LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Thursday, 12th August, 1847.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 230, 13 October 1847, Page 3

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Thursday, 12th August, 1847.

Present — The Governor, and five Members ; absent — Mr. Domett. The minutes of the las>t Meeting were read and confirmed.

Savings Banks Bill. Mr. Brown moved the order of the day for Council resuming in Committee, the consideration of this bill. When the 19th clause was under consideration, Mr. Brown obseived that the minimum deposit should not be so low as one shilling. The Colonial Secretary was of opinion that the words " one shilling," should remain in the b;ll ; small sums should be received, so that young persons might be encouraged to become depositors. The words were allowed to remain part of the bill. Mr. Brown thought that £50, exclusive of interest, should only be received from a depositor in any one year, and that deposits should not exceed £100 in the whole. The Governor thought that no inteiest upon deposits beyond £100 should be paid by the Government. Mr. Brown was of the same opinion. Mr. Merriman said that by the English act, depositors might place funds in the Banks at home to the amount of £200. The Governor said that was the case at home, in order to encourage habits of persevering saving, but bere it was not probable that any person would allow more than £100 of his savings to accumulate in the bank, while tbere were such favorable opportunities of more profitable investment. •Mr. Merriman proposed an amendment to require depositors to give in their name, residence, and calling, for entry in the books of the bank. The claus * as amended was agreed to. Clauses 20, 21, and 22, were slightly amended and agreed to. The latter clause providing for the payment of interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum. Mr. Brown proposed an amendment to clause 23, to the effect that the Government

should be made chargeable with interest en deposits, in the event of the proceeds of the bank being insufficient to pay the sam«.. The Governor suggested that the amendment should remain over till the next meeting, in order that the Attorney General should have time to consider it. Clauses 24, 25, and 26, were amended and agreed to. In the 26th clause it was provided that the Government advances for the payment of interest, should be refunded out of any surplus funds remaining at the end of the year, after all expenses being defrayed. Clauses 27 and 28 were agreed to. Mr. Merriman proposed a new clause, — to regulate the payment of sums to married women, deposited by them previous to marriage, — clause was agreed to, and allowed to stand No. 29 of the bill. Clauses 30, 31, 32, and 33, were agreed to, after the introduction of several amendments. The Governor stated that he intended to propose to the councii," that exceptions; as regarded the amount to be recejved by the Bank from any one depositor, should be made in favour of the native inhabitants. Several of them he knew were possessed of large suras of money, and he had heard that they were accustomed to bury it for safety. He had heard of one chief having been robbed of £300. He thought that they should be permitted to place their cash in the bank not only for safety, but lor the benefit of the colony. Mr. Brown thought that there could be no objection to the Governor's proposal ; the natives had less knowledge o f modes of iuvestment than Europeans, and would consequently have sums of money frequently lying useless in their hands. The Colonial Secretary would not advisa any ' distinctiens to be made between European and Native depositors, but he thought, that it would be better for the government to take charge of the money belonging to natives, and place it in a safe, to he kept in the Treasury for that purpose. The Governor thought that the hon. Colonidi Secretary's proposal would not work will. He could easily foresee that much difficulty would arise from it. The government perhaps would require to purchase lands from the natives, for which they would pay them considerable sums of money, and by receiving the money back, immediately after paying it over to them, and retaining possession of it, the government would be open to frequent annoyance. New Zealand was a peculiar couni try, and many persons residing in it were also peculiar people, and the natives might be led to believe that although the government purchased theii lands, yet so long as they retain1 ed the money in their possession, the purchase was not complete, and the natives might feel disposed to extort larger sums, and thus offer serious annoyancps. He did not think that e> ceptions made to regulate the amount of deposits Irom the natives would be complained of. The Colonial Treasurer, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Merriman could see no objection to the piinciple proposed by the Governor being introduced into the bill. The Governor promised to prepare the clauses he had proposed, and submit them on the next consideration of the bill. On the motion of Mr. Brown, the further consideration of the bill was postponed till Saturday.

Spirits Bill, ' ' The Attorney General brought up the re,port of this bill, which was received, and the bill was read a third time and passed. Slaughter-house Bill. The Colonial Secretary moved the order of the day for the second reading of this bill. A memorial from certain butchers in Auckland, signed Dennis Macarthy and others, was read. The Colonial Secretary gave notice that he I should move on Saturday that the Council do go into committee on the bill. The Colonial Treasurer gave notice that he j should move the first reading of the Paper | Currency bill on Saturday. Council adjourned to Saturday, 14th August, at 2 o'clock.

[From the New Zealander, August 18.J Saturday, 14th August, 1847, Present — His Excellency the Governor, .th« ,! Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, ' Colonial Treasurer, Mr. Brown and Mr, - Merriman. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed.

