Provincial Council.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 15, Issue 792, 2 June 1870, Page 2

Provincial Council.

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 1870. The Council met at the usual hour, and the minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. His Honoe laid on the table a return showing the amount collected during the financial year under the Education Act, with the names of those who have paid. Mr Febabd, in pursuance of notice^ moved— That his Honor the Superintendent be requested to lay on the table an account of the total cost of the Government weighbridge, and of erecting the same, and of any sum which has been received from Mr Vautier for the purchase of the same, and of the probable cost of purchasing and erecting a weighbridge of equal efficiency at the present time; also, copies of the resolution (if any) of the Executive Council of the province, of any agreement or conditions made with Mr Vautier at the time of such sale, and of any legal document executed for the purpose of compelling the fulfilment by Mr Vautier of the conditions then made, and of any other written documents in his possession relative to such sale. That his Honor be also requested to obtain the written opinions of the Provincial Solicitor and of the Attorney General as to the authority of the Superintendent and the Deputy-Superintendent to sell or dispose of property belonging to the province, and intended for purposes of permanent public utility, without the sanction of the Provincial Council, aud especially as to their authority to effect such sale without the assent of the Executive Council, whilst the Hawke's Bay Executive Act remained in force.

—He made a very long speech on the subject, disputing the right of the Superintendent to sell public property, and entering very minutely into the law of the case. Ho said that since the subject was first mooted, the Superintendent had laid two or three letters on the table, which he supposed were all the papers on the subject which could be produced. A perusal of them, however, showed that it was fortunate the Council did not sanction the removal of the weighbridge at public expense, as the present holder had consented to weigh for the public at the same fees as the Government only so long as the machine remained in its present site. The only course open to the Council was to prevent the supposed sale from taking effect, and resume possession of the article. It was of the greatest importance that goods should be w« ighod by a disinterested party. The Provincial Solicitor was said to have given an opinion in favor of the sale. Ho (Mr F.) did not agree with that officer, and thought ho should be made to sit down and examine the subject a little more carefully.—Mr Rhodes had really not read the long motion by the member for the Town, but having heard sonae of his concluding remarks, he thought the best thing he could do would be to give a little history of the weighbridge. Years ago, before coals were known in this Province, the then Superintendent, in accordance with a vote of tho Council, imported the article in question for tho purpose of weighing the wheat delivered at a certain mill, and it was accordingly erected at the corner of Shakes-peare-road. Tho aooount of the receipts, which might be seen in the Superintendent's oflieo, showed that it was scarcely ever used, though a policeman, at a cost to the Province of £IOO a year, sat day by reoeive fees. At length, when the importation of ooals into the Provinoe began to be considerable! the machine was put out for tender, and was rented by one of the coal dealers for £5 per annum. Tho weighbridge was, therefore, removed to the Spit, Messrs. Watt Brothers allowing one of the approaches to be made on their own property. The £5 he had spoken of was the only revenue the Government derived from it in that position. When he (Mr R.) was temporarily in offico, tenders wore again called for, but no application was made, and tho Clerk consulted him as to whether they should revolt to the old system, and again put a policeman in oharge. Instead of this, he instructed the Clerk to ask each of the coal-merchants what they would give for the machine. One offered £SO, aud the other £6O, aud it was sold to the one who had made the highest offer, on condition that he should always keep a man in readiness to weigh for the public at the rates charged by the Government. It appeared that since then the two ooalmerchants—carrying out the old saying about two of a trade—had had a feud, and one of them had prevailed upon Messrs. Watt Brothers to allow him, at his own expense, to bring their fence to the extreme boundary of their land, thus cutting off one of the approaches to the bridge, and rendering it useless to the owner. He thought it was somewhat unworthy of suoh a firm as Watt Brothers to lend themselves to this miserahle feud, and had it not been for the obstruction caused by the fence lie , had mentioned, he believed this question would not have arisen. As for the eale 4

