GENERAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Tuesday, August 7, 1849.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 339, 9 August 1849, Page 2

GENERAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Tuesday, August 7, 1849.

The Council met pursuant to adjournment. Pbesent: — The Governor- in-Cbief, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney -General, the Colonial Treasorei, Mr. Merriman, Mr. Baritow, Lieut.-Colonel Hulme, Major Matson, and Mr. Kempthome. liie Colonial Chaplain was in attendance and read prayers. The minutes of last meeting having been road and confirmed, Major Matson roie and presented the following petition, from certain of the inhabitants' of Auckland,' which was read and received, and the further consideration of the prayer of it delerred unt'l the Estimates were tinder consideration.

To His Excellency Sir GEORGE GREY, X.C.8., Governor-in-Chief in and over the Islands of New Zealand, and the Legislative Council assembled. The Memorial of the Undersigned Inhabitants of Auckland and the surrounding district Humbly shewcth-- , , , That the Town of Auckland has become a Mart for the disposal of produce by a population ot many thousand persons. That it doc? not Movsess thil f.inhly to buyers and seller-.— a Public IW.ukct— which few Towns and dis» flirts of the same extent. ire without. Th.it your memorialists feel it unncces^aiy to siy anything in lefercncc to the general advantages of what may fairly be considered <is> almost indispensable m pvcry community ; and yom nienuirialists feel assured C^iat, from the nature of the populjtion having produce lo ilisposcof in Auckland, and especially from the veiy unsatisfactory mode, both to buyers and hellers, in which the natives arc compelled to hawk about their commodities, a public market would confer much preutcr advantages than under ordin »ry circumstances. That your memorialists arc of opinion that the proper site" for a market is on Land belonging to the «brown in Commercial Ray at the junction of S'mrtfand and Queen Streets ; as this site from its continuity to theharboui, the ficility of procuring water for cleaning, and other conveniences, possesses advantages winch your memorialists c -nnot find elsewhere. That cert rin funds are required for the erection oi the necessary buildings and other expenses incident to the establishment ; and your mcmoiialtos feel that in jfhc absence of any recognised and lesponsible body, considerable difficulties would stand in the way of a satisfactory arrangment in this respect. That under all the circumstances your memorialists are assured that the Government alone can eductually and satisfactorily carry out your memorialists' wishes. Your Memorialists therefore humbly pray that your Excellency ami the Honorable Council will be pleased to cause such steps to be taken for the early establish* vment of a public market as may be most conducive to I fclic attainment of so uselul an object. \ And your Memorialists will ever pray, &c. ! [[leie follow 124 signatures.] Major Matson also presented a petition from inhabitants of Auckland lclative to the appointment of Inspectors of Slaughter Houses, but subsequently withdrew it so as to bring it under the notice of Council when the Estimates were under consideration.

