PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 221, 23 May 1873, Page 6

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Tuesday, May 13. ttsattthouiskd expenditure. The Provincial Auditor transmitted the following speci.il orders issued during fie current financial year:—Purehdse of block 51, Dune;lin, £520; harbor recl.imition, £100; Dmiedin to Portob.dlo, £Z*J 18*. 61. ; main roid to Kurißush, £132 ; expenses of Governor's visit, £1,161 18s; contract iurvejn, £157 7i- lOd.; gener.il contingencies, £142 16i. 6.1.; Southlan.l old debts, £217 33. Bd.; dredging harbor, £6 >0 ; and Port Chalmers railway, £450 3s. 3d.; collection of, jetty dnt?3, £H 153.; Tokomairiro to Tuapka, £267; Shotover bridge, £7lO 14s Lunatic Asylum building, £l2O 6s. 6d ; general contingencies, £ISC ; Moke Creek to Uppo" Moonlight, £162 ; Approaches to Bannockburn bri.lg.\ £75; Cimp Reserve to Duff's store, £lB9 Ss.; Survey department,; £3O; approaches to Waipalu bridge, £9J ; . arbitrations and actions, £l5O 10s. • Total £6,197 15s. PRIVATE PETITIONS. The Committee on I'rivate Petitions reported. (1) In reference to D. and J. MalJocVs pethi »n : Tint the p -titioners lud no substantial claim upon the Government. The ; Commdt.e called the attention of the Government and Waste Lind 3 LJoa\l to the fact that of t.iie Crown had b.-en, and in other cases might be, illegally i-uvlettiug ; and re- i commended that' the attention of t >e Govern- : meat sh mid be give.i to the requirements and necessities of the public before any existing rese.ves be parted with; and in every case full public notice should hi given of the determination to dispose of so that they maybe open for application by the*pub!ic.— (2)' William Wadded's petition: That the case could be more properly dealt-with in a" court of justice.—(3) Petition of William Williamson : That it was not a case justifying a grant of public money.—(4) Petition of Thos. j Turner: This case was recommended to the favorable consideration of the Government for , compensation for his fencing and improving,' and for leave to obtain a freehold, if he should desire it, in the neighborhoo I of the land in respect of which his application to purchase, which had been refused, was made. j ADJOURNMRNT. j The Provincial Secretary, in moving the adjournment of the House, stated that, so far n,s he understood, the lion, ■member for the Taieri had not yet been able to form a Government ; and as the present Government merely held office until their successors were . appointed, they did not intend going oh .with any further bu-sinesa ; and therefore, in order to kdve that lion, member every opportunity' of forming a Government, he moved the adjournment of thi Iloase till Thursday, at two o'clock. . .-! Mr Reid explained that he had not yet been aVe to submit the names of a dcw Go- ; vernment to, his Honor the Superintendent.' lie, therefore, secouded the motion for an adjournment. I Mr B.irton moved as nn amendment tint i the House adjourn until that evening at seven.! His reason was that he thought the position of affairs was very peculiar. Either the lr;n. j member for the Taieri ought to be able to form a Government without difficulty, or he j could not form one r»t all.—(Hear.) .* i Mr Fish seconded the amendment, but did not wish to throw any obstacle in the way of; the hon. member for the Taieri, in hisnegoli.i-. tions for the formation of a new Government. ' Mr Reid desired to express his very ..greai thanks to the member for Dunedin (Mr Fish) for his advice, which was entitled to great! weight from the long experience of that mem- | bi?r on matters of the kill. What length of 1 time had elapsed? -what great delay in pub- I lie business had occurred since he (Mr Keid) ' hid been entrusted with the task of farming a Government? He was en!ru-ted ■with the task on Saturday after the bulk of the members who resided in the City and suburbs had departed for their homes ; and he had nj opportunity of consulting them earlier than midday on Monday ; and, according to the order paper, this was Tuesday. He had put himself in communication with certain gentlemen —•being desirous of allaying, if possible, the bitterness of party, which had exi=ted ; and had endeavored to make advances to them in order to form a Government which would not only meet with as much support as possible from both sides of the House, but hold its position until the termination of the session. He had only received aii answer from 'the gentlemen, to whom the overtures were made o l Saturday afternoon, at one o'clock that day. It was, therefore, almost impossible to make overtures in