General Assembly.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 389, 26 July 1856, Page 4

General Assembly.

(From the " Southern Cross.") HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. June 11. FRAUDS BY SECRET 151LT..S OF SALE. Mr. Trovers moved for leave to bring in a hill for preventing frauds upon creditors by secret bills of sale Of personal chattels. The hill, the lion, member said, would defeat those attempts at fraud which were frequent on the part of the dishonest creditor, Ivy compelling: the registration of hills of sale of personal chattels. Mr. Fox seconded the motion. Leave granted, the bill read a first time, \ ordered to be printed, and its second reading fixed for Monday. BIUBEEI* AT ELECTIONS. Mr. Travers, pursuant to notice, moved for leave to bring in a Bill to prevent Bribery and treating at elections. The necessity for this bill was generally admitted, and a long explanation would not he necessary. In answer to Mr. Brown, the hon. member said that its provisions had reference also to the election of Superintendents and of members of the Provincial Councils. Brought up, read a first time, ordered to be printed, and its second reading fixed for Tuesday next. The hon. member then moved for leave to bring in a Bill to make further provision for preventing Bribery and treating at Elections. The object of this bill was to enable the House to disqualify persons infringing the Brihery Act, and, at the same time, to have it in a separate Act, in order that, according to the requirements of the Constitution Act, it might he reserved for her Majesty's pleasure. Brought up, read a tirst time, ordered lo he printed,and its second reading fixed for Wednesday next. LOANS BY GENERAL GOVERNMENT. The Colonial Treasurer, pursuant to notice, rose to move for leave to bring in a Bill to enable the Governor of New Zealand to raise a loan not exceeding £100,000 by the issue of Debentures. Tiie object of now moving the first reading of this hill was that the House uiiijbt be put in possession of it. He did not intend, however, at that stage, to raise any discussion upon the principle of the measure. Brought up, read a first time, ordered to he printed, and iis second reading fixed for some future day. The hon.member also moved for leave to bring In a Bill for raising a lo;m of £500.000 for the public service of the Colony of New Zealand. The same remark was applicable to this bill as to the last. Br.-ught up, read a first time, ordered to be printed, and its second reading also fixed for a future day. NATIVE LAND PURCHASES. Mr. Hall, pursuant to no;ice, rn.se to move Thai a respectful address be presented to his Excellency, praying that he wiii cause to be furnished ;o this House a copy of' •'• report from Mr. Me Lean, dated 29i1l April, i 85b\ upon the state of the Native Land purchasiuir operations throughout the Colony, toge.liev wiih an annexed Memorandum shewing the probable quantity of Lui'l which may be purchased from ] tiie natives in the year \tiofi. Also, a copy of a further Memorandum, dated 2nd May. 1856. shewin-r the Lauds which are more iunoedi'iielv required to be purcliHSfl.' The report was very lu^l an! conveyed important inionmttinii. ile thought the House should be in posse^si'u of it b Tun: taking any further step* in the purchase oi native lauds. Agreed to. SUPEIUNTF.XDEXTS IN' G >vKRSMEST. Mr. Fox pursuant to notice, ro.-e to move, That a .S[:eciiil Committee be iipt>"iutfd to prepare a case raisisig the questions whether a scat i:> the Executive O.miiinl ism- >-s not incompatible with the o'ii-.:e of Su|ienri:c!ident of a Provi'icv, and whi j.iU«r the aeoej-tancs of the former tines nr ■<!■>»;> not ips'> fact) vacate the latter ; in order that on such c;i-e heiuir prepared, an u.fiii-.r.ss may !><■ prefuted by this Uousi; to f-fjs E>:cl- ivney tiie Governor, re questing him to asi< .Mr, Justice Stephen to assist hint wiiii hi;* opinion thereon. Such Cmmitit-e u> con.-isi oi ;h;; Colonial Secretary, Mr. Ward, Yir. John Cr^l:, -Mr. Briu'ni, und the uiover.

