GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1385, 29 August 1885, Page 1

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

The Legislative Council met at 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday. Mr Bathgate moved for a return of commiss-'on, etc., ch \rged by the Bank of New Zealand.—Agreed to.

The evidence taken before the Government Prini'ng Commi, tee was ordered to be printed. Sir F. Whitaker moved the second leading of the Legisla.ive Council Bill. He reviewed the evidence taekn by a select Committee of the Council on the subject of the reform of the Council, and explained the scope of h's Bill at some length. He thought his propos. >s were very moderate, simple and teusonable.— Mr Bathgate spoke against the Bill, and Dr Grace for it, and the debate was adjourned.

The Employment of Fema’es Bill was passed.

Oc the motion that the Presbyterian Church Property Bill be read a tliitd time Mr Sbrimski moved that it he lead in three months.—A division then took place on the question that the Bill bo now read a third lime. The voting was equal, and the Speaker gave his casting vote with the noes.—-The question that the Bill be ordered to be read in three months was adjourned t’ll next week. The Council adjourned at o.LO. p.m.

BOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

The House met at 2.30 p.m on Wednesday. Replying to questions Ministers etaUd : That Government will make enquiries into the necessity for a monthly silling of the Resident Magistrate at Kaiiangaia; lbat Government were considering the advisability of making constables in agricultural distnc's Inspectors under the Rabbit Nuisance Act, 1832.

Replying to Mr Rolles.’.on whether the Government have obtained a report as to the working of the Contagious Diseases Act in the colony during the past year, and whether, in view of the statements made by rhe Res’denL Magistrate in Christolni-.cli as 10 >be evi's which have ensued upon the of the operation of the Act in Chris.chinch as to the spread of rhe class of disease dealt whir under the Act, the Government will take steps to bring the Act hr.o operation throughout the colony, by (be introd. rrion of cianses into hire Hospna’s and Charitable Aid Bid. or otherwise, (be Hon. Mr Tole said be had received a report on (he subject, which be woo’d lay on the Tab'e, As for the s- cond par tof the question, the local bodies were fully empowered to cany out ihe provisions of rhe Act, and it was not a question for Pa,l (ament.

Tlie Hon. Hr S'oot made a lalemont as vo the measures proposed to be dealt wiib this set'ion. He said that at ibis la,e sage of He sesion the Governmo'B did not pi otiose to proceed wiih the Mumcipal Corooiations IMI, or the Reproseniai'on Bill. The Magis.-pa ? Court Bill ami the (Jiimmal Code HMI. ho consideied, were simply coosobdaGon measures, ?nd he would ask die House to deal wuh them considerately. They would he able to proceed with the other Bibs on life Order Paper this session.

Major Atkinson said lie desired to inform die Government diat he intended proposing a seiies of resolutions traversing the financial proposals of ll.e Government in the direc mn of limiting the expenditure on the Public Works Fund ; also traversing' the E.-st and West Coast Bailway, Hie new loan, and other matters. He would as* that ihe Government should set aside the following evening for dealing with the resolutions : if not, he sbculd have to content hims-lf with moving diem on ihe motion to go into Gommu-toe of Supply. AC or a short debate the Hon. Mr S out rongralula' 1 the Opposition in having at length found a le. der. He thought it was only reasonable to ask for an adjournment I’d 10-tronoiv night. No doubt the leader of the Opposition requ'red time to consult his supporters, and to get sufficient voles for his motionHe would therefore ask that the House should adjourn till to-morrow evening at half-past seven. The motion was agreed to, and the House rose at 3.30 p.m.

The House met at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Major Atkinson said before moving die resolutions, he should like to ask the Government whether they would take one debate on (he whele of the resolutions, or would desire to have a debate on each of the resold lions. The Hon. Mr Stout said it was a most extraordinary request foe the leader of the Opposition to ask the Government bow he should move a no-confidence motion. Major Atkinson said he desired to save time by asking for one debate. If the Government did not wish to save the time of the country it was no fault of the Opposition. He then went on to describe the position of the parties in the. House, and the position of the Government in regard to their followers. He said the Government sat on the Benches at the dictation of the Opposition, and were content to take back all their measures in obedience to the will of the House. The Opposition, on the contrary, had done their best to assist to Government in carrying out usetul measures. They were at first too weak to carry a noconfidence motion against the Government, but were strong enough to compel the Ministry to take back all their objecilonab’e measures. The Opposition, therefor.', feeling it was not desirab'e that such a set of men should reinam in office, had to consider whether it was not their duly to support any honest Government as against the present M nisl.y, and they were willing to support either Mr Ormond or Mr Montgomery or any member outside of their own parly that they thought would carry on the Government of f he country satisfactory.

