PARLIAMENTRY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 173, 22 July 1881, Page 4

PARLIAMENTRY.

Wbimkgton, July 22. The Legislative Council met at 2 30. Replying to Captain Eraser, the Attorney- General said the Government lid dose everything, and would do everything poeaihle lo settle the oispute between ibe ISbmv^ ao-J Mr Harding, of Wnapftwa, B**k r 'aß»y. Relying jo Mr Nune, the Attorney. General said the Goverrmtot would consider the pr< p»iety of preventing boja using firetrme. A-moiion of Dr Menzies, in favor of Bible-reading in ecboois, was currieii by 15 to 12, Mr Whitaker" tßvicg moved the previous qoeelioD. Ayes : Messrs Baillie, Miller, Phar•eyD, Scollan •, Ack'and, Holmes, Wi rkjo, Peter, RohiDson, Nuree, ReynolJe, Martin, Brett, Mantel!, und Meczie*. Noes % Messrs Pollen, Williamaoo, JTrazer, Chamberlain, Digoan, Wood, Lahra&D, P. Bockiey, G Jobuston, Peacock, Wbitaker, and Hart. The Companies Bill was read a third time end passed. The ßanke end Bankers' Act Amendment Bill wbb again committed and farther amended. One amendment in ibatit is not to come into operation till January, 1882. The Regulation 'of .. Elections Bill Was pasted through Committee, an amendment by Mr Reynolds to make I*o ting- corn puhory, onder pain of beißg •track cff the roU, being rtjecte'd. The Cooncii rose at 5 p.m. ! The House met at 2 30. Sir W. Fox gave notice that he Would move in the direction of probib -ii itiner the sale of intoxicating liquors in Jb*. Parliamentary B&ildinge I ": Replying to qursiioDs put, it was: Stated — The Government did not pro-; pose Jq sell . or dispose of the Govern- :| BMDi Buildicgs at Hpkitika. or the! Baildings at Abaura or Reef lon.-— The i extra traffic Voalii not justify the extra: expense of a special train twice a weeiki mee^iagf Ibe Midrf le Island West Coast MaiLPpacb^t Kpria^ field. *Th*' •wrerntneDt, ! %yal'd^however, see what could be jdoDfl iolbtberwite expedite; the mails.— The imposition of a duty; oo maize was at present tinder, cod- I T^awiition pf a- r Select Committee, and Until the result of iia labor* W.arkoQWDJ "fire 'Government wai not prepared toi h MJ 800J | l liy psria£|&» the j "Bwlfcir^— The 1 "GoTertainect woyid; en- i tSfl re rfP*o>^h«s»^itroiii petiiien Iromj SPr¥L 6 vJ% expressing confidence isj Jm^ntywvm p* w«d« n Bdbin-: ton, with a view of getting it Referred I to a Committee to which a counter pcM&>M d T &**'—'**>*; vW*4d the proposal, for get-! tfeg tie law affa.tr-g^patema amended: co •• to Jets, n .the coat end troobi* of C&fainißg them. i^Tbe debate on the no-confideuce tnotioa was retamsd by Mr Sottoo. He criticised Mr Wood's speeoh, contending that it did not Jouch the real Question at issue, and defended the House against the imputation that it did not possess capacity to redrees all grir varces brought before it. The position in which Mr Ormond had placed himself was a moat ignonimous one, and the country would blame him, and any party with wbcm be bad allied . bimselt for the action taken in defeating, for another session at least, the passage of redistribution, wbich was co •nxionsJy locked for by the country. Mr Roeeell also spoke in favor of the Government. The effect of the motion If carried would be to bring into cfllce £* class of men whose avowed policy ■was to restore provincialism. 3he. policy enuoicated by Mr Saunders wee Impolitic in the highest degree. The complaint about want of means of re4ress~was unfounded. No complaint Bgaioßt County Councils or Road Boards had come from without; all the cry against them had originated within cftst Hoase. But for the premature! .repeal of the New Provinces Act of •J&57 be 3«ile believed that this difficulty would not have arisen, as it con- \ Untied an ample power for establishing] Ti^iyitem^rirdciinGoveirnment in ac-! cordance »J|di: the principles of tbei counties system. He" approved of the .principles of the Roadg Constraetipo Sit), find suggested some alight modifications in the Rating Bill. ; Mr, Seymoor recognised in the proposals of the (government an attempt to give finality in the