ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 2949, 1 August 1872, Page 4

ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT.

{Condensed from the Wellington Papers.) IMMIGRATION RETURN. Captain Kerny moved for a return showing the cost to the Colony of ad emigrants, distinguishing adults of both sexes and children, sent to New Zealand since the appointment of the Agent-General; such return to give, under separate heads, the different nationalities of all such emigrants, the ports at which landed, and so far as kn i\vn where located ; the expenses incurred previous to embarkation, whether from England or elsewhere ; the passage money; the expenses incurred from the time of the arrival of the emigrants in New Zealand to jthe date at which all expenditure on their behalf mav have ceased ; and the amounts which, up to the present time, have been recovered from sii hj emigrants. Mr Or; mono said the Government had every desire to give the information. He might inform the House that the correspondence recently received from the Ag ntGeneral was more satisfactory than had hitherto been icceived. It showed that some 2000 persons had left for the Colony, the greater proportion of winch were from the United Kingdom, only about one-fourth being >candinavians. Mr O’Korke was glad it had been decided that the return should state the particular part of the United Kingdom from which the emigrants came from, whether from England, Scotland, or Ireland, because he believed that under the present system one of the greatest sources of emigration had been untouched. He was not one who paraded his nationality, but he thought if a supply of emigrants were obtained from Ireland, the system might be made self-sup-porting, because they were a people who always liked to have their friends with them.

Mr Fox hoped the return would show from where the particular shades of emigrants were obtained, because a very high ecclesiastical functionary in tli s country had stated that none of the emigrants were obtained from the country of which he was so distinguished an ornament. The AgentGeneral in his recent despatches stated that the nationalities were well mixed, and he believed there would be found to be not the smallest justification for the remark to which he had alluded. THE TRAMWAYS BILL. Mr Vogel moved the second reading of this Bill, and informed the House that m all the large cities and agricultural districts of England and America these tramways were in use or iu a favorable state of progress. The main object of the 13ill was to facilitate the construction of such tramways in this country, the chief functim of which would be to render unnecessary the making of sb rfc lines of railway, in addition to which it had the advantage of stopping at short intervals and without inconvenience to pick uj) 2mssengers or goods. The Bill would give every encouragement to local bodies to construct tramways, which would be found of immense advantage as feeders to main lines of railway. The Bill also had the recommendation that neither a General or Provincial liability was created ; but the safeguard was introduced that no local body could construct a tramway without the concurrence of the Superintendent of a Province, who would he empowered to prevent the construction of a tram.vay whenever it was likely to interfere with a main line of railway, or where it was proved not to be for the public advantage. Mr Gillies could not allow the Bill to pass its second reading without expressing his hea' ty concurrence in the measure, for which he was inclined to award to the Government the very highest credit, because the Bill was one that would meet one of the greatest requirements of the country. As the Bill effected the districts of the he was happy to say that it exactly met their wishes.

Mr O’-Neill also congratulated the Government on the introduction of the Bill, which would render unnecessary the intention of a private member to introduce such a measure. The lion, member gave some interesting particulars of the tramway system of America, where there was not a town of 10,000 inhabitants without a tramway. Philadelphia, for instance, had tramways 100 miles in length, aud in San Francisco there were tramways 50 miles in length. Mr E. Richardson agreed that the Bill was one of the best aids the Government could have conceived for the completion of the railway system they had inaugurated. He hoped the Government would take the precaution to ensure a uniform gauge, Mr Steward felt convinced that the effect of the Bill would be to cover the country with a network of tramways, and he regretted that such a measure had not been passed long : go, as he felt convinced that if the local bodies had been empowered years ago to construct works of the kind, Otago would have been in a much higher position than she occupied at the present time. He had to compliment the Government on the introduction of the Bill. Sir L'avid Monro stated his opinion that it was one which would effect more real good to the country than even the Colonial Treasurer himself believed. By means of these tramways the remote districts would be opened up, and means of communication afforded which no other plan could supply. In the wooded valleys in the neighborhood Queen Charlotte’s Sound and the Pelorus, there were many lines of tramway which were of immense value to the district, some of which were constructed at as low a cost as L 350 a mile. He did not say that the macadimised roads should be abolished, because they would always be required for domcstic purposes, but, as he had pointed Out there were many districts where tramvv a y g ’ were invaluable, and he had great plea 6 - urG in supporting the Bill,