the Prorincial Solicitor considered it per* fectlj legal, and said he would draw up a memorandum to that effect, though he (Mr R.) did not know that that officer had ever done so. In conclusion, he would say that if, as a public office I*, 1 *, acting with no other motive than the good of the public, he had committed an error of judgment, or acted in a manner not strictly legal—which he did not believe—he deserved the support of the Council. The original price of the machine was under £4O; the Province had been put to great expense in moving it about j it had never yielded any adequate return; and there were only two people in the place who would have given as much as 5s for it, if it had been put up to publio auction. He was quite ready to leave his defence in the hands of the Council.—Mr Obmond thought that the mover of this resolution, having obtained the desired returns, might now amend his motion by striking out all thai; portion after the word " time" in the eighth line ; for he did not think it worth while going to the expense of some £3O, to obtain an opii.ion of the Attorney General —thy might very well leave that to some of the bigger Provinces. The ptime cost of the weighbridge, including all expenses of freight, &c, was £34 ; it had been sold for £6O, and through the erection of the fence alluded to, was now perfectly useless to the owner. If the Council were of opinion that the sale was illegal, they ought to put a sum on the estimates for the purpose of buving it back. No doubt Mr Vautier would be very glad to receive £6O for an article he could get new for £34. The Government might perhaps make terms with Messrs Watt to again allow the use of the approach which had been fenced off. Ho believed it at present infringed somewhat on the road, but it was not much in the way. —Mr Pabsons said < it did not infringe more than seven inches. —Mr Febabd thought, after his Honor's ' explanations, that the Province might get a better machine instead of buying back the old one. However, he considered the question ho had raised respecting the right of the Superintendent to sell public property to be of far larger importance, and that the Attorney General's opinion, which he did not think would have cost more than £5 ss, should have been obtained.—With the lea-»e of the Council he withdrew his motion j also withdrawing a motion for Committee of Supply, that the sum of £GO should be placed on the estimates for the purpose of reimbursing Mr Vautier, in the case of the Government again taking possession of the machine. Mr Dolbisl, in pursuance of notice, moved— For a return of roads not yet laid out in the Province of Hawke's Bay on Land sold by the Provincial Government of which 5 per cent, has been given according to Sir George Grey's Land regulations, 1858, name of locality and number of Block. —His Honor said that under the Crown Giants Act, 1851, the time during which Crown Lands might be taken for roads had expired. He was informed by the Provincial Engineer that the only blocks in the Province where roads had not been laid out, were the Upper Mohaka and the Mangaharuru, and that this was to be attributed to the disturbed state of these districts.

On the motion of Mr Cablyon, the Highways bill was ordered to be printed, and the second reading fixed for Tuesday.

His Honob laid on the table a State* merit of the revenue and expenditure in connexion with the weighbridge. On the motion of Mr Kineoss the Clyde Public Hall bill was introduced, road a first time, ordered to be printed, and to bo read a second time next sitting-day. The Council went into Committee of Supply.

Mr Osmond moved that the Salary of the District Constable at Meanee be reduced from £75 to £4O j the salary of the District Constable at Havelock be increased from £2O to £4O ; and that of the Waipawa District Constable from £2O to £3O j explaining his reasons for the mo-! tion.—Mr Buchanan considered the reduction of £35 in the first item excessive, and on his amendment the salary was fixed at £SO, tho others being passed according to Mr Ormond's amendment.

Mr Cablyon in pursuance of notice, moved—

Tltat the Superintendent be requested to place a sum of money on the estimates sufficient to provide for a Law Library for the Supreme Court, and for a Fire-proof Safe for the keeping of wills and other muniments of title ; aud further to move that the Law Journal at present in the Provincial Library bs giveu as a contribution towards that purpose.