assistscce to be .jgtdered to local bodies towards their 'frorks. Hej defended Maryborough »t •tOEsiderable length from tbe aspersion* cast open its provincial administrators by Mr Saonders, and concurred in the opinion expressed by the previous Spevker ess to the favorable results which would have followed a mor» Jeogjbened experience of tbe Dew provinces If they had continued they ■would have htd Local Governmem enough t and be did not see what fartbvr ' machinery of tbat kind yttt wanted. MrfT«jj«jroa condemned (he ratine of Native lands. The House •djoorneJ fl 5.30 and* fMTO d f*§W • ( - : ; ; Mrißonny condemned |hej smendroeot, and supported thr Govern-; Befit,; JHe thdugitt £ cfeange of Miaistry \ •t tbe pref fftttime,wp«ld berioopportont ! sad di#<»»troßi, f.nd be coold cot give > vote lTEely to lead to such a riisolt. It ; tbe present Goyerrun*nt went out , nr ; (me could say who would come in. H ; ibougbt abolition tad been a great mis- ■ |«ke, and *pr/ar agreed with Mr Ormond, 'but ifciwM doce and could not ; be oudone, spd now their doty was to ! do tbe best they could to improve the : bstitotions they had. Mr West oo thought the amendment did not bring the question of the piet adjnioiatraticn of the Micistry into question, and on the dirtct iesue it ?sised, ho cotrid not vote for it ; at the same, time be could not approre of the present proposals of the Government ; either they went 100 far or not far enough. Tbe Government should gracefully Wiibdraw their proposals, for really tbei t. .were bo powers proposed to be givit •t© locbl bidiea wiich they diii D ,. already possess. H could not &ppr< v <oi obil^ ibt public trust funds iv ih way -propesed tor Local Govemmeu per peses as doing so would impair the Credit of the Colony. Be condemned the p'tppbsed Public Works Boatd, strongly to tbe proposal to s«i«£|rowß Lands, and read telegrams Urn li>t 9W&I Oowcil of Qrey

Valley in objection to the proposal, stating that the County would, un Jer the proposals, have £2400 with which io maintain upwards of 100 miles of main roads. He also objected to tbe rating of native lands without the concurrence of tho natives. He did not think tbe i«sue raised by the present dehate sufficiently important to justify going to the country upon. If the proposals were adopted this session probably they would be repealed next Bfßi?ion by tbe new Parliament, and no hErrn could b« cone by letting them s«acd over. He characterised Sir G. Grey's Bill 68 even more wild and viMopary than the Colonial Treasurer's proposals. It was really a scheme of separation in disguise. The country would never accept such a echeme. He especially condemned the proposals to have elective Judges. The reference Sir Georre Grey tad made to the! present Judges was unkind, odjuse, cruel, and utterly unfounded. He though^ the House was too enmbroue \ a machine to do the work devolving on it now, and that the Government were called on to do a great deal they should not be troubled with • this being so, he thought the proposals of Mr i Saanders might be moulded into a useful form. Bather than iropoße| taxation in the manner proposed be i' would prefer increased Customs duties I or a fax on wool. While condemn i, tog tbe Government policy and recognition in Mr Saundera' scheme tbei elements of practicability, he recognised ; that the Government had had much unpleasant work to perform, and bad ; done it well. He was not now, on the issue raised, ready to oust them from |i office, end to burry.oa ag«neral election, ! »c be probably followed in a few months ; by a second flection, at an enormous cost to the Colony;. In a few months they would all, in the ordinary course, so to the country, and to precipitate a dissolution now was unnecessary, and would be mischievous. He should' vote against tbe amendment, and, if: the Govern meet Bills were pressed on, he would also vote against them. | . Sir George Grey explained that his remarks ahoat the Judges. w>re made io conafquence of the remarks of a Judge of known oeniralistio tendencies to.a jory a few days before^ H« would b a ?e.no 