THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Evening Star, Issue 3284, 29 August 1873, Page 2

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

[By Electric Telegraph.] Welling rex, August 28. The Port Chalmers Waterworks Bill has passed both Houses. The Thames Gas Company (Limited) Bill has been passed. The report of the Committee upon the Auckland improvement Bill was agreed to after a discussion. Mr Gillies moved the re-committal of the Bill, for the introduction of certain clauses.—Mr Vogel supported the re-committal —Mr Sheehan strongly opposed the re-committal; while Mr Luckie supported Mr Gillies; and when the question was put he called for a division, but did not push it. A petition was presented from Hawke’s Bay against the floatage of Timber Hill. Mr Sheehan gave notice of motion for a subsidy of L 2,500 for steam communication up the East Coast of the North Island. Mr Seymour complained that last night his name had been placed among the ayes in the division upon the Wanganui Shires Bill, whereas he was asleep in his seat at the time ; and if ho had voted, he would have done so with the noe*.—Mr .Swanson said ho tried to arouse Mr Seymour, and had told him of the division. He had since been informed that he voted with tbe ayes.—Mr Seymour replied that if he had done so, it must have been unconsciously. He rememb red nothing about the division. The tellers corroborated Mr Swanson’s statement; and the matter then dropped, after provoking much laughter. In the Council a motion affirming the desirability of constructing a railway between Westland and Canterbury was withdrawn, as the Council had no power to initiate such a proposal. Many members spoke in favor of the motion.

The Premier moved the second reading of “ A Bill entitled an Act to empower the Legislatures of Provinces to pass laws authorising the raising of Loans upon certain conditions.” He said that the nature of the '•ill was indicated in the Financial Statement, ft had two objects. First: To secure competent local approval of certain classes of public works," and thus to free the House from the necessity of considering works as to the expediency of constructing which it was impossible for hon. members to. have au adequate knowledge. Second : To guard against such undertakings interfering with tho credit of the Colony in carrying out the great works it had undertaken. It was proposed that Provincial Councils should be empowered to authorise loans upon specific securities. It would be made clear by the Act that tho Colony was not liable for such loans, and it would also be made clear that neither in the technical nor the ordinary meaning of the word was any security given over the ordinary revenue of the Province by which any such loan might be authorised. A. Province would not be prohibited from making out of its ordinary revenue appropriations to meet liability consequent upon a loan of the kind, but the Provincial Council could not give to the lenders any priority of payment. The interest and principal on all loans under the Act would be made payable in How Zealand or in one of the neighboring Colonies. The purposes for which money might be raised were stated in clause 7, which was as follows :—“The construction, erection, or extension of buildings or works for any of the purposes or any of the description following, that is to say—schools, colleges, or other public educational institutions, or lunatic asylums, hospitals, harbor works, docks, jetties, wharves, quays, and buildings for other public purposes, the construction of roads, bridges, tramways or branch railways, waterworks, works for irrigation, water-races, sludge channels, drainage works, works for improvement of navigation of rivers, and tho reclamation of land; the purchase or acquisition of land as the sits or otherwise for such building or other works as hereinbefore in this section described.” For reclamations the security to be given would be over the land reclaimed ; for schools, lunatic asylums, and hospitals, over the respective endowments ; for public buildings, over the buildings and land; for wharves and harbor works, over the tolls and dues ; for roads and bridges, over tolls and a special rate ; for tramways and branch railways, over the proceeds of the traffic and a special rate ; for irrigation and drainage works, over the receipts and a special rate. The Act would contain careful provisions as to tho making of special rates, and none could be made without the consent of a majority in number and value of the ratepayers in the district within which each particular rate was to be in force. The Act would, in addition, enable the Assembly to set apart special blocks of land as security for loans for a specified work qr works. A loan account for each Province would be kept, into which receipts, such as rates, tolls, &c., would be paid, and to that account there would also be paid 15 per cent, of the land revenue of the Province, exclusive of gold-mining revenue, but inclusive of receipts under the New Zealand Settlements Act. The provision as to keeping the accounts, and for compelling officers to perform their duties, were very stringent. 'I ho hon. gentleman explained these and other provisions. The Act, he said, might not satisfy all the cravings for Provincial borrowing, but he contended that there was no useful work which it was desirable should be constructed out of Provincial loans which the Act would not enable to be constructed. It would do this without interfering with the credit of the Colony in connection with larger works. The necessity for the Act was rendered more apparent by the way in which representatives of the Provinces had been recently demanding powers to borrow, even to the extent of a million sterling in some cases. The Government regarded this Act as being in the fullest sense a Government measure. If there was to be a general election, they would be glad to submit the measure to the country, feeling sure that it would command the support of the country. He would add, however, that the Government did not desire to press for the immediate second reading of the Bill The hon. gentleman proceeded to explain certain modifications which the Go-

