GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Globe, Volume VII, Issue 703, 20 September 1876, Page 3

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

{Per Press Agency.') HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Tuesday, September 19. The House met at 2.30. MR PHILLIPS’S PETITION; The public petitions committee recommended that l\lr Coleman Phillips should receive £l5O for his expenses incurred in coming to Wellington, and £l5O for his other expenses. members’ expenses. Mr Larnach gave notice he would move for an address to his Excellency to place on the supplementary estimates an additional sum (£300) to defray the expenses of members of the House of Representatives during the present session. PRINCES STREET, DUNEDIN. In reply to Mr Taiboa, The Native Minister said it was not the intention of the Government to place any sum upon the estimates to be paid to the naHve owners of Princes street reserve, as the matter had been finally settled by the Otago Provincial Council. BRIDGE AT HOKITIKA. In reply to Mr Barflf, Hon E. Richardson said Government did not intend to construct a bridge over the Hokitika river. There was a balance of money in hand to be spent on roads in Westland, and that was supposed to be expended on the road between Bowen and Okarito, TELEGRAPH STATION AT AMBERLEY. Replying to Mr J. B. Brown, Hon F. Whitaker said tenders would be called for without unnecessary delay for the erection of a telegraph office at Amberley, PENNY SAVINGS BANKS. The Premier said in jreply to Mr Stout, that the Government hoped to see their way to give effect to the proposed scheme of establishing penny savings-banks in connection with the public schools. The scheme would receive their very careful consideration, THE AGENT-GENERAL. The Premier said, in reply to Mr Andrew, that there would be no objection to lay before the House, ns early as possible, any correspondence on the subject of the appointment of Agent General. BILLS INTRODUCED. The following Bills were introduced ;—For the Construction of a Railway from Grahamstown to Waikato River ; to extend the boundaries of the town of Milton ; to provide for leasing reserves at Port Molyneux, MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS BILL. The House went into committee on the Municipal Corporations Act Amendment Bill (Mr Seymour in the chair, in the absence of Mr O’Rorke) to consider the amendments to postpone clauses, as well as the new clauses. These were passed with some amendments, and the Bill reported and ordered to be re-committed on Thursday next, TREASURY BILLS. The House then went into committee on the Treasury Bills Extended Currency Bill, which was put through committee and passed. SECOND READINGS. The Land Transfer Act Amendment Bill and the Public Trust Office Bill were rea l a second time.

MARRIAGE ACT. The Marriage Act Amendment Bill was put through committee, reported, and read third time and passedThe House rose at 5.30. THE PROVINCE OF OTAGO.

