PROVINCIAL LOANS BILL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 205, 29 August 1873, Page 2

PROVINCIAL LOANS BILL.

We are indebted to the courtesy of the Premier for the following telegram : — The Premier (Hon. Mr Vogel) moved last night the second reading of a bill entitled "Au Act to empower the Legislatures of Provinces to pass laws authorising the raising of Loans for certain purposes, and subject to certain conditions." He said that the nature of the bill was indicated in the Financial Statement. It had two ' objects : first, to secure competent local approval of certain classes of public works, and thus to free the House from the necessity of considering works, as to the expediency of constructing which it was impossible for honorable members to have ! any adequate knowledge; second, to guard j against such undertakings interfering with the credit of the oolony in carrying out the great works .it had undertaken. It was proposed that Provincial Councils should be empowered to authorise loans upon specific securities. It would be made clear by the.} Act that the colony was not liable for such loans; and it would also be made clear that neither in technicalnor the ordinary meaning of the word, Was any security given over the ordinary revenue of the province by which any loan might be authorised. A province would not be prohibited from taking from its ordinary revenue appropriations to meet the liability consequent upon a loan of the kind, but the Provincial Council could not give to the lenders any priority of payment. The principal ou all loans under the Act would be made payable in New Zealand or in one of the neighboring -ponies. The purposes for which money might be raised were stated in clause 7, which was as follows : — " The construction, erection, or extension of buildings or works fnr any of the purposes or any of the descriptions following: that is to say — schools, colleges, or other public educational institutions, or lunatic asylums, hospitals, harbor works, docks, jetties, wharves, quuya, and buildings for other public purposes; the construction of roads, bridges, tramways, or branch railways, waterworks, works for irrigation, water races, sludge channels,, drainage works, works for improvement of navigation of rivers, and the reclamation of land; the purchase or acquisition of land as the site of, or otherwise, for such building or other works as hereinbefore in this section described." The securities to be given for the several classes of works : — For reclamations, the security would be over the land reclaimed; for schools, lunatic asylums, and hospitals, over the respective endowments; for public buildings, over the buildings and land ; for wharves and harbor works, over the tolls and dues ; for roads and bridges, over tolls, and a special rate; for tramways and branch railways, over the proceeds of the traffic, and a special rate; for irrigation and drainage works, over receipts, and a special rate. The Act would contain oareful provisions as to the making of special rates, and none could be made ! without the consent of a majority in number and value of the ratepayers in the district within which each j particular rate was to be in force. The Act would, in addition, enable the Assembly to set apart special blocks of land as security for loans for a specified work or works. A loan account of each province would be kept, into which receipts, such as rates, tolls, &c, would be paid; and to that amount there would also be paid fifteen per cent, of the land revenue of the province, exclusive of gold-mining revenue, but inclusive of receipts under the "New Zealand Settlements Act." The provisions as to keeping the accounts, and for compelling officers to perform their duties, were very stringent. The hon. gentleman explained these and other provisions. The Act, he said, might not satisfy all the cravings for provincial borrowings, but he contended that there was no useful work which it was desirable Bhould be con-

structed out of provincial loans; which the Act would not enable to be constructed. It would do this without interfering with the credit of the colony in connection with larger works. The necessity for the Act was rendered more apparent by the way which the representatives of provinces had recently been demanding powers to borrow, even to the extent of a million sterling in eomecases. TheGovern- ' ment regarded this Act as in the fullest sense a Government measure. It' there were to be a'general election, they would be glad to submit the measure to tbe country, feeling sure that it would command (he support of the country. He would add, however, lhat lhe Government did not desire to press for the immediate second reading of For remainder qf news see .four th page.

the Bill. Tbe hon gentleman proceeded to explain certain modifications which the Government proposed to make in theii policy as announced in their financial statement. The three principal features of thc budget were — the substitution of ac valorem for measurement duties, proposal! concerning provincial loans, and proposal* relating to those portions of the truns railway which were at present unauthorised, To the firet the effect of Jaw had been given, He was now dealing with the Government measure as to the second, and as tc the third the Government were willing tc propose important modifications. He admitted that so to do would be to modify a portion of the policy which was strongly affirmed in the budget speech, and any honorable member who desired to take advantage of that fact or of that admission was fully entitled to do so. He would state how the proposed modifications had been brought about. Tbe Government had been given to understand that the representatives of some of the provinces, and especially Canterbury and Otago, entertained strong objections to any of their lands being taken as security for trunk railways, but that they were willing, in lieu of these lands being taken, that the colony should provide a landed estate for the North Island provinces. This offer was not calculated to give early relief to the loan account, but it met one of the greatest difficulties with, which the Government bad to dea), namely, the unequal position of the provinces of the two islands. Indeed, it was a far-sighted policy of the Southern provinces, and would some day return to them bounteous interest in the contributions the Northern provinces would make to the general revenue of the colony. The Government recognised that the advantages of the proposal were so great as to justify a departure on this point from tb9 policy propounded earlier in this session. In other words, they accepted proposals, though it would necessitate larger borrowing to complete the trunk railways than would have been necessary if land had been taken from the Southern Provinces. "It must (continued the bon. „ gentlemen) be distinctly understood that the alteration does not affect the present position of the law -which makes each province liable for interest and sinking funds on the cost of the railways within its boundary. The liability of the land fund to annually provide interest will remain, but will not take land from Otago and Canterbury to be turned in money in relief of part of the funds which have to be raised by loan for their railways} and we .will return to Wellington and Hawke's Bay the land that has been taken from tbem as special security. In respect to details, I have to say the Government propose to substitute for the budget proposal the following : — That authority should be given to borrow £500,000 for tbe purchase of native lands in the North Island. This amount, together with the other £200,000 already authorised, to be charged upon the coalmine revenue. The amount already authorised is expended or required to complete engagements. Its distribution, therefore, cannot be varied. But it is necessary to apportion the £500,000, and the apportionment we propose is — £250,000 to Auckland, £150,000 to Wellington, £50,000 to Taranaki, and £50,000 to Hawke's Bay. We have given anxious consideration to the question whether we should retain control over the land, in order to devote it to meeting the railway charges of the North Island. We have come to the conclusion that it wonld be better to leave the provinces of the North Island to deal with the land as the provinces of the South Island do ; and, therefore, whenever free from native difficulties, we propose that the purchased land shall be handed over to the several provinces. "We only make this reservation, tbat the land shall not be sold, without auction, at less than £1 per acre, or, with auction, at less than tbe sum of 10s per acre. This is all we can do this session; but we shall endeavor next session to obtain the concurrence of the North Island provinces to reform the land law in the North Island. What I have said wjll apply equally to the land acquired out of the £200,000 as to tbat out of the £500,000. I have fiually to say, that if the modification now submitted is not acceptable to the House, we are willing to adhere to the Budget proposal. But we do not hesitate to recommend, in preference, the policy I bave described. It involves, it is true, some present cost to the colony, and some apparent sacrifice on the part of the Middle Island; but time will vindicate it as an enlightened and noble step in the best interests of a future united New Zealand. The, discussion was adjourned until today (Friday).