another direction before that time. He regretted very much that Mr Barton should have so very suddenly —and he thought quite unnecessarily—(hear)—and, in the circumstances, so un-called-for a manner have .submitted his amendment, which he hoped ■would not be agreed to. He hoped the Council would show more respect for its own deliberations than, agree to the amendment. Mr Wood was understood to point out that the amendment was tantamount to an expression of want of confidence in the hon. member for the Taieri. Mi* Barton said that what he meant by his amendment was tint he had no confidence in either the present Government, or Mr B>eid, upon that subject. ftlr Reid explained that the proposal for adjournment did not come from him. The Provincial Secretary thought the adjournment till Thursday should be granted. Mr B irbcm was qaifce willing to adjourn till Wbduesdiy, ho meant no person d discount e.-y, H'ud as it had h-en th night persona dy diseowrUou.-, he would withdraw it altogether. It

was only moved because he thought the time of the House was being wasted, because, if the . member for the Taieri did not succeed that I night, he was r>ot likely to succeed at any ! tim*~("Oh, oh.") | Mr Stout said that Mr Barton-had unthink- : ingly moved his amendment, and without understanding its meaning. Mr Barton sai I he kiuw its meaning perfectly well. He was' determined that he should in no sense be a parry to any expression by Ihe Council of want of confidence in the Superintendent—(Heir.) Mr St'-Uw was not aware that want of confidence in his Hmor had ever been expressed. The motion for aljourmnoat was then put and carried. Thursday, May 15. ■petitions. ! The following petitions were recoived:— I From certain settlers at Maeraes Flat, ref jr- j ring to the opening of blocks of lan .1 in their district,—(B7-Mr-M-'Eenzie.) From the Dun3din School Committee, referring to a C3rtain reserve in Dunedin.—(By the Hon. Mr Reynolds.') TH3 UNIVERSITIES. Mr Bathgate gave notics of the following: passing the. New Zialanl fTniveroity Act, 1370, to establish an efficient teaching institution, with a proper staff of competent professors, with which the University of Otago might bs amalgamated, whereby the youth of the Colony mi/ht be enabled to pursue their studies in the higher walks of literature, ai well as qualify themselves for the learned professions, has b3en signally defeated by the Council of the so-called New. Zealand University, which ha 3 limited its efforts to the affiliation of various casting local schools, without any guarantee that their stanlarl is of that character which can ensure the alvanced education required, and has expended the funds at its disposal, not in payment of professors' salaries, but mainly in so-called scholarships, without a University for pupils to attend. (2) That in the opinion of this Council, the proceedings of the so-called University .of New Zealand are.detrimental to the cans 1 of eduotiin in the Colony, and have a tendency to lower the standard" by elevating inferior schools to a rank they cinnot miintain, and are besides a manifest evasion of the law. (3) That the Unive.shy of New Zealand Act, 1870, should be repealed; and the funds hitherto disposed under it should, after satisfying all existing obligations, be applied towards the erection and maintenance of a University at Auckland. (4) That! as the University of Otago now possesses a complete staff of highlv qualified profess, rs, a most eon- ! venient building, erected at a cost of £30,000, I a good libriry, laboratory, and mils urn, and is attended by a yearly increasing .number of! students, this Council requests the assistance of the House of Representatives, towards its obtainiu'r a Koyal Charter, in order that its position miy be thoroughly recognised, and its service in the elevation of the standard of education in the Colony rendered more effective." ADJOURNMENT. The Secretary for GoVl fields moved the adj onrnirent of the House till seven p.m. Mr Reid said he had that afternoon submitted to the Superintendent, in accordance, with his request, the names of certain gentlemen to act as a Government; and his Honor, had asked for a little time to consider the matter, and promised to send him an answer during the day. In the event of his not receiving a reply before the House met, he was to ask for an adjournment till seven p.m.; and a« he had not received a reply, he seconded the motion. . The House adjourned accordingly. On the House resuming at seven o'clock, Mr Reid said that before proceeding with the business he had to ask Ihe indulgence of the Council in order to m'/ke a