THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Southland Times, Issue 1786, 29 August 1873, Page 2

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) Wellington, August 26. In the Legislative Council, the National Bank, Auckland Supreme Court Site, Canterbury Waste Land, Wanganui River Foreshore Grant, Canterbury Public Library, and Port Chalmers Waterworks Bills have been read a second time. The Washdyke and Pleasant Point Bailway Bill, and the Islands of Kuapuke, Solander, and other Islands Annexation Bills, have been read a third time. The Goldfields Water Supply Bill has been referred to a select committee. August 27. In the House of Representatives last night, in committee on the Education Bill, the first part " preliminary" was passed without amendment. Part 2, providing for Boards, defining their powers, Ac, was passed with the exception of clause 7, which waß postponed. Clause 8 was amended so as to give Provincial Councils power to fix the number of members of a Board. Part 3 caused considerable discussion. The aided clauses were carried. The reading of the scriptures in schools, provided for in part 7, was discussed at some length, and carried on a division. Progress was then i reported. The Provincial Loans Empowering ! Bill has been printed. It contains 76 clauses. The Bill prohibits the raising of any money by the Provinces outside " Australasia." The Bill further declares that the Colony shall not be liable for Provincial loans; and that every Provincial Ordinance authorising the borrowing of money shall contain a pro vision notifying to the purchasers of the debentures that they shall have no recourse to the Colony. Any loan to be raised under this Bill must be upon •' special security." i In the House to-day, in reply to Mr Andrews, Mr Yogel said the Government would enquire into the alleged case in which the Resident Magistrate of Wairarapa was said to have postponed the hearing of a case to enable the Provincial Council to pass an Ordinance affecting the question at issue. Mr Seymour's notice that the House go into committee to-morrow, respecting the loan for public works in Marlborough, was carried. Mr Yogel Baid that the Government had already stated in the Provincial Loans Empowering Bill what they proposed. Mr Seymour replied that his notice had been put on the order paper before the Bill was brought down, and when the House did not even know when the Bill would be brought down. Besides, he bad heard whispers in the lobbies that the Government intended to withdraw several of their Bills, and among them the Provincial Loans Empowering Bill. Mr Macandrew's motion that the House should, to-morrow, go into committee to consider the question of placing £2500 on the Estimates as a subsidy for steam communication between the East and West coasts of the Middle Island, was carried on a division by 40 to 16. Mr Yogel opposed the motion. He said it was against the principle that subsidies should only be given for mail services. He mentioned incidentally that the Government intended to propose a subsidy for steam communication on the Waikato river, but that would be in the interests of peace. "MY C O'-NTeill supported the motion. The Nelson members opposed it, saying that it would be unjust to give a subsidy to divert the trade now being carried on between Nelson and the West Coast. Mr O'Conor supported the motion. Mr Macandrew, in reply, Baid he had been moderate in asking only £2500, as that amount would not nearly pay expenses, but the Otago Government would supplement it. It was proposed to have a steamer to take the circuit of the Middle Island. When the motion wa§

carried the Premier said the amount would be placed on °the supplementary estimates. In reply to Mr Kelly, the Government said that steps had already been taken to obtain possession of tbe lands on the East Coast where the petroleum springs exist. On a pledge being given bj Mr O'Korke that suitable accommodation should be provided at Invercargill for immigrants, and that steps would be taken to obtain immigrants for Southland, Mr Cufchbertson consented to withdraw the two motions which he had tabled to that effect A deputation of Nelson members waited upon the Premier to ascertain the views of the Government respecting the proposed Nelson and Greymouth railway. The Premier said a clause would be inserted in the Railway BUI authorising the Government to survey the line. There was no intention to ask an appropriation for it this session, but that would place the matter so as to make it incumbent upon the present or any succeeding Government to execute the work. The Government would waive the land security, placing the line in the same category as the other main lines in the Colony. It is understood that the Government intend to press the Provincial Loans Empowering Bill. There is likely to bo i a close fight over it. I August 28. The Westland Waste Lands Bill, Bosstown Land Bill, and Wellington Burial Ground Bill, have been read ft second time. The Wanganui, Rangitikei, and Patea Shires Bill, moved by Mr Bryce, was thrown out by 21 to 12, after a three hours' debate. The Bill to amend the law relating to the sale, letting, or occupation of