LATEST NORTHERN NEWS.

Southland Times, Issue 1279, 15 July 1870, Page 2

LATEST NORTHERN NEWS.

BY ELECTRIC TBLE&BAVR. I m • (l_o_C OUR OWN" CORRESPONDENT.) __ — <»' • Wellington, July<.l2. H.M.S. Bosarlo has returned from searching the Bounty Islands for traces of the Matoaka. She found nothing.- - Mr Bichr supported the principle of the financial proposals, but thought the loan too large. The expenditure should be restricted to prevent the money being squandered. -Mr Ludlam generally supported the principle, while objecting greatly to. the t details. He would vote for the consideration of the proposals, thinking it unwise to stop at the present stage. He would try and modify them, and introduce certain precautions. Mr Tancred said three courses were open to -the House — either reject scheme, accept it as it stood, or.modify it.; If he-had-.hisown.-way, he_j_oul<dL adopt the first course, being absolutely opposed to the scheme, or any modification of it. It was high time the colony should stop borrowing, and economise .for a few years. Mr H. S. /Harrison supported the i Government. ) Mr Stafford was agreeably ¥urprislß^oi find the' present Ministry bring /forward such a scheme in "direcfropposition,to-the cardinal points of their policy. Mr Fox's conversion was no doubt due to Mr Vogel^ He hoped he ,-• . -would \y s be further converted, and adopt a colonial system of primary education. He: had no desire to' interfere with those provinces doing their duty in the matter, but several provinces were doing nothing, and it was not right, proper, fitting, or seemly for the Legislature to sit idly by and allow a large section of the young population of the colony to grow up uneducated barbarian's. Alluding to the pledge given by the Commissioners, he said they were members of the Government, and their actions could not be repudiated as in the case of simple agents exceeding their, authority. He hoped the honor and credit of the colony would not suffer from the diverse action of two sections of the Ministry. He thought the discussion in the Imperial Parliament to guarantee a million loan, with the present proposals, would, seriously injure the credit of the colony. a Land we had, and bur great concern twas; how to get labor and capital in nicely balanced proportions'. No one could deny the time must come when we would have to consider how to obtain this end/_ He failed, Tiowever, to see. in the scheme the safeguards which would enable us io _aake : the -proposals with a due regard to the honor and credit of. ourselves and children. The Houtfe was bound to endeavor honestly to sharie the proposals so as to ensure a well considered and safe scheme I.'1 .' The Goverrimentcandidly asked his assistance, and he gave -it in -the same spirit, to endeavor to render the .scheme as perfect as possible. The immigration proposals had been flung l on the floor with an entire absence of jdetail. No provision was made stjith, , regard to the number" of immigrants,' whether they were to be obtained annually, or what was to be done with them when they landed. He would like to see newly-married ■. couples,.ajidfamilies..containing marriageable daughters, selected from the "south and west "of England, north of Ireland, and the - Lothians of > Scotland, and^ . brought to the colony, the Government: engaging to find them twelve months' work : on public? works at prices previously agreed upon-; He would allow 'them to seek private employjhfiht^ atharvM.ttogj^shjiaring^c., : and afterwards 'return to the Govern- . ment work.. He. .would . make provision for their settling oh the arterial lines of communication throughout the country, and to do this it, would be necessary ; to walk over the heads of the whole exist-. . ing land laws. 1 There were now immense tracts of country in the Middle Jlsland where the working man. icould not find" rest. Those tracts, sold almost for no thing, were occupied, -unproductively to either^ the owner or the colony.. He believed the colony should . take the power jto resume ownership of these, tracts, compensating the owners. ; Along the arterial lines he would make village .settlements, ; at distances of-eight-or ten-milea,-giv_ng~ the frhmigtant- ) three-acre s£aUotmeuts, with the .right to acquire ten or ; tw|lve acres moire by residence upon them! for 'periods/agreed' ujpo_Q ]-Jle wauld- provide

