PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4406, 4 May 1875, Page 2

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Monday, May 3. The Speaker took the chair at half-past two o'clock. The members present were ;—The Provincial Secretary, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Cruickshank, Mr. Milne, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Wright, Mr. Buckley, Mr. Graham, Mr*. Carter. Mr. Lowes, Mr. R. Pharazyn, Mr. C. Pharazyri, Mr. Iveson, Mr. Hutchison, and Mr. Brandon. PETITION. Mr. IV. S. MILNE presented a petition from the widow of the late Charles Tooker, of the Hutt, praying that she might be allowed to exercise j the scrip belonging to her late husband, wMoh had been refused by the officials of the land office. The petition was received. PETITIONS COMMITTEE. On the motion of the Provincial Secretary, Messrs. Graham, Hutchison, Dalrymple, W. S. Milne, Crawford, R. Pharazyn, and the mover were appointed a.Select Committee to consider ail petitions presented during the session. A STEAM TUG POE THE PORT. The PROVINCIAL SECRETARY mo ved,. —That the Council to-morrow, resolve itself into committee to consider the following resolution : —“ That this Council sanctions and approves of the agreement; a copy of which iscontained in Council Paper C., No. I, of this present session, entered into on Thursday, the fourth day of March last, between his Honor the Superintendent, by and with the advice of Ids Executive Council, of the one part, and Mr. Daniel Moynahau of the other part, for the equipment and maintenance of a steam tug for the towage of vessels in the harbor of Port Nicholson ; and the Council will, from time to time, appropriate out of the current provincial revenue, funds sufficient to enable the Executive Governmeut-to carry out the agreement referred te.” LIBRARY COMMITTEE. Messrs. Andrew, Buckley, Brandon, Ludlam, R. Pharazyn, Taylor, and the Provincial Secretary were appointed a Library Committee, with power to act during the recess. FIRST READINGS. The following Bills were read a first time; —The Wellington Harbor Reserves Sale Act, The Wellington Land Sale Act, The Local Districts Impounding Act, The Wanganui Reserves Management Act 1874 Amendment Act 1875, The Wellington Corporation’s Waterworks Act (Wellington) Adoption Act, The Wellington Church of England Site Sale Act, and the Sandon Public Park Management Act. AUDIT COMMITTEE. On the motion of Mr. Pearce, Messrs. Ludlam, Morgan, A. Milne, C. Pharazyn, Taylor, Wright, and the mover were appointed a Select Committee, to audit the provincial accounts for the year ending the 31st March, 1875. MESSAGES FROM HIS HONOR. Message No. 3 conveyed his Honor’s assent to the Ad Interim Appropriation Act passed on Friday. Message No. 4 recommended the Council to pass a vote of £2OO as a grant in. aid of the erection of an hospital at Rangitikei. On the motion of the Provincial Secretary, message No. 4 was ordered to be considered in Committee of Supply next day. thorndon reclamation. Mr. PEARCE asked whether the Government would have any objection to lay on the table a copy of the contract with Mr. O’Malley for the reclamation at Thorndon. . The PROVINCIAL SECRETARY said a copy of the contract would be laid on the table next day. , EDUCATION BOARD REPORT. The PROVINCIAL SECRETARY laid on the table a copy of the annual report of the Education Board. NOTICES OF MOTION. Several notices of motion were given ; amongst them the following ; Mr. ANDREW to move, on Wednesday,— That the following address be presented to his Honor-the Superintendent, in reply to his Honor’s speech at the opening of the Council “ Your Council are delighted to hear of a good cash balance to credit. It is a further satisfaction to them to believe that it has been obtained in a legitimate manner—that it includes no overdraft, regular or irregular, and does not place us under an obligation to our bankers. The balance might have been still larger but for the action of your Honor and the Executive in manoeuvring out of the market a block of land for which purchasers were forthcoming. The aid of the General Government, granted on the spur of the moment, in this curious proceeding, affords, we think, a strong presumption of good-will on their part towards the province. We agree with your Honor in thinking that the considerable amount realised by land sales during the past year is not ‘ the result of a happy accident.’ It is no doubt, as your Honor suggests, partly due to policy introduced when Dr. Featheratou was Superintendent, partly to the great colonial scheme of immigration and public works and borrowing, and in some measure, also, to the presence of the Seat of Government at Wellington. “We are glad to hear from some of our body, who happen also to he members of the House of Representatives, that the resolution carried by a large majority of that Assembly in its last session promises to ensure a continuance of the Seat of Government here.

“ We are glad to find that this province, with one other, has escaped, in the matter of surveys, the unmitigated condemnation of Major Palmer. We observe that in seven provinces out of nine the management of the surveys under provincial institutions has saddled upon the country a cost which your Honor moderately estimates at half-a-million sterling. We are at one with your Honor in the opinion that the highest praise is due to Mr. Jackson, our Chief Surveyor, who, amidst great difficulties and opposition, and -with such long odds against him, has saved us from this same disgrace. “We are glad to hear that in the Provincial Engineer’s department much valuable work has been done. We have no wish to depreciate this, but with the large means at the disposal of the Executive, a good deal was reasonably expected. “Your Honor has been good enough to lay before us the opinions of sundry lawyers on the disputed right of dealing -with a certain foreshore. We presume your Honor did not think it necessary to bring before us what is now a matter of history the official record of the opinions of the Judges, and their decision, with costs, on a demurrer in the case of the Attorney-General v. Mr. Bunny. “ Your Honor draws attention to the supposed contrast in the amount of work done in Wellington and Hawke’s Bay, out of the £400,000 liberally provided by the General Government for roads in the We notice that if Your Honor’s plan had included the letter A (“a” dashed) at Eoxton, with reference to the tramway and the road to the Manawatu Gorge, a different result would have been manifest. We are invited to compare the length of railway open for traffic in this and the Hawke’s Bay province. The respective lengths are no doubt as 36 to 15, which, by rhetorical exaggeration, may be called a ratio of 2J to 1, or, to avoid fractions, of 5 to 2. We are informed, however, on credible authority, that the Hawke’s Bay line is, with a short exception near the Spit, of the easiest engineering nature. The ground near Wellington, as your Honor may perhaps be aware, is, through no action of the General Government, of a difficult character. When your Honor shall have time to pursue this inquiry further, we venture to suggest that your Honor may find in Air. Vogel’s 'Handbook on New Zealand some useful information as to the facilities of the ground for—roadmaking on the Canterbury plains, and on the Eimutaka ranges. “Wo see no reason to doubt that loans expended on reproductive works will promote the future supply of capital. The Patent Slip of this province has its use, as a warnin'*that works which are likely to lock up the revenues of the country indefinitely should only be undertaken with the greatest caution.

It is, indeed, to be hoped that the public -works scheme of 1370 will not be embarrassed by a narrow local spirit, and that those who were its firm supporters in the beginning will not adopt the inverse of your Honors great constitutional view, and make their votes trictly conform to expenditure, “ Your Honor points out in the opening of your address, that an amount of some £3OOO which, with the simple confidence of the aboriginal race, has been trusted in provincial hands, does not form part of our credit balance of £16,197 10s. We feel the propriety of its special mention by your Honor as a sum to be 3P ?‘Touf Council have to thank your Honor for the evident diligence, art, and skill which have been devoted to the preparation of your Honor’s address, and will give to the several subjects brought under their notice by it that attentive consideration which is due to your Honor’s position, ability, and character. The Council then adjourned till half-past two o’clock next day.