LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume I, Issue 32, 17 May 1845, Page 4

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Saturday, March 29. Present— All the members. The Governor moved fhe following resolution :—": — " Resolved, that, in extreme cases of -necessity, the in Executive Council should be legally authorized (if he be not already -so empowered) to open and examine any letter, jpacket, or other document, which may be in any post office in New Zealand, and which there 1 •may be grounds for believing to contain treasonable matter." On the motion for the sum of £3iO&r Re*gistry of Deeds, Mr. Heale observed that it was to his utter that this office proposed with such a salary. There had been combined the office of sheriff- (for which the person holding the situation had to find security for £1,000), the of the Court of Requests, and vpolke magistrate, for which the salary was to 'be £200 ; and here was an office purely mechanical, the chief duty of which was to look at the 'dock to mark the time of receipt of deeds, and 'for which theenormous sum of £300 per annum , was to be paid. He should move that the whole *item be stFuck out. The Governor would ask thehonorable memher how property was to be registered and transferred if the office was abolished. The Attorney-General thought the observation of the honorable member, that the office 'was^purely mechanical, should not be allowed to go unanswered. Sy neglect of duty or improper registration, a person might lose his estate. Mr. Whitaker entirely agreed with the reimarks of his friend Mr. Heale on the anomaly -between the three offices with £200 per annum, and this,with but little duty, at £300 per annum. He thought an addition to the salary of the registrar of the Supreme Court, to provide a clerk when necessary, or a specific sum to be charged for a clerk, the better plan ; and he should propose that the sum of £50 be added to the salary •of the registrar of the Supreme Court on the -reconsideration of the item for Judicial Establishment. The motion that for Registry of Deeds the sum of £310 be struck out was then agreed to. The grant for Colonial Treasury was then re--considered. The Governor said that, since the grant had %een originally passed, he had deeply considered, and thought he had done wrong in reducing •the salary of the Colonial Treasurer the sum of £100. He then read the 13th article of the royal instructions, by which be is enjoined neither to increase nor diminish the salary of any officer whose salary has been fixed by the Home Government, without obtaining the sanction of her Majesty. In reducing the salary of the Colonial Treasurer, as well as that of the Surveyor-General, he certainly should be acting in direct opposition to her Majesty's instructions^ and as the Home had lately supported him in an instance, viz. the issue of debentures, in which he tad acted contrary to his instructions on ac•count of the extreme emergency of the <;ase, he was the more scrupulous to avoid the repetition of any such conduct. The Oolonial Treasurer and Surveyor-sGeneral had come out with the express understanding that they were to receive certain salaries : and he was certain that, if the colonial revenue could not pay them, the Home Government would mafke good the difference. He therefore had lwought this item again -under the consideration of the Council, as he conceived he had acted wrong in the first instance and he now proposed that the sum of £95, which had been taken from the item of clerk to Attor-ney-General, and appropriated to a junior clerk in the office of the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Leech, juru, should be divided between him and the junior clerk in the Colonial Treasury, Mr. Churton ; and that the sum of £130, which had been previously passed under that department for clerk -and contingencies, should be otherwise applied, namely, the sum of £30 for contingencies ; and the sum of £100 to be added to the salary of 'Colonial Treasurer, making the sum of £630 for him. The total amount of £1 ,090 would remain the same as before. Mr. Donnelly questioned the utility of passing an Appropriation Bill if the Council had not the power of controlling salaries that were to be paid from the colonial funds. The arguments of his Excellency on a previous occasion, when he himself reduced these salaries, were good and most rational, and he (Mr. Donnelly) could see nothing, new to contradict them. Mr. Heale had anticipated, that the reconsideration of this item would have effected a reduction instead of an increase. He should move that the sum of £530, as at first proposed and passed, should be the salary of the Colonial Treasurer.

