PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Issue 3489, 29 April 1874, Page 3

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Wednesday, April 29.

The Speaker took the chair at noon to-day. There was a good attendance of members. Prayer having been read, the Speaker read a letter from his Honor the Superintendent, informing the Council of the election of Mr Donald Henderson and Mr O. 8. Reeves, in the room of the Hon. J. L. C, Richardson and Air John Bathgate resigned. Hia Honor the Superintendent arrived about ten minutes past twelve o’clock, and read the following address:—

Mb Speaker and Gentlemen op the Provincial Council,— It is unnecessary for me to address you at any great length upon the present occasion, or to anticipate the detailed information as to the affairs of the Province which will be conveyed to you by the various departmental reports to be laid on the table, and the statements to be made by my responsible advisers when the estimates are submitted. It must be gratifying to lis all to know that the past year has been one of marked prosperity, and that throughout the Province generally the manifestations of protress have never peen greater than at present, 'he trade returns, both of exports and imports, exhibit a satisfactory increase, with the exception of gold, whiph shows a slight decrease upon the past year. This is to be accounted for fro-" the circumstance that many of the miners have availed themselves of the high wages which pave been capped upon the railway contracts. Tho immigration from fho United Kingdom during the twelve months ending 31st March has amounted to 4,407; while there have been bom in the Province during the same period 3,168.

The gross total of the Consolidated Revenues of the Colony collected in Otago during the period in question amounts to L 436.147, the wholeof winch, as you are aware, goes into the Colonial Treasury. Out of this the Province has been credited with L 55.580 as capitation allowance. The payments into the Provincial Treasury daring the year amount to L 451,425, whilst the expenditure has been L 376.607. There have been sold daring the year 258,849 acres of agricultural land, to 404 purchasers; of town land, the sales have amounted to 1,625 acres, to 596 purchasers; of agricultural lease areas on goldfields there have been granted 30,000 acres to 320 lessees. On perusing the accounts for the past year, it will be seen that, with very few exceptions, the whole of the appropriations on the main Estimates towards public w. rks have been either expended, or are now under contract. Most of the sums on the Supplementary Estimates have likewise been expended. The contract price of public works, owing to the scarcity of labor, has in very many instances exceeded the vote; there was, however, no option but either to leave the Works in abeyance or to sanction the excess. I may here observe that, in my opinion, the amount of labor and responsibility which now devolve upon the Public Works Department are much greaterthan we are warranted in imposing. •I propose, therefore, that tho construction of

railways, of which, it is to be hoped, we shall have not a few constantly in hand, be made a separate branch of the Department, and that provision be made accordingly. Besides the Appropriation Bill and the few Bil|a of a formal'nature which will he submitted 1 to you, there Several very important pupations with which you will be called upon to deal. Of these, I would refer especially to the deepening of Dunedin Harbor. Considerable attention has lately been bestowed upon this subject, and sundry professional reports thereon have been obtained. It has been suggested that the work of deepening the Harbor should be undertaken by a Trust, out of moneys to be borrowed on security of Harbor dues and of the Provincial revenue. The Government has been requested to introduce a Bill for the constitution of a Trust. Before taking any action in the matter, it is deemed advisable to ascertain your views upon the subject. There can be no ?[uestxoh as to the benefits which would accrue rom the proposed work, and proposals will therefore be brought before you with the view of immediately proceeding with it, either through the medium of a Trust, or directly by . the Government, While upon this subject it may be observed that your resolution .of last s’essiohj whereby it : was proposed to reclaim 100 Acres in Dunedin Harbor as a Harbor endowment, has not as yet beenacted upon; the limited Slipply of labor during the past year rendered tt'dnpxpfcdiept fo gd pn With iihc ? Whr& ft is Hoped; however, that labor may shortly be sufficiently plentiful to enable thus reclamation to be prosecuted with advantage. Copies of correspondence between the Otago University Council and myself will be submitted to you, from which It will be seen that, in the event of your consenting to the granting a suitable site on the old Cemetery Reserve, the present University building might be disposed of, and the proceeds applied to the erection of an edifice more suitable for University purposes, within the walls of which ample provision might be made for the residence of both professors and students, The complete su cess of the University depends very much upon such provision being made, and I venture strongly to recommend the matter to your favorable consideration. Should you concur in this proposal, a Bill will at once prepared to give effect thereto. _ While upon this subject, I cannot refrain from expressing my regret that the Council and professors have agreed to relinquish the powers and the status conferred upon the University by the Provincial Legislature, for the problematical advantage of being connected with the University of New Zealand. I can only hope that the result of the negotiations now pending between <jhe tw} bodies may turn out pettier wwn may he anticipated,