'hesitation in repeating the statement under similar circumajaucei. Mr Hall strongly condemned tbe remarks made by Sir George Grey •boat the Judges, and which bad been made worse by hie explanation. He denied that there? wss an^r demand for a cbsngain.the governing institution^ •II thai was desired was assistance necessary to enable existing institations to perform the dnties devoWing upon ihem. He defended the aotion of tbe Government in stopping public works, and shewed bow necessary such had been to preserve tbe credit of the Colony j Dotwithittndine the drag put on, however, two millions .bad been spent on puhlio works during the pait twelve moDtha. As long as this Htuae retained, &% it ghould do, the power of legislation, it would be impossible to relieve it of dealing with local questions. He deiied that existing local bodies, as distributing tbe work of local Government amongst the people, were not producing excellent results. Sir George Grey'g proposal was to establish not nine bat twenty Provinces. At considerable length he critioieed the proposals of Sir George Grey. Referring to Mr Saunders' proposals, he expressed perfect readiness to go to the country on the question of the restoration of tbe provinces. In reply to Mr Wood's assertion, that the Local GoVfinjaent question bad cot been in "the original programme of the eeßsionj he quoted from the Governor's speech to show, by its reference to Bills for Local Public Works, that- these proposals were by no 'means spdden or unthought of. Be pointed out the large powers possessed fey Counties under the present syoUm, and he admitted that the Road Bostda were even .more useful bodies tb|n ; tbe County Councils. If fall powerj .ware not possessed by these bodies to obviate the neceßßity for constant reference to Wellington, the Provincial party In the House, wha bad twice prevented a Road Boards Bill being .pasted, ftete blameable. If the people wanted a system to work out their own in Local Government the present system affordei opportunity for extensions and improvement* towards that end. The Government detired to decentralise as fit ss they possibly.. could bot wonld strenuously resist the cutting upof the Crtony.ioto a.pumber of petty, .feeble and upeless stales. . They proposed to -extend and to improve .the County Councils and Road Board system/, to gire increased powers of delegation and otherwise, and to do away with, the ;ner.esdty for frequent reference; to Wellington. They *lso proposed to give the said bodies reasonable pepuniary assistance to enable these bodies "to .', pferfoHn their functions. , Such were J &9.-..^TWnm. cn * PF^posalsj they did 1 not pretend that they were perfect, and they would, in Committee gkdiy accept any amendments calculated to make them more perfect. If Mr Ormond had only wanted' tfeeiee pro£osalg to be relegated to the constituent* he should have worded &s motion m % less hostile fashion. ,TJnleßß the Government possessed a majority in the -House they would not endeavor to carry a Re-distributioa Bill through. If the present motion was curried Mr Ormond must take office with his friends, or they must go to the country on the present basis of representation. Mr Ormond should not escape th«j responsibility of the action he had taken. In conclusion, he felt it to be his unpleasant duty to say that Mr Ormond had acted very wrongly in moving the amendment without giving notice to the Government, amongst whose supporters he had, up till then, teen a member, He could find nothing in Mr Ormond's speech to his constituents, which could have led- the Government to expect such conduct. The very essence of party Government was that every member of a party should trust each other, and Mr Ormond's deßertin^ without notice deserved the most severe condemnation. Whatever the result of the dmsionhecould point back to the administration of the last two years with satisfaction and with gratitude to the generous support given $ e m,,by

their party, which had enabled the Government to achieve whatever good results had attended their administration.