large commons in the neighborhood of each village, giving the runholders compensation, and making them fence off the common from their run, or else barring their right to complain of trespass. Such a system would insure immigrants being cared for on their arrival. He would object to rival immigration agencies, which would only be to maintain a body of paid detractors to other parts of the colony than that they represented. With regard to' the railways, the House should, each * session decide which lines shOrildbe constructed during the ensuing year, as well as by whose agency they should be constructed, and the maximum cost. That was the only way to prevent reckless expenditure, and ensure a continuous system. The first railways should open up country now unoccupied. He was strongly .opposed to the proposal to again make the colony a landjobber by purchasing Native land. Any proposal tqincrease the taxation per head must fail, both financially and politically, but the incidence of the taxation might be advantageously altered. Why did not the .G-overnment reduce the existing taxation in some direction, and introduce new* methods" instead? Mr Stafford was greatly cheered when he sat down. Mr Macandrew strongly supported the Government proposals, as being eminently practical. He considered their advantages as immeasurably greater than; their drawbacks. Mr M'.Gillivray generally supported the proposals. Mr Gillies, in speaking very strongly against the proposals, urged an appeal to the country, and awaiting the opinion of Englahd/and tlie' other colonies, before adopting the plan. He declared it to be his convictioi- that nothing but ruin to the colony would result from the adoption of the scheme.; Z. Mr Collins opposed the Government -proposals in toto. t The Municipal Corporations Amendment Bill has been' thrown out by 41 to is. "' . "■' "''- v'' L .."■■:- .' July 13. „; Xast night's debate on the financial scheme was opened by Mr Fox, who defended the G-overnment proposals in an able speech of ah hour md a half's duration -Great. acclamatians.„greeted_ the hon. -member from v both , sides of the HoUSe. .;•_; ;•:/,••;■,*/:; Mr Header "Wood moved an amendment . " That the committee, whilst approving of the policy for promoting immigration and public works throughout the colony, proportionate to its resources, would, in view of the early dissolution of Parliament, prefer that the country should' be consulted upon the plan." DmfEDnr, July 14. A public meeting has been held, arid very largely attended, at which the following resolution - was proposed :— " That this meeting, without committing itself to the approval of details, is of opinion that ,the financial proposals of the Government embody a .scheme which is calculated to promote the settlement and permanent prosperity of the colony, and that the adoption of a general and comprehensive system of immigration and public works of a reproductive character, judiciously carried out, will tend to develop the great natural resources of the; country, and raise it from that' depression which at present exists in all its varied interests." The. resolution, was moved by Mr Cargill, but not carried. The meeting became thoroughly disorderly, and was adjourned until Mr Beyriolds's separation resolutions were disposed of. 1

We take jthe following Trqm our Northern contemporaries : — J " ; ' f ~ ' ' WELTJofaToyf July 7. The consideration of Mr Macandrew's Otago Hundreds Begiilation:Act Amendment Bill is postponed until after the second reading ; of Mr Brown's Bill for the repeal of the same Act; 1 '-. r \ The discussion /on . ;Mr /M'Gillivray's motion was resumed last night. Mr Stafford, Mr r Beader Wood- Mr Fitzherbert, Mr Fbkj : and Mr Collins spoke briefly upon .it.* The general opinion seemed to be that the policy of the Im-~ perial Government was. not in itself so objectionable as the harsh arid sudden manner in which it was applied to the .colony.. The debate is further adjourned/ Mr Haughton today moved his resolutions regarding the extension of the franchise. Only the first motion is as yet before the House, and opinion seems to be generally in its favor. Mr Carle-: . ton was the only member who opposed it. Mr Armstrong, Mr Gillies, Mr Creigh.ton, and others, expressed themselves as in fa.vor of- extending^ j;he franchise to. . women. Mr Fox stated that it was his intentibnr.to.vote for the first' resolution. The debate is adjourned. Mr Vogelp in reply to a question, stated that the .Government did not intend to introduce any special Act jto legalise the _aaU tj _ontract with Mr H.SH. Hall, or to make a permanent appropfia-,, tion for the service, but would leave the subsidy to be voted annually, anditq be discussed bri the vote: -He claimed great jcredit Jfor_ the. initiation of the service, and said that if it were not for local •jealousies regarding the portof «all, (the contract would meet with ,the unanimous approval of the colony.' ' The delegates whilein Sydney had agreed to recommend