statement. As he had already intimated, he submitted to his Honor the Superinten lent the nimes of the gentlemen "whom he considered likely to meet with the confidence of the Council, and able to carry on the business of the country. Since the House rose at two o'clock, he had received a reply from Ids Honor. His Honor requested him (Mr Reid) to wait upnn him, and the result of tlie .interview was that his Honor intimated that he rxmsidered that the names of the gentlemen that had been' submitted to him were not likely to be satisfactory to the Council. The Speaker : I am sorry to interrupt the hon. me.j.ber, but a message from his Honor the Superintendent Message No. 5 was then read as follows • " Referring to his Message No. 4, in which the Superintendent, for the re.-.sons therein 1 stated, solicited the concurrence of the Proviuchl Council in an application to liis Exceli lency the Governor for t>n immediate dissolui tion, and to which there has been> no replv, the Superintendent again desires to reiterate •this request, andto express a hope that m the public interest the Council may see its- way. to concur in the proposed application. The fact that the Provincial Council has now been in session ten days, at a cost of some £SOO to. £6oo—(hear) —without any practical result—(cheers from • the Government side of the House)—speaks for itself, and furnishes an additional reason for the adop.ion of the course now indicated. In the event of the proposed dissolution been granted by his Excellency, ir is hoped that a new Superintendent and Provincial Council may be elected—sny within two months from this dtfte, till when there will be no (iifficu'ty in pr>vi ling for the public service under authority.of law. At. the .-ame time, in or ler to guard against any pos-ible inconvenience, the Superintendent wouid venf ore to suggest the expediency of j the Council agreeing to grant temporary sup-

ply, pending the assembling of the new Pro-1 vincial Council. "J. Macavd'hew. Superintendent." Mi* Reid resumed : When interriiptel, he was saying tint his Honor expressed iii-t op uion hiib the mimes that ha 1 • been submitted were not likelv to carry on the business of the country satisfactorily, and under the circumstances - Mr Shepherd .- "W hat names ? Mr Keid : Th-it the names of the gentlemen that I submit ted to his Honor were not likely to meet with the confi leu e of the Council, or cirry on the business satisfactorily, lie (Mr Rei I) thereupon expressed to his Honor his own opinionM'Ji'at he (Mr iiei.l) had n > other course but toT-leave the matter entirely in his Honor's hands. H; lia Ino further, explanation to m;»ke. The task his Honor' had assigned to him had been fulfilled, and his Honor had rejected the names, he had ten-.-dered. Mr Shepherd would .be; .glad if the hon. member for the Taieri would give the House the nam is of the gentlemen whom he,stated he hid submitted as possessing ihe confidence ot the Council, because so fir as he (Mi*' Shepherd) ha i learned, and judging fro n the names that were mentioned i-i the public press, he wns quite sure they would never hive the confi leuce of the country ; at all even's not of the (Joldd'elds. . Mr R ii had only to say that lie was quite pr mired to submit that, question to theC Mined itself.—(Hear) Mr RMd did not think that any go k! purpose could "be cerved by disclosing the names. Leave was-asked by Barf on, ashewasabou-to proceed to Wellington to have the Standing Orders su'pen led in or ler to enable him ■ <o move his resolution referring to Mr. Pliuis'iU. This . was met by an amendment by Sir F. D. Bell that the St ndmg O.'der* should be suspended to all of his Honor's Messages bein * taken into consideration. A long discus-i n ensue I as to the necessity of the Stand g Orders being su*pen leel'in the latter cour ; and ultimately on a d,vision being demand , a large number of tlu: Opposition left ;• e Chamber, and the amendment being put, v- s carried on the voices. Sir F..D. Bell pressed an information as o whether or not th ire was a Gjvernmmt. If the Government simp'y held their se its-lid their successors were appointe 1, it wis j>erfectly clear the House should adjourn. The Provincial S,.pre«ary replielthat the 0-overum.mt only held their se.ts till the-r successor.