LAST NIGHTS COUNCIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 132, 3 June 1875, Page 2

LAST NIGHTS COUNCIL.

The Council met at five o'clock;— Mf Ivess asiced the Provincial Secretary, "Whether the Government intended immediately improving tbe building used for gaol purposes at Reefton. The Provincial Secretary replied, that during the ensuing year the Government hoped to be able to do so, but at present he was not in a position to mako any promise. Mr M'Greoor moved, That in order to encourage the investment of capita in mining industries and facilitate the development of our mineral resources, this Council is of opinion that- the annual rental charged on areas of land leased for quartz-mining purposes should be reduced to the nominal sum of five shillings per acre. — After some little discussion, the motion was withdrawn. On the motion of the Provincial Solicitor, the Tolls Act Bill \Vas tead a third time; Mr Coreett moved, That his Honor the Superintendent, be requested to urge upon the Minister of Public Works the necessity of completing the remaining section of the ilochstetter water-race as early as possible. — Agreed to. Mr Donne moved,' That the la c Provincial Secretary having been-^rf-j moved from office after twenty years' provincial service, in consequence pf an alteration of the law, this Council is of opinion that one year's salary should be granted to him as a recognition of long service, and some compensation for loss of office ; and that his Honor the Superintendent.be requested to. place the amount on the Appropriation Bill, less the sum voted by the Council last year. — He had much pleasure in moving this resolution, for, although he had been always politically opposed to the gentleman in question, he had invariably been treated by him, as indeed had the whole Council, with courtesy aud . respect. He had served the province for a large number of years, and had not entered political life of his own accord, for he was originally clerk to the Superintendent, but had been made l J rovincial Secretary by Mr Saunders, who had then insisted upon his having a seat in the Council very much against his own will. Through no fault of his own, but owing to a change in the law, he had lost his office, and the Council had, upon his retiring, voted him £200, being at the time under the impression that he was at once to be appointed to another office, but he had failed in obtaining it, and therefore he (Mr Donne) thought that he was fully entitled to some more consideration at their hands. It was not an act of generosity, but one of bare justice that he was asking them t<? perform, for had Mr Greenfield been in the General Government service instead' of that of the Provincial Government he would have been entitled to a month 'B pay for : every year's service.; — Mr Share seconded the .mation. — Mr Ivess opposed, as he thought Mr Greenfield had been sufficiently liberally dealt with in receiving £200 on retiring 1 . He would move the previous question. — This was seconded by Mr Kerr. — Mr Boase opposed the motion, as'he believed that in agreeing to it they would only be perpetuating the pension list, the blackest piece of work that was ever passed off upon a community. — Mr Acton Adams, moved the adjournment ofthe debate for a week. — The Provincial Treasurer seconded the motion for adjournment, which was carried on a division, by 13 to 5. Ayes : The Provincial Secretary, Provincial Solicitor, Provincial Treasurer, Messrs M'Gregor, Boase, Shephard, "Wastney, Ivess, Adams, Parker, Kerr, Edwards, Baigent. Noes : Messrs M'Guire, Tarrant, Sharp, Corbett, Donne. The Council then went into Committee on the Supplementary Estimates. — .The item "Consolidating Provincial Acts" was reducpd from £250 to £100. } — On the item "Damages and expenses Knyvett v O'Conor " being read, the j. Provincial Secretary gave a history of the circumstances preceding the action, stating that he had been determined to put a stop to the frequent absence of Mr Knyvett from the works over which he had been appointed overseer, and the truck system which was carried on by him and his brother. The voucher, which was the original cause of the action, was for a payment which, he considered so preposterous and extravagant that he determined to lay it before the Executive, but Knyvett determined to retain it, and he (Mr O'Conor) regarding h as a Go- kverument.document was equally determined to* obtain possession of it. When the aciion went into the Supreme Court he had paid £5 into Court, and this, by the ruling of the Judge, had prevented hira stating the whole case, as it was looked upon as an admission of. his having been in error, but this had been done in consequence of a communication indirectly received from Knyvett's solicitor that it would put a stop to further litigation. Wheft^|tt4 case went into the Kesiden^|^B^ trates Court it wns plain to e vlsis|«|pr» tliat it was not viewed merely upra^S! merits, but it was clearly a mofeelta^ damage the Government, of whiclgHl| was tie head, He denied that KoyMll was ever given in charge, although,^^ doubt, he would have very much liken to be, but what was done was in the» inleiesis of the province, and witha view to checkiug certain goingson thut could not be put a stop too to soon. No one could pretend to say that he E. J. O'Conor, was personally interested in the matter, but it must be clear that he was acting in his official capacity. A number of persons who regarded the