Negatived by the officials. 'The Attorney-General said he should support the original vote for £630 on principle. Look-i ing to the good of the colony, what inducement to competent men would there be, if, when they arrived, they were to have their promised salaries reduced' year after year ? The motion was then agreed to, that the sum of £630 be the salary of the Colonial Treasurer. For Judicial Establishments it was agreed to allow the sum of £2,660. The alteration under this item being the sum of £50 additional to the salary of the Registrar of the Supreme Court, with £20 for contingencies, in consequence of the duties of registrar of deeds being combined with his office. The Governor then moved the reconsideration of the vote for the Survey Department. He proposed the same course should he adopted towards the Surveyor-General as had been pursued in the case of the Colonial Treasurer, and that the original sum of £630' for his salary be allowed. He further proposed to strike out the marine surveyor £200, and from contingencies £100, making altogether £300 ; and thus, by adding £100 to the £530, the whole item would, be reduced to £1,400. Mr. Heale remarked, that formerly they were told that the instructions from home were not to be considered : now, they were declared to be peremptory. He still retained his opinion on the uselessness of the Survey Department to the present extent, and should move that the sum be reduced to £300. The Governor said that there was much to be done in the Survey Department. He had been, during eleven years of his life, actively engaged in surveying, and was, he conceived, qualified to judge of the difficulties and duties of such service. When in England, the Earl of Haddington had offered to him the office of hydrographer to the Board of Admiralty, to induce him to remain in England; but he thought there was a great duty to be done here. The Survey Department was essential to the progress of the colony. There had been recently surveyed, while the honorable member was absent from the colony, land to the value of £90,000 in exchange for scrip. ' A state of things existed in the colony that never were contemplated. - He had received instructions from home to exchange the land, and to settle the land claims as soon as possible. He had distinct authority for such measures ; and the consequence of such steps was the complete extinction of the land fund. The Attorney-General thought that the nonofficiai members were right, and that the official members were also right, each, in the course they pursued. The Local Government must carry out the instructions of the Home Government ; and the Secretary of State had, in recent despatches, strongly urged that the land claims should be wholly and speedily settled. In 1840, the instructions were that the claims were to be heard gradually; in 1845, despatches were received that land claims were to be settled immediately. In 1840, the expense of the survey was not to exceed one-fifth of the land fund ; in 1845, the survey was still required to settle the claims, according to the instructions, but there was no land fund. It wat not for him to suggest any line of conduct to honorable members ; but, if he had been a non-official member, he should not have attempted to reduce the efficiency of the Survey Department, but to protest, on the minutes," -against tfce colony being burdened with the expense of that department. The Governor said that even now large surveys were going oh «nder contract. The land from "Cape Rodney to Mauraaghi had come into possession of Government, and was now being satveyed; for there were applications for occupation lioenses for depasturing flocks and herds. One person had gone to bring here large quantities of cattle, and others had applied for the the same object. •Carried by the officials. On the motion that' £63o be inserted instead of £530. Carried by the officials. The amount of £1,400 instead of £1,600 Bt •Survey Department was then agreed to. The grant for Public Works was then reconsidered. The Governor stated that the superintendent, Mr. Thatcher, had offered to perform the duties for one year gratuitously; provided the sum of £80 was allowed to him for a clerk. He therefore proposed that the sum of £180 be struck out, and the sum of £80 for a clerk be inserted, making the total amount for Public Works £1,420 instead of £1,520. In the Harbour Establishments, on revision, reductions were made in the boats' crews, which, instead of being, as heretofore, permanent, are to be hired as occasion may require, with the exception of a coxswain and one seaman at each settlement. The amount of £1,270, instead of the former vote of £1,670, was then agreed to. Mr. Whitaker then proposed the further consideration of the Department of Aborigines, and observed that as (according to the royal instructions which had been read by his Excellency in reference to the salaries of the Colonial Treasurer and Surveyor-General) the Governor could neither increase nor diminish the salary any public officer that had been appointed by the