* were appointed, lie came down to the House expecting to find a new Government formed to replace his, consequently Message No. 5 was knew to him : the o h<u* Messa'e the Hou-e had heard before; The Government was not prepared with a reply Yo hi* Honor's Messige until they conferred, with his Honor, and as they were simply holding their seats temporarily, they were.not prepare I to go on with any business: he therefore moved the adjournment till 2 pm; next day. Mr. Shepherd submitted that it was riot trealin* his Honor with proper respect, in postponing the consideration of his Message. After some observations by Messrs Cutten and Has ings. Mr. Thorns mi considered that the Messages bHng sent down without the advice of the Executive imp'iel that his Honor intend-d they should be taken up by the Council and not by the p"es,.nt Executive. He was of opinion that the action'of his Honor in so sending down Messes was unparliamentary. —(" Oh, oh,") The matter should be gone into at once. Mr Barton was also of ■ opinion that the Council should at once consider the Messages. There was no just reafo i why the House' should adjourn, except to give hon. memb-rs who had not strength of character of their own to know what the piolie thought before they could come to a conclusion. r Jhe Hon. Mr. Bi'hgate concurred with a good deal his colleague Mr. Barton had said, but was of opinion that i would bo unseemly, and show a. Wat of respect, to at once take the Message, in consideration. He referre I to the Standing Orders, and contended that, there should be some delay, which would allow of offi'i il intimation being received, as to who the proposed Executive were. He had met the man in the street, who told him it was a rainbow Executive—it..contained all the colors of the rainbow—Red, Green, and i Brown ; and his informant added that the ! Executive was as fleeting as the rainbow itself; therefore it was impossible it could j stand. The • man in the street also observed that thosa were colors that would not wash, very well, and he (Mr Mathgate) admitfc d they were of a fleeting kind, but remarked that there'wasßrown S-out in the Government, and that should carry it through. The member for the Taieri - was to be Provincial j Secretary,' Treasurer; and Secretary for Lands; I the member for Tuapeka (Mr J. C. Brown) ! Secretary for Goldfields ;, the member for j Caversham (Mr Stout). Provincial Solicitor.; ; these tole supplemented by Mr. Luinsden's i name. Mr. Bradshaw was - offered a nonomcial post, and in his (Mr Bathgate's/ .judgment properly declined it:'while Mr 01111611 took the reversion, and so became the- other non-official member. He did not pretend to , say whether his information was correct : but if was. he had m "doubt that if it ever reached the length of being submitted to the Council, it would be found to be as fleetim* ss th e rai'i bo w i tsel f. ° Mr Cutten said that, so far as he was concern d, the hon. member's statement was totally without foundation, Mr Stout could understand the of ; Hie honorable meivber for North Harbor/who [no doubt felt disappointed because his name

was not read out hy Mr Bathgate as one preset e 1 tc his Honor by Mr Keid. Mr Keid thought the reply to his Honor's Address should be carefully prepirecl bv some, gentlemen who'shoul-l in a manner be responsible for the action 1 h<*,y took For his pirt, h.> wis n )t pr puvd to tike r.he mi tier up Uef'ore they agreed to his Honor's Message, tlyy shoul \ know whether or not it wis pos;ib:e-to>fovm a Government Viiich would meet, with the confidence of his Honor and the Council. ... Mr M* Lean agreed wiii very much, that had fillt-n from tiie member for the Taieri, but th-re; was one thing wh c!i he ha 1 not made quite clear. He presumed -Mr Keid hid performed' his task to the best of ids ability, and th it the list of nimos "he •■ submitted fold* Honor was the best he could" get. Did the hon. member recommend his. Honor to. Bind for some one who would be more "likely ': than he to form a G-jvernment, or did lie take up a position and say tint he and those ch,-sen -by him must, be accepted by his Honor? He wished to know,- because lie did not think the extreme step of a - dissolution"should be taken before every effort wiis mide to secure an acceptable Government. Mr Keid explained that when his Honor said he did hot, think the names submitted would be satisfactory to the Council,-he (Mr Keid) siid he considered-he was relieve I fro n the task he had undertaken. ': His Honor asked him if he wishe 1 to make'any further 'attempt, but he respectfully declined, ilis Honor di I not ask for' advice* • and "he Mr Reid did not think ic right,-in his po itioii, to ten lei* :f."