House of Representatives. Wellington, August 13. WEDNESDAY.

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 116, 22 August 1885, Page 3

House of Representatives. Wellington, August 13. WEDNESDAY.

Mr Bebtham has given notice to ask the Government what steps they intend to take with respect to the appointment of a Native Reserves Commission. The Premier has been summoned to give evidence before the Committee of the Legislative Council, to whom haß been referred the Duaedin Drill-shed Reserves Amendment Act.

Wfcimaa Plains Railway. There was a storm in the teapot this afternoon over a question put by Sir George Grey as to whether the Government had remitted any payments, or portion j of payments, payable from the Waimea i Plains Railway Company. The Minister fob Works replied in the ! negative, whereupon Sir George Gbby explained that the Board of Directors, at their annual meeting, had informed the shareholders that some concessions in the direction indicated by his question had been made. Some time *ac spent in idle discussion till the Member for Wakatipu explained that the misapprehension had arisen in consequence of the Company agreeing to run two trams daily instead of one to meet the wants of the district, and some concession had been made to them in consequence. With charming candour, Mr Fergus proceeded to say :— " I would only be too glad to attach any blame to the Government if I could, as the House very well knows, but in this case they are free from blame." Sir Geo. Grey thanked the member for Wakatipu for supplying the information which was not available from the Minister for Works, and gave notice of his intention to ask the nature of the arrangement made with the Waimea Plains Company,

Main Roads. Mr Biohardson moved thar the roads which were gazetted as main roads on the 26th add 31st March, 18S5, be declared to be main roads in terms of section 7 of the i Roads and Bridges Construction Act, 1882. J Agreed to.

Evidence Amendment Act. In the House, on a message being received from, the Legislative Council that they had ( agreed to the Evidence Amendment Act i with amendments, Mr Donvsie Strwabt eaid that the clause which yelatos to imputing inchastity to women had been struck out. At this late stage of the session he would accept the amendment' made,

Hospitals and Charitable Aid. On the Premier moving for a committee o£ tbe whole House to consider the appropriation clauses in the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Bill, Mr Peacock expressed regret that in Committee members had not taken a firm stand with the schedule as originally brought down. The districts had been dealt with on a principle which he considered fallacious. On recommittal he thought the best course would be to go back to the schedule as originally brought down. At present there was an anomaly that the districts for Hospitals and Charitable Aid were not coterminous. In Committee the Premier moved the addition to Clause 5 of the following proviso : — "* Provided that for the purposes of distribution of charitable aid under this Act the several separate districts hereunder enumerated shall be deemed together to form united districts, that is to say, (1) The North of Auckland district and \Vaikato district with the Auckland district, (2) the Thames district with Coromandel district, | (3) the Waipawa district with Hawke's Bay, (4) the Inangahua district and Nelson Goidfielda district with Nelson district, and (5) the Otago Central district, Tuapeka district, and Lake district with Otago district." .This led to a lengthy discussion, j but it was carried by 53 to 17. Several other clauses were passed with slight amendment. On clause 32, providing for annual subsidies being paid out of the Consolidated Fund to boards, Mr White (Sydenham) moved to strike out five years as the time for which subsidies should be payable. This was negatived on the voices. At the evening sitting the bill in committee was further considered. Mr Peacock was anxious to get re-intro-duced into the Auckland District the counties of Mongomii, Bay of Islands, and Hokianga,but the feeling of the Committee was decidedly adverse to the proposal, and no division was demanded. In Wellington District, Mr Beetham succeeded in getting Wairarapa East and West constituted separate districts in the schedule to the bill. Last night he had moved in a similar direction, but unsuccessfully. The bill was reported to the House with amendments, read a third time, and passed. Mr White, who had moved several amendments unsuccessfully, as a final protest against the measure called for division on its third reading. The third reading was carried by 55 to 21.

TUe Financial Statement. The Trhasctber then delivered the Supplementary Financial Statement, [The Statement is given in another column,] The Treasurer then moved that the Committee do consider the Estimates. Mr HxmsT thought anadjournmenishould be granted, as was customary under such circumstances. The statement juat made •was importanti not to say startling, when compared with the Financial Statement made eight weeks ago. An adjournment was .cuatomary under the circunv Blanceß, and as the gentleman holding the petition of a leader of the Opposition was absent, ib was only reasonable and courteous that the Committee'should adjourn, say, till Friday next. (Mr Brown : " No/) Hon. members said " No, no," but no amount of u noe3" would satisfy him that the country was in a sound position and that the administration was sound and wise. The Chairman of Committees inquired what was the motion proposed by the Colonial Treasurer. The Treasurer : I move that we go on with the postal and telegraph estimates. Mr Moss called attention to the fact that the usual privilege granted to hon. members was to ask questions regarding the statement before a vote was moved. When the vote was moved members were confined to a discussion of the vote before them. The Chairman of Committees: Your experience of Parliament ought to have told you differently, After I have stated what the motion is you can tlien proceed with the discussion, the vote having been stated. Mr Hurst critisised the action of the Government in using the railways as a means of obtaining popularity with the

