EVENING SITTING.

Southland Times, Issue 885, 20 January 1868, Page 1

EVENING SITTING.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 18S8. £3O;O 0 EAST} itOAB. . :■" : ■Mr Pe.lbso^t — in dealing with the motion standing in. his. name, viz. ;— " That ai 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 fdrmin'o- aud metalling the East Road, as fir as such sum will effect the purpose; also the sum of (£2,000) i wo thousand pounds tor keeping in viable repair, during the ensuing , year, the remainder of the .road, up to the ■Mat-aura Bridge 'V would- np.t :i 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 the money jto .apply to such.: a purpose He had put down this large -sum, believing that this Wiis the only opportunity we should have of :: obtaining .either a .large or small" sum from our own Council. He 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 desirability, of doing all possible this session. There would propably be the revenue arising from sixty to eighty thousand i acres; of, land available, for road making this year.; and he thought that the East road had a primary, claim. The report of the Inspeetcr of Koacls showed that' while large sums had been expended on the roads of other districts, the East Road had been almost wholly neglected.- The North Road had received the sum of £13,533 (5s 6d ; on the Invercargill and Bluft; Harbor- Line, £33,17.£U3s lid had;;been_iaid out, and this, in - addition to a railroad, costing £200,000. The road [ from Riverton to Otauta. had roceiveel a large share of attention ;• the, Wallace town Road also had been looked after in the same manner, while the sum appropriated to the East Road had been very small in proportion. Invercargill streets had cost £7886 8s sd, half of the money which had been spent on the iVJataura Road; and the result, was, taking the Inspector's report, that , of the whole distance or the East Road, there were but eight miles partially improved, two miles permanently made, and the rest was in a deplorably -bad .condition. He might say that the recent large landsales had been made ou the faith of the purchasers in having good roads, and he, j (Mr P.) had been informed by. a large

land agent in Otago, that in the East Taieri, and -Tokoinairiro districts, which were the best settled, jtV.e roads were good, in fact, on the Otago side, the roads were good to the borders, but on this side the Matanra the case was. widely different, and in his ( (Mr P's.) opinion, the badness of the roads prevented the sale of land. In the advocacy of the interest of the East Road, he was not actuated by personal considerations. He did not own an acre of land in the district, and, as the member for Oteramaki ,iie : ha4 no right to consider that district: except in relation to the interest of the Province. The best argument which he could urge in favor; of his motion he thought, was this— the East Road (the ■oldest in the Province), and along which so much capital has been laid out, and in the making and maintenance of ' which the Interests of so numerous and important a body of settlers was^concorned, had but two miles permanently made. The revenue had been dissipated, and now that there was a probability ' of our having funds, the East Road- was entitled to every sixpence. He had before remarked that- . the provincial system makes country districts subservient, arid this was specially'' true in respect to roads. The pressure in and about .the capital operated very uiifavora'bly for outlying 'districts. ; In 'reference to the -£2000 for which- he, nsked, he did'-so-ou this principle. He believed that if the road were once made, and the Gq t vernnient would advertise for its being kept in repair in length's 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 Avork of making the road as he proposed could be done'for £1500 a mile, and^thus 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 hud •stood -well. ' r '• • : Mr* Lumsden, in seconding the motion, was glad that a district s'6 long neglected had' at I 'last obtained so able an advocate. He did' not" agree with the motion for the reasons uri^ed by tiio' mover, as he (Mr L) did not regard che provincial system as yet doomed. He had before advocated the claims of the East Road, a district which had beeninore improved by settlers than any other in the" Province, arid had less done for ity aud if this motion .were -carried, he should regard.it as a chappy result.' ■■'■ ! > ■ ' . ; The Provincial Treasurer would'not oppose the motion ; but would remindthe Council that if ife were carried it w.ould give .the East -Road a.' primary claim tc the funds if it should"happen_that there were not sufficient for alb other proposed requirements.'-' He. thought; all' roads should share in proportion •to the funds at disposal, aud w.ould prefer to ;po'stpone -this question until the Estimates came on, and then let all the : roads , of the Province be considered. ■■.