verdict as a political one had determined that he should not be the Sufferer, and had subscribed k sura to meet the ■ damages and costs, but Le regarded it as a debt duo. by the province, as ha was acting oh its behalf. If the Council refused to pay it he would say let them give hira the amount he had saved i the province by ridding the public of the biggest lot of drones that ever pestered the service, aud be would out of that sum willingly pay the fine. If the Council would not vote it, he would willingly accept that which had been offered to hira, for he would say plainly th»t he was no. in a position when he took office to brave the vengeance of the nest of hornets tbat be knew he would disturb. He had acied to the best of his judgment and ability as a public servant, and he would continue to do so in his efforts to extirpate a number of people whose sole aim and end was to get what they could out of the Treasury.— -Mr Wastney would move as au amendment that the word " Damages " be struck out, find the figures £100 he substituted for £210. He was of opinion that Mr O'Conor was not justified in the course he adopted, and that he had exceeded his duty, but he also thought lhat the jury had awarded too high damages, as a nominal sum would have been sufficient, and therefore he was prepared to vote the £100 damages. He felt, sure that Mr O'Couor had acted in the belief that he was doing his duty towards the province, but in so doiDg be had assumed a power that it would be dangerous to band over to any Provincial Secretary or Treasurer. — Mr Donne thought ibat there was no middle course. They must vote the whole amount or none, and he should vote for the latter. Mr O'Conor had sought to show that he was acting in his official capacity as Treasurer, but if a man acted on his own judgment, in opposition to that of others, the matter became a personal one. The question at issue was simply one of title, and upon eui*h grounds Mr O'Conor had no right to give Knyvett in charge. If it could be shown that there was a ptoper course open to him to pursue, and he had not followed it be must bear the const quences. To pass this item would be to censure the Supreme Court, and (o otfer w premium to others to bnak the law. — The Provincial Solicitor thought the position taken up by Mr Wastney was most inconsistent. He sutd that the damages should only have been nominal, but tie £5 that had been offeied was more than nominal, and would have involved the payment by Mr O'Conor ol all the costs up to the time of its paymeut. The decision of the Resident Magistrate he considered ! was in Mr O'Couor's favor, as he had eaid distinctly that Mr O'Conor was acting in his capacity as Provincial Treasurer. Had the case been heard '<• befoie a common jury the verdict would -probably have been differed, and the j'ud^e had shown by refusing to certify to a Bpcofel jury tbat he did not' con-" 1 sider it necessary. Thia to some extent justified the Provincial Secretary in calling it a political verdiot. — Mr Shepiiard regretted the matter had come before the Council in this way, and would very much prefer to see it referred to a Select Committee, who could take evidence that would not he allowed in a Court of law. Many facts had already been adduced by the Provincial Secretary which were striking and to him were new, and more of the same kind might be adduced before a Committee. He did not hesitate to say that his opinion would have been that the document was Government property, and had he been in Mr O'Conor s position he, although he might have adopted other means, would have taken some steps to recover it. A Committee could decide the whole question in one sitting, — Mr Boase was convinced thtt Mr O'Conor had act* d in the interests of the province, and in his public capacity. If he had made a mistake it was in his zeal for tbe public welfare, and he was sure that he was backed by public opinion. — Mr Tarrant was in favor of referring the matter to a Committee, — The Speaker should vote against the item altogether. It was one of those occasions upon which the outside publio might be quite right in coming forward to indemnify a member ofthe Government, but the Council, as the guardians of the public purse must be quite sure that the action had been taken with a clear and unmistakeable intention of performing a public duty, but he did not think that on the occasion in question that duty bad been so clear as to justifying the voting of the money. If, however, a. Committee was appointed by ballot he 7 would be willing to accept their decision on condition that there was no discussion. — Mr Kelling believed that Mr O'Conor was performing what he believed to be bis duty, and pointed out that he was fully supported by hia colleagues and consequently the question could not be regarded as a personal one. — Mr Ivess opposed the appointu ment of a Committee, and thought I ikthat the Council was the placa " Sor discussing the matter. Mr I fl^ onor ac * Bntei * a 8 P'' ov i"cial Treaj falter, and was therefore clearly enI ftpmd <o the protection of the Council. a I?T*|S|& M'Gregor was not an undevia-* kjiJH&pporter ofthe Government, but r^^^rafe occasion he meant to support '^^^&incial Secretary. He had «fifP§llf& )eGD wanting in discretion, qHffi|Hp|ade a great mistake, but he 0 con done it this time, but it raßnp^ratecur again, as the liberty of tl^pi^E^was not a matter to be trifle^m^^l^Blhe Government were at the tit^pPpfouDg, and like all bodies

and individuals now to power were perhaps disposed to be tyrannical, but he hoped that ultimately they might work into a very lair Government. They had among them one, (his hon. ! friend the Provincial Treasurer) who ; was not only of a scientific turn of mind, but who dabbled a little in phrenology. He might devote some of his spare moments that were not taken up with affairs of the state to passing his hand over the heads of his colleagues, and informing them which of their faculties should be cultivated snd which kept in check. He would I strongly recommend Mr O'Conor not i to err in the same direction atrain. — Mr Shabp thought that Mr O'Conor had undoubtedly been hasty, but tbe i question for them to consider was whether he acted in the belief that be was doing his duty as Provincial Treasurer. — Mr Acton .Adams believed that Mr O'Conor thoroughly believed he was doing his duty, but he had allowed bis impetuosity to carry hira away and bad certainly exceeded bis duty. The course he had adopted was undignified and inexcusable. As custodians of the public purse they had no right to reimburse him for the fine that bad been inflicted upon him for acting in a hasty and improper manner. —Mr M'Gtißß thought it was their duty to support Mr O'Conor when acting to the best of bis judgment in,* the public interests.— The question was then put, that the item stand part of the Estimates, and carried by 14 to 4. Ayes : The Provincial Solicitor, Provincial Treasurer, Messrs Parker, Ivess, Corbett, Tarrant, M'Gregor, Edwards, Sharp, Kerr, Baigent, Boase,' M'Q-uire, and Kelling. Noes : Messrs Donne, Wastney, Adams, and the Speaker. On the motion of Mr Shahp it was resolved, That tbe Speaker be authorised to procure a seal or Btamp, for the purpose of stamping all returns, petition*, or other documents he may think necessary as the property of the Council.