NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 228, 12 September 1862, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

(From the Wellington Advertiser.)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 18C2.

Present:—The Honorable the Chief Justice, Dr. Menzies, Mr. CutEeW, Mr. Scwell, Mr. Johnston, Colonel Kenny, Colonel Kussel, Mr. Tancrid, Major Richmond, C. 8., Mr. Henry Russell, Capt. Baillie, Mr. Crawford, and Mr. Speaker. THE SOUTHLAND AND OTAOO BOUNDARY IJUL. The ILn. Dr. MENZIES, in mo\ing the second reading of the " Otago and Southland Boundary Bill," wished to make a few remarks explanatory of the circumstances which rendered it necessary and advisable to bring forward a Bill to effect the object contemplated by that now under the conbi>ieration of the Council. This Council was aware the Province of Southland was constituted in c nsequcuce of a petition which was forv.anlcd troni them to Governor Gore Browne in the beginning of the year 1801. The pctilioiieis staked for a boundary Jine nearly corresponding to the iine of watershed between the Molyi neux ami Mataura, leprcscnting this to b«the geoi graphical and commercial, and therefore the best poj lifcal boundary between the Province of (.'-tago and j the district which they sought to he declared into a j new Province. The Governor, however, for reasons j which it was believed were connected with the question of the area of the limit nllowcd. disregarded this expressed desiie, and decided that the liver Mataura should be the Eastern boundary of the Province of South'aud. The i.etitioneis, however, wore highly di s:.ti:fk'd. Tbe residents on the Kostern Bank resolved to peti'ion the Governor and the Assembly to j alter the E.-istern boundary lo the line they originally a.-krd ior. The petition to the Governor was tiansmitted in Sqittrulur to his Excellency through the usual channel- the Superintendent ot Otago. Another ol" the same tenor is now upon the table of thiii Council. The area of the Province ot Southland as constituted by the proclamation cf the Governor wits two millions mid n quarter of aens, and the addition of i.rea which this Dill, if pasted into a law, would give, would amount, in round iuiml<crs. to about 90,000 arable, 1,000,000 pastoral, and 750,0C0 barren, it might tend to a dearer understanding of this question by this Council if its attention was directed to the phvficiil characteristics of the district, and, with the pciiiii«Mon of the Council, he would read an extract from an article in the Southern A'eics of May 4, lblil :— " An irregular chain of mountain*, having a base en the coa.st of nearly thirty wiles, extends i>i a pyramidal form northward for abcut forty or fifty niilis from the eo;i!*t. and forms the watershed between the iMataura and Molyniux rivers. The furest skirling the coast extends inland on then; hills lbi- about twenty mile.*, imd for ten or tifUcn niiits* furtlicr inland there are only two passes along; winch horhcmcn can easily traverse thusc mountains : the mail route | fiom the Mataura to the Molyneux is about thirty to | thirty-five miles from the coast, and passi-s through a formidable goige, which has williin a few months past been made'piissahlc for drays. Thofe hills first mentioned may ne said to fmn the eastern limit of the gnat terraced j.hdn which extend.: from them westward, for silu.ut thirty to forty miles, to the llu- | kanui and other hills. " If the houndaiy of the new I'iovince ran along tho?(! hills above lefirriil t<> forming the watershed between the rivm, then the political would marly covmpoml with the Cfiimtcri-iul boundaiy, which the natural features of the country, and the"facilities of communication, will yi-ry venn determine. '■The \shole district of Lower Miitmira is on the west side of tliwe hi!!.?, and raiiscqiu-utSy, ci'iiurumication with Cunt-din — above 101) miks'iii-stunt in a straight line —is both tedious and iiiconveuient. On the other hand, a perfrdt facility of cow tnuutcation witli Invercnr^ill, and other ports on the coast of the JN'ew Province, fives it a*-.community of intcrett with the other parts of the New Province. It is essentially an integral part of Murihikn, for it is diiHcuJt to understand upon what rational pica this portion of the them JMtitrict has now been separated from Murihiku- It Is uiidcniable that if the pecple oi the Mataura fro to transact thdr comroerci >i business vi "Invercar^ill. there they should also be privileged to do their legal or political busiue-s," The map which was laid upon the table would enable hon. members to follow the d&cription. These then, i being the physical characterifetic^, tiic Council would [perceive that the district eabt'of Mataura hud a .share | m the geogisiphical unity of the Province ofSouth- | land ; it followed that' it should liave also an identity of commercial interests with it, aud the fact was really so—lor all the supplies of the settlers were obtained from thence and'their produce- tent thither. In the extract read it was stated that the raiig« of hills cast of Mataura were covered with timber fur iix/ut twenty miles inland, and aiong that distance from the j coa-st there wns no track, and only one track leading to tbe Molyneux crossed tho^e hills, at a point nearer to the coast than thu mail track, which w«s about thirty mites from tho co&it. The distance j from Matanra to DuncJiu A-as about 120 to 1.30 miles I whereas the distance from Inverearpli to M«taura i was about 25 miles. No produce was i*ut nor supplies | obtained from Dnnetliu in any but exceptional cfista. j The only objects which led*settlers of Mataura to i Dunedin, were matters of business in Law Courts, ! the Land Otrice, or political bus-incss. The.com-I merciai interests of the district with Duncdin tht-n, ' were so slight that th.