He thought he was only fulfilling the duty of the Opposition by proposing the resolution he had given notice of, and ho consideted they had a perfect right to direct the attention of the country to the extravagant proposals if the Government. If the Government desired to treat the resolution as a want of confidence, let them do so. Whatever the issue was, the Opposition would not shrink from the consequences. Referring to the state of the finances, he admitted there was a deficit in 1883-84, which had been made a great deal of, but by his (Major Atkinson’s) proposals for meeting the deficit there would have been a surplus of £IOO,OOP. The Treasurer came info office with a distinct purpose to reduce taxation greatly, and to abolish that most iniquitous imposition, the property tax ; but he actually increased that tax on two Occasions. He contrasted Sir Julius Yoge 1 ’a ~pe r form a nee with tb&promises he bad made;. He contended that the Treasurer had failed absolutely to carry out bis promises, and that his utterances were simply electioneering speeches. He had made no honest attempt to fulfil his promises. He (Major Atkinson) had already shown that in every class of the Estimates, except in the Colonial Secretary’s there hggl been no saving effected. He referred at Borne length to the Public Works Fund, which more immediately concerned his first resolution, and said there would be no difficulty in reducing the expenditure under this head if the Government so desired It. He was asking the House to pass a resolution that the fur the years 1885 36 should not exceed £1,000,000, which he considered was perfectly reasonable. He trusted the House had awoke, to Hm necessity of keeping the expenditure within reasonable limits ; if not, they would have to face difficulties which lie would not like to name. He contended the amount they were now spending in permanent works was £1,870,000. He might be told by the Minister for Public Wmks that it was absurd to keep the expenditure within the million, but he drought there was no.hing absurd about it. The Government were not nosing fairly with the House, as Urey had been le'.ting contracts to the amount of £600,000 since the beginning of the year. He contended that the Government during the last twelve months had been issuing 4£ per cent, debentures to recoup Hie Sinking Fund, while at the same time increasing~the property tax by an eighth. He would simply say in conclusion that lie booed the House would look at the resolution li’otn a sense of duty'. 1 here were times when they bad duliea outside of parlies to perform, and lie ventured iu think that no member in the House could honestly say they were justified in incurring an expenditure of more than a raiilion. The whole of the Treasurer’s proposal was to enable local bodies to obtain borrowed money to render their existence possible. He hoped the House would agree to the resolution that the ex penditure from the Public Works Fund for the year 1835-86 should not exceed £1,000,000. The Hon. Mr Stout said the House and the country would be greatly dissappointed with the speech of the lion, gentleman. The hon, member was evidently afraid to put forward his policy as a whole, but moved bis resolutions seriatim in order to catch voles. Pie would ask whether this was a manly course to pursue. He thought it was a miserable position for the leader of the (deposition to take up. Hefei ring to the efi'ect of the Customs tariff, ho siid they found the Member for Egmonr, a pro-, nun need Protectionist, voting against the Government proposals merely to gain a few votes. Pie (Mr Stout) contended the Government bad passed some very useful measures, such as the Hospial and Gnaritable Aid Bill, the Land Bib, and other beneficial measures. As to the Public Works Fund, Major Atkinson bad complained that the present Government asked for too large votes under this head. H« contended that when the hon. gentleman was in offire, he Had frequently i tcurred llabidt 6t in excess of the votes of the House. la 1884 His expenditure was at the rate of £1,700,000 a year. When the present Government took office the rate of expenditure they had to meet was a million and a half, and they had to reduce it to £1,300,000. The hon. gentleman ha I ano ieft liabilities to the extent of £1,223,580, and at the end of the year they bad shown a decrease in those liabilities. He denied that the Government proposals were either extravagant or unfair, IE they could keep their expenditure within one .million and a quarter they would be more economical than the late Government had ever been. With reference to the position of the Mhiis : ry, he did not believe that a inajotily of the House were against them. He believed the hon. Member for Egmnrit would be perfectly willing to take Sir Julius Yogel into His I ! abinet if be were to form one. If he had moved his resolutions as a whole, (hey would have been able to show a good record in favor of the Government. When the proper time came be (Mr Stout) would point out that no Government had ever striven more faithfully to do the work of the colony titan the present one. If the House desired a repetition of the “ continuous ministry,” lot them say so. Mr Macand 'ew said he desired to move an amendment to the effect—“ That Ht is inexpedient that a discussion should take place on the Estimates in the form of a resolution, and that it is inadvisable to raise the question of a new loan till (lie necessity for such has been shown after the Est'in iteSjhave been discussed.” lie (bought there were few meinl""* in the House who did not agree with, some m the resolutions, and probably with I be whole of them. Ho did not ag'<*e with the portion of the resolution dealing the Ess 1 : and W>st Const rail wa rs he considered the Government sh-nH so i.e time ago have undertaken (hat w...k. As to the loan he was not aware that the

Government felt very strongly on that pont. He thought the Member for Egmonf was the last man in the House who should object to the proposals of tho North Island Trunk railway. He contended it was absolutely impossible to reduce the Estimates this year by £30,000. This resolution was not one for the House to consider at all. The question was whether the Member for Earnout and his colleagues were to return ;o ■ ffice. If he (Mr Macandrew) thought tint any change of Government would r« i've the wretched condition-of the country, ho should vote most heartily for it.

