ADDRESS OF HIS HONOR THE SUPERINTENDENT

West Coast Times, Issue 79, 5 December 1865, Page 2

ADDRESS OF HIS HONOR THE SUPERINTENDENT

On Opening the Provincial Council, Tuesday, November 21, 1865. Mb. Speaker, and Gentlemen o'i thb ProVrNOIAt CoUftOIL, — I have to congratulate you on meeting for the first time in a bnilding in every way worthy of the purpose to wMoh it has been devoted, and whioh will, I trust, bo found not only td afford suitable accommodation for the transaction of business, but will also be an object of ornament to this city, and a credit to Canterbury for the future I had hoped, when I iaat prorogued this Council, thatil should have been able to call you again together before tho expiration of the three months fsr which you bad voted supplies ; as, however, tho Session of the General Assembly has been protracted beyond that time, and as it is essential to the proper consideration of tho affairs of this Province that you should have before you the results of the deliberation of that body, I havo thought that I should be aoting more in accordance with tho interests of the Province, as well as with the spirit of the arrangement come to on this subject on the the last Session of the Couubil, if I deferred the ordinary Hession until all the available information could bo obtained as to the exaot position nf the Piovince, more especially in a financial point of view. Full information will be laid before you as to the state of the Provincial Revenue. You will observe that making due allowance for the depression which has. prevailed in the Colony generally, the resources of this Provinco are in a satisfactory condition ; while its credit appears to stand higher in the London market than that of any other province in New Zealand. I attribute this looter result in no small degree to the vigilant control which you have exorcised over the expenditure, and the earnest determination whioh you have manifested to make punctual provision for tho claims of the publio creditor. Correspondence will be laid before you be. tween a member of my Government and the lion the Colonial Secretary, in reference to the arrangements contemplated by the General Government with regard to the proportion of tho Customs Revenue payable to tho provinces. The Colonial Secretary appears to anticipate no diminution of tho share hitherto received, and we may therofore hope that, unless some unforeseen emergency arises, the provinces will continue to receive three-eighths of tbe whole amount. The works of the Great Southern Railway have been actually commenced, the material for the first 13 miles has been ordered, an I am in hopes that only a very short time will elapse before a portion nt least is open for traffic As regards tho Great Northern Line, the survey has been completed, ane slops aro now being taken for ascertaining the extent and value of the property to be purchased. Contracts have been let for such portions of the Ilorbor Works in Lyttelton as are immediately required to meet the increasing trade of that town, and for enabling the Provinoe to derive the full benefit of railway communication by the time the tiinncl connecting Lyttelton with tho plains is completed. A comnHencemont of, the larger pormanent works recommended by tne comtriission, is now being made by means of prison labour. And although we .cannot hope to see at an early period the completion' of .'works of such maguitude and importance, yet it is satisfactory to know that the result of the operations already commenced is very encouraging, and I trust that those works which it has been nly privilege to initiate will be carried on without (interruption, as the means of the Province will allow, until the accomplishment of an undertaking calculated to ndvanco so materially the interests of the Port town, and to afford such facilities to tho trade of the whole Province, shall baAe been effected. Reports upon this subject w'll be laid before you. The investigations as to the capabilities of the Timaru lioadstead, which were initiated some time since, have now been brought to a conclusion, and although the result appears to show that the works necessary for the formation of a harbor are quite beyond the resources of the province, yet that a comparatively small sum of money, judiciously expended, will very much improvo the facilities nt present available for shipping nnd landing goods. The report upon this subject will also be laid before you. The want of regularity in the communication by sea with Akaroa has caused serious los 3 and inconvenience to .tho inhabitants of that place, and I hope with your assistance to be able to ;lace this sorvice on a more satisfactory footing. The sudden and almost unprecedented development of tho goldfields on the West Coast has engaged the unremitting attention of the Government with a view to making provision for the wants of those who have engaged in the arduous work of gold mining in that district. It has been my endeavor, while providing for the efficient administration of the goldfields, and for the formation of tho necessary roads and other publio works, to avoid that excessive rate of expenditure on these subjects, which has on other cases resulted not only in financial embarrassment to the Government and depreciation of publio securities, but also in ruin to private individuals, and severe pressure upon the community generally. The dangerous character of tho harbors of tho West Coast, and the great destruction of shipping which has there taken place, seem to .make it clear that the trade of the goldfields cannot be carried on with reasonably security until a road fitted for heavy traffic has been completed — connecting tho Eastern with tho Western side of the intervening range ; and I have, therofore, urged on tho works necessary for the promotion of a good dray road with tho greatest expedition that circumstances would admit, of. You aro aware that these works are of themselves of no inconsiderable magnitude, and require for their proper performance, n great amount of engineering skill ; but in addition to the difficulties arising out of the natural features of the country, the contractors and others engaged in the work have had to contend with tho extraordinary inolemenoy of the weather, very seriously interrupting their operations, and thereby creating a delay in the completion of the undertaking, whioh would, under othor circumstances, have been avoided. I am htippy to be ablo to inform you that all the3o obstacles will very soon be overcome, and that we may hope in a short timo to have a completo lino of road from tho East to the West Coast. Tho outlay will, no doubt, be heavy, and I think it will be fair so to adjust the burthen thus oreated, that it shall not fall wholly upon the agricultural districts of the Province, but that tho gold Holds themselves shall also contribute some sharo of the expense. I have taken the precaution, in anticipation of tho extension of the Railway systom to tho Wost Const, toinporarily to reseivo land for lines in that dirootion, nnd thus avoid tho largo expenditure in the extinguishment Of private rights, whioh tlie ncgleot of that precaution /would otherwiso have occasioned. Tho state ollne wSathov has Also caiised delay in tho completion 6f Iho Eleptrio Telegraph, bus I have every confidencd that,, befbrb the .rising of tho Counoil, this moans of correspondence will be available. It is obvious that, under the peouliur circumstances of tho case, the establishment of ft communication of this natnro botween tho two portions of the province is most essential?