—His Honor the Judge had several times i complained of the insecurity of the safe con- • taming these valuable documents, Which was ■ little better than a tin box. The General Government could at any time compel the Province to erect suitable buildings for the Supreme Court, at great expense, and the proposal in his resolution, if carried out, would go far to prevent this being required. It would be no small advantage to the Council to, to get rid of that valuable serias of volumes of the Law Journal, which cost them something like £6o.—Mr Obmond said that the Provincial Engineer estimated the cost of the proposed erection at £IOO, and the documents in question might all be put in a small box. He saw nothing to prevent them being kept in the brick safe belonging to to the Registrar of ; Deeds. —Mr Cablyon said the Judge i would never allow the documents to be : out of the custody of the proper officer.— ! Mr Buchanan complained of the state in i which the library was kept, and recom- ' mended the appointment of a library com- < mittee. It was an absurd proposition to j hand over this valuable set of Law Journals I to three or four legal gentlemen, and the i effect of the proceeding would be to crush i the library.—Mr Febabd thought they 1 should not grudge the books.—Mr Bu- ' chanan said whoever obtained this set of i volumes for the Province did it a service. | In addition to the ordinary contents these < books contained a valuable abridgment of ] the laws of England,—valuable if only as ( models of legislation.—Mr CABLYON said « the books were useless, the index and about 13 of the early volumes being absent. —Mr Buchanan said about three volumes i of the index had disappeared, which , could be replaced at a cost of about thirty , shillings a volume, and the set would then be complete.—Mr Rhodes also strongly objected to the proposal. The Province , had already done enough for the General Government. —The motion was negatived on a division, Messrs Carlyon and Ferard being the only ayes. The item for pumps and wells in Napier, was, after much discussion, increased from £2O to £3O. | j Mr Dolbel, in pursuance of notice, moved— That his Honor the Superintendent be requested to place on the Estimates, the sura of £l2O, for ' the erection of a totara biidge over the Waitaha Creek. —After some discussion, arising from the fact that all the estimated revenuo had been voted, the Council divided, and the numbers being equal the Chairman gave his casting vote with the ayes. Mr Kinboss, in pursuance of notice, moved—

That the Superintendent be requested to increase he item for Wairoa roads to £3OO.

The motion with the consent of the! Council was withdrawn. Mr Phodes moved the re-committal of the item relating to the Botanical Reserve. The estimate of revenue had already been exceeded, and it was absolutely necessary that some of the votes should be reconsidered. —Negatived on a division.

The Council went into committee on the Licensing bill, and on the motion of Mr Tannib the clause relating to Sunday closing was recommitted. He proposed that public houses should be closed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 8 to 6 p.m. This would afford the working man, who waa so much spoken of the other night, the 1 opportunity of getting a glass of beer in the dinner hour when he took a trip to the country on Sunday, and would get over the main objection advanced. The publicans themselves would prefer to keep their houses closed during the whole of Sunday. Some of them had begged him to use his influence to make this closing compulsory. —Mr Cablyon would support the motion if the cUbs were treated in the samo way. —Mr Febabd saw no reason why a club should be closed any more than any other private house. If people wished for drink on Sunday they would get it in spite of law. Sunday was the only day the working classes had in which to read a newspaper.—Mr Tanneb failed to see any hardship to the working-man j but thought it was a hardship to a publican not to be allowed to refuse to sell drink on Sunday, however he might wish to do so. —The amendment was carried on a division, on which Mr Cablyon, who had charge of the bill, abruptly left the rocm.—Mr A'DEANE thought it very hard that people who wished to enjoy themselves rationally by riding out on a Sunduy, should be debarred from obtaining refreshments at a public-house.—Mr Tanneb read a clause from the present act, which was more stringent than the one proposed.

Between 1 and 2 a man could surely get as much drink as he required. —Mr A'Dispute said drunkenness was always increased by restricti >n. No one deplored drunkenness more than himself, but it must be combatted in some other way than the plan now proposed, which would induce deception and lying. He moved the substitution of "6to 8 a.m. " and " 2 and 6 p.m." for those moved by the member for Te Aute. —Negatived.—Mr Buchanan was sur-j prised that no member present would follow his principles to their legitimate conclusions. If drinking was an unmitigated evil, and so fearfully rampant in the country, as described by the member for Waipukurau the other evening, the only proper course was complete restriction; yet strong as was that gentleman's disgust at the scenes he had witnesssed, neither he nor the member for Te Aute would support a Maine Law —entire prohibition of the traffic in liquor; nor, on the other hand, would they adopt the only other logical course—abolish the licensing system altogether, and have free trade in liquor. No, they would compound with the evil they acknowledged and admitted. He had no sympathy whatever with the object of this bill. After all they had heard about the working man in the matter, the bill was framed expressly for the accommodation of gentlemen travellers, and the comforts and conveniences for them were virtually to be paid for by those who bought their glasses of gin, and, in the words of Hogarth, had " clean straw for nothing."— The Chairman

reported progress. After sitting some time in committee on the Sheep and Scab bill, the Chairman reported progress, and the Council adjourned at 10 p.m.