-.< ;■•■•■.- --i Mr Armstrong 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, v..-.-Mr Johnstone thought that. : the ■ East Boad 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 whole sum of" £30,000 was : contingent upon that amount of funds, being available. •,... :.;.' ..;, ■-■-.. The. Provincial Treasurer. remarks I that what he wished was that the amount voted should be in accordance with the sum we had at our disposal. ... : .-. Dr. Monceton. was. in favor of the i 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. laeuber 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 motron be deferred. until.;. the passing of the Estimates. = •.., r ' Mr M'Clure 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 passing of the motion now before the House the sum voted could not be had. Mr Lumdsden 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 Swat-is ojipo -e;l- tiio amendment, the money now asked for could not of course bo had if it woi'O siot available, but as Mr Pearoon had only moved for ifc in such event, and had made 1 out an urgent cisc, which he' (Mr S.) felt was not an unfair representation, he hoped tho- House would not p:is3 the Auiondtiient. . Mi* Pbauson. said the hon. member for Loagwood had. entirely misunderstood the scope of his motion, ii' the money were not to be had, it followed that it could n)t be spent. Tho Provincial Treasurer had objected to what he called a primary claim on the part of tho East Road; this was what he (Mr P.) ur^ed. Ou what, grounds of justice did ihe treasurer object ? Other roads had already had their share, and why not the JEist Road low? £13,000 Ihvl been uselessly spent in tho Campbelllon Dis'.rict, and in ur^'mi* his'- -motion he was but I asking i'or simple justices. There would be a large land fund this -year; thoro might be none next, aud if £GO,OOO could be applied to the Northern railway, why not hail th-.it sum for the Eastern road. The Trcasuivi* hat sail "we must pr> tect ' othev roads," what lie wouid say was, if the amount available could not be at present ascertained, lei- the sum bn passed contingently.. The land on the btink'dft the .-.-East

; Mataura becoming increasingly settled, the Otaga ! Government would make roads, and if we would , secure the Customs revenue, which he deemed of primary importance, . it must be by facilitating 1 communication in the proposed district. ;Mt itoHNSTdiT opposed the^ ameirdment, the hon. mover of the resolution had spoken -well, , arid to the point: He (Mr Johnston) would ; refer to the fact thai; beyond the Mataurs the , district "wag Veil settled; there were the con* u vcniences of roads and bridg-es, and money was spent where needed! Oh this side the Mataura J . we had numerous bogs- and difficulties, and noth- ■ ing fended so much to dispirit an intending , settler- on his entrance into a district is the want ...» iot-toadSi^Xf^ the -.province wisTied^ catch Mb I trade from the" other sine of the boundary, the motion of Mr Pearson must" bo affirmed.: If we J did not take the tide at its ebb we should lose i the opportunity. V The PeovinotaTj Treastoer did -not object- to i .the East Road having a primary claim, excepting L in so far as this— ?iTr;Pearson claimed £30,000 for the Mataiira "Rond; and he wanted the whole • -spent. He (the Treasurer) would say that as • other roads of greater or less importance required , j fluids, let the -money at cOmmand.be spent in ..| proportion, and.he had no objection to the East [„ Eoad/comimj in for the lions share. ". Mr Armstrong- suggested that the mover o( the resolution should insert- the words after men- ■ j.tipn of. the sum- of £3.0,000 "Contingent upon ■ I its being available." ■ ; The Speaker said that the member forlnver- ;. cargill had suggested the contingence. i : . Dr .MosrcKToy was, not aware of this, s Mi- PBAitsqvhad not inserted the words suggest- ; ed fiy <tRe member for Irivercargill, as he thought , them unnecessary, every, one knew if we- could not (jet the money we could not spend it. He ■' would, however, how insert the words.! ' . : : 'i ; - Dr Monckton said in that case, he would withdraw his; amendment. ; The motion with, the addition was pat and i : 'carried? ' : - c •-■ ■" ; g ; & 7,- immigration. , : Mr JoHJTSTpjr iirrising 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 r own cost, from the United Kingcion, and elsewhere, should.be perL mit'ed to acquire land, free of cost, in proportion s to their expe*idituro on emigration, and that the I . ' Southland Waste Land Act' be amended so as I to give effect to this resolution. Tliat our representatives'in the General Assembly be requested ,to. support ;the same at. the next meeting of the , Greneral Assembly. That a copy of the forel going resolutions be transmitted to- the honorable ..the Colonial Secretary." Said that after the k debates in this and' other