if not altogether indispensable, for the good' government of the whole. .• Atne . ndm ents navo been ma *>> at the suggestion ftf^ m y Government, in the Waste Lands Regulations of the province,- laving for their object partly the removal of a technical obstacle to the sale of land on the West Coast, and partly the introduction of terms and conditions better adapted to the oiroumstances of that district, and calculated to encourage permanent so'ttlement. % Yon are aware that by a"n Act of the Generai Assembly, passed during ,^he lato session, two new members have been added to this Counoil as representatives for He Goldfields : ; and it will bo left to tho Provincial Legislature to take any further steps which may be .neceashVy for the more effectual representation of the Gold Mining interest. I hope that ttefour'es of this nature wil have the effect of bringing before the Legislature man authentic forth the real wishes atfd Views of a population employed in pursafts so different from those which engage the httention of residents 6h the eastern side '6f the ranges. It is with muoh satisfaction that I recognise the importance of the scientific researches undertaken by tho Provincial Geologist ; and the fact of his Wing two years ago-ih papers laid before the Council— accurately defined tho gold districts on the West Coast, is a strong proof of the praotioal value of his labors, and leads me to expect that the Province will derive great benefit from his knowledge as to the auriferous nature of those lands, which it may. be advisable to survey for sale. Tho repeal of the New Provinces Aot of 1858 has deprived the outlying districts of tho powe* to separate from the rest of the Province, uriless by Wans 6f an Act of the Ooneral Assembly, but this appears to me to be no reason for neglecting the recognised claims of the settlers resident in those* district, and it will be my duty to make such recommend itions to you for the appropriation of the Land Revenue as shall satisfy every reasonable claim. I shall invite your consideration of some plan for tho establishment of art Educational Institution of a superior class. Ido not now propose to^ lay before you any measure for finally determining the exact mode in which such a plan should be carried into effect. It will be sufficient for the present to indicate itß general features, which will then be before the public for consideration and discussion during tho reoess. I now declare this Council open for the tran'-f saction of public business. S. Bbalet, Superintendent.