Savings Banks Bin. ; Mr. Brown moved the order of the day, for the Council resuming, in committee the consideration of the Savings Baoks Bill. Clause 34 was considered, The clause, as amended ou the motion of Mr. Brown, empowers the Trustees to discount any v Bills of Exchange, or promissory notes, bearing the

names of two approved persons, not exceeding the amount of £100, at the rate of 8 per cent., to be payable at a period not exceeding 3 months. Clause 35 was amended so as to empower Trustees to lend sums of money not exceeding £500 to any one person, upon mortgage security of landed property, situated within twenty miles of the Bank, and that not more than one-third of the funds of the Bank should be so invested. Clauses 36 to 59, together with the schedule, were agreed to as printed. On the motion of Mr. Merriman, the 2nd clause was reconsidered and amended. The clause now enacts that the management of the affairs of the Bank shall be invested in not less than four, or more than thirty-six Trustees to be nominated by the Governor, one of whom to be styled Vice-President, who is to be elected by the Trustees. On the motion of Mr. Brown, the 18th clause was reconsidered and amended. The clause as amended requires the Trustees to prepare a balance sheet at the end of every year, to certify that they had counted the cash in band, and had ascertained to the best of their belief, the correctness of the said account, or balance sheet, which is to be subscribed with their names, and forwarded to the Governor for his approval, and afterwards published in the Government Gazette. Clause 23 was reconsidered, and Mr. Brown's amendment, after being revised by the Attorney General, was introduced. The clause now stands as follows :—": — " The said Trustees may and shall pay such interest as aforesaid, out of the interest received by them, on sums lent out as herein provided. Provided always that if the sums so received, by the said Trustees, after paying therefrom the salaries, charges, and expenses of any such Bank, shall be insufficient to pay interest on deposits, at the rate aforesaid, the sum or sums required to make up such deficiency, shall be payable by warrant under the hand of the Governor for the time being, out of the general revenue of the colony or province in which such Bank may be situated." On the motion of Mr. Brown the Committee then adjourned.

Paper Currency Bill. The Colonial Treasurer moved the first reading of this bill, — which was read a first time accordingly.

Slaughter-house Bill. On the motion of the Colonial Secretary, the Council went into Committee on this bill. Mr. Merriman informed the Council that he had several amendments to propose relative to the appointment of Inspectors of brands of cattle, fees to be charged, &c, of' which he would then give notice. The Colonial Secretary thought that the expense which would attend the maintenance of Inspectors, would be considerable, and such as the present state of the colony would not require the Council to incur. Mr. Brown thought that some regulation should be made, to provide for a place, near the public slaughter-house, where the natives could bring their pigs for sale. He knew that they were frequently imposed on by persons purchasing pigs from them before they arrived in town, and ascertained their value. The Governor said he would feel inclined to go even further than the hon. member ; he thought that the Council should pass an Ordinance to prohibit the natives from selling their produce in the open streets. The want of a public market was one of the greatest defects that he had observed in Auckland. If there was an appointed place to which the natives could repair to dispose of their produce, the inhabitants would be saved from witnessing the many unpleasant sitghs which were of frequent occurrence in the public streets, — parties rushjmg upon natives to secure their pigs, &c, as soon as they arrived in town. He hoped the learned Attorney General wpuld assist the Council in framing such a measure as would make provision for these purposes. The Attorney General would of course have no objection to prepare such an Ordinance as his Excellency had referred to ; but perhaps he might not be so warmly inclined to support it. He thought that although there would be no difficulty in providing a market pjace for the natives, yet there might be tome trouble in persuading them to repair to it. They were quite capable of guarding themselves from imposition in the sale of their produce, no matter where they disposed of it, and he questioned whether they would readily fall in with the proposed regulations, as they had been so long accustomed to sell their articles wherever they could fiud a purchaser. The Governor thought the regulations should be such as would punish Europeans for purchasing any thing from the natives at any other place than that appointed as a market ; under such a plan there would be no difficulty -in persuading the natives to take their _gpods to that place where they could

only find customers. Cottages should be erected to lodge them when they arrived, and peus fitted up for the reception ,of their animals, until they were sold. Such a plan would even assist in their civilisation, for the manner in which they were now obliged to horde together when they arrived in town was even so far beneath their own domestic customs that there was a probability of their habits becoming worse rather than better by their visits to our towns. The natives themselves were desirous for a n.arket place, and had at Wellington petitioned for the establishment of one, and offered to give up the ground of a pah for that purpose. Mr. Brown thought a few hundred pounds laid out by the Government for this purpose would be well laid out. He knew that from the want of some proper regulations of the kind now proposed, the natives bad been frequently imposed on in their dealings with a certain class of people. The Attorney General observed that for his own part he could say that for the last six years he had been trying to buy a cheap pig from the natives, but he had not yet succeeded in getting one. — (Laugh'e .) After several remarks from the Colonial Secretary, and Mr. Merriman, further consideration of the bill was postponed to Tuesday. The Colonial Treasurer gave notice that he should move the second reading of the Paper Currency Bill on Tuesday. Council adjourned till Tuesday, 17th inst.