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 1870. The Council met at the usual hour, Mr Sutton presented a petition from 118 Roman Oatholio inhabitants of Napier, protesting against the Education Act now before the Council, and expressing their preference for the existing act, and movod that it be read.—The SPEAKfifi thought that the petition, referring as it did to a matter before the Council, could not, by the standing rules, be read or received. —Mr Buchanan said that the right of petition should never be denied where it was possible to avoid it. So far as concerned a matter before the House, he need only refer to the petitions pro and con which came literally in cart-loads to the English House of Commons, during the discussion of any question of great public' interest. He could also refer to a precedent—a petition respecting the toll gate act, which was rtceived by the Council.—The petition was then read, and Mr Febabd complained that its tone was disrespectful and dictatorial. —Received, and ordered to be printed.

Mr Feeabd in pursuance of notice, moved — That in the opinion of tliis Council it is desirable that the general supervision of public education throughout the Colony should be exercised by the Central Board of Education or other department of the General Government which should provide for the proper inspection of schools, and for the supply of duly qualified teachers; and that this Council request the members of the Assembly representing constituencies in Hawke's Bay, to support any measure which may be brought forward in the Assembly to make provisions for these purposes.

—There was no question as to the advan tages of a good educational Board; but in this Province we had not suitable men, and if we had, could not afford to pay them. For a small Province like this it would be a great advantage to have the duties mentioned in the resolution per formed by General Government officers. The examination of teachers need entail uo additional expense on the Colony, as it might be conducted by the Civil Service examiners.—Mr Obmond could not approve of this endeavor to fix the the Representatives of this Province to a particular line of action in the next Session of the General Assembly. It was a matter requiring the most serious consideration, and it was advisable to obtain the opinion of those outside on the subject* For his own part he would be more in favor of a Provincial Central Board, than a General one. —Mr Tanneb agreed with the last speaker. He did not approve of putting too much out of our hands. We might safely leave our representatives to find the best way in which to serve the Province in this respeot, and he disapproved of tying their hands.—Mr A'Deane said| education funds should always come from! general revenue. Local taxation was always expensive and unpopular. He asked that this motion might bo postponed.—Mr Febaed withdrew the motion.

Mr Dolbel introduced a bill to amend the Cattle Trespass and Impounding Act, 1867. Read a first time, ordered to be printed, and second reading appointed for to-day (Thursday). Mr DoiißEi/, in pursuance of notice, moved—

That this Council tender their sympathy to the unfortunate settlers of the Mohaka District, whose property has been destroyed and themselves driven from their homes by the raid committed by Te Kooti. That the said sufferers, being British subjects and loyal settlers, cousider themselves under the protection of a British Government, and have petitioned the said General Government for assistance to return to their land. That this Council express their sincere regret that the petition of the petitioners has not yet received that due consideration of the General Assembly which it deserves. ; That the members of the General Assembly representing the Province of Hawke's Bay be entrusted with a copy of those resolutions, representing the views of the Council, with a hope that by their exertions they will receive that right and due consideration from the General Assembly to which they are entitled. —He did not expect the petition of the Mohaka settlers to have been received so coolly by the Assembly. The case of the Mohaka settlers was peculiarly painful. They were not, like other settlers who had been attacked, living on Maori land, but were on the property for which they had paid, and received Crown Grants, Under these circumstances they had a claim on the country for compensation, and he lioped our representatives in the Assembly next session would startle some of the steel • hearted representatives of the South into a recognition of their claims. —Col. Lambebt seconded the mo tion, which he felt sure the Council would pass unanimously» but he could not agree with the mover's remark about the ironhearted Southern members. —Mr A'Deane trusted these settlers would yet receive compensation; but the Council must guard against the appearance of casting censure on the Government. —Mr Tanneb thought the best thing the Government could do for the sufferers was to secure the peace of the country. The motion in its present form was rather like carrying a censure j he should like to see it altered. —Mr Dolbel, by consent, withdrew the motion with a view to amendment.