On the House resuming at 7.30 p.m, they proceeded to go into committee of supply, when Mr Macandrbw rose to move his resolution previously given notice of. He said before the Speaker left the chair, he begged to move the motion standing in bis name on the supplementary order paper, and as hon members might possibly have overlooked it, he would ask them to be good enough to listen while he read the motion, as follows : “Whereas the Abolition of the Provinces Act, 1875, is repugnant to the wishes and detrimental to the interests of the people in the province of Otago, and whereas it would be highly subversive of the first principles of good government to deprive any section of Her Majesty’s subjects against their will and without their consent of those political institutions which were conferred upon them, by the Imperial Parliament, and under which they have grown up and prospered ; It is therefore resolved that a respectful address bo transmitted to his Excellency the Governor to the effect that he may be pleased at the earliest possible date to dissolve the Provincial Legislature of Otago, and to cause a fr- sh election of Superintendent and Provincial Council, so as to afford the people in the said province an opportunity of considering and determining as to the form of local self government most suitable for their requirements, and that, pending the will of the people being ascertained as aforesaid, his Excellency may be pleased to take the necessary steps, so as that the provisions of the said Abolition Act shall be held in abeyance as respects the Province of Otago ; resolved further, that in the meantime, and pending the decision of the newly-elected Provincial Legislature, the affairs of the said province shall continue to be administered in terms of the New Zealand Constitution Act.” He had no desire, at this late period of the session, to raise any prolonged discussion upon the question, nor did he think it at all necessary to do so. The resolutions were so palpable, and, in his opinion, commended themselves so clearly to the sense of justice, and of fair play of the members, and 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 distasteful to the feelings of the people of Otago, and if any evidence of this was required, it would be found in the circumstance 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 represent, and this after the most keenly contested election which had ever taken place in the province. This was a circumstance which bespoke 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 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 declaring itself by resolutions at public meetings. There was scarcely a day passed without some such manifestation upon the subject, and these resolutions were passed withjan enthusiasm andunanimity 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 to twenty districts. He would content himself by reading those passed at Dunedin and Caversham, as specimens of the tone and feelings which animated the whole. The hon gentleman then read the resolutions in question, and proceeded to say that although it had been said that all these meeting and resolutions had been instigated by himself, there was not the slightest foundation for such assertions, inasmuch as he had not suggested any one of them. They were the spontaneous action of the people themselves, and the meeting in Dunedin, which had been declared 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 the Abolition Bill was detrimental to the interests of the people of Otago, where [he told them that the practical effect of abolition would be to divest the province of from one to two hundred thousand a year, which otherwise would 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 meant that the controlling power of the whole expenditure throughout the province is to be centred at Wellington, and very much out of the 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. It is said that the people in the other provinces, excepting Auckland, hold a different opinion a? to the results of abolition, in as far as they arc concerned. It would appear that they arc content to relinquish those powers of local self government which had been conferred upon thempower which, if once parted with, they would find it difficult to recover. It is said that they are desirous of being governed from Wellington. Well, he for one, should bo sorry to interfere with them, or to insist on their retaining institutions which they do not appreciate, and which they think have become effete. However much he deemed them to be mistaken, if those provinces prefer centralism he would say “ in heaven’s name let them have what they desire.” All he asked from them was to extend the same privilege to others. The people of Otago are content to bear their full and fair share of the colonial burdens, but they must insist upon the whole of their land and railway revenue being expended within their own territory and under their own control. They do not want the aid of the rest of the colony to enable them to decide whether, out of their own funds, a bridge shall be erected here, a road constructed there, or a railway elsewhere, nor do they require the aid of the people of Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, or Wellington, to enable them to decide as to what modification, if any, was required in that system of local self government under which, with all its faults and failings, they had heretofore prospered. His belief was that the people of Otago,

which constituted the back-bone of the colony, were determined to retain their district entirely, and to decide for themselves as to how they should be best governed. They 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 pause before committing a great wrong upon so large a section of her Majesty’s subjects in New Zealand, as was comprised in the province of Otago—a wrong which, if persisted in must of necessity create and perpetuate throughout that portion of the colony a similar feeling towards the Colonial Government to that which has long existed and still exists in Ireland towards the Imperial authorities —a feeling which had been the one blot, the weak point in the British Constitution, He knew of no principle which has exercised a greater influence upon the destinies of the British Empire than that of respect for constituted authority, and he warned the House against permitting a line of conduct which might weaken or impair this sentiment in any part of New Zealand. He asked the House not to deprive the people of the opportunity of deliberately and calmly determining for themselves as to how their local affairs can be boat administered. He asked that they might be permitted to do this, without being, through unequal representation in this House, overcome by the people of Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, and Wellington. He asked this in the name of the Constitution. He asked it in the name of that spirit of fair play which was supposed to be the characteristic of Englishmen all over the world ; and he asked it in the name and on behalf of upwards of 100,000 of the people of this colony, who, if a deaf ear were turned to their request now, would, he had little doubt, demand it for themselves, not as suppliants, but as free men. Again, he would implore this House to pause in the reckless course of action upon which it was entering ; a course of action which could not fail greatly to weaken the authority of the law—that authority which it behoves every good citizen and every wise legislature to foster and uphold. He begged to move the resolution standing in his name.

