PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 118, 12 May 1870, Page 5

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Friday— (Continued. ) OTAGO REPRESENTATION BILL. Mr. GILLIKS moved the second reading of this Hill. He did not enter into the merits of tlie Bill, but simply dealt with objections which had been raised by several members of Council against its being brought forward this session, on the plea that such a cause would be breaking faith with the Province of Southland, as the Council had agreed to recommend, tlie re-uiiion of the two provinces. He argued that if the Bill were read a second time and discussed, the members of the Assembly, who were not acquainted with the requirements of Otago, might have an opportunity of becoming posted up in the measure ; besides, if it was not now considered, a special session might be found necessary to consider it. Mr. lIAGGITT seconded. Mr. SHEPHERD entirely disagreed with section two of the Bill, which reduced the number of Councillors from 38 to 24, and considered there was no greater safety to the public, in the proper conduct of the public service, than a large number of members. Bribery and corruption always existed more rankly in small representative bodies, and it was much more difficult to secure a party amongst 40 than amongst 20 members. He had known as many as seven members to be under the direct control of the Government benches, and by that means the Government easily carried its measures. Parties had been nicely balanced for the last three or four years, but if the Council were reduced to 24, such a thing would be impossible. He proposed at the proper time moving an amendment by which the present number would be maintained. He agreed that the electoral boundaries should be readjusted, and asked if anything could be conceived more invidious and absurd than that Dunedin should have seven

members. London, which contained several millions of people, only returned four members. (Here Mr. Shepherd departs from fact. When he says London, we suppose he means London city ; but then London city does not contain several millions of people — several thousands would be nearer the mark. The London which contains several millions of people returns some 20 or 30 members, if we are not mistaken, so that Mr. Shepherd's figures are considerably out on this point, as they are on many others.) He had fixed upon four a3 a fair representation for Dunedin. As he understood the number of representatives was an open question, he would vote for the second reading of the Bill. Mr. M'DERMID said that while a reduction in the number of members might expedite biisiness, and lessen the expense of country members, on the other hand, the six members on the Government benches would be able to force the Council to do anything they liked. He begged to move that the Bill be read a second time that day six months. Mr. SEATON seconded. Mr. THOMSON was sorry the amendment had been moved. A readjustment of the representation was quite necessary, but he was opposed to a reduction in the number of members. Mr. MOSLEY was of a similar opinion. Mr. M'INDOE was greatly in favour of reducing the number of members to 24. He believed in regulating the representation by the population. He could not support the amendment. Mr. IIAUGIITON could not see any advantage that could be gained by the amendment. He did not consider that 38 members were too many to leok after a revenue of £300,000 or £400,000. He should support the second reading of the bill. At the usual time the Council adjourned till seven o'clock in the evening. At that hour there was not a quoimu, and the Speaker declared the House adjourned till Monday at two o'clock. Monday, May 9. Mr. SHEPHERD again brought, forward his motion that the Standing Orders be suspended in order that he might move his pet resolution, "(1.) That this Council is of opinion that hokleis of miners' rights and business licenses within the Province of Otago should be maintained in their existing electoral rights in connection with the House of Representatives and Provincial Conucil. (2) That a copy of the above resolution be forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with a reqiiest that he will lay it on the table of the House of Representatives. " The SPEAKER drew Mr. Shepherd's atteution to the fact that two-thirds of the members were not present, therefore he could not allow him to move the suspension of the Standing Orders. MANHOOD SUFFRAGE. Mr. HAUGHTON moved his resolution fcr Manhood Suffrage, and supported it in a very temperate speech. lie said the number of males in the province over twenty-one years of age was 19,203, whilst the number of electors was only 9512, and thus those deprived of the right amounted to 9691, or in round numbers, 10,000 men were, by that law, deprived of franchise, I low had that worked ? Had the result been satfisactory in the South Island 1 Had it been satisfactory in the North Island ? He said no. If manhood suffrage had been in force for the past ten years there would not have been that ignorance of Native affairs in New Zealand which had impelled successive Governments on to the wretched and destructive policy that had been pursued. He did not speak of one Government, or of another, but of them all. He believed they owed the three million loan to the Soulh Island — to this province. The present constitution had been framed by the Imperial Parliament, but he maintained that a people had a perfect right to establish its own franchise. Considering they hud that right, the question was in what direction was it best to alter the franchise. In this colony there were not the same class distinctions as in the home country, one man was as good as another, and, in many cases, Jack was better than his master. They must therefore acknowledge that there was no social reason why one class should possess political privileges over another. The only disqualifications to a vote should be these — Idiots and lunatics, and persons living in eleemosynary institutions on the charity of the colony. There should also be an educational test, for in a country like this, whore the means of education were so easily attainable, he thought that every man having a vote should, at least, be able to fill up his registration paper. J. Stuart Mill went further than that, and suggested that no man who could not work the fundamental rules of arithmetic, should be entitled to vote. He, however, simply said, reading and writing. An argument frequently used against manhood suffrage was that property must be represented, and unless it were, there was danger to the whole state. That was the old cry by those who had so long formed the governing power, and who seemed to think there was no interest to be considered but one. Like the refrain in Tennyson's new poem, it was nothing but "proputty, proputty, proputty." But ho met them by saying that the representation of property in the colony was ah anomaly. The man with £10,000 a year had only one vote for his property, aud the man having a pigstye worth £5 had the same. There were in the city four or five hundred young men living in lodgings or in hotels, and having no vote, while the small storekeeper -or bottle license holder, from whom they bought their cheese, had one on account of his property. Were the votes of these young men less intelligent than tho3e of a few holders of bottle licenses outside the town ? Mr. MILLAR seconded the motion. Mr. SHEPHERD thought the franchise of New Zealand was the most liberal of any under the British flag. Mr. ASHCROFT— The extension of the franchise was a piece of popular claptrap. Mr. GTLLIES and Mr. M'INDOE supported the motion. Capt. M'KENZJE moved the following amendment: — "That this Council is of opinion that the present system of fr.ui-