Mr Obmond brought in a bill for the diversion of the Te Aute and Middle roads in particular points, according to a plan which ho laid table.—Read a first time, ordered to be printed, and second reading appointed for the next sitting-day but one. Mr Obmond introduced a bill—rendered necessary by a late vote of the Council — to provide for the management of the Botanical Reserve. —Read a first time, ordered to be printed, and second reading ordered for next sitting-day but oue.

On the motion of Col. Lambebt, the Report of the Committee on the Licences of Buns was adopted. Mr Febaed, pursuant to notice, moved : the second reading of the Eduoation Bill. He delivered a rather long speech, to which we regret our space does not allow us to do justice, summarising the provisions of the bill, and comparing it with systems of education in various parts of Now Zealand and in other countries. He disclaimed any special fitness for the work which had fallen to him, and stated that the provisions of the bill were very similar to those of the string of resolutions he brought be» fore the Council three sessions ago, and which were founded mainly on the Nelson act. In this bill he had not attempted to meddle with the education rate. That rate when passed was intended to bo merely temporary, but he considered the Province could not dispense with it, and would be very unwise to part with it. Our fault was in not beginning to tax early enough. A similar rate was in foroe in many other parts of the Colony. In Nel son several plans had been tried, one of which was a tax on every child in the Province, another a tax on property, but they had finally settled on a uniform household ra f e as the best. He then entered very fully into the constitution and working of educational boards in various parts of the Colony. Where the population was too scattered to support a school, the bill provided for travelling schoolmasters—a plan which had never yet been tried in this Colony, though several times recommended. It was very successful in Scotland, as well as in Norway and other parts of Northern Europe, where the population was scattered. The schoolmaster might istay two or three days at a time regularly in each place, or, as in Norway, stay three months at a time. After some lengthy remarks on the subject of denominational schools, Mr F. resumed his seat.—Mr A'Deane gave the member for the Town great credit for

I his industry and research in preparing and , bringing this bill before the Council j but he was sorry it did not pro?id e some less objectionable means of raising money than the present rate, which he came to the Council pledged to oppose. Many' Inhabitants of the country, he believed, would rather give £lO than the £l, if the money was spent in their district, under their control. He would, for one. [Hear, hear.} —Mr Cablyon said that in passing the second reading of the bill members would commit themselves to its principles, and it was impossible for them to have any idea of a bill of such a length, when it had only been half-an-hour in their hands. He believed it was quite an impossibility to frame an act which would suit bo'h town and country.—Mr Tanneb also thought more time should be given to the Council. —Colonel Lambebt thought thisbill was brought forward The whole question was likely to be opened in the General Assembly. He objected to the education rate, which was most unpopular in the country. If he understood the member for the Town rightly, he said something about a tax on children which had been levied in,Nelson. Now, such a tax as this would be a great hardship to a man who had done his duty to the country, especially it he had a family of tenor twelve. [Laughter.] He supposed no reduction would be made for twine. As for a travelling schoolmaster, he had never seen such an animal j but should imagine he would be found as great a failure as a travelling clergyman. The inspection of schools should be done by the Superintendent, who ought ako to be Inspeetor of the Jails, the'Hospitals, and the roads. The member for Hampden had suggested voluntary contributions. He thought very little oould be obtained in that way in this Province, [hear, hear] and was therefore truly glad to hear that member say that, in case of the adoption of such a scheme, he was prepared to give £lO. —Mr Newton suggested the postponement of the motion, and Mr Febabd, by consent, acted upon the suggestion. The Council went into Committee of Supply, and Oapt. Russell requested his Honor the Superintendent—

i To place a small sum on the Estimates for making a bridle track from Waimarama to Te Ajjiti by the valley.

—At present travellers were obliged to go ovc the highest hill iu the district. A surveyor's track through the valley was all he aeked. —His Honob said he found there was an unexpended balance available for i hie purpose, and had arranged with the Provincial Engineer to undertake the work.