Councils, and in the ■ General -iAssembly'on this' subject, he did not intendgtb say- much thereon.. There, was one i tiling, which was patent to every one, that the I peoples of' this Province were under a heavy - burden, one which they could not rid -themselves ,-■. of.andthe only course to be pursued was to his * mind that of inducing others to come in and ' .assist them to bean the burden. .In. other words 5 " we-neededjto.i.Hducerimmigration, and that of the r ( right, class,'- men able and willing to labor. He : contended that by giving -to these per- : sons; 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 p '.revenue in this fway, ana^tlms.iifty, seventy, or oven. lOOaeres would in four years he paid for ' by the increase:' He considered there were large s of- forest land which was at present un- !• saleable, 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 wete fishermen from the Morth of Scotland who might be attracted Jbither, who - would prove useful- ; Bettlors. Blocks of land L could be easily' set apart. for carrying out this system, and as the land which he pi'oposed to ," allot 'was hot at present saleable the territorial ■ f revenue would not.be interfered with. Mr. Ross seconded tKe niotbn. He regarded the territorial revenue as of no isonsequence if i ; the land -were settled, even if all were given away. t He could not employ the same arguments that Mr" Johnston had used, because he did 1 not believe in the propriety, of enticing people 1 here to bear our burdens. In countries where ■ elephants abounded the inhabitants employed taine 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 wus very strong, esjjßcially among the artisans of large towns, and upwards o the clerk, merchant, and he 'might say, every lass share. l to some extent in the feeling. Dr Moxcs.tox opposed, the motion. He 'considered its passing would be an act of gross injustice to-devious immigrants who had paid for tlu;ir passage and purchase i their land. 'Mr AsiISTKOXG would support it but did not like xhe plan laid down by Mr Johnston. He thought if we gave land at all we ought to give good laud — all else would be useless, and worse, to : can. immigrant. Other colonies had tried the scheme* and , had not found it to answer ; he was, however, willing to try the experiment ; there must be certain restrictions to ensure settlement. The. Crown Grants mu«t not be given at once or immigrants might afc once dispose of their land, and go elsewhere ; there must, at any rate, be some system of guarantee. Mr M'Ci/critE considered that immigrants under this scheme would be in a far better position than the assisted immigrants who had to refund the cost of (heir passage. It might be said that but lew of these had actually repaid the money, yet they were, liable for it. He doubted if tha-: General Government would endorse the schemed Mr LuJismiiNf admitted the necessity of encoura<;iug .-immigration, but questioned the poiicy of Mr Johnstou's plan. It had been tried both* in Queensland and -in Auckland. In re erence to Queensland especially, a very good agent .of the Government, a Mr Jordan, had attracted large numbers of immigrants from the old country, and when these arrived they were dispirited at tha difficulties. They found the . laud had to be got ready, whereas they expected to have arrived in a land ilowing with milk and honey. To attract poor settlers he (Mr Lumsden) lvgurdod as a cruel delusion — new comers must have some capital. He know that a jrro.it deal of fuise coloring had. been used to at.tnn.-c, buo lie was convinced ihnt the only class of immigrants who would do here was thut of capitalists, small or large. Tuinducu others to conic was wrong, lie thought the hon. member, Mr Johnston, would make a poor immigration agent, however honest he might bo, if all the imiucoiiscnt; he had to offer was tiiat of sharing our present burdens at the rate of £0 per head. The PaovrNCiAii Tklasobkb said the Government w ; i< atidous for immigration. Tho revival , of imm grationhadbeuu tho subject of arrangc'merit iiiid advertisemarit.' He would not object to : Air Johnston's -plan.b'ut that he. was sure it waa

unworkable. By some means or other immigrantsmust 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 class of immigrants, or he felt sure the. General Government wbuM not sanction the bill if passed. He thought, also, the proposition lui&ir to payers, and, until tie .motion was so framed a* to, meet these difficulties he would oppose it. ~ Mr Peabsoit said ; that in the second session of the old Provincial Council h2h.dbroughtjfprw.lrri a resolution " that lands outside_ the origins' boundaries should be set apart for free se tie ments." He th- light it injidioions to give lane away in the manner proposed: He beleived ... al lan i in the Province, except that on the Takitimc mountains, to be worth at least £L«per acre, Stewarts Island -might' be