| Injustice to the lion, member* themselves, to himself who had raised the question, and to the country, he thought that this question should receive the seal of judicial decision, which the motion, if carried, would be the means i>f attaining. Mr. Travkks 'lid not think that the Judge could, even if asked, give an opinion of this kind. Nor would it he judicious for that House to ask th.it the J\n\ize should give an extra-judicial decision on a point which might afterwards he brought before him iv his judicial capacity. The Colonial Skchetaky opposed the motion on somewhat similar grounds to those advanced by Mr. Travers. Such a course would be highly improper and impolitic, even if his Honor should consent to give such an opinion. The hon. member touched upon the legal question, expressing his belie:!' thai the boil, member for Wanganui had utterly failed in making out his case. Mr. Fox, in reply, said that there was very little to reply to. He adverted to the legal argument oi' Mr. Richmond, the effect of which was that, a seat in the Executive Council was nut an office. But the ver\ title of the function showed ihat executive duties were to he performed, and that in consequence, it was an office. And the oaths administered on taking1 (he seat were actually described as ihe oath* of office. The hon. member proceeded to show what executive duties had to be performed, referring in particular to the duty of advising his Excellency upon Acts passed by the Superintendents themselves in their own Provinces. It was making a Superintendent who accepted office a judge in his own cause. As for the impropriety of asking an opinion from the Chief .Justice, it was a course for which they bad plenty of precedent. He was sorry that the ministry had not the courage to meet the question in the fair manner he had proposed # The motion was negatived on a division, — Noes, 20 ; Ayes, 9. INTEIt-PROVINCIAL STKAM COMMUNICATION. Mr. Fitzhrrbeut, pursuant to notice, rose to move " That a respectful address be presented to his Excellency praying him to cause to be placed on the Estimates a sum after the rate of £8000, for the purpose of carrying out the recommendation of the Select Committee on Inter Piovincial Steam Communication." The House had already expressed iis opinion upon the report ; and the motion was simply to carry into effect the recommendation of the Committee. He would lake this opportunity of correcting a misapprehension that had gone forth, by stating that the steamers were recommended to he of 4()0 or 500 tons and to have a steam power equal to that of the " Win. Denny.'1 Asrreed t<».

June 12 THE MARRIAGE ACT. Mr. Ward moved for leave to bring in a Bill to a*nend the v±arriage Act of 1854. He said—lt is with some regret that I rise to make the motion standing in my name, because in so doing I must bring under the notice of the house not only the Marriage Act itself, but the neglect of the Government in amending it, though the necessity for that amendment has long been admitted, and though, a bill for that purpose, drawn by the Chief Jus ice, has long been lying in the Colonial Secretary's office. His bill, sir. I now move for leave to introduce, on the two»fold ground of religion and of humanity. Sir, I have applied r specting this bill to members of those Governments which, during the present Session, have appeared before this house, like the crowned shades before Macbeth* to " come like shadows, so depart.1' My first application, sir, was made to my hon. friend the member for the Hutt (Mr. Bell), and with him I took the ground of humanity. With that kindness, that benevolence, which we all know to be one of bis most pleading characteristics, he promised immediate attention to the mitier. But I fear, sir, that the cares of office, and the sweet seductions of society, choked the growth of the good seed which I hoped had b-jen sown in his heart. I next turned to my lion, friend the '.number for the Cnristchiuch Country District ; and my application to him was bused on the highest mor;il and religious grounds And 1 am bound to say, sir, in justice to that hon member, that, iiad lie remained in office, this bill | would ere now have become law. I looked next to my hon. friend the Colonial Secretary ; but, like

. an ha, he was '"cumbered with much serving,l' and could undertake nothing. And my last appeal «a,i made, and made, 1 regret to say in vain, to the obdurate bosom of the hon. member at the head of t!ie Government. (Mr. Stafford here expressed dissent.) The Uon. member surely does not deny it. I