-y cannot lie fairly said tube represented 'there, and ho thought he could show that the political interests could scarcely b« considered to be much better represented, lixcopt upon one occasion, he believed thai the election of rneiabers for the Provincial Council of Otago for the Cliitha dintrict, which included the country between the rivers Alolvneux and Mataura, took place without reference to the electors of Mataurst: indeed, he was not aware of more than a single instance, namely, the election of the present Hupcrinteudent of Otago, of the election cf a member of the Council for that district, in which j any of the electors of Mataura had taken a part, and j so it could not' be fairly "said that: the-member for the Chitha district did represent the opinions or feelings of the people of Mataura. It is apparent that at pic-sent the'c'iisfrict has connectionn uiore or ! less 'intimate with'two centres of activity, the one at I liivercargill, which Is the geographical centre for the i fast, side of the Mataura, in so far as it is a part of the disttict, and the satue place is also the centre for commercial and coloaisiup: purposes. The other-at Jjunedin ia the centre poliricaily, and in no other sense. When tlie relative advantage to the district of those are coinpare<», it is clear that the connection with that point at which the immigrants arrive, and from which they radiate —from whence a:l the necessaries for domestic use are obtained—to which the produce'of the couutry converges, and which is the usual place of retort to conduct the ordinary business of a settler's life, must be infinitely greater than any connection that may sul&fct with the political centre which confer few advantages upon the disttict other than such as may be derived from a considerable variety of Provincial laws. Another petition bad also been laid upon the table of the Coupci!, which prays that another district of the Province of Otago, and north of the Piovince of Southland, may be joined to the latter province. It is a pastoral disttict lying between the Te Auau .'.ad Wnkatipu lakea, occupied ' by" stoek'-wnt-r1; it consists of some plain country near tlse former".lake, several mountains and valleys leading to this plain from the north, and n large extent of lofty and barren mountains. The resideitts there have-no. easy menus of corumunicatintr with Dnuediu -otherwise than by crossing the Province of Southland —and they have been subjected to great inconveniences from this cause under the working of the Diseased Catile Act and Sheep Ordinance—they have very little connection with Dunedin, further tbiin the necessary business transacted with the territorial department—they have'bad-no other alternative than to transact their business affairs with tho merchants of Southland, and their interests are bound up with those of the people of Southland. The circumstances afford a good ilustration Of the rule that a geographical unity involves an identity of material interests, and it can excite no surprise that those residents, conscious that the district is for the present governed by a distant community, while it has few interests in common with those of the district, showed that the political boundary should be altered, so as to correspond more nearly to that which nature has determined. The country extending westwards, from the Mataura, was undulating table land, for a distance of about forty rnilti, the Bluff was situated about the middle of its coastline. There are pTeat facilities for constructing lailways from this point, to the interior, on either hand—the e.upineering difficulties being trifling, and material* for the construction abundant and near. He believed that railways would be commenced in that country at no di&tant day, and the extension of a line to the eastward would di aw a large trade from the whole country west of the Molynfcux—indeed, already the produce from a large tract of country, extending east of the boundary proposed by this Bill, came to Invercargill. In August, 1861, some of the settlers in the district referred'to near the Ponianaka and west ot the Moiyneux, sent a memorial to the Provincial Council tif Southland, requesting that a road should be formed as far as a crossing high up oh tbe Mataura, .(the 'boundary of the Province) and stating their intention'to send their wool to Invercargill in event of receiving such encouragment. The Provin-

• All Lands in New Zealand over -which the Native title shall not have been extinguished, are hereby declared io be the absolute property of the yer&wia fnritkd thereto by jS'ativv custom, and may, save as hereinafter expectfd, and after the respective owners of the same shall have been ascertained as hereinafter provided, be dealt with and disposed of under the provisions of this Act.

