PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5147, 21 September 1877, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. '. Thursday, September 28.'’ ‘ ■ The Hon. the Speaker took the 'chair at 2.30 p.m. PAPERS AND RETURNS. . , ' ■ ‘Various papers and returns were laid on the table by the Hon. Dr. Pollen. 'V ;" 1 ‘ ' Motion. ; •. ■ The Hon. Mr, HALL moved, and the Hon. Dr. Pollen seconded, —That this Council concura in the report of the committee appointed to report whether the seat of the Honorable Mr.. Peacock has become vacant; and that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to. His Excellency the Governor. After a discussion which lasted more than an hour and a-half, the motion was carried. ■ ; BILLS. A message was received from the of Representatives covering the following Bills,

BILLS. A message was received from the of Representatives covering' the following Bills, which \yere then read a first time,, and ordered to be printed :—The Dunedin School Reserve Act 1877 (second .reading to be on Tuesday next), the Fine Arts Copyright Act 1877, and the Deceased Wife’s Sister’s Marriage Bill (second readings on Wednesday next). The Council then (at 1.16) adjourned. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Thursday, September 20. The Speaker took the chair at the usual hour. NOTICE OP MOTION. Sir GEORGE GREY gave notice _ for the production of all correspondence which took place between the Governor of New Zealand and the Colonial Secretary in England, between the . years 1855 and 1873, re annexation of various islands in the Pacific. QUESTIONS. Mr. DE DAUTOUR asked the AttorneyGeneral, —If he is of opinion that the Resident Magistrates upon goldfields and receivers of revenue were debarred from the privileges of the Civil Service Act, 1866, on the ground that their salaries had. not been continuously directly appropriated by the Colonial Legislature, or on any other grounds ? The Hon. Mr. WHITAKER said he had not had sufficient time to consider the matter, but he would give an answer on Monday. This was assented to by Mr. De Lautour.

Mr. NAHB asked the.'Attorney-General, —Whether, under the existing law, Maori lands held under Crown grant, and. occupied by the aboriginal owners, are liable to highway of county rates ? . The Hon. Mr. WHITAKER replied that land over which the native title bad not been extinguished was not liable to be rated ; neither was laud liable which had been Crown granted, and was in the occupation of the natives. Mr. SUTTON asked the Attorney-General, —Whether the Government intend during the present session to bring in a Bill to amend the law referring to the supply of spirituous liquors to natives '! A great deal of doubt existed on the subject. The only law he knew of on the matter was that of 1847, in which it was enacted that anyone, supplying natives, with drink should be liable to a fine of £lO. During a long residence in the colony, he had not seen, the law acted upon ; nor did he desire it 'should be carried out. His reason for'asking the question was, that he saw a notice in a Hawke’s Bay paper, Stating that the police intended enforcing the law in that district ; and if that was the case, it would be well for publicans and others to be made acquainted with the law. .;

The Hon. Mr. WHITAKER said tile Ordinance of 1847 was still in force, and was frequently acted upon.’ 1 It was not the intention of the Government to bring in a Bill on the subject.' , "Mr. WAKEFIELD asked the Minister of justice,—What amount was received for fees and fines in the Resident Magistrate’s Court at Timaru for the year ending 30th June last ; and. what amount was expended in salaries and expenses on account of ‘ the same Court ? . ' 1 The'Hou- Mr. BOWEN replied'that the fees and fines amounted to £930, and the expenses to £670. In many towns the revenue exceeded the expenditure ; but that was not the case in the country districts. ‘ HEW bill. ■■ The Bluff Harbor Endowment and Borrowing Bill was read a first time, and the , second reading fixed for Wednesday next. . : ■■./■■■■ 310110110. . On the motion of the Hon. Mr. Whitaker, the following gentlemen were appointed a select committee to enquire into and report upon the alleged disqualification to sit ; in the House of Mr. Martin Kennedy, the member for Grey Valley, • and Mr. J.* T. Fisher, the member for Heathcote:—Messrs. Bowen, Gisborne, Stout, Macandrew, Stafford, Harper, Rees, and the mover. • , : Mr. FYKE moved that the report of the Otago Main Central Railway Committee should be given effect to forthwith. After several gentlemen had spoken the debate was adjourned till Wednesday next. It was moved and carried' that there be laid before the House a return, showing the names, offices, and term of service of the service of the several Provincial Government officers whose services were dispensed with in consequence of the passing of the Abolition Act, together with a statement of the amount of compensation granted in each case. Mr. MURRAY moved, —That a committee be appointed to inquire into certain land transactions in connection with the purchase of the Punia or Hunia Blocks I, 2,3, and 4, and other lands in the Waitoa District, by Mr. F. Whitaker, jun., and by Mr. James Mackay. Government Land Purchase Commissioner, in the purchase or other negotiation in connection with these or other lands in the Waitoa District, and also any proposed exchanges between Government and Mr. Whitaker, sen., and any alleged sales to one Fraser. Such committee to consist of Mr. Ballance, Sir G. Grey, Hon. Mr. Reynolds, ■ Hon. Mr. Stafford, Mr. Wakefield, and the mover. The Hon. Mr. WHITAKER was desirous of seeing the motion agreed to, for as long as it remained on the Order Paper it seemed as a reflection upon him in land transactions. The motion had been put on the paper in three different forms. He would take the present opportunity of offering an explanation on the subject. The story was a long one, but he would endeavor to make it as short as possible. Some forty years ago, before the establishment of existing institutions, five persons bought 80,000 acres of native land. Subsequently application was made to the Court to establish their title. The Court awarded 11,000 acres, for which Crown grants were issued. He (Mr. Whitaker) had no connection whatever with these transactions. Mr, Webster, one of the original purchasers, mortgaged his land to the Bank of Australasia, and in 1852 he (Mr. Whitaker) purchased the land from the bank. There were difficulties about the boundaries of the land, the natives holding the surrounding land. The matter was brought before Mr. Bell (now Sir F. D.), Lands Commissioner, and he, decided that the land should be properly surveyed, and fresh Crown grants issued. Afterwards the district was in such a disturbed state that it was not safe for Europeans to visit it. During the Waikato war it was the scene of strife, and for years afterwards the land to which he alluded was surrounded by Hnubaus, who were opposed to Europeans settling in the district. However, a few, years back the Government were negotiating for some laud in the district, and the natives expressed their desire to get back the Maupera, and the Government offered him (Mr. Whitaker) some land in exchange. He assented, and an agreement was signed in 1873. The , intention was that the Government should purchase the laud to be given in exchange. A Bill was brought in; but it was thrown out by the Legislative Council, and the Government was not in a position to give the land. The natives were very anxious to get Maupera back, and would not treat till then. The natives agreed to give him (Mr. Whitaker) certain lands for Maupera; but on these lands other parties had a claim. He advanced some money to extinguish those olaiths, and the natives wore now in a position to hand over the lands, and he would be in a position to hand over Maupera. This was the only transaction he had ever had in the Native Lands Court, and he felt certain that he would never get the money back he

had expended.- He had not got a conveyance of the land yet. , He would wish to have added to the motion the ToUpwing That the committee also inquire into the . claim for compensation ma(}e by Mr. Whitaker owing to the Government'having failed to keep their agreement with him.. . r This was accepted by Mr. Murray, and the motion was agreed to. The House adjourned at 5.30 till the following day. , ‘ ■ - ■