EVENING SITTING.

Southland Times, Issue 881, 13 January 1868, Page 2

EVENING SITTING.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1868. £30,000 EAST ROAD. Mr Peabson — in dealing with the motion standing in his name, viz.: — " That a respectful address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent praying that the sum of (£30,000) thirty thousand pounds be placed on the Estimates for the purpose of forming and metalling the East Eoad, as far as such sum will effect the purpose ; also the sum of (£2,000) v,wo thousand pounds for keeping in viable repair, during the ensuing year, the remainder of the road up to the Mataura Bridge " would not detain the House long. He believed that inasmuch as all the members present were aware of the grave importance of the matter he was about to bring before them, so they were all prepared to support the measure. He would remind the House that in asking for so large a sum as that for which he had asked, its application would of course be contingent on the fact as to whether or no we had actually 1 the money to apply to such a purpose. 1 He had put down this, large sum, believ- ' ing that this was the only opportunity we should have of obtaining either a large or small sum from our own Council. He 1 might say he regarded the doom of the Province as already fixed, so far as the | application of money was concerned, and would therefore urge upon the House the L desirability of doing all possible this ■ session. There would propably be the ■ revenue arising from sixty to eighty " thousand acres of land available for road making this year ; and he thought P that the East road had a primary claim. • The report of the Inspector of Eoads showed that while large sums had been ' expended on the roads of other districts, > the East Eoad had been almost wholly L neglected. The North Eoad had re- > ceived the sum of £43,533 6s 6d ; on the > Invercargill and Bluff Harbor Line, r £33,179 13s lid had been laid out, and 5 this, in addition to a railroad, costing ■ £200,000. The road from Eiverton to • Otauta had received a large share of atf tention ; the Wallacetown Eoad also had ■ been looked after in the same manner, b while the sum appropriated to the East 3 Eoad had been very small in proportion. ? Invercargill streets" had cost £7886 8s sd, " half of the money which had been spent ' on the Mataura Eoad ; and the result 3 was, taking the Inspector's report, that - of the whole distance of the East Eoad, • there were but eight miles partially im--1 proved, two miles permanently made, and c the rest was in a deplorably bad condir tion. He might say that the recent large - land sales had been made on the faith of the 3 purchasers in having good roads, and he, i (Mr P.) had been informed by a large - land agent in Otago, that in the East r Taieri, and Tokomairiro districts, which - were the best settled, . the roads were - good, in fact, on the Otago side, the roads ' were good to the borders, but on this 3 side the Mataura the case was widely • different, and in his (Mr P's.) opinion, b the badness of the roads prevented the • sale of land. In the advocacy of the i interests of the East Eoad, he was not • actuated by personal considerations. He t did not own an . acre of land in the dis--3 trict, and, as the member for Oteramaki, • he had no right to consider that district, 5 except in relation to the interest of the Province. The best argument which he i could urge in favor of his motion he l thought, was this — the East Eoad (the I oldest in the Province), and along which 5 so much capital has been laid out, and in r the making and maintenance of which • the interests of so numerous and important a body of settlers was concerned, ■ had but two miles permanently made. > The revenue had been dissipated, and • now that there was a probability of our ; having funds, the East Eoad was en- . titled to every sixpence. He had before l remarked that the provincial system i makes country districts subservient, and this was specially true in respect , to roads. The pressure in and about the > capital operated very unfavorably for out- • lying districts. In reference to the • £2000 for which he asked, he did so on . this principle. He believed that if the road were once made, and the Government would advertise for its being kept in repair in lengths of one mile, the proprietors fronting the road would do it cheaply ; and thus the sum he asked for would be sufficient. The hon. member calculated that the work of making the road as he proposed could be done for £1500 a mile, and thus £30,000 would make the road past the corner of the Long Bush. The gravel on those parts of the road on which it had been laid had stood well. Mr Lttmsden, in seconding the motion, was glad that a district so long neglected had at last obtained so able an advocate. He did not agree with the motion for the reasons urged by the mover, as he (Mr L.) did not regard the provincial system as yet doomed. He had before advocated the claims of the East Eoad, a district which had been more improved by settlers than any other in the Piovince, and had less done for it, and if this motion were carried, he should regard it as a happy result.