given away undei special sett'einents. . There were, howevsr, difficulties .which seenied : to prevent the present settlement of -Stewart'a.lsland,* 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 nn agent 16^ acres of: land, fJ' each immigrant, and he thought this scheme a more desirable one. He would refer to the money owing by assisted immigrants, scarcely any of whom ha'lpaid. It was rho same in other Provinces, and he thought that. the sureties ought to be made to pay. Mr Reynolds an Otagan agent as -ured him that out of a load of immigrants who enms out in the same ship with himself, there were persons who had in their possession . sums varying fon £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 38 millions and what was of far more value, the bone and 'sinew which the possessors of the money brought with them. He - ha mo objection to give away 20 or 4.0 acr«js in Stewart's Island to an immigrant under some feasible plan, Air Daniel agreed with the mot"on. He beleived in the cnnabilities of Stewart's Island a* a settlement. A cla»!s ; of pers ms could be imported from the Shetland and Orkney Islauds, Scotland and Nova Scotia : to whom- the Island would offer e-ery 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 famalie3 set! led there whose crops were far better than thosa on tbemiin land. They wero cultivating the vine. If the resources of this Island were known. they would offer suflicient inducement to settlers from the North of Scotland, Cape Breton. Nova Scotia, and other parts. If must be remarked, that the advantages of Stewartls Island vere not confined to the soil, bat included the finest fishery that could be desired, splendid timber , and in addition, the advantages of the sealing, and whaling trades?. The American?, and whalers from Hobart Town were taking away thousands yearly from within twelve hours sai 1 . Ship building could be carried on to a considerable extent, and tho purchase of coasters ' from Auckland and other parts be no longer necessary. The augmentation to the Customs revenue would be considerable, and there was silao this advantage, that lar.'e timber might be. had there, which would servo as ballast for the wool and other sliips and turn to profitable account. There wei c three vessels employed between Riverton and the Island which employed 90 men and, inasmuch as the result of enterprise in this direction would be for the general good of the province, he thought the scheme should be supported. The hon the Speakee' to prevent any futura 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 bo transferable, and tho Crown Grants should not immediately be given. • .. • Mr PfiA.B3Oir would move ns an araendment-^---"Thati "the . consideration of .the motion -bY adjourned until to-morrow (Friday) evening. ;'~ DrJ^ONOKTbK seconded the amendment. There was onk part.whiiilv had not been referred to, which bore with great on the - question before jthe House. We had passed through•various! crises of difficulty, and were now in a sijateJo^ comparative .prosperity. It would-be" unjust to^those who, not pnlyl had paid. £1 per acre for land, but had'alsp " borne the burden anct heat of the day," that laud should "now be given : away. Nothing had tended more to injure us than the" vague and. changing character of our lknd regulations. : He seconded the amendmeht.'al a matter of . t justifer ■ ; - •\\: * Mr J^BrNßTONjiid not object to an adjournment, and in replyHto the speaker's' remnrks as to. the yagtje w ordingbfiis resolution?- saiiiit was aliteral" copy o" tjitt. first Chtusa. of ; an ' Apt passed ihAußklai id in _; 1866. He could noti see ttiai. by giving- new comers . land^-we we're. doing injiisfic Ito thofld now but lie could see", there would: be a positive benefit to the "present- community." The lan J which he proposed to give the. Immigrants was the beH land." The non member for Inverca •giil^MrLmmsden-),- had- said just what 1 heexpejted from him*. and_ betrayed a ...utter. ignoran:e of the subject. Reference to what would* s low thafe the' a- sisted immigrants were tlie Wfrcla! s of immigranta, He doubted- the -corr^ ctaess of Mtv Jordan's statement as to the money brought out by the assisted immigrants, and the fiict tha; they couldall havo piid their .passage. ■Fhr hin self, he. was not ashamed to say. he Iwaa att assist ed immigrant, and but for. this he would probabl; r at the present time have been in Scotland lab aring for -ene shilling- and- sixpence- per diem.. w : ..^>i^j_ -:.„ •• t . ' -The tepEAKEE proposed the addition to the resolntic <n df the words "According to the scale in isio A uckl)md;lmmigratjon--Act,:l^66^- - - -.-. Mr Pfi.vitaoy objected. Mr JoniT3TOif was willing to withdraw his motion, he was satisfied with having fairly advocated the subject which, sooner or later, must commend itself. Mr Lttmsden said he had not looked at the matter in a £ s. d. point of view.

