committee, all that they did was to refer to Mr Pyke again. Mr M Glashan moved that the petition of Hugh M'Fadyen and John Kaye be referred back to the Committee on Private Petitions t* taka evidence. Similar objections were urged iu this as in the prev.ous case, and after some slight discussion the motion was withdrawn. The Provincial Treasurer laid papers on the table. The House then went into committee on the Estimates, which were being rapidly proceeded with.