The debate on the Macandrew resolutions (viz, “ That the Abolition Act be held in abeyance until the people of Otago determine as to the form of self-government most suitable for them’’) was kept up until 1,40 this morning. The speakers were chiefly Otago representatives. It had been arranged some time before rising that if 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 resolution: —Sir George Grey, and Messrs Reid, Burns, Stout, W. Wood, and Shrimski, whose arguments, to a great extent, were repetitions namely, that the request of Otago was reasonable; that it was unstatesmanlike to coolly ignore the wishes of a hundred thousand people; and that it was sordid to have a system of Government based on a money principle, as shown by the Premier in saying that Otago will be no worse off, as she will have this, that, and the other. This was mere bribery—nothing more. There was no hope of local legislation being obtained this session. If local legislatures had been allowed to meet they would have provided for this want. If one part of the colony was poor, and another wealthy, it was idle to say nothing would be taken from the richer one, and that good government was to be provided for all. The people of Otago were never so agitated before, and it was a mistake to suppose that this agitation would calm itself when Abolition became a fact. It would take years to allay the dissatisfaction that would be created. To refuse granting these resolutions would be like throwing a spark into a barrel of gunpowder, as the people would be sure to rebel against it. It was denied that the public works scheme did anything for the advancement of Otago; as, if she had progressed, it was in spite of the General Government and the Public Works Policy, and duo solely to her Provincial Council. If the Government thought the people were with them why then be afraid to appeal to them ? If the colony wanted more money why not raise it in a straightforward manner, not indirectly by squeezing the provinces. Let those pay whose land is benefitted by the obange. Directly the system of bribes failed the members of the different parts of the colony would combine and threaten the Government if they did not get for their districts what they wanted. They would turn against them, and the whole country would become demoralised. The resolution was not intended as a vote of want of confidence. The Government was good enough, and if turned out on this question would be put in again to-morrow. Sir G. Grey threatened to make a similar appeal on behalf of Auckland, and said the only outcome of abolition would be an upstart monied aristocracy, and a nation of downtrodden serfs. Mr Manders and Mr Pyke, though opposed to the resolutions, did not vote. The speakers against the resolutions were the Premier and Messrs Reynolds, Wakefield, and Barff, who stated that the chief arguments used in favor of the resolutions were sentimental pleadings for a cause already passed away. The real object was to remodel provincialism in Otago. Granted that, and Auckland which could not carry on a week without assistance would apply for the same. It was ridiculously absurd to relegate to an inferior power what should be the work of the Supreme Legislatures, It was untrue to say that abolition would cost Otago £150,000 yearly; it would take nothing from it, and that could be proved, aud her representatives were challenged to prove to the contrary. Wero it not for the firm attitude of the Government this session the land fund of Otago would have become colonial revenue before now. Provincialism had done good, but it was not local Government, only Centralism on a small scale, For twenty years they had tried it, and never could get equal Government and distribution of their revenue. The Public Works policy did more good for Otago and the colony than provincialism had done in twenty years. To carry the resolution must make the colony revert to the old system, as practically the resolution amounted, to a vote of want of confidence. It would be dangerous to remit the question to the people of Otago, and give provincialists an opportunity of manipulating another election, and the result would not be the verdict of the people. If relegated to anybody let it be to the existing Provincial Council, without any election. It was denied that the whole of Otago or of anything like it cried out against it, thought the favored

