PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. Tuesday, December 20, 1853. NOTICES OF MOTION.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 876, 24 December 1853, Page 3

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. Tuesday, December 20, 1853. NOTICES OF MOTION.

Several notices of motion were given, among tithers one for a Select Committee on Education by the, Frovinciat Secretary, who, however, had no hope the Committee would be able to bring their labours to & Close this session. The Government had not come to any conclusion on this important subject, and their views would be guided by the evidence obtained by the Committee. Mr. Lxjdlam, in moving for a Select Committee on Roads, said it was his wish that they should obtain evidence on the whole question of the Public Roads of. the Province, that they might lay a report before the Council for discussion 5 by this means the members Would obtain more information on the subject^ than they otherwise could. He thought it was of great Importance that the Council should be in possession of full information as to making and keeping* in repair the different lines of roads before they agreed to borrow the money proposed by the Loan Bill. Jt was his wish to «cc a track *nade to A-huriri where there was a large district, and a considerable quantity of Crown Land, but which at present was almost unavailable for want of a road. He hadbeeu informed that it took seven weeks co drive sheep from that district to Wellington, he knew the present road was over a line of rocky coast about 250 miles long, whereas it might be reduced to 150 miles of a good roal. Another abject he had in view in moving for a Committee was th«t this Council might put the public in possession tof their opinions as to the linei_of .toads,.thatahoold-ba-^nnafU, tfc»y would, then have a knowledge of what the Provincial Govei nment intended to do, and have sotn« certainty instead of the present unceraifity about roads. The Committee would have io. consider the question of bridges over the different streams as recommended in Mr. Roy's report. Another question for their consideration would also be whether some alterations should be made in the width of tire for wheels carrying he*vj loads of timber; at present many were the same as a cart that carried a light load of hay or other produce ; all this would entail a good deal of trouble on the Committee, but it would be satisfactory to the public. The Prov. SicCbstart had no intention to oppose the motion* he rather gathered it was desired to have a Select Committee appointed to establish principles for making roads, and to include in their inquiries all the lines of road proposed to be made.

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. The ProV. Secretary said, before moving the House for a vote of supply, he would make a financial statement according to general custom^ and Would confine himself to a plain business statement shewing the basis of the calculation of income for the Province. He then entered into a statement of the different items of revenue, with brief explanations on the particular heads. Having gone through the items of revenue, he said he would in a similar way go through the different items of Expenditure. The Superintendent's salary had been set down at £500, and had been firted in the Appropriation Bill for one ye"ar, arid he should be slurring dyer a great principle if he passed over this head without Making a few remarlss. No doubt as the Provincial Government established the salaries of the chief Executive officers, they should not have place in an annual Appropriation Bill, but should be fixed by & permanent Act. He thought they should ndt he placed in a position 1 to have theit salaries discussed every year, but that all jfersdns holding responsible" situations should haVe their salaries fixed by a permanent Act. Having briefly referred to the contingencies, he explained the salary was dajed from the Ist August when the Superintendent entered on his office. The salary o( the Provincial Secretary was fixed at £400 i To the clerk an increase at £35 per annum wns given, and this involved a principle he wished to hayo fully discussed. In granting pensions nnd retiring allowances to officers who had served their the Province would be impoveiishod by what might be called ft host of stnte paupers' It was necessary to consider how they should enable men to do something mn»» than live.; how they might be in a position to put by something for a rainy day. Ho thought if the salaries of those who hold their places during good behaviour were to go on with a yearly increase to a fixed maximum, the effect would be to ensure an ultimate saving to the public, and to provide a stimulus for the efficient working of those officers. Referring to the Treasurer's department he would take that opportunity of stating, that probably it would; be necessary the office should be filled before another Session. He (the Secretary)