The Peovinoia.l TaEABtJEEB would noi oppose the motion ; but would remind the Council that if it were carried it would give the East Road a primary claim to the funds if it should happen that there were not sufficient fqr all other proposed requirements). He thought all roads should share in proportion to the fundi at disposal, and would prefer to postpone this question until the Estimates came on, and then let all the roads of the ' Province be considered. Mr Abmstbong generally concurred in the motion, but at the same time shared the views of the Provincial Treasurer. He doubted whether £30,000 would be available for the purpose. Mr Johkstone thought that the East Eoad had a prior claim, and that the mover of the resolution had made out a very fair case He thought that it was understood that the setting apart of the I whole sum of £30,000 was contingent I upon that amount of funds being available. The Pbotinciaij Tbeastjber remarked that what he wished was that the amount voted should be in accordance with the sum we had at our disposal. Dr. Mchtckton" was in favor of the application of such funds as we might have for disposal in fair proportion to all the roads in the Province. He believed that the hon. meiaber had asked for four times as much as could be had for the purpose, and would therefore move as an amendment — " That the consideration of the motion be deferred until the passing: of the Estimates. Mr M'Cltjeb would second the amendment. He believed that there would not benearly £30,000 available, and considered the inhabitants of the Eastern district would feel aggrieved if after the passingof the motion now before the House the sum voted could not be had. Mr LTnvEDSDEir hoped the amendment would not be passed, and thought it would be bad policy on the part of the Government to oppose the motion. It must be borne in mind by the House that the hon. mover had asked foo the sum contingently. Mr Swaie opposed the amendment, the money now asked for could not of course be had if it were not available, but as Mr Pearson had only moved for it in such event, and had made out an urgent case, which he (Mr S.) felt was not an unfair representation, he hoped the House would not pass the Amendment. Mr Peab3oX said the hon. member for Longwood had entirely misunderstood the scope of hu motion, if the money were not to be had, it followed that it could not be spent. The Provincial Treasurer had objected to what he called a primary claim on the part of the East Eoad; this was what he (Mr P.) urged. On what grounds of justice did the treasurer object ? Other roads had already had their share, and why not the East Road nowP £33,000 had been uselessly spant in the Campbellton District, and in urging his motion he was but asking for simple justice. There would be a large land fund this year; there might be none next, and if £60,000 could be applied to the Northern railway, why not half that sum for the Eastern road. The Treasurer had said "we must protect other roads," what he would say was, if the amount available could not be at present ascertained, let the sum be passed contingently. The land on the bank of the East .Mataura becoming increasingly settled, the Otago Government would make roads, and if we would secure the Customs revenue, which he deemed of primary importance, it must be by facilitating communication in the proposed district. Mr Johnston opposed the amendment, the hon. mover of the resolution had spoken well* and to the point. He (Mr. Johnston) would refer to the fact that beyond the Mataura the district was well settled, there were the conveniences of roads and bridges, and money was spent where. needed. On this side the Mataura we had numerous bogs and difficulties, and nothing tended so much to dispirit an intending settler on his entrance into a district as the want of roads. If the province wished to catch the trade from the other side of the boundary, the -motion of Mr Pearson must be affirmed. If we did not take the tide at its ebb we should lose the opportunity. The Provincial Tbbasttbbb did not object to the East Road having a primary claim, excepting in bo far as this — Mr Pearson claimed £30,000 for the Mataura Road, and he wanted the whole spent. He (the Treasurer) would say that as other roads of greater or less importance required funds, let the money at command be spent in proportion, and he had no objection to the East Road coming in for the lions share. Mr Abmsthong- suggested that the mover oi the resolution should insert the words after mention of the sum of £30,000 " Contingent upon its being available." The Speaker said that the member for Inver cargill had suggested the contingence. Dr Monokton was not aware of this. MrPEAßSONhadnotinserted