Mr ABaj3TaoN3 would &eeo,nd the amendment proposed by the Speaker, ha was twrare' that there were now o?or of Immigration Bills due, and most of the immigrants vrera away, - Hr P-EAaaoN said ho would withdraw his amendment,' ■ . . .. ; Mt 1 M'OtyuS objeoted to the resolution, The. aa'iafed immigrant wag. bound ( to repay, and by this motion we wore proposing to repay the passage money of thbao who wbm v able to pay thfij* own. It was true we did nob repay them in. : money, but in land. ■ - : TUo motion as amendod. by the Speaker, was. then earned. , ".■•■ OREiPaEI ROAD. Dr. Monoston, in moving— 1 ' That a respcofu] addptSJß be presented to his honor the Superin. tendont, requesting him to plao > the sum ei£4Qo on tha estimates, to be exrfridi d QQ the road from Rivertan to Oropuki, to render the tamo viable for paokhoVse twfßo with the diggings "—said, ■ whm he made a similar motion to this, 1 in a previous session, the objeotion was that thewi i were no funds. He was glad this objeotion could hot apply now. He asked for this a-nonnt as a matter of right to the miners, A memorial had been sent in by tts miners, which unfortunately ooulJ not be receiv.ed t as it was unconstitutionally worded 5 the progress of ths rainera • hal been muoh impeded by the want of roads. There was no communication to be. depended upon except that by the road, a* the boat traffic was at all times dangerous j. 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). DrMonckton, ohari<cteriaing_ 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 b>*<ch, 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 entitle:! to ask 'for I ..more than the small sum he had asked for to be spent for th"ir special benefit. It must be 'remembered the {jolt 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 auicmnfc would be thrown away. 'He had made eve 'j possible calculation, and arrived at, on what.h e considered reliable evidence, the 'conclusion that for the last three' months the earnings of the diggers had averaged £4.63 p,er man per week. He was sure Ho diggings in New Zealand coiild compare with it, and beh'eved none in Victoria. Mr Daniel had on a previous occasion opposed a similar grant to this. Ho then did it on jprinciple, as no tracks had been made, and the grant asked for was for the purpose of cutting tracksand making roads, and the amount was ridiculous 'in comparison with the work -to be done: since, then I he tracks had been cut l>y private enterprise, and now the road must be opened. Goods were wauted on the ground, and the hon membar (Dr ! .M.) to his (Mr D.'s) knowledge had not given any excess in the earnings of the irieri 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. ; The adjourned debato on Centralism was then resumed, but after considerable discussion, again adjourned.. * , RIVERTON ROAD. Mi* 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 Wiiimat-iku via Mint's Bush." ... ■.":■■•.:. The hon member said it must be remembered this was the hiq;hwiy fro n luvercarsill to the interior, audit had been much neglected. £50(30 'had been spent between luvereargill an I Rivertoi; but the work had been begun afc the wroii^ enrl to benefit Riverfcon district. It should. 1 be borne in mind that this road was t7te road for all the Aparimima district, an I.' it 3 being put into' a goo.i state would benofit - Invercargill, inasmuch as produce woull find its way thither. Twelve 'mile 3of -the road had been ." done by the inhabitants: The sum asked for, although, small, if judiciously laid out would nrp" f , the easel ' . Mr Lo^chtbt seconded. : Mr Luaisdes" objepted. He thought the Executive should arrange the 3e matters. He would receonimend the ; withdrawal of the motion. • Dr Momcktou" supported; the motion. The PsoviNcrArj Treasurer would agree contingently on the funds being available. ; Mr Daxiel said the amount already spent had been spent near Wallacetown end. He wished now to begin at the Riverton end. CORRESPOND ENGE. Mr Pbabsos asked the Government to lay on tho table the Colonial Secretary's letter of the 30th January hist, having reference to the appointment of a constable at Stewart's Island. Mr JBlackloce 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. . .. FRIDAY, 10th- JANUARY, 1868. 