PARLIAMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 4233, 20 September 1876, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

[Br Telegram.] ' LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. THE INDEMNITY BILL. Wellington, September 19. In Committee, the Hon. Mr moved, and carried, aftt-r considerable discussion, an amendment indemnifying those members of the Opposition who had incurred costß. An amendment in the preamble was also moved by Mr Waterhouse, but progress was reported, with leave to sit again at 7.30 this evening. -....»,■ -,

FHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

This afternoon, Mr Larnach cave notice that he would move, for an address to his Excellency to place on the Supplementary Estimates an additional stun of L3OO, to defray the expense* of M.H.R.V during the present session.

In reply to questions, Ministers stated (1) ; it was not intended to place any sum upon the Estimates to be paid to Native owners i of Princes street Reserve, as the matter had - been finally settled by the Otago Provincial Council; (2), the Government hoped to see their way to give effect to the proposed scheme of establishing a Fenny Savings Bank in connection with the public schools. The scheme would receive their very careful consideration; (3), there would be no objection to lay before the House as early as pos- ~ sible any correspondence on the subject of the appointment of Agent-General. T NEW AND OTHER BILL?. The following Bills were introduced; A Bill for the construction of a railway from*. Grahamstown to the Waikato river, a Bill to extend the Boundaries of the Town of \ Milton, a Bill to provide for leasing reserves: at Fort Molyneux. The Bill was further considered in Committee ; the Land Transfer Act Amendment Bill, and the Public Trust Office Bill read a second time. Marriage < ' Act Amendment Bill, and the Treasury Bifis? Extended Currency Bills read a third time > and passed. MR MACANDREW'S RESOLUTIONS. - At the evening sitting, . ; Mr Macandrew moved his resolutions re the Otago Provincial Council. The resolutions themselves, in his opinion, commended' / them so clearly to the sense of justice and of fair play of- members that nothing he could say would add much to their force. ' They were based upon two distinct facts,;, which could not be disputed by any except those who were wilfully blind. First* they asserted that the Abolition Act was repugnant to the wishes, and disastrous to the. feelings of the people of Otago. If any. evidence of this was required it would be found in the fact that out of the thirteen Otago representatives who last year supported the passing of the Abolition Act only one was elected to this Parliament by the same constituency which he was supposed to •repre-y . sent; and this after the most keenly contested elections which had ever taken place in the Province. This was a circumstance which spoke volumes as to the wishes of the people in Otago. He might add, further, that, with one exception, every Otago representative had pledged himself to support the 1 financial separation of the two islands as a - means of alleviating the evils involved in the Abolition Bill. If further proof were required; it was to be found in the fact that at this moment the whole Province was de- : claring itself by resolutions of public meetings.' There was. scarcely, a day passed without some Buch manifestation upon the subject, and these resolutions were passed with an enthusiasm and unanimity which was to him quite refreshing. He would not weary the House by reading these resolutions, copies of which had been forwarded ". to him from some fifteen te twenty different districts. He would content himself, by reading those passed at Dunedin and' Caversham as specimens of the tone and feelings which animated the whole. Although ithad been said that all these meetings ana resolutions had been instigated by himself, there was not the slightest foundation for such an assertion, inasmuch as he had not suggested anyone of them. They were the spontaneous action of the people themselves, and the meeting in Dunedin, which * had been derided as a failure, was, he knew, from the testimony of several gentlemen who were present, a most decided embodiment of the political life and activity of Dunedin. The second fact upon which the resolutions were based, was that Abolition Bill was detrimental to the interests of the people of Otago. When he told them that the practical effect of Abolition would be to divest the Province of from LIOO,OOO to L 200.000 a-year, which ; would otherwise continue to be spent within its own territory, nothing. more need be ' said on this point. Abolition undoubtedly meant one purse for the Colony. It; further t meant that the controlling power over the I whole expenditure throughout the Province' j is to be centered at Wellington, and verymuch out of reach of the eyes and beyond the control of the people. For these reasons, and many others which might be adduced, he alleged that Abolition would be highly detrimental to the interests of the people of Otago. If it was said that the people in the other Provinces, excepting Auckland, hold a different opinion as to the results of Abolition, in as far as they were concerned, it would appear that they were content te relinquish those powers of local self-govern- | ment which had been conferred upon them —powers which, if once parted with, they would find it difficult to recover. It was . sad that they were desirous of being governed from Wellington. WeU, he for one would be sorry to interfere with them, or to insist on their retaining institutions whick- they did not appreciate, and which they thought had become effete. However much he deemed them t©_ be mistaken, if thoße Provinces preferred Centralism, the would say, in Heaven'sjname pause before committing a great wrong upon so large a section of Her Majesty's subjects in New Zealand as was compnsed in the Piovince of Otago—a wrong which, if per-'. sisted in, must of necessity create and per?etuate throughout that portion of the ~ Colony a similar feeling towards the Colonial Government to that which had long existed nnd still existed in Ireland towards the Imperial authorities'—a feeling which had -• been the one blot upon, and the weak point in the British Constitution. He knew of no principle which had exercised a greater influence upon the destination of the British Empire than that of respect for constituted authority, and he warned the House against pursuing a, line of conduct which might weaken and inr pair this sentiment in any part of New Zealand. He asked the House not to deprive the people of Otago of the opportunity of deliberately and calmly determining for themselves - as to how their local affairs could be best administered. He asked that they might be permitted to do this without being, through unequal representation in this House, overcome'i by the people of Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, andWellington. He aeked this in the name of the Constitution. He asked, let them have what theytdesired: all he asked from ' them was to extend the same, privilege to « others. The people of Otago 'werecohtent $o >si bear their full and fair shares* -the Colonial burdens, but ihey must iuwstf upon the whole of their land and railway revenue being ex.