Mr Buchanan, pursuant to notice, moved—

; That his Honor the Superintendent be requested to place on the Estimates a sum of £3O (thirty pounds) to make a cutting above the level of the floods on the Tatpo road, near Redclyffe, the old road having been destroyed by floods of 1867-3-9. —This work had been promised by the late Government. The settlers were prepared to give the necessary land, and to meta* the road when cut, so that the sum asked for was merely a grant-in-aid. He had also a personal reason for bringing this forward. Dreadful accusations were brought by his constituents against their members. One, they said, was debarred by his position from doing anything for the district, and the other did not attempt to do what he could. He wished to see if he could not in some measure mitigate their wrath. —His Honob was happy to say he had an unexpended balance available for this work —a work which should have been donelong ago.

Mr Tiffbn said some of his constituents were anxious for a grant in aid of a portion of the road to Taupo. Perhaps there were some more unexpended balances which might be thus applied.—His HONOB said there were not j but there were sums appropriated this year as grants-in-aid, which could be made available for the purpose. — Mr Cablyon complained of the manner in which these votes were obtained. He knew of objects more necessary than any of theso, whioh he would have applied for if he had not been told the funds were all voted.—The Chaibman reported progress, and the Committee adjourned.

Mr Buchanan moved the second reading of the Superintendent's Salary Act. In consideration of the impending constitutional changes, he thought it would be advisable for the Superintendent's salary to be fixe4 by act, so that in case he should ever run counter to the views of a majority, he should not be subject to the liability of having his salary reduced by» mere hasty vote in Committee of Supply*

vr-Mv bad much pleasure in se j gondpg the motion. The bill was a j-pysonable sequel to tho one passed last j session, abolishing the executive. Thn would feel more indepen j senifc if his salary were fixed by act; and: foe would not require to ieavo the Council; jyhilo his salary was being voted. It was' vevy necessary that ho should be always, present in Committee of Supply.—Mrj {UrJjYOIJ could not see that tho position: pf the Superintendent would be materially altered. His salary would still be in the hands of tho Council. As for the question pf delicacy, let him put that in his pocket with his salary.—Col. Lambekt had been Jong enough in the Council to know that politicians were not over-burdened with delicacy. They need never fear having a too delicate to receivo his! salary. Leaving the chamber while it was voted was only tlie work of two or three minutes. Under the proposed Act he feared a Superintendent might set the Council at defiance.—Mr' Cablyon said the country members were never tooj delicate to vote their own salaries. —Mr pEß4.ui> thought the Council would not be jus*tilied iu passing this aot when at their last gasp.—Mr Obmond could ontirelv follow the reasoning of the member who introduced this bill; he foresaw that in £he new Council the Superintendent would have to contend with groat difficultiesbut did not see how making him indepen dent of the Counoil would help luui over these difficulties. As ho would be merely the executive officer of tho Council, anything tending to place him in an antagon jstio position was to be avoided. —Mr Bitgiianah said that the bill would not fender the Superintendent independent of the Council, but would only have tht effect of intorpoiing a rather greater barrier between them. Tho conflict henceforth woukl not be between Government and Opposition, but between town and country From these the Superintendent should ptand ajoof, and tho way to make him neu fral would bo to place his salary beyond £he reach of a momentary adverse vote. — The motion was negatived. The Council went pro forma into committee on the Licensing Act, and the Chairman reported progress. His Honob laid on the table the Report pf the Provincial Engineer on the levels of \he Ahuriri Plains, The Council then adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 1870. 5 Ji-H Council met at the usual hour. Col. Lambkkt brought up the Beport of {\w Committee on Immigration. Mr Obm.O»p introduced the Appropria« tion Act, which passed ita first reading, was prdenad to be printed, and tho second reading apppointed for Tuesday next. Mr Okmond moved — That the Council is of opinion tlte Dredge mapliiiiery, lately belonging to the steamer Huntress, should be disposed of by'tlie Superintendent wheupver favorable terms can be procured. : —Col. Lambert Beepnded the motion. Ho had hoped tp hear no moro of the Huntress ; but she seemed to be still cropping pp.—Agreed to. His Honor laid on the table a statement pf the whole Loan account, the result of an. adjustment between the General and Provincial Governments. The final clor sure of the accounts showed that tho Province had ft balance of £4lO 6s 6d in addition to what he had mentioned in his £nanpial statement. Of course the expenditure of this sum was already fixed by the Loan Appropriation Act. —Mr Poi/bel thought these funds might be applied to the Waitaha bridge. [[Hear, hear, and laughter.] On the motion of Okmqnd, the Diversion of Boads Act was read a second time. Prdered to be committed on Tuesday. The House then went into committee pn the Sheep and Scab Act, Great discussion arose upon a section imposing a fine of 6d per beftd for diseased sheep and a further penalty of 3d per sheep for every forty days during which such possession shall continue. This seption had p.een inserted late oo Friday night, by a majority of one, only seven members being present, and ft general feeling prevailed that the penalty was too sovere. The plause was re-rcommitted, and after long djspussion, the following amendment by |£r Tanner was parried ;—r Every sheepowner neglecting to carry out the }astru,ctiqns. of the Inspector and to use proper measures for the eradication of disease in his flock fchaU he liable to a penalty not exceeding £IOO. §J.uoh penalty to be cumulative, from month to fl\pnth upon/ a fresh information by an Inspector further conviction. CgAjiiMAi? then reported progress, W\& &$ C° u . n eU adjoiirned,

