OPENING OF THE PEOVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 34, 18 August 1864, Page 2

OPENING OF THE PEOVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Monday, 18th July, 1864. . \ Tho Seventh Session of tho Provincial Council of Soutliland was pponcd this day, at noon, in tho Court Houso. 'AA At the appointed hour a largo number of spectators and tho following members were present: — Messrs. -.Scott, Wilson, Rogers, Howell, Pearson, Chalmers, Tarlton, M'Nab, Cowan, Swale, and Armstrong. . _ ! Mr. Chalmebs moved that Mr] 'M'Nab bo elected Speaker of tlio Council. Mr. M*NATJ l tOdk the chair, and opened the proceedings with pr&yor. . 7 , I ' ' ' His Honor the. Superintendent was then announced,' and recoivod by tho members, and others presont standing. His Hofob them read the following: — ' ' "ADDRESS TO THE COUNCIL. " Mb. Speaker and Gentlemen ov i'iie PuovinoiaJj Council — \ " I have' been iidvised to summon you to meet in Council, at. this timo, in order that you might bo furnished vrith full information upon circumstances wliich have occurred since your last meeting, and tako into consideration tho measures which should be adopted with reference to tho financial affairs of this Province^ At the hist Session of this -Council, after tho financial position / of tho . Province had been fully discussed and considered by you, three loan bills wore passed, ono lor forty thousand pounds (£40,000), to enable the Government to complete tho Bluff Harbor and liivercargiU Railway ; ono for one hundred and twenty thousand pounds (£120,000), to cover liabilities on account, of -the- -General Expenditure 'of ' tho Province; and one for twenty-five thousand pounds (£25,000) to meet liabilities incurred futile Government ou account of, and advances 10, the Town Board. Tho sum of those loans would have met all the liabilities of the Province, and completed tho public works, which it had undertaken. The first mentioned loan bill alone has received the assent of His Excellency the Governor ; from both the others this assent, has been withheld. "You will remember that during the last session of this Council, intelligence was received that bank rates were high, and that Now Zealand Provincial secure! ies met with a very hmited sale in London. By succeeding mails wo were informed that they were nearly unsaleable, unless at a discount, and that they wore not allowed to be quoted on the Stock Exchange. These circumstances occurring at- ,a period of serious commercial depression "'"' tins Province, made the hanks unwilling to negotiate Provincial loans. I believe that the high rate in the money market' was the primary cause of the difficulty 'in effecting sales; hut when the dill'icnlty had" once arisen, other considerations tended lo increase it. Upon the Debentures under the Loan Ordinance for £110,01)0, the Provincial Government had arranged for advances to any extent- that might be required, but its demands having exceeded the amount upon which the bank had calculated, it was unable to meet them, from its not having the requisite, funds within the colony at its disposal; this occasioned a serious embarrassment at once; still, that would soon have passed away if the measures adopted by this Council, in its session in March, had been sanctioned, hut a crushing blow was given by the General Government when it disallowed the Loan Bills. Then itwas manifest that the Provincial Government, unaided, would be unable to fulfil its engagements within the proper time, and it became my duty to ascertain, without delay, what course the Colonial Ministry would propose, or in-ree 10. to enable tho Provincial Government to meet those engagements.asil hnddcbnrred the kit ferfronulou-p---so"iii the manner which the Provincial Legislature had considered ad visible. After having some personal communication with the Colonial Ministry. 