PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 358, 23 May 1874, Page 3

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

( v , - Titk£day, 19th Max., , Mr. J. C. Brown presented a petition from 56 landowners and residents in Waitahuna "West District, praying' thatf a certain line of road already surveyed might be opened up for traffic. , Mr. Ireland presented a petition from the Mount Benger Progress Committee, praying for the .extension of the Totomairiro and Lawrence Railway to Roxburgh. Several private petitions -were then disposed of. POET CHALMEBS BAII/WAY. The Belect Committee appointed to enquire into the working of the Port Chalmers Railway brought up their report! They recommended 1000 ft of additional jetty, £20,000 ; loop line (quarter mile), £1500 ; 140 new trucks, £14,000 5 four new engines, £10,000 ; cost of cranes; £3000; shed accommodation,' say £55,00 ; total, £54,000. • ' OAHABTJ HABBOB WOBEB. A message from the Superintendent, recommending the expenditure of a further sum of, not exceeding, £50.000 on the above works was received. With a view to give effect to this proposal, a Bill will be submitted to the Provincial Council, having for its object the incorporating of the Oamaru Dock Board into a Harbor Trust, in terms of " The Harbor Boards Act, 1870." In order that the money may be more readily obtained and raised upon the lowest terms, it is pro- ' posed, that, in addition to'the security of the revenue of the Harbor Trust, there shall be tlie collateral consideration of which the Provincial Government shall have the power until the liability of the Provinces ceases, of regulating the tunnage dues., A motion was agreed to by the Council that a Bill be introduced as recommended in his Honor's message. QUABBY BESERVE. -■' I A motion by Mr. Reid was agreed to, that section 14, block xxvii., Tokomairiro district, be set apart as a quarry reserve. ENQUIRY INTO AFFAIBS OF TEEAStFBY DEPARTMENT. Mr. Fish moved— "That a Select Committee be appointed to enquire into all matters connected with the Treasury Department, with power to call for persons and papers, and to report within seven days." The motion was considered by the Government to be tantamount to want of confidence, and the result proved the strengtli of the G-overnment. The motion as stated in our telegrams was loet by 19 votes against 11. There was no discussion whatever on the motion, Mr. Fish being the only speaker. LITHOGRAPHIC MAPS. Mr 1 J. C. Brown moved — "That for the public convenience the Government be roquested, whenever practicable, to cause lithographic maps .to be posted on the walls in each Land Office within the Province of Otago, showing all lands ope* for sale or lease in the respective districts where such Land Office is situated r Also indicating the sections as are reserved from sale sold or leased by distinctive colours on the sections so dealt with." Several honourable members supported the motion, which was agreed to. GOLDFIELDS DTTMMYISM. Mr. G-. F. 0. Browne moved—'- That in consequence of a large amount of land being taken up under the Agricultural Lease Reguletions on the Goldfields (under the dummy system), in the opinion of the Council it is cxpedieut that an officer be at once appointed to see that the regulations are complied with — viz., that the holders of the different sections shall cultivate not less than one-eighth, and fence not less than one-half, of the seption so taken up within twelve months after the commencement of the term," Within the last month or so, fuily 10,000 acres had been taker up under the system lie complained of, in the Tuapeka district. The present officers could see that the Regulations were put in force. Mr. Bastings agreed with the motion, but thought it might be framed to meet another matter. He would therefore movs an amendment — "That in order to enforfe the regulations under the Agricultural Lease and Deferred Payment system, and to prevent dummyism; it is necessary that an officer should be appointed to see that the conditions imposed are. complied with." Mr. Reid quite agreed with the < desirability of appointing some officer, but it was not necessary that a fresh officer Bhould be employed. With reference to the Waste Lands Act, he did not think the Government had power to deal with the matter. The amendment was carried. THE LATE EXECUTIVE.' Mr. .Fish moved, '' That a select committee be appointed for the purpose of inquiring into the acceptance, by the late Executive,'of tenders for the construction of the light railways, and also all circumstance's in connection with, the expenditure of money on road Tokomairiro to Lawrence : such committee to consist of Mr. Speaker (with his consent), the Hon. Dr. Menzies, Messrs. Davie, Green, Oliver/ Roberts, *nd -the mover, and to have power to call for persons and papers, and report." The hon. - member explained that he had placed the motion on the paper at the request of the hon. member for Tuapeka (Mr. Bastings). That hon. member was desirous that inquiries should be > made into the matter concerning the tenders, and also as regarded the Tokomairiro to Lawrence Road. He (Mr. Fish) apprehended that* a sense of honour and fair play would induce hon. members to grant the committee asked for. The motion was" carried. HTTNDBEDS. The Secretary for Lands and Works moved, " This Council, having had under its considertion his Honor's Message No. 7, approves of the proposals therein oontained, and respectfully requests his Honor to recommend his Excellency the Governor to proclaim the several Hundreds with the boundaries therein named, in terms of the 26th section of the • Otago Waste Lands Act, 1872." Mr. Bastings argued that it would be better to borrow money for their public works ifhan sacrifice the land in the way proposed by these Hundreds. Mr. Wilson moved as an amendment, to be added to the motion, that the land set forth in the Superintendent's message be protected for bona fide settlement by alternate sections so far as practicable. The Hon. Dr. Menzies believed that the difficulty would to some extent be obviated if the land were laid Out in from 200 to 600 acre sections, with a certain proportion of good and a certain proportion of inferior land intermixed. ■ Mr. Stout contended that the evil of land "monopoly was as great in the hands of small holders as in that of the largo ones. He was prepared to go to the full extreme, whether the Government supported him or not, and say that the State should part with no more land, and that for revenue purposes a land tax be at once imposed. On 'the motion of Mr. Fish, the debate was adjourned. Wednesday, 20th May. BILtS. The new "River Harbour Board Bill was read a third time and passed. The Castle-street Diversion Bill was read a second time. The Dunedin City Council Borrowing Powers Bill to erable the Corporation to borrow £200,000 instead of £100,000 waa read a second and third time and passed. The Otago Dock Trust Ordinances 1865 Repeal Bill was pawed through all its stages.

