THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Evening Star, Issue 3279, 23 August 1873, Page 2

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

[By Electric Telegraph.]

Wellington, August 22. Mr Macandrew presented a petition from 513 persons in southland, praying that the Southland Land Law of 1866 should remain intact, so that the remaining argicultural laud might be kept for bona fide settlement.

Mr M‘Glashan gave notice of motion to introduce a Bill to enable trustees of Savings Banks to hand over half of the profits of those institutions to Benevolent Societies. In reply to Mr Thomson, Mr Vogel stated that he could only say that Ministers intended to bring down very shortly Bills embodying the policy enunciated in the Financial Statement. Mr Bichard son, in replying to Mr Harrison, said that the Government had received no applications for the lease of the Mount Kochfort coal field or the Brunner mine. The following Bills were read a first time :—Distillation Act Amendment Bill; Broughton Land Grant Bill \ and Native Lauda Fraud Prevention Act Amendment Bill. _ . . ~ The amendments made by the Legislative Council in the Telegraph Cables Subsidy Agreement Batification Bill were agreed to. The Province of Westland Bill was committed. The Bill is to come into force in January next. , The Life Assurance Companies Bill was committed, as a'so was the Further Evidence Amendment Bill. The House went into Committee on the Native Reserves Act Amendment Bill, August 23. The debate on the Native Reserves Bill was continued till one o’clock this morning. Various amendments and additions to clauses were carried.—Messrs Rolleston, Gillies, and Sheehan opposed the Bill. —The latter proposed and carried many alterations.—Mr Kolleston characterised the Bill as a jumble of all the Native Bills, badly drawn, and worse than useless. It passed in Committee, and the third reading was fixed for Tuesday.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

At the Canterbury and Otago caucus there were present : Sir F. D. Bell, Messrs Bradshaw, J. E. Brown, J. C, Brown, Bluett, Brett, Robert Campbell, R. Cuthbertson. Captain Fraser, M. Holmes, Macandrew, M'Gillivery, M‘olashan, Mervyn, Murray, G, B. Parker, Reeves, Reid, G. H. Rhodes, Rolleston, Shepherd, Stafford, Steward, Studholme, Thomson, Tolmio, Webster, Sir J. C, Wilson, and the Hon. Mr Wigley. The meeting was convened by Mr Reeves and other Canterbury members. After two hours’ discussion, the matters were referred to a committee consisting of Messrs Macandrew, Tolmie, Reid, Reeves, Studholme, and Rolleston.