PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Issue 3829, 2 June 1875, Page 3

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Tuesday, June 1,

The Goldfields Committee reported On the petition of twenty-four residents at the Upper Taieri, Linburn, and Serpentine, who prayed for the opening of certain blocks of land under the Agricultural Lease Regulations—that the case was deserving of special consideration, with a view te granting the petitioners such relief as the nature of the country in their neighborhood will admit. (2.) On the petition of twenty-six residents of Miller’s Flat and neighborhood, who prayed for the erection of a bridge over Minzion Burn—that the matter should be referred to the Government. (3.) Ou the petition of Messrs Cooper Brothers, who seek compensation for losses said- to have been sustained by them in connection with loss of certain water-rights on the Maerawhenua goldfield thatthe petitioners may have a claim for compensation, but the Committee is not in a position, without asking for the evidence of Cooper Brothers and report on the evidence of the Warden, to determine definitely on the subject j that the production of such evidence would involve delay and considerable expense, and could be more effectively attained by the Government \ and that if such evidence and report were obtained, the Government would be in a position to determine the case—it was therefore recommended that the petition be enquired into and determined by the Government. (4.) On the petition of 133 miners and others of Bannockburn and Garrick ranges, praying that a block of land might be set apart as commonage on the south side of the Kawarau River—that the- Committee could not see its way to make a distinct recommendation in the matter, but would suggest that, if an arrangement could not be arrived at with the runholder to tolerate the unavoidable trespass of tre necessary cattle and horses belonging to residents in the district, a commonage should he set apart in such a way as to injme the run as little as passible.

8 27 en 0 when the ito confidence motion oi Mr Eeid was called on, there was a full house and InUor galleries. Indeed, the interest taken hy the public in the debate was, unusually strong; and there were more auditors at its finish, at two tl.is at an y day’s sitting this session. Mr nn,^<.s^ eeCh i Wtt i ß like all his speeches when in oi3S.ii lo 3 ely r ® aß oned, telling, occasionally m^ e tbp V r a ouu^fi tl + C ’ and delivered. In ask+^rntP+w C li, tO n Upi)oTfc tlis motion, he undertook had not fulfilled their KTer-esiSg thTS^Jf fairly meeting the *cMnVo? SouthW u theiJ appropriations; they had been attacked in referafee to the Peninsula and Ocean Beach railwnv Education Bill, aud the late Provincial Secretly had been .charged with having too muchTo whence public works had been delayed* Answeang the first and last simultaneously he asserted that ah compared with previous years works had been pressed forward with unusual de4Patch; and that m undertaking more offices than