the waste lands of the Crown in the Province of Otago, amends section 47 of the Otago Waste Lands Acfc, 1872, by the omission of all words after " provided" in the fifteenth line of the section, and substituting the following : — " That the area to be so set apart shall not exceed 100,000 acres in any one year." The Savings Banks Amended Bill provides that trustees may appoint one-half of tbe yearly surplus profits to the use of Benevolent Institutions. In tbe House to-day, the Auckland Loan Bill occupied almost all the afternoon sitting. Mr Seymour complained that his name had been put with the ayes on the division list on the Wanganui Shires Bill, when he wanted to vote with the noes. The tellers and others said that Mr Seymour was asleep at the time in his seat, and they tried to wake him up, when he said, " Vote with the ayes." His vote was reported accordingly. Mr Seymour said he remembered nothing of it. He knew he had been asleep. The matter caused some amusement, and was then dropped. In the Legislative Council, a motion affirming the desirability of a railway between Westland and Canterbury was withdrawn, after a favorable discussion, as the Council has no power to initiate such a motion. 8 p.m. The Premier (Hon. Mr T ogel) moved the second reading of " a Bill entitled an Act to empower the Legislatures of Provinces to pass laws authorising the raising of loans upon certain conditions.'* He said that the nature of the Bill was indicated in the Financial Statement. It had two objects— first, to secure competent local approval of certain classes of public works, and thus to free the House from the necessity of considering works as to the expediency of constructing which it was impossible for hon. members to have an adequate knowledge; second, to guard against such undertakings interfering with the credit of the Colony in carrying out the great works it bad undertaken. It was proposed that Provincial Councils should be empowered to authorise loans upon specific securities. It would be made clear by the Act that the Colony was not liable for such loans, and it would also be made clear that neither in technical nor the ordinarj meaning of the word was any security given over the ordinary revenue of th« Province by which any such loan might be authorised. A Province would not be prohibited from making out of its ordinary revenue appropriations to meet the liability consequent upon a loan of the kind, bnt Provincial Councils could not give to the lenders any priority of payment. The interest and principal on all loans under the Act would be made payable in New Zealand, or in one of the .neighboring colonies. The purposes for which money might be raised were stated in clause 7, which was as follows — " The construction, erection, or extension of buildings or works for any of the purposes of any of the descriptions following, that is to say — Schools, colleges, or other public educational institutions, or lunatic asylums, hospitals, harbor works, docks, jetties, wharves, quays, and buildings for other public purposes ; construction of roads, bridges, tramways, branch railways, water works, works for irrigation, water races, sludge channels, drainage works, works for the improvement of the navigation of rivers and reclamation of land ; the purchase or acquisition of land as the site or otherwise for such buildings or other works as hereinbefore in this section described. The securities to be given for the several classes of works were as follows : — For reclamations, the security would be over the land reclaimed ; for schools, lunatic asylums, and hospitals, over the respective endowments ; for public buildings, over the buildings and land ; for wharves and harbor works, over the tolls and dues ; for roads and I bridges, over tolls and a special rate ; for j tramways and branch railways, over the proceeds of the traffic and a special rate ; for irrigation and drainage works, over receipts and special rate. The Acfc would contain careful provisions as to the making of special rates, and none

could be made •without the consent of a majority in number and value of the ratepayers in the district within which each particular rate was to be in force. The Act would in addition enable the Assembly to set apart special blocks of land 88 security for loans for a specified work or works. A loan account of each Province would be kept, into which receipts such as rates, tolls, &c, would be paid, and to that amount there would also be paid 15 per cent, of the land revenue of the Province, exclusive of gold mining revenue, but inclusive of receipts under the Sew Zealand Settlements Act. The provisions as to keeping the accounts, and for compelling officers to perform their duties, were very stringent. The bon. gentleman explained these and other provisions. The Act, he said, might not satisfy all the cravings for Provincial borrowing, but he contended that there , was no useful work which it was desirable should be constructed out of Provincial loans which the Act would not enable to be constructed. It would do this without interfering with the credit of the Colony in connection with larger works. The necessity for the Act was rendered more