LAST NIGHT'S COUNCIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 31, 5 February 1874, Page 2

LAST NIGHT'S COUNCIL.

The Council met at five o'clock; present all the members. Mr Adams asked the Provincial Solicitor, whether the Government intend to bring in a bill constituting a Harbor Board for the Port of Nelson under the provisions of " The Harbor Boards Act, 1870," in accordance with the prayer of the petition of the merchants of Nelson, presented by Mr Acton Adams last session ? The Provincial Solicitor replied that the Executive had decided not to introduce such a bill this session, but intended to reconsider the matter before the next meeting of the Council, —Mr Adams moved, " That the Speaker be requested to make the necessary arrangements with the Government Printer to ensure the publication of the Blue Book with as little delay as possible after the conclusion of the session, and that after the expiration of the present contract no payment be made on account of the printing thereof until the same is completed.*' He brought forward this resolution in consequence of the great delay that took place after the last session, which was especially inconvenient on account of the general election. Mr Baigent seconded the resolution, but would like to osk was the printer to blame, or did the fault lie with their own officers? The Speaker said that he would take care that the manuscript be put into the hands of the printers as soon as possible. Last year it was sent to them some time before the book was published. Mr Donne thought that there hod been great laxity somewhere, but that the Council had no right to interfere with the Government printer. The Provincial Secretary said that as the resolution stood it was a vote of censure on the printer, but that nothing had been adduced to show that it was his fault. He did not say it was so, but the blame might lie with the clerk. Mr Ivess moved as an amendment that the matter be referred to the Printing Committee. This was seconded by Mr Gidbs, and agreed to. — Mr Guinness moved, "That his Honor the Superintendent be respectfully requested to furnish this Council with a statement showing the amount of gold duty (if any) which has been paid into the Treasury of the Province up to the 31st December 1873; also to furnish an explanation why the quarterly account of receipts and expenditure published in the Provincial Gazette, and certified to by the Provincial Auditor, are not in accordance with Financial Statement of Estimated Bevenue, and of (1 The Appropriation Act, 1873." The Provincial Tbeastjrer having made some explanations with regard to the matter, the motion was withdrawn. — On the motion of Mr Maclean it was resolved, "That his Honor the Superintendent be respectfully requested to furnish this Council with a return showing the amount which has been spent by the Government iv connection with the Trigonometrical Survey of the Province, specifying the sums expended on mathematical instruments, and stating the present condition and. value of those instruments. — The Provincial Treasurer moved, " That in the opinion of this Council the completion of the main coach roads from Nelson through to Greymouth and Westport is of so much urgency and importance as to render it desirable, in anticipation of the proposed permanent loan, to authorise his Honor the Superintendent, to obtain the temporary advance of a sum not exceeding £60,000 for this purpose and for the cost of surveying the boundaries of the blocks of land proposed to be offered as security." This was the first active step the Executive had thought it desirable to ask the Council to take towards giving practical effect to their resolution in favor of borrowing. They thought that immediate action should be taken to show that the Council was really ;n earnest, and to secure the construction of one main arterial line from one side of the province to the other thus allowing the miners an opportunity of pushing their researches into the interior without being called upon to pay enormous rates for the carriage of their provisions. Other roads in the district prove undoubtedly necessary.but this was the one work upon which all the others must centre. Jj; would form, as it were, the great river of traffic while all the others would be its tributaries. A resolution had been passed in favor of immigration and it would be necessary both to find work and to open up country for those whom we imported to settle down upon. What with the General Government and the Provincial Government expenditure nearly £150,000 had been laid out o£ the ends of this road but the sura now asked for was still requisite to make that expenditure really useful. This lemporary loan was not without precedent as it had already been carried out in Wellington. There might be some slight difference of opinion upon the direction in which the money was to be Jaid put but he sincerely hoped the Council would be unanimous in agreeing to the resolution. Mr Maclean thought, as the representative of thp Central Buller district he wag naturally the one fco sepond such a resolution. A tall chimney produced a good di aught and a complete road through the district was likely to be productive of o largo traffic. Eoads loading to nowhere were objectionable but one of 220 miles through the heart of the Province was most desirabie, and it was only a pifcy that it had pot been constructed Ipng pince. Tfeera were several good blocks of road but the connecting links were wanting to open up much land that was fit for settlement. The sum proposed to be ex-