considered the duties of heads of departments not to be merely routine duties, what was chiefly to be expected from them was the efficient discharge of their Parliamentary duties. He explained that the Audit would be conducted by a board of which the Resident Magistrate had consented to become a member, the Provincial Secretary was another, the third had not been named. An alteration had been made increasing the salary of the Clerk of the Works. In the harbor department he wished to correct an unintentional error in thfe Estimates, by which the Harbor Master had been styled Tide-waiter instead of Tide Suiveyor. He then explained the various details of expenditure referring to the harbor and other departments. He referred to the establishment of a Lunatic Asylum, which he said was so consonant to all the claims of humanity as to be universally agreed to, and the necessity of continuing to the Native chiefs those presents on visiting Wellington they had formerly received, so that they should not go away offended, according to their notions. He also alluded to the gratuity of £75 to the late Acting Provincial Treasurer by whose sen-ices the Government had been greatly benefited. On the head of Legislative Council.he said the Government felt strongly the recognition of the principle of paying the members, as without it the effect would be to exclude many able men who might benefit the House by their assistance. He also referred to the payment of the Speaker, and the Chairman of Committees, who was also a permanent officer of the House. The hon. member concluded a long and elaborate statement by some observations and explanations relating to the gaol, the ferries, roads and bridges, and moved that a supply be granted to the Superintendent. Mr. Bell said he had been requested by the hon. gentleman the Prow Secretary, to add a few words in explanation of the item of income under the head of Territorial Revenue ; but as he had only a short time before received that request, he must beg the Council to excuse the imperfect statement he could alone make* It was, however^ his intention to produce very shortly for the information of the Council various documents connected with the land, and it was in, anticipation of that fuller information that he Trould make his present observations to the Committee. The Council ; were aware that the completion of the Company's contracts had enabled the Government to devote its attention to a system of land | sales for the future : and the result was that the Governor had in March last issued certain regulations, the principal feature in which was a reduction in the price of the land. These regulations had caused a considerable impetus in the acquisition of land ; insomuch that while the New Zealand Company had, in this Province sold only about £1,400 of land in the three years preceding their dissolution, a sum exceeding £11,000 in cash had been received by hurt since the opening of the land on the 29th March. If in the past nine months this sum had been paid, it was to be expected that in the ensuing year a much larger sum would be received, and that after defraying the charge of surveys and other deimiiufia*! ■pjcputiLUm.u, m..i r.-.;.i:,.0 r .-.;.i:,. o f-. .»., instalments that would become due on the purchases now being negotiated by Mr. *Mac Lean,, a considerable Burplus would remain. Now unless the General Assembly should in the meanwhile make other arrangements) nearly the whole of the Revenue after deducting the charges referred to would, under the existing drdera of the Governor, be returnable to the Provincial Treasury, and I he believed that the sum of £2000 anticipated by the Provincial Govern merit in the Estimates was really less than would be placed in their hands, To support his view of the probable receipts, he might remind them that but a small portion of the lands now or lately negotiated for had been open for selection, and it was only reasonable to presume that when the remainder was made available, large purchases would take place by the settlers. He had indeed very reliable information to aid him in arriving at this expectation ; in one instance where a large block was proposed to be shortly opened to choice, an intimation hkd that morning been made to His Honor the Superintendent and to Himself*, of £•2000 being ready for payment at any time. He hoped the Committee would be satisfied with these imperfect remarks, which he would endeavour to justify when hs brought forward the motion of which he had given notice respecting the surveys. Mr. WAKfefriELfo was almost surprised that no members had expressed their Views on the hon. Secretary's general Statement. He had hitriself abstained from doing so, because he felt himself to be, in comparison with the rest of the House, imperfectly acquainted with, the wants and resources of the" Province", and the opportunity had now gone by. But now that they were on the particular item's, he could not let the first pass without saying, that the' proposed provision for the Superintendent appeared to him inadequate as a permanent arrangement. It might be sufficient at this time, Considering the pr es<?nt exigencies of the Provihclal service, which had no doubt been taken into careful calculation by the Government when they determined to recommend £500 as the proper sum : but he (Mr. W.) could not but suppose that they deemed the stun insufficient as a permanent income for the head of the Provincial Government ; and, as that was his own opinion, ns well as, he thought, the general opinion of members, he trusted that, by means of expression of opinion on the subject, the £500' would be Voted as confessedly inadequate, but adopted for this year in aonsideration of the pfesent needs and means of the Provirice. He would take that opportunity of saying that, in tiis opinion, the Estimates generally -were, if words might be used without self- contradiction, extremely moderate. Mr. Moore rose for the purpose of expressing his opinion upon this first item j he thought the sum set down was a sufficient sum", and such as was in his view justified by the circumstances of the colony, and the general circumstances of the case. He felt bound to say as a whole that the Estimates were moderate and satisfactory ; if our future circumstances should justify it he thought they might, in some cases, be i fairly increased \. at present he thought in re-