cial Council agreed to the request, a passable road was 'formed, apd before the end of summer, a considerable quantity of produce wna sent into the town from that district. In June, 186*2, some of the tameparties applied to the Provincial- Government ot southland, asking for some further nccomodntion and convenience at the Matr.ura, iv order to make that place a stop ou their jourteys with produce or supplies, to mid iroin Invercaryill. The dfc-ttict icfencd to has many interests in common with Southland, but the residents in it object to any attempt to join it to Southland. If the plans of the late Ministry with reference to e'ectric telegraph shall be carried out, it will probably be extended through the line of country, and then itt natur tl outlet, the Bluff, would rise to importance as th-i liist port of call and the last of departure. Such a course as that which he now proposed, was not without precedent in the legislation of this Assembly. In its last s<vsi'-n, an Act was passed to alt«'r ihe boundniy of the Provinces of Canterbury and Otago, after it, had been a enure of discord and discussion forfeveiiil jcars. The Provinces were dUsatisiied wi:h the boumlnrics as proclaimed. One of them iepudiuted the obvious meaning of the proclamation, notbrciiusu there could he any reasonable doubt if the line of boundary, if tU literal meaning of the p o: tarnation was (a: ried oul—any surveyor could have d^tcunined the Hit—but because of the inconvenience anil a-wkw; r.lness of the boundary so proclaimed. At length an agreement was come to, aud the line was decided, he supposid, upon consideration of pi'ojo-npiiical and cunn.ercial interests. It certoinly wa> in accordance with nn opinion expressed in the brpiiining of 1858, by the chief surveyor of Otago, Mr. Thomson, who pointed out that, the natuial outlet of the country south of Ohan was Oama u s v jiort of Otngo; whilst Tiuiaiu in Cantfrliury Wi.s the liutiiml pi-it cf the country ncrth oi" Ohau. The natural conformation of the country in this cave decided the direction of the local trade, and tht line of boundary declared in the "Canterbury and Otago Boundary Act, 18C0," corresponds with_ those indiiaiions A renpnortionmeut of Tcrrit»ihil Dpbt -vv ill luci'fsanly follow in event of this Bill brroniing law, as it elid in the case above referml to. lie wesuld rH'er to another uuitti-r which lie knl omitted to metstiou. lathe sc-sion of August 1 SGI, the Provincial Council of Southland, whoa-attention had been specially onltol to the .subject, by v remark in the adelrcss whin the* Council was cpe'Wil, paK'-ed a n sol ii t ion that fi.r uuioiw reasons stated, the hiuhiler of A>?emh!y for Si.uthlnr.d sliould be requi'stcd to brinjj; n Bill to the .^sctuhly to the effect of that now under coiihideratjon. liuletd the Bill is now brought toruanMn consequence of the public expression of opinion in that ami other i'lsianci-n. In a circular i-suid by the late Gi vernmeiit to l'rovir>ci:tl authorities, rcepiestiug infermati-n for the purpl'l'"1 of subdividing the country umler thopiovisionw of the "Definition of District" *Act, v sous*; diie-jtions werft ijivvn with n-s; e-'t to the mraincr of ilivbion and t!iu cowp:;rativi.' value e)f Irfiuuduiies which cKpretß the sanuviews which he held. Sui-h a case n.-s !:e hr.il atte'Uiitteel to de-i-ciiiie, appe.-ueil to him to be oue uf thow? whitli demnndctl the intrrpt-siiion of the Ltui>liiture in exLTcis't of one of its iijct important funrtious, tv t.'