country instead of as a means of raising revenue. He moved pro fmna to report progress and leave to Bit again, with a view to allowing the hon. member for Bgmont to be in his place, and dealing with the Statement just made in the interests of the country and of the colony generally." The Minister fob Works cave reasons why the Estimates should be considered at once. He was understood to say that con- j siderable reduction had been made m the working expenses of the Kailway Department during the past four months, and further reductions would shortly be made. Mr Bryob said there could be no doubt that the Statement delivered was of considerable importance, and required grave consideration. It deserved discussion, and he took leave to think they must have it. (Hear, hear.) He, however, deprecated the discussion going on tonight, partly for the reason stated by the mombor for Waitemata, that the late Colonial Treasurer was absent, and absent with the leave of the House. It would be better in the interests of the country and of the Houbo that the member for Egmont ahould be present when the financial discussion took place. However, he differed from the member for Waitemata lh this, that he saw do reason why they should not go on with the departmental estimates. Another reason why the financial discussion should not take place at present was, as had been indicated by the Minister, that the Public Works Statement would be delivered before long, and then members would be in a better position to discusa the Financial Statement than at present. Mr Moss said that when he rose previously it was to ask a question, and not to raise discussion. He had asked the Treasurer some weeka ago for a return showing the number of clerks and telegraphists of over five years 1 standing who were in receipt of only £120 a year, but the return had not been supplied. Successive Governments, in bringing down the Estimates, always offered the Telegraph Department as a means of taking off the edge of the Committee's appetite. By this he meant that when the Committee commenced the consideration of the Estimates, they were eager to retrench but this feeling soon wore off. He asserted that the Telegraph Department, in its minor branches, was \ cry poorly paid. Gentlemen receiving _ very small salaries were placed in a position requiring the highest honour as well as considerable j capacity. i Mr Montgomery did not rise for the pur- 1 pose of supporting the motion to report progress, but for the purpose of getting information regarding the causes of the falling off in Customs revenue. He gathered that there was a deficiency in the railway returns for SI days of £20,000. It would be important that they should have the Public Works Statement before them. The Supplementary Statement was a matter for grave consideration. He thought they would require more than seven-eighths of a j penny property tax. The Committee could j not make large reductions in the Estimates j The Government should do it, as they knew j where reductions could be made without affecting the efficiency of the service, j Mr Hurst impressed on tho Commit- , tee the necessity of making the revenue fit the expenditure, instead of vice] versa. Was ha going to eit in the House and perhaps do an injustice to some poor under-paid clerk, while some members of the Government had been spending j large sums for their own comfort and con venience? He desired to see a strong Government in power that would govern the colony as it should be governed, and who would refuse the pressure of their friends. Captain Sutter thought Mr Hurst should iiave moved that the Government take the Estimates back and reduce them by£ 100, 000. It was in the Public Works and Mines Departments where the pruning knife could be employed. Dr, Newman regretted that the classmcation scheme had been deferred^ When members were taking excursion trips in the j Hinemoa, it wag idle talk of retrenchment in civil servants' salaries. Then there had been enormous outlays for cablegrams to England. He expressed the opinion that tho Maoris should be taxed the same as Europeans. At present there were wealthy dark-skinned landlords untaxed. The Colonial Treasurer replied to Borne remarks that bad been made. He Haiti it was a good thing there were some sanguine men in the House to counteract the doleful aspect taken by other members. The country was suffering to a certain extent from the low price of meat and wool, and there was this misfortune to be deplorei, that the people were living more or less on capital already acquired (laughter), but it was a libel on the position of the colony- to aay that things were in that depreeeed state that certain members apprehended. The railway revenue for last four months was less than anticipated and less for the corresponding period last year, but that was incidentally due to the direction of business. He assured hon. members that unless something unforeseen occurred, there would be a surplus at the end of the year. It was not right for members to run down the position and resources of the colony. (Hear. ) i He agreed with member for Waitotara that discussion on the financial proposals should | be adjourned till the ex-Treasurer returned, ! and that the departmental estimates should be discussed in the meantime. He was sorry that the Postal Department report was not down, it having been delayed owing to the large amount of work in the Printing-office ; but it would be brought down in the course of a few days. A statement for the year ending 3 1st March last gave a balance of revenue over expenditure of £27,427. Mr W. F. BuckliAND denied that any reduction could be made in Postmaster General and Commissioner of Telegraphs Department. Increase of stamp duty was not a sign of prosperity ; that increase meant forced sales at auction. The motion to report progress was lost on the voices. The estimates were then considered . General poet-office, £7,734. This item was carried, without discuisaion. On the item, chief offices and sub-offices, £118,992, Mr Aliavright inquired why so many country postmasters had been reduced. The Treasurer replied that they would get fees for insurance work. The vote passed as printed. After a slight discussion, the following items also passed as printed : —Maintenance, repairs, and miscellaneous, £39,792 j telegraph cable subsidies, £5,350 ; conveyance of mails by sea, £78,890 ; conveyance of inland mails, £27,760 ; carriage of mails by rail, £1,000 Class 111., Lands and Deeds Registry, £18,635, passed as printed ', miscellaneous services, £525, passed j Class VI., Commissioner Trade and Customs, £43,941, paesed. Marine and harbours, £34,933: Mr Peacock asked if vote for the seal protection vessel Kekeno could not be struck out.— Mr Lakhaoh said the aervicea of the vessel were valuable j besides protecting the seal fisheries, she visited and kept up depots for shipwrecked seamen. Miscellaneous services, £8,000 for the Hinemoa.— Mr Guinness moved that this vote be struck out ; on division, lost by 42 voted to 3. A motion to report progress was then pat» and the House rose at 12,45 a.m.