t0 vernment proposed to make in their policy as announced in the Financial Statement. Three principal features of the Budget were the substitution of ad valorem for measurement duties, proposals concerning Provincial loans, and proposals relating to those portions of the trunk railway which were at present unauthorised. To the first the effect of law had been given. He was no v dealing with the Government measure as U) the second ; and as to the third the Government were willing to propose important modifications. Readmitted that so to do would he to modify a portion of the policy which was strongly affirmed in the Budget speech ; and any hen. m mber who desired to take advantage of that fact, or of that admission, was fully entitled to do so. lie would state how the proposed modifications had been brought about. The Government had been given to understand that the representatives of some of the Provinces, and especially of Canterbury and Otago, entertained a strong objection to any of their lands being taken as security for trunk railways, but that they were willing, in lieu of those lands being taken, that the Colony should provide a landed estate for the North Island Provinces. This offer was not calculated to give early relief to the loan account, but it met one of the greatest difficulties with which the Government had to deal namely, the unequal position of the Provinces of the two Islands. Indeed, it was a far-sighted policy on the part of the Southern Provinces, and would some day return to them bounteously in the contribution the Northern Provinces wouid make to the general revenue of the Colony, The Government recognised that the advantages of the proposal were so great as to justify a departure on this point from the policy propounded earlier in the session. In other words, they accepted the proposal, though it would necessitate longer borrowing to comp’ete the trunk railways than would have been necessary if land had been taken from the Southern Provinces. It must (continued the hon. gentleman) be distinctly understood that the alteration does not affect the present position of the law which makes each Province liable for interest and ‘inking fund on the cost of the railway within its boundary. The lia bility of the land fund to annually provide interest will remain, hut we will not take land from Otago and Canterbury to bo turned into money in relief of part of the funds which have to be raised by Joan for their railways ; and we will return to Wellington and Hawke’s Bay the land which has been taken from them as special security. In respect to details, I have to say the Go vernment propose to substitute for the Budget proposal the following.—That authority should be given to borrow L 500,000 for the purchase of Native lands in the North Island. 'lbis amount, together with the L 200.000 already authorised, to be charged upon the Colonial revenue. The amount already authorised is expended or required to complete engagements. Its distribution therefore cannot be varied. But it is necessary to apportion the L 500,000, and the apportionment we propose is L 250,000 to Auckland ; L 130,000 to Wellington ; LBO.OUO to Taranaki; and L 50,000 to Hawke's Bay. We have given anxious consideration to the question whether we should retain control over the land, in order to devote it to meeting the railway charges of the North Island. We have come to the conclusion that it would he better to leave the Provinces of the North Island to deal with the land as the Provinces of the South Island do, and therefore, whenever free from difficulties, we propose that the purchased land shall be handed over to the several Provinces, with only this reservation : That the land should not be sold without auction for Jess than a pound an acre, or, with auction, at less than the price of ten shillings an acre. This is all wo can do this session, but we shall endeavor next session to obtain the concurrence of the North Island Provinces to reform the land law in the North Island. What I have said will apply equally to the land acquired out of the L 200,000. As to that out of.the 1500,000, I have finally to say that if the modification now submits dis not acceptable to the House, we are willing to adhere to the Budget proposal ; but we do not hesitate to recommend it in prefer ence to the policy I have described. It involves, it is true, some present cost to the Colony, and some apparent sacrifice on the part of the Middle Island, but time will vindicate it as an enlightened and noble step in the best interests of a future united New Zealand.—The debate was adjourned until to-morrow (Friday).

August 29.