will, however, recall to his reeollectio\ some particulars of the conversation which took |s.ace 01l t j ie occasion' (Mr- Ward here mentioned soiifi particulars'of the conversation between Mr. Stijibrd and himself.) I have said that I move for leaveto bring in this hill on the grounds of religion and humanity. I will now proceed to prove my case. Tlie\lause, sir, which this bill purports to repeal, provide* that in case a parent shall unreasonably refuse assei.t to the marriage of a child, that child may appeal tothe Judge by way of summary petition ; and the consent of the Judge," if obtained, snail stand in lieu of t!t<t of the parent. Now, sir, the efll'Ci; <>f this clause is in point of fact, to repeal the Fifth Commandment as applied to these peculiar cases- I must say, sir,\ and I think the house will agree with me, that in \ these oases tlv.rj is already quite sufficient tempta- \ tiou to disobedience, without encouragement from \ our legislat'on. 1 will not stop to analyse the motives <if the framer of this clause ; I have no doubt that he was actuated by the amiable motive of increasing, by every menus in his power, the population of this Colony; but it certainly does appear to me lhat, in repelling a portion of the Decalogue, we have somewhat overstepped t..e usual limits of Christian legislat:on, and in my opinion the sooner- we return to them the batter. J now, sir, turn to the question of humanity; and here I shall best serve my argument by stating a case- Let us suppose, sir, the existence of a worthy but prosaic matron, with a romantic daughter. The said romantic daughter falls in love; the mother refuses her consent to the match ; and the daughter declares her intention of appealing to the Judge- Mama thinks she had better anticipate that appeal, hurries off, arrives b'fore his Honor dusty and deliquescent, sits down, and proceeds to give him a complete account of the matter; commencing the ius--tory of the daughter at the earliest pussible period of • >' her existence, piobably some months previous to her being ushered into this sublunary sphere, and enlivening her discourse as she proceeds by divers anecdotes, elucidating tlie mysteries of measles, or the secrets of scarlatina. Well, sir, this l a sts for a couple of hours, at the end of which h.s Honor,-if he be mortal, must naturally have conceived an intense dislike to her, to use the mildest term, lialf-an-hour after her departure, the door ilies open, and in rushes the summary petitioner. A lovely supplicant throws herself weeping at his Honor's feet, or, possibly, fills sobbing on his bosom, exclaiming that lis is her last resource—her only refuge ; that she has made up her mind ; that for her there is—there can be no possible medium bstweeu matrimony and charcoal. This, sir, would lie a trial ; this would be distressing ; but let the house consider the case of his Honor on circuit, ariving a: a place where possibly a nest of half-a-dozen similar eggs await bis sitting. Let hoa members picture to themselves his unfortunate Honor surrounded by six elderly females, of vast lingual capacities, each dilating on her daughter with most afflicting amplitude; and let them watch him, as, stunned, dizzy with intense talk, if I may be allowed to coin an expression, he reels into the rojm where await hi.n the summary petitioners. Look here u t 0.1 this picture, and on that. Behold six. lovely supplicants, wit i streaming eyes, dishevelled hair, and heaving breasts, one weeping on each shoulder; one clasping, possibly kissing, each hand;" and one throbbing bosom pressed against each knee. 1 can go no further. Alas for the Fifth Commandment. Sir, Iregretto say, that I hive heard the following remark made, iv reference to titis hill, "' what is the use of a Judge, if he cannot adapt himself to circumstances?" Sir, I protest against the cruelty, the heartlessness which this observation implies. Sir, i have had the blessing, if blessing it be, of a legal education; I have had some slight experience iv the course of my existence: but, I must confess, that neither that experience, nor that legal education, has removed a single-iota of that constitutional inability, which, in common with every lion, member in this house, I should feel in attempting to adapt myself to the peculiar circumstances'which I have just described. I think, sir, that I have now proved my case ; and I I leave this bill in the hands of the house, perfectly confident that no lion, member will fur a moment | oppose amea^uie which has for its object the removal of the blot of irreligion from our statute book, and the relief of our Judges from a responsibility -J never before imposed on any Court in Christendom. (During tha delivery of this speech the house was convulsed with laughterMr. Stafford, after an explanation to show that he had never r: f.ised to bring in the bill, s-u rge-sted that the measure, after being read a first lime, should be referred to a Select Committee, the entire Marriage Act. requiring complete revision. Mr.W Alto acceded to the suggestion made by Mr. Stafford, and the bill was then brought, in, read a first lime, ordered to be printed, and the second reading fixed for iluu. day weekRKI'ORTINU THE DEBATES OF THE HOUSE. „ Mr. Fitzheruert moved—"That in the opinion of this house ii is essential to the working of the system of Responsible Government in the colony, that soaiu meai.s should be taken to secure accurate and authentic reports of the substance andaiguuienn of the- speeches nuide by hon. members of the