1 found that it would not sanction any further'loan bills at the present time ; it agreed to iiive temporary assistance for three months. by advancing fifteen thousand pounds (£15.000), ii each month, during! hat period ; leaving ihe question of dealing conclusively with the Provincial liabilities, to be determined hereafter — the Land Revenue of the Province to be retained by the iGeneral Government until the advances were repaid. " In tlie meantime, the Provincial Government took steps to reduce the ordinary expenditure, and the works on the railway* were partially suspended. Those works had been pressed on with siren t viiior up to the early part of May. the heaviest "works on both hues being well advanced. Had it been practicable to have pushed them forward since that time with the same energy. I have no doubt that the Oreti Railway wotdd have been open for traffic now. In consequence of the arrangement with the General Government, those works have been resumed, and there is every reason to believe that the Oreti Railway will be open for traffic for a considerable distance in the course of next month. **A- detailed statement of the financial position of the Province, will be laid before you, bur I may briefly >:ato now that the aggregate sum of the liabilities of the Province has -nit very materially ahered since this Council was pre rogued ; tlie actual debts on the 30th June were about thirty thousand pounds (£30.0007 and the contingent ' liabilities, wliich wiil fall due in the next three months, or when the railway and other contracts shall have been completed, amounts to about one hundred aud thirty-five thousand pounds (£135.000.) To meet this we have an esthnat-" ot the ordinary revenue, for three months at eight thousand pounds v £S.OOOL and an advance of forrv-Sve thousand pounds (£4-5.000) from the General Government, to there-payment of wliich the Land Revenue for some time to come wiil r? applicable. "•• Besides these liabilities, the Provincial Government has guaranteed the sum often thou>an.i pounds (£10.000) advanced by the Bank of New Zealand to the Town Board, as a security for which the Board has assigned to the Government special rates amounting to nearly twelve thousand pounds. There is also a yearly charge on account of the New Zealand loan, 1556, of about one thousand pounds. " The provincial debts, then, are ihe sum of the loans, and the liabilities stated above ; the sum of the loans is to be expended in the construction of the railways, works which will be eminently re-pro In erive. Until after they have been for some time open for rraiEe. it will be necessary to meet a part of the annual charges on the loans bj votes of money from the Genei-al Bevenue ; but few will doubt that- after time — two or three years, it may be — those Railways -will viela 3 surplus revenue of yearly increasing importance ; the burden of annual charges for those loans then may "be regrded as one only of a transient character : and the Province has to dsal, as Its most enormous debt, with the immediate and contingent liabilities : such % debt for a Province, having about iialf a-mSIon of acres of arable land yei unsold ; and the gross amount of whose customs revenue, during the financial year ending June 30. exceeded sixty thousand pounds (£-60.000)., should not place it in position of serious dimc-uky, of any long duration. A temporary embarrassment iHyweTe-rhas occurred, and from a coincidence of cause; which could scarcely hare been annci"To the xr-ode. then, by which we shall effectually zaeei- thjse liabilities, I have now to draw tout earnest att-eirfen. and the question involves considerations which are Colonial, rather than J-TO-vineiaL The disea?=ions which have taken I place an. ths subject of Provincial !r/an= have fos- I tered the opinion, that without s. colonial guarantee, \ they wSi not r^s&dHy sell in London, an opinion ] •srhish is 3JC/W probably comxt hi the rimhi, id- , Though in the first instance, the pressure hi the j jkoehiv marhet in London- rather than airy dis- j irast in the validity of FrorjnztzLi. severities, . esosed ths vejj slow 2nd limited £&le of those; thzst -srese oaer^dj the leading pohticians m ihh . •*£&£& s-e of C/pha&n that this guar- j vstee should "fas grrsso, aad the question in \

of such: vital : < impwtanoe to its interests, especially to those of its three Southern Pro/vinces, who Have each large loans to dispose of, that it becomes the duty of each Provincial Logis--1 lature to consider it carefully, and declare its opinion distinctly. The ..... Provincial.