491 . MORNING- SITTING-. _\ " The Speaker took his seat at 12.35. ' Present :— Messrs M'Clure, Moncktori, Oalder, • Howell, Dalrymplej ;'■'; Swale, Johnston, Armstrong, Hately, Lumsden, Pearson, J. Epas, Hodgkinson, Longuet and Daniels. : •■■- ' THE MINUTES. "; : ' "' '.'■' \ The minutes of the last -sitting were ! read and confirmed. . ! ■ ; ! . CORRESPONDENCE. ... .; -A communication jv.as laid, on the table, and reiid from Mr C.R. Marten enclosing 1 copies! of correspondence between the ] Colonkb Secyet^ry and himself, wibh | refereAce'-to- the -eonfenbution of the ,'' Meteorological station in Soutliland, from ' wHichi ib apj)eared that the Colonial [.Secretary su^^ested an application should .' be triaHe tof^efJßipy^ipjal (^ove^rtmenjbs } to plac^ a suraubii the 'estimates- in aid ' ofi 4 .jfdfkjrig this establishment, „_ - : . * A dpcum^nt Avas received and.rea<J. frorn^ ' . the Priovinbiai Auditor, reporting' that he .; had audited 'the provincial accounts for the qiifcrtery aud foundthein corf (Set. ' . ' ••:• •• •'-.. IMMIGRATION; .. • „■ > • • \Mf moM— l^ That.'., this , ; Council is of opuiioa tKattheGi-oVemment 'i is I jus^ifi^d in restiihiug the;; Assisted" < Immigration Scheme, and more' -par- i ticularly so> if aprahgem&nts can be made, withT'any. individual wha. will advance . money ifoc this purpose at t per adult, as ■ may be agreed on taking laiid. in payment" < at the rate of one* pound per. acre.'" He i said,- h^ had^great satis tuction' in bringing ; : forward this resolution, > and - trusted the Oouncip. "urould unanimously asgeut.to.it,. ■ 'so as to supply^ want much felt., It was highly ! necessary ' t&rfb the 'scheme of : assisted inifmigration should be resumed, : and hejthought that the scheme proposed . as gaod a one as could be adopted under ••■ presentj eircuingtancgs. .^Il would. ..indjice shipperstolay 6n vessels direct for this pdrfc, which would not only increase its commerce, but would be a good advertisement at home. The money would not be ( permanently expended but would be re- I turned to the Treasury,' and be again/

available for the same purpose. It might be advanced that there was a 'oo&sidevrble amount still due the Government under Jhe old system, from many of those 'who : had been assisted,* and others who had baeome.suretyfof payments; wha had gone : away, Since, the , Govern ment had advertised its iateiitionbf res^mirigimini- : gration, upwards of fifty applicattons had | been made to the Immigration, -Agent, to, : bring out relations, and all of tliem adults/ He could hot look' upoii the £8000 due [ from those who had been brought outas a' . bad debt, as many who had not yet been > able to pay, would . da ao when oiroum--1 stances permitted. Dr Mqsostqn seconded the motion. It appeared to "him that Immigration should be 'encouraged, and the proposed scheme would have a double effect, bringing oufeimraigrants ; and selling the land at the same time. „-.:. Mr Lumsden did not think that suffieienttime hadlyeen given" for the proposal to be properly considered. A motion had the previous night been passed recouping immigrants their passage money, in land, and he was,., afraid that, this ' would, give capital! ;<s a chance of making a good job out of it. He would mrieh prefer that a considerable sum shouldbe placed oa the estimates and pay direct instead of in so crooked a way. Mr Johnston would support the motion. Emigrants . were leaving Great ■Britain 'in thousands for the various colonies. The last speaker had evidently misapprehended the meaning of his proposal of the previous night. ]Je believed that by offeringtogive say sixteen acres per adult head, small capitalists would be induced' to come here.' The present proposal now under discussion provided for obtaining; another class of immigrants, Viz :— those who could not pay their own passages, in the first .instance, but who would at a future time. "Mr Abmstbong would support the motion without affirming that- it was the best scheme that could be adopted. He wanted .to, .see a stream of immigration, and would not offer any hindrance to the passing of any motion to this end. . Dr. Hodgkinson would support the motion, aiad.r ' could not see how- any member could give it any opposition. -It did not claslv in any way, .with that brought forward.