PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 5, Issue 282, 23 June 1865, Page 2

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

TUESDAY, 20th JUNE. The Council met at 3 o’clock. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. ORDER. Mr Colenso rose to a point of order. He instanced two occasions in the House of Representatives in 1862 where the Speaker voted against his own opinions so as not to stifle discussion. A few other members spoke on the subject, aud (he matter dropped. PUBLIC WEIGHBRIDGE. Mr Stuart, pursuant to notice, moved :— 1 or leave to ask the Superintendent when and where the public weigh-bridge is to be erected. The public had now for a considerable time seen a weighbridge lying in front of the door of the engine house. It was in such a position that in the ease of fire when the engine would be dragged rapidly out, the whole thing would be in great danger ff being entirely destroyed. The public had paid £4O or £SO for this weighbridge, aud be did not think it should be suffered to lie for months in the public streets. His Honor the Superintendent, in explanation, said that it had at first been proposed to erect it on the Eastern Spit, but afterwards that it should be erected ia the town. It had been said that it would be of most use in the town for the country people to weigh their produce; but on the other hand it was stated that the Spit was the best place because that was the place where most business was transacted and where cargoes were shipped and unloaded. He had therefore decided to leave it with the Council. Perhaps the member for the town (Mr Stuart) would bring forward a motion on the subject. GENERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY WITH THE EAST COAST NATIVES. Mr Stuart, pursuant to notice, moved : For leave to ask the Superintendent whether be receives any emolument, either directlv or indirectly, for acting for the General Government as their agent with the natives on the East Coast, -A question had been previously asked his Honor about him, in pursuance of this agency, supplying arms and ammunition to the natives iu disaffected districts, to which lie replied that he was not accountable to the Council for his action as General Government agent. He frould ask him if he received any emolument for his services. His Honor said that the member bad said about supplying arms to natives in disaffected districts was calculated to produce a very wrong impression. In answer to his question he would say that he did not receive any emolument whatever for such services. HAU HAU FANATICS. Mr Richardson, pursuant to notice moved : To ask the Government if, considering the dangerous proximity of alarge body ofhau-haufanatics some protection has not been afforded to the settlers in Petane and its immediate neighborhood and also if it is the intention of the Government to erect any Stockade or place of refuge, or otherwise, encamp a small body of men in some central position, so as to form a rallying point in the event of any unforeseen collision. ° He had at Petane attended a meeting of settlers held to consider their position with regard to the hau haus, and the advisability of erecting a Stockade. The 1 settlers in that

vicinity were in a very danger us position ; at any moment the hau haus might cut them off and exterminate them before the people in town would know anything about it. His Honor the Superintendent said that when any necessity arose, the Government would immediately take steps. He need not explaiu to the Council what had already been done in this'matfcerT ' PETITION. Mr Richardson moved:— That the petition of the inhabitants of the Western Side of Harbor be considered. Agreed to. UNNECESSARY DELAY IN THE ISSUE OF WRITS. Mr Buchanan, pursuant to notice, moved . That this Council considers unnecessary delay m the issue of new writs to supply vacancies in its numbers to be an infringement as well of its privileges as of the statute rights of the constituencies, and to be a direct violation of the 12th clause of the Hew Zealand Constitution Act. —He had thought it necessary to call for the return which he held in his hand, in consequence of the unnecessary and wilful delay which had several times occurred in the issue of writs, ihe first case he would bring before them from the return was that of the country districts. On the Ist October 1863, Mr Bousfield resigned, or, rather forfeited’, in consequence of having taken a Government contract, his seat in the Provincial Council, On the 16th of November in the same year a writ was issued. Only six weeks had elapsed from the time of the seat becoming vacant. The writ, he perceived, had been in some case issued the morning after the vacancy —where the Government could have no object in delayiny it. They all knew the circumstances connected with the vacancy for the country districts. There was a certain person the Government wished elected to fill that vacancy and they delayed the issue'of the writ till they had an opportunity of procuring the election of that person. It was entirely against the Constitution Act, the 12th clause of which he would read to them. [The Act provided that in the case of any vacancy the Superinshould issue a writ for the election of a member forthwith.] He (Mr. B.) hoped that the English language was understood in the Council, and that they would not need to refer to either to Walker or Webster to define the word “ forthwith.” The second instance of such delay which he would brill# forward was that of the town of Napier. A vacancy occurred on the 29th August, 1864, and the writ was not issued till the 4th May, 1865—a period of eight months ! The circumstances of this case were also well known. The Government were canvassing for their men six months before the issue of the writ. The Superintendent himself was known to have done so. It might he urged that the public had not suffered any inconvenience by those Melays, as there had been no meeting without these members ; but there was a great indirect advantage to the public in always having their representative body perfect, and every such advantage should be claimed by the public, however infinitesimal it might be. Mr Colenso seconded the motion. Mr M'Lean did not intend to excuse the delay’of the Government in issuing writs, but it was not from any of the motives attributed to them by the member for the town. He was ill and absent from the Province durin# a great part of the time. That it was from any political motives he altogether denied. It was not true that he had been canvassing for any one six months before the writ was issued. Mr Stuart, was very sorry to see before the Council another instance of the lamentable want of business habits, if nothing worse, on the part of the Government of the Province. He had already that evening referred to the public money lying in the streets, which was but another instance out of the many that could be brought forward on the subject. Mr Colenso said that he accepted the explanation of his Honor, as he (Mr. C ) considered his illness was a sufficient excuse. He had however been surprised when he saw in a small book almanac published, as was usually the case, in the last week of December, that Mr. J. A. Smith had resigned. Now it was usual in case of resignation of any member for a notification to be inserted in the Provincial Gazette, notifying such resignation. financial statement. A very long d seussion then ensued, in which nearly all of the members took part, as fo whether the financial statement could be considered in open Council, or Committee Supply. . The standing orders were ultimately suspended, and the Council went into Committee. ' ,