Home Government, Jie thought the sum of £500 per annum, which had been appropriated to the Chief Protector, should be reduced to the original sum of £400. He was quite aware that the sum of £100 which had been added was instead of an allowance to natives ; but he objected to the manner of passing the £500 as salary, only, without any remark as to the object for which the £100 was given. He therefore should propose that the original sum of £400 be the salary, and that the Protector receive a further sum of £100 as commuted allowance for natives. The Governor had no objection to the alteration, which must therefore be extended to the Sub-pr6tector, of the salary being distinct from their commuted allowances. The total amount of £24,565 was then agreed to be inserted in the first clause of the Appropriation Bill. The bill was ordered to be read a third time on Tuesday, to which day the Council adjourned. Tuesday, April 1. Present — All the members. The Colonial Secretary laid on the table the Disbursements of Expenditure of last year. Ordered to be printed. The Governor then observed that, before entering on the business of the day, he wished to mention the real cause of alarm on the previous evening. There had been a death among the natives at Orakei, and, according to native custom, muskets were discharged at midnight. The sound had gone up the valley from Orakei to Mount Hobson, thence reverberating to Mount Eden and the adjacent valleys near the town ; and the echo continuing had caused the sentinels on the bills to think it was the report, from several quarters, of musketry. He would take that occasion, also, to state that all the accounts that he received from the natives were most satisfactory; and, as far as he could rely on them, they were to support British authority rather than be led away by any native chief. He had persons in various to watch their movements, so that he might have an intimation of hostile movements; but they were all disposed to abide by the treaty of Waitangi — the MagnaCharta of New Zealand. In the north, near the. Bay of Islands, the natives faad already begun to show their disapproval of the recent proceedings, for large bodies were now proceeding against Kowaiti and Heki, and collisions must shortly take place. If war is to take place on the island, it had better be between the natives themselves, than between us and the natives. These refractory natives must be p«t -down sooner or later; and it might be done by these best tribes supporting the Government. Those which are opposed to Kowaiti and Heki are* the most numerous and best tribes in the north ; and some of them have hoisted the English flag. Instead of thinking to come here, both Kowaiti and Heki had enough upon their hands to repel the tribes going against them. He had received a letter from Captain M'Keever, of the United States corvette St. Louis, which he would read: (Copy.) " U. S. ship St. Louis, " Bay of Islands, March 24, 1845. " Dear Sir — I avail myself of the sailing of the brigantine I-don't-know, for Auckland, to inform you that the difficulties here assume no more serious features. It is rumoured that hostilities are on the eve of breaking out between the natives themselves ; and while they continue in the present excited and unsettled state, I should not consider the persons and property of the remaining Europeans at the Bay safe. " The brigantine having on board twenty small kegs of powder, from Sydney, upon her dropping anchor they were transferred to this ship for safe keeping from the natives. " I shall delay my departure for Valparaiso until the return of the brigantine, that your Excellency may have an opportunity of sending by me any despatches you may wish. I shall also be happy to carry any letters or mails for the inhabitants to that port, Rio de Janeiro, or the United States. **With assurances of great respect and esteem, " ' " Your obedisnt servant, * -'•' (Signed) " M'Keever. " His Excellency Governor Fitzroy, " Auckland, New Zealand." (Copy.) " Received from the brigantine I-don't-know, twenty kegs of powder. (Signed) " N. S. Nest, " Midshipman U.S.S. St. Louis." This letter was highly gratifying, showing the disposition of Captain M'Keever to assist us all in his power. The powder would be handed over to the North Star on her arrival ; what its ultimate destination would be was at present uncertain. The conduct of Captain M'Keever deserved the admiration and gratitude of our countrymen ; for he could have declined interfering, on account of compromising his nation. To him (the Governor) it was highly gratifying, as well as to relate the other satisfactory circumstances. Whether it would be now necessary to open the letter relative to the powder, in order 'to identify the ownership, would be for the Executive Council to determine. The order of the day was then moved by the Colonial Secretary. The Appropriation Bill was then read a third time.