-y. —(Hear.) ■' ■*. The House hen atljouraed till 2 p.mi Friday. ; FitiDAY, May 16. j TILE CKI3I-3. On the Orders, of thej Diy- being called on. ! . The Provincial Secretary said : Since wa met yesterday evening", negotiations h-iyenot le-i to a final sett"em -nt, of the difficulty, and I think that until thi* is" done it would bi useless to go o.i with any further bud less. If. on the other hml. th-se negotiation fail, which I trust they will iio-, in th" it cis *, the Government as now constituted, -will be prepared to adviso his Honor the Superintendent as to what step should/be taken"in reference to th s matter. I may say, th it .the Government as now constituted, are m 'rely liera until their successors are appointed ; and thit they have no. desire winterer to sit on these benches. I'wish to be allowed to read to the I louse a letter which I have received from his Honor in reference to a portion of the business that transpired here yesterday. It runs thus : " Dunedin, 18th May 1873. ' " My Dear Sir, — [ observe that the grounds upon which I objected to the Executive proposed to me y s ei-d'ay by Mr Keid are misrepresented by the .'Daily Times' this .r.oruiag and although perhaps it' is scircely worth while taking any notice of thi=», yet it'miy be as well, if you have Jin opportunity ot doi g so, to state in the Provincial Council whi. actually was s ddby liieto Mr Reid. Theipiissima verba were as nearly as possible that ' having carefully thought overtlienamessubmitted, I regretted to say-that they were nob altogether s« is factory "to myself—tint most certainly they would not be satisfactory to the country," and I doubted if they would "be satisfactory'to the Provincial Council itself, although, as regards Trie latter, it muht'be said to be no business of mine.' Tuese were, I believe, the exact, words used by me. " I'ours faithfully, "J. Macandrew." I have m further explanation to make. The gentlemen now occupying these'benches" arenot going on with one iota, of business: -vve are here simply till our successors'a re appointed, and.will not submit to being mide shus tiecocks of. as we have been during the last two days. I certainly shall not do s»o, and therej fore move the adjournment of the House." Mr Mervyn-asked the Government if tlio j Superintendent had sent, for any other gentlemen -with the view, of forming,a Grovern- ] ment. a The Provincial Treasurer said that he had ! been in "communication with the Supermtendent to-day,nnd fresh negotiations were opened j up, which he-hoped would lead'to a solution of the difficulty. For that reason lie thought if; most, desirable that the adjournment should take place, to admit of the negetiatiohs bein» matured. ' ° j Mr Keyr.olds did not intend to take any I part in the discussion,. haviug teen only in ' the, House a few days. -The ■ iiuperinten ten as the vlected head . of "the Province, had as | much to s.-iy in this matter as any member of j the Council—(hear)—or indeed as the whole | Council put together. - Wnat was the-fact? The Council did riot represent the Province. For example,-for the City of Dunedin there were three members who.voted one way and foar'the other. He could - not understandthat the citizens woul I return four to vote oi o way and three the other. Under ■ these circumstances, the question as to a dissolution submitted by his Honor ought to be fairy considered by the Council. It, was not ou y the case with Dunedin. There were other districts, which he knew -perfectly well* from his own knowledge of things,- the' members for which, on going to 'the country on the question now at issue, would have no more chance of .being returned-than he (Mr Reynolds) had of living to the moon in which the galleries joined, the demonstration being checked by the irpea^r.) Mr IX.ncan sa'i ! : lie was aware that negotiations were on 'oot. ;' but. lie did uul think they were likely to bring about an amicable agreement, to fur as Lhe dissolution went, it

was a mete farce, a waste of time, in fact, anr could do no good whatever.. There was n question to go to the country upon. The idea o spending £I,OOO to ascertain from the peopl whether t he-Miperintendent wa9 right in. dismissing Mr. Reid or not was ridiculous. Hconfessed lie » ould not be willing to be retnrnei on such a queslion. The duty of the present Government was to recommend his Honor no to waste time, but tosend forthwith fur a gen tletnan fr m a majority of the Council, so t;h;r a Government might be selected. If the ir.em ber was.delaying d .ing so, in the hop<* that; }L ■tnpmhfii* of the minority would be sent for, he (Mr Duncan) thought it would be weeks be fore a Government wo<d 1 be formed. He wa< .sure any member from his (Mr Duncan's) side would endeavor o form a Coalition Government, diking a fair share from both sides of the "ouse. Mr Gutter spoke in favor of the motion, in order thit some one else