FRIDAY 4th DECEMBER 1868.

Southland Times, 23 December 1868, Page 6

FRIDAY 4th DECEMBER 1868.

MORNING- SITTING. The Speaker took the chair at 11,10. ; . ; Present — The Speaker, Messrs .Black-' lock (Provincial Treasurer).; Armsttbhff,' M'Clure, Pearson, Monckton, Howell; Basstian, Dalrymple, T. M. Clerke, Johnston, Eoss, Pratt, Daniel, Hately, and Longuet. , ■""•'' MINIITES. The minutes of the last sitting were read and confined, TELEGRAPH TO RIVERTON. f Dr Monckton moved— " That , this C ouncil recommends the erection of a tele-"; graph line from Invercargill to Eiverton'j and accepts the condition required-by'the* General Government, of supplementing any loss inthe working expenses of the same : provided that such loss, if any* 1 shall be repaid out of any subsequent 7 profit accruing from the working of stock line." He said, that in submitting the resolution to the House he was asking but little for an important work. - He' was aware that all telegraph lines were under the control of the General Government, and upon it would devolve the cost of constructing the line/ The. subject had been brought ibefore it, and? in reply to the petition forwarded by the people of Riverton to Wellington^* itwas stated that if a gurantee -was '\ given " to make up any deficiency 'arising^fronii tbe working of the line after it was ctinp* structed, the request of the petitoners

_-__-_-_____M-MMm«-»-«b--m-«--- ■ ■■in would be complied with. He believe* that if the telegraph line was extended t< ; Biverton it would from the flrst pa; working expenses. It could be kept ii efficient operation at a very small cost at the outside ■£40 a year, and probabh for about £25. If we considered thi commercial advantage," it would be no 6'nly to' the business' men of Rivertoi biit Iriyercargill also, the very smal responsibility the Council was asked t< was so insignificant that it was needlesi for bim to enlarge upon the subject. Mr Daniel, in seconding the motion remarked, that the advantages derivabh form telegraphic communication wer< now so well-known and appreciated tha: comment on his part was unnecessary The cost of constructing the line woulc be but trifling. As the railway tc Winton was to be gone on with, the tele graph would doubtless also be constructed, and a slight deviation was all that would be requii ed to continue it tc Biverton. Dr Hodgkinson supported the motion, The Peovincial Teeastjeee said the Government was not opposed to the motion, but he thought in its present form it would not be deemed satisfactory by the General Government. If it constructed the line, although at first no surplus over-working expenses were expected, it would look forward to an increase of business in time paying the cost of construction. He would therefore . suggest that the words after "working expenses of the same" be struck out. He would also draw attention to a remark of the seconder of the resolution, with reference to it being connected with a line to Winton. If that Twas the express desire of the the promoters of the work, it should be stated in the motion. Dr Monckton, as mover of the resolution, was quite willing to adopt the suggestion of the Provincial Treasurer, and. strike out the latter clause of the motion, and as to the direction the line was to take, that was a matter for the consideration of the Government that constructedit. Telegraphic communication was .what j was wanted, and to go into details as to how the line was to run would be undesirable. The motion as amended was put and carried on the voices. PAYMENT OE MEMBERS. Dr Monckton moved — "That this Oouncil disapproves of any money being paid under the vote for country members' expenses, except to such members who are legitimately entitled to the same by an enforced' absence from their distant places ■of residence, and being thereby entailed with travelling and maintenance edsts.'.' He said it was with considerable reluctance that he had brought forward this- motion, but he did so on public grounds. On a former occasion, when this subject was discussed, one member, he Would say, a member with retrenchment proclivities, had been forced to admit that he had made a commercial profit from being a member of this Housei He held that when it was decided to pay country members £1 per day; during the sitting of the Council, it was. intended simply to compensate for the actual loss arising, from travelling and town expenses, and it was never contemplated that a member, an honorable member of the House, whose residence .was only ahout sixteen feet beyond the; boundary should, upon the plea of beiriga country member, take a pound a day. when he had not suffered loss and incurred no expense in the discharge of his legislative duties. As he before stated, one hon member had regularly drawn his pound a day while it was patent he had not been put i to an expense of even eighteenpence a day while attending the Council. He maintained it was an abuse of a useful provision. The payment of country j members was never, intended for any j other, purpose than to reimburse mem- 1 bers-frpm a distance for the actual loss arising from their having to leave their business, and travel long distances in order to be present at the sittings of the Council, and from their local knowledge make plain the wants and requirements ofthe districts, they represented. Dr Hod&kinson seconded the motion. He had hesitated in rising to second the resolution, not from any misgiving as to its importance, but in the hope that the hon. member, to whom the remarks ofthe previous speaker had evidently been directed would liave had the good taste to second it Thimself. He would in a few words say that he entirely agreed with the resolution, and hoped the House would coincide with him in tbe opinion that it was one of importance. Mr Daleymple was compelled to conclude that he was the member to whom the. .previous speakers had so eloquently alluded to. Still he was not prepared to support the resolution in its present shape. He had drawn his pound a day, learning that Mr Wood, M.H.B- when a member of the Council, and being np further from town than he was, drew^ his. If the motion had been to do away with payment of members it would .have received his hearty support, as being a good step in the direction of ' retrenchment,' but, as it stood, it was one sided arid unfair-. . ' Who are legitimately entitled.' Who was to decide what members where legitimately entitled? It would take an army of lawyers to settle that point. He might grow eloquent and -.poetic on the subject but he would forbear. If all the members would give up their claim to the pound, he would give up his willingly, but not until then. As long as others drew theirs he should continue to draw his. - The motion was then put and carried. ; MR "WILSON'S LETTER. The standing orders having been suspended. Mr Johnston moved (without notice— "Tbat the letter of of Mr H.< Wilson, with reference to the report of the Boad Engineer laid on ; the i table on the previons day, be taken into consideration." He said he had brought the matter forward because

