PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Issue 3836, 10 June 1875, Page 3

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Wednesday, June 9.

In answer to questions, the Government said (1) they did not approve of the action taken by the Southland Waste Lands Board in refusing to issue licenses to occupy, to persons who have applied for sections on the deferred payment areas. They thought that the persons to whom certificates had been issued had been hardly dealt with. They were in this unfortunate position : that they applied for the land, and their applications and moneys were received by tbe Board, which refused to issue licenses. The Board should have acted before issuing the certificates, and, after issuing the certificates, should have issued the licenses until restrained by some legal power. Message No. 15, from bis Honor the Superintendent, was read as follows" The Superintendent submits for the consideration of the Provincial Cooneil the expediency of enabling the Government to proceed with the construction, out of revenue or loan, of thn railways and harbor works specified in the schedule transmitted herewith.” Estimate of the cost of construction and permanent way of the following proposed railways, for which savveys have been made Main line through Seward Bush, 11 miles at L 2,200 per mile, L24,fjQo; Main line to Kflitangata. aud extension io Coal Point 4 Jfdles 28 chains, at L 4.095 per mile (nearly). L17,81319s lOd ; Main line *co Outram via Mos--47.14 chains, at L 3.251 per mile, L 27.622 16s fid; Tokomairiro Branch Bailway main branch, 4 miles 43,'50 chains, at L 3,107 (nearlv) per mile, L 14.133 5s 3d ; Palmerston to Waihemo-(1st) Palmerston to Waynes 8 miles 56 chains, at L2L5&7 per mile, L 22 507 fis(2nd) Waynes to Waihemo, 5 miles 7L40 chains, at L 6.320 per mile, 137,279 16s; Edendale to Wyndham, 3 miles 22 chains, at L 3.721 per mile, 18s; Kaitangata Station to Inch Clutha-(lst) Kajctangata Branch, 6 miles 13.74 chains, at L4,4olpermile (nearly). L 27 161 9s 9d; (2nd) Inch Glufcna Branch, 3 miles 34.24 chains, at L 3,833 per mile (nearly), L 13.140 17s fid } Orepuki Line completion, LIB.OOO • Total, L 214.116 8s lOd. Estimate— Kakanui ? arb ? r .^^ kß ‘ L 5 * 000 ; Bl hff Wharf Extension, LIO,OOO.

The various committees reported. (I) on the petition of residents at Cardroaa and Wanaka who prayed for the throwing open of the Arrow Terrace for agricultural settlement—that it should be so proclaimed: that if the present survey be adhered to, such proclamation should be mad© under special leases, allowing free entry forsay three years to search for gold after application being made and granted by the Warden* j and such other conditions as might seem desirable to fairly protect the agricultural interests, and at the same time ® ot , ,” e restrictive to mining operations. If this cannot be legally done, that a resurvey of the block hr made' ; that mining reserves beset aside along the face of the terrace fronting the Arrow River, and on each side of such gullies as may be thought desirable, and the remainder thrown open under the agricultural lease,system ; and lastly that, in dealing with the blocks due care should be taken to conserve as far as practicable the interests of those holders dr occupiers already on the block. (2.) On the petition.of residesnts at Dunkeld, who prayed that a certain road line from Dunkeld to the Clutha Bridge be completed—that the prayer of the petition be granted. (3.) On the petition of residents at Hyde, who prayed that 5,000 acres be opened for settlement in Strath-Taieri, below Mr Main’s run—that effect be given thereto. The following Bills were read a third time and passed :—Education Reserves Management and Leasing Bill, Municipal .Corporations Ordinance Amendment Bill, Arrowtown AtheBill, Queenstown Reserves Management Bui, Roads Diversion Bill, Otago Roads Ordinance, 1871, Amendment Bill, Peninsula Thistle Prevention Bill, evening sitting the House went into . of Supply, aud for five hours Po 6t to T° • upon t^lo Supplementary 2iwL P^ Crß ’^ rillg , off No 1 of them, and the seoond - The motions fiWJErtts

