PARLIAMENTARY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XL, Issue 190, 2 August 1876, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

MS. WHITAKER'S RESOLUTIONS DEFEATED BY 54 TO 21. SIR GEORGE GRRT'R SEPARATION RESOLUTIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Wellington, Tuesday. The House met at 2 30. thia atternoon. Mr Touks, the new member for Aucklaud City West, took the oath and his seat, Fourteen days adjournment was granted to the I'a-tCoait Election Committee. The Premier announc d although they did not entirely agree with the decision of the Committ c, '-be Government w >u ! d not offer any opposition to Karaitana taking his seat Mr Curtis moved that to-morrow at 3.30 the C'erk make the necessary alteration ia tha writ, and that Karaitana take his seat thereafter. Mr Richardson roide aVatemeit regarding the destruction of the Grey Gorge bridge which was s_b_ta_tlallv the same as already published, but he added that the anchor plat-.s ■were 'designed to be strong enough to c-irry three times the weigh! ot ihe bridge A great deal of the m aerial mux whs recovered »nd it was expected very httle would be lost. 'I he piers were not damaged at ali. H wa* estimated that it would cost £000 to repair the briige. It was ele j .r, with rega-d t ■> the anchor plates, that the castings were faulty, or there bail been an error in tbe design* of the bridge, which were prepared at tbe head office, Wellington. There were no other bridges in the colony on the same model. The remainder ot the afternoon was r-pent in Committee on the Municipal Corporations Bill. A number of clauses were postponed, and the Committee got as fsr as clause 308 when the House rose at 5.30. We'npaday. On ths House resuming at 7 30, Mr Whitaker m >ved his resolutions. Speaking for two hours he travelled over the most, salient points of the history of the colo jy «b -cgar led if 8 dealing with the wa-telandnof the Crown. He showed thnt in this colony, aa was the case -in aU oilier colonies nnd countries, was c lands were always the property ofthe StUc, snd argued ilm the term "Cmipact" was a misnomer, and had been coinel ai'iee 1856; _'w th.- arrangement then m.de wv* nu-rely temporary. *_<! subject to raiifidtion by t'tc Imperial Pari bun nt; that the Imp 'rial Pirlianii-nt wa bed it* hands of the matter by declining to allow the Provinciit Governments to deal with the wast a lands; th-t the arrangements had never bten mide final; thnt if t'iey had been they wuld not have bten altered and modified so often as they were du< ing the last twenty years; that the credit of th« col jny was becoming very bad at home; that our finances had te«ome sd entangled and intricate that no ordinary mind could get a fair i'fea of them; that the only way to get out of our difficulties was to simplify our gyst m oi finance, and raise the credit of the colony, and this could only ihe done hy making the land .ua.d cojta-

nial revenue; that there was no legal or ! moral obligation, no compact between two Ipatiesto prevent this b ing done, merely I because the South Island had for twenty I ye*rs> enjoyed a prescriptive right to the : landß of that island,. It was now time that the colony resumed its own, and the North Islamabad its turn, and sooner or later the necessities of the colony must mako it come to this. Tne Premier, in a speech of an hour and a half, traversed the main points of Mr Whitaker's speech, and argued that his proposals were inexpedient, impolitic, and unjust that, call it what you would— compact nr arratigem<ut — there had bean a s >lemn un 'erstanding arrived at in 1856, and all the legislation since that which afFected the waste la ids of the Crown wa» based upan the financial resolutions oiithityear; that, so firm was the feeling upon that point, that no man dared, with any reisouable prospect of success, to propose to upstt that understanding; that when it was made the general feeling was that tha North- Island had the best of the bargain, so much so tbat a readjustment had been provided; that, while the North gave way to the pressure of circumstances and sacrificed its land fund, the South put up with all sorts of inconvenience sooner than part with their land at alow price. He quote! the words ot Mr Richmond, then Mr Whitaker's colleague, in support of his statement, and said it was mere quibbling to attempt to upsot the arrangements then made. He attributed the threatening financial difficulties of the year partly to the large sums already (borrowed, and partly to the action of those at home who ought not to rim ' down the credit of the colony, and spoke hopefully of tiding over the threatened: dangers. He looked upon these resolutions is only a stage towards separation, as hurtful to the public credit, and calculated to retard nil the proposed Kgbdackm for the beaeQt of the outlying distr>cta He showed how the public works had increased the population _nd productive industry of the colony, aad placed her in a better position than ever she hid been before to bear extra" taxation, though they did not think it would be necessary. Sir Geo. ftrey, in a few remarks, intimated that he would move for intu'ar separation; the Seat of Government for the North Lslaad 'o be fn Auckland »nd for the South in Canterbury, and the S?at of Colonial Government to remain in Wellington, Mr Whitaker declining to reply, a division ws.s taken, and his resolutions were lost; by 54 to 21. Sir Geo. Grey's resolutions will be moved on Thursday next at 7 -SO, until which time the House stands adjourned. The following is tne division list:— ■ Ayes: Messrs Andrew (teller) Dignan, j Douglas, Gibbs, Sir George Grey, Hamlin, : Lusk, Micfar lane, G . P. Re^d, Reef, Richmond, < Rowe. Sharp, Swangon, Tawiti, Tole, Tonks, W..kefivld, Whitaker, Oiler), Williams, R. G Wool. Noes: — Messrs Atkinson, Baigent, Bal-'an-e, Barff. Bastings, Bo*en, Bra-idon, J. E. Brown, J. C. Biowu, Bryce, Burns, Hutton, < a^ington. Cox, Belabour, Fiehor, Eitzcoy, Henry Hislop, Hodgkinson, Hunter, Johnstjc, Joyce, Kennedy, Kenny, Larnach, Lumsden, Macan^rew (teller), Mandtra, Sir D. McLein, Gr. McLem, Montgomery, Moorhouse, Murray, Mnrray-Aynslev, Pearee. Pyke, D. Keid, Reynolds (teller), Ridiardson, Rolleslon, Seato i, t-'eymour, Sdrimski, Stafford, Stevens, Stout, Tairoa, Teschraaker, Thornton, Tribe, Sir J. Yogel, Watson Woolcock.