GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1456, 16 October 1878, Page 3

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Tuesday, October 15, [SEECIAJj WIRE FROM PRESS AGENCY.] LEAVE OF ABSENCE. In the Council to-day, Mr Reynolds renewed Lis motion for leave of absence, which was granted on a division by 19 to 12. BAY OF ISLANDS ROLL. The motion of Ur. Pollen for the production of all papers conne :ted with the Bay of Islands electoral roll was agreed to. The amendments by the House of Representatives in the Repeal Bill were agreed to. The Public Reserves Sale Bill was read a second time. LAND TAX BILL. After several local Bills had been variously dealt with, the Council went into Committee on the Land Tax Bill, which was passed through, reported, read a third time, and passed. ELECTORAL BILL. On the fourteenth (the qualification) _ clause, Mr Waterhouse moved the insertion of the words “ not being a Mauri.” After some discussion, Colonel Whitmore accepted the amendmont._ The committee then adjourned to At the evening sitting, _ _ Mr Hart gave it as his opinion that Maoris holding under native custom had no vote under the Constitution Act, they having no fixed tenure. , , , ' After a long discussion Mr Waterhouse s amendment was agreed to on a division by 25 toil. . , ' Mr Hart moved a now sub-section, which was agreed to by 19 to 13. Tho clause as amended was then agreed to.

Mr Millar moved the insertion of the words “male *’ between “every” and “person” in the first line of clause 16. The motion was lost on a division by 24 to 10. The clause then passed. On clause 18 (the Maori vote), Mr Waterhouse moved the addition of the following words—“ If his namo is enrolled upon the ratepayers’ roll in force in the district for which he claims to vote.” The motion was agreed toon the voices. Both the sub-sections were then struck out, and the clauses as amended passed. As it now stands, the clause is the same as originally introduced in the House of Representatives. The Maori vote is restricted to the names of natives which appear on the ratepayers’ roll of the district for which they claim. Progress was then (ten o’clock) reported, and the Council adjourned. HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES. Tuesday, October 15. The House met at 2.30. explanation. Mr Hunter made a personal explanation, vindicating the past management of the Te Ante school estate from some strictures passed by Mr Murray. special wires. In reply to Mr McLean, Mr Fisher said the arrangements for special wires with the Auckland “ Herald ” and Press Agency were only to have effect during the session. He would lay tho papers relating to the management on tho table. A tentative arrangement had been made with some parties who intended to form another Press Agency, and if the lines could perform tho work, ho would be prepared to increase the use of special wires, as he felt it was the duty of the Government to encourage the Press. KAIAFOI FLOODS. In reply to Mr Bowen, Mr Macandrew said he had not yet had time to consider the report of Mr Dobson, C.E., on the Kaiapoi floods. RAILWAY NORTH OF AMBERLEY. In reply to Mr Bowen, Mr Macandrew said that in three or four weeks some fifteen miles of railway north of Amberley would be open to tender. RIFLES FOR CADET CORPS. Mr Ballance, in reply to Mr Bowen, was understood to promise that the Government would place a sum on the estimates to provide a supply of light rifles for the use of cadet corps. IMMIGRATION. Mr Stout, replying to Mr Stevens, said he would make a statement of the intentions of the Government with regard to immigration during the current year, when the estimates for that department were before the House, THE WAIKATO MEETINGS. In reply to Mr Kolleston, Sir Geo. Grey said the papers relating to the Waikato meetings, which were before the House, were reports of the impressions received by competent newspaper correspondents, who were witnesses of what took place. It was not the custom to lay on the table details of these transactions. Such a course had not been adopted by previous Governments. To the best of his recollection, the terms offered to Tawhiao were correctly stated, hut he had uot read the papers through. CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT. In reply to Mr Barton, The Premier said that in his opinion the recent change in the hours of the Customs Department would not have any effect upon the eight hours system ; but if it had, the old hours should he returned to. It showed he remembered that that the Customs officers in the colony worked one hour less than in London, and two hours less than New South Wales, while here they had half holidays on Saturday—a practice uot prevailing in other places. The Government were anxious to provide all reason*able facilities to shipping.. If the operation of the new system was found to bear heavily oq the employes, he would next year ask the House to increase their salary.

