PARLIAMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 4209, 23 August 1876, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

[By Telegraph.] LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Wellington, August 22. In answer to a question by the Hon. Mr Ac land, the Colonial Secretary stated that constitutional questions had prevented the Crown Law officers from considering, wie matter of codifying, the statutes, but "the Government recognised its importance. There was a short debate on Colonel Brett s motion for the appointment of a select committee to consider the defences' of the Colony. ■ The motion was supported by Colonels Kenny and Whitmore and Cap* tain Eraser, though the latter did not agree with the remarks of the hon. and gallant mover j and was opposed by the Colonial Secretary as unnecessary. Colonel Brett had his sessional fling at the volunteers, who found a defender in the Hon. Mr Chamber* The motion was carried, but nothing is likely to come of it. After reading the Public Health Bill a second time, the Council adjourned* *

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. At the afternoon sitting, Ths East Coast Election Committee reported in favor of Captain Morris taking the seat. THE COUNTIES BILL The debate was resumed by Mr Rowe, who endorsed every statement made by the Superintendent of Nelson in reference to the Bill. A good deal had been said about the country districts working out their own destinies under the Bill; but it was not right to expect districts that had no land fund to work out their own destinies. In common justice, all the out-districts should fare alike. He approved of the principle of the Bill, but thought it would require to be made veiy elastic, so as to meet the requirements of many parts of the country (his own amongst them) that the Bill in its present shape did not suit. If the thirty-nine counties were called «‘nb» operation, the machinery would be found much more expensive than Provinces. The requirements of the out-districts should be considered in snapping out counties, and there should be no arbitrary boundaries. Very large counties would be but a modification of Provincialism, and no more acceptable than what they were intended to re* place. Mr Mac Andrew thought evey hour spent on this discussion was so much tima wasted. It was more probable that the Bill would go into Committee; and, if so, it would be many hours before it came out again, then it would be like Dean Swift's stocking —the original would not be known tor the darning. If the Bill were to be permissive, no district in the Colony would take advantage of its provisions. As regarded that section of the Colony with which he was best acquainted, he was pursnaded the Act would remain a dead letter. As an of this he read a resolution recently by the South Clutha Road Board. Even the Wakatipu District, whose representative was so enamoured with the idea of the counties, would fight shy of the Bill when it came to be practically put before them. The people of Wakatip would not thank their representative for his action in depriving them of the revenue they had hitherto enjoyed, and of the power of being created into a county, with a substantial endowment out of Hie land fund, that fund which, in as far as Otago was concerned, would, under the Government proposal, become a vanishing quality—small by degrees, and beautifully less; in fact, nil. He then went on to show

that the Provincial Government had expended, in the Wakatip county, during the past year, L 20,000, on objects which would, under the new arrangement, have to he provided for by the county. Of this the Colonial Government was to find one-half, having LIO,OOO a-year, to be raised by the county in the shape of rates. The people in the district would have been far better to have borne the ills they had, than to have fled to others that they knew not of. The result on Otago as a whole would be that the Province would have to rate itself to the extent of LIO.OOO a-year, irrespective of rates by district road Boards, in order to enable outlying districts to do fnr til PmflplvAtj w'hnf "had liifVwavfr* Vkoan

done for them, and would continue to be done were Otago left to manage itself as heretofore. This was the great boon to the people in the South which would be received by Abolition. A cooler piece of effrontery than to tell the 100,000 people south of Waitaki that Abolition was a benefit, and would pat money in their purse, he could not conceive. In forcing Abolition on Otago the House knew not what they were doing. They were exhibiting a recklessness and tyranny unworthy of Englishmen, and repugnant to the spirit of free institutions. The natural outcome of the present policy would be to sever the extremities from the centre. The thirty-six members who voted for the Separation resolutions really represented as many of the population of the Colony as did the fifty-two members who Voted against them. The Otago members who voted in the minority represented 88,000 of the people of that Province, while those who voted with the majority represented 13,000. Had the latter been true to their hustings pledges, the Province would have been wholly in one boat. Was it fair or just that Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, and Marlborough, with a population of 24,000, should have eight votes on a question of this kind, while Dunedin, with 25.000, had only three ? They must not suppose that, even if Abolition were accomplished, they could destroy Home rule in those districts where the people were content with and preferred Home rule, alluding to the speech of Mr Moorhouse last week, in which the latter compared the Colony to a stately oak, he asked if the roots of Auckland and Otago were cut off from the stem, where, then, would be the stately tree? If Otago was deprived of its land revenue they might depend upon it that that root would bud forth into a separate and distinct tree. It must not be supposed that 100,000 of the bone and siuow of the Colony would be coerced into any form of Government or deprived of