Crown Lands Bat. ■ On the motion of ihe Colonial Secretary the Coun- ' oil wont into Committee on this bill. The tide and preamble were allowed to stand ai printed. On the first clauso being read, which provides for tne nppnintxnent of Commiußioners, Mr. Baistow sud that he would not oppose the clause, but wished it to be unders'ood that lie held himself open to discuss the item of salary for such an oflWrwhen t) c Estimate* were under consideration. Mr. Merriman said that this was the first clause in the bill to which he nuta object, lie looked upon the office of Commissioner of Lands as a needless one, in a distinct form, in the present state of the colony. He thought that the Surveyor General shou'd perform <be duties of it ; and he would appeal to thnt honourable member himself, as to whether the dutiei of xCrown Land Commissioner did not more immediately belong to him and should not be attached to his office. Believing himself that the Surveyor-General was the fittest officer to superintend tin* working of this depasturing meaiure, and having strong objection! to the creation of new, when unueoebsiry. offices, be would move that the Surveyor-General should be appointed Commissioner under the first clause. Sir. Barstow seconded the motion, because he believed that if the office of Commissioner was made a -distinct one the salary would become n burden upon the general revenue of the colouy. It was quite plain that asthe Crown lands now thrown open for depastuiing purposes were so limited, tliot the revenue derivable from licenses issued under the ordinance would be insufficient to pay such an olfirer, and he could see no reason why the wardens should not be conßidered Bufficient to manage every local detail, leaving but little work to be done by the Commissioner. Hr did not object to tho nppointment of such nn officer, but he thought that the duties might be made so light as that they could be performed by the Surveyor-General in addition to those of bis own department. Mr. Kemptborno laid that the clause did not mention -aor propose any salary for the Commissioner. it appeared as if the duties were intended to be performed by Justices of the Pence. The Surveyor-General said, with regard tothedulios of Commissioner belonging to his office, as stated by the honorable member (Mr. Merriman), he believed that in the other coloniCß the offices were distinct, and, as far as he could judge, ntcessarily and properly so. However, if it was thought advisable here to attach ibis office to his own, he could only say that he would do all he could to fulfil the duties of it as far as it was In his power. But although, from the limited quantity of Crown Lands now open for depasturing purposes, ( he office of Commissioner might appear unnecessary, yet, as it was probable that large tracts of country would be speedily opened up, and cattle advance towart's the interior, he believed that the duties would "Uecorae more arduous, and it would require an officer to be separately set apart for those duties so as to per<form them efficiently. The Governor said, firsr, in reply to Mr. Kemp •fcliornc's remark on the salaiies of commissioners not being mentioned in the clause, that in this respect the bill was qsite consistent with ordinances generally. Were the salaries of officers to be passed in the ordinances, then the amount wuuld be fixed until repealed ; but the usual practice was to bring the salaries of officers before the Legislature in the estimates, along with the revenue appropriation bill, so that the Council should discuss them periodically. With regard to the proposal to substitute the Surveyor-General for the Commissioner, he thought it altogether impracticable, and ho could not advise the Council to adopt it. The office of Surveyor-General In this Colony has hitherto been one of gieat difficulty ; and the duties that have been imposed on that officer, owing to the nature of the land claims, have been so complex and varied, that the real business of his office has been neglected — indeed, so fully hat hit time been occupied with matters, which in reality were foreign to his department, that he hue only had opportunity to visit the interior once or twice, and that only lately, since he entered upon his office. The public interests required that this officer should not be encumbered with other duties lhan those of hi* own depaitment, which now need t the most anxious attention on Ids part to fulfil. The 'waste lands of this Province stand upon a very different footing, in their relation to the Crown, than in «ny other part of the British Empire, and it was most important that a correct intelligible survey of the country should be made ; but the Surveyor-General had never yet had lime to make a trigonometric ll survey of the province, in the absence of which the Council would find much difficulty in adjusting the question of Land Titles satisfactorily. His own advice to the Council would be, not to put any separate duties upon the Surveyor-General. That which wa» in contemplation ,by the Government for a proper survey of the country would ue hindered were that officer's time otherwise occupied : and he thought that having the country properly laid down and delineated on the maps