.ke into coiisidfration tin1 wolfanl <•( minor ilictrictK, to alter nml iimend nn itnprup* r biiunclnry, when it could be >howti that such an blteratiem was required, alike by «>n*i'k*'a!i"n of the physical feat in cs of thicmi.try. Mid ihe material inteieaw ami wishes of the people. The Hon. Mr. KKVYELL thoußht it precipitate to duil with th<- quiMioii of the tilti-ration e.f tlio 1 lmiidnries of provinces in thil* hiimuiary manner, ft hewere Ji-koil why, he w.-uhl f-ay that, nltiiough l.tgenerally coiiicidrd with the ren>f»r.s given fur the* alteration ]>roj^>cd by thin Bill, yet the Council must cenisiiicr ihe inteiots of the Province of Otngn, Would the Council, witlont some iiitimatiuii fioui tl.'at in-oviiice, piiccrtl to alter its boundary liuc'J A i Hill luid certainly been pxv-ed in a former tc^ion hllVil:g nil-IiIHV to the I.UltiuM-i'-x tif the Prej\lllo X uf Canterbury and Otas»u ; hut tliat «it.s to settle flls-puti-H litwtea thf- Provimx.-., the meiits of which hnej j been mtvi-tamcl. This was a mea^urr to •".•paiatu a ! portion of one Province from it, anil aid it to another ProvimI **. 1I«" e!i>! think it was nectary to make an alter.'ition of the boundary <>? the Proviiic- of Siiutlilund. hut he cdiihiiJerrd'thi' pri*n-nt llill wmild ha;c |to l»e moditit.il. It was tumn-thiiit; like a customer ; pu-ng into a butcher's *-heip uml picking out tin* [.ii'me joints of the animal, lal.ina the* U»,t pieces and le-avins; the hhajik,^ and roii-^h rutf. il(.thought hi* hon. friend v.aiitc! to {jet bold e.f the t>irloin, and leave tin? ec:ir«c pi;ni>.!is to the niljoinin^ Province. If he oMaine'il tin- sirloin he irnjht 'be content to .'icivpt a <.hin asuill. (,Lau^ht^r.) The liouuelary line of the Pioviiicu uf Southland nhoul'd U* earned C> tl;>; Wes-t Vvuht, that wuiil.l l«s it fair line. Althdu^h he c.iil not wi-h to throw any <>Utar!u in the way ot th» Jtill, he thought the Council should pau**!'ami iefir it to a mlect c<-inn.iU<.e, he could not nt j re.«ent go the lenirth e.f the Bill. The lion, COLONKL KENNY, wouM nW» wi.-;!i tht't iSiip «iro "houlil le taken L<-fore this JJill w;in rtllnwi'd to pi on. Of ceiup-r, the* mover, the Superiii-tetiiU-nt of the* Provinre. t-houM take ujkhi liiu,: t l! the responsibility of thej Hill, and Irs atKiimenU* were entitled te) e:\ery con.«i<h:ration ; but then; wa* not any n-jro-cntntivi'< f the Province of Otape* i.rcM.nf in tin: Council. lie did i.ot »!«-siie in aiiv way to op]ie)sc thi-> rne.'if-un-, but tin- proper prelimitiarv .it. j» should be adopted to fjive the Council full in'fon-ia-tion. Thelloa. COLONKL KL'SSKLL rewc U the purpfiM! of supporting this Bill. It appeared to hint that the people <f the Piovince \,:\.\ thenisehvn exprtssul their eli/sire; for the pr.jp<isis.-.l alteratk-n, they were tin]>ersems who m«t«* ttu- be-t jmi^-o of «|mt was eknirahlf, and looking ;it the: f-troni; c:w prcsenteil in the petitions*, lie would support the Bill. The Hon. Sir. JOHNSTON could not support tl.e Kecnd re-mliii^. He t-houht like to he-.ir Iwtli Mdc*; if the Bill had been intreNluc<-d in the other Houm>, th.re wcie many mem! 'in there who would prohubly have diwu-wel its provi.-ioiiH. The hon. gendcinaii (Dr. .Mfnzio) had hpoken very fairly, tn-.il uuwlc out a very htivng canl, yet he would prefer further diacusrion on the sul-ject. The Hon. Dr. MENZIES replie-1, it had brtn his intcniion at the ommence uicnt of the kjvmdii that the Bill should hay.- originate*! in the other Hou.