the words suggested by the member for Invercargill, as he thought them unnecessary, every one knew if we could not get the money we could not spend it. He would, however, now insert the wordß. Dr Mon oeton said in that case he would with* draw his amendment. The motion with the addition was put and carried. IMMIGRATION. Mr JbBQTSTOir in rising to introduce the motion of which he had given notice. "That in the opinion of this Council it is expedient that persons emigrating at their own cost, from tho United Kingdon, and elsewhere, should be permitted to acquire land, free of cost, in proportion to their expenditure on emigration, and that the ' Southland Waste Land Act ' be amended so as to give effect to this resolution. That our representatives in the General Assembly be requested to support the same at the next meeting of the General Assembly. That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be transmitted to the honorable the Colonial Secretary." Said that after the debates ; in this and other Councils, and in the General Assembly on this subject, he did not intend to say much thereon. There was one thing which was patent to every one, that the people of this Province were under a heavy burden, one which they could not rid themselves of, and the only course to be pursued was to his mind that of inducing others to come in and assist them to bear the burden. In other word* we needed to induce immigration, and that of the right class, men able- and willing to labor. He contended that by giving to these persons land to the extent of 40 to 50 acres, the province would actually gain. He took the customs returns which showed that every adult paid to the revenue about £5 annually, and taking a family introduced into the Province as equal to five adults, £25 a year would be gained to the revenue in this way, and thus fifty, seventy, or even 100 acres would in four years be paid for by the increase. He considered there were large districts of forest land which was at present unsaleable, which was specially suited to this class of immigrants. He thought Stewart's Island a very desirable district to be parceled out in this way. There were fishermen' from the Worth of Scotland who might be attracted hither, who would prove useful settlers. Blocks of land could be easily set apart for carrying out this system, and as the land which he proposed to allot was not at present saleable the territorial revenue would not be interfered with.

Mr Boss seconded the motion. He regarded the territorial revenue as of no consequence if the land were settled, even if all were given away. He could not employ the same arguments that Mr Johnston had used, because he did not believe in the propriety of enticing people here to bear our burdens. In countries where elephants abounded the inhabitants employed tame elephants to entrap others, 'and Mr Johnston would give forty to fifty acres of land to a man to get him out to help us. He (Mr Boss) thought Southland had enough within herself to offer by way of inducement, and all that was required 'was that certain classes at home should be enlightened on these points. The passion for possession of land was very strong, especially among the artisans of large towns, and upwards to the clerk, merchant, and he might say, every class shared to some extent in the feeling. Dr MonoktoN opposed the motion. He considered its passing would be an act of gross injustice to previous immigrants who had paid for their passage and purchased their land. Mr Aesistbohg would support it but did not like the plan laid down by Mr Johnston. He thought if we gave land at all we ought to give good land— all else would be useless, and worse, to an immigrant. Other colonies had tried the scheme and had not found it to answer; he was, however, willing to try the experiment j there must be certain restrictions to ensure settlement. The Crown Grants mu«t not be given at once or immigrants might at once dispose of their land, and go elsewhere ; there must, at any rate, be some system of guarantee. Mr M'Clxtrb considered that immigrants under this scheme would be in a far better position than the assisted immigrants who had to refund the wst of their passage. It might be said that but Few of these had actually repaid the money, yet they were liable for it. He doubted if the Ghmeral Government would endorse the scheme. Mr Lttmsden admitted the necessity of racouraging immigration, but questioned the policy of Mr Johnston's plan. It had been tried both in Queensland and in Auckland. In reference to Queensland especially, a very good agent of. the Government, aMr Jordan, had attracted large numbers of immigrants from the old country, and when these arrived they were abpirited