Mr Wal efiHd then spoke strongly against the Ministry, concluding by staling thar, for himself, he approached the subject free from party feeling, and he hope I, if p ’ssible, that the resolutions would be carried without leading to the removal of the Ministry. He thought it behoved the'House to Bee that they should l not sanction nn expenditure .which would certainly lead to disaster. He thought i lie House should insist on a reduction of expenditure and also insist on refusing to allow any extra taxation being imposed. Mr Montgomery said he should have to vote for the amendment, not bee >use ha had the least confidence ir. the prrsent Ministry but because he could not be a p >ny to reinstating the lion. Memb'-r or Mount Egmont in office. Mr Hurst supported the resolution, as he (bought one million was us much as the country could afford to spend.

Major Atkinson briefly replied ao the Premier’s remarks, stating th»*t the i on. gentleman had nut attempted to prove ■he country could afford the large pjcrwndi!nre asked for. He thought the Government most unfortunate m selecting the Member fur Port Clialmers to move Ihe amendment. Mr Maeandrew had no f.itb in him (Major Atkinson), hut fna speech bad shown that he also had none in the present Government, He dared the Premier to lake the vote of the House wiibont the amendment, bn l be knew tbe Premier would not do so. He thought it should go forth to the country that the Member for Akarou was responsible for l.e p ; ng the Government on the Bundies a GoverntYient whi--h that same hon. >< nlloman considered it was not safe in he imeres's of the colony to keep in .Mice.

Sir Julies Yogd then defended the pi,hey of the Government. In regard to t'ne extiavagance on tbiv nart of the Government, he quoted fr>m returns to show I hat, there was a redaction of £56,000 in the present. Estimates. Ha congratulated the Member fur Rgmonton the greatest piece of assurance that had ever been perpetrated, as one of hia'resolutions proposed a reduction of £30,000, whereas it was known that the Government themselves had proposed to reduce th m by £29.000, so that the House was asked to treat, a sum of £IOOO as a nocor fldence motion.

The amendment was then put and carried on a division by 51 io 39, the following b-ing the division list; — Ayes, 39.—Atkinson, Beelham, Bruce, Buchanan, Rockland J. 0, Buckland W. F„ Conolly, Dargaville, Dodson, Fergus, Fisher, Fulton, Grey, Hamlin, Hirst IL, Hialop, Hobl>s, Hurst W. J., Johnston, Lake, Macarthur, Mitchelaon, Moa;, Newman, Ormond, Peacock, Fyke, Uichardsou G. F, Roheston, Ros , Russell, Sutter, Thomson J. W., Trimble, Wakefield, Whyte J. 8,, Wilson,..Reid, Noes, 51All wiight, B ilPnce, Banon, Bevan, Bradshaw, Brown, Cadman, Cowan, Duncan, Fitzherbert, Fraser, Carricks, Gore, Giace/Guiuness, Hakuene Harper, Hatch, Holmes, Uursthouse, tvess, Joyce, Kerr, Lance, Larnach, Levestam, McKenzie J., McMillan, Menteath, Montgomery, Moss, O’Callaghan, O’Conor, Pearson, A'i Pere, , Rees, Ricliardson E., Samuel, Seddon, Smith, Steward W. J., Steward W, D., Stout, Te Ao, Thompson T., dole, Turnbull, Vogel, Walker, White W. Pair. —Aye : Locke Ho : Pratt. Mr Pyke then moved as a further am m Im'ent— “ That the policy of .the Government, as disclosed by the Public Works Statem n n*’, is riot satisfactory to the House.” In doing so he churned 'he vote of the Member for Akaroa, The amendment was l"8t by 43 f,0;39...

Mr Hislop moved an addition to Mr Macandrew’s amendment, “ and still the Government is so constituted as [ iot?J to comm and the’confidence of the House. [Left sitting.]

The following are Major Atkinson's resolutions That having in view the financial position of the colony, this House is of opinion—(l) That the expend!'ure fiom the Public Works Fund for llis year 1885-80 should riot exceed £1,000,000 ; (2) ,Tnat .it is not desirable at present that the Government should undertake the construction of‘the East and West Coast and Nafson Railways ; (3) That no new- loans should be authorised tins session ; (4) That one of the principal objects of the construction of the North Island Trunk Railwaying to open the interior of the North Island for settlement, and seeing that Hie Government has failed to make arrangements for securing the land necessary'-for this purpose, no further expenditure 'should b« incurred beyond the present contracts and for the completing of the forking survey, until satisfactory . arrangements have been made for the acquisition bf not less limn acres of land for settlement ; (5) That, a reduction of not less him £30,000 upon tlm Estimates of the Coi.s o-dated Fund as hrought-down-ahou d i,- mad.- for the year l. c ß'*-BG. and i ro- ,| ~| not has ilnn £BO.OOO tor the v ar 1830-87, whlmm I• •.nslmiing any of

II,„ .iinl II w cl M- ged lie 0 M. till* {; .Orhited Fund Ina.n Account ; (0) T'licr. the Go"ernmcjnt be mpiesled in 1 iiii• it’-n ■n-n ,■ • live lie I w iU) iihyve resolutions,”