COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

Southland Times, Issue 1347, 13 December 1870, Page 3

COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.

BAII,Wi.YJFBOM HTVEBCJIBCHIiIi TO MATATTBA. At the resumed debate on the resolutions of the Secretary for Land and "Works affirming the desirability of constructing a line of railway from Invercargill to Mataur.J, and empowering the. Government^ during the recess, to treat with any individ ual or company for the construction of a line on the following terms, viz: That the cost of construction should not exceed £100,000, and that the expenditure in each year be made contingent on the amount of land sales effected in the district, at a minimum price of 20s per acre, Capt. - M'Kenzie reminded the Council of the survey to be instituted by the General Government. He also said he understood the survey would cost about £500, and inquired ■whether it was the intention of the Provincial Government, notwithstanding their alleged poverty, and. the intention of the G-eneral Government, to purposely incur a liability of £000. Mr Johnston gave reasons why he considered a railway should be constructed in the district mentioned in the motion ; amongst which were that the New Zealand Land Company had expended half a million in improving " the country, sowing English grasses and otherwise carrying on cultivation ; that there was not more than five miles of macadamised road running in the direction of their property ; that certain money raised in Southland had been spent inDunedin ; and that the work could not fail, for reasons which he gave, to be reproductive. Mr Basstian, explained that the land of the Company referred to — 150,000 acres— was surrounded by many large and small farms, and that there was a Meat Preserving Company ' which could turn out about 2000 tons a year, but that in consequence of the absence of proper facilities for carriage satisfactory progress could not be made. He also explained that for the same reason a good deal of machinery was lying idle, and said it would be a great pity, under the circumstances, to allow the work of railway construction to be delayed. Mr Beid replied. He said that lie did not see from the correspondence of the General Government the slightest indication as to when the work referred to would be commenced. In answer to other questions, he explained that unless the Provincial Government could get a person to undertake the whole line they would not commence any portion of it. A certain gentleman, a capitalist, would purchase land from the Government. It would be placed in the market, and he would undertake that sufficient would be purchased to pay for the construction of | the line, i.e. provided contractors could be found in Dunedin who would give sufficient security for the construction of the work within the price stipulated. It would* no doubt, be better if they could sell the land in the ordinary way, in small blocks, to the settlers; but the gentleman referred to would not purchase tbe land for his own occupation; Ifoere wew»^jw^i«-__juas^»s»<*^ wno were so anxious that a railway should be constructed that they were willing to put themselves a little out of the_way_Jbo_pur^ chase land, not to occupy it, but to leave it open for sale at a small advance upon the upset price. One of the conditions was that the Government should^ under— j tike to repurchase any land at the expiraof three years. The motion was carried on the voices, and afterwards adopted by the Council. XMMIGBATIOJT AITD PUBLIC WOBK3 ACT. His Honor the Superintendent made the following communication to the Council with the view of getting the resolution on this subject reconsidered: — After a personal interview with one of the members of the General Government, the Superintendent is more and more convinced of the folly of the Proyince of Otago standing aloof and denying itself the immediate advantages of those public works which other Provinces are hastening to avail themselves of— works which this Province cannot possibly construct out of the revenue — and for which it cannot find funds withont the aid of the Colony. The Superintendent would earnestly submit to the most serious eonrideration_a£ the— B»o, vinciar Council how far it is worth while sacrificing the progress of the Province and the development of its resources to a feeling of scepticisms to the power of the Colony to carry out the financial scheme which has been adopted almost without a dissentient voice by the representatives of the people— both Provincialists and Centralists. The Superintendent has no doubt whatever as to the results of the policy in so far as relates to the successful negotiation of the loan, in which case, as the matter now stands, the question, in so far as Otago is concerned, simply resolves into the fact that while the credit of the province is to be —if indeed it has not already been —pledged to a colonial loan for reproduetiye purposes, the province is content to relinquish its claim to any •hare of such loan. The Superintendent ventures to hope that the Provincial Council will further consider the subject, with: a view to modifying or rescinding ■its previous resolution to the intent that immediate action may be taken towards water supply on the goldfields, the construction of the Southern Trunk Bailway, and Parliamentary survey of a line from Lawrence to Tokomairiro. It is a matter of sincere regret to the Superintendent that his responsible advisers and himself have not been able to work hand in hand relative to these matters, and that he has therefore no means of communicating his views to the Provincial Council, and of recommending the policy which he deems best, excepting by the very unsatisfactory medium of messages in which his advisers do not .concur. ;/ --•.. PBOBpaATioir. •Mr Speaker and Gentlemen of the Provincial Oouneil~Qa fceaalf of the Governor, I, on the