at the survey oflicc wovild be bo desirable and con* venient for the 6ottlers as well as tlic Goveruunuil, that nothing should be allowed to intcrfeie with the undertaking of such a Bervice us soon af. it was piacticable. Indeed he would not hesitate to say, that to saddle the Surveyor-General with extraneous duties at the present moment would be a positive public evil. And in addition to theie objections to the combination of these ofliers, be might say that the present bill w.is merely to establish by law regulations lint would become at no distant day, he hoped, m»iv extensively called for. The duties of commissioners would ere long become so important as to ipqiiirc the undivided attention of a vigilant elfi -mit officer, to cairy out more largely the depasturing system, which had only had u commencement. And unless the supermtendancp of the tystem were placed in the hands of nil officer, responsible for its management, ha (the Governor) would feel incined to throw up the whole squatting bystem in despair. Mr. Merriman said that notwithstanding all that had boon urged against the duty of Commissioner being performed by the Surveyor Geneia', he h.id heard no - thing to convince him that a Commissioner of Ctown Lands was required at pro ,ent. For all the purposes of the present limited system a head of a di-pirtmcnt here in Auckland could be easily referred to, leaving the general local details to be managed by the Wardens. As regards the necessity and gie.it desirableness of atrigonotneirical survey of the country to w.iicji hiss Exccllcncyh.nl lcferrctl, there could be but one opinion, but surely that duty would be performed by the Surveyor ! General's staff ; it could not be intended to despatch that officer himself, instrument in hand, on such a service. His proper post would be in Auckland, where he would receive, review, and revise the surveys of his deputies ; and with very little additional labour supervise the depasturing system when the working of it was kept in opei.ition by the Wardens. If however his Ex cclle.icy would pledge himself to introduce a squatting bill, then by all means let us withdraw our proposition, and have a commissioner. Mr. Kemothorne thought that some measure was required to cniblc the colonists to ai range with the natives for sqHatting upon their lands, as well as ou the Waste Lands of the Crown. The Governor said that this bill must have besn mUuiulerstood, for it was a squatting hill ; and although but a few hundreds had only been proclaimed under the regulation, yet, as soon as the Government could acquire lands in the adjacent districts irotn the native owner', the hundreds would be increased and the gquiittinc; boundaries extended. This bill was not introduced merely to give force to regulations that w<>re erroneously considered to apply but to those hundred! already proclaimed, but for to establish aid confirm a code of regulations that were intended to rule a system that by degrees would exiend itse'f over the whole province. The Crown was possessed of a great deal of land in the northern province, but much of it lay at a distance, and the boundaries of it had not yet been so correctly defined as to emble the Government to make it available for squatting purposes ; but as soon as arrangements, which were being rmdc, were completed for extensive tracts in the Waikato and Waipa district!, those lands should be thrown open to the public. It was with a view to the bringing of the squatting system into extensive operation that the rules were framed and this hill introduced. The Surveyor-General s<iid that it was his knowledge of the system soon becoming more general, and the extension of cattle runs to a greit distance from the capital that led him to consider that, in addition to his own duties, he could not attend to those of Commissioner satisfactorily. He felt an aversion to taking upon him duties, and to perform them in the way that had been su gested, which would merely render him a cold and formal head of a department, taking no intereit whatever in its minor woiking and detail The du.iei of a Commissioner under this ordinance would be very arduous, and upon his efficiency and assiduity would depend, in a great measure, the beneficial and satisfactory working of the system. The Colonial Secretary could not agree to the proposal. He thought that the interests of the country would be best serred by keeping the offices separate. Tbo combination of them would render the duties bo complex, that they could not be properly attended to. Mr. Barstow would willingly consent to the withdrawal of the proposition, if he could tec from whence the commissioners 6alary was to be dciived. He felt assured that the present number of licenses wou'd not raise sufficient funds to pay him. But if the system was to become more general, and the, country to be opened up in the way that His Excellency talked of, he would feel great pleasure in withdrawing his opposition, and giving the bill all the support in his power. Mr. Merriman thought that the battle would only have to be fought over Jigain when the estimates came before them. The office was a complete sinecure at present. The Governor said that the proposal would really have the effect of rendering the bill inoperative. Even assuming that the Sarveyor General could, in addi* tion to his own duties, fulfil the office of commissioner at the present time, ho could not be supposed to do so after a year or two, unless the system were not allowed to grow beyond his grasp. He looked on the proposal s a great mistake ; it was not far-seeing on the part of honorable members to propose it ', if it should be adopted, it would put an end to squatting altogether. Mr. Kempthorne enquired whether if the Commissioner were appointed, it would not be well to give him the power to treat with the natives for the purchase of their lands. The Governor said that would be objectionable, as it would bind the Government to particular officers under such circumstances. The best negotiator lor native lands that the Government had now in the couritiy was a Sub- Inspector of Police. After a few further remarks by the several members, Messrs. Merriman and Barstow consented to withdraw their amendment, and the clause was allowed to stand as printed. (Repoi twill be continued in our next.)