d he knew there was great dissatisfaction 0 among the contractors at the way i: y which the making of the deviatio; ii portion of the Bluff Harbor and Inver „ cargiU Railway had been let, and som y investigation was required, c Mr T. M. Clerke seconded th t motion. He did not approve of thes n kind of resolutions ; as a rule the Hous 1 : sh->:':dnot interfere in contractors com 0 pUiiiKt*,- for if they did, the table woul s be inundated with letters of a simila description, however, in this instance i, he thought there was some reason fo 6 the letter of Mr Wilson being discussed b It appeared to him from what he hat t heard, the Eoad Engineer had gone ou *. of his way in drawing up his report, an< 1 by implication damaging the credit of thi j contractor mentioned, for to report tha • he did not think he (Mr Wilson) coul< - do it, wastoimply that he had not means t< I obtain the plant required for the work > This was doing what no Governmen Engineer should do under any circum . stances, and the matter required inVesti ) gation. ; Mr Abmstbong opposed the motion ; He thought it was the duty of the Boac - Engineer to report upon all tenders, anc : if he was faithful in those reports ► and complaints had to be made, it was i the Executive, and not the Council thai l should investigate them, s Dr Hodgkinson would oppose tht • motion. He thought it would be inter- • fering with the functions of the Execui tive to an unjustifiable extent. Mr Caldeb would oppose thf :* motion, as he looked upon suet matters being discussed by the House as wrong in principle, and mosl injurious in practice. It was essentially : a matter for the Executive and not the Council, and it should never have beeu brought forward. If the members were to be ear-wigged by contractors, and their grievances, or imaginary grievances, made subjects for debate in this House, there would be no end to the discussions that would ensue. The motion was put and lost without a division. RAILWAY SUPERVISION. Dr Hodgkinson rose to resume the debate, as set down in the Order Paper, " On the cost of supervision of the railway works," by Mr Patterson, Engineer. He thought so much had been said on this matter that he felt somewhat in a mist, but he would say that . Mr Patterson's demand was excessive, and he should oppose his offer being accepted until further information had been elicited from the Government. The Peovincial Teeastjeee said he thought the memberrs must have been under some misapprehension as to the debate. A motion was before the House to the effect that the Council vote a sum of money to enable the Government to pay the salaries of efficient engineers and inspectors for the railway works, not to exceed £1,500. This had nothing to do with the offer of Mr Patterson ; it was simply to place the Government in a position to secure a full supervision of the works. The whole of the money might not be required. Mr Johnston would move as an amendment — " That Mr Conyers, the Engineer of the Bluff Harbor and Invercargill Bailway, be appointed to supervise the construction of the Oreti Railway." He thought that the offer of Mr Patterson could not be entertained for a moment. He thought the Province had already had enough of Mr Patterson, who had been well paid for doing scarcely anything at all. When he received the appointment to superintend the finishing of the Bluff Bailway it was by tender, and what was the result ? Mr Patterson, instead of superintending the work as it had been expected he would, sends down a young man who had been five years in an office in the colony, and was only about twenty-four years of age, to whom everything was left. Mr Simpson might have in theory known something about railway making, but he could not, and did not in practice ; yet to him was left the whole of the work. Mr Conyers was an efficient engineer, he knew every branch of railway work, and since the Bluff line had been under his charge it had been vastly improved. He believed that Mr Conyers, with competent inspectors, would . see the work executed better than Mr Patterson would, and at a much smaller cost. Give that gentleman a moderate increase of salary, and good inspectors, and the work would be done well. Dr Monckton made a few remarks condemnatory of Mr Patterson's offer. Mr Peaeson said he rose to speak to the amendment, and hoped to put an end to the discussion. The question was simply should the Province pay so large a sum as that demanded by Mr Patterson for supervising the railway works. He said decidedly it should not. This gentleman had already received an immense sum for doing very little. He was sure there were gentlemen in the Province well qualified to do the work required equally as efficiently as Mr Patterson and his young inspectors. What had this gentleman done for the money that had already been paid him ? He had regularly paid visits when cheques were to be obtained or vouchers signed, and with equal regularity went away again. The House was told that to satisfy the General Government, an Engineer of reputation must be employed. Well, we had professional men quite as competent for the work as Mr Patterson, and if it was desirable or necessary to obtain a colonial stamp for the work, let Mr Balfour, the Colonial Marine Engineer, be employed, and then we should have the genuine stamp of authority, and at a small cost. A long discussion ensued, in which most of the other members took part, and a multitude of suggestions and amendments were proposed. The feeling of the House was strongly against Mr Patterson being employed on any terms. The Provincial Teeasueeb in reply to a question, stated that the Govern-

n, ment had never contemplated accepting n the offer made. v The motion of the Government for tht _ appropriation of £1,500 for payment o c supervision of the railways, with a fey slight alterations, was put and carried. c MR PATTERSON. Mr Caldeb obtained the suspension o c Standing Orders, to enable him to move " That the amount required by Mr. Pat j terson is excessive, and the Council doe not approve of his being appointed on th< ' terms, or any similar ones." He said thi subject had been so thoroughly discussec i no remarks were necessary. The Go j vernment knew the feeling of the Hous< t on the matter, and would doubtless pa] j attention to its views. Mr Peaeson seconded the motion. t After a few remarks from the Pbovinj cial TBEASUBEEjind Mr Aemsteong the motion was^put* and carried. EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ORDINANCE. ' Mr Peaeson asked leave to postpom the motion standing in his name unti next sitting. Leave was granted. The House adjourned at 1.30 til ' 7.30 p.m.