PARLIAMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 12 August 1880, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

Wellington, August 11. In the Legislative Council to-day, Mr. Waterhouse gave notice to bring up and discuss the whole subject of the Waipawa land dispute. Mr. Chamberlain gave notice to ask what Government intend to do re the Native Industry Commission. Replying to Mr. Waterhouse, Mr. Whitaker said the New Plymouth Harbor Board had prior to January last spent about L4OOO of their land fund in an nn-= authorised way, but the illegal expenditure had since been stopped. Colonel Whitmore asked why a bailiff appointed at Napier had hot been chosen from the discharged civil servants. Mr. Whitaker said the appointment lay with tlie local Resident Magistrate and not the Government.

In reply to. a question, Mr. Whitaker said the geographical department had often reported on the Picton coal. The area was small, and it was of poor quality. A Bill to amend the Debtors and Creditors Act (as recommended by the Bank? ruptcy Law Committee) was recommended.

Mr. Whitaker aaid this was a temporary remedy. There would be full legislation on the subject next session. A Committee was appointed to consider Mr. Taiaroa's disqualification. The report of the disqualification on the general subject was adopted. Messrs. Ackiand, Peters, and Reynolds gave notice to ask for leave of absence for the rest of the session. Mr. Menzies moved for three weeks' leave for himself. Colonels Whitmore and Brett hoped the Council would put its foot down on this undignified practice of many members coming up very late in the session, staying two or three weeks, and then asking leave for the rest of the session. Colonel Brett thought, in case of illness a medical certificate should be sent in, as was done in the army. If members wanted three-fourths of the session to attend to their private business they had no business to hold their seats. Sir F. D. Bell thought it was no use refusing leave, else it would be taken unasked, and they could not make members work if they compelled them to stay. After some further discussion, Dr. Menaies' leave was granted. Mr. Wilson moved for a return of all moneys paid in every way to Sir J. Yogel since 1879. Mr. Reynolds opposed the motion. Colonel Whitmore said he believed it would be very useful and instructive, when Sir J. Vogel was making a claim for L 20,000 or so, to find that he ha.d rer ceived L 40,000 or L 50 3 QOQ in the last ten years, Colonel Brett thought the motion an indelicate one concerning so distinguished a man, who ought not to be spotted out in this way more than others. It would be humiliating to the Council to have such a motion, and he must express his indignation at it. Mr. Robinson thought the Council should know what everybody received, so that if they were to wind up, everybody should get his due. Perhaps they might even find that Sir J. Yogel had not received as much as he ought, and they would then be able to do him justice.

The motion was carried. The amendments of the Lower House in the District Courts Bill and Land Transfer Act Amendment Bill were agreed to. The Council rose at 4.25 p.m.

In the House of Representatives today, Mr. Hall laid on the table the report of Mr. Mackie on the pleuro-pneumonia disease in the Waikato district. The following Bills were introduced and read a first time :—Hamilton and Omaha Railway Bill, Hamilton and Cambridge Railway Bill. Mr. Whitaker asked leave to introduce the Pukekolie and Waiuku Railway Bill. Mr. Pybe moved the motion standing in his name regarding the report of the Railway Commission. He sa\d he was not disposed to allow it to go forth that this House, even.in part, approved of that report. Government had partially disavowed its intention of being guided by the report, but he noted that they had based their proposals upon it, The report itself was unreliable, unworthy of consideration, and ought to be relegated to the waste paper basket. He denied that they had made careful enquiries into the circumstances of the different projected works. Referring to his own district, he said that he knew of his own knowledge that no attempt had been made to secure such information. He also charged them with having suppressed evidence taken in Dunedin. The Strath-Taieri line would serve two-thirds of the population, and would open up thousands' of acres of Grown lands. Despite its importance,

they made a very cursory examination of the district, so much so that they never saw the exact locality ihrough which the line proposed to go. He could hardly imagine the Government would have had the audacity to appoint a Commission to interfere with a work that had been already fully enquired into by both Houses, and been authorised. He concluded by moving : 1. That this House is of opinion that the report of the .Royal Commission on Railways, in so far as it deals with lines which have never been submitted to or sanctioned by Parliament was unnecessary and uncalled for. 2. That in so far as it condemns railway lines, the construction of which have after due consideration and careful enquiry been sanctioned by this House, the said report has not sufficient foundation, and should be regarded as a mere expression of individual opinion, hastily formed, without any special knowledge or experience on the subject. 3. That it would therefore be unwise, and highly detrimental to the best interests of the Colony for Government to shape its public works policy upon the opinions and recommendations embodied in said report. Mr. Shrimski disputed the statement made by the previous speaker that the Livingstone line would not be an acceptable one. It would pass through a country abounding in mineral and agricultural wealth, although for the purposes of the former industry a difficulty existed in connection with water rights. The StrathTaieri line had been put forward to some extent as a rival to the Livingstone line, and while not wishing to disparage the former, he pointed out that the evidence given against it was evidence of persons interested more directly in promoting the Strath-Taieri line. He defended Mr. Reid from all the imputations of having influenced the report from personal motives.