might be sent for with tint v ew. Thnt, he contended, was the ordinay course pursued under such circumstances as the present. . Mr Stout: We are told by the menibrr fo? Puuedin that the Superintendent is willing to take any as long as the member for the Taieri is not in it. Mr B ithg i.te asked if Mr'-'tout was in order when he made such statements as these ? Mr Stout: Tf llv hon. member says thnt he does not know the Superintendent's opii.ion on thnt point, then he has made statements tliat are utterly without foundation. An act ' of that kind was unfair, both to the Superintendent and to the Council. Ife had on.» thing mo'« to refer to the question of a dissolution. The party iu the Council anxious for it thought they had got. hold of a good cry to go to the country with. They no doubt t'lought th'it by going to the country just now they would be able to secure their position for four years longer. A demind of this k nd wis continuilly got up by one side or another, whenever they thou dit they' a good question to put before the country. It, was a reprehensible practice* and one which he wo.ild discountenance. He would support the motion for un sojournment ; and in doing so expressed his opinion that some person should be empowered to form a new Executive. The motion was put and carried. The Council then till Monday at two p.m. . Moxday, May 19th. PETITION". From the inhabit-mts of Hyde, requesting ihs.it 5.000 acres might, be thro.vn open on run 205 for the purpose of settlement.— [By Mr Mervyn) : GOVERNMENT EXPLANATION". I The Provincial Secretary said t.hsit, with re- ] gard to the position now nrrived at, thoy were l aware thi,t, on Friday Inst ! e had moved for an adjournment of the House. When he last uddrps-sed the llome he slated to the Council ill it negotiations had been entered upon whcli, he hopi'd, would bring ahout a ' union of the discordant elements, and solve the difficulty. He wns very sorry to say that those negotiations had failed. After due de- ! lib'rutiori, the Government recommended *o ! the Superintendent that the member for j O.imiru Country (Dr. Webster) should be; B'mfc for Toe Government thought he was the most likely person !o bring the conflicting elements together, and form a coalition G iverument That morning Dr. Webstnr had reported the complete failure of hi* mission The question at i<sue wiis 'difficult to mike out After iu'emiption, he added he would simply refer to the circumstances which 1M the to give his Honor the advice that they had given to him. Consequent upon the. nagotiabions that had taken ■ the Government found that the con- i tending elements of the House were of such ! a nature that it would be quite impossible to unite. The position of parties was this: Government had a compact body of seventeen Bipporters. About twelve members were sbaunch supporters of the hon. member for the Taieri. —(t aughter.) About fifteen mem-'; in the House recognised no political head at all.—(Continued laughter.) The Speaker: The hon. member is certainly as well aware as T am that the rule of debate is, that no explanation shall be made either by a member of the Government or by a member of the House in which debateable matter shall be intro lubed: it must be a simple statement of explanation. The Provincial Secretary sail after the course laid down by' the Speaker, he must confine himself entirely to the question at issue. The Government had recommended his Honor to prorogue the Council, with a view to an application being made to the General Government to grant a dissolution. - (Cheer 3.) j The Speaker then announced a message from his Honor the Superintendent, which was real a3 follows : • " It is with the utmost reluctance that the Superintendent is compelled to convey to the Provincial Council his regret that the Council has not seen fib to reply to his former messages—an act of courtesy which he had hoped would have been deemed due to the office which he holds, apart altogether from personal considerations. The Provincial Council will have been in session a fortnight to-morrow, without making the slightest progress in the practical business for which it was convened —and, for aught that the Superintendent can see to the contrary, this state of things is as likely as not to continue > for an indefinite period. There appears, therefore, to be no alternative but to prorogue the Council —(hear, hear) —and appeal to°the people; a course which, after his ineffectual attempts to form an Executive, the Superintendent, with the advice and consent