pended within their own territory and under their own eontrol. They did not want the aid of the rest of the Colony to enable them to decide whether out ef their own funds a bridge should be erected here, a road constructed there, or a railway elsewhere; nor did they require the aid of the people of Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, or Wellington to enable them to decide as to what modification, if any, was required in that system of local self-governm«nt under which, with all its faults and failings, they had heretofoie prospered. His belief was that the people of Otago, which constituted the backbone of the Colony, were determined to retain their distinct entity, and to decide for themselves a£ to how they should be best governed. The} 7 did not desire to have a new Constitution forced upon them by the rest of the Colony. What he asked the House to do was to do it in tiu? name of that spirit ef fair play which was supposed to be the characteristic of Englishmen all over the world, and he asked it in the name and oii behalf of upwards of 100,000 people of thib Colony, who, if a deaf ear were turned to tieir request now, would, he had little doubt, demand it for themselves, not as suppliants t°t as free men. Again, he would implore thW House to pause in the reckless course of action upon which it was entering, a course pf action which could not fail greatly to weaken the authority of the law, that authority which it behoved every good citizen and every wise Legislature to foster and uphold. The debate was kept up till 1.40 this morning. The speakers were chiefly Otago representatives. It had been ananged some time before rising, if the speakers of minor importance on each side could be prevailed upon not to speak, a division would be taken; but more spoke than was expected. The following members supported the resolutions : Sir George Grey, Messrs Reid, Burns, Stout, W. Wood, and Shrimski. Their arguments were to a great extent repetitions—namely, that the request of Otago was reasonable ; that it was unstatesmanlike to coolly ignore the wishes of a hundred thousand geople; it was sordid to have a system of Government based on a money principle, as the Premier did in eayxn£ that Otago will be no worse off, that she wul n3ve this, that, and the other. This was mere bribery - nothing mere. There was no hope of locJ'l legislation being obtained this session. If she local legislatures had been allowed to meet they would have provided for these wants. Zf one part of the Colony was poor and another, wealthy, it was idle to say nothing would be taken from the richer ones. Good governni? n * was" to be provided for all. Thepeople 01 Otago were never so agitated before, and it wvwamis. take to suppose that this agitation would calm itself when Abolition became a faC.t. It would take years to allay the existing dissatisfaction. To refuse granting these resolutions would be like a spark in a barrel of gunpowder, and the people would rebel against it. It was denied that the Public Works scheme did anything for the advancement of Otago. If she progressed it was in spite of the General Government and the Public Wcrks policy, and due solely to her Provincial Council. If the Government thought the people were with: them why be afraid to appeal to them ? If the Coldny wanted more money why not raise it in a straightforward manner, not indirectly by squeezing the Provinces ? Let those pay whose land benefited by the change. Directly the system of bribes failed the members; of different parts of the. Colony would combine and threaten the Government if they did not get for their districts what they wanted they would be against them, and the whole country would become demoralised. The resolutions were not intended as a vote of want of confidence. The Government were good enough, and if,turned out on this question would be put in tomorrow.

