OPUNAKE HARBOR BILL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 235, 28 September 1908, Page 4

OPUNAKE HARBOR BILL.

i In tho Legislative Council last wee!;, the Hon. Mr. Samuel, in moving tile third reading of this Dili, desired to place on ii'ieord tile grateful appreciation of The pimple of Taranaki of the treatment the Legislature had accorded iti> liie Hill, and die accompanying■ iiiuas,uii", the New llviuouth llarliour Loan Empowering .Dill. Tin" .people of that .district Im.il welcomed iwhal they rs-

suuied to. ,be t'lw practical pytws-ijg of i these ainasiiires" almost unanimously. Jle vhM not know when for .ye.u-s pa.t. any event had 'Uiuscd .more general saltofaction throughout the district. Tim two Hills were introduced together thi- i .session, and in every instance. !i" tlnoug'b't, \v<"ii. discussed on the same .day, and doubtless would have pissed. together ithrough that .Chamber had it, not Jieciii that the standing orders reiptired the Upunake Bill to .be postponed as to it,s third reading in consequence «>i some amendments having been made in C'oiinuiltee. The |W»s,iug of these twM measures .marked an era in the progress of Taniuaki. Upwards of, 1 thirty years ago in the New Plymouth harbor rating district, which had now practically ceased to exist, was .formed, -and it h«d .served its purpose, .ltd Ivan had been raised, and the .moneys had tended ill a very great degree to produce the great "prosperity of the particular idi'trict .served by thai luir.boilr during the past years. P.y the operation of ifour Uills .the old district had been dividtd into .four—Mokau in IDOO, Waitara last session, and Upunake and New Plymouth this .sn'ssion. As regarded Mokau, a. measure would 1145:1 in bave to come before I'arliameoit if that idistrijo "were to .be properly servtd. .Tho Bill constituting the. district proivided no machinery for providing for the wtints of the settlers, and the ex;penditure of money was now sadly nei'dxA : there. lie trusted that before long the ■Legislature would luive an opportunity of dealing with that district, and, of providing it with the shipping and .otter facilities which it certainly required. As regarded .Waitara, a liill was passed liaslt scission instead of this, and .the result was .deplorable. Fulsome time past, and up to the present moment, the unfortunate Board whi-'li .db'taSned that Act had been piteously suing .the tiovernineait to come to its and, and to enable it to carry out what .wtos certainly necessary, and .what lie had previously asserted was necessary. fThe worlra which had been alleged as ito eKeuse for pushing on the Bill last; session, if Jotting then, Were rotting, rititl, and as tire effect of that Act passing they would, he feared, continue to I rot. for another year. He did not intend .proceeding further on this »übje?t, 1 exieep/t to say that he felt, it right to inform honourable gentlemen that nut only wer<s the eilurtts he had made to .prevent that Bill (passing justified by (What had since happened, ibut also that ,the kind consideration unanimously accorded to Mm by the Council whilst toe.■was making those efforts had been also 'amply justified. He "hoped the tiovernmient would Kome to the aid of Waitara, fciml recognise -tlrait the Bill having been .passed last session, instead of being delayed and becoming -a properly modelled 'otae Uiis session, had debarred the'Waitaira Board from performing its duties efficiently, and .had prevented the raising of funds for another .year yet to iconic. In another respect ttlie Act of last s ession was unsatisfactory, as iti htid left Wiiitara liaible for the loan raised .by New Plymouth in the past. and for loaais hereafter to be raised to itlie extent of aliout ,C135.II(I(I—a stale iof -things which none of them desired, Jmt a state of tWiugs, -moreover, whichmas anticipated and predicted .by .these iwlio knew how badly the measure lia.i ibetn drafted, and how wrong it wars to press it on pri-ina'turely as i> had been pressed. The only effect of the iinl'.uituii'ate Bill .was to prevent the Wiiitara. iHarb'otir .Hoard coming before the i'arJiament Uliis and .obtaining p:v>l]H>r legisiliition which \\\>\M have enabled the Hoard to-do what was desired. as was now the case with (Ipuuake and .New Plynmutli. They tad found out■how hurtful the Bill ,was, hut it was ■too jnu(-li to -expec-t that they should; •proceed til mtvodnee another Hill this session after flip, acclamation with which I'll 1 !" unfortuntite .measure lv.nl been received— -after the bani[iiet and substantial presen'ts given to show appreciation of tlie action of those who had helped in passing it. After tliiit it coidd not ■be expected tliat in the t'ollttwing ses-> siott the liWTissary steps should he taken to repeal it. ile hoped the (Joverninent. would extend .kind nmsiderati in ■to the»-;e people, and provide them with •tl» fluids filial .were afe'ofctely lie; 3 ." sary to prevent the svorks front rotting and falling asunder. . TV Hon. Dr. J'indlay asked what; "question the honourable gentleman was dTsciwsing. The .Hon. „\fr. Samuel raid he had insinaged to get in wliat be had wanted' to say. vand he thought flie honourable fientlem™ would ieei no .surprise that ■he Irad taken the iipportunitv of,doing; so. , Respecting the prcseu't Hill, whilst : he was not res|K)iisiUle for the drafting "of t'li* measure, he believed it wouid »rrt" am in«|iort;int district, and a- district that would become .more, important if only facilfties 'for shippinjg its produce could be afforded 'to it. \Vh-n lonce they -were aide to take advantago of /the machinery afforded by the Bill , 'lVir raising Joans under it—although he 1 donated iwbcOher they would be able, to do svo .for a. year or s*> —he hoped that l it would serve the purposes of those who had introduced it, in it hat it "Would: ■tend to increase the prosperity of thesettlers and the district. The Bill w-as -read the third time.