Last session you authorized the erection of a Normal School for the training ef teachers. The difficulty of procuring a suitable site has caused considerable delay in this matter. You will be glad to learn that this obstacle has now been overcome, and that the building will be proceeded with at once. I need not say that much advantage may be anticipated to our educational system from having a regular supply of duly trained teachers, and- from increased inspection. Notwithstanding the large sum voted last year for educational purposes, the amount has been found to be far short of our daily_ increasing requirements ; and I am still of opinion that it would be a wise course to adopt my recommendation of last session, and to some extent, at least, to throw on posterity the_ burden of providing school accommodation, which is as much for the future as for the present.

An amount was voted last year towards a Geological Survey of the Province, and you will no doubt be glad to learn that we have succeeded in engaging a gentleman who is eminently qualified to perform this service. Some time has necessarily been occupied at the outset in preliminary operations, but the systematic survey of the Province is now being proceeded with. In connection with the Geological Survey, Museum, and proposed School of Mines, you will be asked to vote a sum sufficient for the erection of a suitable building, the present accommodation in the University building being totally inadequate. I desire to solicit your assent to a vote which

will be submitted, with a view to providing for the Province a Reformatory School, for the reception of children and young criminals, under proper classification, who cannot be admitted into the Industrial School without contaminating the inmates of that institution, who as a rule consist moie of neglected than of criminal children. Considerable difficulty has been experienced from the want of the means of separating the two classes. There is no portion of the public expenditure from which the Province will reap a greater return than that devoted to the Industrial School, and I am not without hope that very shortly the institution will be to a large extent self-supporting.

In pursuance of the provisions of the Southland Waste Lands Act Amendment Act, 1873, the land in the Southland district has been classified, under which classification the district comprises 204,211 acres, which may be‘acquired at 40? an acre, and 696,000 acres, which may be acquired at the rate of 20» an acre. There is also power to set aside not exceeding 30,000 acres in any one year for sale on deferred payments, at 25s an acre. Out of the 204,211 acres of 40s land, it is proposed to reserve from sale 102,800 acres, with the view of the same being dealt with on the principle of deferred payment.

Cast session, on my recommendation, you agreed to request the Governor to proclaim four additional Hundreds, situate on certain runs. So soon as the boundaries were defined by survey, application was made to have the Hundreds proclaimed. I regret to say. however, that after a lapse of six months it was discovered that the proposed Hundreds could not be proclaimed in consequence of the precise boundaries not having been 'defined either in my recommendation or in your resolution, I need not say that it was impossible to have defined the boundaries more exactly than was done at the time. As it is, the precise delineation will be at once submitted for your approval, when it is hoped the proclamation will issue forthwith. The correspondence and opinions on this subject will be laid before you. Your concurrence will be solicited towards the proclamation of further Hundreds. The proposed new Hundreds, together with some 60,000 acres, which it is hoped will be opened on deferred payment during the year, with the further addition of various agricultural lease blocks throughout goldfields, will, it is expected, fully meet the demands of settlement for the time, being. Last session a Bill was passed by the House of Representatives extending the area of land which may be taken in any one year on deferred payment from 30,000 to 100,000 acres. This Bill was not passed by the Legislative Council, It is proposed to renew the application next session, and also to provide that where there are more than one applicant for deferred payment sections, the selection will be submitted to auction.