; House of Representatives in their seats in that House. That accordingly, a suitable annual grant should be voled by the House, to be applied either in aid of the existing reporting power in the colony, or in some other way, calculated to secure the attainment of the above object." He need liardty renvnd the House of the importance of this question, especially in connection with that form of representative government they were establishing in the colony, and the efficiency and vitality of which depended on healthy public opinion. Without such ' public opinion, responsible government would virtually cease to exist—that House might as well have no Reporters' or Strangers' Gallery—they might close their doors, and transact their business in a small comfortable parloar- Everything there- , fore that would give that public opinion a right \ direction, by keeping it fully and correctly informed "'(no gagged or distorted reports), of all that took place in that house, would be beneficial to the colony iat large- Under the present system,ho wever.ofgiving publicity to the proceedings of the House, this object was not accomplished,—and, in saving this, he , hoped to be understood as not speaking from any L personal feeling of pique, that his remarks had not > received their due share of attention, but from conviction that it was of great importance in this early stage of our infant legislature, that the constitueocy should be fully informed of what their representatives said and did—that they should consider wh.it. steps were necessary to be taken before they had become too much* divided and split up into parties —that it should be considered now when it could be so in an impartial, enlightened and philosophic spirit, for he had already seen indications;(and been conscious of a tendency that way himself) of votes being given on party considerations rather than on jft'ie broad ground of principle, as they would ■' jprobably have been given at the beginning of the session. He did not seek for full reports of speeches but for correct abstracts of the sum and substance of the arguments of every member; if full reports of set speeches were wished for, the members desiring them should themselves furnish the report. As matters now stood, however, the fact was that in this, as other Australian colonies, the statement of hon, members were not correctly reported, and it was impossible for those constituents to whom, every member must shortly give an account of his stewardship, to form a correct opinion from the reports before them of the manner in which that trust had been discharged. He contended that it was the duty of the house to give to the constituency the power of forming a correct opinion of the representatives; and if the principle of his motion ■was assentedjto, he would then propose a select committee to consider what sum would be necessary to be placed on the estimates, to frame a code of instructions for the reporters who should be engaged—to define their relations to the members—to provide for the publication of tbe reports so furnished, &c., such committee to consist of Messrs. Sewell, Fox, Williamson, Carletun, and the mover. In conclusion lie would say that, in moving this resolution, he had no wish to curtail in any way the privileges of the Press, whose conductors were welcome to fill their pages as they pleased, to have their irresponsible reporters.to comment on the speeches as they pleased, to give sketchy reports, or omit speeches altogether as they pleased,—but, us be had before said, he looked on the provision of the machinery for accurate and impartial reports as a very essential element towards the well-working of the Constitution.

June 12. THE DISTRICT COURTS BILL. Mr. Ward, iv moving the second reading of this Bill said, —I shall occupy the attention of the House for as short a time as possible. It has long been known that, however efficient that justice may be which we receive from the Supreme Court, it is neither speedy in reaching us, nor cheap in its attainment. For this state of matters, Sir. it has appeared to me that there were three remedies; The first was, to place a Supreme Court in each Province; to establish circuits within each Province; and to cut down the fees of the Supreme Court to the scale of the County Courts in England. I need «*t dwell on the reasons' which caused the rejection orftiis plan, as the many objections to its p^ent ■■'.adoption are self evident. 1 confess, however, that it is the plan which I trust one day to see in operation throughout New Zealand. The second remedy proposed was the extension of ti.se powers of the Resident Magistrates: and the third the esta. blishment of District Courts. As regards the extension of the powers of the Resident Magistrates, it is the opinion of all whom I have consulted that an extension of their present arbitrary and unchecked jurisdiction, would he neither a. safe nor a popular measure. There are, doubtless, men among- them on whom such an extension of pnwer might be beneficially and usefully conferred ; but they are the exceptions; and while I have great doubt whether even they would willingly accept the increased responsibility which such a measure would impose upon them, I have no doubt whatever that such a partial extension would create the greatest dissatisfaction among the remainder of that body. Again