gard to the particular item, it came within the pood rule of regulating expenditure by income. He would be glad to see tl»e amount set dow;. as conmgeicies, and which therefore implied that it? expenditure in detail would havi» to htf accounted for hereafter, altered into forage allowance. It was an Awkward word, which in this case might as well be got rid of, so that | the amount voted would require no future explanation of details. The Prov. Secretary, in replying to the observations of the members who* had spoken last, said the sum put down was strictly intended for contingencies ; he referred in disparagement to the item of contingencies of the Lieutenant Governor's department in the former estirhaieß, and stated that in the estimates now before the hdusfc, there was nothing like any sham, there was a freedom from any thing of that sort, and that he was not sitting in his office trying to humbug them. Mr. Moore regretted that his observations, which were made in the most perfect good spirit, had called forth such a storm of indignation from the Provincial Secretary. He was as well aware of the necessity of providing firewood, stationery, and so on, as the hon. gentleman himself. What he meant went to this effect, that if called contingencies it would have to be accounted for. tobe.eas if called forage it would not. He did not admit there was aay^ thing undignified in the proposal to define the amount as forage. He did not cavil at the amount, and when voted, whether it were spent on pens instead of straw, or oats instead of firewood, was a matter of perfect indifference to him. The Pro. Secretary in reply said, from an observation dropped by the hon, member he appeared still to imagine fetraw could be turned into pens ; the Government were bound td account for every penny, the money put down for contingencies would be spent in that manner, it would not be spent as under the former Government; there would be no convenient surplus to go upon, that which was put down would be the only sum to be spent. Under the former Government the estimates nearly meant nothing, it was quite immaterial then what sum was put down, now they were doing strict business, if the contingencies amounted to more than the sum set down, they would come out of the private pocket of the Superin : tendent. Mr. Bell was sorry that a discussion had taken place ; and he would not have risen had it not taken the turn it had. With respect to" contingencies, he was sure some misunderstanding must exist. It was impossible to bd absolutely correct in estimating what contingencies would amount to in any particular department, for the item^ depended wholly on, the amount Of business that might accrue, and this could not be correctly foreseen at any time. It was always understood that reasonable latitude would be extended to any administration on this head, and he had never heard of the only alternative, being admitted that the" business should not be done, or that the head of department should pay the cost. Pens, ink> and paper, and clerical assistance, were necessary items regarding which no exact accuracy ! could exist beforehand : but of course, whatequired had to be as religiously accounted for, and brought to book, as any other item of charge whatever. With regard to the matter particularly in hand, namely the salary of the Superintendent, he should not have made any remark on the proposal of the Government had no discussion, arisen, but since it had, it did not become any one to refrain from expressing his views. That the sum £500 was inadequate had been confessed, and he cordially agreed in that opinion: But when he found that the Provincial Secretary was down" for £AOQ, and other officers in proportion, then the sum of. £500 for the Superintendent was not only in- ■ adequate, but disproportionate. If, as was ge neraQy admitted, the Estimates as a whole were framed on a moderate scale", it was not just-, at least not on any grounds he had heard mentioned; to except one item alone and to leave that the only one below moderation. The admirable precept, as to frugality in expenditure, and the necessity of setting an example in this respect to colonists; which were contained in Lord John Russell's original instructions to Governor Hobson, might very properly bo adopted as the rule to guide the head of a Province, no less than the hea"d df a colony ; but it must'be remembered that with the utmost frugality, it \va9 expected that the Superintendent should be able to show reasonable attention td strangers, and exercise moderate hospitality in his household. No greater evil had been inflicted on us by* the high prices than" the difficulty every family felt iri this particular of showing attention to strangers* while'it wrts really very necessary and essential that somebody should do it. The Cddncil dught not to begin by placing the Sttperiritendent in a position in which he cduld not entertain visitors, and he thought that the least sum they ought to vote for his salary was £600 a-year. Mr. Clifford said in considering this question he should ndt like to decide as to the the cheapest rate, but in choosing the best roan be thought they should give him a good salary to devote his best attention to their affairs. They might find a man. willing to undertake the conduct of their affairs who would be Content with the approval of his fellow.citizens and! the approbation of his own conscience, but they should not allow men in office to injure their private means. lie" con«>ldered the Salary »et down for the Superintendent to be perfectly inadequate ttf the support of himstt and his family. Ma*ny expences ' would be incurred by the Superintendent which would not be demanded ffom other members of the Government. He would! be required to visit all parts of £he Province, he had not asked for a private Secretary, and must do the: duties of a clerk or ptly for one himself. In putting down so inadequate * salary, they should not allow the Superintendent in his desire tor benefit the c lory to injure himself, and he i nought he should receive, at least a hundred a year in addition, and forage for two horses. Mr. Brown was bound to say the salarywas inadequate, but as a matter of justice felt bound to support the original motion. Mr. Wakefield could not help remarking 1 / that, recording to the suggestion here mad**,the item wculd be increased, but in- juch » wuy

