PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Issue 3806, 6 May 1875, Page 3

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Wednesday, May 5,

Afterthodivision, theSPEAKEReIcct, expressed his thanks to tho Council for tho renewal of its expression of confidence in him. He felt it a very high honor indeed in the peculiar circumstances in which the vote had been taken. He believed those who had spoken and voted against his re-election did so conscientiously ; and he specially thanked them for the handsome way in which they testified to the confidence in and appreciation of the manner in which he had previously performed his duties. Whilst he had been a member of the Council he hail endeavored not only to realise that he was member for a particular district, and that he was elected to do his duty to that district as far as possible, but he had always endeavored to permit a feeling of that kind from militatin', against what he believed to be for the good of the whole Province. Although a fear had been expressed that Ids connection with a particular body would influence him in favor of that body, he hoped that hon. members would look back_ again upon hia past career ami judge by it as to what was likely to take place in connection with that body. While in the chair he would endeavor to act as Speaker, and not as member for Milton or as the Secretary to the Harbor Board.—-(Applause). A discussion motion by the Provincial

Secretary, to suspend the standingfirders, which require the proposer of the Speaker-elect to wait upon the Superintendent for his confirmation of the Council’s choice, was cut short by the Speaker reading prayers and the Council proceeding to business. The Government laid on the table several reports (Gaols Dunedin and Invarcargill : ' 'aptuiu Hutton, <m the Geological apartment; Inspector of Southland Forests ; Harbo, Board ; and Railways) and a number of ) eti lions were presented from settlors iu Strath Taieri. In moving the reply In the Address--which was in the main an echo of the openin'.' speech, and by way of introduction warmly congratulated his Honor on being “spared to see the prosperity so often predicted by himself so fully realised,” nud on conclusion concurred “ in the opinion that any organic change of the Constitution ought to be made in a carefully guarded manner, and only after duo deliberar tion, and that we should be better informed as to what organisation is proposed to supersede the existing institutions before agreeing to any change Mr Armstrong sensibly alluded only to the subjects in which he was most interested —education and tire goldfields. On the first hj - was outspoken. No measure that would in his opinion be incompatible with the rcl - gions libelty of ;<ny of his fellow colonists would haAe his support. And. as a gohltie'd . member, ho was pleased to see the Govei nmem at last alive to the fact that a little scienSim: assistance would be a benefit to the goldfields. He did not, however, anticipate -as much bon ■ lit as his Honor seemed to do from Mr Ulrich'.Hying visit around our goldfields. From I,r establishment of a School of Minos, howcwi small it might be, he expected a great deal, an ■ should the proposal be carried out, he wo-mi suggest that qualified mining surveyors ;■< placed under the head of that department. The reply found a seconder in Mr Mood>, tin uewly-electad member for Moeraki, who decliiu d to avail himself of this opportunity of showing his debating powers. The attack on the address was led off by Mr M'Glashan, who condemned the allusions in it to the abolition of Provl cos as an electioneering manifesto. As a member of the first Provincial Council, he though i the time for a change had come; that an extension of the Shires system and general establis’unoi ! of road boards, as the Provincial Secret ha I advocated, would secure all that Provincial Governments at present did, and in a much better manner. While the member for North Harbor confined his remarks to the abolition question, Mr Fish went over the whole speech. The reference to the gold duty he considered a surreptitious bid for the support of goldfields members, the Government well knowing that with themselves the initial action for reduction or abolition must be made. The proposed permissive education tax he would vigorously oppose, as he considered it should be univci sal and imperative, and he deprecated any inter ference by the Council with our present educa tional system. The absence of any refereuc -1< the Peninsula and Ocean Beach railwa>- 1. regarded as ominous. With Mr Ai'instroi.,:. b, did not think much good would result from Mi Ulrich’s flying visit; and he trusted more attention would be paid in future to the mining industry. In conclusion, ho argued strongly and at length in favor of Provincial abolition. At the evening sitting the Government had the talking almost to themselves. The Goldfields Secretary explained khe action the Government had taken, in reference to the gold duty. < They thought it wwo first to ascertain what method woukt most with the approval of the Colonial Government, and accordingly a letter was scut !o the •

stating plainly and distinctly that tlr* f’iovincial Government was quite prepared to place a sum on the Estimates to provide for the partial reduction of the gold duty, oi forego it entirely, upon receiving an assurance from the General Government as to a method which would meet their approval. The Provincial Secrktary directed himself to answering Mr Pish, with whom he differed on the abolition of Provb ces and education questions in that he approved of the fullest amount of local control being given to every district He was for giving to Road Boards, counties’ and educational districts the power of selfrating, which was not at all antagonistic to the continuance of Provincial institutions. He had always favored the continuance of Provincialism until the people within any Provino\ bv majority of the members of their V . Council, desired the abolition of their ■ .