t ehise should be extended so as to includo that numerous class who neither hols I property nor are householders, and that it is desirable that the subject should be taken up during the ensuing session of the General Assembly." Mr. FRANCE seconded. Mr. AS[ICL!OFr said the amendment was not a well-considered one ; and everything that was really wished for might be obtained by striking out the words after "people" in the original motion. Capt. M'KENZIE then asked leave to withdraw his amendment in favour of Mr AshcroftV which was granted. Several other members spoke, when, at the usual hour of adjournment, the Ilou&e rose till seven o'clock. otago representation bill. t The debate on the amendment to this Bill, viz., "That it be read^this day six months," was resumed when the House met in the evening. After considerable discussion the House divided on the amendment, with the following result : — For, 14 ; against, 18. A select committee, to deal with the Bill, was then elected, consisting of Messrs France, Sibbakl, Turnbnll, Haggitt, Clark and Mitchell, and Mr. Mosley; who moved for the appointment of the committee. Tuesday, 10th May. southern trunk railway. Mr. DUN' CAN laid upon the table the following return showing the expenditure incurr-d in connection with the Southern Trunk Railway, continued from a return published at a former time :—": — " From the Ist October, 1564, down to the 31st March, 1867, there was expended LI 1,1.3 sa. Bd. During the financial year, ending the 31st March last, there was spent as follows : — Travelling expenses, Lls ; law charges, L 321 Bs. ; advertising, printing, &c, Lll7 10s. 10s. ; compensation for land, L 250 lGs. 2d. ; engineer charges, L2S9 16s. 6d. ; and sundries, L 4 ss. (id. So that there has been expended in preliminary expenses down to the present time no less than L 12,122 Is. BJ." TUB LAWRENCE AXHEXiEUM. Mr. BROWN moved, " That the Government be requested to bring in a "Bill giving power to the Committee of ment of the Lawrence A'henseum, with the consent of the Superintendent, to lease the reserve set apart as an endowment for that institution." The motion was seconded a id carried. VEHICLES. Mr. SHEPHERD moved, "That it is desirable that the weight carried by drays, waggons, and other weight carrying vehicles on the roads of the province, also, the width of the tires of" wheels of Mime, should be regulated by Ordinance, ctnd that the Government take steps to cairy the above resolution into effect during the session." Mr. ASIIOROFT said when the hoi?, member (Mr. Shepherd) caused motions to be placed on the papur, he should at least see that the words were correctly spelled. He referred to the word "t res,"'' in the hon. member's motion. The hor. - member ought to have been aware that the word in the sense he meant it to apply was not spelled correctly. The hon . member was no doubt well acquainted with the word " tires,' 7 for he often "tired" the Council — (laughter)— but the word used in the sense which the hon. member had used it, was not properly spelled.— ('Oh, oh, and laughter). Mr. HAUGHTON hoped that, like other propositions of the hon. member, it would go forth to the miners that a representative of the Goldfields had tabled a motion for the express purpose of doubling the price of provisions.— (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Mr. SHEPHERD, who during the dobate had been f urnished with the Imperial Dictionary, remarked that the hon. member for Oamaru (Mr. Ashcroft) had taken it upon himself to lecture him regarding hi 3 knowledge of orthography, and in doing so he had displayed his own ignorance, and given him (Mr. Shepherd) an opportunity of breaking that fly upon the wheel. — (Laughter.) The hon. member had presumed upon his knowledge and education to teach him how to spell ; the hon. member had told that honourable House that he did not know how to spell the word " tires." — (Laughter.) lie (Mr. Shepherd) had spelled the word " t-i-r-e-s," and he had consulted the Imperial Dictionary and found that tho proper way to spell the word was "t-i-r-e-s." Mr. ASHCROFT : So much the worao for the dictionary. Mr. SHEPHERD then caused some amusement by giving a definition of the word, and said that the hon. member (Mr. Ashcrort) had not only lectured him verbally and orally in the Council, but had also written articles for the evening paper, instructing him in his duties as a member of the Council. — (Laughter.) Mr. ASHCROFT : I am much obliged to the hon. member for giving me an opportunity of stating in this House what I have already stated privately— that I did no such thing. The hon. member by the statement he has made has not shown himself .to be a gentleman. — (Cries of oh, oh, order, and laughter.) Mr. ASHCROFT : I withdraw the expression, but I must say that the hon. member, if he had been a gentleman. — (Renewed laughter, and cries of order, order.) After some further discussion a division was taken, which resulted as follows : — Ayes, 15 ; noes, 11. PRIVILEGE. Mr. SHEPHERD, as usual, had another question of privilege to submit to the Council. An article had appeared iv the " Evening Star " which gave him tjreab dissatisfaction; it had stated that "the gratification of his vanity had cost the province LIOO and the miners their present franchise. Mr. Haughton suggested that the article should be read ; but as '■ a matter of course the hon. member would not make a fool of himself to that extent. He complained that the article was very long. The Speaker told him if he had been injured, ha ha.l his remedy at law. Mr. Shepherd replied, " Then I assure you that if I have a remedy at law I will take it." The Southern Trunk Railway adjourned debite as to certain pioposad deviations from line of survey was then opened, and a committee appointed to enquire into tlie matter. Several other matters were afterwards disposed of, and several notices of motion laid on tli3 table, after which t!.e Counc adjourned to Wednesday.