THE BROADEN DISPUTES. Mr Richardson asked the Government what reasons they had for departing from the conditions of the several contracts with Messrs John Brogden, which stipulated that all disputes arising out of such contracts were to be referred to the arbitration of a Judge of the Supreme Court, Mr Stout replied that, as long as he remained law officer of the Crown he should advise that none of the legal rights of the Crown should be abandoned. LYTTELTON WATER WORKS. The Lyttelton Water Works Transfer Bill was road a second time. LYTTELTON HARBOR BOARD. The amendments made by the Legislative Council in the Lyttelton Harbor Board Act Amendment Bill were agreed to. BILLS PASSED. The Juries Act Amendment Bill, and the Debtors and Creditors Act Amendment Bill were read a third time and passed. DISTRICT RAILWAYS. The House went into Committee on the District Railways Act Amendment Bill. A new clause was added, on the motion of Mr Stevens, providing that debentures should not be sold at a price which would pay more than 7 per cent to the purchaser. The Bill was reported as amended, read a third time, and passed. LAW AMENDMENT. The Law Amendment Bill, which is a technical measure relative to the rules of the Supreme Court, and designed to simplify the proceedings, was being debated when the House adjourned. ; EVENING SITTING. LAW AMENDMENT. On the House retiming the debate on the Law Amendment Bill was resumed. Mr Hislop moved that the Bill bo read again that day six months, on the ground that it was too late in the session for a Bill involving such radical changes in the'practice of the Supreme Court. Mr Barton said it would take a lawyer a fortnight fully to understand the changes the Bill would make in the present system. As a specimen of the radical change proposed ho mentioned that under it any rules made by the judges had only to be confirmed by the Governor in Council, which practically meant the Attorney-General for'the time being. Under the present law new rules had to lie on the table of the House for a whole session before coming into force. In plain English the Bill proposed to place in the hands of the judges the power of legislation without any reference to or control from the House. As he read the Bill a judge under it could claim the right of deciding on matters of fact, and so usurp the functions of the "jury. Whether he was right or wrong jn hjs reading, a Bill which required such close study should not be pressed this session. By abolishing error litigants would be altogether debarred from appealing if the judge had decided against the law of the land, _ - \ Mr Barton indicated other points of d similar character, but admitted that in the short time that had been allowed for examination of the Bill, he might be mistaken. filio Bill ought to have been circulated amongst the legal profession some time ago. Ho agreed that reform was greatly needed. One of the chief changes he indicated as necessary was that after a jury had agreed upon questions of fact there should be no appeal on questions of fact, unless on the ground of surprise, or where the finding of a jury was insufficient for the Court to found a judgment upon. Another great means of prevention of vexatious suits would be to make the parties agree before trial ob the lump sum which was to bo paid as costs by the losing party. Lawyers would then take care to do their work thoroughly, and there would be an end of long briefs and the mistakes of lawyers, necessitating appeal after appeal, would be very rare. At present the ends of justice were defeated by these continual appeals, weaving out the poor client and driving him into the Bankruptcy Court. He instanced the case of Gillen v. iMacDonald and others, where the plaintiff, after repeated trials and appeals, obtained a decree which would have put between £2OOO and £3OOO in his pockets, besides £7OO coats. He was made a bankrupt the same morning on a suit for £SO costs of an interlocutory summons, and deprived of the fruits of his verdict, as his only creditors were the defendants, and they of course did not enforce the decree against themselves.

Mr Stout replied to Mr Barton’s speech. He denied that the Court rules must ho on the table of the House under the present law; in fact, tho Bill proposed no alteration whatever in the existing law as relating to rules. If Mr Barton had read the Bill carefully, he would have seen that it in no way referred to or abolished tho jury. The right of appeal was preserved by tho Courts of Appeal Act, The abolition of error merely prevented the defendant upsetting a verdict because of a blunder in the record, and forced, him to fake advantage of the blunder before trial, if at all. Ho combated the other points raised by Mr Barton, and stated that the Bill was in its chief details a copy of a recent English Act which had been adopted in Queensland and other colonics. Mr Brandon supported tho Bill.

Mr Barton rose to make an explanation. He found that Mr StniG was „ n j(. o r i<ghfc a,; to the publication of rules. Ho (Mr Barton; wa3 laboring under a misapprehoiision. Ho would make no further opposition to the Bill. 1

The second reading of the Bill was then carried on the voices, and Thursday was fixed for its committal, to give the legal profession in the House the opportunity to-study it. ADJOURNMENT. After debate, the House decided, by 36 to 9, to adjourn for the Railway Demonstration Ball.