NELSON PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1187, 18 May 1872, Page 2

NELSON PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

In a recent telegram it was mentioned that a warm debate had taken place in the Council on a motion of Mr Collins, condemning the General Government interference with public, works in the Grey and Buller Valleys i— ' ■ : , The following is Mr Collins's, motum then referred to,— "That this Council desires to place on record its entire disapproval of the recent interference of Ministers in the expenditure of that portion of the Public Works; Fund allotted to this Province, and allocated to the South- West Gold Melds, and to express its conviction that the plan recommended by his Honor the Superintendent would have been much more to the advantage of all the interests of the Province." This was seconded by Mr Gibbs. ! Mr .Kynnersley moved as an amendment, that ailthe words after " that," in in the first line, be left out, in order to substitute the following :— " In the opinion of this Council the action of' the 'General'' Government in expending, upon: the construction of a main trunk ? road , through the Buller and Grey districts the sum of L 24,000 from that portion' of the -Nelson share of the Middle Island Railway Fund, set apart by the General Assembly for the construction of roads and tramways Upon the Nelson South-West Gold Fields is highly judicious, in perfect accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants of those gold fields, and meets with : their entire approbation; " Mr Guinness seconded the amendment. • ! : The motion then was, that the words in Mr Collins's motion proposed to be left out do stand part of the question! when a' division was called for, resulting as follows : — Ayes, 6— Messrs Macmahon, Baigent, Wastney, Gibbs, Collins, the Provincial Secretary. Noes, 10— Messrs O'Conor, Donne, F. Kelling, Reid, Kynnersley, Luckie, Guinness, Tarrant, the Provincial Treasurer, the Provincial ..Solicitor. The words were then struck out, and Mr Collins's motion being thuu rejected, Mr Kynnersley's amendment thereupon-Jbe-came a substantive motion, upon which Mr Luckie proposed the following amendment :— " This Council desires to place on record its approval of the recommendation made by hio Honor the Superintendent for the apportionment of the L 24,000 available from the Middle Island I&iflH^H Fund for expenditure within therollt Fields, and regrets that the Colonial Government found it inexpedient to carry out that recommendation." . . He also argued, from recent , information, which he vouched for as being of the most reliable nature, that, while the expenditure of LGOOOon the Upper Buller 'road was desirable, yet the cost of making the roads from Greymouth and the Buller to Reefton (which the Superintendent himself admitted were decidedly the most urgent) was, as Mr O'Conor, Mr Donne, and Mr Guinness had shown, such as to absorb the whole sum.

On the question that the words proposed to be left out stand part of the question, the division was as follows : — Ayes, s— Messrs Reid, Kynnersley, Guinness, O'Conor, Donne. Noes, ,9-r-Messrs Tarrant, Gibbs, .Luckie, F. Kelling, Collins, Wastney, the Provincial Solicitor, the. Provincial Secretary, the Provincial Treasurer. The words in Mr Kynnersley's motion were therefore struck out, and thenl, on the Speaker putting Mr Luckie's motion as a substantive motion, Mr Donne moved the previous question, "That the motion be now put," when the voting was. as under -.—Ayes, B— Messrs Gibbs, Luckie, F. Kelling, Wastney, Tarrant, the . Provincial Secretary, the Provincial Solicitor, the Provincial Treasurer. Noes, 2 — Messrs Kynuersley and O'Conor. Mr Guinness and Mr Donne walked out of the Council Chamber. Mir Luckie's amendment was then put and carried, and thus ended what had not been improperly characterised . as a storm in a political teapot.