i On the item for Land Claims Commission; £800, Mr. Heale observed that, highly satisfied as he was on the whole with the reductions that had been made in the Estimates, for acquiescence in which his Excellency deserved great credit, yet there was one item he Jthought hadf been passed too hurriedly, on account of the many interruptions recent occurrences had caused in their discussion on these Estimates. This was the item now before them ; and as very few claims remained now undisposed of, he should moye without further remark that it be reconsidered. The Governor observed that the state of the Land Claims Commission at present was, that . there were about seventy claims not heard and reported upon ; of these, thirty would not come : at all to be heard ; the other forty were mostly' to the southward, some few to the westward p and they might be examined in a very short time, with much less machinery. In a very' few months all might be heard that were neces--sary to settle at present. It would not be advisable to settle them all, and no injury would be done by the postponement, so that they obtained the land' eventually. The plan was wrong from the 'first on which these land claims were decided, and one less complicated would be much better. They had hitherto been examined on certain principles, which were tedious and unnecessary. He was sorry to say that he had not yet received any report of the New Zealand Company's to the southward. The report for Taranaki only he had received from the commissioner, but to that he did not accede. He was very awkwardly situated ; the Home Government looked to him to have these claims settled and Crown grants issued. He had written for the reports ; they had been promised in all March ; and they were not yet received. He presumed they would lfe>very long reports, but lie thought a brief reporVwould be the best. There had been great correspondence hitherto with the New Zealand Company, and a summary one of the documents was only necessary. The moment the report was received, the Crown grants would be issued. The agents of the New Zealand Company were ever anxious to find fault with the Government ; and they lay the whole fault on him for the delay in the settlement and issue of the Crown grants. Some months had elapsad since the commissioner left that part of the country, and his time was not otherwise occupied. He was bound to say that the delay was not justifiable. He had proposed the sum of £800, but if objected to, it was not for him to justify it. It would be for the Council to decide. He honestly believed the duties^ could be accomplished by other officers without expense ; and he would be willing to bear his share of the trouble in assisting to decide the few remaining claims. Mr. Heale observed that, after the full explanation of , his Excellency respecting the few remainingrclaims, and how the duty had been performed, he should move that the item be altogether struck out. The Governor said he would take the onus^ on himself of settling all outstanding claims. But there was another view of the case to be considered. Now that the establishment wasabolished, what was to be done with the commissioner and his clerk ? Mr. Heale conceived that that was a question for his ExceUency*s consideration alone. In considering the estimates, the duty of the council was to decide whether certain offices were necessary, and not what was to be done with persons who had hitherto filled them; but whose services were no longer required. Mr. Whitaker would have been glad, in discussing these_ items, not to have known any officer by name. Mr. Donnelly conceived it was their duty, however painful the task might be, first to consider whether an office was essential, and then the amount of salary in relation to the finances of the colony. The Attorney General considered the Government ought uot jto send an officer adrift at once. As his Excellency had said the office could be done away with, no member could . vote for its continuance; but he thought some little notice should be given, or some sum might be added to General Contingencies, to meet such emergencies. He quite agreed with the views of the non-official members ; but between master and man some notice was generally expected and given, and he therefore thought that officers so discharged should be considered. The motion that the saitf of £800 for Land Claims Commission be struck out was then agreed to. The sum of £1,500 was then agreed to for General contingencies.. , The bill was then read a third time and 1 passed, the total amount of the estimates for 1845, 1846 being £23,872. The Crown Grants* Bill waa read a second time, when it was agreed that it should come into operation on the Ist of July instead of the Ist of April, and that instead of remaining two, a grant shall remain three months in the office of the Colonial Secretary before being chargeable, and instead of being chargeable with a fee of one pound the sum of #ye shillings for every subsequent jnonth.