districts of Dunedin and Clutha did. Then they talked of enthusiasm; that was nonsense, for out of over three thousand electors in Dunedin, Mr Macandrew polled less than nine hundred; and as for insurrection, and appealing to arms, that was laughed to saorn. The people would be just as rich and sleep as sound under Aboltion as not. The resolution was lost by 37 against 24. POLITICAL NEWS. (From a correspondent of the Press.) After two successions of pronounced majorities in support of the Government, it was supposed that the fact would have been accepted, but it was otherwise, and the same melodrama was enacted last evening to the amusement of the Ministerial party, and not extremely to the credit of the actors. Mr Stout continued his opposition to the Indemnity Bill, when the second reading came on, and concluded a more than pathetic speech, with more or less apt quotations, by saying “ I protest, and shall leave the House till this iniquitous measure is passed.” Mr Macandrew also protested in manner still more on behalf of his important constituency, and Sir G. Grey equally protested on behalf of all Auckland. The latter, without sitting down, took his hat in hand, and with some recognition of him as lender, twelve or fifteen members, in no particular order, walked out of the House amidst some ironical applause. Mr Bovve had a parting shot at Sir G. Grey as he went by, denying that his protest was sympathised with by the Thames constituency, and announced that he invited their verdict with the certainty of carrying it in his favour. Mr Whitaker, at a late stage, said that while Mr Macandrew and Mr Stout were protesting, their constituency was protesting against them—alluding to a letter which had been telegraphed there. Mr Moorhouse made a warm speech on the proceedings the House had witnessed. They had now, he said, come to the end of the comedy—Sir G. Grey and Mr Macandrew finished the last act of the drama. It was demonstrated that the Opposition had done their best or worst, and after resorting to every possible expedient, had retired utterly defeated. The arch-minister of expediency, the member for the Thames, after alleging that the House was committing a great constitutional wrong, walked out of the House because the majority had refused to sanction his proceedings. What did his and Mr Stout’s arguments amount to I Their argument was that, because they had cited instances which had occurred in the House of Commons where individual members had been disqualified, therefore, it was a base expediency that a majority should support a Ministry after the report which was made. He could tolerate a good deal in that House, but when young members lectured men who had been long and faithfully engaged in the public service, he protested. He protested against being included among those who were guided by expediency, without reference to principle. He was not ashamed of what was objected to by Mr Stout, and was so distasteful to the Opposition generally. Then, men who were sitting on the Ministerial benches and were at the head of a great party in the country were characterised as corrupt and inimical to the best interests of the state, but he believed them to be quite as patriotic as the member for the Thames or his party, and as long as they led him in the direction of what he thought was right, he was not ashamed of following them. Aa soon as he found they were vacating their position he would leave them, but he would not desert them till he found others capable of leading him in the direction of his aspirations. He hoped he would not be found following noisy charlatans and windy demagogues, whose reasoning was school boy logic, hopping from premises and perching on conclusions. Be had been by Mr Stout taunted with being a blind follower of the Government, but he denied his his assertion or the general language of Sir George Grey that they were blind, corrupt, and wicked followers of Ministers. He had some experience in public affairs, and had some ambition, which was to be thought an honest politician. They were quite as capable of appreciating measures as Sir G. Grey and others, who lost no opportunity of parading their own virtue, while decrying the Ministry and all who supported them. Hons Major Atkinson and F. Whitaker also replied smartly to many assertions made during the debate, and for doing so were lectured by Mr Wakefield, while he approved of the intention of the Bill. Only two members of the Opposition remained in the House to act as tellers—Mr W. Wood and Mr Fisher—and the majority against them was thirty-seven. In committee some trifling modification was made in the Bill, and it was read a third time. Mr J. C. Brown made a bad joke, which he had adopted from Mr Sheehan, by proposing that it should be •* a Bill to whitewash Ministers,” but it was treated with contempt. To-day Mr Larnach gave notice that members’ remuneration should be £BOO, and there is every likelihood of the same being carried. The Post contains copies of the letters from Mr Stout and Mr Macandrew to their Dunedin constituents, who had addressed them in reproach. They are too lengthy for quotation, but are both characteristic of their authors as determined non-abolitionists and dependents on the popular support. Tonight Mr Macandrevv’s resolutions are to come on, when the House is moved into committee of supply. The Opposition agreed yesterday to give them an out and out support, but it is expected that the discussion will be a short one, the strength of parties being pretty well discovered.