:f the Executive Council, has resolved to idopt. It i 3 hoped that undtr the circumstances his Excellency the Acting-Governor '/ill nob refuse his assent to a dissolution, ;eeing that other .vise the affairs of the Province will speedily arrive at a deadlock. — Opposition cries of "Oh! oh!")- The Superintendent need scarcely say that the step yhich he has now'adopted is a painful one—hear)—to himself, and ha 3 been taken under .1 verp grave sense of responsibility.—(Hear.) Elected by a d rasponsible to the whole body of the people, he should be betraying the trust reposed in him were he quietly to submit to the office being trampled'upon, an 1 to the business of'the Province baing brought to a stanlstill. The Superinten lent wouldrespectfully point out to the majority of the p ro. incial Council that if the somrwhat anomalous political m ichinery in the shape of responsible Government, an elective head, which the Province has seen fit to tack | on to the Constitution, is to work at all j beneficially, there must needs be in the j choosing an Executive niutual concessions, • and that the feel ngs an I views pf the Superintendent have at least as much right to be consulted as have those of the Provincial Council. The Superintendent has been chosen by the majority of the people to administer the affairs of the Province, and has been ' pledged to a pbHcy of progress.—(Cheers from the Government side ) It is manifest, therefore, that the majority pf the Council, by seeking to force upon his acceptance advisers who, it may be, entertain opposite views from the Superintendent, are seeking to place him in a false position- a position which he refuses to accept. The Superintendent came down to the Council at its opening with very important proposals bearing upon the ad it was intended to have followed up by others equally important. Instead of entertaining any of these, however, the time has been occupied in discussing matters "which have little or no practical bearing: upon the public interests: circumstances which the dent trusts will amply justify in the eyes of the people the action which, in the, interest of the country, he has been compelled to take. (Loud cheers.) '' James Mac.vndrfav. " Mr Reid: I was about to move the adjournment of the House. I think, Suv The Speaker: Another Message from -his Honor the Superintendent.—(Laughter.) (After a pans.-) -It is not a Message Tit i.s simply a letter. The lion, member for the Taieri will, please proceed. Mr Reid, when interrupted, was r\bout to move the adjournment. He was not aware whether hon. members on the benches were preparer] to proceed with the business: if not, ' he would move the adjournment, and in or-1 der that he might place clearly before the . House and the electors of the Province the ; position in which matters stool at the pre- \ sent time, he .felt justified, and even called' upon to take the opportunity of that motion,, to state what transpired since the time the motion was carried on which the Government 1 ' thought fit to resign. had been told j on manv occasion.*—in fact, they were re-' minded in the Message that had just been rea I—that a preat deal, of the time of the . House an 1 of the country had been wasted. I Let them see with whom lay the fault that '. this had occurred ? On the very first oppor-1 tunity which The Secretary for the Goldfields: T rise to J a point of order. I maintain that no hon. j member is in order. is no Council at; the present time. A communication from \ his Honor the Superintendent- — j The Spsaker:" The hon. member is out of | order—(hear)—and will please resume his seat. The Secretary for the Goldfields: I insist upon his Honor's communication being real ; Mr Mervyn: Sir, T b3g to call your attention to the fact of strangers being in the House. The Speaker: I cannot possibly recognise any document Mr Mervyn: Mr Speaker, I again call your attention to the fact of strangers being in the House. The Speaker: T trust the hon. member will not enforce his notice.—(Cries of "No, no," and "Withdraw.") I think matters might be proceeded with regularly and in order without the necessity of disturbance, or strangers bein ; r removed Mr M-Glashan: T rise to a point of order. There is a communication from his Honor the Superintendent, which T understand Mr Reid: T submit that I cannot be interrupted in this way. What- is the point of order? <Mr M'Glashan: T have merely to state that the hon. member for the Taieri is very anx.