-, loans of tliis islaucT Havo" no tangible colonial guarantee, although no doubt the assent* of: tlie (Governor to such loan bills may be' regarded as a moral guarantee. To place the vahdity of , .the seourity--wliicli is ofiered beyond' a doubt; to; enable tho Provinces of the Southern Island to carry_ out tho works they havo undertaken ; tp enable them- tor proceeds with other great pubhc works ' wliicti will dcvclopc the' resources of the island, and attract an increasing flow of emigrants to tho Colony, it is essential that some mcasiu-cs should bo ui-geci on tho Colonial Government by the .expression of opinion in tho Provinces that Loan Bills, sanctioned, by the Governor, shall be secured by Act of the General Assembly, arid provision made under. the same authority any Province; able to show sufficient reasons for undertaking largo works, can, obtain thej means necessary 'to enable it to proccbd with them. With a rapidly increasing population, and/extending sot-' tlcment and trade, ifcmay be anticipated that in order to give, greater facilities for inter-communication betwe6n the different Provinces by land, and • with other countries by sea, the construction of great and costly works will soon become indispensable. The' current opinion has set in favour of extension of railways through tho length of the island, to meet the" first; condition, and harbor works of similarly expensive character will be required to fulfil tho second. Such works will be, of colonial importance, not simply local advantages. Their prosecution will involve tho necessity of borrowing large sums of money ; to obtain the means, the colony must become legally bound to repay them. " The Southern Island has a fair right to claim that the Assembly shall give it a due share of such advantages, seeing that it has already, by the action of its representatives, willingly undertaken its share of responsibility for large loans, authorised by Acts of the General Assembly -, far the greater part of which loans have been, ov arc to be, expended in the Northern Island. Some resolutions on tliis subject will be submi.tcd for your consideration in the course of the session. " I have to intimate to you that the members of the Executive C'ouncil'l have resigned their seats in it ; the Provincial Treasurer alone retaining his seat and ollice until the appointment of his successor. " It has not been thought advisable to propose many hills for your consideration, or attempt much legislation in the course of this session, seeing that the time of this Council is drawing to a close, and that a newly elected Provincial Council may be expected to meet here iv little more than three months. '•The disease among cattle has unhappily extended widely during the last four months, and has occasioned serious losses ; and when the reports of the inspectors arc laid before you, I trust the subject, will receive your serious attention. "And now, i^cnt lemon, in declaring that this Council is open for the transaction of business, 1 have to express the hope that the result of your deliberations will restore confidence, and hasten the return of that commercial prosperity, of which we already can see indications. "lSrh July, ISO-1-." His Honor having retired, Mr. Speaker took the chair. Mr. IviiaKits moved that the following committee draw up the reply to His Honor's address : — Messrs. Chabners, Pearson, Calder, and the mover. < Tlie name of Mr. Tarlton was added to the committee, and the motion agreed to. I'tN A.NOI AL STATE>n->TT. Mr. T.-viiTiTOX. Provincial Treasurer, asked leave to make some remarks on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities laid before the House. lie went nt great length over the principal items of the following document : — ASSETS axd LIABILITIES to -IL T XE 80, ISG-l. ASSETS. Estimated Revenue to 30th Sept., ;C s. d. isa-t 8-000 0 0 B. H. and I. Eailwav Loan (LSii3) 140,000 0 0 B. 11. and I. RaUwav Loan (.186-1-,- -10,000 0 0 Oreti RaUwav Loan. .110,000 0 0 Loans to Town Board 0,138 10 8 Immigrants' Bills I.'XX) O 0 Advance Account 230 0 0 Cash at Bank of Otago — B. H. and I. Railway Refund Account 1-070 1 7 Cash in hands of Provincial Treasurer 172 0 0 Balance 11-2.78-1 2 0 Total Assets £-155.423 1-1- 3 ! LIABILITIES. General Expenditure, including roads and public works, to 30th September. 186-1 £13,069 0 0 B. H. and I. RailwayBalance to complete the existing contracts 35,500 0 0 Oreti Railway — Balance to complete existing contracts 52.000 0 0 Smtinff Fund. B. H. and I. Railway "Lomi (1863) 2.800 0 0 ' Balance of London Agents' drafts 5.000 0 0 i Freight on Railway Plant -1.500 0 0 i Promissory note . '. 10.000 0 0 1 Outstanding Accounts 20.390 19 II ! Due to Bank of X.S. Wales— j On General Account 15.575 9 10 I On B. H. and I. Railway ! Account '-• 153.824 IS 9 ! On Oreti Railway Account 5.909 9 9 Due to Bank oi Otaeo — On General "Account 72,821 3 11 On Oreri Railway Account 49,2 IS 5 i Due to Bank of New Zealand — On G-eneral Account 2.484 7 0 Interest on Bank Overdi-afts 3,000 0 0 Total habihties £465,423 14 3