'us to give to his Honor's advisers all the popularity of a careful regard to economy, and to the Council all the unpopularity of forcing the ]«r£tfr fum on the Government, and that would lie hardly fair. But be objected on a different ' ground' to'tbe'Wanner in which an increase of the item teemed likely to be brought about. If his Honor's advisers thought £500 too little, and that there ought to be some increase, even , this year, they ought to ray bo, in which ca#e j he (Mr.'W,') mrould Tote with them for an increase ; but if the Council voted tin increase against the wfah of the official members, they would deviate most tteriously from the usages of responsible Government, to 'which they pro* Teased so much attachment. He was then " speaking without any regard to the propriety y of the smaller or larger sum — with regard only to the importance of adhering strictly to the 'principle of ministerial responsibility. Of course i the Estimates had been framed by" his Honor's j advisers on a careful consideration of all the ' circumstances which ought to guide their decision ; and as it was admitted by everybody that the Estimates — more especially this one— were very moderate, who could doubt that a majority of the Council would abide by the 'item set "*lown oy the members of Government, if they insisted on if? Butif, on the contrary, they al- j lowed the Council to augment the item, they would lay themselves open to the imputation of "wishing to obtain an increase without being responsible for it. > Such a course would, he Tepeated, be very inconvenient with the ordinary practice of responsible Government. , The Phot. SscußTAiureaid it had been supposed tbe Government for the sake of popularity had placed a low sum on the Estimates. - The Provincial Government could afford to do * an unpopular act, and ' ths supposition he had - referred to was the molt gratuitous that could ' enter into the mind of roan. Nothing had fallen from' him from which it 'could be inferred be * thought the sum of £500 too small. "He " drew a' distinction betwetn his opinion as a private individual tnd a public man. if a petition wifh a doleful tale were brought him, as an individual' he might put "his" hand in his * pocket and give £1 or £5, thought might resist the petition on public grounds. The Estimates were hiY Estimates, he gloried in v them, and in proposing item by item the responsibility of them tested on himself. He very possibly Imd been guilty <sf many «bsor- * ditto, bat he had not committed so great an extravagance as that supposed by the hon. member. Tbe hon. member seemed to wish to I help a lame dog over -a style (hear from Mr. ' Waken" eld), but if any other sum thin £500 *Mrere ! proposed'he should oppose it. The hon. forthe~Hntt seemed Confident, because n unanimenr feeling- was entertained by the House on this" questkn, he • (Mr. F.) would not act up to his principles, but he really thought the hon. member had gone too far, and had been a little too hard upon him. He had thought the hon. member would have taken this opportunity of discussing the great principle of fixing their salaries by a permanent act, and that his opinion would have given ad- * ditional weight to the decision of this question, * as soon as the resources of the Province al- ' lowed a permanent Act to be passed. He had "" for that sum and for nothing else, «nd would always be bold enough to say what he meant. Mr. CLinosD rose to say if thehon.member (Mn Wakefield) thought he (Mr. O) was help. r ing a lame dog over a style, he would observe Mhat as Speaker he should always endeavour to Tbe members in opposition to Government were talked of as independent members, but he (Mr. C.) sat there -as an independent member, and would give his most strenuous support to the Government while acting- rightly, and his strenuous opposition when acting contrary. -Mr. Wackvibld said, it was true he- had * cheered the hon. Secretary's expression, M help - a hme dog over a style," though he should Dot "hare used it himself. When giving that cheer, -he had in his recollection what passed in the *€euncil Roem before the regular business commenced; when there were uttered all round him very urgent reasons' for increasing the Superintendent's salary. In short, there was a canvass -going on ; which might be called, though he 'didiiot adopt the phrase, " helping a lame dog over a style." -However, the responsible Government officers in that House now assured them that the Government considered £500 enough, and that they would abide by the item. He should vote with the Government. For though, referring to the hon. Secretary* illustration of private charity, indulged on hearing a doleful tale, >he believed the "doleful tale" which had been told *y his -hon. relative (Mr. Sell)— though lie^was sincerely of opinion that £500 a-year was an inadequate salary