ponded was moderate and he hoped the resolution would be agreed to. Mr Adams was prepared to support the resolution but would have liked some further information upon the details. He thought the policy of the Government with regard to borrowing money wos crude and undigested, and but a copy of that of Mr Bunny, of Wellington, who appeared to permeate the Executive. Indeed, their actions might be described as a chapter of Mr Bunny. He regretted that the work had not been undertaken long ago, and did not see why the General Government should not take it in hand in connection with the works they had commenced on the western side. Mr Kelling would support the resolution, but would like to know on what terms the loan was likely to be obtained. The Provincial Treasurer said the rate of interest was not likely to exceed six per cent. Mr Guinness approved of the resolution, but thought more information was necessary. Mr Gibbs opposed it aB it was not certain that the Assembly would sanction the loan, and so a great liability might be inccurred by the province. Mr Wastney heartily eupported the resolution and thought the Government were deserving of the thanks of the Council for introducing it. Mr Donne did not altogether approve of it, and proposed an amendment, the effect of which would have been to render the resolution useless. This, however, found no seconder. The Provincial Secretary spoke in favor of the resolution and said that the precise route of the proposed road had not yet been settled,, nor would it be until a most careful examination had been made. Messrs Ivess, Kerr, and Fisher supported the resolution, which was carried on the voices, the only " No" to be heard emanating from Mr Donne. — On the motion of the Provincial Secretary it was resolved, " That his Honor the Superintendent be authorised to purchase the sections at Westport set apart by the Commissioners to be apportioned among the owners of the Native block in that town in accordance with the terms of a resolution passed by this Council." — Mr Donne asked the Provincial Secretary, " What may have been done in the way of preparation for the issue of the necessary Crown Grants for the sections of land sold within the towns of Charleston and Ahnura, and when the said Crown Grants are likely to be ready for issue ?" The Provincial Secretary replied that the plans had been sent to the township and were only recently returned, and the Crown Grants would be made out with all possible speed. It was a matter of comparatively small importance, as the receipts for the purchase money were at once handed in to the Land Transfer Office — Mr Donne moved, " That the Executive whom his Honor the Superintendent has been pleased to appoint has not the confidence of this Council or the Province." Much had been said both inside and outside the Chamber about this resolution, especially by some who thought that there was more potency in an ounce of ridicule than a hundredweight of argument. Seme thought that the Executive should have a fair cbance of developing what was called their policy, others had confidence in certain of its members but not in all, and to them it would be competent to move an amendment, but he thought the most straightforward way was to bring the resolution down in its present form, f f a plebiscitura were taken throughout the provinpe, he was sure that ninetenths would be against the Executive. During the late election for the Superintendency great disapproval had been expressed of the manner in which the aflfairs of the province were handled, and Mr Curtis had promised that he would effect a radical change in the Executive and upqn that understanding had been elected^ bus he had broken his pledge, and if the same two candidates were again to come forward he did not believe thnt the present Superintendent would poll more than two-tenths of the votes in the province. We still had the same Provincial Secretary as the head, front, and ruck of the Executive, and so long as he remained there it was hopeless to expect that matters would improve. He knew nothing very strong against the Provincial Solicitor, but an he wn3 a partner of the gentleman who lately held the office, there could be no doubt that the change was merely from tweedledum to tweedledee. He would now go on to the Provincial Treasurer, who in 1870 entered the Council as one of the party of progress, and much was expected of him. He worked hard to introduce a Uew order of things^ and during bis first year the Ordinance wsa passed providjpg for a semi-responsible Executive, He joined 4he Government and remained a member of it until about a year ago. Then came the correspondence with the Superintendent, who undoubtedly got the best of the argument. From it we gathered that Mr Shephard was prepared to advocate certain changes, but nothing came of them exqept the increased representation of the' goldfields. But now, notwithstanding that he left f.he Executive ? notwithstanding the correspondence, and notwithstanding that the Superintendent had taken credit for amalgamating the two offices, they still found the same Provincial Treasurer allied with the same Superintendent ft"d the same Provincial Secretary. He had heard it romprecj that when Mr Shephard took oflioe he stipulated as to his term of office so that notwithstanding any action that might be taken by the Council the Superintendent would still be compelled