Mr. Levin objected to the finding of the Commission in reference to the Wel-lington-Foxton line. The journey between Wellington and Wanganui would be GO miles shorter tlym by Masterton and Woodville. It was a line that had been promised as far back as 1877. Some six or seven miles of line had already been formed, and the sum of L 30,000 expended. The inhabitants of the district were not unreasonable. What they asked for was that a moderate sum should be placed on the Estimates, so that the work already done might not be abandoned. Mr. Fulton also protested against the conclusions arrived at by the Commission in regard to the Ofcago Central Railway. These conclusions were not the result of fair examination of the district interested. What he askecl was that a reasonable provision should be made for carrying on that line. Ho compared that line with that by way of Livingstone, arguing that the advantages from an engineering point of view were largely in favor of the Central line. What he asked was that so soon as money was available, this line should be gone on with. Mi*. Stewart said the members of the Railway Commission were men of intelligence and high standing. Still he thought they had not considered all the ciroumstances carefully when they condemned the central Otago line. It would be a means for settling a large population on tracts of country at present inaccessible, and in that way it would not only be a benefit to Otago but to the Colony at large. The great objection stated by the Commissioners to this line was that it had been surveyed over a difficult country. That ought not to hava deterred them from reporting favorably on the line, as other and more practicable routes could be found. He hoped Government would not allow its better judgment to be influenced by the report. The Dunedin Chamber of Commerce was almost unahinjous in favor of the line, and other influential individuals were equally favorably impressed with the importonce of the work.

Dr, Wallis thought the report an admirable one, straightforward and honest. It was utterly and entirely free from party spirit, and he thought the least thing they could do was to express their thanks to the Commissioners.

Mr. Oliver spoke of the able and efficient manner in which the Railway Commissioners devoted themselves to the work. Had they taken steps of this kind years ago, and had all the railways promoted been examined with the intelligence and care bestowed upon them by this Commission, a very different state of matters would have existed. He was not able to say that the Government was prepared to adopt all the proposals made, yet they nevertheless acknowledged that information of the utmost importance for future operations had been gained. He hoped the motion would not be adopted by the House. They would have to use the services of independent gentlemen in matters of this kind in future as they had done in the past, and if such a resolution passed, they never could expect to secure the services of men of honor and independence. They were not in a position to push on the Otago Central Railway. It involved an expenditure of one million of money, and they were not in a position to face such an engagement. He was to some extent interested in the work, still he saw the utter impossibility of going on with it just now. It would be most unfair to condemn the report in the terms proposed on that account. He denied that he was the owner of any land that would be benefited by the Oamaru-Naseby line. He did not agree with the recommendation of the Commissioners that any further survey of that line should be made. It had already teen surveyed and examined, and the result showed it to be utterly impracticable. The grades would be altogether too great, and a tunnel upwards of a mile in length would be required. That line was not to be thought of. He repeated that the report was a fair, honest, and impartial one, although he did not agree with it in every particular, Mr- Whitaker endorsed the opinion that the report was thoroughly honest and impartial. He had seen telegrams supplied by the member for Dunstan to the Dunedin Herald, in which he stated that he was determined to make an onslaught on the Railway Commission, and that if Dunedin did not waken np it would be snuffed out by Qamaru, and this motion was simply the outcome of that telegram. He would be no party to borrow money for the formation of railJ way lines that -would not absolutely pay expenses. Sir William Fox did not concur in the motion further than tojcondemn the report in so far as it alluded to the line in which he was interested. Mr. Reeves supported Mr. Pyke's motion. Mr. Wright moved the adjournment of the debate, as he desired to prepare a reply to the accusational made against the Commission. Mr. Hurst endorsed the opinion of Mr. Whitaker that the time had now arrived when a stop should be put to further construction of railways out of borrowed money. He would not vote for the motion. Major Harris said the Commissioners " ad given a fair account of his district. The debate was adjourned till 2.30 on Friday, and the Bouse adjourned at 12.30 a.m.