for the head of the Provincial Government — though he* •could not understand how the establishment •of the Superintendent-could be kept op for £500 a-year, considering tbe high price of every, thing at this time — though, observing thei salaries voted to Superintendents in other Provinces, he had said that the office of Superintendent in New Zealand would be apt to ruin its holder*-yct he must bear in mind that this was not a question of private charity and doleful tales, <but that they were dealing with public money, and that if they now voted for the larger euro, after the positive assurance of the Government that the smaller sum was the right one, they would have to confess to their constituents that they had indulged their own feelings or opinions at the expense of the public, because in opposition to the Government which insisted that £500 was enough for the public service, f f the hon. Secretary adhered to that serious declaration, he (Mr. W.) should feel bound to vote with him. Mr. Rktaks explained fa reference to the charge of canvassing, that as chairman he was precluded from speaking in Committees, and he therefore did not tbtnk it wrong in urging other* to do what be would have done himself. He considered £750 as the lowest salary which ought td be voted, and if he oonld have rot that sum he would. Mr. WAKEnn& replied the charge of ean•vassmg did not apply to the hon. member, but to i tnembir of Government. ThePao. SECfciTAwin reply to what had fallen from tbe hon. member (Mr. Wakefield), *»id he (Mr. W.) evidently felt nrv chary of his popularity, even to the extent of'sacrificing pnnciple to popularity, and attempted by i

dexterous move to convict him of inconsistency. Ihe hon. member professed a great desire to support the Government, but in leality was satisfied he was doing the most popular thing, and that in what he had done he was economising the public money. But he would ask had the hon, member always followed him (the Secretary) so icnplicilty ? He thought if he were to apply such a test to the argument* adduced by the hon. member they would be found to be worth nothing at all. Because £500 enabled them to stand in their present position, taking also into consideration their desire to give all they could to public works, and to have an expression of opinion on a permanent act, the hon. member teemed to infer he (the Secretary) meant that was always to be the sum. If that was not his inference, it was hard to say what was. But he would ask if such an inference were fair. Nothing had fallen from him as to what the permanent salary should be. If he had committed any error it was against the individual, and in hvor of the public works of the colony. Mr. Brown considered the present vote to be only for the current year, until the enlarged means of the Colony allowed them to vote more adequate salaries. Mr. Ludlam said he thought the sum of £500 placed on the Estimates for the Super* intendent's salary was a moderate one, and that the Government were wise, under the circumstances of the Province; in having brought forward so moderate a sum. For his own part he considered it would be inconsistent for the Council to grant high salaries with the fact staring them in the face, that they were about to borrow money to carry on the Public Works of the Province; if a private individual borrowed money and lived extravagantly he would soon go to ruin, so would this Province ; he considered the moderate estimates before them as a test whether ire were to have an economical Government or an expensive one. He did not mean to say that the sum was an inadequate one if the Provincial Revenue was in a very prosperous state, because he believed that, at this Province progressed it would be in a position to grant a higher salary. «He differed with the hon. Member for Wairarapa (Mr. Bell) in his amendment, for «n -additional £100. Either'iet this Council dechwp what is an adequate salary for the Superintendent or adopt the present one. As to the question of entertainments being paid for by the public, in hit opinion entertainments should not be at the cost of the public j if an bon. member were to give a dinner party it would be hard that the public should be made to pay for it. He thought public officers should be paid for their work, and not for giving dinner parties ; with these views he should vote for the sum placed on the estimates by the Government. Mr. Bell had said before that if no disoussion had arisen he would not have disturbed the vote proposed by Government : but once it had arisen, the committee were in no way called upon blindly to follow the Government lead. As to the question of popularity, it had never entered into his mind ; and if in giving their votes hon. members were driven to consider such a matter, the public would say they were either fools or rogues. In bis own case. known for a long time what it wa9, had no intention of commencing now to try and avoid it. For one he should, while very desirous of giving the Government fair support, be perfectly ready to defeafrthem if he could on this point ; it related -to no mutter i>f public policy, was a subject on wk&sh'&ey as guardians of the public purse were not the sole -judges, «nd they were both bound and entitledto vote as they thought best. He had not, whenhe spoke before,-con-cluded by moving an amendment-; 'but he would now do so, and instead «jf bowing to thedecision of the-Provincial Secretary, -would take ! the sense of the committee on th& question of allowing £600 as the salary of the^Superintendent, and would have great pleasure in defeatngthe Government on this first step 'in the Estimates. Mr. Wxn*iE£D