(o retain him as Treasurer. (The Provincial Treasurer: It 13 utterly folse.) He thought it most uudeeirable too that the Provincial Treasurer should be a member of the Assembly. With reference to Mr Shapter, he Should like to know on what principle he hod been selected. He was a total stranger to the affairs of the province, nnd it web not usual to appoint strangers to the Executive. The Treasurer they knew, and the Secretory they knew, but who was the member for Westport? His appointment was viewed not only with a want of confidence but with a degree of alarm, as he practised as a lawyer in the Wardens* Courts where cases were heard, some of which might afterwards eorae before the Executive to be adjudicated upon, (The Provincial Solicitor stated that it was an expressly understood thing when Mr Shapter joined the Government that he was not to practise in the Wardens Courts in connection with any euch cases as those referred to.) Notwithstanding what had been stated by the Provincial Solicitor the feeling would still exist that Mr Shapter should not be on the Executive. There was another rumor he had heard about Mr Shephard which was that he had refused to take office unless Mr Shapter was placed on the Executive. (The Provincial Treasurer : The hon member is now trying to obtain from me the subject of private conversations between myself and the Superintendent, and no gentleman should expect another to relate such.) On tbe whole he felt sure that the present Executive did not possess the confidence of the country, and he had brought down this resolution in order to test the feelings of the Council. Mr Guinness seconded the resolution. Mr Shapter said that it had been stated that he was unfit to be on the Executive because he was a member of an honorable profession and was practising on the goldfiolds of which he had charge. That portion of a lawyer's practice connected with agricultural Uases, mining lenses, and special claims which alone would come before the Executive was very email indeed, and he said on taking office that he would not be concerned in any of these bo long as he was a member of the Government. Since he hud been in Nelson one question had come up on which he had previously been engaged and he had at once said so, and left it to the other members of the Executive. — Mr Guinness had no confidence in the existing Executive because it was a coalition of conflicting elements that h8(l been put together with great astuteness, so as to divide the Council into cliques to Buch an extent that it was hopeless ever to expect a fair opinion from them upon the merits or demerits of the Executive. Some believed in the Treasurer, others in the Secretary, othera in the Solicitor, though of this last gentleman he would say that judging from the manner in which the legal work of the Council had hitherto been done by his partner there was not much hope for improvement in the new appointment. That the member for Westport, who had very properly risen in reply to the statements made by Mr Donne, should not be on the Executive was shown by the fact that he laid himself open to such things being said. Mr Boase said that no doubt much dissatisfaction at one time existed in the public mind, but a great deal of it had arisen from gross roiastatements that were put in circulation, with reference to the Superintendent and Executive which had since been cleared away. Something bad been said to the effect that the resolution might be qualified by amendments. He thought there should be no qualification by the addition or substitution of words, but that the proper thing to do was to disqualify it altogether by committing it to the flames. The resolution was then put and negatived on the voices, not a single " Aye " being audible.— Mr Maclean moved, " Thut the sum of £2000, appropriated by this Council last year for the purpose of cutting » track up Mokihinui to Lyell and not expended by the Government, be a charge against the advance of £60,000 proposed to be asked for by his Honor the Superintendent for expenditure upon the main road from Nelson to Westport and Greymouth." Negatived on the voices,— Mr Maclean moved, " That as it is inexpedient that more than two sessions of this Council should be held in one year, and as it is of paramount importance that the Schedule of the proposed Public Works should be considered after the loan shall have been obtained, his Honor the Superintendent be respectfully requested not to call the Council together Qgain until after the next Begsion of the House of Representatives in Wellington." The resolution, which was seconded by Mr Sharp, was negatived on a division by 12 to 3. — On the motion of Mr Guinness it was resolved, " That his Honor the Superintendent be respectfully requested to urge on the General Government (he importance of getting the Regulations gazetted necessary to brijng into effect tbe Act of the General Assembly known as «' The Miners' Rights Extension Act, 18T2."— Mr Guinness moved "That it is desirable to make provision for enabling persons to occupy the Lands in the GoldSe-l^ f or pastoral purposes, ■;- ««joe» oc k 8 not exceeding 1000 acres, and §i}bjeps t$ regulations for ree^tjfy (or §ale, mining or other purposes, as may be deemed advisable, and that his Honor the Superintendent be respectfully requested to take the necessary steps for this purpose." Seconded by Mr Boase. Mr Shabp proposed as

an amendment that the words "in blocks not exceeding 1000 acres " be struck out, and the resolution thus amended was agreed to :— Mr Fisher moved, " That his Honor the Superintendent be requested to place upon the Supplementary Estimates a sum of £500 as a subsidy to a steamer of not less than forty tons carrying capacity; such steamer to have her head-quarters at Westport, and act r»8 a lug to the Port Westport; and also to carry pessengers and cargo to and from Charleston, Brighton, Mokihinui, Karamea, and Little Wanpanui, at rates and times to be fixed." Secouded by Mr Shapter. Mr Adams moved that the work " NgHkawhao" be inserted after "Brighton," and the resolution thus amended was agreed to on a division by 7 to 6.— The Council then adjourned at midnight until 5 p.m. today.