a subsidy of £10,000 to the Torres Straits route, if the New South "Wales and Queensland G-overnments gave an equal sum to the San Francisco service. He thought it was quite within the power of the Postmaster-General to enter into such a contract as that with Mr Hall without the special authority of the Legislature. . Mr Hall protested against this idea. ..--% «Wy 8. v The financial debate commenced last night. Mr Yogel, in moving his resolution, stated that nothing had occurred since the delivery of the Financial Statement to make ' the Government consider a modification of their proposals desirable. At the same time, the schedule of the proposed railways was merely a suggestive one, indicating the main, lines. The G-overnment considered it desirable that the railways should be" constructed from time to time as they were wanted. Mr Bichmond, who opened the debate, said that he had for many years advocated the initiation of a colonial system of immigration and public works* but that he. was; greatly disappointed with the details of the' proposals of *the G-overn-ment. -Their financial policy was like a great Christmas tree — apparently all prizes and no blanks, though really it would bear heavily on the provinces. Mr Yogel seemed to have quite got over his anxiety regarding their constitution, and to be now ready to maltreat them himself, though he would allow no one else to do so. The scheme was one of rapid starvation to the provinces, as the capitation tax was sure to gradually decrease. Already the incidence of the debt of the colony to the population was twice I what it was in. England, notwithstand-; ing which the Government proposed to. make it five times as much. After; the assurances given by the Commis-; sioners to the bondholders it would, be' an act of moral bankruptcy to endeavor to effect a fresh and enor m ous loan. • He; quoted the experience of Victoria in the' matter of railways, and said that thej Government scheme ten years hence, instead of showing a balance of half a million, would show a deficit of -615,000 on the "working expenses. An armed defence force would be necessary for 20 years, and part of the expense, was _fairly a loan charge. He supported a -^colonial system of immigration, but*; considered that liberal land laws were required to induce people to settle in the colony. He counselled the withdrawal of the scheme till the voice of the country had decided how far it was desirable to enter on such works. He feared that the present proposals would serionsly injure | the credit of the colony. j Mr Bolleston considered it useless to i go on with, the further consideration of the scheme, until an explanation was afforded regarding the positive assurances ma_U^by the Commissioners to the bondhoiniS^that the colony did not intend to incur any further loan, which assurance had been held out to the bondholders to induce them to- agree to the consolidation of the debt. Mr Yogel replied- that- the assurancegiven by the. Commissioners referred to the strong feeling expressed laßt year against further borrowing, and was not intended to bind the House in the future. The present scheme would not affect the London market' until the bonds had time to get into the- hands of permanent holders. ........... Mr Travers made a long speech, in the course of which he said that he did not intend to seek re-election anywhere; if his views did-not- suit those of his constituents, they might, even during the present session get another member, whose "views were more -in accordance with their own. He- regarded the financial position "of the colony, with fear', and the distrust expressed conclusively proved that it was exceeding its resources by borrowing money to meet : current . expenditure. During the past year bills to the amount of; £150,000 had been added to the permanent debt of the colony, and £31,000 released from the sinking fund had been absorbed. Immigration and public works were the only means by which prosperity could be restored. He approved of the principle of the financial proposals- of the G-overnment, but would not support them in their present shape. The scheme commended itself to the impecuniosity of the people and their hope of profit, but not to the reflective consideration of sensible men, and it would not' meet with the approval of money-: lenders. The provinces ought not to control the expenditure, which ought to Lbe .under the control of an* independent Board, similar to the Metropolitan Board of ; "Works. '■ He considered that Protection T was the most miserable and r delusive snare ever offered, arid strongly maintained the right "of the colonies to inlpTOe" differential-duties inrfavor of each other. He advocated, boldly the passing of an Act admitting colonial wines at a low duty, instead~of~fesorting to the subter-: if uge proposed by . the a; Government. Immigration should be a colonial, not a provincial work.- 1 : v ;

The circumstances of the pledge referredto by •■, Mr -Bollestpn are these : — Mr Fitzgerald published a letter addressed to Mr Selfe, and stating that the colony would soon find it impossible to get on -without- -another Joan— -The publication .of/, this i letter seriously impeded the Commissioners, in. their negotiations for consolidation, the bond-holders pointing to the opinion of the Controller of the; Public Beveriue of the colony; The Commissioners then wrote to the Govern'merit here, 'pointing out the difficulties thus > created, and drawing attention' to the impropriety of a high public ofticer writing suchia: letter.; iThey also stated that they « had returned' a "idecijled^ negative "to the bond-holders* question ! as.tq whether any . further loans were contemplated by the colony.; , ; In the case of Earnshaw At*; Begina, heard in the Court of Appeal -to-day, judgment -was given for the Crown. ' <

Napier, July 7. Intelligence just received states that Hera to Topo, a principal Uriwera chief, . and the remainder of the Whakatoheavat Opotiki, to the number of about 40, have surrendered. Te Kooti has only . two or three of the old Chatham Island escapees with him. News received via Taupo confirms the foregoing. The Star of the South has not yet been got off.

Chris rcHURca:, July 7. A large and enthusiastic meeting was held last night to consider the Government financial scheme. The Mayor presided. Mr William Montgomery moved, and Mr W. Kennaway seconded, the following resolution: — " That this meeting is of opinion that the able and comprehensive financial scheme of the present Ministry deserves our most favorable consideration ; and this meeting cordially approves of their proposals for the settlement of the country, by the formation of large public works, and the introduction of suitable immigrants." Mr E J. Wakefield moved, and Mr M. B. Hart seconded, the following amendment : — " That whereas it appears from the proposal with regard to the Financial Statement made in the House of Bepresentatives yesterday by the Colonial Treasurer, that it is possible the Parliament of New Zealand may refuse to commit itself to the approval or condemnation of so comprehensive a policy on the eve of- its dissolution, it would be premature for this meeting to pass an opinion on the most important part of that policy before the citizens of Christchurch shall have had the opportunity of deliberately considering it, and of receiving the report thereon of the representatives of the city, and the other members of the General Assembly." The original resolution was carried amid cheers, only 13 hands being held up for the amendment. ~ ■■■-■-- The following resolution was then moved by Mr J. E. Brown, seconded by Mr J. G. Hawkes, and carried unanimously : — " That the Chairman be requested to forward copies of the previous resolution to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, His Honor the Superintendent, andthe representatives of the province in the General Assembly. V ■ '' '• • ~