PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. OPENING OF THE SESSION.

North Otago Times, Volume I, Issue 8, 14 April 1864, Page 1 (Supplement)

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. OPENING OF THE SESSION.

The most important event of the month is the opening of the 1 8th Session of the Provincial Council of Otago and the second session of the present Council. It took place in the Court-house, Dunedin, on Thursday last, the 7th instant, at 12 o'clock. There was a fair attendance of members at the appointed hour. Soon after, His Honor the Superintendent, having been introduced by the Speaker, read the opening Address. We regret, through want of space, not being able to present our readers with the whole of it, and must, therefore, confine ourselves to those parts of it most interesting. By far the greater portion of it is devoted to the great question of the day, namely, that of finance. The scheme propounded is evidently the result of a careful examination of the question in all its bearings. It is the only one, in fact, which can place the finances of the Province on a sure footing ; and if the Council succeed in obtaining the sanction of the General Government, it will go far to remove the uncertainty which now hangs over all the Provinces in respect to the revenue placed at the disposal of the several local Government 1 ?, and strengthen public faith in them. When it became known that difficulties attended the sale of the Provincial Debentures, it became a question of general interest what course the Government wotild pursue in the matter. In the following paragraphs from the opening Address, as reported by the Daily Telegraph, the scheme is well put : — " With reference to these Debenture*, you are doubtless already aware of the fact that, up to the time of the departure of the last mail, the whole of our half Million loan remained unnegotiuted. The high value of money Avhich has ruled in I the English market from the time the Otago debentures were placed upon it, has, doubtless had a prejudicial influence on its sale, but in order to account for this loan being apparently an unmarketable security, other causes more influential than a temporary scarcity of money must be in operation. Among these causes may, I think, be ranked the following : — " Ist. Our real position as a Province, and the nature of our securities, are neither fully known or recognised in Great Britain. "2. Our Provincial loans, although 1 assented to by the Governor of the Colony, not having the sanction of nn A.et of the General Assembly, are not even admitted to quotation on the Stock Exchange. " 3 Competition with the numerous loans now on the London Maiket, including those Foreign States, our own Dependencies, Colonies, and Provinces, but more especially the New Zealand War Loan of Throe Millions, which, as a Colonial security, from the superior position it appears to occupy as compared with a purely Provincial transaction, cannot fail to exercise a depreciating effect upon the latter. " A prudent estimate of our present and immediately prospective financial position, seems to point to the conclusion that, failing a speedy negotiation of our Loan, even with the exercise of the utmost care and economy in the construction of the I Estimates for the current year, it may not be possible for the Province to escape the ! serious consequences which must inevitably arise fiom a cripled adn»inistiation and the cessation of Public Works, cla- | morously demanded by the necessities incident to rapid progress, but which must be sternly denied with an embariassed Exchequer. " I have brought this subject betore you in a manner somewhat unusual in an address of this kind from a btrong sense of duty, being possessed with a conviction that we may be called upon to contend with no ordinary difficulties. That these j difficulties may be avoided by prompt and decisive action, I as fully believe as 1 do in the possibility of their occurrence ; and I am equally confident in the thorough soundness and stability of the Pro\ ince, and in its possession of resources which cannot fail to place it m the foremost rank of British colonies. " Without entering upon questions | savoring rather of Colonial than Provincial politics, I proceed briefly to indicate the direction in which I think security against impending danger should be sought, as also the line of action which appears best colculated to ensure future exemption from similar difficulties. " Assuming that in the event of no material change occurring in the Monoy Market of Great Britain, and in the absence of additional guarantees, our halfmillion Loan will continue for a considerable time undisposed of, the only course I can confidently lccomm^nd i* thai, bv >

resolution or otherwise, you join me in strongly urging upon the General Government of the Colony the absolute necessity of their immediately pledging the country to a guarantee of the Loan, so that it may be plnced in the British Marke.t on as favorable a footing as the Colonial War Loan which is now in course of negociation through an accredited member of the New Zealand Government. " On the subject of future loans, which, in connection with public works of permanent importance, and especially with reference to railways, it Avill be found necessary to resort to a well-defined system, by which foreign capital maybe made available for their constmetion. The concomitants of such a system as would meet the requirements of this Province deserve, and I feel assured will i eceive, earnest consideration at your hands. Looking at the re- [ lationship at present existing between the General Government and the various Provinces of New Zealand, I can suggest no means by which a sufficiently comprehensive financial scheme can be matured and rendered efficient without the fullest sane tion and concuirence of the General Assembly of the colony. To this end it wdl be neccssaiy to secure the co-operation of the other Piovinces, which, in a matter so plainly calculated to promote the prosperity and financial stability of each, and of the colony as a whole, will, I believe, be willingly accorded. As an initiatory step, I would suggest the desirability, during the present Session, of your making an approx'mate estimate of the cost of the principal public works (including railways) which will require construction during the ensuing five yearn,, and towards which ordinary revenue cannot be made available. As a guide to the construction of such an estimate, impoitant data on various subjects will be laid before you. *' The colletive amount required during the period specified being approximately ascertained, and care being taken that no works shall be included in such Estimate but such as are manifestly of a permanent and reproducive character, the Financial position of the Province might be placed upon a satisfactory footing, were such Loans sanctioned by an Act of the General Assembly, xmder condition, by which assurances are afforded that the borrowed Capital shall be devoted to the specific purposes defined by Mich Act, and ample security effected upon Lands within the Piovince, to provide for payment of Interest, and the repayment of Capital. " The plan, the bare outlines of" which I have thus offered for your consideration, appears to me to possess the advantage of adaptation to the circumstances of every I New Zealand Province ; of constituting every Provincial Loan a New Zealand Loan ; thereby affording the greatest facility for its negocialion, with the fullest security for its liquidation ; of being based upon piinciples financially and politically sound, and of being reasonable in its demands upon the Goa eminent of tue Colony." Like all documents, how ever, of its kind, the Address is noted for its reticence. Upon many points of public interest and deep impoitance, it is silent. For instance, Jiol u word is suid about the present state of the Pitnincial Banking account, or how the Government proposes to dispo.se of it, which by the Addiess is shown to exceed £«iOO,OUO.