at the difficulties. They found the land had to be got ready, whereas they expected to have arrived in a land flowing with milk and lioney. To attract poor settlers he (Mr Lumsden) regarded as a cruel delusion— new comers must dave some capital. He knew that a great deal of raise coloring had been used to attract, but he tros convinced that the only class of immigrants who would do here was that of capitalists, small >r large. . To induce others to come was wrong. He thought the hon. member, Mr Johnston, ironld make a poor immigration agent, however bonest he might be, if all the inducement he had to offer waß that of sharing our present burdens it the rate of £5 per head. The PbovxnciaJi Tbeasubeb said the Government was anxious for immigration. The revival )f immigration had been the subject of arrangement and advertisement. He would not object to Mr Johnston's plan but that he was sure it was unworkable. By some means or other immigrants must be compelled to settle on the land, and if so, and they had no means, they would starve. Particular districts must also be assigned to this jlass of immigrants, or he felt sure the General Government would not sanction the bill if passed. He thought, also, the proposition unfair to payers, and until the motion was so framed as to neet these difficulties he would oppose it. Mr Peabsoit said that in the second session of Hie old Provincial Council he had brought forward i resolution "that lands outside the original boundaries should be set apart for free settlements." . He thought it injudicious to give hind iway in the manner proposed. He beleived all land in the Province, except that on theTaMtimo mountains, to be worth at least £1 per acre. 3tewarts Island might be given away under special settlements. There were, however, difficulties which seemed to prevent the present settlement of Stewart's Island, but ultimately he believed it would be found worth all the attention that could be bestowed on it. A plan had been proposed by which Government had undertaken to give to an agent 16J acres of land for each immigrant, and he thought this scheme a more desirable one. He would refer to the money owingby assisted immigrants, scarcely any of whom had paid. It was the same in other Provinces, md he thought that the sureties ought to be made to pay. Mr Eeynolds an Otagan agent assured him that out of a load of immigrants who came out in the same ship with himself, there were persons nrho had in their possession sums varying from £700 to £200, and he believed there was not one who could not have paid his passage if he had pleased to do so. The amount of money imported into America by immigrants was something like 18 millions and what was of far more ralue, the bone and smew which the possessors of the money brought with them. He had no objection to give away 20 or 40 acres in Stewart's Island to an immigrant under some feasible plan, Mr Dautei agreed with the motion. He beleived in the capabilities of Stewart's Island as a settlement. A class of persons could be imported from the Shetland and Orkney Islands, Scotland and Nova Scotia to whom the Island would offer every inducement for settlement, and ultimately furnish them with good homes. Such as boatmen, and men who could handle an axe would find Stewart's Island a desirable settlement. The climate was fine and genial. There were now some German famalies settled there whose crops were far better than those on the main land. They were cultivating the vine. If the resources of this Island were known they would offer sufficient inducement to settlers from the North of Scotland, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and other parts. If must be remarked, that the advantages of Stewards Island were not confined to the soil, but included, the finest fishery that could be desired, splendid timber , and in addition the advantages of the sealing, and whaling trades. [The Americans ,and whalers from Hobart Town were taking away thousands yearly from ■within twelve hours sail. Ship building could be carried on to a considerable extent, and the purchase of coasters from Auckland and other parts be no longer necessary. The augmentation to the Customs revenue would be considerable, and there was also this advantage, that large timber might be had there, which would serve as ballast for the wool and other ships and turn to profitable account. There weie three vessels employed between Kiverton and the Island which employed 90 men and, inasmuch as the result of enterprise hi this direction would be for the general good of the province, he thought the scheme should be supported. The hon the Speaker to prevent any future misunderstanding, would suggest to the mover of the resolution