Saturday, March 8, 1845.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume I, Issue 27, 12 April 1845, Page 3

Saturday, March 8, 1845.

Present : — The Governor, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, the Colonial Treasurer, Frederick Whitaksr, Esq., William Doimelly, Esq. and Theophilns. Heale, Esq. Thcninutesof the last Council being read and confirmed. Hie Governor moved that the standing order *c suspended, and that the Bill for appropriating tb ? disposable Revenue of the Colony be laid on the* table. TEe Governor the.ir stated, as the subject for .dfeionsid'efation oithe Council this day was well • understood, he should merely observe that the »rriSß amount of the proposed Expenditure would be £25,565, of which £7,565 would be supplied by the Imperial Parliament, and he anticipated on the receipt of his despatches the sum would be made up to £10,000 if not more. The expenditure of this Colony was not so great as that of South Australia, which was only one settlement ; here there were many settlements* and it was that circumstance which created the great difficulty of diminishing the present expen- - diture ; he saw no alternative but a concentration of the settlements, if the present machinery of Lucal Government could not be sustained, and to that the outsettlers themselves were very a\erse. He should only further allude to the Department of Protectors of Aborigines ; they had formerly allowed a sum for Natives as well as ior Forage, both had been abolished, and a commuted allowance of half the amount added to thsir salary. Mr: Whitaker observed, that if over the sum ot £7,565, voted fly the Imperial' Parliament, ! the Lcgiiiative Council had no controul, the items composing fcuch sum, had better be struck oat, being at variance with* the preamble of the J Bill, which states, •• suciupart of the general revenue of New Zealand as is subject to the d isposal of the Colonial Government . " Of sums in expectation, viz, the £2,435, he had not much idea, for he thought it better for Governments, j a-? well as individuals, to realize their means first, i a id spend them afterwards. There were some re- j 'd.indancies under every head almost, throughout j the Estimates; tensed contingencies ; amounting in all to £3,517. exclusive x>f the general contingencies of £1,1 01, -making above one seventh of the whole expenditure. The Governor said, that he hoped to satisfy the honorable member. He then entered into detailed explanations of contingencies m each department. In explaining the Survey depart- . nient. he observed that the survey of Manakao "liad been entirely at his own individual expence, and therefore, in allusion to some observations which had been made elsewhere, as to his selection of the Surveyor appointed to that service, 1 c conceived he had a right to disburse his own money in his own way,and on whom he pleased. Ue thought it very desirable that Kaipara, and likewise the entrance to this harbour, should in like manner be accurately surveyed, and the sum under the head of contingencies in the Survey tlepartment, would be applied to such purposes. Mr. Donnelly remarked, that His Excellency had certainly redeemed his pledge of reducing the expenditure; he therefore should consider the Estimates before them liberally, looking to efficiency of the public service on the one hand, and the depressed condition of the Colony on the other. With regard to contingencies, he thought that untoward item might be obviated by an account from each office of such disbursements for some previous years, so as to strike an average. He was quite sc isible that the number of settlements Wias the cause of the great expence, but he was quite averse to the abandonment of any of the distant settlements. The Colonial Secretary^ laid on the table the returns moved for by KT Whitaker. ' The Governor moved that they be printed. He then moved the first reading of the " Bill to appropriate the Revenue for 1845. After the Bill had been read by the Clerk. The Governor, on putting to the consideration of the Councel the first item— " For His Excel- { lency the Governor and Establishment, £1,551" stated' that by a dispatch, dated 3rd September last^ he bad been authorized by the Home Government to add the sum of £300 per annum to his own salary ; but he had not done so on account of the depressed state of the Colony. With regard to former Estimates, he was allowed a certain sum for forage — that item he had abolished in his own case, as well as others : and in consequence of the great quantity of business taat devolved upon him in writing, he had appointed Mr. Tucker las additional Secretary, whose efficiency and valuable services in the Colony were well known, so that the sum allowed by Parliament of £1551 provided for himself and 1 two secretaries. After a few observations on the Audit by Mr. Whitaker and the "Attorney General, the 1 following sums -were voted.

For his Excellency tbfe Governor and £ Establishment . x 1551 • Law officers of the Crown 535 Council office - 545 .Audit 3 ?0 Superintendent of Southern Division . 800 The votes for the Colonial Secretary's department and for the Colonial Treasury were postponed, at the suggestion 'of Mr. Whitaker, for further information of the charge " contingencies." The Governor then laid on the table a bill for imposing Fees on the delivery of Crown Grants in certain cases, to be read a first time on Tuesday next, the 11th of March.