-by Mr Johnson. . Both schemes were good, as we were in need of immigrants of every class. Even if capitalists jnade. a profit out. of itjie would not object,; as thesprovince woflld be benefited. He would suggest that a sum of money should be sent to an agent -in England, to help laborers to provide requisites for the voyage, as many desirable immigrants could not come even if their passage was/paid. -; The Tee asttbee said the Government asked the Council to pass this motion in order to give them something to ; work upon. All acknowledged that the resump- : tion of immigration was desirable.. There was a sum" on the estimates for this purpose, with the amount left blank, which he hoped would be filled up with a sum not leas than £5000. Providing - for immigration he considered quite as essential as the providing for the maintenance of roads. The money invested would -not be lost but form a fund to perpetuate a • scheme which he hoped would work well., - •' , . - ■ : -.-; ; Mr Caldeb would support the motion^ although they might differ in opinion as to the best way to carry it gut. It had been stated that a large- balance Was still due by immigrants who had come out under the previous system. He did no> consider that any argument against the motion. He attributed this chiefly to' the 1 -' want of a" -sufficient ~ "pressure having been put on by the Governments The objections to giving land in payment for the" importation of immigrants, was untenable. It must be' known that money could be' raised at home for three or four per cent, while in the provinces ten per cent, was considered a moderate interest. He considered that the resolur. tion passed the previous evening differed widely from the one now before the House. He looked upon immigration as being of the greatest importanceeven more: important than that, of road making. Still he would ; not permit the land to be alienated below its value. He would suggest to "the Government to add the sum, per head, to be at the current rate of * passengers; to these ports. . Mr Ross thought the. scheme was ■. somewhat complicated. It was fqlly to get. immigrants unless they would settle ' here. If th? capitalist got the. land intp , his hands, the immigrant might come oiit, .; get disgusted,' and 'go away. ; He i recollected, that ■ ten years ago, a great ' difficulty was experienced , in retaining '! immigrants brdiight out under -a.-- similar system to Wellington. \'\ ( , „ ■ \ Mr JM'Clube : stated that he had no i objectibn; to ' amend the' resolution as I the hon; member for Inveir- \* largillj Mr- Calder. -...:, „ } : . The] permission of the House having .' been obtained, the^ resolution, as amended, was pafesed/ : '. : :: ■ : : ! - ' • I ■;■■ ' /MESSAGES. '*' ■ J •■■ ■■■ ' :: His Hdndr'. the Superintendent wrote / objeeti lg >to the^placin^ on -the Estimates ! for :the formatiqnCof ; tKe Eastern : road^bn the ground th^t t it w4s in :^ fexcess of the imouut that could Be expended in time, a id more than present circumstance would sanction. ' -—--.- .i •His Honor in •message 3 assented.;io-" " the su n of £200 being placed oorn r the - estimai es -for ;the repair" 5 of "the roadintKe'TJoslyA (Disttid;, , , £509 -fdi».*tfie" repair < ffjihe fqad' via flint's Blish in.the ; Waimatuku District, also £itJQ for the., road be fcween Kiyertpn and Orepuki. -- •-. ii :k licensing -okpWANCEr '•- •■■ •: Thie ] louse then w§nt into committee .on the " L censing. .Ordinanc,e."-aud. after an animatfd;- debate ex-tending.- over* two: ; hours, : eportedrprogresst "- ~r..-' ; --■-■ ■ y i - : ; ,The ! louse adjoined until 7.30. "" " ':". '\ -