GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Evening Star, Issue 3594, 29 August 1874, Page 2

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

[By Telegraph,] Wellington, August 28. Upon the House resuming last night, Mr J. L. Gillies moved that a return be laid upon the table showing the distribution of the million and a-half stated by the Premier to have gone in concessions to the Provinces to purchase their support for the public works and immigration policy. Mr Vogel thought this an attempt at a joke by the hon. member. Mr «P. L. Gillies : No, no. Mr Vogel said that year after year propositions had been made by private members or repredeniativei of the Provinces whish compelled the Minister of Works to deviate from the proposals so as to meet the immediate views of the Provinces, and agree to construct works not originally contemplated. It had originally been intended also that certain blocks of laud should be taken and made security for certain lands or advances, but that scheme had to be abandoned, and other plans fallen upon. It was also found that some gentlemen, after securing the railways to their own districts, ceased to think any others were required, and the consequence was that the concessions were unavoidable. When they had nine Provinces, they had a pressure; when they had only four Provinces there would be leis than one-half ®f the pressure. The hon. member (Mr J. L. Gillies), when he considered these things, would be able easily to ascertain how Hie million aud a-half went. Did not the hou. member for Avon know that the expenditure of L 500.000 for land in the North was made for the express purpose of saving the land fund of the South from being made security for the railway loan’—(dear, hear.) The combination the niue Provinces were able to make was too much for the General Government to contend agaiust, and the proof was contained in the Provincial Loans Bill. If the hou. gentleman examined the whole of the accounts of the ten million for himself, he would find no difficulty in discovering how the million and a half had gone. He thanked the hou. member for the opportunity of adding another chapter to the , history of those Colonial matters, which j ustii lied the recent policy of the Government with reference to the Provinces. ' r Mr Bolleston remarked that this last touch of the Premier revealed the whole policy of the Government, and explained its shifting, it was merely one of tho concessions to Provinces. The arguments of the hon. member would be appreciated by the independent members for the South Island, who had been dominated over by a majority whom the Premier had cajoled, and who had felt that domination with indignation. The hon. member now adopted a policy that was not his own ; the voice was the voice of Jacob, but the hand was the red hand they had seen in Colonial affairs for the past few years, 'these changes in the views of the Premier had occurred at the very moment when three leading items of his policy were under a crucial test—-his Native policy) hi* toy railways that would have to be made over again] and his immigration scheme, i

Mr J. E. Brown hid risen to express his Wonder as to what had occasioned the excitement of the hon member for Avon. The Premier, in fact, had raised the red rag of Centralism, and the hoi. member for Avon rushed at it like an excited bulb He defended those who had voted with the Premier as having acted ia as independent a manner as the hon. member for Avon. He considered the admission of the Premier damaging to him, and amounting to a con fession that Government had done that which they should not have done, with the solo object of retaining their seats. He wondered how such an admission could be made before the House. ' bi. Cracroft Wilson denounced in vehement terms the practice of the House rating the 1 rennet- and the Ministry for doing that which the House forced them to do. No dovernmeut that did not to some extent accommodate the House iu that way could exist a week against the pressure which w.-uld come upon them from all quarters, lie asked them to recollect when Judge Richmond, the clearest headed man pohti ca ly in the Colony, voluntarily resigned office sooner than bribe support hy giving some members L3OO a-year. Before the House attempted to read lessons on purity to the Government they should first act with purity and justice, and ret a good example. Although opposed to the present policy at first, he would help to carry out what the House and the country chose to sanction, and if it was to be a failure he hoped it would not fail through unjustifiable obstructions. He wanted it to stand or fall upon its merits.—(Loud applause). The Premier brought down a Bill to authorise the advance «f L6i),(- 00 to < >tago, to assist m the construction of light lines of railway. Mr Vogel said, if the House next session should agree to the scheme proposed in the Bill, the LbO,OOI) now proposed wou d go towards the purchase of Proviucial railways in Otago ; if the House did rot agree, the money would go as an advance to tuat Province, in the same way as advances to other Provinces. He pointed out that it was proposed this year to advance not less than B *BI,OOO to the Provinces from the consolidated revenue, in addition to the L' 0,000 to fie Province of Wellington, L 50.000 to the goldfields of the Thames, 1.58,000 for immigration purposes, and L 50.000 for roads in the Aorth Island. The Colony had providentially been prosperous enough this year to enable the Government to make these advances. Mr Macaudrew thanked the Government for its anxiety to ass st Otago, but he desired it to be understood that it was not the fault of that Province, but of the legislation of the General Assembly, that Otago was in the humiliating position of having to ask for assistance. The Otago Public Works Allowance Bill was then brought in and „aased through all its stages Mr Vogel, at five minutes past ten, moyed an adjournment till half-past twelve o'clock on Saturday. In the Legislative Council, In answer to Mr Waterhouse, Dr Pollen said a proposition had been made of an imperfect and unsatisfactory chaiacter for tho a temporary Ca’ifornian service. The break-down had been so sudden that there hj id been no time tor anything else but telegraphic communication. Ihe Government had been invited to concur with New South Wales to establish a temporary s- rvice ; but arrangements were so imperfect that it was better for the Go vernmont to stand aside for the present and allow the complication between the contractors to clear itself. It was the intention of the Government, at the earliest possible opportunity, to make arrangemen- s for a permanent service ; in the meantime cartwould be taken that there was no interruption iu the postal communication iu the mails to be forwarded by Suez. The Appropriation Bill passed. On the s coud reading of the Otago Public Works Advances Bill, Mr Waterhouse expressed his surprise at seeing Otago going in for the general scramble for the crumbs from the rich man’s table, ihe Government would soon have to assume charge of that Province. Captain Fraser said the people of Otago would decline to receive eleemosynary aid.° Ihe second reading parsed, Messrs Erase; and Chamberlain being the only dissentients.