Sir, the most important functions of the Resident Magistrates in the Northern Isiand, are their duties as native officers; and with these it is of course not proposed by this bill to interfere ; in fact it would not be competent for us to do so, as long as his Excellency adheres to his present determination of retaining in his hands the management of native affairs. But not only may a man be an excellent native officer, a.id a very bud European one, but it really appears to me that long practice in one capacity would almost unfit a man for the other. Those summary and arbitrary decisions, that disregard of the strict letter of the law in favour of abstract principles of justice, which are absolutely necessary in dealing with native cases, would naturally be most unpopular if applied to Europeans. Henceforth, also, the Resident Magistrates will be officers, I may almost say, of the Imperial Government , who will naturally he influenced in their appointment more by the qualifications of a candidate for dealing with natives, for whom they are solely responsible, than by his acquaintance with English law. And, it certainly is my opinion, that the Provinces should have a voice in the appointment of the presiding officers of Courts of such local importance as an extension of jurisdiction would make those of the Resident Magistrates. For these reasons it was determined to adopt the third remedy,—the establishment of District Courts. In framing the Bill for this purpose, it was found rather difficult to make it sufficiently elastic to embrace all the different necessities and prejudices of the various Provinces. One hon. member for example stated that this Province required entirely new machinery to work these courts. Another stated that it was absuid to suppose that his Province was going to pay for anything of the kind. A third stated that he considered that a new presiding officer would be sufficient. And a fourth said that he was by no means sure that his Province required any Court of the kind, and that he should oppose the Bill, if required to pay for its establishment elsewhere. " Quo', homines, tot sentent'ice." I had as many opposed opinions as I had advisers, and it was no easy matter to reconcile them all. I will now, however, briefly state the method by which I have endeavoured to do so. It is proposed by this Bill that the Governor shall be empowered on the recommendation of the Superintendent of any Province, to appoint, and to annul the appointments of, districts for the purpose of this Bill. That on such appointment of any such district, the Superintendent may establish therein a District Court, consisting of a Recorder, the Resident Magistrate of the District, and the Justices of the Peace residing within the Distiict. That the Recorder shall be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation •ofthe Superintendent; that the Resident Magistrate may Hold the office of Recorder; and that the same Recorder may be appointed to two or more Courts. That the Salaries of all the officers of every District Court shall be fixed by the Provincial Council of the Province wherein it is established ; aud that all the expenses of every such Court shall be borne by the Province which has demanded its establishment. And it has, consequently, been deemed just that all fines and fees accruing to any such Court shall be paid into the Treasury of its Province. As regards the jurisdiction of these Courts, Sir, I have followed the precedent of the ancient Saxon County Courts, in giving them both a civil and criminal jurisdiction : —the civil jurisdiction to extend to all cases where the debt claimed does not exceed jgJOO ; the criminal, to all cases wherein noi mjre than two years imprisonment may lawfully be adjudged- It is proposed that the Justices of the Peace shall be summoned to attend the sittings of the Court in rotation ; and their attendance enforced by a heavy fine, —which will, I trust, effect a summary purification of the Commission of the Peace. In providing for trials by Jury, I have adopted the Australian method, of empannelling four jurors,— three of whom may deliver the verdict- This method has been found to work so well in Australia, that though either plaintiff or defendant,—prisoner or prosecutor, may there claim a jury of twelve, yet 93 out of every 100 causes are tried by juries ni" four. An inexpensive appeal to t lie Supreme Court, on points of law, has been pr >vi:led and also a system of endorsement, by which writs of execution and warrants of imprisonment i-suing from any District Court, may be enforced throughout New Zealand. I think that euouirh has been said, Sir, to give hon members an outline of tie principles aud of the framework of ih- Hill, —the details, werliaps. will be best discussed in committee. In conclusion. Sir, I have but one word to say. I have been told, Sir, thai the whole onus of this Bill, for good or evil, must ivss on my shoulders- lam ready, Sir, to take all the discredit, if d'scredit there be ; but as most of my work in the matter has been the compiling- and adapting thy suggestions of more experienced men than myself, the only credit 1 can claim—and that I trust this House will allow me, is for a hearty determination that no labour of mine should be spared in framing this Bill ; which will, I trust, conduce most materially to the future welfare and prosperity of New Zealand. The Colonial Treasurer approved generally

of the bill, but considered it premature to be passed during the present session.

Meesrs. Fox and Merriman supported the bill. After a brief reply from Mr. Ward, the Bill was read a second time, ordered to be printed, and to be committed on Saturday.

June 14. TRANSFER OF WASTE LANDS TO THE PROVINCES. Mr. Stafford, pursuant to notice, rose to move, "for leave to bring in a bill to empower the Superintendents and Provincial Councils to enact Laws for regulating the Sale, Letting, Disposal, and Occupation of the Waste Lands of the Crown-" This bill was brought on by the Government in compliance with the unanimously expressed wish of the country. The framers of the bill proposed, in pursuance of that object, to give to the Provincial Governments as absolute a jurisdiction over the Waste Lands of the Colony as would be consonant with tiie Provisions of the Constitution Act. The hon. member then recited the various clauses of the bill, and explained at length their nature. Mr. Hall rose for the purpose of asking for information. He understood the hon. member to say that the powers of the Provinces would be subject to the provisions of the Constitution Act. One of these provisions was the necessity of remitting to the New Zealand Company one-fourth of the proceeds. He presumed, therefore, that onefourth of the amount realised would continue to he remitted until a new Act of Parliament could be passed. The Colonial Treasurer said that, on the proposal of the New Zealand Company being accepted by the House, and arrangements made for a loan, the compromise would be virtually, though not actually effected, and it would be no longer incumbent on the Government to remit the Company's fourths. Bill brought up, read a first time, and its second reading fixed for Wednesday next. ACTS OB ORDINANCES OF PROVINCES Mr. Hall, pursuant to notice, rose t) movs " That the Speaker be requested to take the necessary steps for causing this House to be supplied with copies of the Acts and Ordinances and the ' Gazettes ' of the several Provinces of New Zealand." The House had to form an opinion upon the legislation of the Provinces, yet hon. members were in utter ignorance of what that legislation consisted of. Mr. Brown doubted if they could all be procured. The Speaker intimated to the House that the Clerk had already applied for these Bills, but the answer had been, in some instances, that man) of these Bills were out of iype, mid could not, for that reason, be supplied. Agreed to.