first mentioned, there was much variety of opinion. At one time the Goldfields’ Secretary was found admitting and at another denying the existence of deep leads ;|Measrs J. 0. Brown, Browne, Armstrong, and De Lautodb supported the proposal; while Mr Ireland objected to such a squandering away of public money, and Mr Hallenstein said ditto to the hon. member for Mount Benger, only that he substituted “fooled” for squandered. Ultimately the motion was amended so as to read LI,OOO “as a bonus for successful prospecting, to be paid to such an extent and under such conditions as may be from time to time deemed advisable by the Government;” and in such amended form it was agreed to. On the motion for LIOO for volunteer purposes, which was lost, Mr Tubton was strong upon the degeneracy of the force, and the consequent wasting of further public moneys upon it, while Mr Daniel and Mr Steward— both volunteer officers—waxed warm in their praises of it. The vote of LI,OOO for making approaches to Rattray street jetty and the railway station was urged by Mr Reeves on these grounds: the streets which bore the wear and tear of all the import goods brought into the Province coat the city L 550 a-year. The railway reserves had a frontage to the street line of 3,105 ft, and the city could not impose any rate on these reserves. The maintenance of this street was “ robbing ” other portions of the city. If the property occupied by the railway sheds were let, the Corporation would receive about L7OO per annum additional. The case was recognised as a special one by the Provincial Secretary, who said there could be no doubt the traffic on Rattray street was more than the Corporation should be called upon to sustain; therefore the request was not an unreasonable one, but it could not be an annual grant. Whereupon Mr Fish gave the Government to understand that a continuation of the vote would be expected next year. The other votes that were carried were: L3OO, as a subsidy, £ for £, for preventing the overflow of Tnakitoto and Kaitangata Lakes, by deepening and straightening the channel into the Clutha River; LSOO for improving the road from Shag Valley to Macraes Flat (by 18 to 10); L2OO, as compensation to Peter Gunn, for loss in connection with the goods-shed at Invercargill ; L 25 to each of the bailiffs of courts, as increases of salary (by the casting vote of the Speaker); and LSOO as a reward for the disOTvery of a payable goldfield westward of the Waiau River. It was intimated by the Government that they had placed on the Supplementary Estimates L4OO (all that could be spared this year) for the construction of a road from Havelock to Waipoti; LSOO for the wharf at Riverton; L 250 for making a dray road from Q u . ee T n ßtown to Moke Creek via Seven-mile; and L2OO for the purpose of rendering a foot teack between Arthur’s Point and Sutherland’s Beach safe to those who use it. The Government undertook to {consider the claims of sixteen Invercargill volunteers. The following motions were negativedL 15,000 for harbor improvements at Riverton (by 14 to 9); L4CO for cutting a channel through tL p , c grounds at Oamaru (by 14 to 9)• LSOO for a road from BaHutha to Hill End and Waitahuna West (by 16 to 10); and LI, OOO tor the enlargement and improvement of Invercargill hospital (by 20 to 12).

Thdbsdat, June 12. To-day being a private members’ day, the motions on the Order Paper were of various descriptions. Among those carried was that brought forward by Mr Browne, which affirmed That it is desirable that such legialative action be taken as may be found necessary tto render contractors under the Public Works and Immigration Act, to a limited extent, responsible for wages due to laborers employed by sub contractors who have failed to meet their engagements ; and that a respectful address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent, requesting that he will take such steps as may seem necessary to give effect to this resolution.

In presenting a petition from Mrs Hawthorne Mr Driver was understood to say that Mr Hawthorne himself had never been well enough to sign it, and his widow had done so against her personal wishes, and only at the earnest solicitations of her friends. Whilst there might be a difference of opinion as to the late Mr Hawthorne s management of tho school, everybody must admit that he was very earnest • and he tried to do his best. Being a very sensitive man there was no doubt the treatment he had received had been the cause—not i . the caust-of his death, xhe petition of Marie Jeanne Caroline Hawthorne was to the following effect That the i a 0 fc ® re r c t° r had to resign his office in October, 1874, from circumstances over which he had no control. Owing to an alteration in tho regulations relating to the admission of pupils to the school, many boys, who would otherwise have been eligible, were neglected. That the nmnber,- -P up , was not so large as when he applied for the office of rector, as he was led to believe, consequently the petitioner’s salary was ngt so large as it would have been. That the petitionerreceived compensation inrespectof certainimprovements effected by himinaEd about the Rectory and High School buildings and only one year’s salary for loss of office. The petitioner submits that, considering the circumstances under which the late Stuart Hawthorne was appointed, the manner in which he discharged his duties, and the loss his resign a tion entailed on his widow and family she is justly entitled to fair and reasonable compensation beyond what the late Mr Hawthorne had r6CGiT ecu

_ There was not much discussion on Mr Brown a (annual motion (which this year he succeeded m carrying) that the sessional railway pass given to members of the Council should also be available during the recess. For it there voted 16—Messrs Armstrong, Bastmgß, J. C. Brown, Browne, De Lautour ifaUenstein, Henderson, Manders, Menzies’ MDermid, M‘Glashan, M‘Kenzie, M‘Neil’ Shand, Wilson, and Wood: and against it 11* —Messrs Clark, Davie, Ireland, Lumsden Moody, M’Kellar, M'Lean, Reid, Rogers’ Steward, and Tolmie. Much amusement B wS caused by Mr Babtings’b inquiry of Mr Speaker whether any bon. member having conscientious scruples” could decline to aecept the pass just voted. On Mr Kinross’s motion, affirming th* desirability of the deferred payment area to be taken up by an individual applicant being increased from 200 to 320 acres, in the event of the total area to be thrown open each year being extended to 100,000 acres, there votedAyes, 10 j and Noes, 10, and the Speaker gave his casting vote with the noes. 8