cial instit l '.■ , ii ,t priimiple I;.* had alien ly .sup mr ed anil would endeavor to have carried into eftuct. If the Council chose to decree that thepeople were not competent to administer their own affairs ; that they had no confidence in a Superintendent and Council elected by thetnaelveag but would rfithur hu-vo a Minister, who would he the representative of a clique in the Assembly, and who would have no interest at all in the Pro/ince—making a tour through the Province at a laige expense together with a resident agent and a few engineers to stand between the Government mid. themselves, they were quite free to express such an opinion ; but he thought it would be a humiliating expression He did not think they would be reflecting much credit either upon their constituents or themselves if they asserted that such a state of things would he better than their present representative system. The Provincial Treasurer said ditto to a great deal that his chief said, and pointed out that if the laud was to be disposed of by the Central Government, the sale of it in large blocks would be carried ou with a vengeance. There was no doubt that would hail with satisfaction a plan for the simplification of their present insfcitu tions, hut he did not think the present propose! could be regarded as likely to effect that olqec After some of the lesser lidits, of w!:mu' the principal were Mr Reeves (who admitted that a change was necessary, but thought reform was needed, not at the bottom of their institutions but in the constitution of tic supreme l.egi.-la-tnie, and who althougn not an out-and-out Pro* vincialist, would not be an abolitionist until he saw what was to take the pi ce of the Provinces.) Mr De Latour (who expressed the opinion that Provincialism stood in the way of a healthy public opinion, and if the question of the total abolition of the Provinces were put to the Council firmly, that they would almost unanimously be in favor of the proposal), and Mr M'Deumid (who asserted that if Port Chalmers always regarded as one of the strongholds of 1 rovmoialism were polled a majority of its inhabitants would vote in favor of abolition) c:vme the Provincial Solicitor, hittin- ad round and very argumentative The prop’ red education tax he regarded a,s a to .t of the sincerity of those bun. membeis who talk. ! so much about local self-government, road b ~',l-; and counties. If a general rate for educate, why not for roads? Wlmre was the lino to be drawn? And when the Provinces were abolished, what was to become of tho ra! . ' ; ! - presumed it would become a Colon! which implied that the people of the Pio.ine.would be losing part of the local cont; .. ihly now possessed. Catching from the members for North Harbor and Dunedin the c ;e tin for Provincialism counties should bo mbsti tuted, Mr Stout pointed out that there was a Counties Ordinance, but none hail been proclaimed. Was it statesmanlike, be asked, that tho County system should be forced, ou tho people if they do not desire it ? Under tho Highway Boards Ordinance the goldfield; could have farmed themselves into Koa-1 Boards. Why had they not done so ? If tin v had thought local control was so necessai v, why not avail themselves of the provisions offered by the Provincial Council ? I hat they had not done so was conclusive argument, notwithstanding tho opinion of one or two goldfields members, that they believed they would be better treated by the Pxovinci-d Council than they would be by a Local Bon d for any special district. Lastly, he look,, I upon our land revenue as a less impqitant matter than the splitting up of the laird int * small sections, by which he meant settlement The monopoly of the land would not be r (luced so long as the land was managed in We: lington. Wln'ii they found that in tlie pa : whatever alterations were made on our la: d laws were in favor of the capitalists and pastoral lessees tyj agapist thg srnalj holders, had they any right to assume that this system would suddenly cease when the Central Government got all the powers into its bind*? Shortly before ten o’clock the adjournur-urt of the debate was moved by Mr Turton. A string of motions was got through be inadjourning, and the following Bills were i . .. 1 second thru*: --Cromwell Reserves .Mai--ge-nient, Lawrence Reserves Managenmui, Gog

Nuisance {Southland) Repeal, Tokomairito School Residence ar.il Glebe T-md Sale Val'i lation. It was sjc-ree Ito recommend reserves at C ampbeltowu, ior an education endowment ; at Wiuton, M mngatna, Table Hill an.l Lawrence, £•«• school sm ;at West Hawkesbury for recreation pur; 1 -ms ; anti at Wallacetowh fur a quarry. Thursday, May (1. Mr i itkt<i" j exp’. -u il tint if he could have been pivbeni. yci r.la.y when the division tooiv place upon ;he ciectioij of a. Speaker, lie would have vot 1 with tin- noes. In answer to piwi ions, the oovenune it stated —(I) There was a general fixed principle in subsiding special n.t ■,: at the same time special eases received special consideration. This year lids was paid for every LI collect'd a.-i gemuM rates. Tim t. .vernment would nut determine at the beginnm; of the year what the subsidy would actually be. It was intended to give lbs in the £. and if there was a balance left at the end <>f the year it would be distributed l;ro r,ira among, the diuerent districts yi.) The delays in completing the surveys were owing, in some instances, to the small staff; and in others to 1 1re sections being isolated, which necessitat' d their ac r onuLv i:on until Lin. : ewer e enough to send a siuveyor to the disi.net. Grea er inconvenience ha I he n fdt in «. nthlaud than in Otago pioper, and in most cases it had been felt by people who had purchased sections or pastoral occupat m, and no harm ;onld result in s icb can s, if the surveys stood wer tor some lime. The Governin'nt bad oaken steps to carry on the surveys in Sonthand Mom eilcctivoly, ~ud an a< ditT cd sur•eyoi had h-vii despa'dual to that district. rhej T had tried a far as possible to * verts ,;e the surrey work by ciunloyiuv; every person .vlmbalqu litied himse t for the post -i surveyor, whils a large quantify of laud had bei-u snvveye i by contract during the^y(Mr. (d ) That the .vho’.e of the bonus of L2oO for the establishment of pottery works had been paid, L7d on the 21st October last and the balance in Febnuiy last to Mr White! of Milton, The person in Southland who claimed the bonus had not complied with the advertised conditions relative to buildings, &c. A committee brought up the draft of the address intended to be presented to the < ioveraor, and it was explained that his 'excellency won 1 i be consulted as to whether it woo d be mere convenient to 1 oceivo it at the vice-regal residence or in the Council Chamber. Mr Tukton objected to praying to *■ linigbty God” for tJio blessings of health and happiness to the Marquis and Lady Norinanby, saying that it was not right that such words should appear iu a formal address from a secular body. His proposition to strike out the words found no seconder. . Sevomi motions having been disposed of, the adi urn-'1 deba c mi the reply to the Address wa- ca. led on hortly after 4 o’cl ck, at winch time there were only seventeen mcmbeis present. . i Tcrton being among the absent. While.Mr Wood’s proposition toad ]onrn the debate was being discussed, Mr Ti;nrox put in an appeal a.ice, and at once proceeued u» speak, He was so engaged when our reporter left.