-e, but from the dian^f* of the .Ministry, and the weight of otlicial tluties which had fallen on one uf the members for Otngo. he Im'l been obliged to rhrniif his ; platirf. Iteleur:y w.wnnt riKlitto'a.'k a Minuter to J introduce a Hill of this description, v.hich whk in fact of a local e-liHrncter, and e-n which perhaps he atiel his ttolli'a^ues iniKht onte-rtain iii tie rent opinions. The hon. ejcntlcnmn (Mr. .S.well) was ne.t t-atisficil, b<cau:-e there had not been any petitions prwenteil from Olnfro; hut lie would rtuiiiel the* lion, (.'cntlt man that ample notice hud Ix.en civtn to the public of ihe> prono'-ee] ahcrations. There w:.s the* pi tition which im.l b(.-.. : n preseutid U> the fiovernor liy the Slip* rimmufent; the Provincial Council of Nuithlnnd had ]t&*wx\ re.solutions o;i the subjent; r.nd he himv-lf (Dr. Menses) in his address to ihe Provincial Ctuncil of Southland, in Sept. lHul, nnl January last, ha-1 re'lV-rred te> it; these hurt Lot n pnblL-licrt in the I'rovincial (•'ftzrthi', and noticctl in the public newspaper*;ami further it mufrt be rnae-nibereel that be.-ii.re this Bill could become law, it must conuilcred hy the other House, and that ho thought mii-t do away with his hon friend's (.Mr. Johnston's) objection. On the rnotinn fbi-the wond reading bein^ ]iut, the; Council divided. Ayes—The? Hon. the Chief JuHtie-e*, Major Kichnrdson, C. li., Dr. Mcnziea, Air. Outfield, Capt. B:iiliie, Col. Hu^el, Air. Tancml, Mr. Crawford. Noes—Tlie Ilonorables Mr. Henry Kusfcell, Mr. Sewell, Mr. Johnston, Col. Kenny. The Bill was accordingly, read a second time and passed through committee.

A Model Dun. -Aneiitor out West thus talks to his non-paying subscribers and patrons :—Hear .us for our debts, and get ready that you may pay; trust us we are in need, and have regard for our need,** as you have been long trusted; acknowledge your in-! debtedness, and dive into your pockets that you may promptly fork over. If th*e:re b<; any among you, one single patron, that don t owe*us something, then to him we tay—step aside, consider yourself a gentleman. If the rest wish to know why we dun them, this is our answer—not that we care about ourselves, but our ct editors elo. Would you rather that we went to jail, and you go free, than you pay your debts and keep us moving 1 As we agreed, we have) worked for you; as we contracted, we have furnished our paper to you; but as"" yon don't pay, we dun you. Here are agreements for job work, contracts for subscriptions y promisps for long credit, and duns for deferred payment, Who is there so green that he don't take a ?—if any, he need not speak, for we don't mean him. Who i 3 there so green that lie don't advertise ?—if uny,let him elide; he ain't the chap neither. Who is there so mean that he don't pay the printer?—if any, let him shout—for he's the man we're after. His name is Legion, and he's owing us for one, two, three, four, five, six years—long- enough |to make us poor, and him rich at our expense.

At at meeting held yesterelay afternoon, to initiate a testimonial to Mr. Landsborougb, the explorer, it was stated that the reason why that gentleman's journal had not yet been made public was/because it had been placed in the hands of the surveyor-general, at the request.of His Excellency the Governor, in .order that the route he had taken might be mapped with as little delay as possible. The journal had now been in the hands ofthe surveyor-gener*! upwards of a week, but it would be placed before the Exploration Committee of the Royal Society on Monday, and immediately given to the press for pubheation.--4 rgut t Aug. 35.