29th day of November last, assented to the Road Ordinance (Southland) Repeal Ordinance, 1870. I now assent to the following Ordinances passed by you, viz : — Jetties and Wharves Ordinance, 1870 ; the Dunedin Athenaum and Mechanics' Institute Ordinance, 1870; Education Ordinance (Southland) Repeal Ordinance, 1870; Licensed Theatres Ordinance (Southland) Repeal Ordinance. 1870 ; Auction Ordinance, 1862 (Southland), Repeal Ordinance, 1870 ; Licensed Hawkers Ordinance (Southland) Repeal Ordinance, 1870 ; Otago Roads Ordinance, 1865, Amendment Ordinance, 1870; Otago Municipal Corporations Ordinance Extension I Ordinance, 1870; Otago Municipal Corporations Ordinance, 1865, Amendment Ordinance, 1870 ; Otago Representation Ordinance (No. 2) 1870 ; Appropriation Ordinance (No. 2) 1870---71; Licensing Ordinance (Southland) Repeal Ordinance, 1870. The following Bills I hare reserved for the signification of the, Governor's pleasure thereon, viz : — Port Chalmers Reserves Management Ordinance, 1870; Southern Trunk Riiiway Guarantee Interest Ordinance Amendment Ordinance, 1870 ; lnvercargill Park Reserves Management and Leasing Ordinance, 1870 ; Race Course Reserves Leasing 'Ordinance, 1870. Gentlemen — Among other important questions which you have had under discussion, has been that of public departmental retrenchment. My own individual views upon this question are, that the most likely mode of effecting such retrenchment is to make the Superintendent the direct political head, and responsible for the efficient administration of every department of the Government— not that he should act irrespective of the advice of the Executive Council, excepting in matters of detail ; but that the functions of the members of the Executive should be those of advisers only— not of administrators called upon to devote their whole time to jthe duties of their office. Of course, to some extent the~ Provincial Treasurer, who must sign all cheques issued by the Government, and who must keep himself acquainted with the state of the public accounts, would require to devote a certain amount of time to the duties of his office, and he ought to be remunerated accordingly. In case of the other members of the Government, they should only be required to attend meetings of the Executive: Council, for which they should be paid by fees and travelling expenses. lam persuaded that in the matter of government it will be found that the more we can adopt the principle of direct action, the more are we likely to ensure economy, efficiency, and promptitude, and that the whole of the administrative functions of the Government can be satisfactorily fulfilled by any Superintendent who devotes his whole time to the duties of the office. Gentlemen, I feel the less delicacy- in expressing my views upon the subject, maamttok — c*e — ix>*i» — felio prooont; — SU*p»*»xn^_ tendent and" Executive are approaching the termination of their official existence — and therefore what I have said cannot have auy personal— bearing. The whole question is one which it will be for the next Council to deter mine I__1 __ __^ IJhave only— fttrtbeT~To"~~express myl conviction that there can be no extensive departmental retrenchment under our present system of government, and so long as we have to keep up two distinct sets of officials under the General and Provincial Governments. "What we ought to arrive at is not so much reduction of salaries as amalgamation of offices, with which view the practical control of both services ought, to a great extent, to be placed under the Superintendent of the Province — appointed by and responsible to the taxpayer. Gentlemen, before parting, perhaps I may be permitted to say a few words upon the question of the constitutional position of the Superintendent — ;a position which, I fear, is very much misapprehended, both in this Council and throughout the eountryv I think it right that it should be known that the Superintendent is constitutionally as much an integral part of the Provincial Government^ as the Council itself— that his powers"al^«o-Qr^inaJe^jwith_thoße of the Council — and. that although his "hands are tied by an anomalous system of re. sponsible Government which was never contemplated by, and is unknown to, the Constitution Act, he is at the same time responsible to the people; and as the custodian of the public interests he has deemed \it his duty to address the Council on his own behalf, when he has felt that the public interests were. at stake. Gentlemen, I regret very much that my views as to what is best for the interests of the province have not met with your concurrence. Under all the cir- | curostances of the case, I feel my position !tobe a difficult and a delicate one. On ! the one hand, I have responsible advisers I who appear to possess the confidence of | the majority of the Provincial Council, by whose advice lam bound to act. On the other hand, as I forewarned you last year, the result of that advice has been to bring the province to the very verge of a dead-lock. The Provincial Council, as it appears to me, without a due sense of the consequences, determined last year upon a course of action which has virtually deprived the province of land revenue for upwards of 12 months, the result of which is that it is very questionable whether it may not be necessary to terminate for a time at least our subsidies to Road Boards and all expenditure on the public works throughout the province. And now, having so far interrupted the receipt of land revenue, apparently equally regardless of consequences, it is proposed to stay the initiation of those public works which alone can remove the stagnation under '■, which the province labors, and which, if they are not initiated at once, must lead to a state of absolute collapse— placing

the province in the rear instead of in the van of New Zealand. Personally, I assure you it would be vastly more pleasant for me to be at one with the Provincial Council ; but when I see so clearly the results which must inevitably Row from a persistence in the action which, the Council have adopted, I feel bound to cast aside all consideration of personal feeling, and to warn both j you and the country, that the results of that accion must be financial embarrassment, and a state of stagnation such as the province has never yet experienced. As it is, there has been within the last 6 months a most serious falling off in the revenue for Customs — attributable, I believe, indirectly in no small degree to the stoppage of land sales. Gentlemen, believing as I do that there is throughout the country an earnest desire for the immediate commencement of these public works, which, in addition to developing the resources of the province, will offer abundant employment of labor for years to come, and feeling that it will so far mitigate the evils of delay, I propose that the question shall be at once referred to the people themselves, with which view I shall apply for an immediate dissolution —a step which I venture to hope will have your concurrence. . : Gentlemen, thanking you for your attendance, I now declare this Council prorogued, and it stands prorogued accordingly. .