TAMATI NGAjPOEAS » ENDEARED ONE." (Evening Post, 19th May.J If Mr 0. O. Dn vis lived in America, and occupied himself in the same manner there that he does here, lie would be styled " one of the most remarkable men in the country," and he would well deserve the title, Forming, as he does, a sort of connecting link between his fellowcolonists and the intractable savages who have shrouded themselves in sulky reserve, and have banded to gether not only to oppose progress and settlement, but also to shield outlawed felons, steeped in crime, from the just punishment; of their misdeeds, he holds a prominent position, and seems proud of his elevation. Regarded naturally with some little suspicion by those who are unfortunately devoid of philo-Maori proclivities, he turns for consolation to his dusky brethren, and is abun dantly rewarded. Does not Mann whirl himself—the great apostate, once a Christian priest, and now a Hauhau fanatic—designate him "the true," " the loved of old," "the en-

cleared one f i" Is he not the "'beloved friend' of all the sable conclave?" What can he desire more? The cup of his ambition is full, and he strives to prove his gratitude. He wes careful, a shoit time ago, to give his friends the benefit of Earl Granville's opinion of them and their oppressors, and he is now equally careful that their grievances should be made known. We published, yesterday, a letter of his to the Daily Southern Cross, accompanying two Maoii letters, whi<\h he recommends to the consideration of the public, as documents of weight—one denouncing the heinous iniquity of the pakeha in daring to tread the land of the Hauhaus in quest of Koot.i, and +he other as strongly inveighing against the progress of the road and the "talking wire" across that sacred soil, "an evil which is greater ihan all the evils which ha* e preceded it." "Keep back," says one dusky sage, "the road, the telegraph, and the Europeans- -the road and the wire from rapuwaeharuru to Whak.nuaru and Cambridge"; and this very modest request, which is simply to colonising ihe countiy, is evilently insinuated by Mr Davis to bo one which ought to be granted. We entertain certain opinions of our own in reference to unauthorised parties holding free communication with men who can only be considered as enemies; but, as such things are allowed, does it not strike Mr Davis that it would be more creditable on his part to use what influence he possesses with the Kingites to dissuade them from folly, which can only end in their own ruin, rather than to encourage them in it, by supporting their ridiculous demands ? It is a wonder to many people, that, holding such sentiments as he does, public opinion does not drive him beyond Tawhiao's "aukati line," amongst the fiends he loves so well. He has "already suffered for the cause to which he has devoted himself—a tyrannical country has arraigned him at a criminal bar for his noble sentiments—and perhaps he deems that his mission will not be fulfilled until he has earned the crown of martyrdom If he does cherish such lofty aspirations, we sincerely hope they may be gratified in time.