After the Premier had moved the second reading of the Provincial Loans Bill, Mr Gillies said the House should accept the suggestion to adjourn the debate, in order to give time for the consideration of the new proposals. The debate was accordingly adjourned till to-day. The House went into Committee on the Licensing Bill: Clauses 17) 18, and 19 were passed. There was a long discussion on Clause 20, giving applicants for licenses the right to appear by agent on a medical certificate being produced. It eventually passed. Clause 23 was amended, so as to make the refusal of a license? compulsory on a memorial signed by not less than two-thirds of the adult residents of a district against the same being presented There was a discussion, and ultimately the amendment was carried by 21 to 11. On the question that the House go into Committee to consider the Southland Waste Lands Amendment Act, Mr Webster stated that, owing to the peculiar circumstances of the case, the Waste Lands Committee had passed the Bill hurridly, and expected a discussion on it in the House, The Committee had suggested amendments as follows Classification of land into agricultural or pastoral; the price within hundreds to be one pound per acre ; the Superintendent to he empowered tq make temporary reserves pending tbp meeting qf the Provincial Council; the lands to be set apart to bo dealt with according to the provisions of clauses 4(i to 64 of the Otago Waste Lands Act, 1872, and the laws in force at the passing of the Reunion Act, 1870, to remain in force unless repugnant to this Act. He spoke at length against the amendments, and urged the passing of the. Bill as originally introduced.—Mr T. L. Shepherd spoke in favor of the amendments, and land on deferred payments.—Mr J. L. Gillies supported the Bill because, though anxious to see the land settled, he would not support that g,t the sacrifice of the revenue. The mistake oi Southland had been disposing of land at a small price, thus giving it into the hands ol the sheep-farmer. The Bill was in accordance with the resolution of the Provincial

Council—Mr M'Gillivray had seen reason to doubt the value of the system of deferred payments. —Mr Tolinie objected to largo blocks of agricultural land being set apart for deferred payments.—The Minister of Public Works moved the adjournment of the debate, which was carried on a division, Mr Fitzherbert will present to-day a petition from the Messrs Brogden, praying for relief for loss incurred by them in introducing immigrants, on the following grounds 1. Because they entered into the performance of works in the belief that the Government, or the Agent-General, would not do anything to prejudice the tirm, 2. The firm had no reason to believe that the Government would vary the terms upon which they would carry on immigration as regards money payments. 3. The Agent-General led the firm to believe there would be no difficulty in recovering the passage-money, &c,, from the immigrants, 4. The firm was

led to understand that the extent of the works to be entrusted to them would require the full number of men named in the immigration agreement; whereas the works entrusted to the firm were not sufficient to employ the men actually introduced, and in consequence the firm was put to the expense of maintaining the men, though they had no works to employ them on. 5. After making the agreement with the firm, the Agent-General altered the terms upon which Government immigrants were introduced, and reduced the amount to be paid by the l;;t cr much below the amount the firm were obliged to charge in order to repay themselves the actual cost. 6. The Agent-General actually sent out Government immigrants in the same ship with the firm’s immigrants under terms much below the terms required from Messrs Brogden’a immigrants, thereby rendering the latter disappointed. 7. A large number of tb e firms immigrant’s deserted their employment, chiefly on account of the difference in amount they had to pay for passages. The total immigrants introduced by the firm was 1,229, of whom only 219 remained in the service of the firm. The rest have deserted. 9. The firm cannot trace those who deserted without very great expense, and law renders all proceedings abortive. 10. The Colony has had the service of a large body of men, to the serious loss of the firm. The Government will make a stand on the Provincial Loans Bill, and if defeated, will ask the Governor to grant a dissolution.

(FROM our special correspondent.) The Ministry intend to push their Loan Bill through the House. They consider they have a majority of eight, but that opinion is as yet unfounded. The Northern members are pleased at the idea of purchasing the Native estate, but some of the Southern members say that no Province can borrow on ns good terras as the Colonial Government. If the Bill does not pass, the Government will dissolve Parliament. They are prepared to make trivial, hut not material modifications in the Bill, which is of an innocent character, and does nob prevent Wellington or any other Province coming down to the House to obtain a loan under the sanction of the Assembly, Mr Fitzherbert and the Wellington members are satisfied with the allocation of the North Island loan; while the Auckland people think Mr Fitzherbert has thrown them over. The Auckland members think, according to population, revenue, and available land, their Province should have a greater amount allotted. There is a split in the Northern camp in consequence. The North island members are sullen.