wished to ask 1 the Provincial Secretary if he thought the sun on the Estimates to be the proper sum ? The Prov. Sicretart— l consider £500 to be the right sum. Mr. Moore would ?ote for the sum' of £500 tit "what he believed to be the right sum. and' because there was a strong feeling that that sum should not be exceeded, at the same time he could not entertain the question as a permanent act but as one of progress. Mr. KiNAitz. in voting with the .'Government for the ium of 4500 considered it to be sufficient, and that Government had done wisely in proposing that sum. The "Committee then divided. For Mr. -Bell's amendment to increase the Superintendent's salary to £600, Ayeß— Messrs. Bell, Bethune, Clifford, Daniell, Dorset, Hart, Lyon, Wallace, Waite, and Watt. Noes-rMeMsrs. Brandon, Brown, FiteherT)ert,,Ludlam, Moore, Renal], and Wakefield. Mr. dwoBD would propose under ihe head of to Superintendent an allowance for forage for two horses. He believed the fact of seeing his allowance kept so low would be a much more unpopular course than increasing it, and was certain be could not perform the duties of 'hia office without dipping largely into his private means. The Province extended to Wanganui on one side, and to Hawke's Bay on the other, and everyone knew the expense of keeping horseflesh to be ruinous. The Pao. Sicretart hoped the hon. member would be iniiuced to withdraw this amendment, and tbat he would give him credit for being sincere in making this request. He was glad the discussion had taken place, but hoped the amendment would be withdrawn as he was sure the Superintendent would not sanction an Appropriation Bill containing such a provision. Mr. Clittoild was desirous of pressing the amendment. Capt. Daoteia said they ought not to expect the gratuitous services of any man. They were not in that Council to support such extiavagant salaries as those of the New Zealand Company to their Agent of £1000 a-year. or of the equally extravagant salary of the Lieutenant Governor, and hoped the hon. member (Mr. Clifford) would divide the House. Mr. Moore objected to the proposal on the same grounds as to the previous amendment. The addition of so considerable a sum to the

Superintendent's salary could not be justified, particularly by those who were always com plaining of the expense of the former Government. Those gentlemen were- alwaj's in the habit of cavilling at the salary of JEBOO paid to the Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster, and yet they considered £'000 to be an inadequate salary for the Superintendent of this ' Province. They were returning to the old state i of things, and the old style of expense. Under the new state of things the salary proposed for the Superintendent very nearly approximated to the salary objected to. He (Mr. M.) desired to see the salaries kept low, he thought that high salaries were objectionable in more ways than one, as they led to extravagance of all kinds. The Prov. Secretary said if the proposed amendment were passed, the Government would not sanction it. They had been told how much more corrupt they were getting than the Government ot New Munster. As often as he heard such statements made, so often would he get up and ridicule them. No comparison could be made between those dry bones of the Province of New Munster and the liv ing document of the New Constitution. They were told -they were treading in the steps of the Government of New Munster, that it would be better to be economical, to be short in time and scanty in quantity. The former Government had acted irresponsibly, their estimates were prepared without the slightest intention of adhering to them. They were bound by no considerations of principle. But he thanked ' God the public were anxiously watching their proceedings. Because the former Government never did attend to the interests of the public, they were to be paid well. It was argued that the irresponsible Government was to be paid, but that those wbovere responsible were not to be paid for iheir services. Mr. Brown observed that those who Irved in glass houses should Hot throw stones. He considered the remarks of fhe hon. member to be most indecorous, especially when such proposals proceeded from members who used to decry extravagance. When one member pro- ! posed an increase of salary and another forage j for two horses, it was no wonder that hon. ] members should remonstrate. He could no; j allow such proposals to pass unnoticed. Mr. Bell rose to protest against -some of the remarks of the hon. gentleman the Provincial Secretary. He would not yield even to that ' hon. gentleman in a sense of public duty, nor i did he believe that any other member of the previous legislature and Government would yield to him. The imputation that the estimates used to be a mere sham, with other charges made by the hon gentleman, were attacks upon the personal honor of members of previous legislatures, and as such were a re- j flection on the constituencies who had returned those members to that house and thereby proved their confidence in them. He believed that, with himself, (hose members wished to give fair support to the Government— but he, for his own part, would declare that while he strongly deprecated these repeated allusions to subjects of bygone difference, he would, so often as any one, even holding the high office of the bon. gentleman, threw imputations on am hunw vt Tm.mU.l3 of tlm OiU- -fegMhitures, rise in Ms, place "to resist .and protest against them. After an explanation from 'the Provincial Secretary, Mr. Clifford withdrew his amendment ; and the Chairman having'reported:progress the House ac joumed.