- j ious to interrupt me; and I hope he will not do it again. My point of order is this: A Message from his Honor is sent to this House ; and accompanying that Message Mr Reid: T submit that is not a point of order. I. must ask The Speaker: Will the hon. member for the Taieri resume his seat ? Mr Fish : I understand that another document has been presented to this House by his Honor the Superintendent. I have to : ask should not that document be read before the hon. member for the Taieri proceeds ? The Hon. Mr Reynolds : f contend (Loud cries of '«Chair." There is no Council iu existence. There is before the Speaker a ,' Gazette ' proclamation of prorogation ; and there is really no Council in existence. [Here the hon. gentleman was interrupted by fierce cries of " Chair, chair," which lasted several seconds.] The Hon. Mr Reynolds : I am quite aware of what T am speaking. I sav that the hon. member for the Taieri'is not in order. There is no Council; it is prorogued ; a ' Gazette'

notice has bsen issued, and the Government have intimated that such is the case. —(Renewed cries of "Chair" and "Orbr.') i The Speaker: L exceedingly the conduct of hon. members. This is the first occasion since I have been elected Speaker, , that members have trsated me in the manner they have dona on the present occasion (Hear.) I have received no notice of the prnrogation of the Council. . I cannot recognise. . any printed documents sent here wituout 1. authority ; i know not where they are printed. ! The proper cours3, if there was any intention jto prorogue the Council, was to have for- ; war le I the proclamation either by message, or for the Superintendent p r-oually to have appeared in this place, when L should atonje have bowed to him, and received the prorogation from him.—(Hear.) Tb.3 hon member for the Taieri is in order in speaking. Mr Fish : Before. The Speaker : The hon. member for Punedin must resums his seat ; he is out of order. ; Mr Fish : How can you say that I am out of order until you hear what my point of order is ?—(Cries of " Chair.") The Hon. l)i\ ALenzies c.i led attention \o the existence of a sergeant-at arm?, whose lufcy it was to' apprehend for contempt any member who did int obey the chair. The Secretary for the G-oldfi.-lds • I think with all due deference to you, Mr Speaker, i-.hut in the statement you have just made you •vere slightly under a wrong impression when he message came down from his Honor (Cries of " Chair!") it is very well to sav chair. Mr Reid : I rise to a point of order. The Secretary for the Ooldfields ; [ respect the.chair ; but there is no chair nr.w, and I •diall'not. pay any. respect to it.—(Confusio:t.) The same gentleman \v!io brought down his Honor's Message bunded to the Speaker the proposition of this Council-; and no gentleman knew it better than the Speaker— The Speaker : Beyond the Message th„thas been re id L have received no Mes age from ids t£o:!or the Superintendent. ]f the Sur-erin-'.endent sen.'s a proclamation of the prorogation of the' Council by Message in due form, then I will receive ij. Bub I will, not admit an informality. Tne Secretary for the Croldfiel'ls : You will not admit it because it doesnot, suit you. Mr Fish was about to speak, when the Speaker announced the receipt of a Messageenclosing a proclamation from his Honor che Superinten-hmt, which was read as follows : "*' Whereas by an Act, of the Imperial Par- : liameut ot Great Britain and Ireland, passed i in'the session thereof hulden in the- fifteenth . and sixteenth years of the reign of her'present ; Maje.-ty Queen Victoria, intituled " An Act to grant a Kepreseutative Constitution to the Colonv '"of New Zealand " it was amount otiier things enacted that for each of the Provinces established m the said Colony by the said Act, there sh -idd be a Superintendent and a Provincial Coined, to be eiecte I ami constituted under and subject to the provisions in that behalf therein contained, and that it shall be lawful for Hie Superintendent of any of the said Provinces to prorogue the Provincial Conn il thereof, from time to time, whenever lie should deem it expedient so to do: now therefore I, the Superintendent of the Province of Orago (one oi" the Provinces aforesaid) do.proclaim and declare that I do hereby in pursuance of the power vested in me in that behalf by the siid Act, prorogue the Pro-vi-.cial Council of the said Province of Otago. an i that llv> said Provincial Council is prorogued accordingly." At the conclusion of the reading of the proclamation, and ami.! loud cheering from tlu Government si.le. in which the galleries joined. ;: nd a storm hisses from the Opposition, tin Speaker retreated from the chair, and the thirty-second session of the Provincial Coun cil ended, '• three cheers for the Superinten dent," at the call of Mr M'Olashun beingiven as the general uprising took plaie.