he could fairly fill, as had been alleged, he had been excelled by the member for Tuapeka. The second charge was refuted by the Estimates of the present Government, which did not show a single item of reduction whilst the revenue was proposed to be relieved of L2S.CDO; and the estimated laud revenue been increased by L50,C00, and school fees by L 1,500. The business of the country had been brought to a standstill for fourteen days in order to enable a new Government to remodel the Estimates and to give justice to Southland! And with what result ? That the amount voted for the district had been increased by L 4,680. When it was borne in mind that the sums actually expended would probably be in excess of the sums on the late Estimates, ic would be seen that they bad been playing at a palpable and transparent farce. Then the late Government had been accused by the member for Dunedin (Mr Fish) of having promised to give the Ocean Beach and Peninsula Railway Company land to the value of L 5.000 or L 6.000, but he maintained there was no proposal of the sort. There were proposals by the company to construct a railway on lands belonging to the Crown on certain conditions, but that proposal was never completed, owing to reasons he could not account for. Comparing the Estimates of the two Governments, much in the manner we did yesterday, he said the result of the Treasurer’s manipulation was that there had been a total increase on roads and works of L 4.383, and a decrease of L2S,CDO on school buildings. Amid much laughter he compared the Executive sitting in solemn conclave to the soothsayers mentioned by Cicero, who, when they stared each other iu the face, found it difficult to keep from laughing; but the House rang again when hj e pictured the Executive assuring the member for Waihopai that everything was ri-jht; and that hoi) gentleman saying in the most doleful strain that they were quite sure they understood each other. Commenting next on the composition of the Government, he argued that the effect of a greater distribution of political offices would be to increase the work of subordinate officers and to bring a corresponding increase of red rape, delay, expense, and even greater risk of error. He was pai ticulariy anxious to know what the duties of the Commis sioner of Railways were. Discussing the educational question, he strongly condemned the proposal to mortgage the Quoting from a return of the cost of our educational system \°* four quiaquenuioal periods of 1860, while in 1860, there were 583 scholars, at a total eo ® of L 2,633 19s5d; in 1865, 2,793 schoiarsfat a total buildings and salaries, L 6,514; in 1870, 5,631 scholars—every five years the number of itself—at a total cost of P, 9 - 131 - . 18/4 there were 10,665 scholars, at a total cost of L 42.843. This year a total expenditure Of L 51,297 was proposed. Taking into consideration the zees which had been increased bytbe Government—he did not know on what grounds, whether secured or not—Ll,soo, the total revenue from the large educational reserves of half a million of acres would be L 11.580. In the face of tins, and the fact that our educational system for salaries of district school teachers alone amounted to L 2.652 per annum, out of a total revenue of only LH.OOO was it right to forestall the future of this revenue and to create a burden upon it of L 2.100 per annum, which, out of LII.OOO, was a very large sum? We-"® they tft take this course when the country was in as prosperous a position as they were likely to he to supp our educational system—were they to use it exclusively {or thomcelves, or to hand that estate forward un encumbered, without taking anything from the pimci l T ' a * 811,111 ? It was the duty of the Council to hand this .estate forward unencumbered iu the slightest degree, V I l ® felt confident that that would be the decision °f the Council. With regard to the question of edncatiJ' n itself > the presence of the member for Dunedin on the government Benches was a standing menace to it if’d to higher education in The Provincc. When Mr Reid resumedhis seat, a motion to proceed to the oroers of the day was movedjby MtJDeLatoue, and it having been negatived, Mr Bastings entered upon alongexplanatiou to show how the present position had been forced upon him at one time by M r Reid at another by Mr Turnbull (who had not acted “ the clean thing , to him), and Mr Tolmie, and lastly by ?. im , sel £ w ho, had he been imbued with the patriotic fee’mg he claimed to have, could have avoided the existing state of things. Answering the member for the Taieri’s inquires as to what the political heads, and particularly of railways, had to cio, he said it was plain our railways needed special villdTlOOflfri? hiS yea • they were ejected to an expenditure of L 56,000. What he found fault with Mr Reid f«r was that he was always taking the word of heads of departments instead of attending to matters him- • , He w ®uld say of any man, whoever he might at i t eA h ?'- d ot , a department, that it everything was left to his sole supervision and control, business would never be done in so thorough a “ a -e. ne V’. as lf there were supervision and control Ho £ oul ? say ’ without hesitation, tnat, as far as the lands were concerned. Mr Reid was a hard-working administrator himTi t’ r^w hS i H d *i, had a IO J - of teovea about him. •mv ?T?n C p 1 of , the remaining speeches were by Mr MDermid (who thought some behind the scenes pulled the Government), by Mr ToSbuil ( wffo elicited from the Government a denial that they were under a promise or intended to alter the Jdundreds already sanctioned), by Mr Armstrong (who voted against the ‘- Picnic Government,” as ho termed the Executive, because they had not given more to Mount Ida than their predecessors, and regretted that members had not to go to their constituents on accepting office, as he thought it was very probable had such been done, "there would have been some vacancies), by vlr Ireland (who mid the only good thing in the debate, when amid roars of laughter he tendered his sincere thanks to the member for Tuapeka—Mr J C. Brown for his unceasing attentions to him dining the past fortnight), by Mr Green (who demed that it was the intention of the Government to force land sales, and strongly urged on whatever Government they might be succeeded by the ne cessity for seeing that the conditions under which land on deferred payments was taken up, were rigidly enforced), and by Messrs Stout and Fish The Commissioner op Railways, after discussing the estimates, charged the late Government with sanctioning an expenditure of L 1,200 in excels of the vote for the Peninsula road; with maladmmistration of the Railway Department, as evidenced by the Southland contracts, the position taken up by the lessee of the P ? rt Chalmers refreshment rooms and the condition in which he found some of the books of the department. Answering the member for the Taien, he denied that he had ever objected to high does education; what he objected to was that whilst we had to pay an annual tax of L 3 nor head for the education of our boys iu the common schools of the Province, we had to nav to t-w extent of L2o—which he held to be wromf-to edu ca L te , a^ ® fty feoys at the ni ?h School. That was what he had always contended, and hj« had vet to ho convinced to the contrary, The interim stage be tween our common schools and the University would be best and cheapest provided in evorv respect by pr.yate entei prise. Mr Stout infimn.toil mat, I md the late Government been turned out on any matter of policy-for (say) their support to the Peninsula railway, or their views on tho education W-he should have declined to vote at aB or would have voted with the Government, because he objected to the introduction of the personal element. Members should vote not to place cer tain persons in office, but to affirm a principle If there was any action that would bring disgrace on Provincial Councils, it would be that of members saying, ‘‘lf you don’t give us vote« for our district, we shall vote aaainst vmf' l “Justice to Southland "was the only Government question. There seemed to be no other Government question. The Peninsula Railway Bill placed that railway in the hands of tbe Government, on payment simply of the money expended by the company: and the company were bound to sell the lino at any time, and, in mot, to allow the Government to manage the line. If the Province could get all its lines constructed on these terms, it would be a happy thing for it. Would the present Government say why they intended to support the Outram Railway Bill and yet not have anything to siyonthe Peninsula Bill ? In regard to the Otautau Railway the Government was due the contractor many thousand pounds, and they held his money in their hands and he could get nolhing until he bad properly fulfilled his contract. Instead of rushing into law they withheld money unt.l the work wL ? properly done. If tho Awamoko Railway were defecrive that was not the fault of the late Government which had nothing to do with the preparation of specifications. In reference to the books of tbo Railway Department, ho had the authority of the Auditor-General of the Colony for saying that they were the best kept he had ever seen At a m the division was taken as follows: ' “

an, Aioastrong, Clark, Davie, Haggitt, Halienstem, Henderson, Ireland, Lumsden, Manders, Meuzies, Mills, Mollison. M'Oermid M'Kellar, M'Lean, M'Neil. Beeves? Eeid SeS’ Reynolds, Stout (teller). Steward, Tolmie, and ivrnbull.

(teller), Brown (J. C.), Browne (G. F. C.), Daniel, DfcLautour, Driver, Fish (teller) Green, Hazlett, Kinross, Moody, M'Glashaii M Kcnzie, Eogers, Shand, Sumpter, Tut ton, Wilson’ and Wood. ’

Wednesday, June 2. The sitting of the Council this afterneon was very brief, A few notices were given; one Bill was introduced ; Mr 1 astings intimated that he and his colleagues had resigned; Mr Reid that he had undertaken to form a* Government, and theJHouse adjourned tile 2pm to-morrow. 1