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Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1602, 23 September 1873, Page 2

The Grey River Coal Reserve BiU^ it will be remembered, was introduced by Mr Harrison in the Assembly, not for the simple purpose of endowing the Corporation of Greymouth, but with the object of enabling it to carry out the original design of the reserve — " the providing of funds for the improvement of the navigation of the river Grey." Beyond ita bare introduction, the Bill was not forced upon the House, because the Government besought its mover to withdraw it under such circumstances as warranted him in believing that the object of the reserve would not be departed from. This much we learnt by telegram. ' Since then Hansard has come ] to hand, containing Mr Harrison's remarks on the subject — a resume of what has been written and is well-known in the district— and containing also the reasons urged by the Premier for the retention of the reserve in the hands of the Government — a retention which, it is to be hoped, there is sufficient reasDn and precedent for, considering the attempts which have hitherto been made to alienate the reserve, and the more recent plausible and partially successful arguments of Mr Bonar in favor of what is suspiciously like the same thing. In the words in which the Premier put his objections to the Bill, " it was altogether unreasonable that the reserve should be made an endowment for the town of Greymouth, while the General Government were spending so much money in the neighborhood of the town, on the railway and in improving the navigation of the river. The money was not being expended by the Town Council, but by the Colony, and would be no charge upon the Province. The amount that wa3 being expended was very large, and must be of infinite service to the township. The excuse for spending it was partly supplied by the coal in this very reserve, and it would be unreasonable to deprive the Colony of it, or to ask the Government to give the money up to the town. Another point which must be considered was, that it would very much embarrass the action of the Government, which had already completed arrangements under which the Brunner Railway was being constructed. This arrangement was being carried out with the assistance of the Province of Nelson on one side of the river, and upon the security of the coal reserve on the other side. It was true that the honorable member excepted existing i engagements ; but supposing the coalmining company should not be a success, or that it should not have sufficient capital to work the mine, it would then be necessary for the General Government to resume possession of the reserve. If the reserve were given over to the town of Greymouth, and the arrangement with the company should fall through, the Government would have no beneficial interest in the matter, and would have to carry on the work without the present security, while the town of Greymouth would derive the whole benefit. It was quite passible, that if hereafter these works should pay, and the railway should be running, it might be well to make this an endowment to the town ; but at present it would be exceedingly unwise to do so. He trusted that what lie had said i would induce the honorable member to withdraw the Bill, because the Government could not agree to its passing." Following Mr Vooel, Mr White hoped the Government would agree to placing this reserve in the same category as all other reserves — that was to say, subject to the control of the Superintendent of the Province ; but Mr Harrison, while quoting an example to the contrary of that practice, assented to the Bill's withdrawal on the simple ground that the Government intended to retain in their own hands the control of the reserves, and intended to proceed with the works for ;the completion of which the Bill was meant toprovide by assisting the Corporation.