Sir Geo. Grey, in the course of his speech, threatened to make a similar appeal on behalf of Auckland, and said the only outcome of Abolition was an upstart monied aristocracy, and a nation of down-trodden serfs.

Messrs Manders and Pyke, though opposed to the resolutions, did not vote. The following members spoke against them:—The Premier, Messrs Reynolds, Wakefield, and Barff. It wis alleged against the resolutions that the chief arguments used were sentimental pleadings for a cause already passed away. The real object was to remodel Provincialism in Otago. Grant that, and Auckland, that could not carry'On a week without assistance, would also apply for it. It was ridiculously absurd to relegate to ail inferior power what should be the work of the supreme legislature. It was untrue to say that Abolition would cost Otago L 50,000 yearly. It would take nothing from them, and that could be proved. The Opposition were challenged to prove the contrary. Were it not for the firm attitude of the Government this .session the land fund of Otago would have become Colonial property. Provincialism did good, but it was not local government: it was only Centralism on a small scale. Twenty years they tried it aod never could' qjet local government, and a proper distribution or the revenue. The Public Works scheme did more for Otago and the Colony than Provincialism in twenty years. To carry the resolutions must make the Colony revert to the old system; and practically the resolutions amounted to a vote of want of confidence. It would be dangerous to remit ibe question to the people of Otago, and give the Provincialists au opportunity of manipulating another election. The result would not be a verdict of the people. If relegated tc any, let it be to the existing Provincial Council without any election. It was denied that the whole of Otago or anything like it cried out against Abolition, though the favored districts of, Dunedin and Clutha did. Then they talked of the enthusiasm of the people. That was nonsense, for out of over three thousand electors in Dunedin Mr Macandrew had polled less than nine hundred ; and as for insurrection, and appealing to arms, that was laughed to scorn. The people would be just as rich and sleep as sound under Abolition as not. The resolu* tions were lost by 37 against 24.

THE DIVISION, being as under : Ayefi.- J. C. Brown, Burns, De Laut our.. Dignan Sir George Grey, Hislop, Joyce, La marleii Mac' andrew (teller), Murray, Nahe, E»jer., D.' Eeid Eolleston, Seaton, Shcehan, fcbrirjski, Stout (teller), Swansoh, Takomoaw, Thomson Tole E G. Wood, and W. Wood. ' ' Noes; Andrew. Atkinßoe, Baigont, Ballanee, Barff, Borwen, J. E. Brown. Bryce.Carriugten, Cox Cnbbs, Harper, Henry. Hrynter, Hursthouae, Johnson, Kelly (teller), Kei.-aedy, Kenny, M'Furlane, Bur D. M'Lean, G. M'Ljean. Montgomery, Moorhouse, Murray-Aynsley, OrmW, Bdehardson. EasseU. Geymeur, Stafford! Stevens, Tribe, Wkitaker, WiUiama, Woolcook. Messrs Reynolds and Larnach paired; the former against, the latter for the resolutdons.

ABOUT THE LOBBIES. iFrom our oum Correapondent) Neither Mr Larnach's motion for an increase of the honoiarium this session nor Sir George Grey's Permissive Abolition Bill to-night will be listened to. The feeling of the House is favorable to pushing forward the business and ending the session. The county boundaries for Otago have been agreed to by the representatives of the Province. ' .■i>. -