apparent by the way in which representatives of Provinces bad recently been demanding powers to borrow even to the extent of a million sterling in come cases. The Government regarded this Act as in the fullest sense a Government measure. If it were near a general election, they would be glad to submit the measure to the country, feeling sure that it would mand the support of the country. He would add, however, that the Government did not desire to press for the immediate second reading of the Bill. The hon. gentleman proceeded to explain certain modifications which the Government proposed to make in their policy as announced in the Financial Statement. The three principal features of the budget were tbe substitution of ad valorem for measurement duties, proposals concerning Provincial loans, and proposals relating to those portions of the trunk railway which were at present unauthorised. To theiirst, the effect of law had been given. He was now dealing with tbe Government measure as to the second. As to the third, the Government were willing to propose important modifications. He admitted that bo to do would be to modify a portion of the policy which was strongly affirmed in the Budget Speech, and any hon. member who desired to take advantage of that fact, or of that admission, was fully entitled to do so. He would state how the proposed modifications had been brought about. The Government had been given to understand that the representatives of some of tbe Provinces, and especially Canterbury and Otago, entertained strong objections to any of their lands being taken as security for trunk railways, but that they were willing, in lieu of these lands being taken, that the Colony should provide a landed estate for the North Island Provinces. This offer was not calculated to give early relief to the loan account, but it met one of the greatest difficulties with which the Government had to deal, namely, the unequal position of the Provinces of the two Islands. Indeed, it was a far-sighted policy of the Southern Provinces, and would some day return to them bounteously in the contribution the Northern Provinces would make to tbe general revenue of the Colony. The Government recognised that the advantages of the proposal were so great as to justify a departure on this point from the policy propounded earlier in the session. In other words, they accepted the proposal, though it would necessitate longer borrowing to complete the trunk railways than would have been necessary if land had been taken from the Southern Provinces "It mußt" (continued the hon. gentleman) " be distinctly understood that the alteration does not affect the present position of the law, which makes each Province liable for interest and sinking fund on the cost of the railways within its boundary. The liability of the land fund to annually provide interest will remain, but we will not take land from Otago and Canterbury to be turned into money in relief of part of the funds which have to be raised by loan for tbeir -railways, and we will return to Welliqgton and Hawke's Bay tbe land which has been taken from them as special security. In respect to details, I have to say the Government propose to substitute for the budget proposal the following :-— That authority should be given to borrow £500,000 for tbe purchase of Native lands in the North Island. This amount, together with the £200,000 already authorised, to be charged upon the Colonial revenue. The amount already authorised is expended, or required to complete engagements. Its distribution therefore cannot be varied, but it is necessary to apportion the £500,000, and tbe apportionment we propose is £250,000 to Auckland, £150,000 to Wellington, £50,000 to Taranaki, and £50,000 to Hawke's Bay. We have given anxious consideration to the question whether we should retain the control over the land in order to devote it to meeting the railway charges of the North Island. We have come to the conclusion that it would be better to leave the Provinces of the North Island to deal with the land as the Provinces of the South Island do, and therefore, whenever free from difficulties, we propose that the purchased land shall be handed over to the several Provinces, within which we make only this reservation, that the land shall not be sold without auction for less than £1 an acre, or with auction at less than the price of 10s an acre. This is all we can do "this session, but we shall endeavor next' session to obtain the concurrence of the North Island Provinces to a reform . of the -land laws in the North Island. What I have said will apply equally to the land acquired out of the .£200,000 as to that out of the £500,000. I have

finally to say that if the modification now submitted is not acceptable to the House, we are willing to adhere to the budget proposal, but we do not. hesitate to recommend in preference the policy I have described. It involves, it is true, some present cost to the Colony, and eotne apparent sacrifice on the part of the Middle Island, but time will vindicate it as an enlightened and noble step in the best interests of a future united New Zealand." The discussion was adjourned until to-morrow (Friday). .