that the quantity of land should be specified and limited, the terms of the motion were somewhat ambiguous — the land ought not to be transferable, and the Crown Grants should not immediately be given. Mr Peabsoit would move as an amendment — " That the consideration of the motion be adjourned until to-morrow (Friday) evening. Dr Monckxon seconded the amendment. There was one part which had not been referred to, which bore with great weight on the question before the House. We had passed through various crises of difficulty, and were now in a state of comparative prosperity. It would be unjust to those who, not only had paid £1 per acre for land, but had also " borne the burden and heat of the day," that land should now be given away. Nothing had tended more to injure us than the vague and changing character of our hind regulations. He seconded the amendment as a matter of justice. I Mr Johnston did not object to an adjournment, , and in reply to the speaker's remarks as' to the vague wordingof his resolution} said it was aliteral copy of the first Clause of an Act passed in Auckland in 1866. He could not see that by giving new comers land, we were doing injustice to those now here, but he could see there would be a positive benefit to the present community. The Jand which he proposed to give the Immigrants was the beet land. The hon member for Invercargill (Mr Lumsden), had said just what

I he expected from him, and betrayed an utter : ignorance of the subject. Reference to what would show that the assisted immigrants were the i best class of immigrants. He doubted the corr«ct- > ness of Mr Jordan's statement as to the money i brought out by the assisted immigrants, and the i fact that they could all have paid their passage. [ For himself, "he was not ashamed to say he was i an assisted immigrant, and but for this he would l probably at the present time have been in Scotland laboring for one shilling and sixpence per i diem. i The Speaker proposed the addition to the 1 resolution of the words "According to the scale • in the Auckland Immigration Act, 1866. Mr Peabson objected. i Mr Johnston was willing to withdraw his ■ motion, he was satisfied with having fairly advocated the subject which, sooner or later, must i commend itself. i Mr Ltjhsden said he had not looked at tne • matter in a£s. d. point of view. Mr Armstbong- would second the amendment • proposed by the Speaker, he was aware that ] there were now over £6000 of Immigration Bills , due, and most of the immigrants were away. i Mr Pbaeson said he would withdraw his i amendment. Mr M'Gltjbe objected to the resolution. ±ne \ assisted immigrant was bound to repay, and by this motion we were proposing to repay the passage money of those who were able to pay their own. It was true we did not repay them in money, but in land. The motion as amended by the Speaker, was then carried. OREPUKI ROAD. Dr Monckton, in moving— "That a respectful address be presented to his honor the Superintendent, requesting him to place the sum of £400 on the estimates, to be expended on the road from Riverton to Orepuki, to render the tame viable for packhorse traffic with the diggings "—said, wh°n he made ; a similar motion to this, in a previous session, the objection was that there were no funds. He was glad this objection could not apply now; He asked for this amount as a matter of right to the miners. A memorial had been sent in by the miners, which unfortunately could not be received, as it was unconstitutionally worded; the progress of the miners had been much impeded by the want of roads. There was no communication to be depended upon except that by the road, as the boat traffic was at all times dangerous ; and notwithstanding what had been asserted to the contrary, there was no boat harbor. (Mr Clerke here rose to a point of order, which the Speaker decided against him). Dr Monckton, characterising the interruption by Mr Clerke as frivolous and vexatious, resumed by referring to the miners memorial, signed by sixty to seventy diggers, and said the only landing-place was on the beach, and that for boats to come from Riverton might occupy two or three months. He said he considered the miners had an extra right for consideration, for while all the inhabitants were taxed, the diggers were extraordinarily so. What with miner's rights and water rights, and indirectly the tax on gold, he thought their contribution to the revenue placed them in a position in which they were entitled to ask for more than the small sum he had asked for to be spent for their special benefit. It must be remembered the gold duty was largely in excess of the expenditure, but he had asked for this small amount purposely. He thought it would keep the road