MR. GRUNDY'S REMOVAL FROM OFFICE. The following select committee report was tabled :— (1.) The petition of Mr. iGrundy, late Inspector of Depasturing Licences, Tuapeka. The petition ashed for inquiry into the grounds of his dismissal. The finding of the committee is to "the effect that Government had resolved to transfer the duties of the petitioner to the Sheep Inspectors' department, and that Mr. Grundy had inconsequence received notice of the intended abolishment of the office. This was stated to be the sole cause of his removal. THB OTAGO HAEBOUE. The debate was resumed on Mr. Stout's motion. Mr. Davie contended in reply to Mr. De Lautour that ample evidence' had been laid before the Council as to practicable character of the work. He held that if the harbour was not deepened the port railway would require to be both straightened and widened If the Council gave the powers that were now asked, he had no doubt that within two or three years they wonld see .ships of the class of the James Nichol Fleming discharging their cargoes on the Dunedin wharves. He intended to support the motion. Mr, Fish moved an amendment to the effect that there was not at present sufficient reliable data before the Council to justify the creation of the proposed Harbour Trust, and that a sum be placed on the estimates to obtain a report &c from an engineer of eminence with a view of making a complete survey of th,e harbour. He was not opposed to* the scheme of harbour reclamation, but thought a delay to enable the Government to' get reliable information was advisable. After some discussion, The amendment of Mr. Fish was declared lost on the voices, A division took place on the motion, with the following result : — Ayes, 23 ; noes, 7- The original motion w s therefore carried. The following is the division list : — Ayes : Messrs. Allan, Gumming, Daniel, Davie (teller), "Driver, Henderson, Lumsden, Menzies, Mollison, M'Glashan M'Kellar, M"Lean, M'Neil, Keeves, Reid, Reynolds,Roberts, Stout (teller). Sumpter, Teschemaker, Turnbull, Webster, and Wilson. Noes : Brown (J. C ), Be Latour, Hazlett, Kinross, M*Dermid, Oliver, and Wood. There paired, on Mr. Stout's motion, Mr. Hallenstein and Mr. Ireland ; the former being in favour of the motion, and the latter against it. Mr. J. C. Brown moved, as an addition to the motion, the following words — '• Authority to levy such rates as shall provide a sufficient sum for the guaranteed interest on loan." The amendment was lost, and the original motion carried, on the voices. PROCLAMATION OF HUNDREDS. The adjourned debate on the Superintendent's message was resumed by Mr. Fish, after which Mr. Wilson asked leave to withdraw his amendment thereon. In doing S so, he announced his intention of bringing forward a comphreheusive series of resolutions on the land question. The application was granted. I The motion was put and carried on the voices. The Secretary for Lands and Works moved, " That this Council, having considered his Honor's Message No. 8, concurs in the proposals therein contained, and respectfully requests his Honor the Superintendent to recommend his Excallency the Governor to proclaim several Hundreds therein named with the boundaries therein discribed, in terms of the 90th section of the Otago Waste Lands Act, 1872." The motion was put and carried. LICENSING MOUNT STEWART HT7NDRED. Mr. Gh F. C. Browne moved, "That an address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent requesting that there be laid upon the taole any correspondence which may have taken place between Mr. W. Miller and the Government with regard to leasing that that portion of the goldfields adjoining Mount Stewart Hundred^ ajso any report bearing on the same subject.", The motion was put and carried. MINING CONFERENCE REPORTS. Mr. R Clarke moved, " That the Goldfields Committee be requested to consider in conjunction with the GoldSelds Bill, subject to his Honor's Message No, 2, the report of the goldfields delegation of 1871, the report of the miners' conference held at Tuapeka in 1872, and the report of the miners' conference held at Clyde in 1874, and to embody the result of their considerations in their reports." Carried. FOREST REGULATIONS. Mr. M'Kellar, in the absence of Mr. Hallenstein, moved, "That the petition of settlers in the Wakatipu", district praying that the forest regulations recently issued by the Waste Land Board may be modified so as to suit the forests of the Wakatipu, be referred to.the Government for their favorable consideration." The motion was put and carried. Thursday, May 21st. Petitions from Lawrence, Palmerston, Dunedin, and Winton, against the running of Sunday trains were presented. Mr. Turnbull gave notice that he would propose, " That this Council is of opinion that the number, of trains running- on Sundays should, except in very exceptional and urgent cases, be limited to one train each way, before 9 o'clock in the morning, , and another each way between 4 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the afternoon." READING THE BTBLE IN SCHOOLS. The following motion was tabled by Mr. Ireland : — "That, .in the opinion of this Council, the reading of the Bible in public schools of the province should not be compulsory ; bub that the School Committees, with the~sanction of the Education Board, should have power to permit the reading of the Bible, subject to the restrictions contained' in the Education Ordinance." WAIHEMO TO CLYDW RAILWAY. Mr. De Latour moved, " That, in the opinion of this Council, it is, desirable that, during the recess, a flying survey be made of a line of railway from Waihemo to Clyde, through the Maniatoto Plains, the Ida Valley; and the Valley of the Mamiherikia." The motion was carried. The adjournment of the Council was then moved until to-morrow. After discussion, an amendment was carried, that the Council adjourn till Monday.