their hard-earned substance agamst their will. It was no tall talk, but the words of truth and soberness, when he warned the House that the moment Abolition as now proposed was ushered into life, that moment would ring the death knell of the unity of the Colony would, no doubt, be charged with narraw-miuded Otago views. Why? Because he would be no party to that political communism which seemed to be the Alpha and Omega of Colonial statesmanship. Were he to act upon the advice of an old farmer to the late Sir George Sinclair on the occasion of a dinner when he was elected for County of Caithness, he should be regarded as a most generous, a most liberal, and large-minded representative of the Colony. The farmer’s advice was as follows:—“ Noo, Maister George, since ye are a Parliament man, I have ae advice to gie you ; be aye tak takin what ye can get, and aye seek seehin till ye get mair.” This seemed to be the atmosphere which commended itself to the House, or what hon. members on the Ministerial benches would call rising to the occasion. Otago wanted nothing from the Colony but the management of its own affairs, and the use of its own revenue within its own territory, and for thisprivilege it was willing to pay sweetly. Was it to be wondered at that after having spent upwards of a quarter of a century of the best years of his life in the interests of New Zealand, after

seeing that section of the Colony in which his lot had been cast advance to an extent unparallelled in the history of the Colony, that he should feel keenly' its progress crippled and retarded, as would undoubtedly be the case under this policy ? He confessed he felt keenly to think that the Province of 1 Otago should be despoiled through the instrumentality of one of its own children—of one to whom, politically speaking, it hadgiven birth. Had it been an enemy that had done this they could have borne it, but it was a friend : one whom they had trusted and honored. His was the dagger that sent them to perdition. Depend upon it, no policy formed upon injustice, as the Government policy was, could ultimately prosper, and although the constitutional party was at present a minority in the House, it was otherwise in the country. As it was, they might rely upon it that the weak would become the strong, and that Heaven would defend the right. He would vote against the second reading of the Bill. The amendment of Sir George Grey was then put and negatived on the voices, and followed by the motion for the second reading, which was carried. The Premier was not in his seat at the time, so that there was no reply. Progress was made with the Municipal Corporations Bill, clauses 309 to 319 inclusive being passed without material amendment.

At the evening sitting, A good deal of discussion took place as to how the committee to define the county boundaries for the South Island should be composed. It was proposed that nine select committees should he appointed to decide upon the subdivisions into counties of the nine different Provincial divisions of the Colony, but this was opposed by the Government who were afraid that under this arrangement the small sections of country would be outrooted by the larger ones, and probably made to join their districts to others against their wish. The question was eventually adjourned till that day week. The Committee resumed upon the Alunicipal Bill, and went through the remaining clauses, when progress was reported. The schedules are to be reconsidered^Friday next. The Rating Bill was similarly dealt with. The rest of the sitting was in Committee upon the Building Societies’ Bill, all the clauses were gone through, the only alteration being that in clause 8, the Registrars of Joint Stock Companies are to be Registrars of Building Societies ; that clauses 9 and 10 were struck out; that clause 16 was amended so as not to apply to societies already constituted; and that clause 37 was amended to permit minors of eighteen years of age to vote. The House adjourned 1.30 a.m.

ABOUT THE LOBBIES.

■Wellington, August 23, There is a great deal of interest taken here in political circles in consequence of rumors having been prevalent that Mr Stafford would join the Ministry at the expiration of the present session. The Press Agency informs us that it is alleged on good authority that such an alliance is quite improbable, although it is understood Mr Stafford will give his assistance during the session to carry the Government measures through. He entertains such opposite views to the Ministry in regard to dealing with the land fund, they insisting upon its localisation and he being in favor of making it general revenue, that no alliance could possibly take place except under an entire change of the personnel of the present Government.