AUCKLAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 300, 15 September 1855, Page 5

AUCKLAND.

(From the " Turanaki Herald.")

The Auckland papers brought by the ' Gem' furnish us with the proceedings of the General Assembly to the 10th instant, hut they are not of a very important character. The House of Representatives after some discussion agreed to the following Address in reply to his Excellency's speech on the opening of the Session. " We, the Commons of New Zealand assembled in their House of Representatives, have received with sentiments of high respect the speech addressed to us by your Excellency at the opening of the present session. We desire to convey to your Excellency our acknowledgments for the efforts made by you towards obtaining from the Imperial authority the establishment of Responsible Government for this colony. We deeply regret to hear that native disturbances have occurred at New Plymouth which threatened the peace, and may endanger the safety, of that settlement. "VVe trust that the measures about to be adopted by your Excellency may produce thedesired result of restoring and establishing its tranquillity on a permanent basis. Until we shall have had an opportunity of examining the correspondence and information .-alluded to in your Excellency's address, we cannot express any opinion as to the policy there intimated of the operations of the troops being confined to the assuming of such a position as to insist upon the neutrality of the European population being respected. This house entirely concurs with your Excellency in the importance of inter-colonial Steam communication, and will not (ail to promote that object by all means in its power. Considering the small amount of business likely to be brought before us, we trust that your Excellency will be pleased so to expedite it, that the session may be brought to a close in time for the members from the Southern

Provinces to return to their homes by the steamer, which will leave Auckland in the ensuing month of September." From the summary of the subsequent proceedings of the House in the" Ne»v Zealander," we gather that the Pensions' Bili has been rejected ; and that a message had been received from his Excellency covering a financial statement, and an Appropriation Bill, the former of which was on the motion of Mr. Sewell, ordered to be referred to the committee of Finance, and the latter was on the motion of Mr. Travels read ,a first time. In relation to the refusal of the Pension Bill our contemporary states that the necessity of this measure, as a matter of negociation, and as the only one for securing the immediate introduction of Responsible Government, was urged by Messrs. Forsaith, Mackay, and Greenwood, and was opposed as inopportune and indefensible by Messrs. Oarleton, O'Neill, Sewell, Travels, Bacot, Porter, Taylor, and Hart; who contended that, in the prospect of a dissolution, and with a house s<> diminished in numbers, no such hill should be entertained, and tlrat the pensions should be the work of a Responsible Ministry chosen from a newly-elected Assembly in whom the colony and its representatives could place confidence. The Bill was lost, there being but three for and twelve against it. Amongst the Messages read in the Legislative Council and House of Representatives on the 14th inst., is one covering a despatch from the Secretary of State to the effect that Her Majesty did not see any reason to disallow several of the Acts passed during the last Session of the General Assembly. The Public Reserves' Act is one of tbesp, but the papers before us give no indication of what the others are. An application for leave of absence for a month was made on behalf of a non-attend-ing member, Mr. Picard, by Mr. Mackay, which the House negatived ; one honorable member stating that as the rule w;»s, that the absence on the part of an hon. member for a whole session was followed by the forfeiture of his seat, the House could not consent to an application, the success of which would be an evasion of that rule.