' I would strongly urge upon your consideration the expediency of raising the price of land, as contemplated under the provisions of the Waste Land Act. I feel persuaded that such a step, while it would greatly curtail land speculation, would in no wise check bona fide settlement. I submit that, with main roads and railroads penetrating the country in all directions, land is better worth L 5 an acre now than it was worth os when it was inaccessible. Certainly, if early settlers paid L2 an acre when there was not a road in tho Province, that figure cannot fairly be considered too high now. It appears to me that if future immigrants into the country, and those who will be from year to year gradually emerging from the labor market, as well as our children, are to have the opportunity of acquiring land, we are in duty bound to husband the public estate by raising the price, as has been partially done in th* case of the Southland District, and, so as to assimilate our terms to those of the neighboring Province of Canterbury. Another question of vital importance to which I would solicit your attention is that of water rights oh goldfields ; a very serious conflict is impending between the mining and other interests in respect to this matter. The Executive Government has been appealed to, but does no! see that it would be justified in allying itself with any one interest in the Province as against another. The whole question is exceedingly embarrassing, and I confess I can see no satisfactory solution of it unless by mutual compromise and concession on the part of the various interests concerned. If in your wisdom you can devise any means of meeting the difficulty, I shall be glad. The subject is one which can be dealt with authoritatively by the Colonial Legislature only, with whom your views would, no doubt, have considerable influence.

The enormous demand for timber which has of late years sprung up has attracted attention to the value of eur forests, and to the importance of_ conserving and utilising them, The subject is at present engaging the attention of the Colonial Government, with a view to legislation by the General Assembly, In the meantime the folly of free-granting the forests, containing as they do timber worth thousands of pounds an acre, to be turned into caloric, has so forcibly presented itself to my mind that I have allowed the provisions of the Special Settlement Act to stand very much in abeyance, a course of action in which it is hoped you will concur, the more especially as the number of these who have applied to take advantage of the Act has been almost nil. There can be no question that this Province possesses in its forests a mine of wealth, the value of which it is difficult to estimate, and which, as population increases, will no doubt be turned to profitable account.

Next to conserving our forests, perhaps the most important problem-to be solved at the present time is how'best to deal with the'auriferous lands of the Province. As yon are aware, all lands, the freehold of which is now being acquired from the Crown, is liable to be resumed for mining purposes; The question whifch it behoves us seriouslj to consider, is— W ( h e gp}d to jie Extracted without destroying for ever tup surface of the soil, and without the footstep of the alluvial miner leaving desolation behind it ? No one who travels the goldfields can help being struck with the many fertile spots which have been rendered barren. My own strong conviction is that the only practical remedy against the evil for the future is, that the miner should possess the freehold of the land in which he is mining. In this case he would have a strong inducement to preserve and replace the surface soil. No doubt this suggesuon is surrounded with practical difficulties, ineyare difficulties, however, which I venture fW l] s^ lgh * be over , como 5 and I feel assured that, if the miners could see their own interests. u “ anlm ously petition the Legislature this suggestion given effect to, there wouldbe no necessity for miners’ rights, goldfields staff, or gold duty. In what has. been said, I hope I shall not be regarded as seeking to underrate or depreciate the mining I desire is to attach the mining population to the soil, to give them an interest in preserving it, so that it may produce to themselves and those who succeed them, golden grains in all time coming, after the precious metal shall have been extracted.

- Last year I submitted to yon a proposal, by whiqh the Dunedin Lunatio Asylum might be readied to a great extent BelLsustaiaing, and