Mr Ormond then made his financial state ment. The Chairman reported progress, and asked leave to sit again next day. NGAEURORO BRIDGE. Mr Rhodes postponed his resolution respecting the Ngaruroro bridge till next day. TAIPO-EOAD. Mr Dolbei, moved:— ' That all correspondence between the Government and Mr 11. Alley, concerning the deration of the Taipo road, on the Sank of the Tutaekuri river, be laid oh the table. —He had nothing further to say in the matter than what was embodied in this resolution. His Honor said the correspondence would be laid on the table to-morrow. The Council adjourned at half-past 5 until 7 o’clock. The Council met at 7 o’clock, pursuant to adjournment. The Council went into Committee on the regulations for sub-letting the newly leased laud at Clive. The following are the amended regulations:— That the Council is of opinion that all lands in the Ahunri Plains, at present acquired for settlement upon lease, shall be disposed of in the following manner.— Each block shall, as soon as possible, be laid off in sections. Such sections shall, after at least one month’s notice in the Provincial Gazette and in each of Provincial newspaper*, be leased by public auction for the period of time which may remain from the date of the lease from the natives : the upset rate of rent per annum of eacli section shall be not less than twenty-fire per cent higher the rate paid for the same to the native proprietors. The rent for the first year of the lease shall be paid to the auctioneer on the fall of the hammer. The rent for the remaining years of the lease shall be paid half yearly at the expiration of every six months from the termination of the first year of the lease. In addition to the rent, the lessee of each section shall be liable to pay, on the requisition of a majority of the leaseholder to the Superintendent such sum, exceeding the rate of ten shillings for each acre contained within his section j the same to be expended under the direction of the Provincial Engineer for purposes of drainage or for the formation of any bye-r ads within the block. The lca-“holder» each section shall be eonpeiicd by the terms of his lease to fence in his section within twelve months of this date thereof, and to cultivate at least one-tenth of it witliiu the same period. Any leaseholder failing to comply with either of these conditions slmli forfeit las lease, which shall then bo again put up to auction and disposed of as before set forth ; Provided that in such case lessee ahull, in addition to the one year’s rent payable in advance, ho liable also for one half of the cost of any sulilcient dividing fence that may have been erected by any adjoining leaseholder. The Provincial Government shall give an undertaking that in case of the lands, or any part thereof, contained in any block leased under these conditions becoming the property of the Government, a pre-omtive right of purchase of the land containea in his lease shall be given to each leaseholder, such pre-omtive right to be subject to the payment of a valuation to be fixed by arbitration (in the usual manner), such valuation not to include any improvements that may have been effected by the leaseholder, nor to be a less sum than the total cost of the Government of such land Provided that any premise of pre-emptive right as aforesaid given to any leaseholder who may forfeit his lease shall be null and void. All moneys accruing under these regulations shall be paid to the Provincial Treastrer. The Council adjourned at 935 p.m.