viable for two years : and supposing the diggings to fail, of which he had no fear, a larger amount would be thrown away. He had made every possible calculation, and arrived at, on what he considered reliable evidence, the conclusion that for the last three months the earnings of the diggers had averaged £4 6s per man per week. He was sure no diggings in New .Zealand could compare with it, and believed none in Victoria. Mr Daniel had on a previous occasion opposed a similar grant to this. He then did it on principle, as no tracks had been made, and the grant asked for was for the purpose of cutting tracks and making roads, and the amount was ridiculous in comparwn with the work to be done : since then the tracks had been cut by private enterprise, and now the road must be opened. Goods were wanted on the ground, and the hon member (Dr M.) to his (Mr D.'s) knowledge had not given any excess in the earnings of the men employed. Miners were expending large sums on the ground, and the manner in which the works were planned and completed showed confidence in the permanent payable nature of the ground. ADJOURNED DEBATE ON PROPOSED CHANGE OF FORM OF GOVERNMENT. Dr Monckton, in resuming the debate on Mr Pearson's motion, said, circumstances alter cases. A few months since we might have been desirous of a change, but then we were in debt heavily, and without power to obtain funds, and however readily we might have been disposed to 1 ask to be relieved from our responsibility and to put ourselveß into leading strings then, it was a different thing now we had funds and prosperity appeared to be dawning on us. In physicians' practice it was sometimes necessary to administer a purge and at others a tonic. Mr Pearson had suggested counties and road districts ; this is now being tried in Timaru and Westland. Let us see the result there. Mr Pearson had proposed to make the change compulsory. He (Dr M.) would say, sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. Mr Peaesok enquired of the Speaker what was the present position of the question, and was informed that there was an amendment before the House by Dr Hodgkinson — " That no vote be taken on Mr Peirson's motion during the present session of the Provincial Council." Dr Monckton said in that case he should support the amendment. Mr M'Clttbe would also support the amendment. Our borrowing powers had been taken away, and we had had experience, and ought to have gained by it. Mr Pearson had spoken of Boards : unfortunately our experience of Boards was confined to the Town Board, and that had not vastly impressed us, He would, remind the House that violent changes Beldom succeed. TheJCommonwealth which superseeddthe monarchy of Charles was very shortly overturned by a return to monarchy. In his (Mr M'C.'s) own experience, he had seen changes following each other in rapid succession with disastrous results. He saw no advantage in Mr Pearson's proposition, but considered the subject had been already fully discussed, and would therefore say no more. Mr Abmstbong had last night opposed the motion. He waited to see the result of experiments which were being tried in that direction ; and he believed the adoption of the amendment would be advantageous. The Pbovtnoiali Tbeasttbeb thought the question a grave one, but that the motion was inopportune. To attain the enjoyment of the millenium to which Mr Pearson would lead us, he, Mr P, had suggested that we should destroy ourselves. Now he, Mr 8., decidedly objected to this. Mr Pearson had said the adoption of his plan would destroy commercial jealousy, and that in the event of our refusing to adopt it, we must only eke out a miserable existence. He, Mr 8., denied that either of these results must necessarily follow. Mr Pearson said we must go to the General Government lest we should hurt ourselves. This was something like recommending a strait-jacket to be placed on a lunatic. He, Mr 8., knew well enough that when money was parted with to a centre it was very difficult to get it back. The business at head-quarters was very slow hi operation, and as an instance mentioned that a reply to a special communication having reference to mail tenders was three months in reaching us. After a few words from Mr Johnston, proposing a further amendment, which was seconded by Mr Dalrymple, Dr Monckton said he would still support the amendment of Dr Hodgkinson Mr Abmstbong said he did not often alter his views* The subject had been fully discussed. Dr Hodgkinson had handled it well, and he should still support the original amendment. Mr LTTM3DEK did not wholly agree with Mr Johnston. Partially he could do so. Mr Johnston had said the provincial system had not fulfilled itß mission. Mr Pearson had reviewed Southland