the personal comfort of the patients, as well as their chance of recovery, promoted; the subject, however, seems to have escaped your notice. I venture to hope that you will this session enable me to carry the proposal in question into effect. If so, provision can at the S A ,m ? me !? e ma de for a special portion of the Asylum being set apart for inebriates. Gentlemen. —The various branch railways authorised by you last session have been contracted for at rates which, looking at the advance in the price of labor and materials, may be considered satisfactory. You will be asked to sanction further important branch lines this session, among which may be enumerated the following : —From the main line, up the Valley of the Waihemo, across the Taieri Plain to uutram, to the Tokomairiro and Eaitangata coalfield, through the island of Inch Clutha, an “ to Tapanui, and to the Night-cap coalfields. It is hoped that the whole of these branches may be completed as soon as' the main lines, to which they will act as important feeders. Instead of forcing land into the market to pay for these lines, I would propose that power be applied for to the General Assembly at its next session to raise money on loan for their construction upon the security of specific blocks of land. Last year, as you are aware, a Bill was passed through the House of -Representatives authorising, subject to your approval, an extension of the Lawrence line to the Dunstaii, the money to be raised upon specific security in the shape of a block of land contiguous to the line; this Bill, however, was thrown out in the Legislative Council. I shall bo glad to know your opinion relative to the proposed extension, with a view to further action in the matter. My own opinion is that in many respects the line in question should be regarded as a main trunk line, opening np, as it will, the whole interior of the Province, ihe very large increase of traffic on the Southland line renders it absolutely necessary that a considerable expenditure should be at once incurred on additional plant, on storage, and on

extension ofthe wharf at Campbelltown. It will also be requisite to i educe the gauge from Campbelltown to Win ton to 3ft 6in, and to assimilate the rolling-stock thereto, for which expenditure you will be asked to provide. The additional pier accommodation now in progress at Port Chalmers will, it is believed, when completed, largely increase the traffic on the Dunedin and Port Chalmers line. As it is, the returns during its first year, which were estimated at L 22,000, have amounted to L 21,553 ; while the expenditure has exceeded the estimate by L 4,166. Of this amount a considerable proportion ought, strictly speaking, to be charged against the capital account, being for outlay incidental to the making of a new line, until it has become consolidated and got into working order. There are various other matters bearing upon the public interest in different parts of theProvmce to which I might be expected to allude, and which I should be glad to refer ; but as, in to common with the questions to which I have directed your attention, these must be submitted to your consideration specifically during the session, I shall refrain from doing so, and for the same reason I would suggest that the US ’th Address may be dispensed Gentlemen, I now declare this Council open for the despatch of business.

On the motion of Mr Turnbull, his Honor’s address was held as read. The Speaker laid on the table a catalogue of papers in connection with the Southland .Provincial Council. He enumerated the classes into which the papers were divided by the Clerk of the Council, who had devoted considerable time and pains to their arrangement, and spoke highly of the manner in which the work was done. Corresponce between the Speaker and Mr E. B. Cargill respecting portraits of her Majesty and the late Prince Albert. Mr Daniels presented a petition from Kirkman und party, Urepuki. Messrs Stout, H. Clark, and Fish gave notices of questions. Mr lolmib presented a report of the standing Orders Committee, which was ordered to be printed. Mr stout gave notice of a motion respecting the manner in which the reports of the Council had been printed by Messrs Mills, Dick, and Co. Mr Dayie gave notice of a motion to be brought forward to-morrow for taking borings of the Dunedin harbor. Several other notices were given for the appointment of the usual formal Committees.

On the motion of Mr Turnbull, the Standing Orders were suspended for the appointment of a House Committee, which was assented to by the House, and the Committee was appointed. Message hie. I from his Honor the Superintendent was read, asking that a block ol land might be set aside in connection with Orepuki railway. Mr Lumsden moved the supension of the Standing Orders, to enable him to move that no further sales be proceeded with in Southland until the opinion of the Council should be expressed as to the price at which land should be sold.

The motion was opposed by Mr Reynolds The . ecrktary tor Public Works said the Government were willing to postpone the date of gazetting the sale of the lands. The Provincial Secretary expressed his willingness to do so, if the postponement were legal.

The Provincial Secretary laid on the table several Departmental Reports. The Goldfields secretary laid on th® table several reports by Captain Hutton, the Provincial Geologist, and a geographical map so far as it had been complet d. Mr M‘Dermid asked how far the Council was bound by the recommendation of his Honor to dispense with the usual reply. The Provincial secretary said rhe Executive concurred in the course suggested, and were not prepared to move an address in reply.

The Speaker ruled that it was competent for any member to move a reply to the Address.

Un the motion of the Provincial Secretary, the Council adjourned at J. 15 to 2 o’clack to-morrow.