andespecially the councils of Southland, and had dwelt on their incapacity. Mr P. said Provincial Councils were incapable, and that provinces were not able to govern themselves. He had gone out of his way to have a fling at Dr Menzies, and had said that Superintendents had set the Council at defiance. To his mind the fact that the late Council had refused to sanction railways, was a proof that it was fit to take charge of the interests of the province. The hon. member had referred to log rolling in the General Assembly. If any thing could prevent this it was the provincial system. The log rolling was for the loaves and fishes. The resources being divided between the General Government and the porvinces operated materially to prevent this. Mb Pearson protested against the imputation of personality. If he had referred to the laic Superintendent of Southland, he had referred also to the Superintendent of Wellington, he had spent without appropriation, and the General Government had endorsed his acts. He considered the Superintendent as much a despot as the President of the United States. He, (Mr Pearson) referring to MrLumsden's constitutional weakness, said that he (Mr L.) had wished to drag him (Mr P.) into personal collision, and he f-jlt°it necessary to apply the lash to the hon. member. Mr Lumsden had referred to a letter written by him (Mr P.) in which the word we occurred and had objected to it. He (Mr P.) would reccommend to the hon member the use of Webster's Dictionary. He could say he had wished to work harmoniously with the late Superintendent, beir.g anxious for his good and for the good of the Province. He had wished to construct the railway with English capital; and then as regards the leasing of the railways, he found fault with the Government for not leasing them. Smyth, Hoyt and Co made a go 3d offer, but the Council would not even look at it. The Council had been justly blamed for the delay in the execution of railway woiks. If the offer of the General Government had been made to any private individual it would have been accepted, and the Oreti line would have been finished by this time. He believed the opposition of the hon member, Mr Lumsdan, to the Eastern line arose from the mention in Mr Dundas's report of the desirability of its running into the Northern line at somewhere about the Junction — and then what of the sign of the clock? If this was not log-rolling, he would ask what was. By log-rolling we had lost five hundred acres of land to pay Auckland's debt. He opposed Mr Johnston's amendment on the ground that it was unwise of the Council to express a decided opinion. He had, however, no objection to Dr Hodgkinson's amendment. . On the amendment being put, the Speaker declared for the Noes. A devision being called for resulted m — Ayes, 3 ; Noes, 12. Mr Johnston's amendment was, therefore, lost. On the motion of Mr LONOTET, seconded by Mr- Daniel, the further consideration of this question was adjourned until next evening. Mr Clebke asked leave to withdraw the motion standing in his his name — Granted. RIVERTON ROAD. Mr Daniel moved— " That a respectful address be presented to His Honor the Superintendent praying that the sum of £500 be placed on the Estimates for the purpose of putting in a viable condition the road from Riverton to Waimatuku via Flint's Bush." The hon member said it must be remembered this was the highway from Invercargill to the interior, and it had been much neglected. £5000 had been spent between Invercargill and Riverton, but the work had been begun at the wrong end to benefit Riverton district. It should be borne in mind that this road was the road for all the Aparimima district, and its being put into a good state would benefit Invercargill, inasmuch as produce would find its way thither. Twelve miles of the road had been done by the inhabitants. The sum asked for, although small, if judiciously laid out would meet the case. Mr Longuet seconded. Mr Lumsden objected. He thought the Executive should arrange theße matters. He would reccommend the withdrawal of the motion. Dr Monceton supported the motion. The Pbovtnciali Tbeastxbeb would agree contingently on the funds being available. Mr Daniel said the amount already spent had been spent near Wallacetown end. He wished now to begin at the Riverton end. CORRESPONDENCE. Mr Peabson asked the Government to lay on the table the Colonial Secretary's letter of the 30th January last, having reference to the appointment of a constable at Stewart's Island. Mr Blackioce: laid the letter on the table; letter read. Leave of